Note: I did NOT write this. I took this from another board, simply because I felt that it could be very useful here in the forums. I do not take credit at all for making this list in the least. You are welcome to add anything that isn't on the following list(s) to the <myspace>top</myspace>ic.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome young newcomer to the scary, complicated world of metal! We've put this
new recommendation thread together in hope that it will ease the confusion that
people suffer when trying to understand the differences between different types
of metal. There's a few things I should point out first:
1) Many artists are listed with recommendations as "s/t" this is just an
abbreviation of self titled, eg. where the album name is the same as the band
name
2) Some bands appear under more than one section, this is either because the
band changed genre somewhere in their career (eg. Behemoth), or a band is
considered to be "a bit of both" (eg. Nightwish)
Death MetalThe thrash of the 1980's is all fine and good, but a lot of fans really wanted
something more extreme, something harder, faster and heavier. What they got was
death metal.
Slayer were (like it or not) the catalysts for the movement.
While still being a thrash metal band, they inspired a lot of the early death
metal, with extreme 'gorey' lyrics, heavy guitars, frantic pace and (at the
time) unusual vocals.
Mantas (soon to be renamed
Death) and
Possessed progressed even more on
Slayer's attack, adding even more
brutal vocals, higher tempo and a heavier sound. Death metal didn't slow down
after the original boom, since then, there's been more innovation and
progression, with bands such as New York's
Suffocation, Florida's
Obituary and Scandinavia's
Entombed all helping to add their own
distinctive regional style to the sound. Today death metal has reached into many
more elements of music, adding technical musicianship, progressive elements,
jazz influences, and even a well-known addition of Egyptian ambience and
instrumentation.
The death metal sound features a low, growled, often almost unintelligible vocal
style and frequently utilize downtuned and distorted guitars, a downtuned,
sometimes distorted bass guitar and a drum set almost universally using two bass
drums or a double bass drum pedal. Song structures can vary, with some bands
sticking to the verse-chorus basis and others opting for a loose narrative
rather than a repeating structure. Lyrics typically focus on dark themes
(although there are some exceptions) with some bands covering in depth
descriptions of gorey or gruesome incidents, inspired by Liverpudlian grindcore
band
Carcass. More specialised Technical Death metal (abbreviated to Tech
Death) is known for abrupt tempo, key, and time signature changes, and extremely
fast and complex guitar and drumwork, particular tech death bands also implement
shred/neoclassical influences in their lead breaks.
The name Death metal is often up to debate, some believing that it is attributed
to the
Possessed song,
Death Metal on the 1985 album
Seven
Churches. Others believe that the name is from the band,
Death, who
arguably built upon
Possessed's release and pioneered the first straight
up death metal album.
Good starting points:Albums
Cannibal Corpse - Kill
Death - Symbolic
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Suffocation - Souls to Deny
Songs
Behemoth - Conquer All
Death - Bite The Pain
Decapitated - Spheres of Madness
Hate Eternal- King of All Kings
Morbid Angel - Rapture
Morbid Angel - Fall From Grace
Morbid Angel - Where The Slime Live
Nile - Lashed To The Slave Stick
Essential AlbumsPossessed - Seven Churches
Death - Scream Bloody Gore
Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness
Obituary - Cause Of Death
Deicide - Deicide
Cryp<myspace>top</myspace>sy - None So Vile
Nile - In Their Darkened Shrines
Cannibal Corpse - Tomb Of The Mutilated
Suffocation - Effigy Of The Forgotten
Entombed - Left Hand Path
General RecommendationsAbhorrence - Evoking The Abomination
Agiel - Dark Pantheons Again Will Reign
Amenta, The - Ocassus
Amoral - Wound Creations
Anata - The Conductors Departure
Atheist - Unquestionable Presence
Aversion To life - Ritualized Murder
Baphomet - The Dead Shall Inherit
Beheaded - Recounts of Disembodiment
Behemoth - Zos Kia Cultus
Belphegor - Lucifer Incestus ~ The Last Supper
Beneath The Massacre - Mechanics Of Dysfunction
Berzerker, The - World of Lies
Bolt Thrower - War Master ~ Mercenary ~ Those Once Loyal
Bloodbath - Nightmares Made Flesh ~ Resurrection Through Carnage
Brodequin - Instruments Of Torture ~ Festival Of Death
Cannibal Corpse - Eaten Back to Life ~ The Bleeding
Capharnaum - Fractured
Carcass - Necroticism
Cidesphere - Interment
Cryp<myspace>top</myspace>sy - Whisper Supremacy, Once Was Not
Death - Leprosy ~ Individual Thought Patterns
Death of Millions - Frozen ~ Statistics and Tragedy
Decapitated - Winds of Creation ~ Nihility
Deceased - The Evil Side of Religion
Decrepit Birth - ...And Time Begins
Deeds of Flesh - Mark of the Legion ~ Crown of Souls
Deicide - Once Upon The Cross ~ Legion ~ Stench Of Redemption
Demilich - Nespithe
Desecration - Gore and Pervertion
Devourment - Butcher the Weak
Diamanthian - The Infinite Descent
Dies Irae - The Sin War
Disgorge - She Lay Gutted
Dismember - Like An Everflowing Stream
Divine Empire - Nostradamus
Emeth - Insidious
Entombed - Clandestine
Forest of Impaled - Forwards the Spears
Genocidio - S/T
Godflesh - Street Cleaner
Gorgasm - Masticate to Dominate
Gorguts - Obscura ~ The Erosion of Sanity
Gospel of the Horns - A Call to Arms
Grave - Into the Grave
Hate Eternal - King of All Kings
Holocausto - Campo De Exterminio
Human Mincer - Embryonized
Hypocrisy - The Final Chapter ~ Into the Abyss
Immolation - Failures for Gods
Imprecation - Theurgia Goetia Summa
Incantation - Onward to Golgotha
Infernal War - Terrorfront
Iniquity - Grime
Ion Dissonance - Solace
Jungle Rot - Fueled by Hate ~ Dead and Buried
Kadath - Chasing The Devil
Kataklysm - Serenity In Fire
Krisiun - Conquerors Of Armageddon
Lex Talionis - The Supreme Aggression
Lord Gore - The Au<myspace>top</myspace>hagus Orgy
Lost Soul - Chaostream
Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris
Malevolent Creation - Retribution
Man Must Die - ...Start Killing
Martyr - Warp Zone
Mithras - Worlds Beyond The Veil
Misery Index - Overthrow ~ Dissent
Molested - Blod Draum
Monstrosity - Imperial Doom
Morbid - December Moon
Morbid Angel - Blessed Are the Sick ~ Covenant
Morgoth - Cursed
Myrkskog - Deathmachine
Nailed - A Pure World Is A Dead World
Necrodeath - Into the Macabre
Necronomicon - The Sacred Medicines
Necrophagia - The Divine Art of Torture
Necrophagist - Epitaph ~ Onset of Putrefaction
Necrovore - Divus de Mortuus
Nephasth - Conceived by Inhuman Blood
Nile - Annihilation of the Wicked ~ Black Seeds of Vengeance
Obituary - Slowly We Rot ~ Back From the Dead
Odious Mortem - Devouring The Prophecy
Old Funeral - Grim Reaping Norway
Panzerchrist - Room Service
Pessimist - Slaughtering The Faithful
Pestilence - Consuming Impulse ~ Testimony of the Ancients
Poppy Seed Grinder - Oppressed Reality
Portal - Seepia
Pre Mortem - False Gleam
Psycroptic - Scepter of the Ancients
Pungent Stench - Been Caught Buttering
Putrid Pile - Collection of Butchery
Quo Vadis - Defiant Imagination ~ Day Into Night
Rottrevore - Iniquitous
Sepulchral Entombment - The Black Destiny
Severed Savior - Brutality Is Law
Sceptic - Unbelievers Script
Sinister - Cross the Styx
Skinless - Foreshadowing Our Demise
Solace of Requiem - U<myspace>top</myspace>ia Reborn
Spawn Of Possession - Cabinet
Suffocation - Pierced From Within
The Monolith Deathcult - White Crematorium
Through The Eyes Of The Dead - Bloodlust
Vader - Litany ~ De Profundis
Vehemence - God Was Created ~ The Thoughts From Which I Hide
Vital Remains - Dawn of the Apocalypse ~ Dechristianize ~ Into Cold Darkness
Vulcano - Bloody Vengeance
Withered Earth - Of Which They Bleed
Wormed - Planisphaerium
Yattering - Genocide
Thrash metalThe origins of thrash metal are generally traced to the late 1970s and early
1980s, when a number of bands began incorporating the sound of the New Wave of
British Heavy Metal with elements of hardcore punk (in particular its drum
tempos), creating a new genre and developing into a separate movement from punk.
The genre relies on extremely-fast tempos, and low-register, fast or complex
guitar riffs, sometimes layered with high-register guitar solos, often in
combination with palm muting to create a "chugging" sound. Thrash guitar solos
are almost exclusively played at high speed, as they are usually characterised
as shredding, and use techniques such as sweep picking, legato phrasing,
alternate picking, string skipping, and two-hand tapping. Vocals ususally adopt
a gruff, hard rock style, although heavier bands have been known to simply
shout.
1981 is seen by some fans as a critical year, though others cite earlier
influences on the genre: The first riff of
Black Sabbath's "
Symptom of
the Universe" (1975) is possibly one of the first thrash riffs, though their
"
Into the Void" and "
Children of the Grave" (both 1971) were
influential as well. Many point to another early example, Queen's "
Stone Cold
Crazy" (1974) (from their
Sheer Heart Attack album), which was
unusually heavy and fast for its time, and ultimately covered many years later
by thrash metal's most famous and successful band,
Metallica. Similar to
this song was "
Ogre Battle" from
Queen</i>'s 1974 album Queen II.
German prog-metal band Night Sun probably had the fastest examples of
early thrash metal on their only album "Mournin'" with the songs "Plastic
Shotgun" and "Nightmare" (1972). Also worth mention is Iggy Pop &
The Stooges who had a profound influence on Motörhead. Their songs "I
Got A Right" and "Gimme Some Skin" (Both 1973) utilized a simple,
fast paced beat that resembled still-to-come metal and punk thrashings.
It should also be noted that an early song that had a direct inspiration to the
genre was Judas Priest's 1978 song "Exciter," off the Stained
Class album. Its fast, kick-drum intro was notorious for drummers of this
era, as well as the fast guitar solos. While Judas Priest were not a
thrash band themselves, several thrash bands like Slayer, Venom, Anthrax,
Metallica, and Megadeth cite them as a major influence.
Some suggest that Motörhead's Overkill LP (1979) gave the name to a New
York band (Overkill) that would write what is often considered the first thrash
metal song in 1981: "The Beast Within". Soon thereafter, the short-lived
Southern California band Leather Charm would write "Hit the Lights".
This band would break up, but the primary songwriter James Hetfield's next band,
Metallica, would feature this song. The band Metal Church recorded a
few rehearsals in 1980-81, which were similar to the early Metallica and
Overkill efforts, though not quite as thrashy. The band Venom is also
considered a pioneer of the genre, from their 1981 album Welcome To Hell
and the 1982 Black Metal: in fact Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth,
Anthrax, Testament and Exodus cite them as major influences.
Good starting points
Albums
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Exodus - Shovel Headed Kill Machine
Sepultura - Arise
Kreator - Pleasure to Kill
Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction
Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
Songs
Metallica - Battery
Megadeth - Holy Wars.... The Punishment due
Slayer - Raining Blood
Destruction - Nailed To The Cross
Testament - Over The Wall
Essential Albums
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Kreator - Pleasure To Kill
Venom - Welcome To Hell
General Recommendations
Aggression - The Full Treatment
Anacrusis - Suffering Hour
Annihilator - Alice in Hell ~ Never Neverland
Anthrax - Among the Living ~ Persistance of time ~ We've Come For You All
Artillery - Terror Squad
Aura Noir - Black Thrash Attack
Axis Of Evil - New World Terror Demo
Betrayer - Hostage of Progress
Blood Money - Battlescarred
Carnal Forge - Are You Dead Yet?
Coroner - R.I.P
Cranium - Speed Metal Satan
Crown, The - Deathrace King
Dark Angel - Darkness Descends ~ Time Does Not Heal
Deathchain - Deadmeat Disciples
Death Angel - Act III
Demiricous - One (Hellbound)
Demolition Hammer - Tortured Existence
Desaster - Hellfire's Dominion
Destruction - Eternal Devestation ~ Infernal Overkill
Dew Scented - Inwards
Disciples of Power - Ominous Prophecy
Evil Dead - Annihilation of Civilization
Exhorder - Slaughter In The Vatican
Exodus - Tempo of the Damned ~ Bonded By Blood
Exumer - Possessed by Fire ~ Rising from the Sea
Fantom Warrior - Fantasy Or Reality
Flotsam and Jetsam - Doomsday For The Deceiver
Forced Entry - Uncertain Future
Gammacide - Victims Of Science
Gutworm - Ruin The Memory
Harter Attack - Human Hell
Heathen - Victims of Deception
Hobbs Angel of Death - s/t
Holy Moses - Finished with the dogs
Hydra Vein - Rather Death Than False Of Faith
Kreator - Extreme Agression ~ Enemy of God ~ Coma of Souls
Lawnmower Deth - The Return Of The Fabulous Metal Bozo Clowns
Legion of the Damned - Malevolent Rapture
Lunatics Without Skateboards - Welcome To The Asylum
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes ~ Through The Ashes of Empires
Maple Cross - The Next Chapter
Metal Church - Any
Metallica - Kill 'em All ~ Ride the Lightning ~ ...And Justice for All
Mezzrow - Then Came The Killing
Morbid Saint - Spectrum of Death
Mortal Sin - Mayhemic Destruction
Municipal Waste - Hazardous Mutation
Mutilator - Immortal Force
Necrodeath - Into the Macabre
Nocturnal - Arrival of the Carnivore
Nuclear Assault - Game Over ~ Handle With Care
Ogun - 2005 Demo
One Man Army and The Undead Quartet - 21st Century Killing Machine
Overkill - Feel the Fire
Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power ~ Great Southern Trendkill
Ramp - Intersection ~ Nude ~ Evolution/Devolution
Razor - Evil Invaders ~ Violent Restitution
Rumpelstiltskin Grinder - Buried in the Front Yard
Sabbat - Dreamweaver
Sacred Reich - The American Way
Sacrifice - Forward to Termination
Sadus - Swallowed in Black
Sauron - Thrash Assault
Sepultura - Schizophrenia ~ Beneath the Remains
Slayer - South of Heaven ~ Seasons in the Abyss ~ Show no Mercy
Sodom - In the Sign of Evil ~ Agent Orange ~ Obsessed By Cruelty
Stormtroopers of Death - Speak English Or Die
Suicide Watch - Global Warming
Tankard - BDay
Testament - Practice What You Preach ~ The Ritual
Tormentor - Anno Domini
Toxic Holocaust - Evil Never Dies
Vio-Lence - Eternal Nightmare
Violator - Violent Mosh
Voivod - Killing Technology
Wehrmacht - Shark Attack
Black metalOne of the more underground and controversial scenes within metal, black metal
is as hard to properly define as it is to write an exact history of. The origins
of the genre are attributed to many different bands from many different
countries, often ironically playing many different styles of music, because of
this fact, black metal is more widely considered as a culmination of separate
band's efforts, rather than any solitary band releasing an album that was
imitated.
Eighties satanic thrash pioneers
Venom have the best claim to having
coined the
Black Metal moniker with their 1982 album named "
Black Metal" however
even they have distanced themselves from the claim to an extent. Realistically,
Venom's release only sonic contribution to the black metal we know of today
was the rough production style, everything else about the album was pure 1980's
thrash metal. Other claiments to the formation of black metal include one man
Swedish band
Bathory, who's 1984 self titled debut still causes
controversy as to whether it is black metal or thrash metal, German thrash band
Sodom's debut also evokes similar reactions, while the sound was undoubtable
thrash, the mood of the album was more closely related to black metal bands of
today. Other influencial albums were released by the Danish
Mercyful Fate (1983/4) and the Swiss band
Celtic Frost (1984)
Black metal however did not officially exist as a genre until the early 1990's,
when bands such as
Mayhem, Burzum and
Abruptum became
disillusioned with the popularity of American style death metal, and in
particular the Earache mosh label. The bands released albums on Euronymous's
Deathlike Silence label, who's CD's displayed the "ANTI MOSH" logo as an insult
to Earache records. These second wave albums took the sound of
Bathory and
Sodom and forged a more extreme, grainy and rough sound.
Sadly black metal has become synonymous with the actions that occured between
Mayhem and
Burzum during the early 90's. Information on it won't be
provided here because it detracts from the aim of this article, to give a incite
into black metal, not into the twisted minds of it's pioneers. If you're still
that intrigued to find out what happened, go
here Since these releases, black metal has moved in many directions, some bands
sticking to the raw, minimalist style black metal of the second wave. This
variety typically features high pitched shreiked vocals, grainy production, and
relentless blast beats for most or all of the song. Guitars are more often than
not in standard tuning, with extensive use of tremolo picking and minor chords,
bass guitar is generally inaudible. More atmospherically minded twists of this
sound are displayed by bands such as
Fornost and
Paysage d'Hiver,
with songs stretched out over longer timescales. Keyboards are not uncommon in
atmospheric black metal, acoustic guitar interludes are also used occationally.
The major twist in the black metal sound comes with symphonic styled black
metal, which more often than not abandons the poor production in favour of
clarity. Keyboards and synthisizers are brought to the forefront and guitar
complexity is often increased, however guitar solos are uncommon. Bands like
Dimmu Borgir and
Alghazanth are prime examples of this style of black
metal in action.
Lyrics in black metal are as diverse as the sound itself, Satanic/Anti-Christian
themes are common, but contrary to popular belief not mandatory or genre
defining, indeed later
Borknagar lyrics deal everything from conduction
of electricity to sea bacteria (!). Black metal lyrics can also deal with
ideological/pagan themes and mythology, some bands like
Immortal even
venturing into the realm of fantasy for their inspiration. National Socialist
and racist views are also very occationally present.
Black metal is also very reliant on imagery, with very distinctive on stage
fashion. BM bands often sport leather studded clothing, and even occationally
battle armour.
King Diamond/Kiss style black and white makeup is also a
common on stage accessory, known within the scene as "corpsepaint". Live shows
sometimes go further to impress the crowd, with burning torches and dead animals
displayed alongsde the band,
Mayhem and
Gorgoroth being
particularly fond of this stage set up.
Due to the diversity of the genre, it is very difficult to pin down black metal
in a few paragraphs, many bands combine raw, symphonic and atmospheric
influences into their work, aswell as numerous other forms of music such as
folk, death metal or prog, the best way to fully get a grasp of black metal is
to listen to it.
Good starting pointsAlbums
Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk
Dimmu Borgir - Stormblast
Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness
Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky
Songs
Emperor - I am The Black Wizards
Dissection - Where Dead Angels Lie
Dimmu Borgir - Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse
Mayhem - Freezing Moon
Essential albumsBurzum - Filosofem
Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse
Mayhem - De mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Bathory - Under The Sign of The Black Mark
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane
Graveland - Thousand Swords
Mutiilation - Vampires Of Black Imperial Blood
Ulver - Nattens Magidral
Sarcofago - INRI
Beherit - Drawing Down The Moon
General Recommendations1349 - Beyond the Apocalypse
Abigor - Nacthymnen
Absurd - Asgardsrei ~ Facta Loquuntur
Alcest - Le Secret
Alghazanth - Thy Aeons Envenomed Sanity
Amesoeurs - Ruines Humaines
Anorexia Nervosa - New Obscurantis Order
Anti - The Insignificance of Life
Archgoat - Tales Of Desecration
Arkham - Chapter III ~ The Madness from the Sea
Astriaal - Summoning the Essence of Ancient Wisdom
Axis of Perdition - The Ichneumon Method
Azaghal - Perkeleen Luoma
Azrael - Into Shadows Act I: Denial
Bannerwar - Principles of Aryan Blood
Bathory - Blood Fire Death
Beherit - The Oath of Black Blood
Behexen - By the Blessing of Satan
Bekhira - L'élu du Mal
Benighted Leams - Ferly Centesms
Bestial Summoning - The Dark War Has Begun
Bishop of Hexen - Archive of an Enchanted Philosophy
Black Funeral - Vampyr ~ Throne Of The Beast
Black Witchery - Upheavel of Satanic Might
Blodulv - I ~ s/t
Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God
Blutaar - Sklaventaad Fur Verrat
Branikald - To Kampf ~ Stormheit
Burzum - Burzum ~ Aske ~ Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
Catamenia - Chaosborn
Carpathian Forest - Through Chasm Caves And Titan Woods
Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales ~ To Mega Therion
Curse - Dead Sun Rise
Dark Funeral - Secret of the Black Arts
Darkthrone - Under a Funeral Moon ~ Panzerfraust
Darkthule - Beyond Endless Horizons
Dark Tribe - In Jeraspunta
Dimmu Borgir - Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia
Dissection - The Somberlain
Dodheimsgard - Kronet Til Konge
Drudkh - Autumn Aurora
Emit - Unknown Presences Whisper
Emperor - Wrath of the Tyrant
Fornost - Der Wind Hat Mir Ein Leid Erzahlt
Forest - As a Song in the Harvest of Grief ~ Like a Blaze Above the Ashes
Fullmoon - United Aryan Evil
Funeral Mist - Salvation
Funeral Winds - Koude Haat
Gehenna - Seen Through The Veils Of Darkness
Godless North - Summon the Age of Supremacy
Gontyna Kry - Welowie
Grand Belial's Key - Kosherat
Graveland - The Celtic Winter ~ Carpathian Wolves
Haemoth - Satanik Terrorism
Hate Forest - Purity ~ To Twilight Thickets ~ Sorrow
Ildjarn - Forest Poetry
Immortal - Pure Holocaust ~ Blizzard Beasts
Isvind - Dark Waters Stir
Judas Iscariot - Distant in Solitary Night
Kataxu - Roots Thunder
Kreig - Destruction Ritual
Kristallnacht - Of Elitism and War ~ The Funeral Years
Limbonic Art - Moon In The Scorpio ~ Epitome Of Illusions
Lord Belial - Enter The Moonlight Gate
Luciferi Excelsi - Heiliger Krieg
Marduk - Panzer Division Marduk
Matricide - Black Mass Gathering
Mayhem - Deathcrush
Melechesh - Sphynx
Mörk Gryning - Tusen ar har gatt
Mortuary Drape - Secret Sudaria
Mutiilation - Remains of a Ruined, Dead, Cursed Soul
Nocternity - Onyx
Nachtfalke - Doomed To Die
Nachtkult - Der Sieg Des Stolzen Blutes
Nargaroth – Herbstleyd
Nehemah - Requiem Tenebrae
Negurã Bunget - 'n Crugu Bradului
Nokturnal Mortum - Lunar Poetry ~ NeChrist
Nordreich - Heil Ger Brand
North - From The Dark Past
Odal - Wilde Kraft ~ Sturmes Brut
Operation Winter Mist - Imperial Grand Strategy
Paragon Belial - Hordes Of The Darkland
Potentiam - Orka i Myrkri
Ragnarok - Blackdoor Miracle
Revenge - Victory Intolerance Mastery
Reverorum ib Malacht - What Do You Think of the Old God, We Call Him Judas?
Rotting Christ - Khronos ~ Genesis ~ Sanctus Diavolos
Sargeist - Desciple of the Heinous Path ~ Satanic Black Devotion
Satyricon - Dark Medieval Times ~ Shadow Throne
Sigh - Hail Horror Hail
Summoning - Dol Guldur
Svartsyn - His Majesty
Taake - Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmelrik ~ Nattestid Ser Porten Vid
Tenebrous - Arias Toward the Black Sun
Ulver - Nattens Madrigal
Urfaust - Geist ist Teufel
Vlad - Yggdrasil
Vlad Tepes - Celtic Poetry I & II
Von - Satanic Blood
Warbutcher - Raping War Plague
Watain - The Misanthropic Ceremonies
Wolfnacht - Heidentum
Woods of Ypres - Pursuit of the Sun and Allure of the Earth
Wyrd - Huldrafolk
Xasthur - Telepathic With the Deceased ~ Funeral of Being
Yamatu - Shurpu Asaru
Zavorash - Nihilistic Ascension & Spiritual Death
Melodic Death metalAlso colloqually known as melodeath, melodic death metal is a slightly less
extreme form of death metal that incorporates less intense vocals, combined with
guitar work aiming for
Iron Maiden-esque melodic harmonies and catchy
hooks rather than brutal riffing. Melodic death is generally traced back to
three albums:
Entombed's 1990 debut,
Left Hand Path, Dismember's
1991 release,
Like An Everflowing Stream and oddly, grindcore band
Carcass's 1994 release
Heartwork. These albums featured a distinctive
sound that separated them from the field of regular death metal, Jeff Walker's
"throaty" vocal style was a departure from the standard gutteral growl, and the
unusual "buzzsaw" guitar tone on the
Dismember and
Entombed releases became synonymous with Scandinavian style death metal.
Ironically, despite
Carcass arguably creating the first melodic death
metal album, it was released at the wrong time, as in the same year, an unknown
Swedish band named
In Flames released their debut,
Lunar Strain,
and one year later in 1995,
Dark Tranquillity released their first EP,
Of Chaos And Eternal Night, again from Sweden. The new style of metal being
played by these bands was labelled "Gothenburg metal", named after the Swedish
city of Gothenburg, the city which claimed to have invented this style despite
Carcass's input to the sound. These important releases, alongside the
pioneering efforts of
Entombed and
Dismember meant that
Carcass's
influences were widely discredited, especially as previously
Carcass had
been a straight up grindcore band.
Since then, melodic death has exploded into a large scene, gaining popularity
all over Europe, and even reaching as far as America with bands like
The
Black Dahlia Murder attaining high levels of popularity. Melodic death is
now one of the more mainstream forms of extreme metal, with big bands like
In
Flames and
Children of Bodom pulling huge crowds and getting good
amounts of coverage on MTV and in guitar player magazines. Despite this, the
grass roots of melodeath are still strong, with underground bands gaining
respect amongst their peers regardless of the sometimes negative connotations
associated playing a style popularised by
In Flames, who's standing has
waned amongst metal fans after their music has moved further and further away
from melodic death over time.
Good Starting pointsAlbums
Children of Bodom - Follow The Reaper
In Flames - Lunar Strain
Insomnium - Since the Day it All Came Down
Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion
Songs
Carcass - No Love Lost
In Flames - Zombie Inc
Dark Tranquillity - Through Smudged Lenses
Children Of Bodom - Bed Of Razors
At The Gates - Blinded By Fear
Essential albumsAt The Gates - Slaughter of the Soul
In Flames - The Jester Race
Dark Tranquillity - Character
Amon Amarth - Once Sent from the Golden Hall
Carcass - Heartwork
General RecommendationsThe Absence - From Your Grave
Amon Amarth - With Oden on Our Side ~ Versus the World
Arch Enemy - Wages of Sin ~ Doomsday Machine
Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt
At the Gates - Terminal Spirit Disease ~ The Red Sky is Ours ~ Gardens of Grief
Beyond Within - Evil Minds ~ Eternal Pestilence
Blo. Torch - Self Titled
Chain Collector - The Masquerade
Dam - Purity (The Darwinian Paradox)
Dark Tranquility - The Mind's Eye ~ Haven
Daylight Dies - Dismantling Devotion
Depresy - A Grand Magnificence
Edge Of Sanity - Crimson ~ Crimson II
Embryo - Chaotic Age
Empyrean Sky - Snow White Rose Of Paradise
Enter Chaos - Aura Sense
Enter My Silence - COORDINATE: D1SA5T3R
Epoch Of Unlight - Continuum Hypothesis
Esquarial - Inheritance
Estuary - To Exist and Endure
Excurses - Devil's Footprints
Imperial Domain - The Ordeal
In Flames - The Jester Race ~ Colony ~ Whoracle
Insomnium - In the Halls of Waiting
Irony Of Christ - Words Of The Forgotten
Kalmah - Swampsong ~ The Black Waltz
Killing Art - Confused Waves
Maledictive Pigs - Soul Surgery
Mors Principium Est - Inhumanity
Nightrage - Sweet Vengeance
Norther - Mirror of Madness
Omnium Gatherum - Spirits and August Light
Quo Vadis - Defiant Imagination ~ Day Into Night
Satariel - Hydra
Scar Symmetry - Symmetric in Design ~ Pitch Black Progress
Skyfire - Mind Revolution ~ Timeless Departure
Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos ~ A Predator's Portrait ~ Steel Bath Suicide
Suidakra - Command To Charge
Textures - Drawing Circles
The Black Dahlia Murder - Unhallowed
Underthreat - Deathmosphere
U<myspace>top</myspace>ia Banished - Night of the Black Wyvern
Vornagar - The Bleeding Holocaust
Warbreed - So Cry Havoc
Wintersun - s/t
With Passion - In The Midst Of Bloodied Soil
Withering Surface - Force The Pace
Folk MetalThe origin of folk metal is almost unanimously traced to 1990 when the British
band
Skyclad was formed. They began as a thrash metal band, but quickly
recruited a violinist into their ranks and began to play a folk-thrash hybrid,
thus creating the genre. Other bands followed, some influenced by
Skyclad,
and others coming to combine folk music and metal on their own. Some other early
folk metal bands include
Darkthrone's Fenriz and his side projects
Isengard and
Storm - which mixed traditional Norwegian folk with
black metal, the celtic folk band
Mägo de Oz,
Waylander - who
originally intended to play heavy metal but ended up creating and embracing a
folk sound, and the Israeli band
Orphaned Land who today play middle
eastern style folk metal.
The sounds of folk metal vary greatly from band to band. For example, a celtic
folk
metal band can range from basically being heavier celtic music, such as the
Irish band
Cruachan, to being sonically similar to black metal while
still retaining the same distinct celtic style through usage of folk
instruments, as displayed by French folk metallers
Heol Telwen. A band's
music may be more folk than metal, more metal than folk, or a 50/50 split
between the two. Many different individual genres of metal have been combined
with folk music (
Haggard combining folk and death metal vocals,
Elvenking combining folk and power metal etc) in addition to this, the
countless different regional folk styles mean that there is a lot of variation
in folk metal.
Good starting points:Albums
Elvenking - Wyrd
Ensiferum - Iron
Korpiklaani - Voice of Wilderness
Turisas - Battle Metal
Songs
Finntroll - Trollhammaren
Korpiklaani - Wooden Pints
Cruachan - To Invoke The Horned God
Falkenbach - As Long As Winds Will Blow
Essential AlbumsSkyclad - Prince of The Poverty Line
Skyclad - The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth
Bathory - Hammerheart
Windir - 1184
Primordial - The Gathering Wilderness
Agalloch - The Mantle
General RecommendationsAgalloch - Pale Folklore ~ Ashes Against The Grain
Amorphis - Black Winter Day
Anceint Rites - Dim Carcosa
Asmegin - Hin Vordende Sod & So
Bathory - Twilight of the Gods
Bran Barr - Les Chroniques de Naerg
Circulus - The Lick on the Tip of an Envelope Yet to be Sent
Einherjer - Dragons of the North
Equilibrium - Turas Fratyr
Eluveitie - Vên ~ Spirit
Ensiferum - Iron ~ Ensiferum
Enslaved - Vikingligr Veildi
Falchion - Legacy of Heathens
Falkenbach - Ok Nefna Tysbar Ty
Finntroll - Midnatten's Widunder
Flametal - The Elder
Folkearth - By The Sword of My Father
Glittertind - Til Dovre Faller
Haggard - Awaken The Centuries
Heol telwen - An Deiz Ruz
Hildr Valkyrie - Deceitful Fate
Isengard - Høstmørke
Korpiklaani - Spirit of the Forest
Mael Mordha - Cluain Tarbh
Månegarm - Nordstjärnans Tidsålder
Menhir - Thuringla
Mithotyn - Gathered Around the Oaken Table
Moonspell - The Butterfly Effect ~ Wolfheart ~ Irreligous ~ Darkness & Hope
Moonsorrow - Voimasta Ja Kunniasta
Myrkgrav - Trollskau, Skrømt og Kølabrenning
Nachtfalke - As The Wolves Died
Nest - Woodsmoke
Nazgul - De Expugnatione Elfmuth
Orphaned Land - Mabool
SIG:AR:TYR - The Stranger
Shambless - Apkas Itulia
Thyrfing - Vansinnesvisor
Tyr - Eric the Red
Vintersorg - Till Fjälls
Woods of Ypres - Pursuit of the Sun and Allure of the Earth
Power metalPower metal is a style of heavy metal music incorporating characteristics of
traditional metal along with thrash metal, often with a symphonic backdrop. The
style is generally regarded to stem from pioneering German bands like
Gamma
Ray and
Helloween Venturing further back in time, the core power metal sound draws influence from
bands such as
Queen, Rainbow and Iron Maiden, and their epic
neo-classical storytelling style,
Judas Priest's speed and
Queensrÿche's
musicianship. In the 80's, American bands such as
Sanctuary, Crimson Glory,
Liege lord and
Jag Panzer began playing similar styles to their
counterparts across the pond and thus the U.S. power metal scene came into
being.
In the mid-1980s, European bands such as
Helloween (Germany) and
Europe (Sweden) put more attention to the melodic side of songwriting.
Helloween mixed fast paced thrash metal riffs with melodic lead breaks and added
Iron Maiden-like powerful vocals, aswell as further bringing keyboards to
the forefront. Their albums
Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part 1 (1987) and
Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part 2 (1988) are generally regarded as a
milestone of this genre. Subsequently, European-style power metal has spread
across the continent (particularly to Finland) and worldwide, though it is
comparatively less popular in the United States, United Kingdom and other
English speaking countries.
Recently, however, many power metal bands have abandoned the "happy-metal" sound
of their predecessors, and have adopted a more epic feel combined with the power
metal sound. Bands such as
Blind Guardian have combined their classic
power metal stylings with an orchestral background, further bringing keyboards
and synthesisers to the fore, as bands such as
Heavenly, Rhapsody of Fire (formerly
Rhapsody), and
Angra have done.
Whereas most rock lyrics focus largely on "the real world" - personal
experience, historical incidents, social commentary, etc. - power metal often
treats epic or fantasy themes. Many power metal songs draw inspiration from
religion and mythology, and science fiction and fantasy (especially high
fantasy) tending to be more optimistic than most metal lyrics, with powerful and
uplifting choruses and catchy vocal lines.
Power metal vocals are generally "clean", as opposed to the growled or screamed
vocals that characterise death metal/black metal etc, and are more often than
not delivered by a trained vocalist. Following in the tradition of Bruce
Dickinson and Rob Halford, power metal vocalists tend to sing in a high register
and often in falsetto. Some singers, such as Hansi Kürsch of
Blind Guardian,
record multi-layered vocals reminiscent of
Queen. Because of the primary
importance of vocals in power metal, vocalists can make or break a band of this
style and generally do not double as instrumentalists.
Power metal guitarists and bassists generally play rapid phrases of palm muted
notes, but change chords comparatively slowly, with a harmonic tempo of once per
measure or slower, often abandoning the fast picking during the choruses and
simply strumming the chord once per measure. Fast and demanding guitar solos,
however, are almost guaranteed, as well as some bands illustrating challenging
keyboard solos.
Power metal drummers generally play with two bass drums for added speed, often
playing a constant stream of sixteenth notes (semiquavers) with snare drum
accents on the beat. Some bands defy this formula, but it is surprisingly
universal.
Many bands also play with a keyboardist, but keyboards are not generally a
musical focus, they normally simply lay backing chord behind the guitar, usually
with an orchestral or choral voice. A few, such as the Italian band
Rhapsody
of Fire, have also been known to record with more symphonic elements.
Rhapsody actually calls their style of music "Hollywood metal," emphasizing
its resemblance to modern film scores.
Power metal is most popular in Europe, Japan, and some countries of South
America (including Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina and Chile), and has a growing
popularity in certain parts of North America, notably in the province of Quebec,
Canada, where it has a very strong fan base. UK Power-metal band
DragonForce's
recent spike in popularity is a fine example.
Good starting pointsAlbums
Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle Earth
Dragonforce - Valley Of The Damned
Hammerfall - Crimson Thunder
Songs
Symphony X - Sea of Lies
Rhapsody Of Fire - Unholy Warcry
Hammerfall - Hearts on Fire
Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence
Essential AlbumsHelloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys pt. II
Sonata Arctica - Ecliptica
Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle Earth
Manowar - Kings of Metal
General RecommendationsAdagio - Underworld
Aquaria - Luxaeterna
Angra - Angel's Cry ~ Holy Land ~ Fireworks ~ Rebirth ~ Temple of Shadows
Arthemis - Golden Dawn
Avantasia - The Metal Opera pt. II
Biomechanical - Empires of The World
Blind Guardian - Tales from the Twilight World ~ Imaginations From The Otherside
Brainstorm - Liquid Monster
Circle II Circle - Middle of Nowhere
Conquest Of Steel - S/T
Control Denied - The Fragile Art Of Existence
Dark Moor - In the Hall of Olden Dreams
Demons & Wizards - S/T
Domine - Stormbringer Ruler: The Legend of the Power Supreme
Dragonforce - Sonic Firestorm
Dream Evil - The Book Of Heavy Metal
Dream Quest - The Release
Edguy - Mandrake
Elvenking - Heathenreel
Falconer - Chapter From A Vale Forlorn ~ The Sceptre of Deception
Firewind - Burning Earth ~ Nocturnal Symphony
Freternia - A Nightmare Story
Galneryus - The Flag of Punishment
Gamma Ray - Insanity and Genius ~ Land Of The Free
Hammerfall - Renegade ~ Glory to the Brave
Heavenly - Dust to Dust
Helloween - Walls of Jericho
Hibria - Defying the Rules
Iced Earth - Horror Show ~ Something Wicked This Way Comes ~ Dark Saga
Intense - Second Sight
Iron Savior - Condition Red
Jag Panzer - Mechanized Warfare ~ Thane To The Throne
Labyrinth - Return to Heaven Denied
Lost Horizon - A Flame to the Ground Beneath ~ Awakening Worlds
Luca Turilli - Prophet of the Last Eclipse
Kamelot - Epica ~ The Black Halo ~ Karma
Kaledon - Chapter III: Way Of The Light
Manticora - 8 Deadly Sins ~ Hyperion
Masterplan - Aeronautics ~ s/t
Memento Mori - Songs For The Apocalypse Volume 4
Mercenary - 11 Dreams
Nightwish - Century Child
Odyssea - Tears in Floods
Olympos Mons - Conquistador
Persuader - Evolution Purgator ~ The Hunter
Reviver - S/T
Rhapsody - Power of the Dragon Flame ~ Dawn of Victory
Royal Hunt - Paper Blood
Russel Allen & Jorn Lande - The Battle
Sacred Steel - Iron Blessings
Sanctuary - Into The Mirror Black
Savage Circus - Dreamland Manor
Shaaman - Ritual
Sonata Arctica - Winterheart's Guild
Steel - Heavy Metal Machine
Stratovarius - Visions ~ Episode
Symphony X - The Dvine Wings of Tragedy ~ The Odyssey
Syth - Warzone
Tad Morose - Matters of the Dark
Tarot - Suffer Our Pleasures
Viper - Theatre of Faith
Warmen - Accept The Fact
Wizard - Bound By Metal
Traditional Heavy metal/NWOBHMTraditional heavy metal is a difficult genre to properly classify, as it is
usually treated as a genre in which to place bands that do not fit properly in
other sub genres. However, under scrutiny heavy metal does have a discernible
sound that can be pinned down.
Black Sabbath, despite being listed under
doom metal by modern pundits, were viewed by their contemporaries as heavy
metal.
The heavy metal sound consists of heavily distorted, blues influenced guitar
work (sometimes downtuned) usually with a nod to
Led Zeppelin, drumming
is often fairly simplistic rock 'n roll style with emphasis on creating a groove
rather than anything technical or intricate. Vocals can either adopt a fairly
low, gruff
ZZTop inspired style (Zakk Wylde, Lemmy etc), or in the case
of
Black Sabbath and the New Wave British bands, a higher pitched,
slightly more toneful singing voice (
Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson being
the most characterisic)
However, there is a great deal of variety within traditional metal, with the
more popular band's small variations from the style inspiring numerous other
genres of metal (
Motorhead's speed inspiring thrash,
Iron Maiden's
melodies inspiring German power metal,
Black Sabbath's depressing themes
furthering the doom scene) and although classic heavy metal was arguably the
label given to the first metal bands, it is far from redundant, as newer bands
playing the style of the first metal bands are far from uncommon today, with the
UK's
Head On, and America's
Black Label Society playing very much
in the vein of traditional metal.
The name "heavy metal" is usually attributed to one of two different sources.
Jimi Hendrix's chaotic blues music being refered to by an anonymous music
critic as "like heavy metal falling from the sky!" is most likely the way the
name was initially coined, the alternative theory is the likeness with
Led
Zeppelin's band name, which was created when
The Who drummer Keith
Moon predicted that the band's career would "go down like a lead balloon." It is
rumoured that when the band's guitarist Jimmy Page first heard the insult, he
retorted with the comment "heavy metal like lead hits the ground with a loud
noise, and that's exactly what we're gonna do." Either way, the term heavy metal
has stuck over the years and gave birth to the greater genre of metal that we
see today.
Good starting PointsAlbums
Black Sabbath - Volume 4
Black Label Society - 1919 Eternal
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz
Iron Maiden - Brave New World
Motorhead - Ace Of Spades
Songs
Iron Maiden - Run to The Hills
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Black Label Society - Demise Of Sanity
Head On - Here Comes The Hammer
Motorhead - Ace Of Spades
Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train
Essential AlbumsBlack sabbath - Paranoid
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
Mercyful Fate - Melissa
King Diamond - Abigail
General RecommendationsBlack Label Society - The Blessed Hellride
Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality
Blaze - Blood and Belief
Blackstar Rising - Barbed Wire Soul
Blitzkrieg - A Time of Changes
Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding ~ Tyranny of Souls
Cage - Darker Than Black
Danzig - Lucifuge
Diamond Head - Lightning to the Nations
Die Apokalyptichen Reiter - Riders on The Storm
Dio - Holy Diver
Dokken - Back for the Attack
Exciter - Heavy Metal Maniac
Feinstein - Third Wish
Fight - War Of Words
Fozzy - Happenstance
Glenn Tipton - Baptizm of Fire
Head On - Head On
Hellfueled - Born II Rock
Hermano - Dare I Say...
Iron Maiden - Powerslave ~ Piece of Mind
Jeff Walker Und Die Fluffers - Carcass Cuntry
Judas Priest - Painkiller ~ Sad Wings of Destiny ~ Screaming for Vengeance
Legend - Legend
Manowar - Kings of Metal
Massacration - Gates of Metal Fried Chicken of Death
Motorhead - Bomber ~ Overkill
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Riot - Thundersteel
Rob Halford - Ressurection
Ruffians - Desert of Tears
Saxon - Strong Arm of The Law ~ Wheels of Steel
Sentawr - Eagles And Villains
Shitheadz - Heavy Pounding Gasoline
Syth - Warzone
Tony Iommi - Fused
Twisted Tower Dire - Crest Of The Martyrs
Tygers of Pan Tang - The Cage
Unchosen - Precautionary Evolution
Venom - Welcome To Hell ~ Black Metal
Wytchfynde - Give em Hell
Doom metalDoom metal was arguably the first form of metal, as although
Black Sabbath's
general sound was that of heavy metal, their self titled debut had an
unmistakable doom aura, other early bands such as
Pentagram also
exhibited these same characteristics in the 1970's. The epitome of doom metal is
slow, forboding and depressing, expressed sonically by painfully slow and heavy
riffs. Vocals can range from very deep growls, tortured shreiks, to clean
singing. Drumming is generally slow and simplistic, but powerful and makes good
use of rolls and fills to create a hypnotic effect.
Doom is also a fairly diverse genre, with several main categories. These include
funeral, drone and doomdeath. Typically funeral doom is incredibly slow paced,
with very long songs. Vocals are growled or shreiked, with guitars often heavily
detuned. Drone doom is similar, but the effect in mind is usually to create a
hypnotic atmosphere, this usually means that vocals are dispensed with
altogether, in some cases like the band
Sunn0))), all instruments are
removed apart from massively downtuned guitars. Doomdeath is a slightly more
fast paced variety of doom, with emphasis on minor key melodies rather than low
tempo in creating a melancholy atmosphere.
Good starting pointsAlbums
Anathema - The Silent Enigma
November's Doom - The Pale Haunt Departure
Reverand Bizarre - II:Crush the Insects
Katatonia - Brave Murder Day
Songs
My Dying Bride - The Cry Of Mankind
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Candlemass - The Well of Souls
Paradise Lost - Forever Failure
Essential albumsBlack Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Pentagram - Pentagram
Pantheist - Amartia
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
Paradise Lost - Gothic
Thergothon - Stream From the Heavens
Skepticism - Lead and Aether
Wormphlegm - In An Excruciating Way...
My Dying Bride - Like Gods of the Sun
Tyranny - Tides of Awakening
General Recommendations1000 Funerals - Portrait of a Dream
Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea
Amaranthine Trampler - ...As The Colour Of Love Flows From My Shattered Teeth
Asunder - A Clarion Call
Autumnal - Grey Universe
Before The Coruscating Apollyon - Demo
Beprasmybe - Banalybe
Beyond Black Void - Desolate
Black Boned Angel - Bliss And Void Inseparable
Black Shape of Nexus - 2006 demo
Boris - Absolutego
Bosque - Dead Nature
Bunkur - Bludgeon
Candlemass - Nightfall
Cathedral - Forest of Equilibrium ~ In Memorium EP
Celestial Season - Forever Scarlet Passion
Centurions Ghost - A Sign Of Things To Come
Comatose Vigil - Not a Gleam of Hope
Consummatum Est - Funeral Procession
Daylight Dies - Dismantling Devotion
diSEMBOWELMENT - Transcendence Into The Peripheral
Doomshine - Thy Kingdom Come
Draconian - Arcane Rain Fell
Dream Death - Journey into Mystery
Earth - HEX: Or Printing in the Infernal Method
Earthride - Vampire Circus
Esoteric - Subconscious Dissolution Into The Continuum
Evoken - Quietus
Fall Of Empyrean - A Darkness Remembered
The Funeral Orchestra - Feeding The Abyss
The Gates of Slumber - Suffer no Guilt
Grave Flowers - Incarcerated Sorrows
Lacrymae Rerum - Voices Through The Black Corridor
Loss - Life Without Hope ~ Death Without Reason
Men In Search of The Perfect Weapon - S/t
Monarch - S/t
Monolithe - II
Morgion - Solinari
Morkheim - Danske Hymner Til Moerket
Moss - Cthonic Rites
Mournful Congregation - The Monad Of Creation
My Dying Bride - Angel and the Dark River
Night Must Fall - Night Must Fall ~ Funeral of Mankind
Nortt - Gudsforladt
The Obsessed - Lunar Womb
October Tide - Rain Without End
Ox - Movements
Pagan Altar - S/T
Paradise Lost - Draconian Times
Pentagram - First Daze Here
Red Sparrowes - At The Soundless Dawn
Remembrance - Frail Visions
Reverend Bizarre - In the Rectory of the Bizare Reverend
Rigor Sardonicous - Risus Ex Mortuus
Saint Vitus - Born too Late
Saturnus - Paradise Belongs To You
Shape of Despair - Shades of...
Solarfall - In Depths And Despair EP
Solitude Aeturnus - Beyond the Crimson Horizon
Stabat Mater - 2004 Promo/Demo
Sunn0))) - 00Void
Swallow the Sun - The Morning Never Came
Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine - Rampton
Thergothon - Streams From The Heavens
Therion - Lepaca Kliffoth
Thorr's Hammer - Dommedagsnatt
Through The Valley - Via Crucis Part I ~ A Pale Vision of Suffering
Trouble - The Skull ~ Psalm 9
Tusks of Blood - Spirit of Decay
Tyranny - Bleak Vistae
Unholy - The Second Ring Of Power
Unsilence - Echoes Awaken
Voice Transmissions With The Deceased - Bereavement
Warning - The Strength to Dream
While Heaven Wept - Of Empires Forlorn
Winter - Into Darkness
Witchfinder General - Death Penalty
Witchcraft - S/T
Wolfmangler - The Gates of Wolves
Worship - Last Vinyl Before Doomsday
Wreck Of The Hesperus - Eulogy For Sewer Dwellers
Yearning - Evershade
. - IHI ~ FaceSitDown
Grindcore
The genre was pioneered during the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom by bands such
as
Napalm Death and
Sore Throat, the name "grindcore" having
actually being coined by
Napalm Death's drummer Mick Harris, though its
roots are in American hardcore punk and hardcore punk influenced heavy metal
bands, such as Siege,
D.R.I.,
Deep Wound, and
Repulsion.
Early grind bands such as
Napalm Death and
Extreme Noise Terror wrote lyrics dealing with social and political themes, in line with American
hardcore bands at the time, however lyrics dealing with gore and violence became
a mainstay in grindcore after
Carcass released
Reek of Putrefaction in 1988, with lyrics lifted out of medical dictionaries and surgery reports.
Grindcore lyrics can typically involve pornography, murder, surgery, and even
unintelligible nonsense as lyrics, with some bands not publishing any lyrics at
all.
Sonically, Grindcore generally has more of an emphasis on noise and or speed
rather than musicianship. Songs are often blurs of noise around one minute in
length, guitar solos are rare, and riffs are simple downtuned progressions
played at high speed. Vocals often vary between a death metal style growl and a
high pitched screech, sometimes in quick succession. Drumming on the whole is
incredibly fast, with some modern bands like
Agoraphobic Nosebleed opting
for a drum machine rather than a human drummer, such bands are of
