[Music Alchemist]

If you're into death metal, thrash metal, melodeath, or all of the above, you're sure to love this album.
 

 

[emptymt]

  If you're into death metal, thrash metal, melodeath, or all of the above, you're sure to love this album.
 

remind me a bit of At The Gates for some reason

 

[Music Alchemist]

  remind me a bit of At The Gates for some reason

 
I'm assuming you're already familiar with these bands with members from At The Gates:
 
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/The_Haunted/85
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Nightrage/4431
 
And here are some bands with members from In Flames:
 
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ceremonial_Oath/1263
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Dimension_Zero/243
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Gardenian/675
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/The_Resistance/3540358780
 
(There are many others. These are just a notable selection.)

 

[ColonelBucket8]

 

[Music Alchemist]

 
God, I love Meshuggah.
 
So did you hear the new Evergrey? I thought people other than me would be talking about it since it's been out for a week now.

 

[ColonelBucket8]

   
God, I love Meshuggah.
 
So did you hear the new Evergrey? I thought people other than me would be talking about it since it's been out for a week now.

Not yet. How is it? Good enough to be top 10 this year on your list?

 

[HirschiAUT]

Anybody heard the new Monkey3 song?
 

 
 
To me, mostly in the first minute or so, it sounds a LOT like this song from OM:
 

 
 
Especially the bassline and drums, am i imagening things or do you guys also hear that similarity?
 
ps: not saying the song is bad, but to me its a little too similar to be a coincidence...

 

[ColonelBucket8]

 

[520RanchBro]

   
Huh? Read the link. I was referring to the musical elements that make Viking metal unique enough to be considered a musical style. The lyrics and themes have no bearing on the musical style. There's no such thing as pagan metal and Christian metal in a stylistic sense, because those ideologies are completely separate from any musical style.
 
And obviously I recognize black metal and death metal. Any metalhead does, and I hope you didn't think I somehow stopped recognizing them even though I talk about them all the time...

 
Ha no I'm just saying because you personally don't believe a distinction is necessary doesn't mean it's irrelevant. I would never accuse you of abandoning the holy principle of knowing your metal sub-genres, every good metalhead knows their sub-genres 

 
I'm just saying, I can say "I don't believe in couches! They are just big chairs, no one should call them couches!" Still doesn't mean couches don't exist.
 
Obviously plenty of folks feel that within Pagan Metal there is enough of a distinction to give it it's own genre. Do I get it? Hardly, but then again Viking metal just sounds like a subset of melodeath to me. Some folks just like being super precise with categorizing things.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Not yet. How is it? Good enough to be top 10 this year on your list?

 
You've probably seen my posts about how I barely keep up with new music and spend most of my time listening to my existing collection, so if something makes my top ten for the year, it doesn't mean much. Being an Evergrey fan, I enjoyed the album, more than many of their other ones, and was even emotionally moved at times, but I feel that they focused a bit too much on ballad-style songs. The harder-hitting moments are few and far between.
 

  Ha no I'm just saying because you personally don't believe a distinction is necessary doesn't mean it's irrelevant. I would never accuse you of abandoning the holy principle of knowing your metal sub-genres, every good metalhead knows their sub-genres 

 
I'm just saying, I can say "I don't believe in couches! They are just big chairs, no one should call them couches!" Still doesn't mean couches don't exist.
 
Obviously plenty of folks feel that within Pagan Metal there is enough of a distinction to give it it's own genre. Do I get it? Hardly, but then again Viking metal just sounds like a subset of melodeath to me. Some folks just like being super precise with categorizing things.

 
That's what I'm curious about: What is musically unique enough about pagan metal for it to be distinct from folk metal?
 
The interesting thing is that Wikipedia link describes Viking metal as being closer to black metal than death metal, at least originally.
 
But this list is just comical. The bands are way too diverse and cover most metal genres.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Viking_metal_bands

 

[metalsonata]

 
That's what I'm curious about: What is musically unique enough about pagan metal for it to be distinct from folk metal?
 

I'm not sure that there is much of a distinction, but to my understanding it has to do with folk metal = a heavy fusion of folk music with black/symphonic/power metal and clearer production and pagan metal = black metal with melodic folk instrumentation and generally rawer recording and a colder atmosphere. Therefore, people who make this distinction would probably place bands like Agalloch, Primordial, Moonsorrow, and Empyrium under folk metal and bands like early Ulver, Drudkh, and Winterfylleth under pagan metal. There is certainly a good deal of overlap between the two, and the distinction, to my ears, isn't always readily apparent. 
 
Edit: Something that occurs to me after re-reading what I wrote above is that pagan metal is a sub-genre of black metal, whereas folk metal is not necessarily, though it is often paired with a blackened sound in my experience. This is just how I understand it--not saying I really make the distinction myself in my own music library.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I'm not sure that there is much of a distinction, but to my understanding it has to do with folk metal = a heavy fusion of folk music with black/symphonic/power metal and clearer production and pagan metal = black metal with melodic folk instrumentation and generally rawer recording and a colder atmosphere. Therefore, people who make this distinction would probably place bands like Agalloch, Primordial, Moonsorrow, and Empyrium under folk metal and bands like early Ulver, Drudkh, and Winterfylleth under pagan metal. There is certainly a good deal of overlap between the two, and the distinction, to my ears, isn't always readily apparent. 
 
Edit: Something that occurs to me after re-reading what I wrote above is that pagan metal is a sub-genre of black metal, whereas folk metal is not necessarily, though it is often paired with a blackened sound in my experience. This is just how I understand it--not saying I really make the distinction myself in my own music library.

 
Wikipedia disagrees.

 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_metal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagan_metal

 

[ColonelBucket8]

   
You've probably seen my posts about how I barely keep up with new music and spend most of my time listening to my existing collection, so if something makes my top ten for the year, it doesn't mean much. Being an Evergrey fan, I enjoyed the album, more than many of their other ones, and was even emotionally moved at times, but I feel that they focused a bit too much on ballad-style songs. The harder-hitting moments are few and far between.
 
 

Finally, I have listened to it once. First impression, most of the songs are more to the soft side. A little bit of heaviness here and there. I wish there is more of it. This is my first album to listen to from Evergrey. Need to give a few spins

 

[ColonelBucket8]

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Finally, I have listened to it once. First impression, most of the songs are more to the soft side. A little bit of heaviness here and there. I wish there is more of it. This is my first album to listen to from Evergrey. Need to give a few spins

 
Oh, that's a bad album to start with. Now you see what I meant about too many ballads. Should've started with the ones I recommended, 'cause they're way better.