[ZeNmAc]

I've mostly been listening to rock/alternative, but I'm starting to lose interest especially after getting a few Dream Theater albums. After listening to that, most rock seems simple, shallow, and formulaic. I've been searching on here for more metal, but I don't really like the constantly screaming/growling lyrics (but love everything else about it). Its hard to find anything between growling and ultra high-pitched singing in metal bands (occasional growling/screaming is fine, it just gets annoying all the time. IMO ITS LIKE TYPING WITH CAPSLOCK ON, YOU CAN'T TELL WHEN I'M EMPHASIZING ANYTHING UNLESS I SSSSSTTTTRREEETTCCCCHH THE WORD OUT LONGER. IF I YELL ALL THE TIME HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN I'M REALLY MAD? At least that's my first impression).

Any suggestions?

I've heard some Dream Theater, Kamelot, and some Megadeth, and liked them but I'm having a hard time finding more music like that (even kamelot and megadeth border on annoying lyrics at times).

I can't think of a good way to put it, but basically I want music from more talented bands, or music that takes skill to play so feel free to suggest other genres (like classic rock, or even more rock/alternative). I also listened to some Joe Satriani recently and liked that as well.

I'd even consider classical/soundtrack. I occasionally listen to soundtracks. (Lots of the most famous classical pieces I've heard to death and give me a headache to listen to, but I'd be willing to give it another try).

Thanks for helping!

 

[uraflit]

i'm really bad at identifying music genres, but i, like you, search for new music all the time! sorry if my suggestions sound a bit poppy. here it goes:

- coheed and cambria (i liked Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness)
- journey (more classical, but had to put it here)
- battles
- porcupine tree
- marilyn manson (lol)

 

[hughwi]

Just like uraflit, I dont tend to organise my music by genres, I just enjoy what sounds good!

I would suggest that you check out a couple of the following (if you haven't already):

Towards the Metal end:

Monster Magnet
Black Sabbath

Towards the Rock/Blues/Grunge End:

Govt Mule
The Black Keys
Radio Moscow
Alice in Chains

Hope this helps, let us know a little more about what you have already heard and not enjoyed and we might get a little closer to your "sound".

 

[SoupRKnowva]

pretty much youre looking for progressive metal, i would check out Animals as Leaders if i were you. They dont even have vocals at all, but the guitarist is pretty much brilliant. Also check out Protest the Hero, technical guitar, though the vox might be a bit too much, but its worth investigating, check out the song Sequioa Throne. Or maybe Avenged Sevenfold, their guitarists are pretty amazing as well, check out their song Afterlife, the solo for that one is bonkers.

im running out of steam since you dont want screamy vocals though. And many of the above suggestions are very good, particularly porcupine tree and coheed and cambria.

 

[Handberg]

Nightwish - Finnish heavy band with classically trained opera singer as lead vocal. you'll either love it or hate it. (the operasinger quit a few years ago, don't know if they made any albums after that?) I'd recommend the following albums: The carpenter, Angels falls first, bless the child and wishmaster

Jeff Healey - old school rock/blues. Blind lead guitarist/singer with some really nice and clean guitar riffs. I'd recommend the jeff healey - the best of jeff healey band (2001) as starter album.

The two Slash's snakepit albums are also worth listening to. (If you like dream theater, you might like this as well). Velvet revolver might also be a candidate. (Both Slash bands)

Then there are the old school heavy (my favorite, they just don't make heavy as they did in the 70's early 80) - Judas Priests - British Steel, Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath, and Black Sabbath - Paranoid, Ozzy Osborne - Blizzard of oz, Ozzy Osborne - Diary of a mad man, Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden, Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast, Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV, Van Halen - Van Halen II

There's also a danish band called Volbeat - Elvis Presley/Country meets heavy. Especially the vocal is very interesting (Not a screamer!) I'd recommend the album - Rock the Rebel

I hope you'll like some of it, if you haven't listened to it before.

 

[agentgreen]

I'd recommend some Opeth. There is some growling in there, but not throughout the entire song. Progressive metal.

Maybe some Riverside. Progressive Rock/Heavy Rock.

Or some Karnivool. A lighter version of Tool.

Ancestors - Neptune with Fire is a pretty great album too. Stoner Rock.

Porcupine Tree - In Absentia. Progressive rock, these guys kick a**.

 

[Lex2]

Some more old school
heavy that you may want to try: Dio, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Uriah Heep, and Blue Oyster Cult.

 

[Brandon7s]

Dredg - El Cielo

That's my recommendation. Complex rock with a jazz undertones, and some eastern ones as well. It's not really like anything I've never heard before, so I can't compare it to anything else directly, but I think you'd like it.

 

[radiohlite]

yes, Porcupine Tree are awesome. I just started listening to them, and I'm blown away.

Opeth really turned me off with the growling...but the music is astoundingly imaginative.

Mastodon is a bit more tame with the vocals, and again, really creative.

The Accused: a scarier, faster version of Slayer. addictive
Anthrax: more on the punk side of thrash than Metallica and Megadeth, no growling here.
Pantera: brutal and elegant. Slightly growly, but the guy is genuinely pissed!

are you mostly trying to find metal-type bands? I listen mainly to alternative/indie/punk, but I really look for bands in those genres that, as you described "have skill'. I come from a classical music background, so I'm a bit picky in rock. If so, I suggest:

Radiohead: They're the equivalent of modern classical music scored for 'rock band'. Staggeringly rich and complex, layered, and brilliant. The early albums are mostly guitars (3)/effects sprinkled with electronics, later ones are about 50/50 with electronics (but what density of sound!). My favorite band on the planet.

Sonic Youth: It's like punk mixed with minimalism and prog, expanded song structures, weird tunings, drones, lots of feedback, textured and otherwordly harmonies. Very good stuff.

Talking Heads -Remain in Light: very powerful, those rhythms seem to find their way directly into the nervous system. endlessly interesting, with guitars crisscrossing, bass blurts dotting all over the place, drums and congas and endless taps here and there, the 'singer' yelping non sequiturs, and the solo guitar spitting alien computer fire all over the place. not sure what else to say. i know: it's like your favorite new wave band got abducted by E.T.s and then dropped in Africa where they absorbed the local music and then tried to make a record of all they'd learned.

Sleater-Kinney: 3 chicks (2 guitars and drummer. both guitarists share vocals) that play and sing as if their life depended on it. Their sound is like an abstraction of the 'rock' formula, with the rhythms irregular and alternating, the guitar lines slinking subversively, but somehow very catchy and memorable at the same time. My second favorite band ever.

Bad Brains: The ultimate hardcore band. Sounds like sped-up funk/jazz/punk with incredible momentum and guitar solos, the drummer is insane with multiple things going on at the same time, and the band as a whole has superhuman ensemble. Check out their live album called Black Dots.

Big Black: Post-Hardcore with a drum machine and humongous guitars that seem to want to annihilate anything in their path. Sort of simplistic, but the riffs are incredibly powerful and lock perfectly with the rest of the music. Proto-Industrial, but better than the latter IMO.

Fugazi: Punk filtered through dub/reggae/etc. Some very insistent, circular rhythms coupled to melodic guitars. Sort of like Green Day/Emo, but of quality.

Gang of Four: Jimi Hendrix inspired guitar burst/leads meet disco beats and funk basslines. Infectious, political, punk.

Husker Du: someone described them "like garbage trucks triyng to sing Beach Boys tunes".

Here are some others: Pixies, The Dismemberment Plan, The Jesus Lizard, Slint, Television.

 

[ZeNmAc]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I just picked up an opeth album (blackwater park) at FYE. It is a little harder than I'm used to (more growling) but I think I'm starting to enjoy it more. The first time I listened to it, I was surprised the first time they sang because they went from a deep growl to really clean vocals. Lol it didn't even sound like the same vocalists. I just ordered Crack the Skye and another dream theater and kamelot album (I don't actually own any kamelot yet

).

Thanks again, I'll look into more of those bands. I have a lot to listen through now

.

 

[TheWuss]

sounds like you might dig power metal.
try:
blind guardian
iced earth
baroness

 

[scytheavatar]

After Opeth I highly recommend that you get Death - Symbolic and Immortal - At the Heart of Winter. These 2 albums are probably the most accessible extreme metal albums out there. And if you like Dream Theater I highly recommend that you check out Symphony X too.

 

[Commanderloochy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by radiohlite /img/forum/go_quote.gif yes, Porcupine Tree are awesome. I just started listening to them, and I'm blown away. Opeth really turned me off with the growling...but the music is astoundingly imaginative. Mastodon is a bit more tame with the vocals, and again, really creative. The Accused: a scarier, faster version of Slayer. addictive Anthrax: more on the punk side of thrash than Metallica and Megadeth, no growling here. Pantera: brutal and elegant. Slightly growly, but the guy is genuinely pissed! are you mostly trying to find metal-type bands? I listen mainly to alternative/indie/punk, but I really look for bands in those genres that, as you described "have skill'. I come from a classical music background, so I'm a bit picky in rock. If so, I suggest: Radiohead: They're the equivalent of modern classical music scored for 'rock band'. Staggeringly rich and complex, layered, and brilliant. The early albums are mostly guitars (3)/effects sprinkled with electronics, later ones are about 50/50 with electronics (but what density of sound!). My favorite band on the planet. Sonic Youth: It's like punk mixed with minimalism and prog, expanded song structures, weird tunings, drones, lots of feedback, textured and otherwordly harmonies. Very good stuff. Talking Heads -Remain in Light: very powerful, those rhythms seem to find their way directly into the nervous system. endlessly interesting, with guitars crisscrossing, bass blurts dotting all over the place, drums and congas and endless taps here and there, the 'singer' yelping non sequiturs, and the solo guitar spitting alien computer fire all over the place. not sure what else to say. i know: it's like your favorite new wave band got abducted by E.T.s and then dropped in Africa where they absorbed the local music and then tried to make a record of all they'd learned. Sleater-Kinney: 3 chicks (2 guitars and drummer. both guitarists share vocals) that play and sing as if their life depended on it. Their sound is like an abstraction of the 'rock' formula, with the rhythms irregular and alternating, the guitar lines slinking subversively, but somehow very catchy and memorable at the same time. My second favorite band ever. Bad Brains: The ultimate hardcore band. Sounds like sped-up funk/jazz/punk with incredible momentum and guitar solos, the drummer is insane with multiple things going on at the same time, and the band as a whole has superhuman ensemble. Check out their live album called Black Dots. Big Black: Post-Hardcore with a drum machine and humongous guitars that seem to want to annihilate anything in their path. Sort of simplistic, but the riffs are incredibly powerful and lock perfectly with the rest of the music. Proto-Industrial, but better than the latter IMO. Fugazi: Punk filtered through dub/reggae/etc. Some very insistent, circular rhythms coupled to melodic guitars. Sort of like Green Day/Emo, but of quality. Gang of Four: Jimi Hendrix inspired guitar burst/leads meet disco beats and funk basslines. Infectious, political, punk. Husker Du: someone described them "like garbage trucks triyng to sing Beach Boys tunes". Here are some others: Pixies, The Dismemberment Plan, The Jesus Lizard, Slint, Television.

You just reccomended almost every single band i was going to mention. OP you might want to check out some math-rock stuff, like Don Caballero. If you're unfamilar with the genre, it's basically instrumental rock with odd time signatures and it gets very technical/progressive at times. It's definitely "impressive" music, even if you don't enjoy it.

 

[GreyArea]

If you fancy something a bit more modern than say, LedZep and Megadeath but still quite hardcore you could look at:

Queens of the Stone Age
Rage Against The Machine
Billy Talent

If you fancy something a bit different (but still hardcore):
Mars Volta
At The Drive In
The Fall of Troy (My Fav Band at the Mo)
Tool
Death From Above 1979

If you fancy something really different but still influenced by metal:
Justice (Phantom ptII)

Also, I try to never stick my nose up at anything. Don't knock it til' you've tried it.

 

[GreyArea]

Oh, can you guys get spotify in the States?
If you can it'll change your life. I'm not even joking.
The streaming quality is only 128k at best but for finding new music it's the best thing since Radio.
I browse spotify until I find an album I like, then I buy the CD, rip it to FLAC and listen to it properly