@nickhead said:
I couldn't resist. I don't spend a ton of time on the forums here, but any opportunity to introduce someone to some different forms of metal is great. I'm curious what black metal bands you tried out? I agree it is a very dense genre, with a ton of variation which you may not be aware.
Also, Death the band, is a great start. Truly one of the best of all time. As for Gorguts, Colored Sands was an incredible comeback, because honestly, their older work is just average to me. I like that Luc Lemay took that band in more of an experimental direction.
Uh... jumping between threads, I'll just second all these. Check out Death's Live in LA show to really appreciate their later stuff. Colored Sands was/is fantastic, as well. I know Ulcerate takes a lot of inspiration from Gorguts, show check out some of their stuff. Just... it's got an incredibly oppressive atmosphere that takes a while to appreciate. But it's worth it.
Here's some more extreme metal info. Since death metal can get into so many crazy subcategories and you'd like a better understanding.
One of my favorite bands is Opeth. They've transitioned from metal into prog in recent years, but they've put out a truly stellar body of work (and I'll argue that they're still thriving). Death metal, folk acoustic passages, progressive structures... they've got it all. I guess Enslaved is a comparison, but more on the black metal side. And for blackened death, how about some Dissection?
For melodic death, you'll want to start with early In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and At the Gates. Dark Tranquillity put out one of my favorite metal albums of all time with 2005's Character.
On the more brutal side, Decapitated is still my go-to band. And Atheist is, in my opinion, required listening. Early Entombed, too (Left Hand Path and Clandestine is what you need).
One of my favorite death/prog metal albums in recent times is Portal of I by Ne Obliviscaris. Occasionally pretentious, but it's such a deep, complex album that keeps me coming back.
Ihsahn (former frontman of black metal icons Emperor) has put out some great albums. AngL being my favorite.
And for the hell of it, check out Anciients. Just an awesome mix of different metal styles.
And this song by Vektor is bad ass.
And don't forget Cynic!
Hopefully that helps you on your metal path a little. I've been a guitarist for over a dozen years and ended up getting pretty deep into metal. It just sort of sucks you in.
But the key to appreciating music is spreading out into new territories, and you have a nice, varied mix. Metal CD's make up maybe 10% of my collection. So when I get back to it, the impact is that much more profound :D
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