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I'm vaguely interested in metal but I don't really know where to start

#1 bro

#1 bro

FEELING GREAT, FEELING GOOD, HOW ARE YOU?
(see thread title)

since it seems that half the people at this forum are metalheads, it seemed like here would be a nice place to ask. I kind of like some metal songs I've heard, but there are so many metal bands, and no band really stands out to listen to first. And furthermore, so much of it is so similar...

Er, but I wouldn't say I'm interested in all metal. I definitely don't like the really brutal stuff (e.g. Cannibal Corpse) and I'm not a huge fan of the growling vocal style. I know that metal is an incredibly diverse genre with more subgenres than there are actual bands and so I can't possibly try to comprehend the difference between all the different varieties, but I'm about to try...

I think I like power metal, progressive metal, gothic metal, and symphonic metal. Also, I heard this folk metal song (called Trollhammerin or somethng) once and it was pretty cool.

The only metal I actually have on my hard drive right now is two albums by Dream Theater (which are pretty good) and Opeth's Damnation (which is awesome, but not quite metal...) I also really like Porcupine Tree. Even though they aren't metal, that may give you an accurate estimate of what I like? Maybe not...


anyway, my middle finger on my right hand really hurts, so I'm just going to go ahead and post this now... hope it's enough information for you to help me out.
 
Ooh, well, metal is a tricky genre to like. I recommend you get started on more proggy and regular metal things first, and then move your way onwards into the different metal genres.

Ergo, start at the roots, and listen to the classics: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple etc. Then move onto Metallica and Slayer.

If you enjoy prog and power metal, check out Opeth's Blackwater Park (that's their best), DT was mentioned, and then you have so many options.

Here's just a few bands:

Pain of Salvation
Anathema
Katatonia
Helloween
Blind Guardian
Iced Earth
Nightwish
Sonata Arctica
Kamelot
Symphony X

There's many more I could mention, but these are just to name a few. I like a lot of esoteric stuff as well, so you may want to try Neurosis for example. If you need any specifics on albums, just PM me or Retsu (if you are into the symphonic female stuff, which is alright, but I'm a bit saturated with it).

Currently listening to Summoning actually which is damn awesome.
 
Right now you're in the lighter end of the spectrum (power, symphonic, gothic) which is also where my tastes are. While I would like to say "there aren't any other ways to go except heavier," in reality none of that stuff is very atmospheric. I'm not nearly as fluent in metalhead as Altmer is, but I'd definitely recommend some of the more progressive metal acts all over the place.

Stream of Passion, The Gathering, Anathema, Katatonia, Kamelot, and (gasp) Tristania are all wonderful places to start. I was never able to just jump from one metal subgenre to another - I had to let the bands lead me into them. It went from Evanescence (alternative rock) to Within Temptation and Nightwish (symphonic metal) to Epica (symphonic gothic metal) to Tristania (gothic metal) to other bands like Draconian (gothic/doom metal)... see what I mean? :P

ETA: Stay away from Sonata Arctica if you value your sanity.
 
Here's a list, I guess. I'll try not to name bands already mentioned.

Power: Falconer, Angra, Galneryus (pretty decent j-metal)
Folk: Falconer, Ensiferum, Elvenking, Tyr
Trad. (Maiden, Judas Priest): 3 Inches of Blood
Melodeath: Amon Amarth, Ensiferum, The Black Dahlia Murder
Death: Vital Remains (Dechristianized mostly; Icons of Evil is alright),
Melodic/symphonic black: Graveworm
Black: Immortal
Doom: The Sword
Prog.: Unexpect (thanks Furret)

wow my music collection is bare. I need moar!
 
Unexpect is great but seriously hard to get into. Unexpect is so radically jarring, avant-garde and weird I wouldn't recommend it unless you are a huge fan of bands such as Mr. Bungle, Dog Fashion Disco, Dillinger Escape Plan, and such.

To be honest I don't like folk metal that much, especially the overly flutey stuff, it's too bromantic and gay for my tastes; I prefer folk in my black metal rather than power or death metal.

Another thing: do you like hardcore-punk style shouted vocals or death growls? If not, I really recommend you start with Maiden, Priest, and power metal because it takes an age to get used to them (I am now, but you work your way through genres generally).

Then you can slowly ease into that vocal style without getting annoyed. The only band I like that is prog enough and has growls to be good is Opeth, so.

Also for doom, Candlemass is a must.
 
Like Watershed said, you can first roll with the classics and see what happens.

Go with either old Sabbath/Maiden stuff then see where that takes you.

I highly suggest Exodus, Metallica (sans Black album to St. Anger) and probably Iced Earth (The Glorious Burden is good).
 
going to mention a few albums you should hear as a start to get into the genre more

Sonata Arctica - Ecliptica, Reckoning Night
Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane
Iron Maiden - Powerslave, Brave New World, The Number Of The Beast, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory, Images And Words, Octavarium, Train Of Thought
Kamelot - The Black Halo
Opeth - Blackwater Park (it has growls in it, but this was, for me at least, the key album to get used to growls; on first listen I was annoyed by the growls, but when I decided to give it a 2nd chance, I was no longer bothered by the growls at all and was amazed by the entire album, and from there on could get into any band with growls)
Symphony X - Paradise Lost
Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
 
Recommended albums by subgenre: (I don't own all these albums, but I've listened to many of the songs off these albums on Youtube.)

Heavy metal:

Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Motorhead - Ace of Spades
Deep Purple - Machine Head
AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Iron Maiden - Killers
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil
Judas Priest - Painkiller
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
Scorpions - Love at First Sting

Thrash metal:
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Megadeth - Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?
Anthrax - Fistful of Metal
Testament - Souls of Black
Metallica - Death Magnetic
Metallica - Load
Megadeth - United Abominations
Testament - Demonic
Iced Earth - Iced Earth
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss

Power metal:
DragonForce - Inhuman Rampage
Blind Guardian - Tales from the Twilight World
Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth
DragonForce - Ultra Beatdown
Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys, Parts 1 and 2
Sonata Arctica - Winterheart's Guild

Death metal:
Morbid Angel - Blessed are the Sick
Children of Bodom - Are You Dead Yet
Morbid Angel - Heretic
Dethklok - The Dethalbum
Cannibal Corpse - Gallery of Suicide
In Flames - Clayman
In Flames - Come Clarity
Cannibal Corpse - Vile

I'll edit in more another time.
 
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Grimdour The Desecrater said:
Like Watershed said, you can first roll with the classics and see what happens.

Go with either old Sabbath/Maiden stuff then see where that takes you.

I highly suggest Exodus, Metallica (sans Black album to St. Anger) and probably Iced Earth (The Glorious Burden is good).
Click to expand...


Exodus are alright once you get into thrash, but The Glorious Burden is a terrible IE album. Stick with their 90s output. And Horror Show I guess. I'm a fan, so I own everything but the debut (and no official copy of something wicked) but meh.

Recommended albums by subgenre:

Heavy metal:

Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Motorhead - Ace of Spades
Deep Purple - Machine Head
AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap AC/DC is overrated
Iron Maiden - Killers (this album is ok but it has no Dickinson therefore inferior)
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil Terrible band
Judas Priest - Painkiller
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
Scorpions - Love at First Sting

Thrash metal:
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Megadeth - Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? Two good songs: Rust in Peace is better, though this isn't too bad to get into the genre
Anthrax - Fistful of Metal (not heard this one but Among the Living is their best)
Testament - Souls of Black
Metallica - Death Magnetic (listen to Justice for all instead)
Metallica - Load (FUCKING SKIP THIS ONE UNLESS YOU'RE AN IDIOT)
Megadeth - United Abominations (listen to RIP or Countdown to Extinction instead)
Testament - Demonic
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
Click to expand...

Bolded ones I recommend, ones in italic I would hold off on. Also for Slayer, South of Heaven is essential listening.

Squarewalkers recs are good.
 
Yeah, for thrash, pretty much get everything by Megadeth. I don't know, I'm kind of obsessed with them. Mustaine is an arrogant faggot but he's pretty good at writing music so whatever. Countdown to Extinction, Rust in Peace, maybe Peace Sells but it's all up to personal taste.
 
I recommend Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, and While Heaven Wept for epic doom, but there isn't much I can say that wouldn't be redundant.

If you want to get into growls, I suggest Shape of Despair (particularly Angels of Distress) and Swallow the Sun, that's how I got into them.

I love Acid Bath, try them, they're mostly sludge but are kind of a mix.
 
Here's the full list.

Heavy metal:
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Motorhead - Ace of Spades
Deep Purple - Machine Head
AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Iron Maiden - Killers
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil
Judas Priest - Painkiller
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
Scorpions - Love at First Sting
Priestess - Hello Master
Dio - Holy Diver
Loudness - On the Prowl
Skid Row - Slave to the Grind
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon

Thrash metal:
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Megadeth - Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?
Anthrax - Fistful of Metal
Testament - Souls of Black
Metallica - Death Magnetic
Metallica - Load
Megadeth - United Abominations
Testament - Demonic
Iced Earth - Iced Earth
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss

Power metal:
DragonForce - Inhuman Rampage
Blind Guardian - Tales from the Twilight World
Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth
DragonForce - Ultra Beatdown
Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys, Parts 1 and 2
Sonata Arctica - Winterheart's Guild
X Japan - Art of Life
X Japan - Blue Blood

Death metal:
Morbid Angel - Blessed are the Sick
Children of Bodom - Are You Dead Yet
Morbid Angel - Heretic
Dethklok - The Dethalbum
Cannibal Corpse - Gallery of Suicide
In Flames - Clayman
In Flames - Come Clarity
Cannibal Corpse - Vile
Nile - In Their Darkened Shrines
Children of Bodom - Blooddrunk

Now, on to three often-derided subgenres of metal: metalcore, glam metal, and nu-metal. (A lot of you, look away now.)

Metalcore:
All That Remains - The Fall of Ideals
Avenged Sevenfold - Sounding the Seventh Trumpet
Killswitch Engage - Alive or Just Breathing
All That Remains - Overcome
Bullet for My Valentine - Scream Aim Fire

Glam metal:
Poison - Look What the Cat Dragged In
Winger - Winger
Poison - Open Up and Say... Ahh!
Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
Poison - Flesh & Blood

Nu-metal:
Disturbed - The Sickness
Slipknot - Slipknot
Disturbed - Ten Thousand Fists
Disturbed - Indestructible
Slipknot - The Subliminal Verses
Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone

(yes, Disturbed and Slipknot are the only somewhat-decent nu-metal bands, at least in my opinion)
 
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Power metal:
DragonForce - Inhuman Rampage Ignore this band until later.
Blind Guardian - Tales from the Twilight World
Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth These two, and Imaginations from the Other Side as well.
DragonForce - Ultra Beatdown (terrible)
Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes (excellent album: burnt offerings is better)
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys, Parts 1 and 2
Sonata Arctica - Winterheart's Guild (listen to other SA albums that squarewalker mentioned first)
X Japan - Art of Life
X Japan - Blue Blood

Death metal:
Morbid Angel - Blessed are the Sick
Children of Bodom - Are You Dead Yet (this isn't death metal, not even fucking close. follow the reaper is better)
Morbid Angel - Heretic
Dethklok - The Dethalbum
Cannibal Corpse - Gallery of Suicide (keep this one for later)
In Flames - Clayman
In Flames - Come Clarity
Cannibal Corpse - Vile
Nile - In Their Darkened Shrines (Annihilation of the Wicked is better)
Children of Bodom - Blooddrunk
Click to expand...

Death - Human needs a mention for death metal definitely.
 
Just listen to Motley Crue and be done with it. Glam metal is terrible.

also going to see DragonForce tomorrow :x
 
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