Metal that's not metal!

[Outright Villainy]

I do what I always do when looking for good Metal: Go a little deeper than whatever's on the music channels. I can't stand Disturbed and their Ilk. Of modern metal, by far my favourite bands are Protest the hero and Periphery, though SikTh have been doing similar stuff a few years ago and went criminally unnoticed.

Then of course there's Devin Townsend or Tool who I can always rely on for a masterclass album every time.

I'd second sikth as a truly heavy band, who are both skillful and original. And as always I carry the flag for The Dillinger Escape Plan, who are probably the most intense as well as most skilled performers in the world.

I'm not a huge fan of DEP, but I can certainly respect their talent. Same goes for Meshuggah actually, I never really got into them that much.

That said, I love Dillinger's lighter stuff, and I think Combustion my Meshuggah is just fucking awesome.

 

[MetalPhoenix]

THIS is metal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPKQ-2OgyX8

hell yeah

 

[Rusty Bucket]

You can't scream into a mike for decades at a time.

Try telling Mikael Stanne from Dark Tranquillity that. 21 years and still going strong.

 

[Hiphophippo]

I have a hard time with the idea of Disturbed being metal. It doesn't mesh.

 

[procyonlotor]

I have noticed that bands are starting to suck, though.

It's called "growin-up".

I know, right?

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

I can't say that I've ever liked Disturbed to begin with, so what direction they choose to take things in doesn't really make any difference to me.

With that said, I listen to music because it's good - it doesn't matter how "Metal" something is or whether people perceive a band to be "Metal", I listen to things because I like them. In point of fact, a lot of the metal bands I listen to are intriguing hybrids that would almost certainly fall into the OP's classification of "Metal that's not Metal!" - I've generally found that caring about "how metal" a band is and using that alone as the criteria for determining if you should like them seems to be something Thrash fans concern themselves with more than anyone else; me, I don't even really like Thrash very much.

If worrying about how "Metal" something is means missing out on unique gems like Beyond Twilight [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.206266-Gildans-Guide-to-Good-Music-Beyond-Twilight-Section-X], Guilt Machine [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.188932-Gildans-Guide-to-Good-Music-Guilt-Machine-On-This-Perfect-Day], Katatonia [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.209418-Gildans-Guide-to-Good-Music-Katatonia-Night-Is-The-New-Day], Orphaned Land [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.188243-Gildans-Guide-to-Good-Music-Orphaned-Land-The-Never-Ending-Way-Of-ORwarriOR], Penumbra [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.194210-Gildans-Guide-to-Good-Music-Penumbra-Seclusion], Todesbonden [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.202100-Gildans-Guide-to-Good-Music-Todesbonden-Sleep-Now-Quiet-Forest], and Virgin Black [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.196425-Gildans-Guide-to-Good-Music-Virgin-Black-Requiem-Mezzo-Forte], or sneering at the likes of After Forever [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.212622-Gildans-Guide-to-Good-Music-After-Forever-After-Forever#7191330], Allen/Lande [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.197675-Gildans-Guide-to-Good-Music-Allen-Lande-The-Battle], Octavia Sperati [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.195079-Gildans-Guide-to-Good-Music-Octavia-Sperati-Grace-Submerged], or Within Temptation [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.193866-Gildans-Guide-to-Good-Music-Within-Temptation-The-Heart-Of-Everything] because they "aren't Metal enough", than I say screw that!

 

[DeadFOAM]

In my opinion, Disturbed was never really "metal." If anything, they straddled the line between hard rock and metal. Don't get me wrong, I still loved Asylum, but its not "metal" per se. I don't classify any of the recent slew of -core bands to be metal, but I will leave out my issues with that for another time. If I'm ever in the mood for some tried-and-true metal, just turn on some Pantera.

But if anything bad comes on, I just change the song. It's not worth complaining about.

 

[FinalHeart95]

I do what I always do when looking for good Metal: Go a little deeper than whatever's on the music channels. I can't stand Disturbed and their Ilk. Of modern metal, by far my favourite bands are Protest the hero and Periphery, though SikTh have been doing similar stuff a few years ago and went criminally unnoticed.

Then of course there's Devin Townsend or Tool who I can always rely on for a masterclass album every time.

Protest the Hero? Periphery? SikTh? DEVIN TOWNSEND? TOOL??? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?! Seriously, I love all of those bands/artists, Periphery and Protest the Hero especially.

To me, a lot of bands could be considered metal. Although some of the more prog metal bands can get really soft at times, even prog DEATH metal bands. I love throwing my non-metalhead friends with that stuff. A personal favorite of mine is playing Breathe In, Breathe Out by BTBAM and having it lead into Roboturner... just look up the songs to see what I'm talking about. XD

Ha, the ol' quiet lovely guitar interlude followed by stupidly heavy trick eh?
Man, that metal trope never gets old...
I'm not being sarcastic either, I love that kind of quiet/loud dynamic! Probably why I like the proggier bands who have more of a fusion of styles and moods in every song.

Speaking of which, I assume you like Opeth too? Fucking awesome band, Ghost reveries is one of my favourite albums...

Even better, Roboturner starts with a bloodcurdling scream. It's awesome. And songs that switch between soft and heavy ARE awesome.

Opeth is good, but not my favorite. Only have Blackwater Park, and it's okay.

 

[vanthebaron]

If you like thrash I'm sure you'll love Lazarus AD:
If you want metal that is actually metal, I suggest trying... You know, actual metal... That's just obvious...

\m/ hell yeah

Just to keep the ball rolling and curtail some of your suggestions, here's a list of some of my favorite metal bands:
Metallica
Anthrax
Black Label Society
Death
Megadeth
Slayer
Dope
Psychosocial-(not a huge Slipknot fan, but I love this song)
Dethknok
Pantera
Ozzy
Judas Priest

if I may add Sonata Arcitca, Freedom Call, and X-Japan (early work)

 

[The Stonker]

Agree!

Well not so much with the Metal Bands going soft, but just the general lack of new, good metal bands.

All the new bands seem to be going heavily screamo (which I dislike) or just plain boringly soft.

I predominantly listen to the Old Big Three, Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica.

Kamelot released poetry for the poisoned.
If you say that's not metal then I will personally come to your house and rip your head off and shit down your neck :3 .

But the thing is that I view metal in two categories.
There is "Mainstream metal", then there's "Non-mainstream metal".
These two categories are split like for mainstream metal we have Disturbed.
But for non mainstream then we got bands that aren't generally known in the public for instance I dare you to go out in the public and ask what band Blind guardian is just well to the beach for instance!
So I give you Blind guardian ( new album),Kamelot (new album) and Rhapsody of Fire (New album.)

 

[vanthebaron]

So I give you Blind guardian ( new album),Kamelot (new album) and Rhapsody of Fire (New album.)

i concur

 

[GonzoGamer]

This seems to be happening more and more today; metal bands are going softer.

That's funny because I started feeling that way in the mid-90s after Metallica cut their hair and turned into yuppies.

 

[The Infamous Scamola]

Suffocation

Most of those suck balls.

u mad son?

 

[Outright Villainy]

I do what I always do when looking for good Metal: Go a little deeper than whatever's on the music channels. I can't stand Disturbed and their Ilk. Of modern metal, by far my favourite bands are Protest the hero and Periphery, though SikTh have been doing similar stuff a few years ago and went criminally unnoticed.

Then of course there's Devin Townsend or Tool who I can always rely on for a masterclass album every time.

Protest the Hero? Periphery? SikTh? DEVIN TOWNSEND? TOOL??? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?! Seriously, I love all of those bands/artists, Periphery and Protest the Hero especially.

To me, a lot of bands could be considered metal. Although some of the more prog metal bands can get really soft at times, even prog DEATH metal bands. I love throwing my non-metalhead friends with that stuff. A personal favorite of mine is playing Breathe In, Breathe Out by BTBAM and having it lead into Roboturner... just look up the songs to see what I'm talking about. XD

Ha, the ol' quiet lovely guitar interlude followed by stupidly heavy trick eh?
Man, that metal trope never gets old...
I'm not being sarcastic either, I love that kind of quiet/loud dynamic! Probably why I like the proggier bands who have more of a fusion of styles and moods in every song.

Speaking of which, I assume you like Opeth too? Fucking awesome band, Ghost reveries is one of my favourite albums...

Even better, Roboturner starts with a bloodcurdling scream. It's awesome. And songs that switch between soft and heavy ARE awesome.

Opeth is good, but not my favorite. Only have Blackwater Park, and it's okay.

Yeah, everyone raves about Blackwater park, but I only think it's alright. If you're anything like me you'd way prefer Ghost reveries. It's got a much warmer sound, it suits them way better. Still heavy as fuck, it just feels so much more atmospheric. Like I said, it's one of my favourite albums, but I never listen to Blackwater Park. Go figure.

 

[The Stonker]

So I give you Blind guardian ( new album),Kamelot (new album) and Rhapsody of Fire (New album.)

i concur

Hehe nice to see that I'm not alone :3
I like metal which is blended with clean vocals and growling but I think it's better having REAL singers singing for the band instead of well emo bands.

 

[reg42]

I agree, Disturbed really isn't metal. One band that really threw me was Black Label Society. It's heavy.... But not metal heavy. Still good for getting the ol ears ringing though.

Black Label Society are metal; They're heavy metal, as in classic metal.

 

[Ubermetalhed]

Eh, I pretty much only listen to Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Megadeth for my metal. For my quasi-metal, I listen to Dragonforce, Black Sabbath, Avenged Sevenfold, and Diablo Swing Orchestra. No, I'm not kidding about that last one.

Diablo swing Orchestra are brilliant.

I'd rather you be kidding about A7X...

 

[Leviathan902]

Awesome Metal Albums Released this Year:

Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy (fave band of all time)
Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time
Soilwork - The Panic Broadcast

Wide Sampling There. Also, Avenged Sevenfold's Nightmare came out this year. It's not bad. Though I consider them more in the Disturbed class of metal than it's true form.

If you want a good source for metal releases, check out http://heavymetal.about.com

They do a really good job of keeping track of and reviewing all the new metal albums that come out in all the various sub-genres. Their reviews seem to run a little on the high side (I don't think i've ever seen a 1 star or 2 star album) but they make up for it with the depth and breadth of the reviews. Plus they do a month sum up of the best releases for each month.

Enjoy!

 

[vanthebaron]

Hehe nice to see that I'm not alone :3
I like metal which is blended with clean vocals and growling but I think it's better having REAL singers singing for the band instead of well emo bands.

totally. Tony from Sonata Arcitca sounds like he can be doin opera

 

[TehIrishSoap]

My Sister Listens To A Band Called "Ventian" Something. Anyway, They're..... Different.