I've started leaning away from metal and into progressive rock. Seriously, 70's prog is a trip.
See, I tend to mix a lot of prog, post-rock and metal. Especially sludgy/stoner/doomy metal. There is some fantastic obscure and semi-obscure stuff kicking around.
For example,
Crippled Black Phoenix. They are something of a post-rock supergroup and are a bit all over the place when it comes to genres, but they have some wonderfully proggy stuff. For example;
Rise Up and Fight. Tell me this isn't a love letter to Pink Floyd.
When You're Gone.
Goodnight Europe.. One of my favourites.
444.
As a straight prog band, a York local,
Mostly Autumn. They had the wonderful Heather Findlay who made them more than just a 70's prog tribute act. They also have a thing for Lord of the Rings and folk music, which makes for some great tracks. They don't have many on Youtube, so I've done a few of the bigger ones then some of their folk.
Prog;
Heroes Never Die. Something of a signature tune.
The Night Sky. <3
Porcupine Rain.[ulr=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTjHkaODDQc]Evergreen[/url]
Folk;
Folklore.
Shenanigians.
Out of the Inn.
For continuity, try this;
Ayreon - Day 11: LoveThat's Heather playing Love on an Ayreon album.
Ayreon is a single artist who collects the best vocalists and talents he can to make prog/metal rock opera albums. Mostly science fiction/fantasy themes, with some absolutely crazy lyrics. His guest vocalists have
included James LaBrie, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Irene Jansen, Magnus Ekwall, Devon Graves, Mike Baker, Devin Townsend, Bruce Dickinson, Tobias Sammet, Simone Simons, Sharon den Adel, Russell Allen, Jonas Renkse, Hansi Kürsch, Jan-Chris de Koeijer, Andi Deris, Timo Kotipelto, etc.
Some tracks from the various albums.
01011001;
Age of Shadows. This is a hint of just how ridiculous the vocals can get.
Ride the Comet[/ulr]. And the vocals. "Find your way home, little extremophiles."
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsA7sowKO5E]Liquid Eternity.The Human Equation;
Day 2: Isolation. <3<3<3
Day 3: Pain. Featuring Devin Townsend doing some screaming.
The Universal Migrator
Into The Black Hole. Bruce!
The Final Experiment
Eyes of Time.
Sail Away To Avalon[url=http://.
Into the Electric Castle
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUOToXv-ZuA]The Decision Tree].
Into the Electric Castle
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUOToXv-ZuA]The Decision Tree.
Amazing Flight.. And we're back to prog. And Hippies, but mostly prog.
So lets do another prog band.
Riverside. One of the best current prog bands out there, with a nice metal influence. They have a hell of a lot of good stuff. For starters;
Turned You Down.
Conceiving You.
Schizophrenic Prayer. <3
Beyond the Eyelids. This is a bit more metal. Quite a lot of Dream Theatre in parts.
Rainbow Box.
Second Life Syndrome. (
Part 2)
In much the same vein, some Porcupine Tree. Better known (because they aren't Polish), but still a little obscure.
Fear of a Blank Planet.
Time Flies.
Way Out of Here.
Anyway, going in another direction entirely, anyone listened to anything in the Neurosis/Isis/Cult of Luna/Rosetta axis before?
Rosetta are easily my favourite. Their first album really made an impact. It was a two disc affair, with one being a sort of post-rock/metal blend, the other being weird ambient stuff. What happened when you played them both at once... Well, listen to this;
Départe/DenebInstantly addicted.
Since then they have been getting a bit more accessible, but they have kept that really spacy sound and ambient/metal mix just right. For example, the instrumental
TMA1 is just amazing. They have also introduced a few clean vocals, as in
this cover of the Cure's Homesick. The new album is pretty good (although I'm still getting used to it).
Here is the title track.
Isis are rather better known. They recently split up, but then I think they had done everything they were going to. For people who don't like the atmospheric/ambient stuff in Rosetta, Isis are the band you want. A few semi-random tracks;
The Beginning and End.
Holy Tears.
Ghost Key. About as ambient as they go.
Cult of Luna are very similar again, but more sludge. A lot of the stuff on Youtube is really nasty quality, so some of the better ones I've found;
Owlwood. I really love this track. Massively sludgy.
Leave Me Here. This works better in album order.
Vague Illusion.
In a more post-rock direction, God Is An Astronaut. Some similarities to Rosetta up there, especially TMA1. Pretty chilled out, but somehow massively energetic (especially live). Very few people know them, but most who hear them fall in love quickly.
Post Mortem. Oh god this song rules. Perfect tension relief.
Echos.
New Years End.Fragile. This one in particular sounds very Scandinavian post-rock to me.
A Deafening Distance.
Fireflies and Empty Skies.Rememberance Day. This is more or less the iconic version of their music.
I'm going to stop here before I link their entire catalogue.
For anyone who doesn't like the slow or soft stuff, try Baroness. Sludgy beyond belief and fantastic listening in every way. Technically brilliant as well.
Isak.
A Horse Called Golgotha.
Rays on Pinion.
O'Appalachia. "RAISE YOUR VOICES!"
And finally, because I love technical stuff, one of the most amazing bands of last year and best instrumental metal bands full stop. Animals as Leaders. This band is just one guy playing all the guitar parts (mostly on 7 and 8 strings) with a drum machine. But that doesn't matter when he can make it do stuff like this;
CAFO. And
this showing how that's played.Tempting Time. Opening track. Can you say mission statement?
On Impulse.The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing.
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Topic: The Metal Thread (Read 23125 times)