Here try these. Christian metal band.

I am familiar with Demon Hunter. They were a band I touched on, at a past point in my metal journey, and have since left behind. They didn't make enough of an impression that I return to them at all, with any kind of nostalgic fondness, as I do some other groups.

I know what you are saying about Demon Hunter. I am a fan but always have been a hit and skip fan. I can’t listen to their music consistently and never really had the desire to go to one of their head lining concerts.

Not Ready to Die
Collapsing
I Will Fail You
Dead Flowers

Are likely my favorite cuts.

How about Phinehas for a Christian metal band.

Ah! Yes! Phinehas is very very good indeed! Their first album has been a favorite for years. Damn, I am glad you reminded me of them. I don't have physical copies of any of their stuff, and things I don't have physical copies of tend to fall off the radar. A Pattern in Pain is an absolutely amazing song, with TheGodMachine: The Rider being my second favorite from that album. Their sophomore album also has a few wicked tracks. Their third album didn't grab me; I'll have to investigate their newest output. I need to get a physical copy of their first output.

My Horses Are Many is another absolute ripper of a track off their first album.

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Max’s newest band with his brother and Max’s son.

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:

quote:

Good timing on the bump just found the band Sleeping Giant yesterday.

I am a Christian. I have a hard time reconciling my love of music that has typically quite anti-Christian themes; but I have yet to encounter a wholesome band with an aggressive metal playing style that I can really appreciate. I hope I can grow the heck up eventually but, for now, for me, if the metal ain't evil, the metal ain't good. I believe that music is God's gift to us; music is Godly; metal music is the best music; metal music is Godly, which is ironic, considering the pervasive themes are quite unGodly indeed.

As I write this comment, I am listening to The Mantis by Yoth Iria, a band formed by former members of Rotting Christ. Believe me when I say neither band thinks too highly of our Lord. But damn if it ain't an awesome tune!

EDIT: Reflecting on my comment, after the initial posting, I realized it merited some clarification. I have, as recently as yesterday, recommended bands that fall into the metal genre, that do not rely on sinister themes. That being acknowledged, I suppose the metal doesn't have to be evil to be good. The boiled down version of my initial ramblings is that I have yet to encounter an outwardly Christian metal band, with an aggressive style, that clicks with me. Maybe it's due to the fact that Christianity, at it's core, is quite benevolent and ultimately forgiving in nature; it may not be possible to make truly Christian music in the metal style that I prefer.

Not a Behemoth fan I take it?

quote:

Not a Behemoth fan I take it?

Not really; but only because they never really grabbed me. I have an LP from a band called Azarath, of which Behemoth's drummer is a founding member, I believe, and I like it; it's thematically dark as well. I have listened to plenty of music as sinister as Behemoth, and plenty more sinister still. The music itself doesn't scare me, and I doubt very much that it will cast any sort of spell on me. I love most of it, actually.

Was thinking about this thread recently, I'm glad to see it bumped.

Well, it's funny we're talking about the themes of Christianity and evil in heavy music. That's always either in the forefront, or the background, but surely never missing. I've discovered a band that kind of strikes that bit of tension for me: I love the actual music, but it's clear they're going for the evil/horror vibe and I guess I'm glad the lyrics are in Greek, as I don't speak it. Yes, I said Greek. Along with that, I can only assume there's something lost in the translation of their band name, because not to mince words, but it's fucking stupid. Their music, however, absolutely slams. Allow me to introduce you to Dr. Hell.





Now let's go north, to Sweden. I've heard of Vildhjarta, but I'd never sat down and listened to anything of theirs until a few weeks ago. They're like a less frenetic, more pensive take on Meshuggah. Definitely in that vein, but slightly different vibe.





Now let's go east a bit, just a little bit, to Finland. Atlas has decided to pioneer their own genre, which they call "Northcore," evocative of the desolate cold that is Finland. They're an altogether different feel. It's heavy, but it's not heavy. I'm really digging their style. I don't know exactly how to qualify it or categorize it. It's musical, which seems silly to describe it so, but let's face it, plenty of what I listen to is not. They're definitely becoming the soundtrack to my last spring in Washington, and fitting that it's so cold and gray. Perfect musical accompaniment. I'd really like to see these guys put out more stuff, and maybe start a bit of a movement that goes hard in this style. Just check them out.

A couple recommendations, based on recent releases that I have listened to a lot. Both may be liked, or not, based on their vocal performances.

Evergrey is a band I was already familiar with, but I never delved deeply into their discography. The available singles from their newest release are very enjoyable, to me. The music itself is quite generic, but in a good way; the vocals are what sets them apart. I think he's an excellent singer, and his performance is the driving force of the band.
https://evergrey.bandcamp.com/...he-orphean-testament

The other one I like more, and intend to purchase in a physical format. It falls under the Black Metal umbrella, but certainly isn't traditional, within that genre. The music is badass, but the vocals may kill it, for those who don't already like Black Metal.
https://vitalspirit.bandcamp.c...ght-cold-as-the-wind

I admittedly haven't listened to Smudge's last recommendations yet, but I will.

Edit: I lied; I had already listened to Smudge's recommendations. Vildhjarta was the only one that grabbed me, and I listened to one of those entire albums while I cleaned a gun.

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quote:

Yes, I said Greek.

Did you say Greek?

SevenPlusOne, I'll check those guys out tonight. KSGM, Vildhjarta is great. I'll see if I can recommend some others in that vein.

Hey, I can embed stuff again!

So, let's do this right and kick it back off with some new Chelsea Grin that dropped a few weeks ago, because I can I not? I'm not sure how I feel about their newer stuff. I'll need to give it more of a listen and see if it grows on me. It's not bad, and I like Tom Barber, I just think Ashes to Ashes may be my favorite album of the genre.



Looks like some new stuff from Shadow of Intent as well! Listening to it now.


Bit of a bummer for me: I just got introduced to Enterprise Earth back in maybe May or June, apparently just before Dan Watson left the band. I posted some of their stuff off their recent album, which just got released in January. I was an instant fan, Watson is ridiculously talented and does things I've never heard anyone do. They announced his replacement and released a new video with him just a few weeks later. I've been so busy with move stuff that I just found out about it. He's competent and varied, but I think Watson is better. Anyway, here's that video.



Meshuggah that dropped a few weeks ago. It's Meshuggah. 'Nuff said there.



Just getting into these guys, pretty solid stuff so far.



Inferi is a new find for me. They have a number of albums out, and they're all good. Really technical, melodic, and heavy. This whole album is good.



Discovered this band today. Super tight, heavy, fast. Guitar tone is refreshingly not overprocessed. Super twitchy palm mutey goodness.


From there, Youtube said "Oh hey! You'd dig these guys, check them out!" So I did, and sonofabitch, Youtube was right. Polish band I've never heard of. The album cover and name is a big clue. It's a neat melding of Catholic liturgical choral and well, death metal. Slower, kind of ponderous. Neat stuff.



Arkaik is pretty good. They're tight, and their drummer and guitarists are tight. I tried listening to the whole album this one track is from and haven't really gotten into it. There is a breakdown in this song that is absolutely ridiculous, though. It starts at 1:34. It gives me chills every time I listen to it. Good. Lord. Groove, speed, and an atypical, middle-eastern sounding progression. I really wish most of the album was like this, it would crush. Sadly, it's only about thirty seconds of solid badass and the rest isn't really that compelling thus far. I need to give them a little more time before I write them off.



So, getting into some more technical/experimental/progressive with operatic, jazz, blues, and flamenco interludes to boot, here's a few bands that kind of came out of left field for me. I couldn't listen to this kind of stuff all the time, but it may be more someone here's flavor than what I tend to post.



This feels less like a bunch of separate tracks and more like one long song. As an album, it's incredibly cohesive. They've evidently been working on it on and off for the last six years. The Adam Burke album art is perfectly fitting. Woe is apt, this is a pensive, somber work; beautiful and sad. “Prosperity” has a breakdown that grooves pretty hard. I rewound and listened to it a good five times.



That's probably enough for now. A bit of variety, and just a small sampling of different stuff I've checked out since I left Washington.

I was inspired to revisit this thread, after listening to something on the old iPod I just dug up. I need to go through Smudge's preceding post.

An album called The Campaign by Affiance is what prompted me to contribute today. A very solid rock album, with an impressive vocal performance. It's a very consistently good album, which is it's ironic Achilles' heel, as all the songs are somewhat similar.
https://bullettoothhq.bandcamp.com/album/the-campaign

Listened to Smudge's recent medley. Nothing really grabs me. Most of it's of the more technical persuasion, which I often find too "noodley". Batushka is a bit more up my alley, as is Abstract Illusion, which I had already heard. Psycroptic is an old favorite, just so long as it is indeed OLD; Scepter of the Ancients is a badass album, and their first is good too. They went a little more tech and little less OSDM, as their career continued. The departure of "Chalky" as the vocalist was unfortunate as well, IMO.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KSGM,

Inferi is a new find for me. They have a number of albums out, and they're all good. Really technical, melodic, and heavy. This whole album is good.



LOVE THESE GUYS!!!! WOW! It's been on replay for the last 5 days.
------------------------------------------------
The new 'Shugga album is sick. Love the video for The Abysmal Eye.....very Lovecraftian feel to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EpE8hTCyWM

On one hand, I'm kinda disappointed with the new Lamb of God album, Omens, that released a week ago. I've only given it one solid playthough so far, but so far it hasn't grabbed me like their previous self-titled album or especially the older Sacrament album.


On the other hand, Pain Remains, the new Lorna Shore album that dropped yesterday, is actual fire. (Hellfire, naturally.) Cinematic, crunchy, symphonic, technical, brutal, and so obscenely heavy. In the world of heavy metal where everyone is claiming to be "heavy", these guys actually get it.

If you had asked me a year ago if I liked deathcore music, the answer would have been a resounding no, because I had yet to hear any that was done well enough to impress me, with most of it being low grade trash with unintelligible muffled growling over the same old lazy blast beats. But rest assured, Lorna Shore impresses the hell out of me, and has made me a fan of deathcore (well, their level of it). And with the way they've taken the metal world by storm since the release of last year's EP, I'd say I'm not alone.

And my dudes... Will Ramos continues to prove that he is simply not human. There's no way that some of these sounds could come from an actual human being. For those who might say "it's all just post-production effects", then check out some of his one-take live singing videos, where the guy just sits in his house with a microphone and belches out these demonic swine vocals so casually. Inhuman, I say. [I'm being facetious, naturally... But Ramos is clearly a master of his craft.]

If you thought that nothing could top the face-melting brutality of "To The Hellfire" from Page 1 and their And I Return to Nothingness EP, hold onto your butts, and check out Pain Remains!

Here's the entire album available to listen on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...jnORHNrPSsvMngYpMIpI

And here are embeds of the six official videos they've released, out of the ten total tracks on the new album.

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Think I have a new favorite Sleeping Giant song! I wish I would have seen these dudes live. Videos of their concerts look to have quite the energy.

This is one of my favorite bands, from Australia. Be'lekor:

thank you for this thread,
I had a long running thread on a part of a forum that was eliminated,, damn canadians bought the forum and kilt the super secret place we had ,

(We as in if you are a Minefielder, you know of what I speak)

anyhoo, in that thread a guy posted a bunch of Scandinavian and Russian metal, folk metal, and just generally good stuff,

If I can remember the names, and find them in my youtube history, I will post them up,


good stuff, and I am not a metal person, (do like hardcore punk, and some Skacore)

akcopnfbks, glad you like Inferi! I have an app on my phone called Musi that will play Youtube videos with the screen locked. It's what I stream music from via Bluetooth on my phone in my truck. If you play something from the search and let it go without loading a playlist, it will autoplay the next thing Youtube says is similar. Sometimes it's a win, sometimes it's a lose, but I'll often sit and just skip from track to track until something catches my interest. I've found a lot of acts this way, and Inferi is one such that was a pleasant surprise. They're definitely a total package. If haven't listened to it yet, their album "The Path of Apotheosis" has a pretty similar feel and it's a toss up which album I like better.

Rogue, I refer you to my post on page 1.
Glad you also found something you're really liking. In the past year, Ramos has become the vocal golden boy for the heavy community. He did a long interview with The Charismatic Voice last year, and I found him to be well-spoken, reasonable, and likable as a person. Here is that interview, and the follow up throat cam vid he committed to do! As a former vocalist in a metalcore band doing screamo stuff, the nuts and bolts of the vocal techniques fascinates me and I nerd out to this stuff pretty hard. While his technique is varied and flawless, some purists (read: douchenozzles) in the community like to bang on him for being a Dickie Allen ripoff. While Allen deserves props for pioneering stuff like tunnel scream and the zombie voice thing Ramos calls his "Gollum voice," he also made himself far less accessible. Someone who might give Lorna Shore a listen who has decided they really dislike deathcore like yourself probably isn't apt to give Dickie Allen's bands a listen with names (and lyrical content like) Infant Annihilator and Scumfuck. I don't even like listening to it, because as heavy as it is and impressive as the technicality is, and how absurdly otherworldly, talented and pioneering Allen is, when I see the song names and watch lyric videos, it's too much for me. Blindly hearing a song or album in a mix like I described earlier? It's good stuff. When the content of the lyrics is known, it's inaccessible. I know it's the musical equivalent of a horror film, but I just can't get to a place where I'm ok with it. Anyways, the Ramos interview with a vocal coach, preceded by her reaction video that prompted her seeking the interview, with the throat cam followup:
She looks disgusted in the thumbnail, but her reaction is truly shock and fascination.






Now, to go a bit further with the vocalist talk, before To The Hellfire dropped last year, the metal community had a bit of a fascination with another vocalist who goes by the name Alex Terrible, for the band Slaughter To Prevail, mentioned on page 1. He's not as technically diverse as Ramos, but he's got a false chord scream that's more aptly described as a roar, and with a range that gets absurdly low. As the same lady states in this reaction, he has this ability to hit three overtones at once with his false chord. Love her reaction to "The Moment" in Demolisher:






And yes, as any doubter should be able to tell from the videos posted, he and Ramos and many others are doing this live and straight with no processing. Here's a vocal adaption he did to one of the Mick Gordon Doom Eternal tracks. Truly a fitting track for his skills and vibe, he does the hellscape thing pretty solidly. And yes, I think he's probably as unhinged as he looks.

Yeah, I'm familiar with Alex Terrible and his vocal style. Unfortunately, after listening to some of Slaughter to Prevails' albums, aside from the cool factor of some of his vocal work, I don't find their music to be that compelling. (As you pointed out back on Page 1.)

I also went down the rabbit hole and discovered Dickie Allen's work a while back while reading up on Will Ramos, and reached the exact same conclusion as you about his content. Pass.