What are some of the bands that you can't decide whether you like them or not?

For me, it's Striborg.
Sometimes when I listen to Striborg, I think it's some of the most evocative, beautiful ambient black metal ever. But at other times I think Sin Nanna is just another horrible bedroom BM wannabe. I just can't make up my mind. I guess it depends on my mood.

Your opinions?

- Cross Examination: I keep trying but I just can't get my ears round those fucking vocals, even though I love the music. I pick up the CD every now and then with the hope that this time it will click, but I can't get past the instrumental first track, as soon as the vocals kick in that's it. Yesterday I forced myself to get through a few songs but I can never make it to the end.
Same could be said for Vio-lence.
- Burzum: Just getting into it and have 'Hvis lyset...' and 'Filosofem'. The thing is I really didn't want to like it because I think Varg is just a big racist, attention-grabbing twat, but the music is perfect for certain moments.

Forbidden.

Care to elaborate why? I'm really only familiar with their first album which as far as I'm concerned is worthy thrash.

I don't know exactly why. They just don't click with me like other bands do. Their first two albums are considered classics but I can't get into them. I can't point out anything specific that I think they're doing wrong as I love many similar bands like Toxik, Floatsom and Jetsam, Testament... etc. I feel the same way about Anthrax for some reason.

Ahab - I generally like the kind of music they play. Almost everyone else seems to think they're great. What's the problem? I dunno. Sometimes I like them... but then sometimes they just bore me to death.

I'll second Anthrax, I just feel that I should like them more than I do for some reason...

I like some Primordial but I'm still not sure how much

Same. I really wanted to like this band. The music to me is just too slow and prodding. I think AA's vocal delivery is too staggered and just does not seem to flow well. I've definitely given them a chance. Maybe i'm listening to the wrong albums. Any help would be appreciated.

I'd also have to say Marduk. For whatever reason i have just not been able to get into these guys. Do enjoy a couple tracks like "Bloodtide XXX" and "Fist Fucking God's Planet", but that's kinda it.

They've been around since 1981 and have had quite a varied career. I think it's natural that one should feel ambivalent about their entire output.

Personally, I don't really like any Anthrax stuff. That's not what this post is about though; it's not that I'm undecided - I don't like them.

To a certain extent Megadeth fits into this category for me. I feel instrumentally the music is interesting enough - I just can't get over Mustaine's godawful vocals, which are probably the worst in metal aside from Akerfeldt's pathetic clean vocals. This is coming from someone who enjoys Silencer and The Wizar'd vocally. I suppose the other gripe I have with the band is that the songwriting is occasionally a little too focused on exhibiting technical prowess, but they're certainly far from the worst in that regard.

I'm also going to add Acephalix. Death metal and crust punk are probably my two favourite genres, but something just doesn't click with Acephalix. Their music just goes in one ear and out the other for me, which is surprising considering how they're quite hyped within the style. It just seems that some up-and-coming bands like Saccage do the job much better.

Slipknot for me. They have a good sound, good musicians(especially Joey Jordison, Jim Root and Mick Thompson) and the band is very tight and energetic live. The only, ONLY problem is that ALL their fucking songs suck so hard. I watch videos of Root and Thompson playing together, with no drums or backtrack to refer to except each other, and they're tight as fuck, good soloing and heavy riffing too. Only the riff in question that they're demoing absolutely SUCKS! Sigh.

I've had this happen to me before, but usually after I devote a lot of time to the band in question I'll end up either loving it (Suicide Silence, Motörhead) or hating it (Defeated Sanity, Abiotic); bands don't tend to get stuck in that zone of ambivalence for me.

One band that has managed to just sit there for me for what must be like two years now is Evoken. Whenever I listen to them, it's like I'm bored but simultaneously intrigued. Their music keeps my attention without ever actually stimulating me. It's quite a frustrating listen.

Children of Bodom. I sat through their "best" albums, and honestly, I just can't get into them. Don't get me wrong, I HATE the "new" COB, but I dont see how their old albums were critically acclaimed. They're decent enough, sure, but still.

Every band with an awesome name, logo, artwork, album/song titles who then end up not delivering.

Most recently, Operation Winter Mist.

But also Ahab, Mastodon, etc..

Arghoslent. The riffs delivers, but I feel the guitar tone they use is way too thin and makes it a sound a little weak and prevents me from fully enjoying them

I have several. Senmuth I do like, but the huge discography is quite intimidating, as you have no idea where to start. I also like Before the Dawn, but I seem to be trying to rationalize getting it, more specifically how does it stand out from other melodeath bands. The singer I like, the riffs are good, everything fits but for some reason I'm still questioning whether or not I should get into their stuff.

First band that comes to mind is probably Averse Sefira. Their complex and jagged riffs can definitely be extremely engaging, but at the same time I often find that my mind wanders away from the music and intense boredom starts to sit in after a few tracks--usually only to be snapped back to attention when something especially interesting comes back around in their sound.

You shouldn't let that stop you from enjoying great music. Varg may be a big racist, attention-grabbing twat, but absolutely none of that is reflected in his music. And he surely doesn't use Burzum as a medium to promote those ideas. Listen to music without cognitave bias!

As for Burzum's actual music, it took several long nights of being under the spell to fully understand and appreciate it. The vocals were my biggest gripe.

Wat. I'm pretty sure that's an objectively wrong statement...

For me its motorhead and venom, at first they are fun, after second listen to one of there songs, I get bored and wont be able to listen to them again for about a year.

First one that comes to mind for me is The Meads of Asphodel. I'd definitely place them on the do like side of the equation, just how much is completely lost on me. They're a unique, weird band with ability to play good riffs and have good vocals, but a lot of the stuff they do just seems comedic to me.

Gotta agree with you there. The easiest Burzum albums to get into are obviously his most recent ones, then Filosofem and the hardest ones are basically the ones before Filosofem. However just listening to the instrumental songs gets you really immersed and then you can kind of see past the vocals, eventually growing to appreciate both the originality and the desperation, sadness and anger his early songs emanate.

Adding another band to this thread. Forgotten Woods. Some songs are just packed with subtle Burzum worship while still not lacking in originality, while some songs are just too much. I sometimes feel like i might aswell be listening to Burzum, you know?

On paper, Sigh sounds like the kind of band I would greatly enjoy. But for all the inventiveness, it's really all over the place and rarely succeeds at being consistently pleasing to me. Most songs have moments that I find cool, followed immediately by boring crap.

But I can recognize the worth in some of the experiments, so I remain on the fence.

I feel the same way about Forbidden. I get that Forbidden Evil is lauded as one of the classics from the 80s. The album has good decent-paced songs but I can't give this album a listen without getting fidgety. I'd twiddle my thumbs in anticipation of waiting for the songs to get over. Maybe it's the vocals. Or maybe I feel some songs may come off as repetitive. Or maybe it's the tone. I guess I can't really point a finger on the exact reason, so yeah they are a band I can't make up my mind about. On one hand, they get the praise and the music is classic thrash but on the other hand, I can't seem to appreciate the music.

Confessor - the instrumental is REALLY nice, a Technical Doom monolith, but Scott Jeffreys' vocals really put me off sometimes. After some listening I get used to it, but when I come back to listen it all again, oh boy...

Grave

When the band plays faster they're slightly more tolerable than a lot of other shit Swedish bands, but it quickly gets boring and turns into background music after the second song due to that pussified guitar tone. But boy when they slow down and introduce heavier sections into their songs like Burial ground, they can be heavy and the simplicity of their music works for and against them. I still haven't decide whether they belong to the realm of shit like most other Swedish bands, or that something by them may be worth purchasing even though from the three albums I've heard 90% of the material was amauteurish slop.

Yeah, Sweden sucks except for Candlemass, Dissection, Desultory, Uncanny, Entombed, Unleashed, Amon Amarth, Dismember, In Flames, Edge of Sanity, Nocturnal Rites, Grave, In Solitude, Portrait, Necrophobic, Entrails, Arckanum, Demonical, and fucking Bathory .

On topic, I was never huge into Megadeth. I am a huge Metallica fan, and I like Slayer and Anthrax well enough, but Megadeth never really impressed me. I like the band, but rarely ever feel compelled to think anything more about them than just "kind of liking them, I guess". I do like their first couple albums, and some later songs like "Symphony of Destruction", though.

Some other bands for me: Behemoth (okay band, too many blast beats for my taste), Cattle Decapitation (stupid lyrics, annoying message, etc.), Dying Fetus (decent riffs with awful production and hilarious vocals), and finally Aborted (the absolute worst vocalist in all of death metal...the music is probably okay but I just cannot get past their singer!).

You, sir, either took too many drugs, or not enough.

I meant to say death metal, hah. But the bulk of the bands you mentioned apart from the aforementioned do happen to suck. Namely the death metal though, Swedish black metal doesn't suffer from the rampant mediocrity that the buzzsaw watered down thrash riffs bands of the early nineties do.

While I like brutal death, I'm not sure what to make of slam. Some of it's okay (Disgorge, Inherit Disease, Vomit Remnants.) while others are less than favorable (Kraanium, Putridity, Torsofuck.)

I hate to be on Veracs' side, but I'm with him on Swedeath being pretty poor in general. I think Grave are ok, and bands like Uncanny, Carbonized, Excruciate, Dismember, and Carnage are downright excellent, but by and large I find Swedeath to be the weakest of all OSDM schools, and most of its big name acts to be extremely overrated.

Their black metal sucks though, with all the inverted-christian norsecore turds