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Schmengie
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:14 am
Posts: 517
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 12:43 am 
 

Original Post

Gatherum wrote:
Gatherum wrote:
Due to the sheer volume of bands that I have within this spectrum, I'd say that it's obvious that melodic death metal interests me the most. I have 38.9 hours of it, which accounts for more than any other genre that I have, metal or not.

(snip)

But then, melodic death metal is very adaptable. You can combine it and experiment with it in a nigh-infinite amount of ways. Maybe that's why.

The melodic death metal bands that I have:

Blood Stain Child
Dark Tranquillity
In Flames
Insomnium
Mechina
(disputable; they combine it with symphonic metal and feature a lot of clean vocals, which might give the illusion of melody, but I've been thinking lately that their songs are very much structured as pure death metal)
Omnium Gatherum
Swallow the Sun


All of these are in some way very different from each other.


Based on what I have in melodic death metal already, what do you guys think I absolutely need to listen to? What is my next logical melodeath band to get in to? The more different it is than those listed, the better, UNLESS a given act does what a band on this list does, but even better than they do. Note that melodeath doesn't need to be their primary genre, since, obviously, Swallow the Sun are a death/doom outfit and Mechina is... Mechina. But you get the point.


Updates

Dave_o_rama wrote:
Eternal Oath, Ablaze My Sorrow, Archeon

None of these are too bad, but I'm not a big fan of the sound of their riffs. I lean toward downtuned, hard, and distorted. I see that more than a few of these guys prefer the false chord to the death growl, which is nice for a change. Not as good as Mikael Stanne's, but a change. :)

Hooded Menace

Actually, this was interesting. It reminded me somewhat of Zaraza when the blast beats come in, sans the rest of their crazy stuff, and maybe a little bit of Megasus toward the end. It felt drawn out though, even though it wasn't that long.

At the Gates

I can see why they were revered in their day (and today). Their sound and production are obviously dated and the guitars aren't as hard and distorted as I'd like, but they somehow pull off a brutality that most of the others couldn't. It would seem that their work stands the test of time, certainly. Might be worth checking in to.

Arsis

I actually used to have Arsis, and have been thinking about re-adding them to my library. Good suggestion. :)

Engraved Disillusion?

Link led to Arsis' track.

Intestine Baalism, Deathlehem

Eh. Not bad, but not remarkable to my ears.


Dave_o_rama wrote:
Engraved Disillusion

This was actually your best previous suggestion, I think. I like the ominous black metal-esque introduction and interludes. Fuller guitar sound than the rest. I'm not sure if they're an instant add for me, but we'll see.

The Black Dahlia Murder, Neuraxis

Funny, I actually had these two a few years ago, but didn't listen to them enough to remember what they sounded like. I like the former's hardcore edge. Makes the beats more unforgiving, but doesn't overshadow their melodeath leanings. The latter has grown into a fine technical death metal band, though probably not at the level of Arsis or Anata. Still good, will consider them.

Amon Amarth

Correction: how could I forget Amon Amarth? These guys are a classic for me. I had them before I purged my library a few months ago and started over. They really know how to make those Norse tales as righteous and epic as they're meant to be. Instant add for later, I think. Thanks for the reminder. :)


Zodijackyl wrote:
Sacrilege

Pretty heavy and powerful for its age. Not bad.

Diabolique

Didn't much like the vocals on this one. Not bad musically, but I've heard better from gothic doom.

Dimension Zero

I actually really liked the vocals on this one. A clean, powerful black metal rasp with the hardness of melodic death. The best suggestion among these. \m/

The Crown

Interesting. Not too remarkable, but it's doomy and thrashy and that can't be bad.

The Haunted

Hardcore vocals. Nothing against hardcore vocals, it's just that I didn't feel like they fit here, or that they were all that in sync with the music.

Dissection, Unanimated, Decameron, Sacramentum

Eh. Preferred Akercocke and Behemoth when it came to blackened death. None of these seemed to bring about the aggression or heaviness of either.

Dismember

Skillful, but way underpowered for death metal. The shouted vocals didn't suit it well.


reven wrote:
Dark Lunacy

These guys were actually recommended in my other thread about Dark Tranquillity. Though I don't find much in common between them, I like how these guys can switch between their driving melodeath tendencies and their doomier, dramatic side without disrupting the flow of a given song. It may well be worth checking out The Diarist, if nothing else.


Erotetic wrote:
Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Edge of Sanity

The former is another classic for me, and may just be another instant add that I somehow managed to forget about like Amon Amarth. Thanks for reminding me. As for the latter, heard of them, but that's it.


ZEROMETAL wrote:
Bleed Out

When I listen carefully, I can hear that J-rock/metal influence, just slightly. That said, they obviously have a lot of respect for melodeath as a western form, since, had I not known that these guys were Japanese beforehand, I would not have assumed such. Apart from that, meh.

Blind Stare

Mmm, powerful bass drum. Otherwise, they remind me somewhat of Eternal Tears of Sorrow as far as symphonic elements go and are similar in other ways, but I'd say EToS do it all better save for the bass drumming.


pbsisbad wrote:
Disarmonia Mundi

Oh wow, very industrial-like. Reminds me of the desperate chaos of The Axis of Perdition, except more melodic and infinitely more well-produced. I'm liking this a lot. \m/

James LaBrie

Not bad. I like his cleans. They have the potential to soar. Not a bad fry either. Still, I'm not hearing anything all that remarkable from this one. Of course, when it comes to melodeath, one can only stray so far, but I feel like the majority of the melodeath bands that I have do most, if not all, of what this guy does already. Definitely good, just not an add for me, I guess.

Mors Principium Est

Machine gun guitar hammering that reminds me of Deno Cazares' work in Divine Heresy, combined with a little chugga (which is not a negative for me). Okay, but I felt that Divine Heresy did it better, and I never got into them beyond, like, one song.

Nightrage

Reminds me of the aggressive anger of Neaera, but not quite as powerful and with more hardcore influence, like you said. While these guys aren't an add for me, this has prompted me to make a mental note to revisit Neaera later, so, thanks. :)

Words of Farewell

These guys sound to me like the appropriate bridge between Insomnium and recent Omnium Gatherum, combining the driving force of the former with the synth experimentation of the latter. And they do it very well. After noticing that I had been going back to Youtube to get my daily dose of these guys, I finally decided to add them. Good times. \m/

Silent Descent

I've explored these guys before. Comparisons to Blood Stain Child are not unwarranted, but I always felt that BSD not only did it first, but also did an overall better job with the trance/metal synthesis because they managed to place a bit more emphasis on the danceability of trance without invalidating themselves as a melodeath band. A good song, very atmospheric, but I can see that they've relegated themselves to the comfort of the melodeath song structure. Which isn't bad from a metal perspective, but not as good if you're trying to mix the two worlds together as these guys intend.

Minushuman

Hmm. I think I've heard this before, but didn't remember it. Shame on me. I like it. They seem to employ some of that weird djent structure without the actual onomatopoeic djent and lacking the polyrhythm in favour of melody and simple groove. The vocalist maintains a respectable balance between screaming and shouting, the latter of which feels more thrashy than hardcore, which is good because though I don't mind hardcore, I could care less for their shouts. You are right: quite atmospheric. They have eschewed a lot of their melodeath, but I can just hear the remnants. I also appreciate the long composition. I'm undecided on whether or not it really WOWed me overall. It may be worth looking into a few more songs.

Gru

The moment I saw the video thumbnail, I thought, "Uh oh! Esoteric-like naming conventions and nebulous cover art!" Why is that important? Well, this my be a gross generalisation, but bands who incorporate astral imagery tend to be pretty interesting. And I was right: these guys are pretty interesting. But not that interesting. I'd say that they're a step below Animals as Leaders, though, to their credit, they do some pretty damned good soloing.


ClaymanOnFire wrote:
Noumena

Didn't find them as similar to Insomnium as stated. Reminds me more of Omnium Gatherum. Good bass wall. Otherwise, not sure what to feel about it. It's not bad, I guess.

MyGrain

Hmm, indeed, almost comparable to Neaera in brutality, a bit more epic, and with obvious power metal influence. Power metal is... "eh" for me. Apart from that, not really WOWing for me.

Suidakra

Interestingly pounding drums. Well-executed, groovy, and with subtle folk influence, but I've heard better. Or, maybe I'm just not much of a folk junkie. I appreciated the bagpipes though. I might need to listen to a few more songs.


Zodijackyl wrote:
Nightrage

Gave these guys a listen through your link just to see what you'd have for me from this act. Obviously earlier material, but it doesn't sound like they changed much. This one sounded like it had a bit less of a hardcore influence. Apart from that, see the above. :P

Burden of Grief

When these guys slowed down, they actually reminded me somewhat of Pale Folklore- and Marrow of the Spirit-era Agalloch in the guitars. Naturally, though, their double-kicking is higher in the mix. Not so much a fan of the way the vocal track is produced. It sounds distant and echoic, which sometimes works for atmospheric or depressive black metal bands, but not so much melodeath. However, I see promise here, and to answer your question, I wouldn't say you're on the wrong track, no. I have a feeling that I'd appreciate this band's later material. :)


bradtheimpaler wrote:
Kalmah

Immediately reminds me of Amon Amarth in that it has that sort of righteous feel, and then Insomnium, with their guitar work sounding somewhat folkish (obviously, even). Might be worth a few more listens.


BaloroftheEvilEye wrote:
Garden Of Shadows

Well now, this was quite the track! An immensely long composition with similarities to Opeth, but lacking all of that 70's-influenced progressive rock incorporation. Suitably hard and pounding. Not really much a of a melodeath act, but demonstrating good progressive death metal in their own right. It is a shame that they disbanded; they would have done well in the new millennium. \m/

Empyrean Sky

Not too bad. Not a big fan of the cleans on this one. I've heard better. Instrumentation is all right. Not incredible for me.

Soulfallen

I used to have these guys. A promising act espousing a melodic death/black metal synthesis of sorts, though obviously leaning on the former. I only ever got into them because of the final track on this album. The rest is pretty good, but not standout.


henkkjelle wrote:
Canopy

Great Scott! I'm not sure what to say, except that this has piqued my interest. Especially the second song. Definitely reminds me of Neaera in harshness, except that its tempo is delightfully slower. That description doesn't seem to do it justice though. I will look further into this. \m/


somefella wrote:
Absence Of The Sacred

Mmm, I rather like the thrash elements. Thrash was always sort of a retro genre to me for some reason, maybe because of its connection to speed metal, which came much earlier. So, I can appreciate that. Unfortunately, that's really the only thing this band has going for it. It's aight.


WolfieboyMachi wrote:
Sonic Syndicate

I actually like it. They remind me quite a bit of Eternal Tears of Sorrow in their full, yet not-so-crunchy riffs and their synthy keyboards while lacking much of their gothic metal influence. Their vocalist is different, having a scream closer to Blood Stain Child's Ryo, save that they are a lot more competent in the English language. That said, it's debatable whether or not I'd want them at this point since both bands cover their respective areas quite well, but then, I got Words of Farewell for their sound that bridges the gap between Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum. Perhaps Sonic Syndicate are to BSC and EToS in a similar vein. We'll see.


henkkjelle wrote:
The Few Against Many

Speaking solely on the guitars, sounds a bit like Dark Tranquillity in some places, Neaera in others (mostly Neaera). They aren't nearly as interestingly progressive as the former, but that's hardly something I can dock them for since DT reside so far away in their own plane of existence. Aside from that, I appreciate the low, non-melodic death metal-esque growls and the thick overall sound. I doubt it's an add due to a lack of any real standout elements and because I have enough bands that exhibit similar constancy in terms of driving force as these guys do, but certainly not a bad rec.


MirrorOfMadness25 wrote:
Before the Dawn

Okay, this is quite magnificent. It sounds like a perfect synthesis of Insomnium's melodies, Neaera's brutality, and In Vain's vocals and general epicness (essentially, all of the best parts), all astoundingly produced. I love the largely mid-tempo pace, yet blasting double kicks, as well as the machine gun strumming and almost-folkish soloing (another Insomnium trait). I really can't argue with this. I think that this is a definite add. \m/

...Also, thank you for reminding me of In Vain. ;)


Norther

This is competent, but not so remarkable. The Bodom comparison seems apt, as they employ a bit of that driving power metal force. Good soloing. Apart from the keyboards though, I don't hear anything that blows me away.


Evil_Obsidian wrote:
De Profundis

This has a lot of progressive and black metal influence, though The Axis of Perdition-like rapid-fire drums pound higher in the mix than most records in the latter spectrum. But you are right: the melodeath in this is obvious. I've heard better from the progressive/black/melodeath camp though.


BaloroftheEvilEye wrote:
Archons

Quite the competent drummer. Though not the same in style, the aptitude of the percussion does make me think of the drumming of DevilDriver, this, of course, being far less groovy. Otherwise, they seem like Arsis if they took things a bit slower. Meh.

Carcariass

The guitars sound like that of a particularly well-polished black metal record while incorporating the vocal depth of Amon Amarth. Interesting song structure... but not that interesting. Sounds more progressive than technical, as labelled.


OneSizeFitzpatrick wrote:
Allegaeon

Arsis, if they employed a massive wall of sound and focused less on technicality and more on Neaera-like driving. Not bad, not bad.

Bloodshot Dawn

Much respect for the deeeep growls characteristic of purer death metal. Awesome soloing, forefront and background alike. Seems to be slightly groovy too. Pretty good, I'll think about it.

The Stranded

Eh. It's Disarmonia Mundi in pretty much every way, but a bit heavier. Which is to say that it's good, but considering that Disarmonia Mundi are heavy enough in their own right, having these guys would be pretty redundant. If Disarmonia ever disbanded and these guys lived on, they might be worth it, but not right now, I don't think.


Markov wrote:
Sacrilege

My previous sentiment about Sacrilege as stated to Zodijackyl applies here. However, I have made a lot of headway through In Flames' earlier, pre-Reroute to Remain works since then and I can see the resemblance. Honestly though, these guys seem like they are to In Flames what The Stranded are to Disarmonia Mundi, albeit disbanded as of now. It's a shame though, I'll say that much: they would have done well past the 1990's.


IX Leviathan wrote:
Quo Vadis

Now here's a name that comes up among revered bands quite often, I've noticed. Listening to this, the idolatry is not misplaced. A good, technically proficient example of progressive melodeath. I don't have any complaints about it, really, but I find that I don't have much else to say. Maybe.


BaloroftheEvilEye wrote:
Godgory

I see that these guys rather enjoy driving, then stopping, then driving again. I can appreciate the quiet interludes. I shrug at the heavy sections, but that solo was pretty fucking awesome. It's all right.


GhostlyGloom wrote:
Utopia Banished

Ahh, seems to be a classic interpretation of the style by a modern act. This reminds me of early In Flames and Dark Tranquillity, focusing less on crunchy riffs and more those that wail. Better produced, even, though I don't much care for the general roominess and distance of the recording, most obvious in the black metal rasps, but also in some of the guitar sections and in the keyboards. Not really my thing, but I'm not gonna knock it.


pbsisbad wrote:
Rise to Fall

I rather like it, but the fact that Words of Farewell, Disarmonia Mundi, and especially In Flames came to mind almost immediately is disconcerting. To be more thorough, they borrow from all three, but don't perform as well in their respective areas (well... they did not likely borrow from Words of Farewell because both bands began in the same year in two different places, but I find Words of Farewell to nonetheless be more appealing). Good, but not as good. That said, it would be redundant to have them.

I added Before the Dawn on largely the same reasoning (incorporating elements from several of their contemporaries, older and newer), and it may be confusing, thus, why it is being used as a negative here. I suppose the simple answer is that they took such an amalgamation and made it
theirs. Made it so good that it could stand on its own without coming across as a clone. While their story is not terribly relevant to Rise to Fall, I felt it necessary to attempt an outline of the difference.

This Cold Life

See above, albeit omitting the Words of Farewell time similarity, since this duo began last year.


EpicSceptic wrote:
Dawn

Not melodeath, but pretty good and well-produced for black metal that is more than a decade old. I'll consider these guys when I move toward a black metal obsession. \m/


IanThrash wrote:
Imperanon, Wintersun

Quite the black metal rasp on these vocalists. Cue similarities to Arsis vocally. Interesting, considering that they're also incorporating power metal. Competent background soloing. The recording almost sounds retro somehow. It's okay overall. Really not much of a power metal guy.

Hammer Horde

As above, but having more to do with black metal than power metal. I appreciate the amusingly epic operatics. Definite high fantasy story material. Pretty good overall. Nothing really to complain about. Add? Dunno. We'll see. \m/

Nordic Wolf

Synthesised orchestral elements are always a positive... when they're not drowning out everything else. There's some promise here, but it's mired by weak guitars and drums. For that reason, it's actually stronger when the music slows down and goes into a melancholy interlude. Points for having a female vocalist as competent as the male one. But yeah... that production...


Blizk wrote:
Be'lakor

Mmm, tasty, delicious keyboards at the beginning, that I will give them, but they really sort of seem like they're just taking Insomnium's general sound and making longer overall compositions with it, which doesn't mean much since Insomnium have already proven that they can break the eight- and nine-minute marks. The similarities go right down to the vocal delivery. The only real difference is that I can hear traces of Amon Amarth in the guitar work sometimes.

All of that said, it's pretty good because Insomnium and Amon Amarth are two of a narrow few who best represent the most logical evolution of melodeath without going into progressive territory or incorporating other genres. If you're going to draw from anyone, you can't lose with them. Unfortunately, I'm less inclined toward clones. Perhaps Be'lakor's other songs have more to offer. I might consider adding them if they were just a bit more distinct from Insomnium, but as it is...



OneSizeFitzpatrick wrote:
In Dread Response

Excellently ferocious. Other than that though, I don't have much to say.


drawntoblack wrote:
Dominia

Amazing keyboard introduction. Decidedly doomy and gothic, but it brings instant reminders of Eternal Tears of Sorrow and may be too similar despite the doom influence. Worth consideration.

Skyfire

I've heard this name thrown around before. Not bad. It, too, reminds me of Eternal Tears of Sorrow a bit, but only in the introduction and keyboard segments. The symphonic elements make it quite dramatic, and these remind me of Dimmu Borgir some. Otherwise, I'm not sure how I feel about this.

In Mourning

I love bands that build and build to crescendos! :D Post-metal happens to be a genre I very much appreciate as well, so these guys are really rocking my socks right now. I really like the melancholy death/doom atmosphere. This band's chances are looking high right now. \m/

Anoreksi

You're right, very Insomnium-ish, but they feel different somehow. Can't put my finger on why. In any case, these guys have quite a bit of potential, but I may require more listens to be convinced.

Neptune

Meh. Not too much like Disarmonia Mundi as suggested, but then, I don't have much else to say. Vocal delivery makes me think of early Threat Signal.

Scar Symmetry

Ahh, Scar Symmetry. Definitely a household name.

Well now, this guy has a beautiful singing voice. It remind me of a more capable variant of whichever vocalist is most prominent in Disarmonia Mundi, with some hints of Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth. Musically, it reminds me a little bit of what little I remember of Arch Enemy (and that is
little), but mostly, once again, of Disarmonia. The music, however, feels altogether ambitious, perhaps more controlled and focused. I like it, but I will need to hear more.

Solution .45

This guy has Åkerfeldt's scream. :o Generally competent. The prominent clean singing gives it a power metal edge without the corny optimism. I'll consider it.

Zero Degree

Delectably thick and vocally vicious. It's all right.

Deadlock

Aww, I remember these guys, and even this song in particular. Good times. As harsh as Neaera until the female vocals kick in for some softer sections. I always felt that said vocals were more or less average, but I can give credit for them being high enough in the mix to understand. Scant electronic influence, showing their status as a modern melodeath band. They don't necessarily do it any better than their contemporaries though.

Degradead

More or less the same idea as some of the other suggests on this list, especially those with power metal-esque clean vocalling. MA claims thrash influence, but I don't buy it. If they made that more prominent, it might be more unique. Eh.

Mercenary

I feel like I've heard this somewhere before. It might bear resemblance to an act I used to listen to long ago that I can't remember. It seems they really like to dynamically shift without necessarily losing the flow of the song. The vocalist really should sing more often because he's really good at those power metal operatics. Otherwise, it seems like usual modern melodeath fare to me, albeit much longer.

Divine Souls

Indeed, a musical clone of In Flames, albeit a bit more atmospheric, considering the minimal keyboard usage, and with a vocalist that sounds a lot like Ryo from Blood Stain Child instead. Not bad, but you know how I feel about straight clones.

Meridian

Competent background soloing, as well as accompanying synths and keyboards. Actually, their greatest strengths are in their non-melodeath elements, which are pretty generic.

Mors Principium Est

So I see that the machine gun strumming and chugga that I mentioned before aren't constant with this band, but without them, I am not all that WOWed (not that I was before, but I'm just sayin'). The music really tends to drown out the vocalist, which I don't mind too much, but it sort of defeat the purpose of having one. Nevertheless, it's like a harder variant of Eternal Tears of Sorrow, what with the scant symphonic elements and general drama. It's all right.


IX Leviathan wrote:
God Dethroned

Hmm... Their early material sounds like a less polished and focused variant of Amon Amarth's material, favouring sheer extremity (not that it's bad, mind you). However, their later material more than makes up for it, actually sounding like a much blacker, thicker form of Arsis, especially in the vocals, though I was rather surprised to hear cleans in a band with such a blackened death influence, something I didn't actually expect to hear from anyone but Akercocke. The melody, low growls, and the overarching epicness of each song sets it apart from both. This may very well be worth looking in to. \m/

Disillusion

Eh. Actually similar to God Dethroned, but longer and including some impressive interludes. The clean vocals remind me somewhat of The Foreshadowing. Is it the kind of progressive melodeath that I tend to prefer? Debatable, but this is... this is pretty good. Consideration will be taken. \m/

Lost Regrets

Oooh, nice bagpipe intro. :D There's something about the riffs these guys produce that I really like. They sound familiar, but I can't pinpoint exactly who they relate to. Which is good. It means that they're probably different enough from my other stuff. I liked their first track. Was less impressed with the second. Nevertheless, this is yet another band that you have caused me to consider. Three for three, good on you, mate. :)


Scourge441 wrote:
Deathevokation

Indeed, this appears to be some very competent death metal. I like that they can start off slow and perform several different dynamic shifts over the course of a long composition. Actually sounds like Amon Amarth during their most extreme passages. They do have a very prominent pure death metal edge, but this is good, melodic stuff all the same. They're surprisingly competent during the slow sections, which hearken to death/doom, but the melancholy that's here doesn't put forth the same overbearing sorrowful impression. Which is fine, since that doesn't seem to be their overall modus operandi anyway. I like it. I like it lot. \m/


Goatfangs wrote:
Loch Vostok

Now this is... wow. It sounds vaguely like a weird, extreme mix of Opeth's grandiose song progressions, Disarmonia Mundi's modernity, Neaera's brutality (on occasion, not constantly), Novembre's atmospheres, some of Meshuggah's frantic desperation, and, weirdest of all, Seether's choruses. But even all of that doesn't seem to adequately describe them since I'm hearing death metal, alternative metal, progressive metal, occasional synth, and vague power metal elements. The clean vocals, which are amazing by the way, for some reason, remind me of my naïve days perusing through the mainstream rock and metal of the day and for that reason, carry a sort of nostalgia factor for me. Of course, this is far from mainstream material. I'm actually having trouble deciding on whether or not this qualifies as melodeath, but then, it might not even matter. I think that this is just a straight winner, no matter what it actually is. Sweet Jesus... \m/


henkkjelle wrote:
Uninvited

Eh. It's good melodeath. Only good though. Didn't like the vocals.


henkkjelle wrote:
Vehemence

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I can hear traces of Amon Amarth and even a little bit of Opeth and/or Akercocke (in the vocal delivery), albeit with much more of a pure death metal bombast that still retains the melodic touch in spades, with comparable keyboarding to Dark Tranquillity added for good measure. Very well-placed quiet interludes. Great find, brother! \m/


Goatfangs wrote:
Anterior

I'm okay with some -core influence, but I'm less inclined to it with these guys because their melodeath elements aren't all that remarkable. Not bad, mind you. Well-produced and executed, and I really did appreciate the slow solo around the middle, as well as the epically solemn one at the end. These guys have some drama to them. I think they'd be worth additional listens.

Light This City

Instantly sounds exactly like a thinner version of Neaera, though actually lacking the -core elements, despite MA's claims, especially compared to Anterior. Neaera does this better and with more seething anger, so I'm not sold on this one.

Ewigkeit

I guess that certain superficial comparisons can be made to Sybreed, but this is definitely not melodeath (not that I'm being all that stingy about that, mind you) and less interesting, having far more to do with industrial rock. Actually, it reminds me of Violent Work of Art quite a bit. I've heard better from all the influences present here, from the aforementioned industrial rock, to the electronic elements, to the 'dark metal.' Didn't like the vocal delivery much either.

Sybreed

Ahh yes, the progressive melodic groovey industrial (death?) metal of Sybreed. I used to have these guys, they're pretty competent despite perhaps trying a bit too hard to be different by incorporating as many existing styles as possible. I'm surprised they're even here on MA, considering that some can (justifiably) associate them with djent (which is, for whatever reason, an OMG BIG NO-NO here). Thing is, while certainly interesting, they don't really excel in any of the elements they incorporate except the industrial metal, which is where I think they build their sound around; I actually hear very little melodeath here, which is a shame because I think a small and simple increase in focus toward that direction might just make them something more without getting them lost in an endless sea of generic bands of similar taste, as they intend to try to avoid.

Apart from that, I suppose I'll mention that I can hear small traces of Disarmonia Mundi in their sound, at least when Disarmonia are slowing it down and not driving with it. Apart from that, to Sybreed's credit, they really do avoid sounding much like anyone else associated with the various genres that they play. For the reasons mentioned above, they will not be an addition again unless I happen to get back into the industrial metal craze that I went through a few years back, but I do tip my hat to them for succeeding at their goals.


Neurotech

Not so much Sybreed worship as it is pretty much your standard industrial metal fare. Very meh.

Just to note right now before anyone gets the wrong idea: I'm not necessarily dismissive of industrial metal by any means, but I will say that I'm less inclined toward it when it's the primary focus these days. I do have several bands within the industrial rock/metal spectrum, such as Jesu, Nine Inch Nails, Tyrant of Death, and Zaraza, but in all of these cases, such elements are either secondary and used to enhance a prominent element, or a very small piece of a much larger whole. You can tell when you think about how distinct all four of those acts are, even from each other. If you recall, I did mention early on when someone recommended Disarmonia Mundi that they had an industrial "feel" to them, especially in some places on
The Isolation Game, which was a positive for me. With that said, don't be discouraged from recommending something that incorporates industrial rock/metal; I just wanted to clarify this for your information.

Aftershock

I can hear Dutkiewicz' later work from Killswitch Engage in spades here. He's actually not a bad vocalist himself, I'm a little surprised. But it's pretty much the same as Killswitch Engage, whom I actually have in my library as an irreplaceable classic for me already. It's a little bit rawer though, and I could see some people jizzing over this if KsE are too much of a high-profile guilty pleasure.


Deucalion wrote:
Solerrain

I can hear the power metal here, but it is not intrusive in the overall composition. It still feels like a melodeath song. The downside? It feels like a melodeath song. As in, standard In Flames worship (power metal aside). Eh.


androdion wrote:
Nocturnal Winds

Pure, uncompromising, and classic. Reminds me of Dark Tranquillity's early work, though incorporating less in the way of jarring dynamic shifts, where a song is more direct and consistent. It lacks in distortion and layering for my taste, but it seems to make up for it in the bass kicks. Ultimately, I can't say anything bad about this, but it's just one of those things that doesn't really stay with me, I suppose.

I would have liked to see them evolve through the new millennium. Alas.


Path of Debris

Mmm, much meatier. Could have just as easily chosen to walk the path of pure death metal. Retains that classic feel, but doesn't differentiate much. Nevertheless, there is something altogether enticing about this. I'll think about it.

Once again, the new millennium might have done well by these men.



Responses in italics.

Latest Updated Library of Melodic Death Metal Bands

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An attractive list of bands, if I do say so myself. :)

Gatherum wrote:
  • Most images not already displayed at maximum possible size that Photobucket allows before are now doing so. All images that were scaled down for some reason are also a bit larger.
  • Added In Mourning and Loch Vostok.
  • In Vain, Swallow the Sun, and Words of Farewell have been tweaked, replaced, and updated respectively (though Words of Farewell may still require some work).


Listening Progress (As of 25 Sep 2012, 01:47 HST)

Gatherum wrote:
  • Group | Progress | Average Rating (out of 5)
  • Amon Amarth | 0% | TBD
  • Arsis | 0%* | TBD
  • Before the Dawn | 100% | 4.4
  • Blood Stain Child | 96%** | 4.2
  • Dark Tranquillity | 15% | TBD
  • Disarmonia Mundi | 91%** | 4.3
  • Eternal Tears of Sorrow | 0%* | TBD
  • In Flames | 100% | 3.9
  • In Mourning | 0%* | TBD
  • In Vain | 100% | 4.9
  • Insomnium | 100% | 4.3
  • Loch Vostok | 0%* | TBD
  • Ne Obliviscaris | 0% | TBD
  • Neaera | 0%* | TBD
  • Omnium Gatherum | 0%* | TBD
  • Swallow the Sun | 0%* | TBD
  • Words of Farewell | 100% | 4.6

* Reset in order to better my listening experience and to assign fairer ratings. This basically applied to all acts to which I had not listened to in their entirety except Dark Tranquillity, since they are where I left off.
** Main catalogue complete, but not at 100% because of the album, Princess Ghibli by the Imaginary Flying Machines collaborative project.


Gatherum wrote:
New additions in italics. Percentages in bold indicate changes from the last update (where new band additions are not bolded due to being new, of course).


Gatherum wrote:
These figures are based on tracks that I have rated vs. total tracks in a given artist's catalogue. Generally speaking, I have listened to all of these artists extensively. However, the way that I confirm a track as a listen is to rate it, and I only rate tracks when I am going chronologically through an album. This way, I gain the experience of listening to these albums as they were meant to be listened: front to back, as opposed to randomly listening to all the songs and haphazardly rating them as I go.

(snip)

I listen to albums chronologically as well, so I can see how a band has grown over the years, though for some artists, I basically acquired the album I remembered the most and listened to that first before I added the rest of their discography, in order to determine whether or not I really wanted them.

(snip)


Amon Amarth, Arsis, DevilDriver, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, In Vain, and Neaera added because of their status as personal classics that you all helped me to recall. Thank you. :)

Daylight Dies added as a result of random Youtube searches down memory lane. A classic act that I thoroughly enjoy.

Before the Dawn, Disarmonia Mundi, In Mourning, and Loch Vostok added because I found them interesting and awesome enough as recs to at least try an album. Thanks very much for these recs. \m/

Ne Obliviscaris added as a result of stumbling upon them during my usual Youtube browsing at work. I instantly fell in love with them and was so impressed that I subsequently ordered their debut, along with a t-shirt, via their label. \m/

Words of Farewell added due to repeated visits to their material on Youtube and multiple instances of encouragement from you guys in this and other thread(s). Can't say I regret it at all. :)

DevilDriver subsequently removed because, while The Last Kind Words is a relatively good album, I don't much appreciate the rest of their material and have found myself entirely unmotivated to explore them further.

Mechina removed (from the list, not from my library) because I eventually reached the verdict that their songs, structurally, are pure death metal and that the symphonic elements and clean vocals were giving me the illusion of melody as stated before.

NOTE: For each band, I used the most recent logo that has appeared on at least two of their full-length albums. If none of a given band's full-lengths have a common logo, then I factored in EP's, demo's, and/or other, less major releases (as is the case with In Mourning, whose cursive logo has not appeared since their debut, but which also appeared on some of their demos, whereas subsequent logos have appeared only once). Some logos may have been superseded on the latest release (such as the case of Loch Vostok), but have not appeared yet on another full-length release (logos appearing on the latest full-length, and then on a succeeding EP/demo/single/etc or vice versa will take less precedence than a logo that has appeared on two or more full-lengths), and thus are not featured (yet). Line breaks in a given logo are not regarded as important (Amon Amarth's logo has the word "Amon" on top of "Amarth," when they are usually seen side-by-side on a single line and In Flames's current logo has more often been seen the opposite way: "In" on top of "Flames"), being considered as minor variations that don't make it a whole new logo. However, for the sake of correctness, logos may be replaced based on this issue if worthy replacements of similar resolution and quality can be found. Be advised that some of these logos have been touched up during the process of separating them from whatever backgrounds they came from through various means. Some logos were simple jobs (Dark Tranquillity, Insomnium, Swallow the Sun) due either to their simplicity or because they are taken from a very high-quality source. Others required more work due either to the source being an album (Before the Dawn, Words of Farewell) or other image of difficult (but workable) contrast levels (Disarmonia Mundi), or the logo simply being particularly complex or busy (Ne Obliviscaris, Words of Farewell). These logos as they appear here are only as perfect as I am (three guesses how much), and are not necessarily preferable over any official source. However, the goal was simply to create flat, black-and-white representations of said logos for use on databases such as this one, as well as for personal use (barring copyright infringement, of course). Any submission of logo(s) at qualities and/or resolutions superior to these are, of course, welcome. Please note that none of these were created from scratch, nor do I own any of them. It's just a small hobby of sorts. These logos are always subject to change, either because the band in question made an update, or because I got a wild hair up my ass to tweak them again.

NOTE 2: I would be very happy to release these and other logos to MA for use on the database. Some logos on the site could use updates. Update: Logos are now standalone images. No need to PM me for permission or anything; just use them!
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(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."


Last edited by Schmengie on Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:37 am, edited 60 times in total.
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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:11 am 
 

Note: I know I already posted a thread relating specifically to Dark Tranquillity. And I am considering one or a few of those recs. Just so y'all know that I didn't just completely ignore you guys. But this question popped into my head and I just had to ask. :)
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ThePoop wrote:
(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

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Dave_o_rama
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:27 am 
 

First and foremost, you want to look in to Eternal Oath. Their stuff is a bit different from the bands you've got listed there (probably closest to Insomnium if I had to pick one), though it still stays well within the realm of melodic death metal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FKZkN48c7o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPcklHNGoOs

Re: Swallow the Sun... Hooded Menace. Crushing death/doom with plenty of melodies to help it fit in here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzEOj0yiCg8

And I would think that the next logical step for you is to move up in the speed and/or brutality departments, seeing as how you've got In Flames and Gallery-era Dark Tranquillity.

Would At the Gates be too obvious?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TJIy_mUSvc

Ablaze My Sorrow (especially their first album) should do the trick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRO-10FwJUs

At the risk of filling this thread with obvious suggestions you already know... Arsis?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHC9w7pCIMQ

Engraved Disillusion? They're not too terribly fast, but they don't compromise any brutality. Now featuring an actual link to one of their songs!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP1LTWvFX4Q

Intestine Baalism? Intestine Baalism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QEvf3OFL0E

Deathlehem doesn't quite fit in with any of your list, and it's a bit closer to pure death metal than anything else, but you just might enjoy them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omThYecwv8I

And from what I've read about Blood Stain Child (I'm not familiar with the band), I can offer you...

Archeon. Think Children of Bodom, but way better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQSTKU3MsuQ
Just avoid Made of Hate, the band they changed into. Boring, vanilla melodeath awaits you there.

...and Skyfire, who are amazingly the only band I have here that got mentioned in that thread.


Last edited by Dave_o_rama on Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Smalley
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Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:06 am
Posts: 1327
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:41 am 
 

Before The Dawn.
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SatanicPotato
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Posts: 2165
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:57 am 
 

be'lakor and orpheus perhaps

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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:25 am 
 

Dave_o_rama wrote:
Eternal Oath, Ablaze My Sorrow, Archeon

None of these are too bad, but I'm not a big fan of the sound of their riffs. I lean toward downtuned, hard, and distorted. I see that more than a few of these guys prefer the false chord to the death growl, which is nice for a change. Not as good as Mikael Stanne's, but a change. :)

Hooded Menace

Actually, this was interesting. It reminded me somewhat of Zaraza when the blast beats come in, sans the rest of their crazy stuff, and maybe a little bit of Megasus toward the end. It felt drawn out though, even though it wasn't that long.

At the Gates

I can see why they were revered in their day (and today). Their sound and production are obviously dated and the guitars aren't as hard and distorted as I'd like, but they somehow pull off a brutality that most of the others couldn't. It would seem that their work stands the test of time, certainly. Might be worth checking in to.

Arsis

I actually used to have Arsis, and have been thinking about re-adding them to my library. Good suggestion. :)

Engraved Disillusion?

Link led to Arsis' track.

Intestine Baalism, Deathlehem

Eh. Not bad, but not remarkable to my ears.


Responses in italics.
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ThePoop wrote:
(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

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Dave_o_rama
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:45 am 
 

Glad to hear it all :-D If you like At the Gates and Arsis, The Black Dahlia Murder and Neuraxis will suit you quite nicely:
TBDM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWjg-_7xtpo
Neuraxis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DZnU-MW5YY

EDIT: How the hell could I forget Amon Amarth? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGINLisYN9Y

I also fixed Engraved Disillusion's link in my last post.

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Zodijackyl
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Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:39 pm
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 12:06 pm 
 

-From the Gothenburg scene that gave you ATG, DT, and IF:

Eucharist - One of my favorites, their demo and two full lengths are essential. Demo is very fast and deathy, "A Velvet Creation" is darker and has the odd edge of old death metal while being very melodic, and "Mirrorworlds" is more polished and extremely melodic. The band is nice enough to have all of their stuff available for download on their official site.
http://www.artnoir-productions.com/eucharist/mp3.html

Sacrilege - Daniel Svensson's band before In Flames. Their two albums are both great, the first one also has a contrast of two vocalists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zEea7vI_P8

Diabolique - Necrolord's band. Only their first is really in the realm of melodic death metal, though the vocals aren't growls, the music is very much in the Gothenburg MDM style with some of the death/doom of Insomnium and Swallow the Sun. Great stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqkKAsU5dPA

Dimension Zero - In Flames side project that is more aggressive but still extremely melodic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdoGwW2vG4k

The Crown - Melodic death/thrash, one album featured Tomas Lindberg of ATG.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0ON3Ie2AeI

The Haunted - You probably know them already, it's a melodic death/thrash band formed by former ATG members. They vary quite a bit through their albums and most of it isn't really MDM. Mostly here for reference, not so much as MDM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjWjor9BRHQ

Soilwork - Started out as melodic death metal, evolved into... let's not go there.



-Most of these are less melodic, less-polished, like early ATG, so it might be tough to get into at first.

Grotesque - Pre-ATG band with some of the members, primitive black/death metal.
House of Usher - Martin Larsson's band before ATG, put out two demos. "When Being Fucked With" is one of my favorite demos, though it's a bit darker and rougher than more recent stuff.
Liers in Wait - Only released the "Spiritually Uncontrolled Art EP", it's a bit rough like early ATG.



-Sweden also had a melodic black/death scene that was connected to the Gothenburg scene. Dissection are the most prominent band from this, and they even shared a practice space with ATG around 1994-95.

Dissection - You probably know the story already. "Reinkaos" was a lot less black metal, though not their best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM73Do42VTo

Unanimated - "Ancient God of Evil" is an album worth listening through. This track builds up in the intro, but it has some melodic lead work in the middle that you should love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GesXpkcCIwI

Decameron - Adrian Erlanddson drummed on their only album after he left ATG.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrouGivIZeI

Sacramentum - More black than death, very melodic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXBaKc9FVwk



The Stockholm death metal scene also had quite a bit of melody and was related to and somewhat of a precursor to the style we now call melodic death metal. Check out a few of them, since they can sound like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQrI2A3hFdc
Carnage - Dark Recollections
Dismember - Massive Killing Capacity
Entombed - Left Hand Path
Tiamat - The Astral Sleep

edit: I didn't even mention anything that wasn't Swedish, I'll save that for after you work your way through some of this...

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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 12:09 pm 
 

Dave_o_rama wrote:
Engraved Disillusion

This was actually your best previous suggestion, I think. I like the ominous black metal-esque introduction and interludes. Fuller guitar sound than the rest. I'm not sure if they're an instant add for me, but we'll see.

The Black Dahlia Murder, Neuraxis

Funny, I actually had these two a few years ago, but didn't listen to them enough to remember what they sounded like. I like the former's hardcore edge. Makes the beats more unforgiving, but doesn't overshadow their melodeath leanings. The latter has grown into a fine technical death metal band, though probably not at the level of Arsis or Anata. Still good, will consider them.

Amon Amarth

Correction: how could I forget Amon Amarth? These guys are a classic for me. I had them before I purged my library a few months ago and started over. They really know how to make those Norse tales as righteous and epic as they're meant to be. Instant add for later, I think. Thanks for the reminder. :)


Responses in italics.
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ThePoop wrote:
(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

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Schmengie
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Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:14 am
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 12:19 pm 
 

By the way, just to let y'all know, if I seem exceedingly picky at any point, it's not because I hate anything you guys suggest, or that I am difficult to please, it's just because I used to be quite compulsive when it came to music: I'd acquire anything I found and could get my hands on, so much so that I saturated my collection with stuff that I never got around to listening to. So, I purged my library and started working on re-adding things that I decided were absolutely essential. Right now, I have a grand total of thirty-six artists (that's not counting musicians that I only have because they authored a soundtrack to something or because they appeared on a split at one point), and I'm being more careful about what I decide to add. I'm looking to round out my library with the utmost quality, as opposed to quantity, and I'm doing well so far. In any case, thanks for all your recommendations: keep them coming. :)
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ThePoop wrote:
(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

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reven
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Joined: Thu May 05, 2011 9:21 am
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Location: Dubrovnik , Croatia
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 6:22 pm 
 

Dark Lunacy is all you need.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM1ImfvvCHs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVrMRTw29G0

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ZEROMETAL
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Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:20 pm
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 6:55 pm 
 

I'd recommend:

Bleed Out (from Japan) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB7aN7gSFfs

Blind Stare (from Finland) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BEUqBiJrog&fmt=18 -- OK, I lie a little; they do mix in a bit of symphonic metal but generally well worth a listen, seriously. ;)
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Erotetic
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 9:47 pm 
 

not a fan of early Eternal Tears of Sorrow or late Edge of Sanity?

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pbsisbad
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:30 pm 
 

Disarmonia Mundi. Modern melodic death metal with industrial synths and solid guitar work.

James LaBrie. The most recent album is the best. The other one labeled James LaBrie isn't that good. Mullmuzzler is an earlier incarnation of the project, but it's progressive metal.

Mors Principium Est. Fast melodic death metal

Nightrage. MDM with slight core influences.

Words of Farewell. MDM with uplifting synths and short techno breaks.

Silent Descent. I recommended this based on your interest in Blood Stain Child. This band is pretty similar.

Minushuman. Groove/death metal, very atmospheric.

Gru. I know I recommended this on another thread, but I scanned your profile and thought you might like it.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'll let you know if I have any other bands.
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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 4:45 am 
 

Zodijackyl wrote:
Sacrilege

Pretty heavy and powerful for its age. Not bad.

Diabolique

Didn't much like the vocals on this one. Not bad musically, but I've heard better from gothic doom.

Dimension Zero

I actually really liked the vocals on this one. A clean, powerful black metal rasp with the hardness of melodic death. The best suggestion among these. \m/

The Crown

Interesting. Not too remarkable, but it's doomy and thrashy and that can't be bad.

The Haunted

Hardcore vocals. Nothing against hardcore vocals, it's just that I didn't feel like they fit here, or that they were all that in sync with the music.

Dissection, Unanimated, Decameron, Sacramentum

Eh. Preferred Akercocke and Behemoth when it came to blackened death. None of these seemed to bring about the aggression or heaviness of either.

Dismember

Skillful, but way underpowered for death metal. The shouted vocals didn't suit it well.


reven wrote:
Dark Lunacy

These guys were actually recommended in my other thread about Dark Tranquillity. Though I don't find much in common between them, I like how these guys can switch between their driving melodeath tendencies and their doomier, dramatic side without disrupting the flow of a given song. It may well be worth checking out The Diarist, if nothing else.


Erotetic wrote:
Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Edge of Sanity

The former is another classic for me, and may just be another instant add that I somehow managed to forget about like Amon Amarth. Thanks for reminding me. As for the latter, heard of them, but that's it.


Responses in italics.
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ThePoop wrote:
(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."


Last edited by Schmengie on Sat Jun 09, 2012 8:32 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 4:58 am 
 

EDIT: Accidental double-post. Request deletion.
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(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

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ClaymanOnFire
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 1:06 pm 
 

Noumena is pretty similar to Insomnium, and I personally like them a lot more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIwyVAj6gEo

MyGrain is also quite good, almost sounds like if Soilwork could write better songs. MyGrain is on the 'brutal' side of Melodic Death, but they manage to retain a lot of the melody that's usually lost in those bands. Lots of little variations throughout their music too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBiLx3SNyJQ

Suidakra is also a great band, although I'm not sure if they're considered Pagan metal...anyway, Suidakra incorporates a fair amount of Folk into their music, but they primarily play a Power metal-infused style of Melodic Death metal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvoYNPklAp4

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LeetMetalhead
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Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:35 am
Posts: 164
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 6:35 pm 
 

Note yourself to give At the Gates a listen a few years from now, and try their debut album, "The Red in the Sky is Ours."

You can thank me later.

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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:42 pm 
 

I'll respond to the rest of these recs eventually. Been working, haven't had time.

I thank the lot of you. :)
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ThePoop wrote:
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I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

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Zodijackyl
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Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:39 pm
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:54 pm 
 

Gatherum wrote:
Dimension Zero

I actually really liked the vocals on this one. A clean, powerful black metal rasp with the hardness of melodic death. The best suggestion among these. \m/


OK, you like the hard edge of that and a bit of variance in the vocals? I know a few bands like that!

Nightrage - Sweet Vengeance - Features Tomas Lindberg of ATG on vocals, it has a lot more of the hardness that you seem to like. Here's the first track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n0vJbANIgk

Burden of Grief - Haunting Requiems - German melodeath that has a bit more of a hard edge than the older Swedish stuff. Here's another first track from a debut, it mixes in some classic GBG feel with the band's more aggressive style. The audio on every YouTube version loses a bit of the edge that the album has, so some of the tracks sound like shit and the edge of the guitars gets lost along with the cymbals due to compression.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhK1NNxZW3M
Here's another track that's more aggressive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIjFQmqgHCA

Are these on the right track?

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bradtheimpaler
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Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 11:09 pm 
 

If you're into heavy, low, and distorted, as far as Melodic Death Metal, immediately coming to mind is Kalmah, although that might be a bit obvious.

Kalmah - The Black Waltz - "The Groan of Wind"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqBexdo1CME
Heavy as hell, good melodies.
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CDanner wrote:
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Make that comparison again and someone else will do it for you.

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Kommandojonna
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Joined: Tue May 10, 2011 4:05 pm
Posts: 33
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 7:25 am 
 

In Flames and Dark Tranquillity
Sentenced's North from Here is quite similar to their early stuff. I have read that the guys of Dark Tranquillity took strong influence from this album in '93. Basically just this one album, since their first album is pure death metal and they went to "more rocky" style on their next album Amok, which still is majorly referred as melodic death metal. I haven't heard their The Trooper EP.

Insomnium
If you like their first two albums then I recommend Opeth's Orchid and Morningrise. Also Amorphis's Tales from the Thousand Lakes and Elegy are woth of listening. Early Sentenced fits also.

Omnium Gatherum
I have heard only their two latest albums but I would strongly recommend myGRAIN and especially their latest s/t album.

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~Guest 226319
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 8:43 pm 
 

I think the next logical thing to do would be to check out some brutal/tech stuff. Wicked Innocence, Wormed, Molested, etc...

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TheGrimWombat
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 12:47 am 
 

Under Threat is all that matters.
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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:49 am 
 

ZEROMETAL wrote:
Bleed Out

When I listen carefully, I can hear that J-rock/metal influence, just slightly. That said, they obviously have a lot of respect for melodeath as a western form, since, had I not known that these guys were Japanese beforehand, I would not have assumed such. Apart from that, meh.

Blind Stare

Mmm, powerful bass drum. Otherwise, they remind me somewhat of Eternal Tears of Sorrow as far as symphonic elements go and are similar in other ways, but I'd say EToS do it all better save for the bass drumming.


pbsisbad wrote:
Disarmonia Mundi

Oh wow, very industrial-like. Reminds me of the desperate chaos of The Axis of Perdition, except more melodic and infinitely more well-produced. I'm liking this a lot. \m/

James LaBrie

Not bad. I like his cleans. They have the potential to soar. Not a bad fry either. Still, I'm not hearing anything all that remarkable from this one. Of course, when it comes to melodeath, one can only stray so far, but I feel like the majority of the melodeath bands that I have do most, if not all, of what this guy does already. Definitely good, just not an add for me, I guess.

Mors Principium Est

Machine gun guitar hammering that reminds me of Deno Cazares' work in Divine Heresy, combined with a little chugga (which is not a negative for me). Okay, but I felt that Divine Heresy did it better, and I never got into them beyond, like, one song.

Nightrage

Reminds me of the aggressive anger of Neaera, but not quite as powerful and with more hardcore influence, like you said. While these guys aren't an add for me, this has prompted me to make a mental note to revisit Neaera later, so, thanks. :)

Words of Farewell

These guys sound to me like the appropriate bridge between Insomnium and recent Omnium Gatherum, combining the driving force of the former with the synth experimentation of the latter. And they do it very well. After noticing that I had been going back to Youtube to get my daily dose of these guys, I finally decided to add them. Good times. \m/

Silent Descent

I've explored these guys before. Comparisons to Blood Stain Child are not unwarranted, but I always felt that BSD not only did it first, but also did an overall better job with the trance/metal synthesis because they managed to place a bit more emphasis on the danceability of trance without invalidating themselves as a melodeath band. A good song, very atmospheric, but I can see that they've relegated themselves to the comfort of the melodeath song structure. Which isn't bad from a metal perspective, but not as good if you're trying to mix the two worlds together as these guys intend.

Minushuman

Hmm. I think I've heard this before, but didn't remember it. Shame on me. I like it. They seem to employ some of that weird djent structure without the actual onomatopoeic djent and lacking the polyrhythm in favour of melody and simple groove. The vocalist maintains a respectable balance between screaming and shouting, the latter of which feels more thrashy than hardcore, which is good because though I don't mind hardcore, I could care less for their shouts. You are right: quite atmospheric. They have eschewed a lot of their melodeath, but I can just hear the remnants. I also appreciate the long composition. I'm undecided on whether or not it really WOWed me overall. It may be worth looking into a few more songs.

Gru

The moment I saw the video thumbnail, I thought, "Uh oh! Esoteric-like naming conventions and nebulous cover art!" Why is that important? Well, this my be a gross generalisation, but bands who incorporate astral imagery tend to be pretty interesting. And I was right: these guys are pretty interesting. But not that interesting. I'd say that they're a step below Animals as Leaders, though, to their credit, they do some pretty damned good soloing.


ClaymanOnFire wrote:
Noumena

Didn't find them as similar to Insomnium as stated. Reminds me more of Omnium Gatherum. Good bass wall. Otherwise, not sure what to feel about it. It's not bad, I guess.

MyGrain

Hmm, indeed, almost comparable to Neaera in brutality, a bit more epic, and with obvious power metal influence. Power metal is... "eh" for me. Apart from that, not really WOWing for me.

Suidakra

Interestingly pounding drums. Well-executed, groovy, and with subtle folk influence, but I've heard better. Or, maybe I'm just not much of a folk junkie. I appreciated the bagpipes though. I might need to listen to a few more songs.


Zodijackyl wrote:
Nightrage

Gave these guys a listen through your link just to see what you'd have for me from this act. Obviously earlier material, but it doesn't sound like they changed much. This one sounded like it had a bit less of a hardcore influence. Apart from that, see the above. :P

Burden of Grief

When these guys slowed down, they actually reminded me somewhat of Pale Folklore- and Marrow of the Spirit-era Agalloch in the guitars. Naturally, though, their double-kicking is higher in the mix. Not so much a fan of the way the vocal track is produced. It sounds distant and echoic, which sometimes works for atmospheric or depressive black metal bands, but not so much melodeath. However, I see promise here, and to answer your question, I wouldn't say you're on the wrong track, no. I have a feeling that I'd appreciate this band's later material. :)


bradtheimpaler wrote:
Kalmah

Immediately reminds me of Amon Amarth in that it has that sort of righteous feel, and then Insomnium, with their guitar work sounding somewhat folkish (obviously, even). Might be worth a few more listens.


Whew. Responses in italics.
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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:58 am 
 

I'm going to update the first post with all of my responses so far, as well as an update on my library. Once again, thanks to all of you. :)

I am about to wrap up my little melodeath acquisition campaign soon, probably not long after I effect said update. Once that occurs, if anyone has any bands that I ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY MUST LOOK IN TO based on the update, feel free to post them.

EDIT: Updated.
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I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

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joppek
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:58 pm 
 

LeetMetalhead wrote:
Note yourself to give At the Gates a listen a few years from now, and try their debut album, "The Red in the Sky is Ours."

You can thank me later.


weird tho' as it may seem, i think you should actually do this - add a reminder in your google calendar, or whatever you use, to listen to that album in two years time (and maybe a link to this thread)
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BaloroftheEvilEye
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:09 pm 
 

Are you aware of Garden Of Shadows? Very easy to overlook them, but they were a great, if unique melodeath band, not quite sounding anything like their peers across the Atlantic.

You may also want to look into Empyrean Sky, another melodeath that seems to have it's own thing going on. They also have a new album coming out, which I'm eagerly awaiting.

Soulfallen is a neat little Finnish melodeath/melodic black metal band. Some of their songs have really fucking catchy sections and should easily hold your attention on first listen.

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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:34 pm 
 

BaloroftheEvilEye wrote:
Garden Of Shadows

Well now, this was quite the track! An immensely long composition with similarities to Opeth, but lacking all of that 70's-influenced progressive rock incorporation. Suitably hard and pounding. Not really much a of a melodeath act, but demonstrating good progressive death metal in their own right. It is a shame that they disbanded; they would have done well in the new millennium. \m/

Empyrean Sky

Not too bad. Not a big fan of the cleans on this one. I've heard better. Instrumentation is all right. Not incredible for me.

Soulfallen

I used to have these guys. A promising act espousing a melodic death/black metal synthesis of sorts, though obviously leaning on the former. I only ever got into them because of the final track on this album. The rest is pretty good, but not standout.


Responses in italics.
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Carpathianchrist
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:41 pm 
 

Maybe instead of looking for new bands you should slow down, stop downloading music, BUY something and actually take the time to listen to something. It will benefit you much more.

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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:56 pm 
 

Carpathianchrist wrote:
Maybe instead of looking for new bands you should slow down, stop downloading music, BUY something and actually take the time to listen to something. It will benefit you much more.


This year, I have so far purchased from Tyrant of Death, Hammock, Pale Sketcher, How to Destroy Angels, Theophany, Mechina, Dark Tranquillity, Agalloch, Ne Obliviscaris, and Anathema in merch and music and in that order. I just made the Ne Obliviscaris purchase yesterday, spending almost USD$40 on the limited edition album/t-shirt bundle of Portal of I, and the Anathema purchase today, spending ~USD$23 on the limited CD/DVD-A digibook of Weather Systems. I'll admit that it's not much by far, but I am starting to support my favourites, and I will make more purchases in the future. I tend to be picky, though: if it's a paid digital download, I have to have it in lossless audio quality, and if it's a physical release, it has to be of amiable quality (read: a digipack, at least; I'm not doing straight jewel cases anymore if I can help it), even better if it's an elaborate package and/or bundle (*coughagallochcough*).

Also, I have been slowly but surely going through these artists album by album. I have my days where I'll just cycle through my known favourite songs, but as we speak, I am listening to Blood Stain Child's Mystic Your Heart. I literally went through the entirety of Insomnium's releases so far, and have made headway through In Flames.

I'm just sayin', I'm not the hopeless, compulsive pirate I used to be. If I was, everything everyone suggested here would be in my library already. But no, I still have only ten melodic death metal bands.

EDIT: On that note, if someone can link me to an amiable quality Words of Farewell sale of their full-length debut, physical or digital, I would really appreciate it. If it's bundled with anything, all the better. \m/
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I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."


Last edited by Schmengie on Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Carpathianchrist
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:39 pm 
 

well done for making an effort then. I will back up a previous suggestion to check out Dissection. I guess you would also be justified in downloading Sacramentium's "Far away from the sun" because you are not going to get it under £25 for a CD

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henkkjelle
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:10 pm 
 

I got a dessert for you, gatherum.

Canopy http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Can ... iscography
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj5K7bKdzRE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzdBJMUGiDU
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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:28 pm 
 

henkkjelle wrote:
Canopy

Great Scott! I'm not sure what to say, except that this has piqued my interest. Especially the second song. Definitely reminds me of Neaera in harshness, except that its tempo is delightfully slower. That description doesn't seem to do it justice though. I will look further into this. \m/


Response in italics.
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I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

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somefella
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 8:56 am 
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8BYWiqFWJw <-----The Malignant Strain


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk8uD-0AsBg <----- Catalysts For Cataclysms


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMXAmMGSORQ <----Enslave Fire

Absence Of The Sacred.

The three links are links from each of their albums, all of which can loosely be called melodic death. The second album is pretty much pure melodeath with some thrash elements.

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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:19 pm 
 

somefella wrote:
Absence Of The Sacred

Mmm, I rather like the thrash elements. Thrash was always sort of a retro genre to me for some reason, maybe because of its connection to speed metal, which came much earlier. So, I can appreciate that. Unfortunately, that's really the only thing this band has going for it. It's aight.


Response in italics.
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EpicSceptic
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 5:18 pm 
 

I'm lazy, so:

Dawn (Sweden)

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Schmengie
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:09 am 
 

Well everybody, I think that's it. I have rounded out my melodeath collection with a grand total of thirteen bands. They are listed in logo form in the first post. I won't discourage future recommendations, but as of right now, I am of the opinion that I have enough awesome melodeath to last me for quite a long time.

Once again, thank you all for your recs and godspeed. \m/
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WolfieboyMachi
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:21 am 
 

Sonic Syndicate's debut album, Eden Fire.
Great, dark Melodic Death Metal with awesome, often cyber-esque synths.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUIrETqtPzk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y45H0YG2Es
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRzCnNVIfIc

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Carpathianchrist
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 12:24 pm 
 

Since when was Sonic Syndicate melodic death metal? They are about as death as Atreyu.

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