Very manyawesome bands here i can just add a few;
Killswitch Engage, Cradle of Filth, As I Lay Dying, DragonForce, Opteh, Otep, Winter Solstice, Job for a Cowboy................and yet still more,

i'm very picky about metal

i don't like "cookie monster" vocals
i also don't like falsetto, trilly vocals (a la Maiden, Judas Priest, etc.)
i require melody, not just rhythm
i require musicianship

so, yeah, that pretty much reduces me to liking Metallica, System of a Down, Ministry, um......

ok. have you tried like dream evil or kamelot. but it sounds like u'r more into rock then metal, a big part of metal is the "cookie monster" vocals.

C'mon guys, dig a bit deeper!

Neuraxis
Cryptopsy
Quo Vadis
Neurosis
Isis
Cult of Luna
Behemoth
Vader
Arcturus
Borknagar
Ulver
Gorguts
Augury
Negativa
and, dare I say it... 3 Inches of Blood

Killswitch Engage, Kamelot, Dragon Force and Metallica.

If you can get into Ministry then the 'cookie monster' stuff isn't that far away.

Since this is the metal thread, has anyone else been able to check out the new albums by Down and Arch Enemy? Wow. Both of them really kick ass.

After a long absence, Down did not disappoint. A lot of the interviews talked about how different this album was but I didn't see it. IMO, it was classic Down.

well
 

Damageplan, Machine Head, Megadeth
I love all of them

-Boris (in their more metal/doom albums, a la Amplifier Worship, Feedbacker, Absolutego)

-Earth. Again, the doom thing. I love twenty plus minute songs.

-Fuck...I'm Dead. Unlike the vast majority of posters here, I quite enjoy 'cookie monster' vocals, particularly within the gore metal/gore grind subgenres.

-Dystopia. Not the most 'metal', but still fucking incredible.

-Anal Cunt. Not for musicianship, but just for being one of the most hilarious, over-the-top offensive bands in the history of the universe.

-Marduk. Panzer Division Marduk is one of my favorite non-stop blastbeat albums of all time.


I could probably go on for ages, so I'll just leave it at that.

I saw a couple posts with some of my favorites at the moment posted already: Tool, Parkway Drive, DragonForce, Lamb of God etc.

A couple I'd recommend
-As I Lay Dying
-Dark Tranquillity
-In Flames

and maybe Nightwish

intellijence, if you like melodic metal you should definitely check out Quo Vadis and Neuraxis. They're more "extreme" than the ones you mentioned but give them a try anyway.

i guess the difference with Ministry is that the music part of it is more original and melodic than most other metal with that style of vocals. Ministry also doesn't use that style of vocals on all their songs (esp. on "Mind" and "Psalm 69")

- MAIDEN! MAIDEN!
- Led Zeppelin. What? They were metal! Sometimes!
- Black Sabbath, obvious choice here.
- Pantera


...I'm one of the only people ever not to like KISS...

Ministry isn't really that heavy. If you want heavy + melodic look at Derwood's suggestions (especially Dark Tranquility.) The best "gateway" band to cookie monster vocals is probably Opeth.

willravel, they're all pretty obvious choices :D I can see why people stick to the classics but it's never been for me.

Between the Buried and Me is another band I'd like to add to the pile.

Go to an Iron Maiden concert.

Ministry isn't heavy? Ever heard "Thieves" or "TV II"?

THIEVES



TV II

Yes, I have. Heaviness is relative and means different things to different people. Ministry is less heavy than a lot of bands out there, though they aren't necessarily worse for it. This is why I don't like people clinging to the big names too tightly; they hear Pantera, Slipknot, Ministry, etc. and assume that the borders these bands established have not been pushed. They have. Listen to Concealed, the first album by Augury, and tell me that they haven't moved well beyond their early influences.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't enjoy those bands, I'm saying that their work laid the foundation for newer bands who have built on those early conventions and have now moved above and beyond their influences.

I think someone mentioned them already but you really should check out ISIS. Go for their older stuff first.

Other then that... I'm always down with the Deftones.

Isis is incredible! Do you have a favorite Isis album?

I was 2/3 of the way through the thread, and I was starting to hope that nobody had said Dragonforce, but I guess you can't mention metal anymore without someone bringing them up.

A lot of what I like has been said, but the big metal and hardcore ones I'd recommend are Death, The Acacia Strain, Lamb of God, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Mayhem, Gorgoroth, Suffocation, Deicide, the old thrash classics like Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Kreator, Unearth, Chimaira, Symphony X, Yngvie Malmsteen, and I'll come up with more later.

Sea of Red.

Mastodon are fucking awesome! What do you think of their new album? Incidentally, whoever mentioned The Arctopus has good taste, and strapping young lad are absolutely hilarious live, not seen them personally, but Devin Townsend is a god of metal.

By the way, for everyone who likes Opeth, check out 'Burst' and their album 'Origo'. i saw them supporting Opeth in London and they blew me away!

WK, I think you meant The Red Sea and yes, that's definitely one of their best.

Mastodon is, as far as I'm concerned, at the front of the NWOAHM pack. I think that Blood Mountain is as good as Leviathan, but no better.

Burst seems pretty good. I listened to a few of the songs on their Myspace... will have to find some more.

wow you guys are bringing up some real heavy bands. I used to be into death metal aswell...as a kid.. I liked venom wasp ozzy judas ect. then went to hair band like ratt motley..ect but ratt is my alltime fav. They sing about girls and love and positive and inspirational stuff which makes you all happy and feeling great.

Yep... I was kind of drunk when I posted that.

What's wrong with DForce? Solid over-the-top powermetal band that don't take themselves seriously (at least in the interview I read). Fun to listen to imo.

The new Dark Tranquillity album "Character" is really good...I just got it over the weekend and it has impressed me quite a bit.

Challah, what would you recommend by Quo Vadis and Neuraxis?

Datalife2, a lot of "real heavy" bands have a positive message. Pelican, for example, play uplifting and monstrously heavy music. Mabool by Orphaned Land has a message of unity between the Abrahamic religions, though it ends on a sad note. Many of Neuraxis' lyrics deal with spirituality. Positive metal does exist.

It's called wankery. Their music is ridiculously fun to listen to but has almost no substance. Depending on what want from music, they're either great or absolutely unbearable. They really are a band you either love or hate.

Character is quite good. It's a little too similar to their last few releases for my liking but it's constructed well and doesn't have any major flaws.

Neuraxis' best release is certainly their newest - Trilateral Progression. Their earlier material is excellent but doesn't have the unique flair of Trilateral Progression. Quo Vadis is more difficult. Their best songs are On the Shores of Ithaka and Silence Calls the Storm, from Day into Night and Defiant Imagination, respectively. Listen to both, see which one you prefer and go with the album it belongs to. They also have a DVD out. It's easily one of the best metal DVDs I've seen and is especially good if you're a drummer, as you have the option of watching the entire concert through cameras that focus exclusively on the drummer.

i go kinda old skool-y with anthrax, iron maiden, dio, slayer, overkill, venom, metallica and megadeath...

If you like Slayer, listen to some Martyr.

http://www.myspace.com/martyrcanada

The vocals are similar in many places but the musicianship is, in my opinion, much better.

Try Testament and Symphony X, both of them have amazing vocalists, though Testament have experimented with a lot of vocal styles (try the classic "Practice What You Preach").

I'm into all types of metal, to name a few favorites rather than make a huge list (including grindcore as a type of metal)
Death
Deicide
Krisiun
Mayhem
Morbid Angel
Napalm Death
Nasum
Testament
The Acacia Strain (though they're hardcore, they fit in well with extreme metal and metalcore)
Yngwie Malmsteen

Martyr are an amazing band, I first heard "Hopeless Hopes" from Napster when it was their only album. They've done so much more since then, worth a listen for sure.

The only Martyr album I've heard is Feeding the Abscess. The first time I heard it, I actually sat, dumbfounded, for the entire duration. Incredible stuff. *Dreams of studying in Montreal and experiencing its incredible metal.*

Cheesy and unoriginal. Herman Li is a mediocre guitarist who makes up for his lack of technical skill by playing fast and drowning his tone in effects. There's nothing particularly special about the music and once it gets old (very quickly,) it's annoying.

gwar. i forgot gwar. gwar fuckin rocks....

I'm not a huge fan of the actual music Gwar makes, but I will admit they put on a kickass show!

I've got 2 "Gwar Bras" to prove that. I love it!

i'm actually in one of their videos. i was at a show at the 9:30 club in washington dc when they were taping a video. i crowdserfed to the stage and got in a shot.

When I think of the best metal ever... I think of WINGER!

...

(waits for vegetables to be thrown at him)

No, seriously... I miss Megadeth. Dave Mustaine is a weird dude, but admirable.

I have to second Between the Buried and Me, their new album "Colors" just came out and is nothing short of a masterpiece.

Nice!

FYI, Megadeth has a new album out . United Abominations

How do you all like Queensryche? I'm listening to the live version of Operation Mindcrime right now, it's pretty good.

Queensryche is good. I haven't listened to Operation: Mindcrime in a while, but I remember liking it. Can't think of anything similar to suggest, so I'll add a few more bands to the general pile (and add album suggestions to boot):

Protest the Hero (Kezia) - Technical metal with a well-articulated punk flair.
Converge (Jane Doe) - Metalcore pioneers. Ooze raw intensity.
Riverside (Second Life Syndrome) - Polish prog metal, great for fans of Porcupine Tree.