What genre is "Tool" and "P.O.D"
 

As the title suggests what genre would you place Tool and POD in? (Other then "rock")

Along those lines, since I am currently "in to" Tool and POD, what other bands would you recommend?

Thx,
Jason

I guess I'd call Tool metal. Never heard of POD, so I couldn't say there.

Isn't POD kind of like Christian Metal?
I've heard people call Tool a 'Nu Metal' band.. but I'd hate to call them that when you look at the bands that would lump them in with (Korn, Limp Bizkit, etc. *shudder*)

I'd almost say that Tool is progressive metal? I wouldn't want to associate them with nu metal, yuck...Hmm...I guess hard rock/metal would fit closest. I don't hear any similarities between Tool and POD but maybe I'm looking too deep.

Other bands you might like: Deftones, Glassjaw, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot, Staind...They may not all fit into the same category but you may dig some of these groups.

Tool and P.O.D. are not the same genre. Tool is kind of a mix of metal, alternative, and progressive. Tool is very versatile so it's hard to stick them under one thing, it's closest to metal though. P.O.D. is christian hard rock.

some metal and hard rock that I feel noteworthy:
-A Perfect Circle
-Chevelle
-Mudvayne
-Sevendust
-Damageplan
-Taproot
-Godsmack
-Shinedown
-Deftones
-Nonpoint
-Disturbed
-Earshot
-Pain of Salvation
-Opeth
-Dead Soul Tribe
-Iced Earth
-Queensryche


I guess it just depends on what sounds good to you.

Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to imply POD and Tool were in the same genre's, just happened to listen to a Tool song followed by a POD song so they were both on the tip of my tongue as bands that I couldn't think of what I would classify them as.

POD has some Christian influence, but I think they are more Rap-Metal

Thanks for the suggestions, I am trying to expand my tastes a bit! Gives me something new to chew on.

Jason

POD was lumped in with the nu-metal wave from a few years ago. So comparable bands to them would be limp bizkit, korn, disturbed, godsmack, etc. I'm not exactly a big fan of that music, but who am I to judge? As was mentioned earlier, A Perfect Circle is probably the closest match to Tool, mainly because Maynard James Keenan is the lead singer for both bands. I personally like APC a little bit more, but they're both great bands.

I've always thought of Tool as progressive metal.

POD is maybe Christian Rap Metal?


Tool was my favorite band for a good couple of years (they may reclaim "favorite band status" with the release of their new album though), so there a good lot of bands I can recommend that I got into through Tool.

First is probably Kyuss. I heard Tool's cover of "Demon Cleaner" and ran off to download the original version by Kyuss. Turned out that it kicked serious ass (and was better than Tool's cover of it, a rare thing indeed) so I quickly grabbed the rest of their catalogue. They don't quite sound like Tool, but I can definitely hear similarities in their styles, especially the guitar tone.

Songs by Kyuss to check out: Gardenia, Asteroid, Catamaran, Odyssey, 50 Million Year Trip.

After that, I think I got into bands like the Melvins and Isis, the former being huge influences of Tool (they even did a song together), and the latter being a band that was influenced by Tool.

Songs by The Melvins to get: Roadbull, Revolver, Divorced
Songs by Isis to get: Anything from the Pantopticon CD

Following those bands was King Crimson, a prog act from the 60's, which continues to make music today. I believe that Robert Fripp, the core and creative force of King Crimson is collaborating with Tool on their new album. Tool has said many times that they are heavily influenced by KC. The style of music is not the same (although songs like THRAK are metallish), but the wacky time signature changes and sonic assault/mellow section techniques are present.

Songs by King Crimson: In the Wake of Poseidon, THRAK, Moonchild, In the Court of the Crimson King, Red, Epilogue... aw hell just get everything you can find.


After getting into King Crimson and searching through the progressive genre, I came across Porcupine Tree. They blend old-school prog/spacerock (think Pink Floyd) with folk (think Jethro Tull). Their last album, In Absentia, is a lot heavier compared to their earlier works. This is probably a good starting point for you.

Songs by Porcupine Tree: Wedding Nails, Blackest Eyes, Shesmovedon, Prodigal, Hatesong. The songs get less metal and more progressive as you read from left to right. The song "Prodigal" will definitely remind you of DSOTM era Pink Floyd.


Porcupine Tree led me into my current favorite band, Opeth. I wanted more music like Porcupine Tree (especially for the folky stuff and the badass guitar solos) and heard that Steven Wilson (lead singer/creative control of PT) had recently produced several album for the metal band Opeth. I quickly grabbed the latest album, "Damnation," and was incredibly impressed by how good it was. Very mellow, great singing and acoustic/electric guitar playing (the second solo on Windowpane!!!!), and impeccable songwriting. Thirsty for more Opeth, I downloaded whatever I could find... only to be incredibly disappointed. It turns out that "Damnation" was not quite like the rest of Opeth's catalogue, which contains growled vocals (Yuck!). I was immediately turned off and listened exclusively to Damnation for a long time. One day, however, I decided to give their heavy songs another shot, and popped the "Still Life" album into my CD player. I was, of course, blown away -- even with the growling, and discovered that Opeth is not quite like any other metal band. The heavy sections (which ultimately grew on me) are punctuated with great acoustic guitar and clean singing passages. Anyway, I've pretty much listened to Opeth exclusively for the past few months (holy shit, did I really just type as much as I think I did?).

Songs from Opeth to start off with: Windowpane, Harvest, Death Whispered a Lullaby, Closure. These songs have no growling and are heavily feature the acoustic guitar. Harvest is one of the best songs I've ever heard and I urge you to download that one if you decide to download any.

Once you love those and are aching for more: Start off with The Drapery Falls (not too much growling), then move on to The Moor, Godhead's Lament, Moonlapse Vertigo, and Demon of the Fall. Godhead's Lament features a superb folk section about 3 minutes in. Moonlapse Vertigo has my favorite intro and outro of all time (the first two minutes of this song are WOWWWWW). Demon of the Fall is the song that Opeth uses to close all of their shows, and is a favorite among diehards (especially the death metal fans).


If you actually read all that then I hope it helps you (or anyone) discover new music.


Before I go, here's a couple more bands that I got into through Tool, but weren't really worth mentioning in the grand scheme of things:

A Perfect Circle (obviously)
Peach (Tool's bassist's former band)
Godspeed! You Black Empower (a post-rock band, really long songs featuring mostly string instruments and no singing)
Dream Theater (progressive metal -- they have some great songs and some terrible ones... check out Home, Metropolis, and A Change of Seasons)
Sigur Ros (another post-rock band, probably not your cup of tea right now. really mellow)

P.O.D. is more than Christian influenced, they are without a doubt Christian BASED.

saut: I picked up 'In Absentina' a few days ago. I loved it. I had always been meaning to give it a listen, I just never got around to it until a few days ago!

If you are enjoying In Absentia, definitely check out Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream.

Wow! Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

Saut, Dude... you rock! Seriously, that was great man. Thanks much for taking the time to introduce me to some cool stuff. I'll definitely start checking some of them out.

Jason

Saut, nice call on Dream Theater. I didn't even think to include them, but that's probably because they're literally the most amazing technical band I have ever seen. Each member by themself is a virtuoso with their respective instrument, but put them all together and add an unbelievable sense of timing and execution and you have one of the coolest bands I've ever seen. I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of their singer, but he's not that bad...but their instrumental tracks along with their improvs during live shows are just beyond incredible.

Aaaaah, always nice to find a fellow Opeth fan! I would add The Leper Affinity, Deliverance, Bleak and Blackwater Park to that fine list. All great songs as well with Leper Affinity being my fave opeth song of all time (well tied with blackwater park to be honest). Moonlapse Vertigo has some awesome parts, the first 2 growly verses for example. The guitar work during those is nothing short of brilliant. I could discuss Opeth all day, but I don't think this is the correct thread for it :D

--jaded

EDIT: Oh, the outro part in "The Funeral Portrait" starting with the lyrics:

"And you are just like them all, stained by the names of fathers
I'm greeting my downward fall, leaving the throes to others"

followed by possibly the most awesome solo I've ever heard,
is also worth listening to! :thumbsup:

We'll have to start up an Opeth thread one of these days! And yes, that is a badass part of The Funeral Portrait, but I prefer the "tangled up in hair" section better. However, I dont feel that the song as a whole belongs on Blackwater Park... too bouncy sounding!

If you like tool you'll love ISIS. I'd imagine tool's next cd is going to sound a lot like ISIS has become. Tool is definitely moving more and more towards progressive metal and POD i'd recommend you drop them like its hot. They're fucking terrible and they're rap-metal if anything. garbage, IMO. BTW, ISIS is a good band to check out if you're into tool and as many have said so is Opeth. The Gathering, Moonspell, Nightwish if you like chick singers too they're all a certain breed of progressive metal and check out Vintersorg too. He's amazing and his new album is really smart...if that makes sense.

I always think of the words "industrial rock" when I think of Tool. Not sure why. Personally I wouldn't call them progressive metal.

Tool was alt-grunge, then progressive alt rock, then progressive alt-metal. All BS genres, but pretty good descriptions. Tool has changed a lot over the years, but they get better every time. Every song on Lateralus was classic.