MOGHARR wrote:

I downloaded Atheist's "Elements" sometime last week and I am really getting into it. It sounds a lot like Death, but there are enough differences to keep me interested. I'm listening to Unquestionable Presence now.

Have you heard Gorguts? I downloaded "Considered Dead", and it's OK. Supposedly their later efforts are better, but I could live without hearing them. Not as good as Death, Obituary, Morbid Angel, or even Deicide's debut.

MOGHARR wrote:

I'm pretty sure my Dad's into Gorguts. Aren't they more of a "graah graah" band than a "raah raah" band? That shit hurts my head.

Not entirely sure what you mean, but here's a video to judge:

Have you (or anybody) heard of Massacra? The were a band that mixed Florida death metal with German thrash, but they were from France! Who would have thought that would be possible?
I found their "Final Holocaust" album on True Punk & Metal: http://truepunkmetal.blogspot.com/
Absolutely ferocious. (There are plenty more good albums on that site, figured I'd throw it out there.)

Penguin_Doomsday wrote:

Wow, Gorguts is pretty awesome! You know, I think I like this thread..

I love this thread.
I figure, since I'm up late, I'll post my thoughts on some death metal bands: (EPIC POST AHEAD!)
Possessed: The band that started all, but in all honesty, I only have their "Death Metal" demo, and need to get the full length, "Seven Churches". That's probably the second-biggest hole in my metal collection, with Peace Sells being the biggest.
Death: R.I.P. Chuck. I dig all eras of Death, from their sloppy demos to the polished prog masterpiece "The Sound of Perseverance." Plus, they had Steve DiGiorgio, and Steve DiGiorgio=WIN! One of the first death metal bands I started getting in to.
Obituary: While Dethklok was the band that introduced me to death metal, Obituary was the first death metal band that I really, really got into, and became the first death metal band I saw live. I even took a photo with Trevor Peres ( http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=798924&l=9b17a&id=824042139 ). I just love how they're incredibly heavy by being slow, as opposed to 30bpm blast beats. I mean, I love blasting and all, but it's a nice change when a band slows down.
Morbid Angel: My second favorite death metal band, bar none. David Vincent may be a douche, but he's one hell of a vocalist. Azagthoth absolutely wrecks on guitar, and Pete Sandoval is one of the best metal drummers in the world.
Sepultura: I have Sepultura's death metal recordings, and they're fantastic. Not as good as beneath the remains, but what could be that good? Very raw and primitive, and Max's voice is just so evil.
Deicide: I only have their debut. It's quite good, but Glen Benton is an idiot. I don't care for his later vocals, but they are rather good on the self-titled. I'll pick up "Legion" when I get to my hometown metal store.
Cannibal Corpse: I can take Cannibal in small doses, but Barnes' vocals are extremely repetitive and too low for my tastes. Their debut is much better. True story, I was watching Shaun of the Dead, and I looked down on my laptop to listen to a track from Cannibal's debut (I believe it was "Shredded Humans.") Next thing I know, I look up, and zombies are ripping one of the guys to shreds. Talk about a coincidence!
Atheist: Haven't heard much, but the little I have heard is technical death metal at it's best.
Cynic: Not really a death metal band, but they're often lumped in with that scene, so I figure, what the hey, I'll include them. I love Cynic. "Focus" is just such a trippy masterpiece that my brain can barely handle. Masvidal is a mind-blowing guitarist, and Sean Malone is a fantastic bassist. So much musicality contained in "Focus"...
Slaughter: No, not the glam Slaughter! Slaughter was a Canadian death/thrash band that had Chuck Schuldiner of Death in it for a few weeks. Their "Strappado" album is an absolute classic.
Voor: A death/thrash band that released one demo in 1985, "Evil Metal", and I love it so. Before I put my band on a four-year hiatus, we covered the untitled song from the demo, and it was good.
Incubus: Not that Incubus. This Incubus were a death/thrash band from Louisiana that released a kickass album called "Serpent Temptation". Their singer also guested on Sepultura's "Beneath the Remains", doing guest vocals on "Stronger than Hate". They were also Christian, go figure. You can download the entire album here: http://paranoizenola.com/thewayitwas/incubusserpenttemptation.html
Gorguts: Directly from my above post: I downloaded "Considered Dead", and it's OK. Supposedly their later efforts are better, but I could live without hearing them. Not as good as Death, Obituary, Morbid Angel, or even Deicide's debut.
Vader: I have Vader's "Impressions in Blood", and it's a pretty good album. It is a nice mix of modern and old-school death metal, which I dig. I'd say Vader's probably one of the best "second-tier" death metal bands, with first tier being about the first five or so of my list, give or take.
Dismember: Despite being lauded by many, I find Dismember to be somewhat lacking. The guitar tone is good, but something's missing. Its not bad, just not amazing. Still, "Like an Everflowing Stream" should be picked up if you can find it.
Suffocation: I haven't heard much of their stuff, but it's good and brutal. Vocalist isn't so good, though.
Napalm Death: Pretty much the only grindcore band (along with Assuck) worth caring about.
Devourment: I don't know why I dig Devourment, but I do. The drum sound is irritating, though. But the riffs and guitar tone more than makes up for it.
Massacra: I just posted my thoughts in my last post. Check 'em out.
Cryptopsy: Despite the new album sucking donkey chode, old Cryptopsy produced some of the best technical death metal I've ever heard, even if Lord Worm's a mediocre vocalist. "Phobophile" and "Slit Your Guts" have amazing instrumentals, but "Crown of Horns" can be unintentionally hilarious for its lyrical content about having sex with Satan. "I seek the loving warmth of your anus." BWAHAHAHA!
Six Feet Under: Bleh. Good in very small doses.
Darkthrone: Yeah, you read that right. Before they were the Black Metal gods, Darkthrone released an album of technical death metal entitled "Soulside Journey", and holy damn did it kick ass. You wouldn't know it from their later works, but Fenriz is a damned good drummer, apparently he was heavily influenced by Neil Peart.
Dethklok: The band that got me willing to accept death metal, even if they're hated by so many "true" metalheads. Bah, fuck 'em.

Any bands I left out, or any bands you'd like me to comment on, lemme know. Any mention of Job for a Cowboy will be met with dirty looks, and a rant on why deathcore sucks ass.

JRA wrote:

Here's my top 10 Metal albums of all time (as of right now ). Post yours or discuss mine!

That's a toughie. Only ten? I'll give it a shot. (I'll only put one from each band so Pantera's discography doesn't take up half the list.)
My favorites:
1. Pantera-The Great Southern Trendkill
2. Sepultura-Beneath the Remains
3. Slayer-Reign in Blood
4. Metallica-Kill 'Em All
5. Megadeth-Rust in Peace
6. Black Sabbath-Black Sabbath
7. Motorhead-Overkill
8. Obituary-Cause of Death
9. Down-NOLA
10. Venom-Black Metal

Much as I love Mastodon, I don't think they have one single album that absolutely slays, but they have three very good albums. Unfortunately, there are some bad tracks that prevent them from top 10 status. I will say I probably listen to 'Remission" the most, and I even use their song title "Mother Puncher" as a substitute for "motherfucker" sometimes.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Exodus-Bonded by Blood (would have been next)
Morbid Angel-Covenant
Judas Priest-Painkiller

I realize we haven't really brought up Black Metal in detail yet. It's probably my least favorite genre of "real" metal, but there are some good bands. (For the record, I'm mostly referring to the second-wave of black metal, not the first wave of Celtic Frost, Bathory, Venom, Mercyful Fate, etc., as they all kick ass.)
I'd say Darkthrone is my favorite BM band, and I dig Mayhem's "Deathcrush" EP. I refuse to listen to anything that Varg Vikernes played on, so no Burzum or "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" for me. I will listen to "Transilvanian Hunger", though (Varg wrote lyrics for the last half of the album.) I've hears some of Gorgoroth's "Antichrist", and it's good. Sarcofago and Sodom also rule, if they count (but they'd be more first wave anyway.) Immortal's "Sons of Northern Darkness" album kicks ass.
My main problem with BM is the pro-white ideology that so often goes along with it. That shit's just not cool.

MOGHARR wrote:

I listened to black metal alot early on, but after awhile it just got boring. Some early Burzum is good, and Mayhem is alright. "Antichrist" is a pretty good album. I don't know, to me, all the newer black metal bands (basically everything after early black metal) sounds the same, and nothing really stands out. I could sit here and name a handful of good Black Metal bands, but I don't see the need as I can't really justify why you should listen to them. The only black metal band I really enjoy is Sodom, but i would say they're more on the thrash side of things.

I would agree with a good deal of it sounding the same, and I also dislike the high treble that the guitars always display. It's physically painful to listen to, unlike the lower frequency of death and thrash metal. Even if the riffs are good (i.e. Deathcrush) that trebly guitar is murder on my ears. It's my main musical complaint about BM, with the white supremacist ideology being my main non-musical complaint. Keeping with BM discussion, I just downloaded Bathory's debut, and it's quite good. Much more thrashy than I expected, but Venom will always be the Gods of Black Metal to me. After all, they did write the single greatest line in all of metal:
LAY DOWN YOUR SOUL TO THE GODS ROCK AND ROLL!
If you don't like that, leave the fucking hall.

Penguin_Doomsday wrote:

enshinkarateman wrote: JRA wrote: Here's my top 10 Metal albums of all time (as of right now ). Post yours or discuss mine! That's a toughie. Only ten? I'll give it a shot. (I'll only put one from each band so Pantera's discography doesn't take up half the list.) My favorites: 1. Pantera-The Great Southern Trendkill 2. Sepultura-Beneath the Remains 3. Slayer-Reign in Blood 4. Metallica-Kill 'Em All 5. Megadeth-Rust in Peace 6. Black Sabbath-Black Sabbath 7. Motorhead-Overkill 8. Obituary-Cause of Death 9. Down-NOLA 10. Venom-Black Metal Much as I love Mastodon, I don't think they have one single album that absolutely slays, but they have three very good albums. Unfortunately, there are some bad tracks that prevent them from top 10 status. I will say I probably listen to 'Remission" the most, and I even use their song title "Mother Puncher" as a substitute for "motherfucker" sometimes. HONORABLE MENTIONS: Exodus-Bonded by Blood (would have been next) Morbid Angel-Covenant Judas Priest-Painkiller Dude, reading this post made me realize how eerily similar our musical tastes are.. Anyways my interchangeable top 10 list goes as follows: 1. Pantera - TGSTK 2. Gwar - War Party (VERY underrated guitar work on this album IMO) 3. Death - Human 4. Necrophagia - Harvest Ritual Vol. 1 5. Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley 6. Maximum the Hormone - Buiiki Kaesu 7. Strapping Young Lad - City 8. Superjoint Ritual - A lethal Dose of American Hatred 9. Machine Head - The Blackening 10. Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss

Seasons was actually my favorite Slayer album for a while, but I've come to love Reign more. Kyuss fucking rules, the bass is so good and heavy. The bass solo in "Green Machine" was such an influence on me, and to this day I love soloing in C minor, the scale used in that song. I do dig Kyuss more than QotSA, but I love them both. GWAR is pretty good, not as good as other stuff I've heard, though.

I'd be curious to hear everyone's favorite metal vocalists. For me, it would be;
1. Phil Anselmo-Pantera, Down, SJR
2. James Hetfield-Metallica (especially live, before the Load era. Even on Black Album his voice was menacing.)
3. John Tardy-Obituary
4. Kyle Thomas-Exhorder
5. Lemmy-Motorhead
6. Tom Araya-Slayer
7. Max Cavalera-Sepultura
8. Cronos-Venom
9. Rob Halford-Judas Priest
10. Troy Sanders-Mastodon

For the record, I love Dickinson and Dio, I usually just prefer the harder-edged vocalists. Paul Masvidal from Cynic should be mentioned too, when he uses his robo-voice synthesizer. It just makes the music so unique.