Eric

Yes! DOA is awesome.

And speaking of great classic bands with acronym names, here's some JFA including the summer classic "Beach Blanket Bongout" at 3:08.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB4ZxVBgi8U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0I92GcGBCI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyjTrwOMSO4

When I was a kid this was my jam. In retrospect, it's really catchy and not annoying, which is more than you can say about most pop songs.

And I had this atrocity (masterpiece?) on a dubbed cassette... Kid Rock being a Mania XXX theme reminded me. To be fair, the beat on this song is really awesome--even The Cat Ernest Miller would approve of the pure funk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1S6YwQjzXU

Alright EWB, I need your help. I'm looking to get into Death Metal (the closest I listen to to straight up Death Metal is a few Melodic Death bands, Behemoth and a bunch of Deathcore bands) but have no idea where to start. So what would you guys suggest as some good gateway Death Metal bands?

If you like some Melodic Death and deathcore, start with:

At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul

Carcass - Heartwork

Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane (black/death metal fusion)

Then check out:

Dismember - Like an Everflowing Stream (melodic Swedish DM)

Cryptopsy - None So Vile (brutal DM that tons of deathcore bands rip off, and rightfully so)

Sacramentum - Far Away from the Sun

Unleashed - Midvinterblot (one of many good records, but it's accessible and catchy)

Then some classics:

Suffocation - Pierced from Within [& Effigy of the Forgotten] (the foundational brutal DM records)

Autopsy - Mental Funeral (doomy death metal)

Immolation - Here in After

Morbid Angel - Blessed are the Sick

Malevolent Creation - Ten Commandments

and if you get really adventurous, check out:

Gorguts - The Erosion of Sanity

Gorguts - Considered Dead

Demilich - Nespithe

Let me know if you want more specific recommendations; I've spent way too much of my life listening to death metal already so I might as well share it with people!

Cruel Hand, Madball, Cro-Mags, Terror, Bio-Hazard, WarZone. That's probably a good place to start for the more heavy shit.

These are all great recommendations. I'd also add Bitter End to that list--Climate of Fear is an absolutely crushing record.

For the more metal/hardcore stuff (all the bands that influenced Killswitch Engage/Lamb of God/Misery Signals/all those newer deathcore bands, etc.) from the '90s/early 2000s:

Undying, Day of Suffering, Arkangel (especially Dead Man Walking, killer record), Prayer for Cleansing.

and of course, Martyr AD, who bring it all together:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NijQ9khv25E

And if you like Martyr AD, check out Disembodied, their other band, who's sludgier and weirder.

Also, if you like super-macho HC (its ridiculous but awesome), check out Sworn Enemy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hk2sA_vpSY

Bad Brains, fuck yes.

I was very impressed (it rarely happens) with Expire, this shit is a great example of how the punk/metal/rap fusion can result in good jams:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Mu_IU6WIA

And some Jerry's Kids opening for the Misfits in 1983:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkNHEabBQq8

Don't get me wrong, I prefer that hardcore be more punk than metal (or today, rap). But the hybrids can be great, and I love the shit out of it. That being said, all the bands I'm personally in or will be in are always much more towards "hardcore punk" (let's face it, it's just punk) than the mainstream hardcore/metal/rap fusion. Although I love the fusions as well.

I first heard Hatebreed in 1997 or so, girl I was friends with had their Under The Knife tape

Was a huge fan of Snapcase

Yes! '90s shit is so good--the good stuff, anyway.

This is a thread I can get behind!

Terror--the best! Even their formulaic songs are infinitely better than almost all bands. And I love their past two records, as well as the classics at this point (One with the Underdogs, Lowest of the Low, Always the Hard Way). Working on building my Terror vinyl collection now that labels are re-releasing their old records.

I've always liked Earth Crisis, though when they were still more punky hardcore then the metalcore they evolved into

Yes! I wanted to post Earth Crisis but figured anything from Destroy the Machines would probably scare off any potential replies. With that in mind...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQiH2khqbvU

While the punk thread is great and informative and the metal thread is great as well, I feel like there should be a discussion for hardcore punk, the most controversial (?) of punk subgenres.

Hardcore has always been faster, harder, and since the mid-'80s, more metal than other offshoots of punk, to the point where most people these days categorize certain bands (often influenced by hip hop and extreme metal, for better or worse) as "hardcore" without the punk label. So, what are your favorite hardcore bands, past and present?

I'll start off with some of my favorite bands that span several decades and subgenres but are unified in their general "hardcore-ness":

ANTIDOTE

Classic! Brings in some of the early groovy elements that would be associated with "hardcore."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMw8l3dTZfU

HATEBREED

You've heard of them. Great late '90s jams. This is the re-recording of this song, which was on their first EP release in 1996.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS2Q6DxhO_k

So, have anyone heard the new Behemoth album, The Satanist? I am on my fourth listen to it now and what a fucking comeback album. Not a weak song on it.

It's the first Behemoth album I've ever heard and Jesus H. Christ, is all their stuff this good?

In short, yes! SRN is right that their sound has gotten very big and death metal in the late '90s.

I personally love their old black metal sound as exemplified in Grom for it sheer "evilness" because I'm a black metal fan. But Satanica is the first record where their sound gets more brutal and a death/black metal mix, which I also like because I do like the late '90s black/death mix that has made some great records.

Both records are great but will appeal to different folks for different reasons.

Two of my favorite 80's hardcore bands right now are Discharge and Big Black. I can't believe I never listened to Big Black as a teenager.

Yes!! Discharge is apocalyptic and crushing. The intro and song of The Possibility of Life's Destruction should be required listening for school kids to learn about the Cold War arms race. Thank you Discharge for the enlightening education, combined with three chords and the truth.

i'm high and i want some current punk. don't get me wrong, i love the 70s and 80s punk, but i want some recent/newer stuff. genre blurring bands and whatnot. like, Ty Segall has the punk "DIY" attitude, but is lofi grunge or something.

I second Japandroids in general for the sheer catchiness. Also I'd recommend Bad Religion's 2001 record The Process of Belief which is very slick and modern sounding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uShh9jDrOWI

I'm going to register my interests here, love most punk but I don't know heaps of it, mainly recent-ish Aussie pop-punk and stuff like that. I read Dave Grohl's bio 'This Is A Call' last year and really want to get into more of the earlier stuff.

As far as what I know already, I'm a big fan of stuff like The Living End, Frenzal Rhomb, Dropkick Murphys, Wavves, NOFX, Green Day (aside from their slower, preachy sort of stuff) and all sorts of skate/surf punk, pop-punk (if it's good), celtic punk and a bit of post-hardcore too.

If you like that, you might like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53WG_7hqMQE

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVJ8nDpM3LY

and JFA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCYyoLmuUfI

who was on the first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater soundtrack (along with a lot of fantastic old skate punk songs)

If you PM me, I'll send you an obscenely long list of all types of punk bands

Ska recommendations?

For first-wave I don't know much, but Desmond Dekker and Prince Buster are always good.

Second-wave, like above, definitely The Specials, Madness, The Selecter. The Specials in particular are fantastic, always have been a favorite of mine.

Third-wave, definitely the Skoidats. Other than that I'm pretty ignorant about newer ska. I'm not a big fan of the pop punk/ska of the '90s/early 2000s so I can't really recommend anything like that.

And this:

Trojan Records Boxsets

I really hope that neither Nefarious Dismal Orations or Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm are included in those "super weak" albums because then I can only say that you are absolutely and irreversibly wrong.

To each their own! I've never been a huge Inquisition fan, maybe because I'm not a fan of the vocal style. Although now as I listen to Nefarious again, the riffing on this first track is really fucking good and dynamic. And the layered vocals are pretty sick too.

I really love punk, so much. All eras and genres. If anyone wants any recommendations (based on bands you already like) I'd be happy to oblige.

Here's some good jams:

Bad Religion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08Ezkx3N_pM

And some Crass, including Steve Ignorant's great Queen Elizabeth imitation voice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ScQbIluZqI

No, it totally makes sense--mid-era Darkthrone in particular is really repetitive (even though I personally love it). Punk on the other hand almost always fits organically, even with noisy bands like Disorder.

Another unrelated band I've been listening to lately is Terrible Feelings from Sweden. They're super catchy:

And in that same vein, Arctic Flowers from Portland who are also amazing live:

After years I've re-discovered Cock Sparrer, been about 8 years since i last bothered with them and i regret not giving them more of a chance. Shock Troops and Running Riot are fucking great albums.

Cock Sparrer is fucking great--Shock Troops is a classic for sure.

VP: Check out the newer Darkthrone stuff, they do a punky black n' roll thing that's pretty awesome.

Agreed on the newer Darkthrone records. I feel like any honest fan of punk or black metal will dig it.

Lately I've been revisiting a lot of old school death metal--Brutality, Morta Skuld, Disincarnate.

Also I've been listening to Cold as Life, Detroit's infamous '90s hardcore band:

I'm a huge Kyuss fan (Blues for the Red Sun... god damn), and Electric Wizard is good too.

I'm not a huge Wizard fan per se, but I listened to (felt?) their set (with the wise man's lettuce, of course) in the parking lot outside of Maryland Deathfest a few years ago. It was pretty impressive, and heavy as hell.

That Inquisition song is way better than any of their early material. I'm a huge black metal fan, but those first few records are super weak and I've never gotten why people dig them. The weird vocals are just terrible.

Anyone recommend any Folk Metal bands they really enjoy?

I'm not a huge folk metal fan in general, but I like Agalloch, and Primordial (A Journey's End) which is amazing black/folk. Skyclad is a classic, as is everything by Summoning. Windir is also pretty good--goofy but lots of minor scale synth makes it good.

If you like folk metal you should also check out Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse and Anthems to the Welkin at Dust. I'm sure you've heard it, but a lot of people write it off because it's too "black." In reality, all the early Emperor releases are just as melodic and European folk-style as folk metal releases.

This might be the best place to ask:

So tomorrow seems like a batch of albums are coming out. Probably have a budget for two or three, one of which is more than likely going to be the new Bruce Hornsby album.

But I'm undecided between:

Black Dahlia Murder

Dying Fetus

It Dies Today

Shadows Fall

Leaning more towards those first two. Help me decide EWB. What you all think is the best of the bunch? More into death metal, just brutal sounding music.

Dying Fetus is the best of that bunch, but that's not saying too much... They've basically released the same boring slam death album since Killing on Adrenaline, although they weren't bad live when I saw them live this summer.

If you're into brutal-sounding music, I would highly, highly recommend death metal over any of the overproduced metalcore bands today. Suffocation (as seen as in my avatar, I feel like a huge nerd now ), essentially set all the groundwork for the "brutal" style. Effigy of the Forgotten and Pierced from Within are both classic essential albums.

Incantation also has been releasing awesome brutal death metal since 1989 or so. Most of their discography is sick, particularly Onward to Golgotha. They're famous for their "time-bending" breakdowns, which sound way more brutal than the chug-chug boring stuff in deathcore.

Cryptopsy's 1996 album None So Vile is mind-blowing. Their new shit is false terrible deathcore, and most of the rest of their catalog is kind of boring, but NSV is insane.

If you like Black Dahlia Murder, I would check out At The Gates' Terminal Spirit Disease (much better than Slaughter of the Soul, IMO).

Hey, I need some help. Recently I've been listening to different types of metal that I usually don't listen to, and got kind of interested in avant-garde metal. However, as interesting as it is, there are only a handful that I've actually been able to get into, mostly Buckethead and Dog Fashion Disco. My friend recommended Portal to me, but I can't seem to get into it. I'm here asking for some help on some good avant-garde metal bands that I can get into. Anybody got any suggestions?

Voivod are a bunch of weirdos but check em out. Rrroooaaar is good, and you'll probably dig some of their later stuff too.

Lykathea Aflame is a bizarre death metal / folk band that switches between folk instrumentation and brutal death metal. Pretty interesting stuff.

Black metal-wise, Ulver has done some cool weird stuff, like releasing a whole folk album that's actually really good (Kveldssanger). Their later stuff is even weirder.

So I discovered Iron Maiden a hundred years after everybody else did, but does anyone know bands that sound similar to them?

Saxon, Angel Witch, Satan, Blitzkrieg, Blind Fury... basically any NWOBHM. Helloween's first album Walls of Jericho is also great.

Am I the only one that saw Renny Harlins but computed Henry Rollins upon the initial glance of this thread title?

Bwah ahahaha this is hilarious.

Queers in Hollywood are like queers everywhere, they're nasty to watch.

Even if their videos are shit now (they really are, I admit it, ESPECIALLY Holiday). I hate the new look they have, their music's still punk, but they don't look it anymore.

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Ah, so that's what was behind that line. Maybe they didn't do a full track because they didn't think he was worth it?

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