The Tech/Extreme Prog metal appreciation

Well, I can see that they are different and good musicians and all that, but they seem way too mechanical for me. The melodies don't seem to have any feel or emotion behind them (not sure if this is the result or the cause of the vocal effects they use). Their production is pretty flat to me as well.

I felt the same way at first but I've grown to love them. They're amazing live too. Full of emotion!

I tried out Enslaved a couple of weeks ago- I could not get past the vocals for the life of me. 

I've been gradually getting into more metal lately, and most of it is Tech/Extreme: the category out of any on the site that probably gave me the most initial trouble because of my previous hatred for any voice other than typical singing.

My discoveries have been rather hit or miss though. I absolutely love Meshuggah and Gojira, for example, but I've tried Death and Between the Buried and Me several times now and I can't get past the vocals. Opeth was my first tech/extreme band years ago and they remain to this day the band that took me the most persistence to truly enjoy, easily 25+ total spins of various albums. That paved the way for my immediate love of Meshuggah, and my very recent positive reactions to Gojira.

The ones I like are Meshuggah, Gojira, Opeth, and Cynic (though I haven't heard their first album yet). Should I keep trying with Death, BTBAM, and others; will they ever click with me or are there other albums/bands I should check out first?

Prff, if you don't like then don't waste your time. All in all it comes down to what YOU like. 

^What he said. Colors is truly one of the best works of our time. Kezia is a great album too.

MovingPictures07 wrote: I've been gradually getting into more metal lately, and most of it is Tech/Extreme: the category out of any on the site that probably gave me the most initial trouble because of my previous hatred for any voice other than typical singing. My discoveries have been rather hit or miss though. I absolutely love Meshuggah and Gojira, for example, but I've tried Death and Between the Buried and Me several times now and I can't get past the vocals. Opeth was my first tech/extreme band years ago and they remain to this day the band that took me the most persistence to truly enjoy, easily 25+ total spins of various albums. That paved the way for my immediate love of Meshuggah, and my very recent positive reactions to Gojira. The ones I like are Meshuggah, Gojira, Opeth, and Cynic (though I haven't heard their first album yet). Should I keep trying with Death, BTBAM, and others; will they ever click with me or are there other albums/bands I should check out first?

I´ve followed Nevermore since the Sanctuary days. I remember when their debut album was released. I was blown to pieces. They´ve made much better albums since though. A highly recommedable band IMO. Warrel is one of my favorite vocalists and Loomis is one of my favorite guitarists. They´ve only been to Denmark once ( supporting Disturbed). Needles to say I didn´t go. I didn´t want to pay full price to se 25 minutes of Nevermore.

Wow, thanks for the rec's! (And no, Harry, I haven't checked out Nevermore because I forgot, but now that I'm actively seeking new metal, I'll have to do that)

I'm going to give Colors another try soon (it's the one I'm having the most trouble with), and as for Death: I've heard parts of Symbolic, Human, and the Sound of Perseverance. I can never finish the albums/songs though because of the voice.

I also need to try Protest the Hero; I've only heard a few songs on and off so I'm not really familiar with them. Thanks, guys. I'll have to get on this!

Hopefully it'll accomplish something.

I wouldn't recommend anybody to get into growled vocals by listening to Death. I personally went over melodeath, but my appreciation for Schuldiner's growl came much later than my liking of their albums.

Dim wrote: HughesJB4 wrote: People are talking about Enslaved on the previous page. Educate me on the band, why I might not like them and the albums I would want to hear most.   Enslaved kicks serious ass! One of my favorite BM bands! Isa and Ruun are both high quality albums, but their newest is really bad. They're pretty simple, and tend to focus mostly on lyrics and riffing. I'm not sure what you'd think of them Harry, but if you are able to get past the vocals, you'll probably like them.

I liked Vertebrae. It's not Isa, but it's not quite Watershed either.

And Grutle has one monster of a scream, but also some great growls on the Live Retaliation album.

Oh, there's another thing I have to say, that is that I can't stay the drumming parts of Gojira's albums. I'm really trying to ignore my distaste and put a spotlight on atmosphere and guitars, which I like, but the drums destroy the songs for me. They're good, I can hear that, but I still can't stand the sound.


Edited by Trial and Error - March 13 2009 at 10:30