FictiveDegradation

So, FatherAlabaster, I've listened to albums from several of the bands you recommended: Unquestionable Presence, Atheist. (I enjoyed it and will be giving it a couple more listens later on.) Archaeaeon, Mitochondrion. (I didn't finish it, as it didn't do much for me—though I may have been in the wrong mood.) Urraca, Sunless. (I'm listening to this right now, in fact, and love it; I plan to buy it.) Unortheta, Zhrine. (This is excellent, and exactly the kind of music I love; I've given it three listens already, and plan to buy it.) Labyrinth Constellation, Artificial Brain. (I enjoyed it, and will give it another listen later, as well as maybe buy it.) As regards Artificial Brain, they're actually having a concert in my area soon. I may go see it, as my first metal concert. I listened to some of the albums I said in the OP I would listen to: Marrow of the Spirit, by Agalloch, Mind Cemeteries, by Coma Cluster Void, and Starspawn, by Blood Incantation. I haven't gotten around to any of the others yet, but liked those ones, with the exception of Mind Cemeteries. I'll still give Mind Cemeteries another listen, in case it grows on me. Some other listens of mine include Dasein, by First Fragment, A Perfect Absolution, by Gorod, Pleiades' Dust, by Gorguts, The Destroyers of All, by Ulcerate, and Embers of a Dying World, by Mors Principium Est. I liked all of them, but my favorite would have to be Pleiades' Dust, followed by The Destroyers of All, then Embers of a Dying World.

Yeah. Something clicked where the heavier and more brutal, the better. I'll probably work my way back to some of the classics later.

I just started my metal collection, with three albums. Blackwater Park, Opeth Wistful, Sylvaine Colored Sands, Gorguts Here are some albums I'll probably buy: Shrines of Paralysis, Ulcerate Symbolic, Death Obscura, Gorguts Unortheta, Zhrine Pleiades' Dust, Gorguts And here are some I might buy, depending on how they hold up over my next few listens: Embers of a Dying World, Mors Principium Est Human, Death Starspawn, Blood Incantation Anareta, Horrendous Cosmogenesis, Obscura From Wisdom To Hate, Gorguts

I think you're right. Death metal is so layered and complex that repetition is highly rewarding, and I don't want to blow through the genre. I'll revisit the albums I've already listened to, making sure I didn't miss anything (which I'm sure I did), etc. Meanwhile, I've found some other, interesting non-metal bands to listen to. __________ FatherAlabaster, thanks for all those recommendations! I'll definitely get around to each of those bands eventually. And everyone else, thanks for the warm welcomes.

Hi, all. I listen to lots of music, from a number of genres. Lately I've been listening to four or five albums a day, counting second and third listens. For a time, I had avoided most forms of extreme metal; as one of few exceptions, I enjoyed "blackgaze" acts like Deafheaven, Sylvaine, and Alcest. Then my friend recommended me Onset of Purefaction, by Necrophagist. I listened, and while I enjoyed it only mildly, I appreciated the dense, mathematical guitar work and drum programming. So I decided to give it another listen. I enjoyed it more, and asked my friend for other death metal recommendations. These were Obscura, by Gorguts, Slaughter of the Soul, by At The Gates, Symbolic, by Death, The Satanist, by Behemoth, and two Viking metal albums, one by Ensiferium, the other by Amon Amarth. I liked Slaughter of the Soul, Symbolic, The Satanist, and the Viking metal (which my friend has a penchant for). Obscura, however, was easily the most upsetting musical experience of my life; it felt like a botched eardrum acupuncture session. Still, since I knew it was a landmark work, if not the landmark work, of its genre, I decided to give Gorguts another try with Colored Sands. Something clicked about halfway through Colored Sands, probably during the title track, where I fell in love with death metal. Now I can't stop; I've listened to at least another seven or eight tech-death albums since. Today alone, I've listened to Colored Sands for the third time, Cosmogenesis, by Obscura, for the second, and Pleiades' Dust and From Wisdom To Hate, also by Gorguts, each for the first. I finished Shrines of Paralysis, by Ulcerate, a few minutes ago. Tomorrow I plan on listening to another five tech-death albums: Blessed Are The Sick, by Morbid Angel, On Strange Loops, by Mithras, Mind Cemeteries, by Coma Cluster Void, Starspawn, by Blood Incantation, and Scream Bloody Gore, by Death. Anyway, I figured I'd join a forum where I can talk with others about metal, more particularly tech-death, which, as you might be able to tell, has become one of my favorite genres. My username, FictiveDegradation, is a lyric from my favorite Obscura track, "Nostalgia." (I gave Obscura another listen after Colored Sands and enjoyed it immensely.) I'm open to pretty much any kind of metal besides tech-death. Some other, non-death albums I plan on listening to within the next few days include In the Nightside Eclipse, by Emperor, Marrow of the Spirit, by Agalloch, M, by Myrkur, Infinite Dissolution, by Locrian, New Bermuda, by Deafheaven, and Luminiferous, by High On Fire. If you all have any more recommendations, whether for tech-death or otherwise, let me know. Thanks for reading; I look forward to talking with you all.