Taking inspiration from our friend @True Belief's melodeath run in the "What Are You Listening To?" thread, I felt it would be a good time to add to this often neglected section of our fair forum.
Infinitum Obscure - The Luminous Black:
Infinitum Obscure is a band I posted about in the death metal suggestions thread some time ago, but they certainly merit a mention here. Their sound is kind of like a mid-point between The Chasm (not surprisingly, since some members here served some time in that death metal juggernaut's lineup) and Dissection, showcasing a much more melodic side of the introspective death metal formula pioneered by The Chasm. This is the kind of band that I would recommend to fans of melodic black metal that were looking to get into death metal, and one that fans of melodic death metal that's more than just Slaughter of the Soul regurgitation should dig this too.
Malignant Inception - Paths to Repression:
Here's one that I doubt anyone here will have heard of. Malignant Inception was one of the first death metal bands from Utah, and one that never really made it anywhere, with their biggest claim to fame being that Mike Kimball from one of their earlier lineups would go on to join Dying Fetus. However, the band does have some connection to this forum, as our very own @NTNR was once the bass player in this band. Anyway, the music here on their second album is a big step up from their Suffocation/Malevolent Creation styled debut, with a fairly ambitious and progressive take on blackened melodic death metal. I think this could have taken them places if more people had heard it, but not much escapes the grip of Utah it seems. Anyway, hopefully fans of the style here will enjoy it.
Orphaned Land - El Norra Alila:
Most people know Orphaned Land for their more recent progressive folk metal albums, which I also quite enjoy, and will admit that they're probably the pinnacle of the band's sound. However, while their older work features many of those same tendencies in less developed ways, it's much more rooted in melodic death metal. They were great with this formula too, so the Orphaned Land album I reach for really depends on what kind of mood I'm in. Anyway, if you don't mind some middle-eastern folk or Paradise Lost styled gothicisms in your melodic death metal, give this a listen, it's good stuff.
Sacrilege - Lost in the Beauty you Slay:
Sacrilege was one of the shining stars of the melodic death metal scene in Sweden, with incredible melodies and a sound that was both heavy and accessible, but they split with Daniel Svensson decided to join the more commercially viable In Flames. Sacrilege does bear some resemblance to the best In Flames releases (Subterranean and Jester Race), but they were always more menacing sounding despite also having stronger melodies. This is a name that deserves to be remembered from the fruitful Swedish melodeath scene, and one that every melodeath fan should enjoy.
Sacriphyx - The Western Front:
Sacriphyx is a more recent Australian band with what I feel is a fairly refreshing take on melodic death metal. While they combine mid-paced, triumphant sounding death metal with classic heavy metal melodies in a way that's somewhat reminiscent of Arghoslent, their melodic tendencies also tend to have a lot in common with those found in the classic Greek black metal scene. This has led to many labeling the band as black metal, but I don't really feel that's accurate. Not that it really matters, this is excellent music that fans of both melodic black metal and melodic death metal should enjoy, and is one that may be a good entry point into the sound for those who don't tend to enjoy the more melodic side of death metal with its more raw production and brutal low vocals.
Soilwork - The Chainheart Machine:
Yes, much like In Flames, Arch Enemy, and other big names in melodic death metal, there was a time when Soilwork didn't suck. This does occupy similar sonic territory to the dreaded Slaughter of the Soul, but as with Darkane's early work, I find the melodies and thrashy riffs a lot more compelling here. I'm not sure if it's because it doesn't sound like the band dumbing down their sounding like At the Gates did so the songwriting feels more natural and less forced, or if they're just better at writing this kind of stuff, but it just works. It's by no means the best melodeath from Sweden or anywhere else, but it's certainly worth a listen.
Stormrider - First Battle Won:
Stormrider is a pretty obscure Swedish band with a somewhat blackened and heavier than usual take on melodic death metal, but even though it wasn't really the popular thing to do at the time, I quite enjoy their sound. This must have contributed to their obscurity, as this was the only YouTube video I could even find for the band. Their sound is fairly relentless, but still manages to incorporate awesome melodies that balance out the heaviness. For those who have enjoyed some of the more crushing offerings that I posted previously from bands like Dawn of Relic and Demonoid, this will be right up your alley.
Suidakra - Crógacht:
Suidakra is a long running German folk/melodic death metal act that despite a career of consistently excellent albums, still seem to be fairly obscure. The folk elements are of the Celtic variety, and are tightly woven enough into their sound that they could also fit comfortably into the folk metal category, as they are well ingrained into the vocals, songwriting, and melodic composition. However, I tend to think of them more in a melodic death metal context due to the guitar heavy approach, with excellent punchy riffs and running tremolo sections beset by blast beats and harsh vocals. Whichever context they fit best in your mind, they kick a lot of ass, so drop what you're doing and push play on this link.
Anata - The Infernal Depths of Hatred:
Anata gets a hefty amount of praise here and among many death metal circles due to their incredible and original tech-death formula, which is an endorsement I can wholeheartedly support. So what are they doing here? Well, their debut album is every bit as top shelf as their later technical offerings, but it's a melodic death metal album in the vein of early At the Gates and Crown of Thorns. Seriously, I don't know why this album isn't worshiped by every melodeath fan, it's that fucking good. I don't care if you skip past every other recommendation here, if you ignore this, we are no longer friends.
Evocation - Apocalyptic:
The recent resurgence in popularity in death metal (particularly the Swedish variety) has brought about many reunions from older bands who called it quits in the heyday of the genre. Evocation are one such band, but they're not the typical one that you read about, because they didn't do much of anything the first time around. Upon reuniting though, they've had quite the fruitful career, releasing several albums in the vein of classic melodic death meta bands from around the time of their demise. While some tracks are closer to standard Swedish death metal, they still have a strong melodic showing, not unlike what you would hear on earlier Dismember albums. However, a lot of their songs are also more akin to Unanimated, Crown of Thorns, mid-period Hypocrisy, and the like. Anyway, it's pretty good stuff, check it out.
I skip Domination and Illud. Domination is nowhere near as bad as Illud, but even at its best, it's not good.
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From when they were still worth a shit. I was inspired to post about some legit melodeath yesterday after a post from another user got me in the mood. Nice spin.
gregsbrews given a Damn from FatherAlabaster in What Are You Listening To?
