JamesT

That's awesome! I do enjoy some melody in my metal as well. I'm not as into power metal as I used to be, but I still really enjoy bands like DragonForce and Orden Ogan quite a bit. I'd definitely recommend Solitude Aeturnus if you're a doom metal fan! Saturnus is another great doom band. And if you like doom with some gothic flourishes, Virgin Black is a great one. Trouble and St. Vitus are a couple of classic doom bands to check out as well. My favorite sub-genre is groove metal, followed closely by thrash metal. After that, I'd go with traditional heavy metal. I also enjoy hard rock, good ol' fashioned stripped down rock 'n roll, and blues-based hard rock/metal. PanterA is my favorite band of all time. Another great modern groove metal band is Betzefer (from Israel). The Red Coil, Hell's Fire, Stoneghost, Behind the Smokescreen, The Helldozers, and Blessed Hellride are some more groove-oriented metal bands, if you'd like to check them out as well. Rock on!!

Been putting my "Thrash" playlist on shuffle lately. Got 762 songs (more than 52 hours) of thrash on that one playlist alone. The five bands that came up today are: Shrapnel, ThrashWall, Terrordome, Exodus and Warfect.

Yep, same here! Both parts of the "Keeper of the Seven Keys" in the 80's are tough to beat. Ensiferum has some great ones. Elvenking has some, too!

I've always thought power metal had great album covers for the most part: DragonForce - "Valley of the Damned" Rhapsody - "Symphony of Enchanted Lands" (both parts) A few other favorites of mine are: Overkill - "Ironbound" and "The Electric Age" PanterA - "Far Beyond Driven" and "The Great Southern Trendkill" Candlemass - "Nightfall", "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", "Ancient Dreams" Tons of great covers out there!

Shrapnel - "The Virus Conspires" (album) Another killer new thrash band. Highly recommended!

Gotcha, we've all done that before! But yeah, I'd certainly highly recommend them for fans of CoF!

Definitely agree! Not sure if you're familiar with his other band, Devilment, but they've got 2 really good albums out so far. It's got a similar sound to CoF, but it's also got some heavy groove elements in addition to the gothic flourishes.

Awesome! Yeah, I'm really digging the two singles so far. As a fan of their whole discography, I've never been truly disappointed by anything they've put out, so it's a win-win for me! I find "Damnation and a Day" to be very underrated.

Rumpelstiltskin Grinder - "Ghostmaker" (album) Killer new wave thrash band

So true! I just saw Judas Priest live 5 days ago, and they played Victim of Changes. Such a powerful song. It's easy to tell how "Sad Wings of Destiny" was a template for metal back in 1976. Priest absolutely killed it on stage, and it was a pleasure to witness!

Oh okay, gotcha. So you're not as familiar with albums like "Nymphetamine", "Thornography", "Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder", "Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa"? I enjoy all of their albums, but I can understand how "Thornography" wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. It was definitely pretty experimental by their standards. If you haven't checked any of those out, I'd definitely recommend them! "Hammer of the Witches" is an incredible album - you're right about that! Can't wait for their new album next month!

One of my favorite bands! "Midian" is a fantastic album. If I were to have to choose a favorite in their discography, I'd have to cheat a bit and say it's a tie between "Nymphetamine" and "Dusk...And Her Embrace". I guess if pressed, I'd go with "Nymphetamine" as my favorite, because that's the album that got me into the band, so I've got a special attachment to it. I was 14 when it was released. Great choice on your part!

Sepultura - "Arise" (album)

Dark Angel - "Darkness Descends" (album)

Ohh man, I'll always leave a thumbs-up comment on Overkill! Great choice! Exumer - "The Raging Tides" (album)

Sepultura - "Beneath the Remains" (album) An absolutely punishing album from start to finish, and one of the most important albums in thrash metal's illustrious history

Judas Priest - "Firepower" (album) Just saw these legends live last night, and they absolutely nailed it!

Very cool! I've listened to Pallbearer a few times and really like what I've heard! I used to be more into doom metal than I am now, but I still enjoy it. I love Candlemass, My Dying Bride and Solitude Aeturnus quite a bit. I can't remember if I mentioned this one already, but "City of Evil" by Avenged Sevenfold was one that I really didn't like when I first heard it, and I actually didn't really get into it until 2010, 5 years after it was released. I suppose my music taste had changed by that time. "The Crusade" by Trivium is another one. It was pretty different from the album that had come before it, "Ascendancy", and I wasn't crazy about the change. But listening to it now, I hear that they had switched to a thrash sound on that album as opposed to the metalcore sound that they employed beforehand. I love that album now. What's your favorite sub-genre of metal?

Yep! I'm excited to see it! I'll be playing as much of their discography as possible all during the work day tomorrow to get ready!

Sounds awesome! I'm sure at his age now, he's not able to reach those same notes that he used to, but I have no doubt the metal god will put on a great show! I hope I can get somewhere fairly near to the stage tomorrow night!

Fair point! I guess I'm one of the culprits in this case haha. At their ages now, I just don't know if I'd ever get another opportunity to see Priest, so I went ahead and ponied up. But yes, definitely a valid point about promoters charging insane amounts of money just because they can. That's cool that you got to see Fight! I really enjoy their music as well.

I can't blame you there! I'd love to see a huge band like this in a smaller, more intimate setting. Meeting Rob Halford would be one of the most amazing things ever. It really is a shame that they make these things too expensive for some folks to be able to enjoy it. And man, you got to see Overkill?? They're next on my list! I'm sad to have to say I've never seen my favorite thrash band live. But that'll change soon. One of my favorite shows was back in February 2019 when I saw one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time, Crowbar. It was at a venue that seated about 500 people. I got to meet Kirk Windstein and take a picture with him before buying a couple of shirts from the merch booth where his wife was working. It definitely enhanced the experience to take it all in with a smaller crowd and venue.

Oh okay, I see. Understandable then! I paid $120 for my ticket, but it ended up being $160 after all the stupid fees were added in. But oh well, it's a dream to see one of my top favorite metal bands live, especially since it'll be my first concert since before the pandemic! If they play "Dissident Aggressor", "Judas Rising" and "Riding on the Wind", it'll be incredible, although I love their entire catalog. Rock on!!

Wow, I hope y'all can get back to live gigs as soon as possible! It's a helpless feeling to be caught in a cycle that doesn't seem to have a definite end. Sending positive vibes your way! The country that produced my favorite rock 'n roll band of all time is one that I'll be pulling for!

Ah man, sorry to hear that. Yeah, I've heard Australia is being incredibly strict with their pandemic response right now. I'm not vaccinated, so I'm required to show proof of a negative COVID test (that must be taken within 72 hours of the event) in order to attend tomorrow night. Got tested yesterday, and the negative result was returned to me today, so I'm ready to roll! My first time seeing some of my metal heroes - just a dream come true!