Who are your current top 5 bands?

[AdamGavriely]

I'm currently in my Lorna Shore phase, so:

• Lorna Shore
• Lamb of God
• Silverchair
• Opeth
• Death

[SuperHumanDeathMachine]

Currently 

Cattle Decapitation

Crypta

Nemophila

Dark Funeral

Wargasm

[BloodHornVital]

Top 5 bands? These have been spinning quite intensely as of late: 

5. Immortal  I’m a latecomer to Immortal. I went back to the black metal roots listening to some Black sabbath, Motörhead, Manowar demo, Hellhammer/Celtic frost, Slayer, Bathory etc.. and after having those bands fresh in the mind Immortal finally hit me and now I think the first three albums are some of the best Norwegian black metal there is. Darkthrone, Burzum and Immortal are still getting active listening out of the Norwegian scene these days.   I want to howl out “Cryptic winterstorms” which is an example of a song that got me inspired. 

4. Warloghe 

Another band in an ever growing list of the Finnish black metal scene. Warloghe sounds particularly cruel compared to many others even within the Finnish scene. The band is almost 30 years old and they only have three full-lengths but that’s not a problem. Quality over quantity is always better. The first album sounds little different compared to the other two and the latest album sounds a little more hmm.. “refined” I guess. I’m not very good at reviewing albums especially when comparing two albums that have very little variety. Anyway, Warloghe is a satanic, cruel and raw sounding band without any flaws and I feel really happy listening to them. 

3. Moonblood 

I don’t know if I like to listen to Moonblood more than I like the overall appeal of this band. There’s been a set of reissues over Moonblood’s “lost” rehearsal tapes which I have like five of them. It’s like dropping in Vlad tepes or Ildjarn level of poor quality which probably even 90% of those who enjoy black metal would throw the album out of the window after a few minutes. But I am getting inspiration out of Moonblood for my own musical experiments. Currently listening only to those rehearsals. I should get into the full lengths at some point. 

2. Graveland 

I should say Temple of the Fullmoon really, but Graveland and Rob Darken are the founding factors of this polish group. I’m still not very deep with the history of this group and there’s problems with the politics and all that (there’s problems with the nr 1. as well so I’m getting this away here and now), but none of it takes away the fact that Graveland and the other projects within the Temple of the fullmoon are some of the most inspiring black metal ever created. Other projects I enjoy include Veles, Infernum, Thor’s hammer and especially Legion which has managed to put only one demo out, but the vocals on that demo are something I have rarely heard. It sounds like a grilled peacock coughing in agony. 

1. Branikald/BBH 

Branikald is best described as the beauty, simplicity and cruelty of nature put together. Cloaked in raw black metal of course. The first albums are very Darkthrone/Burzum inspired, but from the fourth album, Rdyandalir, onward the sound changes into this dream-like atmosphere which really is a nice place to delve into. Rdyandalir is probably the most atmospheric while other albums have more attacking sounding parts or full scale aggressive full lengths, but I don’t think any of the later albums go back to the first three Darkthrone inspired sound. I have four Branikald records: To Kampf, Stormheit, Frost vision (or Blikk av kald or whatever) and Rausch der misatrophie. Out of those four, two albums, Rausch der misathropie and Frost vision get regular plays every week. I am bound to find more Branikald records in the future, especially Rdyandalir at some point.  

Just for the record I am not only listening black metal. Other bands I could include are Vomitory, Damnation(POL), Crowbar, Type-O, Black Sabbath, Uriah heep and even some Beatles that have regular plays every other week. But for top 5 I had to go for these five for now.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Nice writeup. Pretty cool to have another Finnish black metal fan here. Warloghe, like so many of their fellow Finns are excellent. And I just finally got into Graveland last year after basically ignoring them for a long time. Must've listened to the wrong albums first, they can be hit and miss, their sound can vary wildly from album to album. I did listen to that first Branikald album you posted a couple of weeks ago, not sure what the title was now, but I thought it was very good. I couldn't even come up with a top 5 favorites, I listen to so many different bands I find 5 too limiting. I could probably come up with a different 5 every day.

[BloodHornVital]

Yea, I know what you mean. Next week I could put 5 totally different bands. I saw this more as an opportunity to talk about these 5 for now, which is the point I assume anyway. I doubt I listen to as many different bands as you or many others in this forum though. I don’t have much time for many bands and I want to concentrate on one band for a while before moving to the next. 

I’m a Finn myself so listening and seeing bands from here comes pretty naturally. I don’t know any band members though. I'm an outsider and alone in this scene, going to shows and fests by myself. Started listening with Horna, Beherit and Archgoat about 15 years ago.  

Graveland has a huge catalog so there are bound to be albums that don’t click. I like the more black metal era better as I assume many others who listen to Graveland. I think I posted Frost vision the other week from Branikald. Rausch der misanthropie is a more straight-forward attacking black metal album. I’d suggest listening to that one next.

[Dr-Phibes]

Sleep token

Limp bizkit

Nekrogoblicon

Opeth

My Dying bride

[megamike]

Enforced

Korrosive

Pestilence 

Mezzrow

Mortal Vision 

 

[JamesT]

PanterA

Overkill

Crowbar

Judas Priest

AC/DC

[Vitharr]

I think that is...

1. Darkthrone

2. Evilfeast

3. Marduk

4. Walknut

5. Windhand

:)

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Well this is encouraging. It's not often we get someone new who will post 5 bands I actually like, most of them black metal. Save Marduk, I've never been a big Marduk guy. Walknut is an ineteresting choice since he only did that one Graveforests album in 2007. But it is a damn fine album. Had to slip a Russki band into his top 5 somewhere I guess ☺️

[Arioch]

5 Metal bands

Forbidden

I've loved this band since Forbidden Evil, and even if there was a misstep with Green, it doesn't matter. Can't wait to discover the successor to Omega Wave.

Dark Angel

A band I've known since We have Arrived. I found this album average, like a sort of sub-Slayer. But the arrival of Gene Hoglan changed everything. Darkness Descends is Reign in Blood just as wild, if not more so. Leave Scars is just as unhealthy, if not more so. Time Does Not Heal, one of the few albums I can listen to over and over again.

Death

I didn't like Sound of Perseverance and I don't know much about Scream Bloody Gore, but I know all the other albums by heart. My favourite, Leprosy.

Did I mention 5 groups? I lied 😜

In fact, I'm a fan of albums, not artists. Except when those artists release several albums that I find unmissable, like the 3 mentioned above.

5 Non Metal bands

Ange

French progressive rock band, born in 1969, just like me. Discovered in 2018, I've been sanding down the first albums for months. Caricatures, le cimetière des arlequins, Emile Jacotey, au-delà du délire, guet apens, I know them by heart. I saw the band for the first time in Paris on 31 January 2020. They're the only band to have made me cry, the emotion of seeing them on stage was so immense.

Nemo

Another French progressive rock band. Albums like Le nouveau monde and barbares are a must for me. The band no longer exists, but I follow the career of its leader, Jean-Pierre Louveton, very closely.

Spock's Beard

Spock's beard! No shit! The name alone made me laugh, but the first few albums are well worth the diversions. Once again, progressive rock, but American this time. A very good band until the departure of Neal Morse, the main composer, who left to found his own Christian prog rock band with Mike Portnoy. Without Neal, the band is no longer as interesting, and the same goes for Neal in his solo career. I hope they'll play together again one day.

Rush

In the very first hard rock songs I listened to in my life, there were two that I really liked: La Villa Strangiato and The Trees. Both by Rush. Nothing more to say.

I'm missing a band... I lied about that too 😁

[RelentlessOblivion]

I’m somewhere in the middle, there are certain bands that only have one album I consider worth hearing, Cradle of Filth for example, others with a few good albums, but overall nothing I would consider essential listening see At the Gates, some bands whose entire discographies I consider near flawless see Inquisition, and the odd album that I consider essential, even if I dislike most of the bands other releases, see Katatonia’s Dance of December Souls. Oh also, for the record SoP is my favourite Death album. 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

First 3 Death albums were really good. I mostly ignore the rest of them altogether. Which is not to say that they're bad per se, there's just not much on those that interests me enough to make me want to play them over the first 3.

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

4 hours ago, Arioch said:

I'm missing a band... I lied about that too 😁

I have the opposite problem. Tell me you want my 5 top bands and I'll give you 15 or maybe 25. I don't see how any true music lover could narrow their favorite bands down to just 5, or even 10. I'd be hard pressed to limit myself to just my top 5 sub-genres. But that's just me, I've no problem with you apparntly having only 3 top metal bands Ari.  

[LarsA81]

Current Top 5:

5: Baest - Great Danish death metal gaining some succes. It's taken me a long time to appreciate them, but I have a great love for their records now. So, so regarding their live performance which seems too exaggerated to me.

4: Konkhra - Danish death metal legends that are on top of their game. Looking forward to their new release. And always great live!

3: 200 Stab Wounds - I am new to these guys, and I really like their death metal mixed with a bit of hardcore. A bit meat 'n' potatoes-ish, but in a really good way. Hope to see them live with Cattle Decapitation soon, if I can find a ticket.

2: Indwelling - Old obscure Christian death metal band done by former members of the hardcore band Overcome. Very good stuff!

1: Napalm Death - Just love, love, love these guys, especially from "Smear Campaign" and onward. Amazing sound and energy!! Planning on seeing them in Sweden this August at Malmø Massacre.