Bands worth hearing thread

[nothingnowhere]

Fen - Post-black metal. Avoid.
Neuraxis - Probably the best in their style (technical metalcore with more of a death metal framework). Nothing amazing but if you like technical death metal it's worth a listen and better than most.
Temnozor - They put folk music and black metal together more convincingly than most other bands that attempt it. Musically it's pretty boring, doesn't really develop much or go anywhere. The kind of band you want to like, but you can't because at the end of the day it's mediocrity with good intent.

[LD50]

It depends on wich releases, but I'd avoid deletion of:

Candlemass
Dark Tranquility
Esoteric
Fates Warning
Limbonic Art
Paradise Lost
Primordial
Psychotic Waltz
Queensryche
Sigh

there are lots of crap in that list man XD

[istaros]

Everdarkgreen:

Angelcorpse - meh, OK. Vivacious, but not resplendent(although to be fair, it doesn't aim for that). It's good, just not very complex.
Arcturus - good as gateway metal. Once you start listening to music more seriously the novelty that their circus approach possesses will quickly wear off, although the early stuff continues to possess some glimmer of beauty.
Ares Kingdom - lots of hype surrounding it, but still not bad. Competent, directed, but superfluous. Energetic enough, though, to merit at least a cursory listen.
Artillery - Likeable for its nostalgic value, but ultimately it makes me think of fat people jogging.
Candlemass - AWESOME
Cemetary - have only heard the debut LP, goofily-structured death metal of which the best thing can be said is that you can't fault them for trying... quirky, kinda dumb.
The Chasm - still trying to get into them myself. Common consensus is "highly regarded."
Coldworld - avoid like a plague of homosex. Self-indulgent grand-standing bullshit music.
Convulse - decent old-school death metal, but nothing outstanding. Above average, though. Fairly good.
Cult of Luna - only heard the '08 release; it was drab, but I guess good for the style in which it operated(which doesn't hold any appeal to me at all).
Dark Tranquility - fucking shit. Might as well listen to In Flames.
Depravity - YAWN
Destroyer 666 - about the same as Ares Kingdom
Esoteric - not bad, but overlong. Skepticism beats this by light-years.
Falkenbach - it's pretty sad when you can tell exactly how good a band is going to be just by reading its name.
The Flashbulb - as a whole this guy's work is only fair; some of it carries a lot of emotional heft, and a very sublime beauty throughout. But it's also very hit-or-miss. Boards of Canada provides a much more rewarding alternative.
Faustcoven - I enjoyed the first album; competent, if extremely basic. The second one, which I haven't heard, got a little sodomized on the main site's Sadistic Reviews sidebar.
Glorior Belli - average; at least it isn't outright shit.
Manilla Road - AWESOME
Mirrorthrone - avoid; the guy obviously has compositional talent, but no idea when to stop. Songs are way too open and loose.
Mourning Beloveth - only heard the '08 release; it was drab and any value it may have had was made irrelevant by the fact it's about drug addiction(lol).
Mr Bungle - hahaha, just no.
Neuraxis - I agree with nothingnowhere.
Nocturnus - overpraised. The Key is alright, but I'm guessing I could name a hundred albums I'd rather listen to over it.
Ondskapt - see also: Watain, Funeral Mist, S.V.E.S.T., Deathspell Omega, etc...
Pensees Nocturnes - somehow this got a lot of praise around here. I find it laughable.
Primordial - like a shittier Esoteric.
Riverside - this is what the modern man listens to while inserting his tampon and applying mascara.
Rottrevore - although the fact their LP is politically themed(lolwut), it has some solid musicality. Holds some parallels to the Dutch death metal scene in its battering intensity.
Slaughter - AWESOME, at least the older stuff is. Strappado easily beats out its contemporaries in sheer violence.
Solefald - like Arcturus, holds some novelty value, but not much more. Well, at least the first two albums do - the last one was outright horrid.
Solitude Aeternus - good for what it is - doom of the "it's really just basic heavy metal played really slow" variety.
Soundgarden - if you MUST listen to rock, this is one of the few bands in the genre that manages to pull off some credible fire, but that's mostly just because of the vocalist.
Temnozor - I agree with nothingnowhere.
Ved Buens Ende - avoid like a plague of homosex. Self-indulgent LOOK-AT-ME "oddness"(aka attention whoring).
Venetian Snares - dull, boring, uninspired "experimental" electronica.
Winter - pretty cool; Disembowelment is better.

[Devamitra]

I'm wondering what the general consensus on some bands are since I've had them in my digital collection for a while now and used to be into them to a lesser/greater degree, but after throwing a lot of rubbish out and rediscovering the classic/death black, I'd love to know what is worth checking out again.

If I were you, I'd delete them all, simply to be free of the baggage. Go for something totally different, study a bit of music theory, play some instrument... none of us have a long enough lifetime to systematically go through all metal there is, classic or not. What you need to discover is the few important ideas that tie the music to the philosophy, and your personal decisions in life, whether or not they serve a consensus. The only real consensus is Will, the continual one.

[Everdarkgreen]

Thanks for the responses, it really gives me some space to discover.

I'm wondering what the general consensus on some bands are since I've had them in my digital collection for a while now and used to be into them to a lesser/greater degree, but after throwing a lot of rubbish out and rediscovering the classic/death black, I'd love to know what is worth checking out again.

If I were you, I'd delete them all, simply to be free of the baggage. Go for something totally different, study a bit of music theory, play some instrument... none of us have a long enough lifetime to systematically go through all metal there is, classic or not. What you need to discover is the few important ideas that tie the music to the philosophy, and your personal decisions in life, whether or not they serve a consensus. The only real consensus is Will, the continual one.

An interesting thought. I've actually done something to this extent in reading around the site and traversing the fretboard/keys/skins of my instruments. I know I can't go through everything, but this thread seemed like a useful resource I could take advantage of. I generally know what I'm looking for and wasn't surprised to see that a band like Candlemass was revered (even around here). On the other hand, oftentimes bands tend to straddle the line between having substance and appearing to have substance. And as was the case with a good deal of those bands, I'd definitely remembered hearing them and not wanting to delete them, at least not at the time.

Of course I have my mind, but it's a tool that can be sharpened to better understand why certain music is just fundamentally more valuable than other music. Intuitively I feel like certain bands are useless. On the other hand, there is the part of me that wonders if I'm not seeing a band like Manilla Road the most accurate way in the sense that while they may have been enjoyable to me in the past, I can't help but wonder if all that's appealing about them is their old school charm and rock-tinted cliches sprawled about their songs with seemingly no regard to creating more than a 'rocking', predictable tune that wails about and hits perhaps the same weaknesses that a band like Alice in Chains used to hit for me. And there, another band which seems to be another sleezy hard rock outfit which still holds something slightly more than nostalgia for me.

[MidnightStrength]

Everdarkgreen - there are a few bands on your list that I'd definitely recommend keeping. As I'm on the run (as per usual) I can't comment now, but I will at some later point.

On another note, I was wondering if someone had any thoughts on Nocturnal Blood and could elaborate on them (that is, looking for more than just an "aye" or "nay").

[Phenoptosis]

Vore - Lord of Storms (2001)

[Shireaf]

What Master's Hammer's records are worth listening?

[Humanicide]

What Master's Hammer's records are worth listening?

I like Ritual; it's a very theatrical and heavy metalized version of black metal. It has its moments where it may seem too pompous, but those moments are few enough that they are excusable. I've heard others recommend their demos and second album (The Jilemenice [sp?] Occultist), but I haven't heard them.

[Transilvania]

How is Toadliquor? I've been hearing good things about them.

[Halmicro24]

I found this band today trying to look for some new bands with an old school feel. I stumbled upon Chapel of Ruin, a death metal band from virginia. The drummer is only 14 and has only been playing for roughly 6 months, so forgive the sloppiness. If you like Bolt Thrower-esque death metal, you'll enjoy this band.  www.myspace.com/chapelofruin

[20145689]

I found this band today trying to look for some new bands with an old school feel. I stumbled upon Chapel of Ruin, a death metal band from virginia. The drummer is only 14 and has only been playing for roughly 6 months, so forgive the sloppiness. If you like Bolt Thrower-esque death metal, you'll enjoy this band.  www.myspace.com/chapelofruin

I thought that at times CoR were trying perhaps too much to force a deliberate heaviness [Reign of the Darklord], as opposed to summoning up some sort of feeling through riffcraft [Torched Entrails]. Not bad atall though, for a new band.

Anyhow, I found a wonderfully atmospheric black metal instrumental called 'Sin', by Saedus Darknight. If anyone does decide to listen to it, please do so at night, when you are relaxed somewhat, for full affect. Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-wv-zGbU0U

[veiledbonesinblood]

 top bands :
Cultes des Ghoules
Martyrium (germ) LVX occulta
Necros Christos
 
if you havent heard them check em out

with all the psuedo garbage  swarming in the vast. people seem to forget to look the old hard way at music. take a chance at new bands  even though i will admit right now the black and death metal is over run with pretentious shit. I always look for bands with a unique quality rather than a image.    I came across a few bands  worth hearing for the true  my top picks i suggest to look into


"PEK" (Belgium) Vomit Upon The Priest
F*&^! dark ass old school death metal
this guy means buissness if your into old school incantation or immolation with a satanic boost this is it but he takes it a step further. he has a official page .

Unhallowed Torment (demo) USA/florida
Very F*&^ing strange black metal needs work but overall good
Kinda like Negative Plane meets Necros Christos  (thats why i bought it , the description)  looking forward to more only a myspace page
was my best kept secrets hehehe

Nocturnal Blood (True Spirit of Old...  demo)(invoacation of spirits) USA/CA
Just as the title says great black/death blend of old school lot of bathory worship with a bestial war vibe .cant get any better than this. no official page.. id  kill to see this band LIVE.

Acid witch (Witchtanic Hellucinations)
AWESOME death/doom and im picky about doom.. one sentence "get the drugs" .. sums it up
official page

Furze - (Necromanzee Cogent) norway
kinda like darkthrone slowed down although looks like typical black metal not bad stuff.

Weakling (dead as dreams) USA/CA
split up but one of the overlooked better blackmetal albums Gay Midget Fecal Pr0n (GMFP) good qualities there is a myspace page.
another best kept secret...
 
tell me if any have heard these bands and what they think..

[veiledbonesinblood]

What Master's Hammer's records are worth listening?

Ritual

[zebra bodine]

I'm also curious about:

Maudlin of the Well

You would think their collusion of so many different instruments would muddle the experience, but their mastermind Toby Driver is an astounding musician.  Their style is not easily categorized, with equal parts doom, death, folk, and strange, chamberous neoclassical weirdness.  They were often labeled "jazzy" because of the horns and airy guitar, but this is only an aesthetic misconception; the music itself has no root in jazz.  "My Fruit Psychobells" is an interesting first album (actually a comp) but its production is lacking; overall a good listen with latent potential.  "Bath" and "Leaving Your Body Map" are both incredible and function as a double album without being one.  They're stunning musical journeys, especially enjoyed in an autumn forest.  Their newest album "Part the Second" is more akin to Driver's later work with Kayo Dot and his solo music; a much more subconscious, non-linear, cerebral experience.