Top 11 Modern Heavy Metal Bands: #11-7
Ah, heavy metal. One of my favorite genres of music, which then branches out into even more genres. As a total metalhead, I listen to metal on a daily basis, but I’ve never really taken the time to rank them. That’s what I’m going to be doing this week, listing my favourite modern heavy metal bands. Now, before we go into the list, I’ll rank some criteria. First, they must have had released their first album in 1990 or after (with one exception), and they have to be in at least one of metal sub-genres (prog metal, post-metal, etc.). One final thing: why top 11? In the words of Doug Walker, I like to go one step beyond. Without further adieu, let’s get into the list.
11: Between the Buried And Me.
What are they about?
Okay, this one is a guilty pleasure. While certainly not the best metal band of all time, I find them enjoyable. They are mainly a prog metal band, though they meld multiple genres, including jazz and even bluegrass into a listenable heavy genre-melding mix. While their songwriting leaves much to be desired, I find many of their songs epic and enjoyable.
What should I listen to by them?
Listen to their album Colors, which should give you a good idea of what these guys are about. Their album The Great Misdirect, although not as good as Colors, has a couple of wicked tracks (Listen to Fossil Genera-a Feed From Cloud Mountain; fantastic track).
10: Kylesa
What are these guys about?
Kylesa is a sludge metal band from Savannah, Georgia (where else?) that has a deep, heavy, thick and appropriately sludgy sound using two drummers, and both male and female singers. Kylesa is easily the definition of sludge metal, and they sound ridiculously awesome while doing it.
What should I listen to by them?
Take a listen to their most recent album, Spiral Shadow. It’s a proper sludge metal album, with fantastic riffs, wicked double drumming, and deep vocals. The best tracks on it are easily Tired Climb and To Forget.
9: Alcest
What are these guys about?
Chances are you do not know Alcest. That’s okay, because it’s probably the most obscure band on my list. However, you need to know them. Hailing from Bagnols-sur-Ceze, France, Alcest is a lo-fi black metal band with a shoegaze quality to it.
What should I listen to by them?
Their album Ecailles De Lune is fantastic shoegaze black metal album, with some excellent tracks on it, such as the two-part title track, and the trippy shoegaze track Solar Song.
8: The Ocean
What are these guys about?
The Ocean (also know as The Ocean Collective) is a post-metal/prog metal band from Berlin, Germany. They combine elements of prog metal, with classical instruments (similar to the Evpatoria Report), creating an epic post-metal sound. They use both clean and screaming vocals, which makes for a very varied sound.
What should I listen to by them?
The album Heliocentric is an utterly fantastic prog/post metal album with an important lyrical quality; The lyrics describe a religious person turning to the world of science (which is why the title is Heliocentric). The best tracks are the opening track, Firmament, and the two-part ending track, The Origin of Species, and The Origin of God.
7: Isis
What are these guys about?
Isis is a post-metal band hailing from Boston, Massachusetts. Isis is, sadly, the only split-up band on this list. Isis is a very hard band to describe, but most people (including me) think of them as a post/prog metal band, as they implement odd time signatures and bizarre song structures. They are very heavy, and extremely atmospheric.
What should I listen to by them?
Mainly everything, but their final album, Wavering Radiant, is one of the creepiest, most atmospheric and heaviest albums out there. Listen to the tracks Ghost Key and Stone to Wake a Serpent.
That concludes the list for today, but check back tomorrow, as we go from #6-2!
