Those were shots of tequila mixed with sparkling water, you had to hit the desk with the glass to get it foamy (and try not to break it) and drink it all at once while it's still foaming.
My intention in creating this list was to draw clicks from mainstream acts to provide a gateway to lesser-known alternatives from a similar sound. Some of these will be no-brainers to those who already listen to a lot of stuff. This is more targeted towards the less-initiated. Get to clickin' and try something new. If you have suggestions, put them in the comments and I will add them to the list. Provide links to bandcamp/youtube where applicable. I'll try to keep them in the first comments box.
Dimmu Borgir Srogość: symphonic black metal, but far more understated and from Poland.
2.
Whitechapel Scorched by the Flaming Goat: deathcore...with symphonics! From Chile!
3.
Suicide Silence Immoralist/Traitors: brutally slow deathcore ripe for moshing. Big, dumb riffs. Lots of fun.
4.
Burzum Cold Crypt: ambient black metal with that same twisted, hellishness.
5.
Incantation Malthusian: dark cries from the abyss in a grim, blackened style.
6.
Mors Principium Est Aspherium: head-banging melodeath with a sense of fun and stellar riffing.
7.
At The Gates Bloodshot Dawn: more riff-monster melodeath, a little more on the serious side.
8.
Trap Them Botch/Cowards: mathcore and hardcore with a sense of chaos and similar sounding riffs and vocals.
9.
Fear Factory Tyrant of Death: shmear factory. This will rip your face off.
10.
Triptykon Emptiness: same dark, haunting vibe and tepid bile.
11.
Marilyn Manson Lord Mantis: enough shock value (artwork/lyrics) and grimy guitars to make Manson look like an altar boy.
12.
Periphery Sikth: plenty of low end, changing time signatures, groovy riff. Add a second singer and make it from the UK.
13.
The Dillinger Escape Plan The Number 12 Looks Like You: same chaotic riffs and jazz influences, add a singer, raise vocals an octave. Want something taking this sound to a more progressive level? Try Torrential Downpour.
14.
After The Burial Within the Ruins: same compressed-tone, technical riff factory + lyrics about comic books.
15.
Venom Watch Them Die: ignore the tags. This is not metalcore. It's 80's style thrash with the same ugly kick.
16.
Mastodon Bast/Trudger: early-era progressive vibe, ability to meld seemingly unrelated sounds and ideas into a larger composition. Trudger has a bit of post-metal added.
17.
Black Sabbath Valfader, Poisoned By Life: old-school doom with some modern touches. Nice guitar work.
18.
Ensiferum Tengger Cavalry: trade the Viking horde for the Mongolian one. Throat singing. Don't be a baby.
19.
Morbid Angel Altars/Mithras: death metal with a similar sludgy vibe at times. Plenty of blackened influence as well. Mithras is decidedly more experimental and even progressive.
20.
Tool Raum Kingdom/Soen: RK is decidedly doomier and a bit heavier, but with a similar vocal approach and attention to slow, groovey progression. Soen is more straight forward.
21.
Skinny Puppy Neurotech: the latest album is much more straight-forward and lighter, but it shares Cevin's masterful ability to build dense, beautiful atmospheres.
22.
KMFDM Mindless Faith: same 90's vibe and aggressive sound. I actually prefer MF.
23.
Agalloch Russian Circles/An Aesthetic Anaesthetic/Sleeping in Gethsemane: a little more on the rock side, but conveying the same level of instrumental heaviness. 2 Former from Chicago. Latter from Fargo.
24.
Helmet Quicksand: very similar groove-driven sound, out of the 90's; just a little more melodic. Bonus: bassist now plays for Deftones.
25.
Amon Amarth Unleashed: same viking themes, but in a more old school death metal style.
26.
Taake Volahn: more than a passing resemblance in the guitar work here. Very emotion-laden black metal, but from the US and with Mayan themes.
27.
Behemoth Neolith: It's pretty much early Behemoth with more thrash metal influences and some unusual synth additions. Plenty of fun.
28.
Emperor Cult of Fire/Death Karma: Both are symphonic black/death metal from the same frontman. Emphasis on organs and celebration of other cultural practices and sounds. Amazing stuff.
29.
Enslaved Downfall of Nur. Sonically, they are nothing alike. BUT, they have a similar take on progression and more subtle folk influences. Regardless, this is some excellent music.
30.
Gorgoroth Black Flame. Similar drums and guitar riffs. Vocals are also similar, but different enough for this to stand out. Solid album on BC.
31.
Immortal Frosthelm. "Thrashened black," heavier on the bay-area influence. Excellent stuff.
32.
Alaskan Wovoka. Dark, intense waves of sludge. I actually argue that Wovoka is more consistently heavy and engaging with their riffs and vocals.
Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
[ More lists by flightoficarus ]
I'd link Black Sabbath to Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, personally, but there's really a lot of room for what could go there. Also, yes, going from Manson to Lord Mantis is pretty weird. How do you mean that Lord Mantis have shock value? Because it's certainly not in their live performances, if you watch footage of them they pretty much just get up and do their thing, very little theatrics involved.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go.
I'd also recommend Mithras to be a progression from Morbid Angel. They more or less directly progressed on from their sound with more technical, brutal and experimental tendencies.
Also, a pretty good progression from Mastodon rose up last year, check out Trudger if you haven't already. Pretty similar to the band during their Remission era, but still with enough of a sense of identity I would say.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go.
I'd link Black Sabbath to Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, personally, but there's really a lot of room for what could go there. Also, yes, going from Manson to Lord Mantis is pretty weird. How do you mean that Lord Mantis have shock value? Because it's certainly not in their live performances, if you watch footage of them they pretty much just get up and do their thing, very little theatrics involved.
Album artwork, lyrics, etc. They aren't shock-rockers by a long shot, but they have the same sense of grossness and an almost industrial vibe with their groove on the latest album. In other words, people tend to go to Manson because they are pissed off and want something counter-culture. I think Mantis scratches that itch as well. Again, big name to draw more attention. As for Sabbath, yeah, that list could go on for days. Try to stick to bands that pop up in your mind as ones you always find yourself thinking "they deserve far more attention" when you are listening to them.
Also, a pretty good progression from Mastodon rose up last year, check out Trudger if you haven't already. Pretty similar to the band during their Remission era, but still with enough of a sense of identity I would say.
I like this. It's like early Mastodon, but with a post-metal flair to it.
Thanks for Tengger Cavalry. Sounds really interesting
Best folk of 2014 imo, and most original sounding in the style I have heard in a few years. Glad you like it. I always encourage people to buy it if they like it. I know theirs is a little pricier than some of the other bandcamp albums, but I think it's worth it.
Thank you for that Mindless Faith recommendation, good stuff. Pretty Much Fucked
I am so happy that someone liked that. Hugely underrated stuff. Very anarchistic, rebellious sounding aggro. They have only released two albums despite being around for many years.
In my opinion a very obvious one is: Amon Amarth --> Unleashed. Same style, same themes, but without the mainstream sugar coating. I see Unleashed as the dirtier, heavier and meaner version of Amon Amarth. It's also a great gateway between accessible melodeath and proper swedish death metal. Ok, i know they are not that underground, but still relatively unknown compared to Amon Amarth.
In my opinion a very obvious one is: Amon Amarth --> Unleashed. Same style, same themes, but without the mainstream sugar coating. I see Unleashed as the dirtier, heavier and meaner version of Amon Amarth. It's also a great gateway between accessible melodeath and proper swedish death metal. Ok, i know they are not that underground, but still relatively unknown compared to Amon Amarth.
Never heard of them, but sounds right up my alley. I'll check it out.