I would like to open a topic where I am able to thank Metalstorm for being so useful to improve my metal knowledge and culture. There are some bands whose existance I were either not aware of or which I had never listened, yet after reading some positive comments about them I was curious and discovered some really good bands that I'm still into (and, naturally, some bands that I did not like at all).

These great bands are Dream Theater and Dark Tranquillity for me. I saw a lot of Dream Theater fans here on Metalstorm who described them as "great professional instrumentalists" and "music for musicians". I'm a pianist and composer myself, as well as a Melodic Metal fan, so I bought "Metropolis Pt. II: Scenes From A Memory" and got the "Live at Budokan" DVD as a birthday present and - hell, these guys know what they are doing. I'm still addicted to Dream Theater (especially the following albums: "Images and Words", "Metropolis Pt II: Scenes From A Memory" and "Train of Thought") and I'm looking forward to watching them live.

About Dark Tranquillity, they are the last band that I've added to my favourites. Them and Opeth (all right, In Flames too, but I knew them way before I joined Metalstorm) were the ones that opened my mind to the beautiful Melodic Death Metal genre. My favourite album by them is "Damage Done", and my favourite song is "Monochromatic Stains".

So, share your positive experiences with us about discovering new bands on Metalstorm! (This is topic #1000 by the way )

Edit: Please explain your thoughts, don't just write a list. Nobody reads long lists.