Welcome to the second edition of the metal forum's weekly band recommendations, where we tell you about bands that you might want to hear. Again.
Some of us saw that people were complaining about the supposed lack of variety, and while we disagree (poppycocks, melodeath and melodic death metal are worlds different!), we did take it into account, and will try to bring to you a wider selection of genres and styles.
That said, if you have any metal bands that you think deserve more attention, go right ahead and write about them in the designated thread in the metal forum! Just follow the rules if you do so, or else we'll have a hissy fit.
Enough with the needlessly kind words, on to the bands:
Scarve
Bio: Scarve is a death/thrash metal band with flourishes from just about every sub-genre of metal, hailing from Poitiers in France. Scarve's dual vocalist arrangement allowed intricate layering of clean and growled vocals; this, the ferocious riffing and and Dirk's frantic drumming made each song sizzle with energy. Sadly, with the loss of both their vocalists during the recording of their fourth album The Undercurrent (not to mention Dirk's increasing commitment to Soilwork), it seemed it would be the end of Scarve - not so! Recently (while submitting the draft for this very article), news has emerged that Dirk is back, and he's brought Lawrence Mackroy (ex-vocalist of Darkane, who performed clean vocals on The Undercurrent) with him. Look forward to a fifth album of futuristic bludgeoning sometime soon.
Sounds Like: Strapping Young Lad, Gojira, Meshuggah (occasionally)
Why Listen: It's unique and powerful. Great songwriting, surprisingly atmospheric within the chaos.
Myspace.com
-Webbtje
Giant Squid
Bio: Originating from Berkeley, California (although currently most of the members reside in separate locations), Giant Squid are a fresh breath in the post-metal style. They create a nice down-beat brand of music by producing beautiful, haunting melodies with everything they have at their disposal including cello, trumpet, guitar, vocals, and keyboards, keeping in mind to restrain themselves to not let the music sound overly-orchestrated, but not letting their music ever fall short in energy and power, by backing their songs with crunching, heavy riffs whilst still maintaining their signature sound and atmosphere.
Giant Squid have so far released 2 full-lengths, a split, an EP, and participated in a Pink Floyd tribute album. Their latest effort "The Ichthyologist" was self-released February 3, 2009.
For Fans Of: Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Pelican (newer), Pink Floyd, mostly anything that's chill with a slightly proggy side to it.
Why Listen?: Giant Squid do something different from most of the bands out there while still creating clear, melodic, atmospheric, haunting, and all around just great music, thrown in with a healthy dose of sludge.
Their debut album "Metridium Fields" is available for listening in its entirety on their myspace, as well as a couple of songs from their latest aforementioned release.
Myspace.com
-Themantipede
Magni Animi Viri
Bio: Created by the Maestros Giancarlo Trotta and Luca Contegiacomo, with backgrounds in classical and progressive rock respectively, MAVs prime focus was the creation and realization of a 'metal opera'.
Having so far only released one album, Heroes Temporis, MAV succeeded in blending two distinct 'worlds' of music, classical opera and metal, in a way that remains consistent throughout the whole duration of the album. At times harsh and heavy, MAV also has moments of incredible beauty and softness. In creating their masterpiece, MAV made use of an extensive range of guest musicians, including the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, containing 64 Musicians and 32 Choir Singers.
For Fans Of: Haggard, Winds, Liva, and classically influenced metal.
Official Site
Note: Heroes Temporis can be listened to at the official site.
-Taydr
Sculptured
Bio: Started out in 1996, Mr. Don Anderson and Jason Walton created magic. With their first release of "The Spear of the lily is Aureoled", they experimented with different sounds, a perfect release that set them up for a tightly knit fanbase. Next on the list was "Apollo Ends", personally, it's my favorite album, bringing something with a bit more emotion to the table and frankly, that's what it brings. Their latest release, wearing the title of "Embodiment" really shows their awkward style you grow to love. Future work for Sculptured will depend on Don Anderson, after just releasing Embodiment in 08, chances are most likely they'll be heading for a new album in the time stream of tomorrow.
For Fans Of: The Mars Volta, later Death, Classical music pieces with brass sections, harsh vocals with fantastic clean vocals; Greatness.
Why Listen: Well, there's no reason why you shouldn't. They're an experimental metal band, with magnificent vocals, and completely devastating riffs. They feed the thirst for imagination people need for everyday lives, they're unusually fantastic. It's near impossible to find a band of their stature. Incorporating such elements as brass instruments, not to mention, they have a classical edge to them. If you don't listen, you're missing out on some astounding musical prowess.
Myspace.com
-Severed-metal
Atrophy
Bio: Atrophy were formed in 1986 by Chris Lykins (guitar), James Gulotta (bass guitar) and Brian Zimmerman (vocals) although they were originally known as Heresy before the final members, Rick Skowron (guitar) and Tim Kelly (drums), arrived. They released two demos in 1987 and were signed to Roadrunner before releasing two more albums, Socialized Hate (1988) and Violent by Nature (1990). They were unfortunately dropped by their label in 1990 and they split up shortly after.
For Fans Of: Coroner, Sabbat, (old) Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus and all old school thrash metal.
Why Listen?: The band play old school thrash metal to an extremely high standard while keeping it raw and simple. The vocals are dirty and powerful with excellent lyrics. The melodies in it are often well thought out and venture beyond the classic pentatonic scale and the riffs are simplistic yet more than your average chugga chug. The overall aura is a cheeky yet powerful one with an overall serious output. The band enjoy poking fun at politic systems and sum up the 80's thrash scene perfectly. They were received well in the 80's but failed to make a lasting impact so are now generally unknown. I strongly urge you take a peek at their two albums.
Myspace.com
-Isabiggles
That's it for this week. A thank you for fellow elitist assholes Webbtje, Themantipede, Taydr, Severed-metal and Isabiggles for contributing to this week's edition. Until next time, the metal forum bids you farewell, and a wonderful, happy, joyful, fantastic, marvelous, and absolutely magical day!
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