Ride The Lightning is definitely my favourite Metallica with Justice For All coming in second. But, I do have to say the new album is not bad. It's almost pretty good. It's a heck of an improvement from Load/Re-Load and St. Anger.

As for metal aw how come no one's mentioned Cannibal Corpse?

"It's not over I came back I brought my axe!"

One of the worst yet best metal bands.

mmm think id have to say ...and justice for all is the best!havent listened to any of their stuff since the black album, same goes for megadeath and countdown to extinsion. You also cant beat rage against the machine for some anger!

these days I listen to Bullet for my Valentine, System of a down, scars on broadway, Aiden, dragonforce, and I like what I heard so far of bring me the horizon

I like to branch off into some black metal (cradle of filth, immortal etc)

cannibal corpse were brilliant for a good laugh i wet myself when they appeared in ace venture with jim carey! quality

AIRBORNE! Runnin Wild!

...yeah, thats Lemmy!

Mechanix owns all four horsemens' asses!

Still like Ride the Lightning/Kill em All the best and most of the tracks off Master n Justice...and then a few stray tracks from later.

Is M.S.I. metal? Dont really care about labels, just wanted to post this vid! Shiny, you got this one yet? "Issues" "Evening Wear" "Bomb This Track" "Money" ...man, the whole thing is really awesome! Lil Jimmy is speakin the truth when he says:

Everybody wants to join the club
Once you join the club, the innocence is gone
Everybody wants to be the bomb
But once you are the bomb, the innocence is gone
Everybody wants a big ol' slice
Of a little pie, the innocence is gone

The new Metallica (Death Magnetic) has some good ol' Metallica flavor...it doesn't have the god-awful snare-in-a-tin can with the snares turned off overly trying to be industrial sound of the last album, or the Bob cock-rock overproduced sound of the Bob rock era albums...I don't no who produced it but I wouldn't be surprised if it was just them, like on Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets with an engineer

Actually I think it was Rick Rubin. Not sure on this though.

...though Death Magnetic has been listed as the latest casulty in Loudness Wars, mixed to rubbish (rumours have it that version in Guitar Hero game sounds better than the actual album...)

It's Rick Rubin, it has the same in your face sound as Reign in Blood or System of a Down, if that's what's meant by loudness war. Is there a list somewhere? I probably like every album on there :^)

I was talking about this, mastering the album louder and louder and ending up with reduced dynamic range and albums which tend to sound distorted and thin...which is kind of hard to understand as a stylistic choice unless you are Merzbow or one of those tr00kvlt black metal artists who do no-fi recordings in a forest (and they obviously wouldn't like such studio trickery).

Listener is no longer expected to turn that volume in their stereo up if they want to listen to an album, the music makers do it for them.

Also a reason why several music enthusiasts have started to swear by old CDs printed in 80's, they are often better-sounding than the modern ones, and not because of musical content.

What a fabulous thread that I have overlooked while paying so much attention to the gaming aspects of these boards. I didn't read every single post but a couple other bands I din't see anyone mention are Manowar and Anvil. Anvil is one of my favorite bands especially their older albums, Metal on Metal, Forged in Fire as well as others. Early Megadeth has also always been one of my favorites choices, not to mention how good they sound live.

Its also great hearing as well as seeing some of the newer Metal bands out there, many of which have already been listed.

I was talking about this, mastering the album louder and louder and ending up with reduced dynamic range and albums which tend to sound distorted and thin...which is kind of hard to understand as a stylistic choice unless you are Merzbow or one of those tr00kvlt black metal artists who do no-fi recordings in a forest (and they obviously wouldn't like such studio trickery).

Listener is no longer expected to turn that volume in their stereo up if they want to listen to an album, the music makers do it for them.

Also a reason why several music enthusiasts have started to swear by old CDs printed in 80's, they are often better-sounding than the modern ones, and not because of musical content.

I agree completely. When I play CD's like th remastered version of Zappa's "We Only in it for the Money" you can't even hear it compared to most of the "modern" cd's although there is another culprit that I can point to-->

Let's see. Most memorable metal concert... Nuclear Assault in some dark warehouse called the Bayside Expo center in Dorchester MA, Boston, December 14th, 1988 (Holiday Thrash Bash). They put on a show with Manowar, Meliah Rage, and Hades. Awesome show! Anyone else here remember that one?

Saw Pantera just one time too many in the early 80's as well. Them guys lived on the road for years.

Still like Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Whitesnake, Sammy Hagar, Judas Priest, Blue Oyster Cult, Ronnie James Dio, and Twisted Sister as well. Listened to Ministry and Front 242 in the early 80's as well, before they went mainstream.

All time favorite metal song...
Swords & Tequila from Riot. Narita 1979

Haven't listened to metal much over the last few years though. I liked a few songs off the XXX album.

Welcome to the forums DD!

Great music tastes, man!

Riot...wow havent thought about them in a while. I had a bud with a Ktel type cassette with them, Pretty Maids, Vinnie Vincent Invasion "Animal", Priests "Parental Guidance", and a buncha other great tunes on there. Maybe Suicidal Tendencies too.

Seems like metal dropped off the face of the earth in October! Thus, I bring some back. For beautiful symphonic metal, Kamelot is the #1 stop in my book. You can find many videos, both live and not live, on youtube. For thrash and death metal combo, try out some Light This City. Just listen to Beginning With Release and tell me that isn't awesome metal.

Seems like metal dropped off the face of the earth in October! Thus, I bring some back. For beautiful symphonic metal, Kamelot is the #1 stop in my book. You can find many videos, both live and not live, on youtube. For thrash and death metal combo, try out some Light This City. Just listen to Beginning With Release and tell me that isn't awesome metal.

I skipped to the last page, as I need to get this out and go...

But Savatage, Suicidal Tendencies, and of all things sacred, Manowar.

Thanks for not ever deleting threads, people. Excellent community builders of a thread if I ever saw it.

Hey, I had completely forgotten this thread. Nice thread neromancy there!

Did any other Paizonistas catch the recent Exodus/Testament/Megadeth tour? Man, what a show that was.

Just caught this thread and have to add my 2 cents. I listen to as much punk as I do metal, but by far the best show I was at had to be Slayer/archenemy/Hatebreed in Pittsburgh in a hockey rink that had carpet laid over the ice. It was BRUTAL! In State College, PA, we used to have a venue called the Crowbar that would get great bands every Tuesday. That was the greatest days of my youth as it was never crowded, because it was friggin TUESDAY! Seen Soulfly, DevilDriver, The Misfits (Michale Graves version), Henry Rollins, Mushroomhead, Static X, Henry Rollins, Dope, Cold, Type O Negative, and many many others there. God I miss that place.

OMG don't forget about The Sword! They are awesome!

Also, young Sutter, I don't cut off good metal at the 80s.

I cut it off some time between 1991 (Metallica's Black Album) and 1992 (Megadeth's Countdown to Extinction).

The latter is even worse than the former, but they (mixed with lame albums from Anthrax and Danzig) effectively killed my interest in metal until I heard The Sword a couple years ago.

And Sutter, when in god's name did you see Metallica perform Master of Puppets live?

IN THE WOMB?!?!

I am an assh*le grognard for Metal.

I became familiar with Metal with Mercyful Fate in mid '80s. I switched to thrash metal, punk/HC and crossover almost immediately (Carnivore, Slayer, Possessed, Sodom, Bathory, NME, Cryptic Slaughter, Ludichrist, Crumbsuckers, DRI, Sadus, Negative Approach, Minor Threat, Verbal Abuse, Poison blah blah blah). I became a big Death Metal and Grindcore addict all through late 80's up to 2000 and I did my good share of tapetrading dubbed cassettes with pals all over the world, but I generally cut away 99% of everything released after 1992. Not that there are no great bands playing today, and South America is pushing stronger than ever, but things are just not the same for me, and for the worse. I still buy Cds, all the time, and still enjoy good music which by my standards do not involve any bands with 3 word names or intellectual-grinders/postcore/metalcore/beardo/whatever bands or anything with a miscroscope still on the cover (Dillinger Escape Plan etc.).

As for Metallica, I can go up to Master of Puppets, and not all of it. But Ride the Lightning is still a solid album by all standards.

Hey, I had completely forgotten this thread. Nice thread neromancy there!

Did any other Paizonistas catch the recent Exodus/Testament/Megadeth tour? Man, what a show that was.

My old band once got offered the chance to open for Exodus and had to turn it down, 'cause I knew we wouldn't be able to do the booker justice (considering tickets were something insane like $40 a pop, and he would have expected us to bring our normal number of folks, which would be impossible at those prices).

Talk about a tough decision... my conscience only barely won that one. :P

Yeah, you missed out. I'd happily pony up $40 to see Exodus. Their problem has always been that none of their albums are all that great (Tempo Of The Damned comes closest, though Bonded By Blood is up there as well) - however, when they go onstage and play their best material, they are quite possibly the best thrash act out there. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

BTW, I just saw the Mastodon/Between The Buried And Me tour, and it was flat-out nuts. Though Mastodon was fantastic (they had a 'good vocals day' in Tucson. Apparently the fans in California were less lucky), BTBAM blew me completely away.

I saw Exodus with Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies at First Avenue in Minneapolis circa 1990 or so.

So there. :P

I saw Exodus with Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies at First Avenue in Minneapolis circa 1990 or so.

So there. :P

Strike of the Beast remains an ageless classic.

Yeah, you missed out. I'd happily pony up $40 to see Exodus. Their problem has always been that none of their albums are all that great (Tempo Of The Damned comes closest, though Bonded By Blood is up there as well) - however, when they go onstage and play their best material, they are quite possibly the best thrash act out there. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

BTW, I just saw the Mastodon/Between The Buried And Me tour, and it was flat-out nuts. Though Mastodon was fantastic (they had a 'good vocals day' in Tucson. Apparently the fans in California were less lucky), BTBAM blew me completely away.

I've heard that BTBAM are insane live. I've never gotten as into them as my bandmates, but I have tremendous respect for their abilities. I feel similarly about Dream Theater (though Systematic Chaos is the only album I really listen to)... gotta respect the prog.

I enjoyed the new Mastodon album when it first came out, though lately Stephen King audiobooks have dropped my new music intake to almost zero. I will, however, say that my favorite Mastodon song will always be Cut You Up With A Linoleum Knife.

I will, however, say that my favorite Mastodon song will always be Cut You Up With A Linoleum Knife.

\m/

EDIT:

"This is a copyrighted movie for Time Warner,

If I find you have sold it on Ebay,

I will break into your house AND TEAR YOUR WIFE IN HALF!"

Classic!

Sadly, Mastodon didn't play "Cut You Up..." on this tour (or any tour, probably). As for BTBAM, they are...odd onstage. No fan interaction, no talking between songs, and the vocalist is so shy he looks away from the crowd most of the time. But they sound insanely good.

They get too proggy for my tastes at times, though. I don't listen to the ragtime parts of the "Colors" album...

They get too proggy for my tastes at times, though. I don't listen to the ragtime parts of the "Colors" album...

Yeah, the ragtime part is always where I check out of a prog band's song... both BTBAM and Dream Theater have pulled that one on me more than once....

Good metal acts I've seen in the last year or two:

Opeth (a couple times. Great band)
Throwdown
Killswitch Engage
In Flames
Nevermore
Fireball Ministry
Pelican
Mastodon

All good stuff.

Other great bands:

Candlemass
Celtic Frost
Amon Amarth (If you want viking metal, get Oden on Our Side).
Blind Guardian
Iced Earth
Iron Maiden (of course)
Arch Enemy
Nile
Dimmu Borgir
At the Gates
Tiamat
Rammstein
Therion
Theatre of Tragedy (first two CDs)

Good stuff that is more prog than metal:

3
Dream Theatre
Spock's Beard
Porcupine Tree
Riverside

Good list... I would add these bands and make it a playlist (random youtube videos with each listed):

I have to add this video with all the others, this being my favorite cover ever..

Agalloch,
Amorphis,
Ensiferum,
Madder Mortem,
Moonsorrow,
Samael,
Sentenced,
Swallow the Sun,
Tyr,
Turisas

Thought I'd post a band that has been around for awhile but I just recently discovered

Primordial

The link is a performance of Coffin Ships, great song. Anyways check the band out their stuff is on Itunes I've got The Gathering Wilderness and to the Nameless Dead and have been impressed with both.

Thought I'd post a band that has been around for awhile but I just recently discovered

Primordial

The link is a performance of Coffin Ships, great song. Anyways check the band out their stuff is on Itunes I've got The Gathering Wilderness and to the Nameless Dead and have been impressed with both.

Great band.

The best song for me is Autumn's Ablaze.

Here I am late to the party as usual. I just saw this thread and wanted to add a little. As a fellow gamer and musician, I hope you forgive my shameless "self" promotion. I don't get to share these stories very often.

I was on the audio/design team for Guitar Hero from GH3 until its demise (insert sad face). I even moved to New York to help redesign GH for the GH7 edition that was sadly cancelled, so I moved back to Cali.

Those of you who have played GH know we love/d our metal. I thought I would share a couple of metal stories here. First, Guitar Hero: Metallica. Arguably my favorite of all the GH's to work on. The entire band showed up for motion capture and hammed it up with us. They even invited the entire team up to San Francisco for a private concert. It was amazing. They were preparing for their tour and were doing dress rehearsals but opened the doors and let all of us in. Then they bought drinks...after which I don't remember much.

Some other mentionables:

Motorhead: Lemmy was amazing and kept hitting on the girls.
Zakk Wylde: Embarrassed a fellow designer in the bathroom...no I won't say more, haha
Ozzy: Came in for his mo-cap and for the first time invited the entire company to watch. He wanted as many people as possible so that he could feel like he was performing a live concert. He even invited a couple guys to sit in as the rest of his band. During mo-cap the artist is instructed to act out their unique reaction to the player playing the song correctly as well as badly. For anyone who has seen Ozzy you know that he likes to throw buckets of water on the front row. Well, for the mo-cap, while he was acting out the player failing the song, he picked up the bucket and heaved it at my friend "bunny" (or it might have been BMarvs) sitting in as the bass player and hit him square in the head, haha. He then turned toward the drummer and kicked a roll of gaffer tape at him. The tape split the cymbals , like a football through the uprights and also hit him in the face. True story!
And then there's the Ted Nugent story...wait is Sweaty Teddy metal? Oh well, I can't tell the story then...

Erik mentioned The Sword, another favorite of mine from GH. Definitely check them out. His post is from 2008, so i'm sure you already have.

Kyle Johnson
MoonTech Studios

I'm still mad at Ozzy for the way Sharon, Zakk and the others treated Maiden at Ozzfest a couple of years back.

I'm still mad at ozzy and Sharon for them ruining Blizzard of OZ and Diary of a Mad Man by adding new drums and base. Simple greed. They didn't want to pay the original bassist and drummer.

Edit:
Great bands (not in any special order):

- Led Zeppelin - They are still the best. John Bonham, the first funky white drummer on earth.
- Black Sabbath (Both with ozzy and Dio)
- AC/DC (fantastic group. Love both singers)
- Motörhead ("Bastards" is their best album, not Ace of Spades)
- Rammstein (first 4 albums)
- Deep Purple - (Some of it)
- Rainbow (Early stuff was great, including Down to earth)
- Dio (Early albums)
- Ozzy
- Gillan (Magic is Magic)
- UFO
- Uriah Heep
- Judas priest
- Saxon
- Girlschool (they rocked)
- The Runaways (they actually made some good songs)
- Iron Maiden (Early stuff)
- Queensryche (First EP is still the best.)
- Thin Lizzy (Rip, Phil and Gary)
- Whitesnake (English version of Slide it in was better)
- Gary Moore (Yes: everything before the blues stuff)
- Krokus (Headhunter is a great album)
- Alcatrazz (both the Yngwie and Steve albums were good, but I like Disturbing the Peace better)
- The Cult ("Electric", a good album)
- Soundgarden (love them)
- Audioslave (also good)
- Y&T / Yesterday and Today (Before the kicked Leonard Haze.)
- Michael Schenker Group
- David Lee Roth (Eat them and smile is still one of the best albums ever)
- Van Halen (Great!)
- Rush (yes, they did make some good records)
- Badlands (first album was great)
- Ranging Slab (don't know if they are metal but they made one good album)
- Slayer (Reign in blood, still one of best albums ever)
- Accept (early stuff)
- Scorpions (yes they have made some good albums)
- DAD (fun band)
- King's X (First two albums)
- Kiss - (Last decent album was Creatures of the Night)
- Legs Diamond ("waiting" is still a great song)
- Mahogany Rush (last good record was Juggernaut)
- Mama's Boys (Perhaps not great, but nostalgia)
- Nazareth (Early stuff Like "Loud 'N' Proud" and Hair of the Dog)
- Nirvana
- Rage against the Machine (Some good songs)
- Alice in chains
- Faith no more
- Red hot chili peppers (some of the Early stuff)
- Def Leppard
- Mercyful Fate (acquired taste, but I like them)
- King Diamond (Early stuff, acquired taste, but I like them)

- Manowar (Perhaps not so great but made some good songs)
- Montrose (Perhaps not great, but nostalgia)
- Budgie (Perhaps not great, but nostalgia)
- Triumph (Perhaps not great, but nostalgia)

Edit:
Oh my god. I forgot:
- Ministry
- Slipknot

Some obscure bands:
- Trouble (Trouble is still a great album).
- Masters of reality (Their first album is REALLY great)
- Savatage (Hall of the Mountain King, a great album)
- Demon (One or two good records)
- Chateaux (chained and desperate, anyone remember this record?)
- Lucifer's Friend (one great album!)
- Ursa Major (one great album!)
- Captain Beyond. (one great album!)
- Sir Lord Baltimore (one great album!)
- Manilla Road (Perhaps not great, but nostalgia)
- Gordi (Perhaps not great, but nostalgia)
- More (Perhaps not great, but nostalgia)
- Rose Tattoo (Perhaps not great, but nostalgia)
- Tygers of pan Tang (Perhaps not great, but nostalgia. John Sykes first band)

Edit 3, From Sweden:
- Yngwie Malmsteen
- Mustasch
- Entombed (great)
- Meshuggah (More than Great)
- Candlemass
- In Flames
- At The Gates
- The Hellacopters
- Backyard Babies

I agree completely. When I play CD's like th remastered version of Zappa's "We Only in it for the Money" you can't even hear it compared to most of the "modern" cd's although there is another culprit that I can point to-->** spoiler omitted **

Zappa Live in NY and Roxy also sounds like Sh*t.

What do Paizonian metalheads think of Feistodon?
Black Tongue
A Commotion

I completely dig it, but then I like both bands anyway.

dmchucky69 wrote:

I'm still mad at Ozzy for the way Sharon, Zakk and the others treated Maiden at Ozzfest a couple of years back.

Edit:

Great bands (not in any special order):

I wish there was a way to favorite individual bands on your list!

Zark wrote:

dmchucky69 wrote:

I'm still mad at Ozzy for the way Sharon, Zakk and the others treated Maiden at Ozzfest a couple of years back.

Edit:

Great bands (not in any special order):

I wish there was a way to favorite individual bands on your list!

OK, I'll do it later next week and post them in a spoiler :-)

I wish there was a way to favorite individual bands on your list!

OK, I'll do it later next week and post them in a spoiler :-)

I'm not totally sure how that works, but sure!!! LOL

@DungeonmasterCal: OK here it is.
I couldn't bother making a top 100, but with the other lists its more than 100 bands/solo acts.

What I meant was a way for me (or another reader) to select my favorite bands individually from your lists just by clicking on a "favorites" button or the like. Sorry for all the work you went through!

Still, it's pretty uncanny how you and I agree on the placement of nearly every band you've mentioned. I only recently discovered Opeth and I'm completely in a trance over them.

What I meant was a way for me (or another reader) to select my favorite bands individually from your lists just by clicking on a "favorites" button or the like. Sorry for all the work you went through!

No problem. I'm not sure how that would be possible. One way would be to create a new thread where every group/artist is one post.

Still, it's pretty uncanny how you and I agree on the placement of nearly every band you've mentioned. I only recently discovered Opeth and I'm completely in a trance over them.

I too recently discovered them. I can't believe I have not heard of them before. I probably should have them at 4th place or at least 5th.

BTW, I want to share with some of the metal heads here the thrash album that has been kicking my ass this year. I saw them not too long ago at a festival just miles away from my home and the band Vindicator, delivered a punch that puts to shame what Dave Mustaine has been putting out on public radio as of late.

Listen to Vindicator's "United We Fall" album and it'll remind you of the stuff that Dave did back in the 80's with his paranoid government conspiracies as well as serious dual solo shredding. "13" sucks compared to this. Gets that west coast sound while been based right outside of Cleveland Ohio.

Bastards of Noise and Aggression and Hail To The Thief are standouts.

^^^^^^^

DAMN! Thanks Urizen!

Best gigs

hmmm

Slayer and Nuclear Assault on the South of Heaven tour 1988
Metallica on Damaged Justice two weeks later

both at Hammersmith Odeon, London

Iron Maiden I have seen too many times to remember!

Exodus on the Fabulous Disaster Tour
Nuclear Assault supported by Dark Angel
Kreator going out in support of Terrible Certainty

32. Accept - Fast as a shark. Still a great track.

/\/\
This

32. Accept - Fast as a shark. Still a great track.

/\/\
This

And "Princess of the Dawn" from that same album.

I've seen Iron Maiden 5 times (only because they don't play gigs close to where I live anymore. Otherwise I'd be there every time). I saw them once in a tiny, hole in the wall club in Memphis when Blaze Bailey was still with them.

Another time I went up for a high five with Steve Harris and missed his hand, hitting his bass really hard. I thought I'd get tossed out by the security people, but instead he gave me a thumbs up and "Well done, mate!"

I could've died happy that night.

Great to see this thread resurface every now and again.

I've gotten into some new stuff (for me at least in the last few years).

Atreyu, Lamb of God, Coheed and Cambria, some more As I Lay Dying, 30 Seconds to Mars, Parkway Drive, Chimaira, etc.

Great stuff.

Very melodic in parts, with aggressive counterpoints in the verses (usually).