Top Ten Bands... To Have, See.
Here's my compiled list of ten sick-out awesome bands that you should way past check out. I hope ye like 'em, but it's your thing if'n ya don't. either way, l'enjoy.
10.Queens of the Stone Age- you've possibly heard of these cats, and they may be the only band you can say that about on this list... wait, no. that's not true. but they're good, and tend to bring back memories of highschool band and all the fun that ensued there. if you're gonna check 'em out, hit the album "songs for the deaf"... lotsa variety and fun. kinda stoner-y, though... and no. no, i'm not like that. thanks. next band, please.
9.Showbread- i must say that of all the music i love, i'm snagged easily by music that incorporates the delicious tactic known as music fusion. showbread's great since they blend hardcore with southern rock (like my loves he is legend and maylene & the sons of disaster) but also throw in an instrument that's guaranteed to snag my ears: the keytar. if you like screaming, hit up "no sir, nihilism is not practical"... if that's too hard for ye, "age of reptiles" is all the goodness sans the blood-curdling screams. mmmyes.
8.311- okay, you've heard of them. surprised that they're number 8? well, don't be. it's been a long time since they were my favorite band, kids. that was highschool... which ended about two and a half years ago. this having been said, 311 brings back lovely old memories that i cherish, and i finally got to see these cats live back in sept. with my cousin amanda. goood times. if you want to check them out.... i'd recommend the album "soundsystem". or the self-titled one with the blue cover. it's got the hits you might know on it.
7.Shiny Toy Guns- only been listening to them for about a year but they have stolen my heart. how? well, it all goes back to fusion, my friend. fusion. they blend rock and electronic and pretty singing oh so well. i think that if i could make a band any way i wanted it to, it'd almost sound like them. they only have the one album out so far (entitled "we are pilots") and i highly suggest you go get it and feel the love.
6.Zao- zao ("zay-oh") is definitely one of my favorite bands. anybody in the top ten should be. lead singer daniel weyandt sometimes sounds like he's simply barfing out the oft-unintelligible lyrics that, if you take the time to read them (even if you have to do it with a mirror), are pretty spiritual and say some pretty great stuff. a lot darker than music i usually get into, it's been called "depressing metal" and stuff like that. zao's old stuff is kinda punky-hardcore but the newer stuff is metal to metalcore... do you even know what any of these genres mean?? sometimes i feel like they're pointless even to me. check out the album.... oh yeah. "the funeral of God". don't let the name scare you off, it's actually one of the band's most spiritually influenced albums... just keep in mind that the idea of the cd is that God has decided not to honor His promise to His people and decided not to come back at the end of time. so imagine the bad guys winning and everybody losing. ...depressing much?
5.Extol- yes, we're getting into it now. this norweigan metal band (should there be any other kind?) has been around since '93 and is truly, truly metal. what makes them so great, other than the fact that they straight up preach in their music (the last song on the album "burial" is a metal-fied norweigan hymn), they use so many styles of straight-up metal in each album. black metal, death metal, thrash metal, just plain pretty heavy metal...? extol's got it all. i'm going to recommend their newest opus, "the blueprint dives", since it's really gorgeous and won't necessarily tear your head off. honest.
4.Skillet- wow... skillet's number four? the top three must be intensely good. and it is. i've looked ahead. i must congratulate skillet with being the first band being worthy of being called my favorite. when i first heard of them i took one look at them (the cover of "invincible" if you know of the band) and thought "what a bunch of heathens. that junk can't be christian." hahaha, i used to have a narrow mind. their first four albums were true gold in all they pumped out, especially since they had a great tech-rock fusion that they were second-to-none at doing. i saw them live three or four times, which was a true delight. the fifth album, "collide", was not what i wanted from them, and was upset of the "new direction"... that was a really long time ago. senior year, if i'm not mistaken. so, thankfully, the new album came out in october of this year. one of the myriad of things i loved about them was that at the time they had an album out every year. that's okay, they're older now. i understand. however, "comatose", the new album, does not disappoint. they're fusing again! they're using strings! john cooper still sings like a freakin' hoss! the band's great, and has one of the few non-sucky chick drummers. yup yup. i recommend "alien youth" by them. get it and love it. and "comatose". it's good. support!
3.Becoming the Archetype- the moment i saw these guys' album cover, i knew i was in for some sick-out metal fun. i love loving this band because very few people know who they are. but... they're amazing. and i hope they blow up and become the new face of metal like i know they should (this means show them off, solid state). they use a bit of fusion with organs and sick sick siiiick guitars. and drums. yeah, they're just amazing. and it was a pleasure to meet them at the totally awesome demon hunter/zao madness. i'm going to recommend their only album so far, "terminate damnation". it's simply amazing. can't say enough good about this band. love them. oh, and march 2007. "the physics of fire". new album. drooooooo
2.Demon Hunter- did i say demon hunter? oh freakin' yes, i sure did. these guys were one of the first "metal/ hardcore" bands i really got into, and this decision has not been a bad one at all. the fun thing about them is that you can listen to it and it won't blow your head off. hard to do, since their hard is so hard. their soft is really pretty and melodic, though, so it's manageable if you're an open-minded music listener. they're easily a "gateway band" for people to get into metal, especially since they're completely a christian band, and have very Christ-centered lyrics... rare, even in the world of "christian hardcore/metal" bands. seeing them live was phenomenal, and if you do the same, you'll way agree. i shared a love of demon hunter (and b.t.a. and a few other bands) with some of my kids while doing intern work at the heights... so that definitely keeps dh close to m'heart. i'll recommend the self-titled first album, and the newly released "the triptych special edition" which is... bleepin' loaded with goodies.
1.Project 86- it isn't easy being my favorite. i assure you. they're not as hard as most of the "metal" or "hardcore" groups on this list, but what makes them so great is that they're very unique. p86 is said to be "heavy alternative" or "post-hardcore" (so many labels!) but all that means is it's hardcore, just there's plenty of singin', and the "screaming" is more "yelling" than "screaming". also, my boy andrew schwab's voice is pretty unique, with a pretty high-pitched yell (but not squeaky or anything; let's be real here) that cooks. the band has tons of albums full of great songs. i have never had a favorite song by these guys (unless you want to count the month or so when i couldn't stop playing the song "chimes") because each and every of their (so far five) albums is pretty much all great. seeing them live was a truly epic experience that shan't be forgotten, but will hopefully be repeated many a time. i will recommend their newest cd to you, since it's not too brutal. it's called "...and the rest will follow". i love it. and they're already making a new one for '07! how kind! love those guys.
Honorable Mentions (or Up and Coming Potential Replacements!):
he is legend
norma jean
pillar
killswitch engage
mewithoutYou
gojira
skindred
....hope y'all enjoyed getting to see why i love the bands i love. does anyone read this? it's cool if you don't. i enjoy writing it as it is so have your funnnn. ok bye bye now.
~drewbers
10.Queens of the Stone Age- you've possibly heard of these cats, and they may be the only band you can say that about on this list... wait, no. that's not true. but they're good, and tend to bring back memories of highschool band and all the fun that ensued there. if you're gonna check 'em out, hit the album "songs for the deaf"... lotsa variety and fun. kinda stoner-y, though... and no. no, i'm not like that. thanks. next band, please.
9.Showbread- i must say that of all the music i love, i'm snagged easily by music that incorporates the delicious tactic known as music fusion. showbread's great since they blend hardcore with southern rock (like my loves he is legend and maylene & the sons of disaster) but also throw in an instrument that's guaranteed to snag my ears: the keytar. if you like screaming, hit up "no sir, nihilism is not practical"... if that's too hard for ye, "age of reptiles" is all the goodness sans the blood-curdling screams. mmmyes.
8.311- okay, you've heard of them. surprised that they're number 8? well, don't be. it's been a long time since they were my favorite band, kids. that was highschool... which ended about two and a half years ago. this having been said, 311 brings back lovely old memories that i cherish, and i finally got to see these cats live back in sept. with my cousin amanda. goood times. if you want to check them out.... i'd recommend the album "soundsystem". or the self-titled one with the blue cover. it's got the hits you might know on it.
7.Shiny Toy Guns- only been listening to them for about a year but they have stolen my heart. how? well, it all goes back to fusion, my friend. fusion. they blend rock and electronic and pretty singing oh so well. i think that if i could make a band any way i wanted it to, it'd almost sound like them. they only have the one album out so far (entitled "we are pilots") and i highly suggest you go get it and feel the love.
6.Zao- zao ("zay-oh") is definitely one of my favorite bands. anybody in the top ten should be. lead singer daniel weyandt sometimes sounds like he's simply barfing out the oft-unintelligible lyrics that, if you take the time to read them (even if you have to do it with a mirror), are pretty spiritual and say some pretty great stuff. a lot darker than music i usually get into, it's been called "depressing metal" and stuff like that. zao's old stuff is kinda punky-hardcore but the newer stuff is metal to metalcore... do you even know what any of these genres mean?? sometimes i feel like they're pointless even to me. check out the album.... oh yeah. "the funeral of God". don't let the name scare you off, it's actually one of the band's most spiritually influenced albums... just keep in mind that the idea of the cd is that God has decided not to honor His promise to His people and decided not to come back at the end of time. so imagine the bad guys winning and everybody losing. ...depressing much?
5.Extol- yes, we're getting into it now. this norweigan metal band (should there be any other kind?) has been around since '93 and is truly, truly metal. what makes them so great, other than the fact that they straight up preach in their music (the last song on the album "burial" is a metal-fied norweigan hymn), they use so many styles of straight-up metal in each album. black metal, death metal, thrash metal, just plain pretty heavy metal...? extol's got it all. i'm going to recommend their newest opus, "the blueprint dives", since it's really gorgeous and won't necessarily tear your head off. honest.
4.Skillet- wow... skillet's number four? the top three must be intensely good. and it is. i've looked ahead. i must congratulate skillet with being the first band being worthy of being called my favorite. when i first heard of them i took one look at them (the cover of "invincible" if you know of the band) and thought "what a bunch of heathens. that junk can't be christian." hahaha, i used to have a narrow mind. their first four albums were true gold in all they pumped out, especially since they had a great tech-rock fusion that they were second-to-none at doing. i saw them live three or four times, which was a true delight. the fifth album, "collide", was not what i wanted from them, and was upset of the "new direction"... that was a really long time ago. senior year, if i'm not mistaken. so, thankfully, the new album came out in october of this year. one of the myriad of things i loved about them was that at the time they had an album out every year. that's okay, they're older now. i understand. however, "comatose", the new album, does not disappoint. they're fusing again! they're using strings! john cooper still sings like a freakin' hoss! the band's great, and has one of the few non-sucky chick drummers. yup yup. i recommend "alien youth" by them. get it and love it. and "comatose". it's good. support!
3.Becoming the Archetype- the moment i saw these guys' album cover, i knew i was in for some sick-out metal fun. i love loving this band because very few people know who they are. but... they're amazing. and i hope they blow up and become the new face of metal like i know they should (this means show them off, solid state). they use a bit of fusion with organs and sick sick siiiick guitars. and drums. yeah, they're just amazing. and it was a pleasure to meet them at the totally awesome demon hunter/zao madness. i'm going to recommend their only album so far, "terminate damnation". it's simply amazing. can't say enough good about this band. love them. oh, and march 2007. "the physics of fire". new album. drooooooo
2.Demon Hunter- did i say demon hunter? oh freakin' yes, i sure did. these guys were one of the first "metal/ hardcore" bands i really got into, and this decision has not been a bad one at all. the fun thing about them is that you can listen to it and it won't blow your head off. hard to do, since their hard is so hard. their soft is really pretty and melodic, though, so it's manageable if you're an open-minded music listener. they're easily a "gateway band" for people to get into metal, especially since they're completely a christian band, and have very Christ-centered lyrics... rare, even in the world of "christian hardcore/metal" bands. seeing them live was phenomenal, and if you do the same, you'll way agree. i shared a love of demon hunter (and b.t.a. and a few other bands) with some of my kids while doing intern work at the heights... so that definitely keeps dh close to m'heart. i'll recommend the self-titled first album, and the newly released "the triptych special edition" which is... bleepin' loaded with goodies.
1.Project 86- it isn't easy being my favorite. i assure you. they're not as hard as most of the "metal" or "hardcore" groups on this list, but what makes them so great is that they're very unique. p86 is said to be "heavy alternative" or "post-hardcore" (so many labels!) but all that means is it's hardcore, just there's plenty of singin', and the "screaming" is more "yelling" than "screaming". also, my boy andrew schwab's voice is pretty unique, with a pretty high-pitched yell (but not squeaky or anything; let's be real here) that cooks. the band has tons of albums full of great songs. i have never had a favorite song by these guys (unless you want to count the month or so when i couldn't stop playing the song "chimes") because each and every of their (so far five) albums is pretty much all great. seeing them live was a truly epic experience that shan't be forgotten, but will hopefully be repeated many a time. i will recommend their newest cd to you, since it's not too brutal. it's called "...and the rest will follow". i love it. and they're already making a new one for '07! how kind! love those guys.
Honorable Mentions (or Up and Coming Potential Replacements!):
he is legend
norma jean
pillar
killswitch engage
mewithoutYou
gojira
skindred
....hope y'all enjoyed getting to see why i love the bands i love. does anyone read this? it's cool if you don't. i enjoy writing it as it is so have your funnnn. ok bye bye now.
~drewbers
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