Best of 2006 so far

[Sadguru]

first of all, we need to get on the same page. i dont really listen to "EMO" bands. thats just what most ignorant people tag post-rock/hardcore/indie bands most of the time because theyre too lazy to get the facts straight. Burst is a post-hardcore band, not necessarily a metal band. however their approach to music is comprable to what Opeth does in my eyes. as for other bands....the mars volta, between the buried and me, and the fall of troy would be 3 excellent examples of bands lumped in with the so called "emo" bands despite not being so due to the style of vocals often used, but definitely excell musically in any respect.

Thrice is another excellent "post-hardcore" band. Ever heard them?

 

[NFU]

ive heard them. i didnt care for it.

 

[wankerness]

Thrice is another excellent "post-hardcore" band. Ever heard them?

They're practically an At the Gates cover band

 

[Sadguru]

ive heard them. i didnt care for it.

oh well...

 

[Towedwart]

At the Gates cover band? Wtf?

Thrice is okay.

Good post-hardcore bands who released albums in 2006: mewithoutYou, He Is Legend, Protest the Hero, Thursday, and Underoath.

 

[RedinTheSky]

first of all, we need to get on the same page. i dont really listen to "EMO" bands. thats just what most ignorant people tag post-rock/hardcore/indie bands most of the time because theyre too lazy to get the facts straight. Burst is a post-hardcore band, not necessarily a metal band. however their approach to music is comprable to what Opeth does in my eyes. as for other bands....the mars volta, between the buried and me, and the fall of troy would be 3 excellent examples of bands lumped in with the so called "emo" bands despite not being so due to the style of vocals often used, but definitely excell musically in any respect.

There we go.... that's much better. Labels do tend to screw things up for bands and their audiences.

Secondly, I appreciate good vocals, and enjoy them if they are there but if they aren't good, I just ignore them unless they are annoying. Bands with vocals that sound like Linkin Park should be held hostage in a reality show on MTV where they are forced to perpetually listen to their own tripe in a small soundproofed box so only they or people who watch MTV have to hear them.

I pay more attention to the instruments, and I listen to a lot of music that is instrument driven, (Progressive metal, Jazz, Jazz fusion, certain types of classical etc.) probably because I play guitar, bass, and keyboards. Just the way I do things. I have heard some Mars Volta before and I thought it was very good instrumentally.

 

[NFU]

thursday and underoath i can definitely get behind, however i havent heard protest the hero yet.

 

[metal_wrath]

so...which emo (incl. hardcore/indie/post-rock) bands have gained as much respect from music enthusiasts, peers, music critics, etc... as Opeth have??

answer: none

 

[Sadguru]

At the Gates cover band? Wtf?

Thrice is okay.

Good post-hardcore bands who released albums in 2006: mewithoutYou, He Is Legend, Protest the Hero, Thursday, and Underoath.

Thrice is only okay? And I thought they were fantastic, thanks for the correction. Time to sell my copy...

Thanks again, rep ++

 

[Sadguru]

so...which emo (incl. hardcore/indie/post-rock) bands have gained as much respect from music enthusiasts, peers, music critics, etc... as Opeth have??

answer: none

Converge, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Ros, The Mars Volta, ISIS etc...

 

[Liquid Diamonds]

I thought The Blueprint were a fairly likeable post-hardcore offering. Only one full album, but it was pretty good. Not amazing or anything, but I enjoyed it, thought it was a shame when they split.

And Sadguru is correct in his own correnction of M_W, but I'd also like to point out that M_W cited "indie" bands. There are dozens of indie bands that command greater respect from the majority of the critical press and the public than Opeth do. To suggest otherwise is just silly.

Personally... I agree with NFU in that every genre has it's own selection of acts that stand above the majority of bands from other genres. I don't necessarily agree with some of the bands he suggests, but I whole-heartedly agree with his main point.

Oh, and in reference to the earlier discussion on lyrics: Opeth's lyrics are not good. They fit the music, the melodies and rhythms are (for the most part) excellent, but... the subject matter doesn't feel... "real" sometimes. Obviously in some cases (ITNASW for example) it is, but... I feel like Mike sometimes writes words in a way that... doesn't hold a meaning in my life. They just... do nothing for me, and NFU is right, there are a lot of so called "whiny" bands who I can relate to to a much greater degree.

Mike's still one of my favourite musicians. I just don't rate him that highly as a lyricist.

Oh, and RedinTheSky, when you refer to instrumentation as being "good", I get the impression you mean like... "complex". Why does it have to be complex? Does anyone else agree that to master simplicity and write something simple but beautiful is just as much of an art?

 

[Sadguru]

Does anyone else agree that to master simplicity and write something simple but beautiful is just as much of an art?

Oh yes, definitely.

 

[S<issors]

you are SERIOUSLY over-generalizing for the emo/indie genre...and completely overstating for the metal genre.

Heh. I wasn't trying to raise Metal up as some sort of uber-genre. I was simply pointing out that you can't make a sweeping generalization like "all metal is rooted in angst." There are many, many sub-genres of metal, and a good number of them have nothing do with angst. Emo, on the other hand, is a narrower catergory. If it doesn't explore themes of depression/alienation/sucidial tendencies I wouldn't consider a band "emo."

Also, I have to say that I find it a little odd that anyone would lump Emo and Indie together as one type of music. I've never encountered anyone who did so before reading these posts. I'd certainly never call the Mars Volta or Isis "emo," and MCR isn't exactly an indie band anymore- they are, in fact, one of those "MTV2" groups you made mention of. Weird

 

[S<issors]

Oh, and in reference to the earlier discussion on lyrics: Opeth's lyrics are not good. They fit the music, the melodies and rhythms are (for the most part) excellent, but... the subject matter doesn't feel... "real" sometimes. Obviously in some cases (ITNASW for example) it is, but... I feel like Mike sometimes writes words in a way that... doesn't hold a meaning in my life. They just... do nothing for me, and NFU is right, there are a lot of so called "whiny" bands who I can relate to to a much greater degree.

Yeah, it depends on what you're looking for. "They fit the music, the melodies and the rhythms are excellent" is enough for me; I guess I don't neccesarily want to "identify" with a heavy metal band. I understand what you're getting at here, though.

On the subject of lyrics (sorta) I never understood why critics got so excited about The Mars Volta. Maybe I'm missing something...?

 

[Scourge of Malice]

Lyric-wise I feel MV try too hard with all their metaphors and unusual words, and its hard for me to relate to them unless I really put time into understanding them. That said, their first album has a nice story to it and is pretty beautiful when you realize what its about. Overall I like all the crazy words and images they use, cause I think it fits their music.

 

[Scourge of Malice]

And "post-hardcore" fans should really check out Frodus. As far as I know they were one of the first to pioneer that style, and their album "And we Washed our Weapons in the Sea" is pretty much perfect IMO.

 

[i aint play this]

Mars Volta sucks

 

[all_sins_undone]

TMV apart from a few select songs and the first album = terrible

 

[all_sins_undone]

exactly, thats what i meant by "a few select songs"

 

[i aint play this]

Deleted my post by mistake

anyway, the latest MV is more listenable, but i still don't like it