Most important/influencial/creative CURRENT bands

[hibernal_dream]

Get rid of Orphaned Land. Neither important nor influential nor creative, unless you count the fact that they're from Israel. Also, has Skepticism really done anything that Thergothon or any other doom band hasn't? But Meshuggah definitely make the list for rythmic/percussive innovation.

 

[Demilich]

has Skepticism really done anything that Thergothon or any other doom band hasn't?

Short answer:

Long answer: Yes.

 

[MasterOLightning]

I agree with Akercocke. Their newest is the best combination of death metal and black metal riffs on the same album that I've heard. I see such a blend of the two styles becoming more common in the future when more bands will be harder to place as either DM or BM, and we'll have more bands to just call "extreme metal".

 

[Nico]

Get rid of Orphaned Land. Neither important nor influential nor creative, unless you count the fact that they're from Israel. Also, has Skepticism really done anything that Thergothon or any other doom band hasn't? But Meshuggah definitely make the list for rythmic/percussive innovation.

My bad, Orphaned Land were meant to go in the lower list.

Akercocke are one of those bands I've resolved to avoid forever because of how fucking dumb they appear to be. Way to go, guys.

And Byrne, I've really only just put Meshuggah in there because I get the feeling they're going to become one of those cornerstone bands, like 10 years down the track when we try to think of all the bands that made an impact in the early to mid 00's.

I don't think Enslaved comes close. I haven't heard Ruun, but if it's anything like Isa, no chance. Experimental, sure. Creative, yeah. But it lacks substance. I don't think they're pioneering anything that'll outlive this current decade.

 

[Carcassian]

Akercocke is a really good call, actually. I've been busy hovering up their bac catalogue, and their take on black/death with a teesy weensy bit of prog is pretty unusual/creative.

 

[byrne]

if meshuggah is a cornerstone band which determines what we listen to over the next decade, im going to stop listening to metal. they are THE worst band to have ever existed, which includes korn.

i dont see who they are having an influence on, which makes them at all important to metal (i.e. who are they influencing that doesnt suck). for all i know they are setting the pace for mallcore bands, but that how is that being at all productively influential?

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Akercocke is a really good call, actually. I've been busy hovering up their bac catalogue, and their take on black/death with a teesy weensy bit of prog is pretty unusual/creative.

More like horribly incongruous. Choronzon is a bunch of tasteless genre rape, in my opinion. They try to cram way too much shit in and come off as pretentious...as if their image wasn't already.

 

[Nico]

@Byrne, re: Meshuggah

Okay, first off, I can't stand the band either. I'm just observing the way they get discussed these days, and I'm lead to believe they're going to be in some way fundamental to what'll be big in a few years time. That is to say, I see them similarly to Children of Bodom (although that train has already gone), it's just that I think they bring something new to the table whereas CoB don't.

 

[Necro Joe]

i dont see who they are having an influence on, which makes them at all important to metal (i.e. who are they influencing that doesnt suck). for all i know they are setting the pace for mallcore bands, but that how is that being at all productively influential?

I hear Meshuggah influence pretty much everywhere these days, technical death metal, grindcore, metalcore, proggressive metal, sludge related bands, etc. The mechanised style of riffing, argressive stop-start rhythmic interplay and even the actual feel and atmosphere of their albums has filtered into many, many areas of modern metal.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

So true.

 

[Necro Joe]

Okay, so far the main contenders are:

DsO
The Chasm
Primordial
Agalloch
Summoning
Meshuggah
Orphaned Land

To a lesser extent, these bands qualify, but, at least in my opinion, don't have the same level of innovation:

Nokturnal Mortum
Portal
Stargazer
Urfaust
Negura Bunget
Opeth
Nile

I was just wondering, why are Primordial included and Opeth aren't? I mean Primordial have had a similar style on each album for a while now without any big shifts and certainly no serious innovation. I FAR prefer Primordial but they've always just been an awesome band for me, not a creative one.

 

[Nico]

Primordial stand out to me as unclassifyable and justifiably so. They don't have any niche to fit into, they don't really sound like much else (influences are one thing, but Primordial are greater than the sum of the parts).

I suppose the same could go for Opeth, but I think they're dead in the water as far as innovation goes.

 

[CF87]

Meshuggah was not the first band to do the offbeat single note riffs and would not actually be technical or progressive in the sense of what those terms mean in music.

They are pretty much wattered down cookie cutter and simple compared to bands that have similiar technique.

 

[Necro Joe]

Who cares? Their style was unique when they started and it influenced lots of genres. I'm not arguing about how technical or progressive they were.

 

[Necro Joe]

They are pretty much wattered down cookie cutter and simple compared to bands that have similiar technique.

'Cookie cutter' suggests they were unimaginative and just one of many playing the same style, which is obviously not true.

 

[MasterOLightning]

If you can't hear the influence that Destroy Erase Improve has had on many, many bands, you must be deaf. Popular metalcore is basically founded on a combination of Heartwork and DEI. I think if Meshuggah had quit after DEI, they'd be legendary.

I've only heard one Primordial album, and I really don't understand the hype. In fact, several riffs on The Gathering Wilderness sound like they could have been on My Arms, Your Hearse. If you don't include Opeth, it had better be because they aren't currently doing anything really interesting. Then again, neither is Meshuggah.

 

[hibernal_dream]

^^ True, but an album's influence is only felt around 5 or more years after its release. You can't tell if "Ghost Reveries" or "Catch 33" is influential or not because its too soon, while you can clearly hear the influence of "Destroy Erase Improve" and "My Arms Your Hearse" in many new metal bands.

 

[Children Of The Damned]

Iron Maiden
Coming on 26 years old and still making albums. One of the most influencial bands ever and still is. Even though they were formed in 1980 they are still "current".

 

[byrne]

If you can't hear the influence that Destroy Erase Improve has had on many, many bands, you must be deaf. Popular metalcore is basically founded on a combination of Heartwork and DEI. I think if Meshuggah had quit after DEI, they'd be legendary.

that is absolutely meaningless. how is being influential in the metalcore scene at all productive?

"stop start rhythmic interplay" is hardly something that was developed in 1995 when "DEI" was released. That sort of style was riddled throughout Pantera's career (circa late 80's early 90's), well before the release of that album and I'm sure Pantera weren't the innovators in that respect.

As far as mechanised riffing goes based on the fact that you made the first part up, id be almost willing to be meshuggah didn't develop the mechanised guitar tone (which I assume you are referring to, as opposed to a particular riff structure).

 

[ohiogrinder]

that is absolutely meaningless. how is being influential in the metalcore scene at all productive?

this made me LOL