Royal Carnage recommends...

Erik said:
Probably, but funnily enough that's where most people dismiss Opeth as well; most people that like Opeth now come from a background of either prog metal or mallcore/metalcore -- these people tend to be afraid of growls. It would really be a smart business move by Opeth to drop them completely

You'd be surprised. Somehow Opeth elevates itself above the usual "death growl" band. Case in point: ProgPower USA festival (which is VERY representative of the prog/power audience) has previously tried to enlist Opeth as a headliner (not anymore though because they're too popular and can tour by themselves).

So you're talking about Evergrey, Angra, and Pain of Salvation type fans wanting to see Opeth. However, any other band using death growls at ProgPower is considered to be the "oddball" band, e.g: Into Eternity, Mercenary, and Orphaned Land.

Go figure.
 
JayKeeley said:
Well, I was playing devil's advocate (as you probably guessed), but I can TOTALLY see where other people could dismiss Bathory in an absolute instant, and if it's at any particular attribute, it's the vocals.

Honestly, that's what it is with me. Musically, it can be quite enjoyable. And I certainly don't look down on anyone that thinks they're a great band.

But I do not get a rise out of coming around here and slagging on Bathory just to ruffle people's feathers. Nor did I have any interest in taking away from the integrity of the list that everyone worked pretty hard on to show the recommendations of the Royal Carnage community as a whole.
 
Dark One said:
Honestly, that's what it is with me. Musically, it can be quite enjoyable.

I struggled with the vocals for a while as well.

Then I put it into perspective (at least for Hammerheart and BFD):

- Quorthon has a unique "shout/sing" vocal delivery that accentuates the absolute devout passion he has in the subject at hand. If you think about it, and as an example, most *death* vocals are practically identical between bands so it's hard to differentiate the 'passion', but with Quorthon, you can almost hear him emotionally breaking down in complete & utter torment.

- It's funny to me when people have a distaste for Quorthon, Dave Mustaine, or King Diamond-type singing styles BUT are perfectly ok when listening to "death growls", "hardcore grunts", and "grim screams".

Overall, it's less about the style, more about the CONVICTION. And Quorton had conviction up to his fucken eyeballs. Just listen to "One Road to Asa Bay", my goodness.
 
JayKeeley said:
You'd be surprised. Somehow Opeth elevates itself above the usual "death growl" band.
I think Opeth has become a gateway band for many Metal fans, who had out of hand dismissed all bands with growl vocals. The first two discs I bought with harsh vocals were "Still Life" and "Clayman". Now, 30% of what I buy has harsh/growl/extreme vocals.

JayKeeley said:
Case in point: ProgPower USA festival (which is VERY representative of the prog/power audience) has previously tried to enlist Opeth as a headliner...
I think the reason Opeth didn't play PP was because of money. Glenn offered them #3 slot money and Opeth couldn't make it work for that.


Zod
 
Erik said:
...I thought they pulled off narrative song structures and epic scope far better than Opeth could ever DREAM of doing, eh.
And therein lies the difference between those who love and those who don't love Bathory. You hear Bathory's music and are blown away.

Zod
 
JayKeeley said:
You'd be surprised. Somehow Opeth elevates itself above the usual "death growl" band. So you're talking about Evergrey, Angra, and Pain of Salvation type fans wanting to see Opeth. However, any other band using death growls at ProgPower is considered to be the "oddball" band, e.g: Into Eternity, Mercenary, and Orphaned Land.

Go figure.

While Opeth is the most obvious example of a band that has broken down aversion to growls and/or death metal, I wouldn't say they're alone in that regard, I've seen a lot of people with prog backgrounds get into the tech-death subgenre for instance, there's a thread about the Emperor reformation on the PP forum (where all three of the supposed oddballs get lots of praise), and I've seen admiration for bands like Isis on a progressive rock forum I browse frequently. It's becoming less of an obstacle, at least for the open minded...
 
Agalloch - Pale Folklore
Bathory - Hammerheart
Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
Destroyer 666 - Unchain the wolves
Drudkh - Autumn Aurora
Empyrium - (tied) Songs of Moors and Misty Fields, Weiland
Enslaved - Vikingligr Veldi
Hammers of Misfortune - the august engine
Moonsorrow - verisäkeet
Opeth - Morningrise
Primordial - Spirit the Earth Aflame
Ulver - Bergtatt
Negura Bunget - n crugu bradului