So, what else does the band listen to?

voodoo

A little left of heaven
Jan 18, 2006
510
0
16
Frederick, MD
www.livingformetal.com
It's obvious from interviews and such that the band more or less enjoys power and prog metal, and of course Gregg enjoys classical music. Does a band like Death or Opeth or Dimmu Borgir ever end up in your CD player? How about non-metal like Bruce Springsteen or U2 or The Black Crowes?

Just curious.....
 
It's obvious from interviews and such that the band more or less enjoys power and prog metal, and of course Gregg enjoys classical music. Does a band like Death or Opeth or Dimmu Borgir ever end up in your CD player? How about non-metal like Bruce Springsteen or U2 or The Black Crowes?

Just curious.....

Opeth is probably my favorite band, along with Dream Theater and Pain of Salvation. I can't choose just one. I'm honestly not much of a fan of power metal; the only bands I listen to that fall under that category are Blind Guardian and Angra, and both of those are pretty much in the progressive metal genre anyway. As for Death, I have a couple CDs that I listen to. "The Sound Of Perseverance" has ridiculous drumming and vocals that I actually like (I like very few death metal vocalists). They've actually inspired me in some ways (their use of quartal and quintal harmony). I have some Dimmu Borgir too; I like their orchestral stuff but the rest just seems mediocre. The whole facepaint and evil facade is really silly.

My main musical interests is 20th/21st century art music. I'm a huge Stravinsky and Varèse fan, and also really into Bartok, Schoenberg, Debussy, Mahler, Crumb, Ligeti, Partch, and some others of which I can't think right now.

As for non-metal I'm really into jazz/fusion. Some of my favorite CDs are MVP's "Truth in Shredding" and "Centrifical Funk" (Rich still has my copy!). I love Allan Holdsworth, Frank Gambale, Chick Corea, Micheal Brecker (RIP :cry:), Vital Information, Niacin, etc. The best concerts I've ever seen were at clubs in NYC (The Iridium, The Blue Note, B.B. King's) where I've seen some of these bands. The jazz/fusion realm also spans into prog metal, where bands like Spastic Ink and Liquid Tension Experiment come into play.

I don't really listen to straight-up rock. I just don't find much of it to be very interesting. Then again, I don't like to pigeonhole artists by genres. I probably discussed this before, but I have my own genres. Progressive vs conservative, corporeal vs abstract, and of course, good vs bad! The most normal thing I'll listen to is Nirvana. They're so entertaining. I don't care if Kurt Cobain was not a great guitarist, but I'd be the first to admit that he does some amazingly creative things. I don't think anyone out there could perform anything like "Beeswax" or "Hairspray Queen." I don't listen to much "normal" music, but you may find me listening to some industrial stuff from time to time. I have no shame in saying one of my favorite CDs of all time is Marilyn Manson's "Anti-Christ Superstar." Even though Trent Reznor was responsible for almost all of it, it's still a very creative and sophisticated work. I usually hate when bands have some sort of image, but it doesn't bother me with Marilyn Manson. I think maybe it has to do with my stint of rebellion in 8th grade, when I snuck this CD into an order for one of those "get 12 CDs for free then pay $100 in shipping!" deals. I remember sneaking it up to my room and listening to it with headphones and being all giddy. Sometimes I spin some Apoptygma Berzerk, VNV Nation, or Funker Vogt. Apop actually has a lot of cool avant-garde electronic soundscapes.

So there you have it. I will probably add more to this list as things come to mind.
 
I like A LOT of stuff...

very little death metal, but I do find myself spinning Arsis, Necrophagist, Dimmu, and Decapitated every now and then. Maybe a few others I can't think of right now.

Opeth rocks...enough said.

I like a ton of power and prog metal...pretty much you name it and I either like it or have listened to it from time to time. I don't name bands I don't like...I just don't do it. Get me drunk and I'll yell about a few I'm sure.

Non metal...I really am willing to give anything a chance. I actually like Dave Matthews Band, and have for a long time. I don't like to limit myself like I used to growing up because I've gone back and gotten into stuff I swore I would never listen to when I was in high school.

My passion is for the kind of music I make, but I will never limit it to that.
 
Thanks for the responses, fellas.
I agree with you Gregg, as far as labels and genres. I don't really have my own genre's like you do but I do feel that if a song (or album or band) is good I will listen. It took me a long time to enjoy death metal and I am now venturing into black metal. The site I work for has a diverse group and because we all listen to various types of metal I am exposed to a great deal of bands I might never have listened to otherwise.
Also, I think its really cool that you included Nirvana in that post. Back in the early to mid 90's I was really into grunge with Nirvana right at the top. Another CD I practically wore out from that time period is Alice in Chains Jar of Flies. Absolutely incredible album.

Clay, I do like a few Dave Matthews songs (Ants Marching, The Space Between, Crash, Don't Drink the Water, for example) but for the most part I have never been able to sit through an entire album. One of my favorite non-metal musicians/artists is David Grey. He's kind like the modern Van Morrison. His first CD A Century Ends contains some of the best folksy-bluesy acoustic stuff I have ever heard. I highly recommend it.

Oh, and Opeth does indeed rock. Saw them a couple of years ago when they had Into Eternity and Nevermore opening. A mind blowing live show. Both Opeth and Nevermore were absolutely thunderous. Into Eternity, not so much. Not a bad band, but to me they don't translate well live. Not that night at least.
 
Its hard to find a day where i dont listen to Opeth. Them and Tool are my 2 fav's. I also listen to DT and SX obviously. i'm also into Andromeda, Ayreon, Adagio, Isis, Kamelot, LTE, Mattias Eklundh's stuff, Porcupine Tree, Ozric Tentacles, Planet X, Meshuggah, 3, a perfect circle, Aghora, Arsis, Beneath the massacre, Between the Buried and Me, Black Stone Cherry, nickelback, occasionally some CoB, Arch Enemy, Dreamscape, The Faceless, Spastic Ink, necrophagist, origin, foo fighters, greg howe, incubus, jack johnson, michael hedges, mitch hedberg, mudvayne, nile, pat metheny, chick corea, power of omens, psycroptic, soilwork, threat signal, chilli peppers, sonata arctica, etc. i'm really getting into Tabla Beat Science, and i highly recommend checking out 3 for alternative rock/funk stuff. I definitely listen to bands like the black crowes, blind melon, spin doctors, early U2, Doobie Brothers, STP, etc. I served my 4 years of high school as part of an amazing drum line called Rolling Thunder, so i listen to percussion pieces, too. i also listen to solo acoustic guitar music. i'll listen to Outkast, Gym Class Heroes, Stevie Wonder, Sting, The Police, Genesis, etc. Sometimes the 4/4 thing gets kind of old, but thats why there's all this other great stuff out there. i'm also sure i forgot a bunch of bands, basically everything's good except for dragonforce and killswitch.
 
Damn, quite a list. I like how you snuck Mitch Hedberg (RIP) in there. Have you heard the new Arch Enemy song, yet? It's called Blood on Your Hands. I think it sounds promising.

I also listen to a lot of power and prog stuff. I was sad to hear that Dreamscape was basically splitting up with 3 members departing. End of Silence was a great CD. One band that I discovered right about the same time I discovered Suspyre is French band Spheric Universe Experience. Very similar to Suspyre but less technical, I suppose. Also less classically inclined, but still very good. Actually, it's unfortunate for SUE I found both at the same time, because if I had not found Suspyre I would be listening to SUE a lot more. Same goes for Redemption, who is touring with Dream Theater. Great band, amazing vocalist.
 
Its hard to find a day where i dont listen to Opeth. Them and Tool are my 2 fav's. I also listen to DT and SX obviously. i'm also into Andromeda, Ayreon, Adagio, Isis, Kamelot, LTE, Mattias Eklundh's stuff, Porcupine Tree, Ozric Tentacles, Planet X, Meshuggah, 3, a perfect circle, Aghora, Arsis, Beneath the massacre, Between the Buried and Me, Black Stone Cherry, nickelback, occasionally some CoB, Arch Enemy, Dreamscape, The Faceless, Spastic Ink, necrophagist, origin, foo fighters, greg howe, incubus, jack johnson, michael hedges, mitch hedberg, mudvayne, nile, pat metheny, chick corea, power of omens, psycroptic, soilwork, threat signal, chilli peppers, sonata arctica, etc. i'm really getting into Tabla Beat Science, and i highly recommend checking out 3 for alternative rock/funk stuff. I definitely listen to bands like the black crowes, blind melon, spin doctors, early U2, Doobie Brothers, STP, etc. I served my 4 years of high school as part of an amazing drum line called Rolling Thunder, so i listen to percussion pieces, too. i also listen to solo acoustic guitar music. i'll listen to Outkast, Gym Class Heroes, Stevie Wonder, Sting, The Police, Genesis, etc. Sometimes the 4/4 thing gets kind of old, but thats why there's all this other great stuff out there. i'm also sure i forgot a bunch of bands, basically everything's good except for dragonforce and killswitch.

Now I feel as if I should write my complete list! There is so much great stuff out there that I left out...

I second Jeff's recommendation on the band, "3." We were listening to it the other day and it's really creative. I don't think it's far fetched to say they sound like a heavier Maroon 5, heh.
 
It'd be impossible to come up with a complete list for myself, I think, because it will change frequently...Besides, I listen to classic rock, blues, hard rock, new wave, grunge, 80's pop, 80's metal, death metal, prog, power, thrash, melodic, and because I have 3 kids (an almost 7 year old girl and 18 month old twins) I listen to a lot of kids music and watch a lot of kids movies. I could give a partial list of favs, although that would take a while, too.
 
Now I feel as if I should write my complete list! There is so much great stuff out there that I left out...

I second Jeff's recommendation on the band, "3." We were listening to it the other day and it's really creative. I don't think it's far fetched to say they sound like a heavier Maroon 5, heh.

3? A heavier maroon 5? That's an interesting take on things. o_O


3 kicks insane amounts of ass though. Joey Eppard's guitar skills are no joke. Bramfatura is an incredible guitar instrumental.
 
heavier maroon 5 isnt too far off, man. have you heard anything they did before Wake Pig? the 2 albums i have before that are Half Life and Summercamp Nightmare. Half Life is straight up funk at times. its not as rock/metal as wake pig. bramfatura is quite the composition. the first time i saw or heard of them was in the middle of the New England Hardcore and Metal Fest, between 2 slammin ass death metal bands. i think the whole time they were playing, my jaw was on the floor. i love how they incorporate the percussionist in their songs. I've seen 'em twice now, and they were even better than the first time, somehow. both times they played Bramfatura as well as the drum/percussion battle. Being a drummer, i was regretting not bringing a change of pants after that. I dont know how they wound up on Metal Blade Records, but its all good. In Amaze Disgrace (last track on wake pig) during that short vocal solo, the percussion guy (swear he had to be in the blue man group at some point) came out and started drumming on Eppard's back to make the vocals sound crazy. such an awesome show. the new CD is very good also; a bit darker but i still absolutely love it.
 
Yeah, they are definitely insane live. ahahha I had so much fun sitting there watching them. I hadn't heard a damn thing before and they were opening for Porcupine Tree so I expected something maybe a little on the mellow side, as the last time i saw PT Robert Fripp was opening, and that put me to sleep. hahaha. But no, they definitely came and pumped everyone up. Great great band. And I wouldn't bring up Maroon 5 because while they can be a little funky they're still just pop rock in the long run. :/ Not bad pop rock mind you, but pop rock nonetheless.

And I have all their CDs too. Did you ever hear their first one, "Paint By Number"? It's been sitting on my desktop and I haven't listened to it yet.. I probably will one day soon. >_> But right now I don't want a departure from 3's Wake Pig/The End Is Begun sound, because I love the heavier side they show.
 
Thats funny, cause I go to the college some of the guys in Maroon 5 went to - apparently the name of the band is a pun based on our school - Five Towns, and our school color is maroon. Go figure.
 
It's surprising that a progressive band is discussing Maroon 5, but of all the kiddie pop out there I'd say they are one of the most catchy artistic bands out there on the radio. Can't say the same for Nickelback, though ....

i probably would've enjoyed maroon 5's music a lot more than i did if my sisters (scenesters :<) didn't play the hell out of their albums when they got them. listening to the same album a few times is ok, but playing it 5 times a day from start to finish for weeks on end is incredibly taxing on my patience.
 
Oh, and Opeth does indeed rock. Saw them a couple of years ago when they had Into Eternity and Nevermore opening. A mind blowing live show. Both Opeth and Nevermore were absolutely thunderous. Into Eternity, not so much. Not a bad band, but to me they don't translate well live. Not that night at least.

I was at that concert :headbang:

My friends and I were just to the right of the stage almost directly in front of the speakers staring at the ass of some girl dressed up in a cat outfit. I definitely made the right decision going to see Opeth melt everyone's face than go trick - or - treating. I agree with you about Into Eternity. The sound was nothing to be amazed about and the guitar work was unoriginal. However, even though Nevermore's singer had a cold and probably felt horrible the whole time, he still sounded awesome and got a pit going.

Opeth showed everyone how it was done even with a replacement drummer. It was an awesome show and we sang every song :)