The truth about melodic death metal

Some Gates of Ishtar members in The Duskfall which is pretty much THE melodic death metal band for me.. and these songs are kinda bad quality but they are all perfect in spotify
Too bad this mighty swedish band disbanded a short while ago.



 
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I think this is some pretty good old school mdm
 
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Indeed :D its like the first mdm album ever.

here's some pretty oldschool mdm aswell



 
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Children of Bodom have some great talent and great songs, but the cheese factor is pretty high when it comes to power metal. There's something unappealing about power metal to me, so power metal + melodeath doesn't work too well for me.
 
I kind of think something thats pretty heavy, but maintains alot of melodic elements.... like Bury Me An Angel (With Angela on vocals, of course, Johans were a bit more thrashy.)



But at the same time.. the solo is pretty simply "heavy metal sounding". But god, the main riff tears it up.. (similar to Heartwork, not suprisingly. )
 
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This genre is dead. Everything is called melodic death metal this days.

I mean, how the hell is CoB melodeath? Even in the early days they were more power metal with black metal touch. Nowadays, every metalcore band with two or three Gothenburg style riffs, is being called melodeath.

There is no real scene. There is no real inspiration. Production is too polished and perfect to achieve death metal atmosphere. Every band has triggered drums, EMG's through LINE6 or whatever. Vocalists sound like screaming chicken having a fight with a mad cow. Riffs are unoriginal, melodies also, song structures very much conventional. And then, there are emo clean vocals...

I miss the times when music was fresh and new, when people were not afraid to try new things, when records had a soul, when I could clearly distinct between two bands and their productions.

I mean, I don't care if a drummer can play 300bpm, or if a guitar player can do 8 finger arpeggios, are the band members wear cool clothes, are they selling 250 000 records in the US... I want a good, original fu*king song, and that's it. And you can barely find that in melodeath this days. Generic stuff everywhere.
 
Nice thread resurrection :D

Basicaly, its because people love labeling. I'd personally put Bodom into Extreme power metal (as many others do), but sadly a lot of people think that harsh vocals are enough for something to be called death metal. If you'd call it just pure power metal, a lot of typical cheesy power metal listeners probably wouldnt agree. Same goes with the other side, typical death metal listeners. Its just that a genre has evolved during the years, and now basicaly anything that has melodies and harsh vocals either falls into metalcore or melodeath. Needless to say, that really pisses me off, too.

As I said in SOAPF thread, melodeath is pretty stale nowadays, but there are still bands that manage do pull it off. Actually, this year is probably one of the best last few when it comes to melodeath. Bands like Mercenary, Before the Dawn, Norther (they were Bodom-like, but the new record is a pretty solid modern melodeath release, even though I dont like it that much), Deadlock, MyGrain, Project Hate, Scar Symmetry, Universum, Amon Amarth, Omnium Gatherum and some others that I probably forgot put out new records, and none of them are too bad. Plus there is some more to come, like the new Insomnium record which is due to be released in the fall (cant f*cking wait for it, to be honest), new Arch Enemy, new Degradead and again some others. Plus we get the new In Flames record, which while isnt melodeath anymore, is still good enough for a honorable mention :)

Now sure, when someone says "melodic death metal", older stuff like At the Gates, Gates of Ishtar, Unanimated and Eucharist might come to mind, but modern melodeath isnt really that bad either. There is a lot of unoriginal generic bands, but that is true when it comes to any other genre of music really.

When it comes to the production values, I totally agree. Today everything just sounds lifeless, digital and plastic. But that is something what would be pretty much pointless discussing, IMHO.

This came out a bit longer than I thought it would, but all I want to say is, while the genre isnt at its prime, its not really that bad either :)
 
Well, I agree with you on that. But it's becoming harder and harder to find a decent band.

And yeah, this year is rich with new releases, but there is nothing groundbreaking. New Arch Enemy stuff (at least few songs I heard) is just a bad copy of their older stuff. Scar Symmetry's Unseen Empire is better than DMD, but still very, VERY cheesy. Amon Amarth - solid album, but again, can't expect anything new from AA. OG sounds OK. Insomnium...can't wait for that one. :)

I would like to mention new Sylosis record. They moved away from that metalcore sound, and are now a proper melodeath/thrash band. Quality album, technical but well written songs, growl vocals, brutal riffs, epic melodies. And what is amazing, they tune in standard E. Today, every band downtunes like 2 or 3 steps to get heaviness instead of just writing a good, heavy riff.
 
Since you like Scar Symmetry, I assume you know about Solution .45, Alvestam's new band? If you dont, check that out right now. Tops last 3 Scar Symmetry albums easily.

There are also couple of new bands that I think are worth mentioning. Shatter Silence, Devastating Enemy, Orpheus, already mentioned Universum and Degradead, Dreamshade... Oh, and Cinders Fall. Especially them, check it out if you havent already, they have a heavy In Flames vibe to them.



I liked the first Sylosis record, but it was a bit too thrashy for me, and kinda lacked lead guitar work. But will definitely check the new one after hearing some samples on youtube :)
 
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I don't like Solution .45. Alvestam is phenomenal vocalist, but that band sounds...generic. Couple of good moments/songs but that's it.

Well, new Sylosis stuff is darker then old stuff, but it's really good. I mean, it has been a long time since I heard album as long as 70+ minutes filled only with good songs. I recommend you listen to a song called Apparitions. Epic stuff.
 
This Cinders Fall is not bad. Really has some IF vibe. But, it lacks melodies for my taste. Still, nice little songs. Tnx man.

Another thing about new melodeath bands... Where are the melodies? Yes, they have really melodic, harmonized riffs, they have solos and all, but where are those great lead melodies through out the whole song? Like in Goliaths disarms their Davids or something like that.
 
Those awesome leads are what I miss the most when it comes to In Flames. Like in the intro for the Suburban Me or Jotun. And thats why I cant wait for the new Insomnium record. Band with the best lead guitar work since Clayman, IMHO.

Someone should rename this thread to "Melodeath general" :D
 
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