Your Top 2009 releases so far...

[Naglfar]

As with almost any scene/genre, there's always a few bands that rise above the rest and do something that I feel is truly worthwhile and better than the norm, and Lamb Of God is one of those bands to me. They got (rather unfairly I feel) lumped into the Metalcore scene but I always found them to be something more akin to early 90s thrash.

I think their problem is that once you get lumped into that metalcore category, you're fucked for life. I saw them live years ago (2001? Or was it 2003? Jesus I'm getting fucking old), and maybe there was something metalcore to them back then.

They could sound like Von Canto now, and people would still call them metalcore.

 

[NvmbrsDoom5]

Funny thing to note, that I just realised while reading this thread-- I think what tends to set bands apart or cause them to be lumped into certain categories more often than not has mostly to do with the vocalist. LoG are a good example. I think if you listen to their riffing it's firmly rooted in metal, with their occasional "breakdown" parts which, again, reminds me more of Slayer than NYC hardcore. The guys even look like they could be in a thrash/death band from 1990. Except for Randy. His look is definitely more punk-ish, and his vocal delivery at times has more of that sound that's become synonymous with metalcore.
And as Paul mentioned regarding Pantera, you have the Phil thing. Not only his attitude and his look and the stuff he said in interviews, but his vocal approach also turned off alot of people. Plus, as for the Exhorder thing, I think it was Phil's vocals that borrowed from them the most, as I don't find too much in common guitar/drum-wise with Exhorder and Pantera.
It's interesting when you think about it, how much a vocalist tends to define a band's direction and how people perceive them genre-wise. You're not a "death" band unless you have guttural-style vocals. And you can't be a "power" metal band if you have a vocalist who sings gutturally all the time and doesn't sing with that clean voice like a Kiske or Dickinson or Eric Adams style, etc. Regardless of what is going on musically. In that sense, I could almost argue that the vocals are the #1 most important factor in metal music. I'd never really thought much about this before, sorry for my tangent here, lol.

 

[BloodSword]

^ completely sensible and probably correct.

 

[AnTz0r]

In that sense, I could almost argue that the vocals are the #1 most important factor in metal music. I'd never really thought much about this before, sorry for my tangent here, lol.

Only in the sense that vocals will probably define what kind of metal you are, not whether you're metal or not.

But you're right, I experience the same effect with my own band.

 

[Jasonic]

Larry - you are 100% correct.
To me, it's the vocals that instantly make bands scream "metalcore".

I would seriously be a big time Shadows Fall fan if Brian sang clean 100%.

As I said before, the non-clean vox sound VERY forced and ungeniune in most metalcore bands.

There is no doubt that the visual presence of a vocalist aids in how a band is marketed.

 

[Srontgorrth]

Agreed, a lot of it has to do with the vocals.

 

[BloodSword]

The West Pole--The Gathering. I think the Gathering do this style "rock" better than most. The new singer is very good. I've read that people are saying, "she's not as good as Anneke" well, she's not Anneke, she is who she is, and she does this well. Also, a contribution from Marcelo Bovia from Streams of Passion. The Gathering continue, imo, to make excellent music, even though, this may be a little too "poppy" in some places for my taste. Overall, a solid album. I would expect nothing less from this band.

 

[griev0r]

So Paul Wrath is worth picking up then?? I loved Ashes of the Wake but could never really get into Sacrament really...

 

[NvmbrsDoom5]

I don't mind the so-called "Metalcore" scream-y vocals, depending on who is doing it. I think Randy from LoG, Brian from Shads, & Howard from Killswitch all have very good voices and are distinguishable from the rest of the pack. If anything the thing that tends to turn me off is the sing-songy choruses the new bands bust into at times, a good majority of those other "-core" band guys just cannot sing well, IMO.

 

[AnTz0r]

I saw Killswitch at Wacken and those guys put on a great show, regardless of whether they were metal or not, those guys tore it up!

 

[FUBAR]

I saw Killswitch at Wacken and those guys put on a great show, regardless of whether they were metal or not, those guys tore it up!

I think Killswitch are one of the few bands that successfully mix growly metal with the "singy songy" type parts that Larry mentioned. I mean their first album is just incredible.

 

[beast from the east]

LOG is one of those bands that, when I hear a song of theirs, I get into it and enjoy it, but it doesn't have that special something that makes me want to run out and buy their stuff. And as for the voices defining the style, I agree with this 100%, especially when it come to so-called "metalcore". Some metalcore vox I really dig (the vocalist from Neaera, Howard from Killswitch, the guy from From The Shallows). It's that certain quality that tends to put me off, like the guy from Trivium I don't think I could even verbalize what it is about is that irritates me. It just don't cut it, ya know?

 

[NvmbrsDoom5]

I understand exactly what you mean there.

I kinda feel the same way about guttural DM vocals as well. There are some vocalists who do it superbly and I can't get enough of it. But then there's a large amount of them who just either get on my nerves with it, or wind up being completely interchangeable with one another. I think one of the main factors that really helps bands like Morbid Angel, Opeth, Vader, Amon Amarth (and dare I say ND too!) stand out from the pack.

 

[BloodSword]

maybe it's because Mikael Akerfeldt and Paul Kuhr, along with their excellent vocals, anunciate the words. If you have well written lyrics, and the vocals are a fuckin' garbled and gutteral mess, what's the point? Why include lyrics if their not sufficiently introduced to the listener, might as well just do an instrumental album. I dig Esoteric immensely, but I can't understand an entire lyrical(vocal) line from Greg Chandler. And in reading the lyrics booklet, they write some good words for the songs. The way I see it, if the lyrics were'nt intended to be understood, why have them at all. But hey, thats just me.

 

[Jasonic]

I agree 100% about the pronunciation of the vox.
The lyrics themselves, as well as Paul's delivery, are what hooked me on ND in the first place.

Not to take away from the instrumentation, which is great as well (Except they keep talking about this Vito guy..........)

 

[NvmbrsDoom5]

I was never a Cannibal Corpse fan really when they had Barnes on vocals. I just couldn't get into the way he sang. Once they got George and he started to find his place within the band, I started to enjoy them much more. I still think "Gore Obsessed" is a fucking great cd, even though I'll never be a fan of those kinds of lyrics.

Guys like David Vincent and early Nick Holmes are good examples of pioneers of a great guttural DM vocal, I think.

 

[GameFreac]

LOG is one of those bands that, when I hear a song of theirs, I get into it and enjoy it, but it doesn't have that special something that makes me want to run out and buy their stuff. And as for the voices defining the style, I agree with this 100%, especially when it come to so-called "metalcore". Some metalcore vox I really dig (the vocalist from Neaera, Howard from Killswitch, the guy from From The Shallows). It's that certain quality that tends to put me off, like the guy from Trivium I don't think I could even verbalize what it is about is that irritates me. It just don't cut it, ya know?

Neaera

 

[Srontgorrth]

I was never a Cannibal Corpse fan really when they had Barnes on vocals. I just couldn't get into the way he sang. Once they got George and he started to find his place within the band, I started to enjoy them much more. I still think "Gore Obsessed" is a fucking great cd, even though I'll never be a fan of those kinds of lyrics.

Guys like David Vincent and early Nick Holmes are good examples of pioneers of a great guttural DM vocal, I think.

I really dislike Chris Barnes' vocals and I guess thats partly why I never liked early CC stuff either. Corpsegrinder is good but I don't find him to be anything special. I've never really enjoyed Cannibal Corpse all that much, theres much better death metal around.

By the way what do you guys think of the album Obscura by Gorguts?

 

[beast from the east]

maybe it's because Mikael Akerfeldt and Paul Kuhr, along with their excellent vocals, anunciate the words.

To me, this is the key. Can you understand a fucking word the dude is saying? Paul, Mike, Swano and maybe a handful of others do it right. I'm not saying that other DM-type vox are bad necessarily, but they aren't as appealing to the ear as the clearly-enunciated vox by the masters.

Oh and Bloodsword, you're right about Greg Chandler. It's like "what the hell did he just say", or "scream"??? BUT, some bands just have the "goods", decipherable vocals or not, and Esoteric definitely delivers the goods!

 

[BloodSword]

Hymn to the Immortal Wind--Mono. Japanese Post/Rock band. To me, the songs express a painful beauty, if that makes any sense.