Please guide me into the world of metal

[Malta Soron]

Thanks for your comments. Advice taken

[Gilliatt]

Thought I could do a post similar to the one done by Grimar.

Black Sabbath: The kings of metal. They invented the genre. Of course, metal has changed in 35 years, so it sure isn't as fast as Dragonforce. Since you have Ozzy Osbourne's Tribute, you already have three Sabbath songs: Paranoid, Iron Man and Children of the Grave.

Rainbow: Rainbow was Ritchie Blackmore's (Deep Purple) and Ronnie James Dio's band in the '70s. Less heavy than Dio. Their biggest hits are Long Live Rock 'n' Roll and Man on the Silver Mountain. You could try to grab those tunes on the Internet and see if you love it.

Twisted Sister: As I already said, Twisted Sister were very big in 1984, but that was approximately the only time they were. I still listen to their album Stay Hungry, because it reminds me of my youth. Their biggest hits are We're Not Gonna Take It and I Wanna Rock, but I prefer Burn in Hell and Don't Let Me Down. Their videos are very cheesy, if you can grab the We're Not Gonna Take It and I Wanna Rock videos, you will laugh. They probably have them on Youtube.

Slipknot: Personally, I don't like.

Mötley Crüe: One of the biggest hair metal band. Now, their drummer, Tommy Lee, is probably more known because of his movie with a certain playmate. Once again, you can probably find some videos on Youtube. I suggest Looks that Kill, Wild Side, Doctor Feelgood and Kickstart my Heart.

Girlschool: Don't know them.

Doro: Doro is considered a goddess in some countries. I was first introduced to her when she was with her first band, Warlock, when I saw the video Für Immer. The next day, I did not remember the melody but I did remember how beautiful she was! She did some good songs, but also many average songs. You can grab some samples on her website. If you go on Youtube, search for Für Immer, White Wedding, Undying, Hellbound, Burning the Witches, Love Me in Black, and Metal Tango.

Kittie: Don't know.

Arch Enemy: Know them only by name, can't help with that.

Alice Copper: One of my favorite. Once again, if you use Youtube, look for these songs:
Ballad of the Dwight Fry, Billion Dollar Babies (my favorite), Elected, Under my Wheels, School's Out, I'm Eighteen, Poison, Only Women Bleed and The World Needs Guts.

Cannibal Corpse: Considered by many as the kings of death metal, I don't think they deserve the title. I have not heard them for a very long time so I may be wrong, but if I remember well, it's was pretty much noise without any talent.

Marylin Manson: see Slipknot

Ozzy Osbourne: Ozzy was thrown out of Black Sabbath for is alcohol problems (he was replaced by Ronnie James Dio BTW). He made some good songs, Crazy Train, Mr. Crowley, Revelation (Mother Earth), Killer of Giants, Miracle Man, but my all time favorite is Diary of a Madman. I get the chills every time I listen to that song! Ozzy is not really amongst my favorites, but that song is.

Rage Against the Machine: see Slipknot.

Celtic Frost: What I heard was horrible, but someone I trust told me they had one very good album. Don't know which one though, maybe the one mentioned on the Headbanger's Journey site.

Morbid Angel: Pete Sandoval is the best death metal drummer I have heard, but the band is pretty average. I listen only to two of their songs God of Emptiness and Dawn of the Angry. The drum is awesome in that last song, and I have seen him do it live!

Mesuggah: One of my friends loves them pretty much, but personally, I don't know them.

Sepultura: Use to love them, but don't listen to them anymore. On Youtube, search for Dead Embryonic Cells and Territory.

Judas Priest: Priest is a band that changes very much among their albums. I think Painkiller is their best album, but some fans think it is Screaming for Vengeance and others think it is British Steel. Priest is my favorite band after Maiden, so I am not partial when I talk about them. I do admit though that they did a lot of average songs and also some boring songs. So if you like Painkiller, I would recommend you follow with a compilation.

As for the other bands mentioned on the Headbanger's Journey website, I know some of them only by name and some others none at all.

[Fiberfar]

Black Sabbath - I've not really listened enough to this, but what I heard was not my style.

Rainbow - Ronnie James Dio on vocals. Classical metal in my opinion.

Twisted Sister - Not my style of "metal"

Slipknot - crap with capital C.

Mötley Crüe - A few decent songs, but not the best around.

Girlschool - No clue.

Doro - Female vocals... Not my style. Oh and it isn't anything like Nighwish.

Kittie - No clue.

Arch Enemy - Guitarist with skills, but a vocal from hell. Pretty much as Grimar said.

Alice Cooper - The king of shock rock! Enjoyable in all sizes and at all times.

Cannibal Corpse - This is some of the worst I've ever heard.

Marilyn Manson - See above

Ozzy Osbourne - No opinion

Rage Against The Machines - No opinion

My thoughts about the bands

On a side note: Get hold of anything labeled Manowar

[Mr. Pastorius]

I see some of you mention Meshuggah, but I'm rather surprised noone mentioned Tool. Alright, they're not pure metal, but I also can't imagine to classify them as rock. I think the closest description would a mix of progressive hard rock and math metal. You might want to give them a shot, especially the albums Lateralus and Ænima.

[Kipi]

One band worth of checking as well is Sinergy.
I bought their album "Suicide By My Side", and I'm really enjoying it.

It's Finnish band somewhat similiar to Stratovarius.

[Fiberfar]

Originally Posted by Kipi

One band worth of checking as well is Sinergy.
I bought their album "Suicide By My Side", and I'm really enjoying it.

It's Finnish band somewhat similiar to Stratovarius.

Isn't Sinergy the side project of CoB frontman Alexi Laiho?

[Kipi]

Well, yeah Laiho plays in Sinergy, but I recall that it's not directly Laiho's projcet, but more like Kimberly Goss' project. After all, Goss was the person who decided to throw Marco Hietala, who played bass and sung back vocals, out from the band becuase Marco choose Nightwish over Sinergy...

And as I recall correctly Laiho and Latvala would have been okay with Hietala to keep on playing both bands, but Goss was the one who had the final word about the matter...

[Grimar]

Tool is not metal :P

do you like power metal like.. fast metal?

Dragonforce

[Mandalorianx]

Originally Posted by Grimar

Tool is not metal :P

do you like power metal like.. fast metal?

Dragonforce

Dragonforce is a melodic-metal band

and if you want one of ther album i would say ''sonic firestorm'' is there best, thou ther new album is very good to...

[Moonbiter]

I'll try to give some advice here. One important thing to keep in mind is that most classic metal bands have an average of 3 classic albums. The rest are mediocre at best. So here goes:

Black Sabbath: Depending on what incarnation you like. I myself prefer the Dio albums, so I'll recommend "Heaven & Hell" and "Mob Rules."

Rainbow: Just get the debut album and "Rising" and "Long live Rock'n'Roll." Ignore the rest.

Twisted Sister: Get "Under The Blade," "You Can't Stop Rock'n'Roll" and "Stay Hungry."

Slipknot: Avoid.

Mötley Crüe: Get a "Best Of."

Girlschool: Called the "female Motõrhead." Get any of the 3 first albums.

Doro: She sucks a biggie, but if you want to check her out I would suggest some of the earliest releases of her band Warlock.

Kittie: Sound like cats being tortured.

Arch Enemy: Modern grunt-metal with a female singer.

Alice Cooper: Alice is a rocker, not a metal act, though he put out a couple of metal albums in the 80s.

Cannibal Corpse: The kings of barf.

Marilyn Manson: Get a "Best Of."

Ozzy Osbourne: All the first 3 solo albums will do.

If you have a thing for classic metal, check out the following bands:

Accept: "Restless & Wild"
"Balls To The Wall"
"Russian Roulette"
"Objection Overruled"

Running Wild: "Blazon Stone"
"Pile Of Skulls"
"Black Hand Inn"

Metal Church: "Metal Church"
"The Dark"
"Blessing inn Disguise"

Disneyland After Dark (D-A-D) "No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims"
"Riskin It All"

Diamond Head: "Lightning To The Nations"
"Borrowed Time"
"Canterbury"

Judas Priest: "British Steel"
"Screaming For Vengeance"
"Defenders Of The Faith"

I could go on all night, but this is a pretty fair collection to start you off with.

[Mr. Pastorius]

Originally Posted by Grimar

Tool is not metal :P

I never said they were metal, but they sure as heck ain't pop rock either.
The closest one-word description for Tool's music would be - alternative, which practically doesn't describe anything. Therefore, I'll just stick with progressive rock (riffs, lyrics) with elements of math metal (time signatures, drum lines).

As for melodic metal bands, In Flames is a great band, but I can't force myself to listen to them for more than 2-3 songs because of the vocals. They have beautiful melodies (Moonshield, for example), but those practically disperse under the growling vocal lines. I don't have to mention that this is my opinion, do I? It's kinda silly, you write something down that came out of your head (i.e. your thoughts and opinions), but you still have to add the obligatory "IMO" on some subjects.

[Gilliatt]

Originally Posted by Moonbiter

Black Sabbath: Depending on what incarnation you like. I myself prefer the Dio albums, so I'll recommend "Heaven & Hell" and "Mob Rules."

Thanks for calling me back to order.

Yes, Black Sabbath had a life without Ozzy. I really love the songs Neon Knights and Heaven and Hell from the Heaven and Hell album. I am also a big fan of the song Disturbing the Priest on the Born Again album, with Ian Gillan on vocals.

[Malta Soron]

Got it

Btw, I already got some albums I really like:
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I and II
Gamma Ray - Somewhere Out In Space
Megadeth - Rust In Peace
Metal Church - Blessing In Disguise and The Human Factor
There're not the only ones, though. If you want, I could give some more reflections on what I listened to up till now.

[Grimar]

Originally Posted by Malta Soron

There're not the only ones, though. If you want, I could give some more reflections on what I listened to up till now.

go for it

[Malta Soron]

I'm not really good at explaining my opinions, though, so I'll be a bit brief. I'll do my best to convey my emotions to you, though.

lice Cooper - Raise Your Fist And Yell: nice, kinda funny.
Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond; Tokyo Tales; Imaginations From The Other Side: still cool.
Death - Symbolic: relaxed-cool.
Dio - Holy Diver (+ Live): relaxed.
DragonForce - Valley Of The Damned; Sonic Firestorm; Inhuman Rampage: nice because it's so bloody fast
Dream Evil - Dragonslayer; United: cool.
Feinstein - Third Wish: OK, but a bit tame.
Gamma Ray - Somewhere Out In Space: really cool.
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I and II: also really cool. Funny too. I didn't like The Legacy as much, though. Don't know why. Maybe it's the contrast with the other two albums.
Iced Earth - The Dark Saga: I didn't really like it. I think it's more because of the character of the album (at least, what I perceive of it) than the music itself.
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time; Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son; The Number Of The Beast: nice.
Judas Priest - Painkiller: like it.
King Diamond - Abigail; Them; The Eye: don't really like it.
Manowar - The Triumph Of Steel: kinda boring.
Megadeth - Rust In Peace: nice.
Metal Church - Blessing In Disguise; The Human Factor: nice.
Overkill - Horrorscope: nice.
Ozzy Osbourne - Tribute: nice, a bit in the same way as Alice Cooper.
Rhapsody - Legendary Tales; Symphony Of Enchanted Lands; Dawn Of Victory; Power Of The Dragonflame: a bit too much Hollywood. And not heavy enough.
Saxon - Heavy Metal Thunder; Lionheart: cool.
Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss: OK.
Symphoney X - The Odyssey: OK.
Virgin Steele - Invictus: nice
W.A.S.P. - W.A.S.P.: OK.

Hope you can see some pattern in that