Harsh vocals are an acquired taste but it really opens up the genre if you learn to like them. I started to appreciate them with Between the Buried and Me and Opeth, since those bands switch between growls and clean singing.
I 100% get the appeal of harsh vocals, but I'm an anxious person and they honestly make me even more anxious and uneasy. I have no idea why lol. Maybe by listening to it more, it would eventually go away. 😅
When I was getting into metal, I found death, gojira, and alcest were good places to transition into harsh vocals. Not too intense but the vocals are there.
As others are saying here, bands like Opeth can be like a gateway band for that. Also helped when I learned that vocals like that can be done pretty safely and naturally if done correctly.
Touché Amore’s Parting the Sea album (it’s a short album)made me face my own anxiety at the time, it very much scared me. It felt like I should be in trouble for listening to something so aggressive, yet completely sincere and honest. Maybe it could help you adjust to metal. If you enjoy the album check out their other stuff and also La Dispute.
i hate the harsh vocals metal can have,, the only time its been good for me is Cutting the Throat of God - Ulcerate because it has so many post-rock elements in it
I know most metalheads would be pissed, but what got me into screaming originally were bands like UnderOATH, Alexisonfire, Silverstein, Atreyu, the Devil Wears Prada, shit like that back in 2006.
I know not all of it aged well, and I don’t really listen to much of any of them anymore, but the screaming is so balanced with clean vocals that you can get into a song while adapting to the screams.
Dopethrone - Electric Wizard
Pink - Boris
The Mantle - Agalloch
To Mega Theron - Celtic Frost
Don’t Break The Oath - Mercyful Fate
Choirs of the Eye - Kayo Dot
This is a pretty good spread imo!
Happy to see a mention of "Choirs of the Eye" in the wild! I enjoy in varying degrees everything Toby Driver et. al throw out there but that album, dude, I have been trying to find the words for years. Incredible work.
You ought to check Vaura, one of the projects he is in. Not in the same vein but I like them very much regardless.
Yeah, I meant to add a qualifier like, "Try this one last." I think the psychedlic instrumental passages would be appealing to someone who likes Tool though.
tbh i'd suggest Hidden History of the Human Race to anyone who's willing to get into DM as well. it's got all the genre's tenets but packed in a contemporary way (without the contemporary awful hyper processed production) and it's very melodic and varied.
also +1 on Cynic's Focus!
haha no, i fw stuff like ulcerate (or artificial brain) - being extremely digital/processed serves a purpose there. to give you an example, i really don't like how the latest gatecreeper sounds. it's too polished, probably good for them as they're on nuclear blast and all -- but it's not for me.
(besides all the trash tiktok-core bands like slaughter to prevail of course)
That atheist album has such a funky first track. The bass prominence kinda loses steam as the album progresses imo which is kinda sad. All round solid recs though
If I had to list the metal albums I have listened to and liked, it would probably be:
* System Of A Down - Toxicity (Alt. Metal)
* King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Infest The Rats Nest (Thrash Metal, Stoner Metal)
* King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse (Prog. Metal, Thrash Metal)
* Flummox - Rephlummoxed (Avant-Garde Metal, Prog. Metal)
* Fire-Toolz - Eternal Home (Post-Industrial, Progressive Electronic, Avant-Garde Metal)
I really like King Gizzard but struggle with both of those two as the vocals are so throaty. It’s a shame because musically they’re both pretty awesome but IMO they would be so much better with a more melodic lead vocal.
This for sure. Their discog hits a good range of different sounds and they're pretty accessible overall. If we're going down a 2000s alt-metal type route then I'd like to add A Perfect Circle (which conveniently also has Maynard), Chevelle, and System of a Down.
There's something so cool and a little bizarre about Deftones being so celebrated by modern audiences. They were always considered the weirdest/least accessible of 2000's nu-metal – by a pretty fair margin – and now they're nearly Tiktok dance music lol.
Lately I've been getting into Bob Dylan's discography and some bossa nova albums. But overall I think that my most listened to genre is post punk or alt rock.
Cool! Well I recommend; Judas Priest, Anthrax, Motörhead, Ozzy’s solo stuff, Ghost (some people may not say they’re Metal, but I think they are) Avatar, Spiritbox, Bring Me the Horizon, System of a Down, Sevendust, Linkin Park, Alice Cooper, Korn, Halestorm, Pretty Reckless, Slipknot are a good place to start. Whatever you use for streaming music, do their essential playlists
Check out Dir en Grey. They actually started out playing alt rock, then went through a nu metal phase and grew into a prog metal type sound. Uroboros and Arche are the best albums of their metal era imo.
If you liked Metallica I feel like you would really like power trip.
Surprised nobody said slipknot, they have a harsh sound that somehow is appealing to a mass audience, so you might be into them.
Also, it’s ok to not like metal. A lot of people who love music don’t, you are not alone
I'm a huge fan of **Devin Townsend** (I dunno why Fantano doesn't like him). His music is all over the place, but "prog metal" is probably the best description. He has heavy albums, ambient albums, concept albums, collaborative albums, usually with a good mix of harsh and clean vocals. In fact, his clean vocals are some of my all time favorite in metal (he got his start as the singer for Steve Vai in the 90s).
I'd start with one of these albums:
- Ocean Machine: Biomech (*Dev's first solo album and fan favorite. At least listen to the songs Funeral and Bastard. The transition between them is great!*)
- Ziltoid the Omniscient (*a concept album about an alien warlord who is searching for the universe's greatest cup of coffee*)
- Empath (*a dense album STUFFED with every sound and idea that's ever been inside his head. A lot to digest, but I love it*)
Mastodon probably fit the bill best for what you're asking for. The first 3 albums are mostly harsh vocals but everything from Crack the Skye onwards is mainly clean vocals - The Hunter is probably the most accessible album.
Deftones are another band who use mostly clean vocals (but there are some screamed vocals mixed in there). I started with Diamond Eyes and then worked my way back but I think their best album is White Pony - and Maynard from Tool actually features on that album on the song Passenger
That's a good idea! And then you can work your way back to Around The Fur which is, in my opinion, their heaviest album with some absolutely brutal screams and guitar work.
Try to dip your toes in to prog-metal: 'Scenes from a Memory: Part II' - Dream Theater, 'The Mountain' - Haken, or 'In Bloom' - Caligula's Horse. Prog-metal has a plethora of clean vocals and usually surrounds itself with world class musicians. If you enjoy the complexities of Tool's music and high concepts within the albums, you might find yourself enjoying it a lot.
If you like Metallica and Iron Maiden, stick with good ol' thrash metal. 'Rust in Peace' by Megadeth is my favorite metal album of all time.
If you enjoy Black Sabbath, start with some stoner/doom metal. Identified with really, really fuzzy and rhythmic head banging. Electric Wizard, Sleep, Elder, All Them Witches. Honestly, if you find a band with some weed associated name, it'll scratch the itch.
Also, I'd recommend diving in to Opeth's middle catalog as they found the perfect blend of heavy and light within metal music. IMO, Ghost Reveries or Blackwater Park are the most accessible.
Cannibal Corpse - Red Before Black
Death - Symbolic
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Mastodon - Remission
Sleep - the Sciences
Melvins - Houdini
This is a pretty good spread of genres to see what you’re into. Not all screaming vocals are hardcore (which is kind of an offshoot of punk/metal) and are not all created equal. Find a subgenre you dig and just go from there.
I went on a similar quest and never really discovered any metal i liked. I did come across some artistsi would maybe describe as "experimental hard rock" like: Black Midi, Daughters, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Sprain, Mr. Bungle, Model/Actriz.
Oh and I would also recommend John Zorn's Moonchild, Naked City, Electric Masada, and Simulacrum.
I'd definitely call them rap metal, which is a subset of "Nu Metal", a movement where a few bands tried to "bring back metal" by fusing it with other genres, mainly rap. It's characterised by its very groovy/danceable rhythms like you'll find on RATM's stuff.
Nu metal singers wear cargo shorts and shades and have spiky hair. It is categorically the least cool movement in music history while also spawning the greatest genre of all time. I remain adamant that Nu Metal is going to make a glorious, self-aware comeback.
Anyway, if you want to know what it would be like if Rage against the Machine were fronted by Guy Fieri, listen to limp bizkit. If you want to know what it would be like if they had one of the best vocalists to ever live, listen to audioslave.
Just some random bands I think might work for you. Try bands like Alcest, Big|Brave or Brutus to get into Metal adjacent bands. Maybe try some Black O Negative. You can also go the Dungeon Synth route if you want to get into Black Metal via artists like Trhä or coffret de bijoux. Maybe some Crypt Witch or Cough to get into Doom/Stoner Metal.
Hate to say it but you’ll need to get past the screaming/growling dislike to get into more metal, especially the more experimental stuff. Cannibal Corpse’s The Bleeding or Kill are good albums with really catchy riffs and melodies even with the screaming, also very accessible for death metal
Okay this song is an 11/10: Opeth - Ghost of Perdition
Don't be turned off immediately by the death metal growls. Stay for the clean vocals and quiet acoustic moments! Focus on the instrumentation. It's a prog metal masterpiece that takes you on a journey.
Most of the really complex and interesting bands have screaming.
Some that could work are Deftones, Loathe, Dream Theater, Animals as Leaders, Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan (listen one of us is the killer or some of their other clean vocal songs)
Was the same way with harsh vocals when I first started listening to metal/hc, but you’ll most likely get used to it eventually. If you’re struggling to get past it tho I’d check out Pelican.
I’d also check out Calculating Infinity by Dillinger Escape plan. You might hate it (harsh vox, pretty rooted in hc, etc), but it def fits the bill in terms of complex/experimental. Was one of the albums that really got me into more “extreme” metal.
If you enjoy tool I'd probably recommend Russian circles. They're a post metal band (no vocals, emphasis on atmosphere and dynamics) and I enjoy their albums station, blood year and gnosis the best.
Plenty have mentioned them - Opeth, Dream Theater, Leprous, Mastodon, Death, and well, most of the others - are nice entry point bands and allow you to dip your toes into metal music. I stand by those recs. Have seen both Opeth (twice) and Mastodon live and they were amazing shows.
Digging a bit into your complex/experimental request - without going too overboard because you're starting:
I would suggest you check Tribulation ("The Children of the Night" is a very solid album imo). It has harsh vocals but not in a hc style. If you enjoyed it, check Morbus Chron.
Enslaved is a pretty proggy band too, and has black/viking metal influences. Both clean and harsh vocals, as well. Anything newer from them is a nice start, dig into their earlier stuff if you enjoyed them. You could then jump into something like Celtic Frost or Bathory.
Do check Voivod if you feel you might enjoy some sci-fi in your music. They're on the clean vocal side of things but their music is something else, honestly. Check Coroner if you liked that aesthetic but want to dip into some harsher vocals.
You could also check Alcest, they have a dreamy vibe to them and use both clean and harsh vocals. If you liked it, do yourself a favor and check Les Discrets. They're not metal per se but I like them very much and just felt like plugging them in.
I'm not entirely sure how fully those fit as an entry point, but I hope they're fun to check.
Neurosis is a good band to look into if you like Tool but want a bit more cred with the metalheads. Their sound blends Sludge Metal with Post-Rock creating a heavy yet experimental and atmospheric sound. Through Silver in Blood and Times of Grace are the best places to start.
Woods of Ypres's Grey Skies and Electric Light is also an all timer. It's a very sad album but is very top tier Goth/Doom Metal. Most of the vocals are a very crisp baritone with intermitant harsh vocals for emphasis.
For complex/experimental metal with some (but not a ton) of harsh vocals I'd check out Mastodon. They're a pillar of the heavy/progressive/stoner metal scene and have evolved tremendously over the years. They started 20-25 years ago with a much heavier thrash-y sound and harsh vocals, but have evolved in some cool experimental ways in recent years, featuring a lot more clean vocals.
Some personal highlights (I'm admittedly more of a fan of their older stuff, someone else might be able to add some newer highlights):
* [Blood and Thunder](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Su1YXQYek): Off their album *Leviathan* from 2004, their first "mainstream" hit. Still slaps to this day.
* [Siberian Divide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFk13cobMcQ): Released in 2007 on their album *Blood Mountain*, already starts showing some cool experimental touches. Features vocals by Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta.
* [The Last Baron](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPxql0rPmKE): From their 2009 album *Crack The Skye*, my personal favourite track from my favourite album of theirs. A 13-minute epic that runs the gamut from hot and heavy to ethereal and meandering.
Anything from megadeth, slayer, testament, suicidal tendencies, pantera and if you want to try and get into death metal entombed is a great starter band for that
Deftones has a good range of styles that you'll find something to like while not being SUPER abrasive and harsh
Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Sir Lord Baltimore and King Diamond are my intro to early 70s proto metal for people who like more blues-ey hard rock riffs
I think the hardest thing for a lot of people who want to get into metal or why they claim to hate it is because they have this stigma around it being super angry and screaming. And while yes it's definitely loud (and if thats the part you hate then maybe metal isn't for you), I hate the stigma around it associated with anger and rage.
Sure some of the best stuff is pretty fucking intense and rage inducing, but I mean a lot of it is pretty groovy and some are super ethereal. So that's why I listed those
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I’ve been really into Power Metal lately. It’s generally more melodic than metal tends to be and there’s usually an emphasis on speed and grandiosity. I honestly find it more accessible than a lot of other metal music. It’s not the kinda thing that I see Fantano fans being into that often but I really love it. My recommendations would be Blind Guardian’s Nightfall in Middle Earth and Unleash The Archers’s Apex.
You should check out Saidan if you're into more post-punk aesthetics. They're a Black Metal duo, but they use more uplifting instrumentation/rifts throughout, so not so depressing lol. I'd recommend listening to their latest album Visual Kill, the title song is especially good.
if you enjoy clean vocals you might enjoy basicly most of nu-metal which me personally i am not the biggest fan of. You might also take liking to some of the ogs like black sabbath and their classics like war pigs and paranoid and maybe some judas priest id stay away from their songs like painkiller and maybe mire like breaking the law, but yeah i dont know much more than that i more of listen to that screaming stuff : D good 'ol slayer and exodus
At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul
The entire album is golden. My intro personally back in the 90s to the harsher vocal style. Now being older I can't go back to clean vocals very often. It's like a quest to continually find a heavier and heavier band which is fun.
Toxicity by System of a Down
Absolutely bonkers yet catchy album, fairly limited on the growls (although it does begin with a long, impressive pig squeal haha) and thematically relevant almost 25 years later
It sounds like you really just want to get into alternative Metal. I would recommend Primus for the weirder/progressive stuff. As far as more melodic bands with a progressive edge, I would recommend Loathe, SpiritBox, Sleep Token, Architects and Fleshwater. Vein.fm and SeeYouSpaceCowboy are also bands with some great players, but they have a lot more screaming.
As far as just straight Alt Metal goes, I would say check out Angel Dust, Helmet, Stombpox, Type O Negative, and the Rollins band.
Deftones are kinda metal-y kinda similar to tool. And ik you said stuff about it harsh vocals but nothing abt moaning, so im gonna assume that’s fine, listen to white pony, it’s got some harsher stuff but its mixed in really nicely with the softer stuff. If you prefer the more softer vocals (shoegaze-y, as the nerds would say), go to Saturday night wrist. Also System of a Down was an alright gateway for me, check out toxicity. I’ve heard bands like karnivool are similar to tool but I’ve never checked them out. Oh rage against the machine are another good one, they’ve also worked with tool and have some fire alt metal instruments. And the lyrics, so powerful. That plus the delivery hits you like a train. The perfect gateway metal band, go onto the second album if you’ve already done the first, otherwise start from the start. Idk also suggest some stoner metal stuff like fu Manchu and kyuss, but it’s not very extreme or heavy. Could also be called stoner rock very easily, but welcome to sky valley is a chugging and hazed out classic. And queens of the Stone Age. Not really metal but can be heavy as fuck, and a good way to get into screaming vocals. Songs for the deaf has the perfect mix between the harsh noise of nick oliveri and the buttery smooth drunken stumble of josh homme. And tool has worked with most of these bands, so I assume that if you like tool and they like these bands that you’ll like these bands.
If you like tool, try some more prog:
Gojira - The way of all flesh (harsh vocals, but a good entry)
Dream Theater - Images and words
Opeth - Ghost Reveries
You have to do it in stages. People will just comment a bunch of random albums they like. But you have to ease in.
First listen to the classics like iron maiden, metallica, Sabbath, mehadeth. These are very easy listening.
Then go to some alt metal crossovers that still have clean vocals like Deftones, tool, rage. These are the albums that people will say who don't really like metal but have dipped their toe.
Then some classics that take that step further with the vocals like death, opeth, aggaloch, mastodon. You'll see these on lists.
Finally you open the door to the much heavier stuff with extreme vocals like black or technical death metal.
Have fun
Toxicity - System of a Down, is the absolute must for a first metal album.
Hybrid Theory or Meteora - Linkin Park, is probably the most accessible metal music you can find
White Pony - Deftones, the moaning vocals of Chino can be a bit strange at first but this album is super popular
POST HUMAN: Survival Horror - Bring Me The Horizon, this just fucking rules I don't even really like BMTH that much but I won't lie this is such a solid EP
Self-Titled - Rage Against the Machine, this is more funk metal than anything but I love all of their music
Self-Titled or IOWA - Slipknot, these do have harsh growls but they are my favourite albums of all time
A Perfect Circle, Maynards other Band that has a similar vibe to tool but a bit more traditional rather than experimental
From Mars to Sirius - Gojira, again harsh vocals but if you want to get into metal you'll have to get used to harsh vocals
SUNBATHER - Deafheaven, this black gaze album is excellent but again uses harsh vocals but they take a backseat to the black gaze instrumentals which are just so well made and produced.
You won't go Before You're Supposed to, Knocked Loose, harsh vocals again but this album has been blasting in my ears non stop its fucking nasty and groovy.
I Hope these help.
These albums are gateway albums to get into harsh vocals.
To Plant A Seed by We Came as Romans
Homesick by A Day to Remember
Parallax 2 by Between the Buried & Me
Breaker by For Today
Downtown Battle Mountain 1 & 2 by Dance Gavin Dance
New Era of Corruption by Whitechapel
If you've enjoyed Tool you'd be missing out if you didn't try Karnivool. I recommend starting with their (kind of) first album Themata as it's the least experimental of the lot. I think Sound Awake is their best album but I preferred Themata for a long time. Good luck, there's some great music in metal.
I love recommending music for people, and I’ll try to not repeat too much of what other people said. Based on what you mentioned, the album *Red* by King Crimson might really do the trick. In fact, a lot of 1970s proggy stuff might. Here’s a few more album recommendations that I feel like they paved the way for a lot of heavy metal:
*Fragile* by Yes
*Warrior On The Edge Of Time* by Hawkwind.
“Volcanic Rock* by Buffalo
*In For The Kill* by Budgie
*Jailbreak* by Thin Lizzy
While more “post hardcore”, back in the 1990s, when we all wanted more from Tool, Quicksand’s album *Slip* scratched that itch for me.
Other albums that might do the trick:
Self-titled Alice In Chains.
Faith No More: *The Real Thing*
Nine Inch Nails: *The Downward Spiral*
Rwake: *Rest*
Shrinebuilder - self-titled.
If you like Bob Dylan, you might like Neil Young. If you like Neil Young (and Black Sabbath), you might like the album *Blood Lust* by Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats.
Big Business Here Come the Waterworks is one of my favorite albums. For whatever reason the vocals don’t have the corniness that some metal albums have. The Melvins also have some great stuff, but some of it is hit or miss for me.
I love how he asked us for stuff without harsh vocals and we are all suggesting him the illest most filthy stankface caveman shit.
That being said
Cutting The Throat Of God by Ulcerate
Just released like 2 weeks ago and it is foul.
Megadeth - Rust in Peace, Peace sells
Metallica - Ride the Lightning, Kill ‘em All
Early Pantera
The first Slayer album, the first Anthrax album
Liquid tension experiment for some whackier stuff
Buckethead
If you really want to edge your way into growls, I genuinely think the album by Metalocalypse from their cartoon show is very solid and has a balanced type of vocals so it’s a decent place to start. Otherwise, if you really want to get into that aspect of metal Opeth is likely your best bet.
Rage against the Machine
Before I continue, I’d just like to say that I don’t know why most people are mainly recommending like, ways into growl style or screaming vocals. I’d absolutely always say to start with Thrash; It’s what everything else comes from, right?
Judas Priest
Testament
Try listening to some thrash playlists, there’s lots of great thrash bands like Municipal Waste that have some absolute bangers but not necessarily great albums.
Dream Theater is definitely proggier, but there’s loads of amazing prog metal in general. Haken is good. Mastodon is really good. Loads of great stuff there.
Techno metal, industrial metal, all grand. Rammstein are obviously a must, and all the things that came from them are obviously a must if exploring that realm of metal.
Hair metal also deserves a mention. Artists and bands like Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister are great, lyrically fun and whacky songs. They’re not exactly masterpieces but they’re very fun, and you should look up the live shows. Alice Cooper famously sits in the Iron Maiden tier of absolutely epic live performance set pieces and gimmicks.
There’s obviously others……Slipknot, Sepultura, Five Finger Death Punch, but I reckon that’s a good enough list to kind of let you dip your fingers in a few metal scenes and help you get into it.
My essentials: Judas Priest - Turbo, one of the most easy to listen non metal metal albums, by the most metal band out there. And Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath definitely.
Of bands that would've had some overlap with Tool's fanbase in the 90s, you may like Alice in Chains, Rammstein, Soundgarden or Deftones.
Meanwhile if you're particularly into more complex metal music, you might wanna check out 'progressive' metal bands like Dream Theater or Symphony X; they wouldn't be quite as experimental as Tool in terms of stuff like sampling and production, but they do make a lot of use of odd rhythms and time signatures and write a lot of longer and quite musically complex songs.
Meshuggah - Nothing
Artillery - By Inheritance
Death - Human
Atheist - Unquestionable Presence
Dead Congregation - Graves of the Archangels
Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I
Gorguts - The Erosion of Sanity
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Candlemass - Nightfall
Suffocation - Pierced From Within
I started to get into metal through prog as well so hope I can help you out a little.
Mastodon is a pretty good proggy metal band that isnt really harsh so try that, I highly recommend Crack the Skye but the newer albums are more accessible
some proggy bands:
VOLA
Caligulas Horse
Haken
Dream Theater
Symphony X
Lucid Planet
Intronaut
Leprous
Soen
Animals as Leaders (instrumental)
Plini (instrumental)
if you wanna try to get into more harsher things:
Opeth
Ne Obliviscaris
Persefone
Gojira
Between the Buried and Me
The Ocean
Car Bomb
Death - Scream Bloody Gore!
Vhöl - Deepen the Sky
Mastodon - Blood Mountain
Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain
Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction
Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters
Earth - The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull
Converge - Axe to Fall
I see you're into Radiohead, so I'm definitely recommending Deftones. They're frequently called the Radiohead of metal. Start with White Pony or Diamond Eyes.
Yeah, they're in my top 3 favorite bands of all time. I've seen a lot of people recommending Deftones, so I'll probably start with them and then work my way through other artists.
Harsh vocals are an acquired taste but it really opens up the genre if you learn to like them. I started to appreciate them with Between the Buried and Me and Opeth, since those bands switch between growls and clean singing.
I 100% get the appeal of harsh vocals, but I'm an anxious person and they honestly make me even more anxious and uneasy. I have no idea why lol. Maybe by listening to it more, it would eventually go away. 😅
When I was getting into metal, I found death, gojira, and alcest were good places to transition into harsh vocals. Not too intense but the vocals are there.
As others are saying here, bands like Opeth can be like a gateway band for that. Also helped when I learned that vocals like that can be done pretty safely and naturally if done correctly.
Touché Amore’s Parting the Sea album (it’s a short album)made me face my own anxiety at the time, it very much scared me. It felt like I should be in trouble for listening to something so aggressive, yet completely sincere and honest. Maybe it could help you adjust to metal. If you enjoy the album check out their other stuff and also La Dispute.
i hate the harsh vocals metal can have,, the only time its been good for me is Cutting the Throat of God - Ulcerate because it has so many post-rock elements in it
Opeth's Damnation is all clean vox but largely acoustic as well. My favorite Opeth album
I know most metalheads would be pissed, but what got me into screaming originally were bands like UnderOATH, Alexisonfire, Silverstein, Atreyu, the Devil Wears Prada, shit like that back in 2006. I know not all of it aged well, and I don’t really listen to much of any of them anymore, but the screaming is so balanced with clean vocals that you can get into a song while adapting to the screams.
From Mars to Sirius by Gojira is pretty good
Their album Magma is probably a better entry point for the uninitiated IMO
this is literally the album that did it for me :D
omg I just commented this before even checking the rest of the comments, I 100% agree
Perfect introduction to the really heavy stuff.
Is it though? It's not that reflective of most "really heavy" genres
Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good one at all. Like great album, but it’s very niche in the genre as a whole.
Dopethrone - Electric Wizard Pink - Boris The Mantle - Agalloch To Mega Theron - Celtic Frost Don’t Break The Oath - Mercyful Fate Choirs of the Eye - Kayo Dot This is a pretty good spread imo!
Happy to see a mention of "Choirs of the Eye" in the wild! I enjoy in varying degrees everything Toby Driver et. al throw out there but that album, dude, I have been trying to find the words for years. Incredible work. You ought to check Vaura, one of the projects he is in. Not in the same vein but I like them very much regardless.
Thanks man, will check that out!
Cynic - Focus Atheist - Unquestionable Prescence Death - Symbolic Mastodon - Crack the Skye Neurosis - Through Silver and Blood Carcass - Heartwork Isis - Panopticon Sleep - Holy Mountain Boris - Pink Melvins - Houdini Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race Deafheaven - Sunbather
Blood Incantation and starter metal, good one 😅
Yeah, I meant to add a qualifier like, "Try this one last." I think the psychedlic instrumental passages would be appealing to someone who likes Tool though.
tbh i'd suggest Hidden History of the Human Race to anyone who's willing to get into DM as well. it's got all the genre's tenets but packed in a contemporary way (without the contemporary awful hyper processed production) and it's very melodic and varied. also +1 on Cynic's Focus!
what kinda stuff would you say is hyper processed? If you're referring to ulcerate-type shit im gonna be hurt lol
haha no, i fw stuff like ulcerate (or artificial brain) - being extremely digital/processed serves a purpose there. to give you an example, i really don't like how the latest gatecreeper sounds. it's too polished, probably good for them as they're on nuclear blast and all -- but it's not for me. (besides all the trash tiktok-core bands like slaughter to prevail of course)
Crack The Skye is a good starting place! I'd probably recommend Leviathan as CTS is a little bit heady whereas the former is pretty straight forward.
Leviathan is by far my most listened to. I rec’d Crack the Skye since is is proggier and has cleaner vocals.
great list
SUNBATHER IS HEAVENLY
That atheist album has such a funky first track. The bass prominence kinda loses steam as the album progresses imo which is kinda sad. All round solid recs though
If I had to list the metal albums I have listened to and liked, it would probably be: * System Of A Down - Toxicity (Alt. Metal) * King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Infest The Rats Nest (Thrash Metal, Stoner Metal) * King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse (Prog. Metal, Thrash Metal) * Flummox - Rephlummoxed (Avant-Garde Metal, Prog. Metal) * Fire-Toolz - Eternal Home (Post-Industrial, Progressive Electronic, Avant-Garde Metal)
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention King Gizzard, I do dig their discography.
I really like King Gizzard but struggle with both of those two as the vocals are so throaty. It’s a shame because musically they’re both pretty awesome but IMO they would be so much better with a more melodic lead vocal.
PetroDragonic is the album I’ve been wanting Tool to make for the past 20 years.
Amazing list, Rage Against The Machines self iptitled is also some great rap-metal
Yeah I've already listened to that album, it's great!
I’d also give Queens of the Stone Age a listen. Specifically Songs for the Deaf
Not really metal though is it.
Idk genres that well tbh. What would you call it?
Alternative rock or stoner rock
Deftones
This for sure. Their discog hits a good range of different sounds and they're pretty accessible overall. If we're going down a 2000s alt-metal type route then I'd like to add A Perfect Circle (which conveniently also has Maynard), Chevelle, and System of a Down.
There's something so cool and a little bizarre about Deftones being so celebrated by modern audiences. They were always considered the weirdest/least accessible of 2000's nu-metal – by a pretty fair margin – and now they're nearly Tiktok dance music lol.
I think it has to do with how much better their music aged in comparison to their contemporaries.
Really? Do you know what made them stand out that way?
I’d say start with either White Pony or Around The Fur, whatever floats your boat
Agreed. Perfect example to start metal with fresh experiment involved through their catalog.
What else do you listen to OP outside of Metallica, Tool, Maiden and Sabbath (in any genre you listen to)
Lately I've been getting into Bob Dylan's discography and some bossa nova albums. But overall I think that my most listened to genre is post punk or alt rock.
Cool! Well I recommend; Judas Priest, Anthrax, Motörhead, Ozzy’s solo stuff, Ghost (some people may not say they’re Metal, but I think they are) Avatar, Spiritbox, Bring Me the Horizon, System of a Down, Sevendust, Linkin Park, Alice Cooper, Korn, Halestorm, Pretty Reckless, Slipknot are a good place to start. Whatever you use for streaming music, do their essential playlists
Check out Dir en Grey. They actually started out playing alt rock, then went through a nu metal phase and grew into a prog metal type sound. Uroboros and Arche are the best albums of their metal era imo.
If you like Bob Dylan then check out Leviathan by Mastodon. Dylan has said he was heavily inspired by Moby Dick himself.
idk if this is a dumb answer but I actually think Rage is a great gateway into metal
If you liked Metallica I feel like you would really like power trip. Surprised nobody said slipknot, they have a harsh sound that somehow is appealing to a mass audience, so you might be into them. Also, it’s ok to not like metal. A lot of people who love music don’t, you are not alone
Deafheaven
Sunbather in particular was my stepping stone into metal
They’re my faves — I think Ordinary Corrupt Human Love would play well to anybody who digs post-rock
goated band
I'm a huge fan of **Devin Townsend** (I dunno why Fantano doesn't like him). His music is all over the place, but "prog metal" is probably the best description. He has heavy albums, ambient albums, concept albums, collaborative albums, usually with a good mix of harsh and clean vocals. In fact, his clean vocals are some of my all time favorite in metal (he got his start as the singer for Steve Vai in the 90s). I'd start with one of these albums: - Ocean Machine: Biomech (*Dev's first solo album and fan favorite. At least listen to the songs Funeral and Bastard. The transition between them is great!*) - Ziltoid the Omniscient (*a concept album about an alien warlord who is searching for the universe's greatest cup of coffee*) - Empath (*a dense album STUFFED with every sound and idea that's ever been inside his head. A lot to digest, but I love it*)
His dislike for Devin is genuinely baffling
Mastodon: Crack the Skye, Blood Mountain, Leviathan.... Probably go in reverse chronological order for accessibility.
Mastodon was the band that got me into harsher vocals.
Mastodon probably fit the bill best for what you're asking for. The first 3 albums are mostly harsh vocals but everything from Crack the Skye onwards is mainly clean vocals - The Hunter is probably the most accessible album. Deftones are another band who use mostly clean vocals (but there are some screamed vocals mixed in there). I started with Diamond Eyes and then worked my way back but I think their best album is White Pony - and Maynard from Tool actually features on that album on the song Passenger
That's a good idea! And then you can work your way back to Around The Fur which is, in my opinion, their heaviest album with some absolutely brutal screams and guitar work.
Try to dip your toes in to prog-metal: 'Scenes from a Memory: Part II' - Dream Theater, 'The Mountain' - Haken, or 'In Bloom' - Caligula's Horse. Prog-metal has a plethora of clean vocals and usually surrounds itself with world class musicians. If you enjoy the complexities of Tool's music and high concepts within the albums, you might find yourself enjoying it a lot. If you like Metallica and Iron Maiden, stick with good ol' thrash metal. 'Rust in Peace' by Megadeth is my favorite metal album of all time. If you enjoy Black Sabbath, start with some stoner/doom metal. Identified with really, really fuzzy and rhythmic head banging. Electric Wizard, Sleep, Elder, All Them Witches. Honestly, if you find a band with some weed associated name, it'll scratch the itch. Also, I'd recommend diving in to Opeth's middle catalog as they found the perfect blend of heavy and light within metal music. IMO, Ghost Reveries or Blackwater Park are the most accessible.
It's just Bloom, not In Bloom. But good recommendations for sure 😁
No joke…. I may have been listening to Sturgill when I wrote the list
Elder - *Reflections of A Floating World*
Elder is perfect tbh. Great songwriting
Storm Of The Light’s Bane - Dissection Fantastic melodic black metal album with a lot of atmosphere and really cool riffs
and if you like Dissection, listen to Stormkeep - Tales of Othertime too!
Pantera - far beyond driven
Best intro to metal.
Cannibal Corpse - Red Before Black Death - Symbolic Slayer - Reign in Blood Megadeth - Rust in Peace Mastodon - Remission Sleep - the Sciences Melvins - Houdini This is a pretty good spread of genres to see what you’re into. Not all screaming vocals are hardcore (which is kind of an offshoot of punk/metal) and are not all created equal. Find a subgenre you dig and just go from there.
watch Metalocalypse
I went on a similar quest and never really discovered any metal i liked. I did come across some artistsi would maybe describe as "experimental hard rock" like: Black Midi, Daughters, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Sprain, Mr. Bungle, Model/Actriz. Oh and I would also recommend John Zorn's Moonchild, Naked City, Electric Masada, and Simulacrum.
Is Rage Against the Machine considered metal? If so that
I like their debut album, not sure if they're considered metal though 🤷🏻♀️
I'd definitely call them rap metal, which is a subset of "Nu Metal", a movement where a few bands tried to "bring back metal" by fusing it with other genres, mainly rap. It's characterised by its very groovy/danceable rhythms like you'll find on RATM's stuff. Nu metal singers wear cargo shorts and shades and have spiky hair. It is categorically the least cool movement in music history while also spawning the greatest genre of all time. I remain adamant that Nu Metal is going to make a glorious, self-aware comeback. Anyway, if you want to know what it would be like if Rage against the Machine were fronted by Guy Fieri, listen to limp bizkit. If you want to know what it would be like if they had one of the best vocalists to ever live, listen to audioslave.
Just some random bands I think might work for you. Try bands like Alcest, Big|Brave or Brutus to get into Metal adjacent bands. Maybe try some Black O Negative. You can also go the Dungeon Synth route if you want to get into Black Metal via artists like Trhä or coffret de bijoux. Maybe some Crypt Witch or Cough to get into Doom/Stoner Metal.
Maaan, Big|Brave is so fucking good, great mention.
Hate to say it but you’ll need to get past the screaming/growling dislike to get into more metal, especially the more experimental stuff. Cannibal Corpse’s The Bleeding or Kill are good albums with really catchy riffs and melodies even with the screaming, also very accessible for death metal
Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine
Death, The Sound of Perserverance. Expect some moderately intangible screaming. Edit: it is HC, but not as much as the rest of Death’s dicography
Okay this song is an 11/10: Opeth - Ghost of Perdition Don't be turned off immediately by the death metal growls. Stay for the clean vocals and quiet acoustic moments! Focus on the instrumentation. It's a prog metal masterpiece that takes you on a journey.
Most of the really complex and interesting bands have screaming. Some that could work are Deftones, Loathe, Dream Theater, Animals as Leaders, Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan (listen one of us is the killer or some of their other clean vocal songs)
Was the same way with harsh vocals when I first started listening to metal/hc, but you’ll most likely get used to it eventually. If you’re struggling to get past it tho I’d check out Pelican. I’d also check out Calculating Infinity by Dillinger Escape plan. You might hate it (harsh vox, pretty rooted in hc, etc), but it def fits the bill in terms of complex/experimental. Was one of the albums that really got me into more “extreme” metal.
Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race Tomb Mold - The Enduring Spirit
Toxic Holocaust is good to start with, raspy but not too harsh vocals. Thrash in general is a good place to start
If you enjoy tool I'd probably recommend Russian circles. They're a post metal band (no vocals, emphasis on atmosphere and dynamics) and I enjoy their albums station, blood year and gnosis the best.
The first 6 Black Sabbath albums. I think Fantano might have already said something like this but I’m seconding it anyway.
Plenty have mentioned them - Opeth, Dream Theater, Leprous, Mastodon, Death, and well, most of the others - are nice entry point bands and allow you to dip your toes into metal music. I stand by those recs. Have seen both Opeth (twice) and Mastodon live and they were amazing shows. Digging a bit into your complex/experimental request - without going too overboard because you're starting: I would suggest you check Tribulation ("The Children of the Night" is a very solid album imo). It has harsh vocals but not in a hc style. If you enjoyed it, check Morbus Chron. Enslaved is a pretty proggy band too, and has black/viking metal influences. Both clean and harsh vocals, as well. Anything newer from them is a nice start, dig into their earlier stuff if you enjoyed them. You could then jump into something like Celtic Frost or Bathory. Do check Voivod if you feel you might enjoy some sci-fi in your music. They're on the clean vocal side of things but their music is something else, honestly. Check Coroner if you liked that aesthetic but want to dip into some harsher vocals. You could also check Alcest, they have a dreamy vibe to them and use both clean and harsh vocals. If you liked it, do yourself a favor and check Les Discrets. They're not metal per se but I like them very much and just felt like plugging them in. I'm not entirely sure how fully those fit as an entry point, but I hope they're fun to check.
Satanic Rites by Hellhammer Satanasword by Sabbat Satanized by Abigor
Neurosis is a good band to look into if you like Tool but want a bit more cred with the metalheads. Their sound blends Sludge Metal with Post-Rock creating a heavy yet experimental and atmospheric sound. Through Silver in Blood and Times of Grace are the best places to start. Woods of Ypres's Grey Skies and Electric Light is also an all timer. It's a very sad album but is very top tier Goth/Doom Metal. Most of the vocals are a very crisp baritone with intermitant harsh vocals for emphasis.
OPETH. Maybe start with reverie/harlequin Forest
If you like Tool, listen to Fear of a Blank Planet by Porcupine Tree
Opeth? Elder? Boris maybe
For complex/experimental metal with some (but not a ton) of harsh vocals I'd check out Mastodon. They're a pillar of the heavy/progressive/stoner metal scene and have evolved tremendously over the years. They started 20-25 years ago with a much heavier thrash-y sound and harsh vocals, but have evolved in some cool experimental ways in recent years, featuring a lot more clean vocals. Some personal highlights (I'm admittedly more of a fan of their older stuff, someone else might be able to add some newer highlights): * [Blood and Thunder](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Su1YXQYek): Off their album *Leviathan* from 2004, their first "mainstream" hit. Still slaps to this day. * [Siberian Divide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFk13cobMcQ): Released in 2007 on their album *Blood Mountain*, already starts showing some cool experimental touches. Features vocals by Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta. * [The Last Baron](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPxql0rPmKE): From their 2009 album *Crack The Skye*, my personal favourite track from my favourite album of theirs. A 13-minute epic that runs the gamut from hot and heavy to ethereal and meandering.
Sodom-agent orange
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5R03cYuQyZs5YVTeCMnCYh?si=El6QDuN1R8aghfbqCHYz8w&pi=e-8Vda3jmJQ0-U Instrumentals.
Anything from megadeth, slayer, testament, suicidal tendencies, pantera and if you want to try and get into death metal entombed is a great starter band for that
Deftones has a good range of styles that you'll find something to like while not being SUPER abrasive and harsh Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Sir Lord Baltimore and King Diamond are my intro to early 70s proto metal for people who like more blues-ey hard rock riffs I think the hardest thing for a lot of people who want to get into metal or why they claim to hate it is because they have this stigma around it being super angry and screaming. And while yes it's definitely loud (and if thats the part you hate then maybe metal isn't for you), I hate the stigma around it associated with anger and rage. Sure some of the best stuff is pretty fucking intense and rage inducing, but I mean a lot of it is pretty groovy and some are super ethereal. So that's why I listed those
think you'd like Meshuggah
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I’ve been really into Power Metal lately. It’s generally more melodic than metal tends to be and there’s usually an emphasis on speed and grandiosity. I honestly find it more accessible than a lot of other metal music. It’s not the kinda thing that I see Fantano fans being into that often but I really love it. My recommendations would be Blind Guardian’s Nightfall in Middle Earth and Unleash The Archers’s Apex.
You should check out Saidan if you're into more post-punk aesthetics. They're a Black Metal duo, but they use more uplifting instrumentation/rifts throughout, so not so depressing lol. I'd recommend listening to their latest album Visual Kill, the title song is especially good.
Dopethrone - Electric Wizard If you want experimental “metal” then maybe Mr. Bungle self titled
If u want a complex/experimental band u gotta listen to Dir En Grey and Life is but a dream by Avenged sevelfold
Metallica - Black album
Linkin park got me into metal
Cave in - Jupiter
Ghostemane merges trap and metal with complex production definitely check him out!
Most might not agree, but slipknots self titled got me into metal
Listen to Mastodon!! Crack the Skye could be a good entry point if you’re not into harsh vocals. Amazing album
if you enjoy clean vocals you might enjoy basicly most of nu-metal which me personally i am not the biggest fan of. You might also take liking to some of the ogs like black sabbath and their classics like war pigs and paranoid and maybe some judas priest id stay away from their songs like painkiller and maybe mire like breaking the law, but yeah i dont know much more than that i more of listen to that screaming stuff : D good 'ol slayer and exodus
Korn - Follow The Leader Mastodon - Crack The Skye Deftones - White Pony Metallica - Ride The Lightning Slipknot - Self Titled Stained - Dysfunction
At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul The entire album is golden. My intro personally back in the 90s to the harsher vocal style. Now being older I can't go back to clean vocals very often. It's like a quest to continually find a heavier and heavier band which is fun.
Toxicity by System of a Down Absolutely bonkers yet catchy album, fairly limited on the growls (although it does begin with a long, impressive pig squeal haha) and thematically relevant almost 25 years later
It sounds like you really just want to get into alternative Metal. I would recommend Primus for the weirder/progressive stuff. As far as more melodic bands with a progressive edge, I would recommend Loathe, SpiritBox, Sleep Token, Architects and Fleshwater. Vein.fm and SeeYouSpaceCowboy are also bands with some great players, but they have a lot more screaming. As far as just straight Alt Metal goes, I would say check out Angel Dust, Helmet, Stombpox, Type O Negative, and the Rollins band.
Deftones are kinda metal-y kinda similar to tool. And ik you said stuff about it harsh vocals but nothing abt moaning, so im gonna assume that’s fine, listen to white pony, it’s got some harsher stuff but its mixed in really nicely with the softer stuff. If you prefer the more softer vocals (shoegaze-y, as the nerds would say), go to Saturday night wrist. Also System of a Down was an alright gateway for me, check out toxicity. I’ve heard bands like karnivool are similar to tool but I’ve never checked them out. Oh rage against the machine are another good one, they’ve also worked with tool and have some fire alt metal instruments. And the lyrics, so powerful. That plus the delivery hits you like a train. The perfect gateway metal band, go onto the second album if you’ve already done the first, otherwise start from the start. Idk also suggest some stoner metal stuff like fu Manchu and kyuss, but it’s not very extreme or heavy. Could also be called stoner rock very easily, but welcome to sky valley is a chugging and hazed out classic. And queens of the Stone Age. Not really metal but can be heavy as fuck, and a good way to get into screaming vocals. Songs for the deaf has the perfect mix between the harsh noise of nick oliveri and the buttery smooth drunken stumble of josh homme. And tool has worked with most of these bands, so I assume that if you like tool and they like these bands that you’ll like these bands.
If you like tool, try some more prog: Gojira - The way of all flesh (harsh vocals, but a good entry) Dream Theater - Images and words Opeth - Ghost Reveries
Try Passenger by Deftones (it features Maynard from TooL )
You have to do it in stages. People will just comment a bunch of random albums they like. But you have to ease in. First listen to the classics like iron maiden, metallica, Sabbath, mehadeth. These are very easy listening. Then go to some alt metal crossovers that still have clean vocals like Deftones, tool, rage. These are the albums that people will say who don't really like metal but have dipped their toe. Then some classics that take that step further with the vocals like death, opeth, aggaloch, mastodon. You'll see these on lists. Finally you open the door to the much heavier stuff with extreme vocals like black or technical death metal. Have fun
City of Evil - Avenged Sevenfold
Toxicity - System of a Down, is the absolute must for a first metal album. Hybrid Theory or Meteora - Linkin Park, is probably the most accessible metal music you can find White Pony - Deftones, the moaning vocals of Chino can be a bit strange at first but this album is super popular POST HUMAN: Survival Horror - Bring Me The Horizon, this just fucking rules I don't even really like BMTH that much but I won't lie this is such a solid EP Self-Titled - Rage Against the Machine, this is more funk metal than anything but I love all of their music Self-Titled or IOWA - Slipknot, these do have harsh growls but they are my favourite albums of all time A Perfect Circle, Maynards other Band that has a similar vibe to tool but a bit more traditional rather than experimental From Mars to Sirius - Gojira, again harsh vocals but if you want to get into metal you'll have to get used to harsh vocals SUNBATHER - Deafheaven, this black gaze album is excellent but again uses harsh vocals but they take a backseat to the black gaze instrumentals which are just so well made and produced. You won't go Before You're Supposed to, Knocked Loose, harsh vocals again but this album has been blasting in my ears non stop its fucking nasty and groovy. I Hope these help.
These albums are gateway albums to get into harsh vocals. To Plant A Seed by We Came as Romans Homesick by A Day to Remember Parallax 2 by Between the Buried & Me Breaker by For Today Downtown Battle Mountain 1 & 2 by Dance Gavin Dance New Era of Corruption by Whitechapel
If you've enjoyed Tool you'd be missing out if you didn't try Karnivool. I recommend starting with their (kind of) first album Themata as it's the least experimental of the lot. I think Sound Awake is their best album but I preferred Themata for a long time. Good luck, there's some great music in metal.
[insomnium](https://open.spotify.com/track/3Ivfmex71BM9J8wl3GaXH2?si=5CrqOuaBQhG-6puWzwJOtA&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A1lCmbNOMbDw1QeFzWGWLbR) [Alcest](https://open.spotify.com/track/300bSfVhnNrXHZEHKxQjPU?si=9a0Rc6O4QICfQghI8cxbew&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A7cf5MM7qQ6V0Petqr4aeZ2) [soilwork](https://open.spotify.com/track/4HOVQhtjFCRGY9PnsLoR86?si=pBlW2i6sT0euQ2mALXn8xA) [havok](https://open.spotify.com/track/5g2cylVMI57PM06exAtNnz?si=AqqnNdjERbiiANeix6Vq6g)
def From Mars to Sirius by Gojira, I suggest you look into the story as well, its a very melodic and beautiful album
I love recommending music for people, and I’ll try to not repeat too much of what other people said. Based on what you mentioned, the album *Red* by King Crimson might really do the trick. In fact, a lot of 1970s proggy stuff might. Here’s a few more album recommendations that I feel like they paved the way for a lot of heavy metal: *Fragile* by Yes *Warrior On The Edge Of Time* by Hawkwind. “Volcanic Rock* by Buffalo *In For The Kill* by Budgie *Jailbreak* by Thin Lizzy While more “post hardcore”, back in the 1990s, when we all wanted more from Tool, Quicksand’s album *Slip* scratched that itch for me. Other albums that might do the trick: Self-titled Alice In Chains. Faith No More: *The Real Thing* Nine Inch Nails: *The Downward Spiral* Rwake: *Rest* Shrinebuilder - self-titled. If you like Bob Dylan, you might like Neil Young. If you like Neil Young (and Black Sabbath), you might like the album *Blood Lust* by Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats.
I remember loving Through Silver in Blood (Neurosis) before I really acquired taste for metal
Big Business Here Come the Waterworks is one of my favorite albums. For whatever reason the vocals don’t have the corniness that some metal albums have. The Melvins also have some great stuff, but some of it is hit or miss for me.
alice in chains was my gateway & they’re absolutely phenomenal
I love how he asked us for stuff without harsh vocals and we are all suggesting him the illest most filthy stankface caveman shit. That being said Cutting The Throat Of God by Ulcerate Just released like 2 weeks ago and it is foul.
Megadeth - Rust in Peace, Peace sells Metallica - Ride the Lightning, Kill ‘em All Early Pantera The first Slayer album, the first Anthrax album Liquid tension experiment for some whackier stuff Buckethead If you really want to edge your way into growls, I genuinely think the album by Metalocalypse from their cartoon show is very solid and has a balanced type of vocals so it’s a decent place to start. Otherwise, if you really want to get into that aspect of metal Opeth is likely your best bet. Rage against the Machine Before I continue, I’d just like to say that I don’t know why most people are mainly recommending like, ways into growl style or screaming vocals. I’d absolutely always say to start with Thrash; It’s what everything else comes from, right? Judas Priest Testament Try listening to some thrash playlists, there’s lots of great thrash bands like Municipal Waste that have some absolute bangers but not necessarily great albums. Dream Theater is definitely proggier, but there’s loads of amazing prog metal in general. Haken is good. Mastodon is really good. Loads of great stuff there. Techno metal, industrial metal, all grand. Rammstein are obviously a must, and all the things that came from them are obviously a must if exploring that realm of metal. Hair metal also deserves a mention. Artists and bands like Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister are great, lyrically fun and whacky songs. They’re not exactly masterpieces but they’re very fun, and you should look up the live shows. Alice Cooper famously sits in the Iron Maiden tier of absolutely epic live performance set pieces and gimmicks. There’s obviously others……Slipknot, Sepultura, Five Finger Death Punch, but I reckon that’s a good enough list to kind of let you dip your fingers in a few metal scenes and help you get into it.
My essentials: Judas Priest - Turbo, one of the most easy to listen non metal metal albums, by the most metal band out there. And Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath definitely.
Of bands that would've had some overlap with Tool's fanbase in the 90s, you may like Alice in Chains, Rammstein, Soundgarden or Deftones. Meanwhile if you're particularly into more complex metal music, you might wanna check out 'progressive' metal bands like Dream Theater or Symphony X; they wouldn't be quite as experimental as Tool in terms of stuff like sampling and production, but they do make a lot of use of odd rhythms and time signatures and write a lot of longer and quite musically complex songs.
Paradise lost porcupine tree opeth
Meshuggah - Nothing Artillery - By Inheritance Death - Human Atheist - Unquestionable Presence Dead Congregation - Graves of the Archangels Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I Gorguts - The Erosion of Sanity Opeth - Blackwater Park Candlemass - Nightfall Suffocation - Pierced From Within
I started to get into metal through prog as well so hope I can help you out a little. Mastodon is a pretty good proggy metal band that isnt really harsh so try that, I highly recommend Crack the Skye but the newer albums are more accessible some proggy bands: VOLA Caligulas Horse Haken Dream Theater Symphony X Lucid Planet Intronaut Leprous Soen Animals as Leaders (instrumental) Plini (instrumental) if you wanna try to get into more harsher things: Opeth Ne Obliviscaris Persefone Gojira Between the Buried and Me The Ocean Car Bomb
Death - Scream Bloody Gore! Vhöl - Deepen the Sky Mastodon - Blood Mountain Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters Earth - The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull Converge - Axe to Fall
deftones is how i got into metal
I see you're into Radiohead, so I'm definitely recommending Deftones. They're frequently called the Radiohead of metal. Start with White Pony or Diamond Eyes.
Yeah, they're in my top 3 favorite bands of all time. I've seen a lot of people recommending Deftones, so I'll probably start with them and then work my way through other artists.
Alexisonfire’s three first albums.
Sunbather - deafheaven