Favourite bands? Options

[Bass EX]

I told you.

[Lloyd Seegymont the Rasier]

Thanks to Rhia, I have a unhealthy obsession for Avenged Sevenfold now.

[DustyHaru]

Thanks to Rhia, I have a unhealthy obsession for Avenged Sevenfold now.

are you sure its unhealthy?
Health class is my anti-wellbeing

-Dusty

This post has been edited by DustyHaru: Feb 24 2008, 02:12 AM

[Greifer]

I'll display my current favorites (no particular order)

Bands
Incubus (always)
Innerpartsystem
Bloc Party
Envy On The Coast
Emarosa
The Kooks
Pierce the Veil
MGMT
Interpol
The Dead Weather
Silversun Pickups
The Scene Aesthetic

Artists
John Mayer
James Morrison
Neversaynever (it's really one dude)

This post has been edited by Greifer: Sep 2 2009, 08:44 PM

[Hayashi Tenshi]

I <3 Sound Horizon and Ali-Project.

[Rhiannon]

Six years later, almost nothing is English. THE ORDER IS ALPHABETICAL AND IT MEANS NOTHING. The songs are probably ordered in a meaningful way, though. Probably.

• Anathema (Favourite songs: The Silent Enigma, Mine is Yours to Drown in (Ours is the New Tribe), One Last Goodbye)
  HEY SO I'M ALWAYS GOING TO LOVE THEIR OLD STUFF IF NOTHING ELSE (and I liked their newest album enough anyway). Only now I can say with even more certainty than before that Anathema has something for everyone. ... except maybe people who only like dance and trance and whatnot, I guess?
• BUCK-TICK (Favourite songs: Dress, PIXY, Coyote)
  Nobody expects Japanese bands who think it's cool to capitalize random things. I like the simplicity in some of their older songs, even if they had no idea what they were doing. That made for some really interesting ones. Also bass everywhere, especially in songs like Victims of Love. They've gotten a lot better now though and blah blah I can't talk about music. I like them a lot.
• Kalafina (Favourite songs: Ongaku, Sprinter, to the beginning)
  I guess they're the ones who kicked Nightwish off my list, since it's mostly about them vocals. Only this time you get glorious vocal harmonies and glorious Yuki Kajiura compositions. Though, I question some of her post-production choices and also question why she writes so many boring songs for them while randomly having amazing ones.
• Oomph! (Favourite songs: Bis zum Schluss, Unter deiner Haut, Träumst du (the version with Marta Jandova because the one without her just sounds incomplete, yo))
  Because shut up. They have some crazy catchy songs and some fabulous melodies, and sometimes (I lied, it was always this way) a Rhia wants her catchy songs and thinks strange inappropriate German bands are special at this particular subject. I don't know what else to say about them.
• Subway to Sally (Favourite songs: Schneekönigin, Kleid aus Rosen, Henkersbraut)
  Something about the arrangement/composition/something of the songs. And I don't particularly like the vocalist, but everything sounds great because they like to throw in all that HARMONYYYYYYYYYYYY in a lot of songs. Or something. Can't really explain, but they're awesome EVEN IF NOBODY LIKED SIEBEN.

Now to forget about this for another six years, come back, laugh at Asaph, and then laugh at myself from six years ago. Cradle of Filth as my favourite band? Ha ha ha. So funny.

[P.P.A.]

• H.E.R.R.
  Neoclassical (and classy indeed) instrumentals accompanied by speech song, the emphasis on either “speech” or “song” swaying back and forth. Despite being a Dutch/British group, their lyrics are mostly English, and often themed after empires fallen or eras bygone—usually each album devotes itself to a certain such topic. This also reflects in the sound of a track: sometimes more elevated and majestic, sometimes tending towards marches or more archaic motifs.
  XII CAESARS (of which The Eagle Standard is my favourite track) for example sings of different Roman Emperors, and Winter of Constantinople's topic should be obvious. Alas, these often reveal the band's one big flaw: their pronunciation of Latin words is horrible. That this is the worst criticism I can muster speaks for their quality, though!
  Another good song, though its vocals are a bit more arrhythmic, is First Prince In Some Lower Court. (And Liberating Spirit, a collaboration with since-dissolved Von Thronstahl, is nothing short of amazing!)
  
• Ianva
  Describing Ianva's style is difficult; neither could I fit them into any genre known to me. This Italian group's work perhaps resembles best old film music, with powerful vocals, and a certain grandiosity to them. Their two vocalists—both blessed with splendid voices—put a lot of emotion into the songs, which is further reminiscent of music around the turn of the century.
  I can only suggest listening into their excellent album Italia Ultimo Atto to get an impression of their rare, classy style.
  
• Radiodervish
  …is another Italian group, though their singer is an Arab. This reflects their music too: their soothing and beautiful pieces mix Western/Italian, Near Eastern, and Persian elements; the lyrics are similarly sometimes Italian, sometimes English, sometimes Arabic. Soft violins sing alongside Nabil Salameh's gentle voice, carried, rather than driven, by subtle melodies.
  Beyond the Sea and Ave Maria are lovely (and lovely indeed) examples of their work, as is the album in search of Simurgh (Layla e majnun would be a good place to start).
  
• Triarii
  A master of Martial Industrial and Neoclassical. His works are bombastic, awe-inducing—grand marches set to the sounds of war, majestic melodies commandeering blaring wind instruments and pounding drums. Triarii's works create an atmosphere of magnificent—almost oppressive—grandeur, they are threatening, overwhelming! That their æsthetics reference more often than not fascism and World War II is thus quite appropriate.
  His album Muse in Arms is a masterpiece, though also of note is Three Hours, a collaboration with Ordo Rosario Equilibrio. The instrumentals here are a little more subdued, but the latter artist's moody vocals add an entirely different flavour of sombreness.

The following ones I cannot quite praise as outstanding yet, but expect them to cement their status in the near future:

• Rose Rovine e Amanti
  The third Italian on this list. I find it hard to say anything about him though; his style has changed a fair bit over the years (compare the early Aachen[I] to [i]Ave Maria), and while altogether good and still improving, I still find his songs a bit hit-and-miss. He shines in collaborations though, such as in Madre di Salvezza with…
  
• Spreu & Weizen
  Spreu & Weizen excels at Martial Industrial/Neoclassical. Appropriate to their Catholic/Christian militarist motif, their pieces have a sense of ominousness to them, sometimes exalted, sometimes oppressive. Marching rhythms couple themselves with instrumentals tending towards bombast; just as often, chants or samples take the forefront, and the instrumentals create a looming atmosphere around them. Deus Lo Vult is exemplary of all this. On the other hand, songs like Lady in White or Gesänge Zur Nacht showcase a softer, more sensual side of theirs. My appreciation varies still from song to song, but their talent is obvious, and I eagerly await their next releases.
  
• Strydwolf
  A Dutch neofolk group, who have formed relatively recently, and who have been releasing albums at quite a pace. Initially, this came at the price of originality—their melodies were unexciting, their lyrics generic, and the best songs (Van uit een nieuwe wereld, Night Cometh On) were those on which they collaborated with others, who were entirely to credit for any innovative sparks. But since then they have improved significantly, and seem to be finding their own style marked by great instrumentals (acoustic guitar, accordions, drums) and strong rhythms. This is very noticeable in their two most recent songs: Ontwaakt! and Zwarte lage Vlakten The assorted use of Dutch, German, Frisian, and English lends variety to the vocals.

Archetypical and musts for their genres:

• Darkwood and Forseti
  Finest Neofolk, though probably uninteresting if you cannot understand the poetic German lyrics—all they are accompanied by is a well-tuned and melodic acoustic guitar, rarely a violin. Verlorenes Heer and Eismahd are great examples, respectively.
  
• Wappenbund
  Martial Industrial par excellence. If I wanted to show someone what the genre sounds like, I would send them one of Wappenbund's exemplary works. Distorted samples, an impenetrable blend between clanging noise and harsh drums or synthetic organs, and where not directly the sounds, then definitely the atmosphere of gritty, industrial warfare—Heimat, Empor, or Die Fahne Hoch all embody the genre perfectly.