Any new bands/instrumentalists you guys have discovered/are into?

General Music Discussion
#1

I’m assuming majority of you guys are into the late 80s music era, when there was the glam metal stuff, new wave of british heavy metal, classic rock, the shrapnel shredders and the old school thrashers. But I’m wondering if you have unearthed any new music gems recently in the past few years? I’m talking like maybe…early 2000s till now.

I’ll start the ball rolling. Really sorry if it happens to be a double post :'D

A few years after I started playing guitar I was talented scouted by a local metalcore band who thought they could bring my element in speed into their sound. While I struggled a bit to try adjusting to this modern metal music, I discovered a lot of unexpectedly nice music during my journey with them!

  1. Veil of Maya (Marc Okubo seems like a very heavy duty crosspicker/2WPS’ter with those crazy riffs)
  2. Born of Osiris (and I became a Jason Richardson fanboi at that moment. Love at first shred)
  3. Attila (the first metalcore band with an effecient axeman in their ranks. I’m deeply impressed)
  4. Bring me The Horizon (they don’t really do any technical stuff but their stuff is really good and catchy!)
  5. Oceans Ate Alaska (first time hearing math metalcore and I was floored)
  6. Meshuggah (cuz that riff from Bleed made my brain bleed in pure astonishment. And also dj0nt)
  7. Periphery (cuz…dj0nt) xD
  8. Vitalism (modern sound with modern meodic technical playing!)
  9. Polyphia (more because I was whoring after JR’s solo in Aviator xD but those guys write lit tunes)

Ill prolly add more to the list later on but Yeap, these are my top 9! What about you guys? :slight_smile:

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#2

Based on your background and that list, I’d DEFINITELY check out Angel Vivaldi.

Also, for “modern metal,” I tend to listen to pretty heavy stuff while riding indoor on my trainer (I’m also a cyclist), and my two go-to bands are Soilwork and Devildriver. I’d check out Soilwork’s “Stabbing the Drama” and Devildriver’s “Pray for Villains” as good jumping out points.

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#3

I love love love Angel Vivaldi so much! Especially his collaboration with Andy James, those two make a deadly shred duo.

#4

Angel is also legitimately one of the nicest, most legitimate guys in the business. I’ve been fortunate enough to know him personally for five or six years now thanks to another board I post on, and he, I, and a mutual friend of ours probably spent an hour shooting the shit with him after his last gig in the Boston area. His legitimate passion for music is kind of nuts - I met him at a get together/jam session we threw a number of years ago, and I don’t think he stopped playing all night, haha. He and Andy Timmons are both way nicer than anyone has a right to be. :slight_smile: And good lord can the guy play!

Andy James tore it up on that tour, too - I’d heard some of his music here and there but mostly through his instructional stuff, and didn’t know it well. And man, he blew me away too. Humbling night, for sure!

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#5

Dayum son, I’d kill for an opportunity like that. I discovered Angel back in 2016 and really loved his precise yet melodic playing. Everything he dishes out is so musical. Here’s hoping he does a tour in the South East Asian region, or maybe just Singapore :stuck_out_tongue:

Yeah, the licklibrary tutorial videos, I remember them well. If the REH or Starlicks of our time had a new shredder superstar, it definetly would be AJ.

OH, and some new music for today!

I honestly have no idea how these guys play guitar so goddamn cleanly and accurately while doing it with so little overdrive/distortion, let alone write such otherworldly stuff. It’s mindboggling!

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#6

Juan Dhas, Joshua Davis (w/Tim Miller), Joel Grundahl Trio. All instrumental.

#7

I signed up to a Spotify “re-engagement” deal lately, £10 for 3 months, and have been listening to a load of new stuff. The ones I like most are Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper, Leftfield - Leftism, Ihsahn - Amr.

#8

For me, Per Nilsson of Scar Symmetry has been the greatest revelation in a long while. While I’m not necessarily a huge Scar Symmetry fan, his solos, namely his phrasing, are unique. I’d really like to see him interviewed by Cracking the Code one day.

Another great underrated player is Paul Wardingham. He’s technically very good while remaining melodic.

Speaking of melodic, Plini is also one of my main recent influences (which is natural since Ive been a Satriani fan since Flying in a Blue Dream, but I’ve stopped listening to him since Crystal Planet for some reason).

Jakub Zytecki is a young genius to watch for. I’m not a fan of the bands he plays in, but his solos are super creative and filled with passion (his most recent stuff is less my cup of tea).

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#9

I’m not going to order them because they are too different.

Wintersun (Power metal with death and black influences, lots of Gilbert and Malmsteen influence in the guitar work.)

Obscura (Lots of Cynic influence with cleaner parts on more recent releases, fretless bass too, and most importantly death metal vocals that don’t sound like they were recorded underground in a box and buried in the mix.)

Thulcandra (Steffen Kummerer from Obscura’s side project which is essentially 90’s Dissection worship)

Sabaton (Objectively the best modern metal band for working out, great historical lyrical themes, glorious songwriting)

Deafheaven (Has one band pissed as many people off in the metal scene in the past 10 years? Granted they didn’t invent the style but, shoegaze meets black metal (blackgaze). It’s a combination of disparate genres that works surprisingly well. Great band that seems to get better with each release. Daniel Tracey is an awesome drummer.)

Alcest (The originators of the the blackgaze style. Lyrics are in french. I read it best described as sounding like “a collaboration between Cocteau Twins and Burzum.”)

Panopticon (One man black metal meets bluegrass/American folk, fills the void for me left by bands like Agalloch and early-Ulver.)

Epica (Took what bands like Nightwish and Within Temptation were doing in the early-2000s and injected some prog and death into it. Fantastic live band. The band that single handedly redeemed 7 strings for me.)