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Well. I like metal quite a bit, though my tastes tend to be pretty (sometimes arbitrarily so) selective. I too find a lot of prominent metal bands fairly boring...there is a tendency, I think, to rely on the adrenaline rush and technical prowess, which I tend to consider "cheap thrills," rather than interesting, well thought out and composed music. Here are a couple of bands that I would indeed call intelligent and are/were doing something that is out of the box and stimulating on a more intellectual basis.
KHANATE is a Stephen O'Malley band (O'Malley is sort of the it-guy of arty doom metal, was in bands like Burning Witch and Thorr's Hammer, and is now in Sunn0))) as well as Khanate). They are probably the bleakest band I have heard in a long time...they make very good use of negative space, as much of their (very) long songs are composed of ambience and emptiness. There are very visceral emotions captured here.
KAYO DOT is the spinoff band of a prog-metal group called Maudlin of the Well, who are also worth checking out. There are about 9 people in the band, and it includes horns, strings, and many other nongenre conventional instruments. I believe the music is composed by the frontman as one might compose a classical piece...there are long segments of very beautiful sounds with vocals that are almost identical to Jeff Buckley's that are interspersed with incredibly brutal moments.
MARE are very similar to Kayo Dot, though there are only three people in the band...there are soothing parts with angelic vocals that segue into Neurosis-esque passages that settle into that particular type of metal groove that is so appropriate for head bobbing.
BARONESS come out of Georgia, and you can here the southern rock influence in their sound. It is hard to really classify them because they borrow from a lot of metal subgenres, but I might call them stoner metal to be simple. There are a lot of really well composed grooves here with a lot of intricate and tasteful riffing, but it is all underscored with a very strong sense of melody. They are pretty accessible, and I play them a lot for friends who are not that into metal.
SLEEP is the stoner doom band of stoner doom bands...they are rocking on the Black Sabbath influence. Their crowning acheivement is a record called Dopesmoker which is 62 minutes long, only one song, and basically one riff. It sounds goofy to describe it, but it is actually very hypnotic and engaging if you really set down to listening to it. And before you ask, I listen to this sober most of the time and it still stands.
EMPEROR are of course an unbelievably powerful band, probably the best black metal I have ever heard. They are continually using unconventional melodies and playing with timing and phrasing. Some of the material is truly demonic, and simultaneously lush and beautiful. They put out a fair amount of material, and there is a real progression to their work as well.
I would love to hear what anybody else thinks about these bands, if you are familiar with them. I have only seen of the aforementioned Baroness and Mare, but I would also love to hear about any experiences people have had seeing them live. |
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