What are you listening to?

[Lightningman_42]

Recently I've been listening to Amon Amarth. I've heard their entire Jomsviking album now, as well as parts of one other album, which I don't remember the title of at the moment. My favorite individual songs so far are Raise Your Horns, Under the Northern Star, Embrace of the Endless Ocean, and Where Silent Gods Stand Guard.

Dream Sphere, are there any Amon Amarth songs that you consider to be particularly noteworthy, that I should check out?

I still have many other bands which I need to further investigate, like:
Ensiferum, Bran Barr, Forefather, Saor, Catuvolcus, Manegarm, Ulver, and Empyrium (a few that you've recommended to me before)

[Lightningman_42]

Song of General Kim Il Sung in English!

^ lol

African Bayaka Pygmies Music Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAr7hDEWFgQ

These are genuinely so powerful, flick through:

The music here is from the album "Heart of the Forest" by the "Baka Forest People Of Southeast Cameroon". Here is the track list with the corresponding lengths of each song (NOT the starting time of each song in the video):
1 Yelli 1 1:22
2 Yelli 2 2:22
3 Yelli 3 2:33
4 Water Drums 1 1:54
5 Water Drums 2 0:55
6 Nursery Rhyme 1:29
7 Venolouma 4:22
8 Leta 4:29
9 Aiya (Ngombi Na Péké 1) 4:38
10 Limbindi And Voices 1:38
11 An G'Bendi (Earth Bow) 1:30
12 Limbindi 2:00
13 Water Drums 3 0:36
14 Abale 5:21
15 Solo Voice 1:10
16 Ngonnalati (Ngombi Na Péké 2) 5:59
17 Naboma (Ngombi Na Péké 3) 2:24
18 A Capella 3:19
19 Toji Playing The Ngombi Na Péké 6:19
20 Forest Party 2:25
21 Distant Yelli 2:23

Can't wait to watch this film - Song from the Forest official Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZeMG7GuTpo

I'll check out this list. Always open to hearing new types of music. So far I've just listened to the one that you linked to YouTube at the top of your post.

A following video which was auto-recommended to me by YouTube was "Egypt Nubian Music": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAPfjrVb650

I liked that very much. Next, I stumbled upon "Mongolian Throat Singing-Batzorig Vaanchig": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rmo3fKeveo
That was really something spectacular! I'd like to listen to some more Mongolian throat singing!

[Dream Sphere]

Recently I've been listening to Amon Amarth. I've heard their entire Jomsviking album now, as well as parts of one other album, which I don't remember the title of at the moment. My favorite individual songs so far are Raise Your Horns, Under the Northern Star, Embrace of the Endless Ocean, and Where Silent Gods Stand Guard.

Dream Sphere, are there any Amon Amarth songs that you consider to be particularly noteworthy, that I should check out?

I still have many other bands which I need to further investigate, like:
Ensiferum, Bran Barr, Forefather, Saor, Catuvolcus, Manegarm, Ulver, and Empyrium (a few that you've recommended to me before)

I only have heard three albums from AA, those being With Odin on Our Side, TotTG, and Surtur Rising.

Embrace of the Endless Ocean is also one of my favs from TotTG. Others from that album include Where is Your God?, and No Fear for the Setting Sun.

From Surtur Rising, War of the Gods is good. I haven't heard the album in a long time so I don't remember it very well.

I just got WOoOS recently. Asator is a highlight, as well as Valhalla Awaits Me, Runes to My Memory, Gods of War Arise, and Cry of the Blackbirds. Probably their most solid album I know.


With Ensiferum the debut self titled album is the only essential one. Iron is really good too, and Victory songs has a few good ones like Wanderer, Deathbringer from the Sky, and One More Magic Potion, but it's less consistent. I've found it hard to get into From Afar. iirc I liked Unsung Heroes more than From Afar, but neither did I love like their debut or even really like like Iron. I'm unfamiliar with their most recent output, since their first two are all I really care for.

With Bran Barr I've only checked out their sophomore album Sidh, but that's worth hearing in full.

Forefather's two essentials are Steadfast, and Curse of the Cwelled. There are plenty of other good songs in their discography, but those two albums are the best.

Saor's Aura is better than Guardians. I haven't heard Roots.

Catuvolcus' masterpiece is Gergovia, though Voyageurs de l'Aube is a close second.

All of Manegarm's albums are worthwhile in some way. Their debut is their most black metal sounding one. Havets Vargar is agressive and expands on their folk roots. Dodsfard is like a catchier less agressive Havets Vargar. Then Vredens Tid, and Vargstenen are their most progressive folk/black metal albums and imo their best. Nattvasen is like a more black metal version of the two that preceded it, very good too. Then their two most recent are more pop-y folk metal but with the occasional song which is really agressive or brooding with great vocals like Blodorn.

Ulver had three albums I'm familiar with. Bergtatt is for atmospheric black metal w/ folk lovers, Kveldssanger is for dark/neo-folk lovers, and Nattens Madrigal is for aggressive raw black metal lovers.

All of Empyrium's albums are good. Some much more folk than metal, and vice versa. I haven't listened to them much recently, so can't really recommend anything more specific.


A couple other bands you might like are the hard/arena rock/folk/power metal band called Running Wild, their albums from Under Jolly Roger to The Rivalry all have at least one great song, and all those albums are solid. They get a bit samey though.

Another is Amorphis. The albums with their most recent singer are all great, from Eclipse to Under the Red Cloud. But, I'd start with Skyforger out of those. Another good album from them is Tales from the Thousand Lakes. Elegy is also considered good and is similar to Tales... but I haven't gotten into it as much as others say I should given that it's a slight evolution from Tales... but I find Elegy a little boring.

[Jebus]

African Bayaka Pygmies Music Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAr7hDEWFgQ

Are these the people Deep Forest worked with? It sounds very familiar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATmBOnMJJkE

[PsYcHo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oRBqB2hPHE

None of that nonsense in a decade, just coffee and Bourbon...... lots of Bourbon.

[Lightningman_42]

I recently listened to Arch Enemy's latest album, "Will to Power".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAYfbQkGYD4

My favorite songs of the 13 were:
-3 Blood in the Water
-4 The World is Yours
-5 The Eagle Flies Alone
-6 Reason to Believe
-10 Dreams of Retribution
-12 A Fight I Must Win

"The World is Yours" is my favorite Arch Enemy song so far. Lots of great guitar riffs. I'm on a roll with melodic death metal at the moment, having listened to Amon Amarth a lot lately, and now Arch Enemy. Dream Sphere, have you listened to all of "Will to Power"? What other Arch Enemy albums do you most recommend?

It was this YouTube video which first inspired me to listen to Arch Enemy's music. Dream Sphere, have you seen this? How could I not be intrigued after seeing this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waLHX1qrbvo

[Dream Sphere]

I actually always found Arch Enemy to be pretty boring to me. I've known them since around 2010 when they were with Angela on vox. I find Alissa much more attractive and I like that she's Vegan, but I really don't care for the music.

In terms of melodeath I prefer Hypocrisy. Try their albums The Fourth Dimension, Abducted, The Final Chapter, Virus, and A Taste of Extreme Divinity. All of their albums are good, but those are the best, besides their first two which are normal death metal so I didn't include them despite them being great.

Edit: actually Catch 22 by Hypocrisy is pretty mediocre, so not all of their albums are really good. It still has some decent songs though.

Currently listening to Abducted's title track.

[Ignis Centaurus]

Dye by Tycho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14K9mJcmYE

It's a very comforting song for me. It reminds me of the time, back in 2013, when I went on a drive into the mountains that surround my town and had a picnic at sunset with my best friend on the top of this glacier-carved mountain. It was quite possibly the most comfiest I've ever felt in my life. I love Tycho's music so much because so much of his songs bring out such strong emotions in me in ways few other musicians can. Sometimes I'll even do what I did with this song, and connect it to a memory--obviously, not by force! It just happens. Other times, I'll imagine scenarios play out with the song, whether they be of me or fictional characters/people. At any rate, me + (vegan) bath bombs + a warm, evening bath + any of Tycho's albums = bliss. ♥

[Lightningman_42]

I actually always found Arch Enemy to be pretty boring to me. I've known them since around 2010 when they were with Angela on vox. I find Alissa much more attractive and I like that she's Vegan, but I really don't care for the music.

In terms of melodeath I prefer Hypocrisy. Try their albums The Fourth Dimension, Abducted, The Final Chapter, Virus, and A Taste of Extreme Divinity. All of their albums are good, but those are the best, besides their first two which are normal death metal so I didn't include them despite them being great.

Edit: actually Catch 22 by Hypocrisy is pretty mediocre, so not all of their albums are really good. It still has some decent songs though.

Currently listening to Abducted's title track.

OK I'll check out Hypocrisy, and look for any album other than Catch. What other melodic death metal bands do you like, aside from Hypocrisy and Amon Amarth (you mentioned you like "Embrace of the Endless Ocean")?

If you think an otherwise interesting band like Hypocrisy can still have mediocre songs, do you think that vice versa could be true of Arch Enemy? Have you listened to Will to Power? Some good guitar riffs, so I'd recommend that album if you haven't heard it yet. I can understand finding Arch Enemy boring. I've listened to the first three songs of their second-most-recent album, War Eternal, and found them rather boring too. It could mean that they're rather hit-and-miss; I liked Will to Power after all.

[Dream Sphere]

I actually always found Arch Enemy to be pretty boring to me. I've known them since around 2010 when they were with Angela on vox. I find Alissa much more attractive and I like that she's Vegan, but I really don't care for the music.

In terms of melodeath I prefer Hypocrisy. Try their albums The Fourth Dimension, Abducted, The Final Chapter, Virus, and A Taste of Extreme Divinity. All of their albums are good, but those are the best, besides their first two which are normal death metal so I didn't include them despite them being great.

Edit: actually Catch 22 by Hypocrisy is pretty mediocre, so not all of their albums are really good. It still has some decent songs though.

Currently listening to Abducted's title track.

OK I'll check out Hypocrisy, and look for any album other than Catch. What other melodic death metal bands do you like, aside from Hypocrisy and Amon Amarth (you mentioned you like "Embrace of the Endless Ocean")?

If you think an otherwise interesting band like Hypocrisy can still have mediocre songs, do you think that vice versa could be true of Arch Enemy? Have you listened to Will to Power? Some good guitar riffs, so I'd recommend that album if you haven't heard it yet. I can understand finding Arch Enemy boring. I've listened to the first three songs of their second-most-recent album, War Eternal, and found them rather boring too. It could mean that they're rather hit-and-miss; I liked Will to Power after all.

I think it can be true of any band or vice versa that a normally great band could put out some duds, and a normally mediocre band could come out with a great song. Or anything in between, honestly.

I've listened to "The World is Yours" and didn't care for it, but that's the only song from the new album that I've heard, I'll check out more later.

There're othet bands which sort of mix melodeath with black metal and neo-classical/power metal that I like like Kalmah, early Children of Bodom, and early Wintersun.

I like later Wintersun, but I'd say it's less melodeath than the debut. CoB first three albums are pretty great, the two that followed are also pretty good. All Kalmah albums are at least good. Imo both their earliest material and most recent material is the best. E.g. For the Revolution is quite hit-and-miss, whereas They Will Return, and 12 Gauge are consistently great.

There're other bands/albums too. Not pure melodeath, but Thorium's first album is pretty good. Dethklok's first three albums are also pretty good. Insomnium is pretty critically acclaimed in melodeath circles, but I only know their lead-singles.

Then there's the Gothenburg three. At the Gates' first two albums are great, I haven't seriously checked out the others, but the others are probably more melodeath than the first two.

Dark Tranquility is another one, don't know them too well.

In Flames early stuff is considered pioneering melodeath, but after a certain point they went alternative metal and have been critically lambasted since. I like Subterranean by In Flames, but that EP isn't too melodeath, I mean 50% is but the other 50% is arguably meloblack. Try out The Jester Race by In Flames, that's their go to album for beginers afaik.

There's more, but I've got to go right now.

Listening to Hallowed Halls by Forefather.