Indie music for metal head?
May 15, 2016 5:01 PM   Subscribe

I'm more indie rock and my friend is a metal head. I'm trying to make her a mix of indie or pop music that still appeals to a metal vibe. Any suggestions?

In the past, we've agreed on tracks like Lady Picture Show by Stone Temple Pilots and Machine Gun Man by Zakk Wylde. We also both like British glam rock - Bowie, Pulp, Suede, etc. Any suggestions for songs that I shouldn't miss?

Thanks!
posted by BaffledWaffle to Media & Arts (15 answers total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
To me, the paradigmatic "indie rock band that has something for metalheads" is Party of Helicopters, particularly their album "Abracadaver." It's like an art-punk/indie-rock album where at the last minute their regular guitarist quit and they had to sub in a guy whose favorite band is King Diamond.

If you're willing to cast a pretty wide net in terms of what constitutes "indie" then maybe you could consider some of the following:

Cap'n Jazz - Little League
Circus Lupus - Pacifier
Crimson Curse - I Liner
Drive Like Jehu - Golden Brown
Akarso - Furthest End of the Couch
Four Hundred Years - Sequence
Fugazi - Ex-Spectator
Hella - Biblical Violence
Hoover - Cuts Like Drugs
I Hate Myself - This Isn't the Tenka-ichi Budokai
Kinski - Semaphore
Milemarker - New Lexicon
Mohinder - The Static Cult
The Nation of Ulysses - A Comment on Ritual
Polvo - Stinger
Shipping News - A True Lover's Knot
Sleepytime Trio - Lancing Organic
Slint - Charlotte
Swing Kids - El Camino Car Crash
Three Mile Pilot - X. Miner
Unwound - Negated
Volta do Mar - Breaking Ribs for Tom Thayer
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Art Star
posted by saladin at 5:58 PM on May 15, 2016 [7 favorites]


Dinosaur Jr. comes to mind.
posted by Automocar at 6:47 PM on May 15, 2016 [1 favorite]


Marnie Stern
posted by hydrophonic at 6:50 PM on May 15, 2016 [1 favorite]


Chelsea Wolfe! She might be pretty far toward the metal end of the spectrum already, but she's the artist my metalhead friend and I (an indie rock person) agree on the most.

The Mountain Goats' latest album has a couple songs that might also appeal: Choked Out and Werewolf Gimmick.
posted by come_back_breathing at 6:59 PM on May 15, 2016 [2 favorites]


Torres' latest album, Sprinter, definitely has this vibe that appeals to the former metalhead in me. In particular the track Strange Hellos, has all this raw anger that was the thing that most appealed to me about metal, back when I was into it.
posted by katyggls at 7:03 PM on May 15, 2016 [1 favorite]




Saladin's answer seems awfully precise, but I'll also second The Jesus Lizard, Big Black, Shellac and anything else Steve Albini got his hands on.

I'm pretty interested in White Lung right now and they kind of spread Scandinavian Black Metal with some punk-ish and prog-ish elements.

White Lung Below
posted by littlewater at 7:36 PM on May 15, 2016 [2 favorites]


Dungen
posted by hydrophonic at 9:09 PM on May 15, 2016 [1 favorite]


I've always thought Modest Mouse had a bit of a metal sound, especially live.

Maybe some Pixies?

We also both like British glam rock - Bowie, Pulp, Suede, etc. Any suggestions for songs that I shouldn't miss?

I always thoughts the Chainsaw Kittens should have been much bigger than they were.

Prick always made me think of a Bowie/Nine Inch Nails crossover band (and indeed opened for them on their dual headline tour).

How about Manic Street Preachers?
posted by Candleman at 9:12 PM on May 15, 2016 [2 favorites]


I would recommend the Japanese band Tricot. Mathy, technical, energetic, yet pop hooks for miles.
posted by naju at 9:53 PM on May 15, 2016 [1 favorite]


Try young Aussie band DMA's.
posted by wilful at 4:19 AM on May 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


More that I don't think have been mentioned (yet):
Fucked Up - Queen of Hearts
Japandroids - Younger Us
Les Savy Fav - The Sweat Descends
Iceage - White Rune
Thee Oh Sees - The Dream
Jay Reatard - My Shadow
posted by togdon at 10:43 AM on May 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Sugar has a heavy-metal sensibility to a few of their songs, like the one in the link.
posted by holborne at 12:07 PM on May 16, 2016


Sleigh Bells's music is an indie mix of pop and metal sensibilities.
posted by metaname at 3:57 PM on May 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Seconding Sleigh Bells, fer shure.
posted by Deemonie at 9:27 PM on May 16, 2016


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