What is this genre called, anyway?
April 1, 2008 5:55 AM Subscribe
Can anyone recommend bands along the lines of Wolves in the Throne Room, Agalloch, Drudkh, or Moonsorrow? Lengthy atmospheric stuff with a post-rock approach to song construction but lots of traditional black metal touches: shrieks, tremolo, buried melodies, etc. Sometimes there are certain shoegaze elements, like distant female vocals. They don't necessarily have to write songs about nature!
As with every "what other music sounds like these bands" question, the answer is pandora.com.
posted by jejune at 6:17 AM on April 1, 2008
posted by jejune at 6:17 AM on April 1, 2008
It's hard to top agalloch and moonsorrow at their game. Maybe you'll like some Ulver.
posted by Wolfdog at 6:21 AM on April 1, 2008
posted by Wolfdog at 6:21 AM on April 1, 2008
Response by poster: Which albums, Wolfdog? I've always had trouble figuring out which are the Ulver albums that align most with my tastes.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 6:23 AM on April 1, 2008
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 6:23 AM on April 1, 2008
Best answer: I recommend checking out Agalloch's distributor Vendlus. They carry a lot of other artists in a similar vein to those which you mentioned. I particularly like Island. You may also be interested in Vurgart, Ainulindalë, Pantheist, Blood of the Black Owl, Celestiial and one of my recent favorites Alcest.
As far as a name goes, I don't think there is one to define this genre yet. It seems that a lot of the people who make this kind of music are from funeral doom/black metal backgrounds. I'd say that bands like Agalloch and Drudkh are innovators though, and don't really conform entirely to the conventions of those genres.
posted by Demogorgon at 6:27 AM on April 1, 2008
As far as a name goes, I don't think there is one to define this genre yet. It seems that a lot of the people who make this kind of music are from funeral doom/black metal backgrounds. I'd say that bands like Agalloch and Drudkh are innovators though, and don't really conform entirely to the conventions of those genres.
posted by Demogorgon at 6:27 AM on April 1, 2008
Oh yeah, and definitely Ulver. A case could be made to state that all of these artists are just riffing on the Bergtatt/Kveldssanger albums.
posted by Demogorgon at 6:32 AM on April 1, 2008
posted by Demogorgon at 6:32 AM on April 1, 2008
Would this be the genre (((SUNN))) is found in?
posted by sourwookie at 6:35 AM on April 1, 2008
posted by sourwookie at 6:35 AM on April 1, 2008
> As with every "what other music sounds like these bands" question, the answer is pandora.com.
Tiresome repetition of this ignores the fact that pandora.com is not (legally or in a straightfoward manner) available to users outside of the USA.
posted by benzo8 at 7:17 AM on April 1, 2008
Tiresome repetition of this ignores the fact that pandora.com is not (legally or in a straightfoward manner) available to users outside of the USA.
posted by benzo8 at 7:17 AM on April 1, 2008
Actually, I believe that SUNN O))) falls into the drone/doom subgenre as opposed to funeral doom/atmospheric death.
posted by Ikazuchi at 7:57 AM on April 1, 2008
posted by Ikazuchi at 7:57 AM on April 1, 2008
Tiresome repetition of this ignores the fact that pandora.com is not (legally or in a straightfoward manner) available to users outside of the USA.
OK, in the future I'll say that the answer is pandora.com or, if you're outside the US, last.fm.
Sorry you find it "tiresome," but my understanding of AskMe is that people ask questions to get the correct answers to their questions, and this is the correct answer.
posted by jejune at 8:02 AM on April 1, 2008
OK, in the future I'll say that the answer is pandora.com or, if you're outside the US, last.fm.
Sorry you find it "tiresome," but my understanding of AskMe is that people ask questions to get the correct answers to their questions, and this is the correct answer.
posted by jejune at 8:02 AM on April 1, 2008
Of course, there is always Burzum and there's a French duo named Spektr that you may find enjoyable. I know I do.
posted by NoMich at 8:28 AM on April 1, 2008
posted by NoMich at 8:28 AM on April 1, 2008
You might like Lurker of Chalice. It is one of Wrest's (Leviathan/Twilight) side projects and blends black metal, doom metal, ambient, and some excellent samples (a lengthy, murmured reading of a text on natural law in response to a female voice asking "Do you believe in anything at all?" buried under about a dozen layers of far-away riffing). At the present time, there's only one Lurker of Chalice album in print, but two demos have been leaked and there's more to come as soon as a label dispute gets resolved. Fits your description to a T, although it sounds considerably different than say, Alcest.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:52 AM on April 1, 2008
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:52 AM on April 1, 2008
In hopes of ending the Pandora derail, here is what you actually get if you put in Wolves in the Throne Room, Agalloch, and Moonsorrow (they don't know Drudkh): Anata, Therion, Skyfire, Sick of it All, Emperor, Amorphis (most of these don't immediately sound like what you're talking about, but it might just be that particular track).
While I'm telling you what other sources think, Rhapsody knows the most about Agalloch and says similar artists are Mogwai, Neurosis, Opeth, Enslaved, and that influences are Godspeed You Black Emperor, Swans, Ulver, and Katatonia. (I clicked on "Wolves in the Throne Room Radio" and the first song was by the Clash! Whoops!)
posted by salvia at 9:18 AM on April 1, 2008
While I'm telling you what other sources think, Rhapsody knows the most about Agalloch and says similar artists are Mogwai, Neurosis, Opeth, Enslaved, and that influences are Godspeed You Black Emperor, Swans, Ulver, and Katatonia. (I clicked on "Wolves in the Throne Room Radio" and the first song was by the Clash! Whoops!)
posted by salvia at 9:18 AM on April 1, 2008
Response by poster: Yeah, the Pandora results are just regular black metal, or in the case of Therion, hilarious cosmic opera metal. Some of the Rhapsody results are pretty good stuff, but only really Enslaved is that much like what I'm after - and I'd forgotten about them entirely, so thanks!
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 9:27 AM on April 1, 2008
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 9:27 AM on April 1, 2008
Let's see... what about Corrupted, or is that too close to sludge/stoner stuff? Definitely Pantheist. Along those lines, what about Skepticism or Thergothon? Neurosis is definitely worth checking out, though their background is somewhat different than most metal-ish bands. 5ive (not the boy band!) is all-instrumental, with a somewhat similar heavy feel. (Harsh metal where post-rock bands are more orchestral.)
In general, though, I can't recommend doom-metal.com enough: their reviews cover all kinds of doom-related genres, and have introduced me to more new bands than I can count.
posted by ubersturm at 9:49 AM on April 1, 2008
In general, though, I can't recommend doom-metal.com enough: their reviews cover all kinds of doom-related genres, and have introduced me to more new bands than I can count.
posted by ubersturm at 9:49 AM on April 1, 2008
Seconding Wormwood - their newest record, "Starvation", is great.
(full disclosure: i know one of the band members, so am potentially biased regarding their excellence.)
Neurosis, Rosetta and Nadja might be similar to what you're looking for.
posted by dubold at 9:53 AM on April 1, 2008
Seconding Lurker of Chalice. That album is just amazing. Also: Asunder, Weakling, and The Angelic Process.
Neurosis is one of my all time favorites, so I have to throw in that recommendation as others have.
posted by medeine at 11:41 AM on April 1, 2008
Neurosis is one of my all time favorites, so I have to throw in that recommendation as others have.
posted by medeine at 11:41 AM on April 1, 2008
I believe the genre is called Post-Metal.
Your specific example are really a subset of the genre commonly called post-black metal. I hope this helps you.
posted by Hitoshura at 1:39 PM on April 1, 2008
Your specific example are really a subset of the genre commonly called post-black metal. I hope this helps you.
posted by Hitoshura at 1:39 PM on April 1, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cmonkey at 6:07 AM on April 1, 2008