bands I don't know if you know about

[Reno]

Two or three times in the past, I've been somewhat surprised to find out that one of my friends has just discovered a band that I've been listening to for awhile, or at least heard of before.

So here are a few bands that I know of and enjoy (some more than others), that I don't know whether you guys know about or not:

After Forever -

You guys know that I'm not a big fan of the opera-style singing that bands like Nightwish do. That's why I can only listen to this band when I'm in the right mood, because they do that type of music. Some of their newer stuff, like "Energize Me" seems to be getting away from that a little bit, and so I'll probably have to check them out all over again. But songs like "Black Tomb" illustrate the more Nightwish-y sound. Even then, this singer's voice isn't quite so overpowering, so I can listen to it more often.


Beyond Fear -

This was a side project formed by Tim "Ripper" Owens when he was still the lead singer of Iced Earth. The music is fairly simple, and the lyrics even moreso. His voice gets a little shrill sometimes (he did sing in Judas Priest for awhile, after all ), but you might find it worth a listen anyway. Check out "Scream Machine" and "...And You Will Die" to hear what they sound like.


Bruce Dickinson -

Of course, he's the singer from Iron Maiden. The voice of "Number of the Beast," "Hallowed Be Thy Name," and such. But he's pretty good as a solo artist as well. My personal favorite is "Road to Hell," though "Trumpets of Jericho" is pretty good as well.


Control Denied -

This band used to be on Nuclear Blast. They only have one album out, since the guy who was the driving force behind the band died in 2001. I'd say they're fairly unique among power metal-type bands, because there aren't really any keyboards, orchestral music, or typical fantasy themes to the music. Check out "Expect the Unexpected" and "Consumed," but make sure you've got some time to spare, as the songs are pretty long.


Demons & Wizards -

Picture a side project involving the singer from Blind Guardian, and the guitarist from Iced Earth. That's exactly what Demons & Wizards sounds like, because that's exactly what it is. Apparently they covered Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," and didn't do a half bad job of it in my opinion. If you notice that the words in that video don't line up to the music or the singing, that's because it's actually the video to "Terror Train" that somebody put to it.


Domine -

I've been listening to Domine since 2001, when I discovered them accidentally while looking for something else. Most of their songs, such as "Dragonlord," are based on Michael Moorcock's Elric Saga of novels. Fortunately, the music is a lot better than that poor excuse for fantasy literature. They're little known outside their native Italy, but with songs like "Hurricane Master" I'm not sure why.


Edguy -

One of the things I like about Edguy is their sense of humor. "Lavatory Love Machine," for example, is about seducing a stewardess to help get over a fear of flying. Even if you hate the song, the video will probably get a laugh or two out of you. They have their share of more serious songs as well, such as "Falling Down" and "The Asylum"


Epica -

I discovered Epica today because I wanted to know who that girl was that was singing in another band's YouTube video. She's the singer of this band. A bit too operatic for my tastes, I think. They're heavily influenced by Nightwish, so much so that the singer took vocal lessons after listening to Nigtwish. "Cry For the Moon" is the first song of theirs I heard, but I think I like "Dance of Fate better.


Firewind -

I found this band in the On Demand section a week or so after we finally got cable. I think they're the first Greek metal band of any type I've ever heard. "Mercenary Man" is unbelievably catchy, and one of my favorite songs of theirs. I laughed my butt off when I found out they covered "Maniac," and was surprised to see that it wasn't that bad. They used to have a different singer, though, as you can hear from "Between Heaven and Hell." I'm not sure which one I like better, though I lean toward the older singer.


Helloween -

I'm pretty sure you guys know Helloween, but I thought I should list them here just in case. These guys have been around for awhile, and influenced groups like Edguy, HammerFall, and Sonata Arctica. In fact, they're the ones that originally did "I Want Out." Check out "The Dark Ride" and "Mr. Torture" if you don't remember what they sound like.


Kamelot -

This is another band I discovered on YouTube today. In fact, it was their video for "The Haunting" that led me to Epica. But it was "Rule the World" that really sold me on Kamelot. I'll definitely be picking up some of their music soon.


Lake of Tears -

I know at least Andy knows about Lake of Tears already, but I'll include them anyway in case anybody else is unaware of them. I wouldn't really consider them metal, but that's where they're usually grouped in. Take a listen to "Lady Rosenred" and "Return of Ravens" and judge for yourself.


Morifade -

I've known about Morifade since 2001 as well, though I've heard precious little about them (or from them) since then. "My Own Majesty" is much softer than their usual stuff, but it's so good I just had to include it here. "Reborn" is a better example of what they usually sound like.


Pyramaze -

I first heard of this band when they announced that Matt Barlow, who was Iced Earth's singer for a long time, would be taking over as their vocalist. Needless to say, I was excited to hear this. And as you can hear from "Year of the Phoenix," they did not disappoint. But even before that, Pyramaze was very good. Check out "What Lies Beyond" to see what I mean.


Sonata Arctica -

I think you guys already know about Sonata Arctica, but just in case I thought I ought to include them. My favorite song of theirs is "Kingdom For a Heart." But "Wolf and Raven" is pretty good too.


Sonic Syndicate -

Sonic Syndicate has more in common with Soilwork than with any of the other bands listed here. Some of their stuff sounds almost exactly like Soilwork, in fact. "Jailbreak" is one of their better songs, I think. "Blue Eyed Fiend" is another one that's vaguely Soilwork-y, but maybe a little heavier.


Symphony X -

Symphony X might be one of my all-time favorite bands. A very good blend of technical expertise, heaviness and intensity to the music, and interesting song themes. I saw them in 2002 with Blind Guardian, and bought an album. Right away, "Inferno (Unleash the Fire)" jumped out at me. "Set the World on Fire" is more recent, and still very good. The video is very Paradise Lost-inspired, but then so is that whole album. Cool stuff.


Twelfth Gate -

Twelfth Gate was the opening band at that show with Blind Guardian and Symphony X. I'd say they're not as good as the other two, but still worth a listen. Unfortunately, I can't find them on YouTube at all. If you care to look, and if you can find them, I'd recommend checking out "Mortal Coil" and "Orpheus" for a good idea what they sound like.

[exiled]

Good stuff here a few of these I haven't heard of.

[Kain]

Good stuff. Also a couple bands here I hadn't heard of.

[Reno]

Updating this topic with some more recent discoveries of mine:

Black Tide

I'm surprised I didn't add these guys to the list before now, as I've listened to them for a couple years. I haven't heard their latest album which came out last August, but as you can tell from Shockwave and Enterprise (which I was sad to learn was not about Star Trek ) they have a nice, old-school inspired but still fresh sound. They do a pretty decent cover of Iron Maiden's Prowler as well.


Brocas Helm

I only know a handful of Brocas Helm songs, but Cry of the Banshee has a really cool (if a bit repetitive) hook to it, and the singing, while not unforgettable, is pretty good. Defender of the Crown is good too, and has a nice old-school feeling to it.


Holy Grail

An offshoot of White Wizzard (see below), they're a bit hard to track down because they have such a generic name, but My Last Attack and Hollow Ground give you a pretty good idea of how cool these guys are.


Huntress

I don't believe Huntress's first album is even out yet, so for now all you can find from them is Eight of Swords. The opening scream very nearly turned me off, but after listening to the rest of the song it's not bad. Plus the singer is pretty hot.


Labyrinth

I found this one recently and I'm digging them quite a bit. A power metal-y kind of sound, not as cheesy as HammerFall sometimes gets but still pretty solid. Check out The Shooting Star and The Night of Dreams for a good sample. They have a softer side as well which I don't like as much, but it's still not too bad.


Michael Schenker Group

The only song I know from this group is Assault Attack, which was in the game Brütal Legend, but I keep meaning to check out more of their stuff. The singer in this song is the same guy that replaced Dio in Rainbow (see below), but I read he only did one album with Michael Schenker Group, so I don't know what to expect from the rest of their stuff. I do quite like this song though.


Passenger

Sort of a side project for the singer of In Flames, although they were around before he joined them. It seems they only have one album, but it's softer and quite different I think from In Flames. In Reverse was their single and probably their best song, though I Die Slowly is kinda good too.


Rainbow

Rainbow (previously known as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and before that Elf) is the band that launched Ronnie James Dio, so obviously it's pretty old by now. They only did three albums with Dio before he left, but they have lots of good stuff like Gates of Babylon and Man on the Silver Mountain, which is probably their most famous song. After Dio left they still put out some good music for awhile, like All Night Long and Since You Been Gone, but they got worse the longer they continued, and eventually they started to pretty much sound like a bad Foreigner copy.


Riot

Another pretty old metal band, I only know like four Riot songs, three of which were in Brütal Legend. I had actually heard Thundersteel even before that, though it didn't grab me quite enough to go looking for more of their music at the time. They have a song called Swords & Tequila. If that's not enough to get you to check them out, I don't know what is.


Star One

The quickest way to describe Star One is "Symphony X... IN SPAAAAAAAACE!!!" Check out Set Your Controls and Hawkwind Melody to see what I mean.


White Wizzard

Tongue-in-cheek but very awesome power metal. You might say they're a bit Over the Top even. Their videos have some cheesy acting and talking, but if you can deal with that then High Speed GTO is worth a listen too.

[Reno]

Whoops, forgot about a couple of bands I just learned about today, which is what prompted this update:

Ancient Bards

How can you not check them out based on the name alone? The Birth of Evil is the first song I've heard from them (listening to it right now). It doesn't do anything revolutionary, and while the singer isn't bad, she doesn't seem to have a really huge vocal range. I haven't heard her hit any really high notes at all so far. I also checked out Through My Veins, which has a male vocalist on it as well, who isn't very good sad to say.


Masterplan

I saw this group mentioned in a topic on the Giant in the Playground forums about metal, listed among bands like Iced Earth, Blind Guardian, Helloween, and Holy Grail, all of which I consider solid recommendations. Into the Arena is the first song I've heard from them, but I'm liking them so far. Evidently they were founded by some ex-Helloween guys, so take that into consideration as well.