Avant-garde/Experimental Metal >> Favourite Avant-Garde/Experimental Metal Bands
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Thursday 10 February 2011 - 04:04:55
Here is where you can list your favourite bands that fall in this genre. Describe why you like the band too if you want.

Portal : Very strange death metal. Insanely technical, rasping vocals, thick dreary atmosphere.

Unexpect : Utilizing many genres in their music, it can ward off many who listen to it. Many take it as a joke, but I don't. They use gypsy music, circus music, among many other strange genres. All of these become one and form this - a very warped style of metal. With every member singing (7 people), a 9-stringed bass, violin, and other instruments, this is experimental.

Devil Doll : Half metal/progressive rock, half classical. Mr Doctor (the frontman) uses a very strange vocal style (sprechgesang, between spoken word and singing), and he twists it into many different fashions. Every album is one song (except Eliogabalus, 2 songs), all over 40 minutes. Very dark lyrics accompany Devil Doll. Every album is accompanied by a orchestra too.

Dir En Grey : Besides the creepy music videos, DEG has very creepy music too. The singing is in Japanese, so translation may be needed. DEG played a very experimental style of Nu Metal (yes, Nu Metal) on their early albums, but it was actually very good. On the newest albums, they play mixes of genres, jumping between the different styles between songs, but they always follow the basic Progressive Metal stylings.

Morkobot : A very trippy Stoner metal band, no vocals, no guitars. There are 2 bassists, with both of them playing regular guitar riffs. The drummer is very good too. A very Distorted atmosphere.

Ram-Zet : Take gothic and Black Metal and merge them with industrial without creating a horrible disaster. Now you have Ram-Zet. One vocalist uses shrieks while the other (who is a woman) sing the polar opposite of that (sort of pseudo-operatic, but close). Very interesting lyrics also

Share your thoughts, folks

Thursday 10 February 2011 - 11:38:44
I haven't listened to many Experimental Bands but 1 band just blew me away.
 
The band Enochian Crescent is amazing, the sheer atmosphere they create is awesome, and its not that weird harsh sounding atmosphere. They sound clear and crisp and when I watched one of their video clips it scared the crap out of me. At the same time it has a soothing affect is calms me down. Its just all out great in my books.
 

 
 

Thursday 10 February 2011 - 13:54:00
I recently started to get into experimental/avant-garde. Some of my favorite bands include:

Diabolical Masquerade : I think this was my first Avant-Garde "band". For those who are interested, this is the side project of the guitarist of Bloodbath and Katatonia.
What I like about this guy, are the melodies in his songs, he combines folk and classical melodies with heavy Black Metal riffs, and makes his songs sound beautiful, atmospheric and Brutal at the same time.

Unexpect : This can be called Extreme Avant-Garde Metal. Musically very strange, with extremely Unnatural song structures.

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum : They are more in the the Experimental Rock genre, but they also play a variety of other genres, including Experimental Metal.

Mr. Bungle : I really have no idea what these guys are, I'll just list them here because they had a metal sound in their early days.

Kayo Dot : Also more of Rock than Metal.They also play a great variety of genres, so that it's impossible to classify them.

Agalloch : I don't know if I should cal the Avant-Garde Metal, or Progressive Metal. Either way, they sound great, they have a very unique sound.

Portal : Like Merc said, they extremely insane. Very Unnatural song structures, insanely fast guitar work, and very creepy vocals.

Rostau : They play an experimental form of Funeral Doom. They produce such a creepy atmosphere (especially the song Celestial Hive Mind). Although they have only one album, with 4 songs (one being an outro), they still are an amazing and unique band. Their lyrics are about Warhammer 40k.

And yeah, I checked out Morkobot, they are a very strange band. I like their bass sound.
I've been meaning to check out Devil Doll.


Thursday 10 February 2011 - 23:53:12
Thy Catafalque : A very special band from Hungary. The lyrics are in Hungarian, so translation will be needed. Black/folk metal guitars, galloping bass and drums with folkish vocals and electronic/symphonic elements in the background. Has a very emotional or uplifting atmosphere.

Transcending Bizarre : This is what symphonic Black Metal should be. Menacing, good symphonic elements, unique song structures, amazing keyboards... but still catchy. All of this along with many odd things added on. For those who want catchy Black Metal that doesn't suck, look no further.

Sigh : Very experimental, and very strange Japanese black metal. They use a saxophone. Hard to describe.

Winds : Neoclassical metal. Not the kind with all of the wankery solos and such, but Heavy Metal merged with neoclassical elements (orchestra, piano, violin, etc.). Yes, obviously there are solos, but these solos are beautiful, being some of the most beautiful solos I have heard ever. The lyrics are fantastic too.

Damned Spirits' Dance : Melodic Black Metal merged with... pop music. A dangerous combination this is, but it does not fail. Songs such as Fake show that though they include the pop elements, they can find a way to make them not suck. Very groovy at times too.

Kadenzza : Extremely high quality symphonic black metal. One of the only bands that I have found to have some similarity with Mirrorthrone. The symphonic elements are excellent and the metal work is amazing.

maudlin of the well : The precursor to Kayo Dot. These guys produced the album Bath, which is both calming and menacing. They will jump from an ambient/post-rock kind of deal over to a experimental Death Metal style in songs. Sometimes, they'll include both styles.

Gigantic Brain : Now this will be confusing. Their older stuff is basic cybergrind. But their newest album (World)... it is ambient and grindcore. The atmosphere is calm, then it goes to Relentless Rage, all to fade back into a calm sound. The cybergrind elements on World are also special, they are more oriented to the ambient feel.

Friday 11 February 2011 - 09:13:55
We Butter The Bread With Butter - This band is really innovative in their music and mix Electronica with Screamo and Deathcore  and wrap it up in a nice little package.
 
Fall Of Troy - These guys have a very odd style. They are basically a mix Jazz with Post-Hardcore to create some Insane tracks that have some depth to the music aswell.
 
Fleshgod Apocalypse - I'm not sure if they can be classed as Avant-garde but the way they mix Technical Death and Classical music is amazing.
 
Anime Fire -  Nice rounded band, combining some of the best Metalcore I have ever heard and giving it an atmospheric touch.
 
The Yellow Sign - One of the few bands that could be classed as Atmospheric Deathcore. Uplifitng music that gives me a break from all the other stuff in life.
 
Portal - Dark, Brutal and just all out amazing, they have extremely highly energetic music with all their transitions that they do. Also its differen't ( in a good way) which is also a plus.
 
Mirrorthrone - Very Brutal and the atmosphere they create is awesome. Well rounded and balanced music, that rapidly changes to keep it interesting. Also has a Folky kind of feeling to it which I tend to like.
 
Obitus - Another dark bands that combines a whole load of different elements of music (mainly Death Metal) and has a dark feeling to it which I also like. Nice and Brutal and interesting. Any fans of Portal will like this
 
Don't believe me? check this shiz out
 
 
 
not as Brutal as Portal but still pretty Brutal 0

Wednesday 16 February 2011 - 21:45:05
Khlyst : Dark, brooding music. Mixes dark ambient with Drone and doom metal. Accompanied by Runhild (Thorr's Hammer), it has freakish shriek vocals.

Viscera/// : Sludge, Drone, strange drumming, and psychedelic elements. One of the bassists of Morkobot is in this band. When searching for them, it is the Italian Viscera. Their older stuff (demos mostly) was goregrind.

Cadaverous Condition : They have two halves. One side is a very groovy Death Metal style (the atmosphere makes it very unique) and the other side is death folk. Neofolk with death growls. Oddly enough, it is very good.

Wednesday 16 February 2011 - 22:16:51

citation :
miniradman says : We Butter The Bread With Butter - This band is really innovative in their music and mix Electronica with Screamo and Deathcore  and wrap it up in a nice little package. 

Not to argue your opinion, but how does this band even come close to being experimental or avante-garde? Avante-garde and experimental is more along the lines of:
 
Thrones: Must be my favorite band of this category. Great sounding stuff, very bizzare, and they can make a lot of different atmospheres with their music.

 
Sunn O))): Either extremely heavy or very surreal and creepy. Their songs have a certain dreamlike quality about them that I really like, and even they always manage to make every album of theirs sound very unique and different fro the last (except for early on in their career... their songs sorta ran together at that time).

 
Darkspace: Smilar to Sunn O))) in a few ways, but much more black metal-influenced. They're usually heavier than Sunn O))) as well, and they don't sustain notes for a long time.

 
Earth: A much more 'structured' and laid-back version of SunnO))), their music goes from Stoner metal to dark ambient. They have a lot of range, all right, and their music can actually get really emotional if you listen to the right songs.

 
Propergol: Don't listen to these guys w/ headphones or it'll feel like your Head is about to split open. I don't really like these guys the way I do Earth or Sunn O))), but I'm just posting them to show you how weird this stuff can really get.


Wednesday 16 February 2011 - 22:47:11
I've seen you talk about Thrones before. Never checked them out. I'll check them out now.

Asva : Consisting of members of Mr. Bungle, Kayo Dot/motw and Sunn O))) (in their past and present), this is not what you expect. Take the dark Drone of Sunn O))), the experimental side of Mr. Bungle and some post-rock, and now you have what is pure beauty. Off topic, this video that accompanies the song is unlike anything I've ever seen.



Secret Chiefs 3 : Another son of Mr. Bungle. Arabic music, surf rock, Death Metal, electronica, folk, film music, etc. Very melodic, but very, very strange. And when the Death Metal kicks in... damn is it brutal.


P.H.O.B.O.S. : Doom Metal + industrial + dark ambient. The atmosphere is crushing as hell.


Thursday 17 February 2011 - 09:47:48

citation :
InfinityZero says :

citation :
miniradman says : We Butter The Bread With Butter - This band is really innovative in their music and mix Electronica with Screamo and Deathcore  and wrap it up in a nice little package. 

Not to argue your opinion, but how does this band even come close to being experimental or avante-garde? Avante-garde and experimental is more along the lines of: 

 
ehh... I thought that Avant-garde was a term that describes any genre of metal that are "different", I'm not exactly sure wheather or not the term applies to only The Death, Black, Doom, ect genres?
 
If my first term is corrcect, I think that We Butter The Bread With Butter is an Experimental Deathcore band? 0
 

Sunday 20 February 2011 - 23:13:48

citation :
miniradman says :
 
ehh... I thought that Avant-garde was a term that describes any genre of metal that are "different"


Yeah that's definitely not the case. Hybrid genres don't count as avant-garde.

oh, and Fleshgod Apocalypse?
I love the band, but let's not shit ourselves here, not avant garde by a LOOOOONG shot.