SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM
totally fucking awesome!

Yes! Very nice guys too.

I'll put in a third vote for SGM. I really liked Grand Opening and Closing, but Of Natural History is an album that really shocked me when I first heard it, much better than GOaC. The live album leaves a bit to be desired but is good for what it is worth.

I wanna throw in another reccomendation for a band that I'm actually listening to right now, Big Business. Their album Head for the Shallow is quite a masterpiece if you ask me, and seeing them at a small venue a couple months back was absolutely awesome (I'm talking under 50 people). They're just a great heavy rock band. On the CD there's some guitar, but when I saw them it was just two guys, one doing bass and vocals, the other on drums, and it was enough sound for three bands. Really cool stuff right there.

One more I'll throw in is The Book of Knots. I'm not 100% sure about all of the details, I think that's the band name and the CD is just self titled, but it's some really cool stuff. It's got Carla Kihlstedt from Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Tin Hat Trio, and solo stuff and the group she's playing with is very good. Plenty of more mellow stuff even with Gregorian chanting and all sorts of stuff like that. It's a really cool listen if you can manage to get your hands on it, because it's hard to find.

I don't know if any of you have heard of a bloke called Devin Townsend but he's pretty good!

Seriously though I've been listening to a lot of Amon Amarth, Dark Tranquility, Cryptopsy, Ephel Duath and Isis recently - all very good

That new Isis album really knocks my socks off. Ever since they got that synth into the band they've really changed their sound and the ambience is just absolutely amazing now. I actually had a friend who went to see them a couple months ago who smoked a lot of weed before the show (Pelican was also playing with a couple of other bands), and by the time Isis hit the stage he had said that it was literally too much that he actually had to go out of the main part of the venue for a few minutes and collect himself. I haven't been lucky enough to see them live yet, but that actually made me want to see Isis live even more now.

Since I've mentioned them, I'll throw Pelican in as another reccomendation, especially live. Saw them at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago a couple of weeks ago and they really blew me away. I look up on stage and see these pretty normal looking guys up there, one guitarist had longer hair in front, but the other looked totally like a normal straightforward guy, and the rest of the band looked totally normal too, no image what so ever, and when they played that first note all the way to the end of their set it was just heavy as hell and just as atmospheric at the same time. Really great band there.

Aphotic - Stillness Grows

Don't ask questions, buy it online at Profusion Records.

These are a few links to virtually unknown bands from a few "remote" places.

This band is from Costa Rica, they play proggy metal with dashes of Slayer, Radiohead and Spiral Architect.

http://www.89decibeles.com/mp3/pneuma_-_dementia.mp3

This band's from Spain, they sound a bit like Arcturus' Le Masquerade Infernale

http://www.thebleedingsun.com

This other one's from the US, they have a couple of records out, both recorded at Studio Fedman with Frederik Nordstrom at the helm. They're a very good deathmetal outfit.

http://www.thefifthsun.com

More obscure links to come!

swallow the sun

Sigh, truly fucking wierd Black Metal.

These guys fucking rule

Machines of Loving Grace....
The Birthday Massacre....
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (old love doesn't rust at all )
Void of Null Haide...
sh, will come back with more later

End Of You, featuring the bassist of Kalmah

Beseech



Beseech is a Swedish band bordering on gothic rock/metal. Beseech is one of those special bands with the ability to reward the listener with beautiful imagery in the mind's eye. Their first studio album "From a Bleeding Heart" is beautiful with its mixture of doom elements and softer sounds. The male vocals switch between slight growling and clean but deep voicework. The soothing female vocals provide a stark contrast to the darker male voice. The use of classical instruments like the violin, flute, and piano adds even more flavor to the sound.

"Black Emotions" drifted away from doom metal and expanded into a more gothic direction while adding atmospheric keyboards into the mix. "Souls Highway" and "Drama" are their last two efforts, and are as strong as ever. Beseech is a wonderful band that continues to pump out enticing music.

Machines of Loving Grace....
The Birthday Massacre....
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (old love doesn't rust at all )
Void of Null Haide...
sh, will come back with more later

were you the one who showed me the birthday massacre? they're alright, i'd recommend them too.

Machines of Loving Grace....
The Birthday Massacre....
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (old love doesn't rust at all )
Void of Null Haide...
sh, will come back with more later

were you the one who showed me the birthday massacre? they're alright, i'd recommend them too.

No idea, mate, but blame Flood of Rain fer that hrhrhr.
go for Revolting Cocks, babes!

Birthday Massacre is fucking awesome!!! Yes, blame FLOOD OF RAIN. AAADRIAAAAAAAAAAN!!!

Birthday Massacre is fucking awesome!!! Yes, blame FLOOD OF RAIN. AAADRIAAAAAAAAAAN!!!

You sound like Sylvester Stallone at the end of "Rocky" there.

Yeah, blame Adrian.

I'm getting into Nightwish much more now after seeing them live on Wednesday night at The Carling Academy in Glasgow.

Fucking amazing live show...powerful and solid as a powerfully solid thing can be.

Wish I Had An Angel is such a stomper of a song.