Solaire
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 Lists
04.15.15 Albums Like Still Life03.12.14 I Might Have A Problem
02.03.14 Essential Melodic Death Metal12.11.13 My Top 5 Death Metal Albums
11.29.13 Time To Plug11.07.13 Why Did My Ratings Get Wiped... Again?
08.29.13 Bands This Website Made Me Love08.28.13 Is Sputnik Dying?
08.27.13 Extreme Metal College Radio Show

Essential Melodic Death Metal

Whoregutz (nice name, by the way) was asking for recommendation for Melodic Death Metal on rSputnik, so I decided to make a list with what I believe to be some essential listening material rfor anyone trying to get into the genre. The first five I consider mandatory if you want a taste rof some of the best the genre can offer.
1In Flames
The Jester Race

The first five albums from In Flames are pure displays of the essence of melodic death metal. Their later material after Clayman
drift into a more Nu-metal kind of feel, but the guitar melody is definitely still there even if the vocals have changed. They still
got it live, they just chose a different path in the studio.
2Dark Tranquillity
The Gallery

The titans that have held true to this day to their melodic roots. Their sound has become more polished with releases like
Character, but they always bring the death to match the melody in their recent works.
3At the Gates
Slaughter of the Soul

The band that entered the scene with maybe a little late in their career. Their songs hit hard and brought the harsher side to
melodic death metal. They quickly split paths though after developing their unique brand.
4Carcass
Heartwork

This band is another one to join the scene later in their careers, but have recently made a comeback that brings back the same
sound as their classic Heartwork. Surgical Steel is a fantastic listen for nostalgia, and a pretty dam good album in its own right.
5Edge of Sanity
Purgatory Afterglow

Dan Swano can right a hook, peroid. The amount of killer riffs in this album make it not only one of the best melodic death
albums on the market, but one of the best albums in metal. Their masterpiece Crimson also contains layers upon layers of
melody in what may very well be the most beloved album-long song in melodic death metal history.
6Sacrilege GBG
The Fifth Season

This little gem of a band released two albums, but ultimately broke up when Svensson decided to fill as drummer for In Flames.
The vocals have the intensity of At the Gates, with a guitar melodies that remind the listener of something In Flames would
have composed for Whoracle.
7Arch Enemy
Stigmata

Michael Amott decided to create this now household name band after Carcass. The original three albums featured a guitarist
named Johan Liiva, and contained some of the best melodies of Arch Enemy's discography. The vocals are gritter and more
tormented than those of Angela Gossow, and add a depth to the band that I now miss.
8Garden of Shadows
Oracle Moon

Another game that released two albums in their short career. I am pretty sure Sputnik would gut me for making an essential list
and failing to mention this album. The keyboard in this band opens new possibilities to the genre, as well as, a low-register
vocal performance that seems to be quite rarely pulled off in this genre.
9Gates of Ishtar
At Dusk and Forever

This band released three albums that were high in quality with somewhat lo-fi recording techniques. The recording of these
albums add another layer of atmosphere to go along with the superb guitarwork. Guitarist Mikael Sandorf later on formed the
band The Duskfall.
10The Duskfall
Frailty

Mikael Sandorf's next band that released four albums that held true to the scene. The Dying Wonders of the World is probably
one of the more thick and dark approaches to the sound that those explored in many of the bands I have heard in melodic
death metal.
11Opeth
Morningrise

Although more focused on progressive aspect of extreme metal than melodic riffs, Opeth's discography has some killer licks that
accent Mikael Akerfeldt's harsh vocals album after album. If you want to get into progressive death metal these are your guys.
12Hypocrisy
Virus

Peter Tatgren is a dream for those that want to believe that the melodic riffs they are hearing are coming straight out of
outspace. I too want to believe this man is an extra-terrestrial, because their is no other way to explain the ease of which he
accomplishes his trademark growls and snarls.
13Insomnium
Above the Weeping World

If the riffs aren't doing it for you and you need a band that overall just emits an air of melody, these are your guys. The
softness of the growls and the overall band as a unit form a melodic atmosphere that will make the listener feel at ease.
14Amon Amarth
Twilight of the Thunder God

Their are arguments made on both sides whether or not you should like this band. Usually the argument boils down to the fact
all their albums have the sound the same is a gift or curse. I personally feel as long as they add one or two hits an album, they
will have a formidable live set. I'll take the consistency in a genre that has bands drastically change their sound for the worse...
15Children of Bodom
Hatebreeder

...which leads me to my final band. The early stuff is vintage melodic death metal with a bit of power metal thrown in the mix.
This is the melodic death metal equivalent of Dissection's Storm of the Light's Bane. Their newest album Halo of Blood is a sign
of the band returning to their roots, but some fans may never get over Blooddrunk and company.
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