I'd like to show you my personal collection of bands that have inspired me to make music, and making this top 10 can be a pretty dificult task to do because I believe every sigle one of the bands that I like have taken me where I am now. Mostly I'm picking the bands that made an impression in me, and made pick up the guitar and learn their songs. I'd like to make some mentions to bands that didn't make the cut, and that someday could change my mind and take a higher place between the others. Those would be Testament, Slayer, Havok, Disturbed, Lamb of God, Slipknot and System of a Down if not more.
10. Children of Bodom
This a really good one. I like how Alexi Laiho plays solos while he sings like it's the easiest thing to do. Their vocals are awesome, they fit really well with the ambience they make in all their songs. Have awesome breakdowns, like the one in "You're Better Off Dead", pretty fast picking like in "Bodom Beach Terror", and we cannot forget about the masterpiece "Needled 24/7" and the heaviest riff in "Sixpounder". It really is a pretty good band to practice in the guitar, you know, if you already have it tuned in drop C and a floyd rose.
Favourite album: Hatecrew Deathroll.
9. Avenged Sevenfold
I really like how this band creates the feeling of "spooky" in all their riffs. M. Shadows' vocals are remarkable, you notice inmediately that's him when you hear him on the headphones. In the other hand, Synister Gates is a pretty good example of technique, you should checkout "Critical Acclaim", here you can see it doesn't always have to be the fastest, but the mor melodic. They also have pretty good ballads too, like "Sieze the Day" or "So Far Away". Although they are mostly tuned in drop D, this band has pretty good heavy sounding riffs that you really have to check out.
Favourite album: Nightmare or Avenged Sevenfold.
8. Pantera
Wow, I don't have the words to describe this one. First of all, Phil Anselmo's voice is pretty damn good, it is pretty versatile for ballads and also for heavy growls which I think they really express what wrath is all about. Then you have Dimebag Darrell, I mean, this is the "wanna be" for most of the guitarists I've known in my short life.
Still it is the greatest guitarist to me, the breakdowns, the bluesy solos, the shredding are all good, you won't find a bad riff here. "Domination" has the most complete face melting points in a song, or "5 Minutes Alone" you can really feel the aggresiveness of someone wanting to beat someone down.
Favourite album: Vulgar Display of Power.
7. Gojira
This band has earned a special place in my heart, I really love the way they express in their lyrics, they really pull them out. They take the aggresiveness to a completely ifferent place with their breakdowns and their really unique sounds. "Flying Whales" is a remarkable song, pretty aggresive and really unique in it's way. "Born in Winter" is a really good song with a really good growth in the ambience they make, plus it has a pretty cool video, you should check it out. This band is really a good way to think of how to write riffs that stand out.
Favourite album: The Way of All Flesh.
6. Machine head
This band in my opinion has the greatest mixture of clean and growling vocals, they fit in a way other bands can't (at least without losing power). This are the riffs you want to learn because of their dynamics, those are really fun to play and practice, again, if you like and are willing to tune in drop C. "Slanderous" is my personal favourite song, the intro is just a masterpiece, the pan changes, the entrance of the drums, the "Ow", it's awesome. "Locust" is a really good one too, this one has the mixture of clean and growls in it's perfect point, I really like it.
Favourite album: The Blackening.
5. Trivium
This band has always kept me surpriced. They have made several changes in their music, but I thing they always are in the right path. I mean, "Rain" is a really good song which has an awesome intro, outro, and it has growls all the way. "Entrance of the Conflagration" has the best breakdown, and it really stants out as a thrash-heavy metal song, the vocals there are awesome, areally good song to practice speed. The one that you definetely have to hear is "Shogun", this song I think it represents the peak of the band, where everything is in place. They really stand out as a band if you ask me, besides they have several heavy songs in E standard, which is something I really dig into.
Favourite album: Shogun
4. Opeth
This band is whole different level. Opeth showed me a whole new world of music, not only with their so complex acoustic ballads, but also their really heavy riffs, they're just so melodic. Mikael Akerfeldt's voice is really good, the mixtures he makes between a really clean, melodyc voice and a demon evil growl is just unique. This band has a pretty good stack of songs in E standard tuning, which is really cool, beacuse you wouldn't think something so heavy could come from that setting. "Blackwater Park" is a really great combination of good riffs and transitions from heavy to soft and the other way around. "Deliverance" has this really progressive vibe to it, pretty cool solos and a great outro. This band I highly recomend it if you want to experience from a relaxing mood to a "want to kill you" mood, even a depressed mood if you will.
Favourite album: Still Life.
3. Sylosis
This band taught me the tunning is not a barrier if you want to make heavy songs nowadays, all their songs are in E Standard tuning. If you ask me, I like them better from their secon album, since Josh Middleton took the singing plus the lead guitar. This guitarist is pretty good, I even have seen his lessons online and have learnt a lot from him. "Born Anew" is a personal favourite, it has a great intro, great breakdown, sweet sweep, and great ending. This band also shows how sweep picking can be done without overdoing it. I also like the way they put the clean vocals in some of the songs, like if it was a relaxing moment in between heavyness.
Favourite album: Monolith.
2. Megadeth
Well, this band had to be in this top 10, just because is one of the band's favourite, and also because all of their songs are a masterpiece. From "Killing is my Business" to "Dystopia", they're all great. "Mary Jane", one of my favourites, shows a part of brooding feeling, wich I though a metal band would never do, writing about a woman. Most of their work show the techniques of a true metal player, which is another reason this is one of the best. If you haven't heard of Megadeth, you should listen to it right now.
Favourite Album:
So far, So good... So What!
1. Metallica
Is pretty obvious, isn't it? This band is the best in the entire world, in my opinion. It has a lot of songs which I consider masterpieces, doing what most band are not capable of doing. James Hetfield's vocals, Kirk Hammet's great solos, and Lars Ulrich's drums make a perfect combination for success. This band has been my greatest muse of inspiration when I write a solo or a riff, I even took like 2 years or so to decipher how "...And justice for All" was written in a way that it sound always that good. "Blackened" is the best song ever written, it is the one song that made me started on playing the guitar for the first time. If you ask me, I would say that I have memorized like 70% of their discography, just because they're that damn good. Always has been my favourite, always will.
Favourite album: ...And justice for all.
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