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It wouldn’t be Metal March without a Killswitch, now, would it? I was first turned onto this band in 2005 by my then roommate, who included this track on a mix CD he gave me to ease my drives to work. The most distinctive thing about this band has always been, to me, the soaring…

Guitarist Tosin Abasi is one of the top guitarists on the planet right now, and Animals as Leaders is his band. The compositions are tight and insane, with nutty syncopated rhythms, breakneck speed, complex chord progressions, and lighting picking speed. Abasi has a soaring guitar tone that’s a blast to listen to, reminiscent of something…

What is there to say about Meshuggah? They’re the fathers and innovators of what the kids today jokingly call the “non-exist” DJENT genre. They’re known for their insane polyrhythms, and for good reason. The level of rhythmic complexity in these songs is ridiculous. I’m a pretty damn good musician, and it can take me a…

Here we go. One more. Bulb is Misha Mansoor’s original solo project, with him playing the instruments and tracking the drums. It was him posting these compositions on online forums that first garnered him attention as a composer, technical musician, and producer. There isn’t much to say about this one, but it’s a beautiful song,…

We’re back with another Misha band today: Haunted Shores. The style of this band is a little more aggressive, and it’s awesome. We got absolutely rapid fire picking throughout the song, and the shredding is enjoyable the entire way. For a guy who never took any lessons and is completely self taught, Misha has sick…

Periphery is one of several bands created by Misha Mansoor, one of the greatest metal guitarists alive right now. We’ll definitely be hitting some of his other projects in this Metal March series. This was the first Periphery song I ever heard, and I was immediately hooked. Screaming guitars, beautiful riffs, top notch musicianship, and…

While Protest the Hero straddles that thin line between metal and progressive rock, I think this song is a worthy inclusion. We have a bunch of metal staples here, including sudden rhythm changes, discordant riffs, and extremely melodic interludes. The guitars are supremely talented, and come up with these great riffs in odd time signatures…

It’s actually amazing that we’ve gotten this far into Metal March without me mentioned Sikth, an English 6-piece outfit that’s probably my all-time favorite metal band. Their riff writing, overall non-linear composition style, and unique-sounding dual vocalists all combine to make an incredibly different metal sound. Add to that the fact that their one vocalist…

Black Dahlia Murder is arguably one of the more popular modern metal bands, and with good reason. The drum work is excellent, and they maintain an excellent mix of speed, brutality, galloping riffs, and solid symphonic melody. I could have pick any out of a ton of songs, but I’ve always enjoyed this one. The…

While we’re on the subject of amazing metal videogame OSTs, we can’t possibly go on without mentioning DOOM. DOOM 2016 is a masterpiece. The soundtrack, done by the inimitable Austrilian composer Mick Gordon, kicks your teeth in from start to finish. Just like the original Doom games, from which he drew heavy inspiration, it’s a…