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Some of the best metal I’ve heard in years doesn’t come from a band. It’s actually come from videogame OSTs. DUSK is one such masterpiece. Created by musician Andrew Hulshult, this thing is just sick. It’s a perfect mix of creepy ambient themes and fuzzed out, ear-slamming metal. The entire soundtrack is excellent, but here…

One of the things I love about metal is the insane musicianship that goes along with it. Since we talked about Rings of Saturn the other day, I figured that we might as well follow it up and show these guys actually playing some shit. The level of technical proficiency here is off the charts.…

This is a weird one, but I feel like I need to recommend it. I do not particularly like Rings of Saturn. I’m not a huge fan of the vocals. I’m not a huge fan of their songwriting. I am, however, a massive fan of the musicianship. Everyone in this band is an absolutely fucking…

I do not like Mudvayne. But god damn, I love this song. I have to admit, the look of the band at this time is absolutely awesome. The bassist in particular looks completely insane, which I love. This song has everything for a more pop-level metal song. It’s a great, tight riff. The bass is…

MegaDeth has always had to live in the shadow of Metallica, but there is some solid old school metal here. It’s interesting listening to it now. It’s more just like hard rock at this point. Lots of melodies, lots of singing, prominent bass work, rock drum beats with little double bass. The guitars are fairly…

Yeah, I know I did another Fear Factory song just a few days ago, but this is just too good not to include. Obsolete is not my favorite Fear Factory album. Half of it is simply average. But songs like this one are top tier. The riff work of Dino Cazares is at a peak…

Intronaut is an interesting band. They’re certainly metal, but I don’t really know how to classify them. I almost call it jazz metal. The bass is very prominently featured, and plays a lot of jazzy counterpoint lines under the guitars. The guitars are very distinct, playing two different lead lines that have strange and interesting…

I’m admittedly not a gigantic Nile fan, but holy shit does this song kick ass. It’s pure speed from the moment it starts. The absolute barrage of double bass powering the entire song is somehow perfect. In other songs, it may feel overused, but here, it’s just keeping up the frenetic pace from start to…

So I only really learned this recently, but the intro to Blackened by Metallica, also from And Justice For All like yesterday’s recommendation, is actually played in reverse. This clip plays it both ways, and its glorious to hear. I’m not sure who in the band decided that perhaps the intro would work better backwards,…

When I was young, my aunt bought me And Justice For All by Metallica. It was the first CD I ever owned, back when CDs were new and cool. The entire disc blew me away, but One was the standout track the first time through. An almost 8 minute metal song? And not only that,…