Metal <3 This is the perfect thread for me, lawlz.
Well, where to start off... I listen to a lot of metalcore, it's my favorite genre and it's what I play on guitar. These are some of my favorite bands:
August Burns Red (progressive metalcore)
A christian band that wears American Eagle polos might seem a bit far off from metal, but this band has added so many elements to metalcore, I see them as one of the leading bands in the genre. And their lyrics never fail to impress. While there are moments in their lyrics that are obviously Christian influenced, they are in no way preaching, which is what I love about them. Their riffs get more creative and complex with each album, and they seem to grow as a band with each one.
Job For A Cowboy (deathcore, death metal)
Of course I had to include these guys, AZ pride ya'll!! Anyways, this has to be one of my favorite metal bands to come out of my home state, and they rarely fail to impress. However, I wasn't all for their most recent album Ruination, I'm still looking forward to hearing what they release next.
Eyes Set To Kill (metalcore, post-hardcore)
Yet another band to come out of my heated home state, but I truly do love this band. This band has had quite the bounce around in their line up- from their original screamer leaving, to a screamer who only appeared on 2010's "Broken Frames". And then their lead guitarist who appeared on their first 3 studio efforts left, but I think the band has finally found balance as a four piece with their new screamer, who I met after a recent show. He's really cool, lol.
Whitechapel (deathcore-death metal)
Need I say anything more? lol, I LOVE Whitechapel. They go so heavy with skill, and I'm really looking forward to their next album. They are a band that never fails to impress me.
Atreyu (metalcore)
This is the band that got me as into metalcore as I am today, and I credit them for a lot of my inspiration for playing the genre that I do. I regret not seeing them at their last AZ show on their Congregation of the Damned tour, seeing as they went on a hiatus shortly afterwards.
Haste the Day (metalcore)
Ah, this band. I got into them only a month before they broke up last April, but I'm glad I got into them when I did. I wish I could have seen a show by them, but I guess I just didn't get into them early enough. However, as a musician I felt so inspired when I saw a video for their last song at their last show. I could feel their energy from my damn laptop. This is one of the bands I credit for helping make the metalcore genre as great as it is today.
Trivium (metalcore, thrash metal, heavy metal)
I remember I didn't like this band all too much at first, I thought they were just another band trying to be Metallica. Which seems to be the case with some of their early efforts. However, after listening to them more and more, I became a fan- especially of their later works on Shogun and their upcoming album "In Waves". This band has clearly grown from where they were at before, and I'm really looking forward to their upcoming album. Their sound seems to have a fresh aspect to it with their new drummer.
And of course I still show love for 80's and 90's metal. My favorite bands from that era are Metallica and Pantera.