Unbiased Reviews by Real People
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Unbiased Reviews by Real People
My Top Ten Swedish Metal BandsFeb 18, 2010 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Ya, It's Swedish heavy metal don't ya know?
Since I was a teenager, I have loved heavy metal. I grew up in the 80s when Metal was mostly from England, and the United States. Of course a couple German groups were popular as well as one from Australia, but starting in the 90s through today, many of the most influential and best metal groups are from Scandinavia. One country that has proven to be a metal haven is Sweden. From Stockholm to Gothenburg, Sweden has given us black metal, viking metal and even defined a new genre melodic death metal. Here are ten heavy metal bands that I personally love from the land up north, Sweden! 10. Yngwie Malmsteen - This is the Swedish guitarist that inspired many a shredder and most certainly Dethklok's Swisgar Swigelf. He got his start in American metal band Alcatrazz, but went on to form his own band Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force do several studio albums and inspire fast shredding by a legion of guitarists since. I got to see Yngwie when he warmed up for AC/DC way back in the 80s. Yngwie was the ORIGINAL fast shredding Swedish guitar god. 9. Bathory Although it is the Norwegians that seem to have most of the black metal bands, Bathory was one of the originals. Formed in Sweden in 1983, the bands blend of racous guitars, screaming vocals and satanic lyrics helped to define the genre that is known as black metal! They are named after Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory, a mass murderer on par with the infamous Vlad the Impaler. 8. Amon Amarth One of the best known Swedish Viking melodic death metal bands, Amon Amarth was founded in 1988. Their name is taken from the name for J.R.R. Tolkien's Mount Doom, and the band's lyrics focus heavily on Norse mythology and Viking history. A fine example of their live acts can be found on the 3 DVD set Wrath of the Norsemen. I plan to see them in Worcester when they tour with the New England Metal Fest. 7. Hammerfall Another genre of metal that I enjoy is Power Metal. Power metal is an epic sounding sort of metal, with clean soaring style vocals. Although the genre didn't originate in Sweden, Hammerfall is a fine example of a great power metal band. They are from Gothenburg and were formed in 1993. I hope to catch them when they stop at the Worcester Palladium in March 2010. (If you like Hammerfall, Evergrey is another good power metal band from Sweden) 6. In Flames You can't have a list of Swedish melodic death metal bands without the big three! In Flames was one of the first Gothenburg groups to put together the famous Gothenburg sound, also known as melodic death metal. They were formed in 1993 using melodic guitar blends, clean vocals and death vocals. Ironically, the first couple albums that In Flames released used session vocalists (including Dark Tranquillity's singer) for vocals! If you want to check out In Flames, see their Used and Abused - In Live We Trust concert DVD. 5. Dark Tranquillity Also one of the Gothenburg Three, Dark Tranquillity was formed in 1989, they didn't release their first album until 1993, Skydancer. Dark Traquillity's sophomore album, The Gallery is considered one of the first true melodic death metal albums. The introduction of keyboards and an almost classical sound combined with traditional sturm and drang guitar riffs and heavy drum beats welcomed an original style of music that Gothenburg could call its own. They have a couple live DVDs out including Live Damage. Their latest is much better though. 4. Abba Formed in Stockholm in 1972, Abba arrived on the music scene by winning the Eurovision song contest and filling the airwaves with light pop tunes such as Dancin Queen, Waterloo and Knowing Me, Knowing.... hey These guys don't belong on my 10 favorite Swedish metal bands! I am sure many death metal musicians had to endure listening to this stuff as children and grew up thinking - I will play music that is the exact opposite! If you want to check out their music, go and watch Mama Mia! 4. At the Gates Rounding out the Gothenburg trio is At the Gates, the final of the big three that defined the Gothenburg sound and created melodic death metal. They also formed in Gothenburg in 1990, but regretfully, they called it quits in a final tour from 2007-2008. At the Gates has a great fast paced sound combining clean and death vocals with melodic guitars. 3. Arch Enemy A straight out melodic death metal band in their own right, Arch Enemy really rose up the charts with the addition of a new singer in 2000. Angela Gossow proved that women can not only do death metal vocals but managed to outdo most of the death metal vocalists in all of Scandinavia! I got to see Arch Enemy at their recent show in Worcester, MA. Arch Enemy Rocks the Palladium Check out one of their concert DVDs- Arch Enemy - Tyrants of the Rising Sun: Live in Japan. 2. Therion Symphonic death metal at it's finest. This progressive metal band takes their name from Celtic Frost's epochal album To Mega Therion. Many metal heads have no idea how much metal was influenced by classical music. Many do however, and they all really love the way Therion blends classical music and symphonic instruments and choruses into the crunching guitars, bass and drums of death metal. If you want to see for yourself how full symphony orchestras, choirs and metal bands blend check out Live Gothic and The Miskolc Experience. 1. Opeth Not just my favorite Swedish metal bands, but one of the finest progressive metal bands out there. Opeth combines an almost laid back progressive rock with in your face death metal. You will be listening to progressive rock along the lines of Gabriel era Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer and Yes, and then, in the blink of an eye, they come down as heavy and raspy as any death metal band out there. Opeth does it with style and grace too! Hear and see for yourself, check out Opeth Lamentations - Live at Sheperd's Bush Check out my TOP TEN FINNISH METAL BANDS 10 Metal bands from Finland. Some other Swedish bands you may want to check out are Vintersorg, Entombed and The Haunted!  |
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