Metal 101: Class is in Session

As we promised in our one year anniversary episode, here is a pretty comprehensive list of starter bands to consider trying out if you’re a little hesitant to dive right into the deep end. The list covers logical progressions from certain other genres that would provide a good starting point, as well as some bands that we find enjoyable all around that have a more broad appeal. Obviously there are TONS of other ways to get started, and (since most of you obviously enjoy the genre to begin with) feel free to leave comments to this post or in Episode 52 to provide some suggestions that we may have missed. Since we are so far into it, we probably aren’t even aware of many good “starter” bands, so feel free to fill those in.

It’s time to bust out the training wheels, and stretch your neck muscles: head banging hurts without a proper warmup!

General Bands/Albums To Check Out:
Still Remains – The Serpent
It Dies Today – Sirens
Bullet For My Valentine – Fever
Sevendust – Cold Day Memory
Deftones – Diamond Eyes
Textures – Dualism
In Flames – Soundtrack to your Escape

Kyle and Brian (and faithful listener Bob Sala before them) all addressed that the music you currently enjoy can have a huge impact on what metal you may ultimately gravitate toward as well as the music that you should start with when trying to get into a heavier frame of mind. With that said:

If you listen to Radio Rock, try:
• Metallica – Metallica (aka The Black Album)
• All That Remains – Overcome
• Chevelle – This Type of Thinking
• Volbeat – Beyond Hell/Above Heaven
• Seether – Karma & Effect
• Shinedown – Leave A Whisper, or Sound of Madness