Gojira: My Top 10 Songs
That’s right, they’re the first metal band to feature in an Olympic opening ceremony, and their sheer novelty in the metal community as a French, straight-edge, and environmentally conscious act could paint them as a […]
Gentle Giant: My Top 10 Songs
Never quite rising to the fame of their progressive rock contemporaries like Yes and Genesis, this 70s band nonetheless deserves mention with those groups for their virtuosity, eclecticism, and compositional sensibilites. While their sound meanders […]
Portishead: My Top 10 Songs
These English pioneers of trip-hop are determined not to repeat themselves, with each album a distinct achievement from the last. Evoking classic films and probing the deepest recesses of the heart and mind, they keep […]
Opeth: My Top 10 Songs
Few groups have combined distorted and guttural cacophony with disarmingly melodic passages like this Swedish progressive metal group. Drawing as much from the likes of 70s progressive rock as the dregs of death and black […]
Heaven & Hell: My Top 5 Songs
Reuniting Black Sabbath’s lineup from Mob Rules and Dehumanizer, this British/American supergroup released a single album (and three songs for a compilation) under a new moniker to avoid confusion with Ozzy Osbourne’s Sabbath lineup. Embracing […]
Godspeed You! Black Emperor: My Top 10 Songs
This Canadian music collective distinguishes itself emphatically in the swirl of popular music. They don’t write songs as much as soundscapes, making use of extended orchestral arrangements, spoken word, and novel production techniques, as if […]
Symphony X: My Top 10 Songs
Jersey’s own progressive metal band have made it their mission (seemingly) to write about anything apart from New Jersey, but if you can get on their fantasy/science fiction/mythological wavelength, you’ll gladly reap the rewards. Here […]
The Police: My Top 10 Songs
Having delved deep into their discography for my podcast Every Pod You Cast, I feel I’m properly educated on all things The Police. In their brief time together, the tension may have been palpable but […]
Queens of the Stone Age: My Top 10 Songs
Gotta give these guys their due. Their riff-driven “robot rock” has blossomed into many a radio classic and many an oddball gem. Here are my favorite songs from this long-running band of brothers. *This list […]
Deftones: My Top 10 Songs
These gents from Sacramento have been steadily rising in my estimation since I first saw them opening for Alice in Chains back in 2010. Sometimes called the “Radiohead of Metal,” their music tends toward the […]