In your opinion which bands are important for metal's future, By this I mean what bands are doing something of merit that you can see being hailed as an Influence 10-20 years down the line, Bands who are forging ahead a new path for Metal that are destined to be held in high regard and the absolute pinnacle of metal long after they are gone.

I am aware this is all subjective and there never will be an agreed upon answer, Buts lets try and choose bands that have a sound that has not been done to death already.

These bands do not necessarily have to represent your taste in metal nor do they have to be your favourite bands.

OK... So my Three are:

Agalloch - Probably the best thing folk metal has going for it, Agalloch play a unique mix of Folk Tinged Doom Metal (I use the term Doom Metal Loosely) with a little bit of Black Metal thrown in that creates an atmosphere of loneliness and melancholia, Evoking images of the Pacific Northwest's natural beauty. Agalloch have created a small collection of 4 studio album so far, With all four receiving critical acclaim, This band could very well become legendary in the years to come for their daring and unique approach to a genre full of gimmickry (Finntroll and Korpiklaani Im looking at you) that was quickly going stale.

Enslaved - Despite being 20 years old Enslaved have an ever-changing discography of excellent and incredibley unique progressive (and at times psychedelic) black metal that is still relevant to this day, Every album they released seems to build on the one before it, Creating a body of work (This includes the bands latest offerings which are arguably there best) that will be held in high regard long after this band is gone.

Opeth - Opeth have helped bring a more open minded approach to their progressive metal sound, Creating diverse albums that have attracted many die hard metal fans and newcomers a like, Many prog rock fans I know who have little interest in metal are massive fans of this band, Which I think shows their appeal. Even after 10 studio albums this band shows no sign of playing it safe. A lot of fan boys drool over this band but sometime popular things are popular for a reason. I wouldn't be surprised to see Opeth held alongside metal's all time greats in the future (Some claim they are already among them now).

So what do you guys think?

Now let's try (From my point of view):
Agalloch - A young talent, these guys produce THE best atmosphere I've heard in my life. And they only released four albums, so this might mean they have a lot of potential. They might even produce something that tops The Mantle in the future.
Nile - The kings of death metal in the meantime. Everything the produce never seems to fail, while old-school bands fail at imitating their lost glories from the 90s, and modern death metal is a hit-and-miss thing.... Let alone their Egyptian atmosphere. However, I think they're a little challenged by Behemoth, but I think these are overrated, so it's Nile who reign the world of DM now.
Septicflesh - Not sure of this, but this band is really wreaking havoc in the world of metal at the moment. For example, 2008 Communion was great. Also, many say that The Great Mass is the best album in 2011. Their new fusion of death metal and symphonics is definitely innovative and worth a listen.

Haken - A young prog band that is simply mindblowing.

Fleshgod Apocalypse - No explaining needed here

Unexpect - Avantgarde at its best

I´m not really sure about bands that will influence the new generations coming ahead in Metal. Anyway I´d like to mention the three bands which had called my attention big time in the last few years.


1- Porcupine Tree ( British Prog. Metal band -with great influence from Pink Floyd- led by the musical genious of Steven Wilson who has really found the way to mix the power of the Metal Sound with the melancholy of the melodies )


2- Lamb of God (They are nowadays -in my humble opinion- what Pantera was in the ´90s to the metal community worldwide: The Flag of Metal and the middle finger to all those who criticize our Music!! )


3- Mastodon ( A new sound based in Stoner+Thrash Metal+Jazz, violent riffs+melody+atmospheric passages of misterious tales, full of originality, great lyrics, excellent performance... ...and more. )

These BANDS stand out among the rest that I´ve been listening to in the past decade, and give me hope that in the coming future New Bands will appear to convince us (not only me, right?) to Keep the Faith in Metal.

Opeth - Whether or not you agree with me this is the face of metal right now.

Agalloch - Major, MAJOR talent in this band's songwriting. They're paving the way for atmospheric metal in any genre. Not only that but they shatter genres with every album they make, these guys are going places.

Suicide silence - Terrible band, but as far as I can tell, this is the model that many bands are following on the US east coast and it's an awful model. This phase will fizzle out just like the hair metal did in the 80's, but for now these morons have a big part in the poppy metal scene going on in the US.

Written by Guest on 22.09.2011 at 22:26

Now let's try (From my point of view):
Agalloch - A young talent, these guys produce THE best atmosphere I've heard in my life. And they only released four albums, so this might mean they have a lot of potential. They might even produce something that tops The Mantle in the future.
Nile - The kings of death metal in the meantime. Everything the produce never seems to fail, while old-school bands fail at imitating their lost glories from the 90s, and modern death metal is a hit-and-miss thing.... Let alone their Egyptian atmosphere. However, I think they're a little challenged by Behemoth, but I think these are overrated, so it's Nile who reign the world of DM now.
Septicflesh - Not sure of this, but this band is really wreaking havoc in the world of metal at the moment. For example, 2008 Communion was great. Also, many say that The Great Mass is the best album in 2011. Their new fusion of death metal and symphonics is definitely innovative and worth a listen.

Some good choices there id maybe lose sceptic flesh but its all opinions, there is no "Wrong" answer in this thread if you know what I mean , I would go as far as to say that Behemoth are better than Nile but its cool.

Written by @gent_-_orange on 23.09.2011 at 03:03

I would go as far as to say that Behemoth are better than Nile but its cool.

I'm pissed off...

Mastodon even though i didnt really like the hunter album to much.

Written by zerowolf on 21.10.2011 at 07:53
Mastodon even though i didnt really like the hunter album to much.

Three.

Unless you think Mastodon is so important to metal they cover all top 3 positions.

Veeeery tough to tell.

1) Opeth - One of the biggest names in metal right now.
2) Warbringer - Still improving
3) Septicflesh - Nice and experimental

-Opeth obviously, I dislike them but then again they are still pretty much the hottest thing in extreme progressive metal.

-Bullet for my Valentine is a relatively young band in the metalcore scene, imo they have a huge influence and are the perfect gateway band for people transiting from the mainstream rock scene to metal: very technical, heavy, though sometimes poppy, but still aggressive overall.

-Amon Amarth is by now a household name and has really furthered the whole "metal vikings" concept, all the while putting out solid albums almost yearly.

Of course Priest and Maiden still draw more people at concerts than all these bands put together, but i see them as the bands that are taking the flag

Opeth and Mastodon are the most obvious ones really. They have not only a large mainstream metal following but still gain praise by some of the elitists in the heavy metal sub-culture. They will no doubt have an influence over future metal bands, heck if I were to become a musician they sure as hell would inspire me to write some songs!

The 3rd band though? I'm actually going to say Immortal. Or Enslaved since they both shaped to a large extent what black metal sounds like today.

Also as a 4th I'd put in Meshuggah.

Neurosis and the Melvins for sure!!

Written by baldur on 21.10.2011 at 13:03

Neurosis and the Melvins for sure!!

Well, this is peculiar.

What's the third one? Boris?

Written by vezzy on 21.10.2011 at 14:41

Written by baldur on 21.10.2011 at 13:03

Neurosis and the Melvins for sure!!

Well, this is peculiar.

What's the third one? Boris?

No, Lou Reed.

Written by vezzy on 21.10.2011 at 14:41
What's the third one? Boris?

Maybe Merzbow.

Written by Koen Smits on 21.10.2011 at 18:07

Written by vezzy on 21.10.2011 at 14:41

Written by baldur on 21.10.2011 at 13:03

Neurosis and the Melvins for sure!!

Well, this is peculiar.

What's the third one? Boris?

No, Lou Reed.

Honestly, what's so "important" about Opeth? They aren't vital for metal, far from it. Such an established band and style has nothing new to offer metal (especially now they've regressed into prog-rock territory). No, important should mean innovative and new and can offer metal new directions to go in and become influential, the "Neurosis" of our modern times. That certainly isn't Opeth. The same applies to Agalloch in my opinion, especially if the last record is anything to go by.

Angantyr
Nightbringer
Taake

Simply because they are probably the active bands on which I'm counting the most to get great albums in the future and that I think they portray what metal should stand for, Imo. They hold the flag of underground metal music.
Take into account that when I think of metal's future, I consider only Black Metal because my interest for other genres is very low.

This is my subjective answer to the question. It is impossible to give an objective answer to a question like that.
The only fact is the future of metal certainly doesn't lie in old bands who will retire soon and didn't bring anything to the scene in the last 25 years or so.

Written by RavenKing on 23.10.2011 at 16:41

Taake

Quote:
In your opinion which bands are important for metal's future, By this I mean what bands are doing something of merit that you can see being hailed as an Influence 10-20 years down the line

Does not compute imo. Taake are precisely the kind of band that wouldn't fit into that category, a band that has never taken any kind of risk. The future is a combination of stability and innovation. The fanboy in me would love to say Blut aus Nord would be a prime candidate for this but they're far too random, ever changing and tilted toward unpopular experimentalism. Deathspell Omega on the other hand are a prime possibility, they have stability and have pioneered a new take on an old genre without changing it too drastically. I don't see Taake being hailed along with Neurosises, Voivods and Killing Jokes of the future somehow.

Written by Guest on 23.10.2011 at 17:27

Written by RavenKing on 23.10.2011 at 16:41

Taake

Quote:
In your opinion which bands are important for metal's future, By this I mean what bands are doing something of merit that you can see being hailed as an Influence 10-20 years down the line

Does not compute imo. Taake are precisely the kind of band that wouldn't fit into that category, a band that has never taken any kind of risk. The future is a combination of stability and innovation. The fanboy in me would love to say Blut aus Nord would be a prime candidate for this but they're far too random, ever changing and tilted toward unpopular experimentalism. Deathspell Omega on the other hand are a prime possibility, they have stability and have pioneered a new take on an old genre without changing it too drastically. I don't see Taake being hailed along with Neurosises, Voivods and Killing Jokes of the future somehow.

I understand your point of view. The reason I mention Taake is how consistent in quality the band is and this consistency leads me to believe that the band will still release high-quality BM albums 10 years from now, unlike a band such as Darkthrone who seem to have no direction. In other terms, I see Taake as a 'sure value', if you know what I mean.
Amon Amarth has been mentioned on this thread and they are much more previsible and generic than Taake. There is zero innovation in a band like Amon Amarth.

But I do get your point that Taake is kinda classical and doesn't change much from album to album.

Ulcerate, Portal, and... Well I can't think of a third band. I can see both of those bands pioneering two different strands of atmospheric death metal-Ulcerate, which sounds somewhat like death metals answer to post black metal, and Portal, who I can't even describe... Skeletonwitch will probably be seen as the most influential band in the thrash resurgance, so they can be the third band.

Written by Guest on 23.10.2011 at 21:16
Ulcerate, Portal, and...

Mitochondrion? Mithras? Baring Teeth? Impetuous Ritual? Cruciamentum?

Just a few suggestions for similar death metal with atmosphere.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.10.2011 at 21:45

Written by Guest on 23.10.2011 at 21:16
Ulcerate, Portal, and...

Mitochondrion? Mithras? Baring Teeth? Impetuous Ritual? Cruciamentum?

Just a few suggestions for similar death metal with atmosphere.

I've consistently heard Mitochondrion compared to Ulcerate, but haven't checked them out. Gonna do that right now.

EDIT: Listening to Mitochondrion right now. The riffs seem somewhat similar to Portal, but more technical, with better production, much better drumming, better songwriting, better everything.

Written by Guest on 23.10.2011 at 23:04

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.10.2011 at 21:45

Written by Guest on 23.10.2011 at 21:16
Ulcerate, Portal, and...

Mitochondrion? Mithras? Baring Teeth? Impetuous Ritual? Cruciamentum?

Just a few suggestions for similar death metal with atmosphere.

I've consistently heard Mitochondrion compared to Ulcerate, but haven't checked them out. Gonna do that right now.

EDIT: Listening to Mitochondrion right now. The riffs seem somewhat similar to Portal, but more technical, with better production, much better drumming, better songwriting, better everything.

Mitochondrion and Ulcerate I guess are sorta comparable. Ulcerate, as you said, seems to have a lot more influence in the whole post-thing. Mitochondrion seems a lot more of an old school atmosphere, not so 'innovative'.

Written by JCJen7 on 24.10.2011 at 08:29
Mitochondrion seems a lot more of an old school atmosphere, not so 'innovative'.

It's not a matter of being innovative, the comparison mostly comes from their use of atmosphere. I admit there's plenty of difference between the two, so much so that I wouldn't think every fan of one would be a fan of the other (and throwing in the likes of Portal and Impetuous Ritual again was solely for the similarity in atmosphere as death metal bands).

Written by Troy Killjoy on 24.10.2011 at 08:36

Written by JCJen7 on 24.10.2011 at 08:29
Mitochondrion seems a lot more of an old school atmosphere, not so 'innovative'.

It's not a matter of being innovative, the comparison mostly comes from their use of atmosphere. I admit there's plenty of difference between the two, so much so that I wouldn't think every fan of one would be a fan of the other (and throwing in the likes of Portal and Impetuous Ritual again was solely for the similarity in atmosphere as death metal bands).

Well never listened to impetuous ritual, but i quite like the other 3 bands being thrown around them, so i'll check em out.
But, I think innovation does have a bit to do with it. Ulcerate has this odd sort of...diversity around the music that I haven't really heard before, while Mitochondrion seems to have a doomier/brooding atmosphere that is on a lot of old school DM stuff. tough to explain, but great bands though, and yeah, a lot of 'atmosphere' with both.

Written by Malevolent-Jim on 21.10.2011 at 12:20

Opeth and Mastodon are the most obvious ones really. They have not only a large mainstream metal following but still gain praise by some of the elitists in the heavy metal sub-culture. They will no doubt have an influence over future metal bands, heck if I were to become a musician they sure as hell would inspire me to write some songs!

The 3rd band though? I'm actually going to say Immortal. Or Enslaved since they both shaped to a large extent what black metal sounds like today.

Also as a 4th I'd put in Meshuggah.

I definitely agree with what you say about Opeth and Mastodon, and as a third I would say Meshuggah, although none of those three would inspire me.

I haven't listened that much to Enslaved so i don't know what they will inspire to. Black metal has been going on for a long time, so I don't know how much more it could evolve (and still be good) and if Immortal will have as much importance for the future black metal bands as for the ones of today, but perhaps some band will take it in any new successful direction. Maybe some band will take it in a more commercial direction and gain mainstream success, which no black metal band has yet.

I also think someone will take Meshuggah's sound in a more accesible way and bring what maybe could be called for melodic djent.

I personally can't see how folk metal could be taken much far. I think it has already been taken too long. I think that is a hype that will die out, just like the metalcore hype will do, and the nu metal hype has done. Of course there will always be some bands still holding on to the genre, but not very many new innovative interesting bands.

Written by Aristarchos on 08.01.2012 at 12:26
...

Although I'm not a fan of the band, Enslaved hold more relevance in this day and age than Immortal in regards to black metal. As for mainstream successful black metal bands? The closest you'll ever get is Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir.

And Meshuggah... their sound is already in the process of being carbon copied by every band that calls themselves "djent".

Opeth - like everyone has said. For obvious reasons

Agalloch - They will be a major influence on bands for a long time into the future I think.

Meshuggah - held highly responsible for the mass djent bands that have exploded recently.

(extra band) Revocation - I've never heard such a good blend of death/thrash with subtle (yet definitely noticeable) rock and jazz influences in the mix. All done with good songwriting too and varied songs in general. Hopefully this band becomes more important than they are right now.