Favorite Bands?

[unknown]

I guess this will kind of piggyback on the "Who Are You?" topic. Post your favorite bands! This could also provide a means to recommend new bands to people if they're interested (or not).

Porcupine Tree - Think of Pink Floyd but slightly heavier and darker and more modern. Porcupine Tree are proudly waving the flag of prog rock these days (in my opinion).

Opeth - Death metal growls mixed with beautifully melancholic vocals and music sweep the listener to another world. One of the most dynamic bands I have ever heard. Definitely for people interested in original music (if you can get past the growls).

Frantic Bleep - A new and exciting band...I tell everybody about them. Exciting, innovative and frighteningly original. The music is complex and mind boggling. The lyrics are thought provoking and slightly odd.

Arcturus - THE definition of avant garde and shape shifting. None of their albums sound alike. There is not a single thing wrong with this band (except that maybe they haven't released an album in a few years)

Agalloch - Dreamy, image-laden, melancholic metal. Heavily influenced by nature and neo folk music. Songs revolve around love, loss, nature and death. Agalloch composes some intensely beautiful songs.

[adam]

I'll second Porcupine Tree. They rock. I personally prefer the newer stuff (since its a bit heavier). See them live if you ever get a chance, they are really amazing. I like to think of them of as Pink Floyd combined with Tool (though thats not entirely accurate).

Coil is one of my favorites, but some of their stuff is not for everyone (though almost everyone can find some of their music they like).

Morphine - somewhere between jazz and rock (but its all groovy!).

Apocalyptica - Metal played on cellos. Just saw them play live last night in San Francisco and all I can say is Wow!

Rosetta Stone - Okay, they're a defunct goth band, but they are really good. Seriously. (Check out Chemical Emissions)

Bauhaus - Artrock, you either like 'em or you don't.

I also listen to lots of other stuff, but those are the ones that stick out at the moment.

[unknown]

I recently got a copy of their new album, Deadwing, and wasn't impressed. In Absentia was awesome, but my favorites are still Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream

btw, Coil own

[adam]

I haven't heard Porcupine Tree's newest album (I didn't know it was released yet, I guess I'm a bit out of the loop). I was thinking mostly of In Absentia (which is their best IMO, but that may just be because I heard most of it for the first time live).

[unknown]

deadwing is not out yet...it has, however, been leaked onto the net...I'm not overly impressed by it. The songwriting is not their best (which has always been one of Steve Wilson's strongpoints - his adroit songwriting skills)

[Stu]

I've not been listening to much music recently but the last things I listened to were Johnny Cash's American Recordings series and some Tom Waits CDs including Mule Variations.

[The Silent One]

Nirvana, anyone? Plus, Alice in Chains' instrumental "Whale and Wasp" is absolutely beautiful.

[bendk]

I don't listen to too much music anymore. The last cd I bought was by The Caretaker -Selected Memories from the Haunted Ballroom. I liked some of the tracks quite a bit. This was recommended by someone on the Ligotti/Yahoo group. I catch Tool in concert when they are in town. I've seen them 3 or 4 times. Same with Blue Oyster Cult; I've seen their show 4 or 5 times. I like Chopin's Nocturnes and Bach's violin concertos. I went through a Madonna phase a couple of years ago. It wasn't my fault. My upstairs neighbor just loved her. She played her over and over and over again. Incidents like this, I also had a country guitar player upstairs at one time, irreparably damage your appreciation for music. In the 70s, my older sister played Bobby Sherman and the Bee Gees on a 16 hour loop for 2 or 3 years. You don't walk away from that kind of trauma a whole person.

[The New Nonsense]

I listen to all sorts, from industrial to classical, from zydeco to surf. However, the music I listen to the most in a Ligottian sense is dark-ambient. Some of these bands are:

Lull--

It's all great. Very atmospheric. I highly recommend the album "Cold Summer". It makes you feel like you are right in that degenerate little town.

Bestia Centauri--

Very, very dark and bleak. It has an almost "cosmic horror" feel in a Lovecraftian way.

Lustmord--

It has a dark magickal sound. Very arcane and strange.

Schloss Tegal--

This band uses samples of real EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena, which is basically alleged recordings of the voices of dead people) recordings in their songs. It's very creepy, especially if you believe they really might be the voices of the dead.

I would also second Bendk's recommendation for "The Caretaker". All of their cd's are great. It's like spending at night at the Overlook Hotel from the Shining.

[That which plagues Henri Kiss]

Brian Eno's Apollo lp.

Like floating in blissfull nothingness

Laibach Anthems Comp lp
"GOD IS GOD"

Killing Joke's Night-time lp
No FILLERS

Suicide, Way of life lp
If only for Wild in Blue!!!!