^ Death is This Communion is an awesome record, but it's their most melodic and polished, in fact a couple of songs on that are actually heart-felt (Ethereal), which after listening to their previous, sludge-fests, I never thought they'd be capable of this. "The Art of Self- Defense" is a little more complex and proggy. Baroness reminds me a little of Mastodon and Isis, so they may be worth checking out.

I'm actually really familiar with the album, and yeah it is great, but I'd kinda' forgot about it, because I lost it in a hard drive crash a few months ago. I'll definitely check out Baroness

Danny Lilker is a god amongst men. Hemlock, Nuclear Assault, SOD, etc....

I forgot about Isis, Mikey. You already have Wavering Radiant, though, and that one is, in my opinion, their best up-to-date. There has been extensive improvement in the vocals. That's what used to bother me about them. I feel like I can appreciate the older vocals a little more now. I also have a soft spot for the Mosquito Control EP, though.

I just love the way Isis' older vocals tend to be more subdued and blend more into the rest of music, as if they're just a textural part of the whole piece, which explains why I'm crazy over Panopticon.

Wavering Radiant is still my favorite release of '09. I think it is a huge improvement on the previous album. But Oceanic has always been my favorite. I think the vocals are perfect on that album although I like pretty much any music that Aaron Turner makes. Also, I think Celestial is a great crossroads where their old 'metalcore' sound meets the sound that they have since developed.
@ SATCHMO - I really like Baroness but their Red Album sounds kind of like a less technically talented version of Mastodon to me - but their droney Southern Rock makes up for it. I'm looking forward to hearing The Blue Album.

If you're looking for concept similarity and broadness of ability, and not just a similarity in sound, you should try Opeth's Watershed.

Nevermore...The Godless Endeavor. Good singer who's got some range, excellent guitar riffs and licks. A little grittier than Halloween and they also have a lot of other great CDs.

Hey all, this is my first post here! This forum caught my eye and I had to join.

Anyway, for my first post, I was hoping I could get some recommendations for some new bands. I've been searching my heart out, but can't quite find what I'm looking for. If anyone's willing, here's an idea of the kind of **** I'm looking for:

I want bands that are alternative, heavy, but not too heavy (lamb of god is the heaviest I'll go. no immortal or anything) with experimentation (kind of like the Dillinger escape plan) and technical riffs and beats. They've got to have a few ballads too, some acoustic interludes and singing vocals (like Slipknot, Darkest Hour or Pantera)

They don't have to be singed to be major label bands, by the way. But no unsigned stuff.

That might be too complicated I suppose, but to me, it seems like I could find something like that everywhere.

Here is what I'm listening to now: (I've listened to these dudes SOO much)
Metallica (nothing after the black album)
Slipknot
Tool
Pantera
Down
Mastodon
System of a Down
The Dillinger Escape Plan
Gojira
Baroness
Acid Bath
Trivium
Tenacious D
Slayer
Lamb of God
Darkest Hour
etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
:band:

A few effin ballads? This is impossible! A7F...Waking the Fallen.