I'm rather picky about music and don't have a clear idea of what exactly it is that I like. Often I try recommendations based on what I Iike that should be similar yet don't end up liking them.
What I like that is:
- Linkin Park: the gateway of metal for me. I didn't grow up in a household that allowed heavy music or really any interesting music whatsover but as a depressed teen, obviously I enjoyed this and still do to this day.
- Karnivool: Themata and Sound Awake in particular
- Caligula's Horse: Golem is my favorite song of theirs. That riff is groovy, heavy, and fun
- Tool: mostly Ænima and Lateralus
- Fair to Midland: the riffs and vocals just flow and it scratches an itch in my brain
- Dead Letter Circus: The Mile in particular is a fantastic album
- Bring Me the Horizon: I believe this one is controversial in some circles but I like all their stuff with my preferences leaning from Suicide Season through Sempiturnal.
- Unleash the Archers: this is an odd ball as I tend to dislike the cheesiness of power metal but this just hits
- King Gizzard: PetroDragonic Apocalypse is sick although at times I feel the songs drag
- Elephant Tree: groovy doom so what's not to love
- Windhand: her voice is killer and the sound is just awesome.
- Elder: they have sick riffs and great vocals.
- Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol: this band is pure fun. Big heavy riffs with tight songs that just move.
- Black Sabbath: classic and awesome. Masters of Reality is far and away my favorite with their Self Titled as a close second
These bands don't classify as metal, I believe, but they can be heavy and I love them:
- The Beatles: obviously not metal but Helter Skelter is fucking awesome and they are my intro to rock and good music leading me into Linkin Park for my first taste of metal.
- Queens of the Stone Age: particularly enjoy Songs for the Dead, Rated R, and Self Titled
- Dead Poet Society: their latest album is probably my favorite and they went heavier imo (and too heavy for my friends lol)
- Kyuss: groovy and fun
- Clutch: same fit as Kyuss
- King Buffalo: this band is fucking awesome. The songs just flow and the riffs feel good
- Turnstile: fun riffs and enjoyable vocals
- Nothing but Thieves: not really heavy but they are my favorite band so I figured I'd include as an extra data point
- The Warning: again not really heavy but they are fun and I really enjoy them, especially their Keep Me Fed album
Some death metal rips for me like Entombed or Amorphis. I really like their riffs but something about albums as a whole fail to keep my interest.
Problems I have when finding music:
A good chunk of my list is prog, doom, and stoner. Here's problems I encounter with each:
- prog runs into the problem where the riffs either don't hit for me or they drag a bit. I don't dislike long songs but there is a tendency for some long songs to drag and repeat in a way that my brain dislikes which seems common within prog.
- doom runs into a problem where they can be too slow to the point where my brain feels like they aren't going anywhere. It also has a similar issue with long songs that prog does, although there's always exceptions for me.
- stoner is a weird one. Kyuss and Qotsa with some of Clutch is kind of the only ones that really hit. A lot of them either don't
- harsh vocals - I tend to get a bit bored of them which is probably the weirdest and dumbest reason to dislike harsh vocals. It's probably ignorance where I don't have a feel for their
As for common recommendations that I tried but have never clicked with:
- Opeth: this one is well loved yet I tend to find it boring. Like, I'll enjoy a portion of one of their songs or a riff but the song as a whole and the albums just never click with me.
- Mastodon: this one bothers me. On paper, they seem perfect for me. Heavy and groovy with excellent vocals. Several riffs are just fantastic yet I fail to find them engaging. I usually have to force my way through their albums which I don't understand
- Dream Theatre: the vocals are not my thing and they fit more in the camp of long songs that don't keep my brain's attention most of the time.
- Protest the Hero: the vocals are very power metal and I'm a fan of it. Some of their riffs are killer though.
- Between the Buried and Me: not sure why but they don't click at all. The songs just do nothing for me sadly.
- The Sword: another that doesn't make sense. It seems like they'd fit perfectly alongside Kyuss and Clutch yet I find myself not clicking with it.
- Pantera: the vocals aren't for me. The fan base for it is pretty offputting too but were it good and not heavy on themes I disagree with then I can tolerate that.
Idk, it's a real problem since I'm often in the mood for heavier music yet I seemingly bounce off so much of the heavy stuff I can find.
TL;DR Picky about metal, but I seem to have a preference for prog, doom, and stoner metal or a preference for heavier alt rock (maybe, genres are complicated) Trying to find metal that scratches the itch in my brain for heavy music that I enjoy.