Metallica
With the song Unforgiven, Metallica was my introduction to metal in high school. It wasn't long before I started buying up all the Testament, Slayer, Pantera and other albums I could get my hands on. My love for the genre has only grown since then. The following performance of Creeping Death is one I first heard on the radio during a one-hour segment of a nightly show called Mandatory Metallica on the now-defunct KNAC metal station. I taped it back then and listened to it for years before I had enough experience to properly appreciate it and realize what an absolute stand-out performance it was, with Jason really adding a lot to it during his verse. This was Metallica at their prime.
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Vanessa Mae
Unfortunately Vanessa's Mae's pop-classical fusion career was only represented by a few albums some 2.5 decades ago, but they're still albums I listen to regularly to this day. There might be other artists out there fusing these genres together as well as Vanessa Mae, but I don't know about them and wish I did. She can really shred.
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Fear Factory
Fear Factory is a band that has struggled to maintain stability and consistency from pretty much from day one, and their biggest enemies are each other. Regardless of the seemingly unending behind-the-scenes drama, they've released some of my favorite songs of all time. And while it would probably considered a sin to many of their fans to link any song that didn't originate on their first few albums, I'm here to say that even their later stuff delivers the goods.
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Regina Spektor
Her sound has changed throughout her career and all my favorite songs of hers originate during her pop phase. The other stuff is good too, but it doesn't electrify me quite the same way. I love her voice to no end and I respect the shit out of her for composing her own material, unlike other pop stars that just show up to auto-tune a few words into random bullshit beats and call it a day.
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Pro-Pain
This is working man's metal. Until 2015 or so these guys had released an album every 1-3 years like clockwork for the past 30 years. Unfortunately the tour for their latest album was cut short when the heart and soul of the band was mugged and brutally attacked by a couple guys he met and hung out with at a bar between shows while touring in Europe. Because of this attack he suffered severe head trauma and been on a long road to recovery ever since. His inability to play riffs has hampered his ability to write new music, and as the singer-songwriter of the 140+ songs of their career it's currently unknown if any future albums are expected on the horizon. Most of their catalog is groove metal in the vein of New York hardcore punk.
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Honorable mention: Cattle Decapitation
They've introduced me to a whole new genre of technical metal and I can't get enough of it. It's thanks to them I've discovered so many new favorites like Dying Fetus, Cryptopsy, Archspire, Gorod and more. Often with this genre the songs are just too fast and clicky to be as pounding and aggressive as they could be, but that comes with the territory. The highlight of this band, for me, are the diverse vocal styles taken up by the lead singer, Travis Ryan.
I'm feeling a strong 7 out of 10. I like Bon Jovi, Roxette a lot. U2 is OK. Shakira is kind of a wild
Deftones
Breaking Benjamin
Slipknot
Korn
Opeth
Honorable mention : Alice In Chains post-Layne Staley
I love a ton of Slipknot's output but there's an equal amount of their stuff that's never quite done it for me. Still though, when they hit they fucking hit.
Same goes for Korn. I mean, damn, Korn and Follow the Leader are impeccable, but try as I might I just can't get into much else besides a few songs off Untouchables, and believe me I've tried.
As for Opeth, I dig absolutely everything they did until they turned into a 70s progressive wannabe. I support bands than want change, but I do expect them to still maintain a somewhat unique (even if new to them) sound. And what Opeth did was ditch one very unique sound that only they could deliver and embrace a new sound that was nothing more than a sound-alike of their 70s favorites. Of the newer albums I only like Sorceress. But I'm fully on-board for Watershed and everything that came before it.
Deftones, I could never once get into them, I don't enjoy Chino's raspy delivery. By all other accounts they're great at what they do though.
I'd never heard Breaking Benjamin until your post, but the singer sounds a bit auto-tuned or whiny for my tastes. Interesting instrumentation though.
Alice in Chains, one of my GOATs. Dirt, Jar of Flies, and their self-titled are 100% untouchable for me. The only albums that don't do anything for me are the Sap EP, Facelift (with the exception of Man in a Box), and Rainier Fog. I love 2 out of the three Duvall albums, and don't judge yhem based on the necessary line-up change. And unlike some fans, I would never ever suggest that they should have closed up shop after Stayley died. It was a tragedy, but Cantrell has always carried the band and he delivers. I even love his first two solo albums, but haven't heard enough of his latest one for it to click yet.
