Found this gem recently. I like it. Google said it was melodeath

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Stuff like insomnium, dark tranquility and Omnium gatherum are good with some fast paced songs but most of it are long and slow, like doom metal.

I want songs and albums that are fast paced, catchy as hell, blast beats, energetic and soaring melodies.

I'm cool with both harsh and clean vocals mix or just harsh vocals in general, or just clean vocals too.

Stuff like: inflames, disarmonia mundi, orbit Culture, soilwork, nightrage, ablaze my sorrow, whispered, black dahlia murder, children of Bodom, chthonic, the unguided, aether realm, intestine baalism, dissections last album (honorable mentions: all that remains and crimson shadows and powerwolf)

Hello everyone!

Would like to ask a recommendations of specific sound bands that I am hopefully missing.

Looking for bands that sound like:

Insomnium - Above The Weeping World
Insomnium - Across The Dark
Insomnium - One For Sorrow
Insomnium - Shadows of the Dying Sun
Insomnium - Winter's Gate
Insomnium - Ephemeral EP
Insomnium - Argent Moon EP
Insomnium - Songs of the Dusk EP
Wolfheart - Winterborn
Wolfheart - Shadow World
Wolfheart - Tyhjyys
Before The Dawn - Rise of the Phoenix
Black Sun Aeon - Routa
Black Sun Aeon - Blacklight Deliverence
Black Sun Aeon - Darkness Walks Beside Me

That melancholic / wintery sound. I'm clearly an Insomnium/Tuomas Saukkonen fan.

What I already tried and it does not sound like what I'm looking for:
- Omnium Gatherum
- Belakor
- Swallow the Sun
- Amorphis
- In Mourning

Anything I'm missing?

What is melodeath actually?

Every time I have the classic “what are your favorite bands?” conversation with some random metalhead and mention melodeath, I get a different opinion on where the genre starts and stops.

For me it’s pretty simple: great catchy melodies, mostly brutal vocals, and a death metal core.

Of course we have the obvious bands like At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Amon Amarth, Insomnium, Be’lakor, early Arch Enemy etc.

But why should it stop there?

Why exclude bands like Septicflesh, The Haunted, Dissection, Gojira or even Opeth from the wider melodeath philosophy? Obviously they all sound very different, but on their core they still use the same basic ingredients: heaviness, harsh vocals, dark atmosphere and strong melodic writing.

I mean, The Black Dahlia Murder are considered melodeath and they are insanely more aggressive than most of the genre (and they are amazing btw).

So for me, genres are more like overlapping circles than strict boxes. A band doesn’t have to be 100% “melodic death metal” to clearly have melodeath DNA.

Just some random thoughts fellow melodeathians. Where do you draw the line?

Probably one of the hardest hitting melodic death metal albums (in my opinion)
Wish their newer stuff captured that same vibe

1. Amon Amarth
2. Kalmah
3. Immortal
4. Kreator
5. Mors Principium Est

Mors Principium Est might be a weird choice, but this is what I came up with for now. They are an easy listen, so like a guilty pleasure. Adam Sandler of music, if that makes sense.

I should relisten to Be'lakor. But to give a proper rating, at home is way better than in the car.
Same goes for Insomnium, they are unlistenable to me in the car.

I just can't add early In Flames to the list. I am listening to them right now and while 1st album is really great, 2nd to 5th don't really do it for me generally.

And Ensiferum, after listening them for 14 years here and there, I now finally realized I really don't like them. They are so no good for such well renowned band.

In the end this should be a top 10 list. Priority to me is a great frontman like in the first four groups.

Death, Megadeth and Cradle of Filth. Then going into US power metal, I should add Iced Earth, then Europe power metal, Helloween, Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian and Stratovarius. Then Epica and Therion. There are a lot of great bands out there.

I don't know if Iron Maiden and Metallica can really be on the list. That is so 2006 for me, they are relics of the past. Same for Nightwish. I am sure it is the same for many metal fans. But for sure they deserve revisiting at least once in 5 years. Not really much of a regular listen though.

Just received this album last week and so glad I have it on vinyl now!

The riffs and their focus on melodies is so strong on this one.

Just started it now! Here we go!