Hey Everyone,

Just like the title says, any fans here are not generally metal fans?

I find myself in an odd category - I had some friends who were massively into metal, and I didn't share their tastes. My favourite bands have always been The Beatles, Queen, ELO, Bowie, Velvet Underground, Mercury Rev, Oingo Boingo and a healthy dose of Classical music. The only things that i kind of like that I was exposed to from these friends were Samael (Passage, in particular), Macabre (occasionally) and little bits and pieces here and there (Defleshed was a fun one). But generally it did almost nothing for me - as a musician I really respected the virtuosity, but (with the exception of Samael) would *never* put it on for my own listening.

Until someone played Physicist - I kind of liked Namaste. And I *loved* Material. It was the beginning of the end. I quickly snatched up all the DTB albums (including Ocean Machine & Terria): and then it was over. Infinity is one of the best albums I've ever heard in my life (I love the others as well, but Infinity is something really special to me). Now everything else sounds anemic and weak. It had everything: power, melody (Christine is like a pop-single for an alternate universe that I'd rather be living in).

So now, Devin has officially ruined 90% of all music for me 'cuz it just doesn't measure up anymore. Thanks for turning my CD collection into a trash heap. Thanks a lot. At least I have plenty of coasters for guests now.

I still can't fully get into most extreme metal (though I'm listening to SYL giving it a go), but The solo projects are just incredible, bridging my admiration for power & melody simultaneously.

*waits for Ki.

In the meantime, can anyone suggest something else I might like? I need melody. Growls just don't turn my crank. But I also need something that's more aggressive than rock. I know there's nothing like Devin, but I need some suggestions!

Absolutely. I like a few random metal bands (easy stuff like Iron Maiden and Opeth), but I grew up on alt/indie rock and that's always been my thing. I appreciate metal and I have no problem with listening to it when my friends are, but it just doesn't thrill me.

Ironically, it's Physicist that got me into Devin too, even though it's the heavist one. It was the first album by Devin I heard. I thought the first few songs were kinda cool, but it wasn't until Kingdom came on that my mind was really blown. That remains my favorite Devin song and quite possibly my favorite song of all time.

I gradually got into Strapping, all the same elements are there but in a different form. Songs like Detox and Skeksis and Force Fed are insanely beautiful and melodic once you get past how over-the-top they are and really hear what's going on underneath.

I still can't fully get into most extreme metal (though I'm listening to SYL giving it a go), but The solo projects are just incredible, bridging my admiration for power & melody simultaneously.

How long have you been listening to metal? It might be different for you coming from a non-metal background, but for me, more extreme metal was an aquired taste.
For me it's a bit like a drug addiction. You don't just go immediately to the hard stuff, but if you crave aggression in music, then eventually, whatever you're listening to just won't give you the fix you used to get, and you'll progressively move onto something harder. Over time, this leads you to the more extreme genres in metal and electronic music.

You start off listening to bands like Metallica, and before you know it you have to mainline powernoise to get that fix.

Hey Everyone,

Just like the title says, any fans here are not generally metal fans?

...

In the meantime, can anyone suggest something else I might like? I need melody. Growls just don't turn my crank. But I also need something that's more aggressive than rock. I know there's nothing like Devin, but I need some suggestions!

Well, I have to say I don't fit your criteria--I am generally a metal fan--but I'm also generally a music fan, and a musician, and I like lots of other stuff, as well.

Dev is really my favorite, and he has been for awhile. I get where you're coming from, though, since there was a period of time where I was frustrated that Dev's was the only music that really impressed me time after time, aside from Beethoven and a few other constants.

You might try Porcupine Tree, if you haven't already. I'm not their biggest fan, but some of their stuff (Deadwing and In Absentia are good examples) are pretty heavy. The vocals are quite tame, though. There are some people on this forum that worship Steven Wilson, so I'm sure they'd be glad to step in now and help.

On another note, The Oid describes pretty well how I started listening to Strapping. I started with Metallica and before I knew it I had gone through what seemed like hundreds of bands until I ended up playing City over and over.

+1 on Porcupine Tree and Opeth if you want good melodies in heavy music (well, PT can be heavy sometimes). Perhaps give Killing Joke a try too.

I was brought up in a rock family (my first gig was Dire Straits weeks before my mum had me, HA!), I got into metal when I was about 11, it would have been sooner but we didn't have cable, so I had to wait till my older sister had a crush on a guy in school who was in a metal band So I'm generally a metal and classic rock fan.

If you're liking the melodies n stuff, here's a band from down the road from me who I think are pretty awesome-

www.myspace.com/esoterica

Na, Metal and Progressive fan here through and through, and have been for 25+ years. And probably will be for life!

Having said, I need melody in the Metal, vocally and musically. Bands that are just wall to wall brutality don't do it for me at all. I'd much rather listen to Mnemic or Nightwish than Deicide or Cannibal Corpse. That's why SYL are (were) SO amazing. About as extreme as you can get, but melodic at the same time.

hmm, im pretty much opposite

I never had a preference for music at all until i was 9 years old, after i moved house over a 100+ mile distance... and within the first week made friends with some 16 year olds (lol) who showed me System of a Down, who i immediately loved. Then i moved onto Slipknot and Korn... and now have come a long way and have explored the metal "scene" quite a lot, coming across Dev in the process

Just a note: I don't like SOAD, Slipknot of Korn anymore
Although SOAD can be pretty funny, and the vocalist has a decent voice

I listen to and respect lots of other styles of music, but not mainstream stuff really...

But really, i am a metal fan.

There a looaads of good bands that don't growl at all/much... but a lot of them might not have the power you are looking for. I know a lot of metal bands, and Devin is the best vocalist i've ever known... so i can't really help in terms of telling you a band that wont "un-impress" you, because Devin is also my favourite guy in music.

Though, maybe liking Devin now will help "allow" metal into your system a bit more, and make it easier to "accept" other bands without hoping for them to be on par with Devin, in time anyway.

I still can't fully get into most extreme metal (though I'm listening to SYL giving it a go), but The solo projects are just incredible, bridging my admiration for power & melody simultaneously.

How long have you been listening to metal? It might be different for you coming from a non-metal background, but for me, more extreme metal was an aquired taste.
For me it's a bit like a drug addiction. You don't just go immediately to the hard stuff, but if you crave aggression in music, then eventually, whatever you're listening to just won't give you the fix you used to get, and you'll progressively move onto something harder. Over time, this leads you to the more extreme genres in metal and electronic music.

You start off listening to bands like Metallica, and before you know it you have to mainline powernoise to get that fix.

You might try Porcupine Tree, if you haven't already. I'm not their biggest fan, but some of their stuff (Deadwing and In Absentia are good examples) are pretty heavy. The vocals are quite tame, though. There are some people on this forum that worship Steven Wilson, so I'm sure they'd be glad to step in now and help.

On another note, The Oid describes pretty well how I started listening to Strapping. I started with Metallica and before I knew it I had gone through what seemed like hundreds of bands until I ended up playing City over and over.

Oid and Entropy make great points, and great suggestions.
I happen to love Porcupine Tree, because Steven Wilson is still super manly while hitting a high D note. For real. There are no grunts, but there's plenty of down-tuned instruments and double kick. If you venture further back into their music catalogue, the music is more 'psychedelic rock, or experimental rock.' Which is to say, it's off-the-wall, and very ethereal.

It's true though, that the more you build up a tolerance for metal, the more of it you can take. Just depends on how far you want to take it. Strapping is plenty for me, and I love it. But that's about good for now. And the funny thing is, I heard Strapping before I heard any Dev solo. Retrograde tolerance right there. Oh, and Opeth rules if you dance around the grunty stuff, but more power to you if you get into the grunty material.

Anyways, report back if you like any suggestions here.

You could try listening to some doom metal, it can have growls but it generally focuses on melancholic melodies. I'm a huge fan of doom, perhaps moreso than extreme metal genres (though I'm quite partial to a bit of Anaal Nathrakh ).

It's a long shot but here are some suggestions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFHL76lIo7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIzoyPfPKO4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_eeCIKtGG4

I sort of had the reverse effect of the thread starter; I was always a metal guy, from about 8 years old forward I pretty much strived to find the most aggressive music out there, but after discovering really extreme metal (I almost couldn't listen to clean vocals for a while!) it kinda peaked and it started to become stale. So it was finding bands like Devin Townsends solo stuff, and Jesu, and Anathema, all bands with links to the extreme metal world, that I kinda started stepping away from brutal death metal and black metal bands. Now, I still really enjoy extreme music, I will always love Black metal and doom metal (death metal not so much) but I really don't listen to it any more than any other genre I listen to these days. I'm actually more of an ambient/ modern classical guy now, with some indie and folk stuff in the mix.

As for band recommendations, a couple I'd try are Pain of Salvation, Anathema, and Warning. Pain of Salvation are a band I'm just getting in to, but they are very eclectic in their styles, and can portray a lot of emotion, so it keeps you on your toes and still has that power you're looking for. Anathema probably won't meet your desire for heaviness, but as a Devy fan I bet you'll appreciate their tremendous song writing capabilities. They can pack a lot of feeling into their music, with relative simplicity. Now, Warning are a long shot, they are a UK doom metal band that put out two albums and are now broken up, but I had to rec them solely on the fact their album Watching From A Distance is probably the most significant musical experience I've ever had (with Ocean Machine being a very close second, sacrilege I know). They are heavy with a lot of melody, and their music is so rediculously melancholic, it is simply crushing. It's one of the rare albums that could actually make me well up with tears. You have to be able to deal with a severely depressing mood in your music though. It is not the most positive music, which is quite a contrast from Devy's fairly uplifting solo work. Anyway hope you like some of this stuff. I suggest these bands to anybody who have not heard them before as well. Here aresome places to start:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0puyJsSHjs4 This is an amazing cover of a classic, and what turned me on to this band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZZrp0Wlkgg Here is an acoustic version of Anathema's Fragile Dreams, I think it is a good example of the emotion they try to put in their music. This is a very beautiful song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=774GvRN2yKk One of the best songs off of Watching from a Distance, although every song is a masterpiece. Check it out.

I'd recommending listen to Swans... just about the most powerful, transcendent, dark band I can think of. Ranges from drone metal in the early days to folk to ambient to post rock... medium to slow tempos, wildly epic songs / albums. Michael Gira sounds a bit like Leonard Cohen...

I can't even describe it.

But get "The Great Annihilator" and after a while you might understand.

I'm a music fan, not necessarily metal. I just happen to find metal most enjoyable, most of the time.

I listen to everything I think is good. Nowadays it means less and less metal and more mellow and proggish stuff. Just realised I'm a stereotype

I used to listen to a lot of metal, but I don't so much anymore. I still like SYL, Opeth, and Enslaved, I just find new stuff boring. I find myself listening to more alternative rock and some electronic music as well.