Women have a strange place in the history of heavy music. When they're not in the band, they're marginalized, objectified, or targeted for lyrical and artistic violence. When they are in the band, they can be seen as a blatant appeal to sex, an automatic commercialization, or as lesser than their male counterparts. In reality, they've contributed a lot more than people recognize. Heart
, Joan Jett, and Pat Benatar all made serious contributions to hard rock during metal's formative years. Christine Davis of Christian Mistress is continuing that tradition.
I first heard of Dream Theater from a music student at college. The band's fan base is composed less of metalheads and more of music students and guitar nerds. There's no mystery why that's the case: The band's musicians--who met at Berklee College of Music--are consistently named to be among some of the best in rock music. 
The above lines come from "The Unnamed Feeling," a track from Metallica's almost universally-maligned St. Anger. Normally I ignore lyrics, which is easy enough when vocals are grunted, gurgled, shrieked, and rasped. But despite my normal disdain for that aspect of music, and the general hatred for that album, these lyrics have always stuck with me. They speak to me. I'm sure all metalheads can relate to frustration at anything which is too nice, too soft, and too comfortable.. The much-praised neofolk group makes music that, at one level, I get, and I really want to enjoy. But part of me rebels at just how fluffy the whole damn thing is. Contrast that with Worm Ouroboros. On Come the Thaw, they've created something that has everything I sought with Amber Asylum, but doesn't drive me insane by being so insubstantial.
Pallbearer fit their name perfectly. In fact, they could simply record a graveside service and use it as the video to "Foreigner." The solemn, sorrowful mood, and heart-wrenching melodies are perfect reflections of mourning. But they are tasked with bearing along the deceased with dignity, in this case not by marching with a coffin but by marching out crushing doom riffs. These Arkansas-based doombringers better encapsulate the mood of a funeral than most funeral doom bands.
Almost 73 minutes long, 22 tracks comprised of all three past EPs (remastered) plus four new songs, Autopsy's All Tomorrow's Funerals is huge. I dare say the massive, multi-headed chimeric monster on the cover is a perfect representation of this compilation., you know it's awesome. But with the simple fact that these songs cover a period of over 20 years, it's not cohesive at all, and can't really be judged as a whole. I simply haven't been able to make it through the whole thing in one sitting.
. The Swedes were the first to adopt the distinct sound of epic doom: sparse, slow, heavy, depressing, and a little bit over-the-top. Their sound made them noticed. But the songwriting made them great. It was phenomenal, particularly on Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
. "Solitude", if heard once, will stick with you until you die.
, but that it took a while for the record to pick up steam. This time around, they've improved immensely. . Lush, spacious compositions are built around very simple but effective basslines. Guitar creates tension both by its dissonant presence and unnerving absence, weaving hardcore and metal influences together. The drumming is all hardcore, with plenty of both slow and fast rhythms that to me, at least, sound fresh. The vocals, too, are of the hardcore persuasion, but not the idiot tough-guy style most of us metalheads think of. is widely considered to be one of the progenitors of heavy metal by non-metalheads. They have been covered by metal bands a number of times, perhaps most notably by Metallica and Iced Earth, and they introduced the metal umlaut that has been used by so many bands since (reportedly inspired by the Wagnerian aspect of heavy metal). They are also one of the first groups in hard rock to seemingly endorse the occult, adopting a suggestive name and obscure symbolism.
Blue Öyster Cult (1972)