r/melodicdeathmetal

This album is absolutely incredible, but I can’t hear anything! It sounds like someone is playing it on their 2008 iPhone speaker through a tin can. I know it probably will never happen, but I think this is an album that deserves it. What do you guys think about DM’s mixing?

I feel like I just voted on the best album of 2025 and suddenly it’s May. Apart from At The Gates and AmongRuins I really don’t think I’ve listened to any new music this year.
So, very simple question: what have I missed?

I listened to Gates of Ishtar – Dawn Of Flames on my morning walk today. I fucking love that record.

But it kind of made something click for me about early In Flames (Jester Race - Whoracle era), they were great at utilizing restraint.

Dawn Of Flames is amazing, but it’s a full on onslaught. There are a few pockets where they slow down and a couple cool piano parts, but it’s mostly 1000000 BPM, speedy mcspeederson in terms of tempo.

A lot of early melodeath (and a ton of metal bands in general) just go full on fucking pedal to the metal. Blast beats, nonstop riffing, etc. Sometimes it works…but it often gets exhausting as hell when there’s no breathing room.

In Flames at their peak actually understood that you don’t need to be fast all the time. They’ll drop into mid tempo rock grooves, slow things down, let riffs sit while still building atmosphere with those sweet melodic leads. I’ll use Whoracle as an example. Tracks like “Gyroscope” and “Jester Script Transfigured” have great pacing and are super balanced. Then when they thrash again on “Morphing Into Primal”, it actually hits hard instead of just blending into the chaos.

Space is the difference. It’s not just “melody + death metal,” it’s knowing when to not to go hard and when to hold back. That balance is why those records still stand out in my opinion. I’m gonna go listen to Whoracle now.

By similar I mean both in being catchy and in theme (Aliens and shit, could be cosmic horror too) gonna be honest, it's the only song I liked from that album.

I found an awesome band browsing metal archives clicking on semi random band names with only the one album and it's so good i had to share

So I’ve always been a huge Amon Amarth fan. I first found out about them after hearing In Flames for the first time a few years back. I love Amon Amarth so much, but it kind of sucks when they’re the only thing I’m listening to. I’ve been trying to get into Children of Bodom, and it’s actually going pretty well. The main things I like about Amon Amarth, are the actually melodic riffs. I also think it’s so badass when they harmonize the guitars. ALSO you can’t forget that Johan is actually singing, not just screaming, as in you can hear the notes when he sings. Anyway, I was just wondering if you guys had any recommendations for bands I could listen to. I’ve tried all kinds of things, like asking AI, friends, whatever else, but nothing else comes even close! If you guys have any ideas, lemme know.

My best one is Majesties - Vast Reaches Unclaimed

Ancient Spirit Magazine – 30 Years Anniversary Issue (Free Download)

After 30 years, I’ve released one final anniversary edition of the old Ancient Spirit magazine project.

The issue includes interviews with bands like IOTUNN, PROTECTOR, ENTHRONED, MYSTIC CIRCLE, NIGHT IN GALES and DESASTER, plus a large retrospective on the 1996 metal scene, reviews, a No Fashion Records special and more.

160+ pages, completely free and ad-free.

Download

I've been getting into CoB lately cause their Riffs are awesome and their vocals sounds decent enough for me to hear them (Im a big fan of good and heavy riffs but the vocals ruin Death metal/any metal genre with that type of vocals for me cause i just dont like it. Judge me however you want.) but yeah, are there any songs i should check out? My favorite right now is Downfall and Bed of Razors (If i wrote that one right.)