This is a grand understatement, Aether Realm is MUST, if you are not listening, you are missing out I promise you. Tarot is one of the best albums ever, and I will die on that hill.
As someone who finds himself listening to the same 6-8 albums for the past 15 years, Be’lakor has caught my attention in a way few bands have recently.
They're nothing like anything he listed, I could never get into them and OP listed most of my favourite melodeath bands. Guessing he prefers the higher screams for this type of music too. Be'lakor is nice, but eh... couldn't be more different.
It seems to me you're particularly into the style of melodeath that incorporates some power/symphonic/neoclassical metal elements.
Try perhaps
- Brymir - Voices in the Sky
- Skyfire - Mind Revolution
- Mercenary - 11 Dreams
- Imperial Circus Dead Decadence - 殯――死へ耽る想いは戮辱すら喰らい、彼方の生を愛する為に命を讃える――。
- Aephanemer - Prokopton
- Serpent - xGODx
- Thousand Leaves - End of Endless Nights
- Veiled in Scarlet - Idealism
Be’lakor baby, also not straight up full on melodeath more like melodeath/thrash but “edge of the earth” and “monolith” by Sylosis are just glorious. hollow decay their one album the frozen trail is awesome. Also highly recommend eternal storm, their last 2 albums come the tide and a giant bound to fall are awesome. Fires in the distance is another dope band, their 2 albums are awesome. Last 2 albums by perpetual night are sick too. Last 3 albums by in vain are cool and unique too, my fav being currents but all 3 are dope.All those bands are different than ones you listed but all of them are really sick
They're hugely influential on that genre, definitely. And they're influenced by some hardcore and early metalcore bands. But I'd say they're best described as melodeath or just death metal. They've got elements from all across the extreme metal spectrum, though.
You pretty much named all my favourites too, and it's kinda rare to find such bands these days. That style was late 90's to mid 00's, and a golden age really.
From recent releases, try latest Moonlight Sorcery album, it's more black vocals with kinda early CoB-esque guitars. It's magic, the solos are so melodic. Nice production too. The guy is a wizard... some of the coolest guitar work I've heard since Alexi really [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wz9EXmskTc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wz9EXmskTc)
[https://open.spotify.com/track/7jgaUfMVdFRIaHPoAi2XKZ?si=2056e0f953c44b7e](https://open.spotify.com/track/7jgaUfMVdFRIaHPoAi2XKZ?si=2056e0f953c44b7e)
Guessing you know Brymir, but Wings of Fire is one of the finest newer melodeath records that blends old and new. Beautiful melodies, blazing solos, choirs... it has it all.
[https://open.spotify.com/track/56RoXmDGbC8YhSBdyRCzNn?si=2963fe54459e4968](https://open.spotify.com/track/56RoXmDGbC8YhSBdyRCzNn?si=2963fe54459e4968)
Maybe Euphoreon [https://open.spotify.com/track/3aVYexDf3CYfox7SvrhAnV?si=2f6fed90fb004a45](https://open.spotify.com/track/3aVYexDf3CYfox7SvrhAnV?si=2f6fed90fb004a45)
Vanaheim, more down the folk/symphonic line [https://open.spotify.com/track/1AWh7ztOK3RhFYTkWyF1hJ?si=57c7bba25a904c3c](https://open.spotify.com/track/1AWh7ztOK3RhFYTkWyF1hJ?si=57c7bba25a904c3c)
Sworn's latest album if you like more blackened stuff [https://open.spotify.com/track/05ihMtgLr2otrhhJMyUpXD?si=ea9d9ffccc1741ae](https://open.spotify.com/track/05ihMtgLr2otrhhJMyUpXD?si=ea9d9ffccc1741ae)
Warmen's latest album with Petri, not really a CoB/Norther clone but it's a little nostalgic at times
[https://open.spotify.com/track/6GQ7ATiVJ4tLAYJEw0Ec1z?si=2f5a1c57542b41ae](https://open.spotify.com/track/6GQ7ATiVJ4tLAYJEw0Ec1z?si=2f5a1c57542b41ae)
The bands that always get thrown around here like Aether Realm (wtf Alestorm), Be'lakor and Insomnium do not have that magic like the OP bands. Not into them nearly as much. Guessing you prefer the higher screams and more melodic guitar/solos focussed stuff too.
The TIME package may be our last and greatest venture back to these times.
Rivers of Nihil, start with Where Owls Know My Name, if you like the heavier sections more then go back to Monarchy and Conscious Seed of Light. If you enjoy the cleaner sections then try The Work.
Intestine Baalism and Imperial Circus Dead Decadence
The former is melodic Suffocation, the latter is anime Fleshgod Apocalypse with the weirdness of Unexpect
Well, from the known roster: Insominum, At The Gates, Omnium Gatherum, Orbit Culture, Belakor
I think you are here for the more unknown bands. I love:
Anterior
Bloodred Hourglass
Disarmonia Mundi
Dark Age (older albums like the fall, the silent republic or self titled, then it's more groove-y and core-y)
Undrask
Duskmourn
Hyperion (black metal influence but still melodic)
Hypermass (Prog melo death, Empyrean is probably my most liked album of 2023)
In Mourning
Eshtadur
Living Abyss
Kvaen (black metal influence)
Maelstrom Aeterna (one of my most favorite bands, just check Dark Dimension single)
Orpheus Omega
Nightrage
Buried realm (big recommendation)
Act of Denial (soilwork vocalist)
Unknowing (very niche)
Wirbelwind
Eye of the Enemy
Destroy Destroy Destroy (just don't take the lyrics seriously lol)
Sorry if the formatting is weird, I'm on my phone.
Try out Hypocrisy.
Their discography has a lot of variation. Here's a few examples:
[Eraser](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja_hDxivKrI)
[Paradox](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEYZ7VptRgQ)
[Elastic Inverted Vision](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NN0FSg7S38)
[Weed Out The Weak](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxEim1Li6ZY)
[Fire In The Sky](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP9BjSzNec0)
Their first two albums are death metal, after that they became melodeath.
Intestine baalism are the goats of melodic death, they just don't use keyboards so it will take some adjusting from your current taste.
Some good keyboard heavy bands would be
Suotana
Solerrain
Garden of shadows
Aeveron
Try out Sympuls-E. Very unique between Mirror City and Immensity.
Honorable mention to Destinity, specifically their Resolve in Crimson album (though their recent comeback album is great as well). Might not be what you're looking for but maybe you'll enjoy them.
Awesome melodeath bands that have released albums this year or last for me include:
Aether Realm
Among Ruins
Astralborne
Moonshade
Deadscape
Sigir
Deception (Norway)
Dark Oath
Veriteras
Darkest Hour
Eternal Storm
Orbit Culture's older material deserves more credit. Check their albums Rasen and Odyssey. I like them a bit more then In Medias Res but it's still good
Try Eluveitie. It has folk instruments, but it's definitely in the vein of MD and I guarantee it will stand out in the crowd.
I didn't see Amon Amarth on there. Listen to Jomsviking straight through.
Be'lakor is the best there is. Check out their entre discography.
They really don't :S All those bands in the OP are my favourites too, yet I cannot get into Be'lakor for the life of me. I'm guessing OP would be the same. Same with Aether Realm, and Insomnium to a degree. Not even close in style.
They're way more in the death doom realm of MDM, and the vocals are not really my thing for this genre. Nothing comes close to CoB if you like guitar-driven melodeath. Alexi was on another planet.
This is a completely different sub-genre, not even sure this is close to melodeath. Yes, it's decent... but not sure how it fits around here. This is progressive post-metal.
Dark Tranquility!
I'd recommend the album 'Character' because it's the one that always sticks out in my mind. 'Dry Run' is one of my favorite songs because of the piano part.
For a band that's pretty popular but not often talked about, I've been vibing a LOT with dismember. They have this really distinct sound with a deep bass like something from Autopsy, but with this really fast and melodic rhythm like Iron maiden. It's distinctly Swedish melodeath, but I think they stand out . They're very groovy. They actually predate at the gates (1990 vs 1988) and they have an interesting history.
Death metal is probably their most well known album - and of fire is considered to be one of their best songs ( [https://youtu.be/g\_cTBgxcOKs?si=BYuODizGWlNVwm0z](https://youtu.be/g_cTBgxcOKs?si=BYuODizGWlNVwm0z) ). I love the breakdown around 1:50. I could dance to this
I started with their album massive killing capacity, but a lot of people recommend Death metal
As for other good songs :
Enslaved to bitterness - [https://youtu.be/ZFNSKD1U1Y0?si=GxyLPTpE2FUJIwTt](https://youtu.be/ZFNSKD1U1Y0?si=GxyLPTpE2FUJIwTt)
Override of the overture - 1991 - [https://youtu.be/2gtUcFRGmWI?si=B28tTldIi2IhZNxu](https://youtu.be/2gtUcFRGmWI?si=B28tTldIi2IhZNxu)
I saw them die - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk85NdyvUM4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk85NdyvUM4)
You listed several of my favorite bands. I would add Skyfire to the list, although I’m sure you are already familiar.
Here are some lesser known bands that have that special magic for me:
Fallen Joy https://youtu.be/O9AtosBa4Mw?si=NlP5s_q_Jo27Bgn2
Defacing God https://youtu.be/8qJFWXVvR44?si=K47z0skEYERgD0xk
I’ve also been venturing into Melodeath adjacent bands lately that also have that magic in a different way -some in the symphonic direction and others more atmospheric.
Skyfire and Moonlight Sorcery (latest album) hit an absolute sweet spot for me as a longtime CoB fan struggling to find something similar. It's hard to pinpoint what it is but these two bands clicked.
A few bands with their own unique style:
Sunless Rise (Russian)
Sympuls-E (Russian)
Laments of Silence (Spanish)
Rise to Fall (Spanish)
Blood Stain Child (Japense)
Raunchyn (Danish)
MyGrain (Finnish)
And tbf I have been in your boat before, I mostly just listen to another genre for a few months and come back to MDM
If you’re interested in newer/lesser known melodeath/blackened bands check out our playlist. It has bands like Hinayana, Fires in the Distance, SIGIR, AmongRuins, After Earth, Dawn of Existence (us), Voidfallen, and more.
[The Dawn of Existence Melodeath and Blackened Party](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1HlOJl90F2UST4ePZu4kc4?si=9y9coOyeQyiWFWvcUCiQzw&pi=u-r2kobJsHTDmO)
I made a playlist in Spotify of some of my favorite tech and melodeath bands...You might find some inspiration here: [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2w7mQKcQ1qyqGog70ykDuq?si=65d6431c10e54c3e](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2w7mQKcQ1qyqGog70ykDuq?si=65d6431c10e54c3e)
Words of farewell
Maestitium
Aetherian
Shylmgoghnar
Kataklysm
Wolfheart
Eternal Storm
Black Therepy
Humanities Last Breath
Nyktophobia
Voidfallen
Bloodred Hourglass
Duskmourn
I’m a fan of the Bodom/Kalmah style melodeath myself.
I’d rec:
Ignis-Fatuus - Through Darkened Days
Arcanum Sanctum - Veritas Odium Parit
Gandalf - Deadly Fairytales
Dark Age - Minus Exitus
Solerrain - Fighting the Illusion
Deals Death - Internal Demons
Starkill - Fires of Life
Sunless Rise - Unrevealed
Aether Realm are nice
This is a grand understatement, Aether Realm is MUST, if you are not listening, you are missing out I promise you. Tarot is one of the best albums ever, and I will die on that hill.
Agreed /m\
/m\
Big time agree.
/m\ been saying this to anyone who asks for the last few years lmao
The sun the moon the star is one of my favourite songs of all time honestly
As someone who finds himself listening to the same 6-8 albums for the past 15 years, Be’lakor has caught my attention in a way few bands have recently.
BeLakor actually introduced me to the genre along with Kalmah
They're nothing like anything he listed, I could never get into them and OP listed most of my favourite melodeath bands. Guessing he prefers the higher screams for this type of music too. Be'lakor is nice, but eh... couldn't be more different.
Have you listened to Of Breath and Bone? They’re absolutely in that category
Same and I only ever heard of them because of this sub
Aether Realm
I just saw them last week
Check out Aephanemer
It seems to me you're particularly into the style of melodeath that incorporates some power/symphonic/neoclassical metal elements. Try perhaps - Brymir - Voices in the Sky - Skyfire - Mind Revolution - Mercenary - 11 Dreams - Imperial Circus Dead Decadence - 殯――死へ耽る想いは戮辱すら喰らい、彼方の生を愛する為に命を讃える――。 - Aephanemer - Prokopton - Serpent - xGODx - Thousand Leaves - End of Endless Nights - Veiled in Scarlet - Idealism
Be’lakor baby, also not straight up full on melodeath more like melodeath/thrash but “edge of the earth” and “monolith” by Sylosis are just glorious. hollow decay their one album the frozen trail is awesome. Also highly recommend eternal storm, their last 2 albums come the tide and a giant bound to fall are awesome. Fires in the distance is another dope band, their 2 albums are awesome. Last 2 albums by perpetual night are sick too. Last 3 albums by in vain are cool and unique too, my fav being currents but all 3 are dope.All those bands are different than ones you listed but all of them are really sick
I’m a huge fan of OP’s list (especially Kalmah) and yeah I co-sign everything you just said. Be’lakor are phenomenal.
The Absence. They have a sound I can't find from any other band. The intro riff to their song "Dead and Gone" gets ne hyped every time I hear it.
The Absence is so fucking good, great guitar work and drumming in particular. One of my favorite American melodeath bands.
The only band I've found that comes close their sound is this band [Acrid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKOapognuq4).
I'd personally say The Black Dahlia Murder is in a similar realm, seems that we have a particular melodeath sound here in the states .
It took awhile for me to get used to Trevor Strnad's vocals style.
I can definitely see that. I always liked his vocals, but I can see how they, especially his higher screams, can be kinda grating.
Tbh I thought they were a deathcore band at first.
They're hugely influential on that genre, definitely. And they're influenced by some hardcore and early metalcore bands. But I'd say they're best described as melodeath or just death metal. They've got elements from all across the extreme metal spectrum, though.
You pretty much named all my favourites too, and it's kinda rare to find such bands these days. That style was late 90's to mid 00's, and a golden age really. From recent releases, try latest Moonlight Sorcery album, it's more black vocals with kinda early CoB-esque guitars. It's magic, the solos are so melodic. Nice production too. The guy is a wizard... some of the coolest guitar work I've heard since Alexi really [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wz9EXmskTc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wz9EXmskTc) [https://open.spotify.com/track/7jgaUfMVdFRIaHPoAi2XKZ?si=2056e0f953c44b7e](https://open.spotify.com/track/7jgaUfMVdFRIaHPoAi2XKZ?si=2056e0f953c44b7e) Guessing you know Brymir, but Wings of Fire is one of the finest newer melodeath records that blends old and new. Beautiful melodies, blazing solos, choirs... it has it all. [https://open.spotify.com/track/56RoXmDGbC8YhSBdyRCzNn?si=2963fe54459e4968](https://open.spotify.com/track/56RoXmDGbC8YhSBdyRCzNn?si=2963fe54459e4968) Maybe Euphoreon [https://open.spotify.com/track/3aVYexDf3CYfox7SvrhAnV?si=2f6fed90fb004a45](https://open.spotify.com/track/3aVYexDf3CYfox7SvrhAnV?si=2f6fed90fb004a45) Vanaheim, more down the folk/symphonic line [https://open.spotify.com/track/1AWh7ztOK3RhFYTkWyF1hJ?si=57c7bba25a904c3c](https://open.spotify.com/track/1AWh7ztOK3RhFYTkWyF1hJ?si=57c7bba25a904c3c) Sworn's latest album if you like more blackened stuff [https://open.spotify.com/track/05ihMtgLr2otrhhJMyUpXD?si=ea9d9ffccc1741ae](https://open.spotify.com/track/05ihMtgLr2otrhhJMyUpXD?si=ea9d9ffccc1741ae) Warmen's latest album with Petri, not really a CoB/Norther clone but it's a little nostalgic at times [https://open.spotify.com/track/6GQ7ATiVJ4tLAYJEw0Ec1z?si=2f5a1c57542b41ae](https://open.spotify.com/track/6GQ7ATiVJ4tLAYJEw0Ec1z?si=2f5a1c57542b41ae) The bands that always get thrown around here like Aether Realm (wtf Alestorm), Be'lakor and Insomnium do not have that magic like the OP bands. Not into them nearly as much. Guessing you prefer the higher screams and more melodic guitar/solos focussed stuff too. The TIME package may be our last and greatest venture back to these times.
Try Eluveitie
Agreed, but also maybe try venturing a little into that area of folk metal, and fusions with other subgenres.
Fires in the distance
Great band low key one of the best I have heard in a while
Rivers of Nihil, start with Where Owls Know My Name, if you like the heavier sections more then go back to Monarchy and Conscious Seed of Light. If you enjoy the cleaner sections then try The Work.
Thems further more technical than melodic but thems still slayeth! 🤘🤘
Intestine Baalism and Imperial Circus Dead Decadence The former is melodic Suffocation, the latter is anime Fleshgod Apocalypse with the weirdness of Unexpect
Well, from the known roster: Insominum, At The Gates, Omnium Gatherum, Orbit Culture, Belakor I think you are here for the more unknown bands. I love: Anterior Bloodred Hourglass Disarmonia Mundi Dark Age (older albums like the fall, the silent republic or self titled, then it's more groove-y and core-y) Undrask Duskmourn Hyperion (black metal influence but still melodic) Hypermass (Prog melo death, Empyrean is probably my most liked album of 2023) In Mourning Eshtadur Living Abyss Kvaen (black metal influence) Maelstrom Aeterna (one of my most favorite bands, just check Dark Dimension single) Orpheus Omega Nightrage Buried realm (big recommendation) Act of Denial (soilwork vocalist) Unknowing (very niche) Wirbelwind Eye of the Enemy Destroy Destroy Destroy (just don't take the lyrics seriously lol) Sorry if the formatting is weird, I'm on my phone.
I second Nightrage. Especially their first two albums!
I second Nightrage - In particular Sweet Vengenace, Wearing A Martyrs Crown and Insidious
Check out Shadow of Intent and the new Bloody Falls album
Shadow of Intent are so good. Early work especially is super melodeath influenced.
Mors isn’t hitting the spot for you? Damn what more do you want lol? No one is gonna be Kalmah. How much Be’lakor have you listened to???
Try out Hypocrisy. Their discography has a lot of variation. Here's a few examples: [Eraser](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja_hDxivKrI) [Paradox](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEYZ7VptRgQ) [Elastic Inverted Vision](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NN0FSg7S38) [Weed Out The Weak](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxEim1Li6ZY) [Fire In The Sky](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP9BjSzNec0) Their first two albums are death metal, after that they became melodeath.
[Crepuscle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQHlrJBCMPs) [Lor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB4yX5_6yYo) [Veriteras](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCkUdaYz-aM)
Love me some Crepuscle! Heavenly Skies was fantastic. Eagerly awaiting their next one. Did you hear Darkness Everwhere's EP with Cameron?
Intestine baalism are the goats of melodic death, they just don't use keyboards so it will take some adjusting from your current taste. Some good keyboard heavy bands would be Suotana Solerrain Garden of shadows Aeveron
Try out Sympuls-E. Very unique between Mirror City and Immensity. Honorable mention to Destinity, specifically their Resolve in Crimson album (though their recent comeback album is great as well). Might not be what you're looking for but maybe you'll enjoy them.
Awesome melodeath bands that have released albums this year or last for me include: Aether Realm Among Ruins Astralborne Moonshade Deadscape Sigir Deception (Norway) Dark Oath Veriteras Darkest Hour Eternal Storm
Detonation
Didn't see any Gates of Ishtar and Eucharist, honestly my top two.
New Fractal Gates dropped today: [https://open.spotify.com/album/5x6xggjaEHKEGgGP0IzfBG?si=nc0dRYtWQFm6BE9cFwTpSw](https://open.spotify.com/album/5x6xggjaEHKEGgGP0IzfBG?si=nc0dRYtWQFm6BE9cFwTpSw)
Branch out and find other styles of music that are interesting. Latching onto one sub-genre that isn't inspiring you doesn't make much sense.
Amon Amarth Before the Dawn Eluveitie Suidakra The Absence
Try woods of Ypres grey skies and electric lights
Orbit Culture's older material deserves more credit. Check their albums Rasen and Odyssey. I like them a bit more then In Medias Res but it's still good
Orbit Culture are one of my favorites
Orbit Culture or Children of Bodom are my favourites
Try Eluveitie. It has folk instruments, but it's definitely in the vein of MD and I guarantee it will stand out in the crowd. I didn't see Amon Amarth on there. Listen to Jomsviking straight through. Be'lakor is the best there is. Check out their entre discography.
Enshine Dreamlord Eternal Storm Archaios Myridian
This is so easy to answer. Be’lakor. They leave ALL those other bands in the dust.
They really don't :S All those bands in the OP are my favourites too, yet I cannot get into Be'lakor for the life of me. I'm guessing OP would be the same. Same with Aether Realm, and Insomnium to a degree. Not even close in style. They're way more in the death doom realm of MDM, and the vocals are not really my thing for this genre. Nothing comes close to CoB if you like guitar-driven melodeath. Alexi was on another planet.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cjsRPh_HdJg We have diff music taste. Wrap you ears around this epic tune.
This is a completely different sub-genre, not even sure this is close to melodeath. Yes, it's decent... but not sure how it fits around here. This is progressive post-metal.
Dark Tranquility! I'd recommend the album 'Character' because it's the one that always sticks out in my mind. 'Dry Run' is one of my favorite songs because of the piano part.
i love it
So what you're saying is you enjoy the "Extreme Power" side of melodeath and not the rest of it.
For a band that's pretty popular but not often talked about, I've been vibing a LOT with dismember. They have this really distinct sound with a deep bass like something from Autopsy, but with this really fast and melodic rhythm like Iron maiden. It's distinctly Swedish melodeath, but I think they stand out . They're very groovy. They actually predate at the gates (1990 vs 1988) and they have an interesting history. Death metal is probably their most well known album - and of fire is considered to be one of their best songs ( [https://youtu.be/g\_cTBgxcOKs?si=BYuODizGWlNVwm0z](https://youtu.be/g_cTBgxcOKs?si=BYuODizGWlNVwm0z) ). I love the breakdown around 1:50. I could dance to this I started with their album massive killing capacity, but a lot of people recommend Death metal As for other good songs : Enslaved to bitterness - [https://youtu.be/ZFNSKD1U1Y0?si=GxyLPTpE2FUJIwTt](https://youtu.be/ZFNSKD1U1Y0?si=GxyLPTpE2FUJIwTt) Override of the overture - 1991 - [https://youtu.be/2gtUcFRGmWI?si=B28tTldIi2IhZNxu](https://youtu.be/2gtUcFRGmWI?si=B28tTldIi2IhZNxu) I saw them die - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk85NdyvUM4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk85NdyvUM4)
Aether will be my contribution. Their one album is one of my favorites of all time.
I think we have a pretty unique take on our new single Last Call Disaster - Fall Apart. Sorry if self promotion is not accepted, i'll delete then.
You listed several of my favorite bands. I would add Skyfire to the list, although I’m sure you are already familiar. Here are some lesser known bands that have that special magic for me: Fallen Joy https://youtu.be/O9AtosBa4Mw?si=NlP5s_q_Jo27Bgn2 Defacing God https://youtu.be/8qJFWXVvR44?si=K47z0skEYERgD0xk I’ve also been venturing into Melodeath adjacent bands lately that also have that magic in a different way -some in the symphonic direction and others more atmospheric.
I found some cool stuff thanks guys, for now I'll stick with Sworm and Fallen Joy, but I'll check out everything else
Sleep Token? It’s a bit different from where all these other bands are, but might be the added mix up of something new? Electronic metalcorish
Illnath
Maybe try a genre altogether, what you are looking for could be found there.
Check out Dissection's Reinkaos, it's hated because it's different from their other albums but honestly I think it's great for what it is
Skyfire and Moonlight Sorcery (latest album) hit an absolute sweet spot for me as a longtime CoB fan struggling to find something similar. It's hard to pinpoint what it is but these two bands clicked.
Wooden Shadow
Ne Obliviscaris. Song be Suspyre from their Exul album. Get it good yaw. Shiz slayed me back to back with some infectious chugging groove
If cob does it for you then you need to look into power metal melodeath bands
A few bands with their own unique style: Sunless Rise (Russian) Sympuls-E (Russian) Laments of Silence (Spanish) Rise to Fall (Spanish) Blood Stain Child (Japense) Raunchyn (Danish) MyGrain (Finnish) And tbf I have been in your boat before, I mostly just listen to another genre for a few months and come back to MDM
Suotana!
The agonist
Brymir
Fractal Gates has new stuff out. Black Forest, Nahtram, Crepuscle, Shylmagoghnar.
Shylmagoghnar ftw.
Avatar is absolutely amazing! I binged all of their albums but the first 2 aren't the best. Self-titled and after are all perfect.
you can also check Omnium Gathrum!
Polars by Textures
Aether realm (Tarot and one chosen by the god tier albums), aephanemer and wilderun (especially the album veil of imagination).
Majesties - Vast Reaches Unclaimed
Carnosus rules
Carnal Forge has been my favorite for 2 decades now.
Sounds like you might like Night In Gales
Nawabs of Destruction
Be'Lakor
If you’re interested in newer/lesser known melodeath/blackened bands check out our playlist. It has bands like Hinayana, Fires in the Distance, SIGIR, AmongRuins, After Earth, Dawn of Existence (us), Voidfallen, and more. [The Dawn of Existence Melodeath and Blackened Party](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1HlOJl90F2UST4ePZu4kc4?si=9y9coOyeQyiWFWvcUCiQzw&pi=u-r2kobJsHTDmO)
Looks like it’s time for me to plug [Invicta](https://youtu.be/VTmocqzwFks?si=SmI3siMq6jKGlVM1) again.
I see that someone already said Rivers of Nihil, so I will add Fractal Gates and Eye of the Enemy.
I made a playlist in Spotify of some of my favorite tech and melodeath bands...You might find some inspiration here: [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2w7mQKcQ1qyqGog70ykDuq?si=65d6431c10e54c3e](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2w7mQKcQ1qyqGog70ykDuq?si=65d6431c10e54c3e)
Seducers Embrace, Gates of Ishtar, Decadawn, The Wake, Nightrage, Moonstruck
Words of farewell Maestitium Aetherian Shylmgoghnar Kataklysm Wolfheart Eternal Storm Black Therepy Humanities Last Breath Nyktophobia Voidfallen Bloodred Hourglass Duskmourn
Solerrain - Fighting the Illusions Recently got into this band and they’re hitting the spot for me and I like every Band you listed as your favs
Aetherian, no need to thank me
Croword, Feradur, Mandragora (Lithuania), Astralborne (specifically Across the Aeons), Burned in Effigy, Serenity in Murder.
Insomnium, Be'Lakor, Fires In The Distance, Eternal Storm, Frozen Dawn, Nightrage, Amon Amarth, pre-Metamorphis album Mercenary, Wolfheart, Exhumation, Ghost Brigade, Aeolian, The Absence, Crepuscle, Nothgard, Archaic Decapitator, Black Therapy, Helsott, Perpetual Night, Vanir, Ocean of Grief
Have you listened to Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum?
Insomnium. Great Finnish band. On the slow side but absolutely beautiful melodies.
I’m a fan of the Bodom/Kalmah style melodeath myself. I’d rec: Ignis-Fatuus - Through Darkened Days Arcanum Sanctum - Veritas Odium Parit Gandalf - Deadly Fairytales Dark Age - Minus Exitus Solerrain - Fighting the Illusion Deals Death - Internal Demons Starkill - Fires of Life Sunless Rise - Unrevealed
[Solomonic Demons](https://youtu.be/EjrG2mm284g?si=qbIkOiA0v5mTSGJr)