So many times I am asked what new bands I like. To be honest for a while there wasn’t much for my personal tastes. Lot’s of aggression but not much in the way of songs. For me if it’s hard rock or metal I MUST like the singer and the music must have some sense of melody to it. It’s one of the reasons I don’t care for death or extreme metal. I can appreciate the energy, but for me, I don’t hear songs and not a fan of “cookie monster” voices. I’ve NEVER faked liking a band because everyone said I should or they were the new hip thing. That trend for me goes all the way back to being a little kid. Which is why I was routinely made fun of for liking bands like Kiss and others when they were very much thought of as “uncool”. But I must say I am very encouraged by some of the new stuff coming down the pike. There is this trend of no nonsense straight up riff based hard rock by a whole new generation of young bands. Essentially bands with members in their 20’s that sound like they are from 1973! Anti Mortem. Scorpion Child, Kyng, Monster Truck, Rival Sons, Witchcraft, and many others have recently peaked my interest. I don’t know which if any will come out of the pack and it’s too soon to see which will develop into truly great bands that stand the test of time. But at a time when hard rock and metal needs a new Appetite For Destruction to kick everyone’s ass and shake things up and help bring back rock, there are some strong signs on the horizon. I am rooting for all these guys and you will hear many on my radio shows sprinkled among the classics. New and classic rock acts still very much needs your help to break through. So keep an eye out for this stuff and spread the word if you like it. Hopefully one of them really hits and puts a charge in a fairly stagnant world lately for new hard rock bands.
What have you heard new you like? As always comments welcomed and encouraged here!
PS: I no doubt forgot others that I like. Perhaps the biggest challenge we have with so much music so available so easily is navigating what’s out there and remembering it! Another reason I still love CDs. Much easier to keep in your line of site when it’s a physical item vs an easily lost download, file or link.
132 Responses
Hi Eddie!
First, THANK YOU for THAT METAL SHOW! Secondly, some bands I’ve been following for at least 10 years that nobody seems to know/talk about are 1. PRIMAL FEAR from Germany (new CD is AMAZING! as well as thier Nuclear Fire CD) Primal Fear is like the Judas Priest album Painkiller on steriods. 2. KAMELOT from Florida are melodic with very heavy riffs and symphonic soundscapes and 3. ANGRA from Brazil I think. Angra is like Journey meets Dream Theater, very talented. These are all bands with at least 8 CDs if anyone out there is looking for something of quality. Also, if you remember Loudness from Japan, they are still around and WAAAAY heavier than before! God Bless
I use playlists to keep track of stuff I discover on Spotify. If I listen to it more than a few times, I do end up buying the physical CD though.
Love most of the stuff on your list, Eddie! I’d add Snakecharmer, Night Flight Orchestra, Elephant Mountain, and Shotgun Rebellion to the “new bands you should check out” list. There are tons more though, of course! The future’s looking great for hard rock and metal music (with melodies and without cookie monsters). In no small part due to your efforts, man!
Have you heard of Orchid? They are from San Francisco and sound similar to early Sabbath.
What about the band ‘Beware Of The Darkness’? Their song ‘Howl’ got me hooked! Great stuff 😉
I have the same tastes as Eddie, and the newer era bands I love are FOXY SHAZAM and GOTTHARD (w/ the late great Steve Lee). I would think EDDIE would love these 2 bands but I havent heard him mention them. I can throw EDGUY in there too cuz Europe is full of melodic metal bands that kick ass.
Gotthard are awesome, and if you want to add melodic glam hair metal to the mix, throw in some Wig Wam (well, their 1st two albums anyway!). There’s so much good European metal that simmers under the surface, just hunt down the Frontiers label (Italian I believe??) and enjoy!