So, I used to be your average, everyday rock/alternative listener (which I still am).

But a few years ago I found what now, whenever I'm on Lusternia, is the perfect solution to my musical needs. The genre is called 'ambient groove.' It's relaxing and easygoing, which lets you fill your ears with something nice while still being able to concentrate.

SomaFM <-- homepage of the guys who got me started on this stuff. Groove Salad is my favorite.

Hard core death metal. \\m/

When not that: mostly jazz, baroque, and Rennaisance period music.

Viking/Folk Metal, Symphonic Metal, Power Metal, Heavy Metal, and (occasionally) Black Metal.

Dance/Trance tracks are always nice, as well.

Favourite group of all time would easily be Iron Maiden.

Eddie

What's some good Trance songs/bands? I want to download some and give it a listen.

First of all, they're DJs or producers, not bands .

Okay, let's see. If you're a first time listener, I'd suggest these tracks:

1) Paul Van Dyk - For an Angel
2) Above and Beyond - No One On Earth (Gabriel and Dresden Remix)
3) Coldplay - Clocks (Heaven and Earth Division Mix)
4) Chicane - Saltwater (The Thrillseekers Mix)
5) Dido - Sand In My Shoes (Above and Beyond's UV Mix)
6) Faithless - Insomnia
7) Delerium - Silence (DJ Tiesto's in Search of Sunrise Remix)
8) Way Out West - Mindcircus (Gabriel and Dresden Mix)
9) Cygnus X - Superstring
10) Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar

Hope this helps. Most of these tracks should be reasonably common, though you may need a copy of Soulseek to find some. If you like the tracks, buy them!

Cool, thanks!

Thrash metal, a little progressive, power and death metal as well.

\\m/ \\m/

what is the difference between them all? Isn't it just a guy screaming in a mic to heavily distorted guitars?

Classic rock all the way - Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, CCR, ect ect ect

The difference is mostly in lyrics, tempo and tone. And for god's sake, I hope you mean old Alice Cooper.

Real metal is the old stuff. Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Sabbath, Maiden, Death. From those 6 bands, most of the seperate genres spread out.

Neo Goth, Electro Goth, Dark Trance, Gothic Techno, Gothic Industrial, Dark Ambiance, Goth Rock, Goth Punk (which is just funny.. since true goth music was originally punk.. and now everythings all distorted with specialty titles)

I'm not really gothic, I just like music that manages to be heavy and soft at the same time.

Collide is one of my absolute favorite duos, out of LA. The singer is female, and her voice is absoutely gorgeous.

After Welcome to my Nightmare Alice Cooper ceased to exist .

-nod-

Black metal is more growling than grunting. Its harmonics and chords also tend to be more European influence since it came from Northern Europe. Black metal also is more likely to focus more heavily on synthesizers than guitars, though that is not universal. Lyrics are about evil, though often times there will be a romanticizing of the Vikings, typically about them slaughtering Christians.

Death metal is more lower pitched. Guitars are more likely to be tuned down to make for a heavier sound, like the group Grave. Drums should be played insanely fast; likely you need to be on upper drugs to play at the proper speed. The vocals are grunts rather than growls. Almost universally the lyrics are about evil in general rather than simply Vikings slaughtering Christians.

Thrash is similar to death metal in terms of speed, but, like Slayer, the vocals are clearly enunciated. It is usually faster than any other metal. Lyrics are similar to death metal, a focus on just evil in general. Screaming is not uncommon.

Power metal is usually more melodic. For example, the first singer of Swedish Power Metal group Falconer used to be a singer for stage musicals. He could probably sing opera if he put his mind to it. It may will have the stereotypical 80's rock guitar solo. The focus is more oriented on the singing than other forms of metal. Lyrics in this can be about anything. Not all of it is evil. For example, Falconer's emphasis on Swedish folk lore themes, Blind Guardian's great transformation of Tolkien's epic "Silmarillian" into song form, and (forgot the band's name) some group that turned Homer's "Oddessey" into a melodic power metal epic.

Much <3 for Blind Guardian and "Nightfall in the Middle-Earth" Such a great Album.

I highly suggest Smashing Pumpkins for this kind of sound. They've been a favorite of mine for years.

Metal Silmarillion?

Its better, in some ways, than the book

I got into speed metal, like Blind Guardian and Gamma Ray and such, through a friend who was actually an exchange student from the Chec Republic. He had a bunch of MP3 CDs full of them. Blind Guardian also has some great covers of the beach boys and stuff. Which is just plain cool.

Lately though i've been a more classic run - Siouxsie And the Banshees, Bauhaus, Joy Division, Southern Death Cult, The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, that sort of fun stuff. Much <3 for the origins of goth.

Those looking for some nice-ish stuff, especially those of you from the US, I strongly suggest you get a hold of a copy of Lady Sovereign's 'Random'.

It's a Brit offshoot of hip-hop and UK Garage called 'grime'. The artist has just been signed to Jay-Z's label, and the part where she takes the mickey out of Chingy is quite nice, as is the shameless pilfering of beats.

Portishead, Soul coughing, Orb, The Pillows, Dream Theater, Midicronica, NUJABES, FORCE OF NATURE.

Not sure what category that puts me in

Hmm, Doom Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Epic Metal, Goth Metal, ((anyone noticing the trend here?)), love classical, love opera, and I like some of the newer hard rock like Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Static-X, etc and I have to say my favorite bands right now are Nightwish, Tristania, The Gathering, Lacuna Coil, Elis, and The Crest. I just love the mix of the metal with the beautiful and often heavenly voices of the women that front these bands. Nightwish does an AMAZING job of mixing in a full piece orchestra as well and it all just works together wonderfully.