your favourite band

[Jamesy]

The Movielife.

No bullshit, No fucking around, straight to the point punk rock.

[Untitled]

pantera

great riffs, stunning solo's, brilliant vocals

no other band will ever sound as good as they did

[stuartmaxwell]

EXLOSIONS IN THE SKY - the music pushes the right buttons when im happy, sad, lost, etc etc their music makes me feel like anything in the world is possible, even when the odds are stacked. ive made some amazing decisions while listening to this band. and no band makes me feel the way they do when they play live.

see also,

ENVY - fuckign hell. this band are triumphant. fucking soaring. this band got me into screamo (im a late starter).

and in the last year or so...

PAPER CUT OUT - confusing as fuck but at the same time life changing. got me into some amazing bands and one fucking brilliant genre of music.

[HeinzHines]

All time is still SONIC YOUTH....rarely a day goes by that i dont listen to them....they changed everything for me musically. Just awesome.

[Sam_b]

*Prepares to be ripped*

It has to be THE SMITHS for me. I don't care what you say, Johnny Marr is a kick-ass guitarist, and Andy Rourke's bass lines are killer. Thats before mentioning that Morrissey has penned sme of the most memorable and heartfelt lyrics ever. Genius.

Meat Is Murder is arguably their finest hour.

[Diesel]

Sensational Alex Harvey Band (SAHB)

Just plain brilliant. Four gallus Glesca lads (Tear Gas) meet up with veteran never-quite-made-it rocker (also a Weedgie) and the unlikely alliance turned into the shit-hottest band on the planet for a couple of years - before it all imploded.

Their live shows were second-to-none and they had (still have) one of the finest guitarists ever in Zal Cleminson - a musician who can say more in three notes than all the technically brilliant shredders can in hours of lightning-fast legato. He's the reason I started playing and the reason I upped my game and pratice time after he blew me and my tutor (a genius himself) right off our feet and through the wall at Moshulu last December.

They were very much like Queen in that their music was extremely diverse, from straight blues-based boogie thru metal to prog-rock epics. Sadly, like Queen, a good deal of the album material was utter bollocks (Zal admits as much in the biography).

But when SAHB were at the top of their game, they were astounding. Some recommended tracks...

• St Anthony, Hammer Song - Framed
  
• Faith Healer, Next, Vambo Marble Eye, Last of the Teenage Idols - Next
  
• Hot City Symphony, Anthem - Impossible Dream
  
• Give My Compliments to the Chef, Action Strasse, Stoneeater - Tomorrow Belongs to Me
  
• Live - The whole album. It's a blueprint for any aspiring band.
  
• Scirocco, Amos Moses, Dogs Of War - SAHB Stories
  
• Rock Drill, Dolphins - Rock Drill
  

Faith Healer, Give My Compliments to the Chef & Dolphins are unmissable. Three of the finest songs ever commited to vinyl, please give them a listen, if only to say you've heard them and don't rate the band - but really LISTEN to the tracks.

The band are still touring with Max Maxwell (ex Shamen) who tried hard, but was pretty gash first time out. On the last tour he was fantastic. The band have updated and modernised their repertoire with a harder. metal edge, but are still SAHB as we know an love them. Catch them later on this year in Aberdeen (tba).

Thanks for reading.

DZL

[Old Gold]

mine are paul lamb and the king snakes. simplicity is one major reason i love them' date=' combined with ace musicianship and great stories. they just have a really simple sound which appeals to me endlessly.

/x[/quote']

The King Snake's are masters of their field. Awesome choice.

I'm gonna go for The Mothers. The amount of work that Zappa put into that band alone is admirable, but the songs are fucking super duper and carry a good message.

Also, the album that defined the freak scene in Los Angeles was written by a guy who was completely anti-drugs and survived on peanut butter sandwiches and chili. Pretty weird.

[HateEvent]

It rotates around these 5:-

Metallica

Slayer

Pantera

Strapping Young Lad

Machine Head

Reasons another time...

[jester1470]

Sensational Alex Harvey Band (SAHB)

Just plain brilliant. Four gallus Glesca lads (Tear Gas) meet up with veteran never-quite-made-it rocker (also a Weedgie) and the unlikely alliance turned into the shit-hottest band on the planet for a couple of years - before it all imploded.

Their live shows were second-to-none and they had (still have) one of the finest guitarists ever in Zal Cleminson - a musician who can say more in three notes than all the technically brilliant shredders can in hours of lightning-fast legato. He's the reason I started playing and the reason I upped my game and pratice time after he blew me and my tutor (a genius himself) right off our feet and through the wall at Moshulu last December.

They were very much like Queen in that their music was extremely diverse' date=' from straight blues-based boogie thru metal to prog-rock epics. Sadly, like Queen, a good deal of the album material was utter bollocks (Zal admits as much in the biography).

But when SAHB were at the top of their game, they were astounding. Some recommended tracks...

[list']

[*]St Anthony, Hammer Song - Framed

[*]Faith Healer, Next, Vambo Marble Eye, Last of the Teenage Idols - Next

[*]Hot City Symphony, Anthem - Impossible Dream

[*]Give My Compliments to the Chef, Action Strasse, Stoneeater - Tomorrow Belongs to Me

[*]Live - The whole album. It's a blueprint for any aspiring band.

[*]Scirocco, Amos Moses, Dogs Of War - SAHB Stories

[*]Rock Drill, Dolphins - Rock Drill

Faith Healer, Give My Compliments to the Chef & Dolphins are unmissable. Three of the finest songs ever commited to vinyl, please give them a listen, if only to say you've heard them and don't rate the band - but really LISTEN to the tracks.

The band are still touring with Max Maxwell (ex Shamen) who tried hard, but was pretty gash first time out. On the last tour he was fantastic. The band have updated and modernised their repertoire with a harder. metal edge, but are still SAHB as we know an love them. Catch them later on this year in Aberdeen (tba).

Thanks for reading.

DZL

The SAHBs were great, a band that used theatrics with great music with one of the all time frontmen, and they heavily influenced my favourite singer (so much so he's recorded 2 of their tracks) who is...

Fish, with my favourite band - Marillion.

Marillion are a band who have survived for 25 years and been innovators (not particularly in musical ways - but certainly in the industry), and have written some of the most passionate music of all time imo. They arrived on the scene alongside other great bands such as Pallas and Pendragon in the early 80's and although musically werent necessarily superior they had a more marketable frontman which led to them being the biggest of the neo-prog bands. Songs such as Script for a Jester's Tear and Chelsea Monday had an amazing vibe and marked a great debut, they hit a commercial peak in 85 with Kayleigh and Lavender both hitting the top 5, their creative peak with Fish was in 87 with Clutching at Straws, after which Fish left to go solo. Most bands fail when a lead singer leaves after they've had sucvh big commercial success and although they havent had such commercial success they reached another creative high in 94 with the superb 'Brave' album. Ilove the band for a variety of reasons, passionate songs, great musicianship, especially in the later albums and an incredible live experience, Fish is in my top 2 frontmen after Freddie Mercury and he is incredible at holding an audience, Steve Hogarth, his replacement is also a good showman and the band has been consistantly good imo.

Cheers

Stuart

[Guest scott cs.]

mr t experience/captain everything!

-both write simple pop tunes that contain stories and social commentaries.

reggie & the full effect

-emo/techno/metal never sounded so good.

[psydoll]

*Prepares to be ripped*

It has to be THE SMITHS for me. I don't care what you say' date=' Johnny Marr is a kick-ass guitarist, and Andy Rourke's bass lines are killer. Thats before mentioning that Morrissey has penned sme of the most memorable and heartfelt lyrics ever. Genius.

Meat Is Murder is arguably their finest hour.[/quote']

Prepares to be ripped? They're nae exactly underground metal at it's best min

I'd still plump for Faith No More after all this time. Amazing band from every angle, great adventurous songs, evolving sound, all instruments manned by great players, fantastic vocals, great stories behind tours/incidents/band members relationships.

Perhaps aided by being a band I grew up with but an unwavering love for them remains.

[RF Scott]

Hmm. There's a few.

Pixies - When I first heard them I didn't know what was going on. For me they're the band that led me to so many other amazing bands. Pop songs with a fat man screaming over the top, lyrics about whores, the bible and blood, and simplistic parts that couldn't be any more perfect.

The Beach Boys - The arrangements, melodies and vocal harmonies are pretty fucking special, aren't they? Mike Love is a dick though.

My Bloody Valentine - No other band has captured the sound of dreaming so well. Bittersweet to the max!

Silver Jews - "Why can't monsters get along with other monsters?" Case closed.

Beat Happening - Little or no ability to sing or play instruments. But their spirit, enthusiasm and pop songs triumph!

Talking Heads - Intelligent lyrics, interesting arrangements/production, and songs you can dance your head off to. Also, 'This Must Be The Place' is the greatest love song ever.

[Guest Craig C]

My all time favourite artist would have to be Joe Purdy. His lyrics and songwriting IMO are amazing, and you really can't beat his mellow songs to relax to.

Other than that, it rotates between G.U.N, Jack Johnson, James Taylor, Zeppelin and Opeth.

[timson]

Jamiroquai.

Their first three albums I found really inspirational' date=' and it was what made me get really serious about my bass playing. I decided that I was going to learn the entire Travelling Without Moving album note for note, and once I finished that, I moved onto the others!!! Regardless of what people think, there is some amazing musicianship on those albums. Also usually once I've learned a piece of music, the pleasure of listening to it diminishes for me, but I can still listen to Jamiroquai.[/quote']

when i saw this i thought "jamiroquai?!?!" then you said the bass lines made you get serious about playin, so I downloaded a few songs and they really are phenomenal bass lines.

Having said that, my avatar gives away the answer to my favourite band, timmy made me want to play bass and i love tom's solo's

[Fast Caz]

Marillion - They jus have everything i could ever want from a band

>Real Hearfelt Emotion

>Technical Skills

>Being able to jump from the most mellow romantic tunes to songs about cannibal surf babes and sill be cool haha.

Not to keen on the Hogarth era but Easter is THE SONG OF ALL TIME for me

[Dan G]

This is impossible to answer.

I would say my two 'all-time' favourite bands were Metallica and Megadeth - totally shaped the way I got into music and have so many good songs each. They are the two bands I collect stuff by (massive ammounts of each bands stuff, especially metallica).

However my favourite bands over the last 5 years of my life are Killswitch Engage, Soilwork and Misery Signals who have had a profound impact on me musically.

My favourite band at the moment is Textures though (http://www.myspace.com/textures) and they have been for a year or so now.

They combine all the best bits from Soilwork, Devin Townsend, Meshuggah and Pantera - all of whom I love! Technical playing, great melodies, brutal riffs etc etc

Dream Theater, Opeth, Pantera, Devy T... man, there are so many bands that I couldn't choose just one!

But I guess when pushed, I would have to say overall Metallica due to what they have done - but they are definitely not my 'favourite band' these days, so maybe that doesn't answer the question.

[WoodyRATM]

Having said that' date=' my avatar gives away the answer to my favourite band, timmy made me want to play bass and i love tom's solo's[/quote']

MON Y.Tim.K!!

hehe sorry im with timson. . .ratm + as

[bifta23]

Coil have to be mah favourite band of all time…

Can’t really explain it, you either get them or you don’t. My first love has always been metal + punk but I discovered these guys around 13 years ago and I have consumed everything they have done. Was lucky enough to see them when they started performing again in 2000 and then travelled all over the place for other events until Geoff passed away in ’04.

For me there aren’t many lyricists who compare to Balance, he was a prophet with lyrics dripped in imagery and symbolism. The Musick is something else too and they have dabbled in everything from adverts, porno soundtracks, glitch to plain auld avant-garde. They were commissioned for the Hellraiser soundtrack but it was rejected for being too scary…

How many band produce fine art like this http://www.thresholdhouse.com/arrivalsRacing.html

Sleazy has prolly directed some videos that you like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Christopherson

Seek them out and ask yourself

When you listen to Coil do you think of music?

[Paulscoconutass]

The Living End.

Why? Because they have perfected THE ultimate mix of outstanding musicianship, rock, songwriting, hooks, energy, pop, lyrics, production, harmonies, vocals, punk, studio sound, novelty, energy, sing-a-long, ska and live performance.

Every single song brings a smile to my face, Chris Cheney is my all-time hero and I can't pick out a favourite album because they're all excellent. They're the only band that I would bet my life on that will still grace my CD player in 20 years time.

[HummerOfIntenseEvil]

Manic Street Preachers. Cos they're ace.

Also because their lyrics (particularly when Richey was in the band) made me question certain trains of thought I'd grown up to believe were unequivocally correct, find out about subjects that school wouldn't dream of touching upon, and just generally changed my whole outlook on life. It helps that James Dean Bradfield can write killer riffs in whatever style he chooses, and does fantastic solos that stop short of being mere fretwanking. And no two Manics albums are the same.

I also respect them very much as people and admire the fact they've never really gone for the usual "rockstar" cliches. Plus I've discovered a LOT of other great bands through them. AND they are the reason for the existence of one of the greatest rock biographies ever.

Essentially everything you could possibly ask for from a favourite band.

[Guest neil ex]

*Prepares to be ripped*

It has to be THE SMITHS for me..

Me too. I've never really thought about it, but they're the first band that automatically come into my head.. So it must be The Smiths.

[Mouse]

Spock's Beard I'm really getting into. Modern prog rock that sounds straight from the 70's. Brilliant musicianship and songs

[jester1470]

Spock's Beard I'm really getting into. Modern prog rock that sounds straight from the 70's. Brilliant musicianship and songs

Get hold of Transatlantic:

Pete Trewavas from Marillion on Bass

Neil Morse from Spocks Bear on vcals/keys

Roine Stoltz from the Flower Kings on guitar

Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater on drums...

Now thats a prog supergroup.

Cheers

Stuart

[framheim]

crikey, this is a tricky topic.

i think it'd have to be idlewild, bonnie prince billy, godspeed you black emperor or kyuss.

i'm going to say idlewild because they've been there a long long time with me and their back catalogue is a perfect example of a band evolving and growing up. also i love how they've remained contempory while being distinctly scottish and referencing scottish culture. 100 broken windows is still one of my favourite albums of all time and idlewild remain the band i've seen more times than any other.

[Spoonie]

i like this thread and there are some great bands coming out. i remember dave officer used to talk about idlewild loads, all the way back to the AUBL/fudge bravenet board days and it's funny to see them pop up in his post here. great calls with pantera too!

/x