Dark Tranquillity – “Therein”
From the album: Projector

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Why this song doesn’t suck:
When most metal fans hear the term “Gothenberg Metal”, coined after the Swedish city where the subgenre originated, Dark Tranquillity is usually near the top of the list of bands that are brought to mind. Since 1993 and continuing even today, Dark Tranquillity has been leading the pack when it comes to the distinctive Gothenberg sound. From using more melodic guitar riffs and solos to more diverse and varied song structures, the bands of Gothenberg, Sweden laid the groundwork for the melodic death metal genre as it’s known today. Along with At the Gates and In Flames (before their music turned to pure, unfiltered shit once the 21st century hit), Dark Tranquillity are the pioneers of what is probably my favorite genre of all of music, and their 1999 album, Projector, shows just why that is.

Muse – “Stockholm Syndrome”
From the album: Absolution

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Why this song doesn’t suck:
A lot of people may not attribute the word “metal” while talking about the English rockers Muse, but you have to admit many of their songs have the intricacies and heaviness that can be said for any good heavy metal tune. Much like fellow Brits Porcupine Tree, a great deal of their songs are heavy on crunchy guitar work as well as progressive songwriting techniques. I think an excellent example of their hard rockingness is “Stockholm Syndrome” from their 2003 album Absolution.

Eluveitie – “The Somber Lay”
From the album: Slania

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Why this song doesn’t suck:
One of my favorite bands of late has been folk metal asskickers extraordinaire, Eluveitie. As I’ve said before, any band that can seamlessly meld electric guitar with a goddamn slew of flutes, whistles, fiddles and bagpipes deserves and rightly gets my full admiration. You’d think it’d be hard to make a songs as heavy as “The Somber Lay” work with a whistle into, but Eluveitie pull it off quite nicely… and it’s something I’m glad to say they are able to reproduce perfectly live in concert.

Regicide – “The Hanger-On”
From the album: Break the Silence

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Why this song doesn’t suck:
I can’t really recall how or where I found Regicide’s 2006 album Break the Silence, but I’m sure as hell glad I did. The now-defunct band offers an odd blend of both male and female vocals, a hefty amount of your standard electric guitar, bass, drum combo, all mixed with a good dose of keyboards & violin to top things off nicely. It’s a strange combination that somehow works well for these crazy krauts… one of the best examples of which is this song, “The Hanger-On”.

Sonata Arctica – “It Won’t Fade”
From the album: Unia

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Why this song doesn’t suck:
Unbeknown to me, Sonata Arctica’s album Unia holds some kind of strange psychic hold on the part of my brain that enjoys music. I’ve listened to this album dozens upon dozens of times, and for some strange reason, I never manage to grow sick of it. From the album-opener “Black & White” to the closing track and everything in between, I find Sonata’s style of heavy power metal to some of the best the genre has to offer.

Nightwish – “10th Man Down”
From the album: Over the Hills and Far Away (ep)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Why this song doesn’t suck:
I’ve been a big fan of Nightwish for several years now. My first real dose of these symphonic power metal dealing Finns came from the “Wish I Had an Angel” single from their 2004 album Once. Ever since my ears were treated to a heaping dose of orchestra-infused, guitar-heavy metal excellence matched with Tarja Turunen’s angelic, operatic vocals, I’ve been addicted. I often find myself fiending for my Nightwish fix, and few tracks feed my hunger better than “10th Man Down” from the Over the Hills and Far Away ep.