Melodic Death Metal/Melodeath/Gothenburg Sound

I’m looking to investigate more into melodeath, specifically some of the most acclaimed bands and albums. What are the lyrics like for these bands:

At the Gates 
Dark Tranquillity 
In Flames
Soilwork

And what are their best albums?

To be honest, I don't know the difference in death metal and melodeath.

Imo, Dark Tranquillity is the best at the genre and Damage Done is often recognized as their best though I enjoy Haven a bit more. Not really a bad album by them but some stand out a bit more. In Flames album, The Jester Race is my favorite by them with Clayman a close second. Never could get into Soilwork, they have some decent songs but just not my thing. At the Gates is the one with the anti Christian lyrics, check out Kingdom Gone for example, basically calling God a tyrant and so I never got too into them. Check out Wintersun and Scar Symmetry for more quality melodic death.

Pethead wrote:I’m looking to investigate more into melodeath, specifically some of the most acclaimed bands and albums. What are the lyrics like for these bands:

At the Gates 
Dark Tranquillity 
In Flames
Soilwork

And what are their best albums?

My favorite among those bands is In Flames. All of their lyrics are fine. The early stuff like Lunar Strain/Subterranean/Jester Race is a little more complex and atmospheric. Whoracle marks a shift towards a more streamlined sound that is very melodic but still very Metal. Reroute to Remain is where they started to go off the rails into Nu-Metal/Metalcore-ish nonsense. I like Subterranean, Jester Race, and Colony the most currently.

I'm less knowledgeable about DT although I had Skydancer and Damage Done many years ago. I now have Skydancer again as well as The Gallery. They are both very good. I think they got a little too stale on later albums and sound too clinical. Their lyrics are mostly fine with a questionable song here or there but nothing overtly anti-Christian. There was one song on Damage Done that bothered me.

At the Gates is a band that I never really listened to before and don't really have an interest now because all of their albums have anti-Christian lyrics.

I liked Soilwork when I was a Metal noob. They are pretty basic and I don't really have an interest now. I haven't heard the early stuff, but there are a few good songs on Natural Born Chaos and Figure Number Five. They have occasional anti-Christian lyrics but much less than AtG.

You need Edge of Sanity - Crimson if you don't have it yet. A little Amon Amarth would also be good but they have a lot of bad lyrics. Fate of Norns is the only earlier album that is fine all the way through.

Thanks, guys! Yeah, I looked up the lyrics to Kingdom Gone. Pathetic. Reminded me of Slayer at their most idiotic.

I look forward to diving into your recommendations!

First time here dudes, so go easy on me.   

I enjoy a good bit of MDM.

Best albums(Gothenburg)?
In Flames - The Jester Race (one of the best!)
Dark Tranquility - The Minds I 
Sacrilege - Fifth Season

I've never liked Soilwork(have some friends that love them, though). I've also never enjoyed Amon Amarth(the music did nothing for me). I own two At the Gates albums(1st and SotS), and I enjoy them, despite the stupid lyrics.

For MDM outside of Sweden:
Garden of Shadows - Oracle Moon (I like this as much as any Gothenburg album)

flat circle wrote:First time here dudes, so go easy on me.   

I enjoy a good bit of MDM.

Best albums(Gothenburg)?
In Flames - The Jester Race (one of the best!)
Dark Tranquility - The Minds I 
Sacrilege - Fifth Season

I've never liked Soilwork(have some friends that love them, though). I've also never enjoyed Amon Amarth(the music did nothing for me). I own two At the Gates albums(1st and SotS), and I enjoy them, despite the stupid lyrics.

For MDM outside of Sweden:
Garden of Shadows - Oracle Moon (I like this as much as any Gothenburg album)

Welcome and thanks!

Did you ever get into any of this stuff Pethead? I was listening to In Flames and Dark Tranquillity yesterday.

Going to see Dark Tranquility live on Wednesday

Very cool, I'd love to see them live.

Son of Nun wrote:Did you ever get into any of this stuff Pethead? I was listening to In Flames and Dark Tranquillity yesterday.

Not yet, but it’s on the list. I’ve been in a super eclectic mood of late.

For some reason, I thought I posted in here before. But anyways,
Nightrage is awesome melodeath, favorite album by them so far is "The Venomous"

Whispered from Finland throws some Japanese classical instruments in there, "Shogunate Macabre" and "Metsutan Songs of the Void" are extremely well put together albums.

Scar Symmetry, anything from them is phenomenal.

Dagon "Back to the Sea" and "Terraphobic" are masterpieces. Ocean themes.

Atlantis Chronicles, more ocean themes, this one's a bit more progressive than the others, but still very melodic "Ten Miles Underwater" this album is amazing.

Into Eternity "The Scattering of Ashes" and "Buried in Oblivion" are neat, little more power metal influence in there, but it's still Melodeath.

The Weeping Gate is a small band from Arkansas, but their album "Malice & Deceit" has some great stuff on it.