When Hayduke first proposed doing a feature on 6 particularly meaningful bands, I immediately made a list of about 20 bands and got stressed. After a vicious filtration process and some tearful goodbyes, I’ve winnowed it down to six: not simply the six that I love the most, but six representatives from various styles, scenes, and phases I have gone through to become the music fan (and musician) that I am.
My discovery of metal, which took place mostly on the internet in its first decade of cultural dominance, was one of the sweeter effects of a decidedly mixed bag. The internet was both exciting and scary – shock sites being linked in chatrooms, gore images showing up in places you least expected, and people being just outrageously mean. Metal, which as a suburban child with non-metalhead parents I also discovered through the internet, was a safe way to engage with scary things. It felt dangerous, but in a way that was clearly rooted in creativity and community.
My non-metal and non-hardcore tastes are mostly not represented here (with the exception of Cardiacs, who I consider related), and there are several runners up that are just as important as the six I’ve done here, but the thing that unifies all of these selections is that I discovered them when I was under 20 years old, and I still love them.
The six are (in order of my discovery):
- Cardiacs
- Sunn O)))
- Converge
- Subrosa
- Cherubs
- Jeromes Dream
Without a doubt, covering these bands’ full discographies will be an undertaking – but I hope it sheds new light on some of the lesser-known characteristics of these legendary bands.
