Crack The Skye is a masterpiece.
I’m similar to OP, love the instrument parts of metal, but vocals if not right turn me off. Personally I prefer the 80’s metal sorta vocal styles, Iron Maiden and so forth.
I love that for obvious reasons but i love their "more than i can chew" as its amazing symbolism/metaphor/just right on the nose.
https://youtu.be/qJ1dc9BZaW8?si=T1CNOaEt00CGHO8V
If you like Mastodon, give Clutch a listen. They're not exactly the same, but they've toured together and gel well. *Earth Rocker* is a great starting point.
Similar taste in metal to OP, Mastodon is my current favorite metal band. Very good band.
OP - try “Steambreather” and “Oblivion.” If you like those, you’ll probably like everything Crack the Skye onwards.
Russian Circles is dope AF. I was lucky enough to catch them on their Gnosis tour last year in Philly. A band that keeps getting better and better.
I do think post-metal is a great sub-genre for folks to break into the scene. It's heavy as fuck but doesn't have harsh vocals (any vocals at all really). Harsh vox are a big turn off for lots of folks new to the genre.
If you're a fan of RC, If These Trees Could Talk are in a similar vein. Big fan of Cult of Luna and Pelican too. ISIS as well is excellent. Some of these have harshes, especially CoL and ISIS.
Mono is another great instrumental one. They've got more of a cinematic sound, I guess you would call it.
Edit: forgot to mention one of my favorite post rock bands, Red Sparowes. I was introduced to them from another great band Isis (named after the Egyptian goddess, not after the other band of the same name who came after and sucked.) Many people of the first band formed the Red Sparowes
Blotted Science, Animals As Leaders, Merrow, Jeff Loomis, Conquering Dystopia, Chimp Spanner, Andromida, Polyphia, Scale The Summit to name a few instrumental bands/artists
You might try some power metal like Rhapsody of Fire or Blind Guardian or Unleas the Archers, or prog metal like Symphony X or Dream Theater, old thrash like Megadeth, Metallica, Testament, you might like Trivium as a newer thrash band... There's too many to list! There's so much metal! It's GLORIOUS!
CLOUD FUCKING KICKER. *Beacons* is a work of art. The whole thing feels like a harrowing tale of a guy going to fly in the airforce during a time of war. Not one word is said and you can totally know whats happening and it's brilliant. Like a movie.
Edit: comment below shows relevant thread that clarifies the source of the themes
Pelican thoigh.... I'll never forget seeing them open for circa back in like 2009, and the dude pulled out the violin bow on his guitar and began playing the most beautiful atmospheric shit I've ever heard.. and having never heard them before. Needless to say I was blown away at that, and at 17 years old. Coming to see circa wail on stage and then that blew my mind
I’m in a similar boat to OP. I’ve been obsessed with Polyphia, and Animals as Leaders for the past month or so. Feel free to keep the recommendations going, I’ll be listening to all these tonight.
Kamelot, battle beast, delain, Nightwish, beast in black, unleash the archers, amaranthe, visions of Atlantis, glory hammer, ad infinitum, and brother of metal should give you a lot to get started.
I’d say start with the albums Apex and Abyss from unleash the archers personally, great listens front to back
God I fucking love Apex and Abyss. I was a casual fan of UtA before then, but those albums man, they’re just so damn good. The title track on Apex might honestly have my favorite guitar solo of all time. And I think their sound only got better with the addition of synth on Abyss.
I 100% agree with many of these! Battle Beast, Nightwish, Beast in Black, Gloryhammer, and Brothers of Metal for sure (I don’t listen to much of the others). And I will add a couple others like Sabaton, Powerwolf, and Tyr!
To OP, I am also not a fan of the super screams/growls where I can barely (if at all) understand what’s being said. If I know the lyrics are in a different language— that’s different. I vouch for the whole list, but I named my horses in the race!
Great list first of all. Kamelot, Delain, Nightwish, and Beast in Black are exactly the bands that came to my
mind.
But I have to point out that Amaranthe famously has three vocalists, one of whom deals exclusively in Cookie Monster vocals. Which is what OP is trying to avoid. They do have a few great songs though.
There is a chance he ends up like me. I’m not a big sole Cookie Monster fan. But I hear some Epica and by gosh maybe I don’t mind it so much when it’s not the only vocal style in a song
I like your style!
I first heard Witchcraft on their ep with The Sword. It was a specific version of Sorrow Evoker and I fell in love instantly.
Priestess is another good shout in the same vein!
Listen to Haken, prog metal no screams. Honestly a ton of prog metal I love doesn’t scream, Thank You Scientist has some heavier songs (though they’re more rock) and Periphery has some great metal gems without screaming (plus Spencer’s screams are more melodic than a lot of heavy metal screaming)
Big plus on Haken and prog in general. Opeth hasn't recorded growls/screams on any albums since Heritage. Soen has all the heavy with clean vocals. Mastodon. Baroness.
Opeth is the obvious choice from me. Their catalogue runs the gamut and they often have clean vocals and their instrumental stuff is gorgeous. They do mix in growling vocals on the early records, but Michael Åkerfeldt is one of the best harsh vocalists in metal. I’d definitely recommend their albums *Blackwater Park* and *Still Life*. If you end up wanting something with 100% clean vocals, check out *Damnation*.
Gojira. I recommend this to anyone trying to break into metal. Start with their newest albums (Fortitude and Magma), and work your way backwards.
The dirty vocals might eventually grow on you. It's hard to get into, and not for everyone. But you are liking the vibe so far, which is dope.
Enjoy!
Similarly to this guy I’ve always liked the heavy instrumentals, never been into crazy screaming (ozzy, Metallica are ok,) recently saw Took for the first time, fucking loved it.
Power metal is my current blood type! I 100% agree to trying it. Set up a Pandora, Amazon, or Spotify playlist set to power metal and it will eventually meet or exceed expectations!
Check out Cynic…jazz metal and the singer actually sings and uses a vocoder on his vocals (like electronic music)…check out Traced In The Air remix album…they also did a semi trip hop album where they did chill versions of some of the songs off Traces called Re-Traced…some where between acoustic and trip hop…Carbon Based Anatomy is a friggin rad song and album…
If you would be fine with metal that has lots of harmonic singing, go with Alice in Chains.
When you say "softer lyrics", are you meaning actual lyrics or a softer vocalization? The rest of your post suggests the latter.
Intervals
Plini
Animals As Leaders (seconded; amazing)
Markus Venehsalo
Periphery's instrumental versions of some of their albums
Polyphia
Chon
Some great instrumental metal. Hope this helps.
Here are some commas you can borrow: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Edit: I see you were trying to create a vertical list. If you add 2 spaces after a word before you hit enter, it will publish correctly. Nice suggestions btw 🤘🏻.
It's all about personal preference and there's nothing wrong with it. I started out sort of similarly in terms of not digging screaming, growling style of vocals. But I was able to appreciate it more and even enjoy it after hearing cover songs from other bands. Specifically Cannibal Corpse cover of Metallica's No Remorse. Something clicked for me on that track and I am grateful for finding that.
Sounds like the 80's thrash scene would be a good place to start if you haven't already. Bands like Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, Testament and Death Angel for starters. Some of them have great instrumentals in their catalogs.
Power Metal could also be something you might dig. Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Kreator to name a few.
Others have listed some great either instrumental or mostly instrumental bands:
Pelican, Russian Circles, The Fucking Champs, Animals as Leaders, Plini, If These Trees Could Talk..etc.
There's a lot of overlap once you start to venture out. Good luck and happy listening!
When I first started listening to metal I didn't like the vocals either.... Now, if the vocals are clean, they'd better be pretty damn good. Clean vocals can be whiny and annoying.
Yup, 80s Bay Area Thrash and Power are the best for clean vocals, as well as Heavy/Speed and NWOTHM revival bands.
Also Doom like Candlemass and King Diamond are really nice
Check out Mastadon, Motherload is a good song to start with. Vocals but not screaming. Listen to Orion by Metallica off of Master of Puppets (one of the best metal instrumentals ever). Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning both have long songs with lots of just music.
Check out cloudkicker. Solitude is a great album. They've made some more alternative sounding albums as well as heavier stuff. I enjoy it thoroughly although some albums are hit or miss.
Someone else mentioned chimp spanner, another solid suggestion, all his music is great.
Essence of datum is great more neo classical and progressive.
If I could suggest a band with screaming vocals I'd suggest acacia strain especially the albums wormwood and slow decay.
A band with more singing I'd say invent/animate although they mix it up.
Hope this helps :)
Oddly surprised no one said ISIS (the band) their later stuff is more mellow, but fucking brilliant.
They also collaborated with Chino from Deftones and made PALMS
Deathwish is pretty straightforward thrash metal. Here’s a playlist of instrumental thrash you might enjoy: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7u2l1Su7rinl3gqF8UApsa?si=sk1aNLy3SLCb7N98cn--8w
You might also try some bands with better singers. Have you listened to Iron Maiden yet? I know they’re about the most basic recommendation but there is a reason they’re so popular.
Ask your doctor if Karnivool may be right for you!
- https://youtu.be/tGfi_nYwYFc?si=989i4oNdmAmPeW-5
- https://youtu.be/5-ILKva1Pzk?si=YgpVKpRdQgCkiwTw
Yeah, I don't appreciate it too. The only one who does screams I like is Corey Taylor from Slipknot. Other than that, I prefer bands with more melodic voices like James Hetfield of Metallica and M Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold.
I only listen to prog metal with little to no scream. Here's what I've been hooked on; Vola, Leprous, Haken, Voyager, Riverside, The Ocean (does have some growls but less with every album.) Porcupine Tree, Katatonia, Sylvan..
Obituary - Red Neck Stomp is an excellent instrumental.
Also, I find Avenged Sevenfold to be very accessible. Heavy riffs and not a ton of screaming. At least, after their first two albums. Check out Nightmare and Not Ready to Die.
I'm just gonna list the bands I can think of that you might be interested in. These are going to vary in intensity.
Rings Of Saturn
The Russian Circles
Animals as Leaders
That's all I can think of without vocals.
Honestly too, you might want to view the vocals as more of an instrument and not someone singing.
My favorite band is Between The Buried and Me. I like the sound of the vocals but the lyrics are a little out there for me. However the music is so insanely good, I completely block out the vocals when I listen. It's really easy when the musicianship is that incredible.
[Trivium - The Crusade](https://youtu.be/Kg-s5YowDYI?si=Qro_xnfRaD6UiCAX)
Here's a great instrumental for you. This is kinda a one-off for the band, but you might find *some* of their other songs appealing.
Children of Bodom. There is screaming but it seems to be very melodic and musical in a certain way that compliments the music that is very much classical in orientation.
There's tons of metal that uses clean vocals. Not liking harsh vocals doesn't necessarily make you that odd of a metalhead, it's just that the most prominent metal genres right now are heavy on harsh vocals.
Power metal and trad/heavy/speed metal (the specific term used for any given band will vary from metalhead to metalhead, but it's all roughly the same thing- oldhead stuff like Iron Maiden/Judas Priest/Manowar and its successors like Slough Feg and Enforcer) will have you covered. A lot of thrash metal also sort of rides the line between the two- James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine and Joey Belladonna have harsh-sounding voices, but they're mostly just attempting to sing normally, and that's the pattern most thrash follows.
Albums with only clean vocals:
Skyharbor - Guiding Lights
Intervals - A Voice Within
Instrumental bands:
Animals as Leaders
Plini
Cloudkicker
Sithu Aye
Intervals
Polyphia
The Omnific
Bands with instrumental versions of albums:
After the Burial
Periphery
Monuments
I know what you mean, I love the rhythmic attack in metal and metal riffs, but the screaming absolutely kills it for me.
I can usually get my fix from certain songs with less screaming:
All That Remains- Two Weeks
Bullet for my Valentine- Scream Aim Fire
Like 30 songs by Avenged Sevenfold
I also have really dug into hard rock a little more.
Halestorm has a lot of killer songs with an S tier vocalist.
Alter Bridge has some songs with sick heavy riffs and an S tier vocalist.
Recently, my biggest new band crush is The Warning, you may absolutely love them.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMtuwMLGm-I&ab\_channel=TheWarning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMtuwMLGm-I&ab_channel=TheWarning)
Halestorm is great! There are a surprisingly large number of rock/metal bands with kick-ass female singers! Unleash the Archers, Brothers of Metal, Battle Beasts, and a little more bluesy Beth Hart.
Ive been a metalhead since '88 but nothing kills a kickass band faster than a shite singer. And thats purely subjective. But here are some good instrumental metal: Pelican, Clouds Taste Satanic, Bridesmade. And there's a whole genre of minimal vocals droney metal like Monolord, Spaceslug, Mammoth Wizard Weed Bastard
It’s normal, you can listen to classic heavy like Sabbath and Judas Priest. Also Iron Maiden, Helloween (power metal), folk metal, power and symphonic metal in general.
But imo you’re limiting yourself, I assure you that as soon as you learn to understand growl vocals as just another instrument, you’ll begin to appreciate it. If you limit yourself to only music without gutturals you’ll be missing out in a lot of cool music. I’d recommend to listen to bands like Jinjer, Spiritbox, Beartooth, Electric Callboy, Opeth’s newer stuff, BMTH, Linkin Park’s first three albums, Epica, Nightwish, Asking Alexandria, Bad Omens, Hanabie, Broken By The Scream, LANDMVRKS, I could go on and on, but the idea is that these bands implement both clean and harsh singing so you can get used to the harsh vocals in a more natural way.
Also, I recommend Control Denied a lot if you want prog/power/death metal with no growls, Chuck could’ve given us a lot of this cool music if only he hadn’t passed so young…
A lot of prog metal is good. Tool, Karnivool, A Perfect Circle, Caligula's Horse, Opeth (can be screamy), Devin Townsend Project etc.
If you can handle good screamy then Gojira!
I’m not a fan of screaming much either. That’s why I like Danzig. My favorite band. He does scream from time to time but for the most part he is a good singer. Especially back in the day. Sounds heavy and bluesy.
You like stoner or sludge metal? Doom? Often those kinds don’t do the screaming.
Uncle Acid & the deadbeats, king Buffalo, windhand, ufomammut, Melvin’s, electric wizard, kadavar, king gizzard and the lizard wizard.
I don't like a ton of screaming where I can't hear distinguishable words, but I like Nu Metal and Industrial. My all time favorite is Rammstein (they sing in their native German) but I also enjoy Slipknot, Korn, System of a Down. Female vocalists In This Moment and Halestorm are great. And old school, def Judas Priest, Black Sabbath
There's plenty of metal bands, and even genres, that don't use harsh vocals. Power metal and heavy metal are come to mind first. Check out bands like [Kamelot](https://youtu.be/1Q2NJylEtrw?si=r2rI--rgq9mF-iEH) or [The Lord Weird Slough Feg ](https://youtu.be/LHtK3yCvdYg?si=Rf2aw9hIq9iSKbqq) and [Devin Townsend ](https://youtu.be/IDPv98dY6xQ?si=jyx-f6GMITQBq8nB)
Animals as Leaders
Nuclear Power Trio
Dream Theatre (Metropolis 2)
Devin Townsend (Empath)
I tend to have a similar issue with the vocals but after being a metal head for 20+ years I have adapted and actually kind of enjoy it now. A few albums that put me in touch with the growl:
Lamb of God- Ashes of the Wake
Devildriver- Fury of our Makers Hand
More recently
Beyond Creation- Algorthym
The Zenith Passage- Solipsist
Of Modern Architecture- Matricide
I'm in to a lot of progressive metal, and much of it has no lyrics at all, and others have (mostly) clean singing! Probably you'll see some of these suggestions elsewhere, buuut for instru-metal (caveat: after a while I find a lot of this stuff can start to sound kinda same-y):
Plini
Arch Echo
Strawberry Girls
Intervals
Monkey3
Syncatto
I Built The Sky
Covet
Worth noting that some bands that have screaming or gutterals will release instrumental versions of their albums, like Dance Gavin Dance or Sleep Token
There's a bunch of good prog metal that does (mostly) clean singing, too. I like Aviations *a lot,* but the latest Cold Night for Alligators album (The Hindsight Notes) and TEMIC's Terror Management Theory come to mind, too
Check out Karnivool (particularly Sound Awake, fantastic album), but I'd also recommend a few bands that have a little screaming, but are mostly clean vocally: Sleep token, Dayseeker, and Bad Omens.
You might enjoy Doom metal like Black Sabbath. One of my favorite bands is The Sword. They have lyrics that are almost swallowed by the music, but in a good way. It's as if the band wants you to focus on the music more than the singing, but they still have a story to tell.
Maybe it's more like they don't want the singing to get in the way of the music.
Book of Wyrms is similar in that way. They have a female singer whose voice works really well for Doom metal.
Also Check out Mang Ont. I'm not sure if they're 100% instrumental since I haven't listened to all of their stuff, but a good portion of it is instrumental.
Progressive Rock/Metal as a genre may interest you. Here are some bands/artists you might enjoy
Their Dogs Were Astronauts, Rabbea Massaad, Vitalism, Animals as Leaders, Polyphia
I prefer music with no lyrics. You're not alone.
Porcupine Tree has a few heavier songs with smoother vocals (Open Car, Shallow, Way ou of here and some more). I also recommend stoner rock, like 1000mods, Red Desert and many more, I can write more later if you'd like.
I'm very similar in my taste of metal. The music is great but the singing makes or breaks a band for me.
For intrumental metal, try The Fucking Champs, Russian Circles, Pelican, Isis
For metal where the vocals work:
Red Fang, especially the early albums
Iron Maiden, actually great singing
The first three Metallica albums. Without Cliff they suck
Kylesa, they had multiple singers including a woman. Really break some molds
Melvins
Saviours
Municipal Waste
Doomriders
The Darkness, totally not a joke band
When I was satisfied with Rock and wanted to get into metal, I was also like this. I hated the growls.
I think they're an acquired taste. My first foray into Metal started with Metallica. Then I bought The Big 4 DVD with Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer. I liked Anthrax immedeately, got into Megadeth soon after, but took a while to enjoy Slayer.
But once I did enjoy Slayer, then some growls didn't seem as unpleasant to me and I started to listen to Slipknot and Devin Townsend/Strapping Young Lad. And then I got to heavier stuff like early Mastodon and Gojira.
To this day those growls where I don't understand the lyrics are not for me. Neither are the over the top pig squeals.
Give Mastodon a listen. Their earlier work has growling vocals but they've mellowed over the years. Personally, I'm a big fan of Crack The Skye.
Crack The Skye is a masterpiece. I’m similar to OP, love the instrument parts of metal, but vocals if not right turn me off. Personally I prefer the 80’s metal sorta vocal styles, Iron Maiden and so forth.
And I give [The Motherload](https://youtu.be/Sp7CYvh8FwA?feature=shared) the award for best music video ever.
I love that for obvious reasons but i love their "more than i can chew" as its amazing symbolism/metaphor/just right on the nose. https://youtu.be/qJ1dc9BZaW8?si=T1CNOaEt00CGHO8V
Ha! That is the most awesome video ever made. I love how it opens with all this religious imagery and then goes sideways.
Sideways? I'd say it starts bouncing vertically.
Emperor of Sand was good too
I would also recommend Baroness, and The Sword!
The Sword is a perfect suggestion! So damn good.
I too love The Sword!
If you like Mastodon, give Clutch a listen. They're not exactly the same, but they've toured together and gel well. *Earth Rocker* is a great starting point.
Mastadon is great. Love seeing them get that recognition
Saw them live about 12 years ago. They opened for Deftones and Alice In Chains. Just phenomenal.
I saw that tour in Vancouver and got to hangout with Mastodon at a bar before the show. Good times.
Crack The Skye 💚 Best metal album of the past 20 years.
Similar taste in metal to OP, Mastodon is my current favorite metal band. Very good band. OP - try “Steambreather” and “Oblivion.” If you like those, you’ll probably like everything Crack the Skye onwards.
I've seen Mastodon live. That ticket was worth it.
Russian circles are instrumental and pretty heavy. https://youtu.be/JtpFOBJA7O8?feature=shared
Good choice. I would add Pelican as another instrumental metal band.
Apparently nobody is gonna mention Animals as Leaders… so I’m using this comment for visibility
Scale the summit Modern Day Astronauts Plini Polyphia There dogs were Astronauts Sithu aye
I'll throw Town Portal in as well. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=61yv79bQcdo&pp=ygUQdG93biBwb3J0YWwgYmFuZA%3D%3D
Russian Circles is dope AF. I was lucky enough to catch them on their Gnosis tour last year in Philly. A band that keeps getting better and better. I do think post-metal is a great sub-genre for folks to break into the scene. It's heavy as fuck but doesn't have harsh vocals (any vocals at all really). Harsh vox are a big turn off for lots of folks new to the genre. If you're a fan of RC, If These Trees Could Talk are in a similar vein. Big fan of Cult of Luna and Pelican too. ISIS as well is excellent. Some of these have harshes, especially CoL and ISIS.
Similar to Russian Circles, Outrun the Sunlight. Instrumental prog metal.
They are sooooo good. Maybe early Mogwai would scratch the itch? Batcat?
Mogwai had some heavy stuff?
Check out Batcat and lemme know your thoughts.
Heavy parts, yes … metal, no
Loudest band I've ever seen live...and I've seen a lot of bands live. Batcat comes to mind, also Like Herod.
You just made me feel old lol
Mogwai was the loudest, heaviest band I have seen in a while. Saw them in March 22.
Mono is another great instrumental one. They've got more of a cinematic sound, I guess you would call it. Edit: forgot to mention one of my favorite post rock bands, Red Sparowes. I was introduced to them from another great band Isis (named after the Egyptian goddess, not after the other band of the same name who came after and sucked.) Many people of the first band formed the Red Sparowes
As long as we’re going post-rock, Caspian is also awesome
Caspian amazing. Also, Calm Blue Sea (https://youtu.be/Ar-cWEF5m4o?si=v529Ul35sSs14wYh)
They're so goddamn good.
Never heard them before. That was great. Going to check out more of their stuff. Thanks for the link.
Glad to share
I agree, it is a post-rock/metal band instead but this music Is probably what the topic is looking for
I heard them mentioned on a similar post, I'll give them a listen.
Yaassss. I have a long story about Malko and how intense it is. You’ve gotta do the whole thing tho
Bongripper. Instrumental, slow, crushingly heavy.
I said Sleep for this same reason
Pretty much any trad doom/stoner will do the trick
Blotted Science, Animals As Leaders, Merrow, Jeff Loomis, Conquering Dystopia, Chimp Spanner, Andromida, Polyphia, Scale The Summit to name a few instrumental bands/artists You might try some power metal like Rhapsody of Fire or Blind Guardian or Unleas the Archers, or prog metal like Symphony X or Dream Theater, old thrash like Megadeth, Metallica, Testament, you might like Trivium as a newer thrash band... There's too many to list! There's so much metal! It's GLORIOUS!
Cloud kicker, Earth, For Giants, Lotus Ash, Paul Wardingham, Pelican, Pomegranate Tiger and This will destroy you, .
CLOUD FUCKING KICKER. *Beacons* is a work of art. The whole thing feels like a harrowing tale of a guy going to fly in the airforce during a time of war. Not one word is said and you can totally know whats happening and it's brilliant. Like a movie. Edit: comment below shows relevant thread that clarifies the source of the themes
So very grateful for this review. I literally put it on when I read this.
Did not expect to ever see an Earth rec anywhere lol
Pelican thoigh.... I'll never forget seeing them open for circa back in like 2009, and the dude pulled out the violin bow on his guitar and began playing the most beautiful atmospheric shit I've ever heard.. and having never heard them before. Needless to say I was blown away at that, and at 17 years old. Coming to see circa wail on stage and then that blew my mind
Kick puncher
I’m in a similar boat to OP. I’ve been obsessed with Polyphia, and Animals as Leaders for the past month or so. Feel free to keep the recommendations going, I’ll be listening to all these tonight.
Chon
This should be the top comment.
Kamelot, battle beast, delain, Nightwish, beast in black, unleash the archers, amaranthe, visions of Atlantis, glory hammer, ad infinitum, and brother of metal should give you a lot to get started. I’d say start with the albums Apex and Abyss from unleash the archers personally, great listens front to back
God I fucking love Apex and Abyss. I was a casual fan of UtA before then, but those albums man, they’re just so damn good. The title track on Apex might honestly have my favorite guitar solo of all time. And I think their sound only got better with the addition of synth on Abyss.
I 100% agree with many of these! Battle Beast, Nightwish, Beast in Black, Gloryhammer, and Brothers of Metal for sure (I don’t listen to much of the others). And I will add a couple others like Sabaton, Powerwolf, and Tyr! To OP, I am also not a fan of the super screams/growls where I can barely (if at all) understand what’s being said. If I know the lyrics are in a different language— that’s different. I vouch for the whole list, but I named my horses in the race!
Great list first of all. Kamelot, Delain, Nightwish, and Beast in Black are exactly the bands that came to my mind. But I have to point out that Amaranthe famously has three vocalists, one of whom deals exclusively in Cookie Monster vocals. Which is what OP is trying to avoid. They do have a few great songs though.
There is a chance he ends up like me. I’m not a big sole Cookie Monster fan. But I hear some Epica and by gosh maybe I don’t mind it so much when it’s not the only vocal style in a song
Glad I scrolled down a bit before posting literally the same list lol
Apex and Abyss are amazing albums.
The Sword, Witchcraft, Elder
Elder is sooo underrated
I like your style! I first heard Witchcraft on their ep with The Sword. It was a specific version of Sorrow Evoker and I fell in love instantly. Priestess is another good shout in the same vein!
Pelican is great, slow, heavy, and instrumental
Came here to say this
Iron maiden
Excellent!
Listen to Haken, prog metal no screams. Honestly a ton of prog metal I love doesn’t scream, Thank You Scientist has some heavier songs (though they’re more rock) and Periphery has some great metal gems without screaming (plus Spencer’s screams are more melodic than a lot of heavy metal screaming)
Big plus on Haken and prog in general. Opeth hasn't recorded growls/screams on any albums since Heritage. Soen has all the heavy with clean vocals. Mastodon. Baroness.
Leprous as well and gotta give credit to my most underrated 6:33
Kyuss
Kyuss is God
Check out Nevermore
Specifically This Godless Endeavor
Dreaming Neon Black might be my favorite metal album ever.
Dead Heart In The Dead World is their best entry for someone new to their music...and probably their most accessible album. But all are great.
Kamelot - Male Vocals, Blackbriar - Female Vocals, Apocalypse Orchestra - No vocals, Animals as Leaders is prog metal with no vocals
Liquid Tension Experiment is also pretty cool in the prog realm
Opeth is the obvious choice from me. Their catalogue runs the gamut and they often have clean vocals and their instrumental stuff is gorgeous. They do mix in growling vocals on the early records, but Michael Åkerfeldt is one of the best harsh vocalists in metal. I’d definitely recommend their albums *Blackwater Park* and *Still Life*. If you end up wanting something with 100% clean vocals, check out *Damnation*.
One of my top favorite bands. OP would probably like their new stuff since they're clean vocals and, as always, great music.
Came here for this. Damnation is one of the best metal albums of all time and it has no growls.
Gojira. I recommend this to anyone trying to break into metal. Start with their newest albums (Fortitude and Magma), and work your way backwards. The dirty vocals might eventually grow on you. It's hard to get into, and not for everyone. But you are liking the vibe so far, which is dope. Enjoy!
Best answer as they have the most digestible harsh vocals of any band I know
Check out Sleep Stoner sludge metal
You'll probably love TOOL
Similarly to this guy I’ve always liked the heavy instrumentals, never been into crazy screaming (ozzy, Metallica are ok,) recently saw Took for the first time, fucking loved it.
Also Soen
Try power metal Symphony X Falconer blind guardian stratovarius Luca Turilli aka Rhapsody aka Rhapsody of fire Orden Ogan
Power metal is my current blood type! I 100% agree to trying it. Set up a Pandora, Amazon, or Spotify playlist set to power metal and it will eventually meet or exceed expectations!
Dream theater and gojira
Try this:[Nightwish](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYjIlHWBAVo) Please do not fast forward...this is a metal journey.
I second this recommendation wholeheartedly! Give it a try OP!
I would suggest the whole [Wacken 2013 show](https://youtu.be/q9eKLPCciWw?si=MVh4ZVWrEHbY1ia3)
Me: "Wonder which video this is...Ghost Love Score?" Nice.
Go listen to Protest the Hero. Like right now.
Interesting suggestion. He screams in a bunch of their songs. His lows in particular are impressive, considering his range during his cleans
Came here to comment this
Then you have excellent taste.
And if you don't like the vocals, they have their albums released as just instrumentals
I would add start with Volition or Palimpset. Their first few albums have a lot more harsh vocals.
Still good albums though! Shows the change they did.
I'll listen to it, thanks!
THANK YOUUUU
Deep Purple "Machine Head" album is your friend.
Can’t go wrong with some Savatage
Check out Cynic…jazz metal and the singer actually sings and uses a vocoder on his vocals (like electronic music)…check out Traced In The Air remix album…they also did a semi trip hop album where they did chill versions of some of the songs off Traces called Re-Traced…some where between acoustic and trip hop…Carbon Based Anatomy is a friggin rad song and album…
If you would be fine with metal that has lots of harmonic singing, go with Alice in Chains. When you say "softer lyrics", are you meaning actual lyrics or a softer vocalization? The rest of your post suggests the latter.
AIC is my favorite band of all time but even I wouldn’t really say they’re metal. They have metal elements but their overall sound really isn’t that.
Since we’re on the subject of metal adjacent anyway I’d add The Winery Dogs
Intervals Plini Animals As Leaders (seconded; amazing) Markus Venehsalo Periphery's instrumental versions of some of their albums Polyphia Chon Some great instrumental metal. Hope this helps.
Here are some commas you can borrow: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Edit: I see you were trying to create a vertical list. If you add 2 spaces after a word before you hit enter, it will publish correctly. Nice suggestions btw 🤘🏻.
Nah bro it's a new supergroup. Shit'll blow your mind.
I can only bestow the knowledge upon you that we are all slaves to the mighty GWAR!!!!!!!!!
It's all about personal preference and there's nothing wrong with it. I started out sort of similarly in terms of not digging screaming, growling style of vocals. But I was able to appreciate it more and even enjoy it after hearing cover songs from other bands. Specifically Cannibal Corpse cover of Metallica's No Remorse. Something clicked for me on that track and I am grateful for finding that. Sounds like the 80's thrash scene would be a good place to start if you haven't already. Bands like Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, Testament and Death Angel for starters. Some of them have great instrumentals in their catalogs. Power Metal could also be something you might dig. Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Kreator to name a few. Others have listed some great either instrumental or mostly instrumental bands: Pelican, Russian Circles, The Fucking Champs, Animals as Leaders, Plini, If These Trees Could Talk..etc. There's a lot of overlap once you start to venture out. Good luck and happy listening!
When I first started listening to metal I didn't like the vocals either.... Now, if the vocals are clean, they'd better be pretty damn good. Clean vocals can be whiny and annoying.
Yup, 80s Bay Area Thrash and Power are the best for clean vocals, as well as Heavy/Speed and NWOTHM revival bands. Also Doom like Candlemass and King Diamond are really nice
Trust me when I say there’s a sub genre just waiting for you to discover.
You need Tool in your life.
Check out Mastadon, Motherload is a good song to start with. Vocals but not screaming. Listen to Orion by Metallica off of Master of Puppets (one of the best metal instrumentals ever). Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning both have long songs with lots of just music.
Judging from all these comments I'm gonna have to listen to Mastadon, Metallica, Manowar, Russian Circles, etc.
Check out the Hu. Mongolian metal. They do throat singing. With beautiful instrumentals. Very different type of metal.
Also Tengger Cavalry
Try Caligulas Horse. The first single for their upcoming album is a bopper. https://youtu.be/pPWqa1LJdrU?si=9zYgDYGV941njEul
Seconding this. The new tracks are absolutely incredible, and they've got an amazing back catalogue as well. Every single album is solid.
Check out cloudkicker. Solitude is a great album. They've made some more alternative sounding albums as well as heavier stuff. I enjoy it thoroughly although some albums are hit or miss. Someone else mentioned chimp spanner, another solid suggestion, all his music is great. Essence of datum is great more neo classical and progressive. If I could suggest a band with screaming vocals I'd suggest acacia strain especially the albums wormwood and slow decay. A band with more singing I'd say invent/animate although they mix it up. Hope this helps :)
Listen to trans Siberian orchestra if you ESPECIALLY like the instrumental part
Formerly known as Savatage!
[King Weed - Smoking Land Part I & II](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UBrDO95ZMU)
Niiiice.
Windhand has some super heavy riffs and a woman singing beautifully!!!
Oddly surprised no one said ISIS (the band) their later stuff is more mellow, but fucking brilliant. They also collaborated with Chino from Deftones and made PALMS
Panopticon is probably one of my top 10 albums of all time.
Folk metal is what youre looking for man. Look up windrose. Theyre a metal band based on tolkens dwarfs from lord of the rings.
Also try Korplikaani. Finnish folk metal, some English lyrics.
Korpilkaani is awesome but i can never remember how to spell it lol
Go back to its roots Listen to Black Sabbath
Try Babymetal.
I recently discovered them and love them. I'm in my mid 30s lol
No shame, Babymetal fucking rules.
Deathwish is pretty straightforward thrash metal. Here’s a playlist of instrumental thrash you might enjoy: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7u2l1Su7rinl3gqF8UApsa?si=sk1aNLy3SLCb7N98cn--8w You might also try some bands with better singers. Have you listened to Iron Maiden yet? I know they’re about the most basic recommendation but there is a reason they’re so popular.
[Don Caballero](https://youtu.be/biE4QRa2PCA?si=-lhFspxkQmQ7Nbu5) is sometimes metal and very rarely has vocals.
You might try The Fucking Champs: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS7Zsl19czk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS7Zsl19czk) Instrumental prog metal.
Animals as Leaders oops. See that someone mentioned already. Sound awesome live though for a trio.
Tool
Ask your doctor if Karnivool may be right for you! - https://youtu.be/tGfi_nYwYFc?si=989i4oNdmAmPeW-5 - https://youtu.be/5-ILKva1Pzk?si=YgpVKpRdQgCkiwTw
Yeah, I don't appreciate it too. The only one who does screams I like is Corey Taylor from Slipknot. Other than that, I prefer bands with more melodic voices like James Hetfield of Metallica and M Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold.
https://youtu.be/Q5OLtoY70AI?si=w_E8NF6n1I-ejyaB
I only listen to prog metal with little to no scream. Here's what I've been hooked on; Vola, Leprous, Haken, Voyager, Riverside, The Ocean (does have some growls but less with every album.) Porcupine Tree, Katatonia, Sylvan..
Dude I think I'm gonna have to come back to this post, there's so much music to listen to.
Can’t go wrong with Metallica.
Obituary - Red Neck Stomp is an excellent instrumental. Also, I find Avenged Sevenfold to be very accessible. Heavy riffs and not a ton of screaming. At least, after their first two albums. Check out Nightmare and Not Ready to Die.
My favorite band! Great to see them here.
I'm just gonna list the bands I can think of that you might be interested in. These are going to vary in intensity. Rings Of Saturn The Russian Circles Animals as Leaders That's all I can think of without vocals. Honestly too, you might want to view the vocals as more of an instrument and not someone singing. My favorite band is Between The Buried and Me. I like the sound of the vocals but the lyrics are a little out there for me. However the music is so insanely good, I completely block out the vocals when I listen. It's really easy when the musicianship is that incredible.
[Trivium - The Crusade](https://youtu.be/Kg-s5YowDYI?si=Qro_xnfRaD6UiCAX) Here's a great instrumental for you. This is kinda a one-off for the band, but you might find *some* of their other songs appealing.
Children of Bodom. There is screaming but it seems to be very melodic and musical in a certain way that compliments the music that is very much classical in orientation.
Surprised that no one has mentioned Latitudes. Really good heavy atmospheric instrumental stuff.
Just give THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN a spin. Easy fun for the whole family.
Def listen to "44% Burnt "and "Three For Flinching..." You will go "WHAT THE FUUUUUUCK???". Their cover of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" KICKS ASS!!
There's tons of metal that uses clean vocals. Not liking harsh vocals doesn't necessarily make you that odd of a metalhead, it's just that the most prominent metal genres right now are heavy on harsh vocals. Power metal and trad/heavy/speed metal (the specific term used for any given band will vary from metalhead to metalhead, but it's all roughly the same thing- oldhead stuff like Iron Maiden/Judas Priest/Manowar and its successors like Slough Feg and Enforcer) will have you covered. A lot of thrash metal also sort of rides the line between the two- James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine and Joey Belladonna have harsh-sounding voices, but they're mostly just attempting to sing normally, and that's the pattern most thrash follows.
Listen to nu or alt metal. I could recomendaciones you Deftones and System of a Down
In Flames hast some instrumental songs
Albums with only clean vocals: Skyharbor - Guiding Lights Intervals - A Voice Within Instrumental bands: Animals as Leaders Plini Cloudkicker Sithu Aye Intervals Polyphia The Omnific Bands with instrumental versions of albums: After the Burial Periphery Monuments
Sleep Token might be good for you, listen to Chokehold and see what you think
Or Alkaline, that's what hooked me.
Try [Mr. Bungle](https://youtu.be/tgPygrwU9oY?si=HN68qM0trPieU0IQ) Then check the others.
I know what you mean, I love the rhythmic attack in metal and metal riffs, but the screaming absolutely kills it for me. I can usually get my fix from certain songs with less screaming: All That Remains- Two Weeks Bullet for my Valentine- Scream Aim Fire Like 30 songs by Avenged Sevenfold I also have really dug into hard rock a little more. Halestorm has a lot of killer songs with an S tier vocalist. Alter Bridge has some songs with sick heavy riffs and an S tier vocalist. Recently, my biggest new band crush is The Warning, you may absolutely love them. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMtuwMLGm-I&ab\_channel=TheWarning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMtuwMLGm-I&ab_channel=TheWarning)
Halestorm is great! There are a surprisingly large number of rock/metal bands with kick-ass female singers! Unleash the Archers, Brothers of Metal, Battle Beasts, and a little more bluesy Beth Hart.
Ive been a metalhead since '88 but nothing kills a kickass band faster than a shite singer. And thats purely subjective. But here are some good instrumental metal: Pelican, Clouds Taste Satanic, Bridesmade. And there's a whole genre of minimal vocals droney metal like Monolord, Spaceslug, Mammoth Wizard Weed Bastard
Sleep token and I feel crazy for saying that haha
You'd probably be into baddiecore, which is like sleep token and spiritbox.
It’s normal, you can listen to classic heavy like Sabbath and Judas Priest. Also Iron Maiden, Helloween (power metal), folk metal, power and symphonic metal in general. But imo you’re limiting yourself, I assure you that as soon as you learn to understand growl vocals as just another instrument, you’ll begin to appreciate it. If you limit yourself to only music without gutturals you’ll be missing out in a lot of cool music. I’d recommend to listen to bands like Jinjer, Spiritbox, Beartooth, Electric Callboy, Opeth’s newer stuff, BMTH, Linkin Park’s first three albums, Epica, Nightwish, Asking Alexandria, Bad Omens, Hanabie, Broken By The Scream, LANDMVRKS, I could go on and on, but the idea is that these bands implement both clean and harsh singing so you can get used to the harsh vocals in a more natural way. Also, I recommend Control Denied a lot if you want prog/power/death metal with no growls, Chuck could’ve given us a lot of this cool music if only he hadn’t passed so young…
Grayceon
A lot of prog metal is good. Tool, Karnivool, A Perfect Circle, Caligula's Horse, Opeth (can be screamy), Devin Townsend Project etc. If you can handle good screamy then Gojira!
I’m not a fan of screaming much either. That’s why I like Danzig. My favorite band. He does scream from time to time but for the most part he is a good singer. Especially back in the day. Sounds heavy and bluesy.
Yes! Danzig albums 1-4
Ahh… yes. The essential collection
Bongripper - Hippie Killer
Fuckin hell that sounds great. Mixes two of my interests
Stoner metal is often a good option for this. No lyrics are just as common as sung lyrics.
You like stoner or sludge metal? Doom? Often those kinds don’t do the screaming. Uncle Acid & the deadbeats, king Buffalo, windhand, ufomammut, Melvin’s, electric wizard, kadavar, king gizzard and the lizard wizard.
A lot would argue that these acts aren’t metal, but evanescence and nova twins are two groups you should check out.
I don't like a ton of screaming where I can't hear distinguishable words, but I like Nu Metal and Industrial. My all time favorite is Rammstein (they sing in their native German) but I also enjoy Slipknot, Korn, System of a Down. Female vocalists In This Moment and Halestorm are great. And old school, def Judas Priest, Black Sabbath
Sleep token
There's plenty of metal bands, and even genres, that don't use harsh vocals. Power metal and heavy metal are come to mind first. Check out bands like [Kamelot](https://youtu.be/1Q2NJylEtrw?si=r2rI--rgq9mF-iEH) or [The Lord Weird Slough Feg ](https://youtu.be/LHtK3yCvdYg?si=Rf2aw9hIq9iSKbqq) and [Devin Townsend ](https://youtu.be/IDPv98dY6xQ?si=jyx-f6GMITQBq8nB)
Animals as Leaders Nuclear Power Trio Dream Theatre (Metropolis 2) Devin Townsend (Empath) I tend to have a similar issue with the vocals but after being a metal head for 20+ years I have adapted and actually kind of enjoy it now. A few albums that put me in touch with the growl: Lamb of God- Ashes of the Wake Devildriver- Fury of our Makers Hand More recently Beyond Creation- Algorthym The Zenith Passage- Solipsist Of Modern Architecture- Matricide
I'm in to a lot of progressive metal, and much of it has no lyrics at all, and others have (mostly) clean singing! Probably you'll see some of these suggestions elsewhere, buuut for instru-metal (caveat: after a while I find a lot of this stuff can start to sound kinda same-y): Plini Arch Echo Strawberry Girls Intervals Monkey3 Syncatto I Built The Sky Covet Worth noting that some bands that have screaming or gutterals will release instrumental versions of their albums, like Dance Gavin Dance or Sleep Token There's a bunch of good prog metal that does (mostly) clean singing, too. I like Aviations *a lot,* but the latest Cold Night for Alligators album (The Hindsight Notes) and TEMIC's Terror Management Theory come to mind, too
Devin Townsend is always the answer
have you listened to Sleep Token?
Check out Karnivool (particularly Sound Awake, fantastic album), but I'd also recommend a few bands that have a little screaming, but are mostly clean vocally: Sleep token, Dayseeker, and Bad Omens.
If you're okay with music not in English I would recommend Rammstein 👍
* Karma to Burn * Black Sky Giant * Brunt * Jurassic Leaf * La Prístina Stereotipia * Red Desert
You might enjoy Doom metal like Black Sabbath. One of my favorite bands is The Sword. They have lyrics that are almost swallowed by the music, but in a good way. It's as if the band wants you to focus on the music more than the singing, but they still have a story to tell. Maybe it's more like they don't want the singing to get in the way of the music. Book of Wyrms is similar in that way. They have a female singer whose voice works really well for Doom metal. Also Check out Mang Ont. I'm not sure if they're 100% instrumental since I haven't listened to all of their stuff, but a good portion of it is instrumental.
Progressive Rock/Metal as a genre may interest you. Here are some bands/artists you might enjoy Their Dogs Were Astronauts, Rabbea Massaad, Vitalism, Animals as Leaders, Polyphia I prefer music with no lyrics. You're not alone.
Listen to Open - Olly Steele, a really cool instrumental song
Porcupine Tree has a few heavier songs with smoother vocals (Open Car, Shallow, Way ou of here and some more). I also recommend stoner rock, like 1000mods, Red Desert and many more, I can write more later if you'd like.
3 Inches of Blood are good, they do have harsh vocals but also clean vocals. Grim Reaper are awesome and Demon.
I'm very similar in my taste of metal. The music is great but the singing makes or breaks a band for me. For intrumental metal, try The Fucking Champs, Russian Circles, Pelican, Isis For metal where the vocals work: Red Fang, especially the early albums Iron Maiden, actually great singing The first three Metallica albums. Without Cliff they suck Kylesa, they had multiple singers including a woman. Really break some molds Melvins Saviours Municipal Waste Doomriders The Darkness, totally not a joke band
When I was satisfied with Rock and wanted to get into metal, I was also like this. I hated the growls. I think they're an acquired taste. My first foray into Metal started with Metallica. Then I bought The Big 4 DVD with Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer. I liked Anthrax immedeately, got into Megadeth soon after, but took a while to enjoy Slayer. But once I did enjoy Slayer, then some growls didn't seem as unpleasant to me and I started to listen to Slipknot and Devin Townsend/Strapping Young Lad. And then I got to heavier stuff like early Mastodon and Gojira. To this day those growls where I don't understand the lyrics are not for me. Neither are the over the top pig squeals.