I'm starting this thread as place to share and discuss all things extreme music, heavy music, metal informed music. It really don't have to be metal based music cuz lotsa other music can be heavy. and I know theres some dark, heavy no metal anything stuff that I love and will post sometimes. All of it is welcome, but there is another Heavy Metal thread here that looks more geared to the traditional heavy metal styles and bands, and those are great too, like many who get into non mainstream/radio music, I am always seeking the next thing and diving deep into one of the 84.2 quadrillion sub and fusion genres that make metal/extreme music the best music to be a fan and creator of. That too, if anyones in a band or makes music, share it, plug your shtuff, I for sure will listen to it and tell others to too.

But yeah, I'm gonna start it with a list of what's been on my Spotify regularly in 2025 along with a link to my Spotify profile that has some (i feel) very worthy playlists (not all metal, fight me ) Please feel free to not just post what you're spinnin', but new shizz you find, stuff you feel everyone should hear, and any topics worth discussing... if this gets interest, I may start up the topic my bandmate and I have been having an ongoing dicussion on.. like full rabbit hole but it pertains to what our music is informed by, plus nerds.

So a lot of my tastes lean to the blackmetal and blackmetal informed side, blackgaze is real and it's spectacular, genre bending gives me a semi, heavy isn't always metal-type heavy. and yes, even hair metal is metal (but likely more of a fit on the other thread)

White Ward - from Odessa, Ukraine performs intensely deviant metal music of a noir shade according to their bio, meaning their based on the eastern european modern style of blackmetal. But they have a saxophone player in their lineup and embrace dark jazzy elements and fully incorporate it into dark, haunting metal. Cannot get enough of them. All their records are great, and they aren't ones to make the same record, or song twice. 10/10 will bang my head

Show Me a Dinosaur - a heavy post-rock/blackgaze act out of St. Petersburg, Russia. I adore these guys, def the band i've listened to the most over the last 5 yrs. They are literally what they claim; taking they best of post-rock delay-ay-ay-ay heavy melodic progressions and genetically stitching that to a very Sunbather informed style of blackened shoegaze and honestly doing it far better than Deafheaven-type bands ever did. (think of If These Trees Could Talk & MØL has a music love child.... that's SMaD) ratings system only goes to 10, SMaD is a 12 - Banger!

A Light in the Dark - Podolsk, Russia (i may be a bit geo-focused lately, for good reasons) the brains and talent behind the gem of a **post-rock/blackgaze works, and is less redundant. And a fitting way to describe ALitD. But like all of the artists projects, it's expansive in it's use of other sounds and fx that lends to a feel that the typical blackgazers don't, much in the same way (but not in sound) as the prolific and mysterious band next on the list. I slept on ALitD for years, and no clue how as their sound is clearly informed by at least a few bands and many of the genres i love most. oh well, better late than never. 9/10 am banging right now

An Autumn (for Crippled Children) - Freisland, Netherlands went by the name inspired by the Ebonylake song "An Autumn to Cripple Children" from '09-'24, only their latest LP is under An Autumn, the rest can be found under the long name. this band is absolutly stunning in so many ways. they've consistently put out relevant, unique, thought provoking atmospheric post-blackmetal they get the shoegaze tag a lot, but I feel the only element of that genre they have is the vocal are low low in the mix, i've always felt that the big open-note chord voicing alone doesn't denote one's shoegazing as. AA is a big sound, best played dial cranked to 11, thick layers of buzzing guitar riffing, prominent and haunting keyboards, blastbeats that fire like the cannon on an A10 Warhog pummeling yet melodic bass-lines and vocals so shrill and icy that you may want a jacket. So there's this band in the blackgaze area of music, may have heard of them, Deafheaven.. their 2013 release Sunbather made critics around the world shizzzz their pants and things like "paradigm shift in heavy music" and "groundbreaking" or the ignorant "genre defining" were used to describe it and it made almost (how dare you, Stereogum) every major publications 'album of the year'? And great record for sure, not a paradigm shift, unless you ignore 5-7 yrs of music before it. it also defined nothing, that genre was defined by a band Deafheaven had toured with in 2012. it was goundbreaking in bringing blackgaze into the mainstream and drawing in more jock bro fans than any metal act since Pantera. Meanwhile,AAfCC released a record the same year that not only had cohesiveness and direction, it is haunting and depressing, like blackmetal should be. it's also so full of noise yet melodic and beautiful enough to epitomize either genre bucket it resides in. With hipster fans and critics all over blackmetal, especially post-blackmetal (lookin' at you Wolves in the Throne Room) thanks to the portland, OR ABM scene blowing up the real groundbreaking thing is that Try Not To Destroy Everything You Love wasn't at least in contention. An Autumn is always in my rotation, with twelve long players and 4 or 5 Ep's in 15yrs, there's alot to hear without repeats... you'll want some repeats tho. this band goes up to 11 outta 10 and i am always banging them, especially while driving (wait what?)

I'll leave my list there even tho there are like 3 other great bands that have been dominating the month. It's a given that french art rockers and the definers of blackgaze since '05-'07, Alçest are in my rotation. Without question my favorite band that isn't the Cure (fight me,they're dark n heavy and have been a massive influence on my playing and writing for 30 years or so)

Where's your journey got your music player right now?