Sleater-Kinney, "Modern Girl"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOM107PIxV8
I'd say they are easily one of my all around favorite bands. I could listen to any SK album all day and never want for anything else.
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Ultimately, though, I'm a metal head and I'm learning the guitar to learn to play the kind of music that I truly love.
Augury isn't very well known, but they are absolutely stunning technical performers. They are one of those bands that nobody knows, but everyone applauds at the end of the show. They blow your mind with the tones they pull from their instruments and they do it with stirring, epic technical death metal.
Augury, "Jupiter to Ignite"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-_NsAKNeao
(No keyboards here folks. Those tones are all guitar.)
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The Faceless are a new bunch of kids playing death metal with a sort of blues inspiration. Their music is fairly straightforward, but they avoid some of the mistakes that other young death metal bands make: they actually do a decent job at song writing. I mean...as far as a death metal song goes. :D
The Faceless, "Prison Born"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRF0cPnw0A0&feature=related
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Obscura have been around for a long time and they have a ton of skill. Their technical abilities are beyond reproach and their presentation is VERY fun to watch live. They _love_ playing music. While other bands are trying hard to look evil and mean, when these guys play live they have wide grins on their faces.
Obscura, "Anticosmic Overload"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mesr2siegRg
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Protest the Hero...I don't know if these guys are considered prog metal or nu-metal or what, but I love it. I love the lyrics, the vocals, the presentation, and particularly the guitar work.
Protest the Hero, "Palms Read"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10r_oNn5-wc&feature=channel
I have the PtH Fortress tab book, but it's way too complex for me to start on.
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Gorod...I'll let the video do the talking.
Gorod, "Programmers of Decline"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OsgvvmkqJg
Gorod are insane. So much fun to listen to.
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So those are some of the bands whose music inspires me to practice and study the guitar. :P
