Best Rockband Since 1981?

[viper37]

Shitgoat.

rock on! 

[viper37]

If we do include Metal, Amon Amarth is certainly among the best out there. Taking one concept and going so far with it.  Sabbaton has a more varied style, always linked to military history though.  Hard choice.

Iron Maiden was hugely influencial, so was Metallica, so was Black Sabbath. Every band builds upon what has been done before and go with their own direction, or fail&crash.

Arch Ennemy popularized a new genre, melodic death metal.  Death created death metal.

But pick the best among them... It's just too hard for me.  And "best" would be defined by my personal tastes, highly subjective.  Otherwise, we'd go by album sales, but we'd ignore smaller bands who often had as much if not more talent than more mainstream ones.  Kataclysm, the Agonist, Cryptopsy, Feels like Home, Karkaos, just in Quebec there a ton of great bands.  But none are truly influential.

[Eddie Teach]

So is it Ghost or Shitgoat? Make up your mind!

[mongers]

Discharge was hugely influential, changing punk and metal, but few have heard about them.

Operation Ivy was a revelation, but they only had one indy album. But again, extremely influential.

Nirvana was influential AND successful. If Nirvana sounds today like nothing special, that's because ten thousand bands over the past three decades decided to sound like them.

I haven't kept up with modern music seriously since about 1997-2000, so you may disqualify me. Rock and Roll is no longer the killer app: it's just another genre in a very crowded cultural field. # Shakes fists at clouds.

I'll plug Black Mountain though. They consciously draw on Zep, Floyd and Hawkwind to make their own transcendent, heavy, psychedelic sound.

Thanks for the tip Sasks, I'll check them out.

[The Brain]

So is it Ghost or Shitgoat? Make up your mind!

I can't.

[Threviel]

Obviously Metallica. If metals doesn't count then Nirvana.

About Nirvana though... they released 3 studio albums.  The first didn't sell all that much, the second was huge, and by the third sold well, but not nearly as much as Nevermind.  They were hugely influential, but "best band"?

Well, the second most talented guy in the band went and formed Foo Fighters, another contender for best band. They could have, at least, continued with the same level of success as Foo Fighters. But who knows really. That one album is quite enough.