the safety fire

"wise hands"

one of the best progressive metal bands out of UK recently, this song is an example of the wide breadth that great bands possess. Wise Hands is an indie/post rockey selection of ambient melodies and high soaring vocals, one of my favorite songs of this genre. but the real gems of The Safety Fire are the rest of their catalog of complex super heavy prog metal songs filled with polyrhythms, atypical cords, and incredible vocal interplay.

chon

"mountains of creation"

two kids on guitar that create some amazingly intricate math rock-inspired jams. sort of like Fall of Troy on steroids if they were also instrumental and used only major scales. this song has some crazy catchy riffs and dizzying guitarwork. one of the best parts of Chon is that they literally pull off every riff live.

vildhjarta

"dagger"

these Swedish juggernauts churn out massive djent tracks with the deepest chugging riffs, oddest polyrhythms, and most tinkling'ly high note accents. they use a healthy mix of dark ambient melodies in the background, prominent on this song but more on others. the grooves are difficult to understand at first but easy to get into. this is the soundtrack of nightmares

animals as leaders

"tooth and claw"

one of the best songs off their newest and possibly greatest album, The Joy of Motion. this album saw a slight departure from Tosin's previously shred-focused songs, and an embracing of melody instead. and like all great djent bands, an ever-increasing appreciation for TONE. produced by nolly getgood of Periphery and co-written by Bulb himself, there's almost nothing wrong with this record. tooth & claw is one of the heavier tracks with some classic djent grooves mixed in.

emancipator

"wolf drawn"

downtempo electronic, with a triphop feel. emancipator focuses on beautiful ambient atmospheres in the background, then layers over it blues/funk-inspired guitar riffs with various synth support. the songs get very prolific and emotional at times just from being so darn pretty. some songs use ethereal vocal samples that blend perfectly in with the extensive vamping seen in his stuff. the songs are all extremely diverse while still staying anchored in their downtempo roots

the algorithm

"access denied"

this guy is shenanigans the entire time. djent + technical metal + electronic bitcore + dubstep, all by one man from france. he uses very melodic and appealing synth lines flowing over a disgruntled mess of down-tuned and distorted djent guitar rhythms. then come the electronic blast beats and utter synth chaos lines that seem to explode out of nowhere. and after that he'll drop it all out to a super chill breakdown part before he springs up and rips your face off again. definitely not for the light-hearted

dirty loops

"baby" (justin bieber cover)

sure, they mostly cover pop songs. but these three are some of the most professionally trained, approaching virtuoso-status'd jazz musicians ive come across. they completely go against the rules of melodic music, using dissonant chords and scales to such a degree that they wind back around and become melodic again. singer/pianist is fantastic, does impossible vocal runs. drummer is nasty. and the bassist Henrik Linder is a phenomenon. just re-watch the bass solo in this song over, and over, and over

pendulum

"witchcraft"

very very awesome drum and bass. these guys are a household name in every country but america. they use catchy auto-tuned vocals (which sound lame at first but are awesome), then back them up super up-beat synth lines and bass riffs and amazingness. all their songs must be blasted at full volume for maximum party potential. if you dont like them, they at least get respect for performing all these songs 100% live with guitars, keyboards and drums

haunted shores

"harrison fjord"

technical/progressive djent or whatever. this is basically a periphery side project and you can tell. they focus heavily on very melodic rhythm riffs teeming with complex little interludes and mini-riffs throughout. usually very major, but then they break down into dissonant bridge parts. guitar harmonies, shredding, no vocals, what more could you want

rings of saturn

"seized and devoured"

absolutely insane technical death metal. intensely complex guitar leads, including sweeping, tapping, and dual harmonization. backed up with unstoppable blast beats on drums. their breakdowns are deep and powerful, and transition into even stranger bridge riffs bringing in jazzy elements with ample video-game shredding on top. i dont even know whose idea this was

coyote kisses

"acid wolfpack"

brostep. this song in particular is sort of like if big gigantic did a brostep song. these guys use lots of big, distorted synth lines backing up fast, complex and quirky leads. some micro-cuts, and lots of wobbles. 

al dimeola

"mediterrenean sundance"

easily one of the greatest virtuoso flamenco acoustic players of all time. this guy does to an acoustic guitar what most wives will never do to their husbands. this song starts with a really catchy intro, then on comes the shredding. intelligent, classically-inspired flamenco and world riffs that come as everything from superfast to soulful. loves it

the american dollar

"time"

mogwai + explosions + mercury program + album leaf = awesome post rock band. these guys make flowing ambient works with piano, vibraphone, echo guitars, and thick basslines holding everything together. the swells that this band builds up to are incredible. awesome study musics

intronaut
"elegy"

easily one of the best post metal groups out there. intronaut experiments heavily with complex time signatures, jazz breakdowns, odd syncopated beats & rhythms, and glues it all together with the heaviest, fuzzed out badassiest riffs. they use harsh vocals for lots of their old stuff, but nowadays have been using clean melodic vocals with harmonies and it sounds fantastic. much love

this will destroy you

"a three-legged workhorse"

this song somehow takes the literal concepts of nostalgia, loneliness, and beauty, and describes them in sound waves. this will destroy you is a post-rock band that creates epic rolling soundscapes of reverb-rich echoing guitars, focusing on minimalism and building it up into an unstoppable crescendo.. then pulling it all away again. their songs are great for contemplation or just for mind blowing

the ocean

"the grand inquisitor II: roots & locusts"

post metal! the ocean is a supergroup combining the epic intensity of bands like isis & mouth of the architect with thrash elements & catchy melodies of mastodon and the like. the pre-chorus and chorus of this song are some of my favorites in all of metal

the mercury program

'sultans of el sur'

incredible instrumental post-rock band that makes art out of songs. extensive use of guitar looping, extreme amounts of reverb, beautiful lead melodies, and the only band i've known to use a vibraphone in such a perfect way. 

substructure

'canis minor'

technical djent with synth leads. best of both worlds. riffs are groovy, leads are complex with heavy use of guitar harmonies, song structure is awesome, vocals are pretty intense. breakdowns devolve into beautiful melodic orchestrations of chorus'd out guitar, simple piano leads and ambient swells in the background. be prepared

the flashbulb

'lawn wake ix'

one of my three favorite artists ever. the flashbulb is an electronic artist named benn jordan who creates the most diverse, intelligent, beautiful pieces of music (and not just electronic) i've ever heard. i couldn't choose one song so I picked the one that first made me fall in love. this one shows off both his bitcore drill&bass side, with an interlude of his more ambient synth side. it ends with a build-up showcasing his virtuoso guitar skills. he plays all his own instruments. in particular, he is left-handed and plays guitar as such, but using a right-handed-strung guitar (basically imagine playing guitar upside down). his recent works focus on epic soundscapes, orchestral instrumentation mixed with electronic beats and synth work. he is fcking amazing

mouth of the architect

'no one wished to settle here'

if you appreciate anything that can be described with the word 'epic', you have to like mouth of the architect. post-metal at its finest. slow, artful and fuzzed-out riffs that combine beautiful melodic structure with the drop-B heaviness of good post-metal. great use of breakdowns into gentle, post-rock ambient sections that inevitably build back up and crush your face. this is one of my favorite 15 minute journeys

madeon

'the island - pendulum remix'

fantastic really smart electro-pop dance with retro & funk elements thrown in. this is what Madeon (17 year old from france) does. this song shines at 1:10 when you hear the full beat. extensive use of micro cuts, great melody, complex synth action throughout the song, and gently ends the song in a wobbly fashion. Pendulum is a great band too btw

skrillex

'rock and roll'

don't judge me yet - while skrillex IS over-hyped and isn't the most talented electronic producer out there, and lots of his songs could be better, THIS song is particularly awesome. intelligent use of cuts, great samples, incredible & catchy chorus, and  great use of brostep during the breakdown (instead of flooding the song with it)

periphery

'icarus lives!'

djent all the way. these guys do super groovy drop X riffs followed up with amazingly complimentary clean vocals following complex melodies. all the lead lines by guitarist misha mansoor are progressive and awesome

ghosts and vodka

'stoli on the rocks'

really smart post-rock/alternative rock (instrumental) band that go all over the place from super beautiful to pumped up driving rock beats. this one is just pretty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUeye0l9JhY