I've been a fan of this band for a few years now, and only recently realized that I've never heard talk of them around DTF...time to change that, hopefully.
Iron Thrones are a newish progressive metal band from Minneapolis, and honestly have produced some of the best new metal I've heard in a while. It's obvious that they take a GREAT deal of their influence from Opeth--they utilize the same heavy, dissonant wall of sound underneath carefully crafted, epic solo lines, plus vocals in a similar vein to Akerfeldt (minus the singing). They apparently just recently won the Scion "No Label Needed" contest and were flown out to record the follow-up to their debut...seems as though they might be taking off a bit!
Anyway, check out the song "Cover of Smoke" on their Myspace:
https://www.myspace.com/ironthronesIt's one of the better tracks off
Visions of Light IMO, very heavy and brutal, but also very beautiful at times. I recommend checking these guys out!!