Sigz's Top 20 Musicians/Artists (excluding Opeth/PT/Steven Wilson)

[Seventh Son]

That's the 1%

[Gorille85]

Holy cow!! I'm checking out SikTh for the first time and wow...that stuff is incredible!

[zxlkho]

Agalloch should be in this list somewhere.

[Gorille85]

Seriously, Sigz, I can't count the number of quality bands you've introduced me. And for that, good sir, I thank you.

[Sigz]

 

[sneakyblueberry]

Hell yeah SikTh.  Probably top ten band material for me.  Reunite already dagnabbit.

[skydivingninja]

Not a big fan of SikTh or Dillenger.  Never even heard of Ellen Allien.

[Sigz]

11. Julie Christmas (all related projects) - My first introduction to Julie Christmas was A Day of Nights by Battle of Mice. The pure emotion she was able to put into every line, her wide range, and brilliant lyrics all blew me away, and now is easily one of my favorite vocalists. Virtually everything she touches is gold, from Battle of Mice to Made Out of Babies to her one song on Spylacopa, which was easily the highlight of the album. With a solo album on the way and hopefully a new MOOB album, things are looking better than ever.

10. Mike Patton – Another one of my favorite singers, and an insanely prolific artist. Patton’s unmatched vocal ability and range and his true creativity are an incredibly potent combination, and projects like Fantomas, Tomahawk, Peeping Tom, and Faith No More prove it. His vocal work with The Dillinger Escape Plan resulted in one of their best releases, and his collaboration with Bjork was brilliant as well. In the end there isn't a whole lot more to say. He's an incredibly talented artist and one of my favorites.

[Quadrochosis]

inb4 sonata bjork love

[Gadough]

I listened to Sikth last night for the first time, Pussyfoot I think it was. All I could think of was, if System of a Down took even more cocaine than they already do, that's what they'd sound like.

[Gorille85]

Props for including Patton!

[Arcaeus]

Where the hell did Mike Patton do a collaboration with Bjork, they're two of my favorite artists, I keep hearing about it but can't find it anywhere.

DISREGARD THIS I SUCK COCKS

[Portrucci]

Where the hell did Mike Patton do a collaboration with Bjork, they're two of my favorite artists, I keep hearing about it but can't find it anywhere.

Bjork/Patton - Medulla (2004)

[antigoon]

PARAMORE SHOULD BE NUMBER 1.

[Gadough]

HAYLEY SHOULD BE NUMBER 1.

FTFY

[ZBomber]

Will be checking out SikTh shortly.

[Gadough]

No update today?

[Sigz]

9. Converge – While to many people Converge is nothing but mindless noise and screaming, to me they are one of the most phenomenal bands I have ever listened to. All of their albums have something to offer, with Jane Doe and Axe to Fall probably being my favorites. Jane Doe is interesting in that they manage to maintain a level of melody even amongst the madness – songs like Hell to Pay and Fault and Fracture being particularly representative of this. Axe to Fall is fantastic as well, the first four songs being some of the best metal ever recorded. The album also features a stunningly beautiful closing combo of Cruel Bloom and Wretched World. Overall Converge is a band that makes great music that I can always find myself wanting to listen to.

8. Devin Townsend – So. Much. Talent. From Strapping Young Lad to Ziltoid the Omniscient to The Devin Townsend Project, Devy has covered an unbelievable amount of ground, and nailed it all perfectly. There’s something for everyone throughout his catalog, but perhaps for me his real highlight is Ziltoid the Omniscient; an amazing blend of extremely heavy prog metal, wall of sound epicness, and hilarious tongue-in-cheek humor. I’ve listened to that album probably a hundred times and still find myself laughing at the lyrics and spoken word bit and headbanging along with the badass music.

But in general, Devin Townsend is pretty much everything I want from an artist. He’s a phenomenal musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and frontman who takes what he does seriously but doesn’t take himself seriously at all, and it’s a killer combination.

[Sigz]

No update today?

Nice timing

[Gadough]

Haha wow

[glaurung]

SMASHER!!!

[73109]

SMASHER!!!

STAY AWAY FROM THE PORNOGRAPHY!!!

[skydivingninja]

Honestly I was expecting Devy to be a little higher for you, Sigz.  Interesting to see which seven bands overtake him.

Oh, and by the way, THE NAME'S HERMAN.  AND I HATE MUSICALS.

[Sigz]

7. Isis - One of my favorite metal bands ever, the effect Isis has on me is indescribable.  Their blend of mellow post-rock and luscious sludge metal is divine, and I always get a very ‘spiritual’ (for lack of a better word) feeling when listening to them. It’s actually similar to Cynic, as their music has a very calm feeling even when it’s really heavy. It may sound like a strange mix, but it works wonderfully overall, and Isis is one of the best at it. All of their albums have something to offer, though my favorite is easily In the Absence of Truth, with songs like 1000 Shards and Garden of Light being favorites.  I desperately wish I could have seen them before they broke up, but it never worked out. As horribly dorky and pitiful as this will sound, the night they announced that they broke up was probably one of the most depressing nights of my life. I think I wandered around the beach chain smoking and looking dejected  while listening to Garden of Light on repeat for like two hours.

6.  Toby Driver - The ‘mastermind’ behind maudlin of the Well, Kayo Dot, Tartar Lamb, as well as a musician in Gregor Samsa and doing his solo album, the man is a genius. All of maudlin of the Well’s albums are brilliant, Kayo Dot is great as well with Choirs of the Eye being my favorite album of all time, and his solo album is amongst the most haunting music I have ever heard. Basically, Toby Driver is one of the best individual composers/musicians out there, everything he touches is gold, and I want to have his chilren. Also, when I ordered the newest Kayo Dot album I received it from him (the return address was his apartment in New York), and it had a little message thing saying thank you for buying it and he signed it. It also had a CD-R of some live Kayo Dot and Tartar Lamb performances. So awesome.

[Portrucci]

Both great choices. Very interesting list. I honestly expected both to be higher on your list, so now I'm quite confused as to who is in your top 5 

[Sigz]

 

[Gadough]

My shot-in-the-dark guesses.

5. Dream Theater
4. Bjork
3. Eisley
2. Thrice
1. Justin Bieber

[Sigz]

 

[Portrucci]

5. Kaki King
4. Giant Squid
3. Thrice
2. Ellen Allien
1. Gregor Samsa

[Sigz]

I'll never telll....

/2001 meme

[AwakeFromOctavarium]

Isis is added to my waiting list.

[Sigz]

Isis is more important than any other band on your list.

[limnides]

Isis is added to my waiting list.

What Sigz said.

As horribly dorky and pitiful as this will sound, the night they announced that they broke up was probably one of the most depressing nights of my life. I think I wandered around the beach chain smoking and looking dejected  while listening to Garden of Light on repeat for like two hours.

Not dorky!  Justified!
I was absolutely crushed when I heard, as well.  I made myself feel better by thinking they'll never have the chance to come out with a sub-par release... that helped a little.  Not much, but a little.

[AwakeFromOctavarium]

I'm wondering if Arjen Lucassen has a place in your Top 5.

[Portrucci]

I'm wondering if Arjen Lucassen has a place in your Top 5.

lol