thedelicateflower said:
...what would be the best band for a first time listen for someone who in their opinion thinks this music is just 'too hard/heavy metalish'?...
(they think country is the way to go)...
...thanx in advance...
As far as whole CDs, I'd agree with others' suggestions of:
Conception - Flow (Xmas gift to 2 friends....now is favorite CD of both)
Queensryche - Empire (I like Op: Mindcrime better, but this one's a better intro...but if they're really into great lyrics, go with Mindcrime)
Stride - Imagine (also not as "metal" as some, but a great intro to the genre)
and I'd add:
Enchant - Break (it's not as "metal," as some, but will help ease them in).
I'd especially suggest the Enchant...either "Break" or "Juggling 9 or Dropping 10". One of the big draws about country music to most of its fans is the lyrics, which often *are* pretty good (which is good 'cause the music itself is generally boring as hell
). Enchant has awesome lyrics, great music, and is a good way to "ease" into progmetal, IMHO.
Honestly, though, I'd go with videos. For your average person (ie. someone not into metal or progmetal), there's just way too much going on with most metal bands for them to follow by just listening (or you'll hear "it's too loud and noisy"). But if they can WATCH the band play, they might get more of an appreciation for the musician's talent, especially the singer....seeing Chris Salinas, Michael Eriksen, etc belt out those amazing vocals LIVE last weekend really puts it in your face as to how talented they are. WATCHING John Petrucci play impossible riffs LIVE in Dream Theater's "Live at Budokan" makes you REALLY "see" how good he is, vs. simply hearing the studio version...watching the fingers, hands and lips move seems to really "bring it home" to people.
Case in point: I played Dream Theater's "Dance of Eternity" SONG for my brother (also a country music fan), and he just said "they're really talented." Then when Live at Budokan came out, I made him watch "Instrumedley" with me (from the Budokan DVD), which is largely based on the same song, but it's a VIDEO.
He was blown away and now wants to go with me next time I see them. In fact, halfway through that "song" on the DVD, I offered to shut it off, saying "I just wanted you to see part of it...there's still another 6 minutes to go," and he said "no, no!! Leave it on...I want to see the rest of it!!"
So, maybe:
DT's "Live at Budokan" (or maybe Score....haven't seen it yet)
Enchant's "Live At Last" DVD
Queensryche's "Operation LiveCrime" DVD
Or whatever else you have that's close...
Just a thought...
Craig
