Fave Avant-Garde Rock/Metal bands?
 

Behold... The Arctopus is pretty dizzying. If not for the song titles themselves, the music is just a mind****. They have moments of clarity which can be wicked when they're not simply jamming. :band: Imagine that sans the vocalist and make the guitar a Warr(looks like two guitars melted together at the neck).

Akphaezya traipses that fine line between Lounge Jazz, World Music, Trance, and Melodic Death Metal. Imagine Arch Enemy and some World music(I have no goddamn idea, you pick something) mixed with some lady who sings/plays piano in a nightclub. Makes for a plink-plonky otherworldly blastfest. :bowdown:

I would say Ulver or Arcturus, but I've yet to have a clue on what's considered 'avant-garde' nowadays.

Unexpect

Does lightning bolt count?

Limp bizkit, lol?

how are you qualifying avant-garde

Diablo Swing Orchestra. Really the only one I know of...

Not sure what qualifies music as "avant-garde" too be honest... from what I've heard though two Avant-garde artists can be COMPLETELY different.

Behold... the Arctopus are amazing. "Delerium" is still getting plays. The drummer is just insanely amazing. Time changes like a yawn to him.

Also, Diablo Swing Orchestra is something all right... Weird ish. There are still a few great tracks they've got.

M.I.R.V.
Nuclear Rabbit
Boud Deun
Buckethead
Dog Fashion Disco
Idiot Flesh
Residents
Zappa

many more

Can't reply to this topic. It's like trying to condense the entire Avant Garde forum into one reply. Considering how loosely the word Avant Garde is thrown around it's silly. I mean, really, most of these things as excellent as they are, technically are just genre mixing progressive rock.

My absolutely favorite bands are usually labeled as avant-rock bands. I like then because their ambition in mixing genres. However, once it becomes rock, it technically isn't Avant-Garde since the point of Avant-Garde is to avoid the existence of established genre technique entirely.

Bruce Haack, John Cage, and Harry Partch are Avant-Garde due to the fact they use never heard before inventions/techniques to present music.

Estradasphere, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, and Mr.Bungle are really just amazing prog(3 of my favorite bands) that chose not to conform to "prog sensibilities". which, in itself, is an illogical concept seeing as the point of prog is to not have restraint, but I digress. I mean, closest in the list is SGM which lightly uses homemade instruments, and household items. Which, essentially, is just skiffle. I don't include Harry Partch from this because his music is seemingly entirely constructed off of the invention of new instruments.

Technically, Avant-Rock is just a paradox, and a poor labeling for a fantastic subdivision of progressive rock. One of which hasn't ever been labeled. Closest thing is "Rock Against Rock" which doesn't fit all bands because not all bands in the genre fit the anti-commercial attitude(Mr.Bungle in fact was licensed by a major label after their singer won a Grammy with a different band).

I have learned to settle with the genre name, but it's very difficult to figure out what makes things like Mars Volta, King Crimson, and Red Hot Chili Peppers generally considered prog rock, and what makes very similar bands avant-garde, or what makes Boredoms noise rock, and not Avant Garde. However, it inhibits me from making a list.

I agree. Not going to retract my list. My 'list' is a shorthand of experimental bands I really take a liking to. Maybe the genre/tag experimental would help?

The Mars Volta. "Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed...." Need I say more?

KAYO DOT

honestly, kayo dot, you're so cool. I'm able to talk to you guys on last.fm, I'm friends with Toby on facebook, and we have poor little Mia who is sexually harassed daily on the Kayo Dot shoutbox. And the music is awesome too! I love Choirs~!

I could never understand why people refer to it sometimes as "avant garde" rock. I thought that avant-garde didn't have limitations or labels?

If it's called "avant-garde" then, clearly, it has a label.

Eh, I knew that response was going to come when I posted it. Didn't want to take it down because it could start an interesting conversation. I don't know. Maybe they just assign it "avant garde" because it's hard to label such a vast "genre" of music. I guess what I meant was that rock has a somewhat limited feel when shown in comparison to avant garde. Hard to put it into words.

Hmmm... I agree with posters who say it's hard to decide which metal bands take it far enough out there to be 'avant garde'. So, I'll let Wiki do the thinking for me

Avant-garde metal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


I like a lot of those bands.One of the first bands to enter my mind was Gorguts but I don't know if I would consider them avant garde. The guitar playing is crazy as all heck on Obscura. I know that much.

I'd definitely put Gorguts in the Avant-Garde metal category. As you say, Obscura is definitely pretty boundary pushing stuff.

To be honest, I think it's just progressive rock, but prog snobs are far too close minded to accept it that way. I personally like the term "Zappa Rock". Even though Zappa's not the first one to start it, I just like the term.

In fact, Zappa got a large portion of his ideas from Edgard Varese, so maybe they should call it "Varese Rock".

Both damn decent choices. "La Masquerade Infernal" is an incredible album, one of the best in metal, imo.