Vik's Recommendations

There are so many bands I like that it's going to be hard to list them all, but I'll try. The order here isn't any indication of which band I like more; it's in whatever order i felt like putting it in. Obviously, this isn't a list of albums that should go out and buy; however, I would suggest listening to these bands to see if you like them. I will update this list whenever I have time.

I've made a list of all the CDs that I own. These are real CDs - not CD-Rs. Should give an idea of what all I like.

Metallica (Website)
Well of course I like Metallica - I have an entire page dedicated to them. I like their older stuff best (Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, Metallica) and would recommend listening to those first.

Fear Factory
Out of all their albums that I've listened to, Obsolete is the only one that I really liked. That being said, it is a really good album for anyone who likes hard rock.

System of a Down
Probably the best new band to come out since the late 90's. All four of their albums are really good. Radio stations played a lot of songs off of their second album, Toxicity; however, their (self-titled) first album is just as good - if not better. The third album isn't as good as the first two but is still much better than pretty much everything else. Their newest album, Mezmerize, is pretty good too and gets lot of airplay.

Smashing Pumpkins
Most people know some of their stuff off of their second and third albums, Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness; these are their two best albums if you want to check out some of their stuff. MCIS is a double album and has a good variety of songs while Siamese Dream is more quiet and distorted. Most people don't like any of the other Pumpkin albums unless they are a big fan (like me).

The first album, Gish, was really rough but good. Pisces Iscariot is a collection of random recordings and is really only for big fans. The later albums (Adore and Machina - The Machines of God) suffer from line-up changes in the band. Even though Corgan was the main force behind the band, it's clear that Jimmy Chamberlin (the drummer) had a big influence that was missed on Adore and not enough on Machina. A lot of people have the misperception that the band was ALL about Corgan. It wasn't - it was just mostly about Corgan.

There have been rumors that Corgan, who has just released a solo album, wants to get the Smashing Pumpkins back together.

Zwan
This is Billy Corgan's band that he formed after the Smashing Pumpkins broke up. He was the guitarist and singer and main song writer for the Pumpkins. Sounds a lot like the Smashing Pumpkins, but not as good. Still worth checking out if you really like the Smashing Pumpkins; otherwise its not worth buying.

Stone Temple Pilots
Just a really talented and really good band. They surfaced at the same time as the grunge bands, but are still around. Their unique sound is hard to classify. I think of it as a mix between grunge and Led Zeppelin. As far as I am concerned their first four albums are all equally good. The fifth album, Shangri-La Dee Da isn't as good - sounds like Scott Weiland, the lead singer, has lost some of his edge. I would check out the other four in order: Core, Purple, Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, and No. 4.

Talk Show
Scott Weiland briefly left the Stone Temple Pilots to pursue a solo career. During that time, the other members of STP hired a new singer and changed their name to Talk Show. They release one self titled album. The instruements sounds exactly like STP (big surprise); however, the album just isn't as good without Weiland (just like Black Sabbath without Ozzy). Just goes to show how important one person can be to a band.

Scott Weiland
Weiland only released one album during his solo career: 12 Bar Blues. I don't remember ever hearing anything from it on the radio and after buying it, I know why. The music on the album is "strange" - nothing like what you would hear on the radio. I like it a lot, but chances are you won't.

Temple of the Dog (Website)
They only released one album in the early 90's, but it was a really good album. If you like grunge, then you should check it out (its actually a little softer than grunge). This album answers the question of what happens when you mix the members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Apparently you get really good music. Unfortunately, the same is not true when you mix members of Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine. In that case you get Audioslave, which only makes slightly above average music.

Alice in Chains
I absolutely love the grunge bands of the early 90's and have a hard time chosing a favorite from among them. However, I would probably go with AIC since they had such a great unique sound. Plenty of bands sound like less-talented clones of the other grunge bands, but no one sounds liek AIC.

They made three albums and two EP's. All five recordings are excellent. Sap has only four songs and is really only for big fans (Cornell sings on one song). Facelift, their first album is really good but a little rough; in some places it sounds like 80's rock. Dirt is the most played of all of their albums and is probably your best bet for a first AIC CD. Their seven song EP, Jar of Flies, is a little more acoustic than the others but at the same time is really dark. Their final album (self-titled) sounds a lot heavier and darker than the others.

This band will not be reforming any time soon since lead singer, Layne Staley, died on April 19, 2004 from a likely drug overdose.

Jerry Cantrell
The lead guitarist and back-up vocals for Alice in Chains, Cantrell started a solo career after AIC broke up. Not surprisingly, it sounds a lot like AIC. I liked his first album, Boggy Depot a lot and would recommend it if you like AIC. Degradation Trip, his second album, was good and better than most stuff that came out around that time; however, I was disappointed because I expected more after a 5 year wait. Its not worth getting for most people.

Soundgarden
Another really good band from the grunge era. Superunknown is their best know album with a lot of songs that get plenty of radio play. Badmotorfinger and Down on the Upside are also very good albums. Soundgarden is definately one of the heavier grunge bands. They broke up after Down on the Upside and a reunion doesn't seem very likely as they have all gone on to other projects.

Tool
A great metal/hard rock band which doesn't rush to put albums out. There is always several years between albums. Opiate, their first album (actually more of an EP), was good but was outdone by the next two albums. Undertow was many good songs that you've probably heard on the radio. Their third and best album is Aenima. This album won a Grammy and deserved it. There are a few 60 second filler tracks but all of the actual songs are really good. This is one of my favorite albums. Their last album, Lateralus, was good but not as good as the previous two.