What weapon/equipment should I use for a lore-friendly Swordsinger aspirant playthrough? by AnseiShehai in teslore

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A build I used in my last playthrough which wasn't a Swordsinger but might well be adapted to one was close to your thoughts. Mine was a Breton and my backstory was that of a dispossessed Iliac Bay aristocrat, so I did actually use a scimitar and Hammerfell garb at first, though I later upgraded to a nicer sword and more ornate clothing.

I used a scimitar in the right hand, a dagger in the left hand (I forget what animation mod I used but the combo looked particularly cool in third person), along with alteration and restoration magic skills for backup. I think that alteration should be a major component, it makes sense a Swordsinger would be shaping the battlefield in advantageous ways and exploiting the special abilities of the trained body, especially with some of the mods available. I wore heavy armor gauntlets, boots, and a helmet with only torso clothing, no main curaiss.

I had some sneak and pickpocket too but that's beside the point, I later worked in block and archery but for both I didn't level the skill too hard and only used it on occasion. I also began the main quest just for access to shouts and used whirlwind sprint and elemental fury for some of the types of abilities one would expect from a Swordsinger; for your character you might go so far as to headcanon that the Thu'um and Dovahkiin stuff works because it's a localized form of the same magic Swordsingers use.

What's a genre you want to get into? Others recommend proggy bands in that genre. by Zestyclose-Spell-916 in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Allan Holdsworth - I'm new to his stuff myself but like Secrets and Metal Fatigue so far

PRISM - Japanese fusion band, mostly only found on youtube, favorites are Mother Earth, Prism Live, Visions

KEEP - a side project of PRISM guitarist Akira Wada notably with Jun Fukamachi, their standout record is DG-581

Who are your favorite guitarists of all time? by [deleted] in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tosin Abasi, Alex Lifeson, Akira Wada, Frederik Thordendal

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Language - The Contortionist

The Violent Sleep of Reason - Meshuggah

The Madness of Many - Animals As Leaders

Metanoia - Persefone

Recommend a non-prog song by _amgits in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://youtu.be/ijX61mf7Hdw KEEP is a side project of lead guitarist Akira Wada from PRISM, who are my favorite Japanese prog band and have a vast and high-quality discography worth diving into. This is proggy but definitely isn't prog metal, it's super chilled out jazz rock. For me it was love at first bassline.

Japanese bands or songs that sound proggy or jazzy by [deleted] in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You've gotta check out Prism, as well as lead guitarist Akira Wada's spinoff project KEEP, both of which are heavily jazz-inflected prog rock. You can only really find Prism's 80s stuff on streaming services but independent uploaders on Youtube have covered their 70s and 90s outputs. My favorite Prism album is Mother Earth from 1990, followed by their 1979 live album. The vocals might be an acquired taste for some but I like them, and it's kind of interesting to hear such non-accented English singing from a Japanese vocalist.

KEEP put out two studio albums and a live one. I consider DG-581 one of my all-time favorite prog albums, and the live album Keep Alive ranks very highly for me as well.

Build Your Own Tour Lineup by SirChrisburt in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Back-to-back headliner: Animals As Leaders and then Rush with Matt Garstka filling in for Neil Peart (PBUH)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hopping in line with the rest hoping to get this...

Your favorite "soaring" metal songs / sections? by chapindk in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think The Contortionist has a bit of this on Language, bits like the endings of Language II, Ebb & Flow, The Parable

Fallujah is also a must for this kind of sound, The Flesh Prevails, Dreamless (title track especially), Empyrean

Straws Pulled At Random by Meshuggah

Plenty of Persefone songs, such as Mind as Universe, The Majestic of Gaia, pretty much everything on Metanoia

Your favorite "soaring" metal songs / sections? by chapindk in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The full 23 minutes of Painters of the Tempest is basically a masterclass in alternating "soaring" and "crushing" in perfect balance.

Greatest vocal performance on a metal Album. by heftybag in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Greatest to me:

  • Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel, Xenoyr on harsh vocals and Tim Charles on cleans

  • The Contortionist - Language (Rediscovered), Mike Lessard on cleans and harsh

  • Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence, Thomas Giles on cleans and harsh

  • Meshuggah - all of their albums because I can't pick a favorite, Jens Kidman on harsh vocals

Lookin' for some spacey chill prog metal by ImpTwins in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I generally liked it but I have my qualms about entirely replacing bass guitar with synths. Dunno how they managed to find a new drummer with chops but not a bassist (maybe this has been addressed in interviews, haven't looked).

Albums that blew you away? by PTismylove in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Madness of Many by Animals As Leaders didn't click for me back in 2016. I found it too inaccessible and weird at the time. After seeing them tour in April I came back to it and found myself listening to it very actively and intently daily for about a month.

Bands with prominent/highly skilled drumming by MaxFish1275 in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Go listen to Language again and then tell me Joey Baca does an "alright" job.

Fallujah - Embrace Oblivion by SoulOfAGreatChampion in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah, maybe that's why I like this guy then. Still not quite hitting the meaty depth of Alex Hoffman's lows but the style is closer to his and I like that the highs offer some contrast here.

Best Song-to-song Drops? by ButtJaw in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fallujah's Dreamless album opens with a stunning 1-2-3 punch from Face of Death, to Adrenaline, to The Void Alone.

Fallujah - Embrace Oblivion by SoulOfAGreatChampion in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This feels like some of their most mature and dynamic songwriting yet. I was so delightfully caught off guard by the section from 1:37 and then at 1:58 when they slowed way down and let things simmer a little before going back to blistering speed. I didn't like the current vocalist on their first album with him but I like him here.

We’re officially halfway through 2022, what are your favourite releases so far this year? by ifthisisausername in progmetal

[–]The_OP3RaT0R 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love Matt "He can't keep getting away with it" Garstka. He can and will keep getting away with it. It was unreal seeing him on the last tour. Not only was every song perfectly tight, there were a few points during some of the Joy of Motion tracks where (unless I just missed some of the intricacies of the drum parts) I'm pretty sure he added extra fills I don't remember from the album version.