Khar, you should do Agalloch for me. I've heard good things about them, but don't know much about their styles or where to start.
EDIT: And Sabbat, for that matter.
Band Name: Agalloch
Genre: Neo-folk/prog metal
Your Rating Of Them (1-10): 9.5/10.
Best Album: Pale Folklore
Songs:*
- Best All Around: hmn... '...And the Great Cold Death of the Earth'
- Loudest/Hardest/Most Rockin': 'I Am The Wooden Doors' or 'She Painted Fire Across the Skyline'.
- Most Relaxing: 'Foliorum Viridium'
- Most Played/A song by them you may have heard: ...nah.
- Song That Best Represents The Band: 'As Embers Dress the Sky'
Bands Like This Band: Opeth, old Amorphis and mid-period Tiamat all have echoes of their style, but they also take a lot from non-metal bands, particularly Sol Invictus and Swans. Some SI songs (ie. 'Let us Prey') could easily be Agalloch tracks, and vice versa.
Coolest Thing About This Band: Apart from the way the band members bring their relatively broad musical palette to bear on their music, it's the way they bring a very post-rock compositional sensibility and pure folk playing styles to the writing of metal, for a very unique sound. And, given that apart from Sol Invictus and Swans they also list Ulver, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Nick Cave, Arvo Part and Fields of the Nephilim as influences, if there's any true, awesome metal band that hipsters are gonna like, it's probably Agalloch.
*Agalloch are an album band if ever I've heard one. If you want to check them out before buying, please get a whole album.
Band Name: Sabbat
Genre: Thrash fucking metal
Your Rating Of Them (1-10): 8/10.
Best Album: History of a Time to Come
Songs:- Best All Around: 'Mythistory'/'Horned is the Hunter'
- Loudest/Hardest/Most Rockin': 'A Cautionary Tale'
- Most Relaxing: Haha. 'Happy Never After (Outro)' maybe?
- Most Played/A song by them you may have heard: 'For Those Who Died'
- Song That Best Represents The Band: 'For Those Who Died'
Bands Like This Band: No-one's QUITE like Sabbat. Your old German thrash Gods are probably the best bet.
Coolest Thing About This Band: If they'd had a better drummer, they would probably have been the best thrash band ever.