I love me some Buckeye football, but I love heavy metal music just as much, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that on this forum. I thought it would be neat to have a thread where we can talk about our appreciation for the heavier, louder things in life.

I have a broad palate when it comes to music in general, and that extends to heavy metal too. My favorite sub-genres are melodic death metal and power/symphonic metal, though I absolutely adore well-made folk metal.

Here are a few songs I've been rocking out to lately, feel free to share your own:

First off, we'll start with a classic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlWq6WXIv7M

If you're not down with Megadeth, I don't want to be down with you.

Now let's mix it up a bit:

The Human Stain by Kamelot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n3LobCY5HE

My favorite band, hands down. Roy Khan was one of the greatest unsung vocalists in human history, and his replacement Tommy Karevik has been superb as well.

Tengger Cavalry by Tengger Cavalry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVxffY_Gpso

They're from Inner Mongolia in China originally, and combine traditional Mongolian music with heavy metal to great results. Perfect blend of folk and heavy metal, that opening riff is galvanizing--I listen to this song to get me pumped before games.

Demon of the Fall by Opeth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT_waNzdKMg

I've seen a lot of bands live, but not Opeth. Opeth is without a doubt my favorite band that I still haven't had the chance to see. This is the first song of theirs I ever heard, and I was hooked almost immediately. Mikhail Akerfeldt's mixing of growls and clean vocals as well as outstanding, complicated instrumentations is what makes Opeth one of the blue bloods of metal.

Victoria's Secret by Sonata Arctica: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUszotxuwGo

No, the song is not about women's underwear. But how bout that Jens Johannson keyboard solo?

Kivenkantaja by Moonsorrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqNVDhC8FZI

Guttural vocals in the Finnish language is the closest we can come to hearing the Black Speech.

Eppur Si Muove by Haggard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE4YRnjrM1Q

Yes, this is a metal song with an orchestra. Yes, this is a song about Galileo. Yes, this is from a concept album about Galileo. How could that not be awesome?