ive been playing metal/death metal/power metal for almost a decade now and to be honest the genre thats given me the most tools to excel in metal is jazz. before i was all about speed and frankly pretty ham handed but fast, jazz opened up my eyes to not only dynamics but amazing fill and beat ideas that you dont typically find in metal.
Word.
- If you have a 'mental block' while trying to make a fill then try writing one out.
- Make sure you go through 'Stick Control' & get to grips with the rudiments too.
- There is also a book by Pete Riley called 'Double Trouble' which is pretty good if you want to practice some double bass.
In terms of listening to bands.. well 'metal' is such a large genre that the stylistic elements can be varied between each subgenre, and what is accepted in one niche may be shunned in another. I can't really say I listen to much 'true metal', I mainly spend my time with death/black/core genres.
That said.. some bands to check out;
Opeth, Meshuggah, Nile, Death, Strapping Young Lad, Dimmu Borgir, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Faceless, Despised Icon, Suffocation, Hate Eternal, Necrophagist, Morbid Angel, Between The Buried And Me, Malevolent Creation, Gojira, Cannibal Corpse, Origin, Brain Drill, Angra, Cynic, Psycroptic.
@Chaos_Inferno - I don't think all of the stuff before Alaska is uninventive/lacking creativity. Mordecai live (especially the ending) was truly a thing of beauty.