Death/thrash bands in standard tuning?

[Inazone]

My band's vocalist is working as a recording engineer and is going to (hopefully) record the next Under Eden album at the studio where he works, using a combination of the studio's recording gear and our own amps. I'm trying to put together a list of death metal and thrash bands that play in standard tuning, preferably recent recordings with good enough production to pick out guitar tones. My goal is to have some points of reference, especially for rhythm tones. For example, I know that RIP/CTE-era Megadeth is tuned standard, as are older Dissection (not sure about Reinkaos) and Testament albums. Albums that are readily available would be most helpful.

Gear lists would be helpful too, especially bands using Peavey, Marshall or Mesa. Those are generally the amps we are most familiar with, which I can approximate with my various preamps. I don't have any experience with Soldano, Engl, Bogner or the other higher-end amps to relate to the specific tones.

[Baum83]

The Crown - Deathrace King is in E standard.. not sure about their last albums though. AFAIK there's at least one 5150 working there.

[Inearthed]

Reinkaos is down a full step. Destroyer 666 plays in standard, I think.

Honestly, I can't really think of many recent death/thrash bands that are in standard.

[MBreinin]

Wasn't most Metallica, pre-crap, in Standard?

Mike

[Baum83]

Reinkaos is down a full step. Destroyer 666 plays in standard, I think.

Honestly, I can't really think of many recent death/thrash bands that are in standard.

Me neither. Eb is the minimum required downtuning for thrashmetal, most bands have gone to D standard or C#.

[nateb]

Me neither. Eb is the minimum required downtuning for thrashmetal, most bands have gone to D standard or C#.

The whole Arise album by Sepultura is in standard tuning.

-Nate

[DSS3]

Most blackmetal bands are in E or Eb, as well.

Opeth is probably the only band in their genre to tune to standard.

All but a couple Wintersun songs are in standard, and IIRC, most Ensiferum songs, as well.

[toejam]

Opeth is probably the only band in their genre to tune to standard.

Most of their stuff was E with a couple things Drop D, but wasn't their last album, Ghost Reveries, tuned to D?

[Elfastball7]

Me neither. Eb is the minimum required downtuning for thrashmetal, most bands have gone to D standard or C#.

Yeah nowadays, but I believe in most 80's thrash bands played in Eb or standard tuning.

I play old school thrash and death metal, and I use standard tuning or Eb and turn the tone knob down.

[DSS3]

Most of their stuff was E with a couple things Drop D, but wasn't their last album, Ghost Reveries, tuned to D?

Everything was in E except for Demon of the Fall, and maybe one other odd track, correct, but the new album had 2-3 tracks (the cleaner, instrumental ones) in E, and the rest in open D.

[RacerX]

Wasn't most Metallica, pre-crap,

:ROTF: pre-crap! Good one!

[toejam]

Everything was in E except for Demon of the Fall, and maybe one other odd track, correct, but the new album had 2-3 tracks (the cleaner, instrumental ones) in E, and the rest in open D.

Ah, okay. I haven't listened to it in awhile. Guess I gotta dig that one out of the collection from where ever it went to. LOL For some reason, I couldn't get into it as much as Deliverance.

[Inazone]

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I'll have to check out Deathrace King and the older Opeth stuff. I already have Crowned in Terror (tuned down) and was a bit disappointed - a bit sloppy to my ears. Ghost Reveries was my first Opeth purchase, and I just can't get into it at all.

Under Eden is actually the first band I've played in for many years that uses standard tuning. I figure that standard is fine as long as you can get a good, punchy low end in the studio. We had that in the past, until some bonehead "mastered" all of the high and low end right out of it.

[demeyes]

If you want to get more Opeth stuff I'd recommend Deliverence and Blackwater Park as good albums to get into. They are a great band but because their songs are so long and varied it can be hard to really get to know them and into them. But when you do its great. It just takes a lot of listenening

[drockilles]

I'm not trying to steal the thread here, but I have a similar inquiry: what about more modern, thrash/metal bands that play in keys other than what their sixth string is tuned to? That seems to be the norm nowadays, having a whole album in one key. Look at a song like Tornado of Souls, that song's in B! Why are bands so afraid to venture outside B,C, D, or E/Eb?