Ranking Popular Instrumental Bands

[@Jib_]

chon

[@monfloral]

Checking this out! thank you

[@petrecejeffery5920]

I always enjoy your videos! Love how you rated the bands. You always give your honest opinions.💜

[@brendantimmons2957]

Love your videos man, sad to see Intervals didn't make your list but it was great either way and you have great takes! If you haven't heard Aaron Marshal man you gotta check him out. Intervals has an album w/ a vocalist called a voice within that's really good and i got to see them for, but their instrumental work is amazing

[@thetheorist8337]

Love this breakdown. We need more of these videos

[@joopnotyop]

Dude I love your S tier! I saw unprocessed and polyphia live together a while back and unprocessed was INCREDIBLE live!! Chon and AAL are also some of my favs. Love this list.

[@dronepro7316]

Have you heard of a band called Standards? Amazing. A two-piece with great songs and guitar playing.

[@monfloral]

I have indeed! I easily could've put them on this list SMH

[@thetheorist8337]

Also it may seem weird but have you thought of voice acting ? You have a nice clear voice for commercial voice acting . Definitely look into it.

[@monfloral]

@thetheorist8337 Strangely, I regularly get people mentioning my voice in public so maybe I will look into it

[@JackTaylorGuitars]

Arch Echo are a killer band. If I remember right, the keyboard player is Anthony Vincent's (TenSecondSongs) producer? Second guessing myself now but I'm pretty sure that's right! Some awesome bands on this list dude.

[@daoyang223]

Love this list, you've gained a subscriber. It's so hard to find good prog bands that dont sound similar haha

[@monfloral]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@6oundStudio]

this is a weird list, especially considering the fact that some of these bands are not instrumental bands

[@Ryo7_7]

Talking about the writing and musicianship by itself. CHON is a great band.

[@monfloral]

Honestly there aren't many unique "mainstream" instrumental bands at the moment

[@scottpetersen1753]

@@monfloralhey man. I like your stuff but that is so not true. You missed some huge names like Plini, Intervals, Nick Johnston, Their Dogs Were Astronauts, Standards, Toska, jakub Zytecki, Sithu Aye, and I Built The Sky. You are free to make opinion videos, but I gotta correct you here

[@scottpetersen1753]

Oh yeah owane too?

[@arielcandoleta5347]

I haven't heard some of the bands you listed here. Thanks.

[@peeenot]

I'm pretty sure that Chon are coming back. Probabily they're waiting for their contract with Sumerian Records to expire. Be confident! God I miss them so much

[@monfloral]

@peeenot Who said Chon was coming back?? I need sources if I'm gonna get my hopes up :(

[@Ryo7_7]

Yes. I dig this choice. CHON is underrated.🤘🏾

[@julesy1x810]

I cant find CHOD on spotify or youtube, where is CHOD?

[@Ryo7_7]

Damn I meant CHON lmao. Autocorrect changed it.

[@julesy1x810]

@@Ryo7_7 ohh thanks!

[@npres91]

I would probably push Covet to A tier, but pretty solid breakdown imo

[@dronepro7316]

Overall I agree with where artists ended. Animals as Leaders is definitely in the top tier. Polyphia is borderline between the top two tiers. I would like it if you did a math rock review like this.

[@monfloral]

@dronepro7316 Ooooo drop some of your favorite math rock bands!

[@davidmaycry5218]

Not the one you're responding to but just wanna leave some recommendations: Monobody, Floral, TANG, Sawce, The Bulletproof Tiger, Waxamilion, Clever Girl, Catbamboo, Elephant Gym, Paranoid Void, LITE, Toe, Mouse on the Keys. Also not math but Night Verses last album 'From the Gallery of Sleep' is a Must Listen!

[@mendozosa]

Toe, A picture of her, pretend, delta sleep...

[@acebikemedia]

i was expecting this to be like a explosions in the sky vs this will destroy you video. but good none the less!

[@williampettigrew9460]

Where's Intervals? :(

[@AbyHartono]

where intervals?

[@Cssisabeautifulthang]

Animals as leaders S++

[@monfloral]

EASILY

[@nobody8617]

Covet’s newest album has been in my rotation lately so the B tier is valid

[@Jrocka7x]

What I've heard from people I've suggested them to is that it's a genuine encapsulation of fun and love.

[@monfloral]

Covet's new album has some awesome tracks. Yvette's musicianship has always been great but the nostalgic energy behind Catharsis gives me the feels

[@jyangers24]

I would also put The Aristocrats in S tier. Very enjoyable music, each member is at the top of the game in their respective instruments, and very very fun to watch live.

[@JadAWESOME210]

Wait what did CHON break up?! I just assumed they were working on new stuff or on a bit of a hiatus. It was an interesting choice to include Vitalism if that was your commentary, I would expect a curveball inclusion like that to be like "The most underrated band I know" or something like that. Unsurprisingly I'm very familiar with most of these bands except I've never actually listened to Skyharbor or Vitalism despite knowing of them. My sentiments about some of them are pretty different, but the end result is pretty close to mine. I'd probably swap CHON & Unprocessed down to A, moving Periphery & Polyphia up to S. tough choice but I don't want S to be overcrowded. Also maybe swap archECHO & Scale the Summit. Thinking about the rankings was interesting to me bc I realized that with almost every single band there's exactly one album of theirs I don't care for and love the rest of their discogs

[@monfloral]

It's so rare to listen to a band and like EVERY song. There's always a project (or 2) that I don't really care for. Moving Periphery and Polyphia up to S would make sense because they are both impressive bands. I'm not entirely sure what's up with Chon but I did read somewhere that they weren't enjoying making the music as much. Would love to hear something new from them in the future though, even if it is just a single

[@Jrocka7x]

I had a friend asking me about chon just a few months ago after listening to them over 3 years ago. Another hip hop head loved chon and Covet. A couple of dentists preferred Covet. I've never heard of Vitalism. Where is the Omnific? :p I know, very niche.

[@nicolenew1708]

SUPER COOL

[@AndoSan69]

That's a good list

[@monfloral]

@AndoSan69 Sliding you in the next ranking 👀

[@AndoSan69]

@@monfloral ahhh shiet

[@noelsolares7cb]

wtf, no intervals?

[@monfloral]

Since Intervals is really just Aaron Marshall I included him in the "ranking popular instrumental guitarists" video

[@noelsolares7cb]

@@monfloral no, you didn't

[@leward]

Great list! I feel like Covet should be at least one tier higher.

[@mahmoudalramly3517]

Do you know liquid tension experiment?😂

[@idfreed]

Unprocessed in S - yassss!

[@mainakdev15]

MAN WE LOVE CHON

[@christinarajbahar970]

Caspian is a MUST listen and honorable mention to Meniscus

[@Apuat]

Hey Brother. I know they’re not purely instrumental, but what do you feel about Brutus, Deerhoof, Battles & Moses Sumney? Also, I’d love to see you to do a video on how Math Rock sensibilities have infiltrated and expanded Hyperpop. Definitely with ARTIST like Juno & Jean Dawson.

[@monfloral]

I've heard of Deerhoof but not the other bands so I'll have to look into those. And great topic honestly! Math rock is slowly becoming the backbone of hyperpop productions. I wasn't sure how large the scale of that blending was but I'll do some research

[@Apuat]

@@monfloral Bet. If KZbin will allow me, I’ll send some links when I get the time. LOL.

[@ianfranks7182]

The three best instrumental groups are The Shadows,The Ventures and the Tornados

[@TStrikesagain93]

Seeing Polyphia not at the top, in fact, made me cry. I cant disagree with the other people you put in S though, including Unprocessed who has become a favorite after seeing them open for Polyphia in Cleveland.

[@monfloral]

I'll bring some tissues for ya next time :)

[@brietacarpenter]

i just really feel like we should be best friends

[@monfloral]

@brietacarpenter I don’t see why not

[@r0dr1b]

Not mad about it but would probably keep Unprocessed as A tier. Regarding Vitalism, one of the guitarists (Moscardini) has a recent band called Odeon which I do like a lot. Check it out if you’re interested 🎸

[@monfloral]

Certainly will! Thanks

[@LebBinXI]

If you're looking for other "instrumental" bands, I definitely recommend Dios!!

[@sudaknot]

Animals ain’t textbook. They warrant writing new textbooks.

[@BuzzlightyearinactionSaSenado]

Chon!! 💪💪

[@imjimmyjames]

I think this is a really good list, but i think i would change it in a couple ways. I dont think it really makes sense to put unprocessed in s tier if it means polyphia is a tier. I agree with you in that i enjoy manuels guitar playing more than tims, but polyphia brings a much stronger and more realized presence of musicality to the table as an entire group. I also say this as somebody who is fatigued by all the polyphia hype and is also jaded by the massive amount of 20-30 second covers of polyphia hooks/riffs by teenagers who are nowhere near ready to play at that level of difficulty (tho there are the ones who do it better than i ever could). I agree with you that some of their stuff does not always hit, but when it does, it REALLY fucking does. I love the idea of putting them in a tier just because of personal preference, again which with you i agree, but the sheer amount of gravity that theyve created for themselves in the guitar space has made them undeniably more revolutionary than any other band listed in this ranking. And that speaks a lot to their musicality and songcrafting. I would also drop unprocessed to a tier, which again, i prefer manuels guitar playing over polyphia guitars, because it just seems to make more sense. Also covet is such a vibe lets put them in s+ while we're at it.

[@monfloral]

@sunsqueeze Completely understandable. If this were an objective list, Polyphia would easily be at the top just because of their influence and capabilities as a band. And you're not wrong, when they make a good track, it's a REALLY good track. Covet is honestly the most vibey band on the list so for that alone I can get behind bumping them up a bit

[@julesy1x810]

Am I missing something or is Periphery not an instrumental band? Don't they have a singer?

[@julesy1x810]

wait nevermind

[@ja.martini]

you had one job, to put AAL in S tier, and you did it congrats (jk great video)

[@Shibaisscare]

It’s me ian!!! Yk me!

[@UnaiSainzdelaMazaGamboa]

And Plini?? Where is Plini??!?!?!?!

[@monfloral]

He’s in the ranking instrumental guitarists video :)

[@Cestariarts]

Vitalism could've been huge if wasn't for one of the guitar players ridiculous attitude that broke the band apart...

[@Cestariarts]

I didn't know Covet changed the lineup. Everyone loved the drummer, what a bum...

[@Rionkeys]

Wow, it hurts a lot to hear that arch echo "they're not great either". From all complex stuff, time, efford, knowledge and work they put in their style, it hurts a LOT to hear something like this. I really don't know any other bands unless Dream Theater that has more complex sound than they have. I feel really sad when mainly ppl can't understand their stuff, but ok, they make music for musicians, and that's totally okay.

[@monfloral]

They certainly do make music for musicians. The elaborate melodies and technical compositions show that they know what they’re doing musically. Are they a bad band? No, but from a listener’s perspective it’s not SUPER enjoyable at least for me. But the keys are a 10/10 EASY

[@Rionkeys]

@@monfloral Haha! Thank you for your kind response. I kinda agreed with you. Their craft are not within mainstream hearing and that's totally okay! Thank you buddy!

[@definitelynotanAIchatbot]

Arch Echo is basically Dollar Store Plini.

[@KirkVz]

obv this is ur opinion so im not saying its wrong , me personally i never liked any chon songs , not saying theyre bad just not my thing , and putting animals in S but not polyphia just seems weird, to me animals music sounds more like "just a bunch of scales and notes" (which is what people say about polyphia) than polyphia but other than that i dont really care or listen to any of the other bands other than unprocessed which i agree on the S

[@monfloral]

@KirkVz You don't like a single Chon song?? :0

[@airiushunt]

Polyphia fanboy and all I can say is how dare you

[@tyfighterbtd2126]

Ong polyphia is far better than all of these bands (I’m a fellow polyphia fanboy)

[@natura-g5i]

CHON é foda!!!!

[@tyfighterbtd2126]

Cmon man you’re putting unprocessed in S tier and not polyphia. Unprocessed has been the opener for polyphia on tour and it’s because polyphia is better. Also I might be wrong but didn’t you recently make a video on Dow Manuel Gardner is “not Tim henson”??? Cause Tim is a better guitar player and producer. I’d also like to say I believe polyphia to be the best band here having listened to all the S tier bands a lot.

[@darlyngton_nyc]

You're wildin' man, Scale the Summit's music from their 5th album and earlier is S-tier. After that is mostly mid.

[@monfloral]

"mostly mid" was my point HAHA. They have some bops but for the amount of music they have, I'd expect more of them to stand out a bit more

[@vikso89]

Vitalism is fucking INSANE. Shame they had some internal issues and supposedly the main guitarists isnt the greatest of people.

[@sahir2743]

Unprocessed is not S tier man. Recent songs are totally meh!!! Their name totally contradicts what they make. Some of the most over processed shit i have ever heard

[@kawhileonard7731]

Unprocessed being an “S” is criminal, seeing them live is pretty underwhelming and mgf is a better guitarist than singer , polyphia should be an “S” they go crazy live

[@monfloral]

From what I've seen Polyphia has gotten much better at performing live. Saw them a few years ago and it wasn't bad at all but wasn't anything amazing either. Funny thing is I've heard that MGF is pretty solid live so I need to check them out to see what's really up

[@kawhileonard7731]

@@monfloral Polyphia recently has went hard at the venues I went to at least, and for unprocessed yeah mgf plays well but the whole band and their style of music had half of the room just standing around that to me is a big deal, I took a friend to see them both with out hearing either one and he was vibing to polyphia but had the same body language as half the crowd when unprocessed was on

[@kawhileonard7731]

@@monfloral imo of course*