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is mainly a post-rock thing.

Mogwai? Your formula clearly doesn't work.

maybe it's to do with that.

That name is an example of a wilful constraint and an absolute compliance to a style. The name gives no room for manouevre. Thus, either it fails, or, if it does succeed, it will succeed triumphantly. For this band, the success was glorious. The band were rammed into a very narrow crevice, musically. The contraints were wallowed in and the result was brilliant.

Regardless of whether you do or don't like their music you instantly know that the Dante reference suggests they're literary and pretentious whereas the literal meaning of the words suggests they've got a sense of entertainment and showmanship. Without actually limiting the band the name tells you exactly what to expect.

Clearly some people will hate the name but they'll probably hate the band too, thus entirely proving my point.

should've replied to my post

:(

Couldn't think of a more spectacular example.

Another misleading semi-metal name.

Thursday is a weird one...I remember reading somewhere years ago that they chose the band name because it was very anonymous and didn't betray anything about their sound. Now a whole wealth of second-rate emo bands utilise calendar/timescale nomenclature, and it's become easy to tell the sound of a band with names like that. Or maybe choosing a band name with those particular connotations (anonymity, deliberate lack of show) was just an emo attitude in the first place, so by not wanting to betray sound through name, Thursday in fact did...

bands with names like xskullfuckerx

Napalm Death
Sepultura
Cannibal Corpse
Gwar
etc, etc, etc.

can figure most post rock bands imo. Most figure a part of nature, a month or have !'s

why do they feel the need to shoehorn "ska" into their names? or make some ska related pun? see also; dub

lots of post-punk bands actually
lots of twee stuff e.g tullycraft

or
stars?

does what he says on the tin

for misleading names ...trail of dead is up there?

i always thought Between The Buried And Me would be a rubbish Suicide Silence esque scene metal band

very misleading

very misleading

but then bands like 'women' who purposely give away nothing always seem kinda boring and it kills my inclination to listen to them

I'm sice of having explain to cretins that My Bloody valentine are not a shitty emo band.

with having a distinctive 'sound', and if you can think of a word or two to conjure up that feeling, then good for you.
unless your name is vaginal jesus.

The Horrors
The Go! Team
Mona Lisa Overdrive
A Place to Bury Strangers (it's a bit dark and stuff)

And i agree with XYZIA about My Bloody Valentine. They're not emo, they're one of the greatest bands of our time!

because otherwise there would not be band names such as Chicken Noodle Funk, the Shitty Beach Boys and Methadone Abortion Clinic.

http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/2008_the_year_in_band_names/1

LowowowowowowLow.

I like a band name to betray something about the band. Part of the reason I was drawn to bands like Interpol, Kubichek! and The national is that they all had interesting band names. Interpol especially gives an air of mystery and darkness which compliments their sound.

Neutral Milk Hotel have possibly been?
That's a good example.

clearly a silly movie sample laden metal band

i thought they'd be bland and twee

Surely naming your band after a hit musical is a ridiculous idea. Would you call your band the Phantom of the Opera or Starlight Express or the Sound of Music? No. 'Cos it's a silly idea.

but I think it's pretty spot on in summing up their sound, violent, chaotic and jekyll and hyde dual vocals, like brothers bound by erm... blood?

Mindless Self Indulgence is a good one (if you take the name literally and use it in reference to the music)