This is one subject I find really hard to discuss, but let's try... The NMA to me always sounded so British like no other British band, I can see the landscapes and hear the whisper of history in every note they play, but yet can't really find a match in any band I come across. The first time I got hooked on the band was when I was 15 and reading "The Lord of the Rings", I found the thundering bass of songs like "The Charge" or "Ballad of Bodmin Pill" a perfect soundtrack for the story, especially when I came to the chapters dedicated to the the Riders of Rohan (don't ask me why, I know some might find it strange or inadequate). So it was T&C that I started with and I guess I still have no other soundscape that comes closer to the atmosphere of that story. If I were looking for a band I could compare that to I don't think I could really name any, maybe in some ways, because of the folk influances to both, I could mention some albums by Jethro Tull as coming from the similar direction, but again those influances I think have been expounded by each of two bands differently and in accordance to the time they've been produced, the Tull slightly more 70's hard rock, and NMA more punk rock...
When I later on discovered older albums I found a bit more bands I could relate their sound to, like Southern Death Cult or Gang Of Four, but always with a very self aware approach, and I actually do like all of these bands quite a lot.
