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Comment by drKarl | Hacker News Reader

For me, programming music can't have lyrics or I'd get distracted from my train of thought. When I listen to metal while programming, I search for instrumental metal. Not necessarily heavy metal, I usually find instrumental power metal or progressive metal. I hope that gives you some hints of what to search for...

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My solution to this is to use music in languages I do not know. Ukrainian techno music, k-pop, italian operas, german speed metal, etc.

This used to be how I experienced American music from the radio as a kid before being able to understand the lyrics.

This is a great way to do it: http://radio.garden/ (a map where you can listen to radios from around the world)

ever try Ramstien, or Einsturzende neubauten

Ditto. I prefer progressive rock or classical music while doing deep-work. Instrumental, specially ambient or Middle-Eastern, is nice too.

English vocals are distracting during work, but strangely I don't mind any other language (Turkish for example), because my brain cannot fathom it, and remains focused.

Yeah, "wildly" (as in _very_) foreign languages work well.

I'm glad I discovered The Hu (for example [0] -- edit: forgot about the intro on this one, might want to fast forward a minute), with which I am usually not worried to be distracted because of the lyrics.

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4xZUr0BEfE

Two recommendations for you then - Bloodywood, Indian folk metal (in Punjabi and/or Hindi apparently); and Babymetal (BABYMETAL), Japanese "kawaii" metal (apparently) (one of my favorite songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8pcFhPZQYg ).

Didn't know "Indian folk metal" was a thing, but Bloodywood is bloody fantastic. (I speak Hindi).

If you like The Hu, try Yat-Kha [0]

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXgzc--MgvA

For metal I can just listen to EHG because even with lyrics no one can tell what the hell Mike IX Williams is saying.

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