Rolling Metal Thread 2011

Time for 365 more days of metal!

\m/

Happy Metal New Year everyone!

I'm really excited for the new Amon Amarth. Always a dependable group. Also, you guys should keep an eye out for the new Crowbar -- crushingly good sludge.

https://pub.needlebase.com/actions/visualizer/V2Visualizer.do?domain=Metal-Index&query=Upcoming+%28Full+List%29

A list of upcoming metal albums as provided by Glenn ^

ooh - new Wolf record! Liked the last one quite a bit.

Amon Amarth is the big one of early 2011, that's for sure. Bodom too, but my expectations aren't as high.

One that's been a nice surprise is the new Korpiklaani, it's their strongest album in years.

And Ken Mode's new one slays...working with Kurt Ballou was a smart decision.

That might be a different Wolf than you're thinking about, EZ.

Not the Swedish Wolf? Bummer.

Glad to hear the Korpiklaani is good - I'm up for a refresh as I'm still spinning 2007's Terveskanto.

Band I'd like to hear return that haven't released anything recent but havent quit officially:
- Summoning
- Mayhem
- Gorgoroth
- Trelldom
- Coldworld
- Bloodbath
- Kampfar
- Mütiilation
- Wigrid
- Totalselfhatred

there's a new impiety album, siegbran. i haven't heard it yet.

New Kampfar in March. Kvass still gets regular spins from me. I love the triumphant VIking metal!

Kampfar is one of those bands I love to death, even more so because the last few albums have not been stone cold classics (like Mellom Skogkledde Aaser certainly is), but it is one of those bands that could just come up with an amazing record out of nowhere, like Arckanum or Svartsyn.

Impiety on the other hand I'm not as excited about - another band I enjoy a lot but they release so much material that I feel like I can predict *exactly* how it will sound and how good it will be.

Listening to
http://www.roadburn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Earth-Angels-of-Darkness.jpg

And?

I'm only on the 1st track Old Black but it's a very good track so far.

No great stylistic change tho except for the violin which is a nice addition.

or is it a cello.

great cover. but i don't really need to hear another earth album.

i think i need to hear this.

Found it, will listen later or maybe tomorrow. Expect it to sound like Earth.

Checking out the Earth disc now.

It's pretty good even if it's not a drastic change of direction

Wait is that new? Because unlike cad, I think I really do need to hear another Earth album.

also that's a great fucking cover!

It's okay, but as has been said already, it's not a drastic change of pace and it's almost impossible to tell one piece from another. I dunno. I might try and get someone to write about them for Burning Ambulance (speak up if you're interested), but it's not exactly giving me priapism.

They dont make bad albums. It's a pretty solid good album that will be ignored with some because it's nothing new.

earth were once the most fascinating "boring" band going, so it's a bummer that they've become the most boring "fascinating" band going

The new Austrasian Goat album is immense. Possibly his best yet.

classic band name at the very least

Are you going to actually listen to metal this year?

yes yes

good good. Then you can listen to the entire top 100 from the ~~~~VOTE IN THE 2010 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR (METAL EDITION) POLL~~~ Voting Ends Sunday Jan 9th poll.

You all now have 1 week left to vote. 40 ballots in already, hopefully we can top the 50 of last year. So if you haven't voted, please do!

yeah I just listened to that Austrasian Goat album... last.fm indicated that it was like funeral doom but it sounded like progressive black metal to me... Anyway it was pretty fucking great!

I might take you up on that offer ph1l, if I have enough to say about the album after I've heard it -- which might not be the case, heh.

its a mix of bm,doom and things. He likes to mix it up, but I'd say its closer to bm than anything.

earth were once the most fascinating "boring" band going, so it's a bummer that they've become the most boring "fascinating" band going

so so RONG

i mean, that makes for a good soundbyte-- but it's not true

There are definite changes from the last album to this one (no trombone, no organ, no Bill Frisell, the addition of cello). I think it's more of-a-piece than the last one. But I'm not sure that's a good thing, as - again - it's difficult to tell individual tracks apart. It all becomes a single 60-minute blur, and it's extremely difficult to pick out memorable moments when it's over.

the most boring "fascinating" band going

If we're staying within the confines of metal its close cousins I would have to give that moniker to Boris. But I have always been bored to tears by them.

"Old Black" is the only song on the Earth album that grabs me, love that track. The rest leaves me on the bored side.

Old Black is definitely the best track on the album. The rest isn't boring so much as what Ph1l said -- more of the same... which is a good thing if you like Earth, IMO. I dunno, nothing seemed too rote or by the numbers. How exciting can you expect noodley psych-drone stuff to get? Its supposed to chill you out.

The most satisfying thing about "Old Black" is that it sounds exactly how you'd expect a song called "Old Black" to sound. Shakey fans who've heard this know what I mean.

A new Earth record and we're bringing up ol' Neil as a comparison? Can't wait to hear that track!

It all becomes a single 60-minute blur

isn't this the point of pretty much every worthwhile Earth album?

yeah, i dig it plenty.

(no trombone, no organ, no Bill Frisell, the addition of cello)

despite loving earth and just about everything they've done, reading that kinda bums me out.

also, I have apparently been mistakenly thinking that bill LASWELL produced the last earth LP until I just read that sentence!

which makes more sense because I kind of hate bill laswell.

Did someone mention the band Owen Hart near the end of the 2010 thread? I'm really enjoying their new album...I can see the Converge style vox rubbing some purists the wrong way, but I think it's fine, it at least matches the intensity of the circa-'84 Slayer riffage.

Hot damn, the new Turisas actually lives up to the album cover.

So it's overall better than the free download track?

Pagan showtune metal! It's like it was made just for me. But yeah, I would've chosen "Take the Day!" as the first single. Much more rousing.

This is going to piss a LOT of people off, though.

Sounds like I'll like it too but I am a sucker for "fluff"

preview from solo bruce lamont record
http://alarmpress.com/25613/blog/music-news/mp3-premiere-bruce-lamonts-2-then-the-3/

¿que piensan, metal thread? i like how the song kind of doesn't go anywhere.

Are there any more metal lists of 2010 to come? Metal Hammer? (has anyone got that one?
I look forward to seeing adriens & unpersons ballots in our own poll. It's shaping up quite nicely. Will look quite different to other polls I think as usual.

ILX yet to come iirc

yeah the well known music blog, ILM, hasn't posted its list yet!

metal hammer list posted on the voting thread and the magazines list thread

I like the Bruce Lamont record a lot, but I have to recuse myself from discussion 'cause I wrote the liner notes for it.

The new Destruction album is a Destruction album. Thrash so knuckle-dragging it makes Kreator sound like Cynic. Love it, love it, love it. The bass sound on "Armageddonizer" alone makes it a must-own.

I hope it surfaces on ipool soon! The last Destruction album was such a disappointment.

I got it from Nuclear Blast's site; it should be there for you.

Not in mine yet. I'll bug 'em.

I like you're description of the new album, it was as if the last one tried too hard.

Agh, your. Awful.

hmmm
http://www.nme.com/metal

Apparently it will forever be 1998 for the NME.

Old prejudices at the NME still going strong too
http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=149&title=homophobia_in_metal_shamefully_it_still_&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Yeah, it's awful how homophobic metal is. Wish there was more acceptance of openly gay performers - you know, like in hip-hop and reggae.

I see ilx's own doran has posted in the comments.

that blog post isn't very well written or enlightening (first time I've ever seen the writer's name fwiw) but I don't think 'ppl in other genres are awful too' is much of a rejoinder

Look, there are always going to be dumbasses, but it's the constant singling out of metal as a racist/homophobic/misogynistic genre that's gotten old. The point is, you have that in pretty much every genre, and while it's not right, you could pretty much do a find replace on that article with hip-hop or reggae or country or garage rock or pop or whatever and it would say the exact same thing. And like people's views in general, things are slow to change, but they are changing.

New Neuraxis album is nice 'n' crunchy like always.

There's more discussion of this btw on the Has The NME Got Good? thread

Of course I know the metal community is a lot more open-minded than a lot of people tend to believe, but spend time on a metal message board or Blabbermouth and you'll find yourself wanting to agree with the NME.

I agree, but that holds true for just about any messageboard about anything on the Internet.

oh god blabbermouth I try to avoid. but its really no worse than most messageboards, metal,rap,reggae other music or just in general.

In other words, it's wrong to single out metal when others are every bit as bad or worse.

female-fronted heavy metal: 1976 - 1989

12 downloadable comps by someone on another board i do. i think it's the same person that did the female-fronted hardcore comps.

whoa!

wow that's pretty cool

I was scrolling down thinking "aw no Acid? Acid are great", then they were on I think the third comp, then there were like 10 more after that!

Only losers listen to female fronted metal.

forgot to prepend it with "for loser homos only", but otherwise carry on

In MANLY metal news, the new Sirenia has some catchy stuff on it, but I don't think it's as strong as their last few releases. The singer's voice feels a little thin for the material. Still, one of the better bands plying the symphonic girly metal trade (although not as good as Edenbridge).

The new Sirenia is pretty good, but it lacks a single. Still better than average prom dress metal, though.

And those female metal comps are unreal! I was scrolling down thinking, 'ah, I don't see Jade, this comp needs Jade,' and whaddya know, there's Jade at the bottom.

Wait, the dude doesn't have Widow. Great band from way back when.

The new Turisas album is nothing but facepalm after facepalm. But it's catchy, I'll give it that.

They're trying to out-Blind Guardian Blind Guardian. But I love it. I want to see them mount a stage production of this album.

It's like Andrew Lloyd Weber had a hand in this. Garish to the nth degree. But yeah, there's a sense of fun to this stuff that most bands who try similar albums completely lose track of.

They definitely skirt the edge of disaster for the entire record, but I don't know -- I think it was a really risky gamble, and I think it works.

Sounds like a must-to-avoid for me; I didn't even like their early work. (The keyboards were way too prominent.)

Well, they've graduated from keyboards to an orchestra. That's an improvement, right?

This album is nuts. At one point they play the main melody from Monty Python & the Holy Grail score.

I'm honestly not sure how to review it. Like, I love it, but I'm not sure it's something I can necessarily recommend to the Decibel readership...

Does that matter? You give a good review if you like an album, not what your readership wants to hear
thats up to your editor to decide if he runs with it i guess. You just do the review.

There are other considerations when writing a review than "do I like it." That's one of them, certainly, but I like to keep a lot of factors in mind -- and honestly, the intended audience for the review is a concern. I'm not going to give something a bad review because it isn't decibel-approved, but it will affect how I present my review.

Is there any new word on a Thorns record? I'm still playing that s/t from 2001 all the time. I think it might be Hellhammer's finest performance. That record is so slick!

Random thought of the day: I don't understand why Deathspell Omega wouldn't make a hoodie, or even a t-shirt, with the Paracletus artwork on it.

Paracletus just gets better with each spin. And it's one of those albums that is so much easier to digest when you have the CD, not just the measly mp3s.

Meanwhile, the new Neuraxis album is superb, right back to the level of Trilateral Progression. Better than any death metal album I heard in 2010.

I've only listened to the Neuraxis album once so far, but yeah, it's very solid. I don't think I've been disappointed by anything they've done since TP. That live album fucking smokes.

Also got the new Deicide today. So far, it's pretty good. I like new, melodic Deicide a lot more than anything from their early years.

Glenn hasn't posted this year yet?
Hey Glenn, glad you got into Solefald.
Their first one -- The Linear Scaffold -- is one of my favorites.
Definitely one of the most inventive bands to take on a black metal influence.

On a different note, does anyone know of any recent bands
worth checking out that have taken up the Blood Brothers' torch
of spazzy nihilism in metal, post-hardcore, or otherwise?

I'm excited to hear more of the new Turisas and the new Cauldron!

Hi! I've been on a short partial metal exile. I had my 2010 metal list ready early, to use it for the P&J, so the last week I've been finishing up my non-metal list. BUMP OF CHICKEN!

So far no 2011 metal has survived deletion. But I have been working my way through the older Solefald albums, when I need a break from cheerful pop.

Love that new Solefald, thanks to Glenn's rec in the 2010 thread. I can't put my finger on it. It sounds like some Bizarro world black metal made for FM radio. I guess the last Nachtmystium did the same thing - grafting modern rock hooks on top of black metal. Either way, it's cool.

Unperson, you should vote in the ILM Metal poll. I can say, without revealing any results, that all your P&J metal picks have votes in the ILM poll, but some have a lot more than others...

I'm digging a split Cough/Wounded Kings called An Introduction To The Black Arts... think it was recorded in '09 but not sure when it's out or even if it's out already.

I *think* it's getting reissued on CD? The 12" was out last year as I recall

Good stuff that

Speaking of splits, I'm enjoying the Evoken tracks on their split with Beneath the Frozen Soil. They're leftover tracks from A Caress of the Void, I think, and sound like it, but if you like Evoken, you probably have a good deal of patience, so that should be fine.

Now I'm checking out some kind of horror electronics Burial Hex... Skullflower... Gnaw Their Tongues kind of thing... which is a lot dreamier than all of that makes it sound. It's called Garden Of The Forking Ways by Cultus Sabbati. Really nice stuff. Don't know owt about 'em but here's a link to their website: Cultus Sabbati

Check out the Venowl/Marsh split on band camp if you're digging horror electronics, it's pretty awesome. http://venowl.bandcamp.com/album/venowl-m-rsh

That Symfonia record better be the power metal album of the millennium, I mean a Stratovarius/Angra/Helloween supergroup? Doesn't get much better than that.

Supergroups are never as good as the talent involved -- I think it's a matter of (lack of) chemistry, or maybe trying to hard to live up to expectations and choking.

That said, I definitely want to hear it.

I reckon, I'd sooner go and see Shrinebuilder than Om or Wino certainly and maybe (currently) even Neurosis as well.

As someone who has seen them twice, I agree that they are undeniably awesome, but they're kind of the exception that proves the rule -- they have GREAT musical chemistry on stage.

Yeah, I agree that it's something of a rarity.

Anyway, the Turisas record is the power metal album of the millennium. And possibly last millennium. And probably the next one.

First words at the top of the cover of the new Decibel: "THE TOP 25 MOST ANTICIPATED RECORDS OF 2010". To be fair, they get it right on the spine, in the TOC, and in the piece itself...

Ouch, I missed that.

It's going to take me a while to figure out what I think of the Turisas...I'm glad I don't have the weekend to review it.

Which reminds me, the new Amon Amarth is as fun as you'd expect. Not better than Thunder God, bit pretty much on par.

Also: flexi-discs, cool, but I readily admit that I do not miss dealing with analog grooves as my primary means of interacting with music.

Not better than Thunder God, bit pretty much on par.

I knew they'd have to fall off eventually, but I was hoping it would be two or three albums further down the road. Twilight of the Thunder God was just so fucking awesome, even equaling it was gonna be a massive challenge.

It's a very good album. Just as catchy as the last...of course it's not the revelation that the last album was, but they're still riding that momentum, no question about that.

yeah, what Phil said above, re: Amon Amarth: Thunder God was a beast. haven't heard the new one yet tho.

Can anyone do the honours and paste the Decibel list of albums to look forward to up here? Or post a link if there is one? Cheers.

got the new Decibel iirc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/outburn?v=info#!/notes/outburn-magazine/top-10-albums-of-2010-by-outburn-staff-writers/10150122667467534

Top 10 lists from the writers of one of the magazines I contribute to. Interesting how little overlap there is.

I wish another certain metal mag did that!

another 27 mins for latecomers to vote. Then very shortly after that we will start the rollout with one or 2 albums.

Okay, I spun the new Amon Amarth and Twilight of the Thunder God back to back. Strong record, but it's no contest, Thunder God all the way. I don't think they'll ever top that.

I've heard a few tracks from the upcoming Korpiklaani and man are they awesome! Adrien wasn't kidding when he said it was their best in years - the two songs I've heard (the title track, Ukon Wacka" and the single, "Tequila") are right up there as the best things I've heard from them. Really excited now to hear the rest.

I suppose it is still early, but at this point? Fuck Wrest.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/3229375-418/tattoo-whitehead-girlfriend-mcguire-allegedly.html

eww

guess i never need to worry about buying that dudes music

I'm wishing I hadn't paid for last year's Twilight album that he played on, but too late to un-ring that bell. Won't be paying for any more of his work in the future.

Fuck him. Leviathan dude, right?

Yep.

yeah, that's one of those stories that made me wish I hadn't looked at my news feed this morning

i had to laugh at this comment on metalsucks: "I just feel like this is different than, say, Varg’s situation. Yeah, he killed somebody, but i think that is way less creepy and disturbing than whatever the hell it is that Wrest is accused of doing."

and heaven forbid your favorite creators of creepy and disturbing art actually turn out to be creepy and disturbing people, who do creepy and disturbing things.

but still, if this shit ends up being even partially true, I can't imagine I'll ever be interested in hearing anything else he puts out.

I -- I don't know, there aren't even words for this. Disgusting.

jesus christ. ugh.

I'm a big fan of leviathan and lurker of chalice but that is some vile shit right there.

I wonder how long it'll take the mainstream media to pick up on the fact that he was in a black metal band and make it a Thing. I really hope the rest of the notables in that scene distance themselves from this guy pretty quickly (if it's true, of course).

uhhhh what the FUCK

on the upside for wrest, this is probably the most press/exposure that leviathan will ever receive, right?

pretty much hope there is no upside for this dude if this is even remotely true

btw, 99% sure his hoodie didn't say "stop the madness" -- it said "NEVER stop the madness" w/ an accompanying syringe image

it's a piece of nachtmystium merch

http://www.shirtsanddestroy.com/img/products/big/4c11546f-bfb8-4b8c-9026-b02cc738d9f2.png

nice way to make a good first impression on a judge, huh?

Yeah, seriously. I have a Nachtmystium shirt with that same logo on the back of it, but I always make sure I'm wearing something over it. For some reason that makes me a little uncomfortable.

Haha wearing a fucking BM hoodie to a court appearance --- def. NAGL.

I expect he was wearing it when arrested and his cell didn't have a wardrobe with a clean suit for him to wear.

somehow i doubt this SOB has ever worn a suit (or anything clean tbqfh) in his life

fuuuuuuuck

I don't know the guy, and I don't listen to his music. But perhaps we should wait until he's convicted before condemning him utterly?

Anyway, Happy New Year everybody!

i think the phrase "raped by a tattoo needle" tends to surmount reasonable response.

But knee-jerk reactionism is so much easier!

Well:
- innocent until proven guilty, and
- none of Wrest's music ever made me think I'd like the guy in person

Wow, man, let's pile all his shit up and burn it. Uh before we do that I could use a copy of A Silhouette in Splinters tho, if anyone has that piece.

I put on my new Agalloch hoodie for the first time this morning. My wife said "Wow, your act of wearing that brings out the nuances of paganism in your appreciation of dark metal in a way that speaks to me across our usual music-stylistic divide!" Of course, she said it a little garbled, so it sounded kind of more like "Are you TWELVE??", but I think that was just because she hadn't had very much coffee yet.

irl lol

A+

i use the "no coffee" excuse for myself far too frequently

Note for the record that a) I am 43 and am currently wearing the Agalloch hoodie at my professional day job, and b) the ordering note is exactly right that a S in these hoodies is more like a M.

Also, I'm giving this Les Discrets album another chance after it came up in the poll roll-out and liking it a little better than when I deleted it last year. But for once I'm finding myself wishing they *had* gone with an extreme-metal vocal approach, as the limpy male vocals on this are my least favorite part of it.

http://tshirtslayer.com/files-tshirt/imagecache/shirtview/user-1198/167304_182760241753948_100000599215296_557968_45778_n.jpg

note to self: purchase an Agalloch hoodie...

Finally getting to the Earth album. This is great, directly up my alley, but I sort of expected that to be the case.

I've been slowly working through all the older Solefald albums, after liking the new one so much. I can hear plenty of common elements across their catalog, but I think the level of creative exuberance on the new one is dramatically higher. And when they button up and do Icelandic Odyssey, I think they get a whole lot less interesting or notable.

Has anyone checked out that Death reissue thats up on the Relapse promo site? It is bleeped to hell or anything? I ask because I see that Earache is up to the same old with bleeped to shit promos in 2011.

If it has beeping on the Relapse one, it'll say "(Promo)" after the album title, and when the record actually comes out they put up an uncensored version. Right now, the only one that has the beeps for me is Abysmal Dawn. earache will also usually tell you when they put the beeps on the records.

It's not beeped, thank goodness. That's my favourite Death album.

Looking forward to hearing the new Bunnies Rabbits album as well...

Its one of the few Death albums I don't have! So I'm very much looking forward to hearing it tonight.

Are you doing music writing again, Jon?

Trying to, looking for places to pitch, but outlets are drying up left and right. Just looking for somewhere to contribute a couple reviews a month or something.

Has anyone heard anything from the upcoming Subrosa album besides the one track streaming on the Profound Lore website? I really, really like that song, but know squat about the band or whether that song is representative of their sound or not.

Liking this goth/doom/death album Forthcoming Displeasures, from last year, by Spanish band Helevorn, of whom I think I've not heard before. Mostly slow and atmospherically doomy, musically, but with a sonorous singer who almost sounds like Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode at times. And then some raspy death vox dropped in occasionally, I guess so you don't think they're too soft.

I have the SubRosa album. It is fucking excellent, though I don't care for the one acapella track so much. But that's what you get with girl-group doom. Highly recommend the album. Songwriting, production, vibe, etc.

Just finished a review of the new Grave Desecrator album Insult; it'll be up on BurningAmbulance.com tomorrow. It's great, if you like knuckle-dragging, primitivist Brazilian thrash-death (and really, who doesn't?).

Thanks Nate! The one track out in the wild blew me away.

There's a lot more like it on the album. Really mature and well produced for a band that's never ventured off the west coast. It's got SONGS. :)

hey nate the metal poll is counting down in the other thread, do pop in, even though you didn't vote.
Top 20 countsdown friday.

No, We Aren't Making These Bands Up: ILM Metal Poll 2010 Results Thread - NOW COUNTING DOWN THE TOP THIRTY

This is a girl you do not want to date:

http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/images/artists/anguished.jpg

I didn't have time to vote because I was on tour much of December and pretty overwhelmed with work.

However I already ducked into that thread and learned about The Wounded Kings. So thanks!

Just got tix for Chicago Agalloch show! Excited!!

Shit, I didn't even know they were coming. When? Where?

News: heard from solid sources that Ocean (the doom band from Portland, ME, not The Ocean) have called it a day. Might get a few good bands out of it, and they're on good terms; they just decided it was time.

Jvc I xposted in chi thread 4 u

News: heard from solid sources that Ocean (the doom band from Portland, ME, not The Ocean) have called it a day. Might get a few good bands out of it, and they're on good terms; they just decided it was time.

― EZ Snappin, Thursday, January 13, 2011 10:19 PM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

awwwwwww i wanted to see these guys live again real bad

Wow, the SubRosa album is wonderful. Very adventurous, artsy but not impenetrable, gloomy and seductive, and kind of bluesy.

Listening to the Rival Sons EP on Earache -- I don't understand why bands try to be Led Zeppelin. I love Zeppelin as much as the next guy, but they're an impossible act to emulate successfully, especially if you don't have good songs, which these guys don't.

Badlands remains one of the best Zeppelin imitations I have ever heard.

kingdom come the worst?

Never heard Badlands. Rival Sons would actually make a pretty decent LZ cover band; they have the sound and vibe down perfectly. Like I said, they just don't have songs.

Like I said, they just don't have songs.

^neither did Zeppelin

Actually I'd say John Sykes' Blue Murder was the worst Zeppelin imitation.

Jake E Lee and Ray Gillen in Badlands...what a duo, especially on that first record.

good job str8 trollin' Bill

Yep, trolling. Exactly

I'm not sure what else you would call it, except maybe being needlessly negative. I mean, no one has to like Zep, but to deny that they even have songs? Come on, that was purely to get a reaction.

plagiarism dig or you just hate their songs period, bill?

http://www.amiright.com/album-covers/images/album-Great-White-Great-Zeppelin-Tribute-To-Led-Zeppelin.jpg

C'mon you guys know that anyone can buy a guitar 101 book and write Stairway to Heaven.

plagiarism dig or you just hate their songs period, bill?

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Friday, January 14, 2011 2:44 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

Mostly a plagiarism dig, but not a fan of the band.

C'mon you guys know that anyone can buy a guitar 101 book and write Stairway to Heaven.

^ now that song I truly hate.

everyone plz vote in this important poll

Lindstrøm vs Burzum

for Lindstrom?

~~~for whoever you want to vote for~~~

the only valid reason to hate Led Zeppelin is Robert Plant

saying they have "no songs" is trollin'

robert plant is in my good graces after saying he has no interest in further led zep reunions, and that he can't identify w/ the band at all anymore

i love howling wolf's version of "carousalambra" so much more than zep's

haha

the only valid reason to hate Led Zeppelin is Robert Plantstr8-up insanity

Wow just stumbled upon the 2xLP of Voivod's Negatron and Phobos. Had no idea these were on wax now.

Unfortunate that all the interludes were cut from Phobos (presumably to make it fit on a single disc), but still glad to have these on vinyl finally.

It turns out I went to high school with one of the founders of the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise, and I was offered a free cabin. So after some mad scrambling, I'm going to Miami next week. What a weird day it's been. Voivod! On a boat!

Nice! We expect a full report when you get back, but have an awesome time!

Does the boat look like the cover of RRROOOAAARRR?

J3ff T: Who is that woman? Does she like Coffinworm?

She is Possessed Demoness from Anguished, one-woman black metal band from Finland.

Good luck impressing that lady w/ any silly stuff like "being in a band," or "knowing the owners"... she probably only dates actual Necromancers.

I interviewed her (via email) for MSN a while back.

Heard about a CD from a band called The Memorials that is coming out in a few weeks. The band features someone from Mars Volta, apparently, and also has a black female singer. I mention the latter because I would love to see what xhuxk thinks about it, since he's been on the record lamenting the shortage of same.

Anyone here a fan of the Australian (at least that's where I think they're from) doom band Monarch? Just listening to a very impressive one track EP called 'Sabbat Noir' on Heathen Skulls. V. nice.

They're French - I think they've had a couple of releases on Aussie labels though. I am a fairly big stan of theirs but, um, haven't heard Sabbat Noir, I think because I've not seen it for sale in the UK - anyhow they rule, you can jump in more or less anywhere with their back catalogue

Cool stuff.

Yeah, I love all their stuff. They don't have that much out - a s/t 2CD s/t, another 2CD set (Dead Men Tell No Tales), a split with Elysium where their contribution is a single hour-long track, Sabbat Noir and Mer Morte. All totally worth owning.

Listening to the new Silent Stream of Godless Elegy and really liking it so far. They are, I believe, Czech, and play some sort of gypsy folk metal that is hitting all the right buttons for me. Mournful violins, melodic female vocals and growling dark male ones, some decent riffs and just the right amount of slickness. Promising. Hope it holds from start to finish.

Monarch rule

Bah, I couldn't make it through Monarch, Silent Stream of Godless Elegy, the Memorials or Ephel Duath. Grumpy metal day here, apparently.

Thought you might like the Silent Stream record. All the songs are too long though. Track 7 was the one that grabbed me - "Dva stíny mám".

A track from the upcoming Krallice is streaming at Stereogum if anyone's interested. Loved them live, but still find them hard to listen to on record.

The new Krallice album is spectacular. A lot more variety than I'd expected, a little more adventurousness and less predictability from Barr, and a good warm tone that compels you to crank it. As good as the first two albums were, this one feels like Krallice has created their own unique identity on record.

cant wait to hear it

The Krallice is probably one of my most anticipated metal albums of 2011. So excited to hear it.

wasn't crazy about the last one but v. encouraged by adrien's comments.

wow the track on stereogum now is badass

Monarch is French, but temporarily based in Montreal now. Their sometimes-drummer is Australian, though he didn't make it into the country on the last tour, so Rob from Dark Castle flew in and saved their asses. He did a great job too.

I'm listening to the live tracks on the 3CD reissue of Pantera's Cowboys From Hell. They sound like Van Halen.

oh man, agalloch's gonna be in town in march!

Which town? See you there!

You going to be in Chicago for their show Nate?

Are all the dates announced? Where?

You coming to New England, Nate?

nate, you're coming to boston??

cambridge, ma! psyched you'll be along with them!

I never got around to mentioning here (though I did on twitter Friday), but I think the new Children of Bodom album is their best since Follow the Reaper. Very hooky stuff.

I'm listening to the live tracks on the 3CD reissue of Pantera's Cowboys From Hell. They sound like Van Halen.

― that's not funny. (unperson), Tuesday, January 18, 2011 3:59 PM (47 minutes ago) Bookmar

Is this worth picking up?

I don't really think so, unless you don't currently own a copy of the album. The live stuff is okay but hardly revelatory, the demos are worthless except to total fanatics...generally skippable.

The "remaster" on that Cowboys from Hell reissue is terrible -- makes the drums sound like chopsticks. The album was recorded during the CD age, it doesn't need a re-master.

Yes please.

http://www.metalsucks.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/surtur-rising.jpg

Part of me kinda thinks that album cover would be better without the little human-sized humans at the bottom...but another part of me thinks if they weren't there, it would be a Manowar album cover, so I'm okay with it as-is.

just a giant destroying some reg. dudes

Yeah, but he's destroying them with a GIANT FIRE SWORD. And a VOLCANO.

well yah what would u use??

fluffy bunnies

There are actually some killjoys on the BW&BK message board actually complaining about the historical inaccuracies of the new AA cover. Unbelievable.

Awesome album, by the way, it's grown on me big time. If Thunder God was a 9 (should've been in Decibel, sorry), this is a very strong 8.

omg link pls

http://www.bravewords.com/braveboard/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=118901

hahaha

for a bunch of " vikings" they just failed HARD with this album cover

vikings didnt have horns on their helmets. that;s total Victorian romanticism and bullshit.

and so the suckage continues

what is up with people?

Some metal fans forget to have fun.

It's almost like they forget that they listen to a genre that's patently (and proudly) ridiculous.

Plus, Surtur is lord of the fire giants and may not subscribe to the fashion helmet accessories of mere mortal vikings.

Read on twitter today, "if you don't like Amon Amarth you don't like fun."

Jeff you can do better than that

I would/will love them if I can ever get over my vocalist issues.

What do you expect a Viking to sound like, dude?

for a bunch of " vikings" they just failed HARD with this album cover

vikings didnt have horns on their helmets. that;s total Victorian romanticism and bullshit.

and so the suckage continues

If you read this in the voice of Comic Book Guy, it's even funnier.

It's not him, it's me! I just am taking the longest time warming to certain styles of singing/screaming. Not blaming them at all.

Bad: have to be at a conference in NYC on 3/23 while Agalloch are in Cambridge.
Hmm: Agalloch playing in NYC on 3/22.
Hmm (part 2): Can I make it back in time to see them twice?

I'm seeing them on a boat twice next week. How apt.

for a bunch of *Vikings* they just failed hard with their Stratocaster guitars. This is just some pure bullshit spread around by AJP Taylor and Simon Schama. True heads know that real Vikings use Les Pauls and Orange amps. And so the suckage continues.

in some interview with Amon Amarth they said they took their name from Lord of the Rings, but never got around to reading the book. <3

hahaha, that's great

AGALLOCH official 2011 tourdates. Worm Ouroboros supports on all shows.

03/17 – Austin, TX @ Barbarella Patio (as part of the Nanotear Showcase at SXSW)
03/18 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
03/19 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
03/20 – Raleigh, NC @ King’s Barcade
03/21 – Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
03/22 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
03/23 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
03/24 – Montreal, QC @ Cafe Campus
03/25 – London, ON @ The Music Hall
03/26 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
03/27 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club

Ooh Chicago's the last night! See you there!!

No mn no credibility ;_;

Texas/Southern dates are set to coincide with a meteor hitting the earth.

― Nate Carson, Thursday, December 17, 2009 8:03 PM (1 year ago)

totally worth it

03/17 – Austin, TX @ Barbarella Patio (as part of the Nanotear Showcase at SXSW)

soooo fuckin there

I will attempt to make the Baltimore show... Not too huge a drive from Philly and I am off work on Mondays. Plus I can stay the weekend with my brothers in DC, who will then babysit my kid for the show... :)

I'm going to try to make the Boston show. Kind of a pain without staying over though.

Now that I think about it, I did get to see Agalloch live before, luckilly. They supported The Gathering several years back and I caught the show when it hit Cleveland. Really great show, even back then. I'll bet they're even better now.

I'm going to try to make the Boston show. Kind of a pain without staying over though.

― EZ Snappin, Wednesday, January 19, 2011 11:16 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

dude if u need a couch.....

Seriously? That would be awesome! I won't know for a bit if I'll need to take you up on the offer. One of my oldest friends is going to see if he can make it; with two people, the round trip from Maine isn't a big deal. If I come alone I'd rather take the train or bus in rather than deal with the drive, but I'm not making it home the same night if I do that.

yeah it's no prob at all--i'll prob be out at 7:45 or so for work in the morning but you are more than welcome to crash overnight.

Too kind man. I'd need to bug out early too - I think the train North is around 7:45 as well. I'll let you know if I'm taking advantage of your generosity as soon as I can.

Thanks for giving me options. Sincerely appreciated.

anytime!

Really digging the Ides Of Gemini demo that Cosmo posted on Invisible Oranges today. Features the singer from Black Math Horseman. A nice new twist on black metal. Strains of Post without being too twinkly, and haunting vocals a la Grouper or a slowed down Beach House.

http://idesofgemini.bandcamp.com/album/the-disruption-writ

Please everyone go vote in THE 2010 ILM SUPER-MEGA YEAR-END ALBUMS 'N' TRACKS POLL™ - VOTING IS OPEN THRU MIDNIGHT EST FRIDAY, JANUARY 21st 2011 there's lots of metal nominated so go vote for some along with your other favourites of the year. If they get enough ballots they will do a top 100 and if enough of us lot vote we can sneak some metal in! the poll runners are actively encouraging metallers to vote, so please do!

I just downloaded the forthcoming Deicide. Haven't been a fan for ages so I don't expect much. I assume that "To Hell WIth God" is the long-awaited answer album to this:

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/0d/a6/d1f1228348a0269ff0924110.L.jpg

I'd like to see Deicide come up with a response to "Honestly".

I think GnR beat 'em to it!

This new Virus (post-Ved Buends Ende) album The Agent That Shapes The Desert is the best thing I've heard in 2011 so far. Czral's vocals are not for everyone though.

I remember liking The Black Flux, maybe I'll have to check the new one out.

Just want to let J3ff know I enjoyed his Cirith Ungol piece on decibel. It was like a distilled, coherent version of the listening club conversation from last year.

i hope lots of you have voted in THE 2010 ILM SUPER-MEGA YEAR-END ALBUMS 'N' TRACKS POLL™ - VOTING CLOSES TODAY (93 BALLOTS AND COUNTING)

i did, but only for a small handful of metal albums :-/

mainly because most of the ones that got nominated I didn't like

oh that doesnt matter,less than half my ballot was metal, but its just the fact some metal gets votes rather than the usual sod all.

luckily the metal bands in my top half of the metal ballot were nominated in the other poll. So the likes of agalloch,el wiz,hof.nachtmystium,alcest ,harvey milketc got some votes and i'd hope others do the same (i assume those albums would be the most likely as they were top 10 in metal poll)

I hope Bongripper beats out Kanye for #1 album

hahahaha

if it's any consolation, no doubt kanye was rippin on the ol' bong himself when he recorded his album

they said if they got enough ballots they would do a top 100, so that really increases our chances of getting something in. they have 99 ballots already in so i'd assume thats more than enough for a top 100, we did it with 80.

I was thinking more of a Scarface-sized mountain of really good cocaine

xp

we had 80 voters, so if 10 voters voted for albums at the top end of that poll in the big poll, then that would get it in the top 100 for sure. so get voting! it doesnt need to be an all metal ballot, just pick your fave albums, and the fact that you voted in the metal poll should mean some of your top 25 will be metal.

the problem with getting metallers to vote in a general poll is that they think the albums wont make it, but with a top 100 its really worth voting.

and most of them could just enter their ballot from the metal poll (if those albums are nominated) if they think "oh i dont have enough time to do it"

Thanks EZ!

I think the problem is that most of us don't really care if there are metal records in the year-end poll?

xxpost

like, if the electric wizard lp or whatever places, that's fine. if it doesn't, that's fine too.

sorry, don't mean to dismiss your enthusiasm, goalkeeper. just not something that keeps me awake at night.

even so you could still vote, you did in the metal poll.

the problem with getting metallers to vote in a general poll is that they think the albums wont make it, but with a top 100 its really worth voting.

or maybe ILX is just a message board version of high school where the metalheads prefer to sit with each other at lunch, carve band logos on the tables, and gross everybody else out by making a food volcano filled with soda and loogies, instead of trying to fit in with the cool kids.

or maybe that was just my high school experience and I haven't gotten over it.

xxp

haha you just described alan n

One would hope ilx metalheads had outgrown such behaviour ;)

POLLING IS IMPORTANT
OTHERWISE WHAT WOULD WE DO WITH OUR POLES

I graduated directly from the behavior rockapads describes to hermetic "who cares what you think" grumpiness. So yeah, the fact that you got me to vote in this year's metal-centric poll was pretty much a minor miracle, and if you think I'm wasting my time with the generic year-end poll you're on fuckin' DMT.

lol

You voted in previous metal polls iirc. Glenn managed to persuade you to vote in this years and im glad he did.

It isn't hard to figure out the name of a Destruction song when you're listening to it.

One of the many great things about Destruction.

I'm pretty sure I mentioned this in another thread, but OMG the "real" Electric Wizard album cover is so damn ugly. The version with the candle is much more well designed.

I didn't vote in any of the metal polls out of ignorance - in fact, I am back posting and reading here so I can stay more in tune now that I am a civilian again (for the first time in over two decades) - so I sure ain't voting in any non-metal polls.

I'm here to learn. And post my opinion too, because even civilians have opinions.

you were in the army? I always thought you worked in a record shop.

Heh, no. By "civilian" (and maybe I should have put it in quotes like that) I meant I am no longer writing for anyone, no longer have a day job in the music biz, even tangentially. I guess I should say I am back to being a consumer, and I wouldn't need quotes.

If someone wanted me to work PT days in a record shop, that would be grand, however. Just don't see it happening and I am having a lot of fun and making good money at my new day job, which is a night job, actually - poker dealer.

Finally got around to listening to the two new Paradigms releases.

VENA is... odd. The first two minutes or so are a direct ISIS rip - I want to say it's from So Did We but I can't quite place it. Then suddenly it becomes the Cocteau Twins (? again, there's something it's very, very reminiscent of - I say CTs, but I'm not entirely convinced I'm right) until the end of the song. The remaining tracks are lesser versions of the same, sounding like Curve covering Mogwai for the most part, although the last one starts like Sigur Ros but gets good very quickly... I'm not entirely sold on this, but some of you may well like it I think and it might be worth pimping on the various shoegaze threads.

Book Of Sand is equally confusing. The first track sounds like 16HP's cover of Wayfaring Stranger smeared with ultra-BM production and featuring what sounds like hatboxes and the spoons instead of a drumkit. Track 2 is not only TROO, but also a little KVLT. The last two sound like Burzum performing Gorecki. I'm not sure whether I love this or actually don't like it, but will be playing it again for sure to find out. If it clicks with me I think it's potentially as good as anything I heard last year. We'll have to see.

I'd like to hear those

Tomorrow is another day, as they say.

Anyone watching the Flight 666 doc on BBC4 at the mo? Pretty entertaining stuff...

How was the Thin Lizzy doc before it?

The Maiden film is fun though.

I only saw the last 15mins of that, sadly. That bit brought home how horrible it was that Lynott died aged just 36.

Let the record show that I got Agalloch's album cover into the P&J coverage somehow, despite it only coming in 48th:

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/01/pazz_jop_stats_1.php

:-D

Very excited about the new Virus! They truly don't sound like any other band in existence. I even turned some friends of mine onto it who don't normally listen to metal. it's pretty esoteric stuff.

I'm looking forward to Virus, too. In the meantime I have to say that I'm pretty pleased so far, halfway through the new Sirenia. I respect Tristania for trying something different on their last record, but I also really hated the record. Sirenia are not trying anything new, but they do what they do really well. Sisters of Mercy + metal + sparkle. Awesome.

I like Sirenia, especially the new singer, but as comfortably familiar as the new album sounds I'm not hearing any standouts. Not much grabbing me, it needs a couple singles.

On a power/frilly metal note, I'm really looking forward to seeing Blind Guardian, Sonata Arctica, Iced Earth, and Epica on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise. Gamma Ray, not so much.

I saw your good work Glenn. So did Agalloch and Profound Lore.

Thanks!

THE METAL OVERLORDS HAVE NOTED YOUR CONTRIBUTION

Been listening to Mitochondrion's Parasignosis a lot the last few days, working on a review. It really works much better on headphones than through speakers. Most metal does, for me anyway.

is it just me or do the drums on that seem… dainty?

new American Heritage album is friggin' great - I doubt anything is gonna make the world at large give a shit abt them but if there isn't gonna be a new Melvins, Big Business, Baroness or Mastodon-sounding-like-what-they-used-to album this year then this totally deserves to fill the void

holy sheeeeet, andrew, drummer for Tombs, is playing in my basement right now with his side-project grind/hardcore band, and they are KILLING it. sounds so friggin' heavy and cool.

These are the times when I am jealous of scott's life. Also usually happens every month when I read his column in Decibel.

i just got caught in a mosh in my basement.

good times.

Anyone can join this http://listeningroom.fettig.net/room/ILXMETALCLUB/ and upload any metal tracks they want. (if rooms busy let everyone have a go)

Been listening to Mitochondrion's Parasignosis a lot the last few days, working on a review. It really works much better on headphones than through speakers. Most metal does, for me anyway.

I'm listening to this right now. And I agree--switching from speakers to headphones really helped me get into metal over the past year.

madness!

I mean... these days I have to listen to it on headphones if I want to play it loud, but if I had my own house and a decent speaker system I would always listen to it that way.

Well, of course--but living in apartments and being all nervous about pissing off neighbors makes you play the metal so low it doesn't connect.

alright, I get what you're saying now. sucky thing about earphones is that a lot of super compressed, loud metal albums give me crazy ear fatigue, so I even end up turning those down - or switching genres completely.

oh yeah, I get that too. same thing with lots of hip-hop from the last few years.

esp. for shitty mixtape rips

Big four US tour is happening.

yay.

Sister in law just bought me the new Meads Of Asphodel... Will listen soon but she also got me the new Social Distortion which I am listening to first 'cause I wanted Ms. Native to check it out.

dudes what is up with the drums on the new electric wizard

awesome or sucks?

sux

i noticed they were rly low in the mix but didnt think "sux" on first listen ;_;

yeah so low in the mix--they don't even really sound like anything a lot of the time. it's weird--there's tons of bass on the record but the kick drum is nonexistent afaict.

Yeah, I listened to the EW yesterday and had the same thought. Like, I understand that they are going for a MBV wall-of-sound guitar effect, but if I had spent all that time laying down drum tracks, I might have been a little insulted by the way final mix turned out.

I really love the Electric Wizard. When listening to it, I originally thought that Ms. Native wouldn't like it because she likes melody, however there are some incredibly catchy parts and awesome Witchfinder General riffs hidden in the murk which she and I subsequently latched onto, and finding them was like finding a hidden treasure buried right below the one you knew was at the X of the map all along.

Finally picked up the domestic version of Ghost today, excited to finally dig in (been holding off until I get a copy of my own).

mine's in the mail via amazon -- can't wait

march decibel just showed up

are you going to buy any metal this year?

yup

did you listen to anything from the poll?

yeah, i've heard some of those records, but very few -- hopefully i'll do better this year

you could start by checking stuff from last year (or previous years) You dont just need to stick to current stuff as you will likely end up hearing as little as you did last year.

oh i'll almost definitely buy some 2010 stuff too

Currently listening to Asking Alexandria's Life Gone Wild EP. They're a UK-based metalcore band, and this is a six-song EP with one track from their 2009 album, one demo of another album cut, two dubstep-ish remixes, and two Skid Row covers: "18 and Life" and "Youth Gone Wild." They'd have fared better with tracks off Slave to the Grind, I think.

ugh

I heard the title track from Slave to the Grind at a pizza shop not long ago. That song as aged surprisingly well.

yeah so low in the mix--they don't even really sound like anything a lot of the time. it's weird--there's tons of bass on the record but the kick drum is nonexistent afaict.

i hear the drums as similar to what j. spaceman was going for ca. (or at least, up to) 'ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space', although at the moment i'm not sure how i would say that it works to produce a different (but related) effect on 'black masses'. the bass is pretty omnipresent on the electric wizard. when it gets at its lowest on 'ladies and gentlemen' i think it's partly to expand the sense of magnitude. to stretch out the sound field to be as big as possible, top to bottom (while the floating-unmoored feeling still predominates). on 'black masses' the sound field is probably comparably expansive but its center of mass is a lot lower—unseen (but felt) depths with a haze of evil, etc., floating over top it.

good post dude. i think i just need to adjust my expectations, but i still think that everyone rates dopethrone so highly not because the songs are that much better, but because the production is perfect for the band.

Hey guys! Taking a noon beer break in Cozumel, recharging after two INSANE days on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise. What a blast it's been. Biggest surprise so far has to be Saxon...they did all of Wheels of Steel last night, which sounded incredible. Overall it's just so much fun, fans and bands always mingling, everyone really friendly. This is going to generate huge word of mouth, it's a resounding, extremely drunken success.

^^^livin' the life

http://plixi.com/p/72631144

Taken just now, yours truly on the right.

ugh you chelsea scum!

:)

Adrian 'Mutu' Begrand

rofl

Hahahaha

This is really Hard Rock, not metal, but if your tastes bleed in that direction, I give a guarded but enthusiastic after-one-listen endorsement to the new Magnum album, The Visitation. I was a huge Magnum fan in the old days, and since they got back together in 2002 they've been winning me back a little more with each new album.

Anyone check out the new Negative Plane yet? Loving it so far, bombastic black metal with a heavy goth influence.

Negative Plane: Played it earlier today. I admit it seemed a bit samey to me by about halfway through, so I skimmed through the rest looking for a reason not to delete it and move on, and didn't find one. Veneficum didn't survive the cut, either. But I'm liking the Khors album Return to Abandoned, which I hadn't heard before now.

But I'm liking the Khors album Return to Abandoned, which I hadn't heard before now.

Please tell me that is a gothic metal band covering songs by The Corrs

That would be unspeakably awesome. But sadly, no.

oh and before I finally get to bed, I want to say that yesterday i came across a band that was so perfect for J3ff. A Japanese instrumental power metal band!
http://i54.tinypic.com/dfhnw7.jpg

You would never know they were from Japan, eh?

And guess what, he loved it.

I dig video game soundtrack metal, and Eldorado sound like they should be scoring a Castlevania or Guilty Gear game, but I actually found a kind of exhausting to listen to the entire record.

hey guys, this is something from a friend of mine who is the realest awesomest stoner metal dude i know...anyway just thought you guys would get a kick out of this story:

I have a scar on the back of my leg because one of the dudes from Machinehead smashed a beer bottle on the ground, enraged at the thought of skinheads in the same parking lot we were in.
It turns out it was the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. A party ensued.

actually we just drank beer in the hotel parking lot out of Napalm Death's bus for an hour or so. Somewhere in the world there exists a picture of 4/5 of Napalm Death, all of Machinehead, half of the Bosstones, and Me. Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of this picture.

^1994 was a helluva drug

Anything really loose and raw like The Sooges Raw Power but you know modern yet?

Guess not... is that metal writen off for another year then?

Just something that hits heavy and loose a bit like queens of the stone age, wildildlife and torche.

"loose" is about the last word i'd use to describe torche, like em tho

looser than the general cliche addled fluff I hear a lot of the time from metal. They have a taught kinda funk to them, they get the odd groove going but keep a load of energy rolling too.

stoner rock thread is ----->

I thought all metal was for stoners?

Jimi have you heard White Lung yet?

Not heard them no.

Just found the myspace though not really feeling it so far, its a bit like a nu-metal sonic youth trying to do a pixies impression with a ska punk drummer.

Yeah, I'm definitely liking Khors. They kind of sound like an airier version of Immortal, like they've taken all the folk-/pagan-/viking- stuff less as direct influence than as an excuse to evoke open spaces more than dungeons. Kind of in (or at least towards) the same vein as Agrypnie, if maybe a little more surging than anthemic. I've only poked around a little in their back catalog, but it seems pretty clear that they made a huge leap when they got some decent production (on 2008's third album Mysticism), and then maybe another one in compositional ambition for this fourth album Return to Abandoned. EM says they've had the same drummer all along, but maybe he just started taking things more seriously, because the drumming on the new one is really great, confident and heavy and then sputtering and relentless in judicious blasts. Really solid.

I've had such good luck with Ukrainian black metal, I'm just going to go ahead and check out that Khors.

I've been on an extended Old Wainds kick lately, and I just discovered Branikald a few weeks back. Dude taps into some William Basinski "Disintegration Loops" territory, and then flips on the depressive, icy coldness. Pretty breathtaking, despite the dubious politics.

Woooooo, back on land. Now that was a crazy metal trip. Royal Caribbean sold more beer on the first night than they ever have on any of their cruises before.

I had my own personal faves as far as bands went (Voivod, Raven for instance, both were awesome), but the clear winner of the flat-out best band on the cruise was Saxon. They were unreal.

Another big surprise was Uli Jon Roth...he dug out a load of Scorps classics. When he did "In Trance" (with a singer/guitarist who brilliantly hit the notes), I was freaking, then I look over and there's all of Exodus and Voivod freaking too.

Listened to the first 20 mins or s of the new Meads Of Asphodel on the way to work. Holy shit. It went from black metal to gothic disco to a part right out of show tunes. Have to listen to the rest of it and repeat it a few more times. Wow.

I checked those guys out a few years ago because Aquarius was all over them, and it did nothing for me. I guess they are good for people who find metal boring unless it the disco show tunes or whatever.

I got drunk in a parking lot with Machinehead once. They must like that shit. The rules are this: drink a beer. Do an impression of the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket. Fling empty bottle in the air. Punch mate on arm. Repeat til drunk.

hey, what's with the freakin' ersatz-Styx cover here?

http://shop.relapse.com/dbimages/sleeves/escapevelocity_362.jpg

Could also be a UFO cover, to be fair.

I guess they are good for people who find metal boring unless it the disco show tunes or whatever.

Yeah, I guess some people just don't like anything that isn't kvlt or troooooo.

Nah, I'm not like that. That was a dumb post on my part, sorry about that. I was in my cups last night! I kind of hate groups like Meads and Sigh, mainly because I'm sort of sick of some of my acquaintances of the h--ster variety cherry-picking novelty (and/or shoegaze) metal groups, but we all deal with that. no reason to vent here.

also that Zombi cover is awesome

I'm coming round to the idea that even if hipsters like the same music we like, i'd still rather they listened to good music rather than making shit music hip/popular.

hipster, contain thyself.

'Tis okay, rockpads.

I remember what it was like when outsiders first infiltrated what I deemed as "my music" and it's kinda funny now: A little kid, probably all of 9 years old, came up to me at my job as a host at a Ground Round in Manassas, VA, saw my longish hair and asked me if I liked Metallica which was, to me anyway, still something underground and exclusive and MINE, dammit. Even the preps in my school didn't discover them yet, but here was a little twerp saying "I have some of their tapes," all smiling at me.

So I did what anyone in that sitch would do: I tossed him in the free peanuts barell.

Correct response!

haha

fwiw it's not about "outsiders" infiltrating my music or anything like that. I am too old for that, and am hardly scene myself. if I had friends who actually liked or understood the music, that would be awesome, but the only people I know who see any value in metal at all, are people who approach it as fans of Metalocalypse, who only look for the most goofy stuff that they can listen to with tongue in cheek.

Just got this press release...

SATANIC WARMASTER REMOVED FROM HELLFEST 2011

Finnish black metal band SATANIC WARMASTER has been removed from the French Hellfest festival (held in Clisson, France in July 2011) because of pressure from other artists performing at the festival. SATANIC WARMASTER has made the following statement due to the decision of the Hellfest organizers:

”It has been brough to my attention, that the organizers of the festival cannot hold on to our agreement to have SATANIC WARMASTER perform at the 2011 Hellfest. This was because of pressure put to the organizers by other artists booked on the festival.

”It is a disappointment (despite being totally expected) to see such mentality still present in the ’individualist’ and ’free-thinking’ metal community that any musical act can still be boycotted because of false preconceptions and arbitrary political motivations of other, ’bigger’ artists. It is also more than amusing to see that the censorship and boycott some of the French authorities tried to push on the festival earlier are now excercised by the festival organization itself.

”Obviously because I have never upheld any modern taboos or lived my life as an apologetic dabbler, it makes me also a target for politically motivated artists to keep us from playing because of their self-righteous reasons. Any artist can be put on a mock trial by taking words out of their context without thinking of the actual message, and SATANIC WARMASTER once again hangs crucified by hysterics driven by the love for a world and values I feel no oneness with.

”Everyone who has even slightest interest in this musical style knows what black metal is about, and in that light only a moralist or someone with a very extreme double standard can say that SATANIC WARMASTER is in some manner different from other artists of the genre.

”It makes me want to puke for making a statement like this, which is almost something that a politician would do, but to clear some things, it was mandatory to bite the bullet this time.

”Just to make sure everyone has their labels right, SATANIC WARMASTER's ideology is Satanism and music style black metal. Whoever claims otherwise does so only because of personal feelings and/or resentment.

-Werwolf / SATANIC WARMASTER”

Werwolf on the money.

i have no idea if he is or not, just really wanted to type that.

Poor NSBM band.

sad i can't support a band called SATANIC WARMASTER

This quote about them is pretty much OTM:

Nazi or not, they're fucking assrendous. Them being nazi just makes me hate them as people.

Torturium, which has an ex-SW dude, are totally better. Although they get more orthodox and less interesting as time goes on.

really digging magrudergrind's new ~scion sponsored~ EP

gonna try to see em at st stephens in a few weeks

Happy Sunday afternoon news: new Lifelover album leaked!

lolin' at the satanic warmaster metal archives entry:

Lyrical theme(s)
Satanism, Occultism, War, Vampyrism

and I haven't heard that new ep but I really dig magrudergrind. particularly the way they flirt with rap music despite getting the feeling that they haven't put much thought into how to integrate this element into their sound yet. the angle they're working right seems to be "we love chaos so let's throw a mobb deep sample in here." some signifiers in their artwork too.

but there's definitely something there. and, despite all of the similarities between the two genres, I can't really think of any metal bands that have played with hip-hop in a way that really works for me. especially in grindcore which is kind of profoundly unfunky. my dream is that these guys really merge the two musics as the band matures but I have no idea how that would even work.

and if they don't ever decide to do that (which is likely), we still have some solid grind with lots of rap samples. win/win.

Seen just now on iTunes' page for Impaled Nazarene's Road to the Octagon: "Listeners Also Bought - Hot Rocks 1964-1971 by The Rolling Stones"

The first installment of our big cruise recap is now up at Hellbound!

http://www.hellbound.ca/2011/01/70000-tons-of-metal-cruise-recap-part-1/

"Another big surprise was Uli Jon Roth...he dug out a load of Scorps classics. When he did "In Trance" (with a singer/guitarist who brilliantly hit the notes), I was freaking, then I look over and there's all of Exodus and Voivod freaking too."

Sounds amazing!

Early ratings for the year from RYM:

 1   (1) Mitochondrion - Parasignosis
 2   (2) Ulcerate - The Destroyers of All
 3   (3) Falkenbach - Tiurida
 4   (4) Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1
 5   (7) MyGrain - MyGrain
 6  (11) Times of Grace - The Hymn of a Broken Man
 7  (13) Stratovarius - Elysium
 8  (15) Arafel - For Battles Once Fought
 9  (21) Helrunar - Sól
10  (29) Belphegor - Blood Magick Necromance
11  (31) Legion of the Damned - Descent Into Chaos
12  (32) Monumental Torment - Element of Chaos
13  (33) Battlelore - Doombound
14  (41) Tuck From Hell - Thrashing
15  (47) Universum - Mortuus Machina
16  (71) Lazarus A.D. - Black Rivers Flow
17  (76) Ceremonial Perfection - Alone in the End
18  (79) Macabre - Grim Scary Tales
19  (83) Stryper - The Covering
20  (90) Keith Merrow - Awaken the Stone King
21 (100) Forge of Clouds - Forge of Clouds
22 (106) Earthship - Exit Eden
23 (107) Helrunar - Sól II: Zweige der Erinnerung
24 (109) The Grand Astoria - Omnipresence
25 (110) Magnum - The Visitation
26 (113) Overdrive - Angelmaker
27 (119) Tyrant of Death - Parasite
28 (121) Panopticon - On the Subject of Mortality
29 (122) Silent Stream of Godless Elegy - Návaz
30 (123) Helrunar - Sól I: Der Dorn im Nebel
31 (126) Mechina - Conqueror
32 (129) Theatres des Vampires - Moonlight Waltz
33 (132) Abraham - An Eye on the Universe
34 (134) Diabolical - Ars Vitae
35 (142) Severed Crotch - The Nature of Entropy
36 (143) TesseracT - One
37 (144) Ultraphallus - Sowberry Hagan
38 (147) Hollow Haze - End of a Dark Era
39 (148) Silver Lake - Silver Lake
40 (149) Wadge - Grindcore Lu'au
41 (153) Defiled - In Crisis
42 (172) Alghazanth - Vinum Intus
43 (174) Impiety - Worshippers of the Seventh Tyranny
44 (177) Soul of Steel - Destiny
45 (184) Abacinate - Genesis
46 (186) Artas - Riotology
47 (191) The Neologist - The 26 Letters of Your Universe
48 (202) The Ransack - Bloodline
49 (205) The Very End - Mercy & Misery
50 (206) Lionheart - Built on Struggle

The paranthetical number is overal ranking...

I know the limitations of RYM but for my purposes - to check out good metal albums - it's metal slant helps more than hurts.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Stryper LOL

assuming Tuck From Hell are, as their name suggests, a band of 1950s British public schoolboys making a concept record about the terrible choice of snacks available in the school shop

i hope the singers name is Winker Watson

I've heard two of those RYM records - Earth and Battlelore. Earth was nice, but inessential; Battlelore was acceptable. Don't have any desire to hear either again.

Ultraphallus is pretty sterling Melvins stannery from Belgium

I have the Impiety on my hard drive but shit gets lost there so easily :/

apart from Earth I too am more or less lost after that

Belphegor is always worth listening to

Herman, would i like last year's enslaved album? you know my tastes...

Severed Crotch, huh?

HOLY CRAP:

(New York, NY) - The 2011 Metalliance Tour will proudly be supported by
metal heavyweights KYLESA, RED FANG, HOWL and ATLAS MOTH on all dates.

Dates have officially been announced. The tour sponsored by Revolver
Magazine, Loudtrax.com, Brooklyn Vegan, Mosh Potatoes Cookbook and Giddy
Up! Sauces is proud to announce HELMET, SAINT VITUS and CROWBAR for its
inaugural line up. "We are glad to be part of this tour; I think it's a
great bill. The bands I have heard so far each have a strong musical
identity as opposed to so much of the generic, lowest common denominator
music out there," says HELMET front man Page Hamilton.

03/17/11 Dallas, TX @ Southside Music Hall
03/18/11 Austin, TX @ Dirty Dog / SXSW
03/19/11 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
03/20/11 St Petersburg, FL @ State Theater
03/21/11 Orlando, FL @ Firestone Live
03/22/11 Greensboro, NC @ Greene Street
03/23/11 Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
03/24/11 Worcester, MA @ Palladium
03/25/11 New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
03/26/11 Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
03/27/11 Joliet, IL @ Mojoe's
03/29/11 Denver, CO @ The Summit
03/31/11 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
04/01/11 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
04/03/11 San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
04/05/11 Hollywood, CA @ House Of Blues

that looks awesome, I'll be in Austin if I can escape the house that evening.

"We are glad to be part of this tour; I think it's a
great bill. The bands I have heard so far each have a strong musical
identity as opposed to so much of the generic, lowest common denominator
music out there," says HELMET front man Page Hamilton.

Page Hamilton not one to talk about "generic, lowest common denominator music" given his band's most recent effort.....

Awesome tour, but not worth being in Joliet for.

I'd catch 'em in Worcester if it wasn't the day after Agalloch.

Helmet are playing Meantime in its entirety, so at least it won't be all crappy new material.

Oh, man, this new Lifelover album Sjukdom ("sickness") is fantastic. Not sure it would convert anybody who already knows they don't like Lifelover, but check it out if you're not sure. Grim, raspy-croaky-anguish voiced depressive rock/metal with a great, surging, methodical intensity. Like the music the real vampires might listen to while the pretty fakes are preening.

Awesome tour, but not worth being in Joliet worcester for.

Helmet are playing Meantime in its entirety

O_O

soooo there

Another Lifelover analogy: imagine The Cult as a black metal band, with Ian Astbury just getting over a bad combined case of laryngitis and depression. But, you know, in a fun way!

I'm gonna be going to that Metalliance tour, but between the too-many opening acts and Helmet headlining, I'm gonna be trying to show up just in time for Kylesa and leaving immediately after Vitus.

ilxor, i do think you would enjoy the enslaved album.

I like 1 lifelover album, the one with *that* album cover.

wait so does this tour have seven bands every night???

If by "*that*" you mean naked girl covered in blood, then that's Pulver, their 2006 debut. Ironically, the second record was called Erotik but the cover is just murky nothingness. Their 2008 album Konkurs just got reissued by Prophecy, and I really liked the 2009 EP Dekadens, too.

Also, I'm now listening to the Paragon Records reissue of Khors' The Flame of Eternity's Decline, which is clearly a record from a less mature band than Return to Abandoned, but it's still pretty enjoyable. Grim, chunky, atmospheric black metal in the European "pagan" mold (lacings of folk melodies, as opposed to the American Agalloch/Celestiial/WinTR textural version). The reissue has a couple alternate mixes with a bizarrely kettlish snare sound that kind of make me think of what Cold Lake could have been if Warrior had gone for the production ambition without the hairspray.

That new Lifelover album is pretty good so far. The vocals will be a sticking point with many (the histrionics even test my patience), but the instrumental portions are gorgeous.

You know what's really fucking good? The new Noisear album. Art-grind a la GridLink or AntiGama, but with a vocalist who sounds like Kevin Sharp. Watch out for the 20-minute Kevin Drumm-esque noise piece at the end, but the first 29 tracks are great.

Also, is it me or was Lazarus A.D. a retro thrash band on their debut? The new one is all melodic groove metal, like Machine Head crossed with present-day Testament. Don't like it much.

hey Glenn, you should check out Visions of Atlantis's new one, Delta. Symphonic metal with male-female vocals. I was ready to dismiss them as generic Nightwish/Stratovarius wannabes, and it's not that they aren't, but they're actually quite good at what they do.

What you think of the new Rotten Sound, Phil? My impression was that it was really well done death-influenced grind with enough curveballs like guitar solos and groove parts to keep things from getting boring without resorting to wacky noises or genre shifts.

I dug the Noisear album until the boring last track. And I think the new Lazarus AD album is terrific, Machine Head/Testament ripoffs and all.

How's the new Visions of Atlantis singer? I liked Melissa on the last album.

Speaking of grind, I got Graf Orlock's Doombox in the mail today. Can't wait to put it together...

She sounds good enough to me, although I haven't heard their old singer.

alright, I'll bite: put it together?

Oh, I see:

http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/28943219/doomboxmockup.jpg

oh jeez

What you think of the new Rotten Sound, Phil?

Haven't heard it yet. I've never really paid much attention to them. Should I?

Wow does that Visions of Atlantis cover look dubious, but I'll keep a watch for it. Finally heard the whole Mitochondrion record, after not liking the stream samples but reading enough about it that I wasn't satisfied with that impression. Definitely way better heard all the way through. Not sure whether I liked it yet, but I'm definitely interested.

Also, second Khors album is good, too. Third one tomorrow.

I like Rotten Sound okay. Haven't heard the new one yet though.

Took just a couple minutes to put the Doombox together. The attention to detail is just amazing, right down to the back and the hilarous owner's manual too. Plus it stays together, it's a pretty solid model.

The music's great too, they're the catchiest grind band going.

the new earth is boring imo

its like a stoned score to a coen brothers movie

Earth has always been hit or miss for me... Welcome more input here to see if this one's a keeper or not.

http://www.grindcorekaraoke.com/album/robocop-ii
Anyone check out this new Robocop album, or anything on J. Randall's new Grindcore Karaoke digi-label? I haven't enjoyed anything on it except this Robocop and the Marion Barry release, but I like the design aesthetic they've got going.

Also, not enjoying the new Burzum as much as 'Belus' from last year, but I need to spend more time with it. Anyone else hear it?

I'm enjoying the new Burzum a lot, at least after one listen. The clean vox work very well. It sounds even better than Belus I think.

All songs by Robocop except track 9 which is attributed to some incarnation of Napalm Death. Don't sue us, your as much of a cover band as we are...

lol

i'm digging this robocop 2, the doomy breakdown on the first song is pretty rad, but 'feminism uber alles' is pretty fuckin lame

http://www.grindcorekaraoke.com/album/grindcore-luau

^^^^^^^ this is fucking hilarious and awesome

Oh shit, I forgot about that Wadge album. The liner notes PDF the download comes with is pretty funny and well-designed too. It's surprising to see this much attention to detail being put into a digital label.

its like a stoned score to a coen brothers movie

so this makes it different from earth's last album exactly how, then?

that was like a stoned score to a sergio leone movie

i don't know sergio leone ;_;

not a movie guy

sorry

i like earth tho

haha how bout 'stoned spaghetti western' vs 'stoned josh brolin in boots'

okay that works

The new Trap Them album is as good as you'd expect. Same old stuff, but a little catchier this time around.

http://burningambulance.com/2011/01/12/earth/

xps

Thanks for all the links and whatnot on the new grind stuff happening. Now I've got some listening to do.

I didn't make it through a whole listen to the Burzum, but I've never found his music interesting in any of its phases. Too boring for moral dilemmas...

Ever wonder what it would sound like if Jean Michel Jarre had grown up in Ontario listening to metal? Aastyra.

ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL, the heralded hard rock and metal event of the summer, is swiftly becoming the heavy music fans’ summertime rite of passage. Today, the 4th annual summertime juggernaut announces the 2011 line-up with DISTURBED, GODSMACK and MEGADETH, joined by MACHINE HEAD, IN FLAMES, TRIVIUM, and many more of today’s most electrifying artists. The tour will make a 26 date trek across the country beginning on July 9th at the San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino, California. Tune in to www.rockstarmayhemfest.com and www.livenation.com for up-to-date ticketing information.

This summer’s mainstage artists, DISTURBED, GODSMACK, and MEGADETH, will be joined by a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today. For the first time in festival history, through their success, IN FLAMES, MACHINE HEAD and TRIVIUM have grown through the ranks to now perform on the mainstage in rotating slots throughout the tour.

ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL is thrilled to see the return of festival veterans DISTURBED, MACHINE HEAD, TRIVIUM, and SUICIDE SILENCE.

The JAGERMEISTER stage will feature UNEARTH, KINGDOM OF SORROW, RED FANG, and the winners of JAGERMEISTER Battle of the Bands. The Extreme Stage will spotlight SUICIDE SILENCE, ALL SHALL PERISH and STRAIGHT LINE STITCH.

The 4th annual ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL will also feature ROCKSTAR METAL MULISHA JUMP TEAM, the World’s Greatest Freestyle Motocross team.

I cannot imagine how bad that show will be.

with all those shitty bands in one place what if ....

who can make the best reply

with all those shitty bands in one place what if a crazed american ....

...swan-dived into a toxic tank filled with gelatinous ilxors?

... decided to see a good metal band the same night in a local club instead?

a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today
a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today
a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today
a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today
a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today
a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today
a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today
a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today
a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today
a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today
a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and metal artists of today

ate people who post like that. stop it

I hate i mean, lol

but if a big metal monster eats people who posts like that comes to ilx then i welcome our new overlord

you still banned from the poll thread btw?

multiple c+ping rules fuiud

except when it's ilxor doing it wrong by using a rote and benign phrase from a piece of corny PR bumph

You guys have some seriously sad issues with people who like something you don't. No one here is probably a fan, so who are you trying to impress or amuse with your superiority?

C'mon. You're better than that.

no-one is trying to impress anyone. People be giving their opinions.

No one here is probably a fan

I'm a fan of about half those bands. I like Disturbed, Megadeth, Machine Head, Unearth, and Trivium, and can tolerate Suicide Silence.

Question: I'm gonna be in England this week. Most of the time I'm gonna be working, but my Wednesday night is my own. Is there a small club in Bristol likely to have metal or punk bands playing on a Wednesday night?

aldo/dj mencap to thread

No one here is probably a fan

I'm a fan of about half those bands. I like Disturbed, Megadeth, Machine Head, Unearth, and Trivium, and can tolerate Suicide Silence.

― that's not funny. (unperson)

Sprry Phil. I like Megadeath too - just annoyed at the tenor of derision that I shorthanded it too much.

Sorry, even.

you still banned from the poll thread btw?

nope-- i'm back

rightly so, since i was on topic before being baited & slandered by a certain poster

You guys have some seriously sad issues with people who like something you don't. No one here is probably a fan, so who are you trying to impress or amuse with your superiority?

C'mon. You're better than that.

― EZ Snappin, Tuesday, February 1, 2011 9:50 AM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i love this thread but there is some weird groupthink that happens in here sometimes

After one listen, I'd say Fallen is a pinch better than Belus. I welcomed Belus, but ultimately, it didn't set me on fire. Haha. See what I did there?

The riffs on Fallen seem a little more inspired to me.

Glad to see Adrien enthusing about Trap Them, very excited to hear that one. As far as the Earth, I always enjoy it when I listen to it, but I rarely find myself itching to spin it again (pretty much exactly how I felt with the last one). I'm not sure what that makes me feel overall, I definitely enjoy hearing it but there's very little to get excited about. Great music to play when I'm focusing on SketchUp and cranking out a rendering though.

Phil - not sure if you mean Wednesday as in tomorrow or Wed 9 but Bristol looks pretty lame on both days metalwise tbh - you could always drown your sorrows here

Wednesday as in tomorrow. My flight leaves in about seven hours. I don't drink (shock! horror! call yourself a metalhead), which is why I was looking for live music. Oh, well.

I note for the record that I do not drink, either.

Me three

Rolling True Kvlt Metal Straightedge 2011.

I drink, but usually not at shows.

Jon and I can start the Rolling Social Drinkers Metal Dilettantes 2011 thread.

I drunk but usually not at work

nevah tuush teh shtufff...

Burzum had his chance to blow me away with his genius. There was one song I liked on Belus, but there are so many non-white supremacists out there making better music than he is, I don't see the point of taking the leap.

I haven't heard the new Earth yet, but listening to everything from Hex onward frustrates the hell out of me. They come up with a great moody riff, and just mercilessly ram it into the ground. I don't know if it is because they simply don't have the ability to do anything more with the songs, or if they are afraid of alienating their audience, or if Carlson just has a really single-minded purpose, or what. The lack of structure or progression was fine when they are doing drone, or ultra-repetitious stoner metal, but the beauty of what they are doing deserves better. If I want to listen to ambient desert metal, I'll listen to the last Barn Owl album.

Hahahahahaha that was supposed to say drink, but I swear it's the iPhone nor the liquor talking.

Hanging out at home watching though the metal videos available on demand because lol, and so far

1. How did I completely miss this black tusk band?

2. Read "emmure" as "murmuure" and was really really disappointed.

Listening to the Norwegian band Devil. Their demo EP, Magister Mundi Xum, is promising retro rocking classic metal. It looks like they're going to be opening for Electric Wizard in Europe, so hopefully that means they might get a deal and some distribution. This definitely sounds like a demo, but the bones are good enough to put them on my radar going forward.

Oh yeah, that Devil demo is great! I downloaded it off of iTunes before xmas. I think it's more my cup of tea than Ghost - but I guess that's comparing apples to oranges, musically speaking. Different beasts.

Let me rephrase that. It's like comparing Granny Smiths to Galas? Devil comes off as thuddy biker rock. Ghost is more refined and melodic.

Diamanda Galas: extreme apples.

There is definitely something a bit grotty about Devil. I like it more than Ghost too.

Hahaha! Invisible extreme apples.

That Graf Orlock 'Doombox' has been tearing me apart the last two days. The 'hood movies' samples work so well with their sound. Easily the best thing I've heard in 2011 so far.

I'm inclined to agree...

Ordered it today after all this chat.

Plus you get the bonus CD of all of Graf Orlock's recorded output, 78 minute's worth. Great fun.

Dunno if i'll like the music but it's hardly the 1st time anyone has bought an album cuz they love the packaging. Could not resist.

By the way, thanks to EZ for recommending that Devil demo, I love it!

Dunno if i'll like the music but it's hardly the 1st time anyone has bought an album cuz they love the packaging

I've already pre-ordered my copy of the new Amon Amarth. I'm just getting the CD/DVD (the DVD includes the performances of each of their first four albums in their entirety, from 2008) and a T-shirt, though. I don't really need a Surtur action figure.

I bet j3ff does

Adrien, that's the first time in roughly five years of participating in these threads that I've recommended something to you and not the other way round. Expect a second one in 2016 or so.

Haha! Well, you sure unearthed a good one. I'm hearing a little Samhain in these dudes as well...

Good call on the Samhain. I think that's what I'm hearing as "grotty".

I really like the two new Grayceon tracks that have been released (one each on Profound Lore & Invisible Oranges). Has anyone heard the whole thing? Adrien? Just wondering if it holds up.

I have it. It's a peculiar but very interesting album, one that really needs a few listens to settle in. The two sample tracks are a good indication of how the rest of it is, though.

I haven't heard the new Earth yet, but listening to everything from Hex onward frustrates captivates the hell out of me. They come up with a great moody riff, and just mercilessly ram it into the ground. AWESOME!!!

fixed ^^

you're welcome!

one thing I've noticed from the various polls on this site is how popular repetition is in music right now (or maybe just this board). I will always have love for drone-y and loopy music, but listening to all the tracks on the singles poll made me craving structure. The same way listening to the past few Earth albums does, I guess. At some point it's just texture. Jamming without any soloing, or something.

Thanks Adrien. I really like those two cuts, so it looks like March 1 will be a big day for me - Subrosa and Grayceon.

I have the Grayceon disc here, but haven't listened to it yet.

Ditto.

Day Two of the cruise:

http://www.hellbound.ca/2011/02/70000-tons-of-metal-cruise-recap-part-2/

I bought that Devil demo last week I think it was, it's worth hearing

sounds like it could be some lost NWOBHM thing from like 1982

If anyone gets the TESSERACT CD, post feelings plesase. Sounds like something I would either love or hate based on the scuttlebutt.

Earth's Dylan Carlson talks about his favorite albums growing up -- Skynyrd, Slayer, Eagles, Massive Attack, Sabbath, Spacemen 3, etc.

def. worth a read!

http://pitchfork.com/news/41370-5-10-15-20-earths-dylan-carlson

I've had the Tesseract album for quite some time now, and it's quickly become a favorite. Sure, the six EP tracks are there meaning we only get five new songs, but it's still an exceptional prog metal debut.

Aldo, just want to say that the Book Of Sand album is fucking amazing and I will buy it as soon as I can afford it!

Oh man, are the new Portrait tracks ever great: http://www.portraitband.se/

Album's coming out on Metal Blade soon...

Yeah I've COMPLETELY come round to Book Of Sand and already confidently predicting it'll be in my top ten at year end.

I'd recommend it to Glenn for sure

About to start listening to the Book of Sand album. By which I mean that it's been playing for a song and a half, so any moment now it's going to start sounding like something other than fuzzy intro fluff. Right?

i should have said glenn will hate it.... then he'd like it.

Yeah, no. Recommendation appreciated (really), but I'm going back to Mitochondrion and Impaled Nazarene now.

Hey, I'd much rather love things than hate them.

you're far too impatient

Listening to a stream of "The Righteous Is the Enemy Of The Natural" on the Paradigms website and I think I'm with Glenn. I do like the cello, but the song is going nowhere, slowly. It's over 6 minutes long but, as far as I could tell, might just be the first 30 seconds looped over and over.

I've never heard Portrait but going on the things folks say abt them I think their noise and my ears would get on p swingingly - might have to try and get on the blag w/ Metal Blade tbh

This Mitochondrion album is shamelessly silly monster music (vocalist sounds like Cookie Monster imitating a much bigger and dumber Cookie Monster, all the rhythmic subtlety of an avalanche), but wow, what a vortex.

As for Book of Sand, indie noodling plus fuzz ≠ metal. Says my Book of Metal, anyway.

But I don't like Nadja, either.

After spending more time with the Meads Of Asphodel disc, I can say that I like it tons. There's a lot of interesting things there but unlike the guy who reviewed it for All Music, I think the band did pull it off. And the more straightforward stuff on the second half of the disc is pretty sold too.

Book Of Sand is very trance-inducing, repetitive, but I think it pays off. It sounds like a crustier Velvet Cacoon to me. There's something else that gets me though. They create one hell of a vortex. Said indie-shoegaze leanings perhaps.

Day three of the cruise:

http://www.hellbound.ca/2011/02/70000-tons-of-metal-cruise-recap-part-3/

The “dick move” of the entire festival happened when Iced Earth walked off the stage after putting in a very good 45 minute set, clearly with the idea of forcing the fans to call for an encore. Instead, half the crowd left to catch Ensiferum, and the other half just stood there looking back at the pool deck clocks, going, “Dudes, you have 15 minutes left.” So after literally no requests for the band to do an encore, Schaffer and co. sheepishly strode back onstage and dutifully hammered out “Watching Over Me” and “Iced Earth”, giving the fans what they wanted. Let that be a lesson, no band is above another at 70,000 Tons of Metal.

loooooooooooooool

Yeah, we were howling. Schaffer, you ass.

has anyone heard this band? http://www.myspace.com/animamorte

^for Goblin fans

http://www.last.fm/music/Anima+Morte

Having just listened to this i can safely say it's Viceroy music!

I think I reviewed an album of theirs about three years ago and it did indeed sound a lot like Goblin

SICK OF IT ALL Announce 25th Anniversary Show in NYC with special guest Snapcase on March 26

SICK OF IT ALL have been hardcore royalty since they stepped on the scene back in 1986 and refuse to give up the crown any time soon. The band released one of their most furious strikes yet last year with the incredible ‘Based on a True Story’ and have toured their asses off for nearly an entire year in support of the record. Now they are throwing another huge party where it all started – New York City! That’s right, on March 26th, SICK OF IT ALL is taking over Webster Hall for a massive show in celebration of their 25th anniversary!

----

I post this because it reminds me of how old I am...

I first saw them in 1988 at the Bayou in Washington, DC as the unlikely support act for Exodus.

I last saw them in 2007 at the Newport in Columbus, OH as the unlikely support act for AFI.

Agonia Records proudly announce signing of Legendary Czechish Dark/Black Metal band ROOT.

ROOT's new, 9th full-length album will be released in the autumn as a CD and a noble vinyl, both by Agonia Records. It is being currently recorded. You can expect more epic, slower compositions as well as some more agressive and faster parts. More information about the new album will follow soon.

----

I am looking forward to this...

TBH Sick Of It All don't seem like that unlikely a support for Exodus.

It was at that show... at that time... In 1988 in DC there was still the metal/hardcore divide. Fights broke out a lot at shows between folks with different haircuts. SOIA at that show was just met with apathy - all the metalheads were in the back and a couple of folks - myself included - were up front.

This was before SOIA even had their debut out though I recalled the band from the NYHC - The Way It Is compilation that I had on cassette (and think I still do!)... I told one of them this after their set and whichever band member I bugged seemed impressed that somneone there had heard of them.

Okay, I realize this is a longer than long shot, but does anyone know of any remaining metal outlets looking for people to review for them?

Ah OK from your username I figured you were in NYC where (I gather, I wasn't there) it was quite normal for thrash metal & hardcore bands to play on the same bill at CBGBs etc. Albeit with the same problems with interscene divides obviously.

The Native part is key... Was born in NYC but moved out when I was in the 6th grade. Moved back in 1989 and lived there until 1994 though. So formative years and early show-going was in DC.

all you grind heads - anyone heard the AKBK album? the stuff on their myspace sounds really great:

http://www.myspace.com/akbkgrind

anima morte seem pretty good and I haven't heard a whole album yet... but it seems like morte macabre did the modern prog goblin update thing better. symphonic holocaust is incredibly CLASSIC.

Great that Root is back - was spinning The Temple Of The Underworld and Hell Symhony just the other day!

BTW, Stephen King wants more metal in his movie. But whether that means Kid Rock or Darkspace remains to be seen...

Shameless self-promotion: I have a column on the deciblog now where I cover classic, overlooked records. Here's the link:

http://www.decibelmagazine.com/category/lazarus-pit-2/

If anyone has suggestions for stuff I should check out, let me know.

bookmarked!

Great stuff, Jeff. Glad there's another person carrying the old-school metal torch at dB!

^^^

Keep up the good work in this thread guys, I'll be lurking from time to time but pretty sure I'm done posting on ILX.

Noooo, why?

(Thanks for the kind words, also!)

Eh, I'm finding myself increasingly frustrated by the rampant negativity by Whiney and his little cabal of "goons" and I'm taking it way too seriously.

use killfile?

or just ignore goon threads, as many of us here already do.

should be a ? somewhere in there...i'm pretty sure.

Yeah, dude, it'd be a shame to let the jerks scare one of the good ones away. Just hang out here, we're good people.

Eh, I'm finding myself increasingly frustrated by the rampant negativity by Whiney and his little cabal of "goons" and I'm taking it way too seriously.

― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, February 4, 2011 2:58 PM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark

whiney got banned today btw.

stick around pls.

Jeff, some suggestions for overlooked yet undeniably classic Eastern and Southern European records:
Tormentor (RO) - Anno Domini
Root (CZ) - Hell Symphony
Master's Hammer (CZ) - Ritual
KAT (PL) - 666
Vader (PL) - De Profundis
Necromantia (GR) - Scarlet Evil Witching Black
Debustrol (CZ) - Neuropatolog
Death SS (IT) - In Death Of Steve Sylvester

if you dont agree to stay jon, we will embarrass you by starting a jon must stay thread!

I have that Root album, that's good stuff. Trying to stay away from bands like Vader that people have heard of, but I'll definitely check out the others.

For variety, since I endorsed the Mitochondrion album, I want to reiterate my equally enthusiastic recommendation for the new Magnum album The Visitation. If you liked the last Iron Maiden album's embrace of old-school hard-rock, give this a chance. All this machinery making modern music can still be open-hearted, and not many people can make it sound as stately and welcoming as Clarkin and Catley. Magnum were always exemplars, to me, of how you can make sweeping, deeply anthemic music, even with occasional fantasy lyrics, without descending into idiot D&D-posturing histrionics. Like crossing UFO with just enough Manowar that their confidence could counteract Mogg's sadness, and just enough Rush that their ambition could lift UFO's usual bluesy rootedness off the ground.

J3ff, do one on Phobos. Especially since it was just finally issued (in abridged form) on vinyl!

That Magnum album sounds good. Strong '80s prog rock/metal, but not too garish. They really get it.

I really don't like Eric Forrest's vocals with Voivod. And again, they are kind of a major group -- I'm trying to highlight bands that never really got a chance, at least at first, before I move on to overlooked entries in popular bands' discography.

When overlooked bands are brought up, I always mention Warrior. One of the great forgotten bands of the '80s.

Ok then, how about the Iommi Stubbs LP? Never even released on CD, but a total sludge classic from the NW.

ROOT's new, 9th full-length album will be released in the autumn as a CD and a noble vinyl, both by Agonia Records.

----

I am looking forward to this...

Hell yesssssssss.

Shameless self-promotion: I have a column on the deciblog now where I cover classic, overlooked records. Here's the link:

http://www.decibelmagazine.com/category/lazarus-pit-2/
If anyone has suggestions for stuff I should check out, let me know.

Jeff, if you're not following The 2011 Mordy's Metal Listening Club - New albums every Monday! thread, I suggest that you do. Every week two albums are selected to review and I imagine a lot of them, if not all of them, will fit your column's objectives. Certainly, the ones that I pick will... :)

whiney got banned today btw.

Woah... Link?

I haven't listened to Deicide in ages but this new one holds my attention. Benton is still silly, but the songs are chunky and catchy... Pick to click: "Conviction" with a meaty and compact riff that sounds like a high tech update on old school family values.

nycnative, fyi:

Mordy's Metal Listening Club - New Albums Every Monday

that was the old one tho

yup, and girly-man's all over it. ;*)

could be worse, he could like Mall Emo

Master's Hammer (CZ) - Ritual

have a master's hammer lp kicking around the house. should probably listen to it one day, huh?

with j3ff's new column + metal listening club revival, I see myself checking out a lot of neglected metal gems this year.

I would post some suggestions but I think I may save them for my listening club week instead... ;-)

Yeah, I already have a few suggestions for my next week's picks... Not too late to get on in my picks for this week too. :)

havent been keeping up with this thread yet - just came to say does anyone like INTER ARMA from richmond, va - they are honestly one of the best live bands i've ever seen. can fill 3 hours with material and all of it is banging. havent listened to their record yet though so i don't know how it translates

also new burzum is O_O

Alan - send me that Master's Hammer LP. I'll Dj it for the masses.

Does anyone know The Austrasian Goat? I'm listening to The Stains Of Resignation from last year and it's pretty amazing. A one man BM/funeral doom band from France. The opening track has got pipes and cellos on it, and I'm now listening to a track where he's singing like Prince over a load of doom.

Yep, I raved about them on most of the rolling metal threads over the past few years. Awesome band, i think i own most of their output. I'm awaiting on the vinyl arriving of the last one actually.

I recommended them to Glenn last year but I dunno if he played them. He very rarely likes anything I recommend to him.

Cathedral split up

Statistically speaking, I rarely like anything I hear about from anywhere. I mean, I love tons of music, but I investigate/sample/try an order of magnitude more music, especially in metal, than I end up loving. It's not that your recommendations are any less effective than others, it's that I actually pay attention to them.

So yes, I did check out the Austrasian Goat. (And no, they didn't do that much for me.)

austrasian goat are GREAT - love the witch 7", one of my favorites

Day four of 70,000 Tons of Metal:

http://www.hellbound.ca/2011/02/70000-tons-of-metal-cruise-recap-part-4/

Greatest metal fest ever, I tell ya.

I'm only one track deep into Obscura's Omnivium, and already it's the album Atheist's Jupiter should have been. It surprised me a little with a first verse that was ultra-melodic Swedish-style death metal, but then the jazz bass came in and it got all prog/tech-death, and now it's just fucking awesome.

Really excited to check that one out when I get home tonight, I really like that band.

Yeah, this Obscura album is really great. I love it when technical death metal bands learn how to write genuine hooks, and this record is loaded with them.

Very excited now. Is this a typical bleeped promo though?