Rolling Metal Thread 2007, Part II

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― unperson, Saturday, 6 October 2007 10:01 (seventeen years ago)

So, as I mentioned, I'd like to know what folks think of Metal Edge and Metal Maniacs, because the company I work for just bought 'em.

I think Metal Edge has somewhat of an identity crisis going - the editor told me their audience is 50 percent kids and 50 percent geezers who still want to read about bands they dug in high school, so they wind up covering whoever's on Ozzfest and whatever hair metal band has staggered into the studio that month. Personally, I think they should become what Rolling Stone used to pretend to be - a voice of historical authority. I mean, ME has been publishing for 20-plus years, they should play that up. "We know everything and everybody, not like those upstart kids at Decibel and Revolver." If it was up to me, every time they'd cover an artist they'd covered a decade or more before, they could run a clip from the old piece, like "what we said then/what we say now."

― pdf (Phil Freeman), Sunday, 11 February 2007 16:48 (eighteen years ago)

You can STILL get metal edge in every smiths in the uk, but WHY?! It's shite!!!

During the 90s it was all still hair metal and pantera , ignoring what was going on and pretending grunge never happened (cue everyone going hurrah). Horrid magazine. I think it was Metal Sludge who used to rip the piss out of it for all the mistakes in it too.

Never heard of Metal maniacs.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Wednesday, 21 February 2007 20:07 (eighteen years ago)

I like the idea of Metal Edge being "the magazine that's been there, done that". I haven't opened one in 20-odd years, mind you, being turned off by the covers that looked like "teenbeat for longhairs". Never even seen the other one so no opinion, sorry.

― EZ Snappin, Wednesday, 21 February 2007 20:12 (eighteen years ago)

Just got my watermarked download of the new Dimmu Borgir. So far, it's almost as pomptastic as Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, which is my favorite of their albums. I are pleased.

― unperson, Wednesday, 21 February 2007 20:47 (eighteen years ago)

I'm going to the fancy-shmancy Dimmu Borgir listening party next week in Hollywood. I'm mostly going because I want to hear the album and because there's an open bar, so my friend is going to need someone to drive him home/keep him propped upright.

Got a review package with Lordi and Novembers Doom. I feel like those two should have canceled each other out or something. I was half expecting the package to be empty when I got it. Good stuff, though!

― Jeff Treppel, Wednesday, 21 February 2007 21:42 (eighteen years ago)

I got the Lordi from Action PR, but haven't gotten the Novembers Doom. And considering the write-up I gave Melechesh in Global Rhythm, I better stay on The End's press list.

― unperson, Wednesday, 21 February 2007 21:50 (eighteen years ago)

The Lordi record is incredibly derivative, but incredibly fun. So far, I think I've boiled them down to:

Destroyer/Creatures of the Night KISS + Melodic Finn Metal (Sentenced/69 Eyes/Lullacry/Etc.) + Rejected Rob Zombie Lyrics = LORDI.

Haven't been depressed enough to get too far into the Novembers Doom yet, but I like what I've heard so far.

― Jeff Treppel, Wednesday, 21 February 2007 21:58 (eighteen years ago)

Always wanted it to be "Puritanical Misanthropic Euphoria". But whatever. While the album's cruddy, I love using the title to describe most anything. Satisfaction after washing dishes. Anger at motorists. Etc.

― Pye Poudre, Wednesday, 21 February 2007 22:13 (eighteen years ago)

should I post this here instead? I'm confused. (Also, I like the new Gregorian metal album by Virgin Black on The End, by the way):

Maylene and the Sons of Disaster: Good rustic thrash playing with plenty of boogiefied groove in it; invariably hard-to-take sore-throat yelling that at its *most* tolerable sounds like Alice in Chains or somebody, which means still pretty shitty (and kind of emo, even). More often the vocals are just ugly, which is a shame, since supposedly the album is a concept album about "the true tales of 1920s gangster Ma Barker and her prohibition era real-life crime family," not that you can tell, and sadly they don't cover "Ma Baker" by Boney M either. They list Willie Nelson among their influences, which is not remotely audible, but the Skynyrd influence might not be total bullshit (or at least less bullshit than in the case of Clutch, Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity, etc.), at least as far as the rhythm is concerned. Best track by far is a reasonably lovely guitar blues tapestry instrumental called "The Day Hell Broke Loose At Sicard Hollow." But Wino Weinrich's new band Hidden Hand does this backwoods kind of legend-of-wooley-swamp metal stuff a lot better on their new album, and Wino has a voice.
Flying Eyes from Maryland call themselves "pyschodelic-blooze-rock" at CDbaby; list Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Cream, Doors, Dead Meadow, Radiohead, among their influences, but none of those let you know that Allison Weiner is actually a real good lady singer (from another room, Lalena was liking it and asked if it was a country record); actually, I hear more Grace Slick or Jenny Haan from Babe Ruth or whoever sang for Curved Air (who, okay, I barely remember) in the vocals, or even the Gathering with the goth and metal taken out. Lots of beautiful psychedelic guitar solos, especially in "Song For Empy Rooms," and "Dreaming Eyes Awake," which I think is the best track on their myspace page. My other favorites are "Devastating Fire," which has an extended wah-wah solo coming out of some punchy, sinewy hard rock with real gravity to it, and "Caravan," which progresses from space rock to hippie jazz fusion with non-gloomy words trying to come to terms with dying (or something like that) ,"Also in "Our Blues" a Humvee eats somebody's family, which is not humorless. And the thing about all the solos is that Allison's singing lets them emerge naturally from songs; they don't just stand there and pointlessly noodle into the empty sky.

http://cdbaby.com/cd/theflyingeyes

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 February 2007 01:53 (eighteen years ago)

the virgin black is hott. i would have talked to you about it if it weren't for the fact that you hate sandboxes so much.

i gotta get outta here. nu-ilx is freaking me out. later.

― scott seward, Thursday, 22 February 2007 02:01 (eighteen years ago)

I'm still not sick of the Lordi album, and don't think I ever will be. Those guys know their 80s metal hooks incredibly well. Along with the bits Jeff mentioned, I'm hearing a lot of 86-88 era Manowar, you know, "Kings of Metal", "Blow Your Speakers", etc., but far less self-important, obviously.

That Virgin Black is interesting, and I haven't sat through the entire thing, but while giving it a quick spin yesterday, I kept thinking, "It's good, but the new Amber Asylum is a fair bit better."

I keep going back to that Maylene & the Sons of Disaster CD. The first track falls into the metalcore breakdown trap, but the rest of that album cooks. And the singer (ex-Underoath, weirdly enough) actually does a good job. There are times where he reminds me a bit of a growly Patterson Hood.

― A. Begrand, Thursday, 22 February 2007 02:25 (eighteen years ago)

I am hearing that Lordi will be on Ozzfest's main stage this year, along with Ozzy, a Layne-less Alice In Chains, Motorhead, and other acts TBD. I wish it was just a Lordi/Motorhead club tour instead. Oh, well.

― unperson, Thursday, 22 February 2007 02:57 (eighteen years ago)

That would be an incredibly weird Ozzfest.

Yeah, there's all sorts of pilfered stuffin that Lordi CD, lots of little things that I can't quite place but seem very familiar. One of the things that stuck out to me in particular was the 80s Krautmetal influence, stuff like Accept and Warlock. Obviously, Udo lends his gargle to the "They Only Come out at Night," but there are other parts.

So, I finally have my own copy of the new Fu Manchu (I was borrowing a friend's burn before), and I've had a little more time to absorb it. I agree, second half is weaker than the first, especially "sensei versus sensei", which just doesn't go anywhere. I like the Cars cover, maybe because I don't really have any sentimental attachment to the Cars other than a general enjoyment of their music. The thing about Fu Manchu is that each of their records has a different, not really theme or concept, but more "vibe." Like, King of the Road was their racing record, California Crossing their late 70s AM radio record, Start the Machine their pissed off record. We Must Obey is their sinister record. The whole thing has this weird, creepy vibe to it, from the cover art to the songs themselves. Still like it, though.

― Jeff Treppel, Thursday, 22 February 2007 03:50 (eighteen years ago)

Listening to Novembers Doom. My God, this thing is massive. It's like getting hit with a freight train of, well, doom. I hear Opeth, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, the usual suspects, but they definitely have their own thing going on, which you'd think would be pretty hard for a death-doom band to do at this point.

― Jeff Treppel, Thursday, 22 February 2007 04:13 (eighteen years ago)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f253/Klawful-image/jus-tin.jpg

― scott seward, Thursday, 22 February 2007 04:19 (eighteen years ago)

Hee. ^

A short while ago I popped in the new Helloween live CD/DVD...I'm nowhere near the fan I was 20 years ago, and Kai Hansen's Gamma Ray is far better, but when I put on "Halloween" it reminded my just why I euphorically declared it the GREATEST SONG EVER back when I was 16. Along with "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", it's a 13 minute epic that never ceases to be exhilarating in my books. Ah, 80s metal nostalgia.

― A. Begrand, Thursday, 22 February 2007 09:11 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, Manowar and Accept both make a lot of sense in re: Lordi. (Why didn't I think of those comparisons?)

Listening to and liking Crash Street Kids (link below) this morning; I especially like "Space Rock Time Bomb," "You'll Be Getting Off Here," and (second tier) "Motor City Nazz" and "Penthouse" -- basically, wherever their mid-Beatles/early-Bowie souped-up rock-pop inches toward '70s metal. The ballads (esp. "Mr. Stalight") are a lot harder to stomach. I never really listened to Enuf Z'Nuf enough (really I don't know them at all beyond "Fly High Michelle," and I can't remember the last time I listened to that song even), but they're the band that keeps coming to mind, for some reason. Also maybe Redd Kross circa Neurotica, and (obivously) Cheap Trick:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/crashstkids2

New live Black Lips CD in the player too. Seems sloppy, but not bad. Even sloppier than their studio albums, I mean. I like the middle Eastern undulating in "Hippie Hippie Hoorah" I think. Haven't gone back and bounced the setlist off their studio albums to see how many song might be new yet.

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 February 2007 12:50 (eighteen years ago)

By "'70s metal" I mean "hard rock" (in case you're confused.) Powerpop with actual power, basically. Glam rock. Mott the Hoople. That sorta thing.

I guess the Black Lips' parlor trick is to see how melody they can retain within the sloppiness. Fine, but you could hear the songs better on the studio albums, so in the long run they're what I'll be going back to, I bet.

In other news, I really like the bonus track "Night Rider" on the new Blue Oyster Cult Spectres reissue -- more than some tracks on the album itself (well, better than "R U Ready To Rock," at least. I'd forgotten how great "Death Valley Nights" and "Fireworks" are.) They also croon a fully straight cover of "Be My Baby" on the reissue -- take that, Eddie Money!

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 February 2007 13:00 (eighteen years ago)

Speaking of reissues, I already posted this on the country thread, but it makes way more sense here:

Light In The Attic Records is reissuing the two '70s albums by Betty Davis, who was married to Miles and dated Hendrix, at least as the legend goes. The label sent me an advance, promo CD that combines both albums, though they're actually being released separatelty. Most of what I wrote in *Stairway To Hell* about the marginally better of the two, *They Say I'm Different,* (which coincidentally is the only one of the two I *don't* own on vinyl now) still stands: She has way too thin a voice, can't carry a melody to save her life, and the songs mostly lack hooks, but when she just the rides the groove, she can be really good, and in songs like "Come Take Me" and "Don't Call Her No Tramp" the groove can get fairly monstrous, almost in a Jimmy Castor Bunch funk-metal way. On the other hand, white rock bands from Nazareth to Foghat to Black Oak Arkansas rocked funkier at the time, in part because they were way catchier and had way stronger singers, so big, deal, right? Though sometimes her big-afro attitude help, too, of course, though not nearly as much as people who wind up reviewing the reissues will pretend, I bet. Funniest song: Still "He Was a Big Freak," where she whips the guy with a turquoise chain. "Steppin In Her I. Miller Shoes" is both a great title and a good track. "If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up" and "Game Is My Middle Name" and "Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him" are not as good as their titles. but a few other cuts come close maybe.

And I'm the only one who read that Justin cartoon to be about Timberlake at first? They kinda look alike! And it's funnier that way. And his new album is a lot better than the other Justin's. I'm not sure whether he gets high, though.

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 February 2007 13:02 (eighteen years ago)

Aaah!!! That previously unrelased bonus BOC track is "Night FLYER," not "Night Rider," duh...

And (before Scott gets to it) I meant "...how much melody (Black Lips) can retain..."

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 February 2007 13:12 (eighteen years ago)

i'm on a big my dying bride binge this evening

the only record not on shuffle rotation tonite is 'like gods of the sun'

the tunes off 'light at the end of the world' are sounding extra ripe just now. could this possibly be giving 'the dreadful hours' a nudge as the greatest of the whole bunch.

got the majesty of 'turn loose the swans' playing now in all its miserable poetic glory.

― Charlie Howard, Thursday, 22 February 2007 13:16 (eighteen years ago)

'let the rich give you preseeeents'

― Charlie Howard, Thursday, 22 February 2007 13:28 (eighteen years ago)

Actually, if anybody wants to lump Crash Street Kids (whose name comes from a Mott the Hoople song title, obviously) in with the Wildhearts and/or Crash Kelly, that'd probably make a whole lot of sense, too.

Also been playing the 1997 cdbaby album by long-lost immortal ex-Shakin' Street French metal chanoozie Fabienne Shine; she can get cabaret-ballady at times, but "No Mad Nomad" and her cover of "The Cross" by Prince sound rather awesome, and "Kill For Love" and her cover of "Salt of the Earth" by the Stones aren't bad either. She also sent me a new three-song debut; don't much care for the sincerely schmaltzy protests against the war and for the homeless it starts out with, but the third song, "Dancing For Eternity," where she's backed by Al Bouchard and Ross the Boss, could maybe quality as my "single of the year" so far if I decide it should indeed count as a "single."

here's her ten-year-old album:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/fabienne

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 February 2007 13:41 (eighteen years ago)

thre-song DEMO, I mean. Damn I guess I'm still not awake yet.

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 February 2007 13:42 (eighteen years ago)

What is it with this fukt place and the constant having to reregister the login?

― Gorge, Thursday, 22 February 2007 22:07 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, what's up with that shit? Every time I go visit another site and then come back here, I have to re-register to post again.

― unperson, Thursday, 22 February 2007 22:20 (eighteen years ago)

The bonus tracks on the BOC reissues are great. I finally picked up the Agents of Fortune reissue last week, and the original version of "Fire of Unknown Origin" on there has been running through my head ever since. Wonder why it didn't make the cut -- it's better than some of the stuff that did, especially towards the end.

― Jeff Treppel, Thursday, 22 February 2007 22:44 (eighteen years ago)

Every time I read that Novembers Doom are from Chicago, I'm surprised. Even when it's multiple times within the same article. They sound like they should be from England or Norway or something.

(Oh, and it looks like the Van Halen reunion has already collapsed. That was slightly faster than I even expected.)

― Jeff Treppel, Friday, 23 February 2007 01:54 (eighteen years ago)

>>Yeah, what's up with that shit?

Site crashes or is taken off line for some screwed-up reason that would even defy explanation by a Ph.D. every three months. What will be the next mini-disaster?

Reminds me of being on teen-run bedroom BBSes in the late-80's/early-90's. Every few weeks the software and format would change on the whims of the children or whoever was attacking them.

I just <strike>hate</strike>love the formatting <strike>opacity</strike> help. It's just ginchy.

I was going to say something about what I was listening to but then the thought cropped up that it'll be off-line in a couple weeks and I'll have to relogin under a different alias when it comes back because the free use crippleware has tyrannically decided it doesn't like my old name anymore.

I'd pay a 12 bucks a month on a revolving debit just to be rid of the propped-up feebleware. How is it that every game forum on the net running a similar function manages to stay alive consistantly while ILX is the picture next to the word 'digital pothole' in the tech dictionary?

― Gorge, Friday, 23 February 2007 03:34 (eighteen years ago)

Look, the simplest html tags work only randomly. Surprise, surprise!

― Gorge, Friday, 23 February 2007 03:37 (eighteen years ago)

If you want to bitch about the board, it looks like they're doing that over here:

http://www.ilxor.com:8080/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&threadid=56333#unread

This page is for bitching about metal. Let's keep each separate bitching in its proper place, don't want to be unorganized.

― Jeff Treppel, Friday, 23 February 2007 04:09 (eighteen years ago)

>>http://www.ilxor.com:8080/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&threadid=56333#unread

>>This page is for bitching about metal. Let's keep each separate bitching in its proper place, don't want to >>be unorganized

Yeah, thumbs down re anarchy and getting too technical or abrupt and tough-mindedl it might abrade, madden and insult the intelligence of readers.

Poptown's She-Wolves Mach One is a fine record.

― Gorge, Friday, 23 February 2007 08:47 (eighteen years ago)

Wow!

http://www.dickdestiny.com/barotmonterey.JPG

― Gorge, Friday, 23 February 2007 08:54 (eighteen years ago)

That sucks. Be careful now. Let's get it back on the rails.

― Gorge, Friday, 23 February 2007 08:58 (eighteen years ago)

So I just realized that "You'll Be Getting Off Here" by Crash Street Kids sounds like Crack The Sky, wow.

Also, what the hell do metal people know -- these guys' Southern rock kicks harder than Maylene and the Sons of Disaster's (from country thread, duh):

Renegade Rail: Another cdbaby band (link below), blistering Missouri hard rock country. Maybe even blistering grunge country -- "Need For Speed" makes a riff similar to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (i.e., feels more like Nirvana than like the Kingsmen or Boston or Sisters of Mercy to me) swing; vocal chorus in "Crazy" seems to possibly owe its grunty technique to Alice in Chains or Temple of the Dog or somebody, though I can't think of any Alice or Temple songs I like this much. So far I'm thinking: great guitar player, great rhythm section, passable singer. Who has yet to get in the way.

Renegade Rail's "Evening News" (sad lovely Southern Rock, closer to Marshall Tucker than to grunge) is intriguing: Seems to be maybe pro Iraq war, sung from the point of view of a soldier who's been overseas two years and is counting his "five days and a wakeup" (that's real Army short-timer talk! I remember!) til rotating back to the States (must've been written before tours of duty were extended?), and how the TV news never notes that they're doing a good job over there. "We fought the fight, we're almost done" seems somewhat deluded, to say the least. "We made the good guys free and the bad guys turn and run" also. But I like the mood of the song, and how it's probably better than Husker Du's "Turn on the News," and how the line "without my soldiers angels we're all done" reminds me of Beyonce'. (Also, it never mentions Iraq, so why should I read that into it? Hard not to.)

http://cdbaby.com/cd/renegaderail3

― xhuxk, Friday, 23 February 2007 13:50 (eighteen years ago)

(Though okay, I'm not gonna die that I might actually like some combination of Renegade Rail's songs and melodies and non-shitty singing with Maylene and the Etc.'s metal groove even more.)

― xhuxk, Friday, 23 February 2007 14:09 (eighteen years ago)

not gonna DENY I mean. (or die for that matter, what the heck.)

― xhuxk, Friday, 23 February 2007 14:10 (eighteen years ago)

Anyway, hello all. Regarding any questions re: the board format and code there should be an updated FAQ later today that goes through all the whats and whys.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 23 February 2007 15:22 (eighteen years ago)

got latest ruins of beverast. total hottness. AND the reissue of Virus West by Nagelfar!!! which i had never heard and which is as great as everyone always said it was.

reviewing new Moonsorrow. the word "unrelenting" comes to mind. 2 songs. almost 60 minutes total. good thing i really like vikings.

but this week i am all about DODHEIMSGARD!!!!!!!!!!

new one is soooooooooooooooooooo fucked. so cool. wow. double wow. jeebus. wotta rekkerd.

― scott seward, Friday, 23 February 2007 18:28 (eighteen years ago)

Mendeed - The Dead Live by Love (Nuclear Blast): Mendeed's first one was a blatant Shadows Fall rip, but their latest is more of the Children of Bodom/Dragonforce speed power-death/Nintendo-Thrash/ADD-overdrive variety. So much so, in fact, that the 99-track copy protection on the promo makes it difficult to tell when a new song starts. Pretty well done, though, and they avoid Dragonforce's biggest problem, in that the vocals actually fit with the music by alternating between growling and singing and Mustaine-whining when the tempo calls for it. The band's ambition only occasionally over-extends its reach, so most of the wankery isn't too embarrassing. The songs themselves, however, hew closer to the Dragonforce "wow that was cool and fast and I don't remember a damn bit of it the second it's over" style than the Bodom catchiness-first approach. Mendeed do try for big vocal hooks. The hooks just don't stick. "Gravedigger" probably comes the closest, with its "Reap what you sow!" chant. Not particularly original or memorable, but a very enjoyable listen. Fans of Children of Bodom or Dragonforce should dig this, big surprise.

― Jeff Treppel, Friday, 23 February 2007 21:46 (eighteen years ago)

I've had that Mendeed sitting around, but haven't listened to it yet. Considering how much I disliked their last one, I was in no hurry. But your description has me mildly interested.

― A. Begrand, Friday, 23 February 2007 22:33 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, I had the same trepidation as you, but a friend told me it was good, so I gave it a shot. Makes great workout music!

― Jeff Treppel, Friday, 23 February 2007 23:38 (eighteen years ago)

Oh right, new FAQ, sorry:

Hello I am a FAQ please read me

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 23 February 2007 23:39 (eighteen years ago)

Holy freaking crap! Finntroll American tour!

Finland's FINNTROLL has lined up the following North American tour dates during September/October:

Sep. 18 - Allentown, Pa Crocodile Rock
Sep. 19 - West Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
Sep. 20 - New York, NY @ B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
Sep. 21 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
Sep. 22 - Bedford, NH @ Mark's Place
Sep. 23 - Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
Sep. 24 - Quebec City, QC @ L'Imperial
Sep. 25 - Toronto, ONT @ The Funhouse
Sep. 26 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
Sep. 27 - Detroit, MI @ I-Rock
Sep. 28 - Mokena, IL @ The Pearl Room
Sep. 29 - St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
Oct. 02 - Seattle, WA @ Studio 7
Oct. 03 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Grill
Oct. 04 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
Oct. 05 - Los Angeles, CA @ Key Club
Oct. 06 - Santa Ana, CA @ Galaxy Theater
Oct. 07 - Tempe, AZ @ The CLubhouse
Oct. 08 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launch Pad
Oct. 09 - Ft. Worth, TX @ Ridgelea Theater
Oct. 10 - San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
Oct. 11 – Houston, TX @ Meridian

― Jeff Treppel, Saturday, 24 February 2007 08:32 (eighteen years ago)

Nice. I am so there. And I'll check out that Mendeed album.

I'll be reviewing the Azrael and Orthodox discs for Metal Maniacs, which makes me feel like a teenager again. Back when I first started freelancing I really, really wanted to write for MM but the editors wouldn't give me the time of day (kinda surprising, given the quality of what they were publishing, but I guess I wasn't a Century Media intern (this was during the Ula/Jeff era) so no chance.

― unperson, Saturday, 24 February 2007 13:19 (eighteen years ago)

Last thing I'll say about Crash Street Kids: They have some Cars (riff of "It's a Killer") and some Queen (poofy ending of "Sweet Sexation") in there too.

And it should be added here that my favorite Fabienne Shine solo songs (particularly "No Mad Nomad" and "Dancing For Eternity") sound more like Shakin' Street than anybody since Shakin' Street. Which is quite welcome.

― xhuxk, Saturday, 24 February 2007 17:25 (eighteen years ago)

my new and improved unholy 13 faves of 2007 so far in february(!!):

Necrodemon - Ice Fields Of Hyperion

Rotting Christ - Theogonia

Solefald - Black For Death

Virgin Black - Requiem - Mezzo Forte

Novembers Doom - The Novella Reservoir

Laethora - March Of The Parasite

Amok - Necrospiritual Deathcore

Nagelfar - Virus West (re-issue)

Blood Of The Black Owl - S/T

Dodheimsgard - Supervillian Outcast

Giant Brain - Plume

Furze - UTD: Beneath the Odd-Edge Sounds to the Twilight Contract of the Black Fascist/The Wealth of the Penetration in the Abstract Paradigmas of Satan

V.E.G.A. - Cocaine

(not really in order though. i'm probably forgetting some stuff too.)

― scott seward, Saturday, 24 February 2007 18:07 (eighteen years ago)

Okay, I'm listening me to that Dodheimsgard album now...

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 24 February 2007 18:24 (eighteen years ago)

I'm officially smitten with the new Within Temptation album. It succeeds in every way that the Echoes of Eternity CD failed. I'm a complete sucker for overproduced Euro-goth sing by girls.

I thought the band would be milking the Evanescence ballads, but no, this thing still has plenty of muscle, not to mention some quality hooks.

― A. Begrand, Sunday, 25 February 2007 10:23 (eighteen years ago)

Skipping 2818 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Scott - I think the "couple thousand records big name" thing happens with most niche genres. Dance music, indie hip-hop, and jazz probably have a similar situation at this point. I do think some of the European bands probably have it better, financially, since they can always play the giant festivals, and I believe metal sells better over there. I mean, Nightwish are huge in Finland with record sales that wouldn't even make the Billboard top 100. I could be entirely wrong, though.

Nate - I assume you're talking to me? Yes, I really like it. I much prefer the folk-infused progressive death sound or whatever you want to call it to the more straight up evil death sound of their earlier work. But as I've made evident elsewhere in this thread, I don't actually like straight up death metal all that much. I much prefer melody to brutality (which isn't to say that I don't like the latter, but I'll always take the former first).

― Jeff Treppel, Friday, 28 December 2007 03:11 (seventeen years ago)

I guess they lost me when they added the Hetfield-wannabe vocals on that 3rd album. Is he still with the band?

The music was always alright by me (once I'd acclimated to the huge step they made with ...Thousand Lakes).

― Nate Carson, Friday, 28 December 2007 04:02 (seventeen years ago)

I love good doom and death metal, but the gothic metal has always been a big gap in my vocabulary. I have the first two Paradise Lost, Anathema Pentecost III and I used to own Dreadful Hours by MDB. I think I've done a remarkable job of avoiding anything that reminded me of Tiamat or Peter Murphy or Peter Steele.

But I'm willing to open my mind a bit now. Hoping Turn Loose the Swans is the one that will change my life...

― Nate Carson, Friday, 28 December 2007 04:06 (seventeen years ago)

Decibel or someone should really do an in-depth money article. what bands make. what they take home. how many metal "legends" live paycheck to paycheck. i'll bet it would be eye-opening. is it the only genre where you can sell a couple thousand records and be considered a "big" name?

-- scott seward

YES, SOMEONE SHOULD (SCOTT).

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Friday, 28 December 2007 05:09 (seventeen years ago)

Okay, so after spending the last seven days with it, I've come to the conclusion the new Hate Eternal album is really, really, good. In fact I'm leaning towards saying it's better than I, Monarch. The first track "Hell Envenom" just leaves me awestruck every time I hear it.

― A. Begrand, Friday, 28 December 2007 10:58 (seventeen years ago)

I've also been liking some songs on the imminent new Death Angel album on Nuclear Blast, Killing Season. I've listened to nothing by that band in almost two decades; didn't they all start out as Filipino-American teen Metallica fans way back then? Guess they're not teens anymore. But I remember liking their debut album; I should find another copy someday. Anyway, the tracks I like on the new one are the speedy catchy ones that have as much NWOBHM and power-metal in their sound as thrash (but still plenty of thrash) -- namely, tracks three and four (and to a lesser extent, two), if you're keeping score. And I like how track nine keeps going into the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" riff. And there are some okay time changes, switching into early Metallica style drama, here and there elsewwhere-- but not enough; most of the album strikes me as clunky and forced, for some reason. Still: nice try!

Got this album on right now, and I'm impressed. The thrash element does seem to be downplayed more than I'd expected, and I really like those mid-paced tracks as well. Track 5 is awesome. Surprised how you say it feels forced, Chuck...compared to The Art of Dying (their reunion album from 04), they sound a lot more comfortable where they are musically. The last album felt like they were still feeling their way around a bit. Raskulinecz's production is interesting as well...sounds more cozy than epic, but it's still pretty massive. I had high hopes for this album, and yeah, it sure doesn't disappoint.

― A. Begrand, Friday, 28 December 2007 23:08 (seventeen years ago)

Has anyone else heard and enjoyed the new King Diamond?

― Nate Carson, Saturday, 29 December 2007 00:26 (seventeen years ago)

not yet but I listened to mass amounts of Mercyful Fate in '07

― J0hn D., Saturday, 29 December 2007 03:18 (seventeen years ago)

Appending the decent title "Give Me Your Soul" with "...Please" was a truly bizarre thing to do. But very King Diamondian. Still haven't heard it, though. I'm not a huge fan of his recent solo stuff...hate to sound rigidly old school, but I'd rather stick with Fate.

― A. Begrand, Saturday, 29 December 2007 03:24 (seventeen years ago)

I honestly only know the first to MF albums well (ultra-classic faves). But this new KD sounds pretty choice on the one absent-minded listen I gave it. Will check it more closely and get back to you.

One thing I will say--it's not "terrifying" like the sticker says... LOL

― Nate Carson, Saturday, 29 December 2007 03:33 (seventeen years ago)

So! I had a great big package in the mail when I returned from my parents': Airbourne, Graveyard, Warbringer, Saviours (what's with the Anglo spelling by American bands?), Sculptured, The Knives, and the not-metal Flogging Molly.

I like the Airbourne record, although it is very derivative -- it really reminds me of a mid-80s AC/DC knockoff band, and if the album didn't have the date and label on it, I might very well have thought that it was. Also digging Graveyard (OK, bad joke), which should appeal to the psychedelic fans out there. Will report on the others when I listen to them.

― Jeff Treppel, Sunday, 30 December 2007 00:26 (seventeen years ago)

hate to sound rigidly old school, but I'd rather stick with Fate.

that's the thing - Melissa and Don't Break the Oath accomplish two things: they set the bar pretty high, and they sorta obviate the need for much further explication. Not that I don't listen to other KD stuff, I just don't feel compelled to jump right on it.

― J0hn D., Sunday, 30 December 2007 00:30 (seventeen years ago)

ATTENTION CHUCK

I threw this thing into the changer that I thought was an album by a band called Landmine Marathon. First three songs sorta neo-thrash/HC that didn't interest me much and wouldn't interest you. Turns out three songs in that it's a split CD with a band called Scarecrow, not an album called "Scarecrow." And Scarecrow sounds kinda like Hotter Than Hell-era Kiss and I think you would dig them. Love!

― J0hn D., Sunday, 30 December 2007 00:56 (seventeen years ago)

sounds kinda early Megadeth-y too I guess

I'm loving this

― J0hn D., Sunday, 30 December 2007 00:57 (seventeen years ago)

i don't listen to king diamond records. i'm not afraid to admit that. mercyful fate were definitely jammin' though. and nuns have no fun, melissa, and don't break the oath have three of the greatest album covers of all time. so, you know, i ain't hating.

― scott seward, Sunday, 30 December 2007 01:02 (seventeen years ago)

Those early KD albums (Them and Abigail) are actually really really strong, pretty much a streamlined version of Fate, but yikes, the production is so tinny, it's almost distracting.

And re: Jeff's comment, being a Canadian, I'm all for the proper English spelling of Saviours. Brings a touch of class to the metal!

― A. Begrand, Sunday, 30 December 2007 02:52 (seventeen years ago)

Reminder, that the ILM 2007 music poll nominations need to be in before it's 2008

Make sure metal is adequately represented:

<a href="http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&;threadid=60655">ILX 2007 ALBUMS & TRAX POLL ::::::::::::::::nominations due by 01/01/08:::::::::::::::::</a> - you can nominate upto 15 albums

2007 Albums that have NOT been be nominated YET include these:

Abigor - Fractal Possession
Aeon - Rise to Dominate
Akerkocke - Antichrist
Alchemist - Tripsis
Amorphis - Silent Waters
Bergraven - Dodsvisioner
Between the Buried and Me - Colors
Candlemass - King of the Grey Islands
Cobalt - Eater of Birds
Dark Tranquillity - Fiction
Deadlock - Wolves
Demiurg - Breath of the Demiurg
Detonation - Emission Phase
Dimmu Borgir - In Sorte Diaboli
Dødheimsgard - Supervillain Outcast
Ghost Brigade - Guided by Fire
Hacride - Amoeba
In Lingua Mortua - Bellowing Sea - Racked by Tempest
Lifelover - Erotik
Minsk - The Ritual Fires of Abandonment
Mithras - Behind the Shadows Lie Madness
Moonsorrow - Viides luku - Hävitetty
Novembers Doom - The Novella Reservoir
The Ocean - Precambrian
Odious Mortem - Cryptic Implosion
Officium Triste - Giving Yourself Away
Paradise Lost - In Requiem
Portal - Outre
Red Harvest - A Greater Darkness
Rotting Christ - Theogonia
Sadist - Sadist
Sear Bliss - The Arcane Odyssey
Shining - V - Halmstad
Swallow the Sun - Hope
Vehementer Nos - Vehementer Nos
Virgin Black - Requiem - Mezzo Forte
The Vision Bleak - The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey
Vreid - I Krig
V:28 - VioLution
Watain - Sworn to the Dark

On a side note, this coming Thursday Terrorizer will be publishing their 2007 Albums of the year.

― djmartian, Sunday, 30 December 2007 22:44 (seventeen years ago)

correct code: ILX 2007 ALBUMS & TRAX POLL ::::::::::::::::nominations due by 01/01/08:::::::::::::::::

― djmartian, Sunday, 30 December 2007 22:45 (seventeen years ago)

I nominated my 15 albums already

― Herman G. Neuname, Sunday, 30 December 2007 22:47 (seventeen years ago)

I think this is what yer goin' for, djmartian:

ILX 2007 ALBUMS & TRAX POLL ::::::::::::::::nominations due by 01/01/08:::::::::::::::::

― Ioannis, Sunday, 30 December 2007 22:48 (seventeen years ago)

thanks, it was much easier when ILM was just HTML

― djmartian, Sunday, 30 December 2007 22:49 (seventeen years ago)

I took care of Dark Tranquillity and Rotting Christ.

― glenn mcdonald, Monday, 31 December 2007 03:19 (seventeen years ago)

The Guardian music blog: Guardian Unlimited: Arts blog - music: Why is metal still ignored by the mainstream?

It's been an outstanding year for metal with critics falling over themselves to embrace the genre. So why don't any of 2007's excellent releases feature in the end-of-year lists?

― djmartian, Monday, 31 December 2007 16:54 (seventeen years ago)

the answer is easy: the national and arcade fire were just THAT good this year. i dunno. i look at all those indie rock year-end lists and there is very little i am curious about or want to hear. i liked the battles album. mainly cuz i have always worshipped helmet's drummer! hahahaha!

― scott seward, Monday, 31 December 2007 17:04 (seventeen years ago)

this is still my fave year-end list:

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/babarm87/top_50_post_rock_albums_of_2007

just cuz i hadn't heard of most of the stuff on it and i like the unknown. found a bunch of the bands on youtube. some of it was very cool and some was okay and some was tiresome godspeed/mogwai type music. but it was fun to look for it all! plus, without a doubt, some of the greatest album covers of the year.

― scott seward, Monday, 31 December 2007 17:09 (seventeen years ago)

out of the 50 bands on that list, i hadn't heard of 41 of them.

― scott seward, Monday, 31 December 2007 17:11 (seventeen years ago)

re: that ILX end-of-term list, I did my bit with Caina, Chrome Hoof (although they're more dance than metal) and Deathspell Omega, and indeed I've picked quite a few albums already nominated, so I could chuck a couple more on the pile.

― Just got offed, Monday, 31 December 2007 17:12 (seventeen years ago)

Re. i look at all those indie rock year-end lists and there is very little i am curious about or want to hear.

Scott, count yourself lucky I had the misfortune of scanning HUNDREDS of 2007 lists that I didn't bookmark / blog that were nothing more than Victims of Group Think cribbed from Pitchfork / Paste / Magnet etc.

― djmartian, Monday, 31 December 2007 17:13 (seventeen years ago)

DJ Martian very much OTM. There was so much more exciting stuff out there than all the mannered indie hypegrist.

― Just got offed, Monday, 31 December 2007 17:22 (seventeen years ago)

Portal and Dodheimsgard now added to ILM albums&trax poll.

― Just got offed, Monday, 31 December 2007 17:30 (seventeen years ago)

out of the 50 bands on that list, i hadn't heard of 41 of them

Me too! Probably the same 41! Which ones were good?

― Matt #2, Monday, 31 December 2007 17:39 (seventeen years ago)

Scott, have you seen this list yet?

The Silent Ballet | The Top 50 Releases of 2007

― djmartian, Monday, 31 December 2007 17:56 (seventeen years ago)

see, i already can't remember. maybe i'll start a youtube thread just for that list.

x-post

― scott seward, Monday, 31 December 2007 17:57 (seventeen years ago)

wow, no, haven't seen that list either. more great album covers!

i will start a thread a little later on these groups.

― scott seward, Monday, 31 December 2007 17:59 (seventeen years ago)

Have you seen My Louis Approved List, scott?

― Herman G. Neuname, Monday, 31 December 2007 18:05 (seventeen years ago)

It's a good list from what I've heard on it, which isn't that much to be honest. I'm lucky to have a brother who is to metal as I am to experimental indie; I get to crib all his best stuff! :D

― Just got offed, Monday, 31 December 2007 18:08 (seventeen years ago)

RE: that Guardian blog, I think Geir has posted in the replies

"Given that other perceived niche genres such as dance or hip-hop are well represented, if tokenistically, you have to wonder why there is still such a stigma and snobbery around the canonisation of metal."
The answer is simple. Metal is unique among musical genres in having no redeeming features whatsoever. Taken from a strictly musicological point of view, it exhibits a total lack of creativity, inspiration and intelligence. There's no such thing as a good Metal album.

― Herman G. Neuname, Monday, 31 December 2007 18:09 (seventeen years ago)

That Guardian blog comments thread is well worth a constant revisit over the next 48 hours or so. Just to watch the ignorance and lack of knowledge of some folks.

― djmartian, Monday, 31 December 2007 18:13 (seventeen years ago)

Have you replied?

― Herman G. Neuname, Monday, 31 December 2007 23:32 (seventeen years ago)

"There is very little talent in metal music. AC DC is one the most popular bands in the world and their vocalist screams instead of sings. Their guitarist, Angus Young, saves the band from being really bad.
Hard rock is preferable to metal"

― Herman G. Neuname, Monday, 31 December 2007 23:35 (seventeen years ago)

So the verdict on 2007, was it a good year for metal?

― Herman G. Neuname, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 01:49 (seventeen years ago)

I believe this picture sums it up:

http://www.jasonrileyhoss.com/sitebuilder/images/Devil_Horns-600x453.jpg

― Jeff Treppel, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 02:03 (seventeen years ago)

So the verdict on 2007, was it a good year for metal?

Best this decade, in my opinion. Phenomenal, really.

― A. Begrand, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 02:07 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah, what Adrien said.

― Jeff Treppel, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 02:10 (seventeen years ago)

Better year for metal than indie (again)

― Herman G. Neuname, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 02:13 (seventeen years ago)

2007 was a great year for metal. For my final post in this thread, I offer this, taken in New York on 12/22:

http://bp3.blogger.com/_ZiM8GFhGDOM/R27ycMUfgqI/AAAAAAAAAMs/SzBzStckJqU/s1600-h/ozzynme.jpg

― unperson, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 02:25 (seventeen years ago)

Damn, photo didn't load. Well, it's me with Ozzy.

― unperson, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 02:25 (seventeen years ago)

Shame it didnt load. I have no idea what you look like, phil.

― Herman G. Neuname, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 02:31 (seventeen years ago)

It's visible on my blog:

http://runningthevoodoodown.blogspot.com

― unperson, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 02:39 (seventeen years ago)

ahh cool.
lets see if it will show now
http://bp3.blogger.com/_ZiM8GFhGDOM/R27ycMUfgqI/AAAAAAAAAMs/SzBzStckJqU/s1600-h/ozzynme.jpg
How was your 1st year in charge of Metal Edge? Wh Smiths have stopped getting it here after all these years.

Oh and Borders in Glasgow doesnt even stock Decibel so there's no way to buy it here.

― Herman G. Neuname, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 02:49 (seventeen years ago)

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