[Album] The Metal Thread! (The Zombie Edition)

Jon Nödtveidt has committed suicide.
http://www.dissection.nu/frames.htm

Well, damn. He hadn't contributed anything ever since he was incarcerated, but he still made two absolutely awesome albums. Enjoy your anti-cosmic Luciferian fire, you crazy bastard. \m/

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by knkwzrd

Oh hell, that news ruined a good day.

In any case, thanks for the entertaining obit. link, Morrigan.

NP. I am a tad skeptical about the claims in the obituary, at how he "fulfilled his destiny"... what, his destiny was to finally get out of jail and release a mediocre album that disappointed everyone? Haha, Jon's probably that delusional though... what with his anti-cosmic satanic metal of death.

If I believed in the afterlife, I'd tell him to say hello to Quorthon for me.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

It's fucking boring. The worst since... well, Fear of the Dark, probably.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Aye, same. I'm always on the lookout for more Euro folk music like that.

Right now I'km listening to Kari Rueslåtten (ex-3rd and the Mortal/Storm vocalist)'s debut solo album. It's decent female-fronted acoustic folk, but I'm not sure if it's worth buying... :\

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

This thread should not be on page two!

How ya doing, buddy?

Dude, give it up, the Mars Volta is not metal, not even close. Now please away.

Originally Posted by guyinrubbersuit

Arch Enemy gave a good performance, they performed songs from Wages of Sin on up.

*shakes head in disapproval* I'm giving up on that band.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Týr is fucking boring. I don't understand the hype on that band... they're the dullest "viking metal" I've heard.

New Månegarm is excellent. Beautiful folk music.

I'd say that so far, the best 2006 folk/viking releases are Rubicon, Tales Along This Road and Urminnes Hävd. <3

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I still don't have Vo Slavu Velikim. Where can one buy it?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by vemp

fixed. I wanna try this one too. Anything niki recommends is good.

STFU. :P I have had the mp3s for the longest time. I'm not a poseur who does nothing but leech all day, and I actually support the bands I love.

A store owner has this album on my list, he says he'd try to find it and call me as soon as he did. He's found some great stuff for me that way but that one (and some others) seem to give him problems... I'm tired of waiting, but last time I said that and bought it from elsewhere (at a high price), the week later his store finally had the album, at a much lower price. *grumbles* Murphy's Law for you...

Originally Posted by guyinrubbersuit

What's everyone's take on raw production? I know that in black metal it is considered 'tr00' and cold to have raw production, however I personally find it unappealing. Especially if it's intentionally done, I'm put off by it.

Bah, that's typical Beotian nonsense. :P Sometimes it's true, some bands, especially in necro-kvlt black metal, have genuinely shitty production.

But in the case of black metal, a raw production is not necessarily a bad production. Take, for example, A Blaze in the Northern Sky. Raw as fuck, but perfect. We're talking about black fucking metal, here: the aural embodiment of nastiness, ugliness, evil, all the worst aspects of humanity. Why would you want a slick polished production for that? It wouldn't fit - it'd be like painting the depiction of death, coldness and evil with pretty pastel colours.
In cases like A Blaze..., Black Metal, or Under the Sign of the Black Mark, or Filosofem, the sound is gritty, raw and unpolished, but it's still crystal-clear and very sharp. You can hear the instruments perfectly well. Moreover, it fits with the atmosphere attempted at being conveyed (maybe less so in Venom's case, since they were genuinely limited by budget - still, the results speak for themselves. Venom shouldn't sound like Def Leppard).

Having seen many bedroom/Myspace "black metal" bands drift by as the M-A admin, I can tell you that there is indeed such a thing as completely, horribly unlistenable Fisherprice-like production. But that's no reason to disregard the idea altogether. And I'm certainly not a big black metal fan, the raw black metal bands I like are a mere handful.

Edit: Attached here is a review I wrote, about two years ago, on A Blaze in the Northern Sky. I never published this review (for various reasons), but I actually wrote it as a sample review to submit for a reviewing freelance job at ... IGN Music. (I'm not kidding!) Long story short, the job offer was cancelled, but anyway, as you can see from the intro and the formatting (parental content Yes/No, hahaha) the review was targeted at a general readership, not necessarily specialised in metal. I'm including it here because my view on the raw production is summed up nicely in there, and I thought it could be relevant.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Haha, I guess I killed the thread huh. :P

Can you post mp3s of this Slavland, please?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Agalloch is boring shit.

Drone doom is a legitimate genre. Can't stand it, though. But Wikipedia does have a lot of idiotic shit in their metal-related articles. I long ago gave up trying to do anything about it, as it will be forever defined by populist out-of-touch idiots - and we ALL know the mainstream is the best source of information for metal, right? Right...? *crickets*

I was speaking idiomatically.

I've never heard much folkiness in Agalloch myself.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Ì definitely approve of the Moonsorrow, Otyg, Månegarm, Mithotyn and Vintersorg, and also second Storm. I'll add Ancient Rites, Hantaoma, Lumsk, Nerthus, Einherjer, Skyclad (essential folk metal, really), and Turisas, Ensiferum and Finntroll for light, catchy folk metal.

NP: Cruachan - Tuatha Na Gael \m/

(recently completed my Cruachan collection with this one and Folk-Lore)

I also made an impulse purchase of a Pagan Reign album (don't ask me to spell that Russian title... it's the one with the winter scenery on the cover) based on a short listen of a few songs at my local metal store. Heh.

I also bought A Twist in the Myth, thinking it'd be a grower. So far, I consider it a mistake. What a dull album without any memorable moment. Blind Guardian just lost me.

How ya doing, buddy?

Hmm. I thought Pagan was solid, possibly better than Folk-Lore, really. Folk-Lore was good but there was one song (I don't recall which, track 5 or 6 I think - I'll re-listen to it soon, after all I just got it hehe) that was completely unbearable, with some awful nasal male vocals.

Originally Posted by knkwzrd

Folk/Viking metal is one of the very few genre's I've never been able to get into. Besides the mandatory Bathory records, it all just seems kind of bleh to me. I gave that Arkona album a shot, and it seems the same. I'll give it another try, I suppose. What records would you guys recommend to someone just setting in?

Hmm, well, I just really love most of that stuff, even if some bands are getting derivative. I wouldn't put Arkona under that list, though, but bands like Tyr (boring as fuck) and even Asmegin (decent, but just doesn't grab me), yeah...

If you are more into the Bathory sound, I'd recommend Moonsorrow. Or, for a total Bathory clone, there's always Morrigan, but they're closer to the Blood Fire Death era than the Nordland era.

Here's my usual "for n00bs" link with some mp3s of various folk metal bands: ftp://n00b:leech@morrigan.no-ip.org/Folk
I think all these bands are very distinctive and not really like the others, with the exception of Mägo de Oz which does sound kind of like a Spanish later Skyclad. Anyway, hopefully you'll find something you like there. Under the Black metal folder there are some folk bands too, but (obviously) more black metal than the rest.

How ya doing, buddy?

Well, I finally got my hands on Vo Slavu Velikim!. Thank you, Supernal Music.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I want to grit my teeth everytime someone mentions Opeth or Dragonforce. Gah.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

You should check out Sir Lord Baltimore.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Wow, I've been banned/censored for the first time. I guess I should be flattered... oh well.

Opeth writes unmemorable, meandering, pointlessly long songs that go nowhere. They are pretentious and boring. I'd rant more, but I'm really too tired at the moment (just had the week-end from hell: paintball with the office at 6:30 AM + Testament concert Saturday, kendo competition this Sunday - great timing huh? well, it was awesome, only now I can barely move and hurt all over ). But, yeah, death metal has little to do with it. In fact, I wouldn't expect fans of old-school DM to like Opeth, since they obviously have better taste than that.

Testament was great. Killer setlist too, not a single bad or average song, and Chuck Billy and Alex Skolnick were in perfect shape. And because my brain was not fully functional after paintball, I forgot to bring my ticket and noticed when I was all but at the door, which meant I had to go back home to get them... and so I missed Dismember. Aaargh. And I had to stand through 45 minutes of shitty, linear grindcore (Brutal Truth) which seemed like 2 hours. Thankfully Testament put on an amazing show.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by niki

Man, you're the one that asked for her opinion ...

Hehe, thank you. I say, don't ask a question if if you don't want to hear the answer.

Originally Posted by Iwata

remember, you're the same guy that tried to pull the whole " the mars volta " are metal act.

That explains everything...
Agreed with your assessment of Opeth, my experience is similar. And yes, Amorphis (though not really comparable) is way better.

Originally Posted by Helloween

If you end up liking Maiden, i suggest you check out Helloween Pre 1995. They have a very Maidenesque sound to them with their 2nd through 5th album. Their first album is very grungy, and hard edge.

Eh?
Walls of Jericho is indeed awesome, but I don't think he likes power/speed metal. Then again he DOES like Priest... hmmm.

I'd recommend Sir Lord Baltimore, a 70's band that sounds nearly as heavy as Sabbath. Also, Dio's stuff, and Saxon, Jag Panzer, Angel Witch, Accept, Running Wild, Metal Church... can't really go wrong with those.

Originally Posted by RAZGRIZ-3

If you didn't dig on Gamma Ray, maybe some old-school Helloween would be more your style. Like Walls od Jericho and stuff has a much more raw sound that you might enjoy.

I don't understand. Gamma Ray is pretty much recycling of Walls of Jericho. It rules, of course, but I can't imagine liking one and not the other...

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by RAZGRIZ-3

I'll second the Running Wild. Jag Panzer was pretty good, but didn't really have a lot of variety.

Whaa? Ample Destruction is very different from Age of Mastery which is very different from Thane to the Throne which is very different from Mechanized Warfare.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

RAZGRIZ, I disagree, but do check out The Age of Mastery. It's not necessarily my favourite Jag Panzer album but it's probably one of their more diverse.



For more kick-ass US power/heavy metal, try Manilla Road (Mystification, Crystal Logic are those I heard) and The Lord Weird Slough Feg (Down Among the Deadmen, Twilight of the Idols, Atavism).

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Majin yami

'Doom' metal? What the fuck is this shit? Black Sabbath is Heavy Metal.

*sigh* It's also doom metal.
For good examples of doom metal, check out Candlemass, Solitude Aeternus, Electric Wizard, Saint Vitus, Count Raven, hell just go there.

Originally Posted by Krelian

Also, I'll recommend Raunchy to everyong - Danish ultra-melodic industrial metalcore. Think Fear Factory, Lamb of God and In Flames all rolled into one angry bundle.

To everyone? I'd recommend it to people who want AIDS. That's a good description, though - clearly shows how awful they are. *shudders*

Originally Posted by guyinrubbersuit

What bands do you think changed styles and remained awesome?

Therion! Their death metal era was awesome. Their "transitional" era was awesome. Their current symphonic era is awesome as well.

Amorphis was another good example. They're kind of starting to bore me, Eclipse didn't really grab me... but they're still pretty good.

Bathory's another good one. Excellent pioneering black metal, turned to excellent pioneering viking/pagan metal.

Skyclad became progressively folkier and completely shed the thrash metal elements, and yet still rule.

Cruachan is also still great despite having completely lost their black metal sound. Some will disagree, though... but I enjoy their celtic albums.

Then you have bands like In Flames, Sepultura, Children of Bodom, Slayer (and others too obvious to mention) that either changed style or became progressively more fecal, like parodies of their former selves.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Get Theli, dude. Then get Beyond Sanctorum. :biggrin:

Originally Posted by Krelian

Heheheh, different strokes. Metal doesn't need to take itself so seriously all the time.

??? Non-sequitur alert!

Quote:

[Therion pic]

Nice. Simple, unpretentious and effective.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by knkwzrd

Yeah, no title says "unpretentious" like Gothic Kabbalah.

Seriously though, can't wait to hear it.

I was referring to the cover art. As for the title, well... it's Therion. Coming from anyone else I might agree, but bizarre occult mysticism has been their trademark for a while.

Originally Posted by Tellurian

Oh yes. Therion's "must have listened to" album is definetly Theli.
Though I have to admit that I've somewhat lost interest in them after Deggial, which was a good Album, but a little too heavy on the orchestra and too light on the metal for my taste.

You should check out Lemuria/Sirius B, then.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Xanadu, are you the same guy who posts on metal-rules.com?

How ya doing, buddy?