1st Quarter Reports: Jan-Mar 2004

[JayKeeley]

Spring is nearly upon us, so how have the 2004 releases been treating you so far? Here's a summary of my good stuff (in order of preference):

#1. INTO ETERNITY - Buried in Oblivion: Not sure if anything else comes close...? It's basically Dead or Dreaming x 100, no doubt
#2. ORPHANED LAND - Mabool: Larger than life theatrical bonanza - totally unexpected and yet never seems to tire, but will bore people expecting El Norra Alila part 2
#3. MY DYING BRIDE - Songs of Darkness...: Just gets better with each listen, with the vocals being the real highlight of the show - it's basically a classic literature novel set to MDB flavoured Doom. Shame about the abysmal cover art.
#4. MORGION - Cloaked By Ages, Crowned in Earth: Less Death, *significantly* more melancholia, diverse vocals (plenty o' clean), 3rd listen had me hooked but will probably bore people expecting Solinari part 2
#5. EXODUS - Tempo of the Damned: Thrash spectacular (but vocals are a tad nasal IMO), mixing traditional Bay Area with modern KREATOR mayhem and early ANNIHILATOR guitar tones - "smoking humbuckers"

Also, just fot the hell of it, these are the *standout* albums from 2003 that I'm only now just getting round to in 2004:

WHILE HEAVEN WEPT - Of Empires Forlorn: Epic, fine-art traditional doom with really, really good clean vocals (no bird warbling). Song structures and patterns are great too - very symphonic without actually being symphonic, if you get my drift.
HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE - The August Engine: Fuck me. (See thread). I now own both their albums and the demo.

 

[NAD]

#1 Hypocrisy - The Arrival
Best since the self-titled, which is one of the best albums I own

#1 Into Eternity - Buried in Oblivion
Not too often are chops this good matched by the same high level of emotion.

That's it really, I'm too busy listening to 2003 releases that I heard last year, but didn't get to appreciate until recently.

Sunn 0))) - White1
I can't get enough of this. Among all the other weird releases from Goatsblood, Khanate, Today is the Day, and others, this is leaps and bounds above the rest.

Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye
Keeps getting better. If King Crimson would have stayed on their path in '74, this is probably what they would have sounded like by now. Simply Amazing.

And of course, oodles of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Supertramp, because the weather is hot, and nothing goes better. :Spin:

 

[Nate The Great]

2004

1) Frost - Talking to God
2) Swarm of the Lotus - When White Becomes Black
3) . . . that's about it. I've got a shitload of promos to sort through. Including some Code666 and Candlelight stuff that looks promising.

2003 stuff I'm just getting to

1) Funeral Mist - Salvation
2) Unpersons - III
3) . . . that's about it. What have I been doing this year???

 

[JayKeeley]

@NAD - are Hypocrisy and Into Eternity tying for the #1 spot then?

 

[NAD]

Pretty much. The more I listen to each one the better they get, in highly illogical similar intervals...

 

[Black Winter Day]

wow, the only notable albums i've heard from 2004 so far are Frost and V:28 -- both were promo's! was delirium cordia released in 2004? man, i sure do suck balls... i DO have the new stuff from keelhaul (2003 or 04?), drudkh and meads of asphodel on the way, though. i need to hear all that stuff you listed, jaykeeley.

stuff from 2003 that i'm just getting into...
FOREST STREAM
ephel duath
pelican
elend
sunn0)))

 

[J.]

haven't heard 1 album from 2004 yet. and I really don't care. I'm looking forward to the new Morgion, Orphaned Land, Dargaard, Esoteric and Finntroll.

Too much good stuff from past years to care about this year.

 

[Caelum Adustum]

Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt
Dawn - Slaughtersun DCD Re-Issue
Decapitated - The Negation
Vintersorg - The Focusing Blur
Pain of Salvations - 12:5

Those are my favourites that have been released so far this year.

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

I've only heard Iced Earth, Kataklysm and Into Eternity from '04, and they're all very good with Into Eternity coming in tops thus far.

I'm anticipating quite a bit though, including loads of thrash releases it seems.

 

[Evil C.]

Definitely Hypocrisy, Iced Earth, Into Eternity, My Dying Bride, Probot with Eric Wagner!!!, Wolverine(ok so late 2003)....

Wow, didnt know there was a new Morgion. Love that band. And now I want to hear these hammers of misfortune, Yall got me interest piqued now!

Evil C.

 

[JayKeeley]

Too much good stuff from past years to care about this year.

Yes but that will hold true for eternity. No doubt in 2005 onwards, you will be getting round to 2004 material that you missed first time round!

 

[rhavin2112]

#3. MY DYING BRIDE - Songs of Darkness...: Just gets better with each listen, with the vocals being the real highlight of the show - it's basically a classic literature novel set to MDB flavoured Doom. Shame about the abysmal cover art.

That is funny..I thought the same thing while listening to this disc...I imagine the scenarios in the songs in sepia tones with film scratches on them as well...

and Blue Lotus is one the best compositions this band has ever created.

 

[JayKeeley]

Pain of Salvations - 12:5

I think I can understand why other people like PoS, but I've heard this album and I can safely say that they still do very little for me. At least though I can remove any doubt of whether it was just a matter of time before I "got" PoS, and...it was not. For some strange reason though, I will keep my Perfect Element album in case I see them at ProgPower. Or maybe I'll just hear them from the bar.

 

[Demonspell]

I also agree with the new MDB sounding like a tragic poem put to music, amybe it's the frequent narrative vocalsm which sound awesome most of the time. One of my favorites of the first quarter, along with Into Eternity and Orphaned Land. I can't count the POS acoustic because it isn't new material, but it has received tons of personal airplay. Also looking forward to the new Morgion, I've heard two tracks and it sounds great.

 

[Caelum Adustum]

I think I can understand why other people like PoS, but I've heard this album and I can safely say that they still do very little for me. At least though I can remove any doubt of whether it was just a matter of time before I "got" PoS, and...it was not. For some strange reason though, I will keep my Perfect Element album in case I see them at ProgPower. Or maybe I'll just hear them from the bar.

This is actually the only album of theirs that I like.

 

[J.]

am I the only one that doesn't care for My Whining Bride? hahaha, I'm a funny lad

 

[Black Winter Day]

HahHAH tzat wuz funny!!

 

[Nate The Great]

I have the new My Dying Bride promo, and I just can't get into that band. I used to have some of their old albums (I must have sold all of the, because I can't find any of them), but they are just too bland for me. I might get around to listening to the new one more, though.

JayKeeley: Have you heard the new Enid? Surely you have that promo from Code666. I think you would REALLY like it.

 

[JayKeeley]

JayKeeley: Have you heard the new Enid? Surely you have that promo from Code666. I think you would REALLY like it.

Yeah, it just came in the day before yesterday. It's sitting in a pile....

*ejects Finntroll and goes for Enid*

 

[J.]

I have the new My Dying Bride promo, and I just can't get into that band. I used to have some of their old albums (I must have sold all of the, because I can't find any of them), but they are just too bland for me. I might get around to listening to the new one more, though.

Exactly. Sure, they're OK, but hardly worthy of all the praise they receive. Personally I think they just get praised so much because they've been doing it since '91. They surely aren't forging new ground, and many bands have surpassed them in quality.