Black Metal.

[Tonka Time]

On the topic of USBM, anyone like Ash Pool?

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

Haven't given them the time of day. What's a good record to check out?

 

[Nephilim96]

-Leviathan is solid.
-Grouping bands by country is pointless.
-Caladan Brood and Summoning can lick my nuts.

 

[KafkaX]

 

[Tonka Time]

Haven't given them the time of day. What's a good record to check out?

Definitely For Which He Plies The Lash.

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

Edit- ^ thanks for the rec.

Leviathan was a chore to sit through earlier today. Fuck that shit. Will need to check out the Swedish band, however.

 

[Tonka Time]

Far beyond the light was meh from what I remember of it.

I enjoy quite a bit of Leviathan, but it gets old very fast. TTTW is probably the only Leviathan album that I can listen to for an extended period of time.

 

[MasterOLightning]

But that's the worst one by far. It's full of rerecorded/reworked material from the demos (though all his albums has that to some degree) and it's a self-admitted cash grab. The bass that was so interesting in the early work is gone, and the drumming is phoned in. The vocals sound tired, but I can see how that might appeal to some more than the weirdness on 10th Sublevel and Tentacles.

If you think it gets old quickly, that's what splits are for. The following are all great 20-25 minute servings.

Leviathan/Blackdeath
Leviathan/Xasthur
Leviathan/Sapthuran
Leviathan/Crebain (Crebain is worth listening to on this one too.)

Someone mentioned Schrei Aus Stein earlier. This stuff really flew under the radar. Very desolate and frosty ambient black metal, but with a very different feel than stuff like Paysage or Darkspace or anything blasty. This song is one of the more dynamic ones, for those among us who have short attention spans.

 

[MasterOLightning]

Ceremonial Castings is fucking terrible, btw.

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

Says the guy pushing the Leviathan/Xasthur split. I couldn't concoct a worse collaboration.

 

[Manic Ferocity]

Mmmmmm, the GRRM books I won't disagree with, if only because I've become disillusioned with them.

But R. Scott Bakker's series rapes the Malazan books (like, literally, his sex-crazed fiends from hell literally rape all the Malazan characters). The ones I've been able to get through, at least (ease off, waif).

Why have you become disillusioned with GRRM? I don't think the last two were as good as the first three but I like where he's going with the series. Either way, I'm quickly warming up to the idea that Malazan is better if not solely for being some of the most crazily intense fantasy I've ever read.

 

[MasterOLightning]

Says the guy pushing the Leviathan/Xasthur split. I couldn't concoct a worse collaboration.

You listed Ceremonial Castings and Abigail Williams. It's clear you are looking for something entirely different from black metal.

I hear Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth have a bit of a following. Maybe you should check them out?

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

Yeah it's called variety. Some of us like music that isn't standard as to have a different listening experience every once in a while. And I could care less about how untr00 I look if I listen to certain bands. But isn't it fun going for the low hanging fruit that is Dimmu and Cradle?

 

[Einherjar86]

Why have you become disillusioned with GRRM? I don't think the last two were as good as the first three but I like where he's going with the series. Either way, I'm quickly warming up to the idea that Malazan is better if not solely for being some of the most crazily intense fantasy I've ever read.

I was just so enraptured by GRRM when I first read his books, and now I'm realizing what a poor writer he really is (stylistically). His narrative arcs are good, but prolonged and too obscure to be engrossing. It may be the case that every detail in his books is essential, but the writing isn't good enough to make me care.

I'm going to finish the series, there's no doubt about that. I've read the first five books so I'm pushing through to the end; but after the fourth and fifth, I'm haunted by the nagging question of whether GRRM is writing such long and winding narratives because he actually has a purposeful story to tell and needs these long books, or whether he simply feels that his stories should be long because, well, he is writing epic fantasy.

I just have doubts about the authenticity of the story; doubts that I never feel when I read Scott Bakker's work.

 

[ProphetofHatred]

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

^ dat new record is gonna be sick yo. Fo sho.

Edit- On first listen that track was good but not great. Hopefully the album will flow better as it's hard to make any determinations off a stand-alone track. Regardless, still enjoyable.

 

[Manic Ferocity]

I was just so enraptured by GRRM when I first read his books, and now I'm realizing what a poor writer he really is (stylistically). His narrative arcs are good, but prolonged and too obscure to be engrossing. It may be the case that every detail in his books is essential, but the writing isn't good enough to make me care.

I'm going to finish the series, there's no doubt about that. I've read the first five books so I'm pushing through to the end; but after the fourth and fifth, I'm haunted by the nagging question of whether GRRM is writing such long and winding narratives because he actually has a purposeful story to tell and needs these long books, or whether he simply feels that his stories should be long because, well, he is writing epic fantasy.

I just have doubts about the authenticity of the story; doubts that I never feel when I read Scott Bakker's work.

I agree with you about the length but I don't necessarily mind it because I find his writing style engrossing.

We'll obviously just have to wait and see if he goes anywhere with the long, winding narratives. I would think that he'd stop at book 5 if he didn't plan on tying up the loose ends in the final two, though.

 

[no country for old wainds]

Mmmmmm, the GRRM books I won't disagree with, if only because I've become disillusioned with them.

But R. Scott Bakker's series rapes the Malazan books (like, literally, his sex-crazed fiends from hell literally rape all the Malazan characters). The ones I've been able to get through, at least (ease off, waif).

i'm a HUGE bakker fan too and i'm cool with that opinion, but erikson's my homie 4 life and those books speak to me like nothing else (with the usual disclaimer that it doesn't really get going 'til DEADHOUSE GATES).

tbh i've only read A GAME OF THRONES so that was a slightly facetious comment, but i wasn't fond. i went into it expecting the ultimate revolutionary 'shades of grey' fantasy, a kick in the teeth the way glen cook must've been back in the day, but he basically establishes every character as a stereotype with two or three prominent traits and then has those traits subverted in the most obvious ways. there were certain promising signs that it gets better later on, but i'm yet to motivate myself to carry on with it.

 

[Manic Ferocity]

I've never understood why A Song of Ice and Fire and Malazan are compared. Erikson completely breaks down the conventions of what is expected out of fantasy while Martin caters to more traditional elements. I think seeing his use of clichéd traits in his characters as a con is kind of missing the point. I don't think Martin intended to completely transcend the fantasy genre.

I'd strongly recommend at least giving the next two books a chance. There is some drastic character development in each.

 

[no country for old wainds]

yeah, i think i had bogus expectations going in, that was part of the problem - i'd just read erikson for the first time before i started it. at the same time though, i'm just not particularly big on trad/medieval/etc fantasy, so its appeal is probably gonna be limited even if i approach it with more conservative standards. i'll carry on with it eventually though.