Black Metal.

Marduk - Plague Angel

Just the fix I needed for balls-out blasteriffic Black Metal. Not as varied as Rom 5:12, nor as good, but this album should prove a great resource to tap into whenever I'm incredibly pissed off.

Behexen - Rituale Satanum

I love this, despite it being the least of Behexen's three albums, at least after my first listen. Great atmosphere (but not as good as the second album). The last two songs are in the band's top 5 songs penned.
 
Speaking of Marduk. I have been listening to Those of the Unlight a bit this past week and based on all the shit Marduk get, it is better than I expected and quite a decent BM album.
 
Speaking of Marduk. I have been listening to Those of the Unlight a bit this past week and based on all the shit Marduk get, it is better than I expected and quite a decent BM album.

To be fair, that's an early album, and no one really accuses early Marduk of being mindless or whatever. I really have no opinion on the matter other than I much prefer any Marduk album pre-Panzer Division Marduk to anything made afterward.
 
I enjoy Marduk quite a bit. "Plague Angel" is definitely a fast album, it's enjoyable. "Opus Nocturne" is a great album though.

@Zeph: You would say "By The Blessing..." is better than RS? I'll have to get on that damn it.
 
for me the best of Marduk will always be the early years. "Dark Endless" is some pretty good blackened death with a handful of awesome riffs, not perfect but very listenable. "Those of The Unlight" and "Opus Nocturne" are 2 of the best albums in Black Metal imo, I've never tired of them. Later albums are varied for me, I can listen for a little while before I want to put something else on.
 
Marduk - Plague Angel

Just the fix I needed for balls-out blasteriffic Black Metal. Not as varied as Rom 5:12, nor as good, but this album should prove a great resource to tap into whenever I'm incredibly pissed off.

Way to go, Zeph. Didn`t know you like Marduk.

I really enjoy both albums you mentioned. Saw them live this year, can`t wait to see them again, fucking great gig. One of the best BM vocals imo.
 
Let me sort of take back what I said before, because I implied that there's some clean way to distinguish between features of music that are an important part of the musical language and features that are "merely aesthetic". Sometimes apparently insignificant aesthetic features are part of the musical language and sometimes they detract from the experience of a piece. I can overlook, for instance, a drummer fucking up a couple of times or so-called bad production because sometimes that's appropriate to the sort of music. But Summoning for the most part is not epic or beautiful to these ears (though I do really appreciate some of their stuff, and I get why people like them). It's just that "minor aesthetic issues" tend to detract from their music being what people hype it up to be.

At any rate, it's not even something that's within my control. I literally cannot enjoy Summoning, no matter what I tell myself or what anybody tells me. I've tried countless times to get into Dol Guldur and a couple of their other releases, because everybody tells me how amazing they are. But I can't get past my aesthetic revulsion. Strangely enough, this has not been the case with other bands. For instance, years ago I used to think stuff like Darkthrone sounded like crap, but one day I put on Transilvanian Hunger and it blew me away; my perspective and aesthetic preferences had completely changed.

This is all fair enough, which is kinda annoying, since I was more than happy to look down at all the simpletons who didn't like them from my awfully high horse.
 
Looks like the first 2009 metal album I get will be Archgoat's The Light-Devouring Darkness.

Im surprised you like Archgoat. :kickass:

This will also be the first 09 album i pick up. The sample they have up on their myspace is total filthy bestial stuff. :kickass:


edit: either this or Excoriate. Which ever comes first.
 
I think I've finally found my niche of Black Metal bands to delve deep into, that being the Finnish scene. It's a perfect combination of atmosphere, aggression and melody.
 
I've gotten into most of the major bands from all those scenes (not Germany, though), but I'm ready to specialize. I thought I had promise in the French industrial black metal scene but beyond Blacklodge and Neo Inferno 262, there isn't as much promise as I'd hoped. Well, o_O.o. is ace.
 
I'm now listening to the new Deathspell Omega track, and so far I like it, but I apparently haven't gotten to the crazy parts yet.
 
I've gotten into most of the major bands from all those scenes (not Germany, though), but I'm ready to specialize. I thought I had promise in the French industrial black metal scene but beyond Blacklodge and Neo Inferno 262, there isn't as much promise as I'd hoped. Well, o_O.o. is ace.

Have you heard La division mentale?