Black Metal.

[MasterOLightning]

I really would rather gamble on bands that might be doing something new and interesting than those that continue to ape pre-1995 ideas. Sometimes they fall flat, but the hits grab me far more than those who record successful retreads, for the most part.

Edit: Seriously, you don't see that stuff as a trend? No one talked about at all prior to about a year ago.

 

[divine_torture]

I guess I haven't paid that much attention. You could be right, I just haven't noticed.

EDIT: Regardless, I've loved the style for quite some time. I'm just looking for something newer. I can only listen to the same 7 albums over and over and over...

 

[MasterOLightning]

I would say three big popular movements this decade have been French, Eastern European, and then bestial, with that being most recent.

 

[divine_torture]

I've noticed the first two, for sure. I guess I don't lurk enough through other corners of the interbutts to see the bestial thing...

 

[Koude Haat]

It's pretty big on the NWN forum. Don't really care for whatever trend it created, but there certainly are good "bestial" bands. The thing about the "trend" is all it takes is for a band to post one track and people will latch onto said band and circle jerk over it.

 

[divine_torture]

Well, I don't frequent that forum. Actually, I've never been on it. I just dig around randomly for shit that looks alright...and there are some terrible bestial bands out there. I've found a few that I fucking love though.

God damn trends. They ruin my fun. Here I am enjoying a style that I've always rather liked, and all of a sudden I'm being told it's trendy. Ugh. Fuck it. I still like it.

 

[Cromulent]

God damn trends. They ruin my fun. Here I am enjoying a style that I've always rather liked, and all of a sudden I'm being told it's trendy. Ugh. Fuck it. I still like it.

Just do what everyone else seems to do in the metal world then and invent a new sub-genre so you can't be accused of being "trendy".

Edit: It doesn't need to be an actual sub-genre, just add a random word at the beginning of an already existing one.

 

[Zephyrus]

I take it this "bestial" trend is in reference to the recent wave of blackened-death metal. I really like Embrace of Thorns and Archgoat. Diocletian and Teitanblood are great, but I need more time to get used to their "bestiality". But bands like Morbosidad are too chaotic and muddled to enjoy much.

 

[Anticitizen One]

Some bands seem to fit more into the "bestial" cliché, whereas others (Teitanblood, etc.) just sound to me like a sick miasma of proto-black/death metal taken to a morbid extreme.

Also: I have yet to hear the new Krallice (I'm reluctant), but going by their first one I could never recommend this band to anyone. Why not just recommend Weakling, anyway?

 

[cookiecutter]

More blasphemy coming here, as my first listen through the first Taake album bored me to death. I'm really, really underwhelmed with the 2nd tier Norwegian bands.

I had the same feeling when I listened to Taake

I would say three big popular movements this decade have been French, Eastern European, and then bestial, with that being most recent.

Sounds about right at least for this board.

Also: I have yet to hear the new Krallice (I'm reluctant), but going by their first one I could never recommend this band to anyone. Why not just recommend Weakling, anyway?

I've also been reluctant to really listen to them even though I tend to like fancypants USBM. I think it's because the crowd that's really into Krallice now is the same one that was into WITTR a couple years ago, and they tend to overrate bands.

 

[Anticitizen One]

But see, Two Hunters was actually a pretty good album.

Krallice's debut just felt like mechanized mimicry with no real feeling.

 

[Tonka Time]

I've noticed the first two, for sure. I guess I don't lurk enough through other corners of the interbutts to see the bestial thing...

Same for me.

What makes a band "bestial"? I've got a good idea and bands in mind but I guess I just need it spelled out to me. Basically just grittier black/death right?

 

[MasterOLightning]

Also: I have yet to hear the new Krallice (I'm reluctant), but going by their first one I could never recommend this band to anyone. Why not just recommend Weakling, anyway?

I really don't think they have much in common with Weakling at all. Weakling always sounded really loose and formless and sloppy and boring to me. I was never on board with the hype about them. Krallice definitely writes tighter, better songs at extended lengths. Give it a few more listens. Sometimes I think once people get past the initial hurdle of getting into their first few black metal albums they think they should be able to catch everything on the first or second time through everything else, unless it's something like Darkspace where everyone will beg you to keep trying. I'd say each of the Krallice albums takes a full five or more listens to make sense of the structure. Especially the new one, which is techier and denser, even if the production is rather bright.

Part of the criticism when the band came out was that it was "outsider" black metal, which was an incorrect thing to say, but seemed to apply somehow because the melodic approach was so different for the most part. I enjoy dual guitar melodies when they sound nothing like Dissection. Sometimes I think the melodies have a regal or imperial feel to them that I really like.

I know this is not typically seen as a ringing endorsement, but it's great music for when you're doing stuff. When a segment of a song takes more than one minute to repeat, sometimes it works to let it osmose into your brain. Oddly, this stuff is excellent for playing with video games.

 

[Anticitizen One]

Yeah, I don't get the Krallice comparisons to Weakling either, but you're talking to someone who loves Weakling to death (though a lot of it is Bay Area nostalgia at this point).

 

[skeptik]

There is definitely a "bestial" trend going around these days, but that doesn't mean that there are no good bands from that movement, or even bands within that movement doing new and interesting things. Most of it is expendable, but to totally overlook it is foolish. As far as Taake goes, I only own the second album and rarely listen to it, but I enjoy it enough when I do. I'm not exactly expecting Pure Holocaust when I'm listening to it.

 

[divine_torture]

Same for me.

What makes a band "bestial"? I've got a good idea and bands in mind but I guess I just need it spelled out to me. Basically just grittier black/death right?

Basically, yes. I hate that term, but it's what is being used. Pretty much just black/death like Blasphemy or Archgoat.

but that doesn't mean that there are no good bands from that movement, or even bands within that movement doing new and interesting things. Most of it is expendable, but to totally overlook it is foolish.

This. I agree 100%.

 

[Koude Haat]

wow.. the new Arckanum ep is fucking awesome. Clean vocal Shamaatae is very strange to hear, but i really think it was a great cover of Be Forewarned.

 

[Anticitizen One]

Simple/silly question: what is the most enigmatic black metal band?

Just trying to think of bands aside from Deathspell Omega that operate under that sort of veil of secrecy and/or anonymity. Sigrblot come to mind. Can't come up with many others... I'm sure something obvious is escaping me.

 

[Slayed Necros]

Dark Tribe comes to mind.

 

[Anticitizen One]

Ah, yes. Fuck, I wish they would release another album. Thought they would get one out this year.