Black Metal.

[crimsonfloyd]

Am I the only one that thinks SMRC is great front-to-back?

If you ask me to identify a weak track, I can't. People say there's filler, but I disagree. Each track evaluated in isolation is very good to great. My critique would be that it's a lot of the tracks are similar. As you get deeper into the album, the band isn't showing you anything new (save Carnal Malefactor). Quite simply, it lacks the variety I crave in an 80 minute album. Albums that are this aesthetically consistent are better at 35-45 minutes length. That said, I'd still give it a 9 or 9.5/10.

 

[The Butt]

Eh I dunno. The material is good enough to justify the length imo. Lack of diversity or not.

 

[EternalMetal]

It isnt like SMRC is particularly weak, but like was said I do think it is too long. I feel like they should have tightened up the composition and brought the running time down to around the 40-50 minute mark. I tend to avoid listening to overly long albums, which is a shame since I really like SMRC, but listening to it from beginning to end is almost a chore.

Like many of you, I think SMRC is bloated, with Carnal Malefactor being closer to the low point of the album than the high. But the best 30-40 minutes of it is something I'm happy to revisit often. I'm fine with destroying the sanctity of the artistic expression by creating my own listening experience and skipping the parts of something I think are not good. I'm having really contradictory thoughts about whether a tight coherent album is better than an album with obvious flaws, misses, and filler, but ends up with more good overall content that the listener can choose.

An album with no skippable material is definitely better, hands down. Back when I first started listening to music, I thought the idea of critiquing an album for being too long was just being pedantic and overly critical, but now I really appreciate the value in having an album that is tight and engaging from beginning to end. It is a large part of the listening experience of an album for me. And why would anyone want an overly long album with skippable material over one that cuts out the excess and only leaves the meat?

Is it still uncool to think that Averse Sefira is a far better and more cohesive band than Deathspell Omega?

I feel like DsO is much more dynamic and brings a bit more depth to their music as a result. Averse Sefira is impressive as well, and their more straightforward fast-paced approach to their songwriting can probably be interpreted as being more cohesive, but better? No, but they do kick some serious ass.

 

[Phylactery]

So I've not heard much talk about Destroyer 666's Wildfire since it came out. What's everyone's opinion on it? Is it worth picking up? I was surprised to see so much hype for it because I didn't think Defiance was very good.

 

[Avenged Grace]

So I've not heard much talk about Destroyer 666's Wildfire since it came out. What's everyone's opinion on it? Is it worth picking up? I was surprised to see so much hype for it because I didn't think Defiance was very good.

Just bought it and gave it a few listens. It's definitely a lot better than Defiance. I like it a lot so far. I would say it's worth picking up if you like Destroyer 666.

 

[Krow]

So I've not heard much talk about Destroyer 666's Wildfire since it came out. What's everyone's opinion on it? Is it worth picking up? I was surprised to see so much hype for it because I didn't think Defiance was very good.

My copy was delayed. Was trying to not spoil it for myself.

 

[Master_Yoda77]

Yeah, I really dig it as well. It's fucking hilarious with those awesome falsettos and KK's poetry in "Hounds at Ya Back

 

[no country for old wainds]

it's fantastic. one of their best. we've talked about it a fair bit in the 2016 metal thread i think

 

[EternalMetal]

A friend of mine linked me to the pre-release stream. I only heard it once, but from what I remember it sounded fantastic. Better than the last one, which I also liked quite a bit.

 

[Manic Ferocity]

Is it still uncool to think that Averse Sefira is a far better and more cohesive band than Deathspell Omega?

Averse Sefira seems closer to a tribute to 90s black metal than Deathspell Omega ever did.

 

[Master_Yoda77]

The only DSO albums I care to listen to these days are the pre-SMRC stuff and the Manifestations compilations. SMRC has some cool moments but I just can't sit through it. The rest...ew.

 

[The Ozzman]

I own Kenose and that's probably all I'll ever own from the band.

 

[The Ozzman]

My copy was delayed. Was trying to not spoil it for myself.

Got an email saying it should arrive Friday now.

 

[Krow]

Got an email saying it should arrive Friday now.

Same here, comically they've raised the price from 16.99 to 21.50... Doesn't affect us because we already preordered though.

 

[The Ozzman]

Same here, comically they've raised the price from 16.99 to 21.50... Doesn't affect us because we already preordered though.

Every time I've pre-ordered from Amazon, I always save money because it was locked in. Pretty nice perk.

 

[RedStorm]

I never preorder anything but video games. Thats it

 

[The Ozzman]

I never preorder anything, only video games.

So you do pre-order something..

 

[RedStorm]

fixed

 

[Omni]

I never preorder anything but video games. Thats it

That's actually riskier than preordering music.

 

[Krow]

Most video games nowadays aren't even ready when they're released. Sad to say I'd only trust preordering Nintendo games from established franchises.

I use Amazon to preorder a lot of metal cds. I mean yeah, sometimes I get stuck with a stinker but most albums end up on there at $11.99 or less and ship free to my doorstep on release day because of Amazon prime. Some labels do ship preorders ahead of time, sure, but you're definitely paying more once you factor in shipping even direct from label. They carry all the big metal label album releases too.