Black Metal.

[Master_Yoda77]

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/general-metal-discussion/534994-masters-hammer-back.html

 

[Koude Haat]

Ah, didn't see that thread.

 

[SkiesAtOurFeet]

Check out the promo video for Yrg Alms. Sounds fucking great. For Agalloch fans, etc.

Sounds great, when's it due out?

On topic: I've listened to some Old Wainds lately...it's not horrible, but it does not appeal to me much. There is something bland about them.

Which album did you listen to?

So then it doesn't matter which to start with? Is it all that different?

I started with Nji. Njiijn. Njiiijn. Long album, perfect for sitting in the dark, loads of atmosphere. Think you'd enjoy.

 

[Chaosmönger]

Has anyone heard the new Varathron? I don't really know what to say about this shit. Meh..

I have it and enjoy the album quite a lot. Obviously it's not the same band so the style has changed, but I still hear some nuances influenced by the old sound creep through the music.

 

[skeptik]

So since I have flaky friends I'm listening to the first ...And Oceans album. I think I'd enjoy this a lot more if I wasn't dead tired. I'm gonna go smoke a bowl, and assuming I don't crash immediately, start from track 1, and let you know how it goes.

What's with the new signature quote?

 

[Eligos]

It might be my favorite post in your entire history.

 

[skeptik]

A Warlord's Swansong

High in a tower, far away from daily life
And old man sits on his throne
The room is dim and you can hardly hear
The city that spreads down below
Dreams of faded glory haunt his memory
The vultures are waiting, he knows it too well!
And mournful he wishes he could return
To days of youth and to shatter the world . . .

His aching limbs remind him
There's a price that's soon to pay
And this time his power won't save him
From the reaper who's after his soul . . .

Oh, how hard it is for a warrior
To bear the spears Old Age throws
When the way to death - which he never feared!
Is paved with misery and pain . . .
Looking back, he doth ask himself:
"Whom did I do all this for?"
His own sons did fall long years ago
Sacrificed on his path to fame . . .

Remembrance leaves him smiling
For moments the warmth of life hath burned
But then his knowledge doth return
There's a price that's soon to pay . . .

Uneasy he shifts around on his throne
Death's icy grip, it's ever so near!
What no one suspects, he doth know it well
For the Horned One's assistance he'll soon have to pay
In early days of mindless youth
Light-hearted was his oath
And though he did serve very well
He's still afraid to go . . .

For no longer can he set the rules
He's soon to play the Master's game
And that thought leaves him worrying
About the price that's soon to pay . . .

The screams of the dying, the wailing of widows
Yes, he sent many souls to burn!
The hatred he brewed for the minds of men
Is the fuel of the fires of Hell!
He washed the streets with the blood of his victims
Not once, but wherever he came
And the thought of their souls serving him soon
Doth make him shiver with joy . . .

And no longer is he fearful
With pleasure he will heed the Call
The loving presence of the Master
Maketh this price a joy . . .

 

[Evil?]

Listening to Gnome-Under the Black Moon and digging it. One man Japanese Black Metal.

 

[Ekinflog]

Nji, Njiin, Njiiin was mostly good, but I can't decide if the odd aesthetic and themes work against the riffs, or if the uniqueness saves overly repetitive material. I am quite sure the outsider approach to drum programming works in their favor on that release. The musicality of it adds a neat dimension to material that runs the risk of being mind-numbingly repetitive. (The album could have used one more song and a bit of trimming of the last two tracks.) It sounds completely foreign to the genre, which works in context with that sound. Now, with that new song, it clashes, just like the drum machine on the recent Blut Aus Nord album. It's jarringly inhuman. Sometimes that's okay. But obviously sometimes not, especially when the goal is to sound more natural.

Actually, I remember the band themselves said that they don't use a drum machine, just an electric drum set (which does sound a lot like a drummachine).

 

[Anticitizen One]

It might be my favorite post in your entire history.

Then I'll pride myself on being responsible for this.

 

[Slayed Necros]

Has anyone heard the new Varathron? I don't really know what to say about this shit. Meh..

What I heard was fairly decent. Much better than Crowsreign, at least. I'll definitely be getting it.

 

[Goffdahl]

Nice taste!

Tenebrae in Perpetuum - L'eterno Maligno Silenzio
Miserere Luminis - Miserere Luminis
Slagmaur - Von Rov Shelter

Haven't heard about these but will check out...

Favorite releases of '09 are still:
Teitanblood - Seven Chalices, which is ostensibly death metal or occult goatfuck metal or who cares, it's incredible.
Katharsis - Fourth Reich. The chaotic sound has abated a bit in favor of hypnotic riffs creating an impression of tension building to a climax. It absolutely works for me.
Peste Noire - Ballade Cuntre lo Anemi Francor. I really like this, but I still put on La Sanie and Folkfuck way more often.
Arckanum - ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ. Just awesome.
Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars
The Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite. Doesn't quite top Unlock the Shrine or Rain Upon the Impure for me, but I'll admit this sounds like what he's been reaching for and has hit his stride. Sounds good.

I already have Arckanum. Looking forward to receiving Katharsis, Peste Noire, Blut Aus Nord and Ruins. I really like Ruins - which of the two former albums does this new album sound like the most?

Other stuff I liked well enough:
Urfaust - Einsiedler EP
Drudkh - Microcosmos
Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs
Immortal - All Shall Fall
Beherit - Engram
Graveland - Spears of Heaven
Nazxul - Iconoclast
Fluisterwoud - Laat Alle Hoop Varen
Diamatregon - Crossroad
Angmar - Zurück in Die Unterwelt
Gromm - Pilgrimage Amidst the Catacombs of Negativism
Skagos - Ást
Wolves in the Throne Room - Black Cascade

I already have (and enjoy) Drudkh, WitTR and Ameseours. Will receive Immortal Monday but I don't think it will do anything for me. Just bought it for completist reasons. Looking very much forward to receiving the Urfaust album. Perhaps I will try some of the other mentioned albums as well.

 

[Eligos]

I didn't like the new Katharsis very much, but the new BAN is rather tasty.

 

[Einherjar86]

I checked out Ne Obliviscaris; specifically the track "Tapestry of the Starless Abstract." I really enjoyed it.

EDIT: I'm listening to "As Icicles Fall" now. While I really like the melodies, I'm not too fond of the singer's clean voice.

 

[divine_torture]

Fuck YES you did! It's surprisingly intense and mature.

I noticed fleshmountain's post in 'albums kicking your ass' with Christ Agony...are they worth a damn in reality?

 

[Anticitizen One]

I already have Arckanum. Looking forward to receiving Katharsis, Peste Noire, Blut Aus Nord and Ruins. I really like Ruins - which of the two former albums does this new album sound like the most?

Hm, well, neither really. There's quite a bit more of a death/doom sound to it now, with the black metal all but gone. I suppose it's a little bit closer to Rain Upon the Impure in feeling, but it doesn't have that album's murky production -- something I liked about it. Like I was saying, it sounds like what he's been aiming for, working up to...

The new Immortal is nothing terribly special, but it is good. Parts of it have a pleasing Bathory kind of feel.

I've seen a lot of people saying they're not impressed with the new Katharsis, but I don't really get it. It fucking rules.

 

[Goffdahl]

Hmm, sounds weird about the Ruins...

I think I will definitely enjoy Katharsis if the style is as mentioned by you.

Are you into the whole German black metal scene? And have any recs besides the obvious?

 

[Goffdahl]

I didn't like the new Katharsis very much, but the new BAN is rather tasty.

And which former BAN album does this album sound like? I have them all but actually only like Ultima Thulée, Memoria Vetusta I and TWWTG.

 

[Anticitizen One]

Are you into the whole German black metal scene? And have any recs besides the obvious?

Sure, plenty.

Luror, Hellfucked, Wolfsmond, Absurd, Eternity, Nagelfar, Kermania, Graupel, Orlog, Lunar Aurora, Moonblood, Nyktalgia, Drautran, Inarborat, Imperium Dekadenz, Blutklinge, Lantlôs, Brocken Moon...

And which former BAN album does this album sound like? I have them all but actually only like Ultima Thulée, Memoria Vetusta I and TWWTG.

Well, it's Memoria Vetusta II. Should be to your liking.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Some more great German BM: Die Toten Kehren Wieder mit dem Wind (all albums are great, actually), Grabnebelfürsten and Orlog's new one is sick too (thanks anti).