GMD Poll: Top Ten Albums of 1996

[TechnicalBarbarity]

I said it lacks the darkness, heaviness and atmosphere of Slumber of Sullen Eyes

You think Slumber is darker or has more atmosphere than Psychostasia?

 

[Master_Yoda77]

He's right though. Slumber of Sullen Eyes is the Finnish DM album I routinely go back to. I can't tell you the last time I wanted to listen to Psychostasia

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Listening to Psychostasia for the first time right now, I'm two minutes deep into the title track right now and speaking from an obviously highly informed standpoint, I'd have to say this blows away Slumber in all three respects mentioned. Slumber is just standard Northern Euro death with occasional moments of weirdness or atmosphere, never got the appeal outside of a few songs on that one.

Far Away... is obviously melodic fruitcake metal even on its own merits, let alone compared to this.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

oh shit, yoderp has spoken. He's right about what? You should know by know that your measly opinions don't mean much to me. Anyone that thinks Slumber has more atmosphere or is darker than Psychostasia needs to have a CT scan to make sure they're okay.

Darkness and especially atmosphere are the fucking defining aspects of that album.

 

[Phylactery]

Darkness and especially atmosphere are the fucking defining aspects of that album.

And they aren't the defining aspects of Slumber? As well as its bassy rhythmic heaviness.

I don't consider much death metal to be dark, and Psychostsia is definitely not an an example of dark death metal imo. Slumber has this mystical atmosphere and aura about it that I just don't hear in the Adramelech album. That album to me just sounds like a collection of really cool riffs, hence why Burgerboy likes it.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I just finished listening to it and the riffing is consistently weirder throughout it. On first pass, there was nothing as conservative on the Adramelech album as, say, songs like Dead Soul or The Forlorn, which rely mostly on chunky power chord riffs and grooves that could have come out of Florida circa 1988.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

And they aren't the defining aspects of Slumber? As well as its bassy rhythmic heaviness.

I don't consider much death metal to be dark, and Psychostsia is definitely not an an example of dark death metal imo. Slumber has this mystical atmosphere and aura about it that I just don't hear in the Adramelech album. That album to me just sounds like a collection of really cool riffs, hence why Burgerboy likes it.

No, they are not the defining aspects of Slumber,that would be more of its more accessible chainsaw riffage mated with a tad bit of melody. Don't get me wrong, i love Slumber ... but more atmosphere than Psychostasia? Not even fucking close.

 

[Phylactery]

I just finished listening to it and the riffing is consistently weirder throughout it. On first pass, there was nothing as conservative on the Adramelech album as, say, songs like Dead Soul or The Forlorn, which rely mostly on chunky power chord riffs and grooves that could have come out of Florida circa 1988.

Obviously it's weirder, that's why it's also compared to Demilich a lot. It's like a middle ground between Demigod and Demilich, but it has never done as much for me as either of those two.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Obviously it's weirder, that's why it's also compared to Demilich a lot. It's like a middle ground between Demigod and Demilich, but it has never done as much for me as either of those two.

The weirdness is what contributes to the atmosphere though. Psychostasia seems to operate from a broad palette, Slumber just relies on the essentials with the occasional atmospheric part.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Slumber is rather pedestrian in comparison to Psychostasia

 

[no country for old wainds]

can we do slumber of sullen eyes song survivor pls

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I advocated that in the previous thread. Pretty sure half the people that call it an all-time favorite couldn't even discern half the tracks from each other.

 

[no country for old wainds]

this coming from a guy who bases his opinions on notes he wrote in wordpad after 1 listen 10 years ago

 

[HamburgerBoy]

That's to remember albums I don't find memorable. I would never call Slumber an all-time favorite, it's overlong and full of mediocre songs.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Slumber is more uniform in style, but does do a great job at that specific style. Psychostasia, on the other hand, is more stimulating from start to finish. Ardamelech's style is simply more dynamic. More often, I prefer the later, but Slumber is a great listen when in the right mood.

 

[-CC-]

I'd have to disagree with TB here. I'm in the camp that Slumber is darker and more atmospheric than Psychostasia. I think it's mainly due to the different production values though.

Controversial: I also think in the pantheon of old school Finnish death metal, Psychostasia doesn't quite land in the top 10. Yet it was my #2 on this years list. Was there ever a better metal scene? Methinks not.

 

[Master_Yoda77]

I've really fallen out of touch with the style in recent years. I can't really be bothered to listen to any of it anymore but if I was comprising a list Demigod, Demilich, and Rippikoulu would definitely be my top 3. I'd also probably list early Amorphis, Convulse, Sentenced, and then stuff like Cartilage, Funebre, Mordicus, and Adramelech would be in the lower half of my top 10. It's a great album and stuff, but it's really just a pale shadow compared to that Demigod album.

 

[-CC-]

I've really fallen out of touch with the style in recent years. I can't really be bothered to listen to any of it anymore but if I was comprising a list Demigod, Demilich, and Rippikoulu would definitely be my top 3. I'd also probably list early Amorphis, Convulse, Sentenced, and then stuff like Cartilage, Funebre, Mordicus, and Adramelech would be in the lower half of my top 10. It's a great album and stuff, but it's really just a pale shadow compared to that Demigod album.

That's pretty much exactly how my list would go. (And by Adramelech in top 10 it would entail Spring of Recovery)

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

I'd have to disagree with TB here. I'm in the camp that Slumber is darker and more atmospheric than Psychostasia. I

its okay, that just means you're wrong. Look, im not saying which of the two is a better album or what not ... and clearly some of you(yoda) dont understand this as evident from the responses. But saying it's darker or has more atmosphere is just wrong on every possible level. It's not something that should even be up for debate quite honestly.

Atmospheric is not even a word i would use to describe Slumber, and that's not a knock on it at all really. Its just a so by-the-books dm album that it would be impossible to refer to it as a such. Psychostasia on the other hand is an album that is just dripping atmosphere, more in line with Demilich and Rippikoulu rather than the more streamlined sound of Demigod. Those three bands share much more in common than any of them do with Demigod, which sounds more like a hybrid of floridian death metal and swedish dm.


me: saying which album is darker and more atmospheric(pointing out the facts)
you guys: "But i like Slumber more."

ok.

 

[Mort Divine]

Mordicus

dances from left is such an interesting album, feels like it isn't as focused as it should be though