I spent all day yesterday listening to metal

[avi]

dragging out some of the classics from my shrinking collection

gorguts - obscura
undeniably brilliant, even though I'm not 100% stoked on the drummer/drum tones

samael - ceremony of opposites
kinda simplistic, but it totally works. not to mention some of the best lyrics in metal.

ulver - nattens madrigal
I love putting this on and seeing people's expressions as they wait for the full band sound to kick in. it never does. grim and tr00 4-evah!

incantation - upon the throne of apocalypse
this is the limited edition rough mix of "mortal throne of nazarene" and it rules so hard over it, it's ridiculous. no unnecessary overdubs, no overproduced mixing. just brutal riffage and heavy-ass doom parts. probably my favorite US death metal album.


(ITT we will engage in posi metal discussion. more later)

 

[xfer]

but kyle from incantation has a moustache.

 

[avi]

I forgot to mention that Kyle is also one of my most favorite metal drummers. it's so hard to find dudes who can actually groove while doing blast-beats.

Enslaved - Monumension
I can't formulate any thoughts about this one right now, but it's killer

 

[Astral Poetry]

Obscura is one of my top 3 favorite death metal albums ever, the other two being The Chasm's Deathcult for Eternity: The Triumph, and Demilich's Nespithe. The chaotic atmosphere of the album is so brilliant, as well as the rhythmic and melodic layering. Thank goodness that Luc Lemay has gotten back with Steve Hurdle (Obscura mastermind) to compose the next album (which they tout as even more bizarre than Obscura).

 

[avi]

OMG that's like the best news ever. the more Steves, the better for Gorguts.

I heard Demilich a looooooooooong time ago and they didn't really grab me, but I think I wrote them off just because I wasn't into tech at the time. not that I'm all that into tech now, I just didn't pay close attention.

 

[The Dope]

I have Nespithe and enjoy spinning it from time to time.

 

[The Dope]

I was listening to some Gorguts the other day, too, but I think I was playing Considered Dead. I like Obscura the best though.

 

[NAD]

http://demilich.doesntexist.com/ <-- free Demilich music!

I love Nattens Madrigal, but enjoy Ulver's electronic/a stuff better than their early black metal period.

 

[inkybmistro]

it's funny how people don't talk about BERGTATT more.

 

[NAD]

If I had to pick one favorite Ulver album Bergtatt would probably be it, but overall I enjoy their current direction more than their past. They made two amazing black metal albums, one extreme and one serene, and now they tie a strand of beeps and clicks together for amazing effect.

 

[avi]

well, Nattens Madrigal does have all that mythology about being recorded in a forest n everything. makes it easy to overshadow the rest. anyhow, I like all of the Ulver stuff too, to varying degrees.

 

[lizard]

I have heard not note one of any of the above mentioned bands.

 

[mindspell]

Obscura kicks some major ass but for some reason I can't get into it more than twice a year... I really have to pick my spots.

Nattens Madrigal is really, really good. Ulver's electronica is pretty mediocre electronica as far as I am concerned.

For reasons unknown to me, Incantation rank as one of my favourite death metal bands. It is uncomplicated and honest to me and they don't try to outdo themselves all the time and get more broooootal with every album.

Listened to that Enslaved album for the first time yesterday too, sounded pretty good to these ears... will have to listen to it some more...

 

[Helm]

Demilich are excellent and it's a shame they made only one album +ep. There is nobody even close to what they were doing then and their LP has not staled one bit since then. I spin that a lot. Obscura is a very interesting album too, I agree. Me and Astral Poetry have exactly the same taste in death metal. Nattens Madrigal is pretty good, but Bergtatt is better for black metal era Ulver. When they switched to electronica, it took them a few albums to really get the hang of it, but the more recent material is enjoyable.

My winamp tells me I've been listening to Cirith Ungol a lot lately. Obscure US 'avant garde' epic metal band. Along with Brocas Helm and Manilla Road, the big three of us epic. If anyone's interested in listening to them, get 'King of the Dead' which is excellent in most of the ways a record can be excellent.

Then I've been playing Ron Thall's Adventures of Bumblefoot. Funny and amazingly well played sharpnell-style guitar stuff, but not boring or self-indulgent and with a point. Brilliant. Very underrated stuff, too.

Also Shora are very good on 'shaping the random'. I enjoy.

 

[FalseTodd]

I've always kinda suspected that Ulver's electronica sounds cool to me simply because I don't know dick-all about actual electronica

 

[Baliset]

sam recommended on tour that i pick up paul simon's "rhythm of the saints" and i did and it fucking rules!

but wait we are talking about metal right?

my top metal cds for tour(in no specific order) were:

1.Running Wild-Port Royal
2.King Diamond-Abigail
3.Danzig(on sam's ipod)
4.Danzig 2: Lucifuge(also on sam's ipod)
5.Anthrax-Among The Living
6.Mastodon-Leviathan(again on the ipod)
7.Dillenger Escape Plan-Miss Machine
8.Mercyful Fate/King Diamond-A Dangerous Meeting
9.Mercyful Fate-Melissa
10.Mercyful Fate-Don't Break The Oath

 

[Helm]

A few other people have said much of the same thing in discussion and I was thinking about that too. Generally I go by the rule that if it's cool, it's cool. It's obvious that as far as electronica goes, Ulver are pretty simple, but that's not a bad thing in itself. Not everybody can code software that creates random patterned drum beats and whatnot like Autechre.

 

[Baliset]

I've always kinda suspected that Ulver's electronica sounds cool to me simply because I don't know dick-all about actual electronica

honestly i feel that same way about chroma key's album "you go now." but i think the album is more about the songs first and kevin moore dicking around with electronics afterwards which i think is the opposite of what Garm is trying to accomplish.

but also i haven't listened to perdition city or marriage of heaven and hell enough to form a real opinion.

 

[Helm]

Marriage is mostly metal with Garm going 'ok let's try this now'. Similar to 'Strange in Stereo' by In The Woods... in terms of free experimentation within the metal context, but not full-blown electronica. Perdition sounds kinda empty.

 

[avi]

I need to burn a CD of Anthrax's "Spreading the disease" to listen to tonight. "AIR" has my most favorite mosh part ever.