Non RC Staff Results

[JayKeeley]

Well, what does your top 10 look like right now then? Or at least which bands are likely going to appear regardless of the order?

 

[Ayeka]

still waiting on Graveland and another 2005 cd

Shouldn't you save them for the 2005 list?

 

[J.]

these are pretty much guaranteed, unless the Graveland and Loits cds have a tremendous impact:

Hate Forest
Drudkh
Stand-Up Guy
The Chasm
Isis
Void of Silence
Neurosis

these will be fighting for the last spots:

Mar de Grises
Orphaned Land
Bergthron
Capricornus
Cult of Luna
Woodtemple

I can give some stuff, though:

Biggest Disappointments
The Great Deceiver - Terra Incognito
Hopesfall - A Types

Best Debuts
Mar de Grises - The Tatterdemalion Express
Capricornus - Alone Against All
Stand-Up Guy - In Fixation, Conspire

Best EP
Finntroll - Trollhammaren

Most Pointless Release of the Year
Agalloch - The Grey

Best Demo
Nasheim - Undergang
Wreck of the Hesperus - Terminal Dirge

Some of the Best SOngs of 2004
Void of Silence - Human Antithesis
Capricornus - Don't Bite It! Cut it!
Drudkh - Sunwheel
Stand-Up Guy - The Constant Gossip of the Workplace
Neurosis - Bridges
Isis - Backlit

Best Comebacks of 2004
Fear Factory - Archetype
Orphaned Land - Mabool
Helmet - Size Matters

Favorite Label
Supernal Music (Capricornus, Drudkh, Hate Forest)

Favorite Cover Art
Isis - Panopticon
Capricornus - Alone Against All

Best Albums From 2003 (That I Didn't Hear Until 2004)
Morrigan - Celts
Nokturnal Mortum - The Taste of Victory
Nachtfalke - Land of Frost

Most Anticipated Releases of 2005
Primordial
Scald
Graveland
Drudkh
Nokturnal Mortum

 

[J.]

Shouldn't you save them for the 2005 list?

sorry, I typed wrong. Graveland's Dawn of iron Blades was released in 2004, and the other CD is Loits which was released in 2004. my bad.

 

[J.]

some more:

Most Overrated Albums of 2004
Mastodon - Leviathan
Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt

 

[Nate The Great]

You might be interested in knowing that Terrorizer gave Hopesfall 9.5/10. I really like it.

I don't know how anybody can call Mastodon overrated.

 

[J.]

The first few Hopesfall listens did nothing for me, especially when compared to their previous albums. It just seems that they went emo, dropping the "harsh" vocals and concentrating on almost ballad type songs. www.digitalmetal.com had a review I pretty much agreed with.

Mastodon is just way overhyped as redefining metal or something, or as the next big thing. They are good, but they aren't exactly writing new chapters here. As with Dillinger Escape Plan and Blut Aus Nord (last year's overrated band), I feel Mastodon are viewed as visionaries simply because they seem to be treading new territory, in that they don't necessarily sound like anyone else, but they are better at sounding different than sounding good. Not sure if that made sense. Or like JayK, maybe I'm just missing the boat on these guys.

 

[Dev]

You should check other Blut Aus Nord albums , then you'll agree on this :
Blut Aus Nord are the Neurosis of Black Metal.

 

[spaffe]

I have to agree with Blut aus Nord beeing the most overrated band of last year. TWwTG did absolutely nothing for me, I could not grasp the song structure nor the sound/production or the voclas. The last time I tried listening to it while out walking I cuold not stand it at all and had to turn it off.

 

[Ayeka]

sorry, I typed wrong. Graveland's Dawn of iron Blades was released in 2004, and the other CD is Loits which was released in 2004. my bad.

Areet, fair cop

 

[Henrik Main]

I have to agree with Blut aus Nord beeing the most overrated band of last year. TWwTG did absolutely nothing for me, I could not grasp the song structure nor the sound/production or the voclas. The last time I tried listening to it while out walking I cuold not stand it at all and had to turn it off.

This is how I feel about that record too. Now go listen to Behexen, spaffe

 

[JayKeeley]

Blut Aus Nord is an oddity round these parts. You either love 'em or hate 'em. I left them out of my 'honorable mentions' list because I was pretty sure they were a '03 release or something.

In any case, Blut Aus Nord creates an atmosphere of swarming guitars to me. That riffing style is so unique, I haven't heard it anywhere else. Indeed, I've been playing for a while, and I'm not even sure I could transcribe that kind of thing, let alone play it. I don't *think* it's a guitar effect, but rather a playing style. (OR maybe the master tapes got warped).

TWWTG sounds like a plague of killer bees chasing you through ye olde Parisian fog, down cobbled streetways. Maybe it's one of those albums that has to strike you at the right moment, and if it doesn't then it fails forever and there's no turning back. I sat down one night, lights out, with this shit blasting out loud on headphones and it was the first time I actually felt cold fear through listening to music alone. Put it this way, I turned the lights back on.

 

[Dev]

That's one album . BAN has 4 , though TWWTG is the most ambitious work to date , all can be considered as good if not great for some.
And J. , it's a shame you can't get Memoria Vetusta now (going to be re-edited soon btw) , you would see BAN is not all about pretention , they used to create more classic (and yet superb) songs.

 

[J.]

I still have the full-length promo of TWWTG Nate sent me, so maybe one day I'll pop it in the player and be blown away. But the few times I listened to it, it just went in one ear and out the other with no lasting impact. Like I said, it just seems they are trying to be different, for different's sake.

 

[NAD]

Oh man does The Work Which Transforms God rule heavily, I should get their other stuff. So dark, dank, and rotten.

released in the US in 2004, elsewhere 2003 btw

 

[spaffe]

This is how I feel about that record too. Now go listen to Behexen, spaffe

I shall, as soon as I get back home you dirty norrbagge you

TWWTG sounds like a plague of killer bees chasing you through ye olde Parisian fog, down cobbled streetways. Maybe it's one of those albums that has to strike you at the right moment, and if it doesn't then it fails forever and there's no turning back. I sat down one night, lights out, with this shit blasting out loud on headphones and it was the first time I actually felt cold fear through listening to music alone. Put it this way, I turned the lights back on.

Haha, I'll go listen to it again with full attention simply because of that wonderful description about Parisian streets

 

[Dev]

I still have the full-length promo of TWWTG Nate sent me, so maybe one day I'll pop it in the player and be blown away. But the few times I listened to it, it just went in one ear and out the other with no lasting impact. Like I said, it just seems they are trying to be different, for different's sake.

NAD , beware of "The mystical beast of rebellion" which is basically true-BM extremly minimalistic and extreme at the same time , the BAN label is still there but it's their lesser release imo

 

[NAD]

Hmm, looks like them thar BAN albums are a bit pricey still. Which ones should I be on the lookout for then? The only cheap one I'm seeing besides TWWTG is The Mystical Beast of Rebellion.

 

[Nate The Great]

I have 'The Mystical Beast of Rebellion', and I think it is awesome. It is a VERY difficult listen, though. It is one of the most extreme BM releases I've ever heard. They play like 40 seconds of silence . . . . . . . . . . then BAM the song starts in. Scary stuff!

 

[NAD]

I'd have to say the silence interplay is my favorite element of TWWTG, so I will: the silence interplay is my favorite element of TWWTG.

Well shit. I would say it'll be awhile before I get anymore BAN because the season of black metal won't last much longer (yes I know winter just started, but remember I only have "winter" in So. California for a few weeks), but they are one of the few BM groups I can listen to throughout the year.