Overrated "Classics"

[Cynical]

For one Suffocation's music shits on Baphomet and Morpheus Descends. It is not nearly as primitive and outdated as those bands either. It is a lot more advanced does not have the 'NYC tough guy sound', it's just not similiar. Internal Bleeding sound like those two bands. Suffocation takes its sound and style from Slayer more so than Baphomet and MD. Suffocation is a heavier/ brutal thrash band with grindcore elements,blast beats,etc... which they probably got from Napalm Death and Carcass. Frank Mullen rode his bike and bought 'hell awaits' in a fucking storm. Suffocation was formed to take extreme's to another level,was formed because of that album. Yeah they have local influence's from the NY scene but essentially 'Slayer' is why they are here. Not because of Baphomet,Morpheus Descends. Suffocation from day one was ten times more than those bands. Suffocation is just as original and innovating as Immolation in the NYC death metal scene. Baphomet and Morpheus Descends never ammounted to shit. Metallica and Iced Earth are more innovating and less outdated then 'baphomet and 'MD' for christ sakes. Suffocation would have formed regardless of Baphomet and MD. If Baphomet and MD never formed Suffocation would have not sounded any different than they do. Suffocation would have never formed if Slayer never existed.

Suffocation takes their sound from 'Slayer' you can hear Napalm Death/ Carcass influence's second and 3rd.

Where Baphomet, Morpheus Descends were probably listening to Madball and Biohazard records making their music. Suffocation was listening to Slayer and extreme music. They essential all play DM but that does not make Suffocation similiar. They all formed around the same time, Suffocation's musical background and motive is a lot different. Suffocation has worn their own T-Shirts since day one, because they formed their own style, because they are the one and only 'suffocation'

I have never seen such a repetitive and incoherent rant on all of my days on the internet. Please, if you try to stick up for a band, try to do a better job.

That said, "Pierced From Within", normal pit fare? Uh... Falco, have you heard the album? When I think of mosh pits, I tend to think of simple three-chord riffs being bashed out, not of the rather long-phrase riffs that have constant twists within them, being constantly twisted further as they evolve through the song structures. Stuttering and Chugging? I think you have the wrong album. And it conveys far more than just a simple statement of anger...

I find this one particularly funny, given that in your "Tales from the Nut Ward" column, you reccomended it under "elite death metal recordings". Well, that and the fact that you reccomended Grave, which is the epitome of stupid pit fare.

 

[CF87]

huh ?

What I said might have been incoherent because I typed it fast. I don't understand your reply though. Explain better.

"Stuttering and Chugging? I think you have the wrong album. And it conveys far more than just a simple statement of anger..."

huh ?

Are you sure you quoted the right person. You have anus.com in your signature, what the fuck do you know anyways. Next time I will know not to read anything you say.

 

[Cynical]

huh ?

What I said might have been incoherent because I typed it fast. I don't understand your reply though. Explain better.

"Stuttering and Chugging? I think you have the wrong album. And it conveys far more than just a simple statement of anger..."

huh ?

Are you sure you quoted the right person. You have anus.com in your signature, what the fuck do you know anyways. Next time I will know not to read anything you say.

I was replying to both of you- note how I first quoted you and referred to you, and then addressed Falco.

 

[Jean-Pierre]

Saturday Bonus #1: Kreator Coma of Souls

After crashing the thrash party in the mid-80's with a series of groundbreaking releases that pointed the way forward toward the extreme metal to come (Endless Pain, Pleasure to Kill and the Flag of Hate ep), Kreator finished the decade in a creative slump, with Terrible Certainty and Extreme Aggression showcasing a band grown complacent and artisitically stagnant. By 1990, it was clear that Kreator was a band in search of an identity.

Coma of Souls clearly represents the attempt to forge that new identity, the band's goal apparently being to demonstrate a "mature" and "sophisticated" sound. What they actually succeeded in demonstrating was that their creative cupboard was bare.

Rather than forging ahead, Kreator reversed course to the mid-80's, splicing together Ride the Lightning/Master of Puppets era Metallica with their own furious approach. The result is a collection of awkwardly constructed songs, pointless intros and bridges and the sort of preachy political lyrics that impress pseudo-intellectual high schoolers but no one else (especially atrocious is "People of the Lie; I suppose that such anti-fascist sentiment might have required a courageous stand in the Germany of 1940, but in 1990, it's a bit like a 25 year old standing outside his closet yelling "Fuck you Bogeyman!"). Lot's of riffs here, but no need for them. These are at heart simple, basic songs, and they would have been better served by editing out some of the superfluous riffs and letting the songs simply be anthemic (instead of trying and failing in a stab at epic). As it is, it just sounds tired and thoroughly played out.

That whole review can basically be summed up as "I dislike Thrash Metal."

Obviously, your shiny rhetoric will appeal to shitheads net-wide who have trouble forming their own opinions.

EDIT: Also, I find it odd that Falco is bored with "Pierced From Within." It's pretty damn easy to get into, the composition is coherent and tight.

 

[Spirit In Black]

Lot's of riffs here

one of the reasons i like it so much....reduce the number of riffs in a thrash metal cd? are you joking? I can see if it's full of worthless throwaways but when a band has great riff after great riff, like kreator, that's just stupid

 

[Lies and Perfidy]

See, Falco judges everything on terms of how it contributed to the development of artistic extreme metal. Everything else–enjoyment, innovation in different directions, technical expertise-can be disregarded.

 

[Planetary Eulogy]

one of the reasons i like it so much....reduce the number of riffs in a thrash metal cd? are you joking? I can see if it's full of worthless throwaways but when a band has great riff after great riff, like kreator, that's just stupid

Riffs just for the sake of riffs are useless, if you're going to write verse/chorus rock songs, at least don't noodle around and make it drag. The utility of cyclic structures is that they can be punch and catchy, wasting time with superfluous riffs doesn't improve the product.

 

[J.]

yeah, Demilich is way overrated. And Megadeth, too. Slayer as well. Morbid Angel. Suffocation. Opeth. Behemoth. Your mama.

 

[Planetary Eulogy]

That said, "Pierced From Within", normal pit fare? Uh... Falco, have you heard the album? When I think of mosh pits, I tend to think of simple three-chord riffs being bashed out, not of the rather long-phrase riffs that have constant twists within them,

The riffs are rhythmically complex, certainly, but they're still the sort of syncopated, staccato bursts alternating with a heads down groove that usually makes for great pit fare. Anytime you strip music down to rhythm and distortion, that's what you're really aiming at.

The advantage of Grave is that they combined the rhythmic heft with at least some awareness of melodic potential (at least on Into the Grave. No such luck with Suffocation.

 

[Planetary Eulogy]

Saturday Bonus #2: Venom Black Metal

There are many things that can be said about Venom's landmark release Black Metal. That it, along with the band's Welcome to Hell debut, was seminal to all extreme metal to come is undeniable. That it not only sparked the black metal movement, but gave it a name and helped develop its early iconography and ideological leanings is well known at this point. But there's one other thing that can and should be said about Black Metal, it fucking sucks.

Even with the benefit of hindsight, it's hard to understand how a band like Venom manage to kick start a musical revolution. Black Metal is little more than Motorhead made even more grimy, stupid, three chord bar rock bashed out enthusiastically but with little skill and even less forethought (foreshadowing what black metal would become again in its post-1996 years of decay). Some of the band's technique (such as it is), would go on to influence the emerging thrash scene, but more than anything, it was the utter lack of any production values to speak of that is Venom's enduring stylistic legacy (clearly not the intent of the band themselves, but others with more vision understood intuitively the atmospheric potential that lay in a fuzzier mix). There are really no songs here, much less compositions. It's more like a collection of hokey jokey b-sides than an actual album (which, if lacking in any real artistic merit, is at least charming, as it shows a band that is aware that they suck and willing to run with the joke). There's very little else that can really be said about this record, because there's just nothing else there. The only really remarkable thing about Black Metal is the fact that it is still remembered 20+ years down the road. The band's singular genius for promotion and an instinct for iconography that was at once campy and threatening (at least in 1982) were all that saved them from a one way trip to the delete bin.

 

[Christie_fell]

Nevertheless, it fucking rules.

 

[Darth Kur]

....Black Metal, it fucking sucks.

Fuck that! It might've been derivative of Motörhead but who gives a shit? Like I said in my previous post, that obviously no one bothered enough to comment on nor even read for that matter, is that everything borrows from something.
I loved Black Metal back when it was new and I love it now. It was an important release and still is 23 years later.

 

[Planetary Eulogy]

'Important' and 'good' are not synonyms.

Or, to put it another way, Mein Kampf was the most important book of the 20th century, but I don't see anyone reading it on the beach.

 

[speed]

Hm Black metal is an interesting selection. It is awful, but yet you cant deny its influence. Amd I thought ideas, ideology, etc, were the most important thing in music; Venom clearly created their own style a new culture etc. Isnt that more important? Doesnt that supersede the clumsy amateurishness of the music?

Except for Darkness Descends I pretty much agree with every review; however one could criticize every classic.

 

[Alkoholiker]

*prepares for flaming*

Slayer - Reign in Blood (Show No Mercy is far better)
Metallica - ...And Justice for All and Master of Puppets
Sepultura - Choas AD (basically nu-metal with some thrash elements)
Dark Throne - A Blaze in the Northern Sky

Ive got into a few drunken arguments about these, heh.

 

[Alkoholiker]

To me Megadeth is something that should be stressed as overrated. 85% of their music is horrible cheesy garbage. If you're a megadeth fan you have an inhaler and wear coke bottle glasses.

I agree. I've never really liked Megadeth.

 

[MasterOLightning]

Megadeth does not suck. Rust in Peace is great, but most of their stuff is mediocre. They earn points with people simply because most aren't embarassed to admit to liking them, for the sole reason that they are not Metallica. It's still okay to like Megadeth, and in fairness to them, their "sellout" album was much better than Metallica's and much more true to their style, as were the following albums.

I mostly agree with the Symbolic review. Human is by far the best Death release. I recently got Nespithe before the phony shutdown of the site, and was not overly impressed. The vocals are cool and whatnot, but I don't know why people always mention this.

 

[byrne]

Slayer - Reign in Blood (Show No Mercy is far better)

Show No Mercy is certainly better, but RiB is still great.

Megadeth does not suck. Rust in Peace is great, but most of their stuff is mediocre. They earn points with people simply because most aren't embarassed to admit to liking them, for the sole reason that they are not Metallica. It's still okay to like Megadeth, and in fairness to them, their "sellout" album was much better than Metallica's and much more true to their style, as were the following albums.

I mostly agree with the Symbolic review. Human is by far the best Death release. I recently got Nespithe before the phony shutdown of the site, and was not overly impressed. The vocals are cool and whatnot, but I don't know why people always mention this.

Symbolic > Human (althought both rule)
Rust in Peace, Peace Sells, but Who''s Buying, So Far, So Good, So What all rule, with Countdown and Killing is my Business honourable mentions (I fail to see medicority)

Nespithe I completely disagree as well. Musically, I think its quite an enjoyable album, and lyrically, from the short glimpses I have taken, there seem to be some interesting ideas, however, vocally, it is atrocious.

@ PE: being innovative is also not synonymous with good. In fact, with many of the albums you have listed, bands have improved (e.g. kreator) on the recordings, they are just not 'innovative enough' to be considered worthwhile. If you didn't know the history of the band or the genre, you'd be listening to totally different albums.

 

[no country for old wainds]

(Show No Mercy is far better)

No. Kill yourself and/or go and post at Metal Archives.

Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky

Yes, but it's still pretty good.

 

[Lies and Perfidy]

Show No Mercy > Reign In Blood in terms of sheer enjoyment, though Reign In Blood was clearly instrumental in the development of further styles and all that. And "Angel of Death" is of course one of the ten greatest thrash metal songs ever. No argument. But Show No Mercy is just more enjoyable to listen to–better constructed songs (mostly), far more coherent.

Hell Awaits > all other Slayer anyway.