The Initial Impressions Thread

[fps]

Deathspell Omega- Circumspice
there's some amazing atmosphere in that first track, almost makes it a shame track 2's so straightahead and brutal. love some of the riffs, this is really wellplayed BM, and there are some really interesting chord changeups and shifts between 6/8 and 4/4. there's atmosphere all over the place. i read some of the lyrics and frankly i'm better off not knowing the rest. but this is a really dark record that i look forward to listening to some more.

 

[AchrisK]

Razor - Executioner's Song

This is old Canadian thrash from the mid 80's. I've listened to it like 1.5 times. The very first impression it gives is that it is very dated sounding, even when compared to Kill Em All, which came out two years earlier. The production and vocals both sound very "early metal". Vocals are a little like Lemmy in that they really aren't clean or harsh or anything in particular, though he does have some cool screams. There are times when they sound very influenced by NWOBHM and some of the tunes have a real rock and roll-turning-metal feel. But there are also some really cool tunes on here that are definitely right there in the thrash/speed metal area.

EDIT: The first five songs are all pretty rad. EDIT EDIT: Yeah, overall the whole thing is pretty cool. It's a keeper.

 

[Evil?]

Absu- The Sun of Tiphareth

My initial impression of this is that I do not enjoy it as much as I have other Absu releases. Nothing really jumped out at me. I need to give it a few more spins. The guitars seemed a bit buried under the drums and vocals at times.

Ok, after a few more listens I can say I enjoy this.

 

[Anticitizen One]

Cradle of Filth - Cruelty and the Beast
The vocalist needs testicles. Seriously. The deep growls sound great but the screams are essentially ear rape. Music is alright, I guess, but not memorable at all. Not enough instrumental stuff.

I'll say it right now: I love Dani Filth's vocals, at least as far as the earlier albums go. He's also quite a talented lyricist. The problem with Cruelty and the Beast isn't the songwriting -- quite a bit of it is actually extremely fucking memorable ("Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids" is an excellent song) -- it's the weak and mechanistic sound of the drums, if anything. The band actually expressed dissatisfaction with this after the album was released.

I know most people point to Vempire and The Principle of Evil Made Flesh as the only worthwhile CoF records, but I think Dusk... and Her Embrace and Cruelty and the Beast were actually their best. All downhill from there, quite unfortunately.

Anyway, I'm listening to this new Martyrdöd album, Sekt. I can tell I'm gonna be listening to this again. Crust/d-beat with a monstrous, blackened sound.

 

[AchrisK]

Dawn - Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy)

I assume my first impressions of this is similar to most peoples', this is kick-ass speedy, epic and urgent death black metal, not unlike Dissection in style. Nice long songs. Great stuff.

 

[waif]

Virgin Black - Elegant...and Dying
I bought this purely based on Einherjer's praise for it. Some parts are totally awesome, but I'm not loving the vocals and the song structures seem...weird (not crazy, just odd choices). However, this will clearly require multiple listens to really understand.

 

[Mythos Inibri]

yeah ,like this album I heard but then was like,it's o.k. but maybe kinda sucky because of background vocals which later grew on me like a cancer..immediatly I was drawn into a whirlpool of my own steaming desires only to be yanked ferociously out of my mothers womb just in time to hit the stop button before my ears exploded

 

[divine_torture]

I'll say it right now: I love Dani Filth's vocals, at least as far as the earlier albums go. He's also quite a talented lyricist. The problem with Cruelty and the Beast isn't the songwriting -- quite a bit of it is actually extremely fucking memorable ("Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids" is an excellent song) -- it's the weak and mechanistic sound of the drums, if anything. The band actually expressed dissatisfaction with this after the album was released.

I know most people point to Vempire and The Principle of Evil Made Flesh as the only worthwhile CoF records, but I think Dusk... and Her Embrace and Cruelty and the Beast were actually their best. All downhill from there, quite unfortunately.

Anyway, I'm listening to this new Martyrdöd album, Sekt. I can tell I'm gonna be listening to this again. Crust/d-beat with a monstrous, blackened sound.

I agree with absolutely everything you just said about Cradle. 'Cruelty and the Beast' is my favorite of their albums, and he really is an unbelievable lyricist. I love the drums on that album (at least HOW he plays), but I agree that they sound really dull and mechanical.

 

[waif]

Guys, you're free to like his music but the lyrics? Not horrible, but it's pretty much just erotic gothic vampire bullshit. Better than "I WILL SLICE YOU A NEW FUCKHOLE" and "RAA RAA SATAN" but still...

So with windows flung wide to the menstrual sky
Solstice Eve She fled the castle in secret
A daughter of the storm, astride Her favourite nightmare
On winds without prayer
Stigmata still wept between Her legs
A cold bloodedness which impressed new hatreds
She sought the Sorceress
Through the snow and dank woods to the sodomite's lair

"PLEASE GOD LET US HAVE SLUTTY FEMALE FANS"

I admit that taking the time to write the lyrics in a somewhat poetic form deserves some credit though.

 

[divine_torture]

That's the point. He takes something so simple, so seemingly silly, and morphs into this beautifully crafted tale.

'Elizabeth, paragon of vice
Watches the sun set pyres alight
As Bane and Tyranny, Her Dobermans sleep
Like spellbound paramours at Her feet

A chatter of bells without
Raise hellhounds, teeth on edge
From sleighs hastened through snow lit red
Guests espied from the garret ledge

Great gloomy mirror tell Her face
She will outblind them all
That heavenly bodies would fall from grace
To possess such a lustrous pall'

That sounds awesome. Layman's terms: She's hot and has a visitor.

 

[AchrisK]

Disrupt - Unrest

Not my first time hearing this, but I don't think I have heard it all the way through.

This is just totally killer Grind. Grindcore done right is such a cool form of metal. It's like the good child that was born to Punk and Metal. The bastard child is hardcore, and good child is grindcore. It takes the best of what punk is and does it up in a metal way. I know that thrash is also a descendant of punk, but grindcore stays much closer to its punk roots than most thrash. The energy is amazing and makes you want to move.

So I didn't say much about this release, but I said a lot. Grindcore is not complex music, but if done right, it kills! This is done right.

 

[waif]

Stormwarrior - Heading Northe
I expected every song to be like Heading Northe and Ragnarok - catchy, anthemic speed metal - so naturally I was a bit disappointed. However, it sounded pretty good overall. It'll probably take 2 more listens to fully evaluate. One to go in with the proper expectations and a second to determine if this has staying power.

 

[AchrisK]

Mortal Sin - Face of Despair

Australian thrash, 1989.

Listened to this twice, and I think I like it enough to keep it... at least for a more in-depth evaluation in the future.

It's pretty standard thrash with vocals maybe kinda like the guy in Xentrix, but with less unique enunciation. Not clean, not too rough, and a bit British sounding. The music seems to be a mix of stock, off the shelf, riffs and songs mixed with some higher quality, more thought out stuff. It's gonna be a question of the interesting stuff being good enough to make me willing to endure the ok stuff. Or maybe it's all better than I think, and familiarity will bring that out.

 

[Satanstoenail]

Converge - Axe to Fall

Listening to it now for the first time, sounds much more metal than No Heroes and definitely has more dynamics and depth going on. Apparently they've collaborated with a fair few people for this one, with seems to have paid off because this is a monster of a record. Looking forward to giving it many a listen.

 

[waif]

Edguy - Hellfire Club
So far this is awful...really uninteresting riffs, boring production, and the choruses aren't very catchy.

 

[rms]

im pretty sure you're the only person who listens to euro pm for riffs..

 

[waif]

Yeah, but the thing is that Edguy do this hard rock thing where whenever Tobias isn't singing the riffs are the focus, and they blow. Their older stuff has more keyboard-heavy stuff, but lately they're all about guitar riffs and stroking Sammet's ego. That said, Rocket Ride was good and fun, so I don't know where this atrocity came from.

 

[rms]

Im pretty sure Rocket ride is their sell out shit album and something like theatre of salvation or Mandrake was considered their best album...not a very good pm band anyways, from what I remember of enjoying them

 

[waif]

My understanding is that Mandrake was the last one in their old style, which was more typical power metal with lots of keyboards. After that it's all groove and hard rock riffs and attitude. Rocket Ride wasn't their first album in that style. It's pretty damn commercial, but so are a lot of things that also happen to be good. Basically, when they fully embrace hard rock they're pretty solid at it, but when they try to still be metal it sucks. And their old stuff is pretty sweet. Basically, Hellfire Club is crap.

 

[AchrisK]

Every description of that band that was posted in the last 5 posts makes me never want to hear anything form them, ever.