The Initial Impressions Thread

[waif]

But yo, I would be VERY VERY VERY eternally grateful to hear all of your first impressions of Angeldeath's "Hordes of Sickness/Legions of Hate" EP. It was our 2nd album, recorded in a professional studio, and the sound quality is great.

All right, sure. Posted on MA and in the Your Reviews section. This actually turned out to be really long...
link:
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/...hordes-sickness-legions-hate.html#post8683038

I gave it an 85. -10 for essentially rearranging Morbid Angel songs and -5 because the Virgin Mary didn't appear to me and give me a blowjob when I listened to your EP. But basically, I liked it a lot. I want to get on a bus to New York and give you a high five. Now I definitely want a copy. PMd you with address.

 

[divine_torture]

I have a slight problem with the new Katatonia. Aurally, it's perfect. But lyrically...there are only 2 worthwhile songs. Everything else is Viva Emptiness/The Great Cold Distance subject matter. Very repetitive. I got what you were saying the last two two albums, Jonas.

 

[Eligos]

I think the lyrics for Nephilim is pretty aight

 

[divine_torture]

That's one of the couple I do like lyrically.

 

[Lateralus14]

I think this is one of their better non-doom albums for sure but honestly with their modern era, I never get into the full album, it's always just a few highlights. I'm already transitioning into only listening to Forsaker, Nephilim, Liberation, Idle Blood, and maybe a couple of others - and I've only heard the full album like 3 times.

 

[divine_torture]

It's a solid album sonically. Definitely my favorite of the last 3, which are all similar. I'm mostly just irritated at the lyrics being rehashed from the last two, which is very dumb with the progression of the music.

EDIT: 'Day And Then The Shade' is a very good song that definitely stands out and has moderately decent lyrics.

 

[AchrisK]

Soulless - Agony's Lament

USA, 2002

This is basically melodic death metal. I have seen it also called thrash, but to my ears, that is only a minor influence on this. It sounds to me pretty firmly planted between old and new school Swedish melodic death metal... and I assume their name indicates that this is what they were aiming for. I have never been much of a fan of any albums in these genres, but after about three listen to this, I am enjoying it quite a bit.

 

[waif]

Skyclad - Folkemon
I enjoyed this. The lyrics were awesome, as well. Not quite what I was expecting, but I was fully satisfied.

Burning Point - Salvation By Fire
My first impression is that this sucked. Because it's a LIMB music release I'll give it another spin (they've never failed me before), but man...talk about wankery.

Dustsucker - Jack Knife Rendezvous
Pretty much just hard-partying rock'n'roll with some serious bite. Not really metal, but pretty sweet. Worth my $2.

 

[waif]

Elvenking - Two Tragedy Poets
This is pretty good. Feels a lot more like the first album than The Scythe. I liked both, but the first album was just a lot of fun. That said, this could be better. The music isn't memorable. Mostly acoustic. It's all about the vocals. Damnagoras has largely stopped doing the really-soft-singing thing (mostly), and he has a good voice, but it'd be nice to have some beastly melodies like on Heathenreel. I have no idea why they thought it was a good idea to make an entire album in this style.

 

[Xorv]

^Is that album very similar to heathenreel or are they still releasing cheese like the winter wake?

Listening to esoteric for the first time. Starting with metamorphogenesis. Not much to say....I'm just really in a "wtf" mood right now trying to understand what is going on.

 

[waif]

It's "all acoustic," although there are electric guitars on some songs as backing instruments. The folky singalongness quotient is higher and the poppy factor is reduced somewhat. They actually do acoustic versions of two songs of The Winter Wake, both of which are cool.

 

[Harry Hughes]

Got the new Pestilence recently. Very awesome on first listen.

 

[MasterOLightning]

Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough

As someone who thought that the debut was one of the best things in recent memory, I could not have had higher expectations for this. Coming in at 78 minutes, there's a lot of material to digest, and the discovery phase of an album is sometimes the best part. Several promising tracks on here, but they all take so long to really digest. That being said, sometimes this album very nearly puts me to sleep. Track six is essentially an ambient interlude, but after 50-some minutes of music, a seven minute break really kills any possible momentum, even though the track is good for what it is. And then the finale sounds like it has a lot going for it, but I'm usually pretty fatigued by the one hour mark. This is definitely something I will be breaking down in pieces. As before, Krallice makes for outstanding video game music, and great passive listening music. It sets a great mood for passive listening activities. Still, this album seems to move a little slower, which is another way of saying that the riffs aren't as good as before, as there was no shortage of repetition previously. I'm still going to listen the shit out of this album, as the first song was pretty great, and I bet with a clearer mind I'll find a lot to like. The first Krallice gave me new things to like even after dozens of listens, so I expect this is no different.

 

[Lateralus14]

^Is that album very similar to heathenreel or are they still releasing cheese like the winter wake?

Listening to esoteric for the first time. Starting with metamorphogenesis. Not much to say....I'm just really in a "wtf" mood right now trying to understand what is going on.

That's probably my 2nd favorite but their latest is bar none their best imo.

 

[Draehl]

Darkspace III

I've never heard Darkspace before, and decided to start with this one. As of the first listen I'm liking it pretty well, especially the last track. It's a little too grainy sounding for my tastes, but I think I might make an exception here. That being said, I do have a slight headache after listening to the album all the way through as they do kind of have that "wall of noise" thing going on- and while it's not a bad thing, I can only take so much of that type of music before I need to swap to something else.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I didn't really get into that until like my 4th time listening to it, so keep with it.

 

[divine_torture]

Amon Amarth-'Once Sent From The Golden Halls'

MUCH MUCH better than I had expected. I honestly was expecting half-assed-wannabe-brutal shit like new Kataklysm mixed in with fag melodeath we're all tired of. It was actually very catchy and heavy with great trem picked riffs. No unnecessary leads scattered for catchiness, but still very memorable riffs. Vocals were always just low enough or just screamed enough, and the overall vibe was epic as all hell and played with a lot of passion. Good shit, thanks WAIF.

 

[rms]

Happy buying Volume 1, Follow the Wizard, and Sacrilege and Miscreancy.

 

[waif]

Amon Amarth-'Once Sent From The Golden Halls'

MUCH MUCH better than I had expected. I honestly was expecting half-assed-wannabe-brutal shit like new Kataklysm mixed in with fag melodeath we're all tired of. It was actually very catchy and heavy with great trem picked riffs. No unnecessary leads scattered for catchiness, but still very memorable riffs. Vocals were always just low enough or just screamed enough, and the overall vibe was epic as all hell and played with a lot of passion. Good shit, thanks WAIF.

Glad you liked it. Everything up through Versus the World is in that same style; memorable trem-picked riffs and epicness and all. Versus the World should be the next one you check out:



The Crusher and The Avenger both have truly awesome songs, although as an album The Avenger is slightly weak.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3h36RE2lq4&feature=related[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYe50Qx9hRk&feature=related[/ame]

Fate of Norns is weaker. The production is kind of weak and the songwriting isn't quite as strong. This song rules, though:


With Oden On Our Side is the first album to show any major stylistic difference from the first one. I really like it, though. More of an emphasis on ass-kicking.



Their latest, Twilight of the Thunder God, is skipable, really. Some good songs, but the production bothers me and it's not like the old stuff. Johan's vocals are fucking beastly, though.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppstl7ucV6A&feature=related[/ame]

Also, this song is awesome. It's a bonus track on the With Oden On Our Side digipack, but it's old school as fuck. Their only instrumental.

 

[AchrisK]

Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk

As with way too many of my CDs, I have had this a while and never really familiarized myself with it. I recognize a melody or two, but mostly it is unfamiliar to me.

This is an odd album. There is a lot going on besides black metal. It is very dense and seems like it will take some effort to digest. I definitely hear some good stuff, but also a lot of stuff I am not so sure about. I am wondering how this will end up on the balances.