Rolling Metal Thread 2009

I must say that i am enjoying the hell out of unperson's daily dissection of the Decibel list.

That review posted above is painful, not to mention atrociously written.

And Phil, you really should hear Ludicra...they're good!

They are, but I was a bit disappointed by the new song. Another Weakling throwback was not what I was expecting from these guys (and girls), hopefully the album will have more John Cobbett rifftasticness than this preview.

Listening to three songs from the Charred Walls of the Damned disc - Ripper Owens on vocals, Jason Suecof on guitar, James DiGiorgio on bass and Richard Christy (it's his band) on drums. Power metal, flamboyant and unashamed. Not my thing, but whatever.

xpost - I'm not sure which track Ludicra posted but I've had the new album for many months and it's fantastic. There is one song that is a bit more in the Weakling/WITTR vein so I'm assuming that's the one that you heard? Trust me, there's Cobbett all over this thing. And there's more big news ahead :)

is the Ludicra track called "A Larger Silence"? The one posted on Brooklynvegan?

Nate's right, the new album is very strong.

is the Ludicra track called "A Larger Silence"?

That's the one I heard, yup. It's fine, just not the next-level thing I was hoping for. I just did a big USBM piece (in Dutch) saying Ludicra is *the* band to keep an eye on, so they gotta come through big time, ya know ;)

Trust me, there's Cobbett all over this thing. And there's more big news ahead :)

Sweet! So what is it, Scalzi joining the fold, or what?

No, it's US tour-related.

(and Canada)

Day Four of my journey through the Decibel best-of-the-decade list may be the most argumentative one yet... http://bit.ly/4YGMhw

i still think panopticon is every bit as great as Oceanic, Phil. Lots of ilmers agree too.

I on the other hand perhaps predictably co-sign w/Phil 100% on Panopticon

I actually like it more than oceanic but would be hard-pressed to argue why. they're very similar but panopticon felt like a refinement of the sound, maybe?

could just be a matter of context. with oceanic, I was a bit disappointed at the time with how they scaled the heaviness way down from celestial. wasn't expecting much from panopticon but was pleasantly surprised.

they're pretty much on a par, but maria's vocals on 'the weight' give oceanic the edge.

mind you, my affection for isis has diminished severely of late. the last two albums were shockingly dull.

phil are you gonna do your own decade-end list on yr site? would be much more interesting to me than reading abt what is metal and what is not metal.

the new isis album is a lot better than Absence Of Truth

yeah, I agree. hated absence of truth but the new one is pretty good.

i didnt hate i just didnt think it was as good as what preceded it.

Oceanic and Wavering Radiant are my two favorite Isis discs. I also like the Oceanic remixes set quite a bit. But my favorite thing about Isis remains my memory of seeing them on tour with Botch in (I think) 2000 (might have been 1999); they were much more experimental than they've ever been on record, or on any of their live discs. At one point, the song they were playing melted down to a theremin/didgeridoo improv duet.

I'm not sure yet if I'm gonna do a full decade-end list, but I am gonna do something later this month.

Amon Amarth's exclusion from the list I'll give you (I had Twilight of the Thunder God in my top 10), but Megadeth and Judas Priest? Megadeth had one album this decade that came even close to being great (Endgame), and Judas Priest had two incredibly uneven records, neither of which I would have included. I can think of much more shocking omissions.

Dude, if they can find room for Fugazi, they can find room for Nostradamus, which might be uneven but has at least one full disc's worth of killer stuff. I still listen to it. Not weekly by any means, but frequently.

I still don't have the issue yet, so Phil's thorough run-through is helping me realize that there are far too many hardcore titles on a list that does state "metal" on its cover. Though every one of those Converge records should be on there, they're more metal than most metal bands. If that makes sense. But Axe to Fall is definitely the best of the four.

Traditional/melodic metal and doom really did take it on the chin on this list, didn't they? Not right at all.

And it really struck me as puzzling that Miss Machine placed higher than the mind-blowing Ire Works.

Is there a straight list anywhere of this Decibel countdown? I'd be curious to see the last 20

So I bought the Decibel Precious Metal book for xmas for my work buddy last night, and of course I read as much of it as I could before wrapping it this morning. And in the Opeth section they mention Wishbone Ash upward of a dozen times. So what Wishbone Ash should I check out? I'm always in the market for some good proto-plod-prog.

The 40% or so of the book I managed to read was killer.

Bill it's posted here The 2009 Magazine Albums Of The Year Thread For Posting Lists and Discussion.

Jon you gotta check out Wishbone Ash - Argus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biG5CNlu3dM

One thing that seemed a bit lame about the Decibel special issue was reprinting the HoF articles on Jane Doe and Remission, especially since the Converge piece also appeared in Precious Metal. I love these features, but you can only recycle them so many times.

I only have the s/t Wishbone Ash album, but it's pretty great. If you like that, I also recommend checking out the band November, who are a Swedish heavy blues-psych-rock band from the early '70s and almost certainly a major influence on Åkerfeldt and Opeth. Three studio albums and one posthumous live disc.

I've nothing to add to a discussion of Wishbone Ash, having never heard them save live, back in '75 or so. :)
As to that Decibel List: very funny, really.
No Gorgoroth, Nargaroth, WitTR?
That Nile ( one of my fave bands; heard them live many times) is their weakest so far.
Marduk is not bad, but is not that good, either.Funeral Mist sounds like the left-overs from it.
The Krallice sounds like a rehearsal jam more than an album.Weakling minus the talent. Boring, interminable,...
Oh, well, no matter. The only copy of Decibel I have ever seen was on the rack at Barnes and Noble.

Back to the Isis debate, when they stopped through Portland on Celestial tour, we played right before them. Soilent Green headlined. I got a little known group from Eugene called YOB to open.

It was titanic. And the Oceanic shows I saw were equally fantastic.

Panopticon, and Absence of Truth are boring, hookless, and unmemorable. I'm firmly with Phil and J0hn on this one. Wavering Radiant is definitely a step in the right direction though.

The 10th anniversary tour was great. But then I saw them again this year and it was boring again :(

Are there not any live Isis albums?

they released a live DVD a couple of years ago. seemed a bit pointless though... they're not exactly the most visual of bands.

I only ask bcuz like 3 ppl on this thread have suggested they used to bring it live.

Are there not any live Isis albums?

There's a live DVD that's decent, and they've released five limited-edition live CDs that sell out pretty much the minute they're announced. I have two of 'em; one is a complete run-through of Oceanic several years after its release, which is pretty good - more psychedelic than the original album.

Aha then re: limited live discs. It's off to the magic rap1dsh@re machine then!

i have the live cds

Of course you do.

actually i dont have the 1st one, no way was i paying loadsa money for a cdr. I have the vinyl version.

Loving the new Arsis, Starve for the Devil. It's about one X chromosome away from being an Arch Enemy album, but it's really catchy and melodic and has a definite sense of humor.

I like Arsis OK but Arch Enemy is my shit so if this new one is not as rad as Wages of Sin I am comin for you jeff t

you added a "my" by mistake there J0hn ;)

oh man I am not havin any arch enemy disrespect from the dronelords around here :)

Yeah, what's up with that? Not only are they extremely solid on record (don't love the new album of re-recordings, because they've actually gotten better with Gossow up front), but I've seen them live three or four times and they've killed it every time out.

Oh, I love Arch Enemy, that's probably why I'm enjoying the new Arsis.

I don't know if it's as rad as Wages of Sin, though. That one was in my decade top 40 list for decibel.

haha dronelord. I like that!