Rolling Metal Thread 2008

Lost out on the sword album, unfortunately. Going to have to wait to hear that one, I think.

On further listen, the Hermano album would make a phenomenal EP, but there's too much aimless filler in between the awesome rock songs.

I hope to get that Hermano disc sometime after reading about it so much here.

Also got the mediocre Tarja Turunen disc in the mail. I must have mentioned it in the 07 thread...her cover of Alice Cooper's "Poison" is a fascinating trainwreck.

i've been downloading relapse stuff that i haven't heard via their promo streams. ghengis tron sounded cool. kingdom of sorrow sounded ho-hum. haven't listened to DEP yet. or disfear. see, this is how long it takes me to hear stuff if people don't send me CDs.

oh and the J2 album wasn't doing anything for me. i was kinda hoping it was gonna be more guitar-based and less beatz-based. but maybe i'm just not in the mood. my cough/cold that i've had for a friggin' month is really bad tonight. gorge will have to recommend me some patented cough syrup rock. we've got the good stuff in the house too! (FYI: single malt scotch is NOT an effective substitute for cold medicines. just so you know. it DOES make a Democratic presidential debate a whole lot more entertaining though!)

oh and the J2 album wasn't doing anything for me. i was kinda hoping it was gonna be more guitar-based and less beatz-based.

Yeah, that really came as a surprise, but I really wound up warming up to it. Especially the Goldfrappish "Let Go" and the Swans-ish "Magicgrl".

Man, Akerfeldt looks like a total B.A. in the new(?) promo pics (stolen from Wacken website):

http://www.wacken.com/typo3temp/pics/a3c1feb5bb.jpg

Velveteen jacket confirms them as a prog band, in case anyone was still in doubt.

Bachelor of Arts?

Haha, perhaps. But I meant Bad Ass.

I don't know, he looks more like a BFA to me.

Bachelor of Fine Arts? Tomayto, tomahto!

New Meshuggah album is kicking all kinds of bottom just now.

You're not kidding, this thing sounds terrific. This mops the floor with Catch 33.

The midget second from left is doing nice!

Agreeing with the positive views on the Meshuggah - definitely very good stuff, though it didn't totally grab me at first listen. Probably need to play it a few more times while not half asleep.

Was I the only one to think lebowski when I saw that opeth pic? Maybe it's just because I love the idea of the dude frontmanning them.

I shall listen to the Meshuggah again just now I think.

Akerfeldt was wearing that same Moody Blues shirt when I interviewed him. And that must be a fairly old photo, because Martin Mendez has cut off all his hair.

Our whole goal at this point is to become a future nugget from that whole Man's Ruin era...

In that case I'll probably find your discs soon enough. All sorts of Man's Ruin stuff turns up in the Amoeba bargain bins and I pick up every one as I find it. (That's how I got into Croatan.)

Is that the same Croatan as this Croatan? Jeez, even by Man's Ruin's generous standards, they were barrel-scrapers. A duo that managed to derive no benefit from the duo fad. I got my copy on spec at Tower's going out of biz fire sale.
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Croatan "Violent Passion Surrogate" -- One of the about two hundred reasons Man's Ruin went out of business, Croatan are one of the true flat-tires of this column, even at a buck and a quarter. A duo, consisting of a drummer and a girl who squawks unintelligibly, sings flat and plays Blue Cheer-esque guitar. However, there's no "Summertime Blues" or anything remotely like what's on "Vincebus Eruptum." Instead, you get loud make-it-up-as-you-go-along art.
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hey, is D@rk Sh1ft a band that metal dudes have heard of?

Dork Shaft?

I'm a Drive Shaft fan!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/Hathery/ShaftCD0204.jpg

Jeez, even by Man's Ruin's generous standards, they were barrel-scrapers.

You gotta remember that I like goth.

http://www.losthatch.com/images%5Cscreen_captures%5CS1E15_Driveshaft_134.jpg

maria played you all everybody on her radio show last week.

who wants an autographed copy of Rust in Peace?

Only if it's autographed by Mike Clink.

he wasn't at the in-store. Keith Richards was tho.

I want autographed copy of Rust in peace.

Also, Ned, his disc did find its way into the bargain bin at amoeba, because I found it there when I was there with you, which is what initiated this whole conversation in the first place. Pay attention!

Speak up, son.

All those noise albums have scrambled your brains, man.

I know I'm incredibly late on this one, but I finally got around to hearing the new(ish) Primordial album, and it's great. Better than The Gathering Wilderness, I think.

i'm later than you! i still haven't heard it. but i will. and i will love it. this i know.

Some people on the ex sl board have been raving about that album for ages

Will hopefully be seeing Primordial live in just over a week! Wolves in the Throne Room a week later, February is gonna be good.

It's a really beautiful album, in that rugged Gaelic way of theirs. Not nearly as dark as the last one. Lots of heart-swelling epics, jig-style 6/8 time signatures, and those always fabulous vocals by Nemtheanga. It's a shame this came out after the Decibel voting, because this really deserved to be in that list.

xpost Lucky! I'm going to see Rotting Christ, Immolation and Belphegor on Valentine's Day. Romantic!

Is there a good site for getting info about metal bands on tour? I am always missing good stuff close to me.

I just use last.fm, which might not be very practical unless you use it anyway. Though I imagine you can still search for gigs on it without an account, you just won't get the personalised info. There's probably a better option out there. :)

Haha at the Valentine's Day thing!

i definitely would have had the primordial on my list if i had received it in time. new stuff from them is always a treat.

www.Pollstar.com has pretty much everything on it, but it can be a bit overwhelming. In the SoCal area, there's www.moshKing.com, which might be a good way for you to tell which bands are on tour since everything comes through Los Angeles, but not so good for you in terms of finding out when it's coming by your area.

Ha, in my city it's not very hard to keep track of metal shows. Next one is Gigantour in May...the metal scene is as dead as the prairie winter tundra!

There is a nice little DIY metal/crust venue in a house right down the road from me, but of course nothing big ever comes there. It's always nice to walk through the park and end up at a show with hundreds of kids (real kids!!!) going nuts, though. This week: Kakistocracy.

Catch 33 is my favorite Meshuggah record. Will I like this new one?

As far as the overall direction of obZen goes, I think it most resembles what they did on the I EP.

now i am psyched about the new meshuggah. thank you ab.

i definitely would have had the primordial on my list if i had received it in time. new stuff from them is always a treat.

They're not my cup of tea, but it's always nice to see an Irish band get recognition on the international scene after years of hard work. They're on Metal Blade now, aren't they? Fair play to 'em.

to me, one weird thing about meshuggah is that the real drums on obZen and the Nothing re-release sound more like fake drum samples than the actually fake drum samples on Catch 33...guess home studios aren't always the best way to go..

i like obZen, it's pretty filthy...i still like catch 33 the most (it was so epic...) but maybe this one will grow on me.

This is way late because it won't play in my car, but Ocean's Precambrian is really great. There's something different and cool happening every minute, but it doesn't sound spazzy or disjointed or anything. And you can dance to lots of the riffs. And the packaging is excellent, though the first CD minidisc is part of the reason it won't play in my car.

wait, CHUCK, did you see this thread?

I Can't Stop Watching Footage Of Turisas Doing Their Pagan Folk Metal Version Of Boney M's Rasputin!

i meant to call your attention to it but i forgot. just in case you had never heard this version.