Rolling Metal 2016

There's an Opeth albums ranking on Stereogum today that...well, it kinda sucks. The three prog albums are all stacked at the bottom, and the rest of the list reads like the writer (Jonathan Dick, ex-Steel for Brains) is ranking them in order of "Metal-ness." I mean, he puts Orchid at #2, and that album basically defines juvenilia.

It also has better riffs than any of the later Opeth albums.

and that album basically defines juvenilia.

giving the kids what they want?

Out of nowhere, a new Zemial EP -- sample sounds wonderfully nutso; for now digital and vinyl only, which have to be acquired through his fb (or email), but thank god he has plans for a CD version too.

https://youtu.be/XsqVyD4pjIo

oh, right, that's the same guy who's in Agatus, who also have a new one out this year

so much Greekness

uhhhh that previously mentioned Agatus, which I'd not checked out til now, is shaping up to be something massive, and I'm only on the 3rd song

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLllnVeLhvMLIbNqGuDjnBoJpqkd-yDr2f

it's like Di'Anno era Maiden via Hellenic black metal

Checking out the new Vader album now. Sounds like a Vader album. So, onto the year-end list it goes.

omg, this metal riff generator
https://djen.co/

3 tracks into the new Meshuggah and my jaw's dropping.

Checking out the new Vader album now. Sounds like a Vader album. So, onto the year-end list it goes.

hell yeah!

cw: power metal

the new epica is ridiculous

Yeah, I liked that one - gotta give it another listen.

i like this oathbreaker tho i think they lean p hard on the quiet/loud/quiet folky section to all out screaming thing too much

In the realm of stuff where I don't know what genre it is and someone will probably get mad at me if I guess and I'm old so shut up

LLNN - Loss. Kinda hardcore, kinda sludge, maybe a few too many dumb, juddering pit-friendly riffs but there's some great, bleak-sounding sci-fi keyboards and slightly dissonant guitar melodies to balance it out. Never heard anything quite like it but I want more.

"that album defines juvenilia"

All the best metal is juvenilia. Think about it, great metal happens when uncool, not-so-talented kids with 0 self-consciousness accidentally touch greatness through intuition or instinct: Facta Loquntuur, early Burzum, INRI, Morbid Visions, old Immortal, ad infinitum

Which is part of why metal is so dire now. Overqualified musicians who play by the rules even when they're breaking the rules, and metal dudes now are too savvy and ironic by default since our era is so media-saturated...

literally none of that is true - the best metal is made by people who play well and know what they want to accomplish, on down the road w/the "great art is accidental" romantic nonsense plz

lemme guess, Death "went downhill after Leprosy"? xpost

All the best metal is juvenilia. Think about it, great metal happens when uncool, not-so-talented kids with 0 self-consciousness accidentally touch greatness through intuition or instinct: Facta Loquntuur, early Burzum, INRI, Morbid Visions, old Immortal, ad infinitum

There is a lot of wrongheaded bullshit posted on the metal threads, but this is an all-time winner.

Finally getting around to a promo sent me of Shamanic Lvnar Cvlt by SVLFVR - now, it could be that we had the tail of a hurricane sweep us this weekend, resulting in a lot of water in our house and the sump pump unable to get it outside because there aren't any gutters on right now so the water kept flowing in and out, straining the motor which mercifully didn't break but we had to kill the electricity to a bunch of stuff etc., and the kids were pretty lit up all weekend and also the internet died and still hasn't come back (I'm at the office now), so I didn't get my usual metal dose for like three days

as I say it could be all that but fuckin A this record is really working for me this morning. Couple vocal styles, one of which is a direct lift from the secondary style used on Pandemonium-era Celtic Frost (the one they lifted wholesale from Christian Death), slow-to-midtempo doomy riffs over some seriously caveman drums, obligatory barking-death style in there too plus some haunted-opera-house mugging...some fast intervals to keep it lively...just a giant minor key drown-in-a-bathtub party

rules

Looking forward to hearing Witch Mountain's new singer tonight, and of course The Skull and Saint Vitus. I also want Nate's book Starr Creek:

"Unlike Stranger Things, Starr Creek was written by someone who knows the milieu from experience, not from watching E.T., and describes it accurately (as I can attest from my own experience). It was a time when kids were just expected to go off on adventures, and if those adventures involved the quest for porno magazines, playing with machetes, heroic doses of LSD, and encounters with goat-kissing Lovecraftian rednecks, at least the kids were out of their parents' hair."

Kayla is great. They were fantastic in ATL.

The Skull won the night tho lol

When I saw Saint Vitus last week, I got to see a rare and awesome thing.
And I got to record it.

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

Sorry for the drum-heavy, trebly cymbal sound, the disadvantage of being right up front was getting the drums and monitor mix.

But man, how cool was that...

When I saw Vitus open for Down, Anselmo came out and sang "War Is Our Destiny" with Wino.

Your video is cooler.

Meshuggah tonight...if you are a fan and within 100 miles of a venue, go.

Best show of the year and not even close.

But man, how cool was that...

Pretty fucking cool!

Also how about a raw blasting death metal demo u guys? I think these guys have some potential (dig that atmospheric little break in "Our Punishment" before they resume hammering).

http://infernalcoil.bandcamp.com/

interesting read, don't agree with all of it but does make the (imo correct case) that Judas Priest are really the fathers of modern metal in a way sabbath/purple/zep et all aren't

http://thequietus.com/articles/21109-judas-priest-sad-wings-of-destiny-review-heavy-metal

however honest to god could metal writers EVER FUCKING STOP WITH THIS BULLSHIT?

For almost its entire history, heavy metal has been forced to endure derision, incomprehension and mirth from all quarters, viewed as the stuff of shrieking and vulgar overstatement, or as some kind of retrogressive and primitive throwback, Kubrick-style, to the days of prehistoric man.

Yet the fact that new generations of fans still embrace music that spent most of the 1990s derived as a laughing stock tells another story, more that classic heavy metal has an appeal, rooted in its primal charge and fearsome intensity that transcends fashion and artifice will not fall prey to rust and ruin over the passing of years.

**jack off hand motion**

I dunno if I can read that (I'm allergic to music writing) but Priest do deserve a little more credit than they seem to get anymore.

This SVLFVR record JCLC recommended upthread is pretty damn good, btw. Moves in a lot of different directions but is a blast throughout.

xpost - ugh, yeah, the butthurt and smug "nobody GETS metal, maaaaaaaan" shit raises my hackles

the first song on this album is pretty generic to me - black metal, sure, why not, go team Trondheim

but then the second one kinda fucking slays and is interesting and has a bunch of different looks without feeling gimmicky, and is SUPER atmospheric for being mid/uptempo! as is often the case with me these days, I have no idea how this ended up on my hard drive.

https://recitations.bandcamp.com/album/the-first-of-the-listeners

A children's choir performs Manowar's "Heart of Steel" at a school assembly in Belgrade:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpJm6uMrc7M

I can't remember if Sweden's Panphage has come up in this (or the last) thread but it's an excellent if not really innovative 2nd wave kind of frosty black metal one man deal with a bit of a pagan feel - sorta like Kampfar. (I've seen ppl compare Panphage to Arckanum but somehow I've never gotten around to hearing Arckanum.) There was a demo collection released last year and a full length the year before that, both of which were very strong. Well there's a sophomore album dropping on Nov 28 (incredibly, the same day as the new Antaeus) and the advance track is fantastic.
http://panphage.bandcamp.com/

And since I brought it up, here's an excellent interview with the Antaeus dude, as well as a preview track:
http://www.bardomethodology.com/articles/2016/10/08/antaeus-interview/

The end of this year is just an avalanche of awesome: DSO, Dead Congregation, Zemial, Agatus, Myrkgrav...

xpost - ugh, yeah, the butthurt and smug "nobody GETS metal, maaaaaaaan" shit raises my hackles

― Neanderthal, Wednesday, October 12, 2016 7:29 AM (six hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

even more so because the instant it's not "metal doesn't get enough respect!!!" it switches instantly to "this is bullshit poseurs and hipsters are invading metal wah wah wah"

Cool footage of the Wino cameo! Next thing we know there will be an album of Scott 'n' Wino duets! It was a great show, Kayla was kickass in Witch Mountain, The Skull were much better than when I saw them a couple years back, and it was the first time I got to see Saint Vitus with Reagers.

interesting read, don't agree with all of it but does make the (imo correct case) that Judas Priest are really the fathers of modern metal in a way sabbath/purple/zep et all aren't

http://thequietus.com/articles/21109-judas-priest-sad-wings-of-destiny-review-heavy-metal

however honest to god could metal writers EVER FUCKING STOP WITH THIS BULLSHIT?

For almost its entire history, heavy metal has been forced to endure derision, incomprehension and mirth from all quarters, viewed as the stuff of shrieking and vulgar overstatement, or as some kind of retrogressive and primitive throwback, Kubrick-style, to the days of prehistoric man.

Yet the fact that new generations of fans still embrace music that spent most of the 1990s derived as a laughing stock tells another story, more that classic heavy metal has an appeal, rooted in its primal charge and fearsome intensity that transcends fashion and artifice will not fall prey to rust and ruin over the passing of years.

**jack off hand motion**

To be fair, metal was largely dismissed for a long time. Even writers who were supposedly fans were often patronizing about it. And coverage was really sparse until 1980. Judas Priest claimed to have adopted the "denim 'n' leather" fashions in 1976, but I've seen no evidence of such in photos or videos before late 1978. It's unclear when Priest started specifically self-identifying as a heavy metal band. It may not have been until '78. I did a lot of research trying to find any evidence and came up with nothing: http://fastnbulbous.com/the-birth-of-metal/. I believe an important and usually ignored element of the birth of metal was the fans. It's hard to nail down exactly when a sizable group self-identified as heavy metal fans, adorning jackets and vests with patches, because it simply was rarely mentioned or documented in the media.

That would be a cool project for someone who was closer to the scene and has access to people who were going to see early Priest, Motorhead and Iron Maiden gigs and going to Neal Kay's Soundhouse nights at The Bandwagon starting in 1975. I'm sure some of them have some great photos, and would make for a good oral history book.

even more so because the instant it's not "metal doesn't get enough respect!!!" it switches instantly to "this is bullshit poseurs and hipsters are invading metal wah wah wah"

― blonde redheads have more fun (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, October 12, 2016 2:49 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I remember a Pantera fan giving me an account of seeing a guy with a 311 shirt at their show and seeing him get pummeled int the pit and saying HE DESERVED IT FOR LIKING SHIT MUSIC ROIGHT?

xpost I think though while that was true of metal at one time, it isn't anymore. like, it's still underground, but the public doesn't treat anybody like a pariah for dressing without sleeves, having tatts, and sporting an Overkill shirt. it isn't as gauche anymore. Slayer sold out the 5,500 capacity Hard Rock Live here recently...

As I said on Twitter when some dipshit or another was talking about how metal had "always" been underground music:

Yeah, like when Pantera had the #1 album in America?

Or like when Metallica's black album was #1 for four weeks straight, platinum after the first two weeks?

Or when Iron Maiden sells out every arena and stadium they play, for two years at a time?

Yeah, metal's real fucking "underground."

in the late 70s and throughout the 80s , in the USA, at least, it was most certainly huge and mainstream so whoever they guys are that say metal was always underground is talking out their arse.

It certainly never was mainstream in the UK but it was not underground, just ignored by the mainstream (Iron Maiden got a #1 single but got ignored by radio) , which is a huge difference.

that said, there are a lot of kids now who think Slayer or metallica were the first true metal band and anything before thrash was 'hard rock'. Twats

Because deep inside you know you want it.

New Emmure song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwnjgiBTu0I

Found a CD in my collection I have no memory of buying by Unconsecrated from Spain. Really excellent death metal, albeit with little in the way of originality, just gnashing riffs and ribcage-cracking vocals. Drum machine, too, but programmed excellently and not distracting.

the LLNN album plugged earlier itt is amazing, what a sound they have

loving the new 40 Watt Sun too, not many bands could pull off a 17-minute opener nearly as gracefully

>that said, there are a lot of kids now who think Slayer or metallica were the first true metal band and anything before thrash was 'hard rock'. Twats

Metal obviously came about some time in the late 60s but the thrash stuff was when metal started defining itself as something separate from rock--blues as basis for melody goes out the window, much less emphasis on syncopation, etc etc. Talking about something being "more metal" than something else is silly but it can have a meaningful basis in the music & the culture surrounding it.

I mean even back in the 80s, a lot of thrash kids far as removed from Blue Cheer/Black Sabbath/early Priest as hip-hop heads. Nothing wrong with language evolving to reflect stuff like that

Anciients, Voice Of The Void is basically early-2000s Opeth meets early-2000s Mastodon. The death vocals > the clean vocals. It's good enough; sounds nice in early autumn. I doubt it'll stick with me into 2017, though.

that's p much exactly how I felt about their first album

A track from the forthcoming Hail Spirit Noir:

https://youtu.be/nQ1oop-wvjs

Today I did this important work: https://open.spotify.com/user/glennpmcdonald/playlist/3xSoYVOXxgFGUcNksc1owE

Bestial Evil are really good death/thrash, but they're fucking crazy if they think I'm paying $10 for six minutes of music.

https://bestialevil.bandcamp.com/

Looking forward to the new Hail Spirit Noir, they're always good fun.