Rolling Metal 2018

Power Trip and Sheer Mag are touring together - I'm struggling to think of another co-headlining tour with less audience overlap

The new Visigoth video is appropriately silly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raBpZfbSX10

Turns out my quest for icy synthy black metal has led me to Paysage d'Hiver

new Drudkh in March on Season of Mist

Anybody wanna own up to still being a Destroyer 666 fan?

My favorite part is when Lil bb Keith admits he doesn't eat pussy by using "cunt suckers" pejoratively

OG article: https://t.co/3OcnDZZHXE pic.twitter.com/2XMd0C2Asn

— Lucretia Boredgia (@KelseyChapstick) January 12, 2018

people liked that shit? oh yeah they did. lol

surprised you didn't know them/him already Gott Punch -- if you also don't know, check out Darkspace asap

xxp Never heard them, never will, fuck that. On a related note I loooooove how much promotion (Swe) Shining's latest pile is getting straight up ignoring how much of a piece of shit that guy is.

when metal musicians turn out to be fuckheads, 95+% of the time their music is turgid bollocks

nokturnal mortum guy and varg are a rare breed

Deathspell are the ones in my collection that I have to kind of uncomfortably ignore how much of a fuckhead the vocalist is.

I can remember the relief I felt when I finally listened to a couple of Burzum albums for the first and last time before deciding that they were tepid bollocks.

This is unfortunate, I’m not a big fan of the older stuff but he last few Destroyer 666 albums are excellent.

The new Destroyer 666 EP is a load of cobblers though, it should be said. I was profoundly untroubled by deleting it from iTunes this morning.

Unperson: that collaboration sounds amazing - I'm failing to find anything online about it though - is it on UTECH, via that connection? Any info would be welcome.

I don't know if any of you out there still like Primordial, but the new album is splendid and powerful. I can't think of a better band that can reflect the societal chaos of 2018 than these guys.

The new Gnaw Their Tongues (Genocidal Majesty, Consouling Sounds, Feb 9) is intolerable after coffee and provigil. In a good way. Had to turn it off after four songs - giving me a full on nervo.

I don't know if any of you out there still like Primordial, but the new alb...

OMG THERE'S A NEW PRIMORDIAL ALBUM???

hey ultros, i'm curious to know what you find odious about M1ko (i assume he's the DSO dude you're talking about). i'm not going to defend him in any way as i tend to assume most all bm dudes are problematic on some level though there's nothing in DSO lyrics that i take issue with. now if you're talking about Clandestine Blaze then i see that and more so if you're thinking of his noise/pe projects like Grunt and Nicole 12. he certainly puts out dodgy stuff on his 2 labels. haha, i guess i've answered my own question. to his credit, i find him smarter and more considered in his thinking than warrants a wholesale dismissal.

Primordial is one of those bands where every time I put on their record, I'm super glad I did

Japanese art-metal weirdos Dir En Grey have a new 3CD best-of out, with all songs chosen by fans and re-recordings of three tracks; I wrote about it for Burning Ambulance. I saw them open for Deftones in 2008 and have been a fan ever since. Deftones were sluggish and dull; DEG were amazing.

xxp he's a racist and possible peadophile is my problem. I don't have an issue with the stuff that he contributes to Ds, his lyrics and vocal performance for them are fine in themselves but I'm not as good as other people at looking the other way when the performer is a shithead. The way I rationalise it is that MA has very little to do with what I really like about DsO which is the riffs and the drumming. I wouldn't mind one bit if MA was replaced, but, I mean the other members might be even worse but they at least keep their gobs shut whoever they are :/

new track from the next Portal -- album out in a couple of days

https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/track/phathom

clean/non-cavernous production, tried & true Portal guitar sound/riffing -- rhythmically angular, but still manages to drive forward. at the moment, hitting me like Beefheart death metal

Fabio Lione and Alessandro Conti have teamed up for an album coming out next week. Here's the first single/video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW8Cj22KXtM

We never talked about Satan's Holllow did we? On the retro NWOBHM tip.

https://satanshallow.bandcamp.com/

I nominated them for the 2017 poll. Good album!

Jute Gyte/Spectral Lore split streamed a day early:

http://www.invisibleoranges.com/jute-gyte-spectral-lore/

Haven't been able to get that working on Chrome at all today. The streaming window keeps disappearing and turning into an advert. I can wait a day maybe

Ok my verdict after 1 listen is that JG's side is very strong and could have easily slotted in the 1st half of Oviri, SL's track takes a while to really get going but when it does, fucking wow.

So the new Anvil record is solid. They should just call it An Anvil Record.

The new Tribulation is brilliant. I think I like it better than the last one which is no mean feat.

Def digging the new Arkona (this one arkonamoscow.bandcamp.com; I guess there are three?) Lot's of texture and contrast, some melodies that flirt with hookiness. I've played all the shortish songs and am intrigued enough to see what the longer ones have to offer.

Victory is reissuing Jungle Rot's What Horrors Await; originally released in 2009, but only barely.

That Anvil album is an embarrassment! I never thought I'd hear a song about a guy complaining about his car's GPS system, but here we are.

https://open.spotify.com/track/3hNC0RtfJNKPXzK03vMeXa?si=gGRhQUXgSYu8qtwI_iUPzg

new Slugdge track rules, new album out in March

https://slugdge.bandcamp.com/track/putrid-fairytale

Ok my verdict after 1 listen is that JG's side is very strong and could have easily slotted in the 1st half of Oviri, SL's track takes a while to really get going but when it does, fucking wow.

Listened to this last night. I was impressed by the Spectral Lore side. Some really nice playing there. Jute Gyte is doing what he does: I sometimes suspect he could be more rigorous about his microtonality and his work might benefit from it but there's still something compelling that keeps me listening.

Complaining about Anvil lyrics being terrible is like saying the solos on a Ramones record were terrible. Anvil has always had cheesy lyrics.

In other news, anyone else check out the new album from Clamfight? Silly name notwithstanding, the band's third album is quite good. If the idea of a sludge jam band is appealing, check it out.

http://clamfight.bandcamp.com/album/iii

Power Trip and Sheer Mag are touring together - I'm struggling to think of another co-headlining tour with less audience overlap

internet sensations, why not

my goal this year is to listen to all of Beloved Antichrist come hell or high water

I will probably be thrown out of the house for this at some point so if somebody has an open couch let a man know

internet sensations, why not

I can't tell if this is meant to be dismissive of both bands, but I've seen them live separately and they're both great

Disfear's Live the Storm came out 10 years ago today. I wrote about it for Stereogum.

Today's disappointment: Ignitor's Haunted By Rock & Roll. That's a great album title (if better suited to the Jesus & Mary Chain than a metal band), and the band features two ex-members of Agony Column and Jason McMaster on vocals, so I had medium-high hopes going in, but they're just not that great.

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

In some circles the Los Angeles band Starcrawler are called metal. They're certainly loud. And I think kinda good. Any other metal friends check 'em out yet?

http://shopusa.roughtraderecords.com/media/catalog/product/cache/5/image/350x/85e4522595efc69f496374d01ef2bf13/r/t/rtradlp890_starcrawler.jpg

man that Slayer tour is gonna be nuts. Anthrax, Testament added to last year's Behemoth+Lamb of God package.

somehow the VIP packages for the Orlando show sold out like.....before I"d even seen they were on sale. blah.

New Portal is blowing me away. Favorite thing they’ve done since Swarth (including those excellent Impetuous Ritual albums. Its as Branca like and brain melt-y as ever but also sounds like they might be having some fun shredding. ‘Phreqs’ is the highlight right now. When those drums drop out they are on another level. I love it.

Very impressive, cathartic black metal/funeral doom - good if you're in a foul mood

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/loss

Looking forard to hearing Portal though neither preview track really grabbed me, I'm hoping for a cumulative effect on the album.

Brief thoughts on the new Tribulation: songs so good, singing so bad.

I've only heard three of the Tribulation songs, but yeah, I absolutely love the guitar playing, but wish the singer could do more than one thing.

hard disagree, dynamic instrumentals + one-note vocalist is a winning combo

Starcrawler's similar artists list (Estrons, Black Honey, INHEAVEN etc) is even farther from metal orthodoxy, but I'm digging it. glenn, you got your ears on?

Starcrawler didn't immediately do much for me, but I do like INHEAVEN.

A lot of stuff I never heard of, and he also rattles off a long list of honorable mentions.

20 NWOTHM Albums of 2018

#20: Sign of the Jackal - Breaking the Spell
#19: Wytch Hazel - II: Sojourn
#18: Eliminator - Last Horizon
#17.1: Shadowkiller - Guardians of the Temple
#17.2: Ancient Empire - Eternal Soldier
#16: Evil-Lÿn - Disciple of Steel
#15: Lucifer's Hammer - Time Is Death
#14: Steelballs - Thunder Strikes Again
#13: Seven Sisters - The Cauldron and the Cross
#12: Espionage - Digital Dystopia
#11: Gatekeeper - East of Sun
#10. Manacle - No Fear to Persevere
#9. Lizzies - On Thin Ice
#8. Blackslash - Lightning Strikes Again
#7. Toledo Steel - No Quarter
#6. Striker - Play to Win
#5. Snakebite - Rise of the Snake
#4. Silver Talon - Becoming A Demon
#3. Haunt - Burst Into Flame
#2. Hitten - Twist of Fate
#1. Visigoth - Conqueror’s Oath

Friday's Viking's Choice podcast was pretty good:
https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2018/12/28/674533914/vikings-choice-the-year-in-the-loud-and-the-weird

Chapel of Disease, ... And As We Have Seen the Storm, We Have Embraced The Eye
Four words: Death-metal Dire Straits. No, wait, come back! Metal has long reckoned with its rock and roll roots, from Entombed's Wolverine Blues to Tribulation's flamboyantly gothic King Diamond worship. Germany's Chapel of Disease may have started as a Morbid Angel homage, but on its third album it embraces '70s hard-rock swagger, proggy sorcery and, most surprisingly, the fluid melodicism of Mark Knopfler's guitar work, all atop death-metal growls and chugged riffs. There's no reason why this should work, and it's a testament to Chapel of Disease's heavily worn record collection, as the group now raises fists and beer to the storm.
https://chapelofdisease.bandcamp.com/album/and-as-we-have-seen-the-storm-we-have-embraced-the-eye

There's a lot of Tribulation in the first track on that album (the only one I've listened to so far). Might be worth giving them $7.

Broooootal slamz of the day: Habitual Depravity's Realms of Abysmal Servitude:

https://realityfaderecords.bandcamp.com/album/realms-of-abysmal-servitude

some nice discoveries from the AMG lists that have yet to be mentioned in this thread: lovingly gloomy doom-black hybrid Eneferens (The Bleakness of Our Constant); Woods of Ypres-influenced bleak alt-metal from Altars of Grief (Iris)l; very melodic, very extended (like, 6 songs in 70 minutes) doom, somewhat akin to what I recall of early Opeth, from the appropriately named The Eternal (Waiting for the Endless Dawn).

Where do you see those? They are not on this list: https://www.allmusic.com/year-in-review/2018/favorite-metal

AMG = Angry Metal Guy, I think?
https://www.angrymetalguy.com/

Ah I see

If there's no metal poll this year, do we all post our top 10/25/50 lists here?

I guess so. That would really suck, though.

been started!

We are doing metal poll this year!

ILX Metal n' Heavy Rock Poll 2018: NOMINATIONS thread - open till Jan. 19th, 2019!

Go ahead and nominate your favorite albums and talk about them at great lengths, if you so choise

Haha xp

Apparently nominations should be bolded. My mistake; I'm the new guy!

Yob - Our Raw Heart
Sleep - The Sciences
Ghost - Prequelle
Thy Catafalque - Geometria
Mournful Congregation - The Incubus of Karma
Pillorian - Obsidian Arc
Khorada - Salt
Evoken - Hypnagogia

Aw fuck

Four words: Death-metal Dire Straits. No, wait, come back!

― Fastnbulbous

why did i listen to this

in other news from now on whenever i see the acronym "amg" i will substitute in "angry metal guy" in my brain

Yay for the metal poll! I was getting worried.

Pretty interesting story pertinent to our photojournalist friends:

How I Got Banned from Photographing the Band Arch Enemy

this story - or, more specifically, the online reaction to it - is kinda crazy to me. is this photographer a particularly well-connected or widely read guy? i realize he has his own niche site and re-ran the story on a photography site, but i guess i'm surprised he has rallied this band's fans against it - quite vocally, it seems - over his own copyright claim ... which i would think is something very few people actually care about, especially enough to turn against a band they love!

what am i missing here?

i guess what i'm saying is, yes, he is right, and he did a good job of detailing his side of the story, and still i am amazed that the Arch Enemy FB is full of comments like "how dare you re-post an artist's work without credit, you are scum and i'm done supporting this band!" and not "whatevs, it's just a pic on the internet, the photog should be happy for the exposure, Arch Enemy rules"

Because of the missing counter narrative from the band?

Ah I see Angela Gossow did respond - in the dumbest way possible, in a whiny dramatic tone accusing the photographer’s factual statements as ‘highly emotionalizing’ the issue.

Rolling Metal 2019