TheBistroButcher666

Ah ha finally home and holy shit what did I just listen to? I wasn't sure if I should laugh or not, like what's up with all that cat mewing he's doing?? So much nyan nyan I can't unhear it. Post WTD Dir en grey/Kyo always sounds so bad live and unfortunately Kyo isn't any better in Sukekiyo. This recording will probably sound better in a studio, I think the idea is pretty cool but right now it sounds like a hot mess. Kyo only sounds good with studio magic these days (unless it's Lotus or something). Looking forward to the studio version, hopefully it proves to be better than the hot mess they performed. I get that this is a bad recording though and I'm mostly being harsh just to poke at the stans. Also I agree with bonsaijodelfisch and that I don't get the connection to ambient/folk. Maybe the other songs lean more towards that way or the people calling it that have never actually listened to ambient/folk/acoustic music before?

Good job yayoi

Album artwork looks like shit, it looks like it was done by some amateur high school emo kid's art project. I'm interested in hearing their music though, I'm at work and can't right now :c

Shiiiiiiiiiiiit Yukina and Isuke are fine. Whachu fools talkin aboot? Visually I think 90s VK looks the best but it's not a damn dats hot I want to fxxks kinda aesthetic. Out of make up and looking like a normal person that I could talk to, now sign me up for that bandwagon. Yayoi definitely looks his age :V Also Kohey is still a cutey.

I normally prefer studio versions but the song Duren from Svarga I really like the acoustic live version of this song. I generally prefer their folky acoustic music over their normal metal releases, mostly because the vocalist has a pretty weak and thin voice and his death vocals are bad. Acoustic stuff is a lot more melo and suits his singing better (no bad death vocals!!). I was disappointed that they never did an acoustic studio version of Duren but when they released the acoustic live album, I was happy to see it was included. The audience singing along to it is great. Notable mention is a live version of Valhalla from Blind Guardian and Fear of the Dark from Iron Maiden. The audience singing to Fear of the Dark is so epic!!

Sounds like every debt ridden pretentious art school major.

Still as whiny sounding as ever. I'm guessing that's probably the chorus since most previews usually highlight the chorus. So either it's gonna be melo singing in between or cookie monster vocals.

They should keep pretending they're vampires.

Attack on Titan was good until the main character turned into a Titian. So instead of the one stupid fuckup that can control the bestest mech ever to save the day (every mech anime ever) it's now, the stupid fuckup that can turn into a Titan is the only one that can save everyone.

Why you actin like I was talkin about you? ARE YOU IN DENIAL!?!?! You're an animu fan aren't you!?!?!

I guess my original point is that while people may seem negative, those are just the loudest ones and stand out the most. When you think, where are all the reasonable people? Oh yeah, they're just listening to music and not giving a fuck.

I feel like, sure there's a lot of negativity but it's from people overreacting to some of the most mild comments. Even if the comment is pretty unnecessary like making fun of Mia's fake nose or bitching about Dir en grey playing Western metal. The responses from the cray crays are pretty over the top. I think some of it is just due to people being pretty obsessive and unrealistic when it comes to their band worship. Any sort of criticism, even the most mild like, the kerning in the font on this album cover looks bad. Will receive responses with pretty outrageous comments because people take it as a personal attack. I think that's pretty common with VK, I'm not trying to put metal fans on a high horse (because they're pretty fucking stupid too) but it's the only fandom I interact with that I can use as a comparison. Yet a thread on say /r/metal with mild criticism like the above examples if anything would be mostly ignored but if you mildly criticize say MEJIBRAY or Dir en grey, the fans just come at you like you're some KKK dickwad Holocaust denier or Osama Bin Laden. So really I don't think people are so negative, it's just a few loudmouths that will ruin a topic because they can't accept anyone saying anything but praise regarding their favourite artist or band. ***I kinda don't like using metal fandom as an example because comparing the two is like comparing shit to shit.

覇叉羅!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Except this is a CD rip but it's basically just the demo on CD they sold as a live only :V

Ohhh rest up. I might grab the best of, it's been years since I last listened to them and this would be a good chance to get decently caught up.

I guess I'll follow his sad Facebook page.

Don't forget abortions 8D

Oh no no, I'm not talking about pre2000 stuff from the 90s, 80s and so forth. There's plenty of bands that had blended folk into their music but they were still considered whatever respective genre they originated from. I'm mostly referring to after the term Folk Metal was coined and the bands labeled purely as folk feel like it's just the same stuff I've heard already from the big names. Oh another song about being a viking and coming back from battle and now you and your lads are gonna get crunk on some mead and hail odin banjo banjo flute flute. I definitely agree the real gems seem to lie with black metal bands using folk elements in their music because I suppose they're not trying to fit that Folk Metal mold so they can get a deal with a label.

I agree! I feel like Folk Metal overall has become rather stagnated since it's brief inception in the early 2000s. It just seems like Folk Metal has stagnated into a few good bands that basically built the genre and then lesser bands that are just rehashing the stuff Finntroll, Tyr, Moonsorrow and Ensiferum have done already. Because like you said Champs, a lot of Folk Metal bands especially newer ones feel like they're just standard mediocre Death or Black Metal with some flutes poorly layered on top. Then throw in some catchy hooks and now the mouth breathers are clamoring over them as the next best thing since sliced bread. I definitely wished more folk bands did more cool tribal sounding stuff instead of some catchy In Flames sounding song with a flute added into it. Arkona, while they have their pretty bland and standard Folk Metal songs. I think their songs like Zakliatie are some of their best. Arkona has recently updated saying they've been practicing more for their new upcoming album because they plan to not make as many "easy" songs like Stenka na Stenku and Yarilo. So I'm really curious to see what they do, I think Slovo overall was a great album.

I've been really obsessed with Arckanum lately! Technically this project isn't Folk or Pagan Metal but musically I can see them being mistaken/considered a Pagan Metal band because the music is so similar to those Black Metal bands that blend folky tunes with their grim necro spooky Black Metal. Lyrically the music is about Anti-Cosmic Satanism and that whole Chaos-Gnostic thing some Black Metal bands are all about. Which is why the band is not considered Pagan or Folk since the music is pretty much all about that stuff. Yet for English speakers like me the Swedish lyrics go right over my head without some translation help. In any case, clearing that up I'll still post them here since honestly, musically I can compare them to other Pagan themed Black Metal bands. So I don't think it's entirely wrong to share them in a Folk Metal thread (SUCK IT METAL ELITIST) http://youtu.be/xEWeCkkPNAE?t=2m (Start at 2min mark) http://youtu.be/R4hVtvVZqvo?t=59m3s (Start at 59min mark) Come on, listen to all that rad cool tribal chanting and shit going on up in this bitch. This band is way super cool, so if you like Folk Metal but fed up with gimmicky Folk Metal, Arckanum might be worth checking out. Some of the songs become a little bland and samey but it is a Black Metal band so that's expected. Yet Shamaatae writes enough variety it doesn't feel like you're listening to the same song for the last hour. Also I think the female vocalist is his wife. Shamaatae rage quit the internet and I think interactions with the band now is through his wife only. Apparently awhile back the best way to get in contact with the band is list the Arckanum LP boxset for sale and he'll message you asking you to take it down. There was some big fuck up with a record company and only so many were made before the contract was broken and sale of the boxset was stopped. So it's technically not official merch and if you want to chat with the dude, put it up for sale and he'll find you and call you a cunt....well before he rage quit. Also Shamaatae goes by a pen name and has written all these books (or grimoires) on Anti-Cosmic Satanism, it was how I found out about Arckanum. I was interested in buying them until I saw they go for at $200 or more on Ebay (Also I think they're all in Swedish).

Well for some reason westerners think Juka is a good singer for whatever reason.

We already have a topic with them in it. http://www.monochrome-heaven.com/topic/21844-truly-crappy-western-visual-kei-inspired-music/page-7

Wait are you shitting me? Did they really go from poor gawffy to like some sorta AION thrasher hybrid look? I actually dig the music though, it's not great but not terrible either. MOST NEUTRAL RESPONSE EVER!! I tried the other songs and Lune and Crystal Dreams is really the only two I like, it's the most canned 90s VK sounding song of theirs. Also Crystal Dreams has no vocals. The rest are boring ballad sounding stuff I ain't interested in >:V