Bear

I haven't really enjoyed a singe Canniba Corpse album since Chris Barnes-era. I actually own both Worm Infested, The Wretched Spawn and Kill, but never listens to any of them. It's not my cup of death meta at all, it's just not the style I like. But the worst thing about The Wretched Spawn and Kill are Paul Mazurkiewicz and his drumming. While the band has evolved over the 24 years since their debut and gone in a less thrashy and more technical direction, Paul are just doing exactly the same he did 20 years ago. Everything moved on except for him. Heh, it was really annoying. Going to a concert with the black hardcore sludgers in Okkulokrati, black hardcorers in Haust and a band called Haraball. Best thing? It's free. Aye, that's right. It's fucking free! That's awesome!

The visual kei power metal scene went to shit in the early/mid 90's, and since the release of X-Japan's Art of Life I can't think of a single good release as far as visual kei power metal goes. I obviousy haven't heard them all, but you've got bands such as Jupiter, Kamijo, Versailles, Hizaki Grace Project, Megaromania, Ruzia, Aldious and Candy Drugers and they're all so fucking bad. It's a shame no one's going for the sound X Japan went for with Vanishing Vision and, to some degree at least, Blue Blood. That mix of semi-raw speed metal and power metal.

What? I couldn't hear any Blind Guardian in their sound whatsoever. And this band is still not for me, though they're not as bad as most of the other visual power metal bands out there. It just isn't my cup of power metal.

I know there's a similar thread for everything on the forum, but I thought physical copies and merch deserved its own thread. Pictures of you stuff is always a positive. Went to this record thing today where lots of people have stands and sell their shit, and I ended up with the following: Vinyl: Don Peake ‎– The Hills Have Eyes (soundtrack) Roberto Donati ‎– Mangiati Vivi! / Eaten Alive! (soundtrack) Steve Moore ‎– Horror Business (soundtrack) Tape: Don Peake ‎– The Hills Have Eyes (soundtrack) Soundtracks is the shit. Will try to add some photos when I have my shitty-ass phone around.

No. Just no.

Mmmmmmmh, that's an awesome video.

Bathory - Odens Ride over Nordland (from Blood Fire Death) This is hands down probably the best intro there is. Not only because the beautifully cinematic and haunting intro itself is fantastic, but also because it sets the atmosphere for the album, and the way the intro segue into the ethereal acoustic intro to of A Fine Day to Die is noting short of perfection. It's the kind of intro that sends shivers down you spine. Three of the finest minutes ever composed by a human being. Added the video with the intro and the first proper track of the album because it's beyond perfect. Enjoy.

Nega, is that you?

A new recommendation and this time the trip goes to Japan and an album that I really think deserves to be up there with the likes of Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master of Reality, Rainbow Rising, Sad Wings of Destiny, Physical Graffiti , Deep Purple in Rock, Fireball, Demons and Wizards, Jailbreak and so fucking on from that time. This album is actually that good. Flower Travellin' Band - Satori Flower Travellin' Band played a mix of psychedelic rock and proto-doom metal, and 44 years later this is still THE album to check out if you want to hear classic, Japanese rock. The album is trippy, doomy, gloomy and sinister with Joe Yamanaka distinctive vocals on top and it is to this day still unique. There's nothing out there that sounds anything like this, and it is a must-have for any fans of psychedelic rock, heavy metal, doom metal and rock, as it is the best rock album to ever come out from Japan (after Kagrras best albums of course). There's not really much more to say about this, you just gotta check it out for yourself. Couldn't find pt.1 or the whole pt. 2., but that'll give you an impression of what this album sounds like. Coolfact: The whole album was used as a soundtrack to Takashi Miike's Deadly Outlaw: Rekka. That pretty fucking cool.

A few more enders that I rate extremely high, and they're all by the same band as well. Heh. Immortal - A Perfect Vision of the Rising Northland (from Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism) This abum was Immortal's debut album and a very Bathoryesque album, and they nailed what Bathory did on Under the Sign of the Black Mark perfectly without ripping off the album. They mixes the raw and ugly with the epic, without going all retard with synth, folk elements and whatnot. A Perfect Vision of the Rising Northland is a 9 minute, mid-paced epic with some acoustic guitar and synth, but without going over the top with any of it. This is 9 minutes of cold, occult, epic and unholy black metal and is a perfect ender to a perfect album, and a song that would've made Quorthon proud. Immortal - Beyond the North Waves (from Sons of Northern Darkness) Ten years after Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism Immortal were back with their most Bathory-inspired album since that mentioned album, and once again they decided to end it with a song that would've made Quorthon proud. Fantasticly epic and majestic, and the ending of the song, man. The solo. Nothing complicated or amazing in itself, but it's very fitting and just adds a whole other dimension to the song. It's the way to do a solo.

That sounds decent enough, but it ain't all that too be honest. It just sounds a bit too controlled IMO. It lacks madness and mayhem. Also, that new Darkspace album is gorgeous. I've given it 10-12 spins and it is absolutely magnificent. Fantastic album!

Bathory - A Fine Day to Die (from Blood Fire Death) This album starts off with a perfect intro that's probably the best and most epic intros of all time, before A FIne Day to Die. The song starts off with beautiful, haunting acoustic guitar over some ambience and whispery singing, before all hell breaks loose a minute and a half later. And from there on it's complete mayhem, in a majestic and powerful way. Could just as well have included the intro instead, being beyond amazing and all that. This song is even better than the more or less perfect title track btw, which I mentioned in the album enders-thead.

Bathory - Blood Fire Death (from Blood Fire Death) This album start off with what's perhaps the most epic and best intro ever, and ends with one of the best and most epic tracks ever. THere's not really much more to say. It's epic, epic and way more epic. Black metal AND viking metal at its very best. Simple as that really.

Wow, those cover arts were bad. Looks awfully cheap.

The Tomb of Ligeia - The 8th and last film in the Corman/Poe cycle, and it is a great way to end the series. Not the best in my eyes, but a very good finnish anyway. It's a very different film from the others, though. It feels less gothic and dramatic, and unlike the other films a huge part of this film is made outside. So it gets a very different atmosphere than the others. It feels both colder and darker, and Vincent Price is outstanding as usual. Some odd angles and shots by Corman as usual, but that just adds to the film. My raiting on all the films: 1. The Pit and the Pendulum (9,5/10) 2. The Masque of the Red Death (9,5/10) 3. The Haunted Palace (9,5/10) 4. House of Usher (9/10) 5. The Tomb of Ligeia (8,5/10) 6. The Premature Burial (8,5/10) 7. Tales of Terror (8/10) 8. The Raven (5/10)

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) - This is probably the best known adaption of the book, and the first Sherlock Holmes film to be set in the victorian period. This ain't as good as the Hammer Horror one, but it's still the second best Sherlock Holmes adaption ever. It stars Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson, as well as Richard Greene, Wendy Barrie and John Carradine (father of David Carradine (Kill Bill, Kung Fu) og Keith Carradine (Fargo, Deadwood), for those of you unware of that) whom are all fantastic as well. This is a very family friendly film, but it's stilla very atmospheric film with a great mystery, but it is Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce who steals the show here, and they are the strongest point of this masterpiece. This is the first out of 14 Sherlock Holmes films with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, and I am very much looking forward to watching them all soon. Only seen a couple of the mmeself. The Masque of the Red Death - The 7th and second to last of the Corman/Poe cycle, and one of the best in the series. I saw it some years ago and thought it was amazing, and I still do, but it isn't any better than The Pit and the Pendulum and The Haunted Palace. They're more or less of the same quality, but what weakens this film a bit and drags it dow from a 10 to a 9 is the costumes, which does look a bit tacky and cheap here and there. But the rest is top notch and both Vincent Price (as usual) and Hazel Court shines in the film. Truely! Oh, and the Red Death were fantastic. It's a very Bermanesque film which at times feel very much like The Seventh Seal, which is why Corman decided to make it later. Was supossed to be his second Poe-adaption actually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jDUYzwPYDY The 27:34 minute long opening track to Darkspace's new album is on youtube, and the album leaked today as well. Just finished the second song on the album and I am really impressed. There's been a small change in sound as it's less harsh than the previous three and they've added some electronic elements to their music, but it still sounds like Darkspace and it's 100% cosmic darkness. Dark, distant and cold, that's what this is. If you haven't heard Darkspace before you've got something to look forward to. There's not a single band out there like this. There's not even a single band out there that sounds anything like this. The closest I've heard are Paysage d'Hiver, and they're two very different bands both in form of the music they make and the atmosphere they create. Darkspace consists of three members, among them Wroth (Wintherr) of Paysage d'Hiver and Zhaaral of Sun of the Blind. So yeah, quality as fuck. Massive stuff! After one listen I feel pretty sure that this is a contender to album of the year 2014.

I feel kinda alone in this thread now. That's a lot of posts in a row. Anyway, while waiting for the 6th Corman/Poe to get done I suddenly felt an urge to watch some western, mainly because of the rewatch of Django Unchained. Started with that one, then Once Upon a Time in the West, and now some more: Django - It doesn't take long before one of the very best theme songs ever kicks off, and already then you'll understand that this is something special. This isn't just special, but together with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly it's the best western ever made. The plot is simple enough, but it's great as fuck, Django is as cool as the man with no name, Franco Nero is as cool and good as Cint Eastwood and it's one of the most violent westerns made at this time, which is a huge plus for me. Atmospheric, grim and very fucking badass. Perfection! If you're familiar with Django, DJango Unchained or theme songs in general you probably know this, but I will post it anyway: That is so fucking fantastic! It just sets the mood straight off. Massacre Time - A sadly overlook gem from the mid 60's with Franco Nero and George Hilton, directed by none other than one of the two godfathers of gore; Lucio Fulci. This is even more violent and brutal than Django, as expected from Fulci, but not quite as good. But it is a fantastic film, and the theme song are beyond fantastic. Not as good as Django, but amazing still. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwLP-pzDhuY That is so fucking fantastic! It just sets the mood straight off. PS: don't be fooled by the film's german titles, Django - Der Hauch des Todes and Django - Sein Gesangbuch war der Colt, this is not a Django film. Just released under that name in germany to cash in on Django's massive success. The Proposition - I am not sure at all how this gem of a modern western has gone under my radar. Fantastic western with Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston and John Hurt among others. It's an atmospheric piece of western with some violence that is are beyond brutal. So graphic, bloody and awesome. The soundtrack, by Nick Cave, who also wrote the screenplay, are beutiful as well, and is one of the reasons this is so damn good. The atmosphere is the strongest poitn of this film, and the main reason why it is up there with Django Unchained, The Good, the Bad, the Weird and the other few modern westerns. Cut-Throats Nine - I used to love this as a kid, but I didn't dig it as much now. A bit too slow, and without any good characters or atmoshere to make up for it. The violence are graphic as fuck, and brutal, and that's the strong point here. Very bleak, but it just lacks that atmosphere to make it a good film. Shame that. The Haunted Palace - This is the 6th film in the Corman/Poe cycle, and it is a fantastic film. But do not be fooled by its title and status as a Poe adaption, because it is not such a thing. This is a H.P. Lovecraft adaption loosey based on The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, only using the title from Poe's 1839 poem The Haunted Palace, as well as a couple of qotes. Other than that it's a Lovecraft adation, and a fantastic one with Vincent Price (in a very serious role, unlike his roles in the other Corman/Poe films), Lon Chaney Jr. and Debra Paget, all whom are fantastic. It's an atmospheric piece of cinema with beautiful sets and great direction with many memorable scenes. He did well in capturing that Lovecraftian feeling for this. It was enver meant as a Poe film, but American International Pictures wanted to cash in on the Poe success and changed the film's name, against Corman's wishes, to keep it in line with the popular Poe series. And unlike the other, true COrman/Poe films, Edgar Allan Poe's name is actually misspelled in the credits in this one. But forget about that and take it for what it is, a Lovecraftian horror masteriece!

Cool, man. I hope they're both enjoyable to you. I'll keep recommending a new album once or twice a week for now, because I've got a lot of gems that deserves way more recognition than what they've got. And it helps me rediscover some albums that I really love, but haven't heard in a while, and that's always fun.

Thought I'd do some genre jumping with my recommendations to get some varity and keep it interesting, so here's something different than the two last. Pharaoh - The Longest Night Old school power metal in a modern package. That's the best way to describe this fantastic album. It's a semi-progressive and epic power metal album with lots of power, punch and twist and turns. You can spot some Iron Maiden, some Control Denied, some Manilla Road, some Jag Panzer and some Crimson Glory among others, but the band never rips anyone off. It's a unique album where you easily can spot the influences, but you'll never believe that you're listening to anything but Pharaoh. Fantastic songs with a fantastic, a bit rough vocal performance and a great production. This is newer power metal at its finest. None of this super happy Dragonforce/Power Quest/Freedom Call/whatever bullshit metal. This is power metal how it was done a long time ago. Powerful! "We were the brave, we were alive Until we endured the longest night Now we're enslaved, we've lost our minds We fell victim to the longest night And now we're no more" My! Fucking! God!

At the Gates are back with a new album after almost 20 years, and the first proper teaser's here. I'd hoped they'd go back to either of the styles they had before Slaughter of the Soul, but as expected they just seem to continue what they did on SotS. This sounds like a weakend, modernized and watered down SotS. Can't say I'm very excited about this. Shame, because the world really need some good melodic death metal again. We haven't seen much of that lately.

Dans la maison - A devilish good damathriller from France with a handful of dark humour and plenty of twists and turns. It's a clever, exciting and good film with lots of Hitchcockian touches. Great film. Fast & Furious 6 - This wasn't as good as F&F5, but still way better than the first, four shitefilms. The thing that really weakens this film is the whole Letty-thing. It feels very simple, lazy and cheap, and Michelle Rodriguez is an awful actor (with the exception of Machete where she worked really well). But other than that this is a good action film and Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans and John Ortiz are all good in their roles, even though it's not world class acting, but then again that's not why you watch a film like this so it doesn't matter. These movies really took fifty steps in the right direction when they choose to grow upand drop the whole teen-drama with tacky cars. Now they use proper cool cars instead and it's action as fuck. Great move! A bit sceptic toward the 7th installment to the series, though. The teaser at the end of F&F6 wasn't very promising, and it looked as if they've gone back to the shit from the earlier films. But I love James Wan who I consider one of the best directorsover the last 10 years, and with Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell and Tony Jaa on your team you should be able to make something entertaining. Should be hard not to. The Princess and the Frog - This lived up to my high expectations. Good characters, a good story and a nice visual style that reminded me of the 90's. The whole voodoo-thing worked out perfectly, and Dr. Facilier aka The Shadow Man were beyond cool. Some of the songs were a bit disappointing, but all things considered I thought this was great, and Disney's best film since The Emperor's New Groove. Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel - A fantastic documentary and one of the best I've ever seen, much due to me being a Corman fan but also because it's such a well-made documentary. Funny, interesting and at times touching, with good interviews with Roger Corman, Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, Julie Corman, Pam Grier, Joe Dante, Robert De Niro, Peter Fonda, David Carradine and more. Fantastic! Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - A potential masterpiece with a great plot, fantastic characters and amazing humour partly ruined by an awful visual stye without any kind of character and charm and boring animation. No feeling or aything whatsoever. It's a shame. This film deserves a remake with good, oldfashioned animation and a more interesting visual style. Do it now! Once Upon a Time in the West - Sergio Leone, Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards and Ennio Morricone. Do I need say more? Übermasterpiece! First Blood - Action perfection. Do I need say more? No, I don't. Fargo (2014) - I am a huge fan of the film and I've been looking forward to this ever since I heard about the series. So my expectation were skyhigh, and this delivered and more. They've managed to create much of the same atmosphere and dark humour as in the film, but without copying it in any way whatsoever. The casting is perfect as well, and Billy Bob Thornton does the role of his life. Amazing season!

Sigh - Hail Horror Hail This album marked a big change in Sigh's sound, and in such way this is the perfect opener. It's the straightest and easiest song to get into on the album, and it will kinda prepeare you for what's coming. It starts off as a catchy, blacking heavy metal song with fantastc leads and Mirai's raspy vocals on top before it transforms into this beautiful, cinematic orchestration and suddenly goes back to the blacking heavy metal. This is a perfect opener in the way that it is one of the best songs ever made by man, and it prepeared you for the change and weirdness that would come later on this album as well. You heard something were different this time around, even more so than on Ghastly Funeral Theatre and it opened up your mind for the madness that what were to come... at least it did for me in my young days. And that catchy, blacking heavy metal is topped with some great lyrics that are easy to hear due to Mirai's understandable vocals: "Beyond all morality into insanity I plunge my knife in you again and again Torture your corpse before it's cold I seek to devour your life and soul"

I forgot one: The Hound of the Baskervilles - This is the 1959 gothic horror version from Hammer Horror, with Peter Cushing, André Morell and Christopher Lee in the lead roles. Of all the Sherlock Holmes adaptions over the years, this is by far the best I've ever seen, and it isn't just the best Sherlock Holmes film ever, but also one of the best Hammer Horror films ever, and that says a lot. It's aso one of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushings best films ever. Everything about this film is brilliant. Hands down oen of the best horror films ever. I've given it 9/10, but it does deserve a 10/10 to be honest. Masterpiece beyond words!