Bear

It's always hard to say what they'll do next. But considering he's learnt to play flute and shit I would not be surprised if there's a more prog rock-esque approach this time. More classic prog in the sound or something.
 
 
The full list of what I am buing:
 
Abigail - Ultimate Unholy Death
Noctiferum - Serenades Of The Empire
Sigh - Tragedies (Wild Rags Records)
Sigh - Tragedies
Sigh - Desolation 
Urfaust - Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist
Abigail - Eastern Force Of Evil - Abigail's Tribute to Sigh
Abigail ‎- Intercourse And Lust
Sigh/Kawir ‎– Suicidogenic/Sinn
Morrigan/Abigail ‎– A Celtic / Japanese Alliance
Abigail / Morbid Upheaval split
Abigail/Unholy Grave split
Abigail/Sigh split
 
 
The stuff in bold are Japanese, and the italic stuff are tapes. Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist, Eastern Force of Evil - Abigail's Tribute to Sigh and Intercourse And Lust are different versions to those I already got, and Sigh/Kawir and Abigail/Sigh splits are the same. Not sure why I bought them. Probably because I got them for more or less free.

Ooooooh fucking yeah!

Some interesting news regarding Sodom is that Tom Angelripper kicked both the guitarist (1996-2018) and drummer (2010-2018) and got himself three new members. Frank Blackfire who played on Expurse of Sodomy, Persecution Mania and Agent Orange (as well as Kreator's Coma of Souls) is back on guitar, Tormentor/Husky from Desaster is in on drums and some random guy from a random band is also in on guitar. I haven't liked a Sodom album in ages, but with these guys I can see the band taking a 180 and go more old school and less melodic again. 
 
Liked their new band pictures too, albeit I get a bit trend-feeling of it all. But that's OK. Looks very old school and very thrash metal, and judging from the pictures I wouldn't be surprised if there's elements of black metal in an upcoming album.
 
 

Uada just finished their recording of the new album. Again, great cover. Love how it's basically just a different version (past/future/another dimension/what?) of the first cover. That is very interesting. Loved their first album and look forward to this hella lot.
 
 

Heidi - Kasou
 
Heidi's two first albums will forever and ever be among my favourite "jrock/visual kei" albums, and while I do not consider Kasou their best release, it's still a fantastic album full of great, superbly produced songs with a band who, without really doing anything new or original, found their own identity and managed to really sounds different in a scene where most bands and artists seems to be allergic of treading their own paths for the last decade+. Don't expect anything unusual or original, but Nao's way of riffing, Heidi's way of putting fantastic tracks together and the whole chemestry between the members really makes them stand out from the crowd. Another thing I will give Heidi, which I always felt the majority of "jrock/visual kei" artists failed at was to make an album where all songs seems to fit into the same album, and they all seem to have been written with a purpose of making a full album and keep a red thread going through all the tracks for an entire album. That is something I feel like too many bands fail to do in these scenes.
 
They would get even better and reach their full potential with their next album tho.
 

Blade Runner 2049 - Finally watched this, and even though I can't usually take long-ass movies in theatres, I now kinda wish I had went and saw it on the big screen back when it came out. Amazing atmosphere and a slow-burning bleak story (there's not much to it in that department but the whole mood and pacing totally make up for it). Killer stuff.

Went to see the first show of the Black Twilight Circle's mainland tour yesterday. And I have to say, this was an experience all itself. I felt as if I were witnessing an ancient Aztec ritual of some sort, the ambience was just dark, raw and utterly mysterious. They compiled Dolorvotre, Arizmenda, Blue Hummingbird On The Left and Volahn for this night (I think they are switching through bands as the tour progresses?), and it was quite the perfect lineup for the evening, I would have to say.
 
I hadn't heard much of Dolorvotre previously as I have just recently been going through the entire Circle's discography as of late, as I had only really dived into Arizmenda, Shataan, Axeman and Volahn. Thrashy and raw and they therefore compose themselves on the side of the more 'traditional' raw black metal sound in the Circle. Eduardo 'Volahn' Ramírez himself is on vocal duties and distorts himself through all sorts of ritual incantations with vocal pedals and through the mask he's wearing. They were loud and chaotic (but that speaks for itself here in this case), and they pitched off the night perfectly. They were great, but I did not find them to be the most admirable name in the group. Either way, their final track 'Worship Black Twilight' pretty much made the night already.
 

 
Next up were Arizmenda and they were my favourite performance of the night. Juan 'Murdunbad' Cabello is a sick, wailing monster and I just cannot describe his possessed screams and howls and it literally felt as if I stood on the edge of hell here. The entire ambience changed from Dolorvotre, and I have to commend these musicians of being capable of setting such a different tone with different bands mostly compiled of the same musicians. If you are in need of a psychedelic and unhinged black metal trip, choose an album by Arizmenda to listen to, it will surely do the trick — just know that the experience is only complete when seeing them live as they are much more derailed and frenzied on stage. They only played for half an hour and somewhere I wished they and Volahn exchanged positions, but seeing as Volahn is the Circle's main entity, it is understandable that they receive the most stage time. 
 

 
Blue Hummingbird On The Left place themselves in quite a different setting with the usage of traditional South-American instruments replicating the sounds of animals calling throughout. Cuauh Youalli (Eagle Night) for instance is supported by an instrument that imitates the sound of an eagle in flight, and a pletora of flutes are also used. I am uncertain if they changed vocalists or if the vocalist simply cut his hair, either way, if this was Tlacaelel I could not quite recognise him by looks alone. I had only listened to BHL's EP 'Bloodflower' quickly before departing for the night, but if it were him, he sounded a lot heavier live. He looked genuinely haunted, barking away with bulging eyes and temples throbbing and the term 'bestial war metal' isn't far off when it comes to describing them, relying heavily on themes around Mexican history and the gods of war (Blue Hummingbird On The Left is a direct translation of Huitzilopochtli, Aztec god of human sacrifice and warfare). Unfortunately the sound system failed them and somewhere their sound was less distinct than the previous two groups, but I blame this purely on the sound technicians as everyone was complaining about it. Either way, they were unexpectedly my second favourite act.
 

 
Somewhat delayed, Volahn entered the stage a few moments later than planned and therefore the night lasted longer (not that I could complain, though!). This is Eduardo's primary entity and the Circle's main focus, and everyone can see why. Their entire appearance is a little more polished and every riff sounds a little cleaner. They were the only group who played for an hour but they didn't drag, which was quite the pleasant surprise. What is also surprising is that for being the main act, they don't carry the most specific sound and are more in league with Dolorvotre here (same vocalist, go figure), but they pack a punch with whatever they deliver, which is pretty much blast beat heaven. They were obviously a great closer for the night and I went home very satisfied. Let's hope they'll do this again in the future.
 

 
I'm hoping to add some more (professional) pictures later if they are added on Facebook somewhere, as I didn't take any myself. I didn't bring much cash so I only bought a t-shirt, I figured if I wanted to collect things by this movement the best way to approach is Discogs or Bandcamp, their releases aren't as extremely underground and difficult to find as I thought.

Sensible suggestion. I'll edit the post to include a few more illuminating details. I agree with your later point too; these things change on an almost daily basis. I once tried to come up with a Top 100. Within 3 days I had a list of another 30 that I thought should have been in there :)

I'm totally into this as I am somehow a bit of a movie freak, but if you want people to actually do more than to make a list try add some words as to why you like the films you've listed and why people should check 'em out (if they're into that type of films).
 
I'll come back, even though making a list with 15-25 films is close to impossible. I might choose 25 films today, and yet in a week the list would look very different with 15-20 different films on it. But this'll be fun.

Gallhammer - Ill Innocence
 
Back in 2004 when this band released their debut album there was a lot of hype surrounding them. Main reason was the fact that their debut was a black/doom/crust album that was clearly inspired by Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Amebix, Darkthrone and Burzum made by three Japanese girls who looked as stunning as they looked awesome. But they also did have more to offer, and that more was great music. Dark, gloomy and sludgy doom/crust black metal. This second album contains much of the same, but it is less crusty and black. But it's filled with great vocals, cool riffs, a sweet production and lots of character. It sounds like Gallhammer and no-one else. And it's very varied. From the doomy At the Onset of the Age of Despair to the punky Ripper in the Gloom to the blackened Speed of Blood to the droney Slog. It offers a lot of diversity.
 
It's a step down from their debut, but a sweet album nonetheless.
 
Blind My Eyes
 
 

Endless Dismal Moan - Ruin
 
Ruin was Endless Dismal Moan's last album before sole member Chaos 9 committed suicide. An album was released 2 years after his death tho, but it was supposed to have been released before this but was delayed because of some label issues. Anyway, Endless Dismal Moan plays black metal that is pretty hard to get into. We're talking black metal of the weird and semi-original kind, almost touching the industrial at times. The atmosphere is dark, grim, and really fucked up and it's topped off by some really tortured vocals. It's very different for sure.
 
JYUSO
 
 

Fastkill - Nuclear Thrashing Attack
 
Fastkill's second album just continues down the road they began walking with the first one. Fast and brutal thrash metal in the vein of Morbid Saint, old Kreator, Sadus, Dark Angel and so on. The album is more of the same as the first topped with those wicked screams by Toshio Komori. It's not superbly written or performed, but it's a total badass thrash metal assault that is exactly that: a fun, thrashing album fill with fast, brutal and heavy thrash metal tracks. A step down from their excellent debut, but a fun album nonetheless.
 
Bloodbath
 
 
That's all I had.

Gallhammer - Ill Innocence
 
Back in 2004 when this band released their debut album there was a lot of hype surrounding them. Main reason was the fact that their debut was a black/doom/crust album that was clearly inspired by Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Amebix, Darkthrone and Burzum made by three Japanese girls who looked as stunning as they looked awesome. But they also did have more to offer, and that more was great music. Dark, gloomy and sludgy doom/crust black metal. This second album contains much of the same, but it is less crusty and black. But it's filled with great vocals, cool riffs, a sweet production and lots of character. It sounds like Gallhammer and no-one else. And it's very varied. From the doomy At the Onset of the Age of Despair to the punky Ripper in the Gloom to the blackened Speed of Blood to the droney Slog. It offers a lot of diversity.
 
It's a step down from their debut, but a sweet album nonetheless.
 
Blind My Eyes
 
 

Endless Dismal Moan - Ruin
 
Ruin was Endless Dismal Moan's last album before sole member Chaos 9 committed suicide. An album was released 2 years after his death tho, but it was supposed to have been released before this but was delayed because of some label issues. Anyway, Endless Dismal Moan plays black metal that is pretty hard to get into. We're talking black metal of the weird and semi-original kind, almost touching the industrial at times. The atmosphere is dark, grim, and really fucked up and it's topped off by some really tortured vocals. It's very different for sure.
 
JYUSO
 
 

Fastkill - Nuclear Thrashing Attack
 
Fastkill's second album just continues down the road they began walking with the first one. Fast and brutal thrash metal in the vein of Morbid Saint, old Kreator, Sadus, Dark Angel and so on. The album is more of the same as the first topped with those wicked screams by Toshio Komori. It's not superbly written or performed, but it's a total badass thrash metal assault that is exactly that: a fun, thrashing album fill with fast, brutal and heavy thrash metal tracks. A step down from their excellent debut, but a fun album nonetheless.
 
Bloodbath
 
 
That's all I had.

Can I add some metal releases here? 2007 saw the release of a lot of fantastic metal albums, some even on the brink of being classics as far as Japanese metal goes.

For me, I can't hear anything because I don't listen to that song. Still can't tell if that album is a serious attempt at making good music, or if the entire album is a god damned joke.

Cool. I'll throw in a few amazing metal releases from that year then.
 
 
 

Sigh - Hangman's Hymn - Musikalische Exequien
 
After years and years of different types of experimentation Sigh  toned it down quite a lot for 2007's Hangman's Hymn, making it their most accessible and easy-listening album since their debut, Scorn Defeat. That however doesn't mean it's not original, because it truly is and you will not find a single album out there that sounds anything like this. The closest you'll come is Sigh's own Scenes from Hell from 2010, the follow-up to this. But even that is very different sounding. Anyway, I mentioned Scorn Defeat and they bear even more similarities than just being their most straight-forward albums. They are also the two albums in the discography in which Mirai and his men showcase their influence a lot more than they've done inbetween the two mentioned albums and after Hangman's Hymn. The tracks are short and furious, but they remain grand symphonic and epic throughout. Riff-vise it's full-on violent, furious and chaotic thrash metal inspired by German thrash like early Kreator, Sodom, Destruction, Exumer and more, undearneath symphonic arrangements and choirs inspired by Mozart, Verdi, tivolis and more.
 
A very interesting detail about this album is how Mirai (band's main composer) re-uses certain themes throughout the album, sometime even in several different tracks. It works really well and is a sweet detail.
I am a bit of a fanboy so you should probably take this with a grain of salt, but it's a perfect album and an absolute masterpiece. The clear winner of 2007 no matter country, genre or anything.
 
Sigh - Me-Devil
 

Arkha Sva - Gloria Satanae

Arkha Sva formed in 1996 but didn't get their first demo out until 2005 and their debut album in 2007, which to this date remains their only full-lenght. Arkha Sva plays black metal inspired by the early french scene (Les Légions Noires), the early norwegian scene and probably the finnish scene. The riffs and melodies sounds melancholic and tragic, topped with both grim vocals as well as a shitload of singing in the form of falsettos, which really helps set this band apart from others. The music is more than good enough by itself, but the clean singing just sends it to a whole other level. Makes it stand out from a over-crowded scene where the majority are mediocre clones and rip-offs. 

 A very cool detail is the use of the classic Les Légions Noires calligraphy with permission given by L.N.N. member M.T. Vordb Dréagvor Uèzréèvb (Belkètre, Moëvöt, Torgeist). For those unaware, L.L.N. was a french black metal collective formed in the early 90's by a bunch of black metal/dark ambient fans/musicians who created about a million bands either alone or together. It's about 11 different guys and 20+ bands. Vlad Tepes, Belkètre and Mutiilation are probably the best and most known acts. All three considered cult bands because of their early releases.
 
Arkha Sva - 49 Evil Spirits
 

Cool. I'll throw in a few amazing metal releases from that year then.
 
 
 

Sigh - Hangman's Hymn - Musikalische Exequien
 
After years and years of different types of experimentation Sigh  toned it down quite a lot for 2007's Hangman's Hymn, making it their most accessible and easy-listening album since their debut, Scorn Defeat. That however doesn't mean it's not original, because it truly is and you will not find a single album out there that sounds anything like this. The closest you'll come is Sigh's own Scenes from Hell from 2010, the follow-up to this. But even that is very different sounding. Anyway, I mentioned Scorn Defeat and they bear even more similarities than just being their most straight-forward albums. They are also the two albums in the discography in which Mirai and his men showcase their influence a lot more than they've done inbetween the two mentioned albums and after Hangman's Hymn. The tracks are short and furious, but they remain grand symphonic and epic throughout. Riff-vise it's full-on violent, furious and chaotic thrash metal inspired by German thrash like early Kreator, Sodom, Destruction, Exumer and more, undearneath symphonic arrangements and choirs inspired by Mozart, Verdi, tivolis and more.
 
A very interesting detail about this album is how Mirai (band's main composer) re-uses certain themes throughout the album, sometime even in several different tracks. It works really well and is a sweet detail.
I am a bit of a fanboy so you should probably take this with a grain of salt, but it's a perfect album and an absolute masterpiece. The clear winner of 2007 no matter country, genre or anything.
 
Sigh - Me-Devil
 

Arkha Sva - Gloria Satanae

Arkha Sva formed in 1996 but didn't get their first demo out until 2005 and their debut album in 2007, which to this date remains their only full-lenght. Arkha Sva plays black metal inspired by the early french scene (Les Légions Noires), the early norwegian scene and probably the finnish scene. The riffs and melodies sounds melancholic and tragic, topped with both grim vocals as well as a shitload of singing in the form of falsettos, which really helps set this band apart from others. The music is more than good enough by itself, but the clean singing just sends it to a whole other level. Makes it stand out from a over-crowded scene where the majority are mediocre clones and rip-offs. 

 A very cool detail is the use of the classic Les Légions Noires calligraphy with permission given by L.N.N. member M.T. Vordb Dréagvor Uèzréèvb (Belkètre, Moëvöt, Torgeist). For those unaware, L.L.N. was a french black metal collective formed in the early 90's by a bunch of black metal/dark ambient fans/musicians who created about a million bands either alone or together. It's about 11 different guys and 20+ bands. Vlad Tepes, Belkètre and Mutiilation are probably the best and most known acts. All three considered cult bands because of their early releases.
 
Arkha Sva - 49 Evil Spirits
 

Heidi - Kasou
 
Heidi's two first albums will forever and ever be among my favourite "jrock/visual kei" albums, and while I do not consider Kasou their best release, it's still a fantastic album full of great, superbly produced songs with a band who, without really doing anything new or original, found their own identity and managed to really sounds different in a scene where most bands and artists seems to be allergic of treading their own paths for the last decade+. Don't expect anything unusual or original, but Nao's way of riffing, Heidi's way of putting fantastic tracks together and the whole chemestry between the members really makes them stand out from the crowd. Another thing I will give Heidi, which I always felt the majority of "jrock/visual kei" artists failed at was to make an album where all songs seems to fit into the same album, and they all seem to have been written with a purpose of making a full album and keep a red thread going through all the tracks for an entire album. That is something I feel like too many bands fail to do in these scenes.
 
They would get even better and reach their full potential with their next album tho.
 

Can I add some metal releases here? 2007 saw the release of a lot of fantastic metal albums, some even on the brink of being classics as far as Japanese metal goes.

While remaining a bit sceptical, I cannot deny my curiosity here. I really hope they've gone back in time to a thrashier, darker or grimmer sound.

Master of Puppets never sounded this cool before. Holy fuck!

We're getting close to the end of 2017 so I thought I'd post a small list of Japanese metal releases I've liked a lot this year.
 
Evil - 邪悪を讃えよ (Rites of Evil)
By far my Japanese favourite of the year. Take the debuts from bands such as Bathory, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Sabbat, Bulldozer, Venom, Sarcofago, Vulcano, Sodom and Sepultura and mix it up and you've got this. Simple, straight-forward and fantastic black metal that sounds like something from the 80's.
 
Bafomet - Poison of Darkness
Japanese/Chilean black/speed metal. It's simple and straight-forward, but it's lots of fun.
 
Coven - The Advent
Traditional heavy metal with ex-Fastkill guitarist Akihiro Ito. The cover is the least metal thing I've even seen on a heavy metal release, but music-wise it's really cool. The vocalist is a bit hit and miss, but it's catchy as fuck.
 
Kanashimi - Inoni
More depressive black/doom metal from this Japanese one man band. It's a bit more uplifting and airy than the debut, and with a more post-black metal-vibe than funeral doom. But it's beautiful and haunting, and I really, really like this album.
 
Anatomia - Cranial Obsession
This Japanese horde delivers mean and dirty death/doom metal in the vein of Autopsy and Coffins. They stick to what they know, and that's OK because they do it so good every time. Great album!
 
 
 
Witchslaught released their debut (recorded in 2013) this year too. I've only heard a few songs, but this shit is great and the demo rules too. Furious metal punk that makes me want to smash a head or two.
 
Necrophile released their debut album Awakening Those Oppressed this year. They formed all the way back in 87 and released some fantastic demos and EPs before they split up. Reformed in 2013 and released their debut now. Not heard the whole thing, but the tracks I've heard have been good. Death metal.
 
Also really looking forward to hearing the new G.A.T.E.S. album. It took no less than 18 years before these Japanese metal punks with members and ex-members from Sabbat, Magnesium, Metalucifer, Sacrifice, Church of Misery and Sonic Flower manage to release their debut, but I bet their spent their time well.Can't wait to get a hold on it.

We're getting close to the end of 2017 so I thought I'd post a small list of Japanese metal releases I've liked a lot this year.
 
Evil - 邪悪を讃えよ (Rites of Evil)
By far my Japanese favourite of the year. Take the debuts from bands such as Bathory, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Sabbat, Bulldozer, Venom, Sarcofago, Vulcano, Sodom and Sepultura and mix it up and you've got this. Simple, straight-forward and fantastic black metal that sounds like something from the 80's.
 
Bafomet - Poison of Darkness
Japanese/Chilean black/speed metal. It's simple and straight-forward, but it's lots of fun.
 
Coven - The Advent
Traditional heavy metal with ex-Fastkill guitarist Akihiro Ito. The cover is the least metal thing I've even seen on a heavy metal release, but music-wise it's really cool. The vocalist is a bit hit and miss, but it's catchy as fuck.
 
Kanashimi - Inoni
More depressive black/doom metal from this Japanese one man band. It's a bit more uplifting and airy than the debut, and with a more post-black metal-vibe than funeral doom. But it's beautiful and haunting, and I really, really like this album.
 
Anatomia - Cranial Obsession
This Japanese horde delivers mean and dirty death/doom metal in the vein of Autopsy and Coffins. They stick to what they know, and that's OK because they do it so good every time. Great album!
 
 
 
Witchslaught released their debut (recorded in 2013) this year too. I've only heard a few songs, but this shit is great and the demo rules too. Furious metal punk that makes me want to smash a head or two.
 
Necrophile released their debut album Awakening Those Oppressed this year. They formed all the way back in 87 and released some fantastic demos and EPs before they split up. Reformed in 2013 and released their debut now. Not heard the whole thing, but the tracks I've heard have been good. Death metal.
 
Also really looking forward to hearing the new G.A.T.E.S. album. It took no less than 18 years before these Japanese metal punks with members and ex-members from Sabbat, Magnesium, Metalucifer, Sacrifice, Church of Misery and Sonic Flower manage to release their debut, but I bet their spent their time well.Can't wait to get a hold on it.

It is. And it is something you'll never get enough of. And especially at this price. I know that the two big ones alone cost about $40 each and the four medium sized ones cost between $24-30 each. So it's not exactly cheap food either.

Oh dear, fuck me sideways. This is just too good. Old school sounding dungeon synth in the way of early Mortiis. So good!

I'm the type of guy who don't celebrate christmas and I don't give away christmas presents. Which means I don't receive too many either. But I got a handful of presents from people at work anyway. The best one was the gift I got from the kid I work with (2nd grader). A SUPER MARIO mug and a Bowser coaster (top right).
 
Really appreciated those. Been using them a couple of times daily ever since I got them last friday. Had to open it together with the kid who got 'em for me as he was really keen on seeing my reaction to it.
 
And I got a bag full og spekepølse (cured sausages?). Contained a shitload of different type of cured sausages, some meant to eat with bread and similar food and some meant to be eaten together with a beer. Featured a knife and a coffee mug made out of wood as well. Really appreciated this too. Can never get enough food, and this is the type of food I never get enough of. It's expensive as fuck, so I never really buy it for myself.
 
Other than that what I got was mostly crap tbh. I know my co-workers meant well and all and that is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that it's useless crap that I'll never use.

I'm the type of guy who don't celebrate christmas and I don't give away christmas presents. Which means I don't receive too many either. But I got a handful of presents from people at work anyway. The best one was the gift I got from the kid I work with (2nd grader). A SUPER MARIO mug and a Bowser coaster (top right).
 
Really appreciated those. Been using them a couple of times daily ever since I got them last friday. Had to open it together with the kid who got 'em for me as he was really keen on seeing my reaction to it.
 
And I got a bag full og spekepølse (cured sausages?). Contained a shitload of different type of cured sausages, some meant to eat with bread and similar food and some meant to be eaten together with a beer. Featured a knife and a coffee mug made out of wood as well. Really appreciated this too. Can never get enough food, and this is the type of food I never get enough of. It's expensive as fuck, so I never really buy it for myself.
 
Other than that what I got was mostly crap tbh. I know my co-workers meant well and all and that is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that it's useless crap that I'll never use.