Bear

Trippy in what way? I thought Ex-Machina was a fairly straight-forward and a great film.
 
The Revenant - Great survival drama that's been talked about for a long time now, but I feel like it's a bit overrated to be honest. Alejandro González Iñárritu doesn't know how to disappoint and as far as Hollywood actors goes, they just doesn't get much better than DiCaprio. It's beautifully staged and shot, generally well-acted and the story is there, but it could easily have been 20 min shorter IMO. I just feel like there's a lot of scenes that's there just to show us the beautiful landscape, which I personally think is unnecessary as there's so much beautiful landscape otherwise. But other than that I truly did enjoy this film.
 
But I'd still say that Amores perros is miles ahead of this film, and it isn't really better than 21 Grams, Babel or Biutiful either.
 

May has started and you know what this means: time to look back on all the cool stuff that was released in April! What were some of your favorites? I think April was a pretty strong month (at least for me), some really nice and diverse musical gems popped up.
 
Again, here are the usual rules via @Bear
 
And so it goes~
 

Occult Burial - Hideous Obscure / I'm a newcomer to this band, and I'm bummed I didn't hear about them before! They deliver a perfect mixture of old-school '80s style evil and aggressive metal, somewhere between black and thrash. Sweet vocal delivery, catchy riffs and mean songs, all in all a kickass debut album that you can spin countless times.
 

Rob Zombie - The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser / This album sure wins the "longest 'Zombie album title" award but definitely not the one for the longest runtime. I mean, I'm not a fan of drawn-out releases but come on... 31 minutes?! Some of these songs are just so awesome but they don't last long enough. On the bright side, you'll want to replay this album as soon as it's finished. Groovy stuff!
 

Uada - Devoid of Light - All around awesome debut record from a surprisingly young band. High on atmosphere, the chilling black metal riffs and the awesome vocals will draw you in. At times heavy and riffin', other times quite epic, it's a pretty well-rounded album not afraid to showcase some cool melodies. Nothing fancy but really really fine.
 
 
Honorable mentions
 
Parquet Courts - Human Performance / Post-punk with a nostalgic indie/garage tint and many catchy tracks.
Tacocat - Lost Time / Melodic poppy punk rawk with amazing infectuous singalong moments.
Youth Code - Commitment to Complications / They've done it again: if you like your EBM heavy & raw, you came to the right place.

After being impressed with Rotting Christ's newest album, Ritual, I decided it was about time I gave their other recent albums a new chance as well and I am slowly starting to truly get into them. Rituals, Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού and Aealo are really doing it for me these days. Will start working on the four albums released from 2000 to 2007 soon too. See if they do more for me now than they did a few years back.
 
Always loved Time Stands Still from Khronos though. What a song!

I guess so but I don't believe disallowing pictures is "treating fans poorly" just my opinion. 

Is this you:
 
 

I don't take pictures at gigs do I don't mind it at all. In fact I think it's great.

Chef - I decided to watch something lighter for a change and ended up watching Chef, which, as the title suggests is a food porn movie flavored with some family "drama". I didn't expect to be blown away by this film and I wasn't but I enjoyed it. The music was pretty great:  soul, funk, blues and so on. And Sofia Vergara (who's in a side role), what a babe! She stole every scene she was in. 7/10

Is this you:
 
 

Is this you:
 
 

Is this you:
 
 

Is this you:
 
 

Is this you:
 
 

Is this you:
 
 

I agree with this sentiment.... it's a shame I really wanted to like Words more than I did because god damn I think that's an awesome album title.

Some recent random discoveries of mine (still in the process of listening/digesting them)...
 
Occult Burial - old-school black/thrash that kicks your teeth in, just how I like it! Debut album out now.
 
Savage Master - no-nonsense occult-tinged heavy metal with a badass frontlady. Pretty nice!
 

I really liked the new song, and I am very interested in hearing more. I don't expect a new Choronzon, but because of Paul Scanlan I do expect something better than Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone and Antichrist. Neither ara bad albums, but they were not nearly as good as the previous albums, especially not Choronzon which is a perfect mix of black metal, death metal and progressive musikk. Words... and Antichrist lacked the black metal feeling IMO. They lost some of what made them so unique to begin with. Haven't played either in a long, long time though, so I will replay them today/tomorrow to see what I think about them in 2016.

Thanks. I knew my life wasn't complete before I watched this video.

I don't take pictures at gigs do I don't mind it at all. In fact I think it's great.

I don't take pictures at gigs do I don't mind it at all. In fact I think it's great.

through silver in blood turned 20 two days ago
it blows my mind with every listen

Housebound: Funny little horror movie from New Zealand. Honestly couldn't tell what age the female lead was supposed to be exactly, but whatever. Had some funny moments here and there, some nice twists, actual practical effects for the most part (from what I could tell at least...), all good. Nothing revolutionary by a long shot, but it's got charm. Also, that one guy REALLY reminded me of a Kiwi version of Bill Murray for some reason..

À bout portant (Point Blank) - An intense, bleak and brutal thriller with a cool twist on a familiar plot. Point Blank is superbly acted and well-directed, it's clever and there's not really anything to dislike here. It's a fairly low-key in many ways. There's no car explosions, there's no heroics. It's all about intensity and the human psyche, and what an awful situation can do to you.
 
And at 85 minutes it's also really fast-paced. It doesn't give you many minutes to catch your breath throughout the film.
 
I wish the ending was a bit different, but other than that it's all good. Very good!
 

 
Savage Streets - Brilliant exploitation vigilante actioner by Danny Steinmann (Friday the 13th: A New Beginning), starring Linda Blair, with smallers roles by scream queen Linnea Quigley and John Vernon. It's basically a Death Wish ripoff, but when done so good it's not a problem at all. It's truly great!
 
This isn't a great film per se, but as far as exploitation goes it's almost perfect. It's over-the-fuckin-top acting-, dialogue- and plot-wise, it's got great, sleazy action and characters and lots of nudity. It's trash, but it's the ind of trash you value. It's the kind of thrash you don't throw away because it means so much to you. It's great!
 

Now for something a bit newer.
 

I'm not sure if Tragedy was formed in 1995 and at the same time as His Hero Is Gone, or 1999/2000 out of the ashes of the now legendary His Hero Is Gone, a sludgy hardcore/crust band formed back in 1995, but what I do know i that Tragedy is fantastic. Like His Hero Is Gone, Tragedy belongs to the crust banner but they had a completely different sound than His Hero Is Gone. Tragedy is one of the first bands who spiced up the traditional crust sound with a lot more metallic riffing, lots of melody and, for a hardcore/crust band, a more progressive touch to their music making it very epic in its nature. This type of melodic crust later became better known as neocrust, and Tragedy is both the inovators and the kings of this subgenre! Bubble gum crust punk! I like all their albums and EPs, and especially the three first, but Vengeance and Nerve Damage are easily their best outputs. They perfected the genre with those albums.
 
The Day After (off the album Vengeance)
Crucifier (off the album Nerve Damage)
 

From Ashes Rise is another band who spiced up the traditional crust sound with a lot of melody, but their earlier outputs are a lot darker and more gloomy and not really neocrust at all. It wasn't before the release of 2003's Nightmares that they would fully venture into the whole neocrust sound, and what an album it is. And to be honest this is the only From Ashes Rise release I listen to frequently. It's up there with the very best of the genre and doesn't stand back to the best releases of Tragedy, His Hero Is Gone, Fall of Efrafa and more. It's a shame they never managed to reach this level of greatness, not before nor after.
 
Reaction
 

I've never really considered His Hero Is Gone a neocrust band, but they were one of the forerunners of the subgenre and that's for sure. If you listen to a song like Like Weeds you'll hear the classic neocrust elements in the riffing. Blending blistering hardcore and crust, heavy-as-fuck sludge and the dark, bleak atmosphere of lots of black metal they created something entirely unique. I like everything they did, but Monuments to Thieves is where the shit is at. A total god damned classic album, from a legenday band. Probably one of the most influential punk band in recent times (post-1995).
 
A quote from Fenriz on the band:
“[One interesting thing to note is that] the style that His Hero Is Gone started with their 1998 magnum opus, Monuments to Thieves, somewhat [erased] the boundary between crust and black metal, whether they like it or not.” -Fenriz of Darkthrone
 
Like Weeds
 

At the time Fall of Efrafa formed in 1995 the genre had kinda died out on us a bit, stagnated to be quite honest, and all new releases was "more of the same". Fall of Efrafa took the genre into a new direction and added lots of new elements. Three albums that's very different in sound.
 
Their debut album, Owsla, is the hardest of the three albu with the biggest d-beat, crust and hardcore influence. There's elements of post-rock and doom metal present, but d-beat, crust and hardcore is its main genres. A powerful, original and melancholic album that offers so much new to the genre. Five songs and fourty minutes. Pity the Weak!
 
Their second album, Elil, continues what they started on their debut. But unlike the crust-influenced debut, this is a lot more post-rock influenced. Slower and more atmospheric in its nature, with a lot longer songs. But when they speed it up they venture into the classic neocrust sound with sorrowful melodies and hard riffing. Three songs and sixty three minutes. Beyond the Veil!
 
Their third and last album, Inlé, showcased a doomier side of the band. It's darker, heavier, gloomier and bleaker than before with the crust pushed even further back. It's still present, but not nearly as much as before. This is more a doom metal/post-rock album than it is a crust/hardcore album. Six tracks and eighty minutes. Woundwort!
 
A beast of a band who manage to breath life bakc into a dying genre by doing something completely different, yet something so very familiar. I think the band got worse with each album, but all three are fantastic albums nonetheless. I'd rate them Owsla (10/10), Elil (9/10) and Inlé (8/10).
 
 
That's it for today, I guess. Or at least for now.

Now for something a bit newer.
 

I'm not sure if Tragedy was formed in 1995 and at the same time as His Hero Is Gone, or 1999/2000 out of the ashes of the now legendary His Hero Is Gone, a sludgy hardcore/crust band formed back in 1995, but what I do know i that Tragedy is fantastic. Like His Hero Is Gone, Tragedy belongs to the crust banner but they had a completely different sound than His Hero Is Gone. Tragedy is one of the first bands who spiced up the traditional crust sound with a lot more metallic riffing, lots of melody and, for a hardcore/crust band, a more progressive touch to their music making it very epic in its nature. This type of melodic crust later became better known as neocrust, and Tragedy is both the inovators and the kings of this subgenre! Bubble gum crust punk! I like all their albums and EPs, and especially the three first, but Vengeance and Nerve Damage are easily their best outputs. They perfected the genre with those albums.
 
The Day After (off the album Vengeance)
Crucifier (off the album Nerve Damage)
 

From Ashes Rise is another band who spiced up the traditional crust sound with a lot of melody, but their earlier outputs are a lot darker and more gloomy and not really neocrust at all. It wasn't before the release of 2003's Nightmares that they would fully venture into the whole neocrust sound, and what an album it is. And to be honest this is the only From Ashes Rise release I listen to frequently. It's up there with the very best of the genre and doesn't stand back to the best releases of Tragedy, His Hero Is Gone, Fall of Efrafa and more. It's a shame they never managed to reach this level of greatness, not before nor after.
 
Reaction
 

I've never really considered His Hero Is Gone a neocrust band, but they were one of the forerunners of the subgenre and that's for sure. If you listen to a song like Like Weeds you'll hear the classic neocrust elements in the riffing. Blending blistering hardcore and crust, heavy-as-fuck sludge and the dark, bleak atmosphere of lots of black metal they created something entirely unique. I like everything they did, but Monuments to Thieves is where the shit is at. A total god damned classic album, from a legenday band. Probably one of the most influential punk band in recent times (post-1995).
 
A quote from Fenriz on the band:
“[One interesting thing to note is that] the style that His Hero Is Gone started with their 1998 magnum opus, Monuments to Thieves, somewhat [erased] the boundary between crust and black metal, whether they like it or not.” -Fenriz of Darkthrone
 
Like Weeds
 

At the time Fall of Efrafa formed in 1995 the genre had kinda died out on us a bit, stagnated to be quite honest, and all new releases was "more of the same". Fall of Efrafa took the genre into a new direction and added lots of new elements. Three albums that's very different in sound.
 
Their debut album, Owsla, is the hardest of the three albu with the biggest d-beat, crust and hardcore influence. There's elements of post-rock and doom metal present, but d-beat, crust and hardcore is its main genres. A powerful, original and melancholic album that offers so much new to the genre. Five songs and fourty minutes. Pity the Weak!
 
Their second album, Elil, continues what they started on their debut. But unlike the crust-influenced debut, this is a lot more post-rock influenced. Slower and more atmospheric in its nature, with a lot longer songs. But when they speed it up they venture into the classic neocrust sound with sorrowful melodies and hard riffing. Three songs and sixty three minutes. Beyond the Veil!
 
Their third and last album, Inlé, showcased a doomier side of the band. It's darker, heavier, gloomier and bleaker than before with the crust pushed even further back. It's still present, but not nearly as much as before. This is more a doom metal/post-rock album than it is a crust/hardcore album. Six tracks and eighty minutes. Woundwort!
 
A beast of a band who manage to breath life bakc into a dying genre by doing something completely different, yet something so very familiar. I think the band got worse with each album, but all three are fantastic albums nonetheless. I'd rate them Owsla (10/10), Elil (9/10) and Inlé (8/10).
 
 
That's it for today, I guess. Or at least for now.

I don't really listen to a lot of folk metal, but I can across this song and thought it was pretty cool