Visutox

Does anyone else here like Eluveitie? They're a folk metal/melodeath band from Switzerland and honestly one of my favorites. They'll be releasing a new album "Evocation II – Pantheon" in August and I'm super excited for it~ They've already pre-released one song "Epona" from the album as a single, and I've been listening to it pretty much nonstop (I would've linked a youtube vid of it here but they all seem to have been taken down already so instead I guess I'll just link another one of my fave songs from them in case someone's interested lol)
 
 
 

^ I love how they basically built a 'brand' on lame weed jokes inserted into classic death metal album/song titles (there's many to choose from XD) and technically quite proficient playing / songwriting.  I mean I'd still listen to them without the lulz, they're pretty cool.
 
In other br00tal news, looks like a new Aborted EP is being released a  week from now and I'm totally on board with this!
 
 

THIS I'm excited for.
 
 

Hell fucking yes! This album is so good. It's got its fair shair of Summoning influence, but it has more of a medieval sound to it, making it stand out from other epic black metal bands in this vein. Totally recommended if you're into Summoning, Kinstrife & Blood, Caladan Brood and so on.
 
Will have to give it more time, but this sounds truly excellent so far.

Anyone familiar with Au-Dessus? Just discovered these guys and really digging their stuff so far, their first album is available for free on Bandcamp! Sounds like a mix between Sludge and Black Metal with surprisingly strong vocals, intense stuff.
 
 

Probably slept with a girlfriend or got drunk one too many times. Likely something completely human for which they fired him before rabid teenage girls got on the case to destroy the band's reputation, as always. 

I know there's a few fans of Fen her, so this should please a couple of you guys:
 
 
 
 
It's very Fen-esque and reminds me a lot of Fen's debut, though with a bit more traditional atmospheric black metal and less post-rock. I really like this song. Sounds really nice!

Execration doesn't know how to disappoint and this sounds like it's going to be another stellar release.
 
Nice coverart too.

A little old now, but just now getting back into playing songs off of this album. Working through 流転の塔 now. If anyone else is trying to find tabs for Dum Spiro Spero, it ain't easy. Ended up buying the band score from amazon.jp around $30: https://www.amazon.com/x300C-SPIRO-SPERO-x300D-score/dp/4401356705
 
 

Tourism at home: Disposable goes to Hyvinkää. 
 
First and foremost I am upset that I paid 21.80 euros for the train tickets and saw not a single ticket inspector neither to or from Hyvinkää. It's common to not see a single one in Helsinki, but I didn't realise that even when you're going out of the way that there's still nobody there. I could have bought twice more muikku ( a top 3 finnish food no doubt. )
 
I make my way there at about to the "city" at around 18-19 and check out the sights, have a few beers at the park and enjoy the unsightly hot weather for once. The town landmark is the church designed by Aarno Ruusuvuori that I went to take pictures off immediately. Unfortunately you couldn't get inside past 16, but I met a nice lady outside who took a picture of me in front of the entrance and we had a good chat about the architect, the town itself and how nice it is to have festivals like that in other places than the big cities. You know it's  Finland when even the older folk are so desensitised to metal culture that they don't even bring it up. In eastern countries you can get around for months and not see a single metalhead, while in Helsinki I average seeing one on every street I go to that has people. That's pretty incredible when you think about it.
 
I get into the festival area right when Firespawn started playing. Here are the cliffs of the four bands I "saw" 
 
Firespawn: Shit sux. I just checked that apparently there's some entombed crew on this, and honestly I don't know what that means anymore as I haven't kept up with them past the first album, but nonetheless it was so boring, like bounce faux old school death metal. Between the songs you heard gems like "AND THIS NEXT ONE IS CALLED..:" to be followed by a riff that sounded like something off Morbid Angel's HIV+ album Domination. 
 
NIghtbringer: I left Firespawn after three songs to charge my phone. Before the concert I met some nice Americans who had seen this band a bunch of times, and somehow that convinced me that I'd probably be able to dig it. NO SUCH LUCK was tremendously bored during this one. I took a 15 second video clip that's like new housing architecture: it has nothing distinct about it, and could be any band from any country. Maybe it's massive and immersive if you can still fuck with this style, I could not. 
 
Marduk: This was touted as a 20th anniversary Heaven Shall Burn set. You know you are hearing 90's riffs again cause you can memorise them quickly and find them very pleasant to ear. Live it was palatable, but nonetheless I think this is like the textbook definition of norsecore? I don't fuck with this album (or this band for that matter) on record at all, but they were rock 'n roll professionals with Wacken tier MC's and everything ( STEELFEST HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU GUIZE DOING!!?!?!? MAKE SOME NOISE" ) so I can't say it was like the last two bands I saw. Good for sitting on a picnic table, drinking beer and tindering. 
 
Peste Noire: FUCK. First of all you can tell the mood as definitely changed from all the Wacken businessmen and mystical judeo-cristian tremolo metal; the foreign fan contingency was strong, roman salutes and sieg heils resounded and before the first song ended I had counted four fights right in my vicinity, and by the end I had lost count. The danger was brought back to black metal! I definitely had a good time oogling at all the French and Russian alt-right haircut types in the audience and their implementation of a zero tolerance policy towards Finnish drunks. 
 
The band was everything I hoped for. Famine is such a character outside of the stage so it figures that he feels large on stage as well ( literally as well since he appears to have been lifting. ) It more like a punk show in a way, especially when that guy from Baise ma hache came on stage for a couple of songs. Fucking Peste Noire really is just wonderfully unique and intense music that's very participatory at the same time, especially if can actually speak French. I just tried to do my best Famine impression and shriek something unintelligible. I'm really a fan of a show like this that maintain a grave severity and some bloody dignity without being stiff: no stupid mc's, no gimmicks, just black metal terror. 
 
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/peste-noire/2016/salle-des-fetes-de-st-martin-theressus-saint-martin-terressus-france-3bfadc44.html this is pretty much the set, although some things I believe were in a different order and no encore. The Chevrotine cover was so good that I'm probably going to get that album later. Absolutely a fantastic show 'cause I know and greatly enjoy every song of theirs. Famine is a legend.
 
After the festival I met a band member from an unnamed Finnish band with whom I chatted a little bit, and watched as him sieg heiling his friends as they came out of the festival area. FINNNNNLAAAAAND
 
 
 
 

New Der Weg einer Freiheit album coming up this summer! Can't wait, Stellar was really amazing. One of the finest black metal acts out there. 
Album's titled "Finisterre".
 
By the way, checked out the new Nokturnal Mortum album yesterday and I was blown away. I adore it. 
 

Yes, he finally hit the nail on the head. That is amazing!
 

Opportunity to see Peste Noire this weekend
 
Problem: I'm going to have to take a train to another city and then the last one leaves when they close the festival area, and then when I'd make it back at 3am I'd have to walk from the central railway station to my place because the trains don't run and the night busses cost an arm and a leg. 
 

 
I'd go there late enough to just catch the last three probably. Really a big fan of Peste Noire and I'd get the ticket for free ( tho 20 euros for train and another 20 for getting drunk ) but taking the ghetto train back and walking like 30 minutes when I just want to sleep fsgdfgdhfdgh

I can not believe how this album has gone underneath everyones radar. An absolute masterpiece, and probably one of the very best heavy metal albums I've heard. This album sounds like it was made by a proper heavy metal band that's mainly inspired by the ancient greek black metal scene (old Rotting Christ, Varathron, Necromantia, Agatus(!!!), Kawir and more) as well as 70's progressive rock. There's something familiar about the music, yet it's so unique and fresh, completely different from everything you've ever heard.
 
 
 
 
The "they come from the skies/they live to die/children became Kings/kings became gods/gods were worshiped and immortalized by man" part is just one of the best things ever. So fucking majestic!

The clean vocals is way too low in the mix, but musically this sounds great. It's not a new Til Fjälls, but it sure does sound like Vintersorg, and when I say that I mean the folky era of the band.  And it sounds really fucking nice, despite being a bit overproduced. But you know, this is how I want my Vintersorg and I really fucking like it. Give me the entire album, fuckers!

Speaking of Schammasch (I am beyond excited for the new release already), these Canadians apparantly somewhat play in the same vein as they do and lie somewhere between the aforementioned's sound and Batushka's. Definitely something to look forward to, I love ritualistic / ascension- themed black metal.

He really tears these ANTIFA and BLM fuckers a new fucking asshole, this guy. Lovely!

This is dropping tomorrow. Really looking forward to this.

god I love how she obviously recorded this to show how much better she is at musicianing than the entire lynch. line-up these days
 
slay me with a solo career, queen!!!
the next gackt, yoshiki wishes she ever was on her level, l'arc~en~who are glueing their weaves tight r.n.

I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with Westerners having visual kei bands, but it would be great if their music and style was anything more than mediocre and if they weren't cringey narcissists as people. Also in terms of not being able to pull off the style, they COULD do it. I do and I'm a chubby average-looking white person. It takes a lot of practice and effort to learn to style yourself correctly, but some people are so cocky that they're convinced they're already perfect when they're only halfway there, in both fashion and music. 
 
ALSO I've literally seen people whining that "visual kei is dying" or "it isn't what it used to be" since I got into this shit in 2003. It's usually from people who have been in the scene like 2-5 years and haven't come to terms with the fact that the life expectancy of a visual kei band unfortunately includes their favs and they get bitter when all the bands they liked when they got into vk are now disbanding. 

I didn't even click "play" in these videos. The thumbnails speak for themselves.

Ugggghhh I saw this guy's videos on FB this morning and was about to go awf on him but remembered that 90% of the people in the vkei facebook group use Yohio as a reason to not kill themselves.
 
Plus there's a few people who are still bitter from when I told Bataar they had bad makeup.