The general Metal discussion thread

[Visutox 188]

Need to try again with that new Heretoir album, it was good but at some point I found it to be unnecessarily long that it lost my attention. The atmosphere is beautiful though, I'll give 'em that. 

 

I'm curious to know what are people's favorite albums that came out this year so far?

Edited April 4, 2017 by Visutox

[Lestat 2167]

 

10 minutes ago, Visutox said:

Need to try again with that new Heretoir album, it was good but at some point I found it to be unnecessarily long that it lost my attention. The atmosphere is beautiful though, I'll give 'em that. 

 

I'm curious to know what are people's favorite albums that came out this year so far?

 

I have actively been tracking my ratings on here, finding it a very good solution to remain informed about what I have listened to thus far, and keeping a list as such also encourages me to discover more things and generally listen to more albums. 

 

My favourites of the year so far are;

 

Laster - "Ons Vrije Fatum"

Sunless - "Urraca"

Human - "Contemplating Soliloquy"

Wormwood - "Ghostlands - Wounds From A Bleeding Earth"

Venenum - "Trance Of Death"

 

I think death metal is primarily going to be the favourite genre of the year, at least. There are some others that I have rated very high, but they just don't provide that little extra touch for me. These thoughts might change with more spins I give some of these records, though.

[Visutox 188]

I personally just write down on a Word doc every music release I listen to! There are quite a lot on your list, I'll definitely check it out soon.

 

I need to give Urraca another spin, but it's truly an amazing piece of work. And obviously that Venenum album is absolutely magisterial! Still have to check out the three other bands of your tiny list. Already checked out some tracks off of that new Wormwood album so I think I might probably dig it.

 

As for me, I'd say (in no particular order):

 

Soen — Lykaia

Need — Hegaiamas: A Song for Freedom

Immolation — Atonement

Venenum  — Trance of Death

Pallbearer — Heartless

 

Of course it's still to soon to determine our absolute favorites of the year but I thought it'd be great to know what we've been listening up to now. 

And I agree with you, death metal is really killing it this year. 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2017 by Visutox

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Oh right, I managed to finally listen to that Venenum album yesterday. Good stuff indeed!

[Bear 1817]

Alestorm's crowdfunding parody of Jari and Wintersun is hilariouus and spit fucking on. Fuck Wintersun, fuck that douchebad Jari and more than all, fuck their pathetic fans. Cancer to 'em all!

[Visutox 188]

^ I had to check that out and holy shit, I laughed probably more than I should have. 

[Bear 1817]

I can't write for shit when I am on my phone. So many typos. Christ.

 

 

Anyway, just put together a "great albums of 2017" list, but I'll try to trim it down a bit before I post it as it is about 20-25 albums or so.

[Bear 1817]

Fuck trimming it down, because I began but got a few problems. Which do I keep and which do I remove? So I'll just post everything that's left. Someone might find some of these releases interesting, so I'll put some time and effort into the post.

 

10/10

 

Rude - Remnants...

Rude debuted with an absolute monster of an album in form of Soul Recall in 2014, and 2017 sees the band return with their sophomore album, an album that is just as good, if not better, than their debut. It sounds old school and very familiar, but as with their debut it sounds very fresh at the same time. They don't try to hide their influences, and the riffing, vocals and production reeks of old Pestilence, Morbid Angel and Death, but they still got their own thing going.

 

9/10

Black Magic - Demon Lord

Black Magic has gone from playing black metal on their two first demos, to heavy/speed metal on their EP and a more heavy rock sound on this one-track demo. Totally different, but at the same time it sounds Black Magic as fuck. The occult feeling isn't gone. And as for the quality of the song, this is probably my favourite Black Magic track thus far. Catchy!

 

Black Magick SS - Kaleidoscope Dreams

I've been a fan of Black Magick SS' psychedelic rock with hints of black metal since the begining, and this is by far their best release so far. It's so cheesy, but it sounds awesome. Really, really good, and as unique as it is good. Original band!

 

 

8/10

Helheim - landawarijaR

It took me many years to get into Helheim's post-Terrorveldet releases, but after years of trying I suddenly got into them a year or two ago. Their brand of viking metal and black metal is very unique, and it's always been so, but with landawarijaR they're offering their best and most unique album since Blood & Ild. It's a weird album, almost sounding avant-garde in the vein of Celtic Frost's Into the Pandemonium at times and progressive like mid-era Enslaved at other times, but it always manages to sound like Helheim. Still got lots of brass that makes it feel really epic.

 

Obscure Evil - Void Fumes

Mean and raw black/thrash metal with lots of Bathory, Aura Noir, Nifelheim and the likes in their sound. Not original, but really good. This is a compilation of their demo and EP which is fine as both releases rules.

 

Goatmoon - Stella Polaris

I've always considered Goatmoon to be as bad as they are ridiculous, and never in my wildest dreams would I dream that I would end up enjoying this. But I do. A lot actually. Nice, epic-sounding black/folk metal that's still furious, but it's seasoned with lots of heavy metal riffing here and there. Just check out Stella Polaris that out of nowhere turns into a heavy metal song, and that glorious riff gets even better towards the end of the song when there's a brilliant solo on top of it. It kinds sounds like traditional finnish black metal gone folky. As if Sargeist or Horna added folk metal to their black metal. Surprise of the year for sure. So good I will revisit their older material.

 

Front Beast - Third Scourge from Darkness

I've always been a huge fan of Avenger and many of his bands, especially Front Beast, Nocturnal and Szarlem. With Front Beast Avenger pays a tribute to the ancient black metal of the past, with mean and raw riffing in vein of Darkthrone, Bathory, Celtic Frost, Bestial Summoning, Countess and more. But there's also plenty heavy metal riffing throughout, but it's black in the vein of Mercyful Fate, Oz and Hell. Great stuff!

 

Pillorian - Obsidian Arc

When Agalloch broke up it didn't take long before John Haughm announced his new band, Pillorian, together with Trevor Matthews of Uada and SP of The Will of a Million. And even before they had released a single song to the public, they got booked for shows around the world, among them a headliner spot at this year's Inferno Festival. So how's the music? Well, very good, I'd say. Kinda sounds like a mix of the blackest of Agalloch and Uada, which should come as no surprise. But it's more traditional black metal than Agalloch ever were, but if you're familiar with Agalloch you should be able to hear influences from there. John Haughm's grim vocals are really good for this release too. I'm pleased!

 

Sale Freux - Vindilis

Sale Freux are one of a few "newer" French bands who carries the torch of demo-era Peste Noire.  It's not as medieval-sounding, but it's got that dark, gritty and french countryside-feeling to it. Would be a nice soundtrack when walking over a french battlefield with thousands and thousands of dead soldiers everywhere. Fucked up drumsound, but I like it.

 

The Great Old Ones - EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy

Post-black metal inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, influenced by old Altar of Plagues, Wolves in the Throne Room, Fen and Deafheaven. These guys just gets better and better, and their third album is by far their best. Really powerful!

 

Bròn - Зарђала Круна

I have, over and over again, mentioned Bròn's two demos and debut album Ànrach as masterpieces, and I still do. Зарђала Круна is the band's new EP consisting of one 32 minutes long song, and it's another masterpiece of cold, atmospheric black metal in the vein of Evilfeast and Forest Silence. Breathtaking release! But as far as I know, this will be the last Bròn release with black metal elements, at least for a while. But the atmospheric ambience of these releases are amazing too, so I expect the future releases to be great too.

 

 

 

That's it for now, but I've got some other releases I'll add to the mix too. I just need to spin them a few more times.

Edited April 5, 2017 by Bear

[Visutox 188]

Great list, Bear! I have to retry with that Rude album, I enjoyed it but maybe wasn't in an old school dm mood at the time. It's a great album in any case, that's for sure. Also loved that Helheim album and I still don't know why I haven't given it another spin since the first time, brilliant stuff! 

 

19 minutes ago, Bear said:

When Agalloch broke up it didn't take long before John Haughm announced his new band, Pillorian, together with Trevor Matthews of Uada and SP of The Will of a Million

Fuck, how haven't I heard about this before? I'm gonna put it on my list and check it out soon. 

 

The rest of the bands seem interesting too.

(still have to check out Black Magic SS)

 

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

New Goatmoon isn't shit? You think it sounds different from what their last two have been like?

 

I only like their first and everything I've heard from their later output has been so fucking _bad_. I haven't heard this latest one, but it'd be quite the 180 if it's a sudden improvement.

[Bear 1817]

16 minutes ago, Disposable said:

New Goatmoon isn't shit? You think it sounds different from what their last two have been like?

 

I only like their first and everything I've heard from their later output has been so fucking _bad_. I haven't heard this latest one, but it'd be quite the 180 if it's a sudden improvement.

 

Yeah, I would say it is. Not that I've given Varjot or Voitto tai Valhalla too many spins, but I just get this feeling that it's more heavy metal inspired, epic and way cheesier, but not in a Alestorm/Korpiklaani/Finntroll-foly vein. It's just the combination of riffs, synth and production that makes it cheesy. The cover art is pretty spot on as far as the atmosphere and feeling of the album goes.

[Visutox 188]

 

https://agoniarecords.bandcamp.com/album/in-extremis

 

Just checked out this new beast and fuck, I was so skeptical since the samples didn't succeed to seduce me but this got me almost by surprise. Six years after Blasphemers' Malediction and now they're finally back with an absolute killer, which was mixed and mastered by Haldor Grunberg (Blaze of Perdition, Non Opus Dei). I highly recommend this.

Edited April 5, 2017 by Visutox

[Visutox 188]

Quote

 

As of yesterday we, four signatories from the band Ghost, have filed a lawsuit with the Linköping District Court. We are suing Tobias Forge (”Papa Emeritus”) – the band’s lead singer who has also been responsible for the finances of the band since its founding.

 

As of the filing of this lawsuit we are requesting that the court, under penalty, oblige Tobias Forge to declare the incomes as well as expenses of the band concerning the years between 2011 and 2016.

 

Throughout all the years we have been on tour with Ghost (between 2011-2016 some of us have performed something like 500 shows with the band) and throughout the band’s album recordings, we have neither been allowed to share in the profits of the band, nor have we seen any of the incomes accounted for.

 

The only thing we have received have been minimal advance payments to allow the band to keep going. This despite the fact that we had an agreement that any profits should be shared fairly between the members of the band.

 

When we have attempted to raise the issue of the band’s finances with Tobias Forge, his sole response has been that there are so far no profits to be share, but that everyone will be generously compensated once the band turns a profit.

 

The reason that this lawsuit is now being filed is a contract dispute that has escalated during the previous year (2016). Over the last year we have received multiple proposed contracts from Tobias Forge in which he seeks to redefine his role in the band.

 

Since the conception of Ghost our common understanding and agreement has been that we are a band on equal terms, but that Tobias will act as band leader and manage the band’s finances through his own companies.

 

Through contracts received from Tobias and his lawyers during 2016, Tobias has attempted to make us sign an agreement that implies we are merely consultants working for his company, an agreement also stating that we would receive less that a minimal wage for our contributions to the band. According to this proposal, furthermore we would renounce any and all rights to music royalties.

 

All above despite the fact that some of us have been members of the band since its foundation, investing all of our time in the band during the past five years, with as much right to the recordings and trademark of the band Ghost as that of Tobias Forge.

 

Our vocalist and former friend is now attempting to, in a underhand and shameless way, transform Ghost from a band into a solo project with hired musicians. Naturally this is not something we can accept.

 

When, in connection with the 2016 United States tour, approached a lawyer in order to sort out the situation of the contracts, we were informed that Tobias Forge no longer wanted us to participate in upcoming tours. Thus, Tobias Forge is now going ahead with the tour, which started March 24 2017 and is set to end in the UK on August 12, on his own together with rented musicians who have replaced all other band members. Tobias Forge has chosen this path of action without any permission from us to carry out the tour on his own. This under the name Ghost, which we regard as our commonly owned trademark.

 

The actions of Tobias Forge amount to nothing less than unabashed dishonesty, greed, and darkness. Not the darkness of which Ghost sings, but a darkness that pushes a person to betray his best friends when fame and fortune appear within reach.

 

We are terribly sorry that this afflicts the fans of the band as well, and that they too should suffer because of this betrayal and greed.
<3

 

We who are suing Tobias Forge are:

 

Simon Söderberg (Alpha) – member of Ghost since 2010.
Mauro Rubino (Air) – member of Ghost since 2011.
Henrik Palm (Eather) – member of Ghost since 2015
Martin Hjertstedt (Earth) – member of Ghost since 2014
The Nameless Ghouls

 

 

This is fucking disgusting. Always liked Ghost and appreciated Papa Emeritus but with this "anonymous members" shit story, things could only go wrong. I'm disappointed. 

Edited April 7, 2017 by Visutox

[Bear 1817]

I don't give a shit about that to be honest. As long as the music is top notch they can do whatever the fuck they want.

[Visutox 188]

Agreed, as long as Papa Emeritus doesn't launch a crowdfunding I think they're safe from getting a cancer.

[Bear 1817]

Yeah. I can understand that the ex-members are angry if Papa Emeritus has kept promised money from them and stuff, not honored a contract, but when they go out with his name and their own names the way they do I get a feeling that they're really fucking butthurt and jealous as fuck on him and the reputation he's build with Ghost, as it's been known from the begining that Papa Emeritus was Tobias Forge.  No matter what has happened, this is a terrible move for them. Not the suind, but the name dropping.

 

Anyway, Ghost has three brilliant albums and one of the best cover albums ever (If You Have Ghost) to their name, and I hope Ghost wins because of this. I want more Ghost albums. Them being one of the best live bands on the planet doesn't hurt either.

 

 

 

Anyway, speaking of bands with hidden identities, fucking Brujeria comes to mind. Which is why I played through their two first albums a couple of times this week. Death metal/grindcore, and in their early days they were heavy on the secret identity thing as they performed with pseudonyms and pretended to be Mexican druglords wanted by the FBI and stuff, with lyrics dealing with drug smuggling, Mexican pride, satanism, immigration and stuff. I always thought this imagery was really fucking awesome.

 

In reality it's a band consisting of people like Shane Embury, Emilio Marquez, Billy Gould, , Dino Cazares, Jello Biafra, Raymond Herrera, Jesse Pintado, Tony Campos, Jeff Walker, Tony Laureano, Adrian Erlandsson, Daniel Erlandsson and Nicholas Barker among others. So we're talking people who are pretty known in the world of (extreme) metal, as well as punk.

 

I highly recommend their two first albums if you're into grindcore in the vein of Asesino, Machetazo, Napalm Death and stuff. Their later albums are more groove metal-oriented and I don't like them very much at all.

[Visutox 188]

They're not to blame if he's acted like a fucking twat, I mean Ghost's concept was meant to be like this from the start. There's a contract, and that has to be respected. But then again I also don't give a fuck, as long as the band's music quality doesn't get fucked up because of this ridiculous drama. 

 

Brujería is a band I've always wanted to dig in, checked some songs from them and they sound really good. I'll definitely be giving them a go this weekend, prolly.

 

Speaking of Asesino, I really hope they'll release a new album one of these days. It's been ages since Cristo Satánico came out. 

Edited April 7, 2017 by Visutox

[Hakari 282]

God I love ghost and their music is phenomenal. Sucks the guy is a douche but like what was said above as long as they release a meliora part 2 I'm good

 

but still didn't some of the other ghouls write most the music? Gonna be hard to say this won't affect their next album 

Edited April 8, 2017 by Hakari

[Bear 1817]

Thought I'd keep updating this thread with good albums that I hear.

 

Belgium's Possession have blessed us with a fantastic dem and two great EPs of violent and chaotic black/death metal in the vein of Slaughtbbath, Sarcófago, Vulcano, Sepultura and so on since 2013, and now, five years after their creation they are back with their debut album.

 

Possession - Exorkizein

A new release dealing with possessions, demonolatry and witchcraft, subjects I feel suits the raw music very well. While they once again manage to release something proper good, they still aren't close to matching their phenomenal demo. It's mainly the production which is a bit off, but it still sounds very good, and this is still highly recommended of course.

[Bear 1817]

Next week is Inferno Festival, my 10th anniversary actually. Really looking forward to this. It kicks off on wednesday with the club day, which means a lot of bands playing in different clubs. Which means you'll always miss out on some bands.

 

The bands I really want to see:

 

Vulkan/Pokal:

Red Harvest

Borknagar

Nachash

Tangorodrim

Furze

 

Parteateret:

Whoredom Rife

Deus Mortem

 

Blå:

Hail Spirit Noir

 

Should manage to see Nachash, Red Harvest, Tangorodrim and Hail Spirit Noir, but my main priority is Hail Spirit Noir. Nachash is a fantastic band, but they play really early. So we'll probably miss out on them.

 

Thursday:

Helheim

Venom Inc

Destruction

Carcass

Pillorian

 

Heavydeath (ends this night at Revolver, which is a short walk from Rockefeller/John Dee). We always go to these shows.

 

Helheim and Venom Inc plays a bit too early for our taste, but I would love seeing both.

 

Friday:

Anaal Nathrakh

Samael

Gorgoroth

Infernal War

Crowbar

 

Other than Samael and Infernal War I am not too interested in seeing any of the bands this day, but we'll go and gotta catch some bands. And these are the most interesting of the lot. Last time I heard Anaal Nathrakh live they were atrocious. They didn't even seem to know how to perform live. Absolute trash. Doesn't help that's it's been 11 years since their last good album, and that they since then seem to have found lots of inspiration from metalcore.

 

Saturday:

Slagmaur

Primordial

Belphegor

Abbath

Svartidaudi

 

Only metal bands I've seen live that's better than Primordial is Ghost, and I've seen quite an amount of metal bands live by now. Slagmaur is an interesting band, but they've not been very good the two times I've seen them live. But the second time was a huge improvement on the first time at least. But I fucking hate the masks they use live. Looks so cheap. Like they bought it from a kids store in October. Belphegor is Belphegor. Not a huge fan, but they've got some good albums and could prove to be good live.

 

 

Anyway, I have 48 0,5l cans of beer and a bottle of gin waiting for me at my moms house, so no matter wich bands we see or miss, the four day long party will be majestic as always.

 

First Inferno Festival without my brother who moves to the Philippines earlier this year. Will be a huge miss as he's been with us 8 of these 10 years, and we've spent an insane amount of time in Oslo with the friend we've always stayed at when we've been in Oslo. But life goes on I guess.

[Visutox 188]

^ Damn, lots of huge names there. Too bad that your bro won't be able to come, but as you said life goes on. Enjoy the hell out of it! 

 

Anyway, the new Nightbringer is bloody fantastic, holy shit. I'm afraid I'm gonna have a bad time making my end year list. I thought that 2017 would never top last year but here we are, with tons of amazing albums and we're not even in June. 

[Hakari 282]

6 hours ago, Visutox said:

^ Damn, lots of huge names there. Too bad that your bro won't be able to come, but as you said life goes on. Enjoy the hell out of it! 

 

Anyway, the new Nightbringer is bloody fantastic, holy shit. I'm afraid I'm gonna have a bad time making my end year list. I thought that 2017 would never top last year but here we are, with tons of amazing albums and we're not even in June. 

 

Agreed on the new nightbringer. Absolutely slays. Many people are hyping it up it seems. Strongly considering on getting the vinyl

[Visutox 188]

^ Same, this is some extreme quality stuff. Makes you wanna come back to it after you're done listening the whole thing, few albums have such power. Dodecahedron's new album is also fucking phenomenal. I'll definitely be giving these two more spins in the next few days, they blew me away.

[Bear 1817]

Home, tired and destroyed. Feels like I am gonna die any minute now. Anyway, good festival as usual, and even tho my brother was missed we managed to have lots of fun.

 

Wednesday:

Tangorodrim - Simple, stripped down and straight-forward black metal heavily inspired by Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Darkthrone. This gig was top notch. No mumbo jumbo, just pure black metal.

Hail Spirit Noir - I was drunk out of my mind when these guys played, and that might have done wonders to the gig. But this was fantastic. Great gig!

This was moments before I puked on the security guard and walked around in Oslo puking all over the place, looking for my friend. That's the state I was in. I have no idea how they could serve me the last 5-6 beers/G&T's.

 

Also catched a couple of tracks by Borknagar, but it was pretty poor.

 

Thursday:

Got there late, so Destruction was our first band out. Sounds a bit too modern, but the gig was pretty good. Was better in 09 or whenever it was, tho.

Pillorian was amazing. While they were black metal as fuck, they did sound a lot more Agalloch-esque live than on album. I even thought they played an Agalloch track, but from the looks of it I was mistaken. But this was great and the ending with Dark Is the River of Man was brilliant. Just... completely put us under some kind of a spell.

Carcass was headlining day two, and they went on with a full 90 minute set. Which is really long for a band that play this type of music. But it worked and it was fantastic from begining to end, and Jeff Walker looked like he was having the time of his life. Looked like he could've gone on for a couple of more hours. My biggest problem was Bill Steer who looked like he came straight from a stoner rock gig, and with some nu-metalish moves here and there. But that's not a big deal. Amazing gig!

 

Missed out on Helheim and Venom. Inc, but they played too early for me. Simple as that. Having to go a gig before 8pm one of the days is more than enough for me.

 

Friday:

Infernal War kicked off our day with some brutal black metal. Just pure brutality from start to end. Far from amazing, but very fun.

I didn't expect much from Samael as I haven't enjoyed a single album since 1994's Ceremony of Opposites, but this was a very good gig. Lots of fun, even though I wish Xy played a real drum kit for the old track. But it was good.

Gorgoroth was surprisingly good. Drums was a bit off, but it wasn't awful or anything. Considering they headlined friday I expected them to do a bit more on stage, but they kept it really simple. Lots of spikes was all really. They were mainly carried by Hoest (I believe it was Hoest handling the vocals live this time) who did a fantastic job. Superb stage pressence for this gig. Looked like he came straight from hell.

 

Tried Crowbar but left after a couple of songs. Boring.

 

Saturday:

Primordial kicked it off and they were as good as only Primordial can be. Winner of Inferno Festival 2017. The sound was a bit muddy and "tight", but you could hear everything and A.A. Nemtheanga is just out of this world as both a vocalist and frontman. Stunning!

I had never heard Kontinuum before their Inferno Festival gig and the gig didn't make me want to check it out any further. Progressive black metal/post metal clearly inspired by crap like newer Sólstafir. Just... they were all over the place. Didn't seem like they knew what type of music they wanted to make. Meh.

Belphegor surprised me quite a lot. I did not expect to like this live, but it was pretty good. Tho, I got a bit tired towards the end. It's just more of them same until it's over, and the drum sound was a bit annoying. But the first 3/4th of the concert was cool. LOL at Serpenth looking like the fucked up, uglier son/brother/whatever of Dani Filth, though.

I've seen Svartidaudi a few times now, and I've never really been too impressed. But this gig was a a force of its own. Blew me away! I did miss them covering their faces tho (only the two guitarists did it this time).

Abbath got the honor of ending Inferno Festival 2017 and they just fucked it up. Or, Abbath fucked it up. He's a fucking diva, a pussy and a fucking idiot. They played four songs before he threw his guitar in on the floor, left stage and never came back. How anyone wants to be in a band with this dick is beyond me. Rumors has it that he was angry, had fought with the rest of his band earlier this day and that he had some technical problems. But still. A disgusting way too end Inferno Festival 2017. Got not statement from them yet, tho. But whatever.

 

 

Great shit. Got way too drunk for most part. But it's all good. It suits me.

[Bear 1817]

Till fjälls, del II

 

Making a part II of such a legendary classic as Till Fjälls is seriously risky as fuck because people will automatically put it up against the original, but as Naturbål was a proper return to form and their folkiest/most viking-esque album since Ödemarkens son I am really excited for this. Naturbål is excellent, and I've got some high expectations for this. There will also be a bonus EP with tracks from around 96-97 or something, from the time when they went from Vargatron to Vintersorg. I think they're re-recorded, or slightly re-recorded at least, but that is very interesting anyway.

 

They've also started playing live. Finally!