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Killer albums in the last few years.


Yowie

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What are some killer albums you have discovered in the last few years?
*Does not have to be albums released in the last few years, just albums you've heard in that time that have really impressed you. 

There's probably a fair few more, but for now my picks are:

Dehuman - Graveyard Of Eden
Descend To Acheron - The Transience Of Flesh
Temple Of Void - The World That Was
Warfather - The Grey Eminence
Depravity - Evil Upheaval
Immolation - Atonement
Heads For The Dead - Into The Red
Heads For The Dead - Serpent's Curse
Decrepit Birth  - Axis Mundi
Hate Eternal - Upon Desolate Sands
 

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There are so many, it's hard to know where to start. What I've been playing nonstop recently:

Ad Nauseam - Imperative Imperceptible Impulse

Abigor - Totschläger

Deathspell Omega - Drought; Chaining The Katechon; Paracletus

Gentle Giant - The Power And The Glory (finally got into this amazing band over the past year or so)

Return To Forever - Where Have I Known You Before; Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy (RIP Chick Corea)

Other relatively new or new-to-me stuff that's been in heavy rotation at some point over the past couple years:

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry; Hallucinogen

Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still; Shrines Of Paralysis

Akercocke - Renaissance In Extremis

Atheist - Elements (never liked this album much, and then last year, bam, I loved it all of a sudden)

Disaffected - Vast

Slidhr - The Futile Fires Of Man

Svartidaudi - Revelations Of The Red Sword

Enslaved - Utgard; E

Blood Incantation - Hidden History Of The Human Race

Grave Miasma - Odori Sepulcrorum

Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust

Evoken - Embrace The Emptiness

Grey Heaven Fall - Black Wisdom

Thy Darkened Shade - Liber Lvcifer I: Khem Sedjet

Khonsu - The Xun Protectorate

Katatonia - The Fall Of Hearts

Fates Warning - Parallels; No Exit

Running Wild - Port Royal; Death Or Glory

Pagan's Mind - Infinity Divine

Crimson Glory - s/t

Lethal - Programmed

Titan Force - s/t

Some recent albums I've done artwork for that I thoroughly enjoy:

Afterbirth - Four Dimensional Flesh; The Time Traveler's Dilemma

Rannoch - Reflections Upon Darkness

Marrowfields - Metamorphoses

In Human Form - III

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11 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Some recent albums I've done artwork for that I thoroughly enjoy:

Afterbirth - Four Dimensional Flesh; The Time Traveler's Dilemma

Rannoch - Reflections Upon Darkness

Marrowfields - Metamorphoses

In Human Form - III

Sweet artwork man!!!
I'm liking Rannoch.

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18 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

There are so many, it's hard to know where to start. What I've been playing nonstop recently:

Deathspell Omega - Drought; Chaining The Katechon; Paracletus

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry; Hallucinogen

Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still; Shrines Of Paralysis

Akercocke - Renaissance In Extremis

Disaffected - Vast

Slidhr - The Futile Fires Of Man

Svartidaudi - Revelations Of The Red Sword

Enslaved - Utgard; E

Grave Miasma - Odori Sepulcrorum

Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust

Crimson Glory - s/t

Edited FA's list to save me typing a ton of the same stuff.

In addition:

Gorguts - Colored Sands (2013) - this album massively upped the Gorguts' game and was my pick of top album for the 2010's.  Containing songwriting that most bands can only dream of and musicianship that is unrivalled in my opinion, this is a weighty and varied album that despite it's forays into other genres still remains a death metal beast at it's very core.

Akhlys - The Dreaming I (2015) Melinoë (2020)- 2 of the greatest modern bm albums in my collection (both sitting on vinyl on splattered effect formats).  The musical genius of Naas Alcameth knows no boundaries.  Melinoë is a suffocating listen.  Its main driving force the oppressive nature it imposes on you as a listener, whether through all out battery or utilising menacing atmospherics that would sit just as well on the soundtrack to most horror films, you can't help but fear the sounds it produces.  The experience leaves you feeling like being lost at sea and having to swim for some distant shore and the tumult of the tide just endlessly pulls you down to the darkest depths of the blackest waters.  Even when you manage to get your head above water again it is not long before you are pulled back under.

Suffocation - Human Waste (EP) (1991) - a true benchmark of brutality that I somehow overlooked for years in favour of Effigy of the Forgotten Pierced From Within.  It's worth noting that they are one of the most copied bands in death metal (along with Incantation) but what the debut shows is that most copycats are just colouring in in comparison to the masterpieces that Suffocation dropped early in their careers.

Altarage - Nihl (2016) - now here is a nasty piece of blackened, squally death metal that knocked me on my arse when I first heard it.  A deathly shapeshifting monster of a record that is still truly a horrifying listen.  They only came close to topping this with their 2019 offering The Approaching Roar and I believe they have a new record coming out soon but the track I heard left me a bit cold if honest.

Paysage d'hiver - Steinche (1998) Schattengang (1998) - I could list the whole discography probably but these two really standout from the glut of releases I have become familiar with in recent years.  Wintherr released three demos that same year and to really understand the depth of the content here you have to grasp his penchant for non-linear storytelling with all of his releases being parts of the same narrative.  The predictability factor is low here with tracks on Steinche going from ambient atmospherics to scathing bm in seconds.  Schattengang runs with much the same format and again showcases the song writing prowess of Wintherr superbly.  Both need a clear schedule to enjoy, no background music here folks.

I could go on all day here but I have to start work (at some point) and I prefer to add rationale on my choices which takes up time - but hopefully promotes discussion. 

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Ten albums that have particularly 'done it for me' (and were released) in the past few (three) years:

Worm - Gloomlord
Krypts - Cadaver Circulation
Antichrist - Pax Moriendi 
None - Damp Chill Of Life 
Blood Incantation - Hidden History Of The Human Race
Beast Of Revelation - The Ancient Ritual Of Death
Incantation - Sect Of Vile Divinities
Imprecation - Damnatio Ad Bestias
1914 - The Blind Leading The Blind
Monstrosity - The Passage Of Existence

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  • 1 month later...

How recent?  Say last 5 years?

Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race - I was very late coming to this one - too much hype initially but damn it's a great album

Destroyer 666 - Wildfire

Havok - Conformicide

Nails - You Will Never Be One Of Us

Testament - Titans Of Creation

Toxic Holocaust - Primal Future: 2019

 

 

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Starspawn is definitely a favorite of mine. Hidden History is great too.

A few more to add

Chthe'ilist - Le dernier crépuscule

Spectral Wound - Infernal Decadence

Archgoat - The Luciferian Crown

Sargeist - Unbound

Witch Vomit - Buried Deep in a Bottomless Grave (the EP preceding it is fucking Ace too)

Tomb Mold - Primordial Malignity, Manor of Infinite Forms, and Planetary Clairvoyance

Of Feather and Bone - Bestial Hymns of Perversion

Black Curse - Endless Wound

Ordinance - In Purge there is no Remission

LIFE - Ossification of Coral

Utzalu - The Grobian Fall

Circle of Ouroborous - Viimeinen juoksu

Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi

Nightbringer - Terra Damnata

Martyrdod - List

Probably a lot left out, but that's the first ones that came to mind.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 4/19/2021 at 7:34 AM, Yowie said:

Some more:

Earth Rot  - Black Tides Of Obscurity
Cathedral - The Garden Of Unearthly Delights 
Carnation - Where Death Lies
Beast - Danse Macabre
Eternal Rest  - The Picture Of Hatred
Gruesome - Savage Land

yowie pal. not messaged you in while. was listening to your cremated enemy album today. its a grower for sure. re cathedral whats your favourite album of theres?

On 6/3/2021 at 5:10 AM, Dead1 said:

How recent?  Say last 5 years?

Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race - I was very late coming to this one - too much hype initially but damn it's a great album

Destroyer 666 - Wildfire

Havok - Conformicide

Nails - You Will Never Be One Of Us

Testament - Titans Of Creation

Toxic Holocaust - Primal Future: 2019

 

 

thank the lord you got a band ive heard of😂 testament. does it hold up to there classic oldies albums iyo

im probably more  in to mainstream than i realise 😁

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1 hour ago, blaaacdoommmmfan said:

thank the lord you got a band ive heard of😂 testament. does it hold up to there classic oldies albums iyo

im probably more  in to mainstream than i realise 😁

 

I'd say it holds up to some of their early output but not classics like The Legacy or my personal favourite, Low. 

The one modern Testament album that IMO actually blows a lot of their old output out of the water is Dark Roots Of Earth.  Awesome album!

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22 hours ago, Dead1 said:

 

I'd say it holds up to some of their early output but not classics like The Legacy or my personal favourite, Low. 

The one modern Testament album that IMO actually blows a lot of their old output out of the water is Dark Roots Of Earth.  Awesome album!

cool may check out some of those albums, NOW😂 thanks dead1

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I've listened to Testament's latest quite a bit and apart from the last song I really like it. It probably doesn't stand as tall as Dark Roots, or their older stuff but I think it stands pretty tall.

My other stand outs are

Flotsam & Jetsam - End Of Chaos

Overkill - Wings Of War

Nekromantheon - The Visions Of Trismegistos

Evil Invaders - Surge Of Sanity

In Malice's Wake - The Blindness Of Faith

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