What Are You Listening To?

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Mithras Crowned - Hymns of the Hierophant, South Africa

 

Black Sun Disciple - Hatebound Warfare, Finland

 

[AlSymerz]

Gruesome - Savage Land

[Thatguy]

GIVRE - Le Cloitre. I really enjoyed this.  Intelligent variation in tempos, dynamics and voice. Thatguy approved

BONJOUR TRISTESSE - Against Leviathan. Very different but also very satisfying

FATALIST - Lunar. 

MEKIGAH - To Hold Onto A Heartless Heart. A bit off centre - deliberately - and will warrant further listens to decide about it

[AlSymerz]

Obliveon - From This Day Forward

[RexKeltoi]

Mercyful Fate - A Dangerous Meeting

[AlSymerz]

Falconer - Grime vs. Granduer

[Nasty_Cabbage]

NP: Whoredom Rife - Den Vrede Makt

▶︎ Den Vrede Makt | Whoredom Rife | TERRATUR POSSESSIONS (bandcamp.com)

Pacing reminds me a little bit of Nightbringer. It's the kind of album that I have a hard time saying anything good or bad about, because it's exactly what it wants to be, and I can't ask for anything more than that. Commendable, but average.

[Yannis]

Behexen - Rituale Satanum

Incantation - Diabolical Conquest

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

1 hour ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

NP: Whoredom Rife - Den Vrede Makt

Pacing reminds me a little bit of Nightbringer. It's the kind of album that I have a hard time saying anything good or bad about, because it's exactly what it wants to be, and I can't ask for anything more than that. Commendable, but average.

Norwegian black metal of the reasonably aggressive variety should be right up my alley. And I've really been in the black metal zone the last week or two. Yet I've never been able to put my finger on exactly why I don't like these guys. Their albums aren't really bad, and this 4th one even seems a bit better than the last couple from what I can remember. But still this isn't tempting me to purchase it or even just to finish it. It sounds good, but it desperately needs a few more compelling riffs. Making a big noise by itself isn't enough with hundreds of black metal albums vying for my attention each year. We had a Swedish dude here who really liked these guys, a college professor if I recall correctly, he had the first 2 WR albums on his year end lists. But he doesn't come around much anymore so I can't ask him what it was he liked about them. I almost wanna check out Nightbringer now. Hear them mentioned a lot but I haven't heard enough of them to remember what they're all about. But I couldn't have liked 'em too much because I don't have any of their stuff. Looking them up it seems all their albums are pretty old, they dropped one every three years up until 2017 and then there's been nothing since. So maybe I'll skip that idea. I'll find something.

 

Nocturnal Adversary - S/T demo USBM. Here we go, now this is exactly what I was looking for. And it's NYP. Don't know where in the US they're from, but if it didn't say US I would have guessed Finland. 

 

Ethereal Blight - Invocations of Agony EP, Phoenix AZ

 

 

[Yannis]

12 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Black Sun Disciple - Hatebound Warfare, Finland

 

Great album. I really dig the vocalist and the punchy riffing. If only the production was a bit less clean but take that as a me problem 🤪

[RelentlessOblivion]

Sacramentum - Far Away from the Sun

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Drudensang - Verborgene Riten, killer black metal from Germany 2017

 

Kilta - Ikuisuuden Pylväät, (Pillars of Eternity) Finland. Folky and melodic, and a little slow getting started, I almost bailed on it, but then it got good. That was earlier this afternoon, now I'm back for another round.

 

21 minutes ago, Yannis said:

Great album. I really dig the vocalist and the punchy riffing. If only the production was a bit less clean but take that as a me problem 🤪

This is the wall of noise production you typically get on these things nowadays. And I'm OK with it, or I've become used to it at least. I guess because this type of black metal (raw, aggressive, younger no-name bands) is my bread and butter, I listen to a ton of shit just like this. If I disqualified everything with les than ideal production there wouldn't be much left. While certainly not filthy, this one doesn't stand out to me as particularly clean though, so I'm cool with it. 

[Yannis]

Necrophobic - The Nocturnal Silence

 

[AlSymerz]

Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

[MacabreEternal]

Insomnium - Anno 1696 (2023)

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Lacrimorphosis - Clemency in the Halls of Sacrifice, Ukraine. This is incredible. Dude's put out 3 albums in 2023 and 4 so far in 2024. He's gonna burn himself out at this rate.

 

Lacrimorphosis - Sunset of Endings

 

[Yannis]

Transilvania - The Night Of Nights

Desaster - A Touch Of Medieval Darkness

Cruel Force - Dawn Of The Axe

 

[Nasty_Cabbage]

5 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

...Yet I've never been able to put my finger on exactly why I don't like these guys. Their albums aren't really bad, and this 4th one even seems a bit better than the last couple from what I can remember. But still this isn't tempting me to purchase it or even just to finish it. It sounds good, but it desperately needs a few more compelling riffs.

I think you hit the nail on the head as to why this doesn't exactly impress. I enjoy the Norwegian style from time to time, but after listening to the album all the way through I realized that they're really missing a key component: rests. Relying on rests and palm muting to carry a transition can very easily become a crutch for some, but to almost completely cut them out in favor of longer changes is almost as bad. It's especially noticeable to some one who's listened to a decent bit of black metal. It's all telegraphed so far in advance that your brain is done with the riff before the riff is, robbing it of any measure of unpredictability. 

NP: Rendered Helpless - From Nothing Comes All

RENDERED HELPLESS - From Nothing Comes All | Lacerated Enemy records (bandcamp.com)

Well that album cover certainly doesn't say Meshuggah worship to me (and thank God for that. Meshuggah album covers are terrible), but that's what I got. It's a nice change of pace for me at the moment, even if you have innumerable choices if that's one hundred percent your jam. I enjoy Meshuggah one whole album at a time, and probably about twice a year. I do have to admit this is a nice change up in my metal diet of late. 

[AlSymerz]

Cosmic Psychos - Cum The Raw Prawn

[GoatmasterGeneral]

10 hours ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

I think you hit the nail on the head as to why this doesn't exactly impress. I enjoy the Norwegian style from time to time, but after listening to the album all the way through I realized that they're really missing a key component: rests. Relying on rests and palm muting to carry a transition can very easily become a crutch for some, but to almost completely cut them out in favor of longer changes is almost as bad. It's especially noticeable to some one who's listened to a decent bit of black metal. It's all telegraphed so far in advance that your brain is done with the riff before the riff is, robbing it of any measure of unpredictability. 

Funny thing that unpredictability. I hear a lot of people say it's something they look for and possibly require in their music, but I'm not one of them. A wee small amount maybe just to keep things interesting, but a little goes a long long way for me. Which is why I avoid prog and tech at all costs. I like the stripped down back to basics approach. Less is more. Keep it simple stupid. Riffs don't need to be complex or unpredictable, and I'd certainly never listen to anything that's been described to me as "weird," "wacky," "crazy" or "avant-garde." Instead I gravitate toward stuff that can be described as filthy and primitive. I value execution of the style and the ability to create atmosphere over innovation, originality, musicianship or unpredictability. I don't typically appreciate outside influences. I'd honestly prefer the 67th Archgoat clone that can faithfully and convincingly pull off that style, even if the riffs and ideas are derivative and recycled, over some band coming out of left field with a completely new approach. Sure, occasionally there will come a band that's totally unique and original sounding but also really really good (to me) and that's fantastic when that happens. But it's so rare that something will be truly original and also strongly appeal to me, that I don't ever expect that or waste time hunting for it.

I've found the styles of extreme metal that appeal to me the most, and I'm happy staying in that arena. I've found that in my old age I like my black and death metalz to sound a certain way, which I know is unthinkable to some people who crave originality and unpredictability. So for me what it comes down to, is that within these styles that I enjoy there will be albums with cool riffs, and then some ok but not as cool riffs, your average predictable riffs, and then there are your bad/boring riffs. Personally I find that riffs can still be enjoyable and headbangable even if they're somewhat derivative, average and predictable. To me "meat and potatoes" is a big positive, not a negative. I love the sub-genre of crust for example, and I have dozens upon dozens of crust albums that all sound very very similar with little to no deviation from the norm. It all comes down to how well they can execute that style and atmosphere, intensity/sincerity, and who can come up with more cool riffs per album. Which is why 95% of what I listen to in the way of black and death metal can be described as "riffy." I might click for the cover art, but I come back for the riffs. Sometimes a band will put a song with a bad main riff first or second on their album and it can put me off wanting to hear the rest of it even when the rest could potentially be great. Life's too short to listen to sub-par riffs. Even if everything else about an album sounds basically right, like in the case of that Whoredom Rife album, if it doesn't have those cool riffs that make you want to come back for them, what good is it?

 

Old - Dawn of Darkness, Germany 2023. Like for instance this is one of my top 5 favorite albums from last year, and there is absolutely nothing innovative or unpredictable happening here. It's just your standard punky black metal that goes hard out for 36 minutes and has simple riffs I can hum along to that make me want to bang my head. And 99% of the time that's all I really want.

 

Vargsang - In the Mist of Night, Germany 2014. Or there's this one, which I'd consider one of my top 2 or 3 black metal albums of all time. Very straight-forward and predictable, but I can't get enough of this shit. When I first discovered this dude I listened to his 4 albums on repeat for months. Because the catchy riffs got stuck in my head, it was all I wanted to listen to. I'd put other stuff on sometimes and then have to abort the mission because I just wanted to revel in more Vargsang. 

 

3 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

Cosmic Psychos - Cum the Raw Prawn

Does this mean Fuckwit City is the place where you belong? That's how I've always pictured you btw a taller overalls wearing version of Mad Macka. 

 

[AlSymerz]

Never owned a pair of 'ralls in my life.

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Just now, AlSymerz said:

Never owned a pair of 'ralls in my life.

 

But in my imagination all farmers drive tractors, wear overalls, wield pitchforks and chew on long blades of grass. Doesn't have to reflect reality, that's my mental picture straight out of central casting. Obviously down under you'd more likely be in stubbies and a wife beater.

 

[AlSymerz]

And why don't you imagine me in a pink bikini and high heels?

NP: Terrorizer - Darker Days Ahead

[RexKeltoi]

8 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

Cosmic Psychos - Cum The Raw Prawn

Only song I've heard is Fuckwit City, I dig it  

5 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

Never owned a pair of 'ralls in my life.

 

Grew up around farms in the summer on vacations and can't remember seeing anyone wearing em either 

[AlSymerz]

26 minutes ago, RexKeltoi said:

Only song I've heard is Fuckwit City, I dig it 

There is 11 albums of Psycho goodness worthy of decent ears.

 

27 minutes ago, RexKeltoi said:

Grew up around farms in the summer on vacations and can't remember seeing anyone wearing em either 

The only people around here that wear them are workers and I'd never want to be mistaken for one of those.

 

Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction