What Are You Listening To?

[FatherAlabaster]

Hornwood Fell - Damno Lumina Nocte

Nur Run - Among Those Waves

[Nasty_Cabbage]

NP: Brüka - Death's Promise

▶︎ Death's Promise | Brüka | Pest Productions (bandcamp.com)

 

Always surprised at the black metal coming out of Austin, Texas. I've only really been there a few times. I know they've got this weird state pride thing going where being "weird" or outside the rest of Texas culturally is a point of pride. Then again a state that large is bound to have it's own sort of cosmopolitan centers where these 'us versus them' subcultures thrive. These guys are from coming from Austin where it's like a counterculture to the already extant subculture of that city is always disconcerting. Still I think it's pretty safe to say Austin has it's own unique black metal scene.

Musically I don't think I could really ask for much more from a U.S. based black metal band. They're not as focused on catchiness and it seems they've excluded full on leads and solos almost entirely. Sometimes in lieu of super impactful haymakers they make sure the body blows land hard. As in you hear it and you know you're going to feel it the next morning. If I did genre specific top ten lists at the end of the year this album would be contending for a spot.

[Yannis]

Anabatha - Letanías Capítulo Prohibido

María Escarlata - El Misterio

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Armagedda - The Final War Approaching, Sweden 2001, disciples of Darkthrone

 

Darkthrone - Panzerfaust, 1995

 

Obtained Enslavement- Centuries of Sorrow, Norway 1994

 

[FatherAlabaster]

Saturnus - Martyre

Pan.Thy.Monium - Dawn Of Dreams

[RexKeltoi]

ICED EARTH - Plagues Of Babylo

[AlSymerz]

5 hours ago, RexKeltoi said:

Didn't even realize they are still touring, I believe Pete Wells died awhile ago though so not the original lineup I take it. Their live cover of Black Eyed Bruiser which I think is Gary Wright song is a banger too  

They haven't been original for years, but they have used local talent from different local bands. There has been several members die (7 in total) and some left and over the years they've had originals come and go. Other than Angry the drummer is the closest to an original in that he with their '92 rebirth. They play Wacken every few years and they are often touring Europe, both as headliners and support. Angry has announced that the 50th anniversary tour is the last.

 

NP: Frozen Doberman - Bonsai

6 hours ago, RexKeltoi said:

Didn't even realize they are still touring, I believe Pete Wells died awhile ago though so not the original lineup I take it. Their live cover of Black Eyed Bruiser which I think is Gary Wright song is a banger too  

Rose Tattoo's cover was a Stevie Wright song, Stevie wrote songs like Friday On my Mind with the Easybeats ( with George Vanda and Harry Young who then brought us AC/DC). As a solo artist his huge hit was Evie Parts 1,2 & 3.

[Spiderlix]

Acheron - Satanic Victory

I really enjoy death metal with satanic or demonic topics.I Just didn't understand why Metal Archives consider it as death/black.I didn't catch the black metal parts yet (not counting the lyric themes).

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Stutyr - Missä Yö Teidät Kohtaa, EP Finland 2023

 

Stutyr- Palavan Maailman Liekeistä, EP 2024

 

Septuagint - Acosmic Conflagration, Greece. Really been digging this one, it's quite catchy. Not so primitive as the record cover would suggest.

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

1 hour ago, Spiderlix said:

Acheron - Satanic Victory

I really enjoy death metal with satanic or demonic topics. I Just don't understand why Metal Archives considers it as death/black. I didn't catch the black metal parts yet (not counting the lyric themes).

The lyrical themes are the black metal parts. You have to remember not all black metal sounds like 2nd wave Darkthrone worship relying heavily on tremolo riffs. Other styles of black metal already existed before that.

Most black/death bands will have some connection to black metal in their music even if it's not very overt. I've heard people call some bands occult death metal instead of black/death. Some of it crosses the line into war metal which is a small sub-genre of black/death. Mostly it's the lyrics have to be Satanic, that's the one thing that's not optional.

But not all death metal bands with Satanic lyrical themes get classified as black/death though. Incantation for instance has about 90% Satanic lyrics and they're considered just regular death metal. Hard to say exactly where the line is between death metal and blackened death metal, but after listening to a lot of it, you get to kinda just know the difference when you hear it.

Not sure what bands you've been listening to, but if you listen to black/death bands like Profanatica or Archgoat or or Profane Order or Necrophobic or Dissection you can pretty clearly hear both the black and death metal in there. No two bands mix the black and death metal in quite the same way. This is my favorite sub-genre btw. It's a win/win for me because imo the death metal makes the black metal better, and the black metal makes the death metal better. 

Hellfire Deathcult -Black Death Terroristic Onslaught, Chicago 2018. You can hear how something like this sounds different than most regular death metal, right? But it's not just plain old black metal either obviously, it's essentially a 50/50 mix of the two. Hence the name black/death or blackened death. This one leans a bit more toward death metal.

 

Blood Chalice - The Blasphemous Psalms of Cannibalism, Finland 2022. This one leans more toward black than death.

 

Abhorrency - Climax of Disgusting Impurities, Sacramento CA 2022. This one's close to 50/50.

 

[FatherAlabaster]

Hooded Menace - Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed

Abigor - Opus IV

Abigor - Nachthymnen

 

 

[AlSymerz]

Silent Knight - The Masterplan

[Yannis]

Theatre des Vampires - Bloody Lunatic Asylum

 

[Yannis]

Blut Aus Nord - Fathers Of The Icy Age

 

[Arioch]

Today will be the day of the massacra, and what could be more natural than to start with the demos of this French band?

Massacra - The Day of Massacra (2013)

Demos are :

- Legion of Torture (1987)
- Final Holocaust (1988)
- Nearer from Death (1989)
 

 

[Yannis]

Amestigon - Sun Of All Suns

Cardinal Sin - Spiteful Intents

 

[Arioch]

Massacra - Final Holocaust (1990)

In 1990, when this album came out, it had a big impact in France. At the time, our bands were considered to be 'inferior' in quality to what was being done on other scenes in the UK, Germany and the USA.

But with the arrival of bands like Loudblast, Agressor, Massacra, No Return and Mercyless, the situation changed.

And Massacra's first album, with its German-style thrash rather than death, was an excellent introduction to what the band would become with their next album, Enjoy the Violence.

 

[Yannis]

Liar Of Golgotha - Dwell Within The Mysterious Dark

 

[AlSymerz]

Devin Townsend - Physicist

[markm]

Black Forest-S/T-yes checking this one out finally

Fires in the Distance/Air is Not One of Us-(2023)one of the few melodeth albums in recent years that hit me. It's not remarkable per se except for the inclusion of some very tasty quasi Romantic era Chopin-lite piano playing that alternates with guitar leads sometimes separately, sometimes together and on occasion close to what I understand counterpoint in classical to be. Melodic to a fault but does the usual gruff/pretty thing quite effectively...that I listen back to back with....

Krigstrav/Fires in the Fall-atmo blackened doom with some death, that reminds me a bit of Ethereal Shroud/Trisagion from 2021 but  more earthbound and frankly not as good, still enjoyable with some acoustic/folksy influence.  I tend to listen to these two "Fires" albums back to back as both hit a melodic/atmo vibe. 

Mork/SYV-sounding proggier this time around

Lamp of Murmur-Saturnian Bloodstorm-the blatant Immortal At the Heart of Winter worship that boarders on plagiarism, but if your a fan of that album like I am, it's a fun listen.

Wormhole/Almost Human (2023)-slam is definitely not my thing, but this and Afterbirth's album from the same year satisfy a certain back to back listening itch

Woe/Legacies of Failure (2023)

Sulphur Aeon-Severn Crowns and Seven Seals (2023

Ulthur- Anthronomicon (2023

 

[Arioch]

Massacra - Enjoy the Violence (1991)

This time, Massacra abandon German Thrash for Death. On some tracks, the violence is palpable. I love this album. Where Loudblast are content to be fast on some passages before quickly falling back into mid tempo (on Disincarnate for example, but also on the first album), Massacra go deeper, to my great pleasure.