Music The Ultimate Metal thread.

TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
I'd suggest giving The Fall of Hearts a try first. That's the go-to album, when it comes to their latest transformation as a band, and, imho, one of the highlights of their entire career. Too many nice influences in it, from some doomy stuff and Paradise Lost to prog metal and Steven Wilson, Depeche Mode and even alt-rock. The last two albums have been written solely by Renkse because Nystrom has apparently lost his inspiration, and it kind of shows... Still a great band, though.

The Ashen, for me, falls into the "good at first, but with little staying power" category. I blame the heavy dose of death and black metal i was raised on as a 90s metalhead, he-he. The Privateer was a cool record, indeed. Very fun, they make good use of the subgenre's tropes, and most of their choices actually serve the songs (they're not being used for the sake of it). The brutal vocals reminded me of Angela Gosow.

Since we're talking about legacy bands from the 90s, Immolation's Acts of God was terrific. Hell, even the last one from Fear Factory managed to find the sweet spot between their narrow range of riffs and electronics this time.
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I have a similar thing about that new Atrocity album, there's some bro-ish stuff going on in there and it's maybe not going to be one that stays with me, but it's really enjoyable for what it is.

Likewise, my introduction to DM was Malevolent Creation and Suffocation's classic albums. But then I hear their probable modern equivalents, the likes of Conjureth, and think it's a bit one note and boring. I'm digging this stuff that has some monster hooks and I liked that Ashen did it so convincingly.

The Privateer really caught me off guard, I had a sustained love affair with early Running Wild in the late 90's/early 00's and was surprised that this has become a genre now. I really like what The Privateer are doing, their mixture of Melodic Death with Power Metal works so well.

I'll have to check out the Immolation, following my long period of not really listening to music I find it hard to keep track of bands I used to enjoy and there's a lot to catch up on. Immolation and Incantation were up their as my favourites back when, but lost track of them after 2012. I did listen to a decent amount of newer Incantation prior to seeing them at Damnation, and Christ that last album was good.
 
TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
The other post-Clayman albums are run-of-the-mill records. It's not elitism to suggest that bands like Dark Tranquillity have matured way better than them. And since someone mentioned Soilwork, Overgivenheten, with its super mellow sound, the folk and acoustic elements and keys, is a far more honest nod to the sound IF helped create back in the day without hiding its intention to be commercial and radio friendly. You don't have to sound like Skillet to be able to tour in the US.
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Though I think Grylte was being a bit tongue in cheek, I agree that Dark Tranquillity matured in their sound, and continued to release great music. Projector was quite a leap in many respects and did it very well. I listened to Haven again last year for the first time in over a decade and that album holds up so well.

Soilwork, eh, stopped following them when they got released Stabbing the Drama, which I thought was dreadful. They got into that cycle of releasing an album almost every year and Figure Number Five was already a step down from Natural Born Chaos.
 
Ainu said:
I haven't listened to In Flames in ages but I have to laugh at that clip a couple of posts up. It starts out as inoffensive but mediocre metalcore and then that refrain hits. :lol:

How do you go from this:




to that abomination?
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Only Anders and Bjorn left from the original lineup. They started to go dowhill quickly after guitarrist Jesper left. A sense of purpose was not a bad album, the last one he featured in.

Some of their new stuff sounded okay compared to most of the recent crap the've been realeasing year after year.

Seen them live in their hayday. Was a phenomenal band during their great years.
 


Currently listening to this album while on the forum and studying a bit. My fav Killswitch album ever. So many tracks on this album give me so many memories of when life was better for me.

Saw them live in 09 on the taste of chaos tour. I kinda only liked them during Howards era. I absolutely love his vocals. He sounded great live too!!
 
Ainu said:
I haven't listened to In Flames in ages but I have to laugh at that clip a couple of posts up. It starts out as inoffensive but mediocre metalcore and then that refrain hits. :lol:

How do you go from this:




to that abomination?
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Unbelievable.

I loved early In Flames, but anything after Reroute (which I quite like) I just find unlistenable. I remember early songs featured violin and intro to Biosphere is one of my favourite instrumental sections.

 
Jotun said:
Unbelievable.

I loved early In Flames, but anything after Reroute (which I quite like) I just find unlistenable. I remember early songs featured violin and intro to Biosphere is one of my favourite instrumental sections.

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You don't like Come Clarity? I thought it was a good album for them.
 
BlueHaze said:
You don't like Come Clarity? I thought it was a good album for them.
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No, just couldn't find any memorable song, it just seemed like too much noise. When I listen to it it just feels too much like crawling through knives.

I have been getting softer in my older years and going more towards power metal and classic rock, so that might contribute to me not liking it.
 
DavelinaJolie said:
I have a similar thing about that new Atrocity album, there's some bro-ish stuff going on in there and it's maybe not going to be one that stays with me, but it's really enjoyable for what it is.

Likewise, my introduction to DM was Malevolent Creation and Suffocation's classic albums. But then I hear their probable modern equivalents, the likes of Conjureth, and think it's a bit one note and boring. I'm digging this stuff that has some monster hooks and I liked that Ashen did it so convincingly.

The Privateer really caught me off guard, I had a sustained love affair with early Running Wild in the late 90's/early 00's and was surprised that this has become a genre now. I really like what The Privateer are doing, their mixture of Melodic Death with Power Metal works so well.

I'll have to check out the Immolation, following my long period of not really listening to music I find it hard to keep track of bands I used to enjoy and there's a lot to catch up on. Immolation and Incantation were up their as my favourites back when, but lost track of them after 2012. I did listen to a decent amount of newer Incantation prior to seeing them at Damnation, and Christ that last album was good.
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I hear you about the last Atrocity album. And i agree with what you say about DM nowadays. Maybe it's because we were treated to some absolute gems back in the 90s, maybe our tastes have changed and we haven't fully realized it... who knows. I just think much of the modern stuff lacks any real identity. And some older bands are just recycling the same riffs over and over again. There are a lot of bands who think that just being very fast, very technical or very noisy will do the trick. Don't get me wrong, i fully enjoy Be'lakor, Ulcerate, Ne Obliviscaris (another spring release i'm looking forward to), The Black Dahlia Murder, Insomnium, Scar Symmetry, Tribulation and other post-2000 bands. But now and then (a band like) Carcass will drop (an album like) Surgical Steel and i will go full Lenny Cole with my old school ideas.

Incantation have released some interesting material over the years. Malevolent Creation... not so much. Running Wild were one of my favourite bands. For many years, we couldn't find their albums here because Rolf had messed things up with their label. About five years ago, when they became available again, i purchased their whole discography in one visit to my local record shop. The silliness of the genre doesn't bother me. I don't have any problem spinning the Alestorm albums, either. Metal can also try to sound funny and bigger than life.

I wasn't trying to be offensive to Grylte, it was just my opinion. If someone enjoys the new IF music (and judging by their success, there's lots of people), good for them. I can't be objective when it comes to Dark Tranquillity. They are in my top-10 of all time, so, as you can imagine, i love both Projector and Haven. I can admit i have a soft spot for Soilwork because i don't think that a good metal song has to be over 7 minutes with a structure that you will be able to fully appreciate after listening to it 20 times. They know how to play, they have a more than capable vocalist and they don't take only one road to achieve their commercial sound. In the last decade, they found a great guitarist in David Andersson (who also did a tremendous job in Strid's other project, the retro/AOR band The Night Flight Orchestra) whose tone i really liked. Sadly, both as someone who had been facing depression even before the lockdowns and as a daytime doctor who had to deal with the suffering the virus caused to people, D. Andersson recently succumbed to his inner demons and is no longer with us. And despite its commercial direction, you can see in his last lyrics a man struggling.
 
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BlueHaze said:
Only Anders and Bjorn left from the original lineup. They started to go dowhill quickly after guitarrist Jesper left. A sense of purpose was not a bad album, the last one he featured in.

Some of their new stuff sounded okay compared to most of the recent crap the've been realeasing year after year.

Seen them live in their hayday. Was a phenomenal band during their great years.
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And Anders and Bjorn aren't even original members (joined between Subterranean and The Jester Race!)

I saw them in 2000 and they were storming that night, even with a short set. Absolutely cracking band in their day. It's weird because I thought Clayman was quite commercially viable in metal circles and a decent album. But still, they seem to have gone done a route which I find hard to engage with.

AHH well.
 
TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
Running Wild were one of my favourite bands. For many years, we couldn't find their albums here because Rolf had messed things up with their label. About five years ago, when they became available again, i purchased their whole discography in one visit to my local record shop. The silliness of the genre doesn't bother me. I don't have any problem spinning the Alestorm albums, either. Metal can also try to sound funny and bigger than life.

I wasn't trying to be offensive to Grylte, it was just my opinion. If someone enjoys the new IF music (and judging by their success, there's lots of people), good for them. I can't be objective when it comes to Dark Tranquillity. They are in my top-10 of all time, so, as you can imagine, i love both Projector and Haven. I can admit i have a soft spot for Soilwork because i don't think that a good metal song has to be over 7 minutes with a structure that you will be able to fully appreciate after listening to it 20 times. They know how to play, they have a more than capable vocalist and they don't take only one road to achieve their commercial sound. In the last decade, they found a great guitarist in David Andersson (who also did a tremendous job in Strid's other project, the retro/AOR band The Night Flight Orchestra) whose tone i really liked. Sadly, both as someone who had been facing depression even before the lockdowns and as a daytime doctor who had to deal with the suffering the virus caused to people, D. Andersson recently succumbed to his inner demons and is no longer with us. And despite its commercial direction, you can see in his last lyrics a man struggling.
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I got my first Running Wild album (The First Years of Piracy compilation/re-recording) in a record shop in Llandudno in the late 90's. I was completely blown away by Soldiers of Hell and then got a bunch of their stuff. Really great band in their day. I've got a copy of Damn The Machine by David Gehlke that I'm looking forward to reading soon, Noise Records has a fascinating history and had a great roster. Should be a good read!

Melodic death for me was always defined by that slightly chaotic sound you got on stuff like The Gallery or something like The Everdawn's Opera of the Damned EP or A Canorous Quintet's As Tears EP. They had an approach that was kind of out of control and insistent that really worked for me. It's perhaps why I always thought Slaughter of The Soul, as amazing an album as it is, was leaning more into thrash. As it became more slick and popular it lost some of that vibrancy, but I still love Dark Tranquillity's late 90's/early 00's material, they found a way to develop that moved away from that original sound but became more layered and considered and offered considerable depth. Like you, they're a top ten band for me though I've fallen off since Sundin left, because his guitar work was really quite special.
 
Looking to create a horsechoker-tier post I stumbled upon this:



I'm not sure I've ever heard a worse cover of a song and they actually used this as a tribute and made the band sit and watch. :lol:
 
At least Morten Iversen was trying his best to look interested. Can't say the same about Jan Axel who had the same posture/look on his face i usually have when i want to leave a place and the gf has been signalling "in 5 mins" for about an hour. :lol: Jorn is just too cool to give a feck. Wrong artist to cover, i suppose. Isn't Vincent from Morbid Angel into that shite? He may have been more appreciative of the effort.
 
do.ob said:
Looking to create a horsechoker-tier post I stumbled upon this:



I'm not sure I've ever heard a worse cover of a song and they actually used this as a tribute and made the band sit and watch. :lol:
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Jesus Christ that's awful. Such a classic track as well.
 
Look forward to loads of new releases this year, especially Enslaved, Anciients, Baroness and Dvne. Not really been drawn to any new records that has come out so far this year, what are peoples favourites?
 
FeedTheGoat said:
Look forward to loads of new releases this year, especially Enslaved, Anciients, Baroness and Dvne. Not really been drawn to any new records that has come out so far this year, what are peoples favourites?
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Ne Obliviscaris could be interesting release. If I remember correctly Insomnium had record plans for this year. Think it's gonna be another one of great surprises from less known groups.

Can't go wrong with Enslaved. Even if it's not will be level of Isa or Ruun albums, I'd still check them out and most likely won't be disappointed.
 
Van Piorsing said:
Ne Obliviscaris could be interesting release. If I remember correctly Insomnium had record plans for this year. Think it's gonna be another one of great surprises from less known groups.

Can't go wrong with Enslaved. Even if it's not will be level of Isa or Ruun albums, I'd still check them out and most likely won't be disappointed.
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I'm one of those that actually prefer their 2010's output over Isa and Ruun. Especially Axioma, Riitir and In Times that I consider masterpieces. But as you say, can't really go wrong with them. Always adding new strings to their bow
 
It's been a while since I've heard anything from Anathema, ever since Judgement to be precise, but I was in the mood for them for some reason. basically, their last couple of albums were all I was listening to this whole week.



I put The Optimist yesterday during the Dortmund - Chelsea match and later played this on repeat for a good part of the second half. I'm aware they don't really belong in this thread anymore, but still...
 
Bole Top said:
It's been a while since I've heard anything from Anathema, ever since Judgement to be precise, but I was in the mood for them for some reason. basically, their last couple of albums were all I was listening to this whole week.



I put The Optimist yesterday during the Dortmund - Chelsea match and later played this on repeat for a good part of the second half. I'm aware they don't really belong in this thread anymore, but still...
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Check out their Weather Systems album. One of my favourites.
 
I've been taking a leisurely stroll through Napalm Death's discography for the first time in years and it is honestly breathtaking how good and relevant they still are. They're still pumping out quality, uncompromising death/grind, and for me it is every bit as good as the earlier stuff. They constantly find subtle inclusions to keep things fresh, album after album. Most metal bands are has beens at this stage. Legendary band.
 
Abraxas said:
I've been taking a leisurely stroll through Napalm Death's discography for the first time in years and it is honestly breathtaking how good and relevant they still are. They're still pumping out quality, uncompromising death/grind, and for me it is every bit as good as the earlier stuff. They constantly find subtle inclusions to keep things fresh, album after album. Most metal bands are has beens at this stage. Legendary band.
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Will be moshing to them live for the first time on April. Can't wait.

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George Owen said:
Will be moshing to them live for the first time on April. Can't wait.

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Wow, there's some real blasts from the past there.

Abraxas said:
I've been taking a leisurely stroll through Napalm Death's discography for the first time in years and it is honestly breathtaking how good and relevant they still are. They're still pumping out quality, uncompromising death/grind, and for me it is every bit as good as the earlier stuff. They constantly find subtle inclusions to keep things fresh, album after album. Most metal bands are has beens at this stage. Legendary band.
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I heard The Wolf I Feed the other day and it's still a banger.
 
Abraxas said:
I've been taking a leisurely stroll through Napalm Death's discography for the first time in years and it is honestly breathtaking how good and relevant they still are. They're still pumping out quality, uncompromising death/grind, and for me it is every bit as good as the earlier stuff. They constantly find subtle inclusions to keep things fresh, album after album. Most metal bands are has beens at this stage. Legendary band.
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I didn't know they were still going. Just looked them up and had no idea they had released so much since I last listened to them (probably around 2000). I need to have a dig through that backlog.

Their line-up looks to have remained fairly steady since around 89/90, but it's quite unusual that they have literally no original members. Nobody who played on Scum is still in the band. Can't think of many other bands where that is the case. Gwar is the only other one I'm aware of, but they're the kind of band that might just live forever, since they're all essentially playing characters, rather than band members.
 
OnlyTwoDaSilvas said:
I didn't know they were still going. Just looked them up and had no idea they had released so much since I last listened to them (probably around 2000). I need to have a dig through that backlog.

Their line-up looks to have remained fairly steady since around 89/90, but it's quite unusual that they have literally no original members. Nobody who played on Scum is still in the band. Can't think of many other bands where that is the case. Gwar is the only other one I'm aware of, but they're the kind of band that might just live forever, since they're all essentially playing characters, rather than band members.
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Yes, it is quite unique. They can't die, they're part of the fabric of metal. I think they're compelled to go on forever. The latest album is pretty decent in my opinion. Fairly standard Napalm stuff from the later years, standard deathgrind with the occasional punkish/industrial influence on a couple songs.
 
Cannibal Corpse playing in Manchester soon. Dark Funeral in support, probably one of my least favourite black metal bands unfortunately, but still...could be a good night.
 
Barney, Harris, Embury and Herrera may not be the original Napalm Death line-up, but they are the definitive one. You listen to their latest material and it's impossible to tell that these guys are in their mid-50s.

In Flames and Stratovarius have no original members left. Quiet Riot fall under the same category, if we count the first out of the two albums that were released only in Japan (does anyone remember that Randy Rhoads played the guitar in those?).

I'm going to see the Leprous/Monuments/Kalandra package live tomorrow. Should be good.
 
Abraxas said:
Enslaved - Heimdal out today.
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That's truly dreamy / floaty piece even in faster tracks. Still feels like black metal, but everything sounds just so refined and imo better balance between aggression and flow than newer Opeth which almost completely steered into rock territory.

Not trying to overrate them too much, but at some point they're becoming a classic for me, perhaps even bit in the mood of Bathory / Paradise Lost from back in a day with original atmosphere always present.

Probably just a great album, it's just not many bands can pull it off like that almost every three years. Just wow.
 
Van Piorsing said:
That's truly dreamy / floaty piece even in faster tracks. Still feels like black metal, but everything sounds just so refined and imo better balance between aggression and flow than newer Opeth which almost completely steered into rock territory.

Not trying to overrate them too much, but at some point they're becoming a classic for me, perhaps even bit in the mood of Bathory / Paradise Lost from back in a day with original atmosphere always present.

Probably just a great album, it's just not many bands can pull it off like that almost every three years. Just wow.
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Opinions are like arse holes and all that...but it didn't hit quite as hard for me. I haven't liked their last couple now, so it's actually a long time (in years and not releases) since they made something I really loved. But generally I agree, they have one of the most consistent discographies in metal.

It just didn't evoke any kind of response in me. Which can be a danger in progressive music generally, so much shit is being thrown at the wall, but eventually something has to take you and for me it didn't quite lead anywhere. It's competent though.

For example an album like Shiki by Sigh takes me a lot more as a progressive/Avant Garde piece and that's kind of the standard I expect from Enslaved, as their standards are so high.
 
Abraxas said:
Opinions are like arse holes and all that...but it didn't hit quite as hard for me. I haven't liked their last couple now, so it's actually a long time (in years and not releases) since they made something I really loved. But generally I agree, they have one of the most consistent discographies in metal.

It just didn't evoke any kind of response in me. Which can be a danger in progressive music generally, so much shit is being thrown at the wall, but eventually something has to take you and for me it didn't quite lead anywhere. It's competent though.

For example an album like Shiki by Sigh takes me a lot more as a progressive/Avant Garde piece and that's kind of the standard I expect from Enslaved, as their standards are so high.
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When it comes to Enslaved perhaps it's when too much routine kicks in and they automatically release album that sounds too similar and too safe despite solid quality remaining. I definitely get that argument, especially when I see Paradise Lost returning to their early death/doom roots, and in the same time sounding bit too predictable.

Gotta check new Sigh then. I remember listening Hail Horror album sounding raw which is proper for black metal vocals, but still having some extra dimensions.
 
Abraxas said:
Opinions are like arse holes and all that...but it didn't hit quite as hard for me. I haven't liked their last couple now, so it's actually a long time (in years and not releases) since they made something I really loved. But generally I agree, they have one of the most consistent discographies in metal.

It just didn't evoke any kind of response in me. Which can be a danger in progressive music generally, so much shit is being thrown at the wall, but eventually something has to take you and for me it didn't quite lead anywhere. It's competent though.

For example an album like Shiki by Sigh takes me a lot more as a progressive/Avant Garde piece and that's kind of the standard I expect from Enslaved, as their standards are so high.
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Interesting comparison. Sigh have trodden the avant-garde path more over the years imo, so when they put throat singing or a Hammond solo on a track it seems more natural to their style, but regardless I would say Shiki is a masterpiece. Their music has always felt quite earnest and insistent.

By contrast I think Enslaved are more the moody, progressive style. I wouldn't say they are avant-garde really, not kooky or melodramatic like Sigh can be. Enslaved have always felt more refined and more conservative, but capable of moments where they do something staggering like As Fire Swept Clean The Earth, but equally release something like Monumension which I thought was a bit bland.

I'm intrigued to hear the new Enslaved though, given the opinions above.
 
My copy of Heimdal, along with the new Haken, is arriving within the week. Can't wait for both.

I guess i belong in the minority that enjoyed Utgard. I don't mind the new direction because the quality in the song writing is still there. But they often tend to enter a self-indulgent mode that makes parts of their albums feel like a chore to get through. Utgard had just the right running time to avoid that.

I agree that PL sound predictable and safe. But, as a band who experimented so much with its sound and has come full circle after being active for a quarter of a century, releasing solid 7/10 albums gets a thumbs up from me. I would be delighted if it happened, but it's very rare for a band to release a new magnum opus in its third decade of existence. Just like their leading duo's new Host project. It's well written and produced and hits all the right notes. A couple of songs will find their way to my future playlists, but i know i won't be talking about it in 5 years time.
 
Swordsman said:
any bands similar to Stratovarius ?
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Now that's a one broad question. :lol:

A lot of bands sound or try to sound like Stratovarius but in terms of quality I'd try Labirynth or Cain's Offering. I presume you already know Sonata Arctica, Rhapsody, Helloween etc.

Gamma Ray had at least three quality albums starting with Land of the Free but Kai Hansen's vocals makes it bit different in comparison to Kotipelto's cleaner tones.

I remember after listening to Strato's Visions album which is still one of my fav, there was this band Edguy releasing their Theater of Salvation album and the track 'Headless game' instantly hitting me as something quite similar to 'Kiss of Judas' by Strato. Posting both tracks for comparison.





Edguy sounds like bit more optimistic version, but still think they took tons of inspiration from Strato.
 
If what you really like is the neoclassical guitar playing, you should give Angra or Symphony X a try. Not exactly similar - they have both managed to become their own thing in the power/prog genre - but they have that style of guitar without veering into that bombastic/cheesy trademark power metal sound.

Gamma Ray are a quintessential power metal band, more on the speed side of power metal.

And you can always check out, if you haven't already, Timo Tolki's Avalon, Revolution Renaissance (a previous short-lived project of Tolki's), as well as Timo Kotipelto's solo albums and his work with Cain's Offering (a band that features Liimatainen of Sonata Arctica/Insomnium on guitar and Stratovarius' keyboardist Jens Johansson).
 
Immortal - 'War Against All' out March 21st.

My expectations are set at a mediocre to decent level for this. I thought the last one was okay so I'm expecting more of the same. Let's hope it's better than the album art anyway. That's very disappointing considering some of the belters they've had.
 
Abraxas said:
Immortal - 'War Against All' out March 21st.

My expectations are set at a mediocre to decent level for this. I thought the last one was okay so I'm expecting more of the same. Let's hope it's better than the album art anyway. That's very disappointing considering some of the belters they've had.
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No physical copies, just on Spotify/Deezer/Apple Music. They're still in Nuclear Blast's catalogue, aren't they? No marketing, no promo shows. This is the new way, i guess?

Northern Chaos Gods was a bit of a pleasant surprise. Most people had actually forgotten that Demonaz can play the guitar and write music. On the other hand, they used the "go back to the roots" card to its full capacity and it's hard to see where they can go from there. I also think that the praise NCG received was partially the reason why Abbath tried to bring the "old school black metal sound" back from the dead in his latest effort, ending up with one of the worst produced albums ever.

Also, no Horgh behind the drum kit is a bummer. That man's a beast. Interesting to see which musicians will Demonaz take on tour with him.
 
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