nothing beats old school for me.
just...
just...
Music The Ultimate Metal thread.
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Jamie (@Vault Dweller) review both the Everton and Bodø/Glimt victories at Old Trafford. Listen to the guys discuss 2 wins and 7 goals in the last week, analyse of the Amorim formation, focus on Amad and how he is playing, and also take a look at Hojlund, Rashford & Zirkzee – who starts v Arsenal?
This might get me banned from the thread, but I am willing to take the risk:
This might get be banned from... etc, you know the drill.
Babymetal? Maybe, but then again, they've been around for a decade now and people have made their peace with them. Plus, there have always been fans who thirst for that pop-ish and super cheesy power metal sound.
System of a Down are held in high regard, i think, nowadays within the metal circles. I don't know about the UK, but my local critics favoured them (and Slipknot) from day one. They were right, too, since both bands went on to gain big fanbases. And both bands brought something new to the table.
But, and i believe you hinted at that, this wasn't the case with the fans in the beginning. I still remember when they had the self-titled out and they were opening for Slayer. Short hair was anathema since 1996's Load, the baggy trousers didn't help matters, neither did their not-so-metal stage show. Needless to say that the weird chord progressions and Serj's vocals weren't well-received. It was also right at the heart of the period when alt-rock and nu-metal were dominating guitar-oriented music. Sadly, there were jeers throughout their set, people shouting "Slayer, Slayer" between the songs and even some empty water bottles, beer cans and bottles and even shoes were thrown on the stage toward the end. To their credit, the band were absolute pros. Nevertheless, they looked disappointed. Especially, Serj who tried a couple of times to reason with the idiots by reminding that both our peoples share similar tragedies. As the urban legend has it, and although Serj has visited us a couple of times with his projects, SOAD snob us to this very day because of this handful of idiots. And among these idiots, i'm sure there are plenty who would happily give half their monthly salary to watch them now. Amazing band.
System of a Down are held in high regard, i think, nowadays within the metal circles. I don't know about the UK, but my local critics favoured them (and Slipknot) from day one. They were right, too, since both bands went on to gain big fanbases. And both bands brought something new to the table.
But, and i believe you hinted at that, this wasn't the case with the fans in the beginning. I still remember when they had the self-titled out and they were opening for Slayer. Short hair was anathema since 1996's Load, the baggy trousers didn't help matters, neither did their not-so-metal stage show. Needless to say that the weird chord progressions and Serj's vocals weren't well-received. It was also right at the heart of the period when alt-rock and nu-metal were dominating guitar-oriented music. Sadly, there were jeers throughout their set, people shouting "Slayer, Slayer" between the songs and even some empty water bottles, beer cans and bottles and even shoes were thrown on the stage toward the end. To their credit, the band were absolute pros. Nevertheless, they looked disappointed. Especially, Serj who tried a couple of times to reason with the idiots by reminding that both our peoples share similar tragedies. As the urban legend has it, and although Serj has visited us a couple of times with his projects, SOAD snob us to this very day because of this handful of idiots. And among these idiots, i'm sure there are plenty who would happily give half their monthly salary to watch them now. Amazing band.
I used to listen to SOAD a lot, and yeah there was this whole "that's nu metal, and nu metal is not real metal" vibe going on in the metal community. As you say, I think they proved their detractors wrong. I've been going back and listening to more SOAD lately, and it's really great.
Anthrax and this summer heat go perfectly with each other for some reason.
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seriously.
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seriously.
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A number of releases from death metal titans coming up in the next few months...
Incantation - 'Unholy Deification' - 25th August
Cryptopsy - 'As Gomorrah Burns' - 8th September
Dying Fetus - 'Make Them Beg for Death' - 8th September
Cannibal Corpse - 'Chaos Horrific' - 22nd September
Incantation - 'Unholy Deification' - 25th August
Cryptopsy - 'As Gomorrah Burns' - 8th September
Dying Fetus - 'Make Them Beg for Death' - 8th September
Cannibal Corpse - 'Chaos Horrific' - 22nd September
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The Sepultura re-recordings sound so good. I'm not normally of a fan of re-recording old stuff, but those old records do sound a bit crummy, I remember Max Cavelera saying they couldn't even be bothered to properly tune their guitars on Morbid Visions and Bestial Devastation.
I prefer Morbid Visions to Bestial Devastation, but they both sound pretty great.
I prefer Morbid Visions to Bestial Devastation, but they both sound pretty great.
Me too, though I did tend to skip over the original versions of these two. Schizophrenia up to Chaos AD are excellent.
I hope Max and Igor do some kind of tour for these releases.
Been listening to Lazarus A.D again lately, I think it's a real shame these guys only made 2 albums.
I've got a cool one for any Emperor fans.
Although saying that, while it would be wrong to deny the influence I was slightly miffed to see some less than complimentary reviews at the time blasting this as an Emperor rip off. When in fact this is way more synth driven. The layering in this is absolutely perfect to my ears, it has the perfect texture to evoke the fantasy elements this is supposed to. The artist has projects in Dungeon Synth and the proficiency really shows. In fact it's probably more accurate to say it is combining elements of Emperor and Summoning while avoiding some of the cheese associated with this genre.
Vargrav - Reign in Supreme Darkness
Although saying that, while it would be wrong to deny the influence I was slightly miffed to see some less than complimentary reviews at the time blasting this as an Emperor rip off. When in fact this is way more synth driven. The layering in this is absolutely perfect to my ears, it has the perfect texture to evoke the fantasy elements this is supposed to. The artist has projects in Dungeon Synth and the proficiency really shows. In fact it's probably more accurate to say it is combining elements of Emperor and Summoning while avoiding some of the cheese associated with this genre.
Vargrav - Reign in Supreme Darkness
Thanks, i'm digging this (and i'm a huge Emperor fan). It's really good and it serves more as a trip down memory lane than a rip-off because it manages to incorporate most of the elements that characterized the 90s black metal sound. I agree that he aims for a certain atmosphere and he nails it. I can understand the Emperor comparisons, but metalheads can be very inflexible in their views at times, too. Albums like In The Nightside Eclipse (which provides the basis on which the rest of the ideas are built) were genre defining, therefore they are revered by fans, sometimes to the point where anything that draws inspiration from them is considered, after a first listening, a de facto lesser product.
Glad you like it mate!
I agree, unfortunately there is a subset of metal elitists that think anything that is even slightly derivative or even reminiscent is not good. It's just a case of seperating the wheat from the chaff when you get into stuff with a high degree of influence showing through. To be fair Symphonic/Melodic Black have been fairly saturated over the years but in my opinion a lot of the Finnish guys do a superb job of keeping the quality up.
I'm going to do a top 10 for black metal in 2023 as I think there has been some really strong stuff this year.
Not strictly metal but heavy as feck and raw as feck…
I've never listened to anything by Megadeth or Slayer as frequent as I've listened to Spreading the Disease & Among the Living for the last month or so. by now, even my neighbours probably can't imagine going through the day without hearing Caught in the Mosh at least once 
simply amazing albums.
thrash in general goes perfectly with these warmer months for me. I know it isn't comparable at all, but I wanted a little break and tried Holocene, the new album by The Ocean, and it was almost like listening to the ambient music. just couldn't get into it at all, but obviously it has nothing to do with the quality of album.
anyway...
simply amazing albums.thrash in general goes perfectly with these warmer months for me. I know it isn't comparable at all, but I wanted a little break and tried Holocene, the new album by The Ocean, and it was almost like listening to the ambient music. just couldn't get into it at all, but obviously it has nothing to do with the quality of album.
anyway...
I revisited Mastodon's last album, Hushed and Grim and I think I like it even more now than when it came out. nothing really changed, it's just that I after comparing it to some other releases I was listening to I can now appreciate the effort put into almost 90 minutes of music that doesn't bore or tire - at all. it's always nice to hear album that fully justifies the length. it's always nice to see a band still going strong as well.
on the other hand, Heritage by Opeth was pure disappointment. they were never among my favorite bands, but I liked them in any of their moods, softer or heavier. Heritage is soft, but not as in Damnation soft way, more like... generic post rock band soft. boring, to be honest. not a single minute of this album motivates me to keep listening or return to it later. it's albums like this that make me appreciate Hushed and Grim and similarly long albums more after a while.
Saurian Apocalypse by Karl Sanders was another disappointment. I was never into Nile that much, but his solo albums I listen regularly during the summer. they just work, the same way Celestite by Wolves in the Throne Room does when it gets colder. anyway, it's not that is any different to Saurian Meditation and Saurian Exorcism, it's just much weaker and completely forgettable, which is a shame since this is his first solo album since 2009. being 60, he probably doesn't have much inspiration left anymore.
whenever I hear this, I can't help but think of Sisters of Mercy.
on the other hand, Heritage by Opeth was pure disappointment. they were never among my favorite bands, but I liked them in any of their moods, softer or heavier. Heritage is soft, but not as in Damnation soft way, more like... generic post rock band soft. boring, to be honest. not a single minute of this album motivates me to keep listening or return to it later. it's albums like this that make me appreciate Hushed and Grim and similarly long albums more after a while.
Saurian Apocalypse by Karl Sanders was another disappointment. I was never into Nile that much, but his solo albums I listen regularly during the summer. they just work, the same way Celestite by Wolves in the Throne Room does when it gets colder. anyway, it's not that is any different to Saurian Meditation and Saurian Exorcism, it's just much weaker and completely forgettable, which is a shame since this is his first solo album since 2009. being 60, he probably doesn't have much inspiration left anymore.
whenever I hear this, I can't help but think of Sisters of Mercy.
I think that one is heavily inspired by them. Swanö did a side project called Nightingale, whose first album is pure goth rock and heavily Sisters inspired, it's really good (The Dreamreader is a great song from it). After that they did what most Swanö projects do, turned into AOR/Prog rock.
I was thinking recently about the punk band, Wounded Knee, he was in. Would be nice to see that re-released, some good stuff on there.
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feck me, Patton's voice is incredible. easily the best or among the best I've heard in metal. I've never really bothered with Faith No More, but they're certainly one of those bands that can disband once he loses his voice.
Think they are more or less disbanded already. Agree on Patton though, absolute genius. Check out his other work like Tomahawk and Mr. Bungle as well
Some really good choices, sounds like you're' a big fan of the Gothenburg sound.
I am, indeed. It was, alongside the 2nd wave of (Norwegian) black metal, the metal i grew up with. It feels like a miracle that most of these bands are still active after 30 years without any kind of mainstream attention. I remember the time before the internet, when we were waiting for someone to buy a CD so that we could learn about other bands worth checking out from the thank you notes in the booklet.
Some are ageing better than others. It might have been best for all concerned if In Flames disbanded in about 2002.
But yeah, a good few of those bands are still putting out solid stuff, and Insomnium in particular are somehow flat out ageing in reverse. Winter's Gate and now Anno 1696 are probably better than anything they've ever done. Dunno how many other bands in any kind of music could legitimately say that they're getting even better 20+ years after forming.
Some are ageing better than others. It might have been best for all concerned if In Flames disbanded in about 2002.
But yeah, a good few of those bands are still putting out solid stuff, and Insomnium in particular are somehow flat out ageing in reverse. Winter's Gate and now Anno 1696 are probably better than anything they've ever done. Dunno how many other bands in any kind of music could legitimately say that they're getting even better 20+ years after forming.
I found the last In Flames pleasantly good (for the most part). Not a return to form, we're way past that, but a solid record nevertheless. I guess the addition of Chris Broderick helped a bit. Just like Kieltyka was a breath of fresh air for Machine Head. I agree with you about Insomnium, that's why i put Winter's Gate on my list. In the context of a wider melodeath scene, Amorphis feels like such a band. They have aged like fine wine, and the more i think about it, it's through time and one solid release after another that they've become a favourite band for many people, who prefer their most recent incarnation with Joutsen.
The sad thing is that, commercially, they've probably done the best out of all of them. Their musical evolution has been the stuff of nightmares.Some are ageing better than others. It might have been best for all concerned if In Flames disbanded in about 2002.
But yeah, a good few of those bands are still putting out solid stuff, and Insomnium in particular are somehow flat out ageing in reverse. Winter's Gate and now Anno 1696 are probably better than anything they've ever done. Dunno how many other bands in any kind of music could legitimately say that they're getting even better 20+ years after forming.
I believe their initial popularity (that set them apart from other bands that were putting out great albums at the time) came from the fact that they were the perfect introductory band for people who wanted to get into the more "extreme" contemporary stuff back in the 90s. In this sense, they were always a bit overrated. After the turn of the century, they targeted the US market, with all the sacrifices that decision entailed. I don't usually mind change, but i agree that they became barely recognizable.
Enslaved, Radiohead and Testament is the three that comes to mind instantlySome are ageing better than others. It might have been best for all concerned if In Flames disbanded in about 2002.
But yeah, a good few of those bands are still putting out solid stuff, and Insomnium in particular are somehow flat out ageing in reverse. Winter's Gate and now Anno 1696 are probably better than anything they've ever done. Dunno how many other bands in any kind of music could legitimately say that they're getting even better 20+ years after forming.
I'd add Anathema as well. some obviously don't like their new sound, but their last 3 or 4 albums are pretty much perfect for what they're trying to be.
Arch Enemy with Sharon den Adel or Simone Simons as the lead singer would be perfect. I like Arch Enemy but sometimes I wish Alissa isn't growling all the time. First time I played it when my mum is around she thought the vocalist was a male.
How would that even work?
Might as well be a completely different band and genre at that point.Sounds crazy I know. But I'd consume whatever they're cooking if it ever happens. But you're right, I suppose it has to be a collab rather than replacing Alissa's voice in existing songs, it has to be a new one.How would that even work?
Good shout. Personally, i think their case is of a band that had its heyday (second half of the 90s), but managed to remain incredibly consistent and produce high quality music. And the fans have always appreciated that and never really checked out. Paradise Lost are similar, the difference being they've come full circle. Nine people out of ten would consider Draconian Times and Icon to be their masterpieces, but you will hear only praise for their efforts over the last 20 years. Someone mentioned Enslaved. They're one of my favourite bands ever, but their progressive period can be as dull as it can be interesting, and it has turned many fans off.
I thought of this thread last night while listening to Testament ("Practice What You Preach" album). My god, it sounded even better last night than when I was first into it 30+ years ago!
Nice blast from the past! I listened to Sepultura and Pantera for the first time in ages, years for the latter, on a 10 hour flight the other week. Beneath the Remains still sounds brilliant too.
Also Blondie's Parallel Lines is still excellent, though maybe not for this thread.
I wish they re-recorded Schizophrenia (and Inquisition Symphony to be precise)
Second favourite band (behind Tool of course). Still listen to them regularly and they’re better than 99% of the stuff produced since