All Activity

The 80's were the shit. Definitely my favorite decade so far. Today - all Priest all day. Going to see the current tour Sunday night (this weekend is a doozy - Gatecreeper/Creeping Death Saturday, Priest on Sunday, and MDF coming up on Wednesday). So I'm starting with Rocka Rolla and going chronologically through the catalog.

I like Grey Islands alright, but for me Death Magic Doom is the real standout of everything past the first 4 albums. Just really solid songwriting front to back. Probably play DMD more than any of their other albums except for the classic debut of course, because who doesn't want to die in Solitude? Find it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that some of you kids weren't even born yet when Epicus came out in June of '86. A real game changer that one was, I didn't have any experience with doom metal before that unless you wanna count Sabbath as doom metal. That record was on repeat all summer. Until Reign in Blood came out a few months later in the fall anyway, then that became my obsession. So many killer records came out that year, wish you could've been there with me JT, you would've loved the 80's. NP: Candlemass - Nightfall, 1987

Six Feet Under - Killing for Revenge (2024)

Neighbours are currently playing terrible pop music loud enough to make my windows shakNeighbours are currently playing terrible pop music loud enough to make my windows rattle so that’s fun… Not. e

It really is an excellent album! And, for me, it would rank right about #10 in the catalog, but that's just how great the whole catalog is. And I absolutely love "King of the Grey Islands". It's my favorite album with Lowe on vocals, and it's in my top 5 Candlemass albums. It's an especially punishing atmosphere the entire way through. "Destroyer" is one of my favorite Candlemass songs - never fails to deliver! Candlemass - "King of the Grey Islands" Candlemass - "Death Magic Doom" Love these guys!

Learning guitar with an app is a great idea for on-the-go practice. I've tried a few, but the one that really clicked for me is Yousician. It's available for Android devices and offers interactive lessons that adapt to your skill level.

Lich King - World Gone Dead

Desolus - System Shock

Temple of the Beast - Geminian Arcana, El Paso TX Misotheist - Vessels By Which the Devil Is Made Flesh, Norway

Texas Toast Chainsaw Massacre - Busey Up Your Ass

Serpents Oath - Damnation (2024) {Belgium} evil, melodic BM? Yes please Skuggor - Whispers of Ancient Spells (2024) {Sweden} evil and ritualistic AtmoBM Hrizg - Damnatio Memoriae (2024) {Spain} Blackened DM that I kinda like

Iron Reagan - Spoiled Identity

Urstrid - Urstrid (2024) {Norway} Solid Norwegian BM, you know what to expect here

DRI - Dirty Rotten LP

Joy Division - Closer (well, disc 2 of the Heart and Soul box set, so Closer plus a bunch of other songs)

Runelord - A Message From the Past

The Sisters Of Mercy - Floodland Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures

AYDRA - Announces Reissue of "Icon of Sin" Italian Tech Death cult band AYDRA is proud to announce the reissue of their debut full-length album, "Icon of Sin," originally released in 1999. This milestone record for the band will be reissued by Rude Awakening Records on May 27th, 2024, marking a huge moment in the band's history. Following the successful reissue of their debut EP, "Psycho Pain Control," AYDRA continues their work with Rude Awakening Records to bring back "Icon of Sin" to both old and new fans. The album gathered national and international acclaim upon its initial release, propelling AYDRA into the forefront of the Metal scene and allowing them to expand their live activity, sharing stages with acts such as Napalm Death, Avulsed, and more. The "Icon of Sin" reissue features a brand new artwork and remastered audio, enhancing the listening experience for fans. Additionally, this special edition will be available as a collector's item, limited to only 200 hand-numbered colored vinyl copies. Tracklist as follows: 1. Icon of Sin 2. Between the Devil and the Blue Sea 3. No One’s Tale 4. Reflect and Desist 5. Pleasure Dome 6. The Day of the Wedding 7. Xavier’s Dream 8. Lost Time Fury 9. Night Drive 10. No R.M.X. The collaboration between Aydra and Rude Awakening Records won’t end here, more releases will be out during 2024 with tons of rare, never heard before and even brand new material. https://youtu.be/ayLQnz-rZjo https://sptfy.com/QB5C

Finnish Black. Been on repeat. Sarvipää | Aihos (bandcamp.com)

I love this subject and since I'm quite a big fan of both waves I would like to add a couple of details that haven't been mentioned above. The Deathcrush EP is as 1st wave as it gets. The trademark cold tremolo picking riffs of the second wave, hadn't been developed yet. However the truth is that Mayhem along with Stigma Diabolicum (AKA Thorns) were the bands that kick started the second wave of black metal. During the early nineties prior to 92 there were two recordings in circulation within the underground that influenced what came after. The first one is the Grymyrk demo tape by Thorns (1991) which is consisted of some guitar and bass instrumental tracks that were used for rehearsal purposes by the band. One can clearly listen to the distinctive riffs of "From the dark past" by Mayhem in the track called Lovely children. Rip off? Probably... especially if you consider the fact that lovely children is just the instrumental version of another tune called into the promised land in the demo "Luna de nocturnus" (1989) by the same band when they were still going by the name Stigma Diabolicum. On the other hand Mayhem started using this kind of riff style since late 1990 as can be heard in "Live in Leipzig" recorded in the November of the same year as well as in the "Studio tracks" demo. So yes it is indeed correct to say that Mayhem was the first band that played in the 2nd wave style but you'll have to include Thorns as well. My recommendations for someone who wants to start listening to black metal in general are: Bathory: First four albums Venom: First two albums Celtic Frost: First two albums Sepultura: Bestial Devastation Sarcofago: INRI Sodom: In the sign of Evil Mayhem: Live in Leipzig Darkthrone: First four albums Burzum: First four albums Immortal: Pure Holocaust Mayhem: De mysteris dom satanas Emperor: First two albums Beherit: Drawing down the moon Impaled Nazarene: Ugra Karma Blasphemy: Gods of war Samael: Blood ritual Vlad Tepes/Belketre: March to the black holocaust Mutiilation: Vampires of black imperial blood Marduk: Opus Nocturne Rotting Christ: Thy mighty contract Judas Iscariot: Thy dying light Black funeral: Vampyr Throne of the beast These could serve as a good introduction to the various styles that were played prior to 1999. You could find other noteworthy releases as well but these imo are the essential old school stuff.

I've seen Candlemass several times in the past few years with Johan on vocals. He really does justice to the older material that he didn't sing on originally (Nightfall). Of course he nails the Epicus stuff. Voice just as strong as ever. One of the better vocalists I've heard in the subgenre recently. Candlemass is one of my favorite bands. Epicus got me into metal all those years ago, but I have honestly never heard anything past Tales. I only ever revisit the first 2 when I get the itch.

Excellent late era Candlemass. The lyrics are very discernable and it's fairly obvious that they're not as refined and agonized over as Lief likes to do. I'm not really a lyrics guy, but I mention this one in passing just because I think freeing him from hard meter counts really opened up the variety present here musically. Marcolin is... well he's Marcolin for better or worse. He sounds like he's lost a little diaphragm control, and from what I can surmise from interviews it seems like he was butting heads with everybody and generally causing a lot of headaches for the band during recording. Seems like it ceased to be worthwhile to work with him. It's really unfortunate as one album later Mr. Lowe's alcohol dependency was bringing it's own set of problems. That said I've just never really warmed to King of the Grey Islands as it really lacks a lot of the nimble musical impact found on this one. NP: Maimed - Propagate Onslaught ▶︎ Propagate Onslaught | Maimed (bandcamp.com) Death in the vein of Fleshcrawl and Cannibal Corpse. The kind of album that's never going to usurp the titles of the genre greats, but is handy, capable, and confident enough to merit a spot in the collection to break things up. EDIT: Oh, and to clarify, even though I love album art in the hand-drawn amateur style, this cover is just bad. They look like they're picking up snacks for a superbowl party at the death metal flea market. Too much to the point where I'm not 100% sure of what I'm looking at. What's the idea? What are these decidedly unmundane creatures actually doing here outside of the mundane? Reminds me a little of the Omen cover for Battle Cry.

I only know him via Neurosis. He recorded most of their albums and got a fantastic sound. RIP

Candlemass - Self-titled