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Hello all, and happy new year. All is well in Maine, though it's cold. I'm glad to see the forum is active, and continues to work for the glory of heavy metal. It's been a long time, I feel like I ought to have brought a present. Let me see what I can find. This is for Chinese new year, so it's not even late, it's a few weeks early. Year of the pig, how about that? pretty exciting!

Wow, I just read the article and their statement. This is really strange, like I say, considering we have no shortage of extreme bands in this city - and others who tour here. And the Tote of all places. For those who don't know, the Tote is a rock pub literally a block from the Bendigo which is the 'metal pub' I'm always going on about. It has a long history of rock and metal bands playing there, including my own back in the day. It's the type of place where Bon Scott would get into fights and criminals like Chopper Read would hang out back in the 80s. Anyway, to think that suddenly they would be concerned with the lyrics of a local death metal band is just outrageous, and those 'regulars' who did the complaining must be classic SJW cases. Looking at the gig list lately it's clear that there is a real leftist/punk/indie presence going on at the Tote, and it's really rare that metal gigs are put on there at all these days. I should have known, as I keep checking their gig list and haven't been there is ages because nothing comes up - it's just leftist punk indie crap. Whoretopsy must have played a dozen Melbourne venues by now, and as I've been to several shows I can attest that there is nothing remotely violent or anti-social about them. The lyrics are so growled you can't even understand them. They're actually a really fun band to watch with plenty of laughs etc. On a side note, I don't know if you've been there lately Will, but it's really run down and neglected, at least when I was there last. The beer garden in particular was awful when I was last there probably over a year ago. I'm definitely a Bendigo Hotel guy - that place is FAR and away a better venue in every respect, and they put on brilliant metal shows with a better sound, better vibe and better gear. I was there last night in fact. Also, I was using the Requiem name as far back as 2001 on metal forums, so I still claim they stole it from me, unless their band predates about July 01. Anyway, we're really off topic here!

Carnal Decay - Shotgun Facelift

Saor - Bron (promo track) Borknagar - Winter Thrice ...sorry Req, not feeling this. I'll have to revisit. Noctambulist - Atmospheres Of Desolation ...this comes out on the 21st via Blood Harvest. More dark, dissonant DM for those who crave such things. I'm not sure if it's a keeper yet but I found a lot to enjoy at first listen. Krallice - Wolf EP Wardruna - Runaljod: Gap Var Ginnunga

Hey Will, awesome list of (mostly) Australian bands. I've seen nearly all of them at the metal pub I go to and keep banging on about (Bendigo Hotel). I hadn't heard about any trouble with Whoretopsy. They are such an enjoyable band to watch live, although I don't think I've seen them for about three or four years now. Great groovy death metal that work brilliantly in a live context. I'm sure I know a couple of the guys but I can't remember. Hard to believe they'd cause any controversy in this town considering the huge number of extreme bands banging around. I should get Requiem to send me royalty checks for stealing my awesome name. And then I'll pass them on to the estate of one Wolfgang Amadeus. I don't think I've seen them but I've seen posters for their shows.

Megadeth - 'Rust in Peace' It's easy to forget how good this album is until you have a few drinks and slam it on.

Good news: metal pub Bad news: some indie guitar-based faux classic shit is playing. It’s better than punk though. Edit: just found out it’s ZZ Top. I feel a bit bad that I’ve dissed them but at least I can say fairly comfortably that I’m not a fan. Also, I’ve got all my music playing and recording equipment sitting in the spare room. It’s all out and ready to go. Have I plugged it all in and made a start? No I haven’t. It’s been four years since I turned the ancient PC on and I’m afraid of what might happen when I do... so it sits there looking pretty.

Primal Fear - We Walk Without Fear

Ivar Bjornson and Einar Selvik - Hugsja Hooded Menace - Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed Craft - White Noise And Black Metal

I contacted Tapatalk and they told me the plugin is outdated and must be updated by the forum owner; I tried using the Contact Us link and got an error. Sigh.

Vomitory - Revelation Nausea

Of albums released in 2018 ... are you fucking kidding me? I'm not even up to date with the 80s yet ... it seems kind of random what I hear about and not, so it's not like I've made any informed and conscious choice based in what I've listened to and subsequently arranged in some kind of neat order ... I can only say that there are two albums that have seriously hit it home with me this year of 2018: There is Craft, "White Noise And Black Metal" ... it appeals to me for the same reasons that the "new" Mayhem appeals to me. There is some kind of weird "surgical chaos" vibe going on in there that I find pleasing. Very competent work with several layers of discreet complexity. The "trve evil kult" black metal kids are probably not going to like this album, but metal conisseurs, musicians and intellectuals might just find a gem. Then there is Rivers of Nihil, "Where Owls Know My Name" ... which is one of those projects that break the form, in that it incorporates elements of various, seemingly incompatible things, such as chugging death metal riffs with a mellow saxophone solo ... which really should NOT work, but it kind of does anyway. Very interesting album, also a strangely beautiful creature. My third mention is going to be Outre-Tombe ... but I haven't quite processed that one yet. However, it seems so far that it might just become one of my "legends". We shall see.

Arckanum - Fran Marder

I basically shut myself in my room today and wrote some music. Time contracted and disappeared. First time in a couple of years that I've felt able to be productive with it, and it feels great, sort of like part of my mind took a bath it didn't know it needed. Whether the band will be able and willing to play the thing is another issue, but at least I have this little plateau to enjoy.

Judas Iscariot "Heaven In Flames"

Obliteration - Cenotaph Obscure

"Human" by Death has been on high rotation these last few weeks.

Yeah, it's really good. Took a couple times through for me to get my head around it, but I'm hooked.

8/10 Martin-era Sabbath's pretty great.

Rapture - 'Songs for the Withering' The only album I'm ever going to listen to forevermore.

Ocean of Grief - ‘Nightfall’s Lament’

I will say 8/10. Don't get me wrong, - Dios vocals were very beautiful. I mean, he could make it big in other genres too. His voice was like no other, wich I respect him for. But I'm used to Ozzy's Sabbath, so it's hard for me to like later Sabbath. Here you go. An young motherfucker, who began listening Megadeth just yesterday. The thing is, I've heard Peace Sells and uhmm... Symphony of destruction before, but I somehow did not like it much. It's like that with me. Some time passes, I listen to record again and start liking it more. So this night I went in spotify and listened to Killing is my Bussines... And basically Mustaine loves killing, hehe. So I started listening to album, and title song just filled my ears with metal like nothing else. Rock on!

5. Portal "Ion" Patchy year for DM this year and this thankfully remains a high point near 12 months after it was released.. A more refined and calculated record (by Portal standards at least) although no sacrifice is made of the usual mind destroying chaos that we have all grown to know and love. A great build on the use of the horror elements of "Vexovoid" to create more atmosphere than a divorce hearing. Here's hoping 2019 can raise the stakes somewhat in the DM world. 4. Svartidaudi “Revelations of the Red Sword” The revelations here are all dark and majestic, carrying a dissonance and extremity at the same time, combining fathomless black with the angry stabs, slashes and protracted strokes of red promised by the sword. A truly well written and thought out record, that sits way high above the likes of Behemoth’s paltry excursion of 2018 that the internet seems to love. I have listened to this regularly for weeks now but still feel I have so much more to learn and discover about it. That my friends is the sign of a good record. 3. Megaton Leviathan “Mage” Hazy, gazy(?), doomy, drony goodness here with a shit (mega)ton of melody and harmony to make ya feel good about life. Vocally it doesn’t always exactly sit right but musically the songwriting and instrumentation are near perfect. My - slightly odd - analogy is that this album is like decorating a room, the laminate flooring effortlessly clicks together and the colours on the walls blend superbly to give vivid and vibrant shine to the room. But then some of the furniture is a little out of place but somehow it still really works. Not my normal bag but...me likes it. 2. Winterfylleth “The Harrowing Of Heirdom” No surprise here that this places high on my list, it was top of my BM release list despite not having one moment of BM present. The folk storytelling theme of this record captures a mood of dark and ethereal tales told via dulcet harmonies and medieval strings. It weaves scriptures of musical mystique noted on scrolls of poetic parchment. 1. Mournful Congregation “The Incubus Of Karma” Funeral doom on top of the list, what an odd year 2018 turned out to be. The fact is “The Incubus Of Karma” generates enough emotion, atmosphere and density to crack windows. I can’t recall any release since the last couple of Bell Witch albums, that establish such a memorable and impacting experience based largely on the use of one instrument. The guitars on the latest Mournful Congregation album just sing for virtually the whole record. Never do they become smothering or even mildly irritating and naturally for the genre in question they aren’t remembered through excessive technical wankery. They just do such a great job of constructing tracks that bore into your bones. For hours and days after each listen I can hear tracks echoing around my head like it is devoid of all organ matter and is just now some cavernous void with the best of acoustics. The success for me of this record shows why I couldn’t get my head around Evoken’s offering from this year. It had lost all menace, all definition and virtually all tangible emotional connection with me. I wanted to feel consumed by it and instead felt a bit nibbled at and the effort required to try and figure out the direction was just not worth the eventual reward. “The Incubus Of Karma” ate me whole, digested me, absorbed me into it’s blood stream and I am swimming for all eternity...

Look, I really feel bad about pulling up a three and a half year old thread. I really do. It's not something I'm proud of. But I really want to talk about Amorphis. None of us are perfect, so just let me pull this thread up and I promise not to do it too often... Agreed? Alright good. Let's move on then. Amorphis are one of my all time favourite bands. I was actually surprised to see them mentioned in the Progressive Metal forum, but I guess it's not that bad a fit, even though much of their music has a clear verse/chorus structure. Certainly their melodic approach lends them an aspect of progressivism. I guess. 'Elegy' is easily in my top ten albums of all time from any band. I remember when it came out in 1996 (there's that year again) it just blew my friends and me away. It has that perfect blend of melody, emotion, traditional Finnish folklore lyrics from the Kanteletar, growled and clean vocals, perfect cover etc etc. I still can't get over how good it is. 'Tales from the Thousand Lakes' is also a classic and my second favourite of theirs. The atmosphere is almost unparalleled. Songs from my vulnerable teenage years, what can I say? That blue cover artwork just fit the music perfectly and even today my friend and I say, "It's an Amorphis sky" when that deep blue appears. This album takes me to another world. Beautiful lyrics from the national Finnish book 'Kalevala' which I have by the way and is well worth getting if you're into middle ages literature. The Tomi Joutsen era is also brilliant. I think they did well, however, to change things just a little bit with the 'Circle' album, because after 'Eclipse', 'Silent Waters', 'Skyforger' and the fairly boring 'The Beginning of Times', they really did begin to tread water in what began as an amazing comeback sound. The first three of these albums are brilliant, but by the fourth, 'TBoT', it got a bit stale. Then when 'Circle' came out they just had a new lease on life. It's not a revolutionary change, but there's just a freshness that pervades the songs. An energy that's back. 'Circle' and their most recent 'Under the Red Cloud' are my favourite Joutsen albums. Modern metal masterpieces. The lyrics are just brilliant, written by Pekka Kainulainen, a poet who has taken Kalevala stories and interpreted them. I personally find 'The Karelian Isthmus' a little primitive for my taste but I still love it. It's got all the elements that make Amorphis great. I just think the (band written) lyrics are a bit weak and they were still finding their feet. I know people love this album, and I do too in a way, but I don't rate it up there with Amorphis' best. As for 'Tuonela', 'Am Universum' and 'Far From the Sun', there are ok moments in there but overall they're very boring and mediocre albums. No growls, no great melodies, just plodding rock with an increasingly bored Pasi Koskinen phoning in his vocals. Hard to believe it's the same guy who came in and sang cleans on 'Elegy' and changed my life. It's a sultry summer night; a fragrant breeze drifts through the open double-doors, and I thought I'd share my view on Amorphis. Thanks for reading.

Re: Your favorite death metal bands? i quite like the brutal slam shit man, though tbh, there isnt really a death metal band i dont like