Requiem

Never noticed the Sakis similarity. I actually need to drag 'AN/OW' out again too. Coming after 'Night Eternal' it was always going to be a big ask. It's funny cause Fernando did some guest vocals on a track from I think 'A Dead Poem' back in 1997 when Sakis was doing his best to ride the gothic metal train and was recording at Woodhouse Studios and buddying up with Moonspell. I love both of those bands - especially Rotting Christ's last album 'Rituals'. My god what an album.

Your cousin's from Melbourne? He sounds like a great guy! I'm at the metal pub. Megadeth's 'Countdown to Extinction' sounds amazing on these speakers. So does Manowar! So did Motörhead a moment ago. My phone auto-corrected to put the umlauts on the 'O' just then. That's pretty cool.

22/3/68 - 10/8/93

They're amazing albums. I'm really looking forward to '1755' too. I hope it's better than 'Extinct'. I really like 'Extinct' of course but it doesn't quite grab me as much after (many) repeated listens.

It's sort of 'catchy' melodic gothy metal. You're going to hate it, let's leave it at that.

If anyone is interested my Five Finger Death Punch phase is over. Barely used CD going cheap. Recently arrived in mail: Devilment - 'II Mephisto Waltzes'. This is so much fun, even more so than their first album. 'Hitchcock Blonde' is the feel good anthem of the year. The CD booklet is a complete screw up though, with no fewer than about five pages repeated and probably the same number missing. I hope heads rolled at Nuclear Blast for that. I'm going to write to them and see if they will send me a new, correct, booklet. In over 25 years of CD purchasing I've never seen a booklet format mistake anywhere near it. Blind Guardian - 'Live Beyond the Spheres' 3 CD digipak. All your favourite Blind Guardian songs performed live with worse vocals. Yay....

By the by, are you two guys into much rock based music at all? It sometimes seems to me that your enjoyment of metal is based on a descending scale of tolerance from extreme to rock based, and that the rock based don't stand much of a chance in the Battle of the Bands comp inside your head. I could be wrong but that's the vibe I get in many instances. I just find albums like 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down', 'The Cold White Light' and Woods of Ypres' 'Woods 5' just so emotional and effective. As in, favourite albums of all time effective. They hit me where it hurts, but they seem to leave you guys feeling as if you've just put on your grandma's Barbara Streisand records... How can you really like 'North From Here' and not 'Amok'? They're not that different.

Prey - Tiamat

Because I don't really like it.

It's the only album of theirs that I don't have. Their later albums are some of my favourite of all time (I know where you stand on them), but even so, I'm not sure how 'Shadows of the Past' slipped past me. I hate having one release of a discography missing, whether it's great or not.

I've got 'Ashes' but I never got around to picking up 'World of Glass'. 'Ashes' doesn't do much for me. Maybe I'll put it in my car and see what happens. Both Tristania and Theatre of Tragedy jumped the shark after Morten and Liv Kristine left their respective bands.

True. Still, I'm not sure the guy deserved to win the local church picnic raffle let alone a single Electoral College, or whatever it's called over there. That he won more than his opposition does make one wonder.

You're older than me. That's good, otherwise I'd have to call you LittleBrotherAlabaster or something. I shall now defer to you in all matters based on your superior life experience. @BlutAusNerd will have to defer to me in all matters of musical taste. I was 19 in 1999 (and I was partying like the year I was in). Honest Bill Clinton was in the White House, My Dying Bride had just returned to doom with 'The Light at the End of the World', Emperor had just released the head-scratching 'IX Equilibrium' and a small band from Sweden called Opeth had their break-out album with 'Still Life' and we were all wondering how a band thought to put quiet parts next to heavy parts. Crazy Mikael Akerfeldt! I was a carefree young buck, watching fresh new shows like Seinfeld and X-Files, Limp Bizkit's 'Nookie' was on the radio, and the best thing on the internet was our Hotmail email accounts. My friends and I all went to the midnight screening of Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace and we all told ourselves that we loved it, we were all getting ready for global catastrophe with Y2K and I didn't own a mobile phone. Wow, how things have changed.

All cleared up for you, Will?

Your username gives some hint to your 'Silmarillion' admiration. Even as I'm passing the halfway mark it's still a struggle at times (in a first reading). I counted 9 separate names in one sentence including people and places. It's a tough read. I'm getting there, though and it's a very enjoyable late night text. Very relaxing in its own way, like good fantasy is wont to be.

I'll find out if I agree with him in November, as that's when I turn 38 too. On the 24th, to be precise. When's you're birthday? 37-38 really does seem to the be golden figure around here.

America is an amazing place. I love it and wish I could travel there more often. Most Americans are fantastic. I have obviously only met a very small sample size. For instance, without getting too political, I'm a little disturbed that Trump was elected and that caused my eyes to narrow more than Fry's in that Futurama meme when it comes to faith in your average US citizen. Strange guy really. Obviously a great actor over the years but the whole metal thing at the end was weird. And not in a good way. No need to leave the house in South Australia anyway as there's nothing to do there...

You clowns doubled up on L. Also, this game is actually pretty fun and much better than just naming bands etc. Mediolanum Capta Est - Mayhem

This is funny because it's the opposite of normal talk.

I have an 'Ordo ad Chao' t-shirt which I can only wear ironically. Do you want it? Being the Mayhem tragic that I am, I've tried that album so many times over the years but find it harder to start than my old lawnmower. 'Chimera' is largely harmless and often really good fun. 'Esoteric Warfare' has a huge identity crisis, and I'm surprised you can tolerate it (EDIT: I see you actually refer to it as not great). It's Teloch trying his best to write in the style of Blasphemer at his worst, which is about as far away from the Mayhem essence as they can get. The result is somewhat listenable but ultimately so sterile and paint-by-numbers that it's hard to get into. 'Wolf's Lair' is awesome to me.

It goes nicely with my Limp Bizkit and Coal Chamber CDs. Nu-metal party at my house. All invited.

Top 10 Official Mayhem Releases Both Studio and Live Definitely one of my top five bands of all time, my expansive collection of releases and memorabilia is well known to be particularly dear to my blackened and broken heart. But have I ever really thought deeply about the degree to which I worship each release, and the order in which I would place them? Here is my assessment of their best official releases: 10. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Alive - Live Album (2016) Firstly, both 'Ordo ad Chao' and 'Esoteric Warfare', their last two studio albums, fail to make my top ten. The former is an indecipherable mess, the latter is a clinical and soulless expression of fairly lame self-parody written by some random called Teloch. This recent live release, however, brings the goods. Originally only available from the band's website, the songs are all time classics and the production here is fantastic, as the current line-up admirably plays through the classic album from first track to last. But with guitarists Teloch and Ghul sounding like a couple of blokes down at the Guitar Centre playing the riffs, it doesn't quite have the magic of the source material. It's a great little release though. The excellent purplish cover based on the original is tasty and haunting. 9. European Legions - Live/Pre-Production Studio Album (2001) Half a live album with the Maniac/Blasphemer line-up, with the other half made up of pre-production tracks from 'Grand Declaration of War', this is a competent and unexpected release that sounds great and captures the band's live aggression very effectively. The half-baked versions of album songs are surprisingly listenable. This was also released as 'US Legions'. It's an odd little half and halfer, but I really like it. Cover is a nice play on the 'Grand Declaration...' theme. 8. Chimera - Studio Album (2004) After the experimental 'Grand Declaration...' album, this was more focused, tighter and heavier, but ultimately not quite as good. Songs like 'My Death' are amazing, with the whole band on fire and generally communicating the essence of the band very well. Great production and some iconic band member portraits in the awesome gatefold style CD digipak that I have. The cover is a very mysteriis (sic) beast that isn't really a Chimera but looks cool all the same. The inlay photo of those nuns running away from something is fucking amazing. 7. Mediolanum Capta Est - Live Album (1999) A stunning live album, Maniac and Blasphemer have a maniacal fire in their blaspheming bellies as they razor-wire their way through the songs. It always amazes me how this band have had genuinely great guitarist/vocalist doubles - with the unfortunate exception of the current era. This release has all the band's best tracks played with great passion. Amazing to think this came out only 6 years after Euronymous' death. Iconic cover of Maniac in full self-harming flight, sliding a blade down his torso. These days we get Watain with their 'evil' contact lenses... 6. Wolf's Lair Abyss - Studio EP (1997) Hard to believe this came out only 4 years after Euronymous' death! By today's release standards it would be virtually unthinkable that it would come out so soon. This EP features only Hellhammer from the previous release ('De Mysteriis...') which is a hell of a thing when you think about how good 'Wolf's Lair' is (obviously Necrobutcher and Maniac have been members/contributors prior to this, so it's not as if they're new). Songs like 'Fall of Seraphs' and 'Ancient Skin' have the feel. Blasphemer deserves so much credit in my book. Cover is a simple band logo style that's effective and unpretentious and the fold-out inlay is simply killer. 5. Live in Zeitz - Live Album (2016) Recorded with the classic line-up of Dead, Euro, Necro and Hellsy, I was very excited when I found out Peaceville were releasing it officially (now we just have to wait for the Sarpsborg show to follow suit). This is one of the four live shows featuring Dead (I'm not counting Turkey which only lasted a couple of songs), and it's oh so special because of that fact. The production here is very poor, understandably, as it's obviously been pulled from some musty and degrading tape somewhere, but the songs and the charisma of the performers remain untainted. Cover is a great shot of Euronymous but it's ultimately fairly poorly presented. The colours suck and I think Peaceville could have done better. Liner notes are great though. 4. Grand Declaration of War - Studio Album (2000) They needed to do something quite radical in this full-length follow-up to the genre classic. They could have ripped off the old sound or done something new, and they took the hard road, but wow what an outcome. This album is so much fun to listen to, with Maniac's pompous oratory, Hellhammer's insanely triggered drums, Blasphemer's eclectic riffage and poor old Necrobutcher's bass somewhere in the background, 'And Justice for All' style. This is a great achievement, and triumphs even more in 2017 than it did in 2000 when I first bought it. Iconic cover of the dove in barbed wire. Amazing. 3. Deathcrush - Studio EP (1987) Their first release is so goddamn good, I can't get over it. Like a fine wine, it gets better every year. Maniac's vocals are insane and bless my heart Euronymous twists those riffs like only he can. The intro 'Silvester Anfang' haunts my dreams to this day, and nothing can ever take away the memory of hearing those first tones pump out when I saw the band live in 2001. Famously, the first pressing of this had the disturbing but cool artwork come out in bright pink rather than blood red in a classic Spinal Tap moment. 2. Live in Liepzig - Live Album (1993) Similar set to the 'Zeitz' show, but this one just has a sheen of quality to it that moves it from interesting document into absolute classic. The classic line-up, the classic songs, the classic intro to 'Freezing Moon': "When it's cold, and when it's dark....". Probably the best black metal cover of all time with Dead carrying that candelabrum. This is Dead's true epitaph. 1. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas - Studio Album (1994) And here it is. The perfect black metal album? Let's see. The perfect Grieghallen production by Pytten. The perfect drum sound and performance. The perfect riffs. The perfect songs. The perfect song order. The perfect singer? Depends. Chilling album artwork. An achievement. A pinnacle. A triumph. Hail Euronymous.

You should have been at the Alcest show the other month, man. It was ab-surd!

Firstly, your username references two excellent things simultaneously, so well done. Secondly, I'm stoked to see another Tristania fan around here. My preference definitely leans towards the first two albums and really feel they went downhill after Morten Veland left the band. But what classic albums those are!

@BlutAusNerd @FatherAlabaster