Requiem

Alestorm - released tracks from 'Curse of the Crystal Coconut' Ok, so I haven't got to any serious shit yet, but there's plenty of partying going on here, that's for sure. I actually can't wait for this album to be released. Alestorm are probably the dorkiest and lame band in the world, yet when you listen to it you feel like you're in on the joke, and it's an enormously funny joke. So yeah.

In Flames - 'Whoracle' for a little pick-me-up before some more serious shit shortly.

Novembre - 'Ursa' I thought after leaving this for a couple of years and coming back to it, more mature and and open-minded, that I'd like it a whole lot more. Turns out either a) I haven't developed in the slightest, or b) It's still a pretty bad album. I'm going with b)....

I haven't seen that version, but yes, when I think about it, while I'd prefer my life to be one half Hamlet and one half Romeo, it's more like one half Dogberry and one half Falstaff.... Just sipping a very shitty white wine before I raid the severely depleted liquor cabinet for a bottle of red.

Kreator - '666 World Divided' (new track on the 'tube) It's only been recently that I got into modern day Kreator, and I really like it. Way more melodic than I expected considering their origins. There's nothing confronting or sinister about the music, but it's good time fun.

Dark Funeral - 'Attera Totus Sanctus'. Two great songs, 'King Antichrist' and 'Atrum Regina'.

I've been eyeing off copies of this, as I really want it on CD. Big bucks these days, however. Now playing: Shining - 'X Varg Utan Flock'

Deicide - 'Once Upon the Cross'

And I didn't acknowledge your good get there. Yes, of course I meant provenance. That's a huge malapropism there on my part. Call me Dogberry. Anyway, let he who is without sin throw the first bone, I always say....

Satanic Warmaster - 'We Are the Worms That Crawl on the Broken Wings of an Angel' compilation. 16 immortal black anthems from past splits and EPs. I can honestly say that 'That Chant of the Barbarian Wolves' is one of the most incredible black metal songs of all time. I advise you all to listen to it immediately. This post is dedicated to @salmonellapancake exclusively. Hail.

Katatonia - 'Discouraged Ones'

Oh ho ho, no he didn't!!! Great call. Right now I'm drinking cheap white wine on a work night and trying to listen to as much metal as I can before another day begins in lockdown at Castle Requiem.... Just glad I have a job that keeps paying, as does the Countess. Must be hard out there for so many people.

Thanks for posting Beatsy. I've been a casual fan of Draconian for years now. I think they're a touch overrated and they don't quite have as many hooks as I would like, despite 'The Burning Halo' being one of the truly great gothic doom albums/EPs. That release is incredible. As for this song, I don't know, it's a touch uneventful. I like the general aesthetic, but it's not exactly bringing me to tears due to its glory and pathos. I guess I need to listen to it several more times. I own a heap of Draconian CDs but I hardly ever play them, except for 'The Burning Halo'. Not sure I'm going to bother with this one. What do you reckon Beats?

Alestorm - 'Tortuga' single. Ok, I'll admit that I've always had a soft spot for these batty pirates, but damn they're a full blown entertainment machine these days. Jeez, this is amazing. Great video too.

It's been a while since I posted in here: Bathory - 'Bathory' What an amazing classic this is. I love its small scope, it's compactness and it's unutterable style. And the fact that it's pretty much the first black metal album ever. Glaciation - 'Ultime Eclat' Hreidmarr from Anorexia Nervosa is the singer, hence my purchase - also it's on Osmose. A fairly exciting post-black metal album, all in French. Katatonia - 'City Burials' More on this in a few days, but for now, let's just say that after many listenings I'm coming around to really loving this damn thing.

At the Gates - 'To Drink from the Night Itself' This is definitely my favourite At the Gates album. It's actually like a Dissection album in many ways. They're flirting with black metal elements a little bit with this album, and I like it. What a great album.

Yep, you're both correct, as I would expect from such esteemed and intellectual mages. I do indeed have a genuine copy and even the original artwork conforms with my version. Had I patience this would have been resolved prior to my fist-pump posting in petulant pre-maturity. NP: Cradle of Filth - 'Cruelty and the Beast' true version.

Batushka - 'Litourgiya' I know this is the title of the album, but the Metal Blade version from 2017 that I have of this album literally does not say 'Litourgiya' anywhere. There's some weird Russian/Polish? script that actually begins with an 'a'. I've read Metal Archives to death but I still don't get it. Anyway, great album. I'm going to launch a review big time on Katatonia's 'City Burials' soon, and with MDB already out and Paradise Lost and Cradle of Filth about to release albums, I think my 2020 Top 10 is going to look very much like my 1996 Top 10 as far as band inclusion is concerned. This excites me greatly and validates my long held admiration for these bands and the longevity of metal bands!

I only drink wine if I know it comes from a good grape family. I wouldn't want any riff-raff grapes in my mouth. Luckily my wife is less discerning.

Fine white wine, whose vintage and progeny I can't be bothered to research and relate. Rest assured it hits the spot.

I've provided an objective ranking of their studio albums in the very first post of this thread. Check it out. I've nailed it.

It's pretty strange. In my long and perverted history of buying metal albums there have only been two instances where popular bands have had CDs out of print and unavailable: Deicide and Black Sabbath. And guess which two bands' hard to find material I currently want....

Call it old age, call it boredom during social distancing, but I've been really getting into Deicide lately, and for the first time I'm actually given them some proper consideration. I've gone back and really re-discovered the brilliance of 'Stench of Redemption'. What an amazing album. I was quite surprised when I opened the box version that I have to find member photo cards and other bonus stuff in there. The production is huge and the guitarists are just insane. Those solos are amazing. I've since bought a spanking new copy of 'Legion' on ebay but it hasn't arrived yet, and I've been smashing 'Once Upon the Cross' on Apple Music. Why oh why is 'Once Upon the Cross' so hard to find on CD? It's like it's out of print and it's really only the other album that I actually want to own. Copies on ebay and discogs are super expensive. Anyone know why 'Once Upon the Cross' is apparently out of print? It seems to me that one of death metal's iconic albums should be readily available in all sorts of deluxe editions. I'd love to know why it isn't.

Bathory - Bathory I'm also wearing the longsleeve. It's a beautiful garment, let me tell you.

Batushka - 'Litourgiya' The perfect soundtrack for the temple that the Chateau has become.