Balor

"Frontschwein" - Marduk

"Frontschwein" - Marduk

"Frontschwein" - Marduk

Claude's Confessions and The Ladies' Delight  are two of Zola's books I'd recommend reading. 
I think it's safe to admit DsO is massively influenced by existentialism, and by gnosticism to a certain degree. I have been always interested in philosophy though, and this subject definetely made me appreciate their music even more

lmao
 

"Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten" - Arvo Pärt

"J'avais rêvé du nord" - Peste Noire

"J'avais rêvé du nord" - Peste Noire

In the last few months I found some really great cds at a local record store.  To come across something really cool, especially when it is unexpected is very exciting.
That's one of the problems with the internet - you can look up and listen to anything on demand.  It can take the risk/excitement out of a purchase of something that is new to you.

"La Chaise-Dyable" - Peste Noire

"La Chaise-Dyable" - Peste Noire

Sarcófago - INRI

A downside to this is that sometimes I can't judge the greatness of an album simply by giving it one or two listens on youtube. Some of my favourite albums actually took quite a few spins before they sunk in and clicked. And I gave them those extra spins because, well, I've paid for the CD and here it is in front of me, gazing at me from the CD rack, plus the booklet's cool and I want to see those pictures/read those lyrics/check songwriting credits again...
As a kid this was a particularly useful way of getting to know really cool albums because I could only afford maybe an album a month back in the 90s, so each one was precious and most hadn't been heard prior to owning it. Receiving an album was like a gift from god or something.

Obviously we live in the age where we can access absurd amounts of music at the click of a button with youtube and other online services. I recognise the great advantage that this brings (try before you buy/finally hearing that classic that you've always missed), but it also brings significant drawbacks. This post seeks to address these shortcomings and explain why owning the CD/vinyl/cassette of a release is still the best way to experience a band's album.  
Here is why I believe digital-only versions of albums are deficient. 
1. The theme and idea of a song can be lost. Each song of Rotting Christ's 'Rituals' takes a different culture and its deathcult for each track on the album. The language is different in nearly every track, as they move through Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Portuguese etc. With the actual album notes, you're not just hearing fantastic atmospheric black metal songs, but you're understanding the reason behind the music and the historical context of each song. There is a connection to a deeper cultural experience that transcends music. Once that understanding occurs, the songs take on a new meaning. This is the case for many albums that I own, be it Rhapsody's fantasy plotlines or Marduk's WWII slaughter-poems in 'Frontschwein'. Or an Amorphis album that takes actual lyrics from medieval Finnish folk stories. This changes the listener's experience significantly. 
2. Creative context is elusive. Sometimes it's useful to realise that Dimmu Borgir's 'Spiritual Black Dimensions' was recorded at Abyss Studios, and their much better produced follow-up, 'Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia' was recorded at Studio Fredman. Or that the female vocalist Birgit Zacher from Moonspell's 'Irrelgious' also sings on some tracks by Sentenced and Tiamat. Or that Fed Estby was involved in several seminal Swedish death metal albums behind the scenes. This adds a richness to the experience of the albums. 
3. Imagery and art remains obscure. Cover art by Travis Smith adorns Katatonia, Opeth and Novembre albums - knowing this, can you see similarities and differences? The artwork you really don't like on Moonspell and Septicflesh albums was done by the same guy. That Dave McKean created masterpieces for The Sandman graphic novels as well as Paradise Lost's 'Shades of God'. More singularly, did you see the centre-fold of the 'x' booklet? Or the band pictures in 'y'? Or how the imagery develops throughout the booklet along with the songs, adding a new flavour to the whole?
4. Lyrics are never known. There are whole threads on this. While everyone has their own value placed on lyrics, the plain fact is that some bands rely strongly on their lyrical content to communicate the impact of their songs. Without the lyrics printed in the booklet I would never know that Septicflesh's 'War in Heaven' was about black holes, and that the narrative in Cradle of Filth's 'A Gothic Romance' plays out on the lawns of a manor house as well as a very special portrait, and that Iron Maiden's 'Empire of the Clouds' is about a real-life airship crash that ended the zeppelin phase of air travel. Yes, lyrics are available online, but with so many other distractions it seems unlikely that individuals will pour over them regularly, getting to know them like a kid sitting on his bed reading a booklet over and over again. The plain fact is that some bands' music gains significant meaning once the words/story/message is understood. 
5. The significance of tactile experience. Children today live largely through digital portals: ipads, television, movies, touch screens. We use them too, and I'm not demonising technology (I'm using it right now to type this, right). However, I believe there is something healthy and natural in being able to hold a book, picture or CD in one's hands. Holding the album, turning it over, feeling its weight. Looking at the artwork printed on paper rather than a screen. Putting the music in the CD player's tray/vinyl turntable/cassette player. These are physical acts - small rituals that precede the aural experience of music. The placing of the needle on 'The Number of the Beast'. The clicking of play on your copy of 'Rust in Peace'. 
And so much more. For me, the booklets/liner notes/credit lists are of profound importance, and the generation who owns nothing but digital files has a wonderful experience of incredible music - but nothing more than that. And metal music has more to offer than simply great tunes. 

Sombres Forets and Antediluvian you would probably dig too, if you haven't already heard..

Welcome!

"瘴疠禁室" - Satanic Warmaster
Akitsa/Satanic Warmaster split
"Thèmes pour la rébellion" - Forteresse

Peste Noire - "La Sanie Des Siècles - Panégyrique de la Dégénérescence"

What sort of sound in metal are you looking for?

2 different things:
Groovy, powerful, kinda fast, harmless music like SOAD, Maximum the hormone or even lamb of god (you know, it makes you jump and headbang but doesn't go very deep/"feel"). 
And music that touchs you, is more complex, gets into your head for days and makes you freak out (gojira, tool, I like some songs from opeth too...)
sorry if I express myself poorly, but any band suggestion that comes to your mind is good
 

Peste Noire - La Sanie des siecles..

"The Somberlain" - Dissection
"Where Dead Angels Lie" - Dissection
"Ballade cuntre les anemis de la France - de François Villon" - Peste Noire
"Le Mort Joyeux" - Peste Noire
"La Mesniee Mordrissoire" - Peste Noire
"La Blonde" - Peste Noire
"XX121" - Strunkiin There are some cool riffs in this ep.  I would definitely recommend it.

"The Somberlain" - Dissection
"Where Dead Angels Lie" - Dissection
"Ballade cuntre les anemis de la France - de François Villon" - Peste Noire
"Le Mort Joyeux" - Peste Noire
"La Mesniee Mordrissoire" - Peste Noire
"La Blonde" - Peste Noire
"XX121" - Strunkiin There are some cool riffs in this ep.  I would definitely recommend it.

"Eastern Frontier in Flames" - Drudkh
"Hvis Lyset Tar Oss" - Burzum
"Visionaire" - Windswept
"Destruction Algorithm" - Doomsday Cult

Hate Forest - Purity