Vampyrique

The images in Godspeed's booklet resemble an illustrated book of fairytales for children, only with morbid depictions. I'm fine with those. The cover art could have been good if it was reworked, and in the form of a painting rather than something so digital and cheesy. I've also got the two disc edition but I'm not a fan of trayless digipaks! I tend to agree with you about how Cryptoriana looks, but the cardboard waves or whatever those are behind the coffin reminded me of theatre production to begin with. I don't think the cover is as dark as the music is and I think that the artist is capable of better but I prefer it over some of their previous ones, like Darkly's cover and artwork (the worst the band has ever had).

Theatres des Vampires (although it wouldn't surprise me if I accidentally left the last decade of their discography behind) Cradle of Filth My Dying Bride Burzum and perhaps King Diamond Alternatives: Moonspell and Paradise Lost would be good choices too in terms of quality, variety and size of discography. Darkthrone doesn't quite have the variety, but definitely have a strong, consistent and lengthy catalogue. Not sure who else I'd consider.

Possibly my third favourite metal band. As the Flower Withers and Turn Loose the Swans are probably my favourites but I'm also quite fond of the underrated Like Gods of the Sun, and The Dreadful Hours. The Angel and the Dark River, Songs of Darkness, The Light at the End of the World are also great and it may be worth noting that I do enjoy their often maligned 34.788%...Complete. My enthusiasm waned with A Line of Deathless Kings and For Lies I Sire but I've slowly begun to spend more time revisiting their last couple of albums.

Can anyone recommend some oldschool death metal that has a funereal atmosphere to it, achieved through the use of synth or organs. Early death-metal-era Cradle of Filth but with decent production would be a prime example. However, I'm not looking for funeral doom or anything too slow.

Ordered the new Akercocke album, 3 disc version. Can't wait to hear what the b-side disc is like.

I've never cared what the detractors say, they're an excellent band. But I do have my own criticism: For years it seemed like they were constantly moving forward with great ambition and inspiration but with Death Cult Armageddon, it seemed that they achieved everything that they wanted to achieve and subsequently have become somewhat formulaic and stale ever since. I still think they're fully capable of releasing quality albums but I'm hoping for something different than Darth Vader anthems and recycled riffs. I'd rank the albums in this order: 1. For All Tid 2. Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia 3. Spiritual Black Dimensions 4. Enthrone Darkness Triumphant 5. Death Cult Armageddon 6. Stormblåst 7. In Sorte Diaboli 8. Abrahadabra

A production that isn't too clean or overproduced and cheap synth to generate some atmosphere.

I'm not sure which is my favourite of theirs but I tend to prefer Antichrist, Under the Sign of Hell, Destroyer and Twilight of the Idols.

That sounds about right. They've got to be considered pretty edgy though, at least amongst Starbucks gatherings and college campuses.

That's an interesting list. I like the first four but I'm not familiar with all of Sigh's catalogue and I don't think I've heard that Sigh album. How does it compare to their other stuff? I've only got the first two, and Hangman's Hymn.

Great lyrics will enhance the overall experience and bad lyrics will negatively impact the experience. I pay more attention to the lyrics of my favourite bands and tend to get a sense of a band's lyrical capabilities before I invest much time into reading them. I usually don't pay attention to lyrics when first listening to an album. Most metal bands' lyrics strike me as being generic and this isn't enough to sway my perception of the album either way, unless I had higher expectations.

I'll be watching the Mayweather-McGregor fight too. I've been an mma fan for many years, used to be a boxing fan. I've never liked Mayweather and I'm hoping Floyd slips and Conor lands a lucky punch in the first round, and the disdainful boxing community has to collectively eat shit!

I don't mind the occasional stalker. They possess a level of loyalty and companionship that one cannot simply buy! But I agree, you would think too that more people would care that Euronymous was killed, being an iconic and influential figure, but whilst he is praised so is his killer, even more so, and in a very sensationalized manner. Personally, I think anyone should be allowed to engage in a philosophical debate no matter what their views are. I would argue that discomfort over an issue is a sign that discussion needs to be had. Intellectual discourse between spokespersons of particular beliefs should be encouraged rather than censored. If Varg’s perspective, or anyone else’s, is flawed then the argument will fall flat and likely end in self detonation. It’s so amusing to me how so many metalheads are fine with the idea of burning churches and incessant Christian bashing and will go to great lengths to justify it but simultaneously vehemently argue against all other forms of discrimination. The level of cognitive dissonance is astounding but I’m aware that there is a correlation between political views and personality type and this affects behaviour greatly and I'm convinced that this is a major factor. I own The Slayer Mag Diaries and on occasion peruse through it. It's a great archive of old interviews. The autobiographical portions were actually my favourite part. He seems like a genuine person.

I'm mostly into metal, goth, synthpop, rock and some ambient, neofolk, electronic, classical, film scores. I don't care for country, rap and hip hop, autotuned-anything, dubstep, r&b, ebm.

First and foremost, I'm a fan of his music, and psychologically, individuals like Varg are interesting to me. Likewise, Hellhammer's utter indifference to Euronymous' murder as well as other events that shaped the black metal world is also interesting to me. I've never been bothered by Varg's politics or views because it's not important to me. There many bands whom I disagree with politically or otherwise. There are many companies and people that I cannot agree with, that espouse beliefs and put them into practice having greater impact upon the world than one man with some words and a few ideas. It's incredibly odd to me that people these days are bothered moreso by words than actions; people seem to be more offended by his beliefs than the fact that he killed someone.