Benjaminc81

Ulvegr - Vargkult Glad to see they abandoned the stupid Egyptian theme of the previous album here. We´re back to just plain furious old school black metal with some great riffing as usual. They keep it short and sweet on this release with only 7 tracks but it´s just enough to quench your thirst for some straight forward agressive black metal. Will be giving this a regular spin for sure. Glad to see them back on track after the previous dud. People can talk shit about Danzig all day but those first 4 albums are just timeless fuckin´ classics and even the newer stuff isn´t half bad. Every few months i return to these albums and listen to them in chronological order. Danzig was one of my gateway bands but unlike with other bands i never got bored with Danzig. Lucifuge is without a doubt his best album by far.

Killing Joke - Pylon Always loved Killing Joke but their last 3 albums are especially great since they went down the metal path even more then before. It' seems they have slowed down since they released "Pylon". But this was a great album to end their trilogy. Just the right amount of metal, post punk and new wave. Not as agressive as the previous album but lot's of great, catchy melodies. Never get tired of these guys.

Thanks for the tip, i'll use those as my starting point. Guess if i like them enough i'll venture further into the Melvins discography. I seem to remember they also did an album with Jello Biafra which wasn't half bad.

To be honest Nachtlieder doesn´t have that whole pagan/folk angle like Mykrur has. But at least Nachtlieder makes straight up black metal without the whole "look at me i´m a female black metal artist" shtick and doesn´t rely on famous Norwegian musicians to do the heavy lifting for her.

I own two or three of their earlier releases (Stoner Witch, Houdini and another one) and i do enjoy them to some degree. Although their weirdness factor is a little high for my taste and their releases sound so different from one another that i find it hard to figure which ones are worth listening to. Maybe i should i give them another chance, that´s if somebody can recommend where to start...

Nachtlieder - Nachtlieder Nachtlieder is basically everything Myrkur wants to be so badly. Only better vocals and way better riffs without riding Ulver´s dick so hard ?

Glad you are here to re-affirm the stereotype most people have of Slipknot fans. The dumb meathead jock bro who has to resort to insults and profanity to get his point across, bravo! That being said... I must admit Slipknot was kind of a guilty pleasure for me. I never really got into the debut album, but Iowa and Vol. 3 were a pretty big deal back in the day and i regurarly give them a spin. Especially Vol. 3 which finally showed some growth for the band thanks due to Rick Rubin's production job. They seemd to move away from the nu-metal template and finally injected some much needed diversity with that particular record. After that i got into lot's of other bands and i lost track of them and "All Hope is Gone" and "5: The Gray Chapter" totally passed me by. I did purchase "We Are Not Your Kind" recently for a bargain price and i must say i was quite impressed. This might be the best album they have done since "Vol. 3". Plenty of cool riffing but i also like how the electronic elements are brought more to the forefront. It's really the most diverse records of their career and even if you don't like them i'd urge everyone to give it a chance. I'd given up on Slipknot long ago but based on their last record i might have to review my opinion.

Without a doubt Marduk. Their first 4 albums are excellent and they only had a small dip during the late 90´s and early 2000´s when they kind of got stuck in Panzer Division mode for 2 or 3 albums. But luckily they have been back on track ever since "Rom 5:12" with "Frontschwein" being their crowning achievement so far. I'm also suprised i never get tired of their WW 2 topics. You'd reckon it would getting boring by some point but no. For some reason i have never seen them live though, so can't comment on their live performanc. They played about 5 times in my vicinity but each time i couldn't go due to circumstances. They are still on my band bucket list. Dark Funeral on the other hand have a debut album which was merely okay and the superb "Where Shadows Forever Reign" but otherwise i'm absolutely bored with their ouput. It's just non stop blasting and endless tremolo's without any realy melody. I've seen 'em live twice and their live performance is just a mess. I couldn't make out one song from the other, it just sounded like one big blur of noise both times. On top of that they have a pretty goofy image that caters to all black metal stereo types. They look like how a record company A&R imagines a black metal band, totally over the top and more hilarious then scary.

Abigail Williams - Walk Beyond the Dark Been spinning the new album for the last two days and it's definite improvement in comparison to "The Accuser". Ken Sorceron finally finds a balance between the more mellow sound elements and the harsher passages from the previous album. Where the previous album was just all out agressivenes this album breathes a little more and doesn't wear you down as much. There are some much needed slower and more melodic passages which keep things interesting. If they can keep this up then i'll gladly keep supporting Abigail Williams. One of the few USBM bands i really enjoy i have to say.

Watain - The Wild Hunt I know people love to hate on these guys and especially this album. Granted i'm not a particular big Watain fan but i always enjoyed their output and especially this album. You notice some clear Dissection influences which provide some much needed variety in their sound. They make it their own and it takes their sound to the next level and also more accessible (dirty word in the metal word i know) For me this is without a doubt the best record of their career so far, although i don't think anyone would agree with. And yes i even love the song "They Rode On" it's Bathory worshipping at it's best and it works. Call me crazy but this album just works for me on all fronts.

Emperor - IX Equilibrium The last Emperor album i truly enjoyed before Ihsahn went all proggy and sophisticated on the last one. Although you already notice some of the influences on this album. There is some great song writing here but as with most Emperor albums it often borders on overkill with so much things going on in the mix. I enjoy the occasional Emperor album but they are also very tiring for the ears. Still very enjoyable album to listen to every once and while.

Sarke - Viige Urh Just what the doctor described to get rid of that foul Darkthrone after taste. Sarke is probably more well known as the drummer in Khold and Tulus. But his solo project with Nocturno Culto on vocals is often overlooked. The earlier albums sounded a little like Motorhead tributes but with the last three albums they really found their niche. If you like your black metal with heavy doom and thrash metal influences and some more experimental elements (female vocals, subtle synthesizer use, choirs, etc) then is for you. Can't wait to receive their new album "Gastwerso" in the mail this week.

I of course still prefer the original Sabbath recordings over the Brad Gillis stuff. But it´s commendable how close he sticks to Iommi´s sound on those live recordings. He could have easily made them his own, but instead he pays hommage to Iommi and didn´t change a note. I just there were more decent sound live recordings of the original Sabbath line up. "Past Lives" is the only live album so far that actually sounds listenable when it comes to the Ozzy era. As for Darkthrone i totally get what your saying. In the early days they were pioneers and they did some ground breaking stuff on those early releases. But nowadays they seem content on living off their well established name and just paying hommage to bands that have influenced them along the way. Nothing wrong with paying hommage but stuff like "Old Star" sounds more like some second tier Celcic Frost record. It´s more blatant copying then really being inspired by their sound. But i noticed this has been a problem with most of their albums which were written by Culto. He just strings some riffs together without any real coherency. Fenriz his approach to writing on the other hand is much more professional. But above all i guess they are just content with their status within the scene and let´s be honest... It´s not like they have anything left to prove at this point. I also bought the new Sarke album the other day with Culto on vocals. And i hate to say it but by this point i actually prefer the last two Sarke records over the last two Darkthrone records. Didn´t think i would ever feel that way.

Give it another spin, it was a grower for me as well. At first i felt somewhat disappointed by this follow up because of it´s straight forward approach. But now i´m discovering more and more gems on that album.

I´ll give the regular edition of "Cruelty and the Beast" another spin soon just so i can compare it to the new remastered version. Maybe i´ve been too critical of the production, but like i said it´s been quite a while since i actually listened to the original releases.

I personally would consider Immortal one of the few bands where the later albums are actually better then the earlier ones. Most black metal bands peaked with their earlier releases but Immortal did exactly the opposite in my opinion. To me their sound improved with each release and when Abbath took over as lead guitarist it finally took the band to the next level. But as with so many things that´s probably a question of personal taste. I like the thrashy influences Abbath brought to their sound as where Demonaz plays a more regular black metal style as is notable on the earlier releases. Right now i´m going through all the Abbath fronted release before i return to first four releases where Demonaz was the lead guitarist. Hopefully i´ll gain some new found apprection for the Demonaz material although i have no doubt that i will still prefer the later Immortal sound.

Hm, guess it's like you say, it's just a case of what your used to. I for example only listened to the original version maybe three or four times and after that i couldn't muster up the patience to listen it anymore because of the poor production. Still i think there is a huge difference between rough or poor production jobs. I don't mind roughly produced records like let's say "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" or "Under a Funeral Moon" cause they are still well balanced overall even though they sound rough around the edges. But in this case i just found the original recording poorly produced, volume levels of certain instruments aren't balanced right or sound just awful because they were recorded under wrong conditions. In this case the production job ruined the record for me so i'm grateful for the remastered edition. Just like with Mayhem's "Grand Declaration of War". I always liked certain aspects of the record but the poor, thin and sterile production ruined most of the enjoyment for me to the point where i stopped listening to it. So when the remastered edition i came out i was finally able to fully appreciate the record for what it is.

Darkthrone - Old Star After the excellent "Artic Thunder" i hoped that Darkthrone was back on track. Old Star kind of continues where Artic Thunder left of, but somehow it sounds like a lesser version of the previous album. The riffs aren't as catchy and songs just go on too long, and Culto's voice is sounding more and more like an angry old man. Also hate the production which is just drenched in 80's reverb and Culto sounds like he's singing inside an empty hall. Doesn't really hold up on repeated spins, but at least the cover art looks sweet.

Ozzy Osbourne - Speak of the Devil A lot of Ozzy fans seem to despise this live album since it only contains Sabbath track. I say all the better since i never cared for Ozzy´s solo stuff. Great to hear decent live recordings of those classic Sabbath era songs when he still was able to perform them.

Deathcult - Cult of the Goat Last one for today. Another great but underrated Norwegian black metal band. It took them 10 years to release their 2nd album but it was well worth wait. Great 2nd wave mid paced black metal with that typical icey treble sound from the 90's and lots of catchy riffs. Hoest from Taake plays bass in this band but i can't say his playing is extraordinary in any way. Still must have stuff for any black metal fan.

Funny that you mention it. With me it's just the other way around. The first one instantly clicked but the second one took some time before i started enjoying it. Like you said it's classic 2nd wave inspired stuff but they do it so well i don't mind the fact that it's somewhat derivative. Borknagar - True North Is it better then Winter Thrice? Hm, after multiple spins these last weeks i would say equal. But somehow overall i enjoy this album more. ICS Vortex his vocals really carry the album, although i know not everyone is a fan of him. The black metal elements are almost totally gone this time around. But this is a good thing since Borknagar hasn't made a real album black metal since 1998.

Of all the doom bands i probably miss Reverend Bizarre the most. They had a such a specific sound that i never found again in doom metal, those long creeping slow build ups and that heavy sound that would just crush you like a slab of concrete. Their first album is just doom metal excellence and i never tire of listening to it, and the two follow up albums were almost just as good. Next to Black Sabbath these guys are one of the most important doom metal bands for me. Albert Witchfinder has such a unique and iconic voice which just compliments the whole sound. Kind of like the Iron Maiden of doom metal in some aspects. Luckily all guys had side projects after Reverend Bizarre called it quites. Although none of them come close to the original. But Spiritus Mortis (with Albert Witchfinder once again on vocals) probably comes closest to the spirit of Reverend Bizarre. Unfortunately he decided to leave that band as well in 2016

I always have been somewhat at odds with Cathedral. I understand the importance and their roll within the doom metal genre but i think their albums are hit and miss. First three or so are outright classics but after that i tend to get quite picky. I wasn´t such a big fan of the proggy/psychedelic influences that crept in on later releases. I guess "Endtyme" was the last release that i truly enjoyed from beginning to end. Still i gotta hand it to Lee Dorian for keeping doom metal alive and supporting many other doom bands through his label Ris Above which put out many excellent releases. I think Cathedral did well quitting while they were ahead. They probably did everything possible within the genre up to that point. And continuing would have meant they would have started rehashing their own sound. And to be honest at the end of the day i prefer his new band With The Dead over most Cathedral releases. The With the Dead releases sound so much heavier and primitive, exactly how i like my doom metal.

Just saw this week that Abbath had a complete meltdown during his South American tour. Really sad to see how alcoholism is slowly destroying this talented man. I really hope he get´s the help he needs for his alcoholism and returns to the stage soon. Was hoping to catch him January together with 1349 and Vltimas on tour. But now i wonder if he´s gonna make it in the light of his recent problems. But aside from his personal issues i really have enjoyed his solo output so far. The I record he put out in 2006 was really an excellent metal album, even if it wasn´t black metal. His first solo record showed sounded somwhat uneven but overall i enjoyed it and it stuck pretty close to the Immortal formula of previous releases. His most recent record really shines though, i love the return to a more primitive black metal sound and there are some great melodies on that records. I´ve really come to appreciate his recent output and hope he can keep this level of quality up. I urge everyone to give "Outstrider" a good listen cause you are really missing out if you haven´t heard it yet.

Instinctus Bestialis has been underrated from the start indeed. I mean Infernus really brought back those melodic riffs that we know from the older Gorgoroth releases. To me it really felt like the second coming of Gorgoroth after all these years of turmoil. It was really an excellent follow up to "Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt" but somehow it just came and went without too much noise. Although i have to agree with most people that the new vocalist sucks. He just has the most generic death metal sounding vocals ever, he´s certainly the worst guy they had so far. They should have just gotten Hoest to do the vocals on the album since he does all their live performances nowadays. That being said i think Gorgoroth really needs to tighten their releases schedule. 6 or 7 years in between album is just way too long and you lose a lot of momentum and people tend to forget about you. But i suspect Infernus has difficulties keeping a stable line up and with the passing of Frank Watkins aka Bøddel he really lost an important friend and business associate. I remember Infernus mentioning that he really helped him out during the whole Gorgoroth copyright trial and with tons of other business stuff since Watkins had his own management company. I think Infernus loves music but just despises the business sides of things, hence the slow output.