Sheol

I feel it would take a lot for the oligarchs to turn on Putin, he surely has a lot of dirt on them, and I think they care a whole lot more about public opinion on the world stage than him. The whole russian strategy has been very puzzling, either Putin tries to control everything and does it badly, or those in charge of the practical application of military-ing are inept. In the long run, I'm sure they can win the battle and take over Ukraine. But I'm not so sure they can keep it. Ukraine is big, and the risk is the Russians will face a 10 year guerilla war. Shitty outcomes all around.

I used MusicBee and really liked it, but had to switch to Foobar2000 because I couldn't find any way in MusicBee to add ReplayGain and DR measurements. F2K is pretty awful in deign though. Very hard to customize, but infinitely better than iTunes. My vinyl collection has grown considerably during covid, I probably have around 2-300 vinyl, and 5-600 CD (which are in the basement). I sadly dont have any server set up for my music, but since I often listen to digital on the computer or on the phone it doesn't really matter. I had a Seagate server setup but that interface was trash so I never really used it (you couldn't copy files to it via USB, only wifi, which was very inconveniant).

For some reason this showed up in my feed. The kid is from the town I grew up in and while his power metal isn't my cup of tea he's immensely talented both as a singer and guitarist. Saw that he plays with Sabaton now. Tommy Johansson - You raise me up

Wait, you get sedation for *scopies? I've had gastroscopy, colonoscopy, Sigmoideoscopy, at the most I've gotten some paracetamol and something that was supposed to calm me down, but did shit. Some colonoscopies were fine, but some hurt like a motherfucker, especially when they inflated the colon with air. Ugh. Anyway, glad to hear they didn't find anything significant Navy.

Colonoscopies are fine, but gastroscopy can fuck off. Probably the most unpleasant thing I've done at a hospital while awake. Turns out I have a very good gag reflex 🤮

Blood Countess - Storms over Carpathia Pretty standard black metal with some slight Satyricon-n-roll vibes in the riffs. Not bad, let's see how the full-length holds up.

Listened to the music and it was very cool, and a lot! Had a very 90's - early 00 type feel to it. Like Mr Bungle-type weird.

That album art is gorgeous! I saw this pass by on IG and had to give it a listen due to the cover. Didn't know you were attached to it FA!

I was only aware of the usual songs played on the radio (Sol, vind och vatten, Satellit, Jag vill ha en egen måne), but after seeing the biopic I digged a little deeper and he had a lot of really wellwritten songs! Seance - Saltrubbed eyes Listening to Sorcery reminded me of this semi-forgotten band. Featured Jensen of The Haunted, Witchery.

They're 00-bands for me. At least it feels like that's when they had their breakthrough. I might be misremembering.

I remember this album cover, never heard the music though! Reminds me a little bit of Seance and Grave.

I think it comes and goes, we both tend to fall down different rabbit holes different years, this year I got stuck in a lot of atmo black. But mostly I think it is that I can't keep up with your listening pace. We're in different places in life and you have ALOT more alone time than me I think. Plus you have very distinct criteria when looking for black metal, I'm more all over the place.😘

Ynkleudherhenavogyon - Arvor Mysteri

Well there's a huge group with pitchforks on Instagram that hate him. It's not 100% clear but it seems like it is a combination of him being a trendhopping poseur, cosplaying as Japanese (which for the record I have not seen), that he virtue signals as being anti-fasc while his drummer's sideproject has done splits with sus bands, etc. It's all very preschool and Gossip Girl-y tbh. I couldn't care less, so far he hasn't done anything I would disagree with.🤷‍♂️

After much debating and lots of procrastination, I've finally settled on my top 30 albums of 2021. As usual, last year was ridiculously strong, so strong that I'm honestly surprised some albums didn't make the cut. Anyway, here goes: 30. CULT OF LUNA - The Raging River Red Crk. CoL was kind enough to grace us with a palatte cleanser before unleashing a full-length in... 2 weeks. While slightly uneven, opener Three Bridges more than makes up for the price of admission. 29. HÄXKAPELL – Eldhymner Nordvis. A stunning debut album by Häxkapell. Pulling from the rich soil of Scandinavian black metal and imbuing it with arcane practices of Vinnland, Eldhymner is a must-buy. 28. GOLDEN BLOOD - Serpent Chariot Self-released. This is not the last time you'll find Austrian tour de Force Erech Leleth on this list, this time it's with heavy/black/punk metal hybrid Golden Blood. A ridiculously entertaining and catchy album! 27. PAN-AMERIKAN NATIVE FRONT - Little Turtle's War Death Kvlt Production. The rightous fury and passion on this, and indeed all PANF releases, are magnificent and really what gives this band the edge over many US bm-bands. 26. VINTERKRIG - Härskare över stjärnorna och mina drömmar Graveless Souls Records. An obscured and forgotten gem of 90s melodic black metal from Sweden, lovingly unearthed by GSR. The missing link between Gates of Ishtar, Dawn and perhaps Dissection, with some dashes of early Limbonic Art. If you haven't LISTEN TO THIS! I would love for this to get the vinyl treatment in the future... *Wink wink* 25. SPECTRAL LORE – Ετερόφωτος I, Voidhanger Ayloss continues to bend and shape the confines of what loosely is called atmospheric black metal into all manner of twisted forms, and I'm all here for it. 24. ANCIENT MASTERY - The Chosen One Death Kvlt Production See, I told you Erech Leleth would return. This is probably his most popular band, and for good reason. AM mixes pummeling black metal, atmoshperic passages and triumphantly tooting brass-sections, all wrapped up in straight-up nerd shit! 23. THE NIGHT ETERNAL - Moonlit Cross Ván. A previously unknown band for me, The Night Eternal plays heavy metal with a wide stance and tight pants, without forgetting to add the dark streak. 22. NOVAE MILITAE - Topheth Sentient Ruin Speaking of dark streak, Novae Militae is all dark, no streak, no light, only death. Music to get lost in. 21. LLNN - Unmaker Pelagic These Danes have managed to make one of the heaviest albums without actually being metal. Their blend of Godflesh, Author & Punisher and pissed off post-hardcore is mesmerizing. Like staring into that famous head-shaped hole Trent Reznor talked about. 20. HIPPOTRAKTOR - Meridian Pelagic Pelagic again, that label knows how to find interesting bands. Hippotraktor is alternating between beautiful postrock passages to brick-heavy riffs that are probably the closest I'll come to listen to djent. 22. BLODTÅR - Blodtår Nordvis The best Scandinavian folk-infused black metal since Thyrfing? Absolutely. Carl MUST record a full-length. Now. Just listen to Svartsejd, you won't regret it! 18. THE SUNS JOURNEY THROUGH THE NIGHT - Demo II Self released Building upon his latest full-length Demo II sees No One further fine-tune his craft. Fantastic black metal alternating between raw buzzings, cosmic atmoshperics and inner turmoil. 17. ESCUMERGAMËNT - ...ni degu fazentz escumergament e mesorga... Avantgarde Escumergamënt gives me the same feeling of mystery as when I first heard Bathory and was trying to figure out what the hell was going on. No other similarities though. Way too many have slept on this album. 16. SAIDAN - Jigoku: Spiraling Chasms Of The Blackest Hell Obscurant Visions Much hated, but I still can't get over how engaging and catchy Jigoku is. 15. ANCIENT MASTERY - Across the mountains of Drämmerskoll Death Kvlt Production Oh look, it's Erech Leleth again, here to steal all your girlfriends! 14. MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY - Biolume Part 2 - The Golden Orb I, Voidhanger Dis Pater is just as much a musical chameleon as Ayloss and that's probably why I always tend to get them and Jacob Buczarski mixed up together. Biolume pt 2 is a sharp change from pt 1, much more insistent on the clean vocals and a very strong melodic heavy metal vibe, only filtered through black metal sensibilities. This is the kind of album you can return to and find new details for years. 13. NESTOR - Kids In a Ghost Town Nestor Music Group Straight out of nowhere, Nestor dropped like a bomb in my lap and they haven't left my car stereo ever since. Truly fun and catchy 80's heavy metal with a top-notch singer and tasteful keys and guitar-licks. Amazing! 12. FERRITERIUM – Calvaire Epicureal Still fucking bummed that I forgot to order this fantastic riff-machine of an album. If anyone want's to sell their copy, hit me up! 11. WHOREDOM RIFE - Winds of Wrath Terratur Possessions WR continues to dominate the Norwegian black metal scene together with Djevel, this being perhaps their most curated and well-balanced album. 10. 1914 - Where Fear And Weapons Meet. Napalm Records. The Blind Leading the Blind socked me in the jaw and sneaked up as my #1 album of 2018, so this follow-up had A LOT to prove! And as you can see by the placement, 1914 didn't quite live up to the pressure, but that is in part due to the VERY stiff competition this year. All in all, this album is really, really good, make no mistake. 9. MARE COGNITUM - Solar Paroxysm. I, Voidhanger. I've waxed poetically about this album numerous times before but in short it's a fantastic and mesmerizing journey across the five tracks (clocking in at a total of 56 min). Rooted in atmospheric black metal, Jacob Buczarski travels from the rich soil of Earthy black metal riffs, out into spacious synthscapes and the scorching, blast-beat filled surface of our sun. Just listen to Luminous Accretion and feel your soul expand. 8. CRADLE OF FILTH - Existance is Futile. Nuclear Blast. In a way it's a thing of beauty, as well as poetic justice, that Cradle of Filth releases one of their best albums 30 years into their career. For all the scorn and ridicule Dani Filth and gang have endured (including past me), it's nice to see that sticking to your guns and trusting your vision pays off if you know what the fuck you're doing. Existance is Futile is a fantastic testamet to this credo, melodic, riff-driven, and with tasteful vocals and lyrics. If you, like me, lost touch with the Filth years ago, here's your chance to make it right. 7. ANCIENT WISDOM - A celebration in honor of Death. Avantgarde. Words can't express how happy I am to finally hear a new Ancient Wisdom album (the one-man Swedish doom/black band, accept no American substitutes!!). Vargher may work slowly, but by Satan it's worth it when he conjures up songs like Breaking the Circle of Life and Those Who Do Not Exist. 6. STORMKEEP - Tales of Othertime. Ván Records. I was not too impressed by Stormkeep's first EP Galdrum, so imagine my surprise when The Serpents Stone dropped and it was 100% everything I needed in my life at that time. Super-symphonic black metal that is thiiiiis close to being camp, but manages to balance on that razor's edge. 5. SPECTRAL WOUND - A Diabolic Thirst. Profound Lore. As soon as I heard "Frigid and Spellbound" I knew this was gonna be a heavy contender for AOTY. What I didn't know was just how ridiculously fierce the competition would be. Any other year and Spectral Wound would've taken the crown. 4. NINKHARSAG - Dreadmarch of Solemn Gods. Vendetta. I had my eye on these brits since the "Discipline Through Black Sorcery" single and Dreadmarch of Solemn Gods did not disappoint. Melodic black metal that is as surgically precise as it is wildly headbangable. 3. ZORNHEYM - The Zornheim Sleep Experiment. Noble Demon. For some godforsaken reason it took me almost into October before I bothered listening to the sophomore album from Zornheym. I don't know why, since "Where Hatred Dwells and Darkness Reigns" was a sleeper favourite of 2017. Well, I fixed that with prejudice. If Spotify Wrapped was actually correct it would've shown "Slumber Comes in Time" and "Keep The Devil Away" to be my most listened songs of 2021. No contest. This is the finest symphonic death metal since... well, the last album. Insanely catchy, with a ton of details in the riffs and orchestra arrangements, not to mention a truly impressive vocal performance from Bendler. 2. MALAKHIM - Theion. Iron Bonehead. This album came out in January so you'd think it would run the risk of being forgotten over the course of the year. Well, not if you are Malakhim and you know how to harness the fire of black metal and forge it into a barbwire cudgel to bash your fucking head in. That'll leave an impression. Like Whoredom Rife and Stormkeep this is an album where every aspect from packaging, cover art, calligraphy to individual drawings weaves into a perfect whole. 1. ARCHSPIRE - Bleed the Future. Seasons of Mist. The undisputed king of 2021. For every single Archspire released I grew more and more impressed until it all culminated with the release of Bleed the Future. What's amazing is not the incredibly technical skills of each individual musician or that they found a verbose freak in Oli Peters that could match them with his vocals, but that Archspire writes songs that do not compromise on brutality, technicality OR catchiness and tasteful composition.

It's quite fantastic that he became world famous for his physical acting, and then it turned out that he was even more funny when he spoke! I still hold Blackadder as one of the very funniest, well-written comedy shows out of UK.

When my sister went to middle school in the 80's there were two entrances, one for metal heads and one for synthesizers. Woe if you entered through the wrong one! 😄 It's kind of cute now, but they took it pretty serious then. As only middle schoolers can.

Well anything that makes us grow and feel positive about ourselves is a win I reckon. Music is funny in that way that it truly connects people all over the world and across cultures. Litterature and movies are pretty reliant on a common language. I have music where I have zero clue what they're saying, or even how to pronounce the songs but they make me feel things!

There's an old "common wisdom" that the reason most metal musicians and fans are pretty mellow and friendly IRL is because they get their aggression out via the music. And to an extent I think that it's true. Now the opposite may just as well be true too, that metal attracts people who are of a similar mental mindset, who knows? But for me growing up I can definitely say that metal helped me release emotions I didn't know how to process or express.

This makes me wonder just how many rare 70's and 80's vinyl GG got lying in his ice-blasted, uninsulated cabin home.

Maybe try Order ov The Black Arts? Sending it to some underground labels like Repose, Urtod, etc. As for production, I think black metal don't have to have a raw production, but the clean Dark Funeral/Nerophobic sound is harder to pull off. it needs the right kind of BM to feel balanced and not loose too much chaos.

There's a large Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, mostly located in Österbotten, on the west coast facing Sweden. Some of them even grow up not really learning Finnish. And all Finns have to learn Swedish in school, which means a lot of Finns hate sweden 😂

Change from BM to viking metal? No problem. Anything past Twilight of the gods is 👎

I'd say there's not many thrash fans at all right now. Death metal and black metal reigns supreme. Thrash had a huge upsurge in the 00's but it's largely been replaced by death and black.

Holy fuck, 43 albums and I think I've heard of maybe 7, and actually heard 3. Thank you for your service, Sir General.