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Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin at Dusk Stormkeep - Tales of Othertime These pair together quite nicely.

Or...... after that there are non-Finnish bands that sound Finnish.

Darkthrone - Astral Fortress I'm ready for these guys to mix something up a bit. The doomy-Darkthrone thing they've been doing is wearing thin for me.

Darkthrone - Caravan of Broken Ghosts New Darkthrone track. Sounds pretty in line with their last three albums, which is a-okay with me. I'm digging it. Hyped for the full album!

I feel like there was a higher percentage of kids listening to heavy music during my high school years (2003 - 2008). This was of course the peak years of metalcore's popularity and nu-metal was still really big so it seems to me there was an uptick in interest in heavier music among the youth. It was not uncommon to see Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium and Slipknot t-shirts in the hallways at school.

Interestingly enough, Deafheaven seem to have completely lost all their momentum and fallen out of the limelight. Last I heard of them they had completely abandoned metal altogether and just went full shoegaze, and as a result, the whole blackgaze movement seems to have become passe. Or at least it's not nearly as prominent as it was in the mid 2010's. Looking back now, Deafheaven really were a flash in the pan. They blew up then faded away. Them and the whole blackgaze thing didn't seem to have any real staying power. Interesting example of how when a musical movement's biggest act either breaks up or changes their sound it can kill the whole movement.

Gevurah - Gehinnom (2022) Oh fuck yeah! This is good. This is very good.

So this talk of scene tourists got me thinking. Thinking particularly about this new crop of Death metal from the last 3-4ish years that's clearly heavily influenced by hardcore, or "death metal played by hardcore kids" as I've frequently heard it referred to. Basically all the Maggot Stomp records stuff, bands like Sanguisugabogg, Frozen Soul, 200 Stab Wounds or other stuff like Creeping Death, Genocide Pact and the biggest and most popular of the bunch, Gatecreeper. All very popular among the hardcore crowds and I've even heard many of them labeled as hardcore bands and not death metal. In fact, I've noticed that like 1 in every 3 new DM releases these past couple years seems to be somewhat hardcore-adjacent. It's crazy big trend right now. And many of these bands have been picked up by big labels (Century Media, Relapse, Nuclear Blast). Could this be an example of tourists coopting an established sub-culture or genre and bending it to their will? The "tourists" in this case being hardcore kids who had some level of interest in death metal. If this is a thing that happens, it would certainly look that way to me.

Couldn't agree more, Navy. I've gotten to a point where I'm usually not even excited about new music because the sheer glut of it has driven me to apathy. I've also noticed that very little of the hundreds and hundreds of new releases I've accumulated over the last five-ish years have really stuck with me. Even albums that ended up on my year-end lists. I might be really into something for a few weeks to a few months, but then it's on to the next new thing...... because there's ALWAYS a next new thing. Lately I'm getting way more enjoyment and excitement from listening to old favourites or discovering older stuff that's passed me by.

Nothing. I don't want extreme metal to be commercialized either, I'm just not as convinced or as worried as you are that it's happening on a mass scale. It also wouldn't bother me as much if it was. I'm not nearly as in tune to the more mainstream end of the metal spectrum as you are, and thus don't have much of a stake in it. I find it pretty easy to ignore actually. My interest in metal is more underground and black metal focused. And unlike Surge, I'm not convinced there's a scourge of tourists attempting to appropriate it. You guys probably think I'm naive, or even outright stupid, but that's okay with me. I don't find it disagreeable that some feel a sense of community in metal. However, if preserving that sense of community mean devolving into exclusionary sectarianism then that's where I take issue. I don't view "casuals" "tourists" or "posers" as some kind of existential threat that need to be expunged from whatever this so called community may be and I don't view metal as a sacred culture that is in danger of being appropriated. Keeping people out of metal inevitably leads to stagnation which will hurt the genre far more than the Kardashians wearing a Slayer t shirt.

Okay I'm starting to see what the crux of this issue is...... people who take being a metalhead WAAAAAAAY too seriously. And thus seeing perceived outside forces "infiltrating" metal as an attack on themselves, personally. Which doesn't seem like healthy, emotionally mature behavior to me.

Has Ghostmane actually stated that he's a black metal musician? Do you have a source on this? What did Deafheaven do exactly? "Probably the best example". Best example of what? Having short hair? The fact that metal fans are genuinely butthurt over the Kardashian's clothing attire is endlessly hilarious. Also completely irrelevant to what I was asking Surge about. When have Ghost ever claimed to be black or death metal? Again, source? Also, they're copying black metal aesthetics just as much as they're copying Gene Simmonds' aesthetics, and I think the latter is far more likely. But I guess the similarity is there. Yes, Tribulation started out as a death metal band then evolved into something else, just like countless bands before them (Convulse, Gorement, Disgrace, etc.) I fail to see how this is an example of "tourism". Never saw the Dethklok cartoon.

Okay so what would be a specific, real-life example of a "tourist" infiltrating black metal and how does one differentiate between a tourist and new fan who has a genuine interest in the art form? Since we've established that there IS in fact a difference. What makes a tourist a tourist? And how exactly are these tourists going about dictating the norms of the scene, demanding, influencing and making things conform to their wants and desires? What is changing in black metal that is a direct result of this tourist infestation?

Yeah I still fail to see how "casuals" showing any interest in extreme metal somehow dilutes or tarnishes it. Black metal, at least in my opinion, is the best it's ever been, by and large, so if these so called "scene tourists" have been trying to take over and destroy all that we hold dear then they must be doing a piss poor job at it. Or perhaps it's because the valiant keepers of the gates are adequately warding them off.... or something. I dunno, this all sounds like neurotic sectarianism to me.

Extreme metal is still relatively unpopular on a mass scale. Like, I very rarely meet other people in real life who are even aware this type of music exists, let alone are fans of it. You might meet one out of every 100 regular people who has even heard of Behemoth, and if we're gonna get gatekeepy and talk about "actual" extreme, underground metal artists, that ratio becomes significantly smaller.

Prehistoric War Cult - Under The Sign of the Red Moon (Black/Death/War, Germany) https://prehistoricwarcult.bandcamp.com/album/under-the-sign-of-the-red-moon This is one of the best War metal albums you'll hear this year, bar none. This little gem is damn near perfect!

Pretty much, yeah lol. Just like every other streaming service. Anywhoo, been trying to catch up on some 80's horror that I've yet to see. Tried the OG Friday The 13th a couple nights ago and literally fell asleep, that one hasn't aged well, if it was ever even good. Tried the Creepshow movie from like 82' or something and that also did nothing for me. It's probably because I'm younger but 80's horror is very hit or miss for me. Mostly miss. Watched Imetigore last night though (a Shudder original) and was very impressed. Cool Indonesian folk horror with a unique and interesting plot. Would recommend.

Varathron - Walpurgisnacht

Shiver? Errrrr... do you mean Shudder? Yeah I've subscribed on and off to Shudder over the last few years. Definitely some gems on there.

Curious what streaming services folks are using for horror movies and maybe which one has the best selection (in your opinion)? I'm currently rocking Prime video with the AMC+ add on and it's..... decent enough I suppose.

Yeah I've pretty much given up on buying band merch these days. Too much of a hassle and even if you manage to find something in your size for a reasonable price, it's probably gonna be printed on a garbage Gildan heavy-cotten tee that won't fit well, despite it being the correct size. I can't even count how many Gildan shirts I've owned over the years that end up wasting away in my closet cuz I can't stand the way they fit.

Greed

Gaerea - Mirage (2022) These guys continue to underwhelm me. Musically... it's fine I guess. Nothing really wrong with it but there's nothing even remotely interesting about it either.

In my experience, the line between "bad girl" and "psychotic demon-spawn" is a very thin one. In fact, the two are often one and the same.

Destroyer 666 - Never Surrender New D666 album out in December. New song is kinda...... not great. I liked these guys better when they were just screaming about satan or whatever...