navybsn

Ranking the top 8 KJ albums is super tough. I switch around every few months, but I'd put Hosannas, What's this, Pylon, and Democracy in that order... today. Could easily swap 4 - 8 on any given day though. King is the weakest link in both of his bands. I've grown to deal with his vocals because the music is just so damn good. He's had 2 of the best backing bands ever. I mean Hank Sherman, Andy LaRocque, Timi Hansen, Mikkey Dee, Michael Denner, Mike Wead, now Joey Vera. You just don't get much better than that. NP: Killing Joke - S/T

That's the Dave Grohl on drums quasi garage rock album. Pretty damn cool. Definitely top 5 in their discography IMO. Don't think it tops the debut, Absolute Dissent, or Night Time so I guess I'm putting it at 4.

I'm totally down for vintage gear. Matter of fact I would prefer it. My favorite piece of gear is my '75 Marantz 2240b. Just can't imagine an amp I would prefer over it. My streamers are of course new gear, speakers are too. CD player and dac would need to be for reliability reasons. Speakers and amps though, 59 year old stuff is generally better or at least as good as anything made today and generally looks better. Prices are unfortunately equivalent though.

Another band I'd throw into that DT category that I mentioned in another thread. Tom G can do no wrong. I like Cold Lake too. Wish he hadn't disavowed it but just been like "fuck yeah we did that, so what". Probably wasn't his idea in the first place though so it was easier to discard. I did see scuttlebutt somewhere that there's the possibility of another Triptykon album in the next few years. Don't remember where I saw that, but I'm completely down for it. Never got to see CF, but I did catch Triumph of Death at MDF this year (and have them on the agenda for Hell's Heroes next year) and they played a few of the classics. Just fucking crushing live. Course, it didn't hurt that Jamie Lee Cussigh (aka Slaughterwytch) is one of the hottest bass players I've been lucky enough to see live. She's smoking and of course was playing a Rick which of course is consistent with Navy Commandment #1 & 2. 1) Chick bass players rule. 2) Any band with a bass player on a Rick is going to slap.

That guy is a douche. Maybe turnout for Behemoth gigs is what it is because they suck. 2 decent gigs in the last 6 months in my area. Everything else has been 3-5 hours minimum travel this year. We do not have a plethora of gigs to decide between. Maybe in larger Euro cities or NE US.

I've got the serious itch to build a new hi-fi rig or add a piece/upgrade a piece. Absolutely no reason to since all of my rigs meet my needs perfectly. I should just leave well enough alone, but that just never seems to be what happens. I do need to take my Marantz out of circulation to do some upkeep/servicing, so another amp to take its place while I get that done would be nice. Shame that I'm so picky when it comes to gear and availability/pricing is what it is these days. Also considered adding a CD player, but since I digitize my CD onto a server, I've really no need for one. So, it'll be a few weeks of fighting the urge. Also fighting the urge to upgrade my home desktop setup. New monitor or something. Again, no real need. Consumerist culture is a hard mindset to shake even when you recognize it and take measures to resist. So, I guess I'll just buy more music. Off to Discogs to see what trouble I can get into.

Agreed. This morning: Paco De Lucia, Al Di Meola, & John McLaughlin - The Guitar Trio Rush - Snakes & Arrows The Cure - Paris (Live)

Double dog dare you I made it 10 seconds. I would say however that if I had hair, I would be compelled to get that dope hairdo.

Yeah they probably had little say after Black struck gold, at least for a few years. But they obviously got it back after a while or else we wouldn't have masterpieces like LuLu. No label or management on the planet could have ever directed that "artistic direction". Bands get less heavy because people mellow with age generally. It's hard to maintain that edge when you get a little older, a little money, and get off the heroin. There are exceptions of course. Plus, I think that younger bands don't have the ability to act on some of their ideas until they get older and improve their skills. You could also argue that more time equals exposure to more influences that generate more possible directions. Saw them in August. Decent live but nothing special. Fairly indistinguishable from Frozen Soul, 200 Stab Wounds, Squishabug, and that lot of new death metal bands.

Just gonna put out there that DT has yet to make an album I haven't liked. Honestly wish more legacy bands took there approach of switching things up while maintaining your musical integrity than just trying to rehash the good old days in search of another magic album like the one that gave them their status. As much as I dislike modern Metallica, I've more respect for them than many of their contemporaries because they took a chance on a new sound and stuck with it. They're not trend hopping like many did when grunge hit or after the Black album when everyone tried to duplicate the success but quickly abandoned it when it didn't work out. For DT, if they had continued to make stuff in the vein of the trilogy, or the period immediately after, I think they would be a parody at this point. They haven't become that and stay relevant/interesting because they change it up. Bathory is another good example of a band (artist) that wasn't afraid to make a drastic change. I'd put Enslaved and Opeth in that category too. DT exists in their own world outside of our silly mortal dimension. The rules just don't apply to them the way they do to other bands, and that's just unheard of for a band 30 years old. They have full license from me to do whatever the fuck floats their boat short of an Illud-level debacle for the rest of time. May not be an AOTY situation, but they won't fail to get my money.

I think the major problem with the Vortex approach initially was that many of the main players involved were more interested in "shouting down" dissenting voices to what they thought was best than a legit reflection of what the community thought. That quickly devolved into one guy "tanking" a rating on a specific favorite of someone they didn't get along with. It got out of hand. Maybe the age of some of those involved initially played a part, but I think in the end it just turned into something a significant portion of the board just wanted no part of because of the way it was being administrated.

Bad Religion - Suffer

I still have it too, but I haven't bothered since I quit participating about halfway through the first year.

That Vortex was a joke. I've no real hard feelings about those guys, but I feel that their petty obsession with that stupid spreadsheet completely killed a pretty cool metal community.

Slayer - Seasons

Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden Judas Priest - Hero Hero Dokken - Breaking the Chains

I never met a wee heavy I didn't like. The variations of Dirty Bastard are better, but you can't go wrong with it. Founders makes solid beer.

Spectral Lore/Mare Cognitum = Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine

Last night I went bourbon, so tonight it's beer. Nice Old Rasputin should put me straight to bed all toasty warm.

Opeth - Still Life Rush - Counterparts

I'll be on the lookout for it!

2 of my favorite Miles' albums.

The Cure - Pornography

Reripping my CD and Bandcamp collection to try and straighten out my jacked up server. This is going to be a multi-day(week) project, but it has to be done. The fact that the weather sucks certainly doesn't hurt. Crime of Passing - s/t Secret Shame - Dissolve b/w Pure Hum - Inlet

Love me some Ten-Fiddy. My best bud lives about 2 miles from the brewery, but alas no tasting there. It's a dry county. I went bourbon. Eagle Rare. Too hard to resist. Plus I bought new bourbon glasses today, so by law I have to use them.