navybsn

Cirith Gorgor, Carach Angen, Urfaust, Funeral Winds, Asagraum, Duivel, Iskandr, Ossaert, Asgrauw, Kjeld... Lots of good shit from the Dutchies.

Ebola - Distorted Romance @GoatmasterGeneral - nailed it. This is right up my alley. Will be a purchase. Also just ordered the first 3 MDB on vinyl.

I'll check that out. Description does tick the boxes. I'll admit that I never much got the hype for MDB. Tried a few times over the years and just never took to them. But what has often happened to me over the years is that after I see a band live, especially when it's a great show, I find i have a different take on the band. Doesn't always happen, I've seen a bunch of bands that still do nothing for me, but some finally "click" as much as I dislike that phrase. I've seen Paradise Lost several times and have walked out mid-set every time. They're just kinda bland live. I've tried with Katatonia and it's a straight nope. Masters Hammer, Borknagar, Eyehategod, the list goes on. But occasionally I get a MDB, Dodheimsgard, Satyricon, or The Chasm that just all of a sudden work where before I was somewhat ambivalent. I've had the opposite happen to where I really liked a band then saw them live and came out less enthused. And then there are some I only enjoy live, Evoken comes to mind. Back to the Peaceville 3, as @JonoBlade mentioned, some of this hasn't aged well. Going back through the discog for Anathema really changed my thoughts on their early output. They have moments but it's less impressive than it was years ago. The early PL stuff sounds mediocre at best to me. MDB strikes me as the best application of the style and still sounds relevant. I've yet to find anything of theirs I won't buy. If I didn't already own everything Anathema, I probably wouldn't bother with them (pre-2000 that is). Btw @GoatmasterGeneral, you would probably hate their later stuff but A Fine Day to Exit and Hindsight (acoustic reinterpretation of their back catalog) are the highlights for me. A Natural Disaster is good too. None of it even remotely metal however. I do want to investigate PL's "Depeche Mode" era as you described it. Reading through their wiki last night has me intrigued. Host sounds interesting and apparently they have a side project that is continuing in that vein. And I did like what I heard on Obsidian, so more effort is warranted. I'll go back and listen to Shades again too. I've seen you mention that before. Skipped it last night.

And on to Eternity. This is where Anathema lost the doom. Beautiful album, gorgeous sound, and starting to incorporate some weirder elements that will go on to play a big part in their later alt-rock turn. I believe Vincent is on vocals at this point. I think it's a weird middle ground tbh between what they were and what they would go on to. Definitely my least listened to album in the discog. Judgement - more of the same. A little better developed. Some definite Pink Floyd vibes on this one. I will say that Fragile Dreams is my favorite mid-period and possibly overall song by them although Scars of the Old Stream is right there. 2nd least spins. I won't bother with any of the rest of the discog. Fine Day is my favorite of theirs but full on Radiohead worship at that point. And tbh, I prefer new Anathema to old. I guess I let my affinity for everything post 2000 color my impressions of the whole Peaceville 3. After a good 2 day marathon, I think I'd rank them as such: MDB - best overall for doom, most consistent (well if you throw out 34.788%). Anathema - although strictly based on the strength of the post 2000 stuff. Paradise Lost - Not a big fan. Draconian Times and Gothic are the only 2 I've ever cared for and I stopped somewhere around One Second. Their earlier doom phase is a little choppy at times. Their turn around One Second never did it for me and I was off to other fields to play in. Can't say I've given them much second thought since or even a fair eval the past 2 days. Listened to a few tracks from Obsidian and it's decent. Might have to go through the whole catalog to see what I have missed. But not tonight. NP: Green Carnation - The Acoustic Verses

More doom tonight: Paradise Lost - Lost Paradise PL - Gothic Anathema - Pentecost III Anathema - The Crestfallen EP Anathema - The Silent Enigma

MDB marathon continues. Mrs. Navy did not appreciate Skyforger but seems to tolerate this. The Angel and the Dark River The Light at the End of the World The Dreadful Hours

Pizza thrash is just an offhand slander of modern thrash bands more obsessed with partying, beer, and pizza than nuclear Holocaust. Lich King may or may not fit that description quite right but they're in the same category as Toxic Holocaust, Municipal Waste, etc. It's been a thing in the states for a while. Quite enjoyed them regardless. Fuckin sucks. I guess that's joke metal I as far as the band sucks. At least the version I've seen post- Oderus. Never got the love for them even when he was around. NP: Skyforger - Semigalls' Warchant @GoatmasterGeneral, this one's probably right up your alley

Time to kick out the jams mother fucker! Moreso proto-punk than metal, but the MC5 where a freaking great band.

The Seven Tongues of God into This Sacrament may be the best 2 opening tracks on an album ever. Loomis + Dane was an absolutely great combo. NP: My Dying Bride - As the Flower Withers MDB - Turn Loose the Swans

Ok, back in the country post metal cruise. Full report incoming. Note: I'm at risk of losing my goat metal cred after 5 days of Euro weenie metal, but I have to say it was fun as always. Also, much of my report will be heavily effected by copious amounts of mojitos and mai-tais so don't judge too hard. NP: Blind Guardian - Memories of a Time to Come So here goes: The Good Sodom - the only bucket list band on the bill. I honestly wasn't expecting much. I mean Tom is like 143 years old and looks more like a ring wraith than a metal god these days. Sat next to him at breakfast one morning and literally thought the guy could drop dead any minute, but once on stage he was as good as ever. They fuckin ripped live. 2 full sets with just about everything you could want to hear. They didn't play Obsessed by Cruelty or Witching Metal, but pretty much everything else. All of Agent Orange, Outbreak of Evil, Sodomy and Lust, The Conquerer, Nuclear Winter... Unreal dude still rips this hard at his age. I'll see them 2 more times this year, but they were definitely the highlight for me. Blind Guardian - I'm not a power metal guy. I start and end with Helloween. So not expecting anything going into this. They were a co-headliner I guess so they got prime times. Have to say that I was completely blown away. This stuff kills live. Hansi can sing his ass off and the 2 guitarists shred. Bombastic, theatrical, a bit cheesy, but tight as hell and badass. Caught both sets. Would definitely catch them again given the chance. Saor - Scottish folk black metal with flute and bagpipes. I know, wtf? But shit works live. Skyforger - Latvian folk black. Best new discovery of the week. Apparently been around since 95, but I'd never heard of them. Really good live. A bit more black than folk based on their set. Unfortunately I only caught 1 of the 2 sets. These dudes really don't like Germans which was quite funny considering about half the boat was from Germany. Unleashed - good old comfort food for the soul. Meat and potatoes swedish death metal. I've never seen them live before and they were great. Caught both sets. Blood Red Throne - nasty death metal from Norway. Batushka - no idea which version this was officially but it was the guitarist's version. The schtick is kinda tired and I much prefer the Cult of Fire take on this type of metal but I have to say this was pretty good live. My Dying Bride - ok I said Sodom was the only bucket list band on the bill, but I lied. MDB are one of those bands I liked back in the day but haven't listened to in forever. I always preferred Anathema out of the Peaceville 3 and they're the only ones I usually go back to. Mistake. Jesus Christ on a pogo stick this was the heaviest thing I've seen in a long time. Just crushing. Forgot how much they fell on the death metal side of the spectrum. Have to give them props as the only ones still playing the style. I've seen Paradise Lost who I like a good bit, never seen Anathema. MDB is the one I want to see again (and will at MDF). Bonus points for playing my favorite tune - The Forever People. Ran into Aaron coming out of the bathroom. Dude's like 9 feet tall. Cool mofo too. The guilty pleasure: Epica. Now I will say that my only impetus to see Epica was Simone Simmons. Holy God she's smoking hot. Like Hall Pass approved hot. And I'm a sucker for redheads, so I had no choice but to sit through a set (or 2). Straight up Disney princess metal but it works really well live. Chick has some ungodly pipes. The band was tight and a good bit heavier than I expected. Bonus points for the sparkly black skin tight bodysuit. By far the only person on the boat I wanted to run into, but no such luck. Probably saved me a lot of headache with Mrs. Navy. The Ridiculous: Nanowar of Steel. There's always a few joke bands on the bill. I guess that stuff is big in Europe. Pirate metal, Troll metal... This year it was Dwarf metal and then these guys. By far the most fun of the weekend. Completely ridiculous and unhinged but a 10/10 show. A Wham! cover, a wall of love in the pit, lead singer dressed as Father Guido Sarducci... just insanity. Their song "Norwegian Reggaeton" is permanently stuck in my head (don't click the link and say I didn't warn you) The Pedestrian: The Halo Effect - newer Gothenburg DM from one of the original In Flames guys. Not bad, not special. Crypto & Nervosa - I'll lump these together. Brazilian death/thrash. Enjoyable sets Pentagram (Chile) - old school shit from South America. Lich King - pizza thrash from Massachusetts Graceless - meat and potatoes from the Netherlands Avulsed - filthy shit from Spain. The "Oh God make it stop": So many fit here but the only one most people would know was Katatonia. I've been tricked into seeing these pukes 3 times now only because some of the other dudes were really into there old stuff. Admittedly I did have The Great Cold Distance back in the day, but fuck this is so bad. I made it 1 song, which is slightly more than the last 2 times. I'd rather have syphilis than have to sit through another minute of these guys for the rest of my life. Second place goes to the city of Miami. What a total shit hole. I didn't expect much and got even less. Anyway, first fest of the year is in the books. I enjoyed it even if I feel like pounded ass this morning. 2 more coming in the next few months (Hell's Heroes and MDF) and possibly another in the fall (Metal Threat). The lineups get better with each fest, but some good takeaways from this one. Can't say I can recommend 70K, but it is well run and fun, just ridiculously expensive. Spent more money on this than the other 3 fests coming up combined, and that was before the bar tab. So back to listening to Blind Guardian to get this power metal shit out of my system.

I'd have as my top 4, but I honestly don't think about it too much. When I'm in the mood for Inquisition, any and all will do. 1) Nefarious 2) Infernal Regions 3) Black Mass 4) Invoking

New Inquisition sounds like standard issue Inquisition to me. It's not going to be my favorite album from them, but I dig it. I dig everything they've ever done, so no surprise. Like Black Mass better after the first pass. I agree with @GoatmasterGeneral's assessment. Black Mass is in the top 2-3 of their discography.

Blood - O Agios Pethane Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness

Much appreciated sir! I shall frame this post as proof to all others that my taste is indeed impeccable.

Yeah dude, sometimes life just gets in the way man. And I can sympathize with you. Since I've moved to mostly digital, I'm better able to keep the number of purchases of Mrs. Navy's radar. Although once in a blue moon she takes notice. Accidentally opened my Discogs app in front of her the other day and she was not amused with the estimated value of my collection which is the equivalent of a new Kia. I just hope she never notices my bandcamp account... That Poison Ruin is really good. It's on my EOTY list. I have all their other stuff too. Harvest is a bit of a change/evolution, but not much. I agree with @GoatmasterGeneral's assessment that it's very much in the Amebix/Tau Cross vein which is totally cool with me. Check out their other stuff if you get a chance. Poison Ruïn | Poison Ruïn (bandcamp.com) Poison Ruïn II | Poison Ruïn (bandcamp.com) Would be amiss if I didn't plug one of my other favorite bands in a similar style, Cincinnati's Crime of Passing. Crime of Passing | Crime of Passing (bandcamp.com) So this morning, covering some of my faves from the last year. Haven't engaged much with 2024 releases just yet. ΣARΚ - Inumbris - Greek bm although I'd hesitate to strictly classify this in the Hellenic school. It has the elements but this reminds me more of Insanity Cult than Varathron. Inumbris | ΣARΚ (bandcamp.com) Mortuary Drape - Black Mirror - haven't seen much on this one on the blogs, but I'm digging this one. Mortuary Drape needs no introduction I wouldn't think. A lot of trad heavy metal influence on this one. Black Mirror | Mortuary Drape | Peaceville (bandcamp.com) Vision Master - Sceptre - debut from Snohomish, Washington. If you dig Slough Feg, this will be right up your alley. SCEPTRE | Vision Master (bandcamp.com) WITTR - Crypt of Ancestral Knowledge EP - exactly what you would expect from WITTR. Dig it. Crypt of Ancestral Knowledge | WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM (bandcamp.com)

I'm up between 4:15 and 5a every morning regardless of day. Too many years of having too have trained my internal clock in that schedule. And I'm never able to go back to sleep. Just never works, so I gave up years ago. So I'm usually at work 1.5 hours before I'm required. Helps with traffic even if my normal commute is 9 miles one-way and not quite the trip to the Holland Tunnel. On the weekends, I just find stuff to do. I kinda dig being up well before the rest of the world starts turning. Only sucks when there's a show that runs until midnight lack last night. I start to run out of steam around 10-10:30p. Not much of a coffee drinker, so I just power through the best I can.

Manii - Innerst I Morket Manii - Kollapse Witch Ripper - The Flight After the Fall

@GoatmasterGeneral Tsjuder did get a new drummer. Saw them last year and hung out with them briefly at the hotel. New drummer is American. Absolutely slay live. Did one of the Bathory covers live too. Pharmakeia is Russian if I'm not mistaken. Part of the Prava Kollectiv based on the definitive source (The Book of Face).

Fuck, how the hell did I fall behind the General's posting timeline. I thought I had until at least March or so.... Anyway, my refined EOTY 23 closeout. Not much special you probably haven't seen already. GG probably covered everything of interest anyway. Didn't get much chance to dive to deep in 23. In no particular order: Demoncy - Black Star Gnosis - a glorious return for my fave BM band ASET - Astral Rape Dodheimsgard - Black Medium Current Faidra - Militant: Penitent: Triumphant Gravesend - Gowanus Death Stomp Lamp of Murmur - Saturnian Blood Storm Poison Ruin - Harvest Spirit Possession - Of the Sign ΣARΚ - Inumbris Ruim - Black Royal Spiritism Profane Order - One Nightmare to Another Circle of Ouroboros - Lumi Vaientaa Kysmykset Enslaved - Heimdal Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite Woe - Legacies of Frailty Kreig - Ruiner Now to comb through the thread and see what I missed.

A native bandcamp compatibility is the only thing the Wiim is lacking. I'd say it's lacking in Roon as well. Would be nice. Streaming from Youtube wouldn't hurt either. Fairly nice setup there Hungdog. Almost the same as my office system except for I'm using the S2000mkiii. Crazy good for roughly $600 invested.

S'up gents. Been a minute. New job is quite busy so not much time for fucking around on the interwebs. Hopefully the new year is treating you all well. Now that we've made it through the brutal Florida week of winter, things are picking up around here. Spring Breakers will be arriving in the next few weeks. Oh the joys of living in Florida. Music wise, fest season is getting cranked up too. The agenda this year is quite busy. Kicks off Sunday with the 70K cruise. Lots of Disney princess metal on the bill, but also some decent stuff (Marduk, Sodom, My Dying Bride, and a few others). 5 days of drunken debauchery with 3000 of my closest international friends. Hell's Heroes in March, and of course MDF in May. Lots of shows in between too (Judas Priest in May, Metallica in July). My travel points will be on the rise. Local shows have been picking up as well. Last night, couple of good semi-local bands (Herakleion and Void from Louisiana). Wednesday is Dead Register from Atlanta. Most recently, we had The Dwarves, Goatwhore/Withered/Spiter, Howling Giant/Restless Spirit, Daikaiju, and probably a few others I'm forgetting. So even though the job is beating me down, I've still been able to get out to hang with the local heshers. Okay your saying, shut the fuck up navy and tell us what you're listening to. That's the point of the thread right. Here goes: This morning: Kreig - Ruiner Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze - The Fractal Ouroboros Helms Deep - Treacherous Ways - solid trad metal from my home state of Florida. Good vocals and killer riffage. Santacreu - Cancons d'Amor, Dol i Enyoranca - really digging this one. Like a heavier DVNE. Stonery doom from Barcelona. Hauntologist - Hollow Ildaruni - Beyond Unseen Gateways Lots of other recent purchases to run through later. Need to update the EOTY thread when I get a chance too. Won't be much, maybe 15 total. Just wasn't able to dive too deep last year due to job/family responsibilities. Fingers crossed this year is back to normal, and I can get around here more as well.

Seen them 3 times in the last 2 years and they are so good live. Spot on perfect and faithful to both HH and the CF sound. Won't be surprised if the album sounds great.

Just a small sample of what will be playing here today on my most favorite day of the year. King Diamond - Halloween Misfits - Halloween 1 & 2 Helloween - Halloween Candlemass - Bewitched American Werewolves - American Werewolves The Spookshow - Here Come The Zombies Blitzkid - Pretty In A Casket Samhain - November Coming Fire

Starting the day out right Immortal - Pure Holocaust Then some spooky season tunes Hermetic Occult Grimoire - H.O.G. Count Spookula - Monster A Go-Go Marble Orchard - Building Monuments to Misery

I had 5 Finnish Long Drinks (8%) playing golf today. Made the round enjoyable it didn't make my score better. I don't like gin, but I can drink these things all day. Love me some Belgians. Although I prefer golden strings, dubbels, and quads...I ain't kicking a tripel outta bed.