markm

Witch Vomit/Funeral Sanctum-I've been listening to this one a lot. It's my favorite so far. One wonders when the market for OSDM will be completely oversaturated, on the other hand, I find OSDM one of the most enduring forms of extreme metal. This is just 30 minutes of melodic well done OSDM that hits the right notes for meat and potatoes death metal for me. I've been spinning this one a lot. It will probably end up being one of my favorite albums of 2024. Slimelord/Chytridiomycosis Relinquished-this will absolutely go down as a highpoint for 2024 extreme metal. What an interesting take on doom death. For one thing, the production is clean, or at least clear, but not slick. This is not cavern core. There is death metal and there is doom but there is also so much more going on. For starters, this is weird ass metal. Sure, there's a death doom center, but it shifts and morphs into an oozing cesspool of creativity: chaotic hints of black death with prog leanings (just check out the bass playing) reminding me of Ulthar's output last year, and maybe a hint of Lord Mantis. Gorguts is an obvious reference point. There's psychedelic influence, there's plenty of dissonance. The production brings in various gurgling effects creating a sound of liquid slime swampiness with the tracks oozing and shifting into different shapes. This is somewhat of a technical album without being tech death. You just can't pin this fucker down. And it's a concept album about a fungal disease that apparently kills large numbers of amphibians. Whaat? One of the things that keeps me in the death game is the way new artists emerge with creative boundary expanding takes on staid, seemingly limited definitions of metal genres. Death metal is a never ending steam engine lava flow that wont' be stopped and won't be hemmed in. Carry on.

Sleep's Holy Mountain-32 years young! I've always wondered what happened to that woman? how much money was she paid? Was she Klaus' girlfriend? Where did they find her? Did she have a great modeling career? Was she Germany's Stormy Daniels? Maybe it's AI.

Solarized/Driven (2001)-follow up to their debut, Neanderthal Speedway-continues the Monster Magneticism with Dave Wyndorf himself providing his endorsement. They moved on from the famed Man's Ruin stoner label which probably was defunct by 2001 to Meteor City. Frontman Jim Hogan, handles vocals, guitar and all the songwriting. Looks like he and the female drummer played in a band with several of the MM guys. I'd say relative to the debut, Hogan cleaned up their sound a little. It still cranks up the fuzz but isn't quite the sludgey, aggressive blur that makes Neandrathal Speedway so much fun, hence, feels a little more typical for the genre, less raw, but with greater clarity and perhaps sharper songwriting. They bring in some southern fried grease (think COC) to the affair so much so that listening in my car, I started wiping my hands on my pants. The cover looks ripped out of Fu Manchu's playbook and hey, the Fu were instrumental to creating the visual aesthetic for stoner rock, such that is. I dig the slacker gen X stoner philosophizing of some of Hogans lyrics, too. Dig the ride, man. Accept/Metal Heart Opeth/Morningside (cued on Spotify for my drive tomorrow)

I shall listen!

Checked out a bit of that Unida album with Garcia on vox that the General posted. I've always thought a good vocalist can make a good hard rock band great (and let's be honest, that's what stoner metal is). Lots of great guitarists out there, no offense to present company, but finding a good clean vocalist has to be the icing . Not necessarily a "gifted" vocalist but from Bon Scott to Ozzy, to Lemmy to David Lee Roth (fuck Hagar) to Chris Cornell to Roger Plant to Dave Wyndorf to John Garcia, a good front man has a big part in defining those bands. Not to mention, many of those bands frontmen were also songwriters, which just means bands with weaker singers like the aforementioned Solarized, Fu Manchu, Nebula, etc., etc. had to have some great musicianship and songwriting to compensate. But when I think of the classic 70s/80's hard rock bands, I can't think of one that had a shit singer or at least a singer with big balls and charisma. Of course, it's easier to get away with subpar vocals in sludier atmosphere of stoner/doom vs the radio friendly more pop rock oriented hard rock of ore. Inter Arma/ New Heaven pre released tracks-sounds pretty rad to me. Now listening to Opeth's Morningside that M. Eternal posted-funny, as big an influence Opeth was on my mid age metal unbrith, there are a ton of bands I didn't go back and revisit their earlier catalog. In the early 2000's there was so much music I wanted to keep up I mostly stayed in the present and moved forward except for some black metal classics mostly because the history from the Lords of Chaos book compelled me. Anyways, I've only really heard from Blackwater Park forward. I can see that these "compositions" are of high quality but not as complex and developed as BWP perhaps.....so much acoustic work.

Ya know, I was thinking you might have a soft spot for those Jersey Monster Magnet indebted stoners being from your neck of the Northeast generally, but wasn't sure if it would be sufficiently punkish enough as I know that's your preference with the genre. For some reason, I never got into Unida, not sure why. I should give them some ear time. Solarized stood along bands with less name reco than Kyuss/Fu/Magnet in my listening like band like Nebula, Sons of Otis, Orange Goblin, etc. But they have that great heavy, skuzz factor. Speaking of punk influence, following that split you posted of Nebula. I definitely enjoy me some Nebular like To the Center that has a punchy heavy psyche meets Stooges vibe, and in a decidedly punkier vein. I still go back to this from time to time :

I've talked about my love of stoner and doom recently. I really don't listen to stoner metal thaaat much anymore but it's a bit like saying I've sworn off from pizza or donuts....uh, it's not a realistic goal. I guess I'll chalk it down to my affection for a let sleeping dogs lie -genre, but I do trot out some of my favorite gateway stoner and doom albums from time to time, which really are just comfort food listening for me at this point. Today, I did a rewind to the late 90's to a second tier band that despite limitations, deliver the goods: Solarized/Neanderthal speedway-1999-these Jersey Boy stoners came out with a couple of albums at the turn of the millennium-This one has guests from a couple of Monster Magnet members, most notably stoner guitar hero Ed Mundell and the influence of early Magnet is as subtle as sledge hammer, but for those of us that love early Magnet, that's a good thing. Vocals are straight up weak but the skuzzy heavier than Magnet sound released on Man's Ruin make this throwback to 70's nostalgic thick and grungy rawker a winner for an infrequent but enjoyable groovy spin once in a blue moon. Next up-2002's Driven.

That is one of my favorite later MDB albums, too. Turn Loose the Swans and and Angel are pretty hard to beat, tho!

Melvins/Tarantula Heart (2024)-new album!

Alkaloid/Liquid anatomy (2018)

The Cult/Love

On the Accept discussion, Restless and Wild is cool and I do randomly enjoy Balls to the Wall, but I love me some Metal Heart. Dogs on Leeds, Too High to Get it Right, Up to the Limit, but is a bit like Screaming for Vengeance/Defenders of the Faith-moments of metal ecstasy with some commercial filler that I usually just want to skip (Midnight Mover, Screaming for a Love Bite). Piece of Mind also comes to mind. In each case, the highs are so-stick the needle in-euphoric, I'm willing to overlook both bands desires to break into the U.S. top 40 market. And, of course, Priest did just that. Metal Heart, ntl, is one of my absolutely favorite 80's metal albums. I finally repurchased the disc a few years ago when I realized it was a desert album I could not live without.

Necrot-Lifeless Birth, I dunno, these guys don't do a lot for me

Been listening to Panopticon's 2023 release, Rhyme of Reason some recently and comparing it to other atmospheric/melodic black metal one person bands I've enjoyed in recent years. Spectral Lore/Mare Cognitum-Wanderers/Astrologers of the Nine-a split but two one man bands Afsky/Ofte jeg drømmer mig død-big fan of this one that seems to be classified as just black metal or melodic black metal with doom influences, but I don't see much daylight between melodic and atmoblack tbh Grimma-Frostbitten Grimma-Rotten Garden

Cheers my Friend and Thank you! Here's to the endless summer even for deathly, blackened frostbitten hearted among us.