markm

First of all, thank you for inspiring me to give it a good listen-the it being BAN's masterful album -Disharmonium - Nahab, which I set about to digging into today and let just say-I LOVE THIS FUCKING ALBUM. Phew, glad I got that off my chest. So, I managed to avoid the hipster, I mean the hamster wheel for 11 out of the last 12 months and I am officially back to the MarkM metal immersion program looking for the best metals available over the past year. One of my missions is to find the indispensable death metal albums of the year. I have determined that proggy or not, I think the new virtuosic and inventive and infectious Horrendous and the very cavernous Phobocosm album that is indeed plodding, but I believe also has rewards waiting for me to mine will surely make Mark's 23 deathy list. Today I also spent time with Outer Heaven and I have decided that this will also help round out the slightly more technical but brutal uber DM heavy lifters for me. On the noise front, Khanate whom I may revisit at some point is a no as I said yesterday, but the rather hyped Body Void/Atrocity Machine gets a yeah baby from me for horrific, torrential nihilistic pain. The first music association I had was sludge like Indian/From All Purity and Primitive Man. Shoot, maybe something like Extreme Noise Terror. This is music to slit your throat to. It's noise doom with piercing atmosphere that also make me think of the super heavy post metal band LLNN. Anyway, I'm not sure I really need this in my life, but I get why it's getting plugged in a lot of lists right now. The screamer in this band is really, really suffering unfathomable pain or he deserves an Oscar nomination. But back to Disharmonium - Nahab, I didn't love Hallucinogen. I mean, it wasn't a bad album per se and I might have been enthusiastic had it been recorded by by mere mortals, but for BAN it was too melodic and approachable somehow, at least for these ears. Really, is there a shortage of star struck atmoblack bands out there?! Conversely, while I learned to love Disharmonium part 1, it was so swampy, and thick and dense , it made me work harder than usual to penetrate the BAN goo, and hey, that could be a good thing. All that said, Disharmonium - Nahab Agonal Hymns, one listen in, is probably my favorite -time will tell- since the 777 trilogy back in 2011-12. I'm hearing reverberations from their early Works which Transform God industrial era with some very inventive shit going on. After the first track which sounded much like part 1, I was impressed with the range of inventive hellscapes. In fact, I'm reminded of my wife telling me when I first bought TWwTG, that I was listening to pyscho serial killer music which, you must admit, when done inventively is sort of an amazing compliment. F.A., hang on for a minute. The noises coming from my basement or so annoying. SHUT UP DOWN THERE! I can't seem to find my Hannibal Lecter mask at the moment, and the blood is ridiculous to clean properly. Torture really isn't all that it's cracked up to be. OK, back....just had to take care of something. Anyway, doing a little research, I found Stereogum has a list of obscure "best metal of of the year" that I'm checking out, much of it experimental, challenging, or tangentially metal. I only recognize two names-one being Jute Gyte. And you'll never guess their album pick for #1.....apparently you have impeccable taste.... https://www.stereogum.com/2245459/the-10-best-metal-albums-of-2023/columns/the-black-market/

Indeed, I figured you and I would be the ones around here to dig Khanate. But the vocals in particular tested my limits to harsh noise. I need to give it a proper listen. I only listed to a couple of tracks before bed last night.

Blut Aus Nord-Disharmonium - Nahab (2023) Didn't even know they had a Disharmonium follow up...about as weird and nightmarish as I was expecting

Horrendous/ Ontological Mysterium (2023)-obviously a buzz album. I don't normally love tech/prog death, but this is tremendous fun, musically varied, stylistically diverse and virtuosic. Won me over by the end. Khanate/To Be Cruel (2023)-Excruciating experimental drone

Lamp of Murmuur/ Saturnian Bloodstorm (2023)-guess you'd call this low-fi or raw BM, but in this era of digital media where everything is available for everyone, I don't really know what's underground anymore, especially with favored "underground" releases that are anointed with "preferred status" by digital metal media as LoM clearly are. LoM don't appear to make their output available on streaming services. I tend to audition most of my new music on Spotify or Bandcamp and I've been meaning to sit down with headphones for their new release as I can't stream it while driving or on my Sonos speakers while putzing around the house. I have two of their earlier releases. This one is quite good! NP-the two released tracks on Bandcamp of Ahab/The Coral Tombs (2023)-don't think I've heard these death doomers before. Pretty sure they're lumped in with funeral doom, but this is surprisingly melodic-pretty even-perhaps with some post metal influence, but not sure yet, enjoying this so far... and moving on to the new Outer Heaven album-Infinite Psychic Depths-I like this style of DM-heavy, butish, new school of OSDM with a touch of technicality, groove and 'core vox" to keep it interesting.

Boris & Uniform/Bright New Disease Malokarpatan /Vertumnas Caesar (23) -cued up for the ride into work

OK, finally getting around to listening to more 2023 metal I've missed. Gotta get me my 2023 heavy music rotation. Over the years, I find myself listening to more non metal and listening to more heavy music outside of trad boundaries and less interested in the new release rat race. But, I'll pen my thoughts on the albums as I listen to them. Vastum/Inward to Gethsemane-I've been a fan of these nasties since their debut, Carnal Law in 2011. The new one isn't quite getting me yet, but it usually takes a couple of listens before I can make a final judgement. I like their doomier, punkier early sound a bit more, but this is definitely solid OSDM. I want to like this more than I actually do. Phobocosm-Foreordained-I came in on their last effort, Bringer of Drought, which to my ears had more of a Neurosis influence. Foreordained is pure caverncore but done really well. Dank and nasty with some great riff craft under the hood. This one's a keeper. Dark and HAF. Ken Mode-Been following these guys for a long time, as a fan of abrasive, left of center noise/sludge/hardcore, etc. Companion piece to last years Null which was super aggro as Marko would say. So this one is interesting as it brings in a bunch of different textures like post punk, alternative and goth along with a little post metal to their pissed off Canuck noise/sludge. I'm getting a post hardcore grunge 90's kind of feel. Some Fugazi. Noise artists have really got a thing going these days for loud-not quite metal heavy albums and this one is great. Panopticon/Rime of Memory- Scratch everything I said about this album a few days ago-LOL. He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me. Like I said, I need a few listens. I've never been like super into Panopticon. I think I like the idea of what Lunn does more than what he actually does. The fusing of Americana, babbling brook and USBM sounds pretty intriguing, but in execution his albums oft fall short for me-with great ideas and creativity but in desperate need of an editor. At first, I missed the folksy Appalachian influence and Rime felt generic, but after a couple of listens, I'm very much digging this. For one thing, it focusses more on actual black metal very much in the atmoblack vein of BAN, Mare Cognetium, etc. No doubt it's long, but for now, this sucker holds together well. It's big and epic and I'm digging it with touches of the Appalachia Lunn schtick along with big cinematic, atmoblack -soaring post rock, choruses and all that foo foo pretty sounding shit I kin to. Auriferous Flame/ Ardor For Black Mastery-I see this on a number of lists. So, this is the guy behind Mystras and Spectral Lore, two bands I've spent time with-it's got his stamp for sure. This dude definitely has a compelling sound. Need to come back to this one. Maybe a little too straighforeward. Dodheimsgard/Black Medium Current-Well somehow I missed this band when investigating experimental avant-garde black metal, maybe it's their name-any one of a number of Nordic/Ikea Scando sounding bands with names that start with Dod that I can' pronounce....anhoo, seems they're darlings of that arty BM crowd. Actually, this is a beautiful sounding record with all kinds of influences. I'm hearing a range of familiar sounds like Sigh, Arcturus, and last year's popular progfest, Dordeduh/Har. I'd say this veers more towards prog and less so avant as it's really not that "weird". Sort of all over the map and then the odd Romantic era classical piano....color me intrigued...even some traditional second wave influence but not really in the foreground. I'll probably pick this one up. Now playing a few tracks from Hellripper/Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags Cruciamentum – Obsidian Refractions. Enjoyable enough for what they are but not feeling like contenders for me, I don't think. I can see Dead maybe liking Hellripper if he doesn't think it's too thin and gutless and lacking bottom end. More to come as I ramp up to the new year.

Congratulations!

Holy shit, you guys have some serious culinary skills.

I'm OK with plodding DM 🙃 I liked Bringer Drought. Are you down with the Thantifaxath album? It's going to be a '23 arty black avant darling. I listened to a couple of tracks on the way into work this morning. Not super feeling it tho.

Too straightforward?

I'm looking forward to the new Phobocosm. What do you think?

I agree, it's completely generational. Most people's tastes were probably in large part formed during late elementary through middle school. I was 25 in 1990, but I was 15 in 1980. Otherwise who would bother with glam hair metal? Google tells me hair metal spanned 1983 to 1991-so I guess that connects a range of guys in their 40's and 50's. From my younger, younger years, I was imprinted by classic rock like Dylan, The Beatles, Floyd, Bowie and Neil Young. But a lot of my taste was formed between 77-83, so I was turned onto bands like AC/DC, Aerosmith, KISS, and NWOBHM and hair metal in a big way. Cum on feel the noize.

Bori & Uniform Collaboration/Bright New Disease (2023)-checking this one out from a couple of lists. I'm an unabashed Boris fan. They're one of my favorite non-metal-adjacent, metal bands haha. I can barely string a sentence vice avie my ping-pong taste describing heavy music these days without multiple hyphens. These guys have done so many collabs. Reserving ultimate judgement, but initially, I'd say it veers towards the more metal-for lack of a better word- of Boris' sound. There's a fair amount of experimentation and variety as you'd expect but I do dig the more straightforward aggro slash and burn stripped down hardocre/noise/industrial rippers on this album.

Yeah, and it reminds me of the talk of the potential demise of Bandcamp which I haven't followed closely as it only comprises a small percent of my music, but have in my peripheral vision. If I buy digital music, I damn sure want to make sure I have it backed up. Don't really have to worry so much with physical media. My issue is is it's harder to find a computer with a CD drive these days to burn physical media but that's another subject altogether.

I'm starting to pay marginal attention to new releases now. I've got a ridiculous amount of 2023 albums I've dumped into my Bancamp wishlist to audition that I just can't seem to force myself to listen to. Streaming the Panopticon album right now-reminds me more of Mere Cognitum styled epic cosmic atmoblack than some of his other stuff. I think I like his woodsier, babbling brook folsky sound more than the cinematic intergalactic atmoblack that's become so overblown and popular in recent years. Fuck, this thing is long!

Solid lineup!

Rare chime in here, doom/sludge in its many variants is probably my favorite overall genre. Unfortunately, I found all of the Rob Lowe Candlemass albums had moment of euphoria but inconsistent C+ disappointing affairs and pretty boring/uninvolving. From memory, King of the Grey Islands is probably the best of the lot.

Just tossed in my wishlist.

So now the quality shit comes out. Thanks for posting fellas.

Hey! Somewhat year round depending on how cold a winter we get. Last year MId Atlantic was really warm overall. But it will slow down when daylight savings changes because a lot of the paddling I do is after work when we have daylight until 7 PM. November thru February it scales back. That and I just haven't been buying any new music and much of my 'net interaction revolves around the search for new music. I've sort of checked out this year. List season will prolly perk my interest in some new metal. That said, I haven't lost my taste for metal, more so the hunt for new material.

Congratulations and we'll deserved! A couple of fitted blazers, chinos and slick FU shoes and you'll bomber. How many times have you heard, "yeah I liked metal for a minute when I was 16, but I grew out of it"

Man, I love the 777-Sects trilogy! Really one of my favorite collections of all time.

Touchy, touchy boys, I was making an observation. When a lot of you reach for your favorite DM it's from the 80's and 90's. And as I said, I like it too. I love me some OSDM. Am I young? Hmmmm. Well, DOB: 1965-HAHA.

Holy shit, I just glanced at this page and you fokers listen to a lot of old ass music. That's OK, so do I. But with a few exceptions, this page on this thread would be a good time capsule for 90's death metal-you old farts.