Iceni

7 hours ago, True Belief said:

Haven’t listened to ‘Back to times of Splendor’ for a loooing time. Had a couple of real standout tracks IIR correctly.

Definitely. "...And the Mirror Cracked", "Fall" and "Alone I Stand In Fires", although technically every track is a standout track because they made an effort on all of them...

"Where Hatred Dwells and Darkness Reigns" by Zornheym. I don't care, this is fun. Pretty cheesy symphonic black/death metal.

"Return to the Void" by Execration.

I chose this one based entirely on the album art. Turns out it's lower-pitched technical death metal with a surprisingly heavy dose of Akercocke. Matter of fact it might be kinda like Mithras. Pretty happy with my choice.

"Terrestrial Mutations" by Droid. Canadian prog/technical thrash in the vein of Vektor. Chalk this up as the third thrash band I've ever been on record as enjoying.

Bah. Amaranthe is miles ahead of the absolute dogshit Arch Enemy has become, despite their latest work being lousy. When your band is such ass that not even Jeff Loomis can save you it's time to give it a rest. At least Amaranthe don't make the slightest bit of pretense, their pop influences are front and center - and I personally really like the contrast of linking really sugary bubblegum pop with a squeaky-clean "modern metal" production and riffing style. Matter of fact, I really wish Amaranthe would do more of that.

As for anticipated albums - well, the Ordan Ogan album was great, but I am hyped as hell for new Diablo Swing Orchestra. They're the only band I've convinced everyone in my family to like apart from maybe Sabaton.

I like the newer costume, although the older one makes you look kinda like Eggman from the Sonic games

Listening to this right now and love the craziness of this cover.

4 minutes ago, deathstorm said:

He has been busy with his band 

Well, I guess that's a pretty good reason not to be on...

"Anointing" by Lo-Ruhamah.

Definitely wasn't in the right mindset for this the first listen. Sounds way better now. The production stands out as well this time around, helps the vocals work their magic.

Wait, BAN's gone? Damn, he was one of the people I most wanted to catch up with since he's not on FB...

"Dangerous" by Big Data.

Not exactly Brahms, but that's a sexy-ass bassline. Good espionage music.

On 10/4/2017 at 8:35 AM, MacabreEternal said:

Very groovy tremble you got there.

12 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Everything I dislike about bog standard prog right there 1/10

I don't even get you people anymore...

Well, the Nile defied my expectations of being competent but forgettable dross, especially with that choral section. 8/10

Simplistic, but it's got melody and direction. Good drawing music. 6/10

and now for something completely different

I do like that snappy funk influence is becoming somewhat more popular in pop music - the Madeon remix of "Que Veux-Tu" by Yelle, plus "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit are two recent examples. Bruno Mars deserves a lot of credit for this, but there are others too. Ariana Grande's "Greedy" is a particularly great example. Unbelievably even Flo-Rida now has a good song. Hope this trend comes to dominate pop as the year goes on, because I cannot wait to see trap buried.

On 10/5/2017 at 6:54 AM, Requiem said:

I've sprinkled holy water in a circle which I'm now sitting in, rocking back and forth with a large cross painted on my forehead, chanting incantations for Jesus to come and save me from the evil of your CD-case-destorying, lyrics-online-reading, ways!

There are Pentecostals, there are militant Catholics, and then there's whatever the hell denomination you are from the sound of this description. Syncretic Ritual Fundamentalist? Sounds like either a tech-death album or a denomination consisting of six oddballs in a bakkie with a loudspeaker led by some prophet in Malawi or something...

2 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Good man, Warp Zone and Feeding The Abscess are both awesome if you can dig the vocals.

Guitars are really jagged on this, the style strongly suits a character in a story I'm developing.

31 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

I liked it. Parts reminded me of a down-tuned Atheist. Sweet bass and good angry vocals. I'll probably buy a download.

People said Sudrah reminded them of Martyr so I'm trying out "Warp Zone" at the moment. Enjoying this a lot more now, I think it must have been the vocals that put me off at first. Sadist has been drawing my attention too. For that matter, the new Lo-Ruhamah sounds better on a second listen.

22 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

I initially felt that way, but I've finally come around to it. It requires a bit of a different mindset than most tech DM.

I can do monotony under very select circumstances. Doom, for example. I've come back to it a couple times but it still dragged. Maybe I gotta try it while drawing.

The French-Canadian thematically pseudo-Hindu guys FA recommended. Parts of this remind me of Quo Vadis, who remain my favorite tech-death band despite being a de facto moribund institution.

3 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Mithras - On Strange Loops

I really loved the idea on that one, very unique stuff. That said, the monotony got on my nerves to an unacceptable extent. Just make the songs shorter and you'd be golden...

17 hours ago, Will said:

Is it possible he's covering, touching, or nursing his missing rib?

That was my thought...

2 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Echidna - Manifests Of Human Existence

Sutrah - Dunes @Iceni, give this one a shot, prog death with some really sweet guitar work.

Encore plus de Quebecois? Don't mind if I do. The sound kinda slides. I like that...

How's that Echidna treating you? Glad to see you making more hikes up in my neck of the woods.

"....And The Mirror Cracked" by Disillusion.

Iceland's been producing some good shit lately. Toska and Zhrine are two of my favorites.

"Artificial Sun Projection" by Scar Symmetry. Catchy standout song from these guys.