welkyn

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath studio outtakes.

Totally in accord with you there, Relentless. Metallica were never spectacular, and Justice was the last record they put out that I could actually get into. I don't know why they went straight from kind of progressive thrash to heavy pop.

Man, I remember Sega Game Gear... Master System, too. I never owned these, but friends of mine had them. I was brought up on Nintendo, my parents had a NES and got a SNES when one came out, as well as Game Boy. Ah, the days of good games, when gameplay and, eventually, plot had to make up for lack of graphics!

Divina Enema - To Wight Shall Never Shine - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives Divine Enema. Name says it all, really. I honestly urge everyone to listen to this record, purely because it is the perfect example of how not to do it.

I've checked a lot of the bands mentioned here out already, and while I often find aspects of their music that I like, I rarely find a song, let alone an album, ep, or demo, that I can say properly hits me the way the early second wave stuff does, or things like Sodom - In the Sign of Evil, Tormentor - Anno Domini, Sarcofago - I.N.R.I. etc. It all too often seems like technically and compositionally proficient musicians are trying their hand at a style that they enjoy but don't "feel" themselves, if you get what I mean. I like more of the Blasphemy-inspired blackdeath stuff that seems to have become astonishingly popular in recent years, but even then, nothing beats Blood Upon the Altar! Maybe I'm just a grumpy old sod ; )

Just recently got Cirith Ungol's entire back catalogue for nothing. Pretty good deal, really! I find it difficult to get metal nowadays, since it would appear I've exhausted a fair number of the better known "good" bands out there. I seem to spend more time amassing weird prog/folk/jazz records from the late '60s and early '70s!

BlutAusNerd: hate to break it to you, but Hitler fixed Germany's utterly disastrous economy before he engaged in any conflict with any other nation. In fact, he was only capable of marshaling forces because he'd sorted out the economy so well. Would the world be a better place? No, it would be a different place. We might have had less of an environmental disaster than we've had in the past sixty years (given the Nazis' emphasis on nature and natural, simple living), but we would no doubt have a much more rigidly defined social structure, and one which took ethnicity into account to boot (which is quite bizarre, and not particularly effective, really). Morally, we would be better off; socially, we would be worse off. Technologically, who can say? There would have been less of an emphasis on weaponry and more of an emphasis on livingry, but it would still have been a case of "us vs. them" mentality pervading society, meaning that only the privileged few would have been able to make use of the top technologies. I mean, it would've been a particular race and caste instead of the money-grubbers who cheated their way to the top, so in a way it might be a little more fair...? No, I can't really even say that. It would just have been different, but we would still have a shitty time of it. It's the time that makes the society, not the society that makes the time. Since the time is bad (kali yuga etc.), the societies are bad.

Quite a gem, very well composed heavy metal. Demo level, but impeccably recorded for what would appear to be no budget.

If I seriously like an album, I try to get it on vinyl, and try to get an original pressing if possible. At that, my most prized albums: Slayer - Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits, both original pressings, and they didn't cost me more than £20 together! Still great quality sound, really warm (analogue > digital, always). Just need a new needle...

Life Sentence was seriously refreshing. Like the new Angel Witch one, as well - what's with all these awesome, overshadowed '80s bands pulling out fantastic new records thirty years later?

Definitely Demoncy. Black metal hasn't been doing all that well recently. Looks like we had some cool releases in the '80s and a few good ones in the early '90s, then everything started sounding the same - not bad, not great. There are a few good releases here and there, but consistently good bands are fucking hard to find. Most of the really good bands have branched out from pure "black metal", and play some amalgamation of black metal and their own style, e.g. Graveland and Summoning, uhh... There was Averse Sefira a while back, other people told me they were pretty good though I didn't get it. Beherit - Engram? The new Sammael record? Maybe some of that Revenge/Conquerer stuff, at a push... To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't call this "Cosmic Infusion" band black metal. They sound more like symphonic metal with harsh vocals, which is a subgenre all of its own as far as I understand it. Still, each to their own - I'm sure it's good, for what it is : )

When I was eight, I thought about it for the first time: my conclusion was "the meaning of life is to live". Whatever that might mean. Now, of course, I've got a lot more experience, and have had my eyes opened to worlds of which we're simply unaware in the West. I can safely say that the meaning of life is to find out the answer to the question "who am I?", though there are other ways of putting it, other paths that will lead to the same destination/understanding. I'll try and explain my take on it here (forgive me for diving in at the deep end): Typically, we think of ourselves as being "aggregates of phenomena": I am some collection of the things I perceive. For example, at the most basic level, I am a brain operating in a body, or I am a soul operating in a body, or I am a mind projecting an experience, etc. My name is such-and-such, I'm this many years old, my parents are these people and I was educated here. I now work in this profession, have these hobbies and these habits, and identify as gender, race, creed, and political persuasion. I'm this tall, with this colour hair and eyes, these identifying marks, and typically wear this kind of clothing. Notice, however, that these latter facets are "about" you: they do not constitute "yourself". All of the things you believe about yourself are things you believe about yourself; they are not yourself. In fact, even the very basic identity as a brain, mind, soul, or whatever - this very basic identification on which all your other beliefs are founded - is something of which you're aware. That is, you are aware of the idea that you are this thing. The idea alone does not make you that thing: you must be whatever is aware of the idea (which must be something entirely different). Beyond any idea, thought, or even feeling, the answer to the question "who am I?" has to be yourself. It turns out, on inspection, that what "I" am is basically nothing. That is, I am not a "thing": I am not an object, but a subject. I am not the body, because I am aware of the body; I am not the mind, because I am aware of the mind; I am not the senses, because I am aware of these; I am not even that which identifies itself as any of these things, because I'm aware of this identification. All of the world passes in front of my awareness - everything comes and goes - but I'm always here to watch it coming and going. I never find myself in my experience, because I'm the one who's having the experience. Not being of this phenomenal world, I have no primary qualities (extension, mass, etc.); I do not change over time, but observe all change occurring; I was not born, and do not die. Curious, eh? I wonder how many of you will get it Of course, it's one thing for someone to say this, another to believe it, and an entirely different order of things to experience it as the truth. If you're interested in this line of questioning, don't take anything that I or anyone else has said as gospel truth, but enquire for yourself, and for your own sake. What I can promise you is that once you have found out what you yourself are, questions such as "is there a God", "what happens after I die", or "is this a morally right action" are rendered meaningless. Until this kind of question really piques your interest, you're better going with what seems to be the general suggestion here - the meaning of life is whatever meaning you ascribe to it.

Cheers for the warm welcome, guys! I'll be sure to lurk a little while before I start posting more regularly, to get a better feel for the place. Don't want to charge in guns blazing if it's a peace conference (if you know what I mean ;p).

Hail, all. Long time metal fan/musician from the UK. Heavily into late '70s, '80s, and early '90s metal, though there are a few more recent releases that have maintained my attention. Definitely prefer the heavier, more "metal" side of things - no stadium rock, no glam, no "nu", no 'core, no "hipster" (whatever that's meant to mean) - just straight up heavy metal, speed/thrash, black, death, some doom, and so on. Generally: if it's fast, has balls, and has more (and more intricate) riffs than your typical Motorhead song, I'll probably like it (I mean, I fucking love Motorhead, so...). Random selection of favourite albums: Maiden - Piece of Mind SLAYER - Show No Mercy through to Hell Awaits Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas MORBID ANGEL - Altars of Madness, Blessed are the Sick Deicide - Deicide, Legion Darkthrone - Soulside Journey through to Transilvanian Hunger Manilla Road - Crystal Logic Witchfinder General - Death Penalty Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, the one after that (I'm terrible with names) Blasphemy's first two BEHERIT (in general) Demoncy - Joined in Darkness, Enthroned is the Night Infester - To the Depths, in Degradation Mercyful Fate/King Diamond (almost everything) CELTIC FROST - Morbid Tales through to To Mega Therion Cirith Ungol - all but the last one (which is fine, just not as good) BATHORY - everything except for the weird "thrashy" '90s records Absu - Third Storm of Cythraul, Sun of Tiphareth, Tara Burzum - everything but the post-prison output Gorgoroth - Pentagram Hades (Almighty) - first two and the demo Immortal - Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism through to Blizzard Beasts SUMMONING - everything Sabbat - History of a Time to Come Manowar - Into Glory Ride through to Hail to England Omen - Battle Cry Graveland - practically everything, though it's all the same after Fire Chariot (which isn't a bad thing) I'm sure I'm missing a hell of a lot (Attacker - Battle at Helm's Deep?), but that should give something of a sense of my taste. Aside from metal, I listen to a lot of old prog rock, folk/world music, electronica, "classic rock", and have recently started looking at psychedelic jazz for the mindfuckery. I play in a number of metal bands (drums, guitar, vocals, bass - you name it, I probably play it for someone), as well as a number of non-metal bands and solo projects. Other interests include ancient/traditional wisdom, nature, mythology, quantum physics, psychedelics ("shamanic" style), practical non-dualism, growing food, herbalism, writing, cooking, my wife and wider family, and the land beneath my feet. How are you all doing? Sorry for the long intro ; ) Makes me feel better for plugging my shit, which I will inevitably do, since there seems to be a good crowd here!