EOTY Listmania Extravaganza 2023

[FatherAlabaster]

32 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

How can I be sure if I like the album strictly on its own merits or could it be partly because I'm friends with Cody? A few more spins and I'm sure the answer will reveal itself to me. 

Why does it matter? Wouldn't it be cool if a friendship opened you up to something you wouldn't have considered otherwise?

[AlSymerz]

Being on a personal level with some band members really sucks. The kind of people who really can't take criticism or negative comments and have to make a big deal if you don't like everything they put out. 

There are times it has it's benefits but sometimes it's just not worth it.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

49 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Why does it matter? Wouldn't it be cool if a friendship opened you up to something you wouldn't have considered otherwise?

Well yeah, that is exactly what's happened and it's totally cool. I wouldn't be listening to this record in the first place if he wasn't my friend. But opened up to enjoying something is one thing, earning a spot on my end of year list is another. I enjoyed 4DF to an extent but it was never under serious consideration for my list. But this new album is in another league. I get that no one else gives a shit about my list, nor should they. But it's a big deal to me, I spend weeks agonizing over each selection. This would be the first prog metal album ever to earn a spot on my list, and that'd be a big milestone for me.  And that Ebola album the other day was way out of my comfort zone, but I really liked it, played it again 2 days later. It's making me feel like maybe I'm not a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal after all. Now if I start jamming Krallice and Artificial Brain and Fallujah albums then you'll know I've just gone 'round the bend and you should call the men in the white coats immediately.

 

 

1 hour ago, Thatguy said:

Sigh. Watery shiraz.

Yeah, tell it to the old biddies in your quilting circle as you sip your merlot and exchange gardening and skin care tips.

[JamesT]

10 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

This is how I feel most years.

In my bandcamp collection I count about 25 album purchases released in 2023. There are 80 odd albums total bought this year. How much would a Spotify subscription have been?

They are:

Ahab, Tentacult, Profane Order, Mork, Verminous Serpent, Akercocke (but live albums shouldn't count), Howling Giant, Green Lung, Incantation, Horrendous, Dying Fetus, Weald & Woe, Torpor, Urne, KK's Priest, Bull Elephant, Gozer (but EPs shouldn't count), Sulphur Aeon, Tomb Mold, Beastwars (but covers albums shouldn't count), Wayfarer, Blood Incantation (see EP), Boss Keloid, AFSKY, Phobocosm, King Gizzard & The Lizzard Wizard, Cattle Decapitation

This is just for context, because I'm not sure of how many of the above I consider truly great. I have the whole discography of Wayfarer, Green Lung, Boss Keloid and Howling Giant but I can't say I was wowed by their latest. I mean, they are good but not masterpieces and, since they don't meet that impossibly high and unfair standard, I was disappointed.

As for Sulphur Aeon, I wouldn't say "disappointed". It was exactly what I expected and sounds like every other album they've done. They are the AC/DC of Lovecraftian blackened death metal...or deathened black metal.

Same goes for Dying Fetus. No one expects them to reinvent the wheel at this point. I like Dying Fetus so I like the 2023 album. 

The last two came from a you tube video I randomly watched from Banger TVs top 5 as voted by viewers. All 5 were decent. I'd never heard Cattle Decapitation, at number 1 according to Banger viewers, before. The lyrical subject matter is right up my alley. I like it well enough. Reminds me of the same ballpark as Cephalic Carnage and, like them, I'll probably only ever own one album but it may as well be this. Terrasite | Cattle Decapitation (bandcamp.com)

King Gizzard on the other hand is a revelation. I had heard it (thanks @markm!) before seeing the Banger top 5 list but went back to reassess. Have now concluded that these guys rule so I would put PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation | King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (bandcamp.com) right up there.

Of the others from my purchases, these are good enough for a mention and link:

The Malign Covenant | Verminous Serpent (bandcamp.com) My actual favourite black metal band by a long way this year is Weigedood. They can do no wrong. However, I did listen to this Verminous Serpent album quite a lot earlier in the year.

Unholy Deification | Incantation (bandcamp.com) Its solid and I listened to it a lot in that week or two after picking up.

Ontological Mysterium | Horrendous (bandcamp.com) was number 3 on the Banger TV list and the host didn't even like it much. As discussed in another post, this is "fun" dammit.

The Sinner Rides Again | KK Downing / KK's Priest (bandcamp.com) listing merely in solidarity with @JamesT. It's a good album and I am fairly sure I am going to continue liking it more than the 2024 Priest album.

Om hundrede år | AFSKY (bandcamp.com) another @markm reccie. I play it once a day at the moment, to get my money's worth. Same with Foreordained | Phobocosm | Dark Descent Records (bandcamp.com)

Finally, an album which won't make anyone else's list: The Long War | Bull Elephant (bandcamp.com). Great artwork, ridiculous lyrical concept, lumbering death doom. I probably listened to this more than anything other album, but that doesn't mean it's any good to anyone else.

Luminescent Bridge (24-bit HD Audio) | Blood Incantation | Century Media Records (bandcamp.com) would have easily had the most plays and was merely an EP. If the next album is along these lines, that is all I need. So long as it is capped at 40 minutes.

Just came here to voice my full support for "The Sinner Rides Again"!  I remember posting back in late September during the week leading up to the album's release (September 29), and I have loved every second of the album from the very first listen, as I was confident I would.  I appreciate the shout-out in your post, Mr. Blade! 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

15 minutes ago, JamesT said:

Just came here to voice my full support for "The Sinner Rides Again"!  I remember posting back in late September during the week leading up to the album's release (September 29), and I have loved every second of the album from the very first listen, as I was confident I would.  I appreciate the shout-out in your post, Mr. Blade! 

How could you love every second of every album JT? There must be a few seconds of an album you generally like that maybe you have a few issues with or criticisms of, no? There's gotta be at least one song you can't stand on an album you otherwise love. I refuse to believe anyone could just love every single thing they hear unreservedly. 

[JamesT]

1 minute ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

How could you love every second of every album JT? There must be a few seconds of an album you generally like that maybe you have a few issues with or criticisms of, no? There's gotta be at least one song you can't stand on an album you otherwise love. I refuse to believe anyone could just love every single thing they hear unreservedly. 

Good evening, Mr. GG!  Oh yes, there are tons of albums that I don't enjoy.  I just steer clear of posting about them.  When I leave a post on this forum, it's to praise an album that I enjoy, with some very rare exceptions.  Even some of the great classic bands - Motorhead and Iron Maiden, to use a couple of examples - have albums that I just think are average at best.  In the case of Motorhead, their 2002 album "Hammered" comes to mind.  In the case of Iron Maiden, their 2000 release "Brave New World" comes to mind.  

They're definitely out there!  I just don't make a point to post about the stuff I don't enjoy.  Now, bands like KK's Priest, Saxon, Primal Fear, the mighty HammerFall?  Yep, I enjoy all of their releases.  My top 15 favorite bands of all time are:

PanterA

Overkill

Crowbar

Judas Priest

AC/DC

Accept

Bullet

Lamb of God

HammerFall

Girish and the Chronicles

Candlemass

DragonForce

Saxon

Primal Fear

Cradle of Filth

(I'd make room for Metallica, if I had a 16th slot)

You won't see many (if any) negative posts about these greats! 

[RelentlessOblivion]

3 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

All three of them are on my short list. Verminous Serpent is still probably my AOTY, and Fossilization is easily top 3 in the black/death category. Still on the fence about Afterbirth, I do enjoy the album but I've never had a progressive album on one of my lists before. How can I be sure if I like the album strictly on its own merits or could it be partly because I'm friends with Cody? A few more spins and I'm sure the answer will reveal itself to me. 

I just want to say dude, if you've only grabbed three albums then you've missed some truly great music this past year. At least from this old goat's perspective anyway. 

 

NP: Tsjuder - Helvegr, Norway

 

I’m entirely aware that I’ve missed a lot, but like I said, I only listened to 10 albums total from 2023, that’s where I’m relying on the lists here to steer me in the right direction. Sidenote, my New Year’s resolution is to check out as much 2024 metal as I can

[AlSymerz]

1 hour ago, JamesT said:

Just came here to voice my full support for "The Sinner Rides Again"!  I remember posting back in late September during the week leading up to the album's release (September 29), and I have loved every second of the album from the very first listen, as I was confident I would.  I appreciate the shout-out in your post, Mr. Blade! 

Obviously everyone has different taste but I don't know how anyone can not feel that The Sinner Rides Again doesn't drag on? The first few songs are great, straight down the line KK, I can even forgive him for having Ripper on vocals. But from Keeper Of The Graves the album drags on to the end. It's only about 35(ish) minutes and without the last 3 songs it would be an EP but the last two especially just seem like filler.

 

[RelentlessOblivion]

44 minutes ago, JamesT said:

Good evening, Mr. GG!  Oh yes, there are tons of albums that I don't enjoy.  I just steer clear of posting about them.  When I leave a post on this forum, it's to praise an album that I enjoy, with some very rare exceptions.  Even some of the great classic bands - Motorhead and Iron Maiden, to use a couple of examples - have albums that I just think are average at best.  In the case of Motorhead, their 2002 album "Hammered" comes to mind.  In the case of Iron Maiden, their 2000 release "Brave New World" comes to mind.  

They're definitely out there!  I just don't make a point to post about the stuff I don't enjoy.  Now, bands like KK's Priest, Saxon, Primal Fear, the mighty HammerFall?  Yep, I enjoy all of their releases.  My top 15 favorite bands of all time are:

PanterA

Overkill

Crowbar

Judas Priest

AC/DC

Accept

Bullet

Lamb of God

HammerFall

Girish and the Chronicles

Candlemass

DragonForce

Saxon

Primal Fear

Cradle of Filth

(I'd make room for Metallica, if I had a 16th slot)

You won't see many (if any) negative posts about these greats! 

I remember the days when I had similar feelings about my favourite bands, they could do no wrong, and everything they released was flawless. Time passes and tastes change, I’m sure 16 year old me would be horrified hearing that I would one day all but stop listening to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, 25 year old would be just as stunned to learn. I would eventually do it same with Devin Townsend and Dark Tranquillity. I guess my point being that sometimes the bands we love the most, and also be the ones we are most critical of in years to come.

the bands we love the most, and also be the ones we are most critical of in years to come.

 

Actually come to think of it. I don’t think there is a single band I listen to, with caveats for those who only ever released, one or two albums, who is discography I could say is flawless.  Death probably, closest, but I think the vocals on Symbolic week, and parts of both human and individual thought patterns tend to drag. Bathory have eight truly excellent albums in my opinion, but the other three, is it three, I forget sometimes, anyway, there, other albums are so bad they are virtually unlistenable, and while I adore Inquisition my personal view is the peak was Dismal Orations with each album, they released since being slightly weaker than the one which proceeded it 

[Thatguy]

3 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Yeah, tell it to the old biddies in your quilting circle as you sip your merlot and exchange gardening and skin care tips.

It's not that it's a bad album, but the tempos and general feel are much the same in every song. It drags on with only a few moments of higher energy. The long last song was great for about 30 seconds but went back to the pattern of the others and dragged on and on to its demise. Not enough pay off for the time and effort. It's not adventurous, it's not cathartic, it's not fun.It's warm and fuzzy I guess if all you want from music is more of the same.

It is music for old metal biddies. 

I prefer durif to merlot. There's more to it than to shiraz or the merlot.

[RelentlessOblivion]

37 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

It's not that it's a bad album, but the tempos and general feel are much the same in every song. It drags on with only a few moments of higher energy. The long last song was great for about 30 seconds but went back to the pattern of the others and dragged on and on to its demise. Not enough pay off for the time and effort. It's not adventurous, it's not cathartic, it's not fun.It's warm and fuzzy I guess if all you want from music is more of the same.

It is music for old metal biddies. 

I prefer durif to merlot. There's more to it than to shiraz or the merlot.

How about a nice Chianti, best with some favs beans and perhaps liver…

[JonoBlade]

6 hours ago, JamesT said:

Just came here to voice my full support for "The Sinner Rides Again"!  I remember posting back in late September during the week leading up to the album's release (September 29), and I have loved every second of the album from the very first listen, as I was confident I would.  I appreciate the shout-out in your post, Mr. Blade! 

Us kk fans have to stick together because it's a pretty exclusive club (that no one else wants to join) round here.

Realised I missed off Obituary from my list. It was actually the first purchase of 2023 for me because I pre-ordered it several months before its release in January.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

5 hours ago, Thatguy said:

It's not that it's a bad album, but the tempos and general feel are much the same in every song. It drags on with only a few moments of higher energy. The long last song was great for about 30 seconds but went back to the pattern of the others and dragged on and on to its demise. Not enough pay off for the time and effort. It's not adventurous, it's not cathartic, it's not fun. It's warm and fuzzy I guess if all you want from music is more of the same.

It is music for old metal biddies. 

I prefer durif to merlot. There's more to it than to shiraz or the merlot.

More of the same works just fine for me Chocka Doc. If it ain't broke don't fix it. I don't require bands to be so adventurous all the time and always be exploring new territory. I'm ok with what they're doing here, and they do it very well, I found it immersive. The tempos aren't all the same, there's slower parts spaced throughout. I felt plenty of dark energy here, shame you couldn't feel it too. I'm obviously getting enough of a payoff to make it my aoty. These riffs while basic and simple, really got into my head. I'd find myself humming them while doing shit and then wanting to go listen to the record again later. It might not be fun in the same way Orca's black/thrash is fun, but this slab of murky atmospheric black metal was fun for this old goat. And I think at least part of the initial appeal for me was that this is just sooooo much better than Primordial.

Verminous Serpent (Ireland) - The Malign Covenant, because you couldn't possibly post the aoty too many times.

 

[markm]

On 1/7/2024 at 5:30 PM, AlSymerz said:

The list I know everyone is waiting for to see what good stuff they missed during the last year.

1. Shakma – On Tenebrous Wings

2. Overkill – Scorched

3. Gravestone – Hallowed Be Thy Grave

4. Reaver – Iron Nation

5. Apocalyptic Annihilation – Necrothrash

6. Terrifier – Trample the weak devour the dead

7. Hellripper – Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags

8. Phil Campbell and The Bastard Sons – Kings Of The Asylum

9. Werewolves – My Enemies Look And Sound Like Me

10. C.O.F.F.I.N – Australia Stops.

No Cannibal Corpse or King Gizzard?

[GoatmasterGeneral]

4 hours ago, markm said:

No Cannibal Corpse or King Gizzard?

Orca said he'd wanted to have The Gizzies on his list but their album title was so damn long he couldn't remember it. And then they got bumped out of the top 10 by a black/thrash record right at the end of the year anyway. Now that he's popped his black metal cherry for 2024 he says he's going full on corpsepaint underground black metal miscreant.

 

 

[FatherAlabaster]

19 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Orca said he'd wanted to have The Gizzies on his list but their album title was so damn long he couldn't remember it. And then they got bumped out of the top 10 by a black/thrash record right at the end of the year anyway. Now that he's popped his black metal cherry for 2024 he says he's going full on corpsepaint underground black metal miscreant.

 

 

He doesn't even need corpse paint, he was born for this.

[AlSymerz]

7 hours ago, markm said:

No Cannibal Corpse or King Gizzard?

Never been a huge CC fan and the latest album didn't change that.

King Gizzard's released 2 studio albums last year, Silver Cord  and Petro...etc. While I do own them both and Petro....etc is probably their most solid thrash album since Rat's Nest neither are AOTY. Australian AOTY maybe but not AOTY.

[Thatguy]

8 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Verminous Serpent (Ireland) - The Malign Covenant, because you couldn't possibly post the aoty too many times.

You'll find something else for aoty before you finalise your list...

[GoatmasterGeneral]

42 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

You'll find something else for aoty before you finalize your list...

Quit your chuntering over there ya coffin-dodger. I'm not even going to attempt to rank these, I have settled on a top 10 and they're more or less interchangeable. After the top 10 I've got another 20 for youse that are essentially interchangeable because they're all bangers. Verminous Serpent has been my #1 since it came out last March so I'm calling it my aoty. But you can feel free to substitute any of the next 9 for that one if it'd make you feel better, they're all just as good. No big surprises, I've posted them all multiple times before.

[JamesT]

21 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

Obviously everyone has different taste but I don't know how anyone can not feel that The Sinner Rides Again doesn't drag on? The first few songs are great, straight down the line KK, I can even forgive him for having Ripper on vocals. But from Keeper Of The Graves the album drags on to the end. It's only about 35(ish) minutes and without the last 3 songs it would be an EP but the last two especially just seem like filler.

 

Yes sir, I respect any difference of opinion on this album or any other!  

I actually think "Keeper of the Graves" and the final track, "Wash Away Your Sins", are two of the best on the album.  "Hymn 66" is the best track on the whole thing, but it just slays from start to finish.  Ripper is one of my favorite vocalists in metal's history, so that's just a bonus for me as well with this fantastic band.  I hope they release several more albums before it's all said and done!

21 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

I remember the days when I had similar feelings about my favourite bands, they could do no wrong, and everything they released was flawless. Time passes and tastes change, I’m sure 16 year old me would be horrified hearing that I would one day all but stop listening to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, 25 year old would be just as stunned to learn. I would eventually do it same with Devin Townsend and Dark Tranquillity. I guess my point being that sometimes the bands we love the most, and also be the ones we are most critical of in years to come.

the bands we love the most, and also be the ones we are most critical of in years to come.

 

Actually come to think of it. I don’t think there is a single band I listen to, with caveats for those who only ever released, one or two albums, who is discography I could say is flawless.  Death probably, closest, but I think the vocals on Symbolic week, and parts of both human and individual thought patterns tend to drag. Bathory have eight truly excellent albums in my opinion, but the other three, is it three, I forget sometimes, anyway, there, other albums are so bad they are virtually unlistenable, and while I adore Inquisition my personal view is the peak was Dismal Orations with each album, they released since being slightly weaker than the one which proceeded it 

Interesting point!  I hadn't ever thought of it quite like that before.  Most of the metalcore I listened to as a teenager definitely doesn't get much air time for me these days.  And back then, I rejected almost everything that had clean vocals in it.  Now, traditional heavy metal with soaring melodic vocals is a large portion of what I listen to.  

It started back in 2006 when I was a junior in high school, and I discovered a power metal band called Cellador by watching Headbanger's Ball.  Their debut album, "Enter Deception", was released that year, and the video for the lead-off track, "Leaving All Behind", came on the show that night, and I was instantly hooked.  The music was heavy and fast, but the melodies transported me to another dimension, emotionally speaking.  From there, I got into DragonForce, Rhapsody of Fire, Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica, Dragonland, Edguy, Power Quest, Angra, Elvenking, and a host of other power metal bands.  In more recent times, I've leaned much more into traditional heavy metal (which I believe is very distinct from straight-forward power metal in a lot of cases), rock 'n' roll, hard rock, and blues-based hard rock, along with some glam as well.  

The only two sub-genres of metal that have remained consistently at the top of my list are southern/groove metal and thrash.  And as I'm typing this post, this is a thrilling trip down Metal Memory Lane, so I must thank you for your thought-provoking post!

16 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

Us kk fans have to stick together because it's a pretty exclusive club (that no one else wants to join) round here.

Realised I missed off Obituary from my list. It was actually the first purchase of 2023 for me because I pre-ordered it several months before its release in January.

I hear you on that, my metal friend!  As much as I'd enjoy seeing KK reunite with Judas Priest, in a lot of ways, I'm thankful that the situation is what it is now.  We now have two great bands putting out killer metal for the masses!  No way that it could ever be a bad thing in my book! 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

1 hour ago, JamesT said:

As much as I'd enjoy seeing KK reunite with Judas Priest, in a lot of ways, I'm thankful that the situation is what it is now.  We now have two great bands putting out killer metal for the masses!  No way that it could ever be a bad thing in my book! 

C'mon James Thomas let's be serious now, just between you and me how much are they paying you to say that? Are Priest and KK both paying you, or just KK? 

Seriously though, I find it fascinating that you went for the harsh vocals first in your teens, and then transitioned over to listen to more power and trad metal with predominantly clean vocals. Obviously it was the other way around for me and most of the metalheads I know. You're the same age as my daughter, class of '08, I think she was listening to mostly rap music in 2006 much to my chagrin. 

[RelentlessOblivion]

Funny GG as I was about to make a similar point, I know my taste has only skewed further and further towards the extreme in the last decade or so. Worth noting that extreme can be interpreted many different ways, which is just part of the fun,Azaghul, Cemetary Urn, and Evoken are all extreme in very different ways, for example

[JamesT]

10 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

C'mon James Thomas let's be serious now, just between you and me how much are they paying you to say that? Are Priest and KK both paying you, or just KK? 

Seriously though, I find it fascinating that you went for the harsh vocals first in your teens, and then transitioned over to listen to more power and trad metal with predominantly clean vocals. Obviously it was the other way around for me and most of the metalheads I know. You're the same age as my daughter, class of '08, I think she was listening to mostly rap music in 2006 much to my chagrin. 

I must admit, I laughed out loud when I read this post, my friend!  Always a pleasure to discuss the world of heavy metal with you!  

I still do enjoy harsh vocals quite frequently.  Death metal was the predominant style that I listened to as a teen.  And I still do enjoy a good bit of death metal - Cannibal Corpse, Hate Eternal, Creeping Death, Facebreaker, The Black Dahlia Murder, Be'Lakor, Obituary, and the list goes on! - but I've found that there are a lot of other death metal bands that don't hold my attention as well these days.  The blazing guitar work and face-melting solos of traditional metal have held my attention constantly over more recent years.  The song structures are more interesting to me, and it takes me on more of a listening journey, whereas a lot of death metal these days becomes more monotonous to my ears, and I find my mind wandering while listening rather than focusing on the music.  

Yes, class of 2008!  And just like your daughter, I listened to a lot of rap back then.  I don't go near rap music these days.  The closest I get is when I'm taking a trip down memory lane while jamming to some nu metal.  But straigh-up rap/hip-hop?  It's been forever since I listened to any of it, and I don't plan on going back to it!

[GoatmasterGeneral]

11 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Funny GG as I was about to make a similar point, I know my taste has only skewed further and further towards the extreme in the last decade or so. Worth noting that extreme can be interpreted many different ways, which is just part of the fun,Azaghul, Cemetary Urn, and Evoken are all extreme in very different ways, for example

That's the thing about our musical tastes. They change over time. They can swing one way and then like a pendulum they can swing back the other way. Nothing would surprise me. I'm all in on the goat filth now, but I have no idea what I'll be listening to in another 10 years if I'm still breathing. I could become the avant-garde, prog wank post-metal guy in the 2030's for all I know. Stranger things have happened. 

[AlSymerz]

3 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

 but I have no idea what I'll be listening to in another 10 years

I'm betting it will be the Back Street Boys and Britney Spears.