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What Are You Listening To?


khaos

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15 minutes ago, BlutAusNerd said:

Why is that? He's got it all, he's a powerhouse with killer delivery and a wide range, and I have yet to hear a performance from him that was less than stellar over a lengthy career.

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I guess I just haven't seen you talking about him, and I'm surprised he'd be an easy favorite for you over guys like King Diamond, Halford, Hansi Kursch, or John Arch. Admittedly it's been about fifteen years since I last listened to Jag Panzer, and I think Titan Force is the only other band of his that I've heard. I like his voice better than I used to, but there are several people whose tone and melodies do way more for me.

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I guess I just haven't seen you talking about him, and I'm surprised he'd be an easy favorite for you over guys like King Diamond, Halford, Hansi Kursch, or John Arch. Admittedly it's been about fifteen years since I last listened to Jag Panzer, and I think Titan Force is the only other band of his that I've heard. I like his voice better than I used to, but there are several people whose tone and melodies do way more for me.
It's something about how he puts everything he has into his lines and phrases them so masterfully. The others you mentioned are excellent in different or similar ways, but none of them can completely captivate me and make me focus on the vocals above the other instruments like his. That's saying something too, because many of his albums are master class in the instrumentation departments, so it's not as though he's the only one worth hearing on his recordings.

I haven't seen you spinning more extreme stuff lately, but I would be interested to hear your thoughts on Satan's Host. They released a pretty great 80's power metal album with Harry Conklin called Metal From Hell (after Ample Destruction and before Titan Force), only to disband shortly thereafter. They reunited in the late 90's and started making shitty black/death metal, and then Harry Conklin rejoined towards the later side of the 00's and their sound kind of occupied a mid-point between the two disparate styles. It's written like power metal, with the song structures and melodies being very much in that vein, but with blast beats and tremolo riffs from their black/death days. I think Tyrant's forceful vocals are the perfect fit for this kind of sound, soaring over the furious and pummeling rhythm section, and I'm surprised that more bands haven't at least attempted this kind of fusion.



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11 hours ago, BlutAusNerd said:

It's something about how he puts everything he has into his lines and phrases them so masterfully. The others you mentioned are excellent in different or similar ways, but none of them can completely captivate me and make me focus on the vocals above the other instruments like his. That's saying something too, because many of his albums are master class in the instrumentation departments, so it's not as though he's the only one worth hearing on his recordings.

I haven't seen you spinning more extreme stuff lately, but I would be interested to hear your thoughts on Satan's Host. They released a pretty great 80's power metal album with Harry Conklin called Metal From Hell (after Ample Destruction and before Titan Force), only to disband shortly thereafter. They reunited in the late 90's and started making shitty black/death metal, and then Harry Conklin rejoined towards the later side of the 00's and their sound kind of occupied a mid-point between the two disparate styles. It's written like power metal, with the song structures and melodies being very much in that vein, but with blast beats and tremolo riffs from their black/death days. I think Tyrant's forceful vocals are the perfect fit for this kind of sound, soaring over the furious and pummeling rhythm section, and I'm surprised that more bands haven't at least attempted this kind of fusion.
 

 


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The vocals make that song, even though they get a bit silly to my ears sometimes. His voice has aged well, huh? The music by itself doesn't do much for me, but the juxtaposition is cool.

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The vocals make that song, even though they get a bit silly to my ears sometimes. His voice has aged well, huh? The music by itself doesn't do much for me, but the juxtaposition is cool.
If you heard the albums they did before that one with a standard black/death vocalist, I don't think you would enjoy it. I love the juxtaposition, it absolutely makes their sound what it is now, but somehow I feel that the strength of the vocals elevates the music as well. Then again, even when the music is top shelf on its own, I feel his vocals always have that power to give the music a boost. He has definitely aged well, especially by comparison to most guys his age who haven't.

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6 hours ago, BlutAusNerd said:

If you heard the albums they did before that one with a standard black/death vocalist, I don't think you would enjoy it. I love the juxtaposition, it absolutely makes their sound what it is now, but somehow I feel that the strength of the vocals elevates the music as well. Then again, even when the music is top shelf on its own, I feel his vocals always have that power to give the music a boost.

The vocals put the music in a different light. Those angular riffs and blastbeats are pretty standard fare for DM but they're unusual in a power metal context. I could hear that kind of approach being even better with more interesting music. It's sort of like the opposite side of whatever decision matrix led Six Feet Under to pair lackluster renditions of hard rock classics with stereotypical, expressionless DM grunting.

Playlist today:

Titan Force - s/t
Obituary - Cause Of Death
Lethal - Programmed
Jag Panzer - The Fourth Judgement
Redemption - Snowfall On Judgement Day

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