What Are You Listening To?

[navybsn]

Exodus - Bonded By Blood

[AlSymerz]

Crowbar - Broken Glass

[RelentlessOblivion]

Entombed - Left Hand Path

[Innominate]

Dead Kennedys - Plastic Surgery Disasters & In God We Trust, Inc.

[markm]

Misþyrming-Með hamri & Grimma-Frostbitten-eni mini mani mo, catch a 2022 black metal album by the toe

Autopsy-Morbidity Triumphant

[MacabreEternal]

Gaerea -  Mirage (2022)

 

Number two on my top nine releases of 2022.

Portugal has never been a country with whom I would associate having a vibrant black metal scene. A quick Google of “Portuguese black metal bands” turns up a multitude of bands who I must confess to never having heard of before. Gaerea have carved themselves a fond place in my heart over the past couple of releases, not only topping the chart of “most listened to Portuguese black metal artist” but also being my favourite modern black metal band. Whereas I have listened to and soon got tired of Mgla and Uada, Gaerea have managed to grow stronger and more intriguing over subsequent releases without having to undertake any major directional shifts.

What appeals most about these guys is their focus on intensity. Mirage is a taut affair from start to finish given its microscopic scrutiny of human emotions it has a value to it that can only be counted in hearts and minds won as it is a record that deserves more than just to be listened to. Given the great leap forwards that Gaerea undertook from Unsettling Whispers to Limbo it is refreshing to see the same happen again some two years later. Creatively, the quintet is unstoppable it seems, their prowess for appealing and contemporary black metal delivery seemingly knowing no bounds.

Limbo was an assured and consistent record; nobody can undermine the importance of a good sophomore release and Gaerea certainly were aware of this also. However, where their second album fell short of outright success (largely due to its meandering length at times) the undeniable promise that it still captured has come to full fruition on Mirage.

As the post metal vibes of album opener Memoir get dispersed by the shunt of cold and abrasive black metal that heralds the true arrival of the album, there is little doubt that this album brings an impact that is based entirely on its ability to immerse you in the torrid depths of its candour. As mentioned earlier, Gaerea need not rely on directional changes to make their mark on their third – and strongest – album. The best way to describe Gaerea is as being like a stab wound being repeatedly dealt in the same area. There is no widening of the wound, no expansion to the length of the incision. Instead, each stab goes deeper and deeper, reaching for the vital organs, exposing more and more lifeblood.

Mirage is the best bm release of the 2022, but its success transcends mere personalised list rankings. Mirage is the output of a band at the top of their game. A band maturing faster than anyone who has followed them from the start really expected. Where they go next is the exciting part though.

[Arioch]

Candlemass - Sweet Evil Sun (2022)

 

[JonoBlade]

On 1/1/2023 at 2:03 AM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

The Sham-tera discussion on the other thread has inspired me to check out some of Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society music. I've heard some BLS before so I have a basic idea what I'm gonna hear, but just a few songs and it's gotta be at least 15-20 years or thereabouts. Just went with a best of collection to get a cross section of their supposed best stuff. 

Believe it or not I've never heard Black Label Society, despite being a fan of Zakk era Ozzy. I did have the Pride and Glory CD which pre-dated BLS and really liked it, but by the time the first BLS album came around I was more into death metal. 

Listening to Chat Pile right now. @markm is right that the vocals are not what you'd normally want to hear and I would've turned it off if not forewarned. But I too have persevered and there are some good sounds here.

[navybsn]

Sisyphean - Colours of Faith

PSYCHONAUT - Violate Consensus Reality

[MacabreEternal]

Messa - Close (2022)

Number one in my top nine albums of 2022.

There are some records that you simply feel daunted at the prospect of having to review.  Some records are so diverse and eclectic, so bristling with organic energy and vigour that committing some paragraphs to state the success of their content seems an almost injustice of near epic proportions.  I mean, I can be impressed by some albums I hear and easily transpose my thoughts on the highlights to word format, but the albums that constantly challenge and surprise you are the tricky ones to truly interpret in a review.  Close is one such record.  Looking back at the year as a whole it is hard to understand how this release initially passed me by back in March and only really fell onto my radar at all in the final three months (breaking my end of year list to boot).  

In simple terms, this is a cool record.  Not cool as in being representative of some mainstream avenue of music but more just cool in how it sounds.  There are enough instruments in use over this album to make it easy to understand just how well this record embraces influences form doom, psychedelia and world music.  Crossing continents and exploring cultural boundaries along the way, Close is a celebration of all the influences that this band have been subjected to over their various pathways into Messa.  Even on the grindcore track towards the end, none of this feels forced (vocalist Sara, formerly being a member of death metal/grindcore crew Restos Humanos makes the grindcore inclusion a little less surprising perhaps).

With this variety comes the potential for me to get lost in the record and find myself struggling to balance the complexity of such a mixed palate of sounds (the album being over an hour long doesn't initially bode well either) but everything is done so effortlessly it just sounds so authentic throughout.  Somehow, Messa manage to sound modern and relevant yet capture the very essence of the retro vibes that ooze through those fuzzy guitar tones, ably assisted by the amazing vocal talent of Sara Bianchin.  Although it is obvious where her limitations lie she still compliments each track on here perfectly and is easily one of the standout contributors to the record. 

I bought this album on vinyl yesterday, such was my urgency to add this to my library in some kind of physical format and it has worked its way into my top three albums of the year, despite its late arrival on my radar.  There is so much that can be said about this record that I could go on for days about it and never still get all my reflections down about it.  

As I said, in simple terms, this is really cool.

[MacabreEternal]

Elegiac - Vampiric Odinism (2019)

 

[AlSymerz]

Nuclear Assault - Handle With Care

[AlSymerz]

After reading A Confederacy of Dunces " gazing upon the yellow sign" really doesn't sound very enticing, but this is black/death metal* not comedy fiction.

 

Unspeakable - Gazing Upon The Yellow Sign EP

 

(*as called by M-A not the actual authoritative BM judge).

[navybsn]

Imprecation - In Nomine Diaboli

Kampfar - Til Klovers Takt

Both of these should have been in my EOTY list. Great shit.

[Serpentboi1992]

[markm]

9 hours ago, MacabreEternal said:

Messa - Close (2022)

Number one in my top nine albums of 2022.

There are some records that you simply feel daunted at the prospect of having to review.

As I said, in simple terms, this is really cool.

It's a great record. Similar to records by Immolation, Darkthrone, and Autopsy, it's easy to think, Oh he just likes the popular ones, those are too easy. But sometimes consensus means that some albums are universally praised because they are actually GOOD. I mean, like there's a reason The Godfather is a popular movie. 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

1 hour ago, KillaKukumba said:

After reading A Confederacy of Dunces "gazing upon the yellow sign" really doesn't sound very enticing, but this is black/death metal* not comedy fiction.

Unspeakable - Gazed Upon the Yellow Sign EP

(*as called by M-A not the actual authoritative BM judge).

I will accept black/death, blackened death or black metal as the genre. In their marketing they're also calling themselves "necromantical metal" so I'd be willing to accept that as well. I've fixed the album title for you at no extra charge.

 

 

NP: Kampfar - Til Klovers Takt, hadn't heard this one yet, but yeah this is very good.

 

[AlSymerz]

I'm glad there is no charge because I wouldn't pay anyway.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

1 hour ago, markm said:

It's a great record. Similar to records by Immolation, Darkthrone, and Autopsy, it's easy to think, Oh he just likes the popular ones, those are too easy. But sometimes consensus means that some albums are universally praised because they are actually GOOD. I mean, like there's a reason The Godfather is a popular movie. 

But the thing is Mark, most albums are "good" to somebody, the question always comes down to will they sound good to you. At the end of the day an album having a higher profile and wider appeal and being considered "good" to a larger number of people doesn't have any more or less likelyhood of sounding good to me than any other random album I've heard nothing about. And if someone (like me) doesn't like a popular album it doesn't mean that band or album's consensus popularity has in any way factored into them not liking it. You have to consider that it could simply not be to their taste.

And I will say in this specific case, Messa is a band I very much wanted to like. I do in fact like several songs from their first album very much. Their becoming more popular and getting talked about a lot has nothing to do with why I don't enjoy and have stopped buying their albums. I like elements of their sound quite a bit (not the least of which is Sara's amazing voice) but overall it's just too slow, too minimalist, too mellow, not aggressive or riffy enough for me. Not what I'm looking for in other words. But I don't have any problem conceding that an album like this is "good" without having any interest in listening to it myself. 

But having said all that, I'd be lying if I said I haven't noticed a pattern over the last few decades that the more popular consensus albums are more often than not going to receive a verdict of "no thanks" from me. Polished and accessible aren't positive attributes to a filth hound like me. But still I always try to go in with an open mind when/if I check these "consensus" albums out because you never know, there can be exceptions. Occasionally even the dimwitted masses manage to get one right.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Satanic Warmaster - Aamongandr, Finland

 

Azaghal - Myrkkyä (Official Music Video) new Azaghal album Alttarimme on Luista Tehty has apparently now been pushed to February so I guess I will have to leave it for next year's list. But it sounds fucking great all HM-2'd up so I'm thinking it'll be in my top 10 next year for sure.

 

Azaghal - Kaaos (Official Music Video)

 

[AlSymerz]

Toxin - Misanthropy

 

[zackflag]

Aeternus - Beyond The Wandering Moon

Stone cold classic.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Just now, zackflag said:

Aeternus - Beyond the Wandering Moon

Stone cold classic.

Perennially in my top 25 albums of all time. Their set at MDF in 2015, was the best set of the weekend for me that year.

 

Stangarigel - Na Severe Srdca, Slovakia, hadn't heard this one from last January but it is indeed very good. I'm running through the entries on Zack's list that I hadn't heard before. So far they've all been good to very good (Wake's the only one I didn't stay with til the bitter end) if not exactly the kinds of things that would normally crack my list. Zach's got excellent taste in music, he just seems to be more into the atmo-black end of things while I'm more of a riffy norsecore and nasty gritty filth kinda guy. Too early to tell, but this one might end up being a purchase. The Kampfar will definitely be.

 

Downcross - Hexapoda Triumph, Belarus. Came out back in March. I'm almost sure I checked this one out at some point last year and then I must have forgotten about it. Glad you put it on your list to jog my memory, this duo from Minsk is more my speed.

 

[AlSymerz]

Epidemic - Decameron

[AlSymerz]

Epidemic - The Truth Of What Will Be