What Are You Listening To?

[Nasty_Cabbage]

1 hour ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

A little early? It's been out for 15 months! I kid, I kid. Thought it was pretty good, I bought it last year, but I don't think it was ever in any serious danger of making my 2022 list. So good, but nothing to write home about as they say. Guess I just find it hard to take black metal coming out of a place like Jawja in the sweltering American south seriously. Ain't no icy windswept forests in Atlanta. But I must say I love how your mini Vimur review turned into an indictment of Immortal and the beloved At the Heart of Winter.

I remember coming home from work one day about 8 or 9 years ago and my wife had been having a rough day with the fussy baby. So when she finally got him down in his crib for a nap she said she went on Youtube and being in a mood she decided to search "black metal" and by chance At the Heart of Winter was the first thing that came up. She knew nothing of black metal other than being aware that it was something I listened to, so she listened to the album and ended up liking it. I get home later and she's like "You have to get this album for me" and proceeded to pull it up on Youtube to show me, to which I laughed and replied "Don't worry, I've already got it." I was glad because I knew if I were to order her the cd, by the time it came in the mail she'd have forgotten all about it. I agree though that while that one certainly has its proponents, there are other more worthwhile Immortal albums, namely Pure Holocaust and Battles in the North.

Missed this one last year, this is really good gonna have to grab it. More midwestern death metal from Toledo Ohio.

I didn't really mean it as an indictment. I do enjoy it from time to time. It's just a little one-note by comparison. Also, I did end up listening to the entire Vimur album and enjoyed it. It was solid pretty much all around. I think my earliest exposure to the wider gamut of black metal was probably from when I was in boarding school junior year. All of my friends, it seemed, were the Norwegian foreign exchange students (foreign exchange students made up over a third of the student body), and sometimes they'd come back from visiting their family with tons of burned CDs that everybody sort of just traded around. I remember of the ones I ended up getting gifted was some Immortal, Mork Gryning, Satyricon, and what to this day stands as my lone exception to my aversion to spoken passages: Mayhem's A Grand Declaration of War. Not exactly a great list for a black metal starter pack, but it was enough to set me on the path.

NP: Sanity Control - War of Life

▶︎ War on Life | Sanity Control (bandcamp.com)

Little too much hardcore, and not enough thrash. Not bad by any means, but definitely not for me personally.

[RelentlessOblivion]

Fantomas - The Directors Cut

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Mulla - هل تحتاج إلى

 

Mulla - مَوْلَى

 

Mulla - لماذا لا ترى ذلك                         

 

[Thatguy]

DROWNING HORSE - Meghalayan

BOLT GUN - The Warren 

And of course, FEN - Monument to Absence 

[RelentlessOblivion]

Mithras - Behind the Shadows Lie Madness

[Arioch]

Ange - Moteur! (1981)

Cavalera Conspiracy - Morbid Visions (2023)

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

6 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

DROWNING HORSE - Meghalayan

BOLT GUN - The Warren 

And of course, FEN - Monument to Absence 

In a rare moment of synergy this arvo, Doc posted 3 albums together that I didn't hate. I'd even go so far as to characterize all 3 of these as "good" although none of them are quite the kind of thing I'd normally seek out on my own or be looking to purchase.

But crikey mate, you sure do love your post-metal. And yes, before you get your budgie feathers all ruffled I know Perth's Drowning Horses are some kind of atmospheric post-hardcore sludgegaze or something, but the other 2 are pure post-metal, one avant-garde apparently, and the other progressive. But I'll concede that they're all 3 good albums, so I reckon it just goes to show ya that all post-metal is not created equally. 

 

Serpent Corpse - Blood Sabbath, must have listened to this 4 or 5 times today.

 

[MacabreEternal]

Tzompantli - Tlazcaltiliztli (2022)

Have a hard on for this groovy death/doom out of California at the moment after an internet acquaintance put me onto them.  It's Brian Ortiz out of Xibalba (metalcore turned death metal outfit).  Ritualistic and catchy at the same time is always a fucking winner for me.

[RelentlessOblivion]

Ram-Zet - Escape

Solefald - In Harmonia Universali

 

Somehow I doubt the Goat would enjoy those

[Thatguy]

2 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

before you get your budgie feathers all ruffled

Ha.

Fen ain't post anything. My budgie agrees.

[MacabreEternal]

Torture Rack - Pit of Limbs (2022)

 

[Nasty_Cabbage]

5 hours ago, Arioch said:

Cavalera Conspiracy - Morbid Visions (2023)

 

The new track is pretty good, but was there some type of availability or legal issue with the original album? What's the point of rerecording it in full?

[Arioch]

32 minutes ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

The new track is pretty good, but was there some type of availability or legal issue with the original album? What's the point of rerecording it in full?

Maybe it's a question of rights. But I think the Cavalera brothers wanted to show that Sepultura is basically them.

[MacabreEternal]

Messa - Close (2022)

 

[MarkhantonioYeatts]

LONG KNIFE - Wilderness

D-CLONE - Creation And Destroy

SLAVENKUST - Slavenkust

VARIOUS ARTISTS - D-Beating Vol. 3

 

[Nasty_Cabbage]

1 hour ago, Arioch said:

Maybe it's a question of rights. But I think the Cavalera brothers wanted to show that Sepultura is basically them.

As huge of a fan of the Brazilian blackened thrash scene as I am, I tend to hold some pretty unorthodox opinions about Sepultura. I strongly dislike Roots, which is regarded by many as their creative peak. I have to wonder if we're listening to the same album when I hear that. I feel like the "tribal" flavoring on Roots is really kind of a mask for the stripped down oversimplified and accessibility-centered approach to songwriting that Roadrunner records would sadly become known for in the years that followed. Shizophrenia's still a top fifty all-timer thrash album for me though.

I remember owning a copy of Unchain The Wolves that I really enjoyed a long time ago. For some reason, I sort of lost track of these guys afterword though, so I thought it'd be a good day to go through their full lengths starting with this and going backwards. Seems like their discography is scattered around a bit between labels. The sound on this one so far seems to be surprisingly well adapted to modern production values. Moreso than most metal bands with larger catalogs going back to the nineties, I'd say.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

21 minutes ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

As huge of a fan of the Brazilian blackened thrash scene as I am, I tend to hold some pretty unorthodox opinions about Sepultura. I strongly dislike Roots, which is regarded by many as their creative peak. I have to wonder if we're listening to the same album when I hear that. I feel like the "tribal" flavoring on Roots is really kind of a mask for the stripped down oversimplified and accessibility-centered approach to songwriting that Roadrunner records would sadly become known for in the years that followed. Shizophrenia's still a top fifty all-timer thrash album for me though.

I remember owning a copy of Unchain The Wolves that I really enjoyed a long time ago. For some reason, I sort of lost track of these guys afterword though, so I thought it'd be a good day to go through their full lengths starting with this and going backwards. Seems like their discography is scattered around a bit between labels. The sound on this one so far seems to be surprisingly well adapted to modern production values. Moreso than most metal bands with larger catalogs going back to the nineties, I'd say.

Dude it's practically a cliche among metalheads, it's assumed that most of us can't stand Roots. Many I've known even disown Chaos AD although I won't go that far, Refuse/Resist is still one of my favourite Sep tunes. But it's most definitely seen as the exception when someone says they like Roots, not the norm. It all started going downhill after the monumental Beneath the Remains if you ask me.

I'm a total D666 fanboi so hopefully you'll dig what you find in their discography because strangely none of these Aussies on the forum here seem to give a shit about this band. My personal favorite of theirs would be Defiance (2009) which seems to be a hot take amongst metalheads in general, but it is what it is. Phoenix Rising and Cold Steel are both 9/10 albums. You really can't go wrong with anything from Unchain the Wolves up through Defiance, the EP's and everything. Even their later stuff isn't bad, it's just different.

 

[agamerwholovesmetal]

Danzig (1988) - danzig

[GoatmasterGeneral]

5 hours ago, Thatguy said:

Ha.

Fen ain't post anything. My budgie agrees.

Classic textbook case of total denial. And your imaginary avian friend is mildly concerning as well.

Perhaps you have an old colleague in the mental health field you've remained in touch with whom you could call upon to help you work through some of these issues? There's no shame in seeking help Doc.

[Nasty_Cabbage]

5 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Dude it's practically a cliche among metalheads, it's assumed that most of us can't stand Roots. Many I've known even disown Chaos AD although I won't go that far, Refuse/Resist is still one of my favourite Sep tunes. But it's most definitely seen as the exception when someone says they like Roots, not the norm. It all started going downhill after the monumental Beneath the Remains if you ask me.

I'm a total D666 fanboi so hopefully you'll dig what you find in their discography because strangely none of these Aussies on the forum here seem to give a shit about this band. My personal favorite of theirs would be Defiance (2009) which seems to be a hot take amongst metalheads in general, but it is what it is. Phoenix Rising and Cold Steel are both 9/10 albums. You really can't go wrong with anything from Unchain the Wolves up through Defiance, the EP's and everything. Even their later stuff isn't bad, it's just different.

 

Seriously? I've heard almost unilateral praise for Roots as being one of their indisputable classics. I'm talking dyed in the wool 'the only real Mayhem album is De Mysteriis...' purists. I thought I was going crazy when I'd get shouted down for saying that Roots sounded more like Helmet than legit thrash to me. Good to be wrong sometimes I guess.

I'm definitely enjoying D666. I think a lot of people see the bolted on 666 to a normal band name and (maybe somewhat deservedly) roll their eyes. Doesn't mean they're bad by any means but it was a little bit of a cliche for a brief while. Another thing I'm noticing just in hunting through the undergrowth of youtube is that they seem to have ruffled some people's feathers at some point for all the usual reasons. That, in itself was never enough to turn me away from a band. As entertaining as it might prove to live in a system where you voted people into office by listening to their music, I don't really think that's how it works, so I just enjoy what I enjoy.

[Serpentboi1992]

[Arioch]

2 hours ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

As huge of a fan of the Brazilian blackened thrash scene as I am, I tend to hold some pretty unorthodox opinions about Sepultura. I strongly dislike Roots, which is regarded by many as their creative peak. I have to wonder if we're listening to the same album when I hear that. I feel like the "tribal" flavoring on Roots is really kind of a mask for the stripped down oversimplified and accessibility-centered approach to songwriting that Roadrunner records would sadly become known for in the years that followed. Shizophrenia's still a top fifty all-timer thrash album for me though.

I totally agree. I stopped listening to Sepultura when Roots came out. And Chaos A.D. had a hard time passing.

1 hour ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

Seriously? I've heard almost unilateral praise for Roots as being one of their indisputable classics. I'm talking dyed in the wool 'the only real Mayhem album is De Mysteriis...' purists. I thought I was going crazy when I'd get shouted down for saying that Roots sounded more like Helmet than legit thrash to me. Good to be wrong sometimes I guess.

Roots, Thrash? No, there's nothing Thrash about this album.

[MacabreEternal]

Sacred Reich - Awakening (2019)

Raging Death - s/t (2015)

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

25 minutes ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

Seriously? I've heard almost unilateral praise for Roots as being one of their indisputable classics. I'm talking dyed in the wool 'the only real Mayhem album is De Mysteriis...' purists. I thought I was going crazy when I'd get shouted down for saying that Roots sounded more like Helmet than legit thrash to me. Good to be wrong sometimes I guess.

I'm definitely enjoying D666. I think a lot of people see the bolted on 666 to a normal band name and (maybe somewhat deservedly) roll their eyes. Doesn't mean they're bad by any means but it was a little bit of a cliche for a brief while. Another thing I'm noticing just in hunting through the undergrowth of youtube is that they seem to have ruffled some people's feathers at some point for all the usual reasons. That, in itself was never enough to turn me away from a band. As entertaining as it might prove to live in a system where you voted people into office by listening to their music, I don't really think that's how it works, so I just enjoy what I enjoy.

In the commercial mainstream online metal world of today mainly populated by Millennials and Zoomers who knows, maybe the kids have decided they like Roots now. But I'm not part of that world. I have never been in the habit of frequenting any of these mainstream blog sites. I fraternize and talk metal with mostly older dudes from 40-ish to 50+ who are more aligned with my view of the metal world, and to a man every last one of them dimisses Roots as straight garbage. In the wake of Beneath and Arise a lof them can't even accept the groove laden Chaos AD.

As far as the band Destroyer 666 is concerned, yeah band leader KK Warslut (Keith Bemrose) is an arrogant loudmouthed prick who apparently holds some pretty extreme conservative views. I remember reading that he posted some comments several years ago where he used the phrase "effeminate males" and there was reportedly an onstage rant in Denmark lamenting how Danish men who've "descended from Vikings" are now living in a "matriarchal society." At another show he asked the crowd if there were any "pussies, faggots or internet warriors" in attendance which got a predictably enthusiastic response from the rabid crowd, but had the SJW's in an uproar clutching their pearls and crying misogyny.

Personally I think if we were forced to exclude every single dude who might potentially be holding some type of low key sexist or racist views from the group of your typical 40-60 year old predominantly white male extreme metal musicians we probably wouldn't have many bands left to listen to. Or at least I probaby wouldn't. And I'm really not trying to excuse overt racism or sexism here, but I hail from an era when people could disagree about stuff like politics and religion and ideas about gender relations like this (within reason of course) and still go on. A healthy debate is one thing, but this modern Orwellian idea that society should be able to control how everyone else thinks at all times and we need to jump on every little word people say, including comedians who are telling jokes just trying to be funny, and pound them into submission with the weight of our disapproval is alien to me. You're not gonna change the way half the world thinks simply by being perpetually offended, at best you'll just get them to keep quiet about it to avoid the repercussions. But isn't it better when you know where people stand?

And where is the line? Is every single dude who has ever been annoyed with or made fun of something his wife, partner or girlfriend said or did and then vented to his buddies about it, or maybe casually said to a mate "dude that's gay" or "don't be a pussy" going to be branded a "misogynist" now? I think we need to let common sense prevail and reserve this modern idea of "toxic masculinity" for those who are actively being toxic and misogynistic. Masculinity itself is not inherently evil, there can be normal, healthy types of non-toxic masculinity.

[Serpentboi1992]