What Are You Listening To?

[AlSymerz]

3 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Where's your best of Pweest compilation track list bro? Stop stalling and cough it up already. I know you must've been a massive Pweest fan back in the days before your beloved thrash came along. I'm sure you saw them in Melbourne in 2001 when they finally ventured down under. Take 10 minutes and slap something together, the cows & goats will wait.

Well until now I wasn't asked for one. But now I have been I'll have to re-read the rules because I wasn't paying enough attention to which albums and how many songs.

I was never a massive Priest fan. I knew they existed, I knew the songs that got played all the time, and I knew the KK/Downing/Halford trio headbang but I didn't own a Priest record until after I bought Halford's solo effort in Fight. I also never saw Priest live but I did a meet and greet with Fight in 95 I think it was.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

50 minutes ago, AlSymerz said:

Well until now I wasn't asked for one. But now I have been I'll have to re-read the rules because I wasn't paying enough attention to which albums and how many songs.

I was never a massive Priest fan. I knew they existed, I knew the songs that got played all the time, and I knew the KK/Downing/Halford trio headbang but I didn't own a Priest record until after I bought Halford's solo effort in Fight. I also never saw Priest live but I did a meet and greet with Fight in '95 I think it was.

Seems I might've erroneously assumed that because of your propensity to defend ancient has-been legacy bands including Judas Pweest, Megastaine and Anthrax from nay-sayers, and because of your being an old thrash metal aficionado just one year younger than me, that you would quite likely have been a Pweest fan back in the day. So then what were you listening to back in your teenage years and those early 80's days just before thrash metal hit the scene?

There aren't any rules Orca, I don't believe in rules. Put whichever and however many Pweest songs on the list that you want to, based on any criteria you'd like. Or don't make a list at all if you've really never been into the band and don't have any favorite Pweest songs. I don't really care that much about Pweest myself tbh or most of these 40 - 50 year old legacy bands for that matter. I just figured Pweest are one of those bands that most of us older metal dudes would likely have in common from back in the days when there weren't so many different sub-genres and not so many heavy bands to choose from out there.

I can't talk to old guys like you about black metal or deathgrind, or even make jokes about it, you get all cranky and go ad hominem on me. So I was trying to engage you on a neutral playing field, maybe find some common ground we could build on. Same reason I'll often weigh in on Megastaine, Metallica or Maiden convos. I don't give two shits about most those old dinosaur mainstream metal bands anymore, but they were undeniably a big part of my 80's metal upbringing so I have enough background knowledge about their music still kicking around in my head somewhere that I can hold my own in a convo. Because it's a forum, we have to talk about something, or else Cabbie will come and make a remark about how quiet it is in here today.

 

 

Monster Magnet -  Dopes to Infinty, space rock out of Red Bank New Jersey 1995

 

[AlSymerz]

6 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Seems I might've erroneously assumed that because of your propensity to defend ancient has-been legacy bands including Judas Pweest, Megastaine and Anthrax from nay-sayers, and because of your being an old thrash metal aficionado just one year younger than me, that you would quite likely have been a Pweest fan back in the day. So then what were you listening to back in your teenage years and those early 80's days just before thrash metal hit the scene?

Aussie pub rock mostly. There would have been music like CCR, Janis, Cream, The Who, Billy Thorpe and other remnants of the 60's, some of which moved into the 70's, but by the time I was into my teens I was more interested in the local scene. Local music was accessible and easy to get, but the live music scene was a hive of electricity and fun and no one really gave a shit about age limits and the like.

12 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

There aren't any rules Orca, I don't believe in rules. Put whichever and however many Pweest songs on the list that you want to, based on any criteria you'd like. Or don't make a list at all if you've really never been into the band and don't have any favorite Pweest songs. I don't really care that much about Pweest myself tbh or most of these 40 - 50 year old legacy bands for that matter. I just figured Pweest are one of those bands that most of us older metal dudes would likely have in common from back in the days when there weren't so many different sub-genres and not so many heavy bands to choose from out there.

 

I thought there was mention of some range of albums. I do like some old Priest songs although I probably don't know as many deep cuts as others do because I simply haven't spent much time with them. But like so much overseas metal Australia didn't get a huge push of Priest until the mid to late 80's and even then it was nothing like the push they got after Turbo or Painkiller. Mags like Kerrang etc used to take 8 weeks to get to us here in the 80's, there was almost no metal on the radio and even when it was there it was mostly the 'greatest hits' that everyone wanted. By the time the 90's and 00's came there was so many albums we could suddenly get from new to old bands that I didn't go back and collect too many of the so called legacy band albums. I had all the Maiden, Metallica etc but I didn't have much of bands like Sabbath, or Priest.

21 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

I can't talk to old guys like you about black metal or deathgrind, or even make jokes about it, you get all cranky and go ad hominem on me. So I was trying to engage you on a neutral playing field, maybe find some common ground we could build on. Same reason I'll often weigh in on Megastaine, Metallica or Maiden convos. I don't give two shits about most those old dinosaur mainstream metal bands anymore, but they were undeniably a big part of my 80's metal upbringing so I have enough background knowledge about their music still kicking around in my head somewhere that I can hold my own in a convo. Because it's a forum, we have to talk about something, or else Cabbie will come and make a remark about how quiet it is in here today.

 

You and Doc are the same when it comes to other peoples reactions. You both seem to assume that because the reaction you get isn't one you'd offer, or it's not what you expect, it's delivered in a grumpy or negative manner.

[FatherAlabaster]

Krallice - Mass Cathexis 2/The Kinetic Infinite

[Thatguy]

3 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

But not to take the piss out of you, I'm just genuinely curious as a friend of yours going on 8 years now to learn what your musical background has been. What was tickling your fancy back in the day? What was I missing in 1984? I know you've posted the odd obscure 70's prog album a few different times here and there, was that your deal, were you a big 70's prog-head?

I didn't feel excluded. I was just offering my usual dry commentary.

Back in the eighties...well, for half of the eighties I was a medical student, then I was an overworked intern then resident, and I had a young family to support and there was post graduate study. Jeez, I was busy. I still had time for music...I had no time to be in a band, but I played in hospital reviews and some jam sessions.

There was still jazz - Anthony Braxton, Art Ensemble of Chicago, but also more mainstream stuff - Kenny Wheeler, Jan Garbarek, Keith Jarrett and electric stuff - Miles Davis, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bass Desires, Bill Frissell, Soft Machine,

Rock? Oils, Magazine, David Sylvain, The Church, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, Yes, Robert Wyatt, Zappa, Adrian Bellew, Art Bears, China Crisis, The Blue Nile, Steely Dan,The Psychedelic Furs etc etc

You get the idea. And I still like all that music. Not a jot of metal until the late nineties. Then a lot of catching up and looking forward, not back to the fossils. 

[FatherAlabaster]

Krallice - Go Be Forgotten

[AlSymerz]

56 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

Rock? Oils, Magazine, David Sylvain, The Church, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, Yes, Robert Wyatt, Zappa, Adrian Bellew, Art Bears, China Crisis, The Blue Nile, Steely Dan,The Psychedelic Furs etc etc

You get the idea. And I still like all that music. Not a jot of metal until the late nineties. Then a lot of catching up and looking forward, not back to the fossils. 

Peter Garrett 70 yrs old

David Sylvian 66 yrs old

Steve Kilbey 69 yrs old

There's no room for fossil metal because the rest of your listening is fossil rock

 

[navybsn]

Monster Magnet... now I can get down with that. Let's throw on some Tab and Spine of God.

JP playlist game:

Winter/Deep Freeze

Victim of Changes

Call for the Priest/Let us Prey

Beyond the Realms of Death

Delivering the Goods

The Rage

Heading out to the Highway

Screaming for Vengeance

The Sentinel

Out in the Cold

Painkiller 

Judas Rising 

Honestly though, I can just throw on everything from Rocka Rolla through Defenders with a few select tracks from everything after and be good. Not my favorite band of all time, but I do listen to quite a bit of JP. I was late to the game on them along with most other late 60's-70's rock. That was my dad's music so I wanted my own stuff. Aside from VH, I was into Twisted Sister, Ratt, Helloween, Maiden, AC/DC, Queensryche, Def Leppard, and of course Rush. Only in the last 6-7 years have I gotten into older Scorpions, BOC, Uriah Heep, Priest etc. All of it is perfectly serviceable and good for a playlist. Rare I want to listen to a full album start to finish.

1 hour ago, Thatguy said:

There was still jazz - Anthony Braxton, Art Ensemble of Chicago, but also more mainstream stuff - Kenny Wheeler, Jan Garbarek, Keith Jarrett and electric stuff - Miles Davis, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bass Desires, Bill Frissell, Soft Machine,

Yes, yes, yes, fuck Weather Report, yes, yes... Throw in some Brand X, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Eric Dolphy, Thelonius Monk, Charles Mingus, Return to Forever, Stanley Clark, John Coltrane, and Al di Meola and call it a day.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Vile Ritual - Caverns of Occultic Hatred, 2023 killer atmospheric death metal from Maryland, one of my faves from last year.

 

Execration - Morbid Dimensions, Norwegian death 2014, they're calling this 'progressive' death but it's really not that bad, it's not all weird and wonky or anything. It's actually pretty good.

 

[AlSymerz]

Off the top of my head I'd have to get all the way to Painkiller before I had a track listing worthy of being a compilation album.

Victim Of Change

The Ripper

Delivering The Goods

Take On The World

Evening Star

Breaking The Law

Living After Midnight

You Don’t Have To Be Old To Be Wise

Heading Out To The Highway

Desert Plains

Rock You All Around The World

Painkiller

Night Crawler

One Shot At Glory

 

It would probably be different if I listened to all the albums again.

[markm]

Me, I was in high school between 80-84. Weened during preteen years on AC/DC, Aerosmith, Kiss and Van Halen. My parents liked folk rock and The Beatles, a little Dylan, The Who and so on.

I listened to pop metal through high school. I definitely was a JP fan. I listened to some Def Leppard, Accept, Iron Maiden, etc. And hair metal-the usual suspects, Ratt, Motley Crue, Dokken, Twisted Sister. But I was a theater nerd and none of my friends listened to metal. But Pink Floyd, The Ramones, Elvis Costello, Bowie were staples.  Of course I listened to Zeppelin and Sabbath. Always liked Neil Young and I love Dylan.

Then, in college ; (84-90), I got into Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth (Peace Sells and Rust in Peace-the only albums I bothered with) and didn't listen to Slayer until Seasons in the Abyss. For some reason I remember seasons in the Abyss, Slave to the Grind and Cowboys from Hell all came out when I graduated college in 1990. Of course, GNR, Motorhead and grunge-Soundgarden Alice Chains and were a big influence for me-really opened my ears to alternative and punk influenced stuff. But I was pretty vicarious in my metal listening-a little Suicidal Tendencies, Ministry, Tool, Prong,  and finally it all got played out for me and lost interest in the mid 90's-my late 20's  when I was L.A. pursing acting and then got married and had a kid in my mid 30 and finally woke the fuck up. 

Years later, on the cusp of 40, I woke up and plugged into the 'net and really started exploring stoner metal, doom, post metal and finally a little melodeth, black and DM that came out in the early aughts-Gaahl fronted Gorgoroth, Opeth, Dark Tranquility, Behemoth, Nile, second wave black.

But because I was older and avoided extreme metal all those years, I've always held extreme metal at a kind of arms length. Time went by and I began listening to more and more but to this day, I reject the label metalhead, I'm just a middle aged guy that likes a lot of music and some of it is heavy. Death metal and black metal are ridiculous. But I can't deny the virtuosity and inventiveness also contained within those genres and I like a lot of it, even though it's absurd.

It's the wide tentacles of metal that keep my interest. I like to be part of the conversation and enjoy metal that defies expectations, upends them even, from the primal to the ethereal and keeps me guessing what new Van Halen savant will blow me away with unlimited potential and ambition. It's the range for me from caveman metal to avant-garde. But, I prefer my metal with some level of musicality-so much of so called cavernous, goat bestial metal seems to want to drown and suffocate any level of musicality and I tend to like my metal just slightly elevated above lizard brain. 

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Morbus Chron - Sleepers in the Rift, Sweden 2011

 

Repugnant - Epitome of Darkness, Swedish death/thrash 2006

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Nex Carnis - Obscure Visions of Dark, Iranian death 2015

 

Coffincraft - In Eerie Slumber, smokin' Finndeath 2015.

 

Genocide Shrines - Manipura Imperial Deathevokovil Scriptures of Reversed Puraana Dharmu, black/death Sri Lanka 2015

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Blockheads - Trip to the Void, French grindcore 2021

 

Blockheads - This World is Dead, 2013

 

The Kill - Kill Them...All, Melbourne grindcore 2015

 

[Nasty_Cabbage]

NP: Hadit - Metaphysical Engines Approaching The Event Horizon

▶︎ Metaphysical Engines Approaching The Event Horizon | HADIT | I, Voidhanger Records (bandcamp.com)

Black and white artwork. Check (Is that one of those underground cities in Elden Ring right before you fight that piss easy caribou thing?) Possible Timeghoul reference. Check. Music that skews more black than death even though they're listed as a combo. Check. Not bad.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Terrible Claw - Disaster Catalyst, UK death/thrash 2021

 

The Devouring Void - Hypnagogic Hallucinations, black/death Portugal 2021

 

Nashgul - Cárcava, deathgrind Spain 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

uk2021

[JamesT]

Saxon - "Dogs of War"

Saxon - "Unleash the Beast"

The Lazys - "Tropical Hazards"

Fantastic hard rock 'n' roll!

[JonoBlade]

3 hours ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

▶︎ Metaphysical Engines Approaching The Event Horizon | HADIT | I, Voidhanger Records (bandcamp.com)

Time Ghoul riding My Little Pony

[markm]

14 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

That's absolutely true my friend, can't argue with any of that. Metal routinely deals in utter nonsense and ridiculousness as its bread and butter, its stock in trade. But to some of us, these underlying themes are completely irrelevant. There's a reason I'm not a lyrics guy. I would never ever read metal lyrics, I have absolutely no interest in whatever they might be screaming about, maybe less than none. And I don't care at all, not one little iota about concept albums or literary tie-ins or thematic trilogies or similar such high-falutin matters. That kinda thing's more suited to yours and Cabbie's wheelhouse, and maybe other smart guys like FA or Doc who might get something out of it. I don't personally have even a mild passing interest in death or violence or gore or horror or Satan or corpsepaint or Lovecraft or Tolkien either. None whatsoever.

I just come for those cool, evil, heavy, filthy riffs and pounding drums for purely visceral reasons. Because they do something to me, they make me feel some kind of way that I like feeling. Metal for me is about the primal, visceral sensations I feel somewhere deep in my lizard brain or wherever. I really don't want to have to think too hard about my music. It's my escape, my catharsis, my lifeline to sanity, so I just want to be able to enjoy it in peace from a purely hedonistic point of view. No intellectual strings attached, I just want to engage it with my lizard brain for pleasure's sake. In that way metal is much like porn. I don't want to have to follow along or become emotionally invested in the plot, or have to suffer through a lot of pointless nonsensical dialogue, just drop your drawers and get down to the fucking already. Shut up and play your damn guitar. I've never been into the artistic or theatrical aspects of music, that artsy pretentious stuff's all totally lost on a knuckle-dragging philistine like me. If I wanted to read a book, I'd go read a book. 

You like to play the part of the rube, but anyone that reads your posts know that you are highly intelligent. We've engaged in a range of convos on your takes on history, left wing politics to the complexities of economics. You like language and culture. So, don't play the knuckle dragger with me! Your tastes are questionable, you like to instigate debate and can be annoying AF at times but your intellect is not in questions, sir. 

We have vastly different views on lyrics. Here's what I would say on the subject-first off, metal lyrics by and large don't add much. That said, in regards to extreme metal they sometimes help draw me into the world of the artist. You don't need to read the lyrics to The Ramones or Judas Priest. And most extreme metal lyrics are a throw away, but I've found that some artists really take the time to put a great deal of thought  into their lyrics. It's an odd thing-introspective lyrics that no one can understand-but that's part of the riddle of extreme metal. Most artists want success. Extreme metal is the opposite. There are self imposed barriers to limit entry like the code to get into khazad-dum. It requires effort on the part of the listener. In a way, that's part of the appeal. 

That's partly why I like physical media. I'll typically take a few minutes to look at the artwork and the lyrics and often don't read past the first couple of tracks. But, I just figure songs are combination of music and words and artists, no matter how primitive might want to say something or at minimum create an atmosphere where language plays some part. BM in particular has a way of taking the listener to other dimensions where the artwork and sometimes the lyrics can add to the mystique they try to envelope the listener in. 

Extreme metal can be complex and dense and the lyrics can be used to punctuate a point in the prose or storyline if there is one.

Beginning with Metallica and Anthrax per my listening, those artists were making great music but also talking about real societal things-racism, the criminal justice system, mental health drug addiction, the futility of war. Lemmy was actually an underrated lyricism. Beyond the sex, drugs and rock and roll culture of many of his songs, his lyrics were often hilarious and quite poignant writing about his disgust at the wealthy and powerful, disingenuity of elitists, his intolerance of the lies hoisted upon all of us by those that pull the strings in our world, the stupidity of war and and religion.  

Ihashn wrote some really interesting stuff on Anthems that took the power of their symphonic black metal and fused it with more than Satanism-but with occult mysticism that was genius for a teenager. I know you're not an Opeth fan,  Mikael Åkerfeldt basically wrote dark poetry that he set to music. I can't imagine listening to Blackwater Park or Ghost Reveries without taking a peek at the lyrics. He's a great example of using extreme metal to punctuate his lyrical themes. Neurosis is another band who took wild, ambitious ideas both sonically and lyrically using samples and ideas from myth and psychology. Arioch (both with Funeral Mist and Marduk) does some pretty intelligent things to the old Satanic tropes of BM inverting Christianity with some twisted shit. DSO is famous for their existential essays posed as intellectual Satanism set to music. I've noticed in recent years that DM sometimes brings in elements of eastern religion, particularly Buddhism and bands like Vastum (and definitely doomy post metal bands like Subrosa) pull from literature and in Vastum's case write some twisted, thought provoking disturbing shit.

I know you don't have any interest in any of that stuff, but my point is in a small percentage of metal, the time and talent put into lyrics enrich my enjoyment. It's like the dead sea scrolls or the Davinci code-only available to those that put the effort into deciphering secret runes.   Enough said!

[navybsn]

Starcave - Final Sins

Then I remembered it's the only day we tolerate those filthy Irish. So now I'm spinning some Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphy's drinking Irish whiskey. Slàinte Mhath gents.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

1 hour ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

NP: Hadit - Metaphysical Engines Approaching the Event Horizon

Black & white artwork. Check (Is that one of those underground cities in Elden Ring right before you fight that piss easy caribou thing?) Possible Timeghoul reference. Check. Music that skews more black than death even though they're listed as a combo. Check. Not bad.

It's pretty damn good Cabbarella, would buy if I had my computer. But it skews much more death than black. I don't even hear much black at all here really. This is death metal. Not complaining about that, and it doesn't really matter, I'm just pointing it out to be a dick. I'm generally happy to take my black/death mix in whatever ratio it comes in. I'm curious though, what about this says black metal to you?

 

Necrophobic – In the Twilight Grey, new one, now this skews more black, or maybe 50/50. Love Necrophobic, but they might be starting to repeat themselves. It's good, obviously, but I can't say I'm too excited about it. I guess this album from a 30 year legacy band to me is like the new Pweest is to the mainstreamers.

 

5 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

Time Ghoul riding My Little Pony

Saturday AND Sunday posts from Johnny Blade?!? To what do we owe the pleasure of your weekend company sir? Has your wife left you? Or maybe she just left you alone with the daughter to go visit family, or she went out shopping with the girls and they stopped off for wine spritzers or lattes or something?

[FatherAlabaster]

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium: Nahab   ...little bit incongruous on a lovely partly cloudy almost-spring afternoon walk here in the mountains. Hmm.

Bough Horns - IV

[AlSymerz]

5 hours ago, markm said:

I know you don't have any interest in any of that stuff, but my point is in a small percentage of metal, the time and talent put into lyrics enrich my enjoyment. It's like the dead sea scrolls or the Davinci code-only available to those that put the effort into deciphering secret runes.   Enough said!

I like lyrics that tell a story. If I'm not 100% focused on the music, i.e doing something else at the same time, the music can be just about anything, but a good song is definitely more than just a good tune.

For me most of the fossil songs that keep getting mentioned are still listenable and enjoyable because they have good music and lyrics. They don't all have to have a good story behind them but many do. I also don't mind silly lyrics or lyrics of a comedic nature. I still listen to a few instrumentals from time to time, most aren't metal, but lyrics nearly always seem to make a song better.

[RelentlessOblivion]

I tend to go through phases where I will, either very much care about the lyrics of a band, or not care at all what that screening about. As I’m currently starting to write lyrics for my own project I imagine I’m about to enter the phase where I care once again.I tend to go through phases where I will, either very much care about the lyrics of a band, or not care at all what that screening about. As I’m currently starting to write lyrics for my own project I imagine I’m about to enter the phase where I care once again.

NP: Type O Negative - Slow, Deep, & Hard

 

 

[Kristiko]

Static X - Cult of Static (album)