What Are You Listening To?

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Brutal Truth - Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses, 1992

 

Brutal Truth - Need to Control, 1994

 

[JamesT]

8 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

Yeah I wasn't quite on board with Psychosis but Inflikted was a good album.

 

NP: Death - Scream Bloody Gore

Very true!  And another great choice with the legendary Death.  Not a single bad album in their discography, which was cut way too short with Chuck's untimely death. 

[markm]

9 hours ago, Thatguy said:

True and true. I guess it's partly the diversity of their output that has consistently put me in two minds about them. Partly I love their ambition and weirdness, partly I feel they just go on and on and not a lot happens. But they draw me back somehow.

And talking about Jarboe, have you heard the album 'Neurosis & Jarboe'? It's pretty good.

Ironically, no, I should fix that! I was a pretty big Neurosis fan first in the aughts and had no idea who Jarboe was but kept reading about Swans as influence and finally dipped my toes in 2012 with Seer. I like to say that years of listening drone metal prepared me as a listener to The  Seer. By the time I finally went into their back discog and figured out who Jarboe was, that N/J collab was so far in my review, I never listened to it. 

[JonoBlade]

11 hours ago, markm said:

Thanks Jon, I appreciate your being open.  I should say yes, this is a really fucking weird album, but to heavy music fans who try to expose themselves to a reasonable share of "weird af metal" it may not seem that weird since the album came out in 1996 and a lot of weird shit has come out since then.

The album is interesting on multiple levels, but is a challenging listen, so be forewarned. It's "a lot" as the kids like to say. From what I can tell, it's become kind of a cult classic in expero-weirdo-droney music. It's nearly 2 and half ours long. I find it best let the whole thing wash over me. I'll put in a queue on Sonos or play it in my car and listen to it shorter sessions.

There is no grand concept or over arching theme other than the what you, the listener bring. Some people describe it as a dream. I find the first disc makes more sense to the way I process music as tangible; very diverse. The second disc, gets more, well, weird and abstract sounding with more extended ambient drone pieces and to my sensibilities, is the sound of madness. But Gira states that it's just a collection of assorted material spanning 1981-1996. His liner notes states Soundtracks’ song sources included  “hand-held cassette recordings to found sounds, to samples, to loops, to finished multitrack recordings.”

I found this quote just now: Wider and craggier than the Grand Canyon, as epic in scope and testament as the St. James Bible, as weirdly and quirkily diverse as the Beatles’ White Album—that’s the description I gave to producer/multi-instrumentalist Rieflin, who said, “Yeah, that about wraps Soundtracks up nicely,” he says with a soft laugh. “Plus, it seems to go on for-fucking-ever. It’s as if it never ends.”

 Gira would later go on to say that when they reunited and recorded the Seer in 2012 (my entry point and one of my favorite albums of all time), the Seer was the culmination of everything they had tried to do. 

Listening to Soundtracks for the blind in the last 24 hours makes me appreciate the evolution from SFTB to the trilogy (The Seer, To Be Kind and The Glowing Man). The trilogy is more cohesive. I love the trilogy , but I also really dig this earlier, cruder, more rudimentary attempt to distill Gira's vision. It's just a special album I come back to once a year or so. It's also significant to me in the influence I hear in the other experimental artists like guitarist Tim Hecker and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Swans have such a diverse discography and sound palette. This is one important piece of the Swans Rubik's cube. Masterpiece or self indulgent crap? We each get to decide. I think it's pretty rad. 

Ok. Ok. Bought sight unseen/ sound unheard off bandcamp because I'm going to have to download it for the plane.

I have The Seer and like a lot of it. But as @Thatguy says... They go on a bit.

Sometimes I wonder if this stuff is really for people that smoke a pipe and wear a cravat, but I like to be involved and not miss out on a cool soundscape.

I had that Neurosis + Jarboe in my wishlist but never made it to a purchase, which is weird because I'd typically get anything with the neurosis name on it. Although, apparently not Scott Kelly anymore.

 

[JamesT]

Swamp Coffin - "Noose Almighty"

Crushing doom/sludge in the vein of Crowbar, Iron Monkey, and Primitive Man.  Great stuff!

[Nasty_Cabbage]

NP: Rituals of the Dead Hand - The Wretched and The Vile

▶︎ RITUALS OF THE DEAD HAND The Wretched and the Vile | The Nox Entity (bandcamp.com)

Starting things off today with some black metal. I'm only a few tracks in. So far they're hitting the right buttons, just not quickly enough. I really find myself wanting less repetition. I can tell they like to build their atmosphere (sans keyboard as well), but going eight measures with each riff with little to no variation is going to test my patience if it should continue.

[Arioch]

Archgoat - The Aeon Of The Angelslaying Darkness (2010)

I found this compilation of the band on 2 CDs.

Vio-Lence - Live San Francisco 2001-12-14 (2005)

The sound of this live album is really very good. The drums (the snare drum in particular) sound much better than on Eternal Nightmare.

[AlSymerz]

The Chats - Get Fucked

[GoatmasterGeneral]

1 hour ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

NP: Rituals of the Dead Hand - The Wretched and the Vile

Starting things off today with some black metal. I'm only a few tracks in. So far they're hitting the right buttons, just not quickly enough. I really find myself wanting less repetition. I can tell they like to build their atmosphere (sans keyboard as well), but going eight measures with each riff with little to no variation is going to test my patience if it should continue.

These Belgians did an album in 2018 called Blood Oath that I really loved. Played the shit out of it. I missed that they'd put out a follow-up in 2021 until I heard this new one a couple of months ago. Still love the debut, but neither of the two subsequent releases do anything at all for me. Booooooring. I hate when this happens, but it happens all the time, which I why I have no band loyalty. In my world you're only as good as your last album or two. And two shitty albums in a row means you're effectively dead to me. 

 

Rituals of the Dead Hand - Blood Oath, black/doom 2018 Belgium

 

 

2 hours ago, JamesT said:

Crushing doom/sludge in the vein of Crowbar, Iron Monkey, and Primitive Man. Great stuff!

Those 3 bands sound totally different to me, so I'm not sure which vein you'd be referring to there JT. That one Iron Monkey album (Our Problem) is so badass though, might have to hit that one later. Should probably see if they have any others that are any good.

[Kristiko]

Machine Head - The Blackening (album)

[markm]

4 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

Ok. Ok. Bought sight unseen/ sound unheard off bandcamp because I'm going to have to download it for the plane.

I have The Seer and like a lot of it. But as @Thatguy says... They go on a bit.

Sometimes I wonder if this stuff is really for people that smoke a pipe and wear a cravat, but I like to be involved and not miss out on a cool soundscape.

I had that Neurosis + Jarboe in my wishlist but never made it to a purchase, which is weird because I'd typically get anything with the neurosis name on it. Although, apparently not Scott Kelly anymore.

 

Ah, then you should be well prepared!

[AlSymerz]

Bonded By Blood - Feed the Beast

[Nasty_Cabbage]

1 hour ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

These Belgians did an album in 2018 called Blood Oath that I really loved. Played the shit out of it. I missed that they'd put out a follow-up in 2021 until I heard this new one a couple of months ago. Still love the debut, but neither of the two subsequent releases do anything at all for me. Booooooring. I hate when this happens, but it happens all the time, which I why I have no band loyalty. In my world you're only as good as your last album or two. And two shitty albums in a row means you're effectively dead to me. 

 

Rituals of the Dead Hand - Blood Oath, black/doom 2018 Belgium

 

I'll check that Blood Oath tonight. I do hear potential in their new one. It's just a shame that it's spread so thin across the album.

NP: Keygen Church - Nel Nome Del Codice

▶︎ Nel Nome Del Codice | KEYGEN CHURCH (bandcamp.com)

Seen this one showing up this past week with a good deal of frequency. I was not expecting this. They've got both pipe organ and a really good concert piano sound going at once in parts. That piano sound with the choral elements is spot on. Honestly this dude knows his composition and lays down some completely lethal keys. Couldn't call it full on black metal, but I can appreciate what it is. This is about a nine out of ten for me, with the only drawback being the pulsing electronica effects on the guitar. Approaching it like you would a Progenie Terrestre Pura album this stuff shreds with wanton abandon out of nowhere. Gets a high recommendation from me.

[JamesT]

1 hour ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

These Belgians did an album in 2018 called Blood Oath that I really loved. Played the shit out of it. I missed that they'd put out a follow-up in 2021 until I heard this new one a couple of months ago. Still love the debut, but neither of the two subsequent releases do anything at all for me. Booooooring. I hate when this happens, but it happens all the time, which I why I have no band loyalty. In my world you're only as good as your last album or two. And two shitty albums in a row means you're effectively dead to me. 

 

Rituals of the Dead Hand - Blood Oath, black/doom 2018 Belgium

 

 

Those 3 bands sound totally different to me, so I'm not sure which vein you'd be referring to there JT. That one Iron Monkey album (Our Problem) is so badass though, might have to hit that one later. Should probably see if they have any others that are any good.

Love that Iron Monkey album!  I should have stated that a bit differently and said those three bands are all influences on Swamp Coffin.  Crowbar is untouchable for me, but Swamp Coffin has been a fantastic discovery over the last couple of days!

[Thatguy]

1 hour ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

NP: Keygen Church - Nel Nome Del Codice

Yeah, nah. I've never found the mix of church organ sound and rock instrumentation appealing. And yes, he can clearly play, but there are so many more interesting things you can do with an organ (no obvious jokes needed here thanks - those I'm talking to know who they are) - Messiaen, Anna von Hausswolf, Keith Jarrett - to name just a few. And then there's the fucking choir.

[AlSymerz]

Temple Of Brutality - Lethal Agenda

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

1 hour ago, JamesT said:

Love that Iron Monkey album!  I should have stated that a bit differently and said those three bands are all influences on Swamp Coffin.  Crowbar is untouchable for me, but Swamp Coffin has been a fantastic discovery over the last couple of days!

They look like dweebs but I don't really mind this. I can absolutely hear the Iron Monkey influence in here. Simple chunky riffs generally work for me, although these might be too simple. But it's only one song. I see they have an EP and a full length out, they're probably not gonna be my find of the month, but maybe I'll try one of them later after dinner.

 

Swamp Coffin - Welcome to Rot 

 

11 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

there are so many more interesting things you can do with an organ (no obvious jokes needed here thanks - those I'm talking to know who they are)

FFS you can't expect us to just pass up low hanging fruit like this Doc. (or a low hanging organ 🍆) But this one hangs so low it might be a bit beneath even me, so maybe I'll leave the more obvious jokes to the Orca.

[FatherAlabaster]

3 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

That one Iron Monkey album (Our Problem) is so badass though, might have to hit that one later. Should probably see if they have any others that are any good

Self titled debut is cool too. I haven't checked out anything since the original vocalist died.

 

NP: Miles Davis - A Tribute To Jack Johnson

I could fucking wish the drums weren't smushed over to the right side, given what a triumph of production this is in other ways, but the trumpet hangs in front of me like Macbeth's dagger. Big speakers for the win.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

36 minutes ago, AlSymerz said:

Temple of Brutality - Lethal Agenda

Oof. Well I guess we won't have to wonder why these Nashvillians' career never went anywhere. Only maybe JT could possibly love something like this because they're good ole southern boys like him.

 

NP: Necroracle - Arcane Impious Sorceries, black/death Spain. This is more my speed.

 

[Nasty_Cabbage]

33 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

Yeah, nah. I've never found the mix of church organ sound and rock instrumentation appealing. And yes, he can clearly play, but there are so many more interesting things you can do with an organ (no obvious jokes needed here thanks - those I'm talking to know who they are) - Messiaen, Anna von Hausswolf, Keith Jarrett - to name just a few. And then there's the fucking choir.

Woah woah woah. You leave poor Messiaen out of this. That yt video of his music next to the bird calls his music imitates is my favorite for confusing and angering people's pet cats. Now as far as organs go I tend toward using them in the proper context. I like Deep Purple and all, but they don't really capture the organ to it's potential. At least this Keygen stuff has some evident classical influence beyond the inevitable "Wagnerian" symphonic black metal (*blech). True that it doesn't reach all the way back to baroque, but it's also about as well integrated into the energetic style as you could hope for.

NP: Hideous Divinity - Unextinct

Unextinct (24-bit HD audio) | Hideous Divinity | Century Media Records (bandcamp.com)

This is exactly my bag. Seems like every year there's at least one brutal death metal album that snakes it's way onto my top ten with it's technical leanings, and this one's an early contender.

[JamesT]

5 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Oof. Well I guess we won't have to wonder why these Nashvillians' career never went anywhere. Only maybe JT could possibly love something like this because they're good ole southern boys like him.

 

NP: Necroracle - Arcane Impious Sorceries, black/death Spain. This is more my speed.

 

I'm playing that Temple of Brutality album as we speak!  Man, I love this stuff.  

[GoatmasterGeneral]

40 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Self titled debut is cool too. I haven't checked out anything since the original vocalist died.

NP: Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson

I could fucking wish the drums weren't smushed over to the right side, given what a triumph of production this is in other ways, but the trumpet hangs in front of me like Macbeth's dagger. Big speakers for the win.

But why's Miles doing a tribute to the 1910's heavyweight champ?

 

27 minutes ago, JamesT said:

I'm playing that Temple of Brutality album as we speak!  Man, I love this stuff.  

Of course you do 🙄

 

30 minutes ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

NP: Hideous Divinity - Unextinct

This is exactly my bag. Seems like every year there's at least one brutal death metal album that snakes it's way onto my top ten with it's technical leanings, and this one's an early contender.

I hear brutal I click. It has its moments I guess, but overall there's no catchiness, no groove. I'm only 5 minutes in though, maybe it'll get better. I really like the album cover though.

[AlSymerz]

21 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Oof. Well I guess we won't have to wonder why these Nashvillians' career never went anywhere. Only maybe JT could possibly love something like this because they're good ole southern boys like him.

So what you're saying is that JT is the only one around here with any decent taste? Gotcha!

 

NP: Evil Invaders - Feed Me Violence.

[FatherAlabaster]

3 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

But why's Miles doing a tribute to the 1910's heavyweight champ?

Soundtrack for a Jack Johnson documentary. The album was initially just called Jack Johnson (like the doc) but my CD is "A Tribute", so a tribute it is. 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

3 minutes ago, AlSymerz said:

So what you're saying is that JT is the only one around here with any decent taste? Gotcha!

It was so bad I'd just assumed you had posted it ironically.