Rolling Metal Thread 2009

http://www.myspace.com/aztlanunderground

sounds interesting but not very metal.

xp

Jupiter was Cave In's peak for me. I thought Until Your Heart Stops and Beyond Hypothermia were kinda baby-steps and even at their best Botch wiped the floor with 'em. So the move toward something more conventionally rock yet still mathy and awesome was a natural, and wise, choice. Had they recorded three albums in a row in that style they'd be revered today, I think.

xp to Ioannis: The two tracks there are not admittedly as metallic as other ones on the album like "Moztlitta" or "Smell the Dead."

yeah, i just listened to some snippets from the album and am now very curious indeed. excellent guitar sound, btw.

Has anyone else heard the album by the frankly ludicrously named Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children Of The Night? Dorset stoners with a kind of southern edge to them, not exactly revolutionary but right up the alley of a fair few people here, I supect.

The only Katatonia I have is The Black Sessions-- am I getting a fair idea of them from that?

I would say so, that's a really good look at their post-Brave Murder Day output (though you really should pick up BMD if you haven't heard it). But I think they really stepped things up with Viva Emptiness and The Great Cold Distance (an album I have yet to tire of), plus the performances of the older stuff on Live Consternation are superb.

the wolves in the throne room album from this year will be in my top 10 for sure.

Regarding Ioannis' question (several XPs), I think Slayer are a pretty good example of a band that managed this. (Maybe too obvious an example?) Even now, their sound feels fairly "extreme" to me, they're obviously beloved by extreme metal bands and the media who cover the scene, and they're big enough to play arenas. Katatonia, on the other hand, don't feel like extreme metal at all to me, except in reputation. I agree they should be much bigger than they are; I also think this album will be something of a breakthrough. It needs to be championed, though, by a Pitchfork (or someone like that): some mainstream media pub that has a readership that will follow the critical lead and dig the sound.

Funny thing is, though, Pitchfork will almost surely ignore Katatonia, yet they will give Krallice (coincidentally from Brooklyn!) a Best New Music tag (which it deserves, because it is in fact the best new music). And Pitchfork readers will listen to Krallice and (largely) ignore it because it is blindingly heavy, yet they won't be exposed to Katatonia, which a larger percentage of them would presumably "get."

Kinda took the word "still" in the question to mean we were looking for a reasonably contemporary example, like the last five years at most? I don't think Slayer are irrelevant to the issue, quite the opposite, but they'd done all their breaking out by like 1988

heathenfest was great, prob the first festival style thing where i liked everyone i saw (missed the opener because the dude at the venue lied to us when we called and asked what time doors were. jerk.) The big surprise was Vreid, who were just an amazing wall of sound.

Sad side is that it was really really poorly attended, esp compared to paganfest which normally sells out up here. club was maybe at 25% capacity.

XP to DJ Mencap: Whoops! I totally ignored the "still" in the question. Indeed, this narrows the field somewhat. (Though to be fair, I think this may be a greater issue in America than it is in European countries, and while metal in America is thriving on the fringes, it's not really a force in the mainstream *at all*, except in the cases of Metallica and Slayer.)

well sure, yeah, but the question really should apply to post 1st-gen-thrash extreme metal, i would think--you know, like death metal and beyond. the era most likely to be covered by Decibel basically.

xps

yup, i'd say the past five to ten years is what we're concerned with here.

many xps

and Mastodon is a great example, but they don't even consider themselves to be a metal band (in the troo sense) these days, right? plus they're nowhere near even mid-'80s Metallica-like sales/status, i don't think.

difference is, the major labels actually spent money on thrash. they backed it when they saw what kind of numbers groups like metallica were getting. the majors haven't really backed metal at all except for nu-metal and some metalcore stuff in recent years. they haven't tried to build audiences for new techdeath or black metal or any of the newer popular subgenres.

a lot of people dont think Mastodon are metal anymore

Scott, that is true, but I think it's also important to consider the industry as a whole -- how many innovative acts of any genre are on majors? (Aside from maybe hip-hop.) If, say, Baroness (Relapse) could break out to be as big as, say, the Arcade Fire (Merge), it would feel like a pretty impressive achievement, and one that isn't impossible to imagine.

It's less likely, though, to imagine, say, Nachtmystium achieving that sort of popularity (even though they make very accessible [and awesome] music, to my ear).

Van Slyke Paidbreed, Lacuna Coil, and Lamb of God

God dammit. I hate you, voice recognition. Anyway, bands like Hatebreed, Lacuna Coil, and Lamb of God have managed to make a dent into the radio arena and the marketplace in the last decade. Even Dimmu had some of their songs used in movie trailers. I think the big tragedy with Katatonia is that they haven't even managed to rise to their deserved level of prominence within the metal world.

I don't know, I think a band named Van Slyke Paidbreed could be pretty awesome.

If, say, Baroness (Relapse) could break out to be as big as, say, the Arcade Fire (Merge)

I'd like to see some actual numbers re this. I have the feeling that the Arcade Fire don't actually sell worth a shit.

Current Amazon sales rankings:

The Arcade Fire, Neon Bible: 31,153
Baroness, Red Album (also released in 2007): 7,363

Van Slyke Paidbreed would make a great username

why did you have to steal my thunder?

lol, xpost:

Van Slyke Paidbreed

new screenname, right there for the taking

I used Arcade Fire as an example because I recently read the Merge Records oral history, and in that book, a number like 400K was mentioned (w/r/t sales of the first Arcade Fire record). This is not verified by me, obvs. Just thinking indie rock on an indie label equating to extreme metal on an indie label.

Don't forget about Dethklok, both in fiction and reality.

I did some rudimentary research and yeah, Arcade Fire have in fact sold a shit-ton of records.

is that arabrot ep a rerelease from a few years ago? im sure i heard an ep by them 3 or 4 years ago. Was a bit lightning boltish iirc

Migtve been this i heard http://www.discogs.com/%C3%85rabrot-RepRep/release/1454663

Thing about Anathema is, they could've gone mainstream with Alternative 4 (where they sounded exactly like Nickelback) but they misses that bandwagon and then it becomes difficult to build momentum again. And in the case of Katatonia well...their relevance/glory days are more than a decade behind them, both artistically and in terms of commercial breakthrough - they could have broken when the likes of HIM and The Rasmus were en vogue. They now keep churning a similar album every year to a stable core of fans. Like Graveland, really.

And in the case of Katatonia well...their relevance/glory days are more than a decade behind them, both artistically and in terms of commercial breakthrough

It's never too late for a commercial breakthrough...as Scott said, just look at what Koch has done for Opeth and In Flames. Katatonia should be right up there. My local metal-friendly CD chain store had loads and loads of new Metal Blade/Nuclear Blast stuff prominently displayed, but just one copy of Night is the New Day, hidden away in the racks.

Alternative 4 (where they sounded exactly like Nickelback)

ok, I've never actually listened to this album and this isn't making me want to. is this accurate??

If I recall correctly, didn't Anathema's Peaceville compatriots Paradise Lost have a brief flirtation with the singles charts (in the UK at least) when they went 'pop' in the late '90s?

There's a difference between breaking with yr second album like Opeth and In Flames did and trying to break through with your eighth album. Also, Opeth and In Flames never changed style didn't lose their old fanbase, and kept the momentum going throughout their career. That makes promoting new albums easier for labels.

Lastly, there's a big audience for generic Gothenburg death and shitty prog, and not so much for mopey metal-lite (as Paradise Lost, Amorphis, Anathema, Sentenced and Katatonia have all discovered).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4x1Mq-NFFc

The intro is vintage Anathema, but then they go completely overboard.

peaceville has no base in the states. and horrible distribution. at least century media could get CDs into the stores. just this year katatonia did a deal with n.y. press people. i think. i remember an e-mail about them being represented by a u.s. company for the first time. i think its too little too late. but you never know. i mean, are they stunning me like they did a decade ago? no. do they still put out strong product that is light years more intelligent and better-crafted than 99% of whatever new shit is on u.s. rock radio. oh yeah.

this is a band that only started touring the states in the last couple of years. which is REALLY too late if you ask me. and i totally blame century media for not footing the bill for that years ago. touring is ALWAYS gonna get more people excited. i dunno. maybe they just didn't want to work it that hard. it's up to the band ultimately. i mean a band as marginal sales-wise as melt banana can find a way to tour the u.s., like, 50 times in ten years. and open for tool! so, it's never impossible. (i don't know what made me think of melt banana. they just seem to be always playing somewhere. and they don't live anywhere near here, i don't think. though there are only three of them and they probably travel light.)

x-post

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depressive rock, melancholic, doom metal, doom, 2009

Judging by this they might be going to get some kind of breakthrough.

hmm i never banned it lol. Ive not even played them ever.

in my fantasy land, judgement by anathema is as big as, like, the wall by pink floyd, sales-wise. and generations of stoner teens study it like the bible. god i love that album.

# squidgehog wrote:
Wednesday morning

thank god it's not doom, because i hate doom! and further do i dislike god!

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"Jupiter was Cave In's peak for me. I thought Until Your Heart Stops and Beyond Hypothermia were kinda baby-steps and even at their best Botch wiped the floor with 'em. So the move toward something more conventionally rock yet still mathy and awesome was a natural, and wise, choice. Had they recorded three albums in a row in that style they'd be revered today, I think."

Phil--I'm with you 100% on this. I bought Antenna and even liked the single alright. But it just didn't have the appeal of Jupiter. And nothing they've released since has been cohesive.

I still enjoy them live, but I usually have to stand right at the front of the stage so the instruments are louder than the voice. The "vocal up" mix does these guys no favors.

Arabrot have had plenty of releases before but none outside of Norway until now, says their helpful label guy.

This EP is new and is called 'I Rove'.

And yeah, it's probably not really metal but I guess it's close enough that people on here may dig it.

To the best of my knowledge I've never heard Katatonia. I feel like I've committed some kind of crime.

Me either. Katatonia has long been on my list of bands to check out when I run across one of their albums in a shop, but I have never run across one! Partly because of the spotty at best Peaceville distribution, but also I guess no one ever sells them back used.

funny ho ive heard arabrot years ago but never checked out katatonia. the name probably put me off (other uk folk will understand why)

Ha, I think I recall them having reviews with lines to the effect of 'lol not that stupid Welsh indie band' like 10 or 11 years ago which is about when they started getting any press over here

Hehe, I think I still have "Mulder & Scully" on the mp3 player.

oh god

Ha ha! Yeah, that is *exactly* the reason why I have never listened to them . . .