Rolling Metal Thread 2009

Have any of you heard Distorted, and are they any good?

If you're talking about the Israeli death metal band that release Voices From Within last year, then yes I have (reviewed the for Phil). I thought they were alright, some potential but some of the gothier songs reminded me a little too much of Evanescance. But some of the middle-eastern influences that bled through were kinda cool. Isn't really my favorite mode of metal, but I've heard far worse.

Hmmm. Oriental Metal + Evanescence sounds right up my alley. I'll check them out. Orphaned Land, who made one of my fave metal albums of the decade ("Mabool") is slated to release a new album this year. So I'm psyched.

Ian Gillan's got a new album coming out. It's not very good.

Then why do I like it so much?? Guess I just like not very good music, oh well! (It may well be my favorite hard rock record of the year so far, actually, give or take the ZZ-worthy Rufus Huff one on Zoho Roots featuring the excellently louder-as-he-gets-older Kevin Martin from the Kentucky Headhunters on badass boogie guitar. Which I will hereby shut up about.) (Also still in the running: Diagonal, Dirty Little Rabbits, Sinner, and lots of reissued older music that probably shouldn't count.)

Er, Greg Martin, I meant. (NOW I'll shut up.)

Still on the fence about Heavy Metal Killers (could use more tuneful tunes) and 16's Bridges To Burn (could use less bloated vocals) and Meercaz's Meercaz (kind of inaudible), though those three might grow on me. As might other things.

so on the mastodon end of things, should i bother to care about the deluxe version w/the DVD, or is it just odds and sods "hey look we are in the studio partying and rocking" stuff?

Dunno but mine shipped. Hope its worth it considering with shipping it came to $50. I get a signed lithograph with it.

Hmmm. Oriental Metal + Evanescence sounds right up my alley. I'll check them out. Orphaned Land, who made one of my fave metal albums of the decade ("Mabool") is slated to release a new album this year. So I'm psyched.

Yeah, I mean, it isn't horrible. Just didn't square well with my tastes in metal. Of course I hate absolutely hate Nightwish, so that element of the band's sound was never going to win me over.

sounds like jeff might like it

"Dunno but mine shipped. Hope its worth it considering with shipping it came to $50."

There's also a middle-priced version that's going for $10 on Amazon with the DVD, but without all of those extras like the lithographs.

Hey, I do have some discerning taste when it comes to that stuff. The songs on their MySpace page aren't bad, although the guitar is a little too crunchy for my taste and it sounds like a zillion other bands I've heard.

As for Mastodon, it looks like the big appeal of the bonus DVD is that it comes with track commentaries for each song. Cool idea, don't really see myself watching it more than once, so I would probably stick with the regular CD version.

Chuck, the day you and I like the same album for the same reasons is the day the universe collapses in on itself.

Re Mastodon, I'm gonna give it a week and if Warners hasn't sent me one, I'll take the plainest version Best Buy's offering.

I've listened to one track so far off the upcoming Warbringer album, and it's pretty good. They're still not my favorite retro thrash band (that would be Merciless Death), but they're near the top of the heap.

My first impression is that Warbringer have really honed their chops since the last record, and I like how ferocious they sound, but they still have a problem coming up with distinct songs. That may change on subsequent listens, though.

I forgot they had a new one out soon, anxious to hear that.

Waiting for a spare hour to give the Warbringer a listen...I actually think they have some of the catchiest songs of the whole new thrash wave, so I'm hoping this new one delivers.

After listening to this Nadja covers album, I can't help but hear unflattering similarities to Type-O-Negative on here. It's especially apparent in the Kids in the Hall cover (also my favorite song on here). Replace deep dramatic vocals with Baker's thin-sounding mumble style, and muddy production, and it sounds like Type O.

Something about applying the Nadja formula to these pop songs just pulls the mask off for me, and all I see underneath are sub-par musicians without a bunch of droney production covering the fact that this stuff isn't very compelling on its own. The drumming is so bad I can't even tell if it's a live drummer or if they went back to playing a distorted SR-16 with index fingers, and the guitars are indistinguishable from the bass (another Type-O trait).

The song I think suffers most from their heavy-handed production style is the "Faith" cover, which actually seems like it could be really pretty and atmospheric if the individual elements stood out a bit more.

xpost - I'm more than ready for an "all-doom" Heaven & Hell record. Children of the Sea and After All and Sign of the Southern Cross are exactly what I like about that band...

"Bible Black" sure sounds impressive. Love the build-up to that gigantic riff.

new wolves in the throne room ep and album are great, some great ambient drone sections. Are they on their own in what they do? or can anyone reccomend similar artists to this part time metaller (other than the obvious burzum/southern lord etc)

Weakling, Ludicra, Enslaved and Ved Buens Ende would be good bands to look up if you like WITTR.

Especially Weakling.

A few other if-you-like-Wolves-in-the-Throne-Room recs: Blood of the Black Owl, Saros, Wardruna. And if you had to pick only one (other) Southern Lord release, make it the Boris/Sunn O))) collaboration Altar.

The Heaven and Hell record grew on me quite a bit (when my AMG review of it goes live, I'll post a link, on my blog if not here). The band really is in ferocious form, and Dio's vocals have this haunted edge the older albums didn't have - he used to be all heroic and stuff, now he sounds like he's actually seen some shit, and the lyrics are much more Old Testament darkness-and-despair than the older stuff, and some of them almost make sense (I know, right?). It's a really, really good album.

New Warbringer also grew on me, just fantastic musicianship and riffery. Also, going back and listening to War without End, I forgot how crappy the production was. Gary Holt really did a great job behind the board this time.

xpost

I just got really excited for the Heaven and Hell!

Has to be better than "Psycho Man..."

(I feel like somebody else made that joke already)

I love Psycho Man!

So, uh... am I the only one that has questions about this album cover?

http://www.afm-records.info/images/gfx_vw7cfdvlpbeuwswb6cl7csbfe4p0sa9n6h0muv7j6me3fbelo0t0t4g79571fhom.jpg

u got a wolf u got a witch what the hell else u need

Less wolf rape would be nice.

sounds like yr in the wrong genre pal

Wait, is this the first metal group named after a Disney character?

Thought the wolf's most prominent claw was a wolf wang there for a sec - poss the idea?

There needs to be a band called Wolf Wang.

So I'm really transfixed by the new Funeral Mist album. So much of it is such overly contrived black metal (processed vocals, samples of sermons, disturbing artwork), but it's so deliriously over the top and above all catchy, especially the wickedly groovy 12 minute jam "Blessed Curse". Good stuff.

New Candlemass is soooooooooo good. I liked the last record, but it kind of felt like they had Robert Lowe singing on tunes they wrote for Messiah. This time around, they really take advantage of Rob's range, and "Dead Angel" may be their heaviest song ever. Usually, when artists say that it's their best album since [insert classic here], I'm obviously skeptical, but this may be their best since Nightfall, and I love the White album.

Also, California Metal Fest tonight: Carcass, Exodus, Suffocation, Repulsion, The Faceless, Whitechapel, Samael, Decrepit Birth, Toxic Holocaust, and a bunch of other bands I don't really care about.

whitechapel are from knoxville! <3

Well, I'll have to make sure I don't go make pancakes during their set.

old drummer of whitechapel now plays for ARGENTINUM ASTRUM which are the best band ever iirc and i do r.c.

Got the new Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Brutal Truth discs in today's mail. I'm still not digging the new long-boring-songs version of ANb, and the Brutal Truth album just sounds like another Brutal Truth album. The only band with a wider gulf between how awesome they should be in theory vs. how lame and tiresome they are in practice is probably the Grateful Dead.

I'd say that you were the king of metal challops, but that's obviously Chuck. The prince, maybe?

jester

Re: Candlemass "but this may be their best since Nightfall, and I love the White album."

That's exciting news. Though I really give high props to Dactylis Glomerata as the best Candlemass between the aforementioned two.

Re: Disney bands "Wait, is this the first metal group named after a Disney character?"

Not a character per se, but I've been in Witch Mountain for the last twelve years...

http://cdbaby.com/cd/pluto

So I'm really transfixed by the new Funeral Mist album. So much of it is such overly contrived black metal (processed vocals, samples of sermons, disturbing artwork), but it's so deliriously over the top and above all catchy, especially the wickedly groovy 12 minute jam "Blessed Curse". Good stuff.

Absolutely, my fav album of the year so far. Glad someone finally brings this one up, def. deserves a lot more attention. For instance, "Sword Of Faith" has got a positively mindblowing Dick-Dale-in-corpse-paint tremolo picking breakdown. Also the buzzing amp atmospherics in "White Stones", very impressive. And that's just the first two songs.

Holy shit Carcass were amazing...

Here's my AMG review of the Heaven and Hell album.