Mordy's Metal Listening Club - New Albums Every Monday

raises hand?

for what?

To make the devil sign, obv.

hmm

24/5 Alan N
31/5 Nate Carson
7/6 EZ Snappin
14/6 Siegbran
21/6 Call All Destroyer
28/6 jeff
05/7 aldo
12/7 A. Begrand.

alan you ready to go anytime after midnight UK time?

sure thing.

p.s.s. bass playing on mob rules is so cool.

^this and heaven and hell are geezer's greatest performances.

post away , alan!

alright, sorry death metal haters but seeing these guys in a few days so I can't resist.

Mordy's Metal Listening Club Volume #6: GORGUTS WEEK

pick #1
Gorguts - The Erosion Of Sanity
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VY34IZedpgQ/SGuhfE-yYMI/AAAAAAAAAFY/TyLkYTmqEvY/s400/Gorguts+the+erosion+of+sanity.jpg
might be your favorite gorguts record if you're into... thrash, old school death metal

pick #2
Gorguts - Obscura
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DA6F63mYW-Y/SsGF5L9R9BI/AAAAAAAAAsk/xwQTnAf-JsU/s400/46+-+obscura.jpg
might be your favorite gorguts record if you're into... noise, no wave

pick #3
Gorguts - From Wisdom To Hate
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H9F1DlCd0bY/SLGEsGHKYqI/AAAAAAAAD0Y/qYi17V-nMOo/s400/Gorguts+-+From+Wisdom+To+Hate+-+Front.jpg
might be your favorite gorguts record if you're into... tech death, sludge

my fave death metal band. as I mentioned a few weeks ago upthread, I love how these are all very much death metal albums, all very much gorguts albums, and yet, none of them sound quite alike. and obscura is still radically different from any other death metal I've heard.

included my "might be your favorite..." notes to give an easy entry point to folks if they're unfamiliar. but I love hearing the way their songwriting progresses when I listen chronologically. these are all infinitely listenable albums to me.

oh shit he did it

gonna miss gorguts in my town :(

still thinkin' of goin' myself

never seen em live. I'm really excited.

This should be fun Alan - I've never heard a note from these guys before! I'm not a death metal guy.

awesome. hope you enjoy these!

x-post
I'm also v. curious if gorguts will be playing new material and what that might sound like. have purposely avoided info on da net but I do hope to hear something new.

also, for anyone into obscura, I'd highly recommend the self-titled ep luc lemay's negativa project put out in 2006. if anything, this ups the skronky noise factor. ferocious guitar often playing not so much riffs as controlled scrapes and gnashes. it's no obscura but I dig it quite a bit.

Back in the early 90s the band's name alone prevented me from taking them seriously. I know better now.

This should be fun Alan - I've never heard a note from these guys before!

^^^ this

"raises hand to join in and ask for a week"

man the Erosion of Sanity is sort of the unfuckwithable death metal standard, top five easy, but I was on a long drive week before last and I put from wisdom to hate in and it has aged really well. the songs are really epic, and the ghost of thrash who was still bangin' around on tEoS is gone - it's just crushing. what an underpraised album! it's been lean times for death metal at the people-noticing-it level for ages, of course, but I think from wisdom to hate deserves massive love; it's beautifully played, the mood is so dark, and the experimental obscura (which is great and all but man do I get annoyed when ppl's take is "you know what metal album I like is the one that sounds the least like metal" and obscura is a big offender in that dept) seems to have been kind of re-absorbed into a death metal framework. you can still hear that these guys like to freak out sometimes! but it's caged, angrier.

fuckin' Gorguts. so goddamn good. thank you death metal for being so damn excellent.

yeah, from wisdom to hate miiiight just be my fave but my ranking always changes whenever I listen to one of these three!

You only picked Gorguts because you knew Smithy couldn't resist to join in!

(which is great and all but man do I get annoyed when ppl's take is "you know what metal album I like is the one that sounds the least like metal" and obscura is a big offender in that dept

Calling LJ!

I owned The Erosion of Sanity when it was new, because I found it as a cut-out at the mall. I remember liking the piano bits... But I don't recall much else. DEFINITELY time for a refresher.

A friend of mine is a big Obscura freak and has played it for me. It's great.

Have yet to hear the last one, so I'm glad to have this thread as an excuse to catch up with these guys.

history will vindicate from wisdom to hate

it's amazing

Smithy, what do you think of the other albums that have been done since the club started? I particularly would like to know what you think of Entombed and Lord Weird Slough Feg.

I do understand though why you might not answer so you can just ignore what i said if you wish.

You only picked Gorguts because you knew Smithy couldn't resist to join in!

nah, sorry, I only picked gorguts bc they absolutely RULE and deserve a whole week! you should def spin these three awesome records, pfunk. I even think you might really like the last two!

(which is great and all but man do I get annoyed when ppl's take is "you know what metal album I like is the one that sounds the least like metal" and obscura is a big offender in that dept

Calling LJ!

totally.

so anyway, I just took a break, went for a walk, and gave from wisdom to hate a listen. god, I absolutely love the slow, repetitive, crunchy parts on this one. this record has a dark, violent vibe, for sure. but it is also seriously rhythmic. this is what I was getting at with the "RIYL sludge" blurb up top. I could listen to a whole album of the (strangely similar) grooves that the last two tracks fade out on. queasy guitar droning on a couple of notes over the rest of the band but ESPECIALLY steve macdonald (r.i.p.) just letting loose and tearing it up. YES.

as for the faster bits... the arrangements are propulsive and classy; intricate but decidedly not flashy. I may have mentioned "tech death" but there is NO jazz fusion on this one and this is very much NOT an album that begins and ends with guitars. each instrument is mixed so that you can freakin' hear it because this is a band where everyone is playing off of each other.

and it might just be me but a touch of thrash might still be kicking around on some of the solos. ("inverted" in particular.)

vox rule too. one of the most distinctive voices in death metal.

stunning album.

the intro to "the quest for equilibrium" is the only misstep. possibly my favorite track once it gets going but the synthesized instruments at the beginning sound a bit too final fantasy 7 for my tastes.

Just wanted to check in and say that tho I love Metal Club, I've fallen way behind. I listened to Dio week, but I'm having trouble working up the desire to play some Gorguts. I think my ears just want a break from all the metal. Maybe it'll come back at the end of the week tho. Question: Gorguts = cookie monster vocals? If so, that might get me to spin them sooner.

not exactly "cookie monster" vox but that would be the closest reference point. but there's a hoarse, blown-out quality that is pretty unique for the genre.

but if you need to take a break, take a break! should you go back sometime later, there's no reason we can't keep discussing once this week is over.

xpost -

and stupidly enough, I must admit that I was initially disappointed when from wisdom to hate came out. prior to its release, I was v. curious to see how gorguts would take the obscura formula and push it even farther. of course, this never happened and I soon realized that the direction they did go in had much to offer as well.

and yeah, I can def see how the "metal that doesn't sound like metal" rep obscura has built up could grate. but it is a phenomenal album imo and I always have respect for bands that push a genre to its limits. plus, I love metal and I love noise, so I would gladly have eaten up something like it but more so.

I think my ears just want a break from all the metal.

too warm to listen to metal? It has been here. Bit cooler now though so perhaps we're heading for metal weather

I'm taking Gorguts week off. I've tried 'em before.

But I'll say again how pleased I am that this thread got me to reevaluate Amon Amarth. Their whole catalog is now in rotation here.

^ The problem with having a whole week of one band, it puts people off if its a band they already know they dont like.

Don't worry, next week we can talk about 3 bands that nobody likes! ;)

haha is it your go nate?

I've had a chance to sample each of the Gorguts albums; I will listen to them all the way through when I can, but since I'm heading out Nate's way tomorrow I thought I'd throw out my first impressions before I go.

The Erosion of Sanity - this is kind of what I think of when I think of death metal, and is really not my thing. They have more groove then I expected which was nice.

Obscura - I like this a bit more; some seriously gnarly guitar work in the mix. Looking forward to hearing the whole thing, even if I only really enjoy the skronk and noise of the guitar.

From Wisdom to Hate - this is AWESOME. Really digging how thick and gut-bucket this sounds; and when I say gut bucket, I mean a big pail of viscera. The first couple of tracks, I was like, "okay, digging this more than the other stuff," but the title track got me from the start. Then the groove they lay down in "The Quest for Equilibrium" is catchy and evil as shit - give me more of that! Unsurprisingly, I like doomy death more than shredding uptempo death; closer "Testimonial Ruins" also right in my wheelhouse.

Thanks Alan for picking these. Not totally my thing, but I found a way in for me which might be all I need to begin to appreciate the genre more. Just got to find a way past the vocals which are my biggest hangup.

awesome! glad you dug from wisdom to hate so much. like aero said, it is a WAY underrated album.

EZ Snappin says it all really. Erosion Of Sanity is not bad at all, but not very far from being just another Suffocation clone. Obscura is impressively chaotic and layered, and FWTH a great fusion of the two with loads of impressive riffs. Somehow though this band doesn't get to me in the way that others (Bolt Thrower, Entombed, Death, Gorefest, Dismember, Hypocrisy, Unleashed, Pestilence, Vader) do. I can't put my finger on it, is it the technicality? the vocals? the production? their later arrival on the scene?

I just cant see me ever getting big into DM. Something about it just doesn't click really.

man I consider Erosion of Sanity as good as anything in the classic DM style. Suffocation never got that much atmosphere into their riffing in my opinion.

i need to buy a death metal record sometime

almost bought Twilight of the Thundergod recently, but anyway don't want to derail

Looking forward to seeing what Nate is gonna pick
31/5 Nate Carson
7/6 EZ Snappin
14/6 Siegbran
21/6 Call All Destroyer
28/6 jeff
05/7 aldo
12/7 A. Begrand.

Muhahahaha!

What time am I supposed to post anyway? Midnight?

BTW - KSH if you need to buy one death metal record as a starting point, I recommend Domination by Morbid Angel. So so awesome.

I have a theme in mind for mine, with a couple of get-outs if things get picked by other people in the interim.

Post anytime after midnight UK time Nate I guess? that's usually what happens in the clubs. Euros need a dose of metal before bed, especially on a bank holiday weekend.

They tell me it's after midnight in England, so here are 3 of my favorite unsung metal albums. I chose all 3 because they are such strong works, that have received such little fanfare.

***

Thunderstorm - Witchunter Tales (2003)
For fans of: Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Black Sabbath

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dlMIuPXi_r0/S4CC60IYsBI/AAAAAAAAA0A/e0rpj9536oU/s320/front.jpg

For Glenn and the others who steer clear of death metal, here's a traditional doom/power metal opus that's been sadly lost in the twenty-first century shuffle. Fabio Thunder is an Italian with an incredibly strong voice, song-writing ability, and studio access. Every song on this record deserves to be a classic, the production is absolutely massive for an independent record, and the final tune is a Sabbath cover worth its weight. Spread the word.

Necrophobic - The Nocturnal Silence (1994)
For fans of: Dissection, (early) Darkthrone, Entombed

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID20872/images/the_Nocturnal_Silence.jpg

My friend and I discovered this record back in 1994 thanks to its cover bearing a striking resemblance to a Deicide album, and it's been a favorite in our circle ever since. It's that rare gem of blackened death where the riffs are furious, the vocals are ultra-satanic, and the rhythm section is produced at Sunlight studio, so it has girth, low end, and BALLS. Necrophobic went on to have a fairly lousy career, but this debut (especially the first 4 tracks) contain some of the best riffs and arrangements you could hope to hear. Wish this one got its due. It deserves it.

Voivod - Phobos (1997)
For fans of: Neurosis, Hawkwind, Voivod

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IWqfvyO_nw8/Si7NllmEt1I/AAAAAAAAJVE/sVla1WhbGlI/s400/VoivodPhobos.jpg

Sure, we've all heard Voivod. But this was the band at a creative high-point, during a career low. I heard this album sold something like 4000 copies in the US, which is a tragedy since I consider it one of the bands' strongest albums, both conceptually (it's the only album since Nothingface to actually return to the Voivod saga), and musically (it's probably the heaviest and most far out psychedelic record in their catalog). Eric Forrest fronts the band, sounding at times like a doppelganger of original vocalist Snake, and alternately like a demonic space vampire. In this album, the Voivod reawakens on another world, creates a clone army of himself to scour the surface clean, then prepares to go to war with his god. It's a murky, analog affair, with vintage synths, accordion, tons of delays and echo, and a snare drum that sounds like it's two feet wide. Should definitely be considered alongside Dimension Hatross and Killing Technology as a masterpiece of psychedelic metal.
Note: avoid the bonus track "M-Body". It's a throwaway track they did with Newsted when that was still a novel pairing. The other bonus track is a decent, if uninspired rendition of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man".

Fixing broken bookmark...

what happened to my post?

im sure i posted here earlier