Rolling Metal Thread 2013

http://www.invisibleoranges.com/2013/12/dont-listen-to-everything/

thoughtz

Good (and well put) thoughtz, definitely something that's been pressing on my brain more and more each year. My innumerable reax aside for now, I had to chuckle when I read the comment by the guy who did the metal-archives math and arrived at "14+ new albums a day to just keep pace," because for a half-second I seriously said to myself, "fourteen per day, you say? Hmm."

there's a lot in there - some people really enjoy the sort of Pokemon/vacuum-cleaner style of hearing & having a quick opinion on everything; in the environment of the internet, the people who hear more and make longer lists are likely to generate more attention than people who're self-curating their listening. People who tune out of stuff become less "relevant" to the dialogue I guess. I listened to fewer of the big attention-grabbers this year, though I check out a song or two on Spotify if something's getting a lot of heat. But for the most part reading the opinions of trusted sources (metal archives; people whose taste I jibe with on this thread; whether a liked distro is stocking something carries weight) and sifting from there to determine what I hear means I'm not burning myself out trying to keep current. I did however listen to every goregrind album released in 2013 but that was just for pleasure and is no different from any other year

I am consciously planning to listen to a lot less metal next year, for a couple of reasons:

1) I noticed when posting year-end lists on Burning Ambulance that the jazz lists consistently got 33% more traffic than the metal lists. This tells me that I am not a particularly valued voice in metal discourse, but I am a valued voice in jazz discourse. Since I love both genres, but want to write with a purpose, I will probably write more about jazz, and listen to metal more for pleasure.

2) I'm 42 years old; I know what I like and I know what I don't like. Will I miss out on a couple of great albums by, say, choosing to totally ignore black metal next year? Probably, but I'm sure I missed out by choosing to totally ignore new hip-hop in 2013, and I sleep fine at night. I'll also wind up costing myself money, at least in theory, because these days, the kinds of metal I like least are the kinds being assigned by editors the most—the "extremely extreme," to use Decibel's phrase, is what's getting the clicks. So I'll leave that work up to Brandon and Kim and everyone else who gets pleasure from it. I'll listen to what I like: biker doom, thrash (old school and retro), deathcore, face-punching death metal, and power metal. 'Cause mostly I want stuff I can headbang to on the train ride to and from work.

Can I just say how happily weird it is that somewhere upthread I not entirely seriously asked if there were a term for why I'd been putting off listening to any of Ruins of Beverast's albums despite being a huge Nagelfar fan and knowing Ruins will do me right -- and lo in that gwern.net essay linked from the Oranges piece there is indeed: hyperbolic discounting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbolic_discounting
~The More You Know~

And in "I think I've figured it out" news, Ghost is a goof.

― SeanWayne, Thursday, December 26, 2013 10:05 AM (2 days ago)

well sure. doesn't make me like 'em any less.

^^^ Word!

I saw 120 live shows this year. But I struggled to write a Top 20 list for albums. Really only a handful of albums seep into my consciousness each year. And if they're not the type that will really stick around and contend with my favorites from yesteryear, then what's the point, really?

Albums like Clockwork Angels and 13 sweep my year not because of the budgets attached, but because of the experience, maturity, and quality of songwriting. I really don't believe it's just economic disparity that keeps underground metal albums from blowing me away. I definitely give high marks to Blood Ceremony and Purson this year. There are songs on those records.

As great as I'm sure the new Carcass album is, I don't really need a new Carcass album in my life. It's just not what I want to listen to for pleasure, regardless of quality.

I certainly do discover old gems while digging through bins that catch my ear. Is there some sort of luster an album must take on before I can consider a classic? Possibly... but really I think the answer is hooks. And not always in the traditional sense. I just picked up a Richard Pinhas solo album from 1980 that I can't take off the turntable. And that's experimental French electronic/guitar weirdness. But it's catchy to me so wtf.

Ultimately not worried about it. Yes I'll check out Pallbearer and Deafheaven and even enjoy both. But what's of greater importance to me is what I hear and like, which almost always has to do with a concert, not a record.

Man somebody with some great taste in metal dumped a bunch of stuff at my local Half Price Books. Thanks to their 20% off post-holiday sale, I picked up a stellar haul for about $75 total (not all of these are metal, but still):

Los Natas - El Hombre Montana
Los Natas - Nuevo Orden de la Libertad
Khanate - Capture & Release
fIREHOSE - fromohio
Caina - Temporary Antennae
Witchsorrow - Witchsorrow
Wo Fat - Psychedelonaut
Ringo Deathstarr - Sparkler
Pelican - Pelican EP
Behold! The Monolith - Behold! The Monolith
Pig Destroyer - Painter of Dead Girls
Bosse-de-Nage - Bosse-de-Nage
Dawnbringer - In Sickness and In Dreams
Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones
YOB - Atma
Spirit Caravan - Elusive Truth
SubRosa - No Help for the Mighty Ones
Sasquatch - III

Good find, jvc!

xp to Devilock I p much rolled my eyes thru that gwern.net piece but I'm glad someone got something from it

Went to see Suffocation last night; the first non-work show I've been to in I can't remember how long. I had a fucking blast.

IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN SUFFOCATION: Their frontman, Frank Mullen, is easily the most fun frontman in death metal. He looks like (and probably is) a construction worker, and he's constantly grinning and laughing it up onstage. Plus, he does this bizarre thing on stage, a cross between the Atlanta Braves tomahawk chop and jazz hands, and he sticks his tongue out at the crowd while he's doing it. It's hilarious to watch. His banter rules, too: between songs, we got to hear about how much he enjoyed Anchorman 2; how disappointed he was when the world didn't end in 2012, and how he'd "trusted those fuckin' Mayans"; how his belief in aliens is rooted in a desire to go hunting with the Predator, who he's sure is a death metal fan; and on and on. This was easily the most fun I've ever had at a death metal show, even more because it was all over by 9:45.

There were five bands on the bill, but by the time I got there I only got to see one other, Pyrexia, another bunch of Long Island death-metal-meets-hardcore knuckle-walkers. According to Mullen, both bands are of the same generation - they all went to high school together. Anyway, their stuff would make a great soundtrack if I was the kind of person who did squats.

yeah, the suffocation guy is hilarious for sure. like if your goofy uncle happened to front a killer death metal band.

I'll third "always see Suffocation when they're in town." just a blast

I'm listening to Hooded Priest's 2011 album a lot lately. fucking awesome doom band.

Seeing Neurosis, Bla'st, YOB and The Body tonight in SF.. so stoked!!

That should be epic. I had too much epic last night - Cleric, Pinkish Black, Kill the Client and Eyehategod. Even with decent plugs my ears are tired as shit today.

In the Suffo vid for "As Grace Descends," at 2:30 the whole room does the chop, whatever we're calling it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp1YSf_5mr8

That video would've been better if it were just the performance footage; everyone is having a freaking blast.

Oh, this is rich. If you google "Frank Mullen," the first auto-complete suggestion is "hand chop," there's a Facebook page for it ("That thing Frank Mullen does with his hand"), and an Urban Dictionary entry ("the blast hand"). I also see something about "death metal spirit fingers," the best of all.

Also Pyrexia's Sermon of Mockery album is a thing of twisted beauty, right at that last stop between brutality and inscrutability. Everything afterward indeed did go into the knuckle-dragger direction and pales in comparison, but that album is something special. It's like a death metal Transilvanian Hunger, utterly pure and monomaniacal with the kind of atmosphere death metal usually isn't known for.

Terrorizer Albums of 2013
https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Technogoat/terrorizer_albums_of_2013/

Carcass @ Number 1

suspect the placing of Cultes des Ghoules there is almost/entirely down to my vote. drunk on power right now tbh

I'm not on Twitter so I'll put this here: great lists from Basement Galaxy! I agree with lots of the choices but I'm even more impressed by the amount of writing. Beats the EOY output of many magazines.

Neurosis, Bla'st, YOB and The Body at the Regency Ballroom, SF.. I've never been to this place, and I might not go back-the sound is not that great. Maybe an old system, or shotty sound guys, but there were a lot of crackles and noise and other sounds not of the musical type...

But besides that it was rad show!. The Body had an additional drummer, and that guitar player did his normal thing of just super low end, why even bother fretting any chords type thing.

YOB was fucking amazing. a great set, smartly put together for maximum crushing heavy impact.

Bla'st could've stayed non-active.. No, thats not nice, but they didn't do anything for me, but I wasn't ever a fan of that era hardcore. But they did get the crowd moving, and a lot of people were stoked that they were on the bill..

Neurosis opened with Locust Star, and I lost my shit! For an hour and 15 they just slayed.. It was my first time seeing em without the screen behind em, and I didn't miss it one bit. It does allow them to not be locked into a certain set from night to night, so I'm sure thats fun for them. I usually watch them from a balcony or the back of a hall, for sound reasons, but since the sound was sub-par, I decided to get in the very front. Pretty intense. Not as intense as I've seen them before, but they still bring it. Dave Ed broke a bass string at the end of one of the tunes, which allowed for an extra freakout noise session from him which was rad to see a moment happen a noises that you would hear otherwise-something subtle I guess, but i thought it was cool... A really, really good show!

So cool you could see that Sean! I was bummed to miss those gigs, especially the OC show with Helen Money opening.

Best time I ever saw Neurosis remains the Word as Law tour. Their films were very new at that point. Seeing them without the films is interesting, but not sure it works that well at venues that large. Not much to look at...

I'm such a gear geek, Nate, that I never have a shortage of things to look at-always trying to figure out what cats are using..

*Resisting urge to post a death metal fat cat video*

Thanks, jmm. I used all my previously published reviews because I had no time to write new blurbs. That sure came in handy.

New Year's resolutions, metal style! http://www.decibelmagazine.com/featured/new-years-metalutions/

Rolling Metal Thread 2014

my top 10 of 2013