Rolling Metal Thread 2010

I think this deserves its own thread

go for it imo

Goddammit. :( One of the most golden voices in metal. Holy Diver is a classic. God I mean I know metalheads aren't exactly immune to dying, but this was a legend...man. Not just some passerby.

This seriously sucks and is not acceptable AT ALL.

Please tell me this doesn't come in threes. Peter Steele and Dio and it's not even June :/

There is no :-( big enough for this. Ronnie James Dio was one of my all-time favorite performers, and always has been. Last in Line was one of the first true metal records I got, and I must have listened to it dozens of times. I met the man once, at an after party, and he was basically the nicest guy ever. He even gave me a hug. Rest in peace. This is a true tragedy.

sorry to break from Dio, but I got the Warbeast album today. It's remarkable in how ignoring the quality of songwriting, sonically this sounds like it was recorded in 1991. But the songs? Well, so far I'm digging them, although I don't know how I'd rate it with thrash classics like Insult to Injury or Handle with Care, but I like the vocalist and the riffing.

Sitting here on my second spin through the Dio anthology today. Damn. :(

^^^ the Sabbath comp or the Dio solo + Sabbath comp?

That Dio compilation Rhino put out, Stand Up and Shout, is a really great overview. Disc 1 is Elf, Rainbow and Sabbath; Disc 2 is solo stuff, and there's only four tracks in common between it and the Sabbath comp The Dio Years, so really, you need both.

^^^ and on eMusic it only costs 12 credits, as if it were a single album. Am gonna DL it when my credits refresh seeing as Dio Years is one of my most played and enjoyed discs of the last few years.

saw this band this weekend in a boxcar in weed, ca. fucking amazing live show: http://www.myspace.com/thespeedofdarkness

new Harvey Milk out tomorrow!

There's a bleak album.

I listened to Holy Diver again this morning. Yep, "Rainbow in the Dark" is still one of the greatest songs of all time.

Currently, though, I'm becoming fascinated by this Spanish band Kathaarsys. Only discovered them because I was investigating different spellings of "catharsis" among metal bands, but they're really great. Kind of progressive black death, with even little bits of clean singing and acoustic-guitar playing. The 2007 album Verses in Vain is the one I'm playing now, haven't heard the other three yet.

Am I the only person who doesn't like "Rainbow in the Dark"? Good, hooky riff by Campbell, but that synth line is horrendous.

You aren't the only one. I don't hate it, but it never struck me as one of his better tunes.

Those of you who fuck with polls: the 2005-2009 Poll nominations thread is sorely, sorely lacking in metal nominations thus far. Ppl can make up to 25 noms each, and there ain't practically nothin' there besides Mastodon and Baroness. I am gonna do what I can to remedy this but I also have to single-handedly address the film scores and classical music of 05-09.

i wait until i see whats nominated before posting mine, but i warn you, metal folks rarely vote in these things and the rest of ilx just doesnt vote metal in these polls. Glenn & I were considering doing a 00s metal poll at some point.
Though I fancied doing a 70s, then 80s,90s, 00s series of polls. So perhaps you guys can persuade glenn to help out? cuz if he agrees to tally it all up id be happy to help run it. I think going through the decades would be better than doing just a 00s poll like everyone did last year.

So who is up for a series of metal decades polls?

Yeah but I like putting awesome metal albums in amongst awesome film scores, world-psych, avant-garde classical, synthpop, etc.

i'll nominate some metal albums, jon.

A poll for a half decade? Who the hell cares? Wake me up when you get to the poll for the best albums with reddish covers that were released in April of years ending in 3...

its so radiohead wont win it, glenn.

I wish more Radiohead fans could embrace Enslaved and Opeth.

I wish more Radiohead fans would embrace death.

it's pretty weird that enslaved isn't more popular among both radiohead fans & indie people - to me they're really one of the most consistently good, creative, interesting, distinctive bands in metal, I would think the same people who come to metal via Isis or other prog-ish metal bands would go ape for enslaved. and the acoustic version of return to yggdrasil they did for radio, God, that thing is just the raddest.

A poll for a half decade? Who the hell cares?

feel obligated, w/o rancor or anything, to otm this - when we're polling random intervals of years, it means we maybe need to see somebody about or CPSS (Compulsive Poll Starting Syndrome)

the acoustic version of return to yggdrasil they did for radio, God, that thing is just the raddest.

Okay, I have to hear that now.

Like i said, the reason they all chose a half decade was precisely to stop the established canon of radiohead, the strokes etc winning an ilx poll. Even i said it was silly and i do like polls.

having a poll like that just to stop certain albums from winning just seems pointless. It stops lesser known albums from that period getting recognition just because they came out in the same years as radiohead and the strokes.

Kathaarsys, man. This band is seriously great. Why have I never heard of them? Is it just me?

They're having a stupid poll so Radiohead won't win it? People can't read past #1? That's too idiotic for me to even bother checking the thread-list to find out if you guys are making it up.

its not just radiohead, its because the early part of the decades canon is set so they want to poll the half that isnt so predictable or something

I only have Ruun and Vertebrae, but Enslaved are fucking awesome (and I'm gonna nominate Vertebrae in that poll you guys hate).

Been gone all day, but yes, I was referring to Stand Up and Shout that I had on repeat.

xpost - Ruun and Vertebrae are fantastic. But you owe it to yourself to buy Below the Lights asap. It's their greatest work and will appeal to anyone who likes that latest two. It's much like them, only less slick, and with better drumming.

yeah, definitely check that one out. I love "The Dead Stare" in particular.

Yeah have been deliberating btw that and Isa to get next. I will follow yr advice.

Isa has great songs, but problems with the drum production. I asked Grutle in an interview and he confided that they had to replace all the drum tracks with triggered sounds because of problems during tracking. Also, it was the debut of the new drummer whilst Below the Lights is the swansong with Dirge Rep.

You will not be disappointed. And once you have that one, get Mardraum and Monumension, the two predecessors. They really form a perfect trilogy in my mind.

I've only gotten through the first track from the new Zoroaster album, but that song ("DNR") is phenomenal, the best thing they've ever done. Yet another Sanford Parker record (the dude is en fuego this year), and he's really got the doomy space rock thing going on this tune.

I only have Ruun and Vertebrae, but Enslaved are fucking awesome (and I'm gonna nominate Vertebrae in that poll you guys hate).

Seriously, keep working your way backwards, like everyone's saying. You've got untold awesomeness in your future.

isis calls it a day.

Wow. Thanks for passing along the news.

not shocking but i think they had one more good one in 'em based on how good wavering radiant was. bands don't really "break up" anymore unless there are mad personal issues (which isn't the case here) but this is certainly a fair time to take a break. guess i'll check tickets for those boston shows in june.

two nights in a row at the Paradise with the Melvins. gonna try to go i think

gonna try and catch the montreal show now. i really wanted to go because of cave in, but now i have to go. too bad the fucking website for buying tix is DOWN. arg.

wavering radiant was a good note to end on. like they said, i'm glad they didn't force it. i think what's most disappointing about this whole thing is that none of the members really have any satisfying side projects outside of isis.

I wish they'd broken up after Oceanic. But still, a very good band and great people (in my experience).

On a separate note: Portal melted my brain tonight and made me feel all kinds of violated. If heavy and unearthly music is of interest to you, don't miss this tour. I can't say I enjoy listening to that music exactly, but I definitely respond to anything that utterly weird, impressive, and crushing.

The YouTube footage of Portal's show the other night is unreal. What an imposing band, I'd love to witness that.

As for Isis, I think they went out on a high note, Wavering Radiant is right up there with Oceanic if you ask me.

I'm gonna check out the final Isis NYC show with the Melvins on 6/18. The last time I saw Isis (on their 10th Anniversary tour, with Jesu opening up) they bored the crap out of me (so did Jesu) but I'm willing to go one more time just to see their self-declared sendoff. Plus, I wanna see the Melvins again; I saw them for the first time on the recent tour with Down and dug it, and the new record's really good.

yeah, I like isis, but they were one of the most boring bands I've ever seen live!

(circa panopticon)

i saw then circa panopticon and they were fantastic