Rolling Metal Thread 2010

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

Phil I will prob also go to that one, for the Melvins. But hoping to enjoy Isis as well. I go in and out of liking them.

I saw them touring panopticon and it was so boring, great band but I could not imagine why one would bother to do that live - it was just one long yawn

then mastodon came on and ripped shit up

i saw them in a very small room like 8 years ago and it was rad. in bigger rooms yeah they're kinda uninspiring

Patton/Melvins ATP was the last time I saw them and they had the misfortune of being after Torche downstairs in Reds (the legendary show just after Montoya was kicked out that he insisted on playing which led to an... interesting... mood on stage) and up against Zu in Reds. In those comparisons they ended up feeling kind of boring.

So... are Watain Nazis?

word is yes iirc

could be wrong tho - I had an album of theirs and I don't remember any flags goin' up! I'll look around, don't wanna wrongly think of a band as nazi who isn't

I know they've done shenanigans like dressing up in SS uniforms, giving the Hitler salute, and naming their first demo Fuck Your Jewish God, but they've said in interviews that they think NSBM is stupid, so I can't tell whether they're doing it for shock value/irony or because they're big Third Reich fans.

i wish there were a little spreadsheet i could consult when i want to figure out if the metal band i like is NS or not

saw isis open for tool just before they put out in the absence of truth and thought they were pretty solid. my friends, who were unfamiliar with their stuff, thought they were boring.

so i managed to get tickets to see them play with cave in in montreal. i'm pretty excited.

Repost: We played with Isis on the Celestial tour. Lineup was Soilent Green, Isis, Witch Mountain, and a little known local band called YOB.

and naming their first demo Fuck Your Jewish God

this always struck me a bit o_O

Nazis or no, they smell terrible.