Mordy's Metal Listening Club - New Albums Every Monday

Updated Spotify Club Playlist

Asked this in the RIP Dio thread but since y'all are listening to Holy Diver it's worth asking here:

I've obv been listening to a lot of Dio the past few days and honestly can't decide if Viv Campbell is an underrated monster or just a cut-rate randy rhoads. thoughts? is there any conventional wisdom on this?

man, this twitter hound business is messed-up. sorry, aerosmitty. no pressure for you to do a week but I'm sure everyone agrees that it would be cool.

psyched for the upcoming weeks!

http://www.poems.net.au/images/pink-floyd-the-wall-roger-waters-david-gilmore-roc1.jpg

HEY LURKERS, LEAVE OUR SMITHY ALONE!

it's ok let's not overstate the problem either like I said I don't want to make a big deal about it, just explaining myself is all.

Viv Campbell is fucking awesome & lends credence to the idea that RR wasn't a phenomenon so much as a particularly good exponent of a style that was kind of in the air among people who liked heavy music

anyone else listen to both holy diver and the last in line this week? curious which one y'all prefer.

I was already pretty familiar holy diver and had never listened to the last in line (outside a few cuts) before. not sure which one I'd give the edge. the highs seem higher on holy diver. "holy diver," "don't talk to strangers," "rainbow in the dark," and (motherfukkin') "stand up and shout" are all killer! but that could be familiarity speaking.

but on my first listen, I found the last in line to be a more consistent record. and the title cut may even be my favorite dio track of all.

the last in line seems to go a bit farther w/the pop hooks too. which, generally speaking, is what I want from dio (the band). listening again and I might give this one the edge.

I'm a last in line partisan particularly because of how incredible the title track is. that crashing opening (the vibe of which essentially invents Amon Amarth imo), the vocal performance Dio turns in, the melody of the bridge - and the note he hits on the "oh-ohhhh," not the 2nd longer note but the first one, it's a minor third I think but it's got a little note of dissonance - there's just such a feeling to that song. the kind of thing that makes you like horror movies & ray harryhausen. "we're off to the witch/we may never never never come home" is like a gauntlet-throwing song-opening lyrically, and then the song delivers. epic in feel, compact in construction. much of what's good about this style of music is present in that song. it is the full jam.

I mean really both amorphis and latter katatonia and opeth can all doff their caps to the last in line - it charts a course.

title track is really something. and "epic in feel, compact in construction" is EXACTLY why, yes.

p.s. is "I speed at night" basically a mash-up of "turn up the night" and "stand up and shout" or is it just me?

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

some awkward wording on my part there, heh.

"one night in the city" ("one night lookin' pret-taaay") is ridiculous.

Holy Diver is the touchstone, but fwiw "The Last In Line" specifically is the one that has me wanting to pick up my guitar and break it down.

xpost thanks smitty for the addl info. i've been feelin' VC like crazy these past few days and i'm glad to know i'm not just a sucker ;-)

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?