Mordy's Metal Listening Club - New Albums Every Monday

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

I'll give the Thunderstorm a go if I can find it

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

― Nate Carson, Sunday, May 30, 2010 6:37 PM (Yesterday)

noted. thanks dude!

I've never bought a metal CD or considered myself a metal head but I really enjoy it so I decided to get a bunch of stuff and asked my little bro for suggestions. Here's what I'm looking forward to:

Bathory "Under the Sign" & "Blood Fire Death"
Candlemass "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" & "Nightfall"
Opeth "Ghost Reveries"
Celtic Frost "Into the Pandemonium" & "To Mega Therion"
Mercyful Fate "Don't Break the Oath"
Venom "Welcome to Hell" & "Black Metal"

I really should give Phobos another chance. As much as I've liked Voivod over the last 22 or so years, I sure wasn't impressed when Forrest came into the picture. In retrospect that's not really fair, Piggy's riffing is some of the darkest stuff he ever did.

I am not a Voivod fan - I've tried, and tried again - but man, I would totally read this comic book:

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

I was listening to Incantation's Primordial Domination yesterday. Don't know how much love they get, but it's not enough. I hope somebody picks one of their albums, and I really hope it's Diabolical Conquest.

i seem to have found the thunderstorm.

I'm not anti-Death by policy, although it's probably not my highest-yield subgenre. But a few songs in, I'm definitely enjoying this Thunderstorm album. More on that later.

Meanwhile, before I listen to it again, here's what I said about Phobos 12 years ago.

xpost - Adam, your little brother is guiding you is doing a great job. Those are all top shelf albums. Let us know what you think of them and we can help you find more of the same. Looks like you're already in really good hands though :)

Adam, your little brother is doing a great job guiding you.

Yeah, I like this Thunderstorm album a lot. I'm not sure I'd recommend them over Black Sabbath, Candlemass or Solitude Aeturnus, but if you know those and want more, this is a really solid "more".

Necrophobic did nothing for me, sadly, and I can't think of anything interesting to say about why.

Will now play Phobos again for the first time in at least a decade.

And yeah, Adam, that's a fine list to start with. I particularly like that he recommended a couple albums each by most of those, so you get a little deeper into each band, rather than being in skimming mode trying to process twice as many bands right from the start.

Maybe not the best intro to Opeth tho?

Well, I like this Voivod album quite a bit less than I did when it was new. Now it seems really kind of unbearably repetitive to me, like every single riff is played 4 or 8 times exactly the same way before moving on. This is sort of true of a lot of popular music, of course, but today these repeated things are grating on me badly.

My problem with Necrophobic has always been that they have no identity whatsoever. It sounds like every other death/thrash band, every single riff, drum roll and vocal line sounds like someone else. I've owned this album for over ten years and traded it because the complete genericness means you'll never go "let's play some Necrophobic".

That vocalist is only on that one Necrophobic album, as far as I know. Who else sounds like him?

Also, if there are more albums with riffs, that memorable, I want to hear them.

xpost "Maybe not the best intro to Opeth tho?"

I think it's a pretty ideal intro to them, honestly. And I like most of their stuff.

I get much more out of Grotesque for example, to name a contemporary.

Or Impiety circa Skullfucking Armageddon, who might be guilty of playing those same standard death/thrash riffs but at least up the brutality level a few notches.

Don't get me wrong, the record is absolutely fine, riffs are strong, great production, nice melodic leads. It just stays so safely in the Swedeath comfort zone, just between Sunlight and Gothenburg...I can understand why people see this record as a classic, the one that combines all those bands into one. To me that's just a bit too lazy/easy.

Maybe not the best intro to Opeth tho?

Maybe a lot of my love for that particular Necrophobic is aided by the fact that in 1994, I had very little context for what Swedish Death Metal was SUPPOSED to sound like. All that really matters to me is that the guitar riffs are so good, the bottom end is there, and the vocalist really carves out his own niche.

That record seems to stand alone to me in my collection... So I'll certainly look up the Impiety and Grotesque you suggest. Thanks!

Opeth was my idea, cos I wanted something Swedish. He did say to check out Hellhammer. What should i look into by them?

I've listened to a bit of these and am lovin it!

Oh, I see, there's very little....

get the reissue of all their stuff that came out a year or 2 ago. I totally regret not buying the vinyl of that s it was "too expensive" now its OOP and prob sells for triple what it was.

Hellhammer only recorded 3 demos (rereleased as one 2LP) and one EP. My fave is Satanic Rites (3rd demo), then the Apocalyptic Raids EP. The first 2 demos aren't that great to be honest.

It's all gloriously filthy.

Maybe not the best intro to Opeth tho?

bites tongue
― Siegbran, Tuesday, June 1, 2010 7:26 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Siegbran I personally would love it if you would put your guns on blast on this topic

don't encourage him! he's being polite.

"So I'll certainly look up the Impiety and Grotesque you suggest."

everyone on earth needs impiety in their lives. they just don't know it. they are god.