Rolling Metal Thread 2010

http://www.myspace.com/mooseboner

anybody heard the new bloody sign album? what's the news?

No, but I heard the new Christian Mistress in its entirety. Lotsa folks are gonna be very happy with this one.

I sure am!

Listening to the new Acacia Strain album, Wormwood, right now. No major changes to their sound that I can hear.

all right so I sometimes do this thing (most often with vinyl releases) where I'll buy a record and put off listening to it until "just the right time." naturally there really isn't ever a "just the right time," and I've known this since high school, which was when I started with this buy-an-LP-wait-til-the-moment's-right nonsense. but when it's an album by a band I know I like, I will still sometimes set it aside and wait. until a day when I'm less busy I guess. or until I feel like I've cleared the decks for it or something. and this is how sometimes I will run across an album and go, shit, you didn't actually ever listen to that did you, and you had specifically been looking forward to that album coming out.

well my friends. this morning I finally got around to putting Ares Kingdom's Incendiary, a 2010 heavy metal release don'tcha know, onto the turntable. Ares Kingdom is the band that Order From Chaos became; if you don't know Order From Chaos, but you like metal, you should get to know them -- they're only canonical at a deep-cult level, but for those of us who dig them, they're all-time. Incendiary, on the evidence of the first side, which has been blasting off the top of my skull for three and a half tracks now, is on the level of OFC's best. It's kind of not in these guys' nature to frontload an album and let it drop off, so I'll be pretty surprised if things don't just get better. The only thing that's a little weird is how loud & clear the vox are mixed. But fuckin A. Incendiary by Ares Kingdom. They're a kind of black metal very in touch with the genre's thrash roots, very in touch with the death metal side of things but just the way the songs are put together is more black-metal sympathetic - almost like operatic thrash, "operatic" not vocally (the vocals are proper vokill style) but in terms of this sweeping-composition feel. The guitar solos kick fucking ass. Nowhere near as noisy and fucked up as Order From Chaos -- whether a more focused OFC is your thing is a matter of taste I guess. For me, this record would have to fall off a fucking cliff on the 2nd side to not make my year-end list.

fucking A this song "Ashen Glory" is some kinda perfect heavy metal song. wow wow wow.

So yesterday I was at the Albert Ayler Festival, a free all-day out-jazz event with performances by five or so groups and a bunch of solo, duo and trio saxophone bits in between. In addition to the live music, which was awesome, they had record vendors there, one of whom had at least two Graveland albums in one of his bins. Free jazz + Nazi metal = a good look in 2010? I guess I missed that meeting.

xpost to aerosmith:

gave that ares kingdom a listen a few months ago and it didn't do much for me. the mix was an issue. thought the vox were way too loud and the band sounded a little muted in comparison.

re-listening to "ashen glory" now and I still think that the vox are distracting. but the thrashy songwriting you mentioned definitely satisfies. particularly like the bit during the solo where the band switches gears to half-time and then picks up again. this is probably better than I gave it credit for.

maybe order from chaos would be more to my liking.

anyone else catch bastard noise live? saw them in brooklyn a few weeks ago and they have an undeniably killer sound. but waiting a pretty ridiculous amount of time for the band to start playing (well over an hour) in the ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL heat while jam-packed into a tiny venue filled with sweaty, stinky boys... well, I was basically worn down before they even started.

new record (a culture of monsters) is solid, though. still digging the return to the sludgy man is the bastard sound but I think I prefer the more direct approach on the endless blockade split. still, the "noise" stuff on here is certainly better integrated this time around.

will have to listen more before I fully make my mind up on this one but it's well worth a listen.

Man, I have a big backlog of metal that I've accumulated over the past few months that I still need to attend to!

You know, I've been thinking of retiring the "ksh" moniker on ILX, so I think I'm just gonna do that right now and take a few days off of the boards to focus on going through that backlog and doing other irl stuff that I need to attend to. I'll be back itt on Thursday under a new name. Goals upon returning: follow fewer threads, less unnecessary negativity, significantly fewer insubstantial posts, and a way more mindful approach to how I'm coming across. Think this will be good. See you all in a few days!

Awwwwwww.

hey Scott, good news! The new October Tide is really depressing!

The members of Iron Maiden were too busy touring to give the Cleveland Scene an interview, so...I went this route instead.

Ha, great idea Phil.

Very glad he's more cockney than cookie monster :)

As for Ares Kingdom, I don't think I'd listen to this regularly, but it does slam pretty hard. Good riffs and the blackened drum production works (at least on computer speakers).

Guitar melody at 5:10 in Descent of Man is pretty fucking classick.

It took me far too long to dig into Bloody Panda, but damn am I glad I finally did.

I've been a fan for years, but I finally met them in person a few months back. Was kind of dreading it in case they were dicks. But they are fantastic people and now I love them even more. Bloody Panda rules.

so is ksh back? or was he ILXOR all along?

Nate's right - super nice people who put on one of the most intense, creepy shows I've experienced. Plus unlike so many of their peers, they were able to capture some of that magic in the studio, particularly with Summon.

I'm thinking about starting a company to design T-shirts grown-up metalheads can wear without embarrassment.

so is ksh back? or was he ILXOR all along?

^____________^

ilx fight club

You're right about metal t-shirts, Phil. There are a lot of atrocious designs out there. For me, the more spartan the better.

I suppose it goes without saying but the giant, colorful prints metalcore bands dig are particularly NAGL:

http://www.imperial-clothing.com/shop/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/l/g/lg_iwabo_popcorn_white_18.png

http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/c/0/0/30/f/AAAADEg-41YAAAAAADD_-A.jpg

https://cdn.indiemerch.com/i/4/8/48339cb9db.jpg

BARF.

The Black Dahlia Murder sells a logo shirt, too, though:

http://pad.indiemerch.com/i/0/3/03d9e2d3a8.jpg

sure. I'm just sayin, this is a trend that the world's most violent pizza delivery man does not approve of.

so, anyone heard the autopsy awakened by gore demos that nuclear war now just put out? love me some autopsy but their actual albums already sound so raw! are the demos listenable?

someone should be killed for that devil wears prada one

on the other hand its probably good that the i wrestled a bear once one sends up the douche signal flares, because that way even people that havent suffered through their music will know not to talk to the dude wearing it.

lol, xpost

man, that devil wears prada model looks 100% punchable. sorry for making you guys look at him.

i like tshirts with just a bands name on it, but i dont mind it being other stuff sometimes. but i wouldnt wear an eddie logo or the really stupid electric wizard/sleep bong stuff. Luckily i got non druggy shirts by them.

man, the electric wizard satan bong hit design is CLASSIC! but I guess we had this argument already.

reminiscing about more tasteful metal times...

http://www.thedevilsdemons.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/deicidesweats.jpg

disclaimer: was too young/scared to see real live death metal guys wearing deicide sweatpants in the flesh but I do have fond memories of the blue grape merch inserts.

holy shit @ this starting bid!

http://cgi.ebay.com/OBITUARY-CAUSE-DEATH-SWEAT-PANTS-METAL-SEPULTURA-/390217269543?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5adac30127

loling hard at those sweat pants

blue grape is kvlt as fuck

ok guys I wont mention this again until the very last day to remind stragglers.
But if you want to participate
~~~ VOTING THREAD : ILM ALLTIME METAL/HEAVY ROCK ALBUMS/TRACKS POLL~~~ Voting ends 11.59pm UK Time AUGUST 2ND

Any good doom metal albums out lately that I may have missed?

I don't really fuck with a lot of doom but the new DoomDogs sounds kinda interesting

http://www.myspace.com/doomdogs

When I saw them last year I just *had* to buy this Black Dahlia Murder longsleeve (it was on sale too; figures, eh?), although I must admit I eventually chickened out of wearing it to a Bolt Thrower show a few months ago:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Sj_1fE7Ajo8/SuFwZbxyavI/AAAAAAAAARo/FI2O8ldPhgg/s400/Photo-0010.jpg

Am at least temporarily convinced that Mandrake's "Save Us From Ourselves" is the best song of the year. With Nevermore's "Emptiness Unobstructed" close behind. And then all the songs I've forgotten from earlier in the year that are just as good.

so is ksh back? or was he ILXOR all along?

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, July 15, 2010 8:56 PM (3 days ago)

took a couple extra days, but I'm back! didn't listen to too much metal, but did have a nice break

http://www.stonerrock.com/store/images/covers/ATH-7946_big.jpg

Any good doom metal albums out lately that I may have missed?

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Saturday, 17 July 2010 02:22 (2 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

It's possibly not out for a few weeks but I'm really impressed by the Sahg album - need more time w/ it but I can see it ending up in my top 10 come December

I need to hear that Sahg album, darnit.

As for more of a Katatonia/Opeth prog doom hybrid, the new Mar de Grises album is pretty amazing, one of the better albums I've heard as of late.

Heard the new Iron Maiden album today. Short take: It starts out really weird, with a three- to four-minute abstract intro that seems to have no main riff at all, then it launches into the title track, which you've probably already heard (and seen the awesome video for). Then "El Dorado," which is excellent. It goes hard 'n' heavy, much more so than the last album, for much of its first half, then gets looser and proggier in its second half as the songs get longer, and longer, and longer. The latter half of the album is much more reminiscent of A Matter of Life and Death. There's one song on the first half that you can totally tell Jannick Gers helped write; it's a total gallop, like something from '85, and he takes an absurd shredding solo. Other than that, all the best solos (to my ear) are by Dave Murray, who at this point should be mailing David Gilmour checks on a regular basis.

I like it, and/but if it's their final album, that's fine.

Anyone heard Manowar & Friends Dio tribute that comes out tomorrow? Cover is Manowartastic:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MA11H8eXL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

I heard Manowar's cover of "Heaven and Hell", and it's pretty good.

That extended intro on the new Maiden album is wicked. It really takes you aback, they've never done anything like that before. And yeah, the Gers song ("The Talisman") is total Maiden cliche, but it has fun with it, it doesn't sound half-assed.

Yeah, there's nothing half-assed or underwritten on the record, though around the 55-minute mark my attention was starting to flag. It's definitely not gonna be something I'm gonna listen to front-to-back very often.