Rolling Metal Thread 2012

My 2012 half-year list as of today:

1. Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction
2. Horseback - Half Blood
3. Drudkh - Eternal Turn of the Wheel
4. Alcest - Les voyages de l'ame
5. Christian Mistress - Possession
6. The Devil's Blood - The Thousandfold Epicentre
7. Ufomammut - Oro: Opus Primum
8. Black Breath - Sentenced to Life
9. High On Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis
10. Occultation - Three & Seven
11. Split Cranium - Split Cranium
12. Pilgrim - Misery Wizard
13. Witch Mountain - Cauldron of the Wild
14. Horisont - Second Assault
15. Aldebaran - Embracing the Lightless Depths
16. RAM - Death
17. Mares of Thrace - The Pilgrimage
18. Spawn of Possession - Incurso
19. Saint Vitus - Lillie F-65
20. Dawnbringer - Into the Lair of the Sun God
21. Torche - Harmonicraft
22. 3 Inches of Blood - Long Live Heavy Metal
23. Overkill - The Electric Age
24. Lord Mantis - Pervertor
25. Royal Thunder - CVI
26. Asphyx - Deathhammer
27. Conan - Mannos
28. Borknagar - Urd
29. Aborted - Global Flatline
30. Angel Witch - As Above, So Below
31. Ihsahn - Eremita
32. Mutilation Ritse - Empyrean
33. Rush - Clockwork Angels
34. Cannibal Corpse - Torture
35. Behold! The Monolith - Defender, Redeemist
36. Napalm Death - Utilitarian
37. Municipal Waste - The Fatal Feast: Waste In Space
38. Sigh - In Somniphobia
39. Orange Goblin - A Eulogy for the Damned
40. Jeff Loomis - Plains of Oblivion

(note: the Baroness and Gojira albums are very likely to shoot way up to the top of that list, but I haven't spent enough time with either yet)

My 2012 thus far, alphabetically:

Accept - Stalingrad
Ancestors - In Dreams And Time
Astra - The Black Chord
Brujas del Sol - Moonliner Vol. 2
Christian Mistress - Possession
Goddess - Discovery
Grand Magus - The Hunt
Horisont - Second Assault
Iron Mtn - Iron Mtn
Jeff Loomis - Plains Of Oblivion
Major Kong - Doom For The Black Sun
Moonless - Calling All Demons
Orange Goblin - Eulogy For The Damned
Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction
RAM - Death
Rush - Clockwork Angel
Saint Vitus - Lillie: F-65
Snail - Terminus
Steelwing - Zone Of Alienation
Summoner - Phoenix
Torche - Harmonicraft
UFOmammut - Oro - Opus Primum
Witch Mountain - Cauldron Of The Wild
Wizrd Rifle - Speak Loudly Say Nothing
Woods Of Ypres - Woods V: Skies & Electric Light

I haven't had enough time with the Ihsahn or Ahab records but I like them both.

Wizrd Rifle! What is that?

Heh, I absolutely love the Astra record and it would easily slotted into my top five, but I don't really feel like they are metal anymore, just straight prog.

There is a bunch of borderline stuff on my list - Ancestors, Astra, Goddess. It's heavy rock in my book - line between the genres is fungible.

It should be Wizard not Wizrd, damn it. Crazy Portland, OR duo making amped up squiggly punk tech metal something. http://wizardrifle.bandcamp.com/

It's heavy rock in my book - line between the genres is fungible.

Totally makes sense. I love the Ancestors too.

the evolution of Ancestors from epic stoners into 1972 Pink Floyd has been a fun road to travel.

So far:
1. Asphyx - Deathhammer
2. Mgła - With Hearts Toward None
3. Nachtvorst - Silence
4. Les Discrets - Ariettes Oubliées
5. Heidevolk - Batavi
6. Master's Hammer - Vracejte Konve Na Místo
7. Accept - Stalingrad

I forgot the Les Discrets! Quite a good album.

Alcest - Les Voyages de L'Ame
Baroness - Yellow & Green
Christian Mistress - Possession
Crystal Viper - Crimen Excepta
Eluveitie - Helvetios
Epica - Requiem for the Indifferent
Les Discrets - Ariettes Oubliees
Lyriel - Leverage
Orange Goblin - A Eulogy for the Damned
Royal Thunder - CVI
Saint Vitus - Lillie: F-65
Sigh - In Somniphobia
Torche - Harmonicraft

I'm sure I'm forgetting some. In alphabetical order. Still haven't heard new Witch Mountain yet.

Crystal Viper? They don't ring a bell. More info please?

i guess kinda power metal - female vox (Marta Gabriel who is basically 100% of what I dig about the album)

she's got a pretty rough voice (it's flat sometimes, but she's got a ton of energy that makes up for it imho) and not cookie monster vox. some of the riffs are a little stonery which i like too.

That sounds like it could be interesting. Off to youtube!

oh huh i am going to have to spend some time with this Ptahil band, these youtubes are hitting the spot.

wizard rifle is awesome btw, one of my favorites of this year so far for sure.

Some highlights for me, in whole or in parts: Agalloch, Ahnengrab, Alcest, Ankhagram, Arbor, Arstidir Lifsins, Azoic, Bend the Sky, Christian Mistress, Cold Womb Descent, Dark Princess, Dead Sara, Deathspell Omega, Desiderii Marginis, Diabulus in Musica, Dodecahedron, Down Below, Ea, Eluveitie, Ephemeral Temple, Epica, Furia, Grand Magus, Ihsahn, Impiety, Inner Fear, Krake, Kreator, L'Ame Immortelle, Les Discrets, Les Fleurs du Mal, Lethian Dreams, Liam, Liv Moon, Lullacry, Lunar Path, Lyriel, Maglor, Marriages, Moonspell, Rush, Saltillo, Semargl, Secrets of the Moon, Shear, Talesien, Taranis, Thormesis, Unisonic, Woods of Ypres, Xandria.

godamn you guys listen to a lot of music... lol! it would take me forever to get through these lists.. or maybe I'm too picky about what I choose to get at.. or lazy.. Its probably a bit of all that

You wouldn't hear any new music if it wasn't for your wonderful boss with his amazing taste in music and his ipod.

Must be great for you having intelligent talks with your boss while listening to music, Sean.

No hipster brooklyn metal for this guy.
Smithy & Phil must be so proud troo metal has taken over!
http://i46.tinypic.com/30k6k94.jpg

(yes yes its probably shopped)

Who is that?

Beibzilla

lol c'mon phil your cranky old man act is reaching here

A proper shop would've replaced the Ford logo with Scion.

hahaha if we had a metal specific excelsior thread i would be posting siegbrans post there in a red hot minute

I really don't think AG needed to add that "probably", I mean, look at the Sodom patch.

i dont know what this says about me but i swear that is a very specific vest/set of patches that i have seen before and it is driving me crazy. oh wait it says that i am a huge huge nerd.

jjj who bought yours on eBay?

bieber, clearly

holy shit @ new summoning material!!

Their productivity is as glacial as their music.

Alan, are you familiar with Protector's side project Ice Ages?

Had this been noted?

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/07/when-black-metals-anti-religious-message-gets-turned-on-islam/259680/

Pretty amazing they've tracked her down. I liked the Seeds of Iblis EP, haven't heard the Janaza demo yet. Some of the other Mosque of Satan-affiliated bands are quite good too, Tadnees from S-A for example. There's also load of good bands from Turkey and Iran, been a big fan of Emerna for years. Most of them tone down the religious aspect of it all though.

Also, the new Al Namrood album is very enjoyable.

Juicy lists. Anyone going to the Alehorn of Power Metal Fest at Reggie's in Chicago on Saturday? I'll be meeting a couple people at Cafe Hoang at 232 West Cermak Road around 7 before the show. Any ILMers who let me know you're coming, I'll try to bring extra beer ;)

Then Hammers of Misfortune, Gates of Slumber and Venomous Maximus are playing on Wed at Reggie's. Apparently ticket sales are slow, despite the massive honor of Hammers having the #1 metal album according to ILM last year! Come on out!

Alan, are you familiar with Protector's side project Ice Ages?

nope but I've always wanted to check out some of the side projects. I take I should start there? any thoughts on some of the others? have been curious about kreuzweg ost for a while now...

Yes, Ice Ages is the best offshoot I think. The Buried Silence and This Killing Emptiness albums are both very very good. It's colder and darker than Summoning, but in the end they're not that dissimilar. Protector is the rhythm guy of Summoning so you get the familiar polyrhythmic drum patterns but instead of timpani they're done with these echoing, metallic machine noises.

Die Verbannten Kinder Evas is neo-classical darkwave that's pretty but tends to blend into the background. Kreuzweg Ost is collage-type martial orchestral music, don't know how much you're into that but it's not something I pull out often again.

I would totally be up for that Reggie's show if I didn't have a work meeting to be to by 6:30 the following morning.

Mordy thanks for the Spotify playlist

hey siegbran, I suspect I'll have to wait for the coldest of winter nights for the proper effect those ice ages tracks are hitting the spot nicely on a quiet sunday evening. will definitely investigate further. cheers! xxpost

it's weird to me how people I know who like Agalloch seem to really want me to say I like Agalloch, about whom the best thing I can really say is "they're just fine, good luck to them"

I don't care if you like them or not, but I will say that their new ep Faustian Echoes (streaming on Bandcamp) is the single best thing they've ever done. And they're playing King's Barcade if you really want the full experience.

Live they've really become something else. Looking forward to seeing them again in a few weeks.

I don't know if I'd go that far with "Faustian Echoes", but I still enjoy it. Can't believe i get to see them twice in six months, what a luxury.

Listening to the new Nachtmystium album for the first and almost certainly the last time. They're back to making "real" black metal...yawn.

Dude, give it more of a chance, there's a lot more going on in those songs than is evident on initial listen.

I don't care if you like them or not, but I will say that their new ep Faustian Echoes (streaming on Bandcamp) is the single best thing they've ever done. And they're playing King's Barcade if you really want the full experience.

oh yeah I know. the people I know who dig them will be there goin nuts. I hope they sell the joint out, long live Agalloch! just not really my thing.

I hear that, but I do believe that they progress so much from release to release that you could easily love one album and hate all the rest. It took me years to get them.

But whatever. There's a lot of great music out there and clearly none of it is for everyone. I'd be much more likely to push the new Vektor on you. That's what I'm really excited about (still).

listened to that new agalloch ep today. dug it. prob the first recording they've done where I felt that the vocals really fit!