The 2018 ILX Metal n' Heavy Rock Poll VOTING + CAMPAIGNING thread! NEW EXTENDED DEADLINE! Ballots due by Friday, February 15th 11.59pm PST

I remembered metal albums getting awards. Reviewing Wikipedia, apparently, only albums were nominated in 89 (when it was hard rock/metal). Then, weirdly, both albums and songs were nominated and competed against each other for a few years, until it was just albums for a year, and then became just songs.

I haven't heard the High on Fire track but "Honeycomb" was #1 on my tracks ballot in the big poll.

Which High On Fire song won it?

"Electric Messiah"

Remember the year we tried a tracks poll? less than half of the album voters voted for tracks.

What would we all say the best tracks were in 2018?

This little ditty is a cracker.

Imago this must appeal to your esoteric loving self
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXFfAPAjI08

catchy title too

This would've got my #1 vote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWEF-rSQAh8

Tropical Fuck Storm - You Let My Tyres Down was a belter too

This Ails album is really good. Surprised I missed it.

You guys are sleeping on this Earthling Society album. My favourite thing I heard all year. I came across it from JR Moores' Columnfortably Numb feature on the Quietus. I guess it's supposed to be their final album...? Hell of a standing, endlessly delirial space rock, indebted to the usual suspects but also draws on electric Miles and Berlin-era Bowie. It might not quite be proggy enough to sustain the comparison, but fuck if, I'll go there anyways: ====> this year's Kairon; IRSE

Earthling Society - MO-The Demon

https://riotseasonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mo-the-demon

Errr, "standing" should be "swan song"

How'd you hear about that Usurpress album, Simon? That was really cool. Did they post about it in Rolling Metal?

If anyone hasnt made a shortlist it might be a good idea to start

@DAM I think I learned of it on Angry Metal Guy.

I wanna put in a quick word for JORD by MØL, which does the glittery post-black thing a la Deafheaven, but crammed into tight, hooky songs with actual choruses that hover around the 4-5 minute range. Very glad I found time to return to it.

https://moeldk.bandcamp.com/album/jord-2

I think I played that one from the spotify list.. It was quite good.

Only 9 people have followed the Spotify playlist so its not really worth doing it in the future

I alternated between Apple Music and Bandcamp. Good enough for me.

How is apple music for underground metal?

I don't have Spotify either, else I would have

I haven't noticed much of a difference between Spotify and Apple Music tbh. The stuff that I only managed to find on Bandcamp is available on neither Spotify nor Apple Music as far as I can tell.

couple of days left to vote folks

.

How many ballots we have so far, Oor???

dunno, i pm'd seandalai earlier. Last time I asked it was 17

Who else plans to vote?

it will be at least 18 ballots tonight!

I should be voting, won't be much of a ballot but I can put something together either tonight or tomorrow!

i look forward to siegbran's 17 socks voting

or indeed anyone voting

:(

There's at least six others who have committed to voting; it'd just they're not posting about metal at all, so their ballots will be a mystery👻👻👻👻

My ballot otoh has been telegraphed proper

on that note, sbanhof* just posted the story behind my favourite album:

About Earthling Society's album MO - The Demon, they set themselves a formidable challenge:

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1554525519_7.jpg

Mo - The Demon was recorded at Leeds college of music between November 2017 – February 2018. The basis of the album was to record an imaginary soundtrack to the Shaw Brothers batshit psychedicrazy Kung Fu horror ‘The Boxer’s Omen’ aka MO or demon.
The story is an everyday one.
After a Hong Kong kickboxer is paralysed by a cheating Thai competitor, his mobster brother vows revenge and journeys to Thailand for a duel. Along the way, our hero is met by bizarre visions, entered into a Buddhist monastery, and begins a quest to save the soul of a deceased Monk (his twin brother in a past life) who died at the hands of a powerful black magician.
We’ve all been there. However the movie descends into a kind of spiritual Jodorowsky mushroom fest that is completely deranged and is therefore one of those perfect midnight movies.
So we got free studio time at LCM in November and just went ‘fuck it’ lets make an imaginary soundtrack in homage to such a great movie.

I will def be voting at the last minute as per usual

(here's the trailer for _The Boxer's Omen_)

https://youtu.be/q3AnjfBA3iw

i sent in a thing just now

ST 37 - ST 37

Haha you probably knew this was coming. Not exactly my favourite band in the world but awfully fucking close, the Texas psychonauts released an even better album than 2014's I'm Not Good, which I'm was their strongest since the '90s. This one though, finished in a burst of inspiration after their triumphant US tour with Acid Mothers Temple, surrounds you on all sides with swirling, spiralling noise, from towering weirdpunk rave-ups like "Hollywood Cemetery" and the batshit Jacobin-friendly "Boss", to sinister singalongs like "Shadesty", to musique-concrete lava lamp like "Inward, Please" and "KBDP".

Check it out. http://www.brooklynvegan.com/stream-austin-psych-vets-st-37s-new-self-titled-double-lp/

This is my personal Best of 2018 Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/user/nyc_native/playlist/3XSIesRX2Q8OXmjRJ6CtEd?si=j3m-JgGtTjKVm5S-KTpvfA

It's not all metal but that's a majority of it.

2nd last day to vote!

My innumerable socks are ready to vote. Who needs ethics in metal anyway?

seandalai informs me as of last night we have 17 ballots

I submitted mine this morning.

I’ll be voting today!

voted jsut now fwiw. only a dozen or so records i listened to & enjoyed & didn't get deep into the noms like i hoped! sorry for ruining everything

It's ok! We'll make sure to blame you anytime anybody complains about the results!

it's ok the co-pollrunner gets the blame

Yeah we all know who's really at fault here haha *nervous*

nah i'll be your sin eater! tell em i voted for only the very most overrated stuff just to piss off the ppl who know the /real shit/

and also my ballot was counted five times

i can't wait to be the wrestling heel of this rollout now!

I'm listening to YOB right now. I remember being pretty bored with Atma but I've only started the second track and already this seems much more engaging. I barely noticed that the first song was ten minutes!