THE ILM METAL POLL 2011 RESULTS (All lurkers/non metalheads welcome to join in!)

Does the bassist from Weedeater still puke every night on stage? That always put me off going to see them.

I read an article recently where some guy was saying that the reason metal isn't selling at the moment is because most of the 'hip' bands hyped by the metal media 'cant play their instruments'. He went on to say how black metal, doom metal and overrated arty drone bands like Sunn o))) cant play their instruments and that is why they make the 'boring' music they do and how they make for boring experiences at concerts. In stark contrast to the 80s where thrash bands could really play, SING instead of grunt, and put on exciting stage shows. He said that death metal bands could play but ruined it by the vocals, however the likes of Pantera,Sepultura and Machine Head could sell millions as they could play,wrote great songs, were crushing live and didn't try to be elite and kvlt and weren't ashamed to be trying to sell records. If the death metal vocalists had more character like those bands they could lead a renaissance especially if combined with melodic clean vox. He also bemoaned that all the big selling acts were metalcore who all had the same generic grunt vox (he might have a point there at least).
Wish i could remember where it was so I could link it but i've tried to sum it up as best as I could. Anyone agree or disagree on the dude's points?

btw Obscura can play their instruments very well.

― Jimmy Riddle Orchestra (Armand Schaubroeck Ratfucker), Monday, January 16, 2012 2:58 PM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I think there's a lot of nonsense in this... there's quite a fair amount of music in all genres of metal created by bands who can 'play their instruments'. All I can glean from that opinion is that the guy in question is just into a particular style of metal, and isn't into others. I think that while metal has had its moments of popularity and commercial success throughout the years at certain times like any other genre has, fundamentally metal music has always been made for a metal audience.

111. Pharaoh Overlord - Out of Darkness (267 Points, 12 Votes)
http://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000006083816-muf5iy-crop.jpg?ee7b2d5
http://www.last.fm/music/Pharaoh+Overlord

Finland’s Pharaoh Overlord take huge rock songs and turn them into minimal trance-inducing drones. Drawing influence from 70’s drug rock like Pink Floyd, Hawkwind and krautrock ala Can and Neu!, their 2nd full length sees them venturing further into the void of repetition and psychedelia. Since then they have embraced NWOFHM like their parent band CIRCLE. As well as the more experimental drone influenced album.

Pharaoh Overlord features members of Circle

Yaaaaaaaaaay Weedeater! My #5! I didn't think it was going to make it. I love that album and I think I'm gonna have to check out their other ones too

Xp. I def need to check out Morkobot and the PO album!

Yaaaaay Pharaoh Overlord!
Recommended for anyone who likes to listen to music while running, working, or just walking around being alive.

Weedeater looks really interesting. How stoner rock is it?

running, working, or just walking around being alive.

I don't like doing any of these things, but I've still enjoyed the bits of PO I've heard.

lol, my sentiments exactly. P.O sound v sprightly. Enjoying it.

the album art is abominable however.

no, see, listening to PO while running/working/being alive makes doing those things better/more tolerable (depending on your disposition) than they are just by themselves

Weedeater is v stoner. Has some Southern-fried in it too, though they don't beat you over the head with it, plus they take the piss as well

...just like doom/stoner/sludge makes grading 1000 abysmal papers a more palatable activity
i guess i categorize metal based on what activity it makes more tolerable/pleasant for me, but i am a hyperactive gnat

Weedeater has some rad songs on it and I put it near the bottom of my ballot iirc but it also feels like it was thrown together really quickly

their previous album is better if you want a starting point for them, I think

I voted for them because they make a good noise, but the guy's weird squeaky vocals are a bit off-putting. He sounds like he's permanently on the verge of whiting out, which is probably actually the case.

Crap, I own that Pharaoh Overlörd album and I totally forgot it in my list.

Weedeater has some rad songs on it and I put it near the bottom of my ballot iirc but it also feels like it was thrown together really quickly

This.

well yeah but I was totally down with the "good noise" part; I am definitely going to try to check out their previous album

I liked that pharaoh overlord lp quite a bit (except for the terrible, terrible cover, yes) but also forgot to vote for it :-/

weekend nachos is the only thing that I voted for that's showed up so far. it was near the bottom of my list iirc but it satisfies.

liking that kodiak cover and even the lolsy PR blurb. will check that one out.

110. Septic Flesh - The Great Mass (268 Points, 10 Votes)
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRSiFJS35plMSJLmpv6LQIAm4B64KJY8mZ6YlIlzO1GsoDQAtuSgPfyQHGU
Spotify
http://www.last.fm/music/Septic+Flesh

Hailing from Athens, Attica, Greece, Septic Flesh was founded in 1990. Their sound was a Hellenic brand of death metal mixed with doom metal and gothic metal elements. The band has often been compared to other bands of a similar style, like Paradise Lost, Anathema, My Dying Bride or Nightfall

oh, I like them too

nothing about Septic Flesh - the cover, the name, sounds appealing. and then i read "Hellenic death metal mixed with gothic metal elements" and i feel like i should give it a shot

Those on Bandcamp so far:
http://weekendnachos.bandcamp.com/releases
http://grails.bandcamp.com/album/deep-politics
http://obscura.bandcamp.com/

I really fell in love with that septic flesh album after seeing them live.

now I know why he was so keen on a top 125. All his votes fell in that 100-125 range!
*goes to check if jjj voted for within temptation*

109. Red Fang - Murder the Mountains (278 Points, 11 Votes)
http://f0.bcbits.com/z/89/68/896814283-1.jpg
Spotify
http://www.last.fm/music/Red+Fang

Formed in 2005, Red Fang from Portland, OR is the latest stoner rock effort from long time bros and collaborators Bryan Giles (Last of the Juanitas, Party Time), Aaron Beam (Dark Forces, Lachrymator), David Sullivan (Party Time, Face Down In Shit, Shiny Beast) and John Sherman (Party Time, Bad Wizard, Trumans Water, All Night). The four have boiled down their disparate sounds to create the ONLY sound: RED FANG. Tour to Live.
The band runs on beer.

Oh also wrt peste noire dudes views (and forgive me but I am posting from iPhone so this will not be the typically erudite pearl of brilliance you might expect from me) he seems to espouse a really cartoonish version of French nationalism which on one level is sorta troubling but the guy is kinda hard to read. I'd be curious what someone with actual French chops would have to say about the lyrics because to me they are a mystery.

The band runs on beer.

Red fang is my stoner rock album of the year, but I am not really into stoner rock that much at this point so do with that what you will.

I like the Red Fang cover.

Xpost haha well yes.

jjj i'll repost this for you as you're on an iphone, but as a geetar shop owner i wondered what you thought of it

I read an article recently where some guy was saying that the reason metal isn't selling at the moment is because most of the 'hip' bands hyped by the metal media 'cant play their instruments'. He went on to say how black metal, doom metal and overrated arty drone bands like Sunn o))) cant play their instruments and that is why they make the 'boring' music they do and how they make for boring experiences at concerts. In stark contrast to the 80s where thrash bands could really play, SING instead of grunt, and put on exciting stage shows. He said that death metal bands could play but ruined it by the vocals, however the likes of Pantera,Sepultura and Machine Head could sell millions as they could play,wrote great songs, were crushing live and didn't try to be elite and kvlt and weren't ashamed to be trying to sell records. If the death metal vocalists had more character like those bands they could lead a renaissance especially if combined with melodic clean vox. He also bemoaned that all the big selling acts were metalcore who all had the same generic grunt vox (he might have a point there at least).
Wish i could remember where it was so I could link it but i've tried to sum it up as best as I could. Anyone agree or disagree on the dude's points?

btw it was an american writer. I always get the impression technical proficiency meant more in america.

Also ,lol, he bemoaned the fact that european metal was influencing american metal and how he hated USBM.

My other thought on peste noire is that they are black metal for people who like nww/current 93.

Red fang is my stoner rock album of the year, but I am not really into stoner rock that much at this point so do with that what you will

hmmm I had heard that Red Fang wasn't all that, but maybe I should give them a shot after all...

I had a whole long thing in my head but the short version is that the dude who wrote that article is an idiot.

Red Fang was rated highly on some stoner rock lists, but I don't consider them stoner at all. More in common with Baroness, Kylesa and Black Cobra.

http://redfang.bandcamp.com/

I didn't vote in this thing, but I liked that Red Fang album. Very Tad-esque in places imo.

jjj i want to hear your long form reply!

I'm off to run downtown and see Hugo with the wife. I'd like to think this poll might actually generate some sales for some of these bands. Can you include the Bandcamp links if they have them? Just a 1 sec Google search.

108. Windhand - Windhand (289 Points, 9 Votes, 1 #1)
http://www.roadburn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Windhand.jpg
http://www.last.fm/music/Windhand

“MORE AMPS. LESS TALENT.”

Windhand are a Sludge/Stoner/Psychedelic Doom/Rock band from Richmond, Virginia.
Their website is: http://www.myspace.com/windhand

OMG!!!!!!!!!

this was my #2 and I was convinced it wasnt going to make it; who voted it #1?

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z198/jimmyeightysix/Simpsons/lgmp0296i-didnt-do-it-bart-simpson-.jpg

i did have it lower down in my list i think. I forget who had it at #1. Probably a lurker who frequents outloud!

it got 17 points from me

but i'm glad i made george's day!

one day he will be able to tell Drugs B Money about that historic day.

well thanks lots lurker! and thanks Kerr! I love that album.

xp lol yeah. I can't wait!

also if someone wants to post bandcamp links after i post the latest albums then feel free, but I really have enough to do as it is.

Windhand placing proves one thing CAMPAIGNING FOR ALBUMS ON THE THREAD REALLY WORKS.

my browser is awful (it crashes about three times on average when outlouding) so I have never actually clicked on the youtube thread, but I'm going to now

Yeah, I repped hard for Murmuure last year as it was by far my favourite album and it ended up pretty high (between 25 and 30, I think?). My campaign for Police Bastard on the all-time tracks poll was not so successful...