Rolling Metal Thread 2012

Oh, duh, I should have mentioned that Jeff's thing in Decibel is where I encountered Shear. Totally disagree about the rest of the album not "living up" to the first track. "Scorched" is my favorite, but I think the whole album is really strong.

About to announce full US Agalloch tour. This is the most extensive North American run and longest tour of their career.

Very cool. Would love to see them again so I hope they head south.

oh boy!!

Okay, I don't know much about Semargl, but the combination of cover art (see below), title (Satanic Pop Metal), and the descriptions on RYM are really making me morbidly curious about their new album.

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/78b4b05ec3c99ac344ba56330d1b930d/o3741118.jpg

Some RYM user reviews:

Hilarious album. Black metal took....a different path.

Well, if a band ever wanted to piss off the purist, evil kvlt black metal kids, they're doing an amazing job, considering the hate I've seen for this, haha.

If you ever wanted to hear a Behemoth and Ke$ha collab album, this is the closest you're gonna get.

ok, whoa, sorry about the hueg cover art!

Just a reminder that Jeff Loomis' Plains Of Oblivion is fucking amazing. The two songs with Christine Rhoades make me want them to do a whole album together. They also make me want to shred while standing powerfully upon a small meteor flying through the galaxy.

Yeah, those two songs are superb, sad she didn't sing on the entire album. But those instrumentals are mighty good, too.

No doubt. One of the highlights of 2012, start to finish. Loomis is incredibly lyrical and melodic for a shredder of his caliber.

I still need to track down that Loomis album.

Big year for metal dudes getting into jazz fusion, and I'm enjoying that. First was the surprisingly good TRAM album (dudes from Animals as Leaders, Suicidal Tendencies, and Mars Volta) and now we've got Trioscapes, which features Dan Briggs from Between the Buried and Me. I've only heard their Mahavishnu Orchestra cover thus far, but if the rest of the album holds up as well I think it'll be pretty fun.

Jesus but the new Baroness has got some really bad songs on it.

And in other news:

Jesus but the new Baroness has got some really good songs on it.

It's like Baroness made an EP of some of the best stuff they've ever done and decided to stretch it out to album length at the last minute with power ballads and Decemberists cover versions.

Oof. I hope you heard the fake press release version.

Adrien said on twitter that one of the songs reminded him of Weezer, so I'm guessing Doran got the same version.

Yeah I saw that tweet too, which is why I was hoping I could wish this "fake press release version" into existence. This had been one of my most anticipated albums of the summer.

i preordered the fancy book vinyl so it better be good.

The new songs were super boring live, although that might have more to do with them just not really fitting on metal bills anymore.

or they were boring songs?

Like, they sounded like they might be good sitting in my apartment and chilling out to them, but not sandwiched between Decapitated and Meshuggah.

Also, I am sure that this new Ulver album consisting of covers of 60s psychedelic rock songs will be of no interest whatsoever to people on ILM…

The new Baroness is crazy good. Sure, maybe a couple toss-offs, but it's a double album, those things happen.

Ulver was absolutely baffling doing the '60s covers at Roadburn. It sounded phenomenal, but it was surreal seeing Garm doing the maraca thing. It was missing that slow-burning mystique that Ulver usually brings, especially on their last three albums.

I've been asked to book some shows for Sledge Leather. It's Leather Leone (ex-Chastain) and her original Rude Girl partner Sandy Sledge. Accompanying them are Scott Warren and Jimmy Bain from the Dio band.

The question is, will anyone want to see this group? I think the tunes sound good... but I'm always shy about "historical merit."

What's interesting to me is that the new Baroness is only 75 minutes long; it could have fit on a single CD, but they seem to have split it in half so the listener would think about the two sets of songs as being separate. I've only listened to it a couple of times so far, but the first single is seriously the best song they've ever done, and even the weird shit on the second disc (where I think they're using a drum machine) works for me. Definite Album of the Year contender.

I will give anything a chance, but I have yet to hear a single Baroness song that I enjoyed.

The new Baroness single is the first music of theirs that I enjoyed.

As for Sledge Leather, as far as trad metal goes, this is really quite amazing.

Is their a show circuit for legacy metal? I haven't seen many (any?) listings for such shows in Dallas except for the glam guys.

wrong their there. I need an editor.

Seems like these shows invariably are either big and expensive (ie MSG + Anvil), or sad and under-attended (ie Diamondhead / Iron Butterfly)

Helps if you had hits. Helps more if you have all the right members in the band still living/performing.

sS there any chance of sending them out with a younger/bigger band who cites them as favorites/influence? That would likely be the best chance to succeed.

Honestly, I've never heard of these guys, so I'm not really sure what the potential audience would be. Unless it's a buzz band like Pentagram, I don't know how well these shows are liable to do – the Sanctuary show I went to was pathetically attended, but on the other hand, the Doro show did fairly well at the Whiskey. Of course, Doro has been active this entire time and she's always been more of a name.

That said, my research into them has given me some ideas for potential new Lazarus Pits, so cheers for that!

It's like Baroness made an EP of some of the best stuff they've ever done and decided to stretch it out to album length at the last minute with power ballads and Decemberists cover versions.

wait did they seriously cover the fucking Decemberists

98% sure that was a joke, but its that other 2% that is going to keep me up tonight.

Looking at the tracklist and half of them could be Decembrists song titles:

1 Yellow Theme
2 Take My Bones Away
3 March to the Sea
4 Little Things
5 Twinkler
6 Cocainium
7 Back Where I Belong
8 Sea Lungs
9 Eula

Disc 2:

1 Green Theme
2 Board Up the House
3 Mtns. (The Crown & Anchor)
4 Foolsong
5 Collapse
6 Psalms Alive
7 Stretchmarker
8 The Line Between
9 If I Forget Thee, Lowcountry

Eh, as a recovering fan of the first couple Decemberists albums, really only the last one does.

Look at their more recent work and you'll get a shiver.

I heard the last one that was like an Americana album that rips off Gin Blossoms and R.E.M. and I still can't shake it.

Anyway, glad to hear some of you are actually liking the Baroness record. Doran had me scared.

morbid saint reissue is fucking stellar. something about that historical thrash energy for me

Is this a new reissue? I mean, after the 2008 one? Love that record.

j0hn I particularly think you should track down this Sledge Leather Project record Imagine Me Alive. It's classic 80s trad metal energy and enthusiasm played by total veterans, with heart, chops, and inspiration.

Fans of Judas Priest's Angel of Retribution, the self-titled Candlemass, and Heaven and Hell's The Devil You know should take note.

Chuck, that means you too, right?

same record being reissued on vinyl. I'll look out for Sledge Leather Project - anything w/"Project" gets the nod from me, love that

did you guys see the cover of the ulver covers album?

http://www.kscopemusic.com/ulver/childhoodsend/

Oh man! Had not seen that.

i like the video and their version of this song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MUzBJRWB64&feature=youtu.be

YOU SHOULD BE FUCKING SCARED! YOU SHOULD BE SHITTING YOUR FUCKING LEMON SCENTED PANTIES! THE DECEMBERISTS COVERS AREN'T THE WORST SONGS ON IT! WAIT TIL YOU HEAR THE TWO 'WINDS OF CHANGE'/I HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME WHEN I WAS A KID AND THINGS WERE SIMPLER POWER BALLADS!

RUN FOR THE HILLS!

I should restate at this point, it does also contain some of their best songs to date as well. And there's a song that's going for some kind of OK Computer/Dark Side Of The Moon hybrid which is really cool.

But you need to take this shit over to the Rolling Atmospheric Adult Orientated Indie Thread - it ain't metal no more.