Rolling Metal Thread 2014

'Gap Var Ginnunga' by Wardruna (2012 album, on vinyl for '14) is a p good example of that 'pagan/folk metal that accidentally sounds like Godspeed YBE' microphenomenon

don jamieson from that metal show liked it when i said his shirt was better than eddie trunk's #feelingblessed

http://s9.postimg.org/pjkc1kwn3/ttquick.jpg

It's an enjoyable record, but it's a pretty big stretch to call Wardruna metal.

There's a new Blind Idiot God record coming out - I know, I thought I was dreaming too but it's seems to be real. Indeed, it's a double LP called 'Before Ever After'. No idea who's doing press for it; I've asked on their Facebook page.

Holy crap. The title sounds very retrospective/reissuey, is there reason to think it's new material? I'm unreasonably excited either way.

xp yeah agreed - they are 'culturally metal' shall we say

Googling the label name turns up nothing, so I think they're self-releasing it. Can't wait to hear it.

It's more remarkable that supposedly 'authentic' archaeological music created on hundreds of years old instruments sounds so much like G!YBE.

Aren't Wardruna the ones that do the score for the TV show Vikings?

I love when Incantation ends their albums with epic doom tracks. The last track on their new one, Dirges of Elysium, is called "Elysium (End is Nigh)" and it's 16:23.

If you want to learn about the history of extreme metal in New Zealand, check out Craig Hayes' "South of Heaven" series for Radio NZ. First episode is streaming now:

Googling the label name turns up nothing, so I think they're self-releasing it. Can't wait to hear it.

Re Blind Idiot God, I emailed Tim Wyskida yesterday and he says Andy Hawkins is setting up a label for the record, it'll be a double LP/CD/download and they expect to have a release date and whatnot over the summer. Produced by Hawkins and Bill Laswell and written and recorded over a number of years (so I think Gabe Katz plays on it too, he apparently left the band two years ago).

Awww, nuts, Laswell.

Yeah, MacDara and I have both been chasing them simultaneously - Wyskida also mentioned they've got tour dates coming up in September or thereabouts. He passed me Hawkins' contact info and I'm thinking there'll be an interview for BA at some point.

Trivia time! Which of the following words does NOT occur in the lyrics of the new Mayhem album:
a) rocketeer
b) manimals
c) psy-kids
d) frankenfood

i want to guess... c?

I'll guess d) but won't be surprised if it's a trick question and they're all on there.

They are all on there!

It's a weird album. I'm curious what will happen if they ever play "Trinity" live, as there's a section where Atilla chants, with vocals layered to sound like a mob, "Heil! Heil! Heil! Heil!" That's just asking for trouble.

I think I like this thing, but as I said, it's weird, even for Mayhem. Someone somewhere said that they'd either written or recorded an entire album's worth of material in the vein of De Mysteriis dom Sathanas, but scrapped it in favor of whatever Esoteric Warfare turned out to be. That might explain why it sounds so all over the place.

Wow man. I want to know how "rocketeer" and "frankenfood" fit on there.

"Rocketeer" is in the song I assume is about Oppenheimer, "Trinity" -- "I am the god of war and vengeance / I will give you a war engine" & "Vril! Babalon, Antichrist, Rocketeer, Trinity / A-Bomb, Holy Grail, Manhattan, Shangri-la." It even begins with the "I am become death" line, because apparently we needed another metal album with that.

As for "frankenfood," it's in "Posthuman," which, while a really good song, has oddball lyrics mentioning nanotech, Morgellons, chemtrails, and other sorts of Art Bell bunker bedtime stories.

Is Morgellons capitalized? Is it a possessive? I think Atilla has been spending too much time on the Above Top Secret forums.

What I do know is that I'd like this album a lot more if it didn't grind to a halt every 30 secs or so. Those pregnant pauses worked on OAC because of the creepy Silent Hill "what's that moving through the fog?" atmospherics, but EW doesn't feel like it's trying to be that psychologically menacing. For an album that's gonna require a lot of listens, it's a little frustrating.

There's what sounds like a church organ in one song. It's completely wicked. ("MILAB.")

I listened to Esoteric Warfare last night for the first time. I really enjoyed it. I swear I hear an Alex Lifeson thing going on in some of the new guitarist's runs. Whoever he is, he's damn good. The stopping and starting thing has always bugged me about latter-day Mayhem, but it didn't strike me as badly on this one for some reason. I think maybe each individual pocket of insanity they manage to brew up before moving on to the next pocket is so, well, insane that I don't mind the jumping around as much. I'm definitely intrigued.

Also, I haven't seen it mentioned here yet, but the new Dead Congregation is an absolute monster. Their use of dual guitar feedback at key moments is so damn satisfying I'll be surprised if it doesn't revive a trend in that direction. And there's not a weak riff on the entire album (to my ears, at least). The production is nice and full, too, without being overly compressed.

i think the drummer carries a lot of the pregnancies erm to term w/ his presence, the snare work is very expressive for being so minimal at times

the new Impetuous Ritual sounds like being inside a nightmare from which one can't escape. Up to you to decide whether that's a good thing or not (for me it definitely is)

don't come lookin for songs tho. just noisy black metal w/ the occasional wanky solo

Yeah, that Impetuous Ritual is intense. And disorienting.

So some person (roadie?) made a tour diary video thing of his time with Mayhem in 2009. An American tour, it seems. He or she is selling it here but it's less than 40 mins long. I am only mentioning it so that I can post this pic of Atilla with a sundae.
http://i.imgur.com/fw9nkdz.jpg

Much to my (possibly naive) surprise, Deafheaven's Philly show tonight has sold out in advance and I am left out. If anyone can assist me getting two tickets which I will gladly pay for if need be, I would appreciate it. My email here works. Thanks for anything you can do!

The new Body Count album is worth your time.

Oh yeah it's very enjoyable.

I think it's one of the few things we can thank metalcore for, for rejuvenating Body Count.

Question my inbox has forced me to ask: Will DragonForce's cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire" be worse than Judas Priest's cover of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode"?

god yes

Two listens in on Esoteric Warfare, and yeah people are right, this really is all over the place. Attila's vocals are everywhere and really good, I like the new guitarist but the songwriting makes no sense at all - it sounds like they just Pro Tooled most of it together from disjointed bits in an afternoon. Drums are another thing - the playing is great but the drum sound is very uneven, the blast beats are too stiff and really lack punch but weirdly the slower bits sound fine (like on Corpse of Care, Posthuman etc). All in all I like the second half of the album much more.

But hats off to them, this is way more interesting than it should've been.

Also, I know Countess is an acquired taste, but this is some great footage of these staunch opponents of multitracked guitars:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyy7xdK2k8Y
Zagan back in the band! Orlok with short hair looks like James Hetfield!

impressed by the upcoming* album by Bastard Sapling, who I don't think I'd encountered before. USBM with a kind of latterday Swans** grandeur in places

*I am an advance promo dick but NPR are streaming a track I think
**was reading about Swans while listening to some of this album so I hope this is not mindtrickery

Much to my (possibly naive) surprise, Deafheaven's Philly show tonight has sold out in advance and I am left out. If anyone can assist me getting two tickets which I will gladly pay for if need be, I would appreciate it. My email here works. Thanks for anything you can do!

― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Monday, June 9, 2014 5:33 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

In other news, I've been listening to too much metal/carcass at work

Arrrrgh. I know I'm not supposed to do this but my gf isn't interested and I don't know who else to tell: the new Electric Wizard album slays. Super minimalist, heavy, stripped back and acidic compared to the last one.

Nice! Can't wait to hear it.

A prime Electric Wizard would be a beautiful thing for the summer. Jealous. Arghhh...

Great news!

playing the new Mayhem now. used to be a Mayhem fiend, but have fallen out of touch w/ them since after GDoW which was awesome. so far digging this a lot but honestly that logo goes a long way towards selling me on whatever they put out.

also love that Attila still sounds like fuckin Popeye havin a stroke on the toilet

wow I really fuckin like this two tracks in!

some of Attila's guttural growls are downright nuts. I forgot he can turn on the terrifying when he wants to (esp his guest vocal on Mediolanum Capta Est)

one of the riffs on track 7 sounds like Dick Dale playing black metal

Really hope they let that new guy (Teloch) use more of his own personality in the future; the most interesting parts are def those that don't sound like Blasphemer. They're never gonna top that run from WLA/GDoW through OAC, stylistically speaking, so this would've been a nifty time to start anew (like they did on WLA/GDoW).

Wolf's Lair Abyss def underrated in the grand scheme of things. still love "Fall of Seraphs"

Teloch did some equally impressive guitar work on the debut album from The Konsortium a few years ago, a record I really enjoyed. He's quite the talent.

Yeah, Wolf's Lair Abyss is their best. Brief, intense, great riffs, spectacular drumming, insane vocals, everything you'd want from a Mayhem record.

Grand Declaration is hit & miss, and Chimera is a bit bland but all in all their discography is surprisingly solid.

Okay what's some good recent metal for 80s/90s punk/noise rock/hardcore/AmRep refugees? Looking for something hard and heavy without hairfarmer vocals but not too math/proggy either. I'm sure I'm asking for false metal, that's fine, I don't care.

Also not 2014, but what's a good Slayer record?

We can talk about this in 2014