Rolling Metal 2017

doubt there are many Broken Hope fans here but they seem to have begun releasing their best material since their reunion. early stuff is competent and fun if not special, but the last two actually have good production and songwriting, and the new one has some creative melodic parts throughout. nothing original but buttloads of fun.

Their first album on Rate Your Music with a score over 3.5! I might have to check that out.

New Cemetery Urn is good. Australians.

BH's Grotesque Blessings is an unfortunately overlooked album. It came out right around the time of CC's Bloodthirst so I always sort of pair them -- though the Broken Hope is more musically interesting, if not as solid and consistent. Probably a lot of the noteworthiness of that album was the juxtaposition of the two guitarists/songwriters; the more distinctive of the two, Brian Griffin, penned the better songs, but then didn't return for the reunion. Anyway there's some weird riffing and rhythmic stuff going on with Grotesque Blessings. It's the only thing by that band I ever want to listen to.

I will say however that the single track I've heard of the new one sounded better than expected.

I got their early stuff cos they were opening for Obituary back in 2012 so I wanted to get familiar, and being into gore-death I liked Loathing and the rest was kinda ehh.... but none of it really stood out or anything. but their last two post-reunion albums actually sound like some real effort went into them. they're fun live too - Wagner really enjoys himself and seems to have let go of his ego a little (think the infamous Metal Maniacs letter he wrote). they'll never be top tier but they upped their game a bit.

they even wrote and recorded some of their own "fake horror movie" interludes rather than sample real movies on the previous album. they were pretty funny.

Earl Maneein, the violinist from the group Revolution15 (they were sort of metalcore/thrash but with his electric violin as the lead instrument), has formed a string quartet, Seven)Suns, that does versions of the Dillinger Escape Plan's "43% Burnt," Mr. Bungle's "Quote Unquote," and Arvo Pärt's "Fratres," as well as his original music. Their debut album is out now on the DEP's Party Smasher label.

https://7sunsmusic.bandcamp.com/

New Circle album on Southern Lord, "Terminal" is pretty good shit. Not all metallic but still heavy and the vocals are as deranged as always, that Finnish mushroom shaman vibe.

the new Unleash the Archers record rules imo

listening to the new Impetuous Ritual (thank you fork), and as I like Portal, I am liking this.

ahh yeah I remember loving their previous album, such weird necro production with amazing guitar leads

I liked the last one despite mostly hating Portal; will check this one out at some point.

lmao this impetuous ritual record

I like it even though at times it's kinda like listening to a malfunctioning vacuum cleaner

I think the new Nokturnal Mortum is ridiculously good.

Did everyone pretty much decide whether they could like this before it even came out?
The conversation above seems to indicate that.

i remember the handwavey timeywimey stuff they did about them not being nazi's now so its ok

Glad to have your approval.

Æther Realm
Tarot
Primitive Ways
Release Date: 06/07/2017

http://www.nocleansinging.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Aether-Realm-Tarot.jpg

http://open.spotify.com/album/5D7pDFHMfyzgdVga2j2gV8
http://aether-realm.bandcamp.com/album/tarot-2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcA6PloeFCE

Genre police will have a tough time with this one because it repurposes death metal by infusing it with the intricacies of thrash, the epic quality of pagan metal and black metal's emotive qualities. Great playing, really catchy, very unique and just great all around.

the Ex Eye album (Greg Fox/Colin Stetson) is siiiiiick

New Monarch album in September.

Contaminated - Final Man
https://bloodharvestrecords.bandcamp.com/album/final-man-12lp-cd

Australian blackened death/doom, a la Abhorrence, Convulse and earliest Incantation. Gutteralest of gutteral vocals

Enjoying Ex Eye quite a bit!

I think the new Nokturnal Mortum is ridiculously good.

Did everyone pretty much decide whether they could like this before it even came out?
The conversation above seems to indicate that.

― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Wednesday, 28 June 2017 17:55 (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I thought it was pretty good if not quite on the level of the previous album. People here love Burzum so just chill and enjoy the music and pretend they're not ghastly far-right nationalists basically

Second track of the Ex Eye is completely brilliant, I've decided

track from Aldrahn's new thing, Urarv, music kinda reminds me of Borknagar's Olden Domain if not quite as riffy

https://soundcloud.com/svart-records/urarv-broken-wand

and I'll just c/p this from a metal-archives post

The short version:
Aldrahn (DHG/The Deathtrip/Thorns) is back with debut full length 'Aurum' by avant-folk-black-metal group Urarv!

The long version:
Northern trees sometimes bear strange fruit. Arising from the shadow of mental institutions and personal secret corners comes the Norwegian Urarv ("Ancient Heritage"), the new project spearheaded by avant-metal stalwart Björn Aldrahn Dencker of DHG and The Deathtrip and Thorns fame. "The ideas and visions for Urarv started actually back in 2003 during a stay that I had at the local mental institution where I live," comments Aldrahn. "It began dawning on me one evening as I was locked out on to the perimeter of the facilities to have a stroll."

At first, Urarv was going to be a folkish song-oriented solo-project exclusively, but as time went by, those thoughts proved themselves to be much too dysfunctional, and in the end, it would take several years until it all began taking shape properly. It wasn't until the summer of 2013, however, when enough material for a full-length album was ready. From thereon, Aldrahn sought out for fellow musicians to join his escapade of sonar expedition and relinquishment of artistic restraints. He was lucky enough to find two excellent creatures to do the drums and bass. Patricia and Sturt joined in with great enthusiasm and conviction when rehearsals began taking place later that year.

While Urarv recognizes the ancient heritage of Norwegian black metal, it also tramples across limitations. At the core of the project lies the idea of experimentation with various unorthodox tunings and curious sounds. "We want to tap into uncharted territories to see what lies hidden under the rocks and dead horses and beneath the cold vastness of uncertainty," says Aldrahn. "We're traveling to remote regions of metal and mental space with this music. Although our message is one of emotional putrefaction, we want to help listeners find a way through the black hole."

Aurum is set for international release on September 22nd via Svart Records on CD, LP, and digital formats.

that is awesome

sometimes I think only Norwegians should be allowed to make black metal

I'd be fine with that, if they were also forbidden to export it beyond their borders.

Yr both silly billies.

Contaminated - Final Man

Looking forward to this but I have to listen to it a little more and make sure it's not just 'cause I'm in love with the crazy mutant astronaut cover.

http://i.imgur.com/VNBKCbG.jpg?1

Blood Harvest are turning into a pretty reliable label for me, though, Tehom, Suffering Hour, Tomb Mold, Cadaveric Fumes... good shit.

somehow, that Urarv has already leaked (likely from the mastering engineer's own desktop). It's good. Totally one for the VBE and Dodheimsgard fans, and 2nd wave black metal folks. Great record, great riffs (even pulling out some of the '85 Destruction riffs that Aura Noir used to rip off), insanely great vocals

re: nokturnal mortum btw here's a statement issued by them a couple years back. whether it's exculpatory or w/e idk but this shit is usually findable by entering the band's name + the letter N into google & the autocomplete then gives you "Nokturnal Mortum no longer nazi" & similar stuff.

As well as a person who has many-sided world-view with its twists and turns, NOKTURNAL MORTUM – the band, which evolves in parallel with my own personal development – can’t stay the same. Many things change over time, because we learn and understand more deeply and comprehensively. Today it would be silly to stay the one who I was at my birth – life means learning, therefore we grow up and become wiser. Unlike many others, I don’t refuse my past – it’s a legacy which made me who I am now, and that is more than just important. Today I don’t share many views that I had in the past because of very different reasons – something was just husk, something disappointed me, something just does not matter. Nonetheless, I have been keeping music for myself as an instrument for self-development. The fact is that very kind of activity makes me leave behind well-known places and trails in search of myself. And this is what most important. Not number of CD sales, gigs, fame and other rubbish, but this. We have been walking a long way together and we have seen a lot with our music, we visited different places and we passed through different changes of our own personalities. Everything that I have said and done still lives in me because all this is what I am. I never lied and I am not going to lie further. If I claim something, this means that it is true at the present time; if I am not sure in something, I remain silent. For instance, when nowadays I am asked about my political views, I answer that I am out of this, and it’s true. I’ve seen a lot and I understand that this is not my side. As for religion, it’s not easy question neither, because it’s a very essence of man that should evolve over time. The person should not ossify and get stale, but always move forward to achieve the goal instead. All this has been reflected and will be reflected in my creative output. If it is interesting for you, you are free to walk with us towards this light together.
On account of what I said, a lot will be changed. Our logo, for example. It is no longer possible for NOKTURNAL MORTUM to exist under our old logo. With every new album we are born once again, and I am convinced that this is truly how the things are supposed to be. Every new album means new life and new view. Also I decided that on future re-editions of our works for every album we shall use the logo under which it was created. The same goes for artwork, layout etc. At least, we will work on this. Verity is in every one of you. Follow it!

TD;DR

Seriously, though, the editor in me is like 'get to the feckin' point already'.

Ugh, TL;DR obviously. The editor in me is now like 'Don't post on forums on Sunday morning before you've had coffee you dolt.'

Even if you read the whole thing it's not terribly convincing, and I was relieved when I actually listened to their last album that I didn't like it. Whether I'd already subconsciously decided that I'd find NM a bit crap I don't know...

Not convinced here either. I'm usually suspicious of long-winded explanations for things that could be summarised in a single sentence. Smacks of the kind of equivocation politicians excel at. And that sense of smug superiority. Blah, whatever, I don't care for the band or the music so I've got no skin in this game.

lol yeah I don't really care either, I don't know why I always chime in when this band comes up. There's a similar convo upthread somewhere iirc

Here's a video of Gojira covering Sepultura's "Territory" live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syyxnrwZdEw

So we're at the halfway point of the year. Here's all of the metal albums that came out this year thus far that I enjoy... In alphabetical order because I haven't the desire to rank them yet.

Anomalie - Visions (Art of Propaganda)
Bathsheba - Servus (Svart)
Beastmaker - Inside The Skull (Rise Above)
Black Anvil - As Was (Relapse)
Body Count - Bloodlust (Century Media)
Craven Idol - The Shackles of Mammon (Dark Descent)
Disharmony - Goddamn The Sun (Iron Bonehead)
Dread Sovereign - For Doom The Bell Tolls (Ván)
Falls of Rauros - Vigilance Perrenial (Bindrune)
Farsot - Fail Lure (Prophecy)
Fen - Winter (Code666)
The Flight of Sleipnir - Skadi (Eisenwald Tonschmiede)
Full Of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy (Profound Lore)
Galley Beggar - Heathen Hymns (Rise Above)
Gruesome - Fragments of Psyche (Relapse)
Hexis - Tando Ashanti (Init)
Horn - Turm Am Hang (Northern Silence)
Ides of Gemini - Women (Rise Above)
Jagged Vision - Death Is This World (Fysisk Format)
Junius - Eternal Rituals for the Accretion of Light (Prosthetic)
King Woman - Created in the Image of Suffering (Relapse)
Kreator - Gods Of Violence (Nuclear Blast America)
Laster - Ons Vrije Fatum (Dunkelheit)
Lich King - The Omniclasm (Self-Released)
Light of the Morning Star - Nocta (Iron Bonehead)
Lo-Pain - In Tensions (Aqualamb)
Lorn - Arrayed Claws (I, Voidhanger)
Mammoth Mammoth - Mount the Mountain (Napalm)
Mastodon - Emperor of Sand (Reprise)
Medico Peste - Herzogian Darkness (World Terror Committee)
Nargaroth - End Of Threnody (Inter Arma Productions)
Naudiz - Wulfasa Kunja (Iron Bonehead)
Nokturnal Mortum - Істина (Oriana Music)
Obituary - Obituary (Relapse)
The Obsessed - Sacred (Relapse)
Overkill - The Grinding Wheel (Nuclear Blast America)
Pallbearer - Heartless (Profound Lore)
Pyriphlegethon - The Murky Black of Eternal Night (Iron Bonehead)
Rebel Wizard - Triumph Of Gloom (Prosthetic)
The Ruins Of Beverast - Exuvia (Ván Records)
Sabbath Assembly - Rites of Passage (Svart)
Saule - Saule (Avantgarde Music)
Slagmaur - Thill Smitts Terror (Osmose)
Solitary - Diseased Heart of Society (UKEM)
Sólstafir - Berdreyminn (Season Of Mist)
Stinking Lizaveta - Journey to the Underworld (Translation Loss)
Thron - Thron (Clavis Secretorvm)
Unearthly Trance - Stalking The Ghost (Relapse)
Uniform - Wake In Fright (Sacred Bones)
Venenum - Trance Of Death (Sepulchral Voice)
Violet Cold - Anomie (Self-Released)
Warbringer - Woe To The Vanquished (Napalm)
Woe - Hope Attrition (Vendetta)
White Ward - Futility Report (Debemur Morti Productions)

^^^ some great stuff on that list, a lot of stuff I need to check out. Cool to see Rebel Wizard, a promising band nobody seems to talk about.

So I didn't know Kam Lee's funeral doom band had released an album (after ten years of not releasing anything). It's pretty good! And they used EVP recordings for extra spoop!

http://pulverised.bandcamp.com/album/spiritus-immundus

Also, good news if you like 2nd-string Watain style modern black metal, there's a new Blaze of Perdition on the way! I'll probably buy it for some reason!

http://agoniarecords.bandcamp.com/album/conscious-darkness

Four songs 40+ minutes, I dunno, maybe something interesting will happen.

Oh and the Ensnared album Dysangelium is totally worth checking out, well composed death metal (not brutal/cavernous/discordant) that has a little bit of old school thrash DNA in it. Also cool little instrumental interludes that flow well with the songs.

I'll cosign for Body Count, Kreator, Mastodon, Obituary, The Obsessed, and Sólstafir, and add:

Les Chants du Hasard - s/t
Cranial Engorgement - Horrific Existence
Crystal Viper - Queen of the Witches
Danzig - Black Laden Crown
Dimmu Borgir - Forces of the Northern Night
Elder - Reflections of a Floating World
Immolation - Atonement
Vallenfyre - Fear Those Who Fear Him
Volur - Ancestors

I heard Planning for Burial - Below the House, and that hits the sweet spot so bad. It's metal the way some Mt Eerie is metal, that is, not very much, but it's so great. Noise, screams, bells, synths. The whole thing.

If you like Heavy Metal music, you might like this heavy metal music song:

https://open.spotify.com/track/1uyrnKbBlZJ7NWbgkdaZOx

it's gotta be heavy metal music
if you wanna thrash with me
if you wanna thrash with me

wow I had no idea NOcturnal Rites were still at it!

Cool to see Rebel Wizard, a promising band nobody seems to talk about.

so obsessed w/this band right now that I'm gonna buy a Takamine GX-200. like, for real

My favorites so far:

Apostate Viaticum - Before the Gates of Gomorrah - I guess this is OSDM, but not a slavish copy of anyone. The recording is raw and natural sounding - not one of those airless, stitched-together sounding recordings. The right balance of atmosphere and rocking. The rhythm section has some spring in its step, memorable melodies. Maybe for fans of last year's Cadaveric Fumes or Interment.

Power Trip - Nightmare Logic - Old-school thrash. Lively tempos. Loads of fun.

Extremity - Extremely Fucking Dead - Raw OSDM, with loads of attitude.

Immolation - Atonement - A sprawling opus, took me a few listens to start to find my way around. Some monster riffs appear, though none stay around for long.

Ministry are releasing a limited edition double live LP, Live Necronomicon, recorded in 1992, via Bandcamp. The set list includes Pailhead and Lard tunes. About 90 minutes of music in all.

Uh.. buddy you just got me interested in hearing a Ministry album in 2017.

P/i/L and Skinny Puppy covers, too. Is that Johnny Rotten singing on Public Image? I'm at work so I can't really crank it.

xxxp I gotta check out that Extremity and AV

Here's my so-far list:

Artificial Brain - Infrared Horizon
Ascended Dead - Abhorrent Manifestation
Bathsheba - Servus
Celestial Bodies - Spit Forth From Chaos
Cemetery Urn - s/t
Circle - Terminal
Craven Idol - The Shackles of Mammom
Crystal Fairy - s/t
Demon Head - Thunder on the Fields
Emptiness - Not for Music
Ensnared - Dysangelium
Evo - Warfare
Fell Ruin - To The Concrete Drifts
Förgjord - Uhripuu
John Frum - A Stirring in the Noos
Gorephilia - Severed Monolith
Great Old Ones - EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy
John Hoyles - Night Flight
Immolation - Atonement
Ingurgitating Oblivion - Vision Wallows in Symphonies of Light
Jagged Vision - Death Is This World
Lantern - II: Morphosis
Lorn - Arrayed Claws
Lo-Ruhamah - Anointing
Loss - Horizonless
Morast - Ancestral Void
Mordbrand - Wilt
Necrot - Blood Offerings
Rude - Remnants...
ShadowThrone - Demiurge of Shadow
Succumb - s/t
Suffering Hour - In Passing Ascension
Tehom - The Merciless Light
Tomb Mold - Primordial Malignity
Valborg - Endstrand
Vallenfyre - Fear Those Who Fear Him
Völur - Ancestors

I like the new Schammasch and Jesters of Destiny stuff but I need to give both more listens.

That Evo record, btw, is highly recommended for any fans of Warfare or Venom. Fast Eddie and Lips play guitar on it. Nik Turner appears. It sounds like a grandpa metal hoedown but Evo's actually still writing solid punk metal bangers.

sounds like it's gonna be a grandpa metal hoedown I mean