I find the 'extreme metal only' stance to be quite boring
SO boring. I saw some dipshit on Twitter today claiming that Van Halen weren't metal. People these days act like metal started with Slayer, or something.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Wednesday, 6 December 2023 21:25 (five months ago) link
The combination of camp and dorkiness is a big part of the appeal of heavy metal to me - basically "Necropolis" by Manilla Road is the ideal.
― jmm, Wednesday, 6 December 2023 22:16 (five months ago) link
i really want to like power metal cuz basically trad metal is my jam forever, and love dio, maiden, etc etc but most of the stuff i hear on this thread or on facebook just has a stench of "eurovision music" to me that i can't get over :/
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 6 December 2023 22:36 (five months ago) link
I'm not really into the "metal that sounds like a pinball machine" style of power metal, to badly paraphrase somebody I once knew who hated Rhapsody. I like power metal that has riffs, but melodic tastefulness as well, and lots of it can have too much of a glimmering sheen and be overproduced for me. particularly a lot of the neo-classical power metal bands.
I like:
Blind Guardian (one could argue that they were more speed metal than power for much of their career)Helloween (same, but I think you'd have to say they're power NOW, even if not on their earlier stuff)early Angra (basically Helloween gone Brazilian, with heavier classical influence)Manticora (they did some high concept album about a serial killer that was good a few years ago, actually had some face-melty riffs on it)Labyrinth (featuring the original vocalist from Rhapsody, Fabio Leone...or at least, at one point he was with them)Rhapsody (I didn't say 'of Fire' because lol fuck that, also I haven't heard anything from post-name change)Gamma Ray (Kai Hansen!)
I hate:
Dragonforce (I don't care if they count, they must be shidded on)
― STUPID CRAP FACE (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 6 December 2023 23:14 (five months ago) link
i don't think they are even exactly "power metal", they have some AOR tendencies but I love High Spirits so much
https://highspiritsmetal.bandcamp.com/album/safe-on-the-other-side
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 6 December 2023 23:17 (five months ago) link
Rhapsody of Fire are fantastic. They make me laugh, but in a giddy pleasurable way, not mockery at all. But the stuff I would write about, if I wrote the book I have in my mind, is all along the Dio/Manowar/Armored Saint/Manilla Road/Attacker/Visigoth axis. The kind of thing that still gets described as "heavy metal."
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Wednesday, 6 December 2023 23:40 (five months ago) link
I love pretty much all of that stuff
― STUPID CRAP FACE (Neanderthal), Thursday, 7 December 2023 00:18 (five months ago) link
I've never actually listened to Manilla Road. There's something about the name (why the extra L? Is it vanilla from the Philippines?) and their pretty much uniformly terrible album art that has always kept me away.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Thursday, 7 December 2023 01:03 (five months ago) link
Seems like Mark Shelton didn't really know the reason for the name either.
Why the name Manilla Road?The first drummer for the band, Ben Munkirs, and I were having some beers in his kitchen watching Monty Python’s Flying Circus on a small black and white TV. In our drunken stupor we came up with the name Manilla Road thinking that it meant the road of light. Don’t really know why we hung on to it but we did and so that name of the band.
The first drummer for the band, Ben Munkirs, and I were having some beers in his kitchen watching Monty Python’s Flying Circus on a small black and white TV. In our drunken stupor we came up with the name Manilla Road thinking that it meant the road of light. Don’t really know why we hung on to it but we did and so that name of the band.
https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2011/06/manilla-road-interview-with-mark.html
― jmm, Thursday, 7 December 2023 01:32 (five months ago) link
i have a few of their albums, they were also killer live the one time I saw them at a festival
― STUPID CRAP FACE (Neanderthal), Thursday, 7 December 2023 01:51 (five months ago) link
Crystal Logic and Open the Gates are American metal classics!
They were so epic and fun, and Shark was one helluva guy.
― A. Begrand, Thursday, 7 December 2023 04:17 (five months ago) link
Manilla Road were fantastic and had a pretty amazing run of albums in the 80s
― Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Thursday, 7 December 2023 09:52 (five months ago) link
Wouldn't say they were power metal, but certainly nothing they did would put off power metal fans. They were a trad metal band who embraced thrash, doom etc and were adopted by fans of those styles and I think Unperson would adore the album 'Crystal Logic'. Embrace the corny album covers. I have a print of Crystal Logic cover framed on my wall!
― Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Thursday, 7 December 2023 09:55 (five months ago) link
Manila Road is one of the greatest of all metal bands. Once you buy in, the covers become a feature, not a bug.
― Judi Dench's Human Hand (methanietanner), Thursday, 7 December 2023 14:39 (five months ago) link
I started listening to Crystal Logic last night, and the riff on the title track immediately reminded me of Black Flag's "The Bars":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJGDmGZjXxk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-O32cr9l0Y
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Thursday, 7 December 2023 15:00 (five months ago) link
Tangentially, this band Sacred Outcry is some fantastic Euro power metal. Cheesy and grandiose but without that modern glossy production.
https://sacredoutcry.bandcamp.com/album/towers-of-gold
― jmm, Thursday, 7 December 2023 15:18 (five months ago) link
Sepultura are packing it in:
"Sepultura has reached the end of the road and has chosen to depart via a conscious and planned death. Throughout the next 18 months we will celebrate 40 years of existence together along with our loyal fans on a farewell tour across the entire globe. It will be a celebration of the past and the present for one final time. After 4 decades filled with ups and downs, having visited 80 countries and countless different cultures, we’ve had the chance to become Brazil’s messenger to the world and spread our colors and rhythms worldwide. With our latest studio album Quadra, a highlight of our career, we added an unforgettable chapter followed by the SepulQuarta experience that helped us to overcome the difficult times of the pandemic together. We will unite our forces for one final, strong farewell. And all of you can be a part of it. During this 40th anniversary tour, we will record 40 live tracks in 40 different cities and release a massive compilation of our best, most energetic moments on stage.We are happy and very grateful for everything we could witness within the past four decades. We have released great albums and played unforgettable shows, cultivated friendships, met our idols, contributed to placing Brazilian metal on the world map, and therefore feel that we can leave the music scene with a sense of duty fulfilled. We’ve always had the best fans in the world, who supported us with praise and criticism, who were demanding and intelligent, who grew together with the band and have always been loyal. Without you, none of this would have been possible. This album and this tour are for you. Dear SepulNation - we love you and always will! Euthanasia, the right to a dignified death. The right to choose to live free and to choose when you die!"
European farewell tour dates:
30/10 Paris, FR - Zenith Paris - La Villette31/10 Offenbach am Main, DE - Stadthalle01/11 Hamburg, DE - Edel Optics Arena02/11 Cologne, DE - Palladium03/11 Den Bosch, NL - The Rock Circus05/11 Brussels, BE - Ancienne Belgique06/11 Esch-sur-Alzette, LU - Rockhal08/11 Manchester, UK - Manchester Academy09/11 Dublin, IE - Olympia Theatre10/11 Belfast, UK - Telegraph Building 11/11 Glasgow, UK - Barrowland Ballroom12/11 London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo14/11 Zurich, CH - The Hall15/11 Ludwigsburg, DE - MHP Arena16/11 Munich, DE - Zenith17/11 Budapest, HU - Barba Negra19/11 Leipzig, DE - Haus Auensee20/11 Vienna, AT - Gasometer21/11 Katowice, PL - Spodek22/11 Berlin, DE - Columbiahalle23/11 Prague, CZ - O2 Universum
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Friday, 8 December 2023 16:02 (five months ago) link
i am listening to this album "Portal of I" by Ne Obliviscaris for this podcast i have to do...
it's crazy like some kinda "if dream theater and jean luc ponty were in a black metal band together" kinda thing, so over the top and dramatic
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 8 December 2023 17:28 (five months ago) link
xpost over/under on how long it takes for Max to try and sue to get usage of the name Sepultura back
― STUPID CRAP FACE (Neanderthal), Friday, 8 December 2023 17:35 (five months ago) link
some folks swear by Ne Obliviscaris, I just don't get the hype. to each their own, not here to hate... but to me it felt like the violin is used more like a gimmick than effectively.
At a Mortician show at Saint Vitus right now and the drummer for Immortal Suffering is none other than Nikhil T of Anal Stabwound fame. I’m starstruck.
― Judi Dench's Human Hand (methanietanner), Saturday, 9 December 2023 00:44 (five months ago) link
Sounds like many of yall would enjoy Hell's Heroes VI in Houston, Mar 21-23, 2024. V was a lot of fun. Sodom, Queensryche (doing debut EP and The Warning), Candlemass (doing Nightfall), Solitude Aeturnus, Eternal Champion, Watchtower, Sumerlands, Traveler, Girlschool, Wytch Hazel, Bloodstar, Early Moods, Dawnbringer and many more.
https://www.sonicperspectives.com/news/hells-heroes-festival-announces-2024-line-up/
I got to see all of Chris Black's bands during my years in Chicago, including one show where he played, as Professor Black, songs from all his projects, including Dawnbringer and High Spirits. Brilliant.
A couple metal YT channels I started following this year doing their countdowns:
Melanie Loves Death Metalhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo2cZW6TPQM
The Heavy Metal Journalhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7JtxWXmTg
― Fastnbulbous, Saturday, 9 December 2023 06:29 (five months ago) link
Sorry bout the embeds, I thought I used the correct versions but apparently not. Will try again with Cassette Cult on Banger with Sarah from Smoulder for top 10 underground metal picks. Was happy to see Mansion finally get some attention, they've been in my year-end lists since their first EPs. She also created the Last Fanzine before Doomsday (https://bit.ly/LastFanzine) to accompany this which I may order.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTbOEedmD4M
― Fastnbulbous, Saturday, 9 December 2023 15:20 (five months ago) link
I've been stuffing death metal in my brain the past week, much of it from Melanie's recs.
Mealanie Loves Death Metal
1. Afterbirth - In But Not Of2. Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite3. Cruciamentum - Obsidian Refractions4. Tetragrammacide - Typho Tantric Aphorisms From The Arachneophidian Qur’an5. Disguised Malignance - Entering The Gateways6. Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium 7. Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us8. Fuming Mouth - Last Day Of Sun9. Outer Heaven - Infinite Psychic Depths (JR Hayes, Steven Tucker, Derek Vella)10. AHAB - The Coral Tombs11. Cannibal Corpse - Chaos Horrific12. Astiferous - Pulsations of the Black Orb13. Fossilization - Leprous Daylight14. Nothingness - Supraliminal15. Nithing - Agonal Hymns16. Suffocation - Hymns From Apocrypha17. Dying Fetus - Make Them Beg for Death18. Organ Dealer - The Weight of Being19. Neurectomy - Overwrought 20. Sulphur Aeon - Seven Crowns and Seven Seals
Bubbling under:Abyssal Rift - Extirpation DirgeAscended Dead - Evanfall of the ApocalypseAutopsy - Ashes, Organs, Blood & CryptsBody Void - Atrocity MachineCelestial Sanctuary - Insatiable Thirst for TormentDepraved Murder - Unethical Terrestrial CollapseDripping Decay - Festering GrotesqueriesEND - The Sin of Human FrailtyFesterdecay - Reality Rotten to the CoreThe Glorious Dead - Cemetery PathsGravesend - Gowanus Death StompGridlink - Coronet JupiterGrotesqueries - Vile Incantation - Unholy DeificationJarhead Fertilizer - Carceral WarfareLeft Cross - Upon Desecrated AltarsLipoma - Odes to SufferingMajesties - Vast Reaches UnclaimedNuclear Remains - Dawn of Eternal SufferingObituary - Dying of EverythingReverence To Paroxyms - Lux MorteSeeping Protoplasm - Exhale ExtinctionSentenced 2 Die - Parasitic InfectionSulfuric Hatred - Sulfuric HatredTomb Mold - The Enduring SpiritUlthar - Anthronomicon & HelionomiconVastum - Inward to GethsemaneGrotesqueries- Vile CrematoryVoidCeremony - Treads of UnknowingVomitory - All Heads Are Gonna RollWhore Of Bethlehem - Ritual of Homicide
― Fastnbulbous, Tuesday, 12 December 2023 04:42 (five months ago) link
shame about Sepultura, last few albums have been great with the latest lineup...lineup includes Obituary and Jesus Piece in UK too so can't resist that.
re: the Max thing... saw the Cavalera - Morbid Devastation tour recently and it RULED. there were 2 or 3 times where Max asked the crowd to chant 'THE REAL SE-PUL-TU-RA!!!!' back at him.... kind of awkward to be honest and crowd were laughing a bit but playing along. so I wouldn't be surprised at all if he somehow managed to grab the name back, even if it was a 'Cavalera Brothers' SEPULTURA' sort of thing.
― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Tuesday, 12 December 2023 08:27 (five months ago) link
*bill includes Obituary and Jesus Piece i mean
The Heavy Metal Journal (linked above) completed last EP with top 10. "This recurd blew me wee face off!"
― Fastnbulbous, Saturday, 16 December 2023 13:38 (five months ago) link
the two albums krallice released this year put the rest of the metal world to shame
― ivy., Saturday, 16 December 2023 16:08 (five months ago) link
Stuff I have heard and liked*
Horrendous – Ontological MysteriumTanith – VoyageDanava – Nothing But NothingWytch Hazel – IV: SacramentShadows – Out for BloodMoonlight Sorcery – Horned Lord of the Thorned CastleTyrann – BesattBehold the Arctopus – Interstellar OvertroveGridlink – Coronet JupiterTomb Mold – The Enduring SpiritMeurtrières – Ronde de NuitThe Night Eternal – FataleVoidCeremony – Threads of UnknowingHellripper – Warlocks Grim & Withered HagsSmoulder – Violent Creed of VengeanceAir Raid – Fatal EncounterMegaton Sword – Might & Power
*caveat: my listening dropped off sharply around August
― jmm, Saturday, 16 December 2023 16:39 (five months ago) link
late catching up to some stuff from this year, but the Crypta and Hellripper records both rule
― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 11:31 (four months ago) link
yeah co-sign the Hellripper, one of my earliest favs this year
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 14:38 (four months ago) link
Yeah, me too; I conducted a short email interview with the main dude for Bandcamp Daily. And since they only used a few words of it, I'll paste the whole thing here!
How would you describe the evolution of the music from the last album to this one? What are you better at (as a writer, as a player) in 2023 than you were in 2020?I think that the overall sound is perhaps more diverse on this album. In order to keep things interesting for myself, I wanted to branch out and bring some new elements into the sound from bands that typically wouldn't influence Hellripper's music. The only rule I set for myself was that the album would stay true to the black/speed/thrash style at the core, and so the goal was to incorporate these new things in a way that would compliment that style while being careful not to dilute the end product.
I think that I am better as both a writer and as a player, as well as a producer. With the many live shows we've played over the past couple of years and the amount of time I spent writing the tracks on this new album, I feel like I just naturally improved as a musician. But, I feel like I have improved as a songwriter and perhaps more importantly, I have grown more confident as a songwriter. As I mentioned previously, I wanted to bring in some different influences, and I don't think I would have been able to do some of the things that I've done here on the last album. It all comes from experience I guess.
I think the album is the best sounding Hellripper album to date also, and again that comes from experience in recording/mixing my own music over the years. Like with the songwriting, I wanted to try some new things production-wise on this record, and a lot of these ideas came from albums outside the black/speed metal genre. The process involved a lot of trial and error and there were some things that just didn't work out, but it was a really fun process for me.
Your lyrics are a mix of history, pre-Christian religion and anti-Christianity, but you've avoided drifting into bonehead "cultural nationalism" disguised as headbanger misanthropy - what advice do you have for other metalheads, to help them avoid that pitfall themselves?Well, first of all, I'm not a bonehead, so I guess that helps!
From having conversations with my non-Scottish friends, I've gathered that what you describe may be the case in other countries, but this is not the case in Scotland, and Scotland may be an exception in this matter. People may want independence for example and enjoy the culture, but in general it has no connotation to right wing views - in fact it's usually the contrary.
I don't know what advice I would give to other metalheads other than to do research and know what you're reading about/listening to. Don't fall into the trap of "National Myths" - where history is twisted or reappropriated to make a point that fits a personal opinion.
You play almost everything yourself on the records, but you have musicians you use for shows. Why not use them in the studio? Is it a question of geography/logistics, or something else?I just prefer the process of working alone mostly. The convenience, cost, and ability to change things myself at any point also play a part in that! I guess geography would be a factor also!
I am constantly changing things throughout the whole process and replacing/removing songs at all times. With about one month or so to go until I had to submit the album for mastering and to the label, I realised that one of the tracks just didn't fit and I wasn't 100% happy with it. So I made the decision to remove the track (which was almost fully recorded and mixed) from the album, and work on another half-written track instead. I was able to do that because everything is done at home by myself. That just wouldn't have happened if I had to go through the process of contacting other people, getting them to learn the track and hiring a studio for them to record it, and I would have been left with an album that I wasn't completely satisfied with.
It's a hobby and my passion, so I just really enjoy being able to write or record something whenever I want to with little thought for anything else.
Not a question, an observation: Good for you, using real bagpipes and not a keyboard on the title track!Thank you! I wish I could have played them myself, but I'm just no good unfortunately (or fortunately for my neighbours)! Antonio did a great job on the recording and I think they fit with the track nicely.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 15:17 (four months ago) link
new Vemod and Darkspace early next year (finally! x2)
https://shop.season-of-mist.com/darkspace-dark-space-ii-2024-cd-digisleeve-digitalhttps://shop.season-of-mist.com/vemod-the-deepening-cd-digipak
― StanM, Thursday, 21 December 2023 15:56 (four months ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBSHIR_5kVs
― StanM, Thursday, 21 December 2023 15:57 (four months ago) link
!!
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 21 December 2023 15:59 (four months ago) link
the Darkspace album is one 47 minute track apparently, they played it at the Prophecy Festival - first impressions: some people will say it's all the same/boring but I think there's definitely clear different parts & progression: youtube watch?v=5XFJkDFvyRM
― StanM, Friday, 22 December 2023 09:54 (four months ago) link
^ don't want to spoiler too much so I didn't embed it
― StanM, Friday, 22 December 2023 09:55 (four months ago) link
Baring Teeth are a Dallas, TX based trio. Their latest album is a slab of atonal avant-metal that still manages to have memorable songs. Recommended for fans of Imperial Triumphant:
https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-path-narrows
― o. nate, Friday, 22 December 2023 17:41 (four months ago) link
Vemod sounds promising too, don't know why it took them 11 years since Venter På Stormene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLh6yNFMcE8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnvMxclmUYQ
― StanM, Thursday, 28 December 2023 16:49 (four months ago) link