Jan Garbarek - The Picture

I've been listening to a lot of ECM jazz recently. Haunting, moody stuff that's very unlike traditional American jazz.

James Ferraro - Security Broker
Human Story 3 (2016)

Pretty much been listening to this album non-stop since it came out. This guy is my favourite current musician and he never ceases to amaze.
Very relevant especially if you live in a crowded city.

The Crown - Deathrace King

This was a recommendation from BastardHead, but to be frank, I'm not really feeling this. I mean, it's still better than a lot of garbage that passes as melodeath, but this album is giving me a generic vibe. There are some fantastic moments on here like "Blitzkreig Witchcraft" and the last riff section of "Total Satan", but I can't see myself rolling with this very often. Sorry BH, but you can scratch me off your Christmas mailing list. I don't even celebrate Christmas anyway.

Arch Enemy - Black Earth

I forget how heavy this is too easily, especially for melodeath.

Skeletal Remains - Condemned to Misery

This is up there with Gravehill's Death Curse as one of the best pure OSDM worship albums I've discovered over the last few months.

Angra - Angels Cry

"Carry On" has the gnarliest, thrashiest power metal riff I've ever heard. This is great so far. The vocalist sings with variety and the guitar melodies are out of this world. It's about time I listened to Angra.

Cave of Swimmers - The Prince of the Power of the Air

Currently playing this on my college radio show. Took me long enough to check this out, fucking awesome doom with some epic and proggy touches. that main riff is exactly what I feel (non-extreme) doom should be: fucking MASSIVE, groovy, rooted in trad metal, and worth repeating for 10 minutes straight.

Soen - Whatever the song in this video is:



Considering the insane Opeth kick I'm on right now, I'm in the absolute right mood to delve into this band more. This song in particular screams Opeth to me.

IDK what country you're from, but just a heads up they're touring the States right now.

I am going to give that Crown album a listen due to Mater_of-Thrash.

As an older metalhead it is a knock on me if I have not heard it yet!

1349 - Hellfire

Quite intense.

Stormheit - Turjan tuulet, hornan henget

Perfect music for this warm summer day!

The Planar Deformation EP.

Pretty epic stuff, I recommend it

http://tetraktysmedia.bandcamp.com/album/planar-deformation

Kerasphorus - Cloven Hooves at the Holocaust Dawn

Now THIS is war metal!

Slayer - At Dawn They Sleep

The epitome of atmosphere in thrash. Side A of this record could very well be the best in the subgenre's history (and side B isn't far behind).

Autopsy - Mental Funeral

If this isn't the best death metal album of all time, I don't know what is.

That's one of the only Slayer songs that I like, totally kickass track.

Ghoulgotha - To Starve the Cross

I wasn't really a fan of the first one because I felt it lacked structure (there's no point in writing a few great riffs if you're going to play them for about 20 seconds then fuck off and do something else for the rest of the song, normally with worse riffs), and it looks like this isn't much different. At least it sounds much less like Decrepitaph than the last one - I pissed off Mr Sarantopolous on facebook by comparing the bands (note: this was before I realised they shared members!).

Onmyo-za - Nurikabe

Interesting band, still need some time with it I think.

I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS

Striker - City's Gold

Ball-blazingly awesome heavy/speed metal.

That album (if you mean City of Gold) is one of the best metal records to come out since whenever the hell, it just totally rules. Heavy/power mixed with elements of thrash awesomeness. If any band deserves more recognition nowadays, it's them. Like a thrashy Iron Maiden. Plus, after the previous album (which is my number one of 2016 right now) they have solidified their badassery.

Yeah I meant City of Gold.

Their newest is one of my favourites of 2016, along with the newest Anthrax and Ulver. (That might change though, not naming names...) Seriously kickass stuff that totally deserves more attention.

Yeah, but we both like Suffocation, right?

Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad album at all, but it didn't really hit the spot. It isn't exactly what I was looking for, but at least I now know that there are some good melodeath bands, especially after hearing Eternal Death. I guess this is going to be added to your list of "MOT's questionable opinions".

Deathchain - 'Napalm Satan'

Nothing like a bit of self-referential thrashing.

Buckethead - Coat of Charms

Oh yeah bud, this is a really good one. This range of Pikes starting with #31 going on through are magical. Hall of Aluminum remains way up there on my favorites list, it's like a Sled Ride pt. 2. Taking how Sled Ride is one of my all time favorite Big B tracks, this one sits crazily well with me.

Mayhem - Life Eternal

That last review on this album is nonsense.

Matthias Steele - Haunting Tales of a Warrior's Past

Power/thrash masterpiece! Sadly this is only a download. I know it was "remastered" and released on cd by Minotauro Records earlier this year but from what i understand it was sourced from one of the original cassettes from 1991. So this isn't a true remaster at all. It still sounds like the original tape. I read on another forum where the drummer said the master tapes still exist and that's what they should have used to make this a proper sounding remaster. Anyway, this is still a metal classic.

^ I just looked that up to check out what you were talking about, and holy fudge this is badass. I'd never even heard of this, but I'm digging it like crazy. It reminds me of Thundersteel, but thrashier.

Catasexual Urge Motivation - Bleeding for Spermqueen

If you're gonna listen to goregrind, it may as well be something entirely fucked up, chaotic, disgusting, and menacing like this. The slow riffage is pretty noteworthy and memorable. Makes my skin crawl, the same way that listening to Molesting the Decapitated for the first time did.

Joint best Mayhem song (obviously Freezing Moon is the other), killer black metal at its finest!

"Stalagmire" -
Cauldron Black Ram

It's been a couple years since I've listened to them, and I haven't even listened to this album yet. I should revisit their discography soon.

Buckethead - Pike 150

With help from resident Bucketbot stainedclass2112 I've been navigating through his endless stream of pikes... and landed on one of his very best. Very sombre and tranquil.

Emperor - The Majesty Of The Night Sky


Because it's always worthwhile to revisit the absolute classics.

Glad to help! I'll gladly help anybody yearning for a quick tour through Bucketheadland. That is a very good one too, I was going to make a post of my own about Pike 150 but you beat me to it. With the death of his mother he left us the empowering masterpiece of Hold Me Forever, but with the death of his father he left us Heaven is your Home which is one his most touching and somber releases.

Volahn - Bonampak
Aq’Ab’Al (2015)
Not regularly into this sort of bm, but this is interesting and the guitars sound really good.

Lucifer's Fall - Cursed Visions - Dungeon Demos III

Really solid for a demo, and the unrehearsed covers are fun. New album from these Aussies coming later this year!

Disclone - Death from Above

On a first listen this seems to be pretty competently executed d-beat with a slight blackened touch but nothing special. Still, raw d-beat at 21 songs in 23 minutes is the sort of thing I normally lap up so I'll give it a few more goes.

"One Nation Underground" -
Pearls Before Swine

Really cool Psyche Folk from the 60s. Almost medieval sounding.

Armageddon - Embrace the Mystery

What a great slab of heavy/power metal. The best work of Christopher Amott imo.