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CrushedRevelation
Devil's right hand

Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 8:47 am
Posts: 6070
Location: The cavern's core
PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:32 pm 
 

RapeTheDead wrote:
Carpathian Forest- Black Shining Leather
:thumbsup:


Nice work, and I couldn't agree more. Definitely a standout album from the late 90's within the Norwegian scene.
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Thumbman
Big Cube

Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:47 pm
Posts: 4473
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 11:08 pm 
 

Agalloch - The Marrow of the Spirit
Finally their fourth album is here. This time it is more black metal and features more tremolo riffing than any other release. The songs are longer and they started using blast beats. The three conventional BM songs were pretty good although they could have done something less conventional but still very good. To Drown is pretty cool it sounds like Godspeed You! Black emperor. Black Lake Nidstang steals the show. Very doomy, really cool new style of vocals and they do a fucking electronic interlude! The crazy thing is it works and who knew? Agalloch is good at making electronic music.

SIGARTYR - The Stranger
This is a nice Ep that features very nice classical guitar. Really nice atmosphere and the narration is also pretty cool. Also features some nice ambient.

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genericmetalhead666
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2010 12:12 am
Posts: 100
PostPosted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 11:59 pm 
 

Brutality - Screams of Anguish

This album never makes me think about WHY it's so good like a lot of albums do, except that it simply makes a good listen and it's such a solid piece of death metal. Some technicality, some very beautiful melodic parts, overall very consistent solid old school death metal. IIRC this is one of the lesser known Florida bands. Perfect mix between fast and doomy too, lots of awesome riffs and a shitload of guitar solos. It has a melancholic sound to much of it. This one never gets old.

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Cryptwatcher
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:18 pm
Posts: 118
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 1:28 am 
 

Here are a couple albums I have listened to this week for the first time I thought were very very good.


Funeral Veil - ...Visions of Decadence (EP)

All I can say to sum up this EP from this band is that it is just incredible. I am going to have to warn you folks, this is some scary black metal. Honestly, I haven't heard an album from any metal band that has actually made me feel scared until I listened to this EP. The guitars are minimalistic and are rather doomy. They are very fuzzy sounding like a lot of more depressing black metal. The most unique thing however is the screaming. I have not heard better or more spine tingling screams from black metal since Peste Noire. This EP is HIGHLY recommended. Scary, evil, depressing black metal, just in time for the holidays!


Elysian Blaze - Cold Walls and Apparitions

Funeral Doom has had quite an impressive scene this past decade with bands like Ahab and more, Funeral Doom is seemingly alive and well in the underground. One band from Australia that stands out is Elysian Blaze, this album in particular. The guitars are very surrealistic, and almost orchestral in a way. The vocals are very interesting as well, sounding like the vocals from Krzystof Penderecki's piece "Utrenja (Ewangelia)"
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darkfiend
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:43 pm
Posts: 32
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 4:21 am 
 

The_Beast_in_Black wrote:
....if I were to make a list of the best death metal albums ever made Left Hand Path, Like An Ever Flowing Stream and Nightmares Made Flesh would all most definitely make an appearance.


I recently started a thread inviting readers to contribute lists of favourite / best death metal albums ever at the Metal discussion section....

http://www.metal-archives.com/board/vie ... 33#1748133

Feel free to contribute such a list there if you wish. You seem to have a good understanding of what classic death metal albums are. Early Entombed & Dismember are of course two of the pioneers of Swedish Death Metal, & Bloodbath are likely the leading successor.

My contribution to this discussion then. The highlights of my metal playlist this last week were the following titles....

POWERMAD [US] - 'Let The Madness Begin' mini album [1988]. Judging by this recording, POWERMAD has to be one of THE underrated & overlooked speed / thrash metal bands of the 80s. Everything about this recording impressed & moved me, from the strong songwriting with catchy riffs & hooks, & simple, effective arrangements; solid musicianship, including a vocalist who can actually sing, yet with grit; & what a production, one of the best thrash metal productions ever, which punched me in the face with its combination of bone crunching heavy guitars, audible bass, & an awesome pounding drum sound, all perfectly balanced in the mix. This band was first tier quality speed / thrash metal, hell knows why they didn't get as recognised as say VIOLENCE or FORBIDDEN.

MILITIA [US] - 'Fiend Of Misery' CD [Demos compilation, 2010 reissue]. Not the MILITIA from Texas, this was another 80s US metal band from the Bay Area. MILITIA was not just another Bay Area thrash band though, their style was more power / thrash with a slight progressive edge [in a HEAVY way]. The Bay Area crunch is there, but the vocals are melodic & wailing, not unlike AGENT STEEL or FATES WARNING. The song structures are extended & involved, & need some getting used to, but with never a dull moment, ranging from mid paced / fast thrash parts a la FORBIDDEN, to heavy moody parts with a progressive twist. The musicianship is typically Bay Area high caliber, & the production is amazing for 80s demo recordings. It could easily pass for an album recorded today. A pity MILITIA never got as recognised as peers like HEATHEN or FORBIDDEN, perhaps their progressive nature narrowed their music's appeal. Nonetheless, KILLER.

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darkfiend
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:43 pm
Posts: 32
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 5:58 am 
 

TheJizzHammer wrote:
Artillery - 1990 - By Inheritence

I first heard about this when two posters were arguing over which thrash album was better {This Kreator, that Sodom}. By Inheritence came up and I decided to download it out of sheer boredom.

Boredom cured! A very good album indeed, I intend to buy it soon. The guitar tone is very satisfying, especially the leads which have a layered sound [don't know if they are or not] and the fast-paced riffing underneath/between the leads. I love speed and precision in thrash, and this album satisfies. One thing that I noticed is that I tend to enjoy the more frantic/sloppy albums like Pleasure to Kill and Darkness Descends, but this one ranks up high with those albums. This album was very memorable, many parts sticking with me after first listen.


Worthy contribution?


Good summary of that ARTILLERY album, the band was known for their precision crunching tech thrash riffing. I have the original cassette of this album, it was on my playlist a while ago. What I recall was the first two songs were absolute killers that floor you. Amazing musicianship, songwriting, & technical delivery. They picked up where their previous album 'Terror Squad' left off. After that though, I recall the album dropped a little by way of weaker songs, & didn't quite reach the level of the first two songs again. Still, its a good album that grows stronger with each listen, but not as good as their classic first two, 'Fear Of Tomorrow' & 'Terror Squad'.

I must say, how did this album get mentioned in a discussion about KREATOR & SODOM albums? Unless the discussion was about mid era albums of those bands such as 'Terrible Certainty' / 'Extreme Aggression' / 'Coma Of Souls', or 'Agent Orange' / 'Better Off Dead'. You know, when the German bands started to clean & tidy up their sound & delivery to be more professional, as opposed to their more chaotic, no holds barred earlier albums like 'Pleasure To Kill' & 'Obsessed By Cruelty'. Indeed, I once listened to my 'Terrible Certainty' & 'Terror Squad' records in succession, & they were similar albums in terms of technical, precise crunching thrash, with speed, intensity, & similar production tones too.

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Thumbman
Big Cube

Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:47 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 6:40 pm 
 

Elysian Blaze - Levitating the Carnal
This album is a very interesting fusion of black metal and funeral doom. There is a huge emphasis on atmosphere and piano melodies are frequent. The atmospheric parts on this are amazing. The metal parts are good too. Basically, the metal parts are black metal played at the plodding pace of funeral doom. This album definitely takes you on a journey.

Gris- Il Était une Forêt
Amazing black metal from Quebec (for those who don't know, Quebec is the French speaking region of Canada.) While the closest black metal sub-genre I can link this to is depressive black metal, Gris are really an entity of their own. They combine the suicidal atmosphere of depressive black metal with ethereal atmospheres and inspiring melodies. The thing that really just makes this album that much more amazing is the fact that the members also play classical instruments. The last song is a modern classical song, and to be honest, a lot better than most I've heard recently.

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Gravskog
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:17 pm
Posts: 250
PostPosted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 9:18 pm 
 

dystopia4 wrote:
Gris- Il Était une Forêt
Amazing black metal from Quebec (for those who don't know, Quebec is the French speaking region of Canada.) While the closest black metal sub-genre I can link this to is depressive black metal, Gris are really an entity of their own. They combine the suicidal atmosphere of depressive black metal with ethereal atmospheres and inspiring melodies. The thing that really just makes this album that much more amazing is the fact that the members also play classical instruments. The last song is a modern classical song, and to be honest, a lot better than most I've heard recently.


:nods:

Remove the harsh vocals and reduce the distortion a bit and you'll end up with something with little if any similarity to black metal. For that matter, I wouldn't even call it "depressive" by any stretch of the imagination. Like most masterpieces, it defies easy categorization.

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Gravskog
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:17 pm
Posts: 250
PostPosted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 9:19 pm 
 

dystopia4 wrote:
Gris- Il Était une Forêt
Amazing black metal from Quebec (for those who don't know, Quebec is the French speaking region of Canada.) While the closest black metal sub-genre I can link this to is depressive black metal, Gris are really an entity of their own. They combine the suicidal atmosphere of depressive black metal with ethereal atmospheres and inspiring melodies. The thing that really just makes this album that much more amazing is the fact that the members also play classical instruments. The last song is a modern classical song, and to be honest, a lot better than most I've heard recently.


:nods:

Remove the harsh vocals and reduce the distortion a bit and you'll end up with something with little if any similarity to black metal. For that matter, I wouldn't even call it "depressive" by any stretch of the imagination. Like most masterpieces, it defies easy categorization.

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OlioTheSmall
Handsome (marsupial) Beast

Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:08 pm
Posts: 2731
Location: Squatter's Crog, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 4:07 am 
 

dystopia4 wrote:
Elysian Blaze - Levitating the Carnal
This album is a very interesting fusion of black metal and funeral doom. There is a huge emphasis on atmosphere and piano melodies are frequent. The atmospheric parts on this are amazing. The metal parts are good too. Basically, the metal parts are black metal played at the plodding pace of funeral doom. This album definitely takes you on a journey.

Not the best journey I've been on. The album tries to be depressive and to create atmosphere, but I find it to be rather boring. There are no particularly gripping aspects, but it does have a sense of disconnection or exclusion. It kinda feels like you're listening to the music in third person or from the outside. Still, I think Abyssmal Sorrow are better at the black metal/funeral doom mix.
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Arkhane
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2010 3:39 pm
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Location: South Texas
PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 11:06 am 
 

here's a couple.

Dark funeral - 666 voices inside
FUCK!! i been listening to prog metal and death metal for years, but just beginning to take a dive into black metal and hearing this shit blew my fucking mind! Next thing on my to-do list is fucking buy the album (youtube cant be everywhere)

Nokturnal Mortum - Voice of Steel
Folky Pagan Metal at its fuckin finest. the whole aura feels scottish, but with a sinister underworld sort of vibe that sends chills through my back. i can't get enough of this shit.
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thundermanu
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun Nov 11, 2007 4:22 pm
Posts: 43
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 4:43 pm 
 

genericmetalhead666 wrote:
Brutality - Screams of Anguish

This album never makes me think about WHY it's so good like a lot of albums do, except that it simply makes a good listen and it's such a solid piece of death metal. Some technicality, some very beautiful melodic parts, overall very consistent solid old school death metal. IIRC this is one of the lesser known Florida bands. Perfect mix between fast and doomy too, lots of awesome riffs and a shitload of guitar solos. It has a melancholic sound to much of it. This one never gets old.


:love: :love: :love:

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Bonged
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2011 10:49 pm
Posts: 423
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 12:32 am 
 

I've been checking out several bands lately might as well share.

Timeghoul- Tumultuous Travelings
Been getting a lot of hype so I checked them out. At first I was skeptical but I can't stop playing this demo. The vocals, guitar and drums are so unique to the time period. The riffs are angular and jump around, yet change to an atmospheric feel the next second. The quality is surprisingly good, everything can be heard clearly. Also, it probably is the first death metal band that can do clean vocals and make it go really well with the song, yet not be progressive sounding like Opeth and other bands.

Torture Division (Swe)- With Endless Wrath, We Bring Upon Thee...
I wanted to do more reviews for Abyss Records, so I had this burned on a CD and it is nothing special. Generic death metal, overly produced and loud. The lyrics that I can make out are really cliched but that was too be expected.

Coroner- No More Color
I checked these guys out because they were headlining MDF and I really ended up enjoying them. Definitely ahead of their time. This band has really great songwriting skills and knows how to write killer riffs. Vocals remind me of Atheist, but I honestly like Coroner more then Atheist. They are technical to the point that it doesn't make my head spin, yet are able to keep me interested.

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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
Posts: 9311
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:16 pm 
 

That Coroner album is fantastic; probably my favourite of all their work. It's the one case where they got the production and the speed and technicality just right. Lots of crazy guitar licks all over the album and some of the lead breaks simply blow the mind.
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iAmDisturbed
Metalhead

Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 10:31 am
Posts: 493
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:04 am 
 

jizzomatic wrote:
Overkill-Necroshine

This is a real underrated album. Its in my top 5 Overkill releases. I think people dont give it enough credit, because its kind oD a different style than their normal thrash.
This is album you can groove on rather than headbang. Songs like My December, Stone Cold Jesus, and the title track plus all the others make this a solid release.
Blitz sounds great, D.D. is still dishing out great bass licks, and the new band sounds good too.

This week i'll listen to Kreator-Cause For Conflict


"Necroshine" is Overkill at their most transitory. There is an underlying Prog element which was explored to the brim on "Ironbound" but I think "Necroshine" provided the first glimpses.
I like it-groovy riffs, good lyrics and Blitz sounding not a day older than The Killing Kind

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MacMoney
Man of the Cloth

Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 10:17 pm
Posts: 2331
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:39 am 
 

Abominatrix wrote:
That Coroner album is fantastic; probably my favourite of all their work. It's the one case where they got the production and the speed and technicality just right. Lots of crazy guitar licks all over the album and some of the lead breaks simply blow the mind.


While it is the album where the rest of the band (especially Marky) catch up to Tommy, but I think it's my least favorite from them. The songwriting is improved, but not enough to make up for the lack of speed and aggression.

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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
Posts: 9311
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:30 am 
 

MacMoney wrote:
Abominatrix wrote:
That Coroner album is fantastic; probably my favourite of all their work. It's the one case where they got the production and the speed and technicality just right. Lots of crazy guitar licks all over the album and some of the lead breaks simply blow the mind.


While it is the album where the rest of the band (especially Marky) catch up to Tommy, but I think it's my least favorite from them. The songwriting is improved, but not enough to make up for the lack of speed and aggression.


Isn't Grin one of your favourite albums from the band? I still haven't been able to get into that one, and the problem really is for me that it's too long-winded, slow and borin. I think mental Vortex also isn't much of a thrash album but has much better groove and energy to it.
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MacMoney
Man of the Cloth

Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 10:17 pm
Posts: 2331
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 6:00 am 
 

Abominatrix wrote:
Isn't Grin one of your favourite albums from the band? I still haven't been able to get into that one, and the problem really is for me that it's too long-winded, slow and borin. I think mental Vortex also isn't much of a thrash album but has much better groove and energy to it.


Yeah, Grin or Mental Vortex is my favorite, but they're pretty much totally different beasts. Grin is a lot more about that ritualistic, oppressing, tribal atmosphere, not so much about the actual music itself. It's definitely not for background listening.

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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
Posts: 9311
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 10:32 am 
 

I certainly wouldn't call Coroner "background listening" music at their best, but if any album is in danger of approachign that category, not by intention but by virtue of excessive repetition, a lack of inventive and technical riffs and no speed, it's got to be Grin! :P

no More Colour just seems like the best of all worlds as far as Coroner is concerned, to me. You have a variety in speed and riff styles, a band that's fully gelled as a tight unit, and, for the first time, heavy and near-flawless production. Really, I don't fault the band for not being able to top this one. I do really like Mental Vortex, by the way.
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MacMoney
Man of the Cloth

Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 10:17 pm
Posts: 2331
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 6:12 am 
 

Abominatrix wrote:
I certainly wouldn't call Coroner "background listening" music at their best, but if any album is in danger of approachign that category, not by intention but by virtue of excessive repetition, a lack of inventive and technical riffs and no speed, it's got to be Grin! :P

no More Colour just seems like the best of all worlds as far as Coroner is concerned, to me. You have a variety in speed and riff styles, a band that's fully gelled as a tight unit, and, for the first time, heavy and near-flawless production. Really, I don't fault the band for not being able to top this one. I do really like Mental Vortex, by the way.


Yeah, I understand why people wouldn't like Grin, especially if approaching it from the same point of view as the previous four albums. I mean, it's a completely different approach from the band. I didn't warm up to it at first either, but only discovered it later.

Yeah, I think a lot of people find it so though perhaps Punishment is the most popular. There's variety on No More Colour, but I don't think Vetterli was really ready for that slower and more technical approach from the rest of the band yet. The slower sections just to me sound rather dull and well, lazy. Like the band wasn't really into it. They managed all of that and more much better on Mental Vortex, in my opinion. Then again, I have listened to that one probably ten times more than NMC.

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Thumbman
Big Cube

Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:47 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 10:10 pm 
 

The Skagos/Panopticon split is amazing. Skagos does some really cool shit, like that clean singing section in the second song. They experiment a lot and it pays off. Panopticon does some really cool black metal, taking a high influence from ambient and post-rock.

After hearing Panopticon on the split I checked out Collapse. Really weird album, but I think I like it. Black metal mixed with ... wait for it - bluegrass. The black metal is pretty raw, but there is still atmosphere. Some really weird shit, but if your into weird stuff its really good.

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mentalendoscopy
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:22 pm
Posts: 231
PostPosted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 8:51 pm 
 

So, a few days ago I came up with the idea that from now on I will only download one (or two) album(s) per week. This way I won't just impulsivly download stuff and only listen to it once. This week I got two, but so far I've only listened to one.

Mortuary Drape - "All the Witches Dance" [8/10].
I downloaded this simply because I liked their name and had heard of them before. I picked the album randomly, and I've gotta say it's really good. Overall, this sounds like their musical diet consisted of nothing but "Spritual Healing" by Death, and "Obsessed by Cruelty" by Sodom. My favourite parts would have to be the solos, which are very creative and have a fun, halloween-ish vibe, I guess. Also, the vocals are almost identical to David Vincent on "Altars of Madness" so that's always a plus.

I'd recommend this album to anyone who likes their music extremly evil, yet fun. A rare combination, but it works here.

The other album was a Drudkh album, called "Autumn Aurora". I only got it because a) I've never heard one of their albums before and b) that album had really high ratings on here.

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Spiner202
Veteran

Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 3:32 pm
Posts: 2736
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:32 am 
 

My last couple of weeks have been filled with listening excessively to one amazing album:

Stratovarius - Elysium

I should begin by saying that I only own one other Stratovarius album, Elements Part I. Eagleheart is a cool track, but I wasn't impressed by that album. The artwork of Elysium totally caught my attention so I gave a listen to Darkest Hours on youtube and decided to buy the album.

First off, I have to say that it's been a while (at least since 2008) that an album has impressed me this much. This album is long, but it never feels that way. Even the 18-minute title track is excellent. What I love about this album is that it's really diverse. It opens with what is essentially a pop song, but it also has a blazingly fast Power Metal track (Event Horizon), and a number of songs with catchy melodies. In fact, that might be the best part of this album, the melodies. There are a lot of parts that are slow and epic, but they also have fantastic vocal melodies on top. I think Fairness Justified demonstrates this best. The song isn't particularly fast, and nothing really even happens, but it's one of my favourite songs because of Timo Kotipelto's vocal performance.

Another element I found quite interesting was the use of keyboards. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of keyboards in Metal, but I think they were really well used on this album. Many tracks feature some keyboard solos from Jens Johanson, but what impressed me more was that when he wasn't soloing, he wasn't overly obnoxious. The title track demonstrates this pretty well. Speaking of the title track, it does deserve some special mention. Even though it is basically 3 songs combined into one, they are all really solid and work together. My favourite part of the song is the third section, which is quite slow and pounding. Like I mentioned earlier, the vocal melodies are well-done and this part of the song is a very appropriate ending to an epic album.

I'm not sure how this holds up to other Stratovarius albums (besides Elements Part I, which it surpasses), but it is most definitely worth buying. If I love this album as much as I do now in a few months, I predict this might be my album of the year.

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Acrobat
Eric Olthwaite

Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:53 am
Posts: 8854
Location: Yorkshire
PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 9:11 am 
 

mentalendoscopy wrote:
So, a few days ago I came up with the idea that from now on I will only download one (or two) album(s) per week. This way I won't just impulsivly download stuff and only listen to it once. This week I got two, but so far I've only listened to one.

Mortuary Drape - "All the Witches Dance" [8/10].
I downloaded this simply because I liked their name and had heard of them before. I picked the album randomly, and I've gotta say it's really good. Overall, this sounds like their musical diet consisted of nothing but "Spritual Healing" by Death, and "Obsessed by Cruelty" by Sodom. My favourite parts would have to be the solos, which are very creative and have a fun, halloween-ish vibe, I guess. Also, the vocals are almost identical to David Vincent on "Altars of Madness" so that's always a plus.

I'd recommend this album to anyone who likes their music extremly evil, yet fun. A rare combination, but it works here.


You know, I don't hear any Spiritual Healing in MD. And quite frankly that makes me very happy! :P I think the vocals are quite different to Vincent. If anything they remind me of the guy from Vulcano. That album's great but I definitely prefer Secret Sudaria.

Instrumentally, my favourite part of Mortuary Drape might be the bass playing. Diabolic Obsession always comes up with these great, macabre counter-melodies.
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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
Posts: 9311
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 11:56 am 
 

ANationalAcrobat wrote:
mentalendoscopy wrote:
So, a few days ago I came up with the idea that from now on I will only download one (or two) album(s) per week. This way I won't just impulsivly download stuff and only listen to it once. This week I got two, but so far I've only listened to one.

Mortuary Drape - "All the Witches Dance" [8/10].
I downloaded this simply because I liked their name and had heard of them before. I picked the album randomly, and I've gotta say it's really good. Overall, this sounds like their musical diet consisted of nothing but "Spritual Healing" by Death, and "Obsessed by Cruelty" by Sodom. My favourite parts would have to be the solos, which are very creative and have a fun, halloween-ish vibe, I guess. Also, the vocals are almost identical to David Vincent on "Altars of Madness" so that's always a plus.

I'd recommend this album to anyone who likes their music extremly evil, yet fun. A rare combination, but it works here.


You know, I don't hear any Spiritual Healing in MD. And quite frankly that makes me very happy! :P I think the vocals are quite different to Vincent. If anything they remind me of the guy from Vulcano. That album's great but I definitely prefer Secret Sudaria.

Instrumentally, my favourite part of Mortuary Drape might be the bass playing. Diabolic Obsession always comes up with these great, macabre counter-melodies.


Definitely agree about the bass playing. I do think there's a good amount of death metal in MD's souns..wouldn't trace it to Death necessarily but I can see why someone might...

I honestly don't know if I prefer Tolling...or Sudaria. I love the more experimental feel of Tolling...all the clean parts and semi-melodic chanting and such are great, and the drumming might be even better on that album too. Definitely two very strong albums all round.
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Acrobat
Eric Olthwaite

Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:53 am
Posts: 8854
Location: Yorkshire
PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 1:47 pm 
 

Oh man, how awesome is the bass part in 'Wandering Spirits'? It takes the song to a whole new level. So far I've only heard Into the Drape, All the Witches Dance and Secret Sudaria. All are varying degrees of excellent. I've just won Tolling 13 Knell on ebay just now. :D

If it's got more of that chanting/incantation stuff on it then I'll certainly be pleased. I like to creep the missus out by reciting that intro on All the Witches Dance. Heheh.
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mentalendoscopy
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:22 pm
Posts: 231
PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:44 pm 
 

I'll have to check out their other albums when I get the chance. How would you guys say their other albums sound in comparison?

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Acrobat
Eric Olthwaite

Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:53 am
Posts: 8854
Location: Yorkshire
PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:42 pm 
 

mentalendoscopy wrote:
I'll have to check out their other albums when I get the chance. How would you guys say their other albums sound in comparison?


Well, Secret Sudaria just seems altogether better to me. Everything that was present on All the Witches Dance is still there, though. Trust me, I think you'll love it. Better production, better songs, better playing; you can't go wrong, really.
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AngeldeathGreg
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:36 am
Posts: 498
PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 3:02 pm 
 

Ive been on a specific binge of amazing underground death metal lately.....

REBAELLIUN - "Burn The Promised Land"
This album just slays... I love it. Its refreshing in some weird way; the riffing is so unique and follows weird patterns and groupings. The material is heavily inspired by both Krisiun and Deicide's first few records, but doesn't really end up sounding like a carbon copy of either. You have the hyper-blast Brazillian riffing like in the songs At War and Killing For The Domain, but Rebaelliun are able to add this evil snarl vibe to the riffs. And also, the other thing that I love about this shit is that they break up the tempo and have tons of variety. Their 2nd album was more straight ahead Krisiun-esque in its predominance of blasting, but this album is all over the place, in a good way.

Also, the production on this album rules. Its all analog, and there are no triggers anywhere. It could be mastered a little louder, and use a little better mix and high end to bring things out a little clearer, but its fucking brutal, effective, pounding, and awesome. Any true fan of death metal needs to have this album. This is one of the few albums where I can listen to it straight through, and not be bored or lose my attention.

Highlights: "Killing For The Domain," "Flagellation of Christ" (best instrumental death metal song?), "Hell's Decree," "Triumph of the Unholy Ones"


CENTURIAN - "Choronzonic Chaos Gods"
Another blasty thrash massacre of assaulting death metal. These guys kinda mesh Morbid Angel, Krisiun, and Deicide and its fucking heavy, brutal, and pounding. The vocalist is the drummer from Severe Torture (as well as the bassist) so you can get an idea of the kind of stuff they do. They have more of an American vibe than Rebaelliun, but are equally blastbeat-driven. Centurian espouses more of a thrash-based riffing style, ala Morbid Angel and Slayer-styled stuff.

The thing that really sets this album apart, though, is the evil catchy riffs that they vamp on, like the couple in "Damned and Dead": the early 'thud' blast beat part, and then the soaring evil melody shit they do later in the song. And the other awesome thing is the way the drummer lays down a straight long run of fast double bass, but plays all these cool off-beat snare hits and rolls/fills. Other songs with the "evil" catchy riffs are "Hail Caligula" and "Misanthropic Luciferian Onslaught".

Production-wise, this album is a great "underground" one, too, with completely natural, un-triggered drums, but full of the clarity of modern recordings. The guitarist has a really unique guitar tone, too; its kind of honky and mid-rangy, but its unique... Morbid Angel's "Blessed Are The Sick" would be the closest I can come up with, but its still not exactly that either. And the vocals are AWESOME, with stereo-panned growls, and lots of growl/shriek trade-offs and overlaps. The playing is so fucking tight, too... and there is obviously no editing anywhere. Check the blastbeats in "Hail Caligula" and the kick drum fills at the beginning. Its amazing how Wim is so clean going from blasts to the super-fast kick beats.

Songs like this and "The Law of Burning" show the thrash influence, though, from Wim's old band, Inquisitor, with lots of guitar riffing with Sodom-style picking hand technique. Although Centurian never did many slower groove, headbang parts, which is fine with me. And even when they do slow it down, riff-wise, Wim just goes OFF with his double bass drums. This shit is straight raging classic death metal 101. Old school for the new millenium. This album, and their follow-up are considered mandatory by me, along with the Rebaelliun debut. I consider this the new-school "Altars of Madness". Its just THAT important. Plus, the guitarist, Rob, performed his own Satanic ritual where he cut himself, and painted the album's cover on a 2ftx2ft canvas, using nothing but his own blood. Thats actually true.

Highlights: "Damned and Dead," "Hail Caligula," "Misanthropic Luciferian Onslaught," and "Blood for Satan" (although this whole fucking album is just PERFECT)




Honestly, it really pisses me off and bugs the fuck out of me that more people don't know about/haven't listened to Centurian's "Choronzonic Chaos Gods". This album is just... its perfect death metal. Whether your shit is Deicide, or Cannibal Corpse, or Suffocation, or Morbid Angel, or Malevolent Creation, this album will satisfy your needs and make you come back for more every time.

I truly believe we were witnessing the flowering, glorious rebirth of death metal in 1999 with the release of these 2 albums, along with Severe Torture's "Feasting On Blood" and Abhorrence's "Evoking The Abomination" in 2000, but sadly, only Severe Torture survived (sad in only that the other bands are equally as brilliant).
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Death metal --> for fans of Deicide, Morbid Angel, Vader, Luciferion, Centurian, Throneaeon, Hate Eternal, Slayer, old Belphegor, Immortal, Angelcorpse, Diabolic, Krisiun, Defaced Creation, Rebaelliun, Azarath, Insision, Monstrosity, Vital Remains

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Psychogrotesque
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:36 pm
Posts: 47
PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 2:38 pm 
 

I got my hands on Aborym "Psychogrotesque", and not only is that the coolest album title ever, but it's also the most amazing chunk of experimental music I've listened to so far. I liked it so much I stole the album title for my name.

How it began...
Me : Conept album you say?
Rich: Yeah, and it's fuckin' amazing! It's about insanity.
Me : Would you kindly order me a copy from Amazon?
Rich: Yep

Such was the pregenesis of what would become my now week long boner festeval, courtesy of one of the whackiest (see: Amazing) experimental bands ever. I can't even describe it as black metal (the groups preferred genre) or industrial or death or doom. It's everything, neatly rolled into a ball of awesome and then strapped to an anvil and dropped on your head while you listen to a saxophone solo. There's fucking trance music in it... TRANCE!!! If you don't atleast give it a try I think you would be missing out on an excellent opportunity to bend your perceptions of music. Get a helmet folks, and stock up on paper towl, the mess your blown mind will make shall be massive. ENJOY!

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MacMoney
Man of the Cloth

Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 10:17 pm
Posts: 2331
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 4:17 am 
 

Psychogrotesque wrote:
It's everything, neatly rolled into a ball of awesome and then strapped to an anvil and dropped on your head while you listen to a saxophone solo. There's fucking trance music in it... TRANCE!!! If you don't atleast give it a try I think you would be missing out on an excellent opportunity to bend your perceptions of music. Get a helmet folks, and stock up on paper towl, the mess your blown mind will make shall be massive.


Let me blow YOUR mind. Trance in metal? Has been done before. Trance inbetween metal? Done too. Saxophone in metal? That's been done as well. Also, what exactly is so cool about the album title? Sounds like something Cradle of Filth's pr-team would come up with.

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Psychogrotesque
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:36 pm
Posts: 47
PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 12:47 pm 
 

MacMoney wrote:
Let me blow YOUR mind. Trance in metal? Has been done before. Trance inbetween metal? Done too. Saxophone in metal? That's been done as well. Also, what exactly is so cool about the album title? Sounds like something Cradle of Filth's pr-team would come up with.


I liked it and I found it to be very uniqe, I'm sorry you didn't. Have a nice time listening to Him and Lordi. Buhbye. *THUMBS UP*

Comming Soon: Dillinger Escape Plan... maybe even some Tomahawk... Spookey.

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Weerwolf
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2007 7:19 am
Posts: 1115
Location: Belgium
PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 5:42 pm 
 

OlioTheSmall wrote:
dystopia4 wrote:
Elysian Blaze - Levitating the Carnal
This album is a very interesting fusion of black metal and funeral doom. There is a huge emphasis on atmosphere and piano melodies are frequent. The atmospheric parts on this are amazing. The metal parts are good too. Basically, the metal parts are black metal played at the plodding pace of funeral doom. This album definitely takes you on a journey.

Not the best journey I've been on. The album tries to be depressive and to create atmosphere, but I find it to be rather boring. There are no particularly gripping aspects, but it does have a sense of disconnection or exclusion. It kinda feels like you're listening to the music in third person or from the outside. Still, I think Abyssmal Sorrow are better at the black metal/funeral doom mix.

I never really understood why some seem to think that Levitating the Carnal is "depressive"; I never really experienced it that way (and if that were the case, I wouldn't listen to it). It definitely takes you places, ill agree on that. If anything it has that mystical vibe going on that the old greek bands used to have. Incredible album nonetheless.

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americanholocaust
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Jun 05, 2010 8:38 pm
Posts: 1985
Location: FUCK YEA!!
PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:54 pm 
 

Acid Witch - Stoned

I have to say beforehand, that I really enjoyed their first album and EP, but when I put this disc in for the first time today, I was utterly disappointed. It's the same droning doom death, but the dynamics that the first album had to offer are few and far between on the new LP. And all of the synth and organ sounds that ARE on this cd seem uninspired and unstructured when compared to their earlier tunes.

Also, the vocals seem different, and the phrasings seem to not be very tight with the music from time to time. And the production is bland, and thin when compared to the heavy dungeon like tone of their first album. Even the decent riffage on this cd still goes through one ear and out the other, with nearly zero staying power.

I just wanted to give everyone a fair warning. If you really enjoyed the Witchtanic Hellucinations, you might want to go into your first listen of stoned with low expectations. Essentially, my favorite thing about this LP is the cover, which is not a good thing. If you were at all worried about the consistancy of Acid Witch, I would suggest overlooking this one.
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Psychogrotesque
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:36 pm
Posts: 47
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 1:03 pm 
 

So, I was going through my CD collection and came across some forgotten material. I started buying CD's in late '96, so I have a fair amount of Nu-Metal from that time and beyond. I'm proud to say I listen to Static-X and Mudvayne and Korn. Venom's newest I just picked up on Monday. Wich brings me to my paragraphs.

Korn - Issues
I know, I know, Nu-Meat isn't "real" metal to a lot of fans, but for me it sure is. And maybe this album is the most melodic, most commercial thing they ever released. But it's also one of the heaviest slabs to ever know regular airing on MTV, and still to this day displays a style of complete personal exposure that few bands have ever attempted. Every word that comes from Davis' mouth drips with sincere depression, fear and pain. Almost an ultimate "hard times" album, "Issues" speaks of pain in ways that few have ever matched. The music on the other hand ranges from quick to sludgy, with all manners of heavy and melodic hooks. The genius of "Issues" lies in it's ability to be accessable, and yet still heavy enough to blow any self-respecting metal heads speakers. Maybe it's not for everyone, and the whole hip-hop flavour to Nu-Metal does make for some occasional hard digesting. But I feel it's worth a listen, if only so you can say you listened to their grand opus and still think they suck.

Venom - Hell
What can be said of Venom, what's left? They were for a four/five year period the biggest band in heavy music, complete with platinum sales no less. They have known multiple member lineups, and have even existed as a four piece without Conrad Lant, better known as co-founder, frontman, bassist and lyrical madman Chronos. But "Hell", for all of Venom's history, still comes across as fresh and heavy. The music is well produced, but not too well produced. The songs are long, but not too long. And the energy is there in spades. With the solid playing, great riffs and great lyrics Venom come off as as good as ever. This is perhaps my favorite Venom album, and having listened to a fair amount (Welcome to Hell, Black Metal, At War With Satan, Metal Black) I have to call "Hell" a great album. Worth a purchase, and many, many listens.

Alright, that's it. You can make fun of me for liking Korn now. lol.
Rock on folks. \,,/

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yamanick92
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:59 pm
Posts: 180
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 11:39 pm 
 

Psychogrotesque wrote:
So, I was going through my CD collection and came across some forgotten material. I started buying CD's in late '96, so I have a fair amount of Nu-Metal from that time and beyond. I'm proud to say I listen to Static-X and Mudvayne and Korn. Venom's newest I just picked up on Monday. Wich brings me to my paragraphs.

Korn - Issues
I know, I know, Nu-Meat isn't "real" metal to a lot of fans, but for me it sure is. And maybe this album is the most melodic, most commercial thing they ever released. But it's also one of the heaviest slabs to ever know regular airing on MTV, and still to this day displays a style of complete personal exposure that few bands have ever attempted. Every word that comes from Davis' mouth drips with sincere depression, fear and pain. Almost an ultimate "hard times" album, "Issues" speaks of pain in ways that few have ever matched. The music on the other hand ranges from quick to sludgy, with all manners of heavy and melodic hooks. The genius of "Issues" lies in it's ability to be accessable, and yet still heavy enough to blow any self-respecting metal heads speakers. Maybe it's not for everyone, and the whole hip-hop flavour to Nu-Metal does make for some occasional hard digesting. But I feel it's worth a listen, if only so you can say you listened to their grand opus and still think they suck.

Venom - Hell
What can be said of Venom, what's left? They were for a four/five year period the biggest band in heavy music, complete with platinum sales no less. They have known multiple member lineups, and have even existed as a four piece without Conrad Lant, better known as co-founder, frontman, bassist and lyrical madman Chronos. But "Hell", for all of Venom's history, still comes across as fresh and heavy. The music is well produced, but not too well produced. The songs are long, but not too long. And the energy is there in spades. With the solid playing, great riffs and great lyrics Venom come off as as good as ever. This is perhaps my favorite Venom album, and having listened to a fair amount (Welcome to Hell, Black Metal, At War With Satan, Metal Black) I have to call "Hell" a great album. Worth a purchase, and many, many listens.

Alright, that's it. You can make fun of me for liking Korn now. lol.
Rock on folks. \,,/


there's really no reason to make fun of you man. the only people who would are elitist assholes. especially seeing as you presented your paragraph in such an intelligent way, and are showing an open mind, so fuck it.

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Excoriate
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:44 am
Posts: 63
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 11:52 pm 
 

americanholocaust wrote:
Acid Witch - Stoned


I definately agree with your sentiment on that album, i feel like the just have nothing left to say through that band anymore. Even the first album i felt to be a bit uninspired, but it had it's good aspects.

Aosoth-Ashes of Angels

Absolutely wretched French black Metal with some of the members of Antaeus. What i noticed first of all was that while totally pummeling at times, it also broke into allot of very interesting occult sounding crawls, and had a fairly original phraseing style and note choices. Digital production that gave it a nice cold atmosphere, rather than sterilizing it, was a nice touch for me, and it retained the gritty sound needed for a good Black metal album, without looseing any of the audibility.
Songwriting is pretty basic, as they cycle through a handfull of riffs in every song,definately not subtle, but the repittion of the riffs work well due to how well the riffs played off each other, kind of reminding me of Transilvanian Hunger in a way.There is definately a Deathspell Omega influence in the writing, but it is far less experimental sounding, and strips it down to a much more primal and rotten state. The album ends with a fantastic cover of Antaeus's "Inner War", and it is really intense. Ultimately this album is a good dose of creepy and fairly inventive Orthodox Black Metal, that strays away from the style a fair ammount and has it's own voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UOkPCIM-rI

This track impressed me quite a bit and got me into this release.

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yamanick92
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:59 pm
Posts: 180
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:03 am 
 

Gory blister-art bleeds

giving it a listen right now. Sound of perseverance era sounding chuck vocals (i mean, they literally sound identical haha), with some carcariass sounding melodic leads. why is this fucking awesome? i'm starting to really love the italian scene. electrocution and gory blister are my two new favorite finds.

Martyr-Hopeless hopes

SHITTT. i feel like this is a really REALLY underrated gem. And i don't mean underrated like, say, someone saying blasphemy made flesh is underrated. because people actually listen to cryptopsy. i feel like martyr gets ZERO love, and especially this album. because warp zone typically steals the lime light. fun fact about this album is that it came out before the sound of perseverance, and honestly? if you listen to the lead in inner peace, it sounds A LOT like the lead in spirit crusher. sketchy, right? check it if you haven't ever.

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Excoriate
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:44 am
Posts: 63
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:17 am 
 

I honestly think that Martyr blows Death out of the water for that kind of stuff.Really underatted album for sure, though i'll admit i prefer the other two albums. Feeding The Abscess was quite a beast. What i love about Martyr is that they never forget to make there music captivating, unlike allot of technical metal, which is only interesting to people because of the technicality alone.

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yamanick92
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:59 pm
Posts: 180
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:30 am 
 

Excoriate wrote:
I honestly think that Martyr blows Death out of the water for that kind of stuff.Really underatted album for sure, though i'll admit i prefer the other two albums. Feeding The Abscess was quite a beast. What i love about Martyr is that they never forget to make there music captivating, unlike allot of technical metal, which is only interesting to people because of the technicality alone.


for some reason, i kinda push feeding the abscess aside, but i'm sure i'll give it it's chance. and yeah, i absolutely adore martyr. if anyone thinks all they do is play wankery, than they're retarded. martyr writes some of the most competent riffs i've ever heard. mongrain is literally like the steve digorgio of guitar from what i can see (at least in the canadian scene...voivod, gorguts, quo vadis, capharnaum, cryptopsy, i think there's more) i mean, god damn, he's just so ingenious. ahh...if i actually never listened to martyr, damn my life would suck

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