Apocalypse Orchestra - The End is Nigh

This album is a fantastic take on Medieval Folk/Doom Metal. It's got wonderful medieval melodies/instrumentation, along with deep vocals and great harmonies. I also like that the band took a powerful approach to production, not something I'd normally expect from a an album of this sort, but it compliments the music wonderfully. The instruments are being played traditionally and aren't just some band member on keys covering it all. It leads to a much more authentic/organic sound where the Metal elements and the Folk elements work together, rather than one feeling like an afterthought or gimmicky.

Biesy - Noc lekkich obyczajów

I've no idea how I came across this one but the brief description was all it took. Gorguts-inspired DM from Poland with none other than Stawrogin on vocals.

Holy fuck The guy is the vocalist in Outre and Odraza, and pretty much in charge of the latter, the band I take to be one of the absolute best modern black metal has to offer. On top of that, he's an absolute beast of a vocalist, pretty much one of the rare breed in extreme metal who can instantly lift any kind of music by his performance.

That's what happens with Night of Easy Morals. There's palpable tension and skill in the music, but oh boy just hand that man the fuckin' mic. Magic happens.

Digging this, thanx!

Sounds interesting, I'll give it a listen.

Can I assume the first song is an XTC cover?

Today we saw the release of both Samael - Hegemony and Enslaved - E.
I think both are good but the Enslaved album is really, really good. Mening I'd rate it 4.5/5.

What Enslaved have demonstrated, is that perhaps they've moved from exploiting Floyd and Crimson to other art-rock and jazz-rock from the 70s; I find it pointless, however, to listen to Enslaved, when there's Kansas and countless others. The Oriental motifs sit strange with these vikings. Grutle's vocals are terrible here, and their clean singer is obviously an amateur. There's nothing much original, no Enslaved signature (as there used to be on Isa, Ruun, even Vertebrae). Will give it another listen (trying to ignore the vocal). The other albums seemed conceptual, cohesive entities; some claim this one has standalone "hit" songs.

Hegemony... just empty synth and commercial choruses, unfortunately. Flat and unmemorable, albeit somewhat invigorating. Lux Mundi was more enjoyable, referring more tangibly to thier classic "Passage" material.

I wasn't convinced with the Enslaved album on first listen, either. I don't take issue with the vocals, but the songwriting... eh. There were very good bits, but just as many very plain ones. Also, come on, a saxophone? Last time I checked, that was Ihsahn's schtick - and not even an effective one. Will spin it more, it might stick better.

On a second listen, I'm not bothered by the vocals either, and to be fair, this isn't much different from what we're used to from Enslaved; I suppose I've simply fallen out of that trancelike droning of theirs, emphasised by the growl. I was mislead by the brighter tone of some of the songs and the signs of musical diversity. The sax therefore does feel misplaced, moreover it's a regular "happy" jazz fusion sax, and not the edgy one that fitted Ihsahn. The song is indicative of the clash I feel throughout the album. (Is this meant to pleasure or disturb?) This isn't uplifting prog/jazz rock, and those optimistic elements stand weirdly ornamental in the overall "black metal" mood.
(And again, what's with the 'Sacred Horse' symbolised by the rune, does it come from the Middle East?! )

Listen to the keyboad in the beginning of 'Feathers of Eohl' and the one here:

Well, I prefer the latter - one theme does not drone on; and while I understand repetition builds tension for the growl, in this song in particular it "culminates" in the chilled-out clean vocal which then falls asleep...

Officially released today and going straight to my all time favorites list.

https://non-serviam-records.bandcamp.com/album/nazghor-infernal-aphorism

Within Silence released their second single today. The album drops later this month. Fans of Sonata Arctica and the like will probably enjoy these guys.

Can I ask why? Just listened to a couple tracks and it's not bad, but it's pretty paint-by-numbers blasty Swedish BM. There doesn't seem to be anything here that hasn't been done a thousand times before. Just like that cover art, it all kinds of blends together.

Try song 4 and 8, usually Swedish black metal is not one of my favorites, but this is a lot different than most IMO. Bands like Marduk and Naglfar have never stayed on my playlists for too long. Recently Murg has been a Swedish band I like a lot, but they sound more like they're from Finland or something.

This is sounding really good. It's like if Deathspell Omega played death metal, in a way. Thanks!

New Altarage released on Friday. No words for it. Thick, beastly, suffocating.

https://altarage.bandcamp.com/album/endinghent

Forsaken - Pentateuch is really excellent. These Maltese epic-doomsters really know what they're doing.

The whole album is up on youtube but here's a taste:

Seconded, a very good album. Not Top 10 material, but well worth a listen if one is a fan of epic doom.

My tip: The King Is Blind - We Are The Parasite, We Are The Cancer
I listened to this yesterday and I think it's super good. The backbone is death/doom (more death than doom), with some other influences (groovy passages, NWOBHM-ish leads, industrial production). Will listen to this a few more times, I sense a grower. Pretty varied, too - this is one of the groovier tracks, for example.

TovH turned me onto a couple of fun little EPs:

Cryogenocide - Torn Apart by Two Gravities: Tech bdm with slightly adventurous songwriting & killer bass tone
https://rottenrollrex.bandcamp.com/albu ... -gravities

Sundrainer - ...I Hope This Breaks Your Heart: Mathy, sludgy grind
https://sundrainer.bandcamp.com/album/i ... our-spirit

It'll probably be in my top-10, though, this year I've probably only bought about 10 albums hahaha.


P.S. I'm guessing from your "location" that you're from Slovakia? My wife is from there originally. We're planning on visiting her parents in Kosice in the next few months. I've never spent more than a week or two at a time there, but it's always been very nice. The High Tatras offer some of the best hiking I've ever experienced in my life.

Catching up on some stuff: Vulture, Suffering Hour, Acephalix, Serpent Column, and Hellripper have all been awesome.

Shit, The Source by Ayreon is really fucking cool. Slightly more progressive than I normally enjoy, but its been a pleasure over multiple listens. Great mix of vocalists featured.

I had problems on my first listen but things got quite better after the second one.

Warpath (Ireland) - Ambiance of War: Sits in a sweet spot between bdm & deathgrind, reminds me of Misery Index if they were more brutal.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=7s&v=oqAjbIXDf3Y
https://warpath1.bandcamp.com/releases

Gutslit - Amputheatre: Great bdm from India, nothing too different but it's concisely written & proficiently played. Even the pig squeals are well implemented.
https://gutslitindia.bandcamp.com/releases

Uhtcearu - For Darkness to Subside: Meloblack with dm elements with maybe a hint of prog, hearing some Chuck in the vocals too
https://uhtcearu.bandcamp.com/album/for ... to-subside

Hateful Transgression - Meaningless

Probably the best-performed black metal/brutal death metal mixture I've ever heard. Anyone who likes either of those two genres should check this one out.

I'm giving this a listen right now, and I kind of like it. There's a lot of different styles going on, and they seem to pull it off pretty well. This won't make my AOTY list, but I don't usually enjoy death/doom, so they're definitely doing something right.

Galneryus - Ultimate Sacrifice (neoclassical power metal)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alCH7Dt ... tRYlLxNYmU
OR
https://open.spotify.com/album/5vgyVr14DoxfFp8ylbnh0L

It pains me that this band is relatively unknown to the general metal community. It's their 11th album and they're still incredible. Each song has such an epic feel, the ballads are emotional, the band is enthusiastic even when the songs aren't fast, when they are fast their technical skill is impressive, Masatoshi's voice has an incredible range, Yukhi is a notable keyboard player, and Syu is one of my favorite guitarists ever.

I'm still pissed that in their promo video they cut the song DURING THE SOLO. What the fuck, Warner?

I've taken my time with this one. What a fascinating album. Took awhile to click but I kept coming back to it. It makes me want to revisit Nothing but the Whole, a very well received album but one that never captured me as much as Not for Music. It has steadily been growing on me throughout the year like a black tumor of despair and gloom. Fucking awesome.

The new Night Viper is excellent, and a great improvement on their debut. Sick riffs and incredible production. This is how you speed metal.

https://listenable-records.bandcamp.com ... terminator

Sutrah - Dunes, great tech death and an awesome session drummer (Kevin Paradis)
https://sutrahmetal.bandcamp.com/album/dunes

I have to say E is a great success. Enslaved where starting to lose me with In Times, but E feels like their most exciting album since AEO.

Really? I found Hedgemony to be the closest album to Passage they have done so far. I like it, at this rate, maybe the next album will be a full return to form.

I loved the debut but found this incredibly boring.

+1
.....
Goatpenis - Anesthetic Vapor
Look past the ridiculous name & treat yourself to some tight tremolo riffing
https://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandca ... etic-vapor

Edit: That Hateful Transgression is cool too. I hope more bdm goes in this direction.

Here are a few solid releases I've been enjoying the last few days...

Viscera/// - 3 | Release Yourself Through Desperate Rituals
This is the only release by the band that I'm familiar with, but what a fantastic mish-mash of styles. Fusing almost seamlessly hardcore, black metal, stoner metal, psychedelic rock and post-metal for some of the most interesting music I've heard this year. Clean vocals don't always accomplish what they're trying to, but overall this is an ambitious album with an infectious DIY aesthetic. Also the track "In the Cut" is one of my favorite tracks on the year.
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Vi ... iscography
https://viscera3stripes.bandcamp.com/al ... te-rituals


Mind Mold - Mind Mold EP
Cool little EP from a promising project. Despite some promotional hyperbole, this description on the band camp "noise rock, shoegaze, hardcore, and experimental metal, embodied as five tracks of mind-shattering and flesh-ravaging blackened doom" is not too far off. Don't let the shoegaze tag fool you, this is not flowery or bright, the 90s shoegaze/noise influence serves as a punishing backdrop of noise and melodic dissonance washing over the bleak doom metal that is firmly tethered to the backbone of this EP.
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Mi ... iscography
https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/mind-mold


夢遊病者 (Sleepwalker) - 5772
Band is blacklisted from the archives for being ambient/drone, though to be honest I hear very little of that here. It's definitely a lo-fi and muffled recording but the driving force here is some very intriguing avant-garde black metal with touches of sludgy psychedelia. Some moments hit incredibly well, while others may fall a little flat or seem a tad directionless, I'd say overall this is well worth the 20 minutes to listen to if you dig some experimentation with your black metal.
https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/5772


EDIT: Anyone peep this new album from Krallice yet? Apparently it's a full on collab with Dave Edwardson of Neurosis. Color me interested....
https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/K ... BCm/677930

I've listened to the album a couple times now and it's really solid throughout: not a bad song on it.

I don't know the debut album, but I imagine it's far more generic sounding. Not per se a bad thing, but what they did on their 2017 album is incredible imo. It's just so unheard of, something completely fresh and new. There were already hints on Nothing but the whole and they almost perfected it on not for music. I'm in love with this band.

To add to this thread. Currently listening to the third spin of the new Bell Witch album. It's crushing my ass to the ground. Immense and overwhelming sound. Same goes for the Heresiarch album. Funny how both bands can be so crushing in such vastly different ways. One of the great things about metal.

Speaking of crushing albums, the new Amenra is every bit as heavy as Bell Witch. Two amazing doom albums added in the later parts of 2017.

New Malokarpatan is some rocking Slavic black metal with trad metal and folk influences.

Also the new Death Fortress EP is excellent, change of style for them, more atmospheric.

The RIFFFS! They are relentless! Picking this up asap.

Yeah, Not For Music is incredible. On my first listen I remember being underwhelmed, thinking that not much happened in 40 minutes, but that was simply because my brain was not prepared for what I had heard. In reality there's a lot packed into this album, so many mind-boggingly dense and diverse soundscapes explored. This became very clear to me after my 4th or so listen. While I've been inspired to revisit Nothing but the Whole (and have even found a new appreciation for it) there's just no comparison to this new one. Emptiness has transcended into something totally unique and beautiful. Not for Music won't be for everyone, but for me it has been one of the most challenging and satisfying metal albums I've heard this year.

I share the sentiment. I've had the pleasure of seeing live already a couple of times and they completely manage to nail this sound live as well. It looks complicated as fuck to do, but somehow they make it work. They've been around already quite a long time so I guess they have a lot of experience playing and it shows.

Heartily seconded. Only had to hear it once to order a copy off their Bandcamp. Their other releases are worthy as well.