Been enjoying Full of Hell and The Body's collaboration albums recently, only just discovering The Body. Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas also made an amazing blend of melodies in this unique version of post-metal on Mariner. Then there's Dragged into Sunlight working with Gnaw Their Tongues to create the nightmarish NV.

I feel like a collaboration between bands with distinct styles but share certain elements is what is needed to push metal into new creative directions.

Are there any other collabs I should check out? Thoughts about this way of pushing the boundaries of metal?

Lulu.

Mariner is such a great album!

One to check out is Miserere Luminis. It's the members of Gris and Sombre Forets coming to together to make a very dark and strange BM album, that doesn't really sound like either band. It's not the wall of sound DSBM of the bands' early works, but a more sparse and twisted style.

Sepultura/Fudge Tunnel (remember them?) collaberation... well Max Cavelera and Alex Newport but as good as

The Body has a few more collaboration albums, check those out. The two with THOU are my favorites.

I'm still a big fan of Sunn O))) and Boris' album "Altar." "Soused" and "Terrestrials" are great too. Boris has a bunch of different ones as well.

The Bug and Earth put out a great one last year called "Concrete Desert."

Nailbomb was decent; that album had some good songs but there was a lot of annoying electronic skronking type sounds in there which didn't work as well.

I would not recommend "Lulu" to anyone. Not every collaboration is successful. That one was a colossal failure, even Metallica themselves would probably admit that.

Satanic Warmaster/Clandestine Blaze. Both have done better material on their own IMO. It was probably very primitive by intention, though.

I know I'm probably the only sharing this opinion, but in my eyes Lulu whilst not being a masterpiece it's a good album and certainly more interesting for me than the album metallica released couple of years ago.

I listened to it with no expectations (I had stopped caring about Metallica after 2008 when started getting more extreme music) and I really liked it. OK parts of Mistress Dread are well ...dread and I've never managed to listen Junior Dad in its entirety, but songs like Dragon, Iced Honey, Cheat On Me are just amazing.

I actually still spin it a few times per year.

But most importantly I am forever indebted to that album because it was my introduction to Lou Reed and Lou Reed was (and still is) awesome...
I suggest everyone to listen to his Ecstacy album from 2000 for what seems to me like a more accessible (and rock) version of Lulu.

the roadburn festival commissioned dark buddha rising and orannsi pazuzu to write something together to perform at the fest. It was something very special, i assume a release will follow eventually.
Roadburn also invited a whole bunch of icelandic musicians to write something as well and while it was the best icelandic bm thing ive heard so far i dont know how well it come over in a more normal format.

I enjoy "LuLu." I don't like Metallica in general, but that was a nice curve ball.

Nadja has a bunch of collaboration albums, I've only heard the EP with Black Boned Angel called Christ Send Light, but it's pretty good.

Hallatar was a pretty awesome collaboration. Vocalist from Amorphis, recorded vocals from the Trees of Eternity singer, guitarist from Trees of Eternity/Swallow The Sun, and former drummer for HIM. It's some crushing doom with touches of both ethereal and blackened vocals.
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Hallatar/3540431255

I really need to update my review score with Lulu. I had no idea how to rate it since I know it's a shit album but also listen to it in the same way I listen to The Room or Troll 2. There are a few YouTubers who use a negative scale for so bad it's good material and Lulu is one of the only albums I've heard where such a scale would be applicable.

On topic, the first thing that comes to mind is "Light Comes Out of Black" that Rob Halford recorded with Pantera. I can still imagine a full-length album in that style that'd be better than both Fight and what Pantera actually did.

Apparently, the massive Icelandic black metal performance as well as the collaboration between Wormlust and NYIÞ are receiving releases in some form. I'm very excited for both.

Sunn O))) and Boris and their "Altar":



One of the rare cases in music when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Thanks for reminding me I haven't listened to this masterpiece in a long time; time to fix that!



Yes, it was recorded on a simple 4-tracker and most likely the songs were written and recorded very quickly. It's ok for what it is; Conspiring Winds of the Abyss is a great tune. The individual tracks from both bands sound a bit like throwaways, though.



Never thought I'd ever find someone else who didn't think Lulu is the worst abomination mankind has ever witnessed!

Ha, the feeling is mutual....

I think most people never gave it a fair chance tbh