Sacramentum - Beyond All Horizons

Raining here this morning so this is perfect.

After giving Anathema's The Optimist a try (it was okay, but kind of petered out over the last half of the album), YouTube was all, "hey, how about Katatonia?" in one of the suggested videos. I've never actually listened to them. So I'm giving The Great Cold Distance a listen.

This band just might fill the Doom-Death mood I've been in, that has largely been focused on Desultory and Paradise Lost lately.

Having just discovered Katatonia, I have moved on to Tonight's Decision and...

Fuck, I am definitely buying this one. This is a fucking great album so far, and I'm only two songs in. How did I miss this band all this time?

Divinity Compromised - Terminal

This is interesting so far. Not as direct or punchy in that Tad Morose/Dark at Dawn way like I was hoping, but they seem like super ambitious songwriters and try new, interesting shit on every track I've heard thus far. Groovy, proggy riffs, a bit of old Metallica-style thrashing every now and then, emotive deep vocals and some sophisticated, Kamelot-esque keys here and there, and lots of twists and turns. Dunno if this is a great album but I think they definitely have potential as they keep going.

(2012) Peste Noire - Les Démos on my way back from work.
I like this. Interesting.

Which albums have you heard? Tonight's Decision is a good one to get early, IMO. And I agree with you - "For My Demons" and "I Am Nothing" is a huge opening duo.

NP:
Ministry - Houses of the Molé

Not as awesome as Rio Grande Blood, but the lunacy and intensity I love are there. Very solid record.

Burzum - Joln

Umskiptar is a plodding, atmospheric album that has taken a while for me to come around to. Not as hard-hitting or loud as the other heavy albums, but still riddled with chilling tremolo runs and other exciting passages. Varg's 'narration' style vocals become hypnotic over the riffscapes. This is a trance-inducing black metal album perfect for yet another stormy morn.

I've been a metal fan for almost 20 years, and Katatonia is a band I've never gotten into. I've only ever heard The Great Cold Distance, Night Is The New Day & Dead End Kings start-to-finish and a few tracks from earlier records, so I haven't heard any of the big classics in full. I don't know why I've stalled on getting on that. Maybe I will this month.

I would strongly recommend Last Fair Deal Gone Down and Viva Emptiness albums. The pure essence of that band.

Organ Dealer - Exasperated

Off their latest split with Birdflesh. As expected, OD side rips.

Prajna - Killing the Vice

Pretty energetic speed metal here. Not crazy about it but I can see this band/dude becoming better in some short years to come.

Monolord - Rust

BOOM.

Nazghor - Infernal Aphorism (2017)

Just released today. Man these guys are quite prolific - 6 full length albums in 5 years!

Pretty typical Swedish melodic BM. The guitar riffs are the absolute highlight and are as killer as they are numerous.

Such a pity the vocals and drumming are very bland and uninspiring. Some iffy songwriting brings it down too (quality not quantity boys) but a decent enough distraction while Naglfar are MIA I suppose.

Primitive Man - Caustic

Pure misery. I thought "Commerce" was bleak as fuck, but once the album reaches the interlude "The Weight" everything goes straight to the darkest parts of Hell and that's the way this album stays until the close.

(2017) Ulver - The Assassination of Julius Caesar and (1995) Ulver - Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr i 5 Capitler on my way to work.

and .

Pokolgép - A Jel
I used to find this album underwhelming for some reason, yet it's growing on me ever since I've been revisiting it this week. Pretty decent Hungarian metal here with unusual but fine vocals.

Satanic Warmaster - Satan's Race

Listening to the new compilation. It's on the official YouTube channel. Liking it so far! Finnish black metal is something special.



Bergtatt is so short, so one always has time for it!

All killer, no filler! Haavard's playing is so inspiring

Arcturus - Moonshine Delirium

So-so album, but the solo in this song is pure high level tasteful shredding!

Enslaved- E
Currently on "Sacred Horse". I am speechless so far. In the good (very good) way.

The Chasm - The Spell of Retribution (just the whole fucking album)

I just started this thing, haven't played it in maybe a month or two. I'm psyched up about their new release and wanted to go back to some faves. Is this one of the greatest album intros ever? That swirling lead builds so much tension as the rest of the band slowly creeps to life. And then they just break through everything with the sickest little half-gallop. Hail Daniel Corchado. Utter genius.

It really does work best as a whole unit. Such a good album. The songs are super long but the riffs justify it completely. "Conqueror and Warlord" and "The Eclipse" are particularly savage, lethal, but well written songs.

The Chasm - Conscious Creation from the Isolated Domain

Beautiful and destructive. Utter classic metal riff mastery and the songs work super well as instrumentals - you really don't need vocals for this one, the songs are done well without them and having more traditional vocal structures would just hamper the ideas and the long-form writing.

This band seems to be getting better with each release...

NP: Napalm Death / Melt Banana - Like Piss To a Sting (split)

Damn, how did I miss this? I love both bands.

I agree that almost no one else could pull it off. I sampled just a few minutes of the new one but wasn't really in the right headspace and it's not the sort of thing you can take in with a sample. I'm just going to order it. I didn't see a link for the CD on their bandcamp though, have you spotted that or looked at all?

The Spell of Retribution has so many unbelievable riffs. He does that speed-picked thing where they're racing along and then throws in those beautiful melodic little tails to anchor everything. I wasn't sure how the new one would sound with the band pretty much just being him these days but the brief sample I heard still sounded EXTREMELY fleshed out. He knows how to let the guitars have a conversation, so there's no vocals really necessary.

You can get the CD here at their site: http://luxinframundis.com/?i=1

Unless I forgot something, the band has always pretty much been him with just a few guys, so this isn't too big of a change honestly - his riffs were always at the forefront. I dig long, epic riff-laden metal songs so they work for me quite a bit.

Soundgarden - Superunknown

Still excellent - really well done songs and vocals.

Power Quest - Sixth Dimension

Coming home to neverworld
Over the mountains and so far away
Time has come to stand as one
Follow your heart and you'll find better days

Serenity - United

Both singles have been fantastic. If the rest of the album stays on course, they’re going to knock Aldaria out of the #1 spot.

The Ocean - Orosirian: For The Great Blue Cold Now Reigns.

Whole of Precambrian is as good as it gets, but this song just crushes it on a whole different level.

Metallica - 'Spit Out the Bone'

This album is good, very good in fact. Most of the songs are strong, and the weaker ones are still entertaining in a black album sort of way. The only real stinker was 'Here Comes Revenge', because that hook is too repetitive for its own good. The performances are better than they've been in a long time and even the production is decent.

Forsaken - Dominaeon

^In preparation for their new album Pentateuch which was released today. I can't wait to get home and listen to it on speakers better than these crappy computer speakers I've got here at work.

Seventh Avenue - Terium

This album might be power metal perfection. Are you into these guys, Kerrick?

You know, I've heard their name a ton but have never really looked into them too deeply. What song would you recommend a prospective fan?

I’m actually just getting into them as well. I’m listening to “New Era” from this album right now and it’s pretty damn good. I also like Infinite Kings and Tale of the Forgotten Dreams (this might be my favorite song from them so far).

Cool; I'll check them out!

P.S: I like (2005) Arcturus - Sideshow Symphonies.


Downloaded.

(1996) Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill on my way from work.

Great song. Great album. I'd say Precambrian is still the best thing this band (/collective?) has ever done. But for me, it's all about "Stenian: Mount Sorrow"

NP: Brutus - Burst (album)

Yeah, this is easily the best thing I've heard all year. Absolutely floored. You won't hear anything like this band. Female fronted hardcore/mathrock/post-rock with occasional blast beats (!) and a few moments of post-black metal riffing. More than just a hodge-podge of genres and sounds, though. The band is very focused and cohesive. The emotional immensity of this album is stunning. Unmatched debut, hell, unmatched album as far as 2017 goes.

Opeth - Damnation

Much better than anything else they've done. Hell, I'd even call it good.

I wouldn't say Seventh Avenue have ever been "power metal perfection" as much as they've been "enjoyable Gamma Ray worship". :V

Lycia - Grenada

Definitely one my personal favourite darkwave groups, I reckon.

My Dying Bride - Erotic Literature

Sounds like you're entering an abandoned crypt while spinning this record. Absolutely killer. Strangely enough this sounds better than me these days than when I just got into it.

MDP is good, from what I've heard. Need to give their discog a proper listen.

Neurosis - Given to the Rising

Enslaved - The River's Mouth

Can't speak for the whole album yet, but this song is probably the best they've done since Axioma. And it doesn't get much better than that.