I could never get into the Tony Martin era. I feel like it might be hyped up just a little too much purely for contrarian/hipstery (pardon my usage of that word) reasons, because it's good and all, but it really doesn't compare to the Ozzy and Dio material.

<OpsiusCato> TONY MARTIN IS GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Over the past 15 years or so I have amassed a load of letters and pictures from ex-girlfriends, which I never bothered to toss out, which I guess is a bit pathetic but I just never gave it much thought. Well, today is the big day, and I must admit, I feel a bit awkward about this.

Largest gathering of Emperor fans ever.
http://cuteoverload.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/10463166395_3ee638872e_z.jpg?w=560&h=371

I was browsing through the reviews for this month and noticed two really positive reviews for Nosferatu (Helstar). I could never really get into that album and 'A Distant Thunder' has always been a favorite of mine from their first four releases. The opening two songs win it for me, those riffs are just fantastic! The rest of the album is stellar too. Any one else feel the same way about Nosferatu getting too much praise?

Nosferatu deserves all the praise. Admittedly, the only other Helstar album I know is the debut (which is great) and it's easy to see how Nosferatu is an improvement over that. The songwriting is far more ambitious - the approach is a more progressive one and their melodic sensibilities seem to have matured. It has a lot of character and some unique ideas. Not all of it is realized effectively but a lot of it is. It's one of those albums that left a lasting impression on me - I really need to get myself a physical copy.

Just don't toss out the Christmas card I sent you.

True Metal Heroes are dead.

Nosferatu gets better as the album goes on, in my opinion. It's a tough album to get into, though. It's not really super catchy as far as vocal melodies go, the riffs are good but they also tend to be technical which makes them less immediately accessible than you're standard speed/thrash riff. I'd say the album peaks with the one two punch of The Curse Has Passed Away and Benediction. But all in all, I never really liked Nosferatu that much. Just not really my taste.

Yesterday was an "interesting" day to say the least. It was the first day at my new job. The other warehouse guy is a bit lazy so my boss was very impressed with my work ethic and told me that I "totally killed it" last night. Later on the bus ride home, a truck turned suddenly (without signalling, too) right in front of our bus. We plowed into the side of the truck at a lower speed, tossing everybody on the bus forwards in their seats and totaling the side of the truck. Thank God nobody in the truck or in the bus was injured.

I guess through my rambling I'm trying to say, treasure the precious gift of life and live every day like it's your last. If just a few things were different, I or somebody else could have been seriously injured or even killed. I've pondered mortality before, of course, but never as I did last night walking away from that bus crash. Cherish every moment you have on this Earth, life can be taken away so quickly.

I love Nosferatu. the technical riffs and wailing vocals all come together into this really intense, dark sound that absolutely works. A Distant Thunder is probably their best album, though. I'm one of the few it seems who doesn't enjoy the debut that much. it seems a lot more restrained and normal than what they would do later, except for the vocals, which somehow come off as a bit histrionic compared with Rivera's performances on later albums.

I feel like my city is the centre of the universe lately with people from all over the place having something to say about our mayor's crack-smoking admission. But it's really sad as well because I feel like almost everyone is missing the point. I've hung around too many alcoholics not to recognise the signs. THe big deal isn't that he smoked crack, it's that he smoked while apparently in a drunken stupor, and doesn't entirely remember. I.E>, "it didn't really happen to me, it was that other guy, so you should give me a second chance because I want to do the right thing." The fact that he runs out of conferences and such like a guy who knows the DTs are setting in, falls asleep at work like someone who engages in nightly binge drinking, snaps at people for no apparent reason...all that stuff seems to indicate that a position of high responsibility is not really waht this man needs right now.

Yeah, you guys described it perfectly. The technical nature of most of their songs makes it too dense for my liking to be honest. I don't deny that it's a musically proficient record, it's definitely darker as well. I found it vocally slightly weaker though. A Distant Thunder is way more balanced in all respects. Anyway, I think I can't appreciate Nosferatu as much because my gripe lies with the fact that I can probably only listen to it depending on my mood. It's not something that I can turn to every time and enjoy it. That doesn't seem to be the case with ADT (been a couple of years now).

@LlamaTrainer

Holy shit, glad everyone was able to walk away OK. Back when I was in college I had to take public transportation and I had one or two really wreckless drivers. Though I was lucky enough that nothing ever happened a few times I was sure that they could have easily injured us or someone else. All of the complaints seemed to fall on deaf ears too.

I turned 30 today although I'm not doing anything tonight, this year will be the first year in ages that I actually had something going on with Steampunk Unlimited coming up next week and friends coming down from Connecticut. Should be pretty good times.

So I went to the record store to look around today, and the owner told me that he had a Somewhere in Time LP he just got in. I told him I couldn't afford it right now and he stowed it away for me until I can

Has anyone ever heard of requiring two weeks notice to quit a job, despite being so new there I haven't even seen a paycheque yet? I just can't escape! Anywhere else I worked, you had to complete probation before even needing 1 week notice... Just seems kind of odd :/

Yes, two weeks notice is generally a commonly accepted expectation when leaving a job on good terms. If you haven't gotten a paycheck, then that's a different issue to handle. I would either tell them that I could not continue to work a job where I was not getting paid. If it's a rough situation, then perhaps contact your state's department of labor and get them involved.

You didn't read that very carefully did you? He said he's NEW. He hasn't been there long enough to be paid and he wants to quit.

severzhavnost: Yes, two week notice is generally expected at all jobs. Sometimes it's actually in the written policy but for the most part it's a common social norm. Especially if you want to be able to return to the company as an employee or expect to ask for a reference letter or the like.

Happy birthday, man! And yeah, I'm glad everybody was okay. Though I've had some very reckless bus drivers in the past, the crash last night wasn't due to our bus driver being reckless. I don't understand how the person driving the truck would turn in front of us, they must not have been looking at all.

I started my new job this past Tuesday and man, it has been absolutely kicking my ass in the best way possible. Now I just need to find my groove and kick into it.

What do you do?

Woohoo, 11 hours of journalism. Pretty taxing, but still the best job I've ever had.

Now to wash it down with some Motorhead, beer and stand-up comedy.

I'm rich bitch! Got an awesome text message today telling me I've won £750 000 GBP in some lotto I don't even remember entering! Woohoo!! Bring on retirement!












sssholes

^ Huh, got them scams three times last month.

I'm not really prepared to give myself the Creative Director title, but I'm the creative design lead at a process improvement company. We're getting ready to relaunch the company in two months and I'm getting all their branding together, creating marketing pieces, etc. so their ready. I'm still trying to wrap my head around pieces of the company, so I'm juggling a bunch of different responsibilities right now.

So in the next week or so I can go see High on Fire, GWAR, and Slayer (+Gojira). Haven't seen any of them live before. Anyone give their opinions on the best shows to see? None of 'em? All of 'em? Decisions, decisions...

Gwar is probably the most entertaining live band in existence. I swear Oderus has been conducting some social experiment to see how unbelievably shitty and lazy he can be on stage before fans finally stop coming to shows for the last few years, but the antics on stage and the notorious gore and ridiculousness is still totally worth it. I'm seeing them on Saturday myself, and it'll be awesome I'm sure. Remember to wear a plain white shirt* if you plan on being near the front at all, and prepare to have your ribs crushed by hundreds of drunken, overzealous assholes.

* - Someday, I want to rent some extraordinarily classy and expensive white tuxedo, attend a Gwar show, and then return it the next day.

As for Slayer and Gojira, if you value not being cut or injured in at least one place on your body, stay out of a Slayer pit. People at their shows are absolutely ruthless when it comes to smashing the crap out of each other. The band plays very well too, although I've yet to see them with a drummer other than Lombardo. With Gojira, I've yet to see them (that's changing at the end of the month, though), but they sound like one of the most sonically massive bands imaginable live.

I saw Gojira open for Children of Bodom and Amon Amarth like seven years ago, and I thought they were pretty solid at the time, but it's pretty well documented how little I like them nowadays. They're pretty huge sounding, I'll admit that. They're most definitely a live band as opposed to a studio band.

I haven't seen Slayer without Hanneman, so I can't tell you how that'll be, but they're a very awesome band as well. Like Subby said, they have some of the most notoriously violent mosh pits imaginable. I've always been told that the only three bands you really need to worry about being hurt for real in are Cannibal Corpse, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Slayer. I've never seen DEP and I've survived Cannibal practically unscathed, but Slayer is just another world entirely. The general rule is: the older the band, the meaner the fans. I dunno, but bands like Exodus and Kreator just attracted these dude's who've been working construction for thirty years with the strength of like forty six oxen, and Slayer attracts that combined with sociopathic lunatics who are there solely to hurt you. I'll never forget the first time I saw them, back on the Unholy Alliance Tour in 2006, there was this dude who was, conservatively, probably ten feet tall and four hundred pounds of solid muscle with "WHITE POWER" tattooed across his chest, just closed fist punching people in the face.

So Slayer, amazing band, some of the worst fans I've ever had the misfortune of meeting.

Zodi can talk about DEP crowds since he just saw them back in June or July.

Gary Holt does the 2nd guitar position well enough in Slayer. Half the times I've seen them were with Gary Holt, and really I didn't notice that much of a difference, if any, compared to Hanneman. That might have been because Dave Lombardo was still playing with them, but I'll see how much of a feel difference Paul Bostaph brings when I see them on the 26th.

I passed on seeing Slayer on this tour, which I regret because they apparently played an awesome set of classic material, nothing newer than Seasons. I’m not sure if that’s the case for the whole tour, but if so it would probably be worth going.

That is indeed correct. From their show in Edmonton, Alberta a few days ago:

@LlamaTrainer

Thanks! Also sorry for the confusion there, I certainly didn't mean to imply that the person that was driving you was being reckless. Just reminded me of some of the situations I've had myself.

Well, last time I saw DEP the crowd gathered around to catch their frontman when he jumped off of a balcony. It wasn't as crazy as they usually were because it was at the end of a really shitty package tour. The previous time, their frontman grabbed a light fixture that was hanging by a very long cord and swung around on it, eventually jumping into the crowd. The pits are mostly crazy swinging, but every time I've seen them, the really big people have been very careful and as a result of them playing friendly nobody else did much of anything stupid, other than some kid who kept running into people who weren't in the pit, who was grabbed and pushed heartily all the way out of the pit area.

Cannibal Corpse shows are tame, it feels like a "corporate culture" kind of affair.

Slayer is a bit different - there are a lot more people, and the pit area gets really packed. It was packed tight enough that I could crowdsurf, which really pissed off the security guys. There's going to be a lot of guys who look like (and probably are) outlaw bikers and redneck superheroes - the guys who clear out Waffle House simply by showing up. On top of that, there's everyone from the Ozzfest fans to metalheads to kids who don't know much metal but think Slayer is the most metal thing ever and think their new albums are awesome and really heavy. All of the casual fans think Slayers shows should be/are crazy so they go crazy. The folks who you normally wouldn't fuck with get a bit rough with them, though in my experience they're quite friendly most of the time unless you're doing dumb shit like running into people outside of the pit and swinging their arms too close to people. It's the closest that any professional band gets to the legendary shows where the hostility of the music was present in the crowd and being at the show was actually dangerous.

Go see Slayer. Skip Gojira and do something more metal like getting a latte.

I saw a recent Slayer setlist and it definitely wasn't bad. There were a few post-Seasons songs, I think, but I'm afraid that's to be expected. I find it hard to believe they wouldn't play anything written after 1990 at a show today, but I guess it's possible. They also cover Exodus's "Strike of the Beast" at some shows, because of Gary, I guess. I'd go for that show even though Gojira is some of the most boring metal out there.

High on Fire I've never managed to catch somehow, even though I've always considered going to a show. I'm not absolutely wild about the band but I love their drummer. Most people say they're a great live band.

Damn, that's a great setlist! Die by the Sword I wish I had the cash to go! I've seen them only once and it was the Seasons anniversary tour with Megadeth and it was a bit underwhelming to be honest. I wouldn't miss Gojira even though I don't like their latest album, Mario Duplantier is a beast!


High on Fire are touring with Kvelertak, I've seen both and it's worth it, both very good live acts. Kvelertak came in may and their headline show was pretty damn cool, a lot of energy and it was quite fun.

If anyone hasn't seen it, look up the video of their light operator working with live triggers. Shit was insane.

Edit: oops .. i'm an idiot. It was Meshuggah's light man in that video. No wonder I don't remember the music being this good.

I've seen that guy before too and yeah he's built like the fucking Hulk. He's also one of two reasons I'd never go see Slayer again. Sucks balls though cause I'd really like to see Gojira but I'm not paying that kind of money. I'll just pay the $20 and see Absu instead.

Wow, hadn't anticipated so many responses -- thanks guys! I'm seriously considering just biting the bullet and trying to see all three shows -- my office mate and his girlfriend and I think his roommate are all going so I have people to hang out with, and right now there seems a good reason to see them all. Cost is a pain...I guess I can cut down some of my other costs this month to compensate.

If that's the Slayer set they play here btw, it would be incredible. I haven't bothered listening to anything past South of Heaven, as it happens, so when something I don't recognise comes on, I can always wander off for a beer. Appreciate the heads-up about the pits though: may well stand well back!!

Wasn't that Massshuggah though? Or are you talking about something else? Yeah I've seen that video. It reminds me a lot of a time when I'd play around on that WinP drum software.

Man, that Slayer setlist kicks ass. I have seen them play about 90% of those songs. I wish I could hear 'Antichrist' live.

Haha .. yeah, I was watching the whole concert that Tony's video was from and then it suddenly dawned on me. One of those "oh fuck, I'm late for work and still in my pajamas" kind of moments.