Xephyr's Forum Replies
Breaking my radio silence a bit to offer up some Black Metal discoveries I've been particularly addicted to recently, which has been a lot of Speed/Black'n'Roll influence surprisingly.
Hellripper - Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags (2023) - This one is a bit more Speed Metal than Black Metal and is exactly what you'd expect from Hellripper, but I think it's his best outing to date.
Spirit Possession - Of the Sign... (2023) - This one is more Black Metal than Speed Metal but has a serious old-school vibe and production that has only gotten better the more I've listened to it. The guitar work is phenomenal in my opinion.
Chapel - Satan's Rock n Roll (2012) - I found Chapel after reading some discussion about the new Hellripper album and this more unknown Black n' Roll album has become my all-time favorite in the primarily niche subgenre. It rocks ridiculously hard, every single song is either about Satan or alcohol, and it may be sort of dumb at times but I love it. 
Enslaved - Hordanes Land (1993) - Enslaved continue to surprise me after I thoroughly enjoyed their new album Heimdal. If anything, Enslaved might be the most consistent and interesting band in metal history, or at least they should be in the running. The fact that they've been able to continually reinvent themselves without crashing and burning like many other bands is impressive, but it turns out I was unaware of how good their technical "debut" album was. This is the same EP that shows up on their split with Emperor in 1993 and it's definitively a piece of Black Metal history that will take a few more listens to fully grasp. It's been a while since I listened to some seriously raw Black Metal, but I gotta say it's good to be back.
I'll be back to say hi to everyone officially again starting on the 24th.
Sadly I'm not, exam is April 20th, I'll be free from this special kind of torment and back better than ever in May.
Back to spending part of my Saturday reminding myself why we put fly ash in concrete and whatever the hell Marshall testing is for asphalt strength
I'm in the final 2 months of preparing for my professional engineering exam, (Civil, Construction focused) so you won't be hearing too much of me until then. I think I made this post in here almost a year ago when I was optimistic that I was going to get this over with last November, but obviously that dream is long gone. It's extremely difficult to analyze and write about music past just listening to and enjoying it when I have to learn and remember how to do everything from pipe flow calcs, to concrete compressive strength, to retaining wall bearing capacities, to earthwork computations and OSHA regulations. Plus keeping on my gym schedule on top of everything else.
Just know that I'm still listening to music and checking out the Feature Releases and Draft albums here and there and am still very much enjoying them, even though I might not have the motivation to say much as of now. I'll probably remind Ben/Saxy to take me out of the next Draft round for the next two months while I get things sort, and I'll let someone know if I have issues making the Guardians playlists for March, April, and May.
2022 was definitely a weird year overall. I don't think that there were a ton of truly standout releases, especially in some of the Clans that others have referenced, but it produced my longest list yet of albums that deserve a listen or two. So while it wasn't the most exciting year, it was the deepest and most consistent year I've had so far. Let me go through these real quick.
The Fallen - Although I haven't gone back to it that much, Quiescent is definitely deserving. It's hard for me to truly get into due to my tastes, but it's still an insanely compelling listen when I get the strength to turn it on for another spin. I preferred Messa's Close and Epitaphe's II, but I'm far from upset about this.
The Gateway - I'm kind of disappointed with this one, as I think Cave In's offering was much stronger, but I don't think Obsidian is a weak album by any means.
The Guardians - No surprises here, I'm not the biggest fan of Blind Guardian's more modern material, so this was a massive improvement for them to go back to the kinds of riffs and songwriting that I prefer. It still manages to combine their old and new styles though, making it a really interesting listen for a band that's been going at it for a long time now. There were a lot of other strong releases this year though, especially in the Heavy Metal category. Sonny alluded to Earth Infernal, but Sumerland's Dreamkiller is also a great record, as well as Riot City's Electric Elite. These three albums basically form a trifecta of any classic Heavy Metal style you'd want, ranging from Black Sabbath, to Judas Priest.
The Horde - I'm pretty torn about this one. I loved Woe when I first listened to it, but as the year went on, I kept finding more and more problems with it. I think my 4.5 still fits, as I still love this style of Metal overall, but to see it take 1st place in The Horde feels a bit disingenuous as I categorize this as an Infinite release way more than a Horde one. While it was an admittedly quiet year for The Horde, I think Inanna, Artificial Brain, or Allegaeon have more of a place than Woe, even though those albums are fairly divisive too. Pretty strange year for The Horde overall as the big albums are hybrids and more progressive overall.
The Infinite - Not really a surprise, I would have preferred Tómarúm in here, or even Epitaphe, but that's definitely due to personal taste. Even Imperial Triumphant deserve a shoutout, really strong year for this clan overall, Cult of Luna are just way too consistent though.
The North - This one is VERY surprising as someone who really couldn't get into the atmosphere of this one. I gave it a solid 3.5 score since it accomplishes what it sets out to do very well, but I can't personally get in the right mindset to hear what everyone else seems to be hearing. That being said, the rest of the Black Metal I really enjoyed this year was VERY off the wall, so I wasn't expecting my favorites to be chart-toppers.
The Pit - There wasn't really another option here. I'd say Autonoesis but I'd consider that more of a North album, I have no issues with Critical Defiance taking it home with some actual straight-up Thrash.
The Revolution - I'm kind of sad that The Callous Daoboys didn't get more attention here, but Static Dress serve up some serious nostalgia and I'm not surprised this one took it.
The Sphere - No arguments here, thoroughly enjoyed Krüller all the way through the year.
Going to try and blast through these picks to catch up, I've been slacking on the Metal Academy part of my schedule as other stuff has piled up. Hopefully some of these will turn into full reviews one day?
Old Man's Child
I wasn't aware of this band before choosing this album, but I was pretty surprised to hear a really solid Melodic Black Metal album that is more of an all-rounder compared to the fantastical or medieval styles most other second-wave bands adopted at the time. I really enjoyed this one on the whole, it has a ton of great riff ideas that bounce between normal Black Metal fare and more interlude-y stuff like "Wounds From the Night of Magic". Acoustic guitar and symphonic synths and choir are mostly used to give it that melodic edge and even though the vocals ruin some of the moments, like on "On Through the Desert Storm", I'm a big fan of this. I'm wondering if this got remastered for Spotify, as some reviews were complaining about the lo-fi production and not being able to hear certain parts, which is a problem I never ran into. The production on whatever this version is sounds much more modern, not thin at all, and overall loud, so I'd be interested to see if I can track down the original recording if this is, in fact, some sort of remaster. The songwriting feels a bit simplistic though, so I'm wondering if it'll lose its luster over multiple listens, but for now this one sits comfortably in the higher tier of 1990's Black Metal for me due to my bias.
4/5
A Light In The Dark
This was a pretty dull and boring Blackgaze album that is way more "-gaze" than it is Black Metal. I don't have the best ear for genres but I'd say this is more Post-Metal/Rock than anything, apart from the vocals and the occasional and more aggressive tremolo riff. That being said it's very pretty; it definitely lives up to its album cover of transporting the listener to a reflective, grassy hill at midnight overlooking the sparkling city skyline, but that doesn't keep it from mostly being a snooze-fest. The electronic additions can be neat, but they don't really elevate it all that much. Won't be coming back to this one.
2.5/5
It looks like Ben is third up so I'll edit this with my pick after he goes.
January 2023
1. Blind Guardian – “Blood of the Elves” (from “The God Machine”, 2022)
2. Sumerlands – “Heavens Above” (from “Dreamkiller”, 2022)
3. Iron Maiden – “Heaven Can Wait” (from “Somewhere In Time (2015 Remaster)", 2015)
4. Helloween – “Rise Without Chains” (from “Helloween”, 2021)
5. Avantasia – “Seduction Of Decay" (from "Ghostlights”, 2016)
6. Black Sabbath – “Under The Sun” (from “Vol. 4 (2014 Remaster)", 2014)
7. Riot City – “Eye of the Jaguar” (from “Electric Elite”, 2022)
8. Judas Priest – “Beyond the Realms of Death” (from “Stained Class", 1978)
9. The Lord Weird Slough Feg – “Vargr Moon” (from “Traveller", 2013)
10. Nightwish – "Creek Mary's Blood” (from “Once”, 2004)
11. Twilight Force – “Forest of Destiny" (from “Tales of Ancient Prophecies", 2014)
12. Unleash the Archers – “Soulbound” (from “Abyss", 2020)
13. Saxon – “See the Light Shining" (from “Wheels of Steel (2009 Remaster)”, 2009)
14. Iced Earth – “Desert Rain” (from “Night Of The Stormrider", 1991)
15. The Ferrymen – “The Last Wave" (from “One More River To Cross" 2022)
16. HAMMER KING – “Kingdemonium” (from “Kingdemonium", 2022)
17. Rhapsody – “The Dark Tower of Abyss” (from “Symphony of Enchanted Lands", 1998)
18. Herzel – “Maîtres de l'océan" (from “Le dernier rempart”, 2021)
19. Epica - "Synergize - Manic Manifest" (from "Omega", 2021)
February 2023
1. King Diamond – “Behind These Walls” (from “The Eye”, 1990) (Submitted by Daniel)
2. Cool Feet – “The Man from Marakesh” (from “Burning Desire”, 1976) (Submitted by Daniel)
3. Amaranthe – “Crystalline” (from “Manifest", 2020) (Submitted by Daniel)
4. Acid – “Prince of Hell and Fire” (from “Maniac”, 1983) (Submitted by Sonny)
5. DragonForce – “The Edge of the World" (from "Reaching To Infinity”, 2017) (Submitted by Andi)
6. Twilight Force – “Skyknights of Aldaria” (from “At the Heart of Wintervale", 2023)
7. The Lightbringer of Sweden – “Strike Back” (from “The New World Order”, 2023)
8. Jag Panzer – “Harder Than Steel” (from “Ample Destruction", 1984)
9. Kamelot – “Lunar Sanctum" (from “The Fourth Legacy", 1999)
10. Dark Moor – "Maid of Orleans” (from “The Hall of the Olden Dreams”, 2000)
11. Lost Horizon – “Welcome Back" (from “Awakening the World", 2001)
12. Heavens Gate – “Flashes” (from “Livin' in Hysteria", 2003)
13. Rage – “Solitary Man" (from “Trapped!”, 2020)
14. Pharaoh – “By the Night Sky” (from “The Longest Night", 2006)
15. Bloodbound – “Desdemonamelia" (from “Nosferatu" 2006)
16. Eternity's End – “Under Crimson Moonlight” (from “Unyielding", 2019)
17. Visions of Atlantis – “Melancholy Angel” (from “Pirates", 2022)
18. Steel Prophet – “Spectres" (from “Dark Hallucinations”, 1999)
19. Serenity - "Wings of Pride" (from "The Last Knight", 2020)
20. Human Fortress - "Thunder" (from "Reign of Gold", 2019)
21. Warrior Path - "The Mad King" (from "The Mad King", 2021)
23. Avantasia - "Misplaced Among the Angels" (from "A Paranormal Evening With the Moonflower Society", 2022)
I'll take Borealis please, Prog/Power Metal always intrigues me because there's normally very little Progressive Metal to be found on them, so I'll be interested to see if this one actually holds up.
I did a short writeup that will hopefully (eventually) turn into a full review for last month:
The Antichrist Imperium - Volume II: Every Tongue Shall Praise Satan (2018)
To be honest, I ended up enjoying this album way more than I thought I was going to. I think it’s a very confused album at times, but at the same time, that aspect helps keep this album interesting throughout. The Antichrist Imperium double down on their evil and blatantly Satan worshipping shtick and while I don’t think that aspect makes it instantly compelling, they’re able to consistently play around with the theme in different ways so it doesn’t become too dull. This is a tough album to pin down since it has a little bit of everything, but it’s sort of like an alternate reality Persefone with more Black/Death Metal influence and slightly more atmosphere due to the spoken word interludes? Fans of dense and chaotic Prog Metal will definitely enjoy this, but I find the vocalist to be just okay with both their cleans and harshes, even though there are some fleeting moments of well done contrast between the two. “Liturgy of the Iconoclast” is a much needed hit of variety with its clean vocals and more melodic riffing, but it still ends up in the same place as the rest of the tracks at the end.
This album sits right in the middle of being a Death/Black Metal album with a few too many Progressive influences, and a Prog Metal album that may be a bit too extreme for some. It’s great for someone with my taste, but I’m not sure who else exactly this sort of fusion satisfies, since both sides end up detracting a bit from one another over the course of the album. It’s still a unique spin on the evil and anti-religious theme that Black Metal is known for, and it has a few great moments, but I don’t think it offers anything intensely compelling. It was still able to keep my attention thanks to its relentless Prog Riffing and sometimes satisfying songwriting with atmospheric interludes, but that’s about it. Apparently they have a 2022 album out, maybe they’ll be able to refine their approach a bit on that one?
3.5/5
Thanks for the heads up, I'll try and get some extra cover ratings in by then to make it more interesting.
I've posted up a slightly longer review for that Deathspell album I rolled, time to make time to go back to that Antichrist Imperium album. I listened to it once and definitely didn't hate it.
A Fiery Taste
It's somewhat unbelievable that I can look at the over 2,000 albums that I've listened to up to this point and still feel intimidated by certain bands. I've delved into the depths of Brutal Death and Goregrind, as well as enveloped myself in the chaotic static of underground Black and War Metal, but something about the reputation that precedes Frenchmen Deathspell Omega keeps me at a firm arm's length from truly spending time with them. I knew that their discography was daunting, but I was unaware of their secondary lineup of highly praised EP's that began to be released after their initial 2004 breakout album Si monvmentvm reqvires, circvmspice. Most consist of one twenty minute song or simple movements like Kénôse, but Drought asserts itself as a miniature Deathspell Omega experience that provides something more hectic, aggressive, and blunt than their standard winding and dissonant melodies. The slow and brooding opener "Salowe Vision" is able to lull the listener into thinking they may be in for another Paracletus experience, but "Fiery Serpents" bursts in and shelves all those preconceived notions. The clearer and louder overall production, the punchier drums, the sharper guitars, and the more balanced but haggard vocals see Deathspell Omega move into more traditional and slightly more Math-y Progressive Metal territory all while retaining their unhinged chaos in terms of their songwriting and rhythm structures. Drought brings a forceful heaviness that feels a bit alien for the band, especially since the fiery, evil atmosphere of Paracletus is historically what they've done best, but this short EP shows that their overall style is able to be shaped and wrought in slightly different ways to produce material that's just as compelling. Despite being an intimidatingly dense 20 minutes, I really enjoy the balance that Deathspell Omega has been able to create, with "Fiery Serpents", "Scorpions & Drought", and the first half of "Abrasive Swirling Murk" being absolute pandemonium and an obvious inspiration for later acts like the currently popular Serpent Column. "Sand" and "The Crackled Book of Life" slow things down a bit at the end without sacrificing any of the harrowing and jagged riffing that keeps Drought pushing forward.
Even though it's only 20 minutes long, there's a lot to take in when it comes to the beginning of Deathspell Omega's metamorphosis into their more modern style that they'd debut on The Synarchy of Molten Bones four years later. The band has since then gone through even more changes, sadly in a direction that leaves me less interested than something like Drought, so it's been exciting to finally sit down and be able to try and digest a bit of what Deathspell Omega has to offer. It's impressive how chaotic and crushing the riffs and drumming can be while still maintaining a sense of coherency, which is what is ultimately able to keep me interested given the jammed nature of their music. It's hard for me to say this is an absolutely outstanding release though, given it's length and slight pacing issues, but at the same time I think the length is what makes this album a standout in their discography. With the rest of their EP's being 20-minute single song marathons, having a bite-sized slice of Deathspell Omega isn't necessarily a bad thing at the end of the day. As someone who wants to appreciate this band more but never seems to be in the right mood, Drought is a fantastic gateway album that doesn't require as much commitment or focus as their more complex and sinister albums. Thanks to its less muddled production, it's able to pack a hell of a punch that highlights and elevates their classic sounding riffs compared to their recent, safer, and more balanced albums The Furnaces of Palingenesia or The Long Defeat. I think it's safe to say that I have some Deathspell Omega albums to catch up with now that Drought was able to successfully drag me back into their ominous and tumultuous inferno.
I need to make time for this record next week; it slipped past me in 2022 and I may need to make an exception and update my list, by the sounds of it.
Artificial Brain's self-titled deserves a spot here, in my opinion.
I have a personal bias for Allegaeon's Damnum, but I can't see it being to everyone's liking.
A few more from my own list that I think should be in contention:
Grenadier -Trumpet's Blare In Blazing Glory
Tchornobog / Abyssal - Tchornobog / Abyssal
Fallujah - Empyrean
Aeviterne - The Ailing Façade
I think that Ultha, White Ward, and Vauruvã's Por nós da ventania are the picks for Atmospheric Black Metal this year, I found all three of them to be stronger than all the current 3 rating albums save for Moon of Foul Magics.
Véhémence's Ordalies is also a sleeper pick in my opinion, but you have to enjoy the slightly wonky and melodic medieval folk angle.
I'm in agreement that Challenger absolutely rips. It reminds me a lot of Altarage's Succumb, since the album ends up in a completely different place than where it started. Whereas Succumb starts out as intimidating and swirling Death Metal and slowly devolves into abyssal drone, Challenger begins as a tumultuous and chaotic Mathcore experience that ends up being more of a sludgy chugfest by the end. I've found that I really enjoy this sort of album progression since it worked for me on Succumb, but I think Knut does an even better job at it considering how different the two subgenres seem. I think that the 20 minute closer goes on for a bit too long for repeated listens for me, but it was awesome to see where they were going to go with it the first time around.
I think this highlights my personal issue with Mathcore though, as even though I really enjoyed this album and, much like Botch's We Are The Romans, I'm going to give it a pretty high score, there's a good chance I won't return to it anytime soon. For me, these sorts of records are only really appealing to me if I'm in a certain mood, and sadly I think that mood is filled by other types of albums that I gravitate towards instead. While I agree that the vocals are impressive, they definitely wear on me given how long of an album Challenger is for this genre. All that being said though, this is a sick album that incorporates sludgy chug in a way that I haven't heard before and I'm 100% down for it.
4/5
I think I remember coming to the same conclusion when this album was featured quite a few months ago, Ben. I'm kind of surprised to see it get a lot of "hate" and dismissal from other sites as there are some very cool and unique ideas in it, but I'll admit the album as a whole doesn't quite get there. I'm not sure if any other Black Metal acts have picked up where ...And Oceans left off here as Space Black Metal has gone more for an atmospheric and implied Sci-Fi feel rather than going full electronic/techno, so it's still something I'd like to see explored a bit more.
I'm back from a refreshing vacation to start out the new year and I went through almost 100 covers last night to help out with the sample size, since I never rate covers. I'll try and do the same for the rest of the clans as these threads pop up. Now I've got some serious catchup to do.
Ever since hearing Paracletus a good ways into my Black Metal listening, I've had a reverence of Deathspell Omega, but I never find myself listening to much of their stuff. This includes their stellar lineup of EP's, which I was unaware of until choosing this for the draft. Drought is the second EP they released after Paracletus and the last one they've released up to this point, and as someone who has listened to more modern DsO compared to the slightly older stuff, this album was some serious whiplash. I wanted to say this reminded me of Serpent Column, but then I remembered that this album came out three years before Serpent Column was even formed, driving home the fact that DsO really did, and to some extent still do, have a monopoly on this brand of eccentric, progressive, and more math-y Black Metal. At just 21 minutes this album feels like it stops just as it's getting started, but at the same time that might not be such a bad thing for DsO. It's in such a concise package that it's not overwhelming to go back to, and there's still a ton of complexity to explore with their signature chaotic style with spoken word-like Black Metal vocals. I'll hopefully expand more on this when I get more time, it's very cool to see that DsO has some insanely good EP's to check out apart from the albums that everyone knows.
4/5
Moon of Foul Magics starts out innocuously enough, with an intro track that could have been mistaken for the newest Opeth single, but the slight growls towards the end sets the stage for what is, in my opinion, the best "straight up" Metal album of 2022. It may have gotten beaten out in the end for me personally by Tómarúm's debut, but that album has a ton of progressive elements and extra bits to really make it shine for me. Moon of Foul Magics is just a straight-up riff fest and a blast to the senses with none of that fancy shit, and it made its mark on 2022 as being one of the only albums of that kind to be extremely effective. I've been constantly coming back to this one for months now and it remains consistently fantastic. I'll see if I can write up a proper review after I'm back from vacation the rest of the week, thanks for highlighting this one Daniel.
I'll catch up on last month's as well and go with Light in the Dark.
I'll catch up with that Deathspell album after New Years festivities, I've been absolutely slammed this entire month.
Let's go with The Antichrist Imperium please.
Agreed, I'd be okay with having a rotating playlist rather than an endless backlog of stuff.
Thanks for doing these Daniel, the hard work is appreciated to give this site a more streamlined take on the current Metal genres. I'll admit I haven't listened to many Trance Metal records, but from the ones I have heard, I'm in agreement that it feels like a tacked-on descriptor that doesn't hold weight on its own. I think Trance Metal is another one of those tricky genre differentiations where one element or instrument makes it seem like it's in a league of its own, but it's fairly obvious that's not the case here. "If it has X then it must be Y" can work for some genre classifications, but not all of them.
Nah don't worry I'm not beating myself up, whenever I say I'm going to keep giving something a try, it always means I can see there's something about a release that I didn't quite get the first time around.
I like to jump around a lot in my listening so, much to the dismay of some, a lot of my initial thoughts and ratings come from one spin of the record. I like to catch myself here and there and make sure I'm giving some of the more slow-burning albums a chance before moving on and never going back to it. I'm much more interested in Kosmodroms' ideas than I was with any previous Monolithe release, so we'll see!
I think I needed more time with this one, as my first listen didn't produce anything spectacular even though I can see where you're coming from, Sonny. It doesn't help that I was pretty lukewarm on Monolithe when Monolithe II was featured for The Fallen, so maybe it's just a stylistic thing about this kind of Death Doom that I can't wrap my head around. I was definitely more engrossed by Kosmodrom due to its more Progressive nature compared to their other albums, so you've convinced me to give it a few more chances rather than just leaving it at being another Monolithe album I don't understand.
Thanks Andi, turns out I was only searching for "Arjen Anthony" this whole time.
I see Darksynth, Electronic, and Djent as main genres and a Cyber Metal subgenre on RYM, unless you use another way to determine it. If Polymorphic Code and Compiler Optimization Techniques are considered to have Djent as a main genre then I'm not sure why Data Renaissance cannot as well. Which I now realize is The Infinite and not The Sphere, which is probably another issue as these albums definitely have a Cyber Metal component to them due to all the electronics.
I'm doing some cleanup for the end of the year, thanks Ben!
Terror - Pain into Power
I'm doing some cleanup for the end of the year, thanks Ben!
Lacuna Coil - Comalies XX
I'm doing some cleanup for the end of the year, thanks Ben!
Final Light - Final Light
The Algorithm - Data Renaissance
I'm doing some cleanup for the end of the year, thanks Ben!
Chemicide - Common Sense
I'm doing cleanup for the end of the year, thanks Ben!
Forbidden Temple - Step Into the Black Pentagram
Trhä - Endlhëdëhaj qáshmëna ëlh vim innivte
Djevel - Naa skrider natten sort
I'm doing some cleanup for the end of the year, thanks Ben!
Teramaze - Flight of the Wounded
Humanotone - A Flourishing Fall in a Grain of Sand
Cobra the Impaler - Colossal Gods
Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One - Revel in Time
I'm doing cleanup for the end of the year, thanks Ben!
VoidCeremony - At the Periphery of Human Realms
Tomb Mold - Aperture of Body (EP)
Houkago Grind Time - Houkago Grind Time 2: The Second Raid
I'm doing cleanup for the end of the year, thanks Ben!
Terra Atlantica - Beyond The Borders
Brymir - Voices in the Sky
Cauldron Born - Cold Steel for the Necromancer
Jorn - Over the Horizon Radar
Stray Gods - Storm the Walls
Ultima Grace - Ultima Grace
Moonlight Haze - Animus
Neurotech - Symphonies II
Shield of Wings - Unfinished
Crystal Ball - Crysteria
Eternal Ascent - Reclamation
I'm doing cleanup for the end of the year, thanks Ben!
Space Coke (USA)
I'll take the Deathspell Omega album since I never dug into their discography all that much.
And dang, you work fast Dinaric! Reminder to post that review to the actual album page if you would like, it's always nice to have write-ups for lesser known albums that no one on the site has listened to yet.
I'd be down, I feel like I don't check out nearly enough Progressive Metal albums nowadays.
I think that Vinny's original Nergal quote is getting a bit extrapolated here, even though I can see where the sentiment is coming from. I obviously don't know the guy, but I think his "advice" is akin to, like Sonny said, professional athletes or even content creators on YouTube or streaming sites. I can't cite it but there was a poll in elementary/middle (?) schools a few years back and one of the most common dream careers for younger kids was being a Youtuber or some sort of content creator, to which I say Nergal's blunt advice is mostly correct. Content creation, in many of its forms, isn't lucrative as it's almost impossible to get noticed and requires an immense amount of luck, work, and sacrifice compared to the admittedly broken and sometimes soul-crushing normal pipeline of getting an education, finding a job, and working from there. For the large percentage of kids wanting to do Youtube as a full-time job, I'd say absolutely not because it's not a stable life decision, and I think that's the crux of his argument.
However yeah, the line about "Do you really wanna put another song on another album that no one will pay attention to? No, you don't wanna do that." was very unnecessary and comes across as diminishing other people's talents. Obviously people shouldn't stop making music, there are too many hardworking creative minds out there to believe that. Maybe he's jaded because he's already gotten all of the fame and tours, but being a small artist and getting a few hundred listens on Spotify for the first time after working hard on an album has to be an amazing feeling. It's hard to keep that positive energy going for a long time when there's almost no reward, but Daniel's absolutely right when he talks about the perspective from the artist rather than the consumer. As long as you don't crash and burn your life trying to make it big in the music world, I can't find a negative to pursuing that passion. I'm sure that if only 1 person buys Daniel's Neuropath CD he'd be ecstatic that someone is listening to what he created.
I've been seeing that Pharmacist album everywhere for the past few months and finally decided to give it a shot. What a weird and funky sounding album. Definitely not my thing but I'm starting to understand the hype, the fact that they're able to weave some random Progressive Metal passages in with everything else is very impressive. I think the base is a little too "disgusting" sounding for me, as a lot of my complaints stem from the vocal performance, but all the grooves and riffs they're able to accomplish are really cool. Hopefully I'll get a few more listens out of it to see if it edges anything out on the list. If anything, this is definitely a more impressive album than something like Undeath's record this year, despite me probably preferring that record for casual listening over something like Pharmacist.
The Parkway Drive release intrigues me, I had no idea they had another album out.
I might just have to listen to the Disturbed album for some laughs? I can't imagine they've changed much.
I recently saw Monolithe released a new one, despite me not enjoying them all too much from the Fallen Feature Release a few months back I'm intrigued to see what they come up with. I'll have to try and fit it in this week.
I can't say I'm too excited for the new Candlemass regardless of the band's stature.
Welcome in! Just follow the forums and click around the top tabs a bit, we have a bunch of monthly, recurring stuff that happens here if you're into that sort of thing.
Made some time to check out last month's album and actually was able to finish typing up a review without my browser freaking out on me. It's a pretty cool one but left me feeling kind of bored overall.
Strung Along
Russian Atmospheric Black Metal and I have never quite seen eye to eye, as most of the records I've heard from the region put a huge emphasis on massive, bleak soundscapes without much variation or progression in between. I've been routinely impressed by the polish and modernity of recent Atmospheric Black Metal bands in their attempt to bring some clarity and solid production value to the table, but this is a very fickle genre where intelligibility doesn't necessarily equate to captivating atmospheres. Epitimia's fifth full album Thread tries its best to separate itself from its contemporaries and lure me in with its heartfelt acoustic guitar passages that blend extremely well with its warmer and more reflective sounding Black Metal sections. The album's overall progression from its darker and more aggressive tremolo chords in "Downfall" and "Infirmity" to some truly beautiful sections in the second half of "Vale of Tears" and a general tonal shift on the closer "The Tree" shows that Epitimia put a lot of care and effort towards the album experience. The experience of sitting through that progression, however, is a bit more rocky.
Despite the acoustic portions feeling expressive and complementary to the main, Black Metal attraction, I can't find too much to say about the meat of this album. The riffing, drumming, vocals, and overall ideas are fairly standard on Thread and, while that makes it far from a poor album, it leaves a lot to be desired for a good portion of the album's runtime. I love the incorporation of the ghostly sounding background melodies after the acoustic interlude on "Downfall" and the pretty guitar layering on the final quarter of "Vale of Tears", but I quickly become disinterested when Epitimia decides to pivot to straight up Black Metal. The assertive mixing of the guitars and vocals leaves the drumming in the background gathering dust sometimes, which is a shame because sounds perfect in the softer sections. The vocals can sometimes feel few and far between, which is a huge plus for me as I can't say I'm a fan of how much space the spoken-word Black Metal gnarling takes up. There are one or two standout riffs in Thread, mostly coming from "Infirmity", but most of this album's charm comes from the interplay between the atmosphere the softer, acoustic parts create and how the Black Metal parts follow up on it. Epitimia are able to write some fantastic transitionary moments between these two idea structures, especially in "The Tree", but there isn't too much else to keep the listener interested once that impact wears off. I think Thread is a unique enough album to warrant a listen from Black Metal fans who are looking for something a bit more pleasant and hospitable, but I can't see myself going back to it too often.
3/5
December 2022
1. Blind Guardian – “Life Beyond The Spheres” (from “The God Machine”, 2022)
2. Satan – “Ascendancy” (from “Earth Infernal”, 2022)
3. Fellowship – “Glory Days” (from “The Saberlight Chronicles", 2022)
4. The Ferrymen – “One Word” (from “One More River to Cross”, 2022)
5. Nite – “Last Scorpion" (from "Voices of the Kronian Moon”, 2022)
6. Battle Beast – “Wings of Light” (from “Circus of Doom", 2022)
7. Jorn – “One Man War” (from “Over the Horizon Radar”, 2022)
8. Sumerlands – “Dreamkiller” (from “Dreamkiller", 2022)
9. Riot City – “Tyrant” (from “Electric Elite", 2022)
10. Septicflesh – "Neuromancer” (from “Modern Primitive”, 2022)
11. Hammerfall – “No Mercy" (from “Hammer of Dawn", 2022)
12. Queensryche – “Tormentum” (from “Digital Noise Alliance", 2022)
13. Saxon – “Age of Steam" (from “Carpe Diem”, 2022)
14. Unlucky Morpheus – “Serene Evil” (from “Evolution", 2022)
15. Venator – “Nightrider" (from “Echoes from the Gutter" 2022)
16. Stray Gods – “Black Horses” (from “Storm The Walls", 2022)
17. Maule – “Summoner” (from “Maule", 2022)
18. Sabaton – “Hellfighters" (from “The War to End All Wars”, 2022)
19. SONJA - "Pink Fog" (from "Loud Arriver", 2022)
20. Dynazty - "Achilles Hell" (from "Final Advent", 2022)
21. Axel Rudi Pell - "Follow The Beast" (from "Lost XXIII", 2022)
22. Stratovarius - "Demand" (from "Survive", 2022)
23. Avantasia - "The Wicked Rule The Night" (from "A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society", 2022)
Well, I had half of my review for last month's Draft penned out, then my browser decided to refresh my page and I lost it. Guess I hit some sort of hotkey or something, so I'll maybe be finishing that tomorrow if I can remember what I wrote?
None of these ring a bell to me so I'll take Old Man's Child - Born of the Flickering.
I guess the answer is to be selective in what you listen to. Let's face it, 75% or so (minimum) of music is average at best. The remaining 25% is still a hell of a lot of music, but reviews and ratings from people you trust are a good way of refining your listening targets.
Agreed on this, it all depends on if you find enjoyment out of "dumpster diving" to find what's great or want to be smarter and more time efficient about finding great tunes. Going through a slog of average albums isn't exactly fun, but I still get some sort of kick out of most things I listen to, especially since I like to keep myself honest with what I consider good versus poor.
It's hard to argue against his point. The accessibility of listening to new stuff through streaming sources or any other facet you choose coupled with the sheer amount of tools to help bands self-release their stuff makes the landscape a bloated mess. Being around someone at work who listens to more of a variety of genres compared to me has really given me a better perspective of how much music is truly out there, since I've felt its hard to "keep up" even within the Metal sphere, let alone the rest of everything. When it comes to pursuing music as a career, I think he's right to use the aggressive language he's using because the harsh reality is that people literally can't shell out enough money for all the bands they may like. You find 20 or 30 albums you really enjoy throughout the year? 15 bucks for a CD, 30 bucks for a vinyl, that comes out to 300-600 bucks a year for one person spread across all these bands...it's a hard sell. I'm glad that I've found the right balance of how I listen to new releases that I'm still excited to go check out what just released or what I may have missed.
How much "new" do we need is a tougher stance, and I can't say I agree because it feels contradictory or nihilistic to say that we don't need new music. While I completely understand not resonating with newer material, drawing a line in the sand and saying that new stuff after 2022 or any 'X' year specifically feels disingenuous. According to RYM's database, 1,102 Death Metal records alone were released in 1992 compared to 1,656 records released in 2022. Sure, the number went up, but 1,102 is still an astronomical number for one singular subgenre and is still a number that is unobtainable for the average listener, and that was 30 years ago! I don't think the logic holds up because telling everyone "Stop! We have enough Death Metal records!" in 1992 means we wouldn't have gotten genre defining releases like Symbolic, None So Vile, Obscura, Close To A World Below, and the list goes on. So why should wide-eyed kids stop making what they think is killer music in 2022 if a few select wide-eyed kids in 1992 were able to absolutely kill it? The cycle is gonna go on and that's what makes it exciting.
I can get that for Cult of Luna, I think since I much prefer their newer material over their older stuff (I gave Somewhere Along the Highway a 3/5, blasphemy I know), I'm still riding the high of not being quite tired of their style yet as I've found myself consistently going back to The Long Road North.
Would you say that The Funeral Orchestra, BlackLab, and Mournful Congregation still deserve a listen for someone like me? I've heard good things about the Mournful Congregation release but I think it slipped by since it was an EP, so I'll 100% be finding time for that one.
I'm actually on the other side of the fence here as I expected a lot out of Autumn Aurora after absolutely loving Blood In Our Wells. Even though Atmospheric Black Metal has become one of my favorite subgenres, I feel like it's doomed to be very inconsistent for me as it feels somewhat random as to when I'm able to really jive with the atmosphere any album tries to convey. Even though it's the same band and the same formula, something about Autumn Aurora left me very bored and feeling like the whole thing is kind of a slog, despite it still being obviously high quality. Hardly a bad album, but it failed to grip me in the same way that Blood In Our Wells did, or even as much as some other Atmospheric Black Metal albums that may not be as widely and highly regarded. I think I need to go back to Drudkh for a refresher, especially after checking out their new 2022 album All Belong to the Night. I ended up giving both Autumn Aurora and All Belong... a 3.5 and I doubt that's correct since there were some pretty strange production decisions on the new one that made me scratch my head a little, which makes me feel like I was a bit harsh on Autumn Aurora when I listened to it.