Rexorcist's Forum Replies

So Petra's got a new one out this year.  First in almost 2 decades.  It's a pretty good one, nice and catchy, simple but diversified, doesn't seem like they lost their luster, even though they were largely a decent band with a couple key releases.

I've been really happy with the direction I've taken over the last 6-12 months whereby I've committed to ensuring that half of my listening habits sit outside the metal space. Not only has it left me feeling better about my hearing but it's also left me feeling musically reinvigorated. So, I think I'll be continuing with this approach long-term & don't think I'll be coming back to the monthly feature release roster any time soon as I'm feeling really good about maintaining complete control over my listening schedule.

I do this very often, but I try to maintain a 1/5 metal album ratio with the rest of my lists.  That's why I've been working on top 100's for niche variants of large genres.  For example, I'm largely focusing on prog soul right now.  However, I'm now in a position to where I can get some more metal under my belt for a little bit, so I decided to focus on some melo-death.

As far as musical resolutions go, I want to make 5 proper top 100 lists for different genres minimum and finally put together a top 100 or a metal genre I haven't gotten a good chunk through yet.  Mostly leaning towards either melo-death or doom.  

It looks like Parannoul, under the name Mydreamfever, has graced us early this year with a new album: 4. Mountain Still Breathing.  But I have to say, while I always LIKED Parannoul and have given them a couple 9/10's, I feel they're a bit overhyped.  As well, I'm NOT getting into this one.  It's way too repetitve and relies too heavily on lo-fi aesthetics rather than the music itself, which is no different to me than oversaturating a pop album with production so polished it might as well be lemon-scented.

Carcass - Reek of Putrification (1988)

Genres: Goregrind

In an earlier review for Carcass's second album, Symphony of Sickness, I mentioned that there was less of the melodic strength that made the third and fourth albums so beloved.  In this early goregrind release, as well as their debut, there's even less of that.  This is one of those somewhat common examples of early 80's metal albums compensating for lack of creativity with absolute brutality, the way earlier movies by Wes Craven were.  "Mature" content over substance.  Now the funny thing is, like Wes Craven, the band grew as their career progressed, so by the mid-90's this was basically nothing more than a historical example of how much they grew.  Despite a few cute tricks here and there, I predicted how the whole album would go after listening to Symphony of Sickness.  Now there may be some charm to have in the lo-fi production.  It's certainly a heavy piece.  But the production also muddles things that shouldn't be muddled, which cements yet another weak point in comparison to future works.  Basically, this overly "adult" album amounts to little more than an imitation album made by a bunch of children who think all it takes to be the best is to be different and "true to yourself" by "not giving into radio capitalism" or some shit like that.  Fortunately, this was the last time they ever sounded like this.  With 22 short tracks, they found a way to make a 37-minute album way too damn long.

52

Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness (1989)

Genres: Death Metal, Goregrind

I'm not one for goregrind really.  In the long run, then I'd rather not educate myself in an entire genre dedicated to piercing the veil of acceptable gore by turning the most disgusting lyrics of all time into that much of a joke.  I mean, it's one thing to have obviously fake pain splashing when you're cutting down b-movie zombies in an intentional cheese-fest like Braindead, but to keep bragging about it as if getting your fingers in between the very atoms that make up gore is how you get your kicks just isn't the kind of thing I think people should be spending months writing for albums.  I rarely explore these kinds of bands, with a notable exception being the slam band Devourment.

Nevertheless, I occasionally go to classic acts like Carcass because of their melodic prowess and heavy say in the modern development of death metal structures, which isn't so much about the gore factor as it is about the melodies, production, brutality, etc.  But before they were a melodic death metal band, they played around with goregrind, which I find interesting considering that the album before the melodic days would be their second and last album to showcase them partaking in their original genre.

Somehow bordering both death metal and goregrind without steering too far into Napalm Death signature deathgrind genre, this sophomore album is largely about having fun with the metallic sound and setting up a basic structure, so there's not a lot of variety going on.  There's a very dirty, gross sound about the production that makes the album sound like it came directly from the underground, ready for vengeance or some shit.  And in comparison to many a grindcore album, this one makes a point of consistent and enjoyable riffs rather than being random-ass and overly technical like a lot of modern grind does, allowing their sound to be both fun and grounded for the metal fans AND the punk fans.  As well, the production never gets in the way of the band's playing.  No, it expands upon the heaviness, which is exactly what an album like this needs.  Speeds even fluctuate at an even pace, giving us enough time to enjoy what we have rather than just going off into 50 different universes in a single minute the way Doctor Strange does.  Still, this DOES mean that this is a developmental album rather than an attempt at real art, which is still a good thing considering that the practice easily paid off.

Now the internet says that this is slightly worse than the two Carcass albums everyone knows and loves: Heartwork and Necroticism.  However, I'd say this is about on par with Torn Arteries.  It's a good album that proved that the band knew what they wanted at the time, but it's also a reminder that Carcass made the smart move on the next album and expanded their sound away from goregrind.  The thing is, while this is a fun album with a successful vibe, all the riffage is flatout OWNED by Carcass's later work, so I wouldn't put this on the same pedestal others put it on.

75

Symphonic metal doesn't have to be heavy or power based.  Vovin proves that.  Nevertheless I'll give it a spin today.

Not metal, but we as music fans MUST address this one.

Remember when we all said on the day it was released that it was his best album in a long while, and then two days later... he died, and the album took on a whole new meaning?

I do need to get around to reviewing and rating the rest of the Death discography, although I say that to myself everytime I look at one of these lists.

Out of curiosity, how many of them have you heard?  And if all of them, how long has it been since you last went back on them?

Funkadelic - Cosmic Slop (1973)

Genres: Prog Soul, Soul-Funk, Funk Rock, Psych Soul

So if that genre-tagging wasn't boner-inducing enough, we're dealing with Funkadelic in general.  This is during that understated period where the psych aspects of their rock side have transitioned to the soul side, allowing for a much more spiritual side to the band, one that remains as catchy and spirited as ever.  This is obviously the step forward into evolving into a p-funk band, one that bases itself on the raw trippiness of the psychedelic age.  Honestly, the third track, March to the Witch's Castle, relaxed every fiber of my body, putting my subconscious into a total state of euphoria.  It's a real shame that this side of the band wasn't explored very much during the late 70's, focusing mostly on the p-funk side we're familiar with on albums like Mothership Connection.  This is probably their most soulful album.

96

While I don't AGREE with the #1, I acknowledge that it certainly deserves to be there.  It might as well be "the" metal album.

Here's the 2026 edition.  Five albums got kicked off, a couple got rearranged, and I'm surprised I have such an obscurity like that Solaris album down there.

Robin Thicke - Sex Therapy: The Session (2009)

Genres: Con-R&B

I must emphasize... I am not really a Robin Thicke guy.  I only turned him on to complete another catalog.  The third album is where I left off when I first checked him out some time ago, so this was next in line.  What hit me a couple tracks in is how effortlessly smooth this album is.  There's not a moment spared on it, and there's no struggle to maintain it.  But the first four or so tracks are pretty typically written and sparse in instrumentation.  As well, the lyrics are standard cheese romance with no real adventure or revolution attached.  But this changes in the middle section with some surprisingly clever instrumentation that turns the album into a real jammer, starting once an excellent rapper / crappy solo artist Nicki Minaj comes into play.  Even after a cheesy spoken intro, Elevatas is a surprisingly rough and industrial track that has a number of clever choices in its ever-progressing intrumentation.  I'd even go as far as to give that track an 8/10 minimum.  The album goes back to some of the more typically written con-R&B after the middle section, but god was that middle section worth it, despite the lyrical content only showing a slight upgrade from the first act.  So in short, this is a surprisingly creative, consistent and smooth album, but it has some very noticeable weak tracks and standard lyricism.  Still, this is easily his best of the four.

68

Steeleye Span - Parcel of Rogues (1973)

Genres: British Folk... Rrrroooock-k-k?

I spent a good portion of the album waiting for it to actually be a rock album as RYM said, as I was in the mood for the British Folk Rock genre.  There's barely on it, so I'll judge it as a folk album.  Now you can tell pretty easily that the group was trying to expand and experiment, trying out a bunch of tricks and sounds.  And mostly, they work beautifully.  This is an exceptionally eclectic and unpredictable folk album that maintains its old-timey folk spirit with very few wavers.  As expected from a Steeleye Span album, it feels like they've summoned the spirits of ancient minstrels to perform, and some of these compositions are gorgeous while others are simply fun.  One issue with the experimentation is that the melodies in the early songs are a bit quirky, and the quirkiness gets in the way of the catchiness the band is attempting, as if they were struggling to rewrite folk so as to ensure they don't recycle melodies from previous albums.  Nevertheless, its ability to shift from sparsechantings to violin-central pseudo-hymns to near-psychedelic electric guitar is wonderful.  It's a journey right through the medieval ages.  But I'm calling this prog folk, not folk rock.

94

Welcome to The North Rexorcist! I believe the transition has been successful (I can see that your ratings are now counting as Clan Ratings for The North), but let me know if anything looks weird.

Thanks a bunch!

Weird like what?

Like a North album or cover you've rated that isn't being included in the Clan Rating section. It should be all good, but I have had to run a recalculation a couple of times in the past when site users change or add a new clan.

Well I still haven't noticed anything weird like that.  But maybe I'm just not paying enough attention.

My books sold five copies today.  I find it hard to believe that actually happened.

I quite like everything I've heard from Amorphis but haven't really kept track of them since they dropped the death metal component of their sound in the late 1990's.  I did check out "Under the Red Cloud" when it was a Metal Academy feature release though & it wasn't a bad listen. I'd still take the more deathly "The Karelian Isthmus" over it but I have to admit that I slightly prefer "Under the Red Cloud" to "Tales From the Thousand Lakes" & the "Black Winter Day" E.P. these days.

I've always liked Tales from the Thousand Lakes, having a strong sense of melody and genre-playfulness, but it seemed less fleshed out than some later releases, and not as well produced, so I never gave it above an 85.

Amorphis - Under the Red Cloud

Genres: Prog Metal, Melo-Death Metal, Prog Death Metal

98

I suppose the album gets more alternative as it goes along, so I'll give this one an upvote.  It also got less djenty as well, but I think we should keep the metalcore tag.

Before we do that, we should have Adding to the Gateway and removing from The Infinite be separate ones.  I'll be sure to vote on both if I can, as this is the last Volumes album I haven't heard.  I'll finish it when I'm done with the current album.

I've just changed the entry & we now have twelve ratings without a clear outcome.

Didn't know you could do that.

If it helps, I guess I'll vote yes to this one, but I'll leave it to be questioned as to whether or not this is goth metal by someone else.  Can't say I fell in love with this album.

I haven't heard any Sarcofago yet, but I'll hold off on that for a later marathon.  I've already voted on the top two, so now all that's left is Into the Pandemonium.  I don't know about the goth metal tag being primary.  I wouldn't vote for that since I only hear it in a couple tracks, but I do agree that the avant-garde tag should be taken off.  They probably should've been two separate Halls.

Most of the avant-garde behavior on the album is resorted to either including a different genre in a song or the kind of abrupt tempo changes that are quite common in thrash metal, and I can safely make that assumption after having blown through many thrash / blackened thrash albums for the last two Clan Challenges I finished.  "Avant-garde metal" seems more like a way to quickly describe this playful thrash album rather than a way to acknowledge a previously established genre, because comparing this sound to the works of Arcturus, Maudlin of the Well, some Blut Aus Nord and Thy Catafalque seems pretty impossible.

The one thing holding me back from voting yes is the goth metal inclusion.  I can't look at this album and say, "Tristania, Type O Negative, Draconian," etc.  Otherwise, I'll just end up in the same boat I'm in now.

I went to the releases tag and put together a chart for the highest-rated Swedish albums with a 5 vote minimum.

https://metal.academy/releases?releasesFilters=1&releaseCountry%5B%5D=211&releaseSort=releases.overall_rating&releaseSortType=DESC&releasesCountRating=5&fromYear=&toYear=

Candlemass is the clear winner.  Everything else is a bit scattered.  I'm surprised Blackwater Park is so low, though.

No one gonna mention the likes of Dissection, Dismember, Edge of Sanity, Entombed, Cult of Luna, At the Gates or Tiamat then?

I keep a ranked chart of all my top artists based on top 3-5 averages.  Here's the top five metal bands from Sweden, though I need to study Sweden some more.  I'm a bit behind on that.

1. Therion: Celebrators of Becoming (Live) (100) : Theli (98) : Live Gothic (97) : Secret of the Runes (96) : Vovin (96).  Average: 97.4

2. Opeth: Blackwater Park (98) : Ghost Reveries (97) : Watershed (95) : The Last Will and Testament (93) : My Arms, Your Hearse (93).  Average: 95.2

3. Falconer: Black Moon Rising (95) : Among Beggars and Thieves (94) : Chapters From a Vale Forlorn (92) : Falconer (90) : From a Dying Ember (74).  Average: 89

4. Cult of Luna: Somewhere Along the Highway (94) : Mariner (93) : Salvation (91) : Vertikal (85) : Cult of Luna (81). Average: 88.8

5. In Flames: The Jester Race (96) : Whoracle (95) : Colony (91) : Clayman (88) : Lunar Strain (73).  Average: 88.6

I still need to hear more Candlemass and Edge of Sanity.  Nut I'm largely good on Therion, Falconer and Opeth.

Plastic Neesound - nontitled (2024)

Genres: Vaporwave, Plunderphonics

I can't say I'm into Plastic Neesound's music.  In fact, I went through the whole catalog (not counting the few AI albums) just to add some fodder to my albums log.  I would even say that a large number of 0/100's that were obviously just there to be there and had no qualities worth mentioning makes Neesound one of the worst artists I've heard overall.  That's what happens with quantity over quality.  But this album's really not that bad.  Most of the experimental and vaporwave ideas are just okay, but it's the fact that the album is much more palatable and loaded with ideas that makes it a worthwhile distraction at the very least.

63

I don't see my beautiful baby THERION in that list.

Burzum - Hvis lyset tar oss (1994)

Genres: Atmo-Black Metal

Looking at old reviews for albums is a good way to see just how much you've changed. In this instance, it's one of Burzum's crowning gems, the one he wrote right before his legendary (tho overrated IMO) Filosofem. The name is Hvis lyset tar oss, which is Norwegian for "If the Light Takes Us." At this point in time, much like Filosofem, I can't say I like this one as much as I used to. I even knocked off a whole star from my Filosofem rating when I heard it. But I don't think I'll go quite that far. Back then, I liked Filosofem more, by a 2/100 edge (92 vs. 90). This time, I'd say I like this much more than Filosofem, which only had a 93.

In my old review, I mentioned that Burzum expressed his anger perfectly. I really don't think so anymore. Hearing so many professional and even frightening shrikes and growls in my time as a metal fan, now Burzum's voice sounds unpolished and even a little dorky, like he's trying either too hard or not hard enough. Otherwise, the music itself is pretty good. I got it right in my older review when I said that Burzum delivers on the basics of atmo-black well enough. This album is cold and treacherous, much like an actual blizzard. There are synths in the back but they're typically faint and not forced, working just well enough to add a little spice to these four epics. But the thing about these epics is that they largely have a one-track mind, so once again, it's more about the atmosphere than the music. Still, it's a careful, though not too experimental, blend of atmo, depressive and traditional black metal with a little dungeon synth on the side.

So I would say in my current state as a music buff that Burzum's album right before Filosofem has the edge. I didn't really expect to like it more than Filosofem at first, but I'd say that this one feels more like an actual music album, and it doesn't have an overdone 25-minute ambient track at the end, but rather a synth track which feels like something out of a Tangerine Dream album (it has a 14-minute one, which is still overdone but easier on more melodic ears and actually showing clever shifts in gear).

76

Welcome to The North Rexorcist! I believe the transition has been successful (I can see that your ratings are now counting as Clan Ratings for The North), but let me know if anything looks weird.

Thanks a bunch!

Weird like what?

My top 10 out of the RYM top 40

1: Moonsorrow: Verisakeet (100)

2: Emperor: Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (98)

3: Leviathan - Lurker of Chalice (98)

4: Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane (98)

5: Immortal - At the Heart of Winter (97)

6: Ulver - Bergtatt (96)

7: Murmuüre - Murmuüre (96)

8: Agallock - Ashes Against the Grain (96)

9: Bathory - Blood Fire Death (96)

10: Mayhem - De mysteriis dom Sathanas (96)

My top 10 in general

1. Emperor - Prometheus (100 / Symphonic Black, Traditional Black)

2. Blut aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God (100 / Atmo-Black, Dissonant Black)

3. Alcest - Souvenirs d'un autre monde (100 / Blackgaze, Shoegaze, Post-Metal)

4. Emperor - Emperial Live Ceremony (100 / Symphonic Black, Traditional Black)

5. Enslaved - Mardraum (100 / Prog Black)

6. Moonsorrow - Verisakeet (100 / Folk Metal, Pagan Black)

7. Cabinet - Claustrophobic Dysentery (100 / Bestial Black, Black Death)

8. The Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semen of a Darkened Shrine (Black Doom, Atmo-Black, Death Doom)

9. Sear Bliss - The Arcane Odyssey (Melo-Black)

10. Stormkeep - Galdrum (Melo-Black)

As you can see, having both Prometheus and Mardraum as their artists' top slot on my chart shows off my love of the more experimental stuff and my occasionally controversial hot takes.  Even by saying that specific live album is Emperor's best, when some would claim it's their worst, I prove that point.

OK, I've just verified that those clan challenges were successfully completed Rex. Congratulations as we all know what an enormous undertaking it is to complete four challenges. Ben will add you to The North shortly. It's not as simple as simply adding the clan to your profile as we need all of your previous The North ratings to be included in the Clan Ratings now that you'll be a part of the clan so it's a bit fiddly & requires nerd status to achieve without fucking everything up. Thankfully, I have one such nerd in the family.

No big.  I know a few little things about the bureaucracy of internal tech, albeit mostly from having started a couple of Fandoms I left to rot after a couple years.  And with it being that technical when most of the advanced stuff is handled for you, I can imagine it would be a bit more difficult here.

I'm ready for my fourth clan.  I have officially posted full-on reviews for these three list challenges:

1. Guardians: Power Metal - The Early Days

2. Infinite: Prog Metal - The Second Decade

3. Pit: Thrash Metal - The 80's

I'm ready for my fourth clan.  I've thought very long and hard about this, and came to the best decision I can.  Not only has this been a genre my core has been more and more drawn to over the last couple years, but it's also the genre I feel I can do the most good on when voting on halls.

The North.

These and this: Black Metal - The 2nd Decade

I do but I feel that comparing the opinions of yourself & our other regular contributors to those of the wider RYM community is like a winemaker arguing over the quality of fine wine with a teenage Passion Pop devotee if I'm being completely honest.

RYM has helped me a lot with my musical education and exploration.  Having said that, my core is built on "hot takes."  I typically make my ratings based on a "subjective best" criteria, meaning I stick with a technical evaluation and assign it a numerical rating, do that I can give sir ratings to genres I don't care for.  And this also explains why I typically criticize albums that are too long or samey, so this ended up being why I lowered my Burzum rating by a whole star.  Doesn't even reach my top 1000 metal albums anymore (though I still need to go over those other Burzum, Windir and Cradle of Filth albums to modernize my top 100 black metal albums).

This also explains why I had such difficulty finding a melo-black album for my top 100 after falling out of favor with Windir's Arntor.  And my number 1 doesn't even reach the RYM top 400.  But our charts are a bit difficult to gauge recommendations from because so few users are rating these albums on a consistent bases.

Well done, Rex! The gates to The North shall open for you when you earn that clan.

"When I earn it?". Was there anything else I had to, other than wait for Daniel to check it?

I did it.

https://metal.academy/lists/single/31

God, Ben is really on point.  The next Sear Bliss album I'm checking out, Heavenly Down, I've NEVER heard this kind of music.  It's... aquatic black metal, right out of Avalon and composed by the Lady of the Lake.  Enya black metal, and that is NOT an insult. Halfway through The Winding Path right now.  Perty freaking brilliant.  The blackest song so far, The Upper World, was a bit of a typical song, but the rest is quite inventive.

Yeah, they definitely have their own sound, and it's one that I return to over and over again. I'm thrilled that I've assisted another metal fan in discovering them.

And the best part about that sound is that it works so well no matter what sound they go with.  I mean, the debut is so serene and heavenly, then the next is rough and doomy, and their recent one, I reiterate, is aquatic, and they even have a sparse, groovy avant-garde one.  This is what I think a band should be.

Now all I have left are Thorns and Satyricon, but the latter will take longer since I need to listen to the previous releases.  I know absolute jack about them.  So if all goes well, I lock in my fourth clan today.  That on top of getting my two books physically published makes for an eventful weekend.

I have been crazy serious about the black metal reviews today.  I heard three Rotting Christs, Kvist and Vinterland, and the non-melodic album Below the Lights for the List Challenge today.  And now, I'm on a Taake album.

Finally got the debut novel published in a physical format yesterday, but I left out an important detail.  The Kindle page told me to adjust the file to the size I wanted, and I wrote the whole damn thing on 8.5x11 inches, apparently.  But since everyone was sending me videos, I had to do laundry, I had to get ready for a Christmas party AND I had to constantly deal with barking dogs and what not, I told myself "screw it ". So the book is the size of standard paper.

But this might actually be a good thing, because I have a lot of elderly customers at Dunkin who want to read my novel, so this checks out.  But my next book will be smaller.

Major congrats, bro, both to your wife and your 50th!

I've mentioned that I can't even get behind Filosofem the way I used to.  I might as well post that review on the Atmo Black thread if I haven't done so already.  It IS Filosofem.

"Filosofem" is my second favourite metal album of all time. Every second of it is perfect as far as I'm concerned.

Whoa.  Didn't know it was second.

God, Ben is really on point.  The next Sear Bliss album I'm checking out, Heavenly Down, I've NEVER heard this kind of music.  It's... aquatic black metal, right out of Avalon and composed by the Lady of the Lake.  Enya black metal, and that is NOT an insult. Halfway through The Winding Path right now.  Perty freaking brilliant.  The blackest song so far, The Upper World, was a bit of a typical song, but the rest is quite inventive.

Awesome!  Keep pushing, but don't push too hard.  And a major Happy Birthday to you!

I'm a big fan of "Dead as Dreams" although I do find it to be a touch overrated by the Americans as I don't think it's quite as classic as it's often made out to be. It's certainly a very solid & highly enjoyable black metal record though. I've not too sure it should qualify as ABM. It's always seemed closer to conventional black metal to my ears. 4/5

Coulda been the headphones I had.  Sounded pretty atmo with the Onn gaming set.  Not amazingly atmo, so I get you on this one.

Weakling - Dead As Dreams (200)

Genres: Atmo-Black Metal

I can only imagine what it was like for those in the know throughout the metal scene to get invested in such an awesome band only for them to break up after one album.  I can at least understand the disappointments of a good band breaking up and the disappointment of a great band only having one album.  For the most part, I've never had to deal with the gut blow of both happening in conjunction.  In fact, it's for that reason that I didn't bother with this 70-minute album for a while.  But now that I'm taking Metal Academy tests to cement myself as a true black metal fan, whether or not this album was required to pass is irrelevant to me (although it is).  I have to stop putting this off.

This album was made just as atmospheric black metal had already made its mark on the underground world.  People were already more than familiar with the likes of Blut Aus Nord and Burzum, but this was a different monster entirely.  The muddy drum sound, the despairing and disturbing guitar tones and the overall emotional core of the music is absolutely haunting.  It might've been their first album, but as Salieri said, this was no piece by a performing monkey.  With the right doses of blackened noise, doom metal and prog metal taking the stage, the album is not only a product of its time but an aural mirror into human torment.  Hell, even the lo-fi production adds an essential factor to the construction of the mirror.  I can't imagine this album sounding as good if it has polished production.

Don't expect to bang your head to this, don't expect to dance.  Find a good chair, sit back, and let the sorrow and lapse in sanity take you away.  Breathe in every second of this muddy and horrid soundscape that throws emotions at you with the speed of a whirlwind and the strength of a hydraulic press.

91

Before I post my Filosofem review, I'll post my top ten atmo-black albums.

1. Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God (100)

2. Alcest - Souvenirs d'un autre monde (100)

3. The Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Shrine (100)

4. Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love (98)

5. Leviathan / Lurker of Chalice - Lurker of Chalice (98)

6. Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium - Nahab (97)

7. Altar of Plagues - Teethed Glory and Injury (97)

8. Negura Bunget - OM (97)

9. Thurisaz - Scent of a Dream (97)

10. Ulver - Bergtatt: Et eeventyr i 5 capitler

Listening to Weakling for the first time.  Will post a review here after the current one.

Burzum - Filosofem (1996)

Genres: Atmo-Black Metal

Many have considered this album THE black metal album, due to its pioneering sound, diversity and heavy influence in various genres, including dungeon synth and ambient as well as its metal subgenres. As for myself, I always acknowledged the talent displayed here, to an extent, but never once to the extent that many have given it. Like other atmo-black albums, I considered this a great album before. But now that I am very different as a reviewer and metalhead years later, I've been looking back at the more repetitive classics as overlong or messy or lacking or whatever. I don't consider this a weakness, however, as I've been known for some wild hot takes, so I'm prepared to take on one of the most classic black metal albums in the world.

The leading issue is that certain things drag on too long. One of the lesser examples is the lead riff for Jesus ' Tod. Now the production is beautifully noisy and despondent, and the walkie-talkie quality of his blackened vocals was an excellent decision for the song, and for a leading vocal style. Production is easily the strong point, which is easily how its been able to influence so many atmosphere-based genres. Problem is, I've been falling out of favor with some atmo-black albums because so many of them drag on, and Filosofem is no exception. Having these songs last eight minutes at a time is kind of concerning. I've heard worse black metal albums that tried for more, so the production is the strongest point, second being the despairing and angry moods. But honestly, I shouldn't be asking a music album to STOP, especially when the repetition goes on for 25 full minutes on end with an ambient track which takes up 80% of side B. It should've had ten minutes taken off. I don't understand the man's line of thinking here.

I will continue to acknowledge the strengths of the album, and appreciate that there are those who love good solid atmospheres to calm them down or simply resonate with. But the way I see it, this is a music album, and that means creativity should be consistently challenged and justified, and there isn't a lot of it going on in these songs. The album is surprisingly well-produced, perfectly ambient and atmospheric, but lacking in imagination beyond that. If you're a metalhead and you just want to soak up moods then this is likely the album for you. It might be an atmosphere album, but it's also a black metal album, and plenty of black metal albums have done more with less time.

73

I really struggle with "Arntor", as well as Windir's next couple of albums to be honest. I guess I'm simply not the intended audience for these guys.

I noticed a surprising number of negative comments throughout the reviews on the RYM page.  I suppose its status could mostly be attributed to influence, like a number of early black metal releases.  I've mentioned that I can't even get behind Filosofem the way I used to.  I might as well post that review on the Atmo Black thread if I haven't done so already.  It IS Filosofem.

Windir - Arntor (1999)

Genres: Melo-Black Metal

As opposed to the outright evil displayed in many different kinds of black metal bands, Windir took a very different approach.  This album shows how far they can go into the triumphant, positive and epic vibes that come with the pride of being a viking.  This is music right of the the ancient North.  And it rarely even takes this direction to weird, seemingly inappropriate directions, like playing up the vibes to an obnoxious extent.  The most obnoxious and not-so-serious thing about this album is the dated intro.  In fact, the album is even so much fun that when I checked the name of the track I was on, The Blacksmith and the Troll of Lundamyri, I didn't realize I had heard four-and-a-half minutes of it, and that I was halfway through.  I honestly thought I was three minutes in at most.  But because the band was focused on developing a sound, there's not a lot of room for branching out beyond that.  In other words, the album is mostly about the identity of the band, and justify it with the skills they have.

This is one of those albums I gave a 100 to when I was first exploring black metal, which was a whole new world for me on a multitude of levels.  But now that I'm much more familiar with it years later, I've been lowering the ratings of many black metal albums.  So I would even go as far as to say that this album is more on the level of Cruelty and the Beast, being a 9/10.  I'm pretty happy about this though, as this common element of my recent reviews showcases how much I've grown and become aware of standards to develop.  This is a fun and influential album, but having started this earlier a few days ago and having fallen out of favor is what lead me to start a plethora of melo-black albums in an effort to find that PERFECT one.  So, Windir's re-evaluation helped me grow and discover something new.

89

This one might fit the criteria Rex:

Dornenreich - “Her von welken Nächten” (2001)

It's pretty cool that you mention that one, because I actually gave that one a shot yesterday.  Someone else recommended that to me on Reddit for the same purpose.  I was about to fall in love with it, but when I realized the first three tracks were following the same format with how it handled the genres, I was pretty disappointed.  Basically, it wasn't surprising anymore, and the fourth didn't really help fix that problem.  Really close.  I'll finish it one of these days, once I can get past that voice.  I mean, it was charmingly cheesy at first, like a gangling goblin sidekick from a good cheesy 80's fantasy movie, but then it just got overdone.

As for Ben's suggestion, I just checked out that Arcane Odyssey album, and I have one thing to say:

It had some doom metal, some folk metal at the end, good surprises among the length, mix between brutality and careful atmosphere, choice production.  This is going on my list of perfect albums, at 461, right between the Silent Hill II soundtrack and the Alien soundtrack.

I started my first ever audiobook this week  Clive Barker's The Scarlet Gospels narrated by John Lee.  I have Barker's Books of Blood on my shelves but never really bothered with anything Hellraiser related until starting listening this week.  Barker's got one fucked up imagination but it works wonders for horror fiction.

I both love and hate the way his mind works.  I've read The Hellbound Heart and seen all three of his directorial efforts.

I've found that black metal in general is really helping me with my passion project which will remain anonymous at the time.  All I will say is that it will be deeply philosophical, psychological and quite chilling.  One of the self help videos my mother watched and sent to me is helping with determining character flaws and reactions.  And this one's going to be an epic.  If I'm not careful, it'll be as long as The Stand.  I at least want to go for 600 and not turn myself into the next Diane Chambers.

Anybody know some real genre-benders in melo-black? 

I have a few I would recommend to you, Rex, though a couple of them are mixed with other genres:

Underoath - Cries of the Past (2000)

Stormlord - At the Gates of Utopia (2001)

Shade Empire - Omega Arcane (2013)

Shylmagoghnar - Emergence (2014)

Waidelotte - Celestial Shrine (2024)

I'll be checking out all of these.  I can't promise I'll finish them all at this moment as I'm looking for something I'll consider absolutely peak, but I will definitely check out all of these bands when I form a top 50 or so melo-black chart.  If any of these albums sound a little different with each track, I'll check out that one first.  I typically steer towards mixing genres on a track-by-track basis.

Actually, Storm of the LIght's Bane is currently the number 1 black metal album on RYM. It seems that Filosofem has been massively down voted recently due to Varg's beliefs, despite the fact that everyone knew about them prior to the internet ever reaching the masses. Apparently there is less tolerance for judging art on it's quality rather than it's creator these days.

Yes, I was quite happy when I was it to Filosofem.  My recent reevaluation dropped it a whole star.  However, I don't have any right to combine the art with the artist; my favorite black metal band is Emperor, and Im away that they have reclaimed Faust for their reunions.  I believe they said they have different viewpoints on forgiveness in Norway than they do in America.  And I can get behind that as a person CAN change in over 20 years.  Of course, Burzum hasn't done much of that, but either way, my newfound disappointment with the album is purely artistic, and with no offense meant to anyone, I personally don't think it's honest for people to say the musical quality matches the moral quality.

My major problem with the album is that, while it sounds great, it lacks composition in place of atmosphere and drags.