DinaricWarrior's Forum Replies

Hmmm. Let's go with Forgotten Silence.

Lunatic Gods - Turiec (2018)

Ever wanted to know what Agalloch would sound like if it heavily employed Slavic folk music? Your wish is granted.

That's the best description, really. There are also some Opeth-isms in the way of dissonant riffs and deep growls (Pieseň živlov and K fatranským svahom, for example), inconsequential acoustic passages and some pseudo-epic orchestral touches, but for the most part, this description sums it all up: mellowed down black metal-isms combined with Slavic folk (which, on its own, is easily the best part of the album, but does not blend well with the metal, sadly).

I can't help but to think of most of folk metal albums like this one as confused. There's no real direction to the compositions and the music is not nearly as atmospheric or potent as it wants to come off as being. It seems like background music more than anything else.

Oriana and Na Tlstej rastie zlatá tráva are the heaviest songs here, but even those seem underwhelming. For the most part, the music is midpaced, folky and pleasant, but not really interesting or captivating. Again, it feels like background music more than anything else. Even the typical BM sections feel tame, bland and inoffensive.

I can't even bring myself so say anything else due to how weary the album makes me. It's okay for what it is, but there's far better stuff out there.

2.5/5

Alright, I'll try this Lunatic Gods album. It looks nice.

Also, I'm not fully acquainted with the way the draft works yet. I post the review here, I know that, but do I have a time limit or something like that?

Sure, why not

New bands do not guarantee creative development, but no new bands guarantee no creative development. Creative breakthroughs and milestone are and will always be rare because brilliant minds that are able to think out of the box and effectively express their ideas are also rare, but there would be neither avant-garde milestones, classics in the old school style nor generic, run-of-the-mill, "hear it once and never bother again" albums of no new bands were to be formed. It's simple as that.

The reason Nergal's remark irritated me so much is because it seems to me that it comes from his perceived place of superiority; as if he thinks that just because he's in a very popular band, he gets to claim whether someone should form a band or not; like a pretentious talent TV show judge or something like that. Besides, not every band seeks worldwide fame. Some bands are perfectly fine with playing in their own native towns and are likely formed because the bigger bands can't or won't come to their town. And that's another reason I object to Nergal's remark: because it comes off as an attempt to monopolize his position as a metal celebrity, so to speak. And last but not least, his remark is inherently demotivating, though this ties in to the previous point.

Also, it would seem that the environmental/resource issue applies to music as well. This morning, I watched a interview with Marcus Siepen regarding the release of The God Machine, and he said there that the album was finished last year, but it took so long for it to be finally released because the resources for manufacturing vinyls and CDs are getting scarce. Here's the link to the interview for anyone interested.

Much like Ben, I also have that slight OCD regarding checking out every album I can and all that. But that fact is that it is impossible to check out every single album out there, even from particular niches we are interested in, and that's okay. You don't have to listen to everything, and stressing out over missing out on an album you haven't listened to or over wasting time with album you have listened to but didn't like, will do you no good. It's good to keep an active interest and look out for new stuff, but one must not allow themselves to descend into hedonism.

Regarding the accessibility of the music, it's a double edged sword. Everyone has an opportunity to have their music heard, but that also means that the pool of available music is flooded with mediocrity which makes navigating and plucking out worthwhile releases more difficult and tedious, as Saxy already mentioned. I don't have much to say what he hasn't said already. However, I recommend him and anyone else who is bothered by the staleness of modern thrash Divine Comedy: Inferno by Bestial Invasion. 80's-styled tech thrash brilliantly blended with power and progressive metal, with some slight touches from other genres as well.

You could say the same thing for just about any other piece of art or entertainment: books, movies, TV shows or anything else. You may even go beyond art and claim that there are too many cars and other pieces of technology (you might have a point there due to environmental and resource issues, but that's another discussion), too many athletes, too many sport teams and so on and so forth.

My point is: if no new bands were to be formed, creative development of metal would come to a halt for good. And again, this principle can be applied to any field of human interests, which is what makes Nergal's remark so idiotic.

And besides, who does he think he is to dictate who should and shouldn't be a musician? Sure, it is a statistical likelihood that your music will be overlooked and forgotten, but that won't happen necessarily. There is a chance that your creative output will be a new milestone, and if you think that you can and should do it, there is no reason to refrain yourself from doing it.

Is it possible for Mortal Kombat (Serbia) to be added? They're a classic heavy metal band with punk influences.