Karl's Forum Replies

Hi Andi, for August:

The Wind Shall Slay - Diabolicum - The Grandeur of Hell (Soli Satanae gloriam) [1999]

Hi Daniel, my suggestions for August:

01 Internal Bleeding - Obituary - Slowly We Rot [1989]
02 Pits of Utumno - Morgoth - The Eternal Fall [1990]
03 For Those Who Will Fail - Messiah - Rotten Perish [1992]
04 Exile of the Sons of Uisliu - Amorphis - The Karelian Isthmus [1992]
05 Plight of the Naath - Grenadier - Trumpets Blare in Blazing Glory [2022]
06 Shadows of the Ancient Empire - Incantation - Diabolical Conquest [1998]
07 Infernal Worms Fields - Kronos - Colossal Titan Strife [2003]
08 To Flow Through Ashen Hearts - Ulcerate - Cutting the Throat of God [2024]

Hi Xephyr, as promised, half an hour for August:

01 Seul - Blaspheme - Désir de vampyr [1985]
02 Shelob's Lair - Cirith Ungol - Half Past Human [2021]
03 Rising Force - Y.J. Malmsteen's Rising Force - Odyssey [1988]
04 Leyenda - Tierra Santa - Medieval [1997]
05 The Oath (of Magic and Fire) - Agatus - The Eternalist [2016]
06 Don't Turn Your Back - Angel Witch - Angel of Light [2019]

Hi Ben, my nominations for August:

01 På slagmark langt mot nord - Gorgoroth - Destroyer [1998]
02 Through Times of War - Keep of Kalessin - Through Times of War [1997]
03 Den vrede makt - Whoredom Rife - Den vrede makt [2024]
04 Et que vive le diable ! - Seth - La France des maudits [2024] (the single is out on Spotify)

Cool find. I would have probably never heard of this one if I hadn't joined the Academy. After giving it a few spins over the course of last week, I decided to review it as well:

https://metal.academy/reviews/35546/9858

Note that I can't add releases that haven't been released yet, as I need to have clarity of what clan, genre and subgenre they should be added to. I generally wait until releases have had around 50 ratings on RYM, as the genres have usually been solidified by them.

Well, sounds obvious now that you said it; I'll keep that in mind!

Hi Ben, when you'll have time, could you please add these bands:

Minas Tirith (Norway)
Sigrblot (Sweden)
Seigneur Voland (France)
Kristallnacht (France)
Mørkriket (Germany)
Theotoxin (Austria)
Tenebrosus (Poland)
Thule (Iceland)
Curse (Iceland)

...and Seth's (France) upcoming full-length La France des maudits ?

Thanks for the detailed explanation, Daniel. Please count me in for The Horde; I will be getting in touch with other playlist administrators soon.

I am thrilled to see that Flash of the Blade is so high on your list, Sonny. It's one of my favorites as well, and I've always felt that it's somewhat overlooked.

The "top x tracks from a band" list may well be a favorite of mine. Either that, or "band x's releases, worst to best" – to me, it's particularly enlightening to see how widely opinions may differ among the fans of the same band. I'll be glad to give Iron Maiden a shot, but I don't think my knowledge of Judas Priest, Dragonforce, and Kamelot's material is deep enough to do it justice. Instead, I'll give you my take on Black Sabbath; behold:

Karl's Top 10 Iron Maiden tracks:

01. Powerslave – Powerslave [1984]
02. The Duellists – Powerslave [1984]
03. Flash of the Blade – Powerslave [1984]
04. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner – Somewhere in Time [1986]
05. The Prophecy – Seventh Son of a Seventh Son [1988]

06. The Evil That Men Do – Seventh Son of a Seventh Son [1988]
07. Caught Somewhere in Time – Somewhere in Time [1986]
08. Rime of the Ancient Mariner – Powerslave [1984]
09. Sign of the Cross – The X Factor [1995]
10. Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) – Somewhere in Time [1986]

Karl's Top 10 Black Sabbath tracks:

01. Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath [1970]
02. The Sabbath Stones – Tyr [1990]
03. Anno Mundi (The Vision) – Tyr [1990]
04. Falling Off the Edge of the World – Mob Rules [1981]
05. Electric Funeral – Paranoid [1970]

06. Turn Up the Night – Mob Rules [1981]
07. Heaven and Hell – Heaven and Hell [1980]
08. Die Young – Heaven and Hell [1980]
09. Neon Knights – Heaven and Hell [1980]
10. Master of Insanity – Dehumanizer [1992]

I love Kvist (bought the CD back in 1996), but I've never thought of it as influential. [...] I've never listened to an album and thought "these guys have definitely been listening to Kvist".

I am inclined to agree (such a shame though, I'd be delighted to hear more music in the same vein!), but it's the album that comes to my mind when I hear the phrase "Norwegian melodic black metal". Therefore I'd still pick it due to it being an essential listen. However, I can see that my fondness for it may be skewing my opinion so let's leave it at that.

One could also make a case for Nattens madrigal (1997). It may be raw and not very accessible, but it certainly is drenched in sugary melodies, somewhat uplifting even. A quintessential release from a very successful and influential band, one might say.

Other than that, I'm happy to settle with Windir and agree that Arntor is the one that should be getting the spot.

I've always thought of Dissection as more of a melodic death metal band, thus my personal pick would probably be either Nær sólen gar niþer for evogher or Far Away From the Sun, as I consider those as more representative of a typical Swedish melodic black sound. All that said, Storm of the Light's Bane's influence is undeniable so I'm totally fine with keeping it too.

I love Varathron and they may have the more consistent discography but Rotting Christ is the more influential one. I'd stick with Thy Mighty Contract  as well - it encapsulates the charming naïveté of the early hellenic scene perfectly.

For the epic Norwegian style, I'd suggest looking at For kunsten maa vi evig vike (1996). It was released a few years before Arntor and is usually regarded highly.

The deal breaker: samples.

Exception 1:  Funeral Mist - Devilry (1998) - the whole EP.
There are many reasons I adore this release, one of them being the particularly filthy atmosphere that's enhanced by extensive use of samples. I like them here since they help to convey the viscous and toxic sound and seem to be generally well thought out.

Exception 2: Theatre of Tragedy - And When He Falleth from Velvet Darkness They Fear (1996).
Even though the follow-up to the their debut full-length (which I hold dear to my heart) was quite a letdown for me, I have a soft spot for this track and I cannot imagine it without the lengthy dialogue samples taken from the 1964 classic The Masque of the Red Death.

Caution! Contains beauty and the beast vocals and some questionable gothicy recitations.

I might have been just a tiny touch too harsh on the samples and I'm willing to admit that it is indeed possible to make them work (except for crying babies and vocalizations, to the deepest pit with those!). Perhaps I'll come up with an example or two for the exception thread.

Also, I always respect a clever song insertion, that's a good one. :-)

Ain't no way in hell I'm passing this one up.

• Gospel-style background vocals. Die with Your Boots On anyone? I shall forever wonder what they were thinking.
• And again, Piece of Mind (don't you worry - it has so many redeeming qualities it gets a pass). The opener Where Eagles Dare is quite possibly my favorite track of the record. Nonetheless, it certainly could do without those gun sounds... Samples. The severity varies. Engines, helicopters, guns - those are mildly infuriating. Give me crying babies and my blood starts to boil. And don't even get me started on those... copulatory vocalizations thrown out of nowhere in the middle of a track. Honestly, if you put this shit in a song and you are not in a pornogrind band, kindly go and fuck copulate yourself!
• Obituary. Dying of Everything. Intro riff. Chug-chug, ..., chug-chug, .... Ouch. Is this really the same band that released Slowly We Rot and Cause of Death?
  
• At the Gates. Slaughter of the Soul. Timestamp - 1:21. Groovy riff? Death & roll-y riff? Breakdown? Whatever this goddamned thing is called. Bonus points if it's a part of a song i would otherwise dig, just as it is the case here.
• Modern, computerized production, artificial tone, perfect rhythm, zero human factor. I want to hear you & your beloved gear, not your computer and your software!
• Everything with an avant-garde prefix is 95% not for me, at least for now.
  

Themes, aesthetics & lyrics:

• Urban / contemporary themes: street life, parties, drugs and the likes. Even worse - internal struggles/teenage angst. Extra credit if done by middle-aged men.
• Intense self-deprecation & without you I'm nothing cliché. Also celebrating one's depression.
• Love & erotica - this can be done well but it's very hard. And when it's bad (that is - usually) - it's really bad.
• Contemporary politics and preachy social commentary. Freedom worship - thrash metal style - being a notable exception. Ns and commie black metal are getting a pass as well, since these are so over the top I can't take them seriously.

And finally, I share some of your deal breakers:

• Punky drums and cowbells
  
• Hardcore vocals
• Excessive usage of pinch harmonics & bends, but those are totally cool in moderation.
  

Hello Sonny, Ben & Andi, it's a pleasure to meet you.

Zachary, you'll be pleased to hear that I gave The Call of the Wretched Sea a spin and I must say, I dig it quite a bit. Since I'm new to the band (and fairly new to funeral doom in general), it's going to take a fair amount of time & subsequent listens before I fully wrap my head around it. That said, I'm genuinely impressed with how cohesively they managed to execute the theme and the lyrics are top tier. What's more, I can already say that I have two personal highlights: The Sermon (when he goes My song forever shall record that terrible, that joyful hour... - man, shivers down my spine!) & Ahab's Oath (this one is soul-crushingly heavy and i really like the synth parts here). Curious to hear which one is your favorite.

Thanks for the warm welcome fellas!

I'm looking through all these fresh threads on the forums. Compiling a list of heavy metal deal breakers? - this is exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking forward to.

Also, Hall of Judgement ? Man I like the idea. And I like the name even more.

did... did you say AHOY? Do you like nautical things?

• I'll never miss an opportunity to see a museum ship, if there is one in town I'm visiting.
• Whenever I travel by ship (which is not often, sadly) I feel nothing but a deep sense of joy and calmness.
  
• My dream vacation: From Europe to the States by sea (perhaps on a cargo vessel since these "hotel cruises" are certainly not my thing); and back the same way after a month or so.
  
• This one might be controversial - i have nothing against pirate metal!
  

One may conclude that I have a soft spot for nautical things  :-)