I've never heard any Ihsahn albums before so this one caught me off guard when I listened to the suggested video on YouTube (Wake) which reminded be to mid 90s black metal with much cleaner production. Moving to the whole album on Spotify it was a jaw drop specially the more modern tracks with clean vocals, Sámr is a big standout on the album and a track I've suggested my friends to listen first - its not even a "metal" track, but it connected to me immediately.
Right on brother. Welcome to the club! try working your way backwards for now with the albums that start with "A". I think you'll enjoy them. Lots of clean vocals mixed with the best BM vocals ever. On Arktis he even harmonizes them. Killer stuff.
Gehenna's First Spell has always been a good listen, but the bonus tracks on this RM reissue take the cake :
Sometimes I get so accustomed to the daily routine of listening to extreme metal, especially black metal, and especially especially Norwegian black metal, that I lose touch with that first little fire sparked by discovering this crazy subgenre of music all those years ago; and then I see something simple, like this pic of a CD's back cover, and I remember it all over again: first the astonishment that there were bands playing at a level of intensity I'd not heard since my teenaged years listening to Slayer and Dark Angel -- but somehow even faster, more demonic, more unrelenting, yet ending up more cerebral than visceral; then the fall-to-my-knees-and-praise-the-dark-gods excitement over finding a style of music that finally, finally did the same thing for me and my imagination as all those horror movies and pulp novels lining the bedroom shelves; and lastly the Lovecraftian madness, the reeling mind, when I realized just how many of these bands existed and how much music there was to be devoured. And every time it would start with this same thing: whether in the aisles of a music store or hunched over a magazine or mail order slip, seeing one of those album covers, the grainy gray or black and white photo, the dismal but attractive landscape, the vaguely liturgical font and arcane song titles, and I'd know I was on the verge of something else that would keep me awake and fascinated into the wee hours of the night. Emperor, Arcturus, Satyricon, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Ulver, Immortal, all these familiar names that at one time were alien and devoid of meaning -- or waiting for that meaning to be imbued after nights of fervid listening. That first fire is still there, all right, and every time it's stoked I get to start all over again, listening to something like Aspera Hiems Symfonia or In the Nightside Eclipse as if for the first time. It's a rare art that accomplishes this for me. Hails to ze black.
My entry point was Arktis, which I wasn't expecting to like, but which turned into a game changer for me, and I backtracked through his earlier albums. The only problem I have is that the material can be a little exhausting on the ears after a while - he throws in everything but the kitchen sink. I rather stupidly binged on the previous six albums in preparation for Amr, and by the time I was unwrapping that one I was burnt out.....but clearly I need to get back to it soon. The difficulty is that you guys keep throwing up more distractions - white vinyl Death Symbolic? Oh yeah, that reminds me I've been meaning to revisit Scream Bloody Gore..... Maybe this thread should be renamed "The Forum Of The Damned.."
That back cover was the last online thing I saw last night and I did indeed linger over those titles and the font and knew this was what I would indulge in next (tonight). Though due to the font I initially misread "Black Seared Heart" as "Black Sacred Heart". After correcting my error, I preferred the error. Or counterintuitively, salvation, for musically it is.
Necrovorous – Plains of Decay “Howling under the moonlit skies” Back to the death metal I guess… ☹ First thing I notice when hitting “play” is this sounds really good. Great production and sound. Maybe I just don’t like 80s and early 90s death metal… This one is pretty good. Great 5+ minute instrumental near the end. Impressed to NOT hear the same guitar tone that most (black metal) bands from Greece use. Overall, I think this is a fairly solid release, if not special in anyway. I’m starting to not shy away from the DM so much I guess. J Rating – Grrr
Notice that every song but the first four are demos, eps, etc, some of them previously unreleased. Not only are they to die for, but the remastering AND the packaging are so good it's unbelievable. Some of the 40 pages from the booklet :
I'm digging this one too. <Embarrassing moment as an unexpected co worker came into my work area to find me dancing a jig to this>
I've been lax on checking out this thread, oops. That's what happens when I'm gone and miss my alerts. Anyway, glad to see some talk about Ihsahn's stuff. He's released another really good record, it's actually kinda crazy how reliable he's become using such an oddball combination of decidedly un-black metal ingredients - saxophones, clean vocals, synths. The synths in particular are killer on Amr. On a death metal tangent note, I just brought up my love for the new Pharaoh Overlord record in the 2018 Best Albums thread. It's decidedly not metal, but Demilich's Antti Boman does provide his distinctive gargled growls all over the record.
Coffin Texts – The Tomb of Infinite Ritual “In death we learn..” Solid, but not overwhelming old school death metal. Decent production, but not great. Constant drum bashing loses me after a while, and this one is full of it. Some nice drum parts at times, but a lot of repetitious pounding to these ears. Decent but not memorable guitar solos and riffs. Just “meh” though my ears perked up a bit a few times throughout. Rating – Grr(1/2)
Diabolical Messiah – Demonic Weapons Against the Sacred “This is a frontal attack!” Love the name; love the album title; love the artwork Blackend death metal from Chile (always nice to get some South American metal going) Big riffs and hooks elevate repetitive drumming and vocals (though the background BM shrieks are awesome). The guitars are relatively cranked on this album which is a good thing. They dominate for sure. Overall, a decent but not great album Rating - Grrr
Corpsessed – Abysmal Thresholds “Always bowing to your lord; COWARD!” Great name. Middling album. Pretty generic older-style death metal to me. Murky guitars, a bass that is nothing more than a rumble, decent drumming, and razor-blade gargled vocals. Not for me. Rating – Grr
Abjvartion – The Unquenchable Pyre “Black fangs of sorrow rejoicing as you bleed” The picture under the disc tray (in this digipak) reads “Play at deafening volume in darkness” Starts with a nice, slow, dirge-like instrumental ending with the sounds of someone being burned at the stake. Nice little track moves straight into a punishing, dark, dank HEAVY track. Vocals are a little murky but I have no problem hearing those pinched harmonics slashing like razors on a cold night. This is doom metal album with flashed of blackened death. I really kind of dig it and would recommend it to fans of such. Very oppressively atmospheric. Good riffs. Murky production. A winner! The instructions under the cd (referenced above) should be followed! Rating – Grrrr So ends the first mystery box run of the year for me. Value for the money I’d give it to Willowtip (@ 10 for $20), but musically I’d give it to Dark Descent (@ 6 for $30). The DD boxes had way too many EPs though for that money (which is one of the higher priced mystery boxes I’ve seen). If you want to start doing the mystery box thing I highly recommend the Season of Mist one. They have them 10 for $20 and an LP one at 3 for $25. Pretty good values and I’ve highly enjoyed almost all of the 3 or 4 I’ve got from them over the years. At $2 each you really only need to get 2 out of the 10 you like to make it a great deal. Every one over that just makes it a better deal. 6 for $30 ups the stakes a bit and if several are EPs… Anyway, I always enjoy getting a stack of cds that I have no idea what they are. Keep Cvlm and METAL on.
Looks like a great little package of a CD. That negative image of the horsemen is very cool. Archetypal, firing my imagination to think of everything from Tolkien's Black Riders to Sergio Leone's anti-heroes to even Yeats' tombstone. Fearless Fuzz. I think your reviews are great so keep ordering. Hey I really like this. For my taste it's a Grrr. It did get somewhat blurry after a time as in I wasn't distinguishing things but then I'm beat so. Go Tampa Bay Lightning! Game 7!
Rewinding and yeah, I like it a lot. I'll have to put together my thoughts on my love of a particular sound. After I reboot. Zzzzzzz
Three pots containing very different recipes upon my stove (one element free for any door-to-door salesmen or stray children). Horsemen again! What a great cover. I read the artist statement before listening and was so pumped as it is an exciting premise. In part: " “World’s Blood” is black metal of the American West. Wayfarer recorded the album in the winter of early 2018 at The Thousand Caves in New York under the watchful production of Colin Marston. A reflection of the Rocky Mountains and high plains of their native Colorado, the band tells a story that is uniquely American. Drawing influence as much from the dusty, dark Americana of the “Denver Sound” and the scores of epic westerns as they do the fury and melody of black metal; Wayfarer brings something original to the table with a sound that is at once aggressive and honest. The album paints a hallucinatory picture of the western frontier, and the haunting presence of the blood in the soils from a culture lost to time." World's Blood, by WAYFARER I have to admit to being underwhelmed by my (unfairly?) brief listen. It seemed rather generic but I give them more time when the full album is avail tomorrow.
Moonknight. Without looking into it I'm guessing this is a solo artist based on what I hear. With three albums and three EPs I'll take a swing through based upon the song "Wounded Rider" at 18:50. Horseman! This may appeal to those who sport unfathomable numbers for a name.
Lastly something that threatens to buck me with its big budget, Hollywood ambition, Melodic-Death trappings (zero wrong with big budget) BUT as I listen it defies my jaded expectations with interesting developments. It'll be one of these two.
Actually very good and not quite as generic as you paint it IMHO; brings to mind the old british goth band Fields Of The Nephilim, in a blackened version, that is to say. Quite interesting for american BM band (no disrespect for your local scene intended; I do like some of your bands, but they sound quite euro I'm afraid)
You may very well be 100% correct but I didn't enjoy any of the three once I went in fully. I must have gotten lucky on the roulette wheel of random song selection that had me think I had three potential winners. Therefore I tossed objectivity and out of pure spite I gave each a Rated - Gr (1/2). Mr Mean. Usually I follow disappointment with a well loved song to finish off the night and I did that but for the ultimate rinse and spit I chose something very clean from 2002.
Oh I see. These are the american bands I like : Veil : pretty euro, burzum-esque sounding one man project Black Witchery : these guys are on a league of their very own Nocturne : great, enjoyable BM Throcult : very euro, darkfuneralesque-sounding Agalloch : not even black metal, but I like them Wolves In The Throne Room : only live; find their studio records boring, but absolutely loved their live DVD.
More music to jig to: Hoth – Astral Necromancy Astral Necromancy, by Hoth Just started into it, so no grrating yet.
