"FDR vinyl" seems a curious designation but I suppose there can be a flat, intentionally undynamic pressing so maybe that is correct. I bought the FDR digital reissues which turned out to be pretty much he same as the original issues, better than the initial loud remasters. I have such affection for Darkthrone. Something like the Simpsons on TV, people will complain that they're not nearly as good as before but I hope those two never stop putting out albums. Some albums could have a difficulty rating. I bought that as I could hear the worth but I have not yet really listened to it properly. My hand keeps passing over it for something easier. One of these days I'll take the rockier road. An album similarly difficult that I bought and pass over is this. Again, one of these days.
A lot of labels were and still are pressing the CD master (good or bad) to vinyl, any perceived dynamic range improvement is pure placebo at work, the FDR remasters are noticeably different from the originals, it works really well for Clandestine imo.
Probably the last list I'll look at and I only checked out bands numbered 1 and 2 so far, which would be only two as I'm familiar with Heresiarch's Death Ordinance and bought Atrexial's Sourverain upon release last spring. Probably my single fav guitar instrumental of the year after 3:40. Scumfeast Metal666 Blog : SCUMFEAST METAL 666 Favorites for 2017 Category: BLACK METAL The genre's old guard were quiet in 2017 or just don't exist within the genre at all. So for me 2017 was an interesting year of black metal releases. A new guard emerged reminding fans of the genre's great potential as well as tradition. Here's my top 10 black metal faves. 1) ATREXIAL - Sourverain (Godz Of War Productions) 2) CADAVERIS - The Ceremony Of Worshiping (Heretic Records) 3) DUMAL - The Lessor God (Self Released) 4) RIMTHURS - Gravskrift (Ketzer Records) 5) ESKAPISM - Tales of Elder Forest (Folkvangr Records) 6) UNHOLY BAPTISM - On the Precipice of the Ancient Abyss (Self Released) 7) SOMBRE CROISADE - Balancier Des Ames (Pest Records) 8) NECROWRETCH - Satanic Slavery (Season of Mist) 9) THORMESIS - Trummerfarben (MDD Records) 10) AKRAL NECROSIS - Underlight (Loud Rage Music) Category: DEATH METAL It's always a good year in death metal especially when you have labels like Dark Descent and Iron Bonehead dedicated to bringing fans the best from the underground. There were some death metal veterans returning in 2017 to show that they're still got a few tricks left and of course there's always a great Polish death metal act proving that nation's scene always has a heavy hitter in the fight. And a local act who defied a cliche. So here's my ten favorites for 2017. 1) HERESIARCH - Death Ordinance (Dark Descent Records) 2) AZARATH – In Extremis (Agonia Records) 3) FATHER BEFOULED - Desolate Gods (Dark Descent Records) 4) MORDBRAND - Wilt (Carnal Records) 5) RITUALIZATION - Sacraments To The Sons Of The Abyss (Iron Bonehead Productions) 6) HAEMOPHAGUS - Stream Of Shadows (Selfmadegod Records) 7) BELPHEGOR - Totenritual (Nuclear Blast) 8) LOATHFINDER - The Great Tired Ones (Godz ov War Productions) 9) DATURA - The Harrowing (Rusty Knuckles) 10) SPECTRAL VOICE - Eroded Corridors of Unbeing (Dark Descent Records)
Bingo with Cadaveris! I love it! Terrific mix of the raw with the atmospheric creeping in in the end.
Cadaveris, first purchase of the year. $5 USD That's what a lossless download should cost. Music Journalism’s Top 25 Metal Albums of 2017 I'm going to have to read this essay in full as just scanning it it does grab my attention and I quoted a few examples. "we have refined our system to something that is much more manageable and also much more representative of the big picture of what “the industry” (i.e. journalistic publications and blogs of note that cover metal music and/or culture) feels is important and stands out. Once again if you would like to learn more about our aggregation methodology...." Bandcamp Decibel Exclaim! Ghost Cult Magazine Independent Invisible Oranges LA Weekly Loudwire Metal Assault Metal Hammer Metal Injection Metal Insider Metalsucks Pop Matters Prog Sphere Revolver Rolling Stone Stereogum The Monolith The Quietus What Culture "Without further ado, here are the top 25 metal albums of the year, as voted on by the metal journalism “industry.” 25. Artificial Brain – Infrared Horizon (voted for 3 times with mean score: 10) 24. Spectral Voice – Eroded Corridors of Unbeing (voted for 4 times with mean score: 15) 23. Sólstafir – Bedreyminn (voted for 4 times with mean score: 12) 22. Ne Obliviscaris – Urn (voted for 3 times with mean score: 9) 21. Satyricon – Deep Calleth Upon Deep (voted for 5 times with mean score: 15) 20. The Contortionist – Clairvoyant (voted for 5 times with mean score: 17) 19. Immolation – Atonement (voted for 5 times with mean score: 13) 18. Zeal & Ardor – Devil Is Fine (voted for 4 times with mean score: 8) 17. Mutoid Man – War Moans (voted for 5 times with mean score: 7) 16. Kreator – Gods of Violence (voted for 4 times with mean score: 10) 15. Trivium – The Sin and The Sentence (voted for 6 times with mean score: 13) 14. Elder – Reflections of a Floating World (voted for 6 times with mean score: 14) 13. Leprous – Malina (voted for 5 times with mean score: 10) 12. Myrkur – Mareridt (voted for 5 times with mean score: 8) 11. Full of Hell – Trumpeting Ecstasy (voted for 7 times with mean score: 12) 10. Chelsea Wolfe – Hiss Spun (voted for 8 times with mean score: 10) 9. Wolves in the Throne Room – Thrice Woven (voted for 7 times with mean score: 8) 8. Paradise Lost – Medusa (voted for 8 times with mean score: 11) 7. Bell Witch – Mirror Reaper (voted for 9 times with mean score: 6) 6. Enslaved – E (voted for 11 times with mean score: 7) 5. Code Orange – Forever (voted for 12 times with mean score: 7) 4. Mastodon – Emperor of Sand (voted for 13 times with mean score: 7) 3. Pallbearer – Heartless (voted for 15 times with mean score: 11) 2. Power Trip – Nightmare Logic (voted for 16 times with mean score: 11) 1. Converge – The Dusk in Us (voted for 15 times with mean score: 7) As is tradition, we will now offer some extensive analysis of this list, some hot takes on it, and what we feel it says about the status and health of the industry as a whole." "Don’t you think it’s a shame that huge swaths of the metal community aren’t represented on this list? You’ll almost never find progressive metal at the top of these lists (the closest you get here is Enslaved but they really fit in into the “establishment” black metal narrative). You’ll almost never get new and exciting technical death metal; Artificial Brain is at the bottom of this list for crying out loud and no other tech death bands appear here. In the ridiculously prolific and amazing year tech death has had, that’s a real shame." "It’s as if the metal journalism establishment is somehow allergic to melody and the more colorful ranges of the metal genres. The problem is that this prevents them from accurately telling their readers about what’s happening in their own community. Look at how many movements and trends are missing from this list." "But when you aggregate metal journalism’s list and find an incredibly specific type(s) of albums on it, and multiple trends which are absent even as they proliferate through the community, that should cause concern. In a genre experiencing an untold era of proliferation and work (accessible work, at that) journalism has an obligation and should have a passion for variety, originality and for shining a light on lesser known acts or genres. Sure, being obscure does not automatically grant you a spot on a list." "I Guess We All Love Code Orange Now?"
Here's the list from Bravewords. OVERKILL Is BravePick #1 For 2017! 1) OVERKILL - The Grinding Wheel (Nuclear Blast) 2) ICED EARTH - Incorruptible (Century Media) 3) KREATOR - Gods Of Violence (Nuclear Blast) 4) ENSLAVED - E (Nuclear Blast) 5) OBITUARY - Obituary (Relapse) 6) THRESHOLD - Legends Of The Shires (Nuclear Blast) 7) WEDNESDAY 13 - Condolences (Nuclear Blast) 8) COMMUNIC - Where Echoes Gather (AFM) 9) STONE SOUR - Hydrograd (Roadrunner) 10) EUROPE - Walk The Earth (Hell & Back) 11) ARCH ENEMY – Will To Power (Century Media) 12) IMMOLATION - Atonement (Nuclear Blast) 13) ACCEPT - The Rise Of Chaos (Nuclear Blast) 14) PRONG - Zero Days (Steamhammer / SPV) 15) AYREON – The Source (InsideOut) 16) CANNIBAL CORPSE - Red Before Black (Metal Blade) 17) ANNIHILATOR - For The Demented (Silver Lining) 18) DECAPITATED - Anticult (Nuclear Blast) 19) GRAVE DIGGER - Healed By Metal (Napalm) 20) WITCHERY - I Am Legion (Century Media) 21) CAVALERA CONSPIRACY - Psychosis (Napalm) 22) MOONSPELL - 1755 (Napalm) 23) L.A. GUNS - The Missing Peace (Frontiers) 24) SEPULTURA - Machine Messiah (Nuclear Blast) 25) JAG PANZER - The Deviant Chord (SPV) 26) GOATWHORE - Vengeful Ascension (Metal Blade) 27) FIRESPAWN - The Reprobate (Century Media) 28) FIREWIND - Immortals (AFM) 29) VENOM INC. – Avé (Nuclear Blast) 30) THE HAUNTED - Strength In Numbers (Century Media)
I never look at BW and only one of the 21 that Heavy Blog included in their calculation. Both BW and Heavy have been saved as bookmarks for ages but I never look. Time consumption is the reason but now that I've been better informed about Heavy I'm going to make it a regular. I like their longer, philosophical take on music (Death’s Door 2017 // Death Metal’s Year in Review... Kvlt Kolvmn 2017 // Black Metal’s Year in Review). I didn't think this was a Golden Age for anything but I like that they consider the present to be a "Golden Age for Metal", a "Renaissance". That surprises me but also pleases and is certainly much closer to how I feel than being trapped in the past. From Brave Words I saw this interview.
One more kick of the Cadaveris can. It's their atypical guitar work such as after 1:00 that gets me. Also the brevity of the songs and that they end with an unsentimental (not the perfect word) finality as if tossing trash into the street and walking on without second thought.
Yes, I feel famished! I didn't intend to go list diving but when I saw on FB that Redemptor put it out that their album Arthaneum was chosen as #1 in the "Progressive Death Metal" category at RTMB: Essential Releases 2017 | RTMB (a site I'd never seen before) I was intrigued as no one else seems to have heard of the album. I was taken aback by how specific were their lists. Top tens in the following: (their all caps, not mine). ATMOSPHERIC, INSTRUMENTAL, EXPERIMENTAL, MATH ROCK, POST-ROCK, POST-HARDCORE, METALCORE, DEATHCORE, MATHCORE, HARDCORE, GRINDCORE, SLUDGE, DOOM, STONER, POST-METAL, PROGRESSIVE ROCK, PROGRESSIVE METAL, BRUTAL PROG, PROGRESSIVE DEATH METAL, TECHNICAL DEATH METAL, BRUTAL DEATH METAL, BLACKENED DEATH METAL, BLACK METAL, PROGRESSIVE BLACK METAL, POST-BLACK METAL, ATMOSPHERIC BLACK METAL, EXTREME METAL, AVANT-GARDE METAL. No problem. I only did what was a priority for me, some of the Blacks and Deaths. I got the posted above "Longing for the Untold" from there. In the midst of ye olde copy/paste/search I realized that the site had its own youtube channel and all the top tens were neatly sorted. I gave a Homeric "D'oh!" RTMB Live During this I also clicked on the wrong link and discovered this which I like. This from 2012 I shall name Cacophonic Metal.
This is a great album. I'm a bit underwhelmed by the preview track for their upcoming full length though, maybe I'll give it another listen.
Yeah Under Veiled Skies was an instantaneous "yes". I had no hemming and hawing. @lenny nero Now playing from 2017. Wholesome, old-fashioned EVIL just like mother used to make. I like it!