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War [Hesher] Battle Master
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If you don't get it then you don't get it, but I am a whore for classic metal and its related sounds.
Also it's okay to make fun of the bad blog I write in and my terrible writing.
Coincidentally it is also the album I've had the most requests to review but never reviewed. My score would probably be similar to the one you put on your blog, perhaps a bit higher [8.25-8.75/10].
A lot of people have been talking about this latest SubRosa album, I guess it's time to pony up and check it.
The new version of the forums is much better for mobile browsing, but clearly they have some things to work out, because the little popup listing that I have infractions is getting really old.
I am getting excited.
On a non-metal but still pretty hesher-y note, my friend got me into The Hellacopters recently. Swedes are just so damn awesome at everything.
...And on a non-metal and non-hesher-y note, any of you like Trophy Scars? They started out as a kind of boring post-hardcore band, then they started some terrible experimentation before ending up as a bluesy Tom Waits-alike band with some hardcore elements floating around here and there. I've kind of fallen in love with the EP they released last year, Darkness, Oh Hell, and they've got a new EP coming out in a few days that's sounding even better.
"Hey Tav, you should really come see The Ghost Inside or Bring Me The Horizon."
"Naaah, not really my thing. Saving cash for Neurosis and Negative Plane."
"Man, black metal all sounds the same."
*Dies inside*
"Hey man what kind of stuff are you listening to on your iPod?"
"Oh you know, rocking out to some Korn"
*barfs everywhere*
And the other way around isn't much better.
"Hey GKS, what are you listening to?"
"Oh just some Anthrax"
"Why do you listen to them? I have their whole discography downloaded and I've just been deleting songs steadily"
"What do you mean you don't listen to Sublime?"
"What do you mean you don't listen to [insert other 90's band I don't give two shits about here]?!"
I mean, not that I want Slipknot to record another album, but cut the shit.
I've listened through the SubRosa album today twice. I enjoy the vocals and the atmosphere, but it's rather a shame that the core riffs are so generic, the sort you've heard a thousand times already in stoner rock and doom up and down the spectrum. It seems these days that you slather some predictable pattern in enough earnest distortion, and it becomes the nouveau cool.
I mean really.
Very slow burn for me as well, I didn't understand the hype but you gotta have that shoegaze/post-rock mentality while listening to it and not your doom metal receptors. i.e. not concerned about the riffs as much as how the instruments just bounce off each other and soaking in the production (but you know this.) Besides that, it's the electric violins which carry the leads, the guitar is just rhythm (thus the lack of solos.) I do not consider this a stoner nor a doom album. I know art metal (the extreme/heavy spiritual successor to art rock) has been tossed around on a lot of forums and met with hostility but I kinda feel that's what it is.
I was trying to formulate a way to say the same thing, wonderfully put as always.
Yeah, the violins and vocals are the most interest aspects. Overall, it's definitely atmospheric, and strangely accessible. Not a bad listen, but again, not a flawless, amazing album for me like a lot of the reviews I've read. But those are definitely stock stoner/sludge/doom riffs, no matter if a chorus of elephants or a jamboree band are smothered on top like frosting. Most metal is 'art' to me so I tend to stray away from that categorization, it's so vague and impugnable that I'd might as well just call music 'music'. Not trying to sound like a dick, though. It's true that some things feel more 'artsy' than others, naturally, so I understand what you meant in that context.
Also, I don't know how many folks here are in for some quizzical, creative industrial black metal, but I got a pretty cool promo in the mail from this Ukrainian band and threw up a review: http://autothrall.blogspot.com/2011/07/balance-interruption-era-ii-deserts-of.html
Good stuff, not as noisy as the latest Disiplin releases or as sluggish as some of the Red Harvest material, and more interesting musically than lyrically, but worth hearing.
I'm super excited about Ritual of Names, but, it's definitely going to be tough to top AtRU. I listened to that while I was working the other day and had to stop working at the 3 minute mark during "Interview at the Ruins," because the talking segment segueing in to that guitar line (you know the one) just wrecks me every time. I know it makes me sound like one of "those" kids to get all emotional over screamo, but that record certainly does that to me at times. CTtS is also touring soon, but it's only an East Coast tour, so I guess I have to wait for them to make it somewhere near LA.
I'm considering going to the Arch Enemy, Skeletonwitch, and Chthonic show. I like one of Chthonic's albums well enough (don't judge me, or do...), and I like a few of the Gossow era AE records, but I'm not sure it's worth $40.
I'm going to be shelling out about 100 euro to travel to England to see At The Gates. I cannot fucking wait. There'll be other bands there too (It'll be weird that my first time seeing Primordial won't be in Ireland... Though I've seen Alan sing with other bands which is almost the same thing seeing as how I don't really know any of the other lads.) but hearing stuff off SotS is going to make my inner fanboy very happy.
Woeful stuff altogether.
I've got one of these on my wall right now.
Also loving some of the Greek cover art, like Varathron's His Majesty At The Swamp!
I wait with penis in hand.
Before I go through them all, is there any with cool drippy synths and tons of atmosphere and whatnot? Oh, do any of them have rain/storm sounds?
Also, some of the new smiles are crazy. LOCK AND LOLL o->
Nice.
Completely different entity than Death, which is about where the extent of my familiarity with the scene lies currently. Well, maybe not completely different. But it's certainly not the same as Symbolic or Human.
Next you should track down some Pestilence!!
Edit: I totally agree with auto on Altars Of Madness . It's awesome and very thrashy, one of my faves from them as well!
You should dive straight back to Altars of Madness, which you'll find has a different sound even than Gateways....
Kawir might in general be to your liking, I'm covering their first full-length Tuesday.
I just noticed this ^ ... I honestly find this quite surprising considering your screamo/hardcore love.
Then again, one of the things I like the most about Thrash is that it's like hardcore, but fucktons better (YMMV, and I assume you'd disagree with that characterization). Seriously though, It's too bad you didn't really follow the German Thrash theme, it was a fucking onslaught of awesome (maybe you already had the good shit?).
Not dogging on you LIU, just a little surprised and curious what your "choice" Thrash bands are ...
Edit: Sorry for the double post everybody - there is no more delete option ...