Uncle Acid’s your earlier this year is among the best shows I’ve seen
No bullshit doom and it’s hit after hit
It's a tough gig opening up for the King, but they did their thing and I was pretty impressed (wife liked them too). I wish his voice sounded more distorted and acid soaked like it does on that last CD but it's a small complaint, all the instruments sounded awesome.
I was situated behind the soundboard towards the left, looked out for you guys most of the time but didn't see either of you, unfortunately. My phone of course had to be fucked the day before the concert and I won't get it fixed until Monday, so even if I wanted to I wouldn't have been able to find you very easily.
Anyway, great fucking set glad we could all go. So happy.
I looked pretty hard until KD's set but there were so many fucking people there, hahaha.
Right, I've got the original 'Slow and Heavy' album too. They were both like $3 on Bandcamp for FLAC! One of my RPG players listened to it and wished it was around when I was running my Stone Age Fantasy D&D campaign a few years ago. And yes I know it's not supposed to be music for the Stone Age necessarily but we were doing Hollywood Stone Age with dinos, etc.
I can hear that. It's basically like a more barbaric spin on dungeon synth with a lot of the lower chords and such, and then dinosaur samples, perfect!
I don't have the patience for this right now but will dig in later tonight.
In other news, I've been revisiting 2019 albums and realized I like Hath and Kaleikr more than I thought I did. The new Rimfrost is fun too if you're looking for some black and roll silliness.
It looks like this might be my first time going into the USA for a fest. I'm a high school teacher so the timing is basically perfect !!
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
I saw King Diamond last night and it was pretty good. Why not awesome? The sound wasn't great, and I'm not sure if it's because we were sitting on the balcony close to the set of hanging speakers, or if the sound was just poorly mixed. The drums and bass really overpowered everything else. Strangely enough, this didn't seem to happen to Uncle Acid and the deadbeats and I could make out all their instruments and vocals pretty well, but they're not really for me.
Idle Hands also sounded like shit and if I didn't already enjoy their album and EP, I doubt I would have gotten into them this time. I had seen them in January, but since then they got a bassist so the vocalist could presumably focus on being a frontman...but he's honestly kind of a boring frontman.
But I was glad to have finally seen King Diamond. I'm a relatively recent convert, as I wrote him off as too cheesy for me when I was younger and it was only about 3-4 years ago that I finally gave him a second chance thanks to suggestions from you kind folks on this very forum. There were only 2 songs in his set I had never heard before: The Lake and Voodoo.
We were quick enough to get out of there before everyone else. Apparently the nearby parking garage is notorious for 30-45 minute waits to get out if you get stuck with the crowd. Small victories! It might be the last metal show we can make it to for a while.
Weird, King Diamond had amazing sound out here in Worcester. The best of the three bands imo. But yeah, I suppose that happens from gig to gig. Sucks.
It was great to hear "The Lake", a deep cut, but I wish they had played one of many other better choices than "Voodoo". If going outside their classic album material I would have much rather heard something off Abigail II or The Spider's Lullabye.
Weird, King Diamond had amazing sound out here in Worcester. The best of the three bands imo. But yeah, I suppose that happens from gig to gig. Sucks.
It was great to hear "The Lake", a deep cut, but I wish they had played one of many other better choices than "Voodoo". If going outside their classic album material I would have much rather heard something off Abigail II or The Spider's Lullabye.
For reference, this was our point of view during the show:
I've definitely experienced shows where I had absolutely awful sound based on my location in the venue, and I think this might've been the case last night. Last year when I saw Satan at Frost & Fire, the sound was pretty bad when I was up front by the stage. When we backed off a bit, it was much better.
It's only the second week of November, so I'm sure they'll be missing something, although they obviously have the inside track on most of what's coming out in November and December (hell, I've even got it for November).
To be fair, I think about half the list is great, so I don't have much of a problem with it. At the same time...I must be the only person who thinks the latest albums from Blood Incantation and Tomb Mold are inferior to their predecessors. Neither of them cracked my '19 for 2019 list I've been working on, although one of them is on my top 100 at RYM. My current top choice of the year is actually on Decibel's list, and fairly high, though I can't say for sure it will remain on top for me. I've heard all 40 of their choices.
And is that Lingua Ignota album even metal? I thought it was like a mostly gloomy folk/ambient music with female vocals and some piano.
surrealitychecklonely, but not unloveddreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered Userregular
well im not gonna commit on if its good or not as i found it reasonably uninteresting but it does feel like metal has ended up basically swallowing anything that has enough distortion or noise to have an unpleasant affect for the average normie, and then a bunch of weird side projects that have that but not necessarily much else in common end up getting shoved in
as ever, the problem is that the metal community doesnt have enough subgenre names, but do not worrry i have a chart
Sure, there are a few sloppy outbreak parts where it gets heavy (and awful), but #2 metal album of the year? Not a chance.
It’s not something you can really judge based on a single track but it’s exactly where it belongs on the list. I don’t suspect it’s something you’ll love but you should absolutely give the whole thing a dedicated listen before reflexively gatekeeping.
Easily the most important album to come out of the metal/metal-adjacent community in 2019, in my opinion.
To the larger list, I like 10 of the albums, which is more than usual.
I'm not judging it based on a single track. I listened to the whole thing when it came out in the summer.
Found it pretty inconsistent. A few genuinely cool haunted parts, contrasted against a whole lot of other boring parts including the heavy sections which are little more than turbulent distortion and overbearing snake-oil black metal rasps that were better left in the idea phase, which I thought was a shame since some of the stuff they interrupted was more compelling. I also can't say I find it terribly important as it's popularity is clearly riding on the coattails of numerous other acts like Swans, Julie Christmas, Chelsea Wolfe, Anna von Hausswolff, Myrkr, and so forth. Maybe if I forgot all that stuff existed I'd think it was more revolutionary.
Now, I'm not saying it's the worst thing since Beta Max, and I laud her for trying something so moody and eccentric, but there are singular riffs on some of the other albums on that list that I enjoy more than this whole album.
I'm not judging it based on a single track. I listened to the whole thing when it came out in the summer.
Found it pretty inconsistent. A few genuinely cool haunted parts, contrasted against a whole lot of other boring parts including the heavy sections which are little more than turbulent distortion and overbearing snake-oil black metal rasps that were better left in the idea phase, which I thought was a shame since some of the stuff they interrupted was more compelling. I also can't say I find it terribly important as it's popularity is clearly riding on the coattails of numerous other acts like Swans, Julie Christmas, Chelsea Wolfe, Anna von Hausswolff, Myrkr, and so forth. Maybe if I forgot all that stuff existed I'd think it was more revolutionary.
Now, I'm not saying it's the worst thing since Beta Max, and I laud her for trying something so moody and eccentric, but there are singular riffs on some of the other albums on that list that I enjoy more than this whole album.
I’m talking about subject matter here mostly - this is an album addressing a larger cultural zeitgeist (toxic masculinity, sexual assault, being a victim, being a survivor) in a way none of the other acts you referenced are, if they are at all. For a genre that is connected to some of that and overwhelmingly represented by men, it’s a significant album on those circumstances alone.
Perfectly poignant (if not novel) subjects to explore, no mistake about it, and about 50% of the lyrics and song titles are pretty good, probably my favorite part of that album along with some of the moodier, more ethereal parts. The rest, not so much. It's better than All Bitches Die, the other one I heard. Maybe next time.
Metal's a weird genre. That Decibel list just emphasizes that to me. Falls of Rauros, Inter Arma, and Blut Aus Nord had the only albums I really enjoyed off that list, and I don't think I'd put them in my top 10 on the year.
I don't necessarily think the list is wrong (although Lingua Ignota's inclusion at number 2 feels out of left field), just that there's no accounting for taste!
New Liturgy has its moments of truly inspired weirdness, but peters out towards the end and, like all Liturgy releases, becomes exhausting after a while. I appreciate a band willing to go batshit crazy with the black metal template, but it doesn't quite gel into a coherent whole for me.
I think my favorite metal album of the year is still Venom Prison.
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surrealitychecklonely, but not unloveddreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered Userregular
i enjoy how even the copyright disclaimers on metal posting youtube channels have a little extra
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Yeah I'm not the biggest fan of "Voodoo" either, sounded good live but it's the weakest tune in the bunch.
The fact that we got two songs off The Eye makes me feel spoiled.
It's a tough gig opening up for the King, but they did their thing and I was pretty impressed (wife liked them too). I wish his voice sounded more distorted and acid soaked like it does on that last CD but it's a small complaint, all the instruments sounded awesome.
Anyway, great fucking set glad we could all go. So happy.
I looked pretty hard until KD's set but there were so many fucking people there, hahaha.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
And that's the B-side.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Steam | XBL
Learn to live like a dinosaur in the rivers where we rinse!
(this is track 1 but the full album is streaming now)
I don't have the patience for this right now but will dig in later tonight.
In other news, I've been revisiting 2019 albums and realized I like Hath and Kaleikr more than I thought I did. The new Rimfrost is fun too if you're looking for some black and roll silliness.
Anyway:
Dude I gotta go
Idle Hands also sounded like shit and if I didn't already enjoy their album and EP, I doubt I would have gotten into them this time. I had seen them in January, but since then they got a bassist so the vocalist could presumably focus on being a frontman...but he's honestly kind of a boring frontman.
But I was glad to have finally seen King Diamond. I'm a relatively recent convert, as I wrote him off as too cheesy for me when I was younger and it was only about 3-4 years ago that I finally gave him a second chance thanks to suggestions from you kind folks on this very forum. There were only 2 songs in his set I had never heard before: The Lake and Voodoo.
We were quick enough to get out of there before everyone else. Apparently the nearby parking garage is notorious for 30-45 minute waits to get out if you get stuck with the crowd. Small victories! It might be the last metal show we can make it to for a while.
It was great to hear "The Lake", a deep cut, but I wish they had played one of many other better choices than "Voodoo". If going outside their classic album material I would have much rather heard something off Abigail II or The Spider's Lullabye.
This looks insane
I’ve seen about half of those bands and they all slay live
For reference, this was our point of view during the show:
I've definitely experienced shows where I had absolutely awful sound based on my location in the venue, and I think this might've been the case last night. Last year when I saw Satan at Frost & Fire, the sound was pretty bad when I was up front by the stage. When we backed off a bit, it was much better.
Also seriously considering that Migration Fest
maybe
https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2019/11/12/spoiler-here-are-decibels-top-40-albums-of-2019/
It's only the second week of November, so I'm sure they'll be missing something, although they obviously have the inside track on most of what's coming out in November and December (hell, I've even got it for November).
To be fair, I think about half the list is great, so I don't have much of a problem with it. At the same time...I must be the only person who thinks the latest albums from Blood Incantation and Tomb Mold are inferior to their predecessors. Neither of them cracked my '19 for 2019 list I've been working on, although one of them is on my top 100 at RYM. My current top choice of the year is actually on Decibel's list, and fairly high, though I can't say for sure it will remain on top for me. I've heard all 40 of their choices.
And is that Lingua Ignota album even metal? I thought it was like a mostly gloomy folk/ambient music with female vocals and some piano.
2:20 onwards there aint gonna be in no normal album in the folk section!! i feel like there isnt really another obvious category
as ever, the problem is that the metal community doesnt have enough subgenre names, but do not worrry i have a chart
Steam | XBL
It’s not something you can really judge based on a single track but it’s exactly where it belongs on the list. I don’t suspect it’s something you’ll love but you should absolutely give the whole thing a dedicated listen before reflexively gatekeeping.
Easily the most important album to come out of the metal/metal-adjacent community in 2019, in my opinion.
To the larger list, I like 10 of the albums, which is more than usual.
Found it pretty inconsistent. A few genuinely cool haunted parts, contrasted against a whole lot of other boring parts including the heavy sections which are little more than turbulent distortion and overbearing snake-oil black metal rasps that were better left in the idea phase, which I thought was a shame since some of the stuff they interrupted was more compelling. I also can't say I find it terribly important as it's popularity is clearly riding on the coattails of numerous other acts like Swans, Julie Christmas, Chelsea Wolfe, Anna von Hausswolff, Myrkr, and so forth. Maybe if I forgot all that stuff existed I'd think it was more revolutionary.
Now, I'm not saying it's the worst thing since Beta Max, and I laud her for trying something so moody and eccentric, but there are singular riffs on some of the other albums on that list that I enjoy more than this whole album.
I’m talking about subject matter here mostly - this is an album addressing a larger cultural zeitgeist (toxic masculinity, sexual assault, being a victim, being a survivor) in a way none of the other acts you referenced are, if they are at all. For a genre that is connected to some of that and overwhelmingly represented by men, it’s a significant album on those circumstances alone.
Beyond that, there’s no accounting for taste.
I don't necessarily think the list is wrong (although Lingua Ignota's inclusion at number 2 feels out of left field), just that there's no accounting for taste!
It's much higher up on my list, I promise
They're playing gigs across the pond, so I really really hope so! Or next year.
I think my favorite metal album of the year is still Venom Prison.