VanguardBut now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
also i went back to Totaled's Lament. That album still fucking rules - so brutal and breakneck while also being melodic and cathartic. Hopefully they do something new in 2021.
+1
SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
*goes to put Iced Earth on the "Never Listen" list, sees they're already there.*
*nods*
They were on probation in my library (what with Barlow becoming a cop and Jon being Jon), but they are now 100% down the memory hole. I'll miss several tracks off Horror Show, but I'll live.
To be honest, I'd have been more shocked if Jon wasn't there. Also kinda surprised he wasn't mounted on a shitty redneck version of the Doof Wagon wailing on his Stars and Bars Les Paul.
No matter where you go...there you are. ~ Buckaroo Banzai
Who's the other guy in the Spider-Man pointing meme?
Schaffer from roughly the Glorious Burden era, a year or so post 9/11.
No matter where you go...there you are. ~ Buckaroo Banzai
+1
SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
edited January 2021
D'oh. I should have known it was also him based on the meme!
Anyway, to veer away from that, I made a list of all the 2020 stuff I obtained during 2020:
Of those, I'd say that Armored Saint, Hex A.D., Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra, and Toehider's albums all stuck with me the most.
edit: Funny thing about the Nightwish album: I've never even heard the whole thing. For whatever reason, I remember stopping it a few songs in and saying "Eh, I'll listen to it later" and "later" has not yet arrived.
This one has really grown on me since I picked up the CD the other week; ominous swampy death doom. The new Undergang is also getting more spins, I'll have to make a couple edits to my 2020 lists soon. I decided to focus this year on filling out some of the CD discographies in my collection: this month I've completed Them, Tyr, Uncle Acid and Stilla. Next time I'll go all-out Icelandic. I really need a Euro-buddy at some point to help me with some of the import CD prices, maybe I can do some trades so we can cut down on the silly prices.
edit: Funny thing about the Nightwish album: I've never even heard the whole thing. For whatever reason, I remember stopping it a few songs in and saying "Eh, I'll listen to it later" and "later" has not yet arrived.
I'm guessing it was around track 4.
Don't let that throw you
It's no Apocalypse & Chill, though, which I note is missing from your list.
edit: Funny thing about the Nightwish album: I've never even heard the whole thing. For whatever reason, I remember stopping it a few songs in and saying "Eh, I'll listen to it later" and "later" has not yet arrived.
I'm guessing it was around track 4.
Don't let that throw you
It's no Apocalypse & Chill, though, which I note is missing from your list.
Heh, my iTunes says I listened to track 1-4 on April 11th, then stopped. Then on April 14th I continued where I left off and stopped after track 7!
Admittedly, I've never really explored Delain, which is why Apocalypse & Chill isn't on the list.
I've only just noticed Schaffer's hat is an O*th K**p*rs one. Asterisk'd just in case, don't feel like painting a target on the forum's back (or any of yours, or mine).
I've only just noticed Schaffer's hat is an O*th K**p*rs one. Asterisk'd just in case, don't feel like painting a target on the forum's back (or any of yours, or mine).
Yuuup, I noticed that too. Kinda wonder what former Iced Earth vocalist Matt Barlow thinks about all this since he's a cop in Delaware now. Could go either way.
Aww man, does that mean I'm gonna lose my place going through the list? :biggrin:
Currently on Cirith Ungol. Blown away as it sounds like literally no time has passed between the 80s and today. Think they might be actual Nazgûls
Totally agree on the Cirith Ungol.
I'll post a note on the updates, there will be 3-4 going on the main top 100 list, and then a few of the ones they replaced might shift over to the backups, booting some others.
My CD for the new Frozen Soul debut just arrived, Texas death metal with an old school style, definitely some Bolt Thrower in there.
I've only just noticed Schaffer's hat is an O*th K**p*rs one. Asterisk'd just in case, don't feel like painting a target on the forum's back (or any of yours, or mine).
Every time this comes up I get that organization confused with the Promise Keepers, and for a moment I thought Jon just really hated homosexuals and adulterers.
0
KakodaimonosCode fondlerHelping the 1% get richerRegistered Userregular
Aww man, does that mean I'm gonna lose my place going through the list? :biggrin:
Currently on Cirith Ungol. Blown away as it sounds like literally no time has passed between the 80s and today. Think they might be actual Nazgûls
Totally agree on the Cirith Ungol.
I'll post a note on the updates, there will be 3-4 going on the main top 100 list, and then a few of the ones they replaced might shift over to the backups, booting some others.
My CD for the new Frozen Soul debut just arrived, Texas death metal with an old school style, definitely some Bolt Thrower in there.
Have we posted the new Accept stuff? The advance singles have been out for awhile, the CD is coming soon. As always, 95% of music videos are cringey, narcissistic or outright awful, but the tunes are solid.
SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
edited January 2021
The other day their record label posted an Accept logo in a post on youtube and the first sentence started with "Unfortunately, with a heavy heart" and I thought we were about to be treated with another death in the metal world, but it continued onward with "we have to postpone the release of the new Accept album 'Too Mean To Die' from January 15th to January 29th, 2021."
The other day their record label posted an Accept logo in a post on youtube and the first sentence started with "Unfortunately, with a heavy heart" and I thought we were about to be treated with another death in the metal world, but it continued onward with "we have to postpone the release of the new Accept album 'Too Mean To Die' from January 15th to January 29th, 2021."
Anyway, glad they're all alive and well!
Hahaha, fuck. If you started my 2021 off telling me Udo or Wolf died and it's already worse than 2020.
That Undertaker track is fun. I wanna hear Chris Chris Boltendahl on the vocals, haha.
Just went back a page and saw the Alexi news. That is sad, he was young. Well, maybe it's weird to call someone in their 40s 'young', I dunno. I loved them for a time. RIP.
The other current members of Iced Earth have issued a somewhat carefully-worded statement on bassist Luke Appleton's Instagram.
We want to thank those of you who have sent words of support in recent days. Some of you have been concerned by our silence, which we understand. We needed some time to properly process the information and find out some facts before we made a statement.
We absolutely DO NOT condone nor do we support riots or the acts of violence that the rioters were involved in on January 6th at the US Capitol building. We hope that all those involved that day are brought to justice to be investigated and answer for their actions.
With broken hearts we are sending our love and compassion to everyone who has felt pain from the events on January 6th. We are deeply saddened and our hearts go out to the families of the lives lost that day. There are really no proper words to console. Just know we are with you in your shock, grief and pain. Much love to you all.
Stu, Luke, Jake, Brent
(Further down the linked page is a couple of minutes of video interview with Jon on the day.)
They should probably carefully out their nazi-ass guitarist out of the band
Chances are Jon owns the name and assorted other rights.
But yeah, they should, even if it means they all have to quit and form a new band. Hell, they may not have much choice if (when) Jon ends up in prison.
So I've been going through my digital/CD collection and Discogs to figure out what I have that's remastered where I thought I had the original. And boy oh boy does my copy of Reign In Blood suck. I've enjoyed that American Recordings reissue for years, but it is absolute garbage compared to the original CD: muddy and brickwalled, not to mention the multiple glitches (that I always thought were just in the master tapes). If you use any of the streaming platforms or have any of the reissues of that album, it is absolutely worth the effort to track down the original version.
Also, to avoid double-posting, here's my little synopsis of the Blind Guardian remixes I got with the new digipacks.
First off, a summary: no, they do not replace the originals. But they are very fun.
The band definitely took some liberties. There are additional vocal tracks on many songs: an additional few lines at the conclusion of "Journey Through the Dark", parts of "Ashes to Ashes" being sung in a lower octave, and much of Nightfall and Opera use additional tracks to create an even larger Hansi choir. Just to name some examples.
There are also instrumental alterations, along with the obvious changes in the mixes. There's an extra minute-long outro to "Script to My Requiem", "A Past and Future Secret" has an additional five or so acoustic instruments, and Nightfall and Opera both have innumerable acoustic tracks that weren't there originally. In fact, Opera probably sees the most changes of any of the four albums I bought.
As for the more general changes in the mix, they seem to increase in scope as you move up the discography. Somewhere Far Beyond simply feels update and modern with more space between the instruments. I heard a story in an interview once that Thomen would literally destroy his kit while recording, and the extra room in the remixes definitely allows you to hear that if it never hit you in the originals. The new mixes really shine in the next three albums where they help that processed guitar tone seem... well, a little less processed. Opera is the most stark in this regard, I was able to listen through the entire thing without the ear fatigue that I sometimes get with that album. That being said, it's such a different record and I do think it loses a bit of the magic with its bombast and massive sound.
All in all, I still prefer the originals for my normal listening; although I'd love to pop any of the remixes into a hi-fi system for a dedicated session. And, thankfully, they're two-disc sets with the originals on disc 2 (the actual originals, not the 2007 remasters). The packaging is also great, with some additional new artwork to go with the additional new remixes. If you're lacking physical copies of your favorites from their backlog, I highly recommend picking these up.
All these folks trying to be the Hiroo Onoda of the Loudness War...
+3
SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
Oh, good. I've got the Def Jam version of Reign in Blood. And I've owned it for almost 30 years!
Interesting to know about the Blind Guardian remixes. I didn't realize they had recorded extra vocal tracks for those.
I didn't realize they had recorded extra vocal tracks for those.
I'm not sure they did record extra tracks, although they may have. In the interviews they did for each album last year, Hansi and Andre talked about parts they recorded but didn't use in the final mixes: specifically, I remember them talking about the outro to "Script for My Requiem" (which can now be found on the remixes). I have a feeling all these new vocals were just alternate tracks they didn't use originally. Or maybe they're just buried in the original mixes. I'm not sure. But one can definitely hear different harmonies, especially on Nightfall and Opera.
I'm fairly certain they recorded new acoustic/synth parts for some songs, though. Especially "A Past and Future Secret". That song is so busy in the remix that it almost sounds like a different vision for the song entirely.
All these folks trying to be the Hiroo Onoda of the Loudness War...
0
SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
I was reading this article on Wednesday's mess (don't worry, my forum post here is not delving into the political!) and got a chuckle out of this passage about stereotypes of concert crowds:
Though there are stereotypes, especially in the security community, about who embodies the supposed rule-breakers, any good event planner will tell you it's not always who your internalized prejudices think it's going to be.
Take an example from my 5,000-seat arena in Iowa — and the ushers with whom I worked. Many of them were retirement age and there for either the music or to serve their community of music lovers. I never had a problem finding volunteers to work as ushers during the heavy metal shows, even though heavy metal music was decidedly not my ushers' thing. But they didn’t mind working those shows because heavy metal fans, as a whole, listened to the ushers' instructions: When the ushers told people not to stand in the aisles, people stopped standing in the aisles. Heavy metal fans, in fact, displayed a certain amount of courtesy toward each other without being told, making it a generally pleasant experience to work those shows.
But many ushers outright refused to be scheduled for country shows, even if they far preferred the music. They'd learned that some people would come prepared (or even determined) to get kicked out — like the guy who started grabbing at everyone around him, just because he wanted to, or any number of people who shouted strings of expletives at my gentle, gray-haired staff when asked to obey the rules, emboldened rather than scorned by the crowd around them. Even if the country music crowd dressed more like my ushers' friends and family, experience showed them they were better off working a Disturbed show.
I think I only had crossover with Steevl's list about 6-7 times, and I must have purchased around 80-100 new 2020 albums (I'm not including the promos for the blog).
That just goes to show how much great freakin' metal there is.
I think I only had crossover with Steevl's list about 6-7 times, and I must have purchased around 80-100 new 2020 albums (I'm not including the promos for the blog).
That just goes to show how much great freakin' metal there is.
I had like 4-5 on your list cross my player last year.
Back in the day everyone had the same shit. AJFA and Rust In Peace and Reign in Blood.
Now you can listen to a persons entire catalogue of "metal" and then go to someone elses "metal" and nothing sounds the same.
Posts
Yes, that is Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth and Demons & Wizards.
edit: corrected spelling of his first name
*goes to put Iced Earth on the "Never Listen" list, sees they're already there.*
*nods*
They were on probation in my library (what with Barlow becoming a cop and Jon being Jon), but they are now 100% down the memory hole. I'll miss several tracks off Horror Show, but I'll live.
To be honest, I'd have been more shocked if Jon wasn't there. Also kinda surprised he wasn't mounted on a shitty redneck version of the Doof Wagon wailing on his Stars and Bars Les Paul.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Are we really that surprised??
He's also now wanted by police. https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/iced-earth-singer-jon-schaffer-among-trump-supporters-who-stormed-capitol-2851835
Steam | XBL
Schaffer from roughly the Glorious Burden era, a year or so post 9/11.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Anyway, to veer away from that, I made a list of all the 2020 stuff I obtained during 2020:
Of those, I'd say that Armored Saint, Hex A.D., Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra, and Toehider's albums all stuck with me the most.
edit: Funny thing about the Nightwish album: I've never even heard the whole thing. For whatever reason, I remember stopping it a few songs in and saying "Eh, I'll listen to it later" and "later" has not yet arrived.
Currently on Cirith Ungol. Blown away as it sounds like literally no time has passed between the 80s and today. Think they might be actual Nazgûls
Steam | XBL
I'm guessing it was around track 4.
Don't let that throw you
It's no Apocalypse & Chill, though, which I note is missing from your list.
Steam | XBL
Heh, my iTunes says I listened to track 1-4 on April 11th, then stopped. Then on April 14th I continued where I left off and stopped after track 7!
Admittedly, I've never really explored Delain, which is why Apocalypse & Chill isn't on the list.
Remember the dude from Fit for an Autopsy who pulled over to help and protect that lady during the police riots?
Steam | XBL
He's not just a member, he pretty much is Iced Earth.
Yuuup, I noticed that too. Kinda wonder what former Iced Earth vocalist Matt Barlow thinks about all this since he's a cop in Delaware now. Could go either way.
Totally agree on the Cirith Ungol.
I'll post a note on the updates, there will be 3-4 going on the main top 100 list, and then a few of the ones they replaced might shift over to the backups, booting some others.
My CD for the new Frozen Soul debut just arrived, Texas death metal with an old school style, definitely some Bolt Thrower in there.
Every time this comes up I get that organization confused with the Promise Keepers, and for a moment I thought Jon just really hated homosexuals and adulterers.
Definitely digging this. Sometimes you want slow and brutal, like a steamroller crushing a box of kittens.
And another track for the upcoming Asphyx.
https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/violence-at-the-united-states-capitol-3
Pic #25. He's literally on the FBI's most wanted page.
Steam | XBL
Anyway, glad they're all alive and well!
Hahaha, fuck. If you started my 2021 off telling me Udo or Wolf died and it's already worse than 2020.
That Undertaker track is fun. I wanna hear Chris Chris Boltendahl on the vocals, haha.
Just went back a page and saw the Alexi news. That is sad, he was young. Well, maybe it's weird to call someone in their 40s 'young', I dunno. I loved them for a time. RIP.
(Further down the linked page is a couple of minutes of video interview with Jon on the day.)
Steam | XBL
Chances are Jon owns the name and assorted other rights.
But yeah, they should, even if it means they all have to quit and form a new band. Hell, they may not have much choice if (when) Jon ends up in prison.
Steam | XBL
Also, to avoid double-posting, here's my little synopsis of the Blind Guardian remixes I got with the new digipacks.
First off, a summary: no, they do not replace the originals. But they are very fun.
The band definitely took some liberties. There are additional vocal tracks on many songs: an additional few lines at the conclusion of "Journey Through the Dark", parts of "Ashes to Ashes" being sung in a lower octave, and much of Nightfall and Opera use additional tracks to create an even larger Hansi choir. Just to name some examples.
There are also instrumental alterations, along with the obvious changes in the mixes. There's an extra minute-long outro to "Script to My Requiem", "A Past and Future Secret" has an additional five or so acoustic instruments, and Nightfall and Opera both have innumerable acoustic tracks that weren't there originally. In fact, Opera probably sees the most changes of any of the four albums I bought.
As for the more general changes in the mix, they seem to increase in scope as you move up the discography. Somewhere Far Beyond simply feels update and modern with more space between the instruments. I heard a story in an interview once that Thomen would literally destroy his kit while recording, and the extra room in the remixes definitely allows you to hear that if it never hit you in the originals. The new mixes really shine in the next three albums where they help that processed guitar tone seem... well, a little less processed. Opera is the most stark in this regard, I was able to listen through the entire thing without the ear fatigue that I sometimes get with that album. That being said, it's such a different record and I do think it loses a bit of the magic with its bombast and massive sound.
All in all, I still prefer the originals for my normal listening; although I'd love to pop any of the remixes into a hi-fi system for a dedicated session. And, thankfully, they're two-disc sets with the originals on disc 2 (the actual originals, not the 2007 remasters). The packaging is also great, with some additional new artwork to go with the additional new remixes. If you're lacking physical copies of your favorites from their backlog, I highly recommend picking these up.
Interesting to know about the Blind Guardian remixes. I didn't realize they had recorded extra vocal tracks for those.
I'm not sure they did record extra tracks, although they may have. In the interviews they did for each album last year, Hansi and Andre talked about parts they recorded but didn't use in the final mixes: specifically, I remember them talking about the outro to "Script for My Requiem" (which can now be found on the remixes). I have a feeling all these new vocals were just alternate tracks they didn't use originally. Or maybe they're just buried in the original mixes. I'm not sure. But one can definitely hear different harmonies, especially on Nightfall and Opera.
I'm fairly certain they recorded new acoustic/synth parts for some songs, though. Especially "A Past and Future Secret". That song is so busy in the remix that it almost sounds like a different vision for the song entirely.
Steam | XBL
That just goes to show how much great freakin' metal there is.
I had like 4-5 on your list cross my player last year.
Back in the day everyone had the same shit. AJFA and Rust In Peace and Reign in Blood.
Now you can listen to a persons entire catalogue of "metal" and then go to someone elses "metal" and nothing sounds the same.
I love it.
Sneaky Danes! I just gave them a piece of my mind-force.