Paint It Black...

[roadtonowhere08]

Since the Darkest Desires thread never went over well (I think the name turned some people off ), and I know there are a few of you who have a rather extensive music collection, I am curious to see if anything has changed from the old Desires threads back on HF. Any new favorite albums or recent discoveries? I know there is the "What are you listening to" thread, but that is a little light on the info and not specific.

Here are a few albums that have been getting some serious playing time lately:









Mar de Grises
Melodic Doom/Death Metal from Chile. While I love Swallow the Sun's first three albums, I have no idea why this band has not overtaken their popularity for this genre. Both bands have fantastic keyboard driven atmosphere. STS gives me that Scandinavian metal forest and fog feel, while Mar de Grises totally makes me feel like I am in the middle of the Atacama Desert sometimes (Listen to Draining the Waterheart's Sleep Just One Dawn from 5:30 onward). Damn good band as they balance delicate beauty and crushing brutality with perfection.



Mournful Congregation - The June Frost
Best funeral doom metal album ever made. Period.



Poema Arcanus - Iconoclast
Cut from similar cloth as Mar de Grises. Both are from Chile, both have AWESOME death vocals, and both have outstanding ideas that set them apart from many other bands. Where Mar de Grises' vocalists have a more or less standard yet very pleasing clean voice (think Swallow the Sun), Poema Arcanus' singer has a very unorthodox barritone clean voice. Might turn off some, but I think it's awesome.


Void of Silence - Human Antithesis
HOLT CRAP! Can you say EPIC? Alan Nemtheanga Averill (from Primordial) sings the hell out of this album. His singing reminds me of Eric Clayton from Savior Machine. The spoken parts can be a bit melodramatic, but if you just go with it, it adds to the album. This just screams to be blasted from BIG speakers!!!

Edited May 14, 2013 by roadtonowhere08

[aardvark baguette]

I dont have anything new in this dept.

I think the last great thing I got was Majesty and Decay.

With the DM vocal style, the music has got to be above and beyond for me to tolerate it these days.

[roadtonowhere08]

I am not really a fan of straight up death metal, but I will try it when I have a chance. What about this album did you like?

Nothing groundbreaking, but:

Doom/gothic metal that is very easy to get into. Good melodies. Death vocals sound like the singer from Rapture and the clean vocals sound a tiny bit like the singer from Swallow the Sun. Not a classic in my eyes, but a great album for people not well versed in this kind of music (i.e. This ain't Esoteric ).

Edited August 7, 2011 by roadtonowhere08

[catscratch]

I kinda wrote off Melechesh after Sphynx; there were some great tracks on that disk but on the whole it felt like Melechesh really didn't have the songwriting sophistication to pull off what they wanted to do. So, I kinda forgot about them for a while.

Well, they learned.

I don't know if this is necessarily a brilliant album but there certainly is nothing quite like them these days. Totally distinctive black thrash (I guess that's the closest genre equivalent) with middle eastern melody woven into the riffs themselves; in fact this is modal music and if I remembered any music theory at all I could probably guess as to what mode it's in. Regardless, Melechesh does for black metal what Nile did for death metal, except that they still have the freshness and originality that Nile has recently lacked. They also have a lot of class - something in which most metal was always found wanting.

Been kinda in a metal phase lately so there are a few recent additions.

[roadtonowhere08]

Catscratch: better late than never, but I tried that Melechesh album, and I just couldn't get into it. Great musicians, but I was never a huge fan of Black Metal vocals.

Been REALLY enjoying the following releases lately:

Mournful Congregation - The Book Of Kings

Another outstanding funeral doom metal album from these guys! Slow yet very melodic. The title track is a masterpiece. Anyone looking to try out this genre should start with this band as I think they are the most accessible and my favorite.

Esoteric - Paragon Of Dissonance

If Mournful Congregation is not "hard" enough for you, Esoteric should fill your needs. The second you hear this album, you know who it is. Probably the one band that I love that I have to really be in the mood for to really appreciate, because their albums have a tendency to suck the life out of you. How Greg Chandler manages to create such vocals (despite the obvious studio effects) is beyond me. Pure chaos, folks.

Oh, and Void of Silence - Human Antithesis is easily one of my top 5 favorite albums. Damn good album!

Edited November 30, 2011 by roadtonowhere08

[catscratch]

Oh yeah. This thread.

Been digging Coroner lately. Well, by digging I mean amazed at and seriously upset that they aren't better known. Why this band isn't routinely mentioned in the same vein as Atheist and Watchtower is beyond me. Well, actually, it is, but by not enough people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCT7j41Qa5o

Some call them the Rush of thrash, but I'm not entirely sure that's valid. They're the Coroner of thrash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BIfXhILMEc

[atothex]

So umm does this thread accommodate heavy music in general? I usually don't listen to anything dark. I prefer feel-good music like tech death or the more brutal shades of American -core.

On that front, I have nothing new to report really. Been listening to a lot of mediocrity. Though admittedly, I haven't dug deep underground lately.

[Synchro Belt Drive]

Just because Coroner is mentioned I started reading. Coroner is a cerebral pleasure every once in a while...

Try Gore, underground Metal of some sort with hints of Metallica but the kind of aggression that made almost every other Hard Rock/Metal album in my collection redundant. The best part: Gore made instrumental music and their reissues on CD are of good quality. Bohren & The Club Of Gore drew direct inspiration from Gore.

[deepak]

So umm does this thread accommodate heavy music in general? I usually don't listen to anything dark. I prefer feel-good music like tech death or the more brutal shades of American -core.

On that front, I have nothing new to report really. Been listening to a lot of mediocrity. Though admittedly, I haven't dug deep underground lately.

Is there any new tech death that is good? The newish bands I heard sounded so derivative that I just stick to the stuff from the 80s and 90s

[atothex]

Is there any new tech death that is good? The newish bands I heard sounded so derivative that I just stick to the stuff from the 80s and 90s

I have no idea and would love to hear suggestions myself. Afaik, the hottest techy metallic stuff these days is coming out of the States, but most of it doesn't sound anything like death.

[faust3d]

Out of newish bands I like this album.

Edited January 20, 2012 by faust3d

[deepak]

I have no idea and would love to hear suggestions myself. Afaik, the hottest techy metallic stuff these days is coming out of the States, but most of it doesn't sound anything like death.

Sorry I'm a bit unclear, do you want suggestions for old bands? I can't remember any new ones as I usually just sampled stuff off Youtube and didn't find it interesting.

Not sure if this fits with the theme of the thread, but one of my favorite albums from last year is Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Blood Lust. This is old school doom/stoner metal. Just a warning they pressed the CD and vinyl in extremely limited quantities so a lot of the CDs on Ebay are bootlegs.

Some songs (I think every song on the album is on Youtube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsLCIH_HEfE

[deepak]

Some more, since there is 2 video limit per post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ7UpD4AquU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWyj03OSvek

[roadtonowhere08]

So umm does this thread accommodate heavy music in general? I usually don't listen to anything dark. I prefer feel-good music like tech death or the more brutal shades of American -core.

On that front, I have nothing new to report really. Been listening to a lot of mediocrity. Though admittedly, I haven't dug deep underground lately.

Forgot to check up on this thread for a while.

My music tastes tend to focus more on the darker (slower paced atmospheric) side of metal, but I do not mean to exclude music that is not exactly that. I am not really into the faster (thrash, speed, or tech) metal, but if you think it is noteworthy and someone else would like it, go for it.

Swallow The Sun - Emerald Forest And The Blackbird

Stream: http://www.inferno.f...-sun-levy-6513/

Though not a perfect album, this one is much better than the HUGE disappointment that was New Moon. There is a bit of a throwback to their debut album while still slightly expanding their sound.

A Storm of Light - As the Valley of Death Becomes Us, Our Silver Memories Fade

Great sludgy doom metal with post-rock thrown in. I almost never listen to newer American metal (something about it just does nothing for me), but this album is good.

Edited January 27, 2012 by roadtonowhere08

[Synchro Belt Drive]

I will keep an eye on this thread. Recently the Swans' album "Swans Are Dead" arrived. Via via this music has been recommended so I at least have to give a try and dig a bit further...

[n_maher]

Forgot to check up on this thread for a while.

My music tastes tend to focus more on the darker (slower paced atmospheric) side of metal, but I do not mean to exclude music that is not exactly that. I am not really into the faster (thrash, speed, or tech) metal, but if you think it is noteworthy and someone else would like it, go for it.

Swallow The Sun - Emerald Forest And The Blackbird

Stream: http://www.inferno.f...-sun-levy-6513/

Though not a perfect album, this one is much better than the HUGE disappointment that was New Moon. There is a bit of a throwback to their debut album while still slightly expanding their sound.

I'm looking forward to Emerald although I freely admit that I'm a big fan of New Moon so I hope that means that it'll be even better. What I can't figure out yet is when the actual US release date is, anyone?

[roadtonowhere08]

I'm looking forward to Emerald although I freely admit that I'm a big fan of New Moon so I hope that means that it'll be even better. What I can't figure out yet is when the actual US release date is, anyone?

Yeah, I cannot find anything at all. I found that this stuff usually shows up about a month later or so stateside from the usual places. Since I refuse to pay what they are asking in Euros (plus shipping), I will have to listen to a digital copy until I can buy locally.

Edited February 1, 2012 by roadtonowhere08

[n_maher]

I'm listening now, it's not disappointing.

[atothex]

Sorry I'm a bit unclear, do you want suggestions for old bands? I can't remember any new ones as I usually just sampled stuff off Youtube and didn't find it interesting.

Old, new, it's all good. As long as there's interesting good shit to share.

Anyways, I've been listening to some Arsis lately. They seem ok, if not spectacular. Good and American but with no core elements, which is refreshing.

[n_maher]

I'm listening now, it's not disappointing.

Ugh, I'm afraid that I have to revise this opinion. After listening all the way through several times I'm pretty disappointed. Generally the album strikes me as utterly forgettable. It just never gets going. Some songs start with great promise (the title track for one) but ultimately never deliver the same type of experience that other STS songs have for me. Other songs are borderline (if not outright) awful. The 2nd track, This Cut is the Deepest, is so weak that I regularly skip it and the opening line, "You're nothing but a shadow of the beauty what you used to be" is painfully ironic. Blech.

In stark contrast the latest Draconian album, A Rose for the Apocalypse, is very good.

My next hope lies with the upcoming Epica release due in March.

[acidbasement]

The latest album from Equilibrium has been getting a lot of play in my house lately. Epic, badass, and fun both in the shallow sense and in the music-geek sense. Highly recommended.

[ecclesand]

In stark contrast the latest Draconian album, A Rose for the Apocalypse, is very good.

Enjoy it because Lisa Johansson left the band late last year. I'm still in mourning....

[n_maher]

Enjoy it because Lisa Johansson left the band late last year. I'm still in mourning....

Yeah, I read the bad news when the album came out. It blows.

[roadtonowhere08]

Ugh, I'm afraid that I have to revise this opinion. After listening all the way through several times I'm pretty disappointed. Generally the album strikes me as utterly forgettable. It just never gets going. Some songs start with great promise (the title track for one) but ultimately never deliver the same type of experience that other STS songs have for me. Other songs are borderline (if not outright) awful. The 2nd track, This Cut is the Deepest, is so weak that I regularly skip it and the opening line, "You're nothing but a shadow of the beauty what you used to be" is painfully ironic. Blech.

How interesting. I am going to completely agree for exactly the reasons you stated. I made my comment while listening to it for the first time. Sounded great upon a casual listen, but there is nothing to pull me back for more. Very shallow and uninspired. Aside from the first two albums, I am really growing away from this band. They just seem to have lost their way. Them and Opeth. It sucks that it is that way, because both have created some great music - especially Opeth.

I mentioned it in the first post, but if you are a fan of STS, you will really like Mar De Grises. A better band in every single way.

Edited February 10, 2012 by roadtonowhere08

[Enverxis]

Reporting in.

Trying to think of something new that's good, but it's actually really hard.

Dead Can Dance touring later this year, www.deadcandance.com, go see them etc