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MikeyC
Official Greeter of Broken Hills

Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:16 am
Posts: 14213
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 6:48 am 
 

For those into funeral doom, the new Comatose Vigil A.K. album Evangelium Nihil is very good! It didn't make my list because I'm not going to be able to listen to it as much as I'd like since it was only recently released, but it's a really good album and one that fans of the genre should not pass up.
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MikeyC
Official Greeter of Broken Hills

Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:16 am
Posts: 14213
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 7:32 am 
 

Another list I found: https://yourlastrites.com/2018/12/07/best-of-2018-last-rites-combined-staff-top-25

Spoiler: show
25. Outre-Tombe - Necrovortex
24. Horrendous - Idol
23. Binah - Phobiate
22. Cripple Bastards - La Fine Cresca Da Dentro
21. Oksennus - Kolme Toista
20. Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology
19. Varathron - Patriarchs of Evil
18. Skulmagot - Skulled to Death
17. Urfaust - The Constellatory Practice
16. Sleep - The Sciences
15. A Forest of Stars - Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes
14. Morko - Ulvova Tyhjyys
13. Hate Eternal - On Desolate Sands
12. Satan - Cruel Magic
11. Sear Bliss - Letters From the Edge
10. Messa - Feast For Water
9. Mournful Congregation - The Incubus of Karma
8. Madder Mortem - Marrow
7. W.A.I.L. - Wisdom Through Agony Into Illumination and Lunacy Vol. II
6. Solstice - White Horse Hill
5. Visigoth - The Conqueror's Oath
4. Voivod - The Wake
3. Judas Priest - Firepower
2. Deceased - Ghostly White
1. Amorphis - Queen of Time


Great list. A few things I really enjoyed made it here.
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e_ddi_e
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:00 am
Posts: 614
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 8:06 am 
 

These are the albums that I selected but didn't make it to the top 10.

Avslut - Deceptis
Necrophobic - Mark of the Necrogram
Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology
Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name
Conjurer - Mire
Battlesoul - Sunward and Starward
Oceans of Slumber - The Banished Heart
Black Moth - Anatomical Venus
Tribulation - Down Below
Gozu - Equilibrium
Augury - Illusive Golden Age
Skogen - Skuggorna Kallar
Oubliette - The Passage
Mantar - The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze
Soreption - Monument of the End
Ahtme - Sewer Born
Wolfheart - Constellation of the Black Light
Gorod - Aethra
Madder Mortem - Marrow


Edit. I just realised that my number one album Greenleaf - Hear The Rivers isn't on the archives LOL.

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kytokinesis
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2016 5:42 pm
Posts: 206
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 2:54 pm 
 

I enjoyed Oubliette as well. Didn't quite make my list either.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
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Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 3:13 pm 
 

This Chapel of Disease album is insane. I wouldn't have bothered based on the name as it sounded a bit generic - but this is sprawling, complex stuff and they write like nobody else I've heard. The musicality is through the roof and the songwriting is mystical and transporting, with a lot of sweep and majesty to it. It's very prog but not in a sterile or intellectual way - just awe-inspiring so far.
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orionparker
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed May 02, 2012 8:55 am
Posts: 233
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 3:38 pm 
 

Empyreal wrote:
This Chapel of Disease album is insane. I wouldn't have bothered based on the name as it sounded a bit generic - but this is sprawling, complex stuff and they write like nobody else I've heard. The musicality is through the roof and the songwriting is mystical and transporting, with a lot of sweep and majesty to it. It's very prog but not in a sterile or intellectual way - just awe-inspiring so far.

I passed on listening to this one because of the name but after this glowing review I'm going to have to check it out.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 4:24 pm 
 

Yeah it's really something else. The long instrumental stretches could easily be hammy in the hands of some other bands but I'm digging it - mostly due to the inventiveness of the playing and writing combined.
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GTog
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2006 8:35 pm
Posts: 1196
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 5:16 pm 
 

I listened to and rated over 100 albums this year, which is really a shitload for me. I didn't settle on my top 10 for the poll until just a couple of days ago. For awhile it looked like I had it locked, but then I listened to some things that got a shout out over in the Worthwhile Albums thread, and dammit they bumped a lot of stuff. Some were subsequently bumped themselves too.

Albums that spent some time on my list, but ultimately didn't make it:

Fragments of Unbecoming - Perdition Portal
Lik - Carnage
Necrophobic - Mark of the Necrogram
Apophys - Devoratis
Chemicaust - Unleashed upon This World
Psycroptic - As the Kingdom Drowns
Crescent - The Order of Amenti
Deceased - Ghostly White
Krisiun - Scourge of the Enthroned
Skeletonwitch - Devouring Radiant Light

Just for fun, here are my bottom 10:

Satan - Cruel Magic
Dimmu Borgir - Eonian
Ministry - AmeriKKKant
Cavus - The New Era
Boethiah - Invocation of the Xenolith
Vomitor - Pestilent Death
Shining - X - Varg Utan Flock
Philip H. Anselmo & the Illegals - Choosing Mental Illness as a Virtue
Kommandant - Blood Eel
Portal - Ion
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PascalE
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2011 7:56 pm
Posts: 35
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 8:13 pm 
 

PascalE wrote:
My favorites so far:

1. Ovate - Ovate
2. Varathron - Patriarchs of Evil
3. Aborted - TerrorVision
4. Inferi - Revenant
5. Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology
6. Spectral Wound - Infernal Decadence
7. Skeletal Remains - Devouring Mortality
8. Flammarion - Khanus
9. Hoth - Astral Necromancy
10. 1914 - The Blind Leading the Blind



honorable mentions:
Immortal - Northern Chaos Gods
Bloody Tyrant - 葉隱 (Hagakure)
Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name
Black Viper - Hellions of Fire
Dödsrit - Spirit Crusher
Autokrater - Hammer of the Heretics
At The Gates - To Drink From The Night Itself


Biggest let downs of 2018:
Deafheaven
Dimmu Borgir
In Vain
Anaal Nathrakh


I've been catching up, doubt that this list will change in the last days.

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Depersonalizationilosophy
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 2:51 pm
Posts: 64
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 9:58 pm 
 

In no particular order here are my recommended/worthwhile metal albums of 2018:

1) Nocturnal Graves - Titan
2) Obscura - Diluvium
3) Sepulcher - Panoptic Horror
4) Blood of Serpents - Sulphur Sovereign
5) The Order of Apollyon - Moriah
6) Hwæder - Of Murk Skies and Withering Mountains
7) Hate Eternal - Upon Desolate Sands
8) Judgement Day - World That Never Was
9) Drudkh - They Often See Dreams About the Spring
10) Convulsing - Grievous
11) Sacral Rage - Beyond Celestial Echoes
12) Pestilence - Hadeon
13) Hyperdontia - Nexus of Teeth
14) Augury - Illusive Golden Age
15) Cosmic Church - Täyttymys
16) Black Viper - Hellions of Fire
17) Soreption - Monument of the End
18) Peste Noire - Peste Noire – Split – Peste Noire
19) Sanguine Relic - The Essence of Eternity's Despair
20) Voivod - The Wake
21) Obliteration - Cenotaph Obscure
22) Golgothan Remains - Perverse Offerings to the Void
23) Primordial - Exile Amongst the Ruins
24) Panopticon - The Scars of Man and the Once Nameless Wilderness I and II
25) Bosse-de-Nage - Further Still
26) Bloodbath - The Arrow of Satan Is Drawn
27) Nachtmystium - Resilient
28) Urfaust - The Constellatory Practice
29) In the Woods... - Cease the Day
30) Sargeist - Unbound
31) Cultes Des Ghoules - Sinister, or Treading the Darker Paths
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MikeyC
Official Greeter of Broken Hills

Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:16 am
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Location: Australia
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:03 pm 
 

PascalE wrote:
Biggest let downs of 2018:
Anaal Nathrakh

Damn, really? What didn't you like about it?
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MikeyC
Official Greeter of Broken Hills

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:18 pm 
 

Since a few people have put up some albums that didn't make their top 10, I will do the same. A few albums I liked that didn't make it:

Frontierer - Unloved
This band is not on the Archives, otherwise it would be in the top 5. Absolutely crushing mathcore with a huge wall of sound and heaps of glitchy parts. Not for the faint of heart but worth the head trip. Better than their first album.

Gorod - Aethra
One of my bigger surprise packets of the year. I didn't even buy their previous album as the band sort of lost me, but on Aethra they seem to have picked up again, and the songs here are delightful and riffy, while still retaining that Gorod aesthetic. Songs like "Bekhten's Curse" showcase the great riffs they still have up their sleeve.

Orator - Kallipolis
This album is too short (an intro and 5 songs) but the songs are lengthy considering the type of music they play. Very cool brutal death metal with Marco Pitruzzella on the drums, so plenty of gravity blasts and fast double-kicks, and the songs themselves are pretty engaging.

Comatose Vigil A.K. - Evangelium Nihil
Being released half-way through December didn't give me much of a chance to really analyse this one, however on the couple of times I've listened to it, it's certainly some high-quality funeral doom. It picks up where they left off 7 years ago and the four songs on offer are what you would expect from Comatose Vigil. Nothing beats Not a Gleam of Hope, but this is the next best thing they've done.

Gotsu Totsu Kotsu - The Final Stand
You know what you're getting with this band, and this album is no different. Great quality death metal that's heavily thrash influenced, and has a rare ability to make the listener feel positive, if that makes sense. You can tell they enjoy playing, and it resonates to the listener. Pick this album up, or any of their albums.

I'll leave it there. There's so much more to talk about from this year. It's been phenomenal.
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~Guest 329938
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jan 18, 2014 11:25 am
Posts: 223
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:58 pm 
 

k


Last edited by ~Guest 329938 on Fri Dec 25, 2020 4:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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BastardHead
Worse than Stalin

Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:53 pm
Posts: 10857
Location: Oswego, Illinois
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 12:55 am 
 

orionparker wrote:
Empyreal wrote:
This Chapel of Disease album is insane. I wouldn't have bothered based on the name as it sounded a bit generic - but this is sprawling, complex stuff and they write like nobody else I've heard. The musicality is through the roof and the songwriting is mystical and transporting, with a lot of sweep and majesty to it. It's very prog but not in a sterile or intellectual way - just awe-inspiring so far.

I passed on listening to this one because of the name but after this glowing review I'm going to have to check it out.


I thought their first two albums were fine, if unremarkable. But this one? Hoo boy. This is what I was promised when Horrendous put out Ecdysis. That was supposed to be this grand, forward thinking album that mixed 70s prog/rock sensibilities with death metal but wound up just being pretentious and boring. Chapel of Disease is no less pretentious, but they're 10000x more exciting. Song of the Gods is one of the best tracks of the year.
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Deathstalker1985
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Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:53 pm
Posts: 390
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 1:16 am 
 

The first Chapel of Disease album is pretty generic, the second album however is a different story. If anything I would say it has more in common with the new one than the debut, its like on the new one they just went further with the prog sound.

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ModusOperandi
Metalhead

Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 12:52 am
Posts: 1553
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 2:40 am 
 

I guess I'll have to be the turd in the punch bowl regarding Chapel of Disease. Too jangly and excessive on the lighter moments for my tastes and expectations. It's very well done for the style, so I can't and won't take anything away from those enjoying it, it's just very low on the list of what I want to hear in death metal or otherwise. As far as comparisons to Horrendous go, the latter didn't forgo the quantity and quality of their riffs in the process of becoming more melodic and still maintained a throughline in their identity. I don't hear hardly anything that connects this to the previous two albums which, if not completely unique or original, gave me much more to sink my teeth into.

All that being said, I'm open to the possibility of "getting it" in time, but just not happening right now.
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CannibalCorpse
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Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 3:55 pm
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Location: Austria
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 3:15 am 
 

GTog wrote:
Just for fun, here are my bottom 10:

Satan - Cruel Magic


No. Hell no, NO. I just had the pleasure to dig deeper into this and it's about on par with "Life Sentence" and better than "Atom By Atom".

How can this be that bad to you?
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BastardHead
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Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:53 pm
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Location: Oswego, Illinois
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 3:48 am 
 

Honestly I was biased against Satan from the start. I'm just over bands that are like 40 years into their careers doing the same shit they've been doing since before my parents hit puberty. Judas Priest and Satan are the big offenders this year (though the latter has that hiatus that makes it less annoying) but there are plenty of others where the headline reads "OLD BAND STILL EXISTS, SOUNDS LIKE THEY ALWAYS HAVE, METAL PUBLIC LICKS RAPTUROUSLY". It's just tiring. It doesn't need to be constant innovation all the time and I've been hyping up Visigoth all year despite them doing nothing groundbreaking, but I really feel like classic bands tend to get brownie points simply for their new albums clearing the incredibly low bar of "not actively terrible".

Well aware that I loved the new Deicide album thank you.
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Acrobat
Eric Olthwaite

Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:53 am
Posts: 8854
Location: Yorkshire
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 5:38 am 
 

BastardHead wrote:
Honestly I was biased against Satan from the start. I'm just over bands that are like 40 years into their careers doing the same shit they've been doing since before my parents hit puberty. Judas Priest and Satan are the big offenders this year (though the latter has that hiatus that makes it less annoying) but there are plenty of others where the headline reads "OLD BAND STILL EXISTS, SOUNDS LIKE THEY ALWAYS HAVE, METAL PUBLIC LICKS RAPTUROUSLY". It's just tiring. It doesn't need to be constant innovation all the time and I've been hyping up Visigoth all year despite them doing nothing groundbreaking, but I really feel like classic bands tend to get brownie points simply for their new albums clearing the incredibly low bar of "not actively terrible".

Well aware that I loved the new Deicide album thank you.


I dunno, as long as you're aware that criticising a band for being old is just as illogical and dumb as criticising them for being too young. The Priest one might carry more weight as while Firepower sounds slightly more energised than a lot of what came before it, it's just the inevitable Sneapized version of the band and therefore it does sound a bit better than Glenn Tipton's fumbling production jobs. It's the continued generic, ersatz version of Priest and that pleased some people, whatever, it wasn't awful by any stretch. It's just 'Priest' sounding like their own cover band without any real input from either original guitarist (in a writing sense, tell me, people, what reeks of Tipton in those riffs?). So yeah, that's a case of a band being praised by low standards ("Better than Nostradamus and Demolition? Wow!"). I'd agree with you there.

Satan, on the other hand, is an entirely different kettle of fish. This, like anything other judgment of music should only work meritocratically, therefore we shouldn't praise or scorn anyone for being young or old (even being sick of old bands is a bit daft; a Satan or Visigoth headline tour would probably attract around the same crowd and same numbers, really, so it's not like Satan are stealing attention that younger bands warrant). Satan still sound vital (I'll refer to their two previous albums here, since I've not heard the newest one), write engaging songs, play in a unique style and - wait for it, do something very different than newer bands like Visigoth, for example.

Allow me to detour somewhat, these older bands have - due to their age - an experience that differs from younger bands. People still value that. They play in a different way, they think in a different way, they probably aren't influenced solely by metal bands and that gives them a different sound. Look at one of the best albums from a new band this year; Gatekeeper's album was pretty damn great. However, it is somewhat stuck in its "epic metal to the core" due to the band being young dudes who seemingly only use similar metal as an influence. Great album... what are its influences? Fates Warning, Manowar, Jag Panzer, Solstice... cool. What are the most centrally important parts on the album; the vocals and the guitar. Does the rhythm section get shafted? Yeah, a little. Sounds quite typical of a young "influenced by metal and metal" band.

Why do Satan still matter, then? Scratchy, raw guitar tones, lively drums that swing in a different way and odd-ball riffs that probably don't come from someone who sat down that afternoon and decided that Solstice are really fucking great (they are, nothing wrong with ripping them off, either). They play metal with an almost entirely different perspective - having predominantly grown up with hard rock and early metal, this is reflected in their production choices, writing, etc, etc. Is it worthy of praise? Yeah, I think so. Why? It's a perspective we don't often hear (alright, a lot of old bands are still around - but they also kinda suck or they modernise to the point at which they don't sound like their old selves anymore [nothing necessarily wrong with that]). The Satan of the 2010s is cool because they don't shamelessly self-plagiarise but they also keep a lot of their old style in tact.


Honestly, Visigoth get about as much attention as Satan (if not more) and they play a far more tired style than Satan do (I'll refrain from calling them shite, but they definitely play "pat on the back" metal - wherein they're praised for having the right, old influences). So, grumbling about a band being old and good, is just silly. They're fucking good, aren't they? Why get hung up on the fact that it's from an old band and just use your judgement. After all, I think a lot of these people praising Satan (ha) now are doing so because they got into them through an album like Life Sentence and not necessarily because they've loved Court in the Act for 30+ years.

If it's good, it'll hopefully get its deserved accolades - if it's just the hype of an old band then it'll be largely forgotten about by the time their next 'comeback' comes around (I mean, how many comeback albums have Deicide had?). Likewise, if there's a great album from a young band, hopefully people will get around to it... they're maybe more likely to praise the old bands because they know 'em already. These things take time, not everyone has the time/money/effort to check out 50+ new releases each year.
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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
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Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 8:15 am 
 

Well Satan is way more than "not terrible." They're very good at what they do. But I'll say I'm not in the mood for it much like I was the first time they did it - they're talented but I honestly kind of forgot that album came out this year since I was focused on so many other things.

And yeah, Visigoth get praised for being a trad metal revival band that's very visible just because people wanted to hear that style first and foremost. It's very vanilla the way they do it these days, sort of like they're just trying to hit every box. Like fanfiction almost.

Honestly I don't think this was a great year for trad and melodic metal. There were several I enjoyed, but only a few ended up making my Top 10 now that I'm really looking at shit critically. Dynazty's didn't even make my list because honestly my gut tells me it is more of a rock/AOR album than a metal one.

Acrobat's point about "metal influenced by metal" is what I've always been annoyed by with younger bands. They sound too orthodox. If I wanted stuff that sounded to the letter like the classics, I'd go find the classics again, I still have them on my computer/CD collection. I'd rather hear bands with more diverse ideas.
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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
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Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 8:50 am 
 

ModusOperandi wrote:
I guess I'll have to be the turd in the punch bowl regarding Chapel of Disease. Too jangly and excessive on the lighter moments for my tastes and expectations. It's very well done for the style, so I can't and won't take anything away from those enjoying it, it's just very low on the list of what I want to hear in death metal or otherwise. As far as comparisons to Horrendous go, the latter didn't forgo the quantity and quality of their riffs in the process of becoming more melodic and still maintained a throughline in their identity. I don't hear hardly anything that connects this to the previous two albums which, if not completely unique or original, gave me much more to sink my teeth into.

All that being said, I'm open to the possibility of "getting it" in time, but just not happening right now.


I wouldn't even call this Chapel of Disease album death metal - it's got a few harsh sections but most of it is jammy, psychedelic prog. I thought it was fantastic as that.
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Spiner202
Veteran

Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 3:32 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 9:34 am 
 

I didn't listen to the new Satan (I loved Life Sentence, but thought Atom By Atom was really boring), but I'm pretty astounded at the blind worship they get. I've seen several top 10s (even top 30s) where every single release is death or black metal, and then Satan's new album in there. It confuses me that if people enjoy Satan that much, they really don't think there's anything else worthwhile in the heavy/speed/power/USPM world.

I actually thought trad had the strongest year. I didn't have too many standout releases, but nearly all of them are traditional heavy metal or speed metal.

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CoconutBackwards
Bullet Centrist

Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2016 2:02 pm
Posts: 1787
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 10:05 am 
 

I've never listened to Satan till this new album and it's Top Ten of the year for me.
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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
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Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 10:56 am 
 

Outre-Tombe have got some seriously ripping death metal. I like this quote from their bandcamp:

Quote:
To the band’s credit, Outre-Tombe have not attempted to flood the underground with useless releases; over the course of their eight-year existence, the band has released a single demo and two albums, all of which are meticulously written, performed, and recorded. This methodical approach to their work is part of what sets Outre-Tombe apart from the majority of their peers.


I respect that kind of ethos.
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miskatonic79
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Sep 15, 2016 11:57 pm
Posts: 198
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 11:27 am 
 

MikeyC wrote:
Another list I found: https://yourlastrites.com/2018/12/07/best-of-2018-last-rites-combined-staff-top-25

Spoiler: show
25. Outre-Tombe - Necrovortex
24. Horrendous - Idol
23. Binah - Phobiate
22. Cripple Bastards - La Fine Cresca Da Dentro
21. Oksennus - Kolme Toista
20. Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology
19. Varathron - Patriarchs of Evil
18. Skulmagot - Skulled to Death
17. Urfaust - The Constellatory Practice
16. Sleep - The Sciences
15. A Forest of Stars - Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes
14. Morko - Ulvova Tyhjyys
13. Hate Eternal - On Desolate Sands
12. Satan - Cruel Magic
11. Sear Bliss - Letters From the Edge
10. Messa - Feast For Water
9. Mournful Congregation - The Incubus of Karma
8. Madder Mortem - Marrow
7. W.A.I.L. - Wisdom Through Agony Into Illumination and Lunacy Vol. II
6. Solstice - White Horse Hill
5. Visigoth - The Conqueror's Oath
4. Voivod - The Wake
3. Judas Priest - Firepower
2. Deceased - Ghostly White
1. Amorphis - Queen of Time


Great list. A few things I really enjoyed made it here.


I agree, many of my top 25 as well.
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Twisted_Psychology
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 11:31 am 
 

I feel like it's been a pretty good year for trad metal though there were only a couple albums that truly astounded me. The new Visigoth album was an excellent balance of catchy and epic. The new albums by Saxon, Satan, and Priest are all great though I'm not sure if I'd call any of them classics. It was also nice to see bands like Khemmis utilize more of that influence this year. I can only hope next year is better, if only because Lavaborne's debut album will probably be grouped in that style.

Also I'm kicking myself for sleeping on Chapel of Disease. This new album is fantastic.
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Raindream
Metal newbie

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 11:38 am 
 

Started tooling around with a list. I’ve a lot to check out and re-investigate but based on what I’ve heard now it looks something like this:

Spoiler: show
1. Svartidaudi - Revelations of the Red Sword
Sonic perfection. Didn’t think topping Flesh Cathedral would be possible but they did it. An album to eat lungs by.

2. Funeral Mist - Hekatomb
Nearly my 1st place choice. The most vicious, chaotic bm I’ve heard all year that still delivers visceral thrills on the songwriting front. Masterpiece!

3. Primordial - Exile Amongst the Ruins
Primordial continue a string of flawless albums that stated with The Gathering Wilderness. Decidedly non-brutal but masterfully composed.

4. Finnr’s Cane - Elegy
Atmosblack with flourishes of blackgaze, prog and doom. Extremely varied. Always engaging. An addictive spin.

5. Sigh - Heir to Despair
Typical Sigh lunacy/genius. The experimental elements work to the full advantage of the pieces here unlike on some of their other albums. Truly psychedelic, not just riff salad played through phasers!

6. Hooded Menace - Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed
Seems like this album created quite a buzz this year and rightfully so! What atmospheres! Infinite replayability!

7. Wald Krypta - Nature Enigma
Needed to have at least one raw bm album on my list, this delivers all the oomph and memorability of the most unsubtle power metal gang, under the murky and nihilistic garb of raw American black metal. Surprisingly twisted riffs hover between 2nd wave accessibility and complete atonal chaos. Atmosphere in spades. This was an under appreciated release this year.

8. Necrophobic - Under the Mark of the Necrogram
What a huge album. Amazing songwriting. Amazing riffs. Bombastic and evil as fuck. Maybe a little too polished but that’s the sound nowadays.

9. Hate Eternal - Upon Desolate Sands
Pure fucking menace and wrath. This album was a godsend at the gym. Favorite one to play at top volume on those early morning work drives.

10. Craft - White Noise and Black Metal
Really ended up loving this one. The punky lyrics add to it imho.

Runners-up: BURIAL INVOCATION - Abiogenesis,
ULTHAR - Cosmovore, PORTAL - Ion, GREEN DEATH - Hallowmass, MAGOTH - Zeitgeist: Dystopia, DRUDKH - They Often See Dreams About the Spring


Yep.

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true_death
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 12:20 pm 
 

Empyreal wrote:
Acrobat's point about "metal influenced by metal" is what I've always been annoyed by with younger bands. They sound too orthodox. If I wanted stuff that sounded to the letter like the classics, I'd go find the classics again, I still have them on my computer/CD collection. I'd rather hear bands with more diverse ideas.



I disagree, I'd rather hear a band like Visigoth who at least sound passionate and inspired than some jaded, arrogant hipsters with a shitty attitude like The Body, for example...Visigoth may not be super original but they play their stuff well, and The Body might be "diverse" and "original" but they still fucking suck :lol:. My point is, while it's great to see bands experiment and try new things, I don't see the point in worrying about "diversity" in music, it's superficial not a measure of quality at all - there are plenty of great bands, such as Skeletal Remains or Portrait who play a familiar "classic" style while providing their own spin on it and making it their own.

Also, that new Obscenity album "Summoning the Circle" is fucking killer, just raw, flesh-ripping death metal to the core, kind of reminds me of the new Monstrosity a little bit (which was one of my favorite albums this year).
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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 12:23 pm 
 

Well I don't mean "jaded arrogant hipsters." I just mean stuff that sounds fresh. To me Visigoth is musically alright but just not that interesting to me personally. Portrait and other bands like that, I literally couldn't care less about - they do nothing for me.

Obviously whenever I say I like original stuff I mean I want it to also be good. Nobody means "I want stuff that sucks but sounds original," lol.
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BastardHead
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 12:29 pm 
 

Yeah there's always that obvious caveat. I don't think there's any set way things need to be. I like fresh, forward thinking stuff if it's good. I like shameless retro throwbacks if they're good. My comment about old bands being lame needs to take that into account, because I do like plenty of classic bands releasing albums that sound like their classics, my beef is that I think a lot of bands that fit that criteria are mediocre as hell nowadays and I think it's silly that people are saying Firepower stands on par with Painkiller or something because I mean come on.
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Xenophon
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 12:46 pm 
 

A lot of times it seems like bands that are touted as being really original or unique really aren't. Of course, "hipster" places like Pitchfork are especially guilty of this poor reasoning, but I think thoughtful listening and a willingness to deeply inject your own self into metallic subject matter, retrieve it, and naturally evolve one's taste within metal will reveal that there are hardly any bands doing something really original, but there are plenty making a "small step forward" with their newest releases, like Deafheaven, Witherfall, Sainte Marie des Loups, Kwade Droes, Cultes des Ghoules, and Tides of Emptiness, which is how genres naturally evolve and have always naturally evolved. It's usually not just one or two geniuses that create something completely new, but a bunch of people and bands taking small steps forward in different directions.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 12:57 pm 
 

People think in too binary of terms when it comes to 'originality.' Like it's either 'totally avant grade stuff' or 'bands that are totally imitative.' I prefer to try and find a grey area and just go by what sounds fresh and exciting to me... my top two albums this year are Seasons of the Wolf and Deceased, and both aren't really incorporating any capital-O Original sounds, but the songwriting is clever and dextrous and exciting. It's really a case by case thing and can't even be talked about in a comprehensive manner due to people's differing taste. I just think sometimes it's addressed much too simply.
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Sick6Six
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 12:58 pm 
 

I'm having trouble picking past like a top 5.

Lutomysl - Ecce Homo This is probably the best thing I've heard in 5 years. The last 2 minutes and 45 seconds of the album is some of the most wonderful instrumental riffing and drumming I've ever heard.

Immortal - Northern Chaos Gods I thought this would be my #1 for sure, but judging just based on music alone this got bumped to number 2. Easily number 1 any other year.

Hoth - Astral Necromancy One of my most listened to albums this year and I didn't even think I would like it that much.

Necropole - Solarite I still need to listen to this one a lot more, but it's definitely in my top 5.

Akitsa - Credo Just amazing raw, simple, old school black metal

After those, there's Human Serpent, Spectral Wound, Azaghal, Yith, Death Fortress, Pagan Hellfire and other stuff I still need to give another listen and/or kind of forgot about.
Edit: Oh yeah, Sargeist, I really didn't listen to that as much as I thought I would. Same with Convulsing.. ESOCTRILIHUM probably also in my top 10
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Rompestromper
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 1:16 pm 
 

Empyreal wrote:
ModusOperandi wrote:
I guess I'll have to be the turd in the punch bowl regarding Chapel of Disease. Too jangly and excessive on the lighter moments for my tastes and expectations. It's very well done for the style, so I can't and won't take anything away from those enjoying it, it's just very low on the list of what I want to hear in death metal or otherwise. As far as comparisons to Horrendous go, the latter didn't forgo the quantity and quality of their riffs in the process of becoming more melodic and still maintained a throughline in their identity. I don't hear hardly anything that connects this to the previous two albums which, if not completely unique or original, gave me much more to sink my teeth into.

All that being said, I'm open to the possibility of "getting it" in time, but just not happening right now.


I wouldn't even call this Chapel of Disease album death metal - it's got a few harsh sections but most of it is jammy, psychedelic prog. I thought it was fantastic as that.


it felt to me like surf death metal, really great album no matter how you look at it

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kytokinesis
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Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2016 5:42 pm
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 1:32 pm 
 

Cóndor - El Valle del Cóndor is a release I haven't seen mentioned yet. This band has always had an eclectic mixture of black/death, trad, Latin folk and prog rock with a medieval atmosphere. This one sounds more concise and stripped down than previous records. Very authentic trad metal riffing with death metal vocals.

https://condormetal.bandcamp.com/album/ ... del-c-ndor

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Draehl
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Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2014 10:13 pm
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 2:09 pm 
 

BastardHead wrote:
Honestly I was biased against Satan from the start. I'm just over bands that are like 40 years into their careers doing the same shit they've been doing since before my parents hit puberty. Judas Priest and Satan are the big offenders this year (though the latter has that hiatus that makes it less annoying) but there are plenty of others where the headline reads "OLD BAND STILL EXISTS, SOUNDS LIKE THEY ALWAYS HAVE, METAL PUBLIC LICKS RAPTUROUSLY". It's just tiring. It doesn't need to be constant innovation all the time and I've been hyping up Visigoth all year despite them doing nothing groundbreaking, but I really feel like classic bands tend to get brownie points simply for their new albums clearing the incredibly low bar of "not actively terrible".

Well aware that I loved the new Deicide album thank you.


I dunno. Satan feels somehow influenced by modern/extreme metal. Maybe the band taking such a long break allowed them to sponge up some elements of other genres? Either way, they do something different from the others which I why I like 'em unlike a lot of Trad/USPM. They're not noticeably heavier, but the chord progression, attitude, and overall atmosphere just feels different.

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Velvet_Creation
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 11:24 pm
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 3:16 pm 
 

I don't suppose many people here have heard of this band but for sure it's one of the highlights of the year for me!

ACATHEXIS - S/T (with Jake from Mare Cognitum)

https://youtu.be/qvqa0LW6zB4
https://acathexis.bandcamp.com/

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kytokinesis
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Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2016 5:42 pm
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 3:39 pm 
 

Acrobat wrote:

Allow me to detour somewhat, these older bands have - due to their age - an experience that differs from younger bands. People still value that. They play in a different way, they think in a different way, they probably aren't influenced solely by metal bands and that gives them a different sound. Look at one of the best albums from a new band this year; Gatekeeper's album was pretty damn great. However, it is somewhat stuck in its "epic metal to the core" due to the band being young dudes who seemingly only use similar metal as an influence. Great album... what are its influences? Fates Warning, Manowar, Jag Panzer, Solstice... cool. What are the most centrally important parts on the album; the vocals and the guitar. Does the rhythm section get shafted? Yeah, a little. Sounds quite typical of a young "influenced by metal and metal" band.

Why do Satan still matter, then? Scratchy, raw guitar tones, lively drums that swing in a different way and odd-ball riffs that probably don't come from someone who sat down that afternoon and decided that Solstice are really fucking great (they are, nothing wrong with ripping them off, either). They play metal with an almost entirely different perspective - having predominantly grown up with hard rock and early metal, this is reflected in their production choices, writing, etc, etc. Is it worthy of praise? Yeah, I think so. Why? It's a perspective we don't often hear (alright, a lot of old bands are still around - but they also kinda suck or they modernise to the point at which they don't sound like their old selves anymore [nothing necessarily wrong with that]). The Satan of the 2010s is cool because they don't shamelessly self-plagiarise but they also keep a lot of their old style in tact.

All very well said. I'd like to elaborate a little more on that last sentence. Satan have kept up a consistency on the last three albums that not many bands have been able to do. Each iteration offers a re-imagining of Court in the Act in an attempt to refine that formula using their experiences and maturity. Those are the main draws for me, besides being damned good material: consistency in style/presentation and the iterative re-imagining of the original work. Experimentation in trad metal like this has to be measured in nanometers, and even Atom by Atom was too much for a lot of people.

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Xenophon
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 4:07 pm 
 

I can definitely hear how Satan have a distinct style and sound, but for some reason I always have problems with their essential songwriting/riff-writing. Just the luck of the draw that every so often there will be a really popular band that just doesn't resonate with me at all, even if I understand in a left brain way what they're getting at.

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GTog
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 4:13 pm 
 

CannibalCorpse wrote:
GTog wrote:
Just for fun, here are my bottom 10:

Satan - Cruel Magic


No. Hell no, NO. I just had the pleasure to dig deeper into this and it's about on par with "Life Sentence" and better than "Atom By Atom".

How can this be that bad to you?


I just don't like Satan. Never have. It's dull trad metal and not my thing. I listened to Cruel Magic because of all the attention it got right here in this thread. And surprise, I didn't care for it. It's almost as if... wait, epiphany coming... sometimes people can have different musical tastes. :o
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