What y'all metalheads been listening to lately? I've been blasting Pantera, Fear Factory, Emmure, Snapcase, At the Gates, and In Flames in various rotation.
It's winter, so second wave black metal is where it's at. Emperor, Enslaved, In the Woods..., Abigor, Immortal, Arcturus, Gehenna, Burzum, Covenant, Dødheimsgard, Dimmu Borgir, Forgotten Woods, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Kvist, Nagelfar, Satyricon, Ragnarok, Ulver, and others.
Knew you'd be in with the darkness, Bone! You check out the latest Darkthrone - Arctic Thunder? I haven't yet, but from what I've heard they've switched to a more black metal style than their last few records.
Good stuff, Xeo! Those power wails peeling paint off the walls, baby! Two solid albums to chew on, thanks.
Has satyricon done any thing better than the 8rd album a few years back? Liked the 2 before but that last one, didn't feel it. I'm no black metal fan or expert, like some, but there needs to be a movie on mayhem. Their story intrigues me big time even though that's not my genre. Watched all the documentaries
Saytricon gets a little more stylistically different after Nemesis Divina, their third record. Rebel Extravaganza has some experimental stuff going on, but the next couple are a bit more rock and roll. I haven't checked out anything past Now, Diabolical though, so they may have altered their style since.
Still, "Mother North" is one of the sickest BM videos ever.
I screwed that post up and edited. I only like the 6th and 7th album, course that's all I've heard. I like the concept of black metal and some of the elements but prefer the fringe bands like amon amarth or the satyricon ones I mentioned. Stuff like that. I need verses and hooks lol.
When it comes to black metal bands, to use a lame cliché, "I like their old stuff better" rings true 90% of the time.
Satyricon hasn't released decent material in about twenty years. Dark Medieval Times, The Shadowthrone, Nemesis Divina, and the Enslaved split are all brilliant though.
Darkthrone fares a bit better; their most recent stuff is alright. But A Blaze in the Northern Sky, Under a Funeral Moon, and Transilvanian Hunger comprise an absolutely (un)godly trilogy.
I admit, I've mainly been listening to Bolt Thrower the last few months, though I've become a big fan of Pallbearer. Apparently their third album comes out this year. I'm looking forward to it.
Any fans of the atmospheric, dark ambient, black metal out there? I'm looking for some suggestions/recommendations and to see if there's any fans? Here's what I've been listening to recently:
Altar of Plagues
Altar of Plagues are an Irish experimental, progressive, almost dare I say 'post metal' / 'post rock' take on the black metal genre. Their early material was known for it's long tracks, that combined elements of black metal, post metal, sludge and doom metal into their own kind of sound.
White Tomb is their first album and probably my favourite.
Their newest album has received more critical acclaim though, but it's style is a little different. Teethed Glory and Injury is still diverse, but it's a little more focussed with more ideas being used to create more tracks that are shorter and less progressive/post metal in nature. The first song (after the intro track) is awesome, with this really awesome 3/4 rhythmic section. It really pummels into your head and I can't help banging my head to it. The album is great, but like I said before, tracks are shorter and more to the point.
Wolves in the Throne Room
Wolves in the Throne Room are an American black metal band and like Altar of Plagues, they take a lot of inspiration from post metal / post rock bands, but also see to take inspiration from symphonic bands like Emperor and the ambient black metal of Burzum.
Bitter Lake
Bitter Lake are a one man band from Scotland. The dude is in the early stages of the project, but a debut album has been completed for release very soon. A lot of the material sounds quite amateur at times, but it's really compelling and interesting music. It combines electronic elements with black metal, which I find is a great combination. I haven't heard much else like this out there.
Being the hipster I am, I bought his latest EP on cassette tape, which there are only 50 of being sold. Being the hipster I am, I only got #1/#50.
Drudkh
Drudkh are fairly well known within the genre. Autumn Aurora is probably my favourite album that I've heard from them. They make use of lots of really cool synth effects and folky sounds.
Darkspace
Darkspace label all their albums I, II, III and so on (except the fourth album is titled III I, because why the hell not?). I gave this band a listen yesterday for the first time, so I really don't know much about them other than they don't seem to like to title their tracks with proper names either.
Own: Mega Drive, Saturn, Dreamcast, Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, PS Vita, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Wii U, Game Boy Advance, DS, 3DS, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox, Xbox 360