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Post by zelio on Sept 23, 2020 3:15:20 GMT -5
Havukruunu: This Finnish Black metal band may be the strongest black metal recommendation I’ll ever make. I have not been in a Black Metal mood since 2014 or 2015, but this 2017 album was easily my #2 favorite album of the year last year. Why this is a standout? Black metal is trendier than ever before, especially with many bands’ tendencies to borrow from post-metal territory, a trend which has turned me off from Black Metal. Havukruunu, however, bring the atmosphere too, but from the metal side of things. This band threw in lots of influences from Pagan, Folk, Viking Metal, and even some guitar stylings of the NWOBHM if you listen closely enough. I just now found out they made a 2018 album I somehow missed. Don’t sleep on this is you love epic black metal with gorgeous moments and expansive influences. Hidden gem. This song is so epic. When 1:15 hits, it’s so badass. And again around 2:40. Just listen to it. Get immersed in this, and maybe play Skyrim while doing it because it’s the perfect soundtrack for Skyrim. I just found out about this record bc a friend posted it on FB and then I searched here - and of course metal- stringypoo knows it too :-D :-D. Very nice record, even though I'm usually almost exclusively listen to HC I think I'll spin this when I need a break. stringypoo check out their 2020 album if you haven't yet. This record kicks so much ass, I've been spinning it ever since I discovered it: I can't wait to hear your review on this one.
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Post by stringypoo on Sept 23, 2020 6:09:04 GMT -5
I just found out about this record bc a friend posted it on FB and then I searched here - and of course metal- stringypoo knows it too :-D :-D. Very nice record, even though I'm usually almost exclusively listen to HC I think I'll spin this when I need a break. stringypoo check out their 2020 album if you haven't yet. This record kicks so much ass, I've been spinning it ever since I discovered it: I can't wait to hear your review on this one.
Oh the new record is also quite awesome. At this time, I don’t like it quite as much as the other one we were just referencing, but I’ve only listened to the new album 3 times through and I wasn’t really in the mood for it. My general feeling is that the new one goes epic on a different voicing, less epic in riffing and more in atmosphere, while the older one had these epic riff moments that had me replaying sections over and over. I prefer the riffs of the older record at this time. But the band came out really strong again this year for sure!
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Post by Ghostchant on Sept 23, 2020 7:30:31 GMT -5
VOUS AUTRES
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Post by stringypoo on Oct 3, 2020 21:37:37 GMT -5
I just found out about this record bc a friend posted it on FB and then I searched here - and of course metal- stringypoo knows it too :-D :-D. Very nice record, even though I'm usually almost exclusively listen to HC I think I'll spin this when I need a break. stringypoo check out their 2020 album if you haven't yet. This record kicks so much ass, I've been spinning it ever since I discovered it: I can't wait to hear your review on this one.
Yeah, I take back what I said. The new album is superior to the previous one, Kelle Surut Soi. Still, there are moments on the earlier album that belong at the top of their catalogue for me, but the new album is just better. One clear way to call that is that the new album has a way better ending track, minus the obnoxiously long outro that doesn’t accomplish anything. I also really feel the songwriting is more organic here than that of the other. The way riffs transform into new sections is clever here at times. And while both albums have incredibly strong openers, the new one does more than the earlier album opener. The whole call and response Viking choir really does it for me. It’s so freaking cool and metal! The production was perfectly nailed. It has an honest sound...and yet it sometimes sounds absolutely massive. That is the best production job they could hope for. It’s a really solid album. I’ve now listened to it a few times each day recently.
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Post by zelio on Oct 5, 2020 4:35:45 GMT -5
stringypoo check out their 2020 album if you haven't yet. This record kicks so much ass, I've been spinning it ever since I discovered it: I can't wait to hear your review on this one.
Yeah, I take back what I said. The new album is superior to the previous one, Kelle Surut Soi. Still, there are moments on the earlier album that belong at the top of their catalogue for me, but the new album is just better. One clear way to call that is that the new album has a way better ending track, minus the obnoxiously long outro that doesn’t accomplish anything. I also really feel the songwriting is more organic here than that of the other. The way riffs transform into new sections is clever here at times. And while both albums have incredibly strong openers, the new one does more than the earlier album opener. The whole call and response Viking choir really does it for me. It’s so freaking cool and metal! The production was perfectly nailed. It has an honest sound...and yet it sometimes sounds absolutely massive. That is the best production job they could hope for. It’s a really solid album. I’ve now listened to it a few times each day recently. I feel the same way. The new album is highly addictive and perfect in many ways. Yeah the outro is annoying, I hate it when bands put lengthy whatevers on their records bc I listen to music on my bike in traffic and I can't change the track and I'm stuck with whatever weird sounds they play for minute after minute when what I really want is action! I wonder if a follow up record can get even better. The 2020 album will be hard to surpass.
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Post by stringypoo on Jan 13, 2021 5:15:00 GMT -5
Who still likes black metal? I’m in the Metalcrypt forum as well, and I told those longtime metal reviewers that I’ve not had interest in black metal for around 7 years or so, but wished I was more into it, and asked them for some listening suggestions. They gave me a few nice ones and I ended up also finding some on my own that are good. If anyone is still interested, I’ll probably post some stuff I’ve liked from the findings.
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Post by tao on Jan 13, 2021 18:12:12 GMT -5
I’m not particularly a fan per se, but I tend to like some blackgaze at times, and I do enjoy blackened -core and DM.
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Post by stringypoo on Jan 14, 2021 2:28:35 GMT -5
I’m not particularly a fan per se, but I tend to like some blackgaze at times, and I do enjoy blackened -core and DM. Did you by chance hear the 2020 release by Inquisition? I'm not entirely what blackgaze is as a whole, but when I think of it, I do believe the Inquisition record features moments of that quality, without being a blackgaze album. I've listened to that album sooooooo much. If you listen a bit you can hear this isn't your usual black metal album. There are some really unusual features in this band.
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Post by viggosaurus on Jan 14, 2021 4:04:26 GMT -5
Akhlys dropped an amazing bm album 2020. Check it out!
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Post by stringypoo on Jan 14, 2021 9:11:26 GMT -5
Akhlys dropped an amazing bm album 2020. Check it out! Yep, I listened to it last week and I can agree. I like it much more than the previous album.
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Post by tao on Jan 14, 2021 14:41:18 GMT -5
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Post by tucker on Jan 22, 2021 13:15:39 GMT -5
I’m not particularly a fan per se, but I tend to like some blackgaze at times, and I do enjoy blackened -core and DM. Did you by chance hear the 2020 release by Inquisition? I'm not entirely what blackgaze is as a whole, but when I think of it, I do believe the Inquisition record features moments of that quality, without being a blackgaze album. I've listened to that album sooooooo much. If you listen a bit you can hear this isn't your usual black metal album. There are some really unusual features in this band. love inquisition, and black metal as a whole. Def my favorite genre of metal. Unfortunately there aren't too many bands I like these days since it got so oversaturated. I tend to go for the bands that make me feel weird like Thantifaxath. In a typical year I might find one new black metal record I like, this year it was literally just the new Inquisition.
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Post by stringypoo on Jan 24, 2021 7:39:05 GMT -5
Funeral Mist: Okay, I know that when this album came out, viggosaurus and I had made a couple of posts about this album back in 2018 when it came out, but it has been quite some time and I didn't spend a whole lot of time with this album. By the time it came out, I had already become burnt out on black metal. However, I'm revisiting black metal and discovering bands and rediscovering the gems I had. This album has really gone up in value to me, big time! In fact, this is quickly becoming one of my favorite metal albums. The variety of song styles here is incredible. The twists and turns are often unpredictable and simply badass. The vocalist here is the same for Marduk over the last few. years (Marduk is one of the few other black metal bands who doesn't fuck around), and this guy has one of the best voices in black metal in my opinion, if not the best. He has so much range and a large variety of approaches to convey a twisted and sorrowful journey in this album. But here I am attaching the song which most excites me about this band. This is one of the two or three slower songs, and it is just amazing. The way they used the space here is so open, and yet so impactful. The opening drum doesn't build, but rather cycles. While it seems uneventful, listen to the whole sound of the drum, not just the impact. Pay attention to how sounds decay. It's a different kind of atmosphere when discussing black metal. This band does atmospheric without forcing it, and it just comes across in the most organic of ways. One of my top metal songs of all time.
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Post by tucker on Feb 13, 2021 13:51:02 GMT -5
Discovered this band recently, fucking insane. Punks are so fucking good at everything
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Post by stringypoo on Mar 11, 2021 8:47:22 GMT -5
Kjeld: here’s one that would be easy to miss, as I almost have done. This band is from The Netherlands, and this is a great example of a black metal band where the music is actually as interesting as the cover art. It delivers in a big, grandiose way, without sounding sophisticated or over-processed. Vocals are visceral and in a way I’m quite fond of. Musically it is a bit high in the treble voice, but while that sounds like it wouldn’t be good, this actually rips! I’m so stoked I found this. I wouldn’t be surprised if I include it on my year end lists this year. We’ll see how well it stands the test of time.
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