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Rusty Kettle posted:I would say that Devin Townsend's Deconstruction certainly qualifies for album of the year. Some tracks are stronger than others, and people tend to be torn how he chooses to portray his message (through farts), but it is overall the very solid and original musically. I'm with you on that one. Although the new Wolves in the Throne Room still needs to be released, and unless it's a steaming pile, it might overtake my love for Devy's latest. The new Fear Factory is kicking me around like a lame puppy. I've never been that familiar with them, but this latest offering is absolutely killer! (I figure I'll post about it here rather than the industrial thread because that one's way more geared to purely electronic music). E: And since apparently "folk metal owns", the metal website/festival organiser I work for recently hosted these guys from upcountry in Gauteng, Balyios. After hearing them I'm quite annoyed that they didn't feature on the Ensiferum tour dates down here, since they are a much better shoo-in then the other bands that were on the bill(s). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdlSmDqR1G They're still pretty young and their influences are obvious, but it's better than most of the crappy deathcore nonsense coming out of this country at the moment. Radio Paranoia fucked around with this message at 12:25 on Aug 29, 2011 |
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Aug 29, 2011 12:17
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thepitgoddess posted:I kind of love Cradle's From the Cradle to Enslaved video. I think it's fun, even though everyone hates Cradle now. I also think Singapore's Rudra has epic cheesy videos, like Immortal, but about Hindu myths. As hokey as they are, Cradle have always had good production values for their videos. Dimmu Borgir too. Emperor's clip for "Empty" was pretty solid, and most of Swallow the Sun's videos, while confusing as hell, are beautifully shot. I also enjoyed Finntroll's "Under Bergens Rot" video, cos it was... umm... cute?
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Aug 30, 2011 06:34
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IRQ posted:What, is there no boring soulless crap thread? Why do people hate on Opeth so much? Say what you will about them, Akerfeldt is a drat good songwriter and their live lineup is one of the most solid in the biz. He's also humble while still commanding an air of arrogance. Watching documentaries and interviews makes him seem like the coolest guy to hang out with. Granted, their popularity has EXPLODED recently and they seem to be a token band for a lot of insufferable metal kiddies, but they're pretty good at what they do regardless of whether you like the music or not.
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Sep 1, 2011 09:48
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QPZIL posted:Is it okay if I stop the last.fm circlejerk? Preordered the other day!  I dig it, but it's a heady piece of work. It's got a lot less hooks than their previous albums, but so much more depth and atmosphere. That being said, for seven tracks instead of the usual four it feels loving short.
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Sep 6, 2011 14:07
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Dead Man Posting posted:It's odd that the 10 minute songs go by extremely fast and the 5 minute ones go on forever. Now that you mention it, you're totally right. I suppose the longer songs are less repetitive and meditative?
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Sep 6, 2011 15:34
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Sir Xiphos posted:Shameless band promotion ahead. Not my band but really, really good nonetheless: You know, I've never understood the hype about Cormorant (and it's not due to my band being in a UG competition against them a while back). The "progressive" aspects really boil down to disjointed and the vocalist sounds like he's hurting himself. The few tracks of theirs I heard off their previous album had pretty mediocre production too. I think lately "progressive" is a word being thrown around to compensate for poor songwriting. A lot of "progressive" bands seem to just jump all over the place and there's no room made for actual songwriting. Or maybe I just don't get it.
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Sep 17, 2011 13:42
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If anybody's in the California area, keep an eye out for my fellow countrymen, Contrast the Water. The whole band relocated to the states this month as part of some sort of musician "refugee" movement - which I don't really agree with but whatever. v vThey play groovy death metal and have already released two albums over their career. Good friends of my band and along with Mind Assault are one of the top metal bands in the country. They're also going to be part of the D.R.I reunion shows at the end of the year. If I hear of any more concrete dates I'll post them here. "Washing the Spears" off their latest LP, Perseverance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTQqsJNSHjk
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Sep 19, 2011 07:35
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Monkeytime posted:Can you elaborate on this? I can't imagine them qualifying for actual refugee status (they're from South Africa, not Zimbabwe or Syria), so are you referring to some sort of "everyone move to the States" movement? It's kind of complicated, but the vocalist, Barry was assaulted outside the club he owned down here a while back in a robbery gone wrong. It left him in a critical condition and very shaken up (as well as his whole family). They went through this group A.F.A.R. (Alliance for Artist Rescue) who have helped out guys in Acrassicauda and a dude from Iran. Apparently they're basically on a "holiday" there and are completely at the mercy of the people hosting them with regards to money etc. They cannot earn money so any proceeds they make from gigs obviously go into someone else's account. They've effectively relocated but are far from being US citizens. I find it a bit of a sore point because Barry's situation was a bit of a freak incident. Contrary to what A.F.A.R's Facebook page and a lot of privileged white people down here will tell you, we are not under siege or "at risk" any more than anyone else. The write up on their page about South Africa is kind of disgusting really. But hey, they took the opportunity and now they are on the cusp of really going places up there, so they have my support.
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Sep 19, 2011 16:07
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I still get uncomfortable thinking that I once had Buchenwald Oven (unknowingly) on my computer. 
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Sep 19, 2011 22:26
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Defiant Sally posted:I've never really listened to most of Devin Townsends stuff, and I know there's a lot. Wheres a good place to start? Strapping Young Lad's discography is a good place to begin, since it's the most "metal". Then you've got his solo stuff (under his own name) which is a little more varied. Definitely make time to listen to Ziltoid the Omniscient before digging into the Devin Townsend Project stuff!
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Sep 27, 2011 07:30
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I really hope this means they'll have a slot at Roadburn. I really want to go next year and I think if it's my last chance to see WITTR then I will simply have to!
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Oct 14, 2011 13:32
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thepitgoddess posted:Nasum is going to do some farewell shows with the singer of Rotten Sound. A buddy of mine is going to poo poo himself over this news. It was announced today that In Flames are going to be playing Ramfest here in South Africa. There's the usual annual complaining shitstorm anytime Ramfest announces ANYTHING, but at the end of the day it's an international metal band coming to SA, which is rare, to say the least. I'm going regardless because In Flames were responsible for me getting into metal back in the day, so I want to know if their live show is any good. I know the lineup is a shadow of what it once was, not to mention the new material, but I'm hopeful. There's a chance I could interview them too.
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Oct 27, 2011 14:19
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Non Serviam posted:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g8ykQLYnX0&feature=related Gotta agree. I hate her poppish waggling around, but at least they seem to be writing songs that fit her vocal style.
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Nov 10, 2011 11:51
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I'm slated to do an interview with Fleshgod Apocalypse in the next few weeks before their tour to South Africa in March. Does anybody have any questions they'd like to ask?
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Jan 11, 2012 12:15
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The Capitulator posted:I got one - can they please visit us in the Middle East (Dubai is perfect but I guess anywhere close will also do) on the way back from SA? They've got at least 2 fans here! Believe me, I know the feeling. We've got FGA and In Flames coming here first quarter, but that's about it. Announced so far anyway, but my hopes are not high.
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Jan 12, 2012 19:53
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The Capitulator posted:Any decent SA bands one should be aware of? I go down there once a year or so, will probably be in Joburg in December. I saw a bunch of emo-ish bands on Long Street in Cape Town last November, but nothing proper. I was planning a big effortpost about SA metal for when a friends' band in Durban released their album, but it's apparently fallen through so I should probably go ahead and do it now. Well, on Monday when I'm back at work. That said, the majority of the local scene is filled with metalcore poo poo, but there are some real diamonds hiding out here. Anybody interested?
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Jan 14, 2012 22:45
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Monkeytime posted:Is the metal community in South Africa multiracial, or is it mostly white? Are you aware of scenes in other African countries? It's predominantly white, but there is a growing black and coloured culture slowly creeping in. My band's first bassist was coloured, and there are vibrant metal scenes in Botswana and Mozambique. Hellwuzzat posted:And do they bust out indigenous sound a la Sepultura? You know, this is something that I wish they WOULD do more often. A friend of mine wants to start an Afrikaner folk metal band, which would be an awesome idea (and probably end up sounding like Korpiklaani) but so far I haven't really noticed anything like this, short of a few references in Contrast the Water's lyrics. Anyway, without further ado...  SOUTH AFRICAN METAL MEGAPOST When I'm not staring at lines of code for my work, I do the same for (as well as help to run) Metal4Africa.com. We're a Cape Town based site that focusses on African metal bands and as a result, I've got my ear pretty close to the scene. We also run a bi-annual festival (Summer/Winterfest) where we try to showcase bands that really stand out on the local scene. That being said, there is a vertiable boatload of poo poo with metalcore and it's derivatives clogging up the arteries of an already withering scene, and as a result I don't really go to gigs unless I want to see a specific band. However there are a few diamonds in the rough that I will do my best to see any time they're in Cape Town. If anybody's got any questions after reading though this list, feel free to ask!  Cape TownMind Assault - melodic death metal One of the longest running, hardest working bands on the Cape Town scene, these guys do what they do well and are the most "South African" sounding active band. Lots of Gothenburg influence and the vocals switch between English and Afrikaans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85oIWLjGZ04 Their EP, "Metal Rites" is available for free here. Wildernessking - black metal (formerly Heathens) Currently my favourite band and possibly one of the best this country has produced. Drudkh / Enslaved / Wolves in the Throne Room inspired black metal with a heavy dose of Cult of Luna atmospherics. This is one of the few bands on this list that has the potential to really go somewhere and get out of the black hole that is the SA metal scene. You can stream their whole album over at Lurker ahead of it's February release. Strident - power metal Very tongue in cheek, cheesy and over-the-top power metal in the vein of Manowar (Actually, the whole band WORSHIPS Manowar). They released a full-length last year, "Oath" and it's pretty good (if a little derivative). They made a really budget music video for their song "Power Metal From Space" in which they blow up Table Mountain (yes, THE Table Mountain). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpQnvM08HZc K.O.B.U.S - thrash metal While these guys don't play nearly as often as they should, they have a cult following and put on one hell of a show when they do play. Dubbing themselves "swaarmetaal" (black metal), it's really more thrashy, but to the average conservative Afrikaner, it must terrify them to see and hear something like this. Francois is an amazing frontman too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYFn9xiavVs Suiderbees - symphonic death metal A relatively young band, but they had one of the most professional sounding demos I've heard from the local scene. While I think they're still honing their skills and trying to create a cohesive sound they have a lot of potential. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ0uQXQ9UVE A Walk With the Wicked - groove metal Blatant plug for my band, playing groovy death metal with a lot of Entombed influence. We released a six track EP last year and right now things are in flux a little because our lead guitarist has emigrated to Norway (but still wants to collaborate). Finding the right people to keep things afloat has been downright impossible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QWOwqrSFio Johannesburg / PretoriaWarthane - black metal Thrashy black metal in the vein of Satyricon. They just released their first full length since their whole sound/image evolved, "Black Divine" and it got a favorable review over at metal4africa.com. A little too wordy for me, but still a very professional sounding and looking band. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLAS_G7NBVg Bile of Man - brutal death metal One of my favourite local death metal bands; these guys have a heavy Fleshgod Apocalypse / Origin influence and it shows. Their live shows are intense (with the crowd ripping apart a chickenwire stage fence last time we played with them. They also released an EP last year and I really enjoyed it, despite not being the biggest brutal death fan outside of the usual staples (Cannibal Corpse etc.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiXywxq2ls8 Architecture of Aggression - brutal death metal Another brutal death metal band but with a more old-school, Deicide approach. At present they are only a two man band, yet still perform live and it's impressive to say the least. They've released a couple fo albums and EP's and as far as I know they're all available for free. http://architectureofaggression.bandcamp.com/ Juggernaught - southern rock/metal While not strictly "metal", these guys have the attitude to make up for it. Very Down inspired southern rock with the occasional metal flourish or riff. They put on a good show and their music is perfect for driving. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGLFvbTlQok DurbanTheatre Runs Red - black metal I'm rather out of touch with the Durban scene of late, but these guys stand out immensely. Featuring viscious female vocals and a really good sensibility when it comes to atmospherics and pacing, they are a monster of a live band and I'm fortune enough to be seeing them when they play at Metal4Africa's Summerfest later this month. Sadly, there's no good footage of these guys online and their demo's got scrapped. I'll try and get some footage or audio at Summerfest. Honourable MentionsContrast the Water - death metal This band was originally Durban-based, but after their vocalist got his poo poo hosed up in a botched robbery, they made a plan to relocate to the US and they're currently based in Oakland, CA. Very groovy metal with a thrash influence, they have two albums out, the latest of which you can get for free from their Bandcamp. http://contrastthewater.bandcamp.com/album/perseverance Sacryphyx - death metal While no longer active (they evolved into The Warinsane who are good, but unremarkable) they can say that they played the biggest metal festival in the world, Wacken. As far as I know, some members are STILL paying off the debt incurred to get to Germany. V.O.D - thrash metal V.O.D were one of the first South African metal bands and one of the longest running. Their album Bloedrivier (Blood River) is considered a seminal SA metal album. They recently did a reunion show and while these guys are all on the bad side of 40, they put on one hell of a performance. Funnily enough, the vocalist for the goth rock/industrial band I'm playing bass for was their old vocalist before Francois (now of Kobus) took over. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ0d74_3bXw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pysbKy8Wf2Q Wrust - thrash metal While not South African, Botswana's Wrust are absolutely brilliant at what they do. Considering the adverse location, the fact that they're producing such solid metal is really inspiring. Taking lots of influence from Sepultura, these guys managed to whip the crowd into a frenzy at one Metal4Africa festival after just one song (and they don't come down here often, so most of the people were complete virgins). These videos don't actually do them justice! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR70byTwMOs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNV6yUhV7uc Radio Paranoia fucked around with this message at 08:57 on Jan 16, 2012 |
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Jan 16, 2012 08:53
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baby duck hat posted:Just wanted to say thanks to whoever recommended Woods of Desolation a few pages back....sorry I cannot remember and can't find the original post.... but wow, this song! I really love this band. It seems anything the guys who did Austere touch turns to gold!
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Jan 19, 2012 10:21
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baby duck hat posted:Agreed! Check out Grey Waters too. It's a little more Katatonia-like and the vocals are more like Austere's cleans, but it's also got that bleak air about it.
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Jan 19, 2012 16:04
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Interesting, I'd previously heard Austere but didn't realise the bands were related.
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I listened to the new Cannibal Corpse track "Torture" the other day and was quite impressed. Evisceration Plague was the album that actually made me start taking the band seriously, and it's nice to hear them experimenting a little bit with this new track white Gojira-esque whale noises et al.
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Jan 20, 2012 10:03
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Objurium posted:WITTR just loving destroyed LA. Took a ton of pictures and got some great shots, will post them up soon if anyone's interested. It was sort of like experiencing the background drone of the earth be channeled into a wall of collapsing sound through sonic shamanism. I have the biggest hardon for WITTR and will probably never get to see them live so I'd love for you to post these pictures!
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Jan 27, 2012 15:43
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Packard Goose posted:Thanks! I wrote those guys down and will stay a while, and listen! I forgot to mention I also dig Novembers Doom, which is apparently aptly named because they're Doom Metal! I like the sound and tonality but the emo lyrics can take a hike. If you like the sound, but not the lyrics maybe check out Swallow the Sun? Also a little self-indulgent in places, but their first three albums are really solid.
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Jan 30, 2012 11:08
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rargphlam posted:On the subject of folk metal, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Windir yet. I'm not too clear on the hard definitions, but I want to say they're black-folk (Gr31lly please don't kill me). For all the noise created around Windir I've never found then that interesting. It feels like proto-folk without the melodic sensibility. Please tell me I'm doing something wrong.
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Jan 30, 2012 22:26
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This past weekend we had our annual Metal4Africa Summerfest and the one band that really impressed me was Megalodon. It was their first live show, but the anticipation from the crowd was palpable. It helps that they put on a good show too. It's blatant Meshuggah worship, a little too much so in places, but they make up for that by being the only band in South Africa doing that style. The recordings are alright except for the vocals, where I think the guy was trying to imitate Jens Kidman instead of doing his own thing (which he did on Saturday).
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Jan 31, 2012 09:10
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MrBling posted:Remember when they were Demoniac? An actual good (well, decent at least) band. Hah, Diccon Harper from Voice of Destruction down here played for them!
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Feb 3, 2012 20:50
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Misogynist posted:Please tell me there's a pic of this guy modelling a Burzum shirt.
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Feb 3, 2012 23:38
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llama_arse posted:Can one of you fine gentlemen recommend me some bands with sci-fi themed/inspired lyrics a la Voivod, Hypocrisy and The Faceless? Not death metal in the slightest, but Symphony X's latest album is pretty sci-fi. Also, while it's an instrumental album, Amogh Symphony's Quantum Hack Code has a decent sci-fi story in the narration. The music is also exactly what I imagine warring computer systems to sound like.
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Feb 5, 2012 16:52
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I'm listening to Falloch's Where Distant Spirits Remain and it's an absolutely beautiful album! It's sort of like if you removed the French-ness from Alcest. Also, for those who asked about Wildernessking a while back, their label, Antithetic Records are running a fundraiser for the vinyl release. It's basically a donation-preorder thing and it's a pretty nice way to support the band. If you like what you've heard, I'm sure it would mean a lot to the band and the label. (I hope this doesn't come off as soliciting, but if it is, I'll remove it.)
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Feb 6, 2012 09:20
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The Clit Avoider posted:Ozzy was apparently able to perform admirably at Hellfest when he played it in the not so distant past. And considering some of the states I've seen people in 20min before they're due to play, mental faculties aren't really 100% required. Especially after doing it for so long. I've got off stage with the biggest "what did I just do for 30 minutes" feeling numerous times and I never play intoxicated. It's like full-body muscle memory.
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Feb 8, 2012 11:15
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Have any reasons been given for Ward not being involved? Did he do anything to warrant a "firing"? I love Sharon Osbourne's personality outside of Ozzy/Sabbath related poo poo, but this is just ridiculous.
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Feb 8, 2012 18:40
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I saw Fleshgod Apocalypse last Wednesday and while I was on the fence about them before, I'm definitely a fan now! Their performance was great and the sound was top notch. Normally the venue that they played at has terrible sound because they usually only have indie bands there, but it really was great. It was also good that it seemed like Cape Town had the best turnout for their week-long tour which was comforting (our crowds are normally fickle as hell). I also did an interview with them (up on https://www.metal4africa.com) but it was last minute and done at the bottom of the band-entrance stairwell next to a huge generator, so I had to drop a couple of questions due to not being able to hear poo poo.
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Apr 2, 2012 13:37
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Vintersorg posted:2001 me, "Man, if only metal was more popular" I really want to know what Dying Fetus are doing there. It doesn't seem like their sort of thing at all.
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Apr 3, 2012 08:24
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Down owns.  m-o-o-n posted:What, playing for an audience of meatheads? I hate to break this to you, but I never said they were good, but compared to the rest of that lineup...
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Apr 3, 2012 20:41
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Trees and Squids posted:Also, upon further inspection, this is one of the shittiest pieces of album art I've seen in awhile. You obviously didn't see the art for their last album.
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Apr 5, 2012 20:24
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Out of curiosity, has anyone in the California area seen my buddys' band, Contrast the Water live? They've semi-relocated there from South Africa on some sort of refugee program ( ) and they have pretty much been playing non-stop.
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Apr 11, 2012 08:45
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Corvinus posted:I'm a page late, but once you get past the first two songs (which could easily fit in with the Ultra Beatdown/Inhuman Rampage albums), the rest is pretty loving good. Their new vocalist isn't too shabby either. I was a fan of ZP (mostly due to unnatural patriotism) but the new guy definitely had the chops and the presence. I watched the video for the first single off the album and was actually quite impressed by the maturity of the band. It's a lot more anthemic and less wanky.
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Apr 11, 2012 20:43
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m-o-o-n posted:Hey here's a small sampler of what my band (Cult of Endtime) has been up to: drat, I really like this (and the Nuclear Witch EP)! Are you the new singer from Bloodbath now that Mikeal's left? Because you're an absolute shoo-in!
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Apr 16, 2012 08:55
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IRQ posted:I loving love Primordial but what on earth do they classify themselves as? I'm pretty sure the fall under the very broad "pagan metal" moniker, which can be anything from the folkiest of folk to <b>Unleashed</b>.
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Apr 17, 2012 14:01
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Wyllt posted:If you get down with them some other newer bands I would recommend are Nails, Enabler and especially Trap Them. Go forth and rage my friend I'm not familiar with Enabler, but I can definitely vouch for Trap Them and Nails. Unsilent Death is possibly one of the roughest, ugliest albums I've ever heard - that first track hits like a sledgehammer.
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Oct 17, 2012 12:35
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Frank Caskelot posted:I'm with you on this one, only I don't think there were that many cool melodic ideas. It rather sounded like someone mashed together Nightwish and some generic melodeath band and fed them amphetamines. And so it continues to boggle my mind that most people I know who listen to metal at all seem to like Wintersun. I had the same reaction. My friends were going crazy about it and while I liked the original self-titled album there is none of that energy in this new one. There's way too much going on and the Nightwish over-production is palpable. I think it suffers from Duke Nukem Forever syndrome in that the production time was so long it a) is no longer relevant and b) got completely lost along the way. On the plus side, the new Anaal Nathrakh is great!
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Oct 18, 2012 08:00
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