I got the new Opeth album yesterday and after listening to it 3 times i can just say … it's awesome! Considerably better than Heritage, although i also "liked" that album.
Music in 2014
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Pale Communion is definitely a step up from Heritage. I love old school prog and all of the bands Åkerfeldt was trying to throw back to, but I think his dedication to the throw back kind of stifled his creativity and the result was kind of boring. Pale Communion feels like halfway between Heritage and any of Opeth's bigger albums. I enjoyed it, but none of it's really sticking in my mind. I know some people who really love it, though, so I'm probably just insane or something.
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This release was from earlier in the year and it's an EP, but Ghoul is one of my fetish bands so I might as well post this:
I don't think I've seen a concept EP before, but Ghoul delivers. I love their ever-growing dumb metal lore. Image-wise these guys are really Gwar-inspired with more deaththrash and surf rock in their music.
Hoping to see them live this wednesday with Skeletonwitch.
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Some recent releases throughout metal that have been pretty baller:
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Iron Reagan - The Tyranny of Will
A Frankenstein-like beast formed originally by members of Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour, Iron Reagan have been kicking ass crossover-style since 2012. I've been banging my head to them since their first EP and they've just been getting better and better. This second full album of theirs doesn't try to reinvent the wheel and instead slaps four on a van and heads to the liquor store for some fun. Catchy, high-energy and amusing as all hell, definitely worth a spin if you're into dudes like D.R.I., Suicidal Tendencies or Municipal Waste themselves. Or maybe you just want something to wreck shit to. I won't judge and neither will Iron Reagan.
Sample:
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Sólstafir - Ótta
Once blackened Icelandic post-metallers Sólstafir are back to bring the misery. This album was actually my first exposure to the group, which has been around since '95 and has since put out five full-length records including this one, and it's got me looking through the band's backlogs. Progressive, bleak and beautiful, each song is a slow journey through the sands of despair on a stormy day. Fans of Primordial, Agalloch or Enslaved might be into these dudes.
Sample:
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Dying Out Flame - Shiva Rudrastakam The debut album from Nepalian death heads Dying Out Flame laces their brutality with the psychedelic sounds of Hindi folk music. They refer to this combination as Vedic Death Metal. Now, naming your own genre is normally kind of arrogant, but DOF sell their brand with such conviction that you can't help but accept it. The album is gripping from the first sitar riff through the end. The folk-inspiration breathes life into the music instead of dragging it down as a gimmick. If you're a fan of Nile, then you should find the travel a little further to the east very rewarding.
Sample:
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Divider - All Barren
This debut, from Long Islanders Divider, hits like a fist to the face that never leaves. The pain lingers and digs deeper into your flesh as it goes. The music is a blend of metal and hardcore that sounds like this band majored in Converge with a focus on their heavier side and not the math. The result is something dark, oppressive, hopeless and violent, like a cornered wolf snarling as it's about to make a last stand. Just when things are at their bleakest, though, the album ends with some release in the form of the grungy "Silently Marching," which still is drowned in darkness by the end. True despair comes with the death of hope, as they say. You'll dig this if you like the 'Jane Doe' title track side of Converge. -
Thank you for Dying out Flame Wagomu! That's something to hear, until my new 1349 arrives
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New FlyLo!! Checking it out
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I really like Stirring of of FlyLo's new album. Only 30 seconds though haha
And apparently The Bilinda Butchers released an album this year. Digging their single off of it. That dream pop's pretty groovy
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Devin Townsend's Z2 leaked and it is hella fun. Counting it as two separate albums, this makes 3 full great releases by Devin this year. Dude's crazy.
I've got a bunch of other albums on the mind that I'll probably post within the next few days plus a slightly more in depth on this double record, but I just had to post what was currently filling my earholes.
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Close to finishing Owen Pallett - In Conflict and it's great. Might replace another album in my top 5 or 10 of this year.
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Yeah, I really enjoyed that one. Not my favorite by the dude, but when the mood strikes that album is a force.
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Just finished Rome - A Passage to Rhodesia. Loved it, though I think he could have gotten away with explicitly saying "Rhodesia" less. That got kind of repetitive. I'm starting to have trouble keeping any order of how much I like albums since so many I'm listening to are so good.
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Two new St. Vincent songs
http://mexicoindie.net/2014/11/escucha-dos-canciones-nuevas-de-st-vincent/
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We're coming towards the year's end, so I'd better start posting about some good things. Here's a few more 2014 releases I've been listening to:
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Full of Hell & Merzbow - Full of Hell & Merzbow
I've always been on the fence about Merzbow, the bigger of the two names on this collab. Noise can be great, harsh and meditative, but Merzbow's released so many variations on the same thing and 276 studio albums (not to mention live albums, EPs and other goodies) into his career we get the fucking point. This isn't a Merzbow record. This is much more a Full of Hell record. Full of Hell have been making waves in the grind/powerviolence scene with their fresh intensity and it is on their battlefield that Merzbow's noise finds meaning. The addition of noisy tones and atmosphere helps make this FoH's most interesting release yet, letting the full force of the band hit so much harder, instead of just holding it back. This is especially noticeable in the last three tracks, where things grind to a droning halt, then something snaps on the last track and we're full of hell once again.
Whole album (only just over 20 minutes and I can't think of listening to it any other way than together)
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Panopticon - Roads to the North
The latest release from Kentucky-fried black metal group (well, okay, it's one person) Panopticon. Panopticon are another atmospheric black metal band . That particular label has gotten somewhat bloated within the last decade, but Panopticon distinguishes itself by taking influence from American bluegrass. Roads to the North finds Panopticon widening the scope of its influences and sounds to not only include more American folk elements (including some Native American folk along with the bluegrass-fueled stuff), but also traces of post-rock and even death metal. And it all fits together cohesively. The softer tangents never feel like they don't belong, but serve the music just as well as the harder hitting elements. Roads to the North can be just as beautiful and introspective as it is at times dark and brooding. This is a really brilliant and diverse addition to the genre.
Sample (full album for the full picture would be best, but the entire thing clocks in at just over 70 minutes):
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Couch Slut - My Life as a Woman
This debut from female-fronted noise rock/sludge metal act Couch Slut is full of piss and doesn't let you escape without getting some of that splashed in your eyes. This album can feel just as much parts Jesus Lizard as it can Eyehategod. This album is concentrated resentment, heavy and pounding on your ears. Sometimes the mixture of influences can dilute things a bit, but this album is full of interesting ideas and I can't wait to see where this band goes from here.
Bandcamp page (NSFW album cover and can't find good samples elsewhere)
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Close to the end of Andrew Bird's new album and it seems quite a bit different to be compared to his last album. Not exactly sure what it is about it. Sounds more folky or something. Not bad though but I prefer the stuff he was doing before.
Edit: Both Eno and Hyde collab albums were great. Not sure which one I like more but I'll probably want to put one of them on my final AOTY list.
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Kinda diggin the Rose EP by The Front Bottoms
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So Nickel Creek and Wildbirds and Peacedrums both released new albums this year and I somehow didn't know until now. In the middle of Nickel Creek's right now and it's pretty good so far.
Also just listened to Fire! Orchestra - Enter. Enjoyed it.