This could be a bit of an anything thread but might be a bit of fun. From time to time I have been known to get a notion (some might say my notions are my most defining characteristic), my mind will fixate on a band, often out of the blue, and I have to just follow the trail with eyes ablaze. In the past half an hour or so I find myself having slipped under the thrall of Sabbat from Japan. I just saw them mentioned on another forum and that was it, my brain has clicked into Sabbat mode. I have been aware of their existence for around 20 years with no particular interest beyond admiring some of their artwork from time to time. Usually when I see a band with ten thousand releases under their belt I swerve past them, and that's been the case with Sabbat up until now. All of a sudden I'm searching to see what's available to buy and planning an assault on my next pay check all in the name of Japanese black thrash!
Anyone else here find themselves randomly falling under the spell of bands with no particular explanation? Which bands are you obsessed by and have to get your hands on every shitty little release they put out? Or any other strange metal related obsessive behaviour, from the zeal of helpless fandom to personal creative rituals or beyond?
Just what sort of weirdos am I spending too much time in the online company of?
Edit. I just hit play on The Dwelling based purely on the savage artwork. Fuck! How have I never heard this before...
Just jumping in to say, listen to Evil. Possessed by Evil!!! Frantic, japtrash.
Another band I've overlooked entirely but am familiar with them only in terms of logo and artwork. I'll get on it.
I've done this, to a degree
Power Trip
Fontaines DC
Carpenters
Nils Frahm
I like a few songs, then ... I go apeshit, and just start buying shed loads
Generally it works out well :)
Quote from: Jward on May 07, 2023, 01:50:10 PMI've done this, to a degree
Power Trip
Fontains DC
Carpenters
Nils Frahm
I like a few songs, then ... I go apeshit, and just start buying shed loads
Generally it works out well :)
I've done with these in the past
Darkthrone
Wolves In The Throne Room
Tribulation
Luckily too :)
Nine Inch Nails
Peter Gabriel
The Cure
There's three off the top of my head but there's surely more
The lockdowns drove me to this with a few bands I'd been into a bit, but then dove down the rabbit hole:
The Cure
Enslaved
Candlemass
Solstice
Actually Enslaved was another one but that was going back a good bit. I'd heard them first with Isa and couldn't get enough, then Ruun kept it going but it fell away altogether after that to the extent I don't even check out their new stuff anymore but by god when they were good they were great
Killing Joke, a few years ago. I don't know why but they suddenly clicked with me and I couldn't get enough, started buying up the back-catalogue and even flew to Germany alone to see them (it didn't hurt that Voivod and Therapy? were also playing the same city within a few days of each other).
As a young man, after seeing them support FNM, Prong could do no wrong ( up until they actually started doing wrong with some of the more forgettable recent albums. I bought everythibg I could lay my hands on from them, all kinds of shit.
I avoided Sabbat as well for years because I thought they were Nunslaughter level bollocks with all the releases. How wrong I was! Class band.
Probably the only band I've obsessed over to an excessive level was Morbid Angel. Discovered them around 15/16 and immediately bought everything of theirs I could get my hands on. Buying music online was a bit new to me at that stage so whatever I couldn't find in HMV I ordered through the music shops in Ennis, took weeks and I'd say they fleeced me too :laugh: I spent hours obsessing over drawing the logo exactly right on every surface possible, poring over band photos, lyrics... This was before I knew who the genitorturers were of course, and I had no clue most of the band were odd as fuck. Good times though. Don't have the money to buy back catalogues these days, which is a depressing thought.
I've been dipping my toe into Archspire for years and years, and never really enjoyed the vocals.
Stuck on their most recent album there the other week with another notion of "maybe they'll click this time". To my own surpsie, they did.
End result is it's all I've been able to listen to for the last fortnight.
Quote from: Bürggermeister on May 07, 2023, 03:35:31 PMKilling Joke, a few years ago. I don't know why but they suddenly clicked with me and I couldn't get enough, started buying up the back-catalogue and even flew to Germany alone to see them (it didn't hurt that Voivod and Therapy? were also playing the same city within a few days of each other).
As a young man, after seeing them support FNM, Prong could do no wrong ( up until they actually started doing wrong with some of the more forgettable recent albums. I bought everythibg I could lay my hands on from them, all kinds of shit.
Shit, there's another two I forgot!
Agreed about Prong though they're fairly pointless these days
Quote from: Eoin McLove on May 07, 2023, 11:12:06 AMThis could be a bit of an anything thread but might be a bit of fun. From time to time I have been known to get a notion (some might say my notions are my most defining characteristic), my mind will fixate on a band, often out of the blue, and I have to just follow the trail with eyes ablaze. In the past half an hour or so I find myself having slipped under the thrall of Sabbat from Japan. I just saw them mentioned on another forum and that was it, my brain has clicked into Sabbat mode. I have been aware of their existence for around 20 years with no particular interest beyond admiring some of their artwork from time to time. Usually when I see a band with ten thousand releases under their belt I swerve past them, and that's been the case with Sabbat up until now. All of a sudden I'm searching to see what's available to buy and planning an assault on my next pay check all in the name of Japanese black thrash!
Anyone else here find themselves randomly falling under the spell of bands with no particular explanation? Which bands are you obsessed by and have to get your hands on every shitty little release they put out? Or any other strange metal related obsessive behaviour, from the zeal of helpless fandom to personal creative rituals or beyond?
Just what sort of weirdos am I spending too much time in the online company of?
Edit. I just hit play on The Dwelling based purely on the savage artwork. Fuck! How have I never heard this before...
Make this into a Japanese Metal obsession and go check Rommel's "Indiscriminata Attack" I II and III demos. I was fairly obsessed with these releases at some stage.
Oh yeah, I've checked them out before. I can't remember much about how they sound but they certainly looked interesting :laugh:
For years I knew the name Sodom but had only ever heard the COF cover of Sodomy And Lust but never bothered with Sodom.
Last year or late 2021 one of Thomas Erikson's guests on his podcast was going about Sodom so I checked them out.
Holy shitballs. Those first 3 or 4 releases are brilliant. Blew me away. Some of the newer stuff is only fair but the 2 eps, Persecution Mania, Agent Orange.. all killer. I'm constantly searching for on original shirt from those albums but the prices..
Bejaysus by the sound of It I'll have to have a delve into Sodom myself, never heard a note of their music but whenever I saw band pics on mags or the like I thought the looked like a pack of tits and wrote them off.
Re. obsessions - not metal, but when I was a young lad I did a year or more listening to nothing, and I mean nothing, but The Doors.
Pleasure To Kill is seen as THE German thrash album but for me it's Persecution Mania. That and In The Sign Of Evil are untouchable. Never liked Obsessed By Cruelty for some reason.
For me last year it was Primordial. A band that never clicked with me years back and I kind of ignored, saw they were playing in Dublin and I delved into them big time. Have most of their albums and would rank them up there with my favourite bands ever.
A few years ago when Malthusian were preparing to record Across Deaths I got it into my head that I NEEDED a Gibson V... The first one I tried was a white beauty and I loved it but felt maybe it's a bit rock n roll for me. The following week I tried out a black and white one, which was also beautiful, but as I was playing it I couldn't help thinking the white one was so damn sexy. It was on my mind the whole time, haha. I couldn't deny my true love and bought that white beauty. It still gives me a little buzz when I take it out of its case.
Quote from: Circlepit on May 07, 2023, 11:20:20 PMHoly shitballs. Those first 3 or 4 releases are brilliant. Blew me away. Some of the newer stuff is only fair but the 2 eps, Persecution Mania, Agent Orange.. all killer. I'm constantly searching for on original shirt from those albums but the prices..
M-16 is also very good :abbath:
Oh, and then there was the time I stalked and killed Bono. Or was in Enya. Anyway, it was one of The Beatles.
Quote from: Carnage on May 08, 2023, 12:58:49 AMPleasure To Kill is seen as THE German thrash album but for me it's Persecution Mania. That and In The Sign Of Evil are untouchable. Never liked Obsessed By Cruelty for some reason.
Kreator fall into the same category for me. Know the name, know they are well respected and Pleasure To Kill is seen as a stone cold classic.
After hearing it in the Netflix show Dark I looked into them.
I didn't and still don't get anything from them. Same with Destruction.
Sodom are just head and shoulders above them. The sound alone is absolutely razor sharp.
The riffs and vocal delivery are excellent as well.
As a young buck I loved Kreator. I think they had 3 really good albums in a row there in the 80s. Yere being harsh
I remember going to see Sodom when they played the Music Centre about 10 years ago. Never listened to them before but thought they were brilliant and meant to check out their stuff, but still haven't got around to it
Quote from: Trev on May 08, 2023, 12:13:23 PMI remember going to see Sodom when they played the Music Centre about 10 years ago. Never listened to them before but thought they were brilliant and meant to check out their stuff, but still haven't got around to it
Unobsessed by Cruelty!
Back to my Sabbat education. I've got Sabbatrinity from 2011 on now and, fuck me, it sounds like Brocas Helm gone black thrash. What a ripper.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I think Renewal is Kreator's best album. Less unpopular would be Agent Orange being Sodom's best.
Wonder how much of that is Frank Blackfire playing on both (although both bands were still great at various points without him).
Quote from: Don Gately on May 08, 2023, 11:32:30 AMAs a young buck I loved Kreator. I think they had 3 really good albums in a row there in the 80s. Yere being harsh
It's not that I think Kreator are poor.
When I put them beside Sodom they kind of fade.
Keeping with the thread theme Sodom are the ones who made me really want to get as much of their back catalogue as I can.
Normally seeing such an extensive back catalogue I don't bother going through it.
Ok so mine so far haven't been terribly metal and this one is no exception:
Lol anyway it's Radiohead. Picked up Hail to the Thief a few years ago in Dealz for 1.50 and was so impressed that I suddenly couldn't get enough of this band that I'd actively despised for over two decades. Have all the stuff now except for Pablo Honey because it's shit but I fucking love all the rest of it, in spite of its Tom-Dunne-Ness. I even have the Thom Yorke solo stuff on CD here and that's also very very good stuff.
I definitely never saw that coming
Last year I went through this weird period where I must have listened to The Last Day by Messiah Force at least once a day for about 6 months. Don't know what I was going through but I've never done that with an album I don't think.
Also not sure if it's an obsession but it's gotten to the point where the only thing I can listen to in the gym is War Cul Supremacy by conqueror, I've tried so many other things but I always come back to it like some sort of weird soothing frantic white noise.
Quote from: Ducky on May 08, 2023, 04:02:45 PMProbably an unpopular opinion, but I think Renewal is Kreator's best album. Less unpopular would be Agent Orange being Sodom's best.
I agree with you, Renewal is the best thing they ever did. There's nothing quite like it, either by them or anyone else. It was amazing to read, in the liner notes of the recent reissue, that part of the reason was that Frank refused to tune down. He plays in standard tuning throughout so was forced to play something different to Mille almost all the time which, now that I know about it, makes so much sense why that album sounds the way it does. I love their earlier stuff but Renewal just has a unique vibe to it which they have never bettered. SodomI can take or leave. Agent Orange was ok but they're nothing special to me.
Another obsession of mine... Cynic. I first read about them in a Metal Forces pre-Human interview with Chuck, where he discussed the Spiritual Healing lineup falling apart and how he had gotten the best musicians in Florida to record this new, aggressive music. I was intrigued. As a result, I picked up Testimony of the Ancients and Unquestionable Presence, too, on the strength of them featuring one of the Cynic lads, based on the logic that "if they're good enough for Chuck..." These were the pre-internet days where you couldn't just listen to anything, anytime. Many purchases were made based on something I read, word of mouth, thanks lists or even someone, in a band I liked, wearing a band t-shirt in a picture. Human, UP and TOTA are still among my favourite albums to this day. I still remember the bitterness of opening the inlay to Individual Thought Patterns and finding out Reinert and Masvidal weren't on it. In fact, I'm not sure I ever got over that 😂
When Focus eventually came out, it was like nothing I had ever heard and the Cynic associated albums were among my main listening material through the dark musical wastelands of the mid-to-late 90's. Since then, I have continued to pick up anything featuring any of them. As the internet became a thing, finding out about Imperial Doom and On The Seventh Day... and being able to get those CDs on e-bay, learning about Portal and Gordian Knot, then Aeon Spoke, the joy of it all. That fucking Aghora album, when I found out about it, was like a light in the dark. The Cynical Sphere became invaluable and great to see there were other people out there who shared the obsession.
The reunion has delivered in spades and I'll pick up whatever comes out, be it new stuff or remixes, even though the post-Reinert and Malone years just won't be the same. Cynic is essential.
At the start of this year I was totally obsessed with doing Sudoku while listening through the Rotting Christ back catalog chronologically. No idea why, but helped get through the winter evenings. Tried to do the same with Immortal but struggled with the Sudoku.
Quote from: astfgyl on May 08, 2023, 11:41:53 PMOk so mine so far haven't been terribly metal and this one is no exception:
Lol anyway it's Radiohead. Picked up Hail to the Thief a few years ago in Dealz for 1.50 and was so impressed that I suddenly couldn't get enough of this band that I'd actively despised for over two decades. Have all the stuff now except for Pablo Honey because it's shit but I fucking love all the rest of it, in spite of its Tom-Dunne-Ness. I even have the Thom Yorke solo stuff on CD here and that's also very very good stuff.
I definitely never saw that coming
I was going to weigh in with Radio head myself today. For me it was 97 when OK computer came out. I enjoyed the Bends but wasn't really in the bandwagon but OK came out and they played the RDS the same week IIRC. I was hooked, still a massive fan. Seen em 4 times and really love the more experimental direction they have gone. Their sound shimmers rather than rocks now.
This is a related phenomenon which I'm much more "guilty" of: latching onto one or two albums by a band to a really obsessive extent, all while never bothering with any of the rest of their output. For years. Leviathan is a top 10 metal album for me, but it was years and years before I gave Remission any time at all. It wasn't that I didn't like it. Apart from March of the Fire Ants, I didn't even know it.
Every so often this turns into an obsessive dive though. Alan Parsons Project comes to mind. I listened to I, Robot for years before one day going on a binge of the whole discography that lasted for a couple of weeks. Iron Maiden too back in the day. I only listened to Seventh Son for ages, then went on a similar binge where I wanted to know all their stuff. That was related to seeing them live for the first time though.
Quote from: Black Shepherd Carnage on May 09, 2023, 10:48:40 AMThis is a related phenomenon which I'm much more "guilty" of: latching onto one or two albums by a band to a really obsessive extent, all while never bothering with any of the rest of their output. For years. Leviathan is a top 10 metal album for me, but it was years and years before I gave Remission any time at all. It wasn't that I didn't like it. Apart from March of the Fire Ants, I didn't even know it.
Every so often this turns into an obsessive dive though. Alan Parsons Project comes to mind. I listened to I, Robot for years before one day going on a binge of the whole discography that lasted for a couple of weeks. Iron Maiden too back in the day. I only listened to Seventh Son for ages, then went on a similar binge where I wanted to know all their stuff. That was related to seeing them live for the first time though.
Recommend me some Leviathan please.
He's referring to the album Leviathan by Mastodon.
The only Leviathan album I ever heard was The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide back when I was beginning to take a real interest in BM. I haven't listened to it in a long time.
Ah feck you're right I didn't read it properly. Never listened to Remission.
Deceased and Twisted Tower Dire. I've paid money for some rough auld splits Deceased have put out.
Quote from: Black Shepherd Carnage on May 09, 2023, 10:48:40 AMThis is a related phenomenon which I'm much more "guilty" of: latching onto one or two albums by a band to a really obsessive extent, all while never bothering with any of the rest of their output. For years. Leviathan is a top 10 metal album for me, but it was years and years before I gave Remission any time at all. It wasn't that I didn't like it. Apart from March of the Fire Ants, I didn't even know it.
Every so often this turns into an obsessive dive though. Alan Parsons Project comes to mind. I listened to I, Robot for years before one day going on a binge of the whole discography that lasted for a couple of weeks. Iron Maiden too back in the day. I only listened to Seventh Son for ages, then went on a similar binge where I wanted to know all their stuff. That was related to seeing them live for the first time though.
I've definitely done this with PJ Harvey's "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea".
It's one of my all-time favourite albums, I've been listening to it almost religiously for around 20 years, yet outside of a handful of songs, I know nothing else about her output.
Is this desire is the only one apart from Stories from the city that I own. It's great too.
Quote from: Bürggermeister on May 09, 2023, 04:52:08 AMQuote from: Ducky on May 08, 2023, 04:02:45 PMProbably an unpopular opinion, but I think Renewal is Kreator's best album. Less unpopular would be Agent Orange being Sodom's best.
I agree with you, Renewal is the best thing they ever did. There's nothing quite like it, either by them or anyone else. It was amazing to read, in the liner notes of the recent reissue, that part of the reason was that Frank refused to tune down. He plays in standard tuning throughout so was forced to play something different to Mille almost all the time which, now that I know about it, makes so much sense why that album sounds the way it does. I love their earlier stuff but Renewal just has a unique vibe to it which they have never bettered. SodomI can take or leave. Agent Orange was ok but they're nothing special to me.
Another obsession of mine... Cynic. I first read about them in a Metal Forces pre-Human interview with Chuck, where he discussed the Spiritual Healing lineup falling apart and how he had gotten the best musicians in Florida to record this new, aggressive music. I was intrigued. As a result, I picked up Testimony of the Ancients and Unquestionable Presence, too, on the strength of them featuring one of the Cynic lads, based on the logic that "if they're good enough for Chuck..." These were the pre-internet days where you couldn't just listen to anything, anytime. Many purchases were made based on something I read, word of mouth, thanks lists or even someone, in a band I liked, wearing a band t-shirt in a picture. Human, UP and TOTA are still among my favourite albums to this day. I still remember the bitterness of opening the inlay to Individual Thought Patterns and finding out Reinert and Masvidal weren't on it. In fact, I'm not sure I ever got over that 😂
When Focus eventually came out, it was like nothing I had ever heard and the Cynic associated albums were among my main listening material through the dark musical wastelands of the mid-to-late 90's. Since then, I have continued to pick up anything featuring any of them. As the internet became a thing, finding out about Imperial Doom and On The Seventh Day... and being able to get those CDs on e-bay, learning about Portal and Gordian Knot, then Aeon Spoke, the joy of it all. That fucking Aghora album, when I found out about it, was like a light in the dark. The Cynical Sphere became invaluable and great to see there were other people out there who shared the obsession.
The reunion has delivered in spades and I'll pick up whatever comes out, be it new stuff or remixes, even though the post-Reinert and Malone years just won't be the same. Cynic is essential.
I never knew that about Blackfire's tuning, that's pretty cool. As you say, there's something so appealing about that album that they never replicated. It's trash, but their own unique spin on it. I do like most of their output, but that album is just one of THOSE records you never forget. Probably helped a little bit by the fact that the first Kreator song I ever heard was Winter Martyrium (on a magazine compilation CD with some other really cool stuff like Voivod and Coroner).
You've touched a much bigger nerve for me there with the other stuff - Human is my all-time favourite album recorded, Focus isn't far off it, Unquestionably Presence and Testimony are pretty close to the top as well.
I did similar in that I gobbled up anything those lads touched. I even ended up buying two Sean Malone books when I picked up the Gordian Knot albums. Aghora first came to my attention via Formless, and realising Reinhert played on (some) of it made me track it down as soon as I could.
Was gagging to hear the Portal stuff for years, so when it was reissued as The Portal Tapes, yeehaw. In my head it's as clean and smooth as Steely Dan's Aja.
Those were a few heady years for me; I was about a decade late to the party, but getting my hands on Atheist, Cynic, latter Death, Gorguts, Pestilence (and also discovering Rush, how are my favourite band that aren't Death) all within 24 months of each other made my head spin.
:abbath: :abbath: :abbath:
Black metal was something that never clicked with me for a long time, but I was having cans in a mates house and he stuck on RIITIIR by Enslaved and next day I ordered a rake of their stuff and listened to nothing else for about six months.
I still prefer their later stuff, but working backwards through their discography gave me a much better appreciation for BM in general and I moved on to really exploring it from there
The first time I heard Cradle Of filth when I was around 12 or 13 blew my mind. It was The Twisted Nails of Faith on some Metal Hammer cd. All I'd been listening up till then was Iron Maiden, Metallica and Helloween. I'd never heard anything like it before. It started an obsession with delving into darker sounds. Still to this day Cruelty is still in my top ten albums.
Yea, I'd be similar to most folks here. I get very obsessive when it comes to bands/albums, directors/movies and writers. I just latch on and have to know everything like a big nerd. I go on these kind of music binges from time to time. Anything from Depeche Mode to Death.
I've had a few over the years, many are now my favourite bands, but it would happen in long bursts rather than a short "I need everything" thing.
Just fired in an order for a few Sabbat CDs and a tshirt. I nabbed Envenom, The Dwelling and Karisma... allow the obsession to formally begin 8)
Edit. I picked up the Evoke LS because the image is class but don't tell the Japanese that I haven't bought that album or they'll bar me from entry...
BAN FROM JAPAN
Sabbat I had an album of theirs, History of a time to come. I'm just thinking did Wolves in the throne room rip them off or am I wide of the mark
Ya, that doesn't make sense.
I had a Sabbat t-shirt with the tour dates on the back and the title "History of a Tour to Come", when many of the dates were still in the future. Deep.
Different Sabbat.
Love that Evoke artwork too. Great release as well.
Yep. I'll have to hunt down a CD or LP.
Quote from: Bürggermeister on May 09, 2023, 04:52:08 AMQuote from: Ducky on May 08, 2023, 04:02:45 PMProbably an unpopular opinion, but I think Renewal is Kreator's best album. Less unpopular would be Agent Orange being Sodom's best.
I agree with you, Renewal is the best thing they ever did. There's nothing quite like it, either by them or anyone else. It was amazing to read, in the liner notes of the recent reissue, that part of the reason was that Frank refused to tune down. He plays in standard tuning throughout so was forced to play something different to Mille almost all the time which, now that I know about it, makes so much sense why that album sounds the way it does. I love their earlier stuff but Renewal just has a unique vibe to it which they have never bettered. SodomI can take or leave. Agent Orange was ok but they're nothing special to me.
Another obsession of mine... Cynic. I first read about them in a Metal Forces pre-Human interview with Chuck, where he discussed the Spiritual Healing lineup falling apart and how he had gotten the best musicians in Florida to record this new, aggressive music. I was intrigued. As a result, I picked up Testimony of the Ancients and Unquestionable Presence, too, on the strength of them featuring one of the Cynic lads, based on the logic that "if they're good enough for Chuck..." These were the pre-internet days where you couldn't just listen to anything, anytime. Many purchases were made based on something I read, word of mouth, thanks lists or even someone, in a band I liked, wearing a band t-shirt in a picture. Human, UP and TOTA are still among my favourite albums to this day. I still remember the bitterness of opening the inlay to Individual Thought Patterns and finding out Reinert and Masvidal weren't on it. In fact, I'm not sure I ever got over that 😂
When Focus eventually came out, it was like nothing I had ever heard and the Cynic associated albums were among my main listening material through the dark musical wastelands of the mid-to-late 90's. Since then, I have continued to pick up anything featuring any of them. As the internet became a thing, finding out about Imperial Doom and On The Seventh Day... and being able to get those CDs on e-bay, learning about Portal and Gordian Knot, then Aeon Spoke, the joy of it all. That fucking Aghora album, when I found out about it, was like a light in the dark. The Cynical Sphere became invaluable and great to see there were other people out there who shared the obsession.
The reunion has delivered in spades and I'll pick up whatever comes out, be it new stuff or remixes, even though the post-Reinert and Malone years just won't be the same. Cynic is essential.
This is all fact. I also have a 30 year long obsession with Cynic. Been listening to Refocus all week.
Even more obsessed with Atheist. I became a bassist because of Piece of Time.
They're touring the US together right now playing my dream gig every night. No European dates sadly.
Also Renewal is the best Kreator album.
Discovering Cynic and then all the bands in the same star system was a damn exciting time alright. I heard Cynic before Atheist, then there was Gordian Knot, Aghora, it was all so damn interesting. And, naturally, Death's hurtling course from death metal into the same zone. Couple of other bands Meister Bürgger mentions there that I never fully explored, must rekindle the flame and get on to that.
On a related theme, I see Watchtower, the ones who really opened the door to the technical stuff for me, are going to play in Germany in October. Might have to do the needful 😂
And a Sprial Architect reunion wouldn't be a bad thing either.
Quote from: Petardo on June 16, 2023, 10:12:32 AMQuote from: Bürggermeister on May 09, 2023, 04:52:08 AMQuote from: Ducky on May 08, 2023, 04:02:45 PMProbably an unpopular opinion, but I think Renewal is Kreator's best album. Less unpopular would be Agent Orange being Sodom's best.
I agree with you, Renewal is the best thing they ever did. There's nothing quite like it, either by them or anyone else. It was amazing to read, in the liner notes of the recent reissue, that part of the reason was that Frank refused to tune down. He plays in standard tuning throughout so was forced to play something different to Mille almost all the time which, now that I know about it, makes so much sense why that album sounds the way it does. I love their earlier stuff but Renewal just has a unique vibe to it which they have never bettered. SodomI can take or leave. Agent Orange was ok but they're nothing special to me.
Another obsession of mine... Cynic. I first read about them in a Metal Forces pre-Human interview with Chuck, where he discussed the Spiritual Healing lineup falling apart and how he had gotten the best musicians in Florida to record this new, aggressive music. I was intrigued. As a result, I picked up Testimony of the Ancients and Unquestionable Presence, too, on the strength of them featuring one of the Cynic lads, based on the logic that "if they're good enough for Chuck..." These were the pre-internet days where you couldn't just listen to anything, anytime. Many purchases were made based on something I read, word of mouth, thanks lists or even someone, in a band I liked, wearing a band t-shirt in a picture. Human, UP and TOTA are still among my favourite albums to this day. I still remember the bitterness of opening the inlay to Individual Thought Patterns and finding out Reinert and Masvidal weren't on it. In fact, I'm not sure I ever got over that 😂
When Focus eventually came out, it was like nothing I had ever heard and the Cynic associated albums were among my main listening material through the dark musical wastelands of the mid-to-late 90's. Since then, I have continued to pick up anything featuring any of them. As the internet became a thing, finding out about Imperial Doom and On The Seventh Day... and being able to get those CDs on e-bay, learning about Portal and Gordian Knot, then Aeon Spoke, the joy of it all. That fucking Aghora album, when I found out about it, was like a light in the dark. The Cynical Sphere became invaluable and great to see there were other people out there who shared the obsession.
The reunion has delivered in spades and I'll pick up whatever comes out, be it new stuff or remixes, even though the post-Reinert and Malone years just won't be the same. Cynic is essential.
This is all fact. I also have a 30 year long obsession with Cynic. Been listening to Refocus all week.
Even more obsessed with Atheist. I became a bassist because of Piece of Time.
They're touring the US together right now playing my dream gig every night. No European dates sadly.
Also Renewal is the best Kreator album.
I've heard basically all the albums mentioned there but never really thought about it as the Cynic gang. Must give another run with that in mind
Quote from: Bürggermeister on June 16, 2023, 11:22:22 AMOn a related theme, I see Watchtower, the ones who really opened the door to the technical stuff for me, are going to play in Germany in October. Might have to do the needful 😂
And a Sprial Architect reunion wouldn't be a bad thing either.
Twisted Into Form are recording a new one. That's 3/4 of a Spiral Architect album.
I've been playing Twisted Into Form (the Forbidden album) a lot lately, would the band have any sonic similarity to that? I see them likened to Cynic on Metal Archives, I was never a fan of them (or Atheist), so maybe not.
Re: Watchtower - I heard Control And Resistance a year or two after it came out and hated it (the vocals were the turn off), but my tastes have changed considerably since then. I must give it another go.
Quote from: Eoin McLove on June 14, 2023, 12:34:28 PMJust fired in an order for a few Sabbat CDs and a tshirt. I nabbed Envenom, The Dwelling and Karisma... allow the obsession to formally begin 8)
Edit. I picked up the Evoke LS because the image is class but don't tell the Japanese that I haven't bought that album or they'll bar me from entry...
Landed yet? I've actually been listening to loads of SABBAT and METALUCIFER lately! "Karisma";is possibly my favourite LP. Their albums always offer a different twist of madness.
No sign of them yet but it'll take a while as usual to get down here. I had Karisma on YouTube last night and it sounds good alright. A very pronounced heavy metal vibe throughout. They are damn catchy. I had always just assumed they were typical black thrash but they have so much more than that going on.
Infernal Majesty - None Shall Defy and Deicide - Legion. I've got obsessed by these albums in the last few years. Separate entities. There really is nothing better and for me it's never newer albums that do that for me. When both of them clicked I felt like I was brand new listened to metal for the first time and it's ongoing. I dunno. Hammered drunk but they give me that feeling that it justifies my obsession.
I must give that Infernal Majesty album a listen. The artwork always repulses me whenever I see it, but then again, the artwork on that Dwarr album is impressively spastic and it didn't stop me buying it ::)
Pretty sure someone mentioned cynic - focus early in this thread. Had tried to get into a few times over the years but didn't click. Dunno whether it was the effect ladden vox or the chon esque sugar sweet guitar parts put me off before, but tried again a few weeks ago and i love it. Been daily listening since.
Despite loving Spheres, none of those other spacey bands ever attracted me. I saw Cynic at Wacken 08 and thought they were shite but maybe it's time for a revisit.
Quote from: Eoin McLove on June 24, 2023, 12:22:33 AMI must give that Infernal Majesty album a listen. The artwork always repulses me whenever I see it, but then again, the artwork on that Dwarr album is impressively spastic and it didn't stop me buying it ::)
Yep, it repulsed me for years but now, I must say I have a soft spot for it. All hail the frog king!
Sodom - Demonized
Destruction - Bestial Invasion of Hell
Kreator/Tormentor - Bonecrushing Demos
I've known for a long time that my tastes alternate over time between a few subgenres. Looks like its proto-black metal season for now.
You're a pizza thrasher.
Quote from: open face surgery on June 24, 2023, 12:07:19 AMInfernal Majesty - None Shall Defy and Deicide - Legion. I've got obsessed by these albums in the last few years. Separate entities. There really is nothing better and for me it's never newer albums that do that for me. When both of them clicked I felt like I was brand new listened to metal for the first time and it's ongoing. I dunno. Hammered drunk but they give me that feeling that it justifies my obsession.
None Shall Defy is just so fucking good, hits every time, it's up there with my favourite albums. They captured an atmosphere on this in a way that slayer did on the first couple of albums. This album really should have been huge. After years I've grown to like the dodgy goblin king cover. Just this week I picked up the High Roller reissue, can't wait til it lands.
Incantations, spoken at the stroke of midnight. Exhume the bodies from their timeless slumberrrrrr!!In terms of legion I seem to really only go back to S/T. I genuinely think they perfected what death metal is on that one so to me legion just never hit the same, even though it's a ferocious beast in itself.
Yep, they even out Slayer at times, if that makes any sense. Probably my most listened to metal album of the last year or two. Perfect. I have the piss yellow HR reissue.