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Has anyone mentioned the spectacularly awful Crematory yet? Been going since the very early 90's and have spat out an almost relentless spew of absolute rubbish to this day. They're like all the worst shite you'd see in those old late 90's Nuclear Blast catalogs rolled into one massive cringe inducing package.
I recall reading an article a good few years ago where they were whinging about online piracy, streaming and the likes and how they were threatening to break up if nobody bought their new album.
They're still on the go so there must be people still buying this shite to a level where they can keep going?
I asked a German friend recently if he had any insights into who the culprits are. The only suggestion he could put forward was "Overweight middle aged goths who rarely leave the house?"

They must be one of the most useless, irredeemably shite bands to ever exist?

Not Necessarily crappy music, just ultra bland and unmemorable throw away generic thrash. The only reason I own a copy is cos of the utterly amazing Les Edwards art on the cover, more famously used on the cover of the book Realm of Chaos - The Lost and the Damned. Which Bolt Thrower used the masthead of for the album cover of the same name. 

I remember Endtyme being remarked on for its more traditional doomier vibe after the few before it being a bit lacklustre.

If Forest is your thing though, and you have not already, check out the Soul Sacrifice EP which was released shortly after Forest. Definitely a great companion piece.

This has stopped me in my tracks

A great release

What's next?

Thergothon - Stream from the Heavens?

They really need to get a vinyl issue of Lead and Aether and Farmakon out there too, along with issues of the Ethere & The Process of Farmakon EP's.

Always had a soft spot for Carcass' Swansong album. Got really into it when I was a teenager, despite all that preceded it being vastly more to my liking. I also enjoyed the Blackstar album, Barb Wire Soul, that 3/4 of them followed up with a year or so later.

Ah Ducky, we all know M. Pinkerton Von Poloneck could run rings around DD Crazy on the drum kit, but give me the explosive helldrums every time. Unfettered spirit of metal > earphone wearing click track wankery 4 eva 

A drummer struggling to keep up is the key ingredient for most proper thrash.

In the case of Obsessed it's more the others are trying to keep up with him, which is why it sounds so absolutely feral. Same with Pleasure to Kill and Terrible Certainty actually. I imagine amphetamines were quite popular with German thrash drummers in the mid 80s,and I'm delighted that was the case.

I suppose the key element is that everything has to sound like everything could fall apart at any second. But the drummer is usually the main contributor.

Ah Ducky, we all know M. Pinkerton Von Poloneck could run rings around DD Crazy on the drum kit, but give me the explosive helldrums every time. Unfettered spirit of metal > earphone wearing click track wankery 4 eva 

A drummer struggling to keep up is the key ingredient for most proper thrash.

Waa talking to my manager in work yesterday about the Maiden gig, never knew he was into them but turns out he's travelled all over Europe for their shows and seen them about 30 times

So was asking about some other stuff he'd listen to, and he says other than Maiden he doesn't really like metal. Found it very strange how he could be so big into one band, but have zero interest in anything else similar

It's quite a common thing for some reason within a certain cross section of Maiden fans. Especially the stamp collectors who want every shirt, single variant, album format etc. Little to no interest in anything else. Encountered quite a few over the years.

Me wanna banana.

Sorry, we have no bananas today.

How much are chups?

Twelfty

RIP. Hadn't seen him in a very long time. 49 is no age.
He used to do sound occasionally for bands back in the early 2000s and he even had a short lived show on a pirate radio station at some point round then too.

Impaled's Dead Shall Dead remain album and Exhumed's Gore Metal are where it at for me in terms of stuff that slots between the Symphonies/Necroticism sound. Both albums have re-recorded versions for some weird reason, but they're not the same.

Fester Decay from Japan have some stuff that's pretty solid too if you want a more Reek of Putrefaction vibe. The album Reality Rotten to the Core even has a Reek/Symphonies style meat collage cover. Think one of them is in Viscera Infest too who are pretty insane but fall more into that Mexigorge chaotic sound.
There's probably a legion of Japanese bands that follow that Reek sound pretty faithfully. Crash Syndrom are another one that comes to mind. Even Butcher ABC's North of Hell was pretty decent.

Right this minute?
Death - Symbolic

The cover is based on the design of the supplement books for the Traveller RPG that the original album took its name and concept from. It was all based on Scalzi's campaigns he played for the game I believe. The original album cover was a take on it also.
I assume the reasoning behind it is that the EP is like a supplement to the core Traveller album, much like with the game which had a base rule book and was expanded on with further expansion volumes.

I hope it isn't Matt Barlow, he's always sounded like he's a power metal vocalist from South Park. "Oh how I loved you, the pain won't go awwwaaaayyy".

Actually can really imagine Matt Barlow staccatto his way through WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THEY BUILT A LAD-DER TO HEAV-EN.

You know the way he bollocks on. "Lies, fool-ish lies. Be-hind your brain-washed eyes." Brainwashed eyes. Mother of jaysis.

This 100% - Always thought Lou Barlow sounded like Trey Parker taking the piss.

Sure wasn't most of Iced Earth's later lyrical content basically "America Fuck Yeah" in variations.