Recommend me some quality Metal

[Houngan]

So, Master of Puppets isn't as good as . . . And Justice for All, IMO. Likewise Leviathan is pretty good, but Blood and Thunder overshadows everything that comes after.

But Crack the Skye . . . goddamn. That's some of the best music I've heard in years. It's like Slint without having to wait for the payoff, plus you get guys who can actually sing. One of my favorite albums ever, in any genre. Here's hoping Blood Mountain is closer to Crack than Leviathan.

H.

[madkevin]

It's like Slint without having to wait for the payoff, plus you get guys who can actually sing.

That's one of the funniest comparisons I've ever heard. Kudos, Houngan.

Re: Blood Mountain: It's not as overtly 70s prog as Crack The Skye, but it contains some of Mastodon's craziest genre-bending experiments. "Bladecatcher" could fit snugly onto a Touch & Go era Butthole Surfers record, and the final song "Pendulous Skin" has a seriously trippy guitar track that's like 70s Southern rock solo soaked in resin. Blood Mountain is more an album of songs and moments, as opposed to how Crack The Skye works as a full album-length suite.

[Houngan]

It's high praise from me, Spiderland is probably my favorite album ever. I do like bands that manage to put together an entire album with no fumbles, a rare trick worth seeking. Plus I like layered, rambling songs rather than just filler + hook. Drug Beatles instead of Pop Beatles, as it were.

H.

[kerzain]

So, Master of Puppets isn't as good as . . . And Justice for All, IMO.

I enjoy AJFA much more than Puppets also. It's hard for me to determine which is 'best', because Justice feels like so much of a one-trick pony to me, but if I were to choose my favorite album of all time Justice would be it, without question. This goes beyond Metallica albums (all of which I enjoy, yea, all of them), but literally all albums.. all time.

Likewise Leviathan is pretty good, but Blood and Thunder overshadows everything that comes after.

Blood and Thunder sounds like a radio hit to me. It's catchiness, although initially strong enough to get my attention, doesn't keep that particular track at the top of the heap compared to some of the other tracks on that album. Megaladon and Hearts Alive are constantly vying for top spot on that album, it just depends on what kind of mood I'm in.

But Crack the Skye . . . goddamn. That's some of the best music I've heard in years. It's like Slint without having to wait for the payoff, plus you get guys who can actually sing.

...on the album.... hehe, they don't sing so well when trying to do it live. They can scream like anybodies business, but their singing is still a work in progress. Thank god for studio magic. Instrumentally they are a killer live band (assuming their sound tech isn't drunk or high, which seems to have happened frequently this year), but vocally their quality varies from track to track.

One of my favorite albums ever, in any genre. Here's hoping Blood Mountain is closer to Crack than Leviathan.

Blood mountain is a very different beast. Tracks like Sleeping Giant are most like Crack the Sky, but over all much of the album is much harder and faster than anything they've done before or since. It is my favorite Mastodon album, but their hardest to get into for most folks (except for the Call of the Mastodon/Lifesblood EP demos perhaps).

[Houngan]

Well, I meant sing in comparison to Slint, which ain't saying much. But honestly the singing on Crack isn't that bad, the one guy's voice is very Ozzy-esque, and the cookie monster is used sparingly and appropriately, so I even dug that.

I think it's fair to say that whatever musical taste maps to modern metal is not my taste, that's why I enjoy things that might seem less pure to a bigger fan of the genre.

H.

[kerzain]

Yea, Brent is the guy that sounds like Ozzy (red haired one if you've ever seen pics). My first experience with them was Blood Mountain, and the Ozzy vibe is strong on that album (when he isn't screaming). It was so strong I went off and researched around the net to see if Ozzy had guested on the album or something.

It took a long time for me to stop hearing Ozzy whenever I'd listen to newer Mastodon, thankfully now it just sounds like Brent to me.

Troy (bassist) does most of the deeper growling/manly sounding stuff (as does a guest vocalist from Neurosis that appears from time to time).

Brann's (the drummer) vocals are higher in the mix now, and more prominent on Crack the Skye, he's the one that opens the album and is featured throughout. It was kind of a trip hearing him for the first time after so many album,s because on past albums he was layered under so much other stuff.

Bill, rhythm guitarist, hasn't done much singing since the old days, except live.

The variety of vocal styles on Mastodon albums was one of the first things that caught and held my attention.

[Charles]

So I was tripping down memory lane today at work, starting with Death, and then moving on to Control Denied. If any of you never listened to Chuck's side project... absolutely worth it.

[kerzain]

So I was tripping down memory lane today at work, starting with Death, and then moving on to Control Denied. If any of you never listened to Chuck's side project... absolutely worth it.

Seconded!

This will sound selfish, but I was always disappointed at the timing of Chuck's illness and eventual death because of how short-lived this project ended up being. My only complaint for this album is the mixing of the drums, and the somewhat derivative double-bass drumming that takes place throughout several of the tracks, but the guitar work and vocal gymnastics on the album more than make up for it.

This album should work for those who like music somewhat like Iced Earth/Iron Maiden with a little Celtic Frost thrown in the mix for good measure.

[Charles]

This album should work for those who like music somewhat like Iced Earth/Iron Maiden with a little Celtic Frost thrown in the mix for good measure.

But without the cheese.

[madkevin]

Just discovered Acid Witch - neo-doom-psychedelica with growly vocals and gothic organ. Tasty, if you're into that sort of thing, which you should be. Also, they have a song called "Witchfynder Finder", which might be the most brilliant song title of all time.

[Drastic]

Neat.

Speaking of psychedelic, Devil's Blood has had both their "Come, Reap" EP (youtube link to the title track from it) and "The Time of No Time Forevermore" album in heavy rotation in my playlists for some time. Something of an early 70's prog-psych-acid rock early metal sound, clean vocals, and damn catchy. Satan really does have the best music.

[BlueJackalope]

Just discovered Acid Witch - neo-doom-psychedelica with growly vocals and gothic organ. Tasty, if you're into that sort of thing, which you should be. Also, they have a song called "Witchfynder Finder", which might be the most brilliant song title of all time.

Very cool sound.

[kerzain]

But without the cheese.

What you call cheese I call classic heavy metal themes.

[Mrenda]

A very Slayer Christmas.


Cross posted from the Youtube thread.

[André Costa]

No mentions yet that Agalloch has a new album out?

wtf, Charles!?

[Charles]

No mentions yet that Agalloch has a new album out?

wtf, Charles!?

You haven't been paying attention. I've been in the 2010 music thread. I believe I said that Agalloch's new album is the single greatest piece of music in history. Or something to that effect.

[Drastic]

It's really, really good. I've liked Agalloch's prior albums but they never really fully clicked for me, but Marrow of the Spirit just keeps getting played over and over since I got it.

[Peter Jones]

I don't recall seeing anyone mention this one, but now that the companion album is out I feel I must mention both:

Heliocentric and Anthropocentric by The Ocean are freaking brilliant. Anthropocentric is certainly heavier, more aggressive than Heliocentric. I am impressed more and more by this band.

[DoomMunky]

A very Slayer Christmas.


Cross posted from the Youtube thread.

GOD that's awesome! The first minute is just freakin' hilarious.

[madkevin]

I don't recall seeing anyone mention this one, but now that the companion album is out I feel I must mention both:

Heliocentric and Anthropocentric by The Ocean are freaking brilliant. Anthropocentric is certainly heavier, more aggressive than Heliocentric. I am impressed more and more by this band.

How does it stack up to Precambrian? I felt that album had some good ideas, but I found something lacking in the execution that I can't quite put my finger on.

[Peter Jones]

How does it stack up to Precambrian? I felt that album had some good ideas, but I found something lacking in the execution that I can't quite put my finger on.

I have read some reviews that thought it wasn't quite as good. I, however, think they are much better. Again you have one album a bit more melodic and one that is heavier. But I feel they are more mature, better thought out albums.

[Dufresne]

Last night I was at the Rammstein concert in Madison Square Garden.

Holy shit.

I have all their live DVDs, but even that in no way prepared me for what I saw. That was absolutely amazing. As expected, they played primarily from their most recent album, Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da, but every one of their albums was represented with at least one song. The show was a pyromaniac's dream; the blasts of flame and the waves of heat emanating from the stage could be felt hundreds of feet away. Highlights were "Feuer Frei!", "Pussy", and "Engel," featuring, respectively, the famous flamethrower face masks seen in the movie xXx, a giant foam cannon painted like a penis, and Till Lindemann wearing a pair of steel angel wings that shot fire. Rammstein is not a band for subtlety.

The crowd made the show even more enjoyable. Till Lindemann barely sang during the chorus of "Du Hast;" he just held out the mic. 20,000 fans, many of whom had traveled across the country to be there, singing "Du Hast" together was a sort of collective catharsis, of so many having waiting for so long to see Rammstein return to the States.

So now all concerts are ruined for me forever, because I'm pretty sure that was the greatest show I'll ever see.

For those curious, here was the setlist. Even two days out my memory's a bit fuzzy on the order of some songs, (I can't remember exactly when "Du Riechst So Gut" was,) but the content is correct.

Rammleid
B********
Waidmann's Heil
Weisses Fleisch
Keine Lust
Feuer Frei!
Weiner Blut
Du Riechst So Gut
Fruhling In Paris
Ich Tu Der Weh
Benzin
Links 2 3 4
Du Hast
Pussy
Encore 1 - Sonne
Encore 1 - Ich Will
Encore 2 - Hailfisch
Encore 2 - Engel

[frank austin]

I would rather this thread die than get bumped for Rammstein.

[Rimbo]

Now Playing: (Catch up on 2010 edition)
...
Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time
...

Just picked this up, and I am really enjoying it.

[ckessel]

I've been listening to the latest Mastodon and an older Nightwish CD based on some feedback either here or in the other music thread. I'm enjoying both, though with a couple caveats.

The Mastodon CD sounds an awful like like Tool. The same sort of (flowing, jam-style?) sounds aside from the vocals. It's not a bad thing, but if there weren't vocals going on in a song I'd be hard pressed to tell the two apart.

The couple videos I watched of Nightwish didn't prepare me for how keyboard happy the songs are or how operatic the lead singer is. In the car, with any road noise, it's really hard to make out words in the vocals. At first, I was extremely disappointed in the CD, but when I could listen at work with headphones, and thus a cleaner sound, it grew on me.

[kerzain]

Although Mastodon and Tool have toured together, and they're all friends... except that they're both a bit proggy I never once thought they sounded much alike.

[sinfony]

The Mastodon CD sounds an awful like like Tool. The same sort of (flowing, jam-style?) sounds aside from the vocals. It's not a bad thing, but if there weren't vocals going on in a song I'd be hard pressed to tell the two apart.

Bwah? Mastodon sound more like Metallica than Tool. Much faster, less moody (well, The Czar is pretty moody), sharper guitar tone, guitar solos, etc.

[ckessel]

Although Mastodon and Tool have toured together, and they're all friends... except that they're both a bit proggy I never once thought they sounded much alike.

I can't name the song from Crack the Skye since the CD is at work (The Last Baron maybe?), but one of them in particular sounds very like "Learn to Swim".

*shrug*, your mileage may vary I guess. What I listen for, what strikes me, about a song may very well not be the parts that catch other's ears. Both have very active drummers which I know is something historically that my ear tunes into.

[kerzain]

If you like both drummers you should check this out (if for the keyboardist alone):
Danny Carey (Tool) and Brann Dailor (Mastodon) duet at Guitar Center's Drum-Off 2009 finals

[Dave Long]

I just listened to the most wacko thing that is completely awesome, the new record from The Damned Things. The band? Mix Fall Out Boy, Every Time I Die and ... wait for it ... ANTHRAX! It's like Thin Lizzy crossed with modern metal. Very cool and definitely gets better wtih each listen.

Rob Caggiano is incredible. Absolutely one of the most talented guitar players around right now. He also produces. They play live with three guitar players. Yeah!