I've been thinking about starting a metal thread for awhile since there are a handful of metal ethusiasts on here, but I've just never gotten around to it. But when I saw a second person list Iron Maiden as one of their 5 fave groups in another thread, I knew the time was ripe.

So, this thread can be used to post about all things metal, such as when new metal albums come out or are discovered by people on here, or to discuss older albums, or to discuss metal news and etc.

To start things off, I'll list some of my fave metal artists

Immortal
Burzum
Sunn
Earth
Electric Wizard
Melvins
Harvey Milk
Judas Priest
Iron Maiden
Motorhead
Slayer
Darkthrone
Celtic Frost
Venom
Bathory
Mayhem
Mammel
Wold
Furze
Hellhammer
Voivod

Are Burzum really any cop? I've never listened to their stuff - was rather put off by their murderous extra-curricular activities.

That said my favourite metal genre is Death and/or Grindcore, so maybe I ought to get round to giving them a go...

Yeah, outside of the music he is a disgusting person. But the music, particularly on Filosofem, is killer. In the first mix cd exchange we did on this board, I included a track (Jesus Dod) from Filosofem on my mix, and several people mentioned that track as a standout. As I mentioned elsewhere on this board when this track was being discussed, the first time I heard it I was really stoned, and I remember thinking after about a minute into the track, "Man, this would be great if he just keeps repeating that guitar riff over and over." And that's what he did for the next 6 minutes. And it was, indeed, great.

All the albums up to Filosofem are well worth hearing, too. Later, it´s more or less keyboard ambient music, I believe... I haven´t heard much of it, though. (Might have something to do with him being in prison... the keyboard music, I mean.)

The thing I like with Burzum is that the music is both epic and very primitive, while other bands were either one (like Emperor) or the other (like Darkthrone). Like "Jesus dod"; a simple riff repeated, and repeated, and repeated... Maybe he struck gold by mistake, since he seems to be rather stupid otherwise, or maybe he just had ambitions that were higher than his ability of playing. Whatever, it´s the result that counts.

I´m definitely a fan of some metal, although I´ve never been a metal fan. I loved Sweet´s heavier stuff in the mid-70´s, when I was 9-10 years old... but later on, I always found metalheads silly and it somehow affected my view of the music as well. It wasn´t until ´91, when I got into first Slayer and Anthrax and then some death metal, that I really started to listen to metal. But I still found Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and those bands silly... until last year, when it finally clicked and I "got it".

Most "melodic" 80´s bands are off, though...

A poll:
Heavy metal – foul armpit of all genres?

Yeah good idea for a thread I'm curious .... was seriously into metal as a teenager, then went off it as my taste "matured" now I'm starting to re purchase some old faves

Havn't heard of some of the more obscure bands mentioned, but just quickly cos I have to go back to work

1. Slayer - Reign in Blood
2. Suicidal Tendencies - !st 2 or 3 albums

gota go 2 b continued ;)

Loved the first four Voivod albums!

"Seven Churches" by the Possessed is pretty crucial, I think.

Sir Lord Baltimore's "Kindgom Come" LP sweeps the proto-metal sweepstakes in my opinion.

"Crippled Lucifer" by Burning Witch gets the most play of any from my own metal collection.

yes yes yes! :wub:

melvins :D
quite like electric wizard too :D

i think the new lightning bolt album is quite riff-y :D

First 4-5 Sabbath albums.

Melvins, Eggnog and BULLHEAD! Sorely missing from that list above.

Earth 2 (Special Low Frequency Version)- the grandaddy of deep drone stoner metal. Without this, no Sunn0))).

Power of the Spoken Word- "Language of a Dying Breed"

i LOVE earth2 :wub: :wub: :wub:

tried to get the new earth 'hex' album today - it had sold out :o

(well - till stocks arrive tomorrow, apparently...)

Well I was a big fan as a teenager in the 80's, black jeans long hair metallica t-shirt the worx .....

I guess that's how I think of metal now, remebering myself as a teenager ... Ugh glad it's over 2 be honest cos I never really pulled off the required 'act' :lol:

Apart from the odd track which might induce a smile or two, can't really listen to much ACDC / Iron Maiden / Motorhead without getting bored very quickly. The sad fact is most of this stuff is very formulaic and the lyrics are just as you said: silly.

When the mood hits me though a good dose of Slayer's 'Reign In Blood' always works wonders

The first Suicidal Tendencies album (features on 'Repo Man' soundtrack) is really good too tho I guess you could class it as punk or hardcore or something

Used to like 'Napalm Death' alot too but havnt heard in ages

I reckon metal has a deservedly cheesy rep, but there are some important exceptions ..... but probably someone else out there can say this beter :confused:

It is, isn't it?

Lotsa fans of the first three are pissed about it, but I'm following Lightning Bolt wherever they take me for now. It sounds good to me.

Get that new USA Is a Monster "Wohaw" LP/CD, too. It's more than tangential to a discussion of best new metal.

While thumbing through Wire mag last night, I saw a little article on lightning bolt and noticed that it mentioned "metal" in the article's title. I meant to go back and read it but forgot.

So, celldwellah said their new one sounds good to him, but what do you think, gen? how does it compare to their others for you? I'm intrigued, for sure.

I look forward to hearing more about earth 'hex' when you get it. I keep reading mixed reviews, but the always worthwhile aquarius records picked it as an album of the week, so it can't be too bad...

Motorhead´s latest album is actually one of their best. But I see them more as fast, heavy rock´n´roll than metal.

I think it´s a bit hard to define Metal, actually. I love bands like Neurosis and System of a Down, but are they metal? I´m not sure. However, here a a few favourites that definitely are Metal (silly record covers, ridiculous lyrics and so on):

Anthrax - Persistence of time

Many people put "Among the living" highest but for me, this is their dark masterpiece. (Actually, the lyrics are far from ridiculous, but I think Anthrax can be considered metal anyway.) I also love the more easy listening "Sound of white noise", it sounds heavier and I prefer John Bush as singer, but "Time" put them in a completely different league compared to their earlier albums and the decline started a few years later. That being said, "Among the living" was great for its time, too.


Edge of sanity - Crimson

Heavy, death, black, progressive, doom, goth - all in the same song. (OK, a forty minute song.) Catchy as Hell (sorry), too. Sweden had a very healthy metal scene in the early 90´s...


Entombed - Clandestine

... and this is one of the ground breaking death metal albums from that era. A bit more developed than their debut album, without sacrificing anything - it even goes to more extremes in places. Nowadays, Entombed is a very reliable death´n´roll band, but they have recently lost yet another key member. They will still carry on, though.


The Haunted - The Haunted made me do it

This band was born out of At The Gates, another Swedish death group. Haunted is more thrash than death, and may sound a little bit too much like Slayer at places, but they write excellent songs - especially on this album.


Iron Maiden - Powerslave

Their best album, in my opinion. It has its share of the Maiden trademark (i.e. the A-F-G-A chord progression with a twin guitar melody on top), but the songs are all good and the title track is a monster (sorry again) - probably because it avoids the trademark chords.


Slayer - Seasons in the abyss

"Reign in blood" is a classic, but this one has a bit more variation without being less aggressive. Sometimes lack of variation is what you´re after, of course, so "Reign" is a better "bang your head against the wall" album.


Slipknot - Iowa

Less rap vocals, more black metal - the one album of theirs worth having.


OK, nothing controversial or obscure here, but I neither have the time nor the interest to dig much deeper. After all, there´s so much music out there...

Love Sunn0))) made a friends mind go funny first time I saw them new album particularly good.

Slayer, early Venom not really got into the Norwegian stuff yet too sacred........

Lightening Bolt are amazing and must been seen live.

Kharnate are very good and most anything on Southern Lord seems to be cool as well.

Also very into Godflesh, but not yet heard the Jesu stuff yet.

In a slightly different direction, as it's Noise really( particular fav genre of mine), Wolf Eyes live are quite a metal experience with the crowd punching the air and headbanging, and I thoughly recomend it.

Three bands that I'm intrigued by but haven't heard are Khanate, Eyehategod and Boris. What makes Khanate stand out for you, MCR?

Anyone else have thoughts on these three bands? I know chachacha was getting into Boris big time, but I couldn't tell from his posts if they were for me.

Yeah maybe I shouldn't have made such a generalisation! Honestly havn't listened to their latest stuff at all, I just assumed ....

They're touring near me soon (NZ) & the ticket price is something like $70 - are they worth it?

I don't think anyone's worth $70. I see 12 shows for that kinda money.

Maybe if the Wipers got together and played all three albums in sequence, I'd consider it worth it, but even a festival has to be outstanding to get me thinking of shelling out 70 bucks.

I saw Mötörhead about five years ago. It rocked hard and well, and I felt like they made up for two sorry opening acts to give me $12 worth.

Khanate (sorry for previous spelling) have the Earth/Sunn0))) drone doom thing, with quite odd drumming and on the new album Capture/Release the most haunted, tormented vocals. Strange peripharal sounds lurk about on as well. It's a bit more of a band sounding thing than Sunn0))) less drugs and more focused than some of the earlier Earth stuff, and very bleak and dark.

Now that's a description that has peaked my interest. Thanks for the info, MCR. So, would you suggest their latest album as the best starting point for me?

Good taste in metal on this forum.
For a couple of years in my late teens, I listened to virtually nothing but metal and the Fall. In the last few years have gotten back into much of the older stuff and have tried to catch up on what I’ve missed.

Some of my faves:

Black Sabbath: first 6 albums
Slayer: Reign in Blood, South of Heaven
Celtic Frost: Morbid Tales, To Mega Therion (+ Hellhammer)
Bathory: The Return......, Blood Fire Death (have yet to hear Under the Sign of the Black Mark)
Darkthrone: everything
Burzum: first 4, particularly Filosofem
Mayhem: De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Sunn O)))
Sleep
Electric Wizard
High On Fire
Earth: Earth 2, Hex (though the latter is not really metal)
Godflesh: Streetcleaner (particularly)
Napalm Death: Scum, From Enslavement to Obliteration
Carcass: Symphonies of Sickness, Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious
Obituary: Slowly We Rot
Pungent Stench: Been Caught Buttering
Repulsion: Horrified
Discordance Axis: The Inalienable Dreamless
Judas Priest: British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance, Painkiller
Iron Maiden: only beginning to reinvestigate them but I suspect Powerslave would be my favourite
Manowar: Hail to England, Kings of Metal

James Plotkin!

Yeah why not start there it's2 long tracks so quite draining listening.
Also maybe try Things Viral.

Heard a track by a band called Magnog and while not strictly metal are a kind of drone/metal/krautrock crossover, very good it was thaey are on Kranky I believe.

Found Things Viral very tough going - have only listened to it about twice I think. But I though it was good enough to hold on to. Sunn O))) are like getting into a big comfy bed (allbeit a bed stuffed with sub-bass and dooooom) while Khanate are like lying on a cold concrete floor as the rats nibble your tattered clothing. Brrrr.

Brilliant analogy :applaud: Perfect absolutly perfect!

Okay, now I think I've been scared off again...

Don't be scared off by Khanate. I'd say you're best by starting off with their debut album. It's got 5 tracks on as opposed to 4 ("Things Viral") or 2 ("Capture/Release"). I'd say it's my favourite of the three. Though their 'no joy' 12" is great too (especially the James Plotkin remix). Also be aware that the vinyls of their last two albums features different track listings/mixes to their CD counterparts.
"Khanate" still has long sprawling songs, but is not quite as abstract as "Things Viral". It's a concise hit in Khanate terms.
The thing with Khanate is that its an interesting twist on the doom genre. They aren't crushingly heavy like Sunn are. It's all about the gaps and space in the sound. The lurching attacks. They are much more sonically intersting than Sunn (who I think are very over-rated). This is due to James Plotkin. The use of minimal electronics give them much more depth.
One of the things I also love about Khanate is their use of feedback. Sunn's sound, while raw, is too clean. It's all bass and distortion and beef. Khanate's sound is thin, wirey. And it's laced with feedback which is always the staple of a good doom/sludge metal band (from Iron Monkey to Marzuraan to Eyehategod). It makes it sound raw, fucked up, nasty, primordial. It also sounds like their in the room with you. Which makes it all the more terrifying!
And Alan Dubin's vocals are magic. Black metal/grindcore screeches atop abstract sludge doom! Let this band in to your lives.
Having said that, I do think they need to shake it up a bit. "Capture/Release" was a bit safe, they were treading water me thinks.

And check out Plotkin/Dubin's OLD/Old-heritage. Plotkin really is something special!

Napalm Death WOOO! SLAYER WOOO!

*SHRED GUITAR, SHRED GUITAR, IMPRESSIVE SOLO, DRUM FILLS, DEVIL SIGN*

erm, quite

Okay, I'm convinced...again... :D

Do you (or anyone else) know of any good metal comps? Does Southern Lord or anyone else have a sampler or anything?

You don't really tend to get good metal comps. "Earache" used to be really good. Now it's all Roadrunner comps type shite. Relapse's "Contaminated" series is great. Plus they have started compiling obscure 7"s onto disc. Terrorizer's cover-mounted discs usually have some good stuff on, admist lots of dire generic metalcore machismo.

I don’t think Southern Lord have a sampler – probably largely because much of their catalogue consists of 20 minute crawl-speed epics.
But I would recommend Fenriz presents the Best of Old School Black Metal, a rather liberal and diverse interpretation of what constitutes that genre, but a cracking comp. Compiled by Darkthrone's iconic drummer.


1. Blasphemy – Winds Of The Black Godz
2. Sarcofago – Satanic Lust
3. Celtic Frost – Dawn Of Megiddo
4. Nattefrost – Sluts Of Hell
5. Mercyful Fate – Evil
6. Sodom – Burst Command Til War
7. Tormentor – Elisabeth Bathory
8. Aura Noir – Blood Unity
9. Destruction – Curse The Gods
10. Samael – Into the Pentagram
11. Bulldozer – Whisky Time
12. Mayhem – The Freezing Moon
13. Hellhammer – The Third Of The Storms
14. Burzum – Ea, Lord Of The Deeps
15. Venom – Warhead
16. Bathory – Dies Irae

Southern Lord does have a sampler. I can't remember the name of it, but it was released about 12-18 months ago.

I'll post back when I remember the name or come across it.

Please do, because I checked their web site and couldn't find mention of one.

It could've been one of those radio-only promo samplers.

Forgot to mention "Gummo"s Godlike soundtrack. :wub:

Yaass!!!! All things Gummo are god-like. I don't have the soundtrack (it is out of print, I believe), but I love it every time I watch the film.

Mos def. When the lads come riding down the hill and Dragonaut by Sleep comes in!?! Mint!!! :applaud:

I can't say I was ever a metal fan by any means , but for those that are indie fans but like a metal type sound , I really enjoy Head of David , the first blast first release LP /dogbreath/godhead was a a great affair that if I remember had Peel say on it's issue "is this the year that heavy metal becomes respectable again" or something very similar to those words.Personally I would steer people towards Big Black which I know people will disagree with , but I swear they had a metal feel , just not the solo nonsense.