You won’t go to bed hungry no, not tonight….
Jim thankfully tows the line this week with 2 reviews for you guys to chew on. With tax preparation/completion and the arrival of the Falls of Rauros/Panopticon split 12″ that Bindrune has released, I haven’t had any time for writing. If you guys have ordered this slab…. a bit more patience for we’re working hard at getting the pre-orders packaged in the order in which they arrived.
It’s a good… no… GREAT busy!
Until next week… Pre-ordering new music. Yes or no? How long is too long to wait before you’re sending out that “what the hell?!?” email to the label? Cya next week!
Marty Rytkonen Playlist
Falls of Rauros/Panopticon – split 12″
Ahamkara – The Embers of the Stars
Drowning the Light/Vampyric Blood – Drowning in the Vanpyric Sacrament of the Immortals Split
Pestilential Shadows – Depths
Aeternus – Beyond the Wandering Moon
The Accused – Oh Martha
The Accused – Martha Splatterheads Maddest Stories Ever Told
Evilfeast – Invoking the Ancient 10″
Immolation – Dawn of Possession
Ifing – Against this Weald
Jim Clifton Playlist
Evilfeast – Invoking the Ancient
Ifing – Against This Weald
Skogen – I Döden
Cult of Fire – Ascetic Meditation of Death
Ævangelist – De masticatione mortuorum in tumulis
Beherit – Drawing Down the Moon
Necros Christos – Triune Impurity Rites
Sacriphyx – The Western Front
Howls of Ebb – Vigils of the 3rd Eye
Judas Priest – Priest … Live!
Worm Gear 
Playlist:
Motörhead – Iron Fist
Motörhead – Bastards (best Motörhead of the 90’s?)
Motörhead – Aftershock (really like this one, they’re still far from redundant)
Humiliation – Seek to Destroy (strictly 3-note mid tempo chuggachugga riffing, leads and tempo variations kept to a minimum and somehow it really works!)
Burial Hordes – Incendium
Smaga – My Lands
Vspolokh – Sorrow of the Past
Vspolokh/Vikhr – Amongst Mossy Stones… split
White Medal – Yorkshire Steel
White Medal – Guthmers Hahl (finally feeling it, excellent! Reminds me of A Blaze in the Northern sky’s midtempo riffing)
Alice Cooper – Welcome to my Nightmare (pretty sick and evil underneath the slick and shiny production. The Black Widow!)
ZZ Top – Tejas
Ethernal – Grim Ethernity Demo
Ethernal – Arkioas (“love on first riff”, as an excited fan posts an their bandcamp. Well-produced, riff-heavy, melodic black metal, somehow sounding very fresh and different than the rest of the black masses)
Pre-ordering: only when the pre-order is made attractive (limited edition, discount). Other than that I’m more of an instant gratification type of guy (which makes ordering online frustrating enough).
I need that Ifing album!
I rarely pre-order albums unless it is something I’m exceptionally excited about (Panopticon/Falls) or a killer pre-order exclusive. LIke ikben I’m a instant satisfaction sort of person, probably why I enjoy Bandcamp so much.
Skogen – I Döden
Old Wainds – Nordraum
Gravehill – Death Curse
Sólstafir – Köld
Triptykon – Melana Chasmata
Nocturnal Breed – Napalm Nights
Nux Vomica – Nux Vomica
Katatonia – Kocytean EP
Woman is the Earth – Depths
Heathen – The Evolution of Chaos
Ered Wethrin – Tides of War
Saor – Roots
Infestum – E X | I S T
Sargeist – Feeding the Crawling Shadows
Gallowbraid – Ashen Eidolon
I don’t have any problem preordering if it’s an album I’m fairly certain I’ll like. Other than the wait, it doesn’t really make any difference to me.
Dead Moon – Trash & Burn
Omen – Nightmares
Seidr – Ginnungagap
Songs: Ohia – Magnolia Electric Co.
Tollund Men – Donar’s Oak
Leonard Cohen – Songs of Love and Hate
Waldgeflüster – Meine Fesseln
Current 93 – All The Pretty Little Horses
Lycus – Tempest
Circulation of Light – Plight of Origins
Ikbenfreek, I would agree Bastards is the best Motorhead of the 90’s, which coincidentally I am wearing my Bastards shirt right now. It was a definite return to form and statement album after March or Die, one of the worst Motorhead albums IMO. I thought Sacrifice, Overnight Sensation, and Snake Bite Love were all decent albums though.
Verberis – Vastitas
Smaga – My Lands
Vspolokh – Sorrow of the Past
Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard of Ozz
Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman
Tryptikon – Esparistera Daimones
Omen – Battle Cry
Lost Horizon – A Flame to the Ground Beneath
Motley Crue – Shout at the Devil
Sir Lord Baltimore – Kingdom Come
Doesn’t make a huge difference to me on the preordering. I’ll am more likely to preorder if there is a limited run on something. I would say most of the time I wait until the release date before I order though.
Freek – NuclearHammer new LP is out now on CD from NWN. $6!
Yes I saw, but those damn shipping costs… NWN seems to charge for a box, even if you only order one item. I’ll see if I can find a European distro carrying it. I do NEED that album though…
I,Voidhangers is trading with NWN soon. He’ll probably get it as well as all the other dudes that trade with him.
Thanks dude!
I think pre-orders are great, for various reasons. I
appreciate the ability to secure something that I have
either been searching for and/or anticipating. As said,
the pre-order allows me to secure something important, but
then be able to focus my attention on other things. Like
many of you understand, it can become ‘exhausting’ to keep
wondering, and scanning, for which distro the said item
might show up at first, etc. I can then spend that
search/scan time to either more fully enjoy what I already
have and/or keep my ear open for those yet unknown to me.
I can only assume that it allows the labels the ability to
better anticipate interest, more efficiently handle
packing duties, and optimize cash-flow. ???
I do, however, think that a pre-order should be no more
than a few months ahead of release. There is nothing
worse than paying for something way in advance, in the
hopes that it still exists and/or actually materializes in
the distant future. Metal/music should never be
comparable to Social Security. 8-/
Instead of a long playlist, I will simply share a few
clips of some recent spinnings. Hails to you all!
This needs a proper CD issue:
Unite the tribes, and let the gathered wisdom flow at 1:40
A little Morok never hurts:
Always loved this cover of Damnation’s classic:
Finish by lounging amongst the stars this evening …
The craving for that new Nuclearhammer has won me over; guess I’ll order from NWN! with some other stuff I’ve been wanting to get my hands on (like Sacriphyx, Katechon, the first Abigail full-length and that covers album by Ares Kingdom).
Ah fatherly bliss… Enjoying Motörhead and unpacking the Throneum re-releases I’ve ordered while my son lies sleeping beside me…
\m/
Unaerth> I second that Damnation cover by Azarath!
scarlet– thanks for posting about nuclearhammer–, i ordered.
bastards is the best 90s motorhead easy, though it does end with a total dud, devils, which sucks and sucks in a tedious and forced way, and in general, i feel that the last song is the most important spot on an album. another perfect day is definitely my by far favorite motorhead album, though admittedly, thin lizzy is my #2 favorite band of all time and the class, comps, and melody of robertson elevates that thing to near lizzy greatness. (and since i brought it up…top ten bands… 1. blue oyster cult 2. thin lizzy 3. manowar 4. black sabbath 5. manilla road 6. goblin 7. king crimson 8. destroyer 666 9. immortal 10. judas priest)
shawn’s list has a lot of classics and yeah, a flame to the ground beneath is the best power metal album ever. and though i really like the randy ozzy albums, bark at the moon…those compositions were at another level and his singing was so tasteful, kind of like on never say die. don’t think ozzy ever matched the quality of “waiting for darkness,” though “bark at the moon” is damn close as is “now you see it”
judas priest ram it down (hated by many, but has blood red skies and monsters of rock, which are both huge world-building experiences)
destroyer 666 cold steel … for an iron age (deluxe version with dragon)
goblin la via della droga
manowar kings of metal 2014
smaga
six feet under undead (a surprise here— probably the only thing with chris barnes singing that i like from beginning to end. fun and very easy to get into.)
jazztet meet the jazztet
scald will of the gods is great power (a must for fans of atlantean kodex’s first release)
Here here on Bark At the Moon. Jake E. Lee’s playing, especially on the title track, is nothing short of godly (that closing solo is fucking amazing). And so glad you brought up ‘Waiting for Darkness’ – I completely agree, Ozzy’s voice and lyrics are full of emotion and power. That song has been there for me through times both good and bad. Bark At the Moon was the first Ozzy album I ever heard back when it was new in ’83, and I’ll still be spinning it when I return to the dust 😉
Mr. Zahler,
So what are your thoughts of the Manowar Kings of Metal redo? Of my incomplete Manowar collection, Kings of Metal is my favorite. Seems a little suspect on the re-recording, but curious to your opinion as they are #4 on your list.
Last few spins…
Pagan Altar – Mythical and Magical
Inquisition – Obscure Verses
Panopticon – Social Disservices
ATMA Weapon – Dark Tower
Savatage – Sirens
Voivod – To the Death ’84
Oh and from the previous topic…the best spring music is the Brewer’s on a nine game winning streak. 🙂
cirkus–
the new song order is better for kings of metal, since it no longer peaks for energy/speed in the first cut (eg. wheels of fire). the production is very similar, and although i enjoy pleasure slave, the album works better as a whole without it (it was a bonus track originally i believe). eric sounds excellent, only straining for the sustained highs at the end of kingdom come—probably why i don’t remember hearing them doing it live—but overall, it’s good but pointless release unless you a completist/fanatic like i am. one of the reason they are my #3 favorite band is because i like all of their albums—-though gods of war is like mirrors for blue oyster cult—very close to the edge of not being worthwhile. into glory ride, triumph of steel, sign of the hammer, battle hymns, louder than hell, and kings of metal are the mandatory ones for the less committed manowarrior.
ikbenfreek,
my favorite humilation album of the 4 i’ve bought—
http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Humiliation/From_Strength_to_Strength/341605/
Sorry! Manowar #3…should check my work before submitting…
Funny thing about the Pleasure Slave song, I always thought that in the middle of the album, it brought the flow to an absolute stop. So when I got my i pod years ago, I just took it off. I agree the album flows so much better without it.
A lot of interesting topics to touch upon here…
I need to check out the Jake E. Lee Ozzy albums as I have never actually listened to them in their entirety before. I have never been a huge Ozzy solo fan. I own the Rhoads albums and No More Tears and that’s it. It has been a while since I listened to the Rhoads’ albums and have to admit I really enjoyed listening to the. Time to check out the Jake E. Lee albums maybe.
Manowar…that is a topic of debate that never gets old to me. I enjoy all of the Manowar albums I own, which starts at Battle Hymns and ends with Warriors of the World. Now that Manowar is on the mind I might have to buy the Kings of Metal redo and complete off my Manowar collection. Kings of Metal is probably my favorite album and I agree that Pleasure Slave, although enjoyable in it’s own way, kills the momentum of that album. Should have been a B-side or thrown in at the end of the album. Zahler, how would you rank the post Warriors of the World albums?
I also like the all time top ten disclosure Zahler. You got me thinking of my own all time top 10. This is somewhat difficult thing to do because when I think of all time top 10 I think of bands with great catalogues throughout their careers, yet there are bands that have released 2-3 albums that might be in my top albums of all time, but I don’t know if it is a enough to make them one of my top bands of all time. For example, I love the early Venom albums about as much as any metal albums out there, but they are probably not in my all time top 10 as a band because their career has been pretty inconsistent. I can say without hesitation that Iron Maiden is my number one band of all time. I enjoy every album in their catalogue, with Virtual XI being the only one I struggle to find enjoyment in. I worship at the altar of their first 7 albums. I am going to try to put some more thought into this topic and return with my own top 10 list.
Shawn,
Gods of War is borderline and hard to recommend unless you are a completist. The ELEVEN SONG VERSION of lords of steel is all metal and better than Warriors of the World IF you can get past the terrible production, which sounds like a blown out stage monitor of bass is swallowing up 50% of the mix. but the songs are there and there’s a ton of soloing—again, on the 11 song version that ends with Kingdom of Steel, the ten song version is weaker by far.
In considering top ten bands, album consistency is #1 for me, followed by how often i listen to the band, and also how they are/were live to a lesser extent. So yeah, I think Red and Court of the Crimson King and Mob Rules and Heaven and Hell are better than any Manowar album, by far, but King Crimson also has three albums I don’t like—Earthbound, Beat, Three of Pair—and Sabbath has a lot of duds (some of the “classics” just have too much moron singing), though plenty of gems with Dio, Ozzy, and Tony Martin (Tyr & Eternal Idol are better than half of the 70s albums). So BOC and Manowar are the two who are batting 100% for me. Lizzy had some missteps at the beginning, but then landed again and again. And for me, it’s not fair to compare a band like Emperor who made only four albums, though three of them are great. Summoning and Pink Floyd and Yes also go on and off that list.
And get Bark at the Moon. My favorite Ozzy record ever—including every Sabbath record—though I adore Vol. 4, Masters of Reality, & Never Say Die. Never in my life do I need to hear again the moron vocals in the verses of Iron Man or NIB or the chorus of Electric Funeral.