Metal Heads Assemble!!

[Xeogred]

Yeah, they weren't a bad opener or anything, but it did feel a bit phoned in. Dave sounded a little rough. I dig some of their stuff though (more than Metallica!)

[Reprise]

Bump!

Any fans of the atmospheric, dark ambient, black metal out there? I'm looking for some suggestions/recommendations and to see if there's any fans?

Haha yeah. I'm big into this stuff.

Oh nice! Thanks for the suggestions. I checked out a few of them and will bookmark them to give a proper listen sometime.

You ever checked out Sort Vokter?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilazstq20ZY

Or Manes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKl03UW ... 6CFCBF0ED2

Or Shining (Swe)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEU8OFHrJKs

Or Sigh?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0YZyAXvxKs

[AppleQueso]

hi sigh is one of my all time fave bands bye

[BoneSnapDeez]

Bump!

Any fans of the atmospheric, dark ambient, black metal out there? I'm looking for some suggestions/recommendations and to see if there's any fans?

Haha yeah. I'm big into this stuff.

Oh nice! Thanks for the suggestions. I checked out a few of them and will bookmark them to give a proper listen sometime.

You ever checked out Sort Vokter?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilazstq20ZY

Or Manes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKl03UW ... 6CFCBF0ED2

Or Shining (Swe)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEU8OFHrJKs

Or Sigh?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0YZyAXvxKs

Hell yeah I'm familiar with that stuff; it's great. I've been into black metal for ~20 years now, explored most of the second wave scene.

Check out the Manes demos Maanens natt and Ned i stillheten sometime. Savage shit.

[aaron]

anyone here going to Full Terror Assault in Illinois in September? Overkill, Venom Inc., Goatwhore, Crowbar... Looks pretty alright. I really just wanna see Venom Inc.

[Ack]

Jill Janus, the lead singer of Huntress, apparently committed suicide a few days ago.

[Ack]

Man, outside of one post, I haven't been in this thread much in years.

I've been on a Bolt Thrower/Pallbearer kick for what feels like four years now (with a couple of stops to check out Municipal Waste's latest in 2017). What have I missed in the world of metal?

[MrPopo]

The other day I was introduced to this band called Valkyrie. They started in the late 80s, put out a demo album, and played for a few years, then went completely dark. Then in 2015 they resurfaced, put out an EP in 2017 and a full album this year. Details are scarce (at least in English), but my guess is that they disbanded to get jobs, then decided 25 years later to live their dream and get back together. They've got a couple tracks on youtube that were pretty hot; I picked up their CD based on the strength of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGP4RGRh3Oc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ05Dv__mWU

[nullPointer]

Man, outside of one post, I haven't been in this thread much in years.

I've been on a Bolt Thrower/Pallbearer kick for what feels like four years now (with a couple of stops to check out Municipal Waste's latest in 2017). What have I missed in the world of metal?

If you dig Pallbearer, I highly recommend checking out Khemmis. They do 'long-form doom' in a similar vein to Pallbearer. But whereas the Pallbearer style is more informed by 'progressive doom' tendencies, Khemmis leans more heavily into a 'retro-doom' style. They're also from the Rocky Mountain West, so I'm pretty much required to rep them. But Khemmis isn't just, 'hey these dudes are from my area' good, they're legitimately good. They released a new album this year (Desolation), but I'd recommend starting with Hunted if you've not listened to them before.
https://khemmis.bandcamp.com/album/hunted

I'm also a true sucker for female fronted doom bands (not sure what it is about this genre in particular but it's certainly not lacking for female vocalists). There's just something about an airy ethereal feminine voice floating over the top of excessively downtuned and distorted guitars. Maybe it's just me. But if it's not just me, then it's hard to go wrong with Windhand, who also released a new album this year (called Eternal Return). The only trouble with Windhand is that they seem to be reaching a point in which their steadfast resistance to change is becoming more and more noticeable. So if you dig their style, you're set … if you don't dig their style, don't expect to find anything that's going to change your mind. But … if you're looking for a female fronted doom band that's slightly off the beaten path, please check out Messa. Their first full length in 2017 (called Belfry) totally blew me away. Their sophomore full length (called Feast for Water) released just this year. It's quite a bit different from the first, but also a great release. Messa hails from Italy, so they also score 'exotic location' bonus points.
https://windhand.bandcamp.com/album/eternal-return
https://messa666.bandcamp.com/album/belfry

It's hard to compete with Bolt Thrower; they were truly one of a kind. OTOH I don't keep up with a whole lot of more modern grindcore, so maybe there are a whole milieu of Bolt Thrower acolytes of which I'm unaware. It's hard to understate their impact and influence all strains of extreme metal IMO. Fun fact: Anti-Tank (Dead Armour) is one of the standard tracks I use as a wake up alarm. I can't get enough of that clanky, rumbling bass tone. Any hoo, if the lyrical themes of Bolt Thrower turn your crank (and especially those from Those Once Loyal), I'd highly, highly recommend checking out 1914. I just discovered these guys within the last year, but they're awesome. These dudes love WWI. Maybe love is the wrong word, but I mean, they pretty much eat trench warfare and shit mustard gas. Basically every song on every album centers around WWI. Their most recent album (The Blind Leading the Blind) literally released on 11/11/18 at 11 AM (the exact moment of the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI). It rules. Any hoo, I pick up a lot of Boly Thrower DNA from these guys.
https://x1914x.bandcamp.com/album/the-b ... -the-blind

As far as Municipal Waste goes, it's worth checking out Iron Reagan if you've not done so. I mean it's almost the same band, just stripped back by a couple of members (and a different drummer). The main difference is that Iron Reagan leans even more heavily into that retro crossover sound than Municipal Waste (who obviously draw more directly from thrash). So Iron Reagan is slightly more punk sounding than the Waste. I tend to think of them as a DRI tribute band who just happen to play original songs, lol. If you like that style, their last album (Crossover Ministry) is a good one. Further, if you dig that retro-thrash sound but have never checked out Toxic Holocaust, you should also do that now. That's not even 'current metal happenings', just some really good shit. In fact I'm going to listen to some Toxic Holocaust right now.
https://ironreagan.bandcamp.com/album/c ... r-ministry
https://toxicholocaust.bandcamp.com/alb ... e-of-death

Other metal happenings this year: The new Immortal album (Northern Chaos Gods) is solid. Exactly what you would expect from these black metal veterans, and completely lays to rest any doubt of whether they can still kick ass without Abbath. In fact I get a real 'At The Heart of Winter' vibe from this one, which is probably my favorite Immortal album to begin with. So this is definitely one of my albums of the year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5uP9PlEDro

I've discussed my unabashed love for High on Fire in this very thread. But fanboy-ism aside, this year's album (Electric Messiah) is yet another banger. This is a band playing with the chops and finesse of guys that have been playing together for years now, and yet they never run out of steam. High on Fire is the modern equivalent of Motorhead. There, I said it (and I frickin' love Motorhead). In fact the album title and title track here are actually a tribute to Lemmy.
https://highonfiresl.bandcamp.com/album ... ic-messiah

Speaking of Matt Pike, Sleep also released a new album this year, their first in 20 years (but to be fair they were exhaling a single bong rip for 10 of those years, so …). At any rate it kicks ass. If you've ever dug Sleep, this is worth checking out. Let it be known that 2018 was the year of the Pike!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAs95WJ ... YrQTWIHpCo

Holy crap, this is a long post. So, let's make it just a bit longer (albeit not as verbose).

Judas Priest – Firepower (2018): Is the almighty Priest even capable of releasing an album of solid material in 2018? Yes. They are and they did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QtjdDi ... p5w8nVW9fM

Horrendus – Idol (2018): "I wish there was a modern death metal band that actually sounded modern while simultaneously paying tribute to later-era Death" – Some Metalheads. Horrendous. Horrendous is that band.
https://horrendous.bandcamp.com/album/idol

Akercocke – Renaissance in Extremis (2017): The British death metal weirdos are back. Still in top form. Still unmistakably Akercoke. This is another release that might have slipped off some radars in 2017. That would have been a mistake. Embrace the 'Cocke!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DX21xO ... uvyzOwLhPc

[Ack]

Oh shit, dude, I just listened to the first track on Khemmis' Hunted album, and that was awesome.

I'll be checking out Windhand, Messa, and the others you mentioned. If you're into female-fronted metal bands though, have you listened to Christian Mistress? Give it a shot if you like that classic sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaRnYOki-1Y