I listened to it again and I like it. I don't recall much about it and don't have much heavy interest in eerie and cold industrial music at this moment. Although if I ever am in the mood for that style, this will be one of the go-tos for a revisit.
Not much of a write up and Indeed I was thinking of leaving step 1 blank for this as I really don't remember much about this album.
I made a list of 500 or so albums (vast majority under the heading of metal) that I wanna get to, most of which are part of the heavy music canon as it were... Here are the first 10 of that queue in no particular order...
1. Teethed Glory and Injury by Altar of Plagues/2013
2. Mental Funeral by Autopsy/1991 3. Bath/Leaving Your Body Map by maudlin of the Well/2001 (re-visit of course, but this time listening to them as one album which is what was originally intended rather than split up or out of sequence.)
4. Protestant by Rorschach/1993
5. The Laws of Scourge by Sarcofago/1991 6. Souvenirs d'un autre monde by Alcest/2007 7. Darkness Descends by Dark Angel/1986 (revisit)
8. Trisagion by Ethereal Shroud/2021 (somewhere along the line this became the highest rated metal album of 2021 on RYM, overtaking the all-timer by Ad Nauseam... curious. Wonder what that's all about.)
9. Tales From The Thousand Lakes by Amorphis/1994 (re-visit)
10. The Red In The Sky is Ours by At The gates/1992 (re-visit) _________________ -Ryan
This posthumously released session with drummer Rashied Ali gets off to a great start with Mars. I love that track - great energy and balance. From there, the album is more unmoored, frenetic, and difficult to absorb. Brilliant stuff, to be sure. But while it's a very good record instrumentally, it's also a bit too much, at least at first listen. I'll start it at a 3.5/5.
2. Sun Ship - John Coltrane
3. Various Positions - Leonard Cohen
8. Porgy And Bess - Miles Davis
10. Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell
12. Blackouts - Ashra
14. Japanese Whispers - The Cure
18. Time Out Of Mind - Bob Dylan
20. Free Will - Gil Scott-Heron
23. The Shining - J Dilla
25. Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
MercuryTurn your back on the pay-you-back last callProfile St. Louis
Overall, I liked this. Not really very much, but I liked it. Not very high impact music. I love me some Black Metal and I generally am unmoved by even the most remarkable Shoegaze, so a mixture of the 2 sounds was not a guaranteed winner for me.
As far as the sound, yes, the clean and warm vocals are very reminiscent of Slowdive and other shoegaze I've heard (I have heard very little so I perhaps don't have a great comparison for this stuff), the guitars were playing a bunch of traditionally black metally riffs but with not much of the lofi, cold and evil or wintery sounds/vibes attached. The blast beats when they occasionally came in were barely recognizable as BM beats despite being that same style. It's hard to explain, but I suppose if I had gone into this album blind and with no preconceived idea on what this album is and how much it influenced bands for the 15 years that have followed, I doubt I would have come away from my listen thinking "That was clearly a Shoegaze meets black metal album!". Instead I woulda thought it was a very beautiful almost post rock or post metal inspired Shoegaze record. Idk. I'm rambling.
The final track struck me as particularly beautiful. The album flows well and by no means was it in any way unpleasant. Sounded like a perfect Springtime album - the soundscapes sound like they are unfolding and blossoming and it sounds like the land opening up upon the re-arrival of the sun and warmth.
I am glad I finally heard this album. This band and project were a HUGE deal when I arrived to this site in 2013. That was when the whole "Blackgaze" sound started taking off. I remember seeing this album cover every where, on charts and lists here, on RYM, on twitter etc. And I was shocked that it didn't drop in like 2011 or 2010 just a couple years before the other most popular Blackgaze album Sunbather, but rather way wayyyy back in '07. Looking at the RYM description and history of this style, it seems Alcest sort of CREATED this sound. That's rare that the first releases in a style are still some of the most popular. At least I think it is on that website in particular. (Other examples of bolt from the blue/lets master this sound on first try-type releases are the origins of "Post Rock" (Spirit of Eden), and "Post Metal" (Through Silver In Blood, other Neurosis).
Anyway, I guess going in I expected a much dirtier and rougher sound. I didn't think it would be like Darkthrone with some extra cool shoegaze walls of guitar, but I guess I was expecting something more along the lines of Sunbather. Sunbather by Deafheaven for the longest time was the only remotely Blackgaze album I'd listened to. And I liked it. The vocals were still somewhat black metally, and the riffs were at times still brutal and dark, and the blast beats and heaviness were still quite overpowering and intense. In the Black Metal to Shoegaze to Post rock/metal Ratio department I think Sunbather is split like 50/35/15, but with this album I'd say it's like a 25/55/20 Ratio if that makes sense.
Anyway, that's all. It was good. It was pretty. It didn't have a huge impact on me but it was a damned pleasant album to hear this morning in the beautiful spring breezes as I ate breakfast and got ready for work.
Oh and I wanted to say that album cover is special. Such a beautiful, warm photo and I love the way the child is centered and how, depending on my mood, I could interpret the general emotion that comes off of it in various ways (sometimes quite sad, sometimes quite free-spirited and nostalgic, etc)
I'll give it a 3.3 to 3.5/5
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2.
@baystateoftheart... I choose for thee, obviously, this one by my all time number 1 hero...
I made a list of 500 or so albums (vast majority under the heading of metal) that I wanna get to, most of which are part of the heavy music canon as it were... Here are the first 10 of that queue in no particular order...
1. Teethed Glory and Injury by Altar of Plagues/2013
2. Mental Funeral by Autopsy/1991 3. Bath/Leaving Your Body Map by maudlin of the Well/2001 (re-visit of course, but this time listening to them as one album which is what was originally intended rather than split up or out of sequence.)
4. Protestant by Rorschach/1993
5. The Laws of Scourge by Sarcofago/1991 6. Blod-Draum by Molested/1997 7. Darkness Descends by Dark Angel/1986 (revisit)
8. Trisagion by Ethereal Shroud/2021 (somewhere along the line this became the highest rated metal album of 2021 on RYM, overtaking the all-timer by Ad Nauseam... curious. Wonder what that's all about.)
9. Tales From The Thousand Lakes by Amorphis/1994 (re-visit)
10. The Red In The Sky is Ours by At The Gates/1992 (re-visit) _________________ -Ryan
I haven't listened to much late-career Dylan for some reason, so this is the obvious record to address that. I don't love the bluesier side of Bob's music; I vastly prefer the folkier side. This album has some of both, and so my opinion is predictably mixed. There are some great tracks here like Not Dark Yet, and a lot of very good ones. I don't think Highlands justifies its 16+ minute runtime, but it doesn't weigh the album down much either. While it doesn't captivate me, Time Out Of Mind is quite a nice listen, and one I'll return to at some point. 3.5/5.
2. Sun Ship - John Coltrane
3. Various Positions - Leonard Cohen
8. Porgy And Bess - Miles Davis
10. Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell
12. Blackouts - Ashra
14. Japanese Whispers - The Cure
18. Modern Times - Bob Dylan
20. Free Will - Gil Scott-Heron
23. The Shining - J Dilla
25. Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
Night Time by Killing Joke
Definitely a good one, but I generally prefer the industrial, noisy and/or punky Killing Joke, like the debut or their later stuff (which I've not heard much of, but what I have heard is good). Night Time sounds a bit like they found themselves in a limbo between the noisy, alternative roots and the new wave aesthetics. Stylistically it's not the best, but the songs still are quite good. The first 4 tracks and the closer Eighties are highlights, but the rest is pleasant as well. In fact, if this wasn't a Killing Joke album I'd probably be more positive about it, but I know Killing Joke can be much cooler than this. Still a pretty damn good record, 7.5/10
(2)
I've never heard any solo J Dilla apart from Donuts, let's see what The Shining sounds like.
(3)
Clearing the queue
The Hirs Collective - We're Still Here
Lankum - False Lankum
Slowthai - Ugly
Wayne Shorter - Oddyssey of Iska
Nightmares on Wax - A Word of Science
Soul II Soul - Club Classics, Vol. One
No Mercy - Widespread Bloodshed / Love Runs Red
Woo - Which Ever Way
Xiu Xiu - The Air Force
Blur - Parklife _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
Up my alley this one is. As part of the 1986 Evil Trio of absurdly fast and extreme thrash classics (along with Reign In Blood and Pleasure to KIll) it is good I finally listened to this. I believe I heard this at some point but hadn't remembered anything about it so I guess I wasn't paying attention.
While it doesn't hold a candle to Reign In Blood in my estimation (almost nothing does), it is indeed of a similar caliber to Pleasure To Kill and of a similar order of magnitude to both records in terms of (for its time) heaviness, speed and influence on later and more extreme metal styles.
The drumming is stellar and wildly assured and heavy. The riffs and bass work are consistently impressive. The vocals on't do much for me but they are fine. (few thrash bands and albums have vocals I truly love - including some of my favorite music and thrash ever from Metallica and Slayer - just not a genre that features consistently awesome vocal work in my opinion... Exodus's work with Paul Baloff on vocals is really the only exception that comes to mind).
I listened to this 3 times today and I enjoyed it each time the whole way through. The main gripes are simply that, while nothing was bad about the album, there were some very redundant sounds throughout. I find this to be true of most even classic thrash albums, a general lack of variety or uniqueness in the riffs despite there being so many. This album is mostly incredible due to its gross and heavy production - not clean, muddy to the right extent, and bludgeoning in sound. As well as it's occasional badass riff switch ups and the general air of heavy, evil, badassery that wafts off this album.
If I were to compare this to Reign In Blood, it wouldn't be fair because every aspect of RIB is better in my opinion. BUT if I were to compare to another '86 extremely heavy and fast Thrash classic, Pleasure to KIll by the kings of German thrash. When compared to PTK, I'd say I prefer this a bit. Kreeator may have been faster but I don't think they were quite as heavy and muddy and bludgeony(?). But Kreator's speed was soooo absurd it felt like each member of the band was pantingly trying to keep up with the drummer's pace and the result is less of a lockstep grooviness than what Dark Angel does here.
Idk. Not much of interest to say about this. Do you think thrash is cool? Do you like heavy crushing riffs played fast as shit with tons of attitude? Are these features generally enough to entice and amuse you without a deep need for songwriting and dynamic shifts and sonic individuality between tracks? Well, then this is for you.
I'll give it a 3.5 to 3.9/5
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2.
@LedZep, this is a really good record in my opinion and a classic obviously, so check this brit pop rock classic out. I bet you'll get at least one of the songs stuck in your head after a couple listens...
I made a list of 500 or so albums (vast majority under the heading of metal) that I wanna get to, most of which are part of the heavy music canon as it were... Here are the first 10 of that queue in no particular order...
1. Teethed Glory and Injury by Altar of Plagues/2013
2. Mental Funeral by Autopsy/1991 3. Bath/Leaving Your Body Map by maudlin of the Well/2001 (re-visit of course, but this time listening to them as one album which is what was originally intended rather than split up or out of sequence.)
4. Protestant by Rorschach/1993
5. The Laws of Scourge by Sarcofago/1991 6. Blod-Draum by Molested/1997 7. Nihil quam vacuitas ordinatum est by Ad Nauseam/2015 (revisit)
8. Trisagion by Ethereal Shroud/2021 (somewhere along the line this became the highest rated metal album of 2021 on RYM, overtaking the all-timer by Ad Nauseam... curious. Wonder what that's all about.)
9. Tales From The Thousand Lakes by Amorphis/1994 (re-visit)
10. The Red In The Sky is Ours by At The Gates/1992 (re-visit) _________________ -Ryan
Parklife by Blur
You were right on the money Merc, this is catchy and fun as hell. I've never heard a full Blur album as far as I can remember, despite knowing a dozen songs. In fact, Britpop has never been one of my go-to genres of the 90s, apart from maybe Suede and a few Blur and Oasis songs. Not on the same level as Grunge for me, but that's a different (and possibly controversial) discussion. I'm seeing Blur live in a few weeks, so it's finally time to play some records. Girls & Boys is an old fave of mine, catchy pop rock song in that specific Damon Albarn vein. End of a Century slaps, Parklife is a classic, To The End another fave, Clover Over Dover a newly discovered silly goose jam. The only negative thing I have to say about this album is that it's kinda samey. The style here didn't fully grab me (yet) - definitely prefer the greatest hits playlist to the full album. Still glad I gave this classic a go. 7.5/10
Also, their new single is excellent, don't miss it!
(2)
Darkness Descends? More like Dankness Descends. It's rude and grimy, but also fun, polished and flashy in a weird enjoyable way. Absolutely slaps. Several of the best metal songs of the 80s on there. Great review.
Half of this list are faves, with that Amorphis album being the best thing ever recorded. But I'm more interested in your thoughts on Ethereal Shroud. Didn't know it's the highest rated metal album on RYM, that's interesting. Personally, I didn't find it particularly transcendental or unique.
The Hirs Collective - We're Still Here
Lankum - False Lankum
Slowthai - Ugly
Shame - Food for Worms
Wayne Shorter - Oddyssey of Iska
Nightmares on Wax - A Word of Science
Soul II Soul - Club Classics, Vol. One
No Mercy - Widespread Bloodshed / Love Runs Red
Woo - Which Ever Way
Xiu Xiu - The Air Force _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
This was beautiful and epic and very well produced and arranged. I liked the drum work alot. I am impressed with the one-man-band aspect of this record as I almost always am. I think that the pretty, melodic almost classical bits are quite nice sounding. There is no fatal flaw here at all. Solid through and through. However...
I don't know if it's my bias against American BM or against modern Black metal, or against the more artsy, post-rock-y, less primal styles or sounds of BM, or maybe it's all of those slight biases compounded, but I wasn't moved greatly by this album. Throughout, while enjoying some keyboard touch or some epic melodic soaring riff, or some beautiful clean vocal that has choral qualities, I was consistently reminded of other musicians and bands that did these things arguably better (obviously arguable) and also did these things with a much more feral, elemental, frightening and unnerving underlying soul that Ethereal Sghroud never quite has or captues or really TRIES to capture as far as I can tell. Burzum does the atmospheric keyboard bits much more hauntingly and brilliantly. Mgla's riffs are much more primal while still being memorable and huge and oddly catchy. And Emperor does the choral, big vocal sounds much better (admittedly and to be fair, the clean and pretty vocals on Trisagion are quite different than what you'll hear on Emperor classics).
I am not a MASSIVE Black Metal fanboy. Nor do I have a large amount of experience or records and bands to compare Ethereal Shroud to. Those 3 I mentioned are all pertinent but also all very famous and obvious. So, as a novice of the genre, I am not trying to say that all the sounds here on this LP are derivative. Because some of the elements and some of the STRUCTURES of these HUGE songs are actually quite new and inventive to my ears. The main thing that holds me back from really getting into this is a hard-to-place, intangible, perhaps a bit petty bias against late millenial/zoomer Black Metal artists that embrace the less disgusting and primal aspects of the genre and instead embrace the emotive, epic, somewhat clean and epic sounds of the style.
I'll give it a 3 to 3.2/5
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2.
@LedZep, Not terribly interested in any of those listed albums. But I do like shame well enough and I have yet to listen to their newest LP despite being interested/intrigued. So...
1. Tales From The Thousand Lakes by Amorphis/1994 (currently #2 on chart)
2. Ire Works by The Dillinger Escape Plan/2007 (#3 on the chart)
3. Marrow of the Spirit by Agalloch/2010 (#6 on the chart)
4. Mirror In Darkness by Serpant Column/2019 (#9 on the chart)
5. Stronghold by Summoning/1999 (currently #12 on the chart)
6. The Gallery by Dark Tranquility/1995 (#15 on the chart)
7. Subaqueous by Drown/2020 (#18 on chart)
8. Mental Funeral by Autopsy/1991 (not on chart, but I really wanna keep this and these next 2 here from prior selections list)
9. Bath/Leaving Your Body Map by maudlin of the Well/2001 (re-visit of course, but this time listening to them as one album which is what was originally intended rather than split up or out of sequence. Alos not on LedZep's chart.)
10. The Red In The Sky is Ours by At The Gates/1992 (re-visit - not on LedZep's chart.) _________________ -Ryan
Food For Worms by Shame
This one hit me straight in the feels for some reason. Didn't expect much, wasn't even that thrilled to listen to it considering that I've rarely replayed their last one, 2021's Drunk Tank Pink, despite liking it a lot. IDK, maybe it's the oversaturation of British indie post punk or something, but for some reason I've rarely played Shame after the summer of 2021. Heard a few singles in passing and didn't think too much of them except that they were fun. So this more indie, art rock, even gothic Fontaines-like style that Shame have adopted has left me scratching my head - in a good way. Several belters, including Fingers of Steele, Adderall, The Fall of Paul. Really glad I gave this a go, high 8/10
(2)
This time let's go with my favourite from this list - Tales From The Thousand Lakes.
BTW Mercury, both The Red In The Sky is Ours and those 2 Maudlin albums barely missed out my top 100. Mental Funeral was in considerations too. So this is effectively 10 or 11 of my faves 😄
(3)
Compiled metal picks from charts/lists
R marks relistens
Foetus - Gash (DommeDamian)
Pyrrhon - Mother of Virtues (AfterHours)
Queensrÿche - Rage For Order (Repo)
Voïvod - Angel Rat (Repo)
Sacramentum - Far Away From the Sun (Gowi) R
Melvins - Stoner Witch (Gowi) R?
Assuck - Misery Index (Mercury)
Neurosis - Souls at Zero (Mercury) R?
Virgin Black - Requiem: Mezzo forte (RockyRacoon)
Harvey Milk - Life... The Best Game in Town (RockyRacoon) _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
I don't really have my creative juices flowing this AM, nor have I a particular angle on talking about this album, nor have I done what I usually do when I have no ideas - which is list out the 5-10 things that jump out at me about the album, talk about those and call it a day.
That said, I REALLY like this album quite a bit. With albums like this - ones that are varied and don't go incredibly hard in one direction or another - I sometimes lose interest because I'm a simple man and I like having one main feature to focus on. Whether the absurd heaviness of an album, or the extreme aggressive speed, or the long orchestral or ambient elements or the ugliness-turned-beautifulness of the production or or or, it's easy for me to comment and focus in on that. But with this album, it's a wholistic metal experience. There is the classic 90s black/death trope of the beautiful short instrumental at the beginning, which in this case is quite beautiful and feels less like a throwaway "Atmosphere-setter" than it does on many 90s metal album. There are riffs that are HEAVY and almost DOOMY that are gorgeously textured. There are bits of Melodic Death Metal that are both savage and catchy and EPIC. There are even real out of left field bits when the synth or keyboards come in and marry up with a hard-charging heavy metal riff that for a brief moment reminds me of something you'd here on a Rammstein album. There are Prog Metal parts here that are smooth and where the bass work in particular shines and the time signatures do cool things that me as a technical/musical pleb can't really put my finger on what makes it good... but it is. etc etc etc.
The band is universally suited for their roles. The guitars and riffs are thunderous and beautifully recorded. A few of the riffs and riff changes and progressions reminded me of Master Of Puppets-era Metallica. Just wanted to name drop that real quick whilst I was thinking of it. The drummer and bassist are very solid, nothing that blows my ever-loving mind but throughout the rhythm section is nicely done and serves the songs. The vocals are odd and mercurial at times, but mostly stay in this gnarly nasty broken death metal growl which is quite awesome and when it changes to something more melodic or strange, it works there too. Yeah all in all no UTTER stand outs like you may have on a Slayer or Maiden or Priest or Megadeth album (none of those artists are comparable to Amorphis, I know I know) where Lombardo's drums, or Harris' bass, or Halford's pipes or Mustaine's guitar completely overshadows all the other great stuff on the album. A Team effort and their is no "I" in "TEAM"
The first couple times I listened to this I listened to the entire Apple Music presentation of the album - 53 minutes, 14 tracks. And that is a good example of why addition by subtraction is a good thing. Because this album is a great one at its ACTUAL original intended flow and length - 10 tracks and 40 minutes of chiseled beautiful and melodic death metal steeped in all kinds of other influences. Those first 2 listens the experience was a bit deadened or let down by the last 4 tracks, including the weird Doors cover of "Light My Fire" that I thought was the actual way they ended the album for a few months lol. I am glad that is not how it was originally intended because I don't like that song. If you wanna listen to this on Spotify or Apple Music or even on CD and if your CD has more than 10 tracks, just turn the CD off or restart from the beginning once you complete the GLORIOUS and perhaps best song here, the actual closing track "Magic and Mayhem".
Oh and speaking of tracks, the best of which and so forth, well this is consistently awesome! But the tracks that stand out the most are "Forgotten Sunrise" - because this song features one of the best transitions and one of the coolest introductions mid way through of one of the HEAVIEST and best riffs I've ever heard. And the closer "Magic and Mayhem" is up there due to it's odd yet awesome electronic almost Industrial metal detour that they pull off flawlessly. Also really love "Black Winter SDay", "Drowned Maid", "The Castaway" and "First Doom". But again, there is not a remotely bad or dud track here on the 10-track album proper.
I went a bit long here, but I like this a lot and I guess I had a few things to say about it. Glad I finally got to it and really gave it a few close listens. May consider adding it to my metal top 100 soon when I do next update.
I'll give it a 3.8-4.2/5
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2.
@LedZep, I know it's obnozious, but I'm picking one of MY fave metal albums, maybe my second fave deathgrind album, absolute classic, and all these riffs fit into a 15 minute thrill-ride! I think you'll enjoy, and maybe, fingers crossed, LOVE this Honey Badger of an album:
I made a metal top 100 and then LedZep made one and now I will use his chart to get some metal recs. Oh and Edit/Update: We now have 5(!!!) Metal Top 100s made for this project! Me, LedZep, Gowi and Repo and RockyRaccoon all made kickass (in their own unique ways) - Metal top 100 albums lists. From those submissions I, of course, made a big list and ranking with points and shit. I will keep some old ones on below list to choose and then the top 8 albums I haven't heard or essentially haven't heard or don't recall giving a fair shake from the top 100s... Here goes:
1. Unquestionable Presence by Atheist/1991 (have a heard this? surely I have. I can't remember much about it outside of the thought "wow that is complex music..." - came in at #25 in combined list.)
2. Nightfall In Middle-Earth by Blind Guardian/1998 (similar to above, I think I must have heard it, I def remember the fantastical vibe. it's such a masterpiece per many I really think it deserves a few good close listens - #30 in combined list)
3. Visions by Startovarius/1997 (for sure never heard this. Hell I had never heard OF IT until these lists. - #32 in combined list)
4. Consuming Impulse by Pestilence/1989 (Total classic and I have heard this long ago once and it was a gnarly beast! Needs new, close, sensual, listen or 3. - #36 in combined list)
5. The Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part 1 by Helloween/1987 (another power metal classic. never heard all the way through but what I've heard is cool as hell. - #40 on list)
6. Far Away From The Sun by Sacramentum/1996 (Never heard this one at all! - #41 on list)
7. Operation: Mindcrime by Queensryche/1988 (classic and I have heard parts. - #42 on list)
8. Individual Thought Patterns by Death/1993 (would you believe it if I said this is the only Death LP I have never heard? - #46)
9. Mental Funeral by Autopsy/1991 (not on any of the top 100 metal charts, but I really wanna keep this and this next album here from prior selections list)
10. Bath/Leaving Your Body Map by maudlin of the Well/2001 (re-visit of course, but this time listening to them as one album which is what was originally intended rather than split up or out of sequence. Not on the 5 Metal charts at all.) _________________ -Ryan
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Mercury
baystateoftheart
LedZep
