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The Metal Thread |OT2| All Riffs, No Gifs

Jeff Loomis looking to enter the studio later this year for his next solo album!

The new record is entitled "Deathless" and it is set for a fall release. Tom Strom did the artwork for it and it's absolutely incredible! We'll be revealing more info as the summer progresses, stay tuned!
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And in other good news Revocation's next album is due this fall. :D!!!!!

2014 has freaking delivered so far. Marty Friedman, Judas Priest, Arch Enemy, Conquering Dystopia, and Mastodon And then later Revocation, John 5, Mr. Big, and Extreme either in the summer or fall. And I still need to listen to the new Paul Gilbert album.
 
So I was randomly reading an article about the death of Rock music. It wouldn't be the first time, but no doubt it is hurting along with music in general.

Author gave the opinion that rock music has basically reached the point of being obsolete in contemporary society, at least here(USA) anyway. It has now joined the ranks of say jazz and classical music, genres of music that people love and respect but no one actually wants to hear modern interpretations of it. People will listen to their Led Zeppelins, Black Sabbath, and Metallica or what not, but anything new, forget it.

Personally in some ways it's true. I find myself rarely trying to look for new music these days. And yes, I know it's out there. But anything I like would probably never make mainstream conscience. Metal heads are fine with it I'm sure but just a interesting observation from when I was in high school and these things were all the rage.

I wonder if the music industry as a whole in simply no longer a viable, or as viable a form to express both true artistry AND make money. Maybe not even a good analogy, but while the graphics on your computer has yet to reach it's peak, the sound card for most has peaked long ago. It's done pretty much just about everything and you can only present it so many ways. What else can music offer me.

Back when I was in college Rock music was pronounced to be in trouble with the likes of the Prodigy and what not. Electronica was taking over. It was a bit too premature. But now with "music" so easy to make and so easy to get, maybe we are one step closer. The amount of kids who are inspired to be guitar and drum gods has to be at an all time low.

anyhow. just rambling.
 
When people say some genre "died" it usually means it's no longer "party music". Like jazz used to be the rebellious sex, drugs & drink songs but later became the staid genre. Rock was sex, drugs and rock'n'roll for a long time but today that "party" mantle has moved on to hip-hop/dance/rap music. Rock is now mostly very serious and emotional and not really "good times" music. In the future some new sound will be the new "get wasted" genre and the lyrics will go along with it.
 
teruterubozu said:
When people say some genre "died" it usually means it's no longer "party music". Like jazz used to be the rebellious sex, drugs & drink songs but later became the staid genre. Rock was sex, drugs and rock'n'roll for a long time but today that "party" mantle has moved on to hip-hop/dance/rap music. Rock is now mostly very serious and emotional and not really "good times" music. In the future some new sound will be the new "get wasted" genre and the lyrics will go along with it.
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No doubt. It's buried somewhere in a land fill with RockBand/Guitar hero instruments.

Heh. I started thinking about it because of this.

Former W.A.S.P. Guitarist CHRIS HOLMES Relocates To France: 'I Ain't Going Back To America'


Well, unless you're the opposite of me — a hip-hop artist or a rapper — you won't sell in America anymore. There's no rock magazines anymore. The black culture has really… The black culture has taken hip hop to white… The white culture and all the kids act like that; they wear their pants down. I think it's… I'm not 100 percent sure, but I when they go to school and they listen to hard rock, it's called 'pussy music.' [They are told] 'You need to listen to gangster rap.' I think that's what it is."

He continued: "I really looked at it in the last year and the way the culture has changed, and I don't wanna even be there. I had a hard enough time playing in a band in L.A., finding musicians. I'm tired of L.A., tired of the musicians there; they're stuck up. That's why I came to Europe. I like it here."
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Might be a bit exaggerating, but being that I'm not in high school no more, I have no clue how uncool rock music has become.

Made me think of an interview with Rob Zombie saying Rock music has been on a steady decline since grunge. NuMetal did ok, but never Metallica,Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Guns n Roses numbers. Even the New Wave of American Heavy metal never did the numbers of the past.
 
It's also why tons of metal artists basically live part time in Japan too. In the US, you can't get laid playing guitar anymore. You gotta be a DJ or some shit.
 
teruterubozu said:
It's also why tons of metal artists basically live part time in Japan too. In the US, you can't get laid playing guitar anymore. You gotta be a DJ or some shit.
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This makes me both laugh and cry.

Something else.

Why Is Heavy Metal Most Popular In Wealthy Countries? -The Huffington Post

o-HEAVY-METAL-900.jpg


In 2012, a map documenting the number of heavy metal bands per 100,000 people made rounds on the Internet, the greatest concentration landing in the Scandinavian countries. At the time, Richard Florida, co-founder and editor-at-large of The Atlantic's CityLab, originally looked to geography and personality to explain the results. Music that draws the "intense and rebellious" would, logically, go hand-in-hand with long, cold winters and a past filled with Pagans and Vikings, right?

Two years later, Florida has returned to the map, looking in through a different lens. In his new report, along with the help of his Martin Prosperity Institute colleague Charlotta Mellander, Richarrd Florida has discovered a relationship between a country's wealth and "high quality of life" and the popularity of heavy metal. He writes: "At the country-level, the number of heavy metal bands per capita is positively associated with economic output per capita (.71); level of creativity (.71) and entrepreneurship (.66); share of adults that hold college degrees (.68); as well as overall levels of human development (.79), well-being, and satisfaction with life (.60)."

While heavy metal might be most common in "the most advanced, most tolerant, and knowledge-based places in the world," Florida notes that there's no indication of direct causation between the two factors. Mellander, who is Swedish, believes that the density of heavy metal acts is related to Scandinavian governments’ "efforts to put compulsory music training in schools, which created a generation with the musical chop to meet metal’s technical demands." A genre born out of the United States and United Kingdom, it is unlikely that the genre would or will ever hold much weight in areas like Africa, the Middle East and much of Asia.

Heavy metal may sound the banner of the destitute and the alienated, but it is thriving among their counterparts, and the affluent certainly have the media, entertainment companies and consumers necessary to keep it alive.
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jmdajr said:
So I was randomly reading an article about the death of Rock music. It wouldn't be the first time, but no doubt it is hurting along with music in general.

Author gave the opinion that rock music has basically reached the point of being obsolete in contemporary society, at least here(USA) anyway. It has now joined the ranks of say jazz and classical music, genres of music that people love and respect but no one actually wants to hear modern interpretations of it. People will listen to their Led Zeppelins, Black Sabbath, and Metallica or what not, but anything new, forget it.

Personally in some ways it's true. I find myself rarely trying to look for new music these days. And yes, I know it's out there. But anything I like would probably never make mainstream conscience. Metal heads are fine with it I'm sure but just a interesting observation from when I was in high school and these things were all the rage.

I wonder if the music industry as a whole in simply no longer a viable, or as viable a form to express both true artistry AND make money. Maybe not even a good analogy, but while the graphics on your computer has yet to reach it's peak, the sound card for most has peaked long ago. It's done pretty much just about everything and you can only present it so many ways. What else can music offer me.

Back when I was in college Rock music was pronounced to be in trouble with the likes of the Prodigy and what not. Electronica was taking over. It was a bit too premature. But now with "music" so easy to make and so easy to get, maybe we are one step closer. The amount of kids who are inspired to be guitar and drum gods has to be at an all time low.

anyhow. just rambling.
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Music is better than ever! There's more shit to sort through than the past because filters like record labels aren't necessary anymore, but the gems are there across all genres. If you think you've experienced all music has to offer, that's on you.

The music industry isn't viable anymore in the sense that music is no longer the end product like it used to be (legal streaming is the new piracy that forces that hand), but there's always going to be people with the need to create. And I don't think there's less kids that are inspired, but the market is so saturated that I don't think 'guitar and drum gods' can exist anymore because of it.
 
Greg said:
Music is better than ever! There's more shit to sort through than the past because filters like record labels aren't necessary anymore, but the gems are there across all genres. If you think you've experienced all music has to offer, that's on you.

The music industry isn't viable anymore in the sense that music is no longer the end product like it used to be (legal streaming is the new piracy that forces that hand), but there's always going to be people with the need to create. And I don't think there's less kids that are inspired, but the market is so saturated that I don't think 'guitar and drum gods' can exist anymore because of it.
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I can agree. It's different. Vastly.
 
jmdajr said:
Might be a bit exaggerating, but being that I'm not in high school no more, I have no clue how uncool rock music has become
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I live in a fairly high profile area, and even here rap/hop has started to become the dominant "cool" music. Metal/rock isn't necessarily considered uncool as it is niche, here.

Of course I am fairly out of touch most of the time so this could be completely off-base.
strafer said:
This Is SportsCenter - Metallica
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That was actually pretty funny.
 
Haemolacria said:
Reinkaos-Defense Force, unite!

In related news, my shipment from Omega Order arrived today:



#noshame
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Bubble Metropolis said:
None So Vile easily balances out any other shameful album you might put beside it. Such an amazing record. I'll have to put that on earlier.
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Andrew_Korenchkin said:
Fuck yes. None So Vile is so awesome. One of the best, and one of my first (!), DM albums.
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I approve of anything None So Vile.

MetalGuardian said:
*thumbs up*

Looks like I'll give Heathen a few spins this week, and if it wins me over (I'm sure it will), I'll go.

But before that... I'M SEEING MOTHERF'ING SLOUGH FEG ON SATURDAY (along with High Spirits). Anyone else going?

alehorn-of-power-revised-savage-master.jpg


Also upcoming:

Boris/Subrosa
Power Trip
King Diamond
Russian Circles (this one is free - rad)
Manowar
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats
Midnight
King Crimson
Ares Kingdom

whycantiholdalltheseshows.jpg

Living in a city with an active music scene (Chicago) is so rad. I'm going to *try* to make it to most of these, but I might skip out on King Crimson and Manowar because of the price. Still, if any of you blokes are coming to any of the same ones I am, let me know and I'll buy you a beer!
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Man, I should have checked this thread sooner. I would have met up with you at Alehorn. I was wearing this T-shirt. Great fucking show, though.
 
I didn't even know In Flames had a new song out. Kinda afraid to hear it.

edit: It's not that bad. But yeah if you stopped at Clayman, nothing here to change your mind.

edit: Bjorn is all grey now. :\
 
Fuck squatters.

Is there anyway to rip the images or audio from the site? There is just the ambient file in the html, and a bunch of scripts.
 
SOME-MIST said:
I hope they make their way back to Chicago ^_^

did they play anything off Celestite?
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Not really. Celestite opened a lot of their songs. But they didn't play anything, it was just an intro. They basically played their greatest hits across all past albums. They were very technical and sounded amazing.
 
Looking for some black metal recommendations. Fairly new to the genre, so you can assume I haven't heard most things you might recommend.
 
I am not that satisfied with the new Judas Priest album. It is solid and has some very good songs but it is nothing that totally stuns me. No challenge for Screaming for Vengeance, Defenders of the Faith, British Steel or Painkiller.

But then again I'm happy that Priest are back on track despite some meager years and have a more than decent new guitarist.


BTW: All Germans in this thread should check out this year's Free and Easy Festival in Munich, starting next thursday. A lot of bands will play at Backstage for free, including Ghost Brigade, Suffocation, Skeletonwitch, Napalm Death, Hatebreed and Six feet Under.

http://www.backstage.eu/programm
 
Kwixotik said:
Looking for some black metal recommendations. Fairly new to the genre, so you can assume I haven't heard most things you might recommend.
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If you're new to the genre, I recommend Immortal as a good first band. Their music will help you get a feel for the basic characteristics of Black Metal, and they are more approachable for newcomers to the genre. Try At The Heart of Winter and Sons of Northern Darkness first, and if you like that, I recommend their more lo-fi albums (Pure Holocaust and Diabolical Fullmoon....).'

Other great albums for newcomers of the genre:
Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse
Dissection's Storm of the Lights Bane (my favorite Black Metal album, also my first album in the genre), The Somberlain
Darkthrone's Black Metal trilogy: Blaze in the Northern Sky, Under a Funeral Moon, Transylvanian Hunger. All three albums are quite different from one another, so listen to all of them and see which ones you like and do not like (Love Blaze and Hunger; Find Funeral Moon to be boring).
Bathory's Bathory, The Return, Under the Sign of a Black Mark

I'm sure a lot of other people here will give you some good recs as well, so I'll stop there.
 
Kwixotik said:
Looking for some black metal recommendations. Fairly new to the genre, so you can assume I haven't heard most things you might recommend.
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My favourite BM albums:

Immortal - At the Heart of Winter
Samael - Blood Ritual
Summoning - Minas Morgul
Varathron - His Majesty at the Swamp
Rotting Christ - Non Serviam
Melechesh - Emissaries
Absu - Absu
In the Woods... - Heart of the Ages
Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky
Bathory - Blood Fire Death
Carpathian Forest - Morbid Fascination of Death
Tormentor - Anno Domini
Demontage - The Principal Extinction
Desaster - Hellfire's Dominion
Deströyer 666 - Phoenix Rising
Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane

Note, some of them are hybrids (black/thrash, black/folk or black/melodeath, such as Dissection) but I'm assuming that's not a problem.
 
I'm not gonna drop a huge list because that might encourage you to not give each album its proper time (I do this a lot), but the black metal album I've been listening to the most lately is Witchcraft by Obtained Enslavement. Soulblight is really good too.

Rotting Christ is probably my favourite black metal band. Or, at least, the one that had the most influence on me getting into the genre. Khronos is exceptionally catchy and good for a gateway album, but Triarchy of the Lost Lovers is where it's at.
 
Yeah, I'm definitely sick of the "band name" *picture of album cover* design most shirts are, including the other Death shirts from Relapse. I also don't like that they're all black (metal shirts in general, the Death shirt comes in purple and orange), which is another reason I like that one in particular.
 
Phobophile said:
Man, I should have checked this thread sooner. I would have met up with you at Alehorn. I was wearing this T-shirt. Great fucking show, though.
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You probably saw me there and didn't know who I was. If you were at last year's Alehorn, you definitely saw me.

The show was great, but Mr. Lord Weird himself shirtlessly hitting on those girls sitting off to the side of the venue in the middle of their set and making that "Master Debater" joke (fucking cringe) really soured me. Not only was he mega creepy, but a lady shouldn't have to be worried about overtly sexual attention from the headlining fucking act at a show (especially since he made these comments into the microphone, in front of the whole audience) just because (as Mr. Weird put it so eloquently) "You rarely see such hot girls at a metal show!" Always disappointing losing respect for a metal legend. I left after Wizard's Vengeance because holy fucking shit, they actually played their most badass song even though its a cover, and I also wanted my last memory of Slough Feg to be a good one.

High Spirits fucking KILLED it though. I was really underwhelmed by their newest album, but all of the songs they played from it are infinitely better live. Also I found the bass player oddly attractive, which is weird because I've been straight as Thor's Hammer my whole life (90 degree angles don't count, right?) I'm so thankful that I'm finally a part of a community that has such a strong local metal scene, and Chris Black is hands down the most fortified pillar of it (for those of you who don't know, he's the mastermind behind High Spirits, Dawnbringer and Superchrist, AND is the bass player for Pharaoh). If you haven't already read it, there was an interview on Invisible Oranges with him recently called Heavy Metal's Last Singer-Songwriter. So much respect.

Anyway, I just bought tickets for Midnight and Satan. You seem like a respectable enough bloke to be at one of those shows, so shoot me a PM if you're going! I'd love to meet some Chicago Metal-GAFfers.

Morrigan Stark said:
My favourite BM albums:

Immortal - At the Heart of Winter
Samael - Blood Ritual
Summoning - Minas Morgul
Varathron - His Majesty at the Swamp
Rotting Christ - Non Serviam
Melechesh - Emissaries
Absu - Absu
In the Woods... - Heart of the Ages
Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky
Bathory - Blood Fire Death
Carpathian Forest - Morbid Fascination of Death
Tormentor - Anno Domini
Demontage - The Principal Extinction
Desaster - Hellfire's Dominion
Deströyer 666 - Phoenix Rising
Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane
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Goddam great taste, as usual. The only albums I didn't bold are the ones I've not heard -- everything else is my favorite album from the respective band as well (though Old Mornings Dawn makes a surprising case for best Summoning album)

My old good luck song (the song I would listen to before EVERY date, night of going out on the town, job interview, important test, etc.) used to be The Spirt Lord, but as of last year was replaced with I Am The Wargod.

When The Spirit Lord was my song, I went through the most traumatic breakup possible, ballooned to heaviest weight I had ever been at, and worked at Gamestop making less money than I did at high school.

With my dawg D666 on my side though, my depression is better, I'm yo-yoing back to a svelt weight (turns out the one meal a day + booze diet is the secret society has been looking for all this time), and I landed a cushy corporate job (where I can surf GAF and listen to metal all day!) Coincidence? No chance in hell.
 
MetalGuardian You should check out Desaster - Hellfire's Dominion, it is a classic in German Black/Thrash.

Kwixotik said:
Looking for some black metal recommendations. Fairly new to the genre, so you can assume I haven't heard most things you might recommend.
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Some more choice picks. I listed album names and linked to songs

Necrodeth - Fragments of Insanity
Sabbat - Karisma
Nifelheim - Nifelheim
Aura Noir - Black Thrash Attack
Nocturnal Breed - No Retreat No Surrender
Abhorer - Zygotical Sabbatory Anabapt
Witchmaster - Masochistic Devil Worship
Deathwitch - Monumental Mutilations
Urn - Soul Destroyers
WitchTrap - Sorceress Bitch
Sarcófago - I.N.R.I.
Abigail - Intercourse & Lust
Blood Storm - Pestilence from the Dragonstar
Ember - Chapter III · Concession & Anthology
Usurper - Diabolosis
Schizo - Main Frame Collapse
Törr - Institut klinické smrti
Slaughter Lord - Thrash 'til Death: 86 - 87
Fantom - Lucifer Jelenj Meg!
Strychnine - Manifestations of Evil Made Divine
 
I should probably have taken the time to find youtube samples too, but I got lazy... ^^ At least none of those are particularly difficult to find on Youtube for checking out, at least.
MetalGuardian said:
The show was great, but Mr. Lord Weird himself shirtlessly hitting on those girls sitting off to the side of the venue in the middle of their set and making that "Master Debater" joke (fucking cringe) really soured me. Not only was he mega creepy, but a lady shouldn't have to be worried about overtly sexual attention from the headlining fucking act at a show (especially since he made these comments into the microphone, in front of the whole audience) just because (as Mr. Weird put it so eloquently) "You rarely see such hot girls at a metal show!" Always disappointing losing respect for a metal legend. I left after Wizard's Vengeance because holy fucking shit, they actually played their most badass song even though its a cover, and I also wanted my last memory of Slough Feg to be a good one.
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Ugh, that sucks. Kind of fucked up and disappointing indeed.

Goddam great taste, as usual.
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:) *bows*

The only albums I didn't bold are the ones I've not heard -- everything else is my favorite album from the respective band as well (though Old Mornings Dawn makes a surprising case for best Summoning album)
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Heh, sometimes it's not necessarily my favourite (my favourite Bathory is Hammerheart, but it's less BM-ish), or it's definitely tied with others. I couldn't pick a single favourite Summoning, for example. But I chose albums that I feel really define the band well, as well as being just plain excellent.

If you love D666, I would really recommend Desaster (Hellfire's Dominion or Tyrants of the Netherworld), and if you love Rotting Christ I would definitely recommend that Samael album and especially early Varathron. Truly awesome atmospheric Greek BM.
 
Bitanator said:
MetalGuardian You should check out Desaster - Hellfire's Dominion, it is a classic in German Black/Thrash.
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Sexcellent!

Just so you don't think I've been ignoring your recs, I DO have a note to listen to everything you've thrown down in this thread so far (since your tastes seem to be impeccable). It's just a matter of finding a few free hours on a weekend to explore (and subsequently buy) all the great stuff you are a fan of -- and the willingness to inevitably devote the next three months of my life to exploring all it! I know I've not responded to a lot of your posts in here, but I promise it's only because I got a real job a few months ago and now am completely exhausted during weekdays, and am out drinking on weekends -- you're one of the best new Metal GAFfers we've had in a while (in terms of taste and activeness) and I'm fucking stoked you're here, brotha \m/

Morrigan Stark said:
Ugh, that sucks. Kind of fucked up and disappointing indeed.
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Right? I bet you experience that shit personally way more than anyone else here. It DOES suck, because part of the reason I originally identified with metal so strongly was because of how excellent the community is. My best friend (who is just as big of a fan of the genre as I am), once said something years ago that has inexplicably stuck with me ever since: "Metal is the final frontier against bullshit."

That statement certainly isn't always true, but when it is true, it helps me explain to others who aren't into the genre why I'm so passionate about it -- so whenever a band goes against that mantra and does indeed engage in the highest level of bullshit, it turns me off to them no matter how good the music is. It's why I struggle with my love for bands like Burzum and Arghoslent and Satanic Warmaster -- sometimes their artistry is brilliant, but they are such shit-stains of human beings that I could never stomach buying anything from them directly.

Also, for maximum lol -- lord weird was wearing a fucking FEDORA the whole show before he came onstage. That explains a lot, I suppose.

:) *bows*
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As if there is any surprise there. What DOES surprise me is in how some of the bands I will defend as true until the day I die are bands that other metalheads who also have good taste will vehemently disagree with. As someone whose online moniker is named after Blind Guardian, I encounter that a lot.

Blind Guardian > Iron Maiden

Heh, sometimes it's not necessarily my favourite (my favourite Bathory is Hammerheart, but it's less BM-ish), or it's definitely tied with others. I couldn't pick a single favourite Summoning, for example. But I chose albums that I feel really define the band well, as well as being just plain excellent.

If you love D666, I would really recommend Desaster (Hellfire's Dominion or Tyrants of the Netherworld), and if you love Rotting Christ I would definitely recommend that Samael album and especially early Varathron. Truly awesome atmospheric Greek BM.
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I'm still so overwhelmed by all the mandatory, classic metal albums that are out there (I've only been immersed in the genre since 2006, give me a break!), that there are shameful numbers of essential records I haven't yet heard. It makes no sense, because I literally listen to hours of metal every single day, and have for several years now. Still, I've never heard Hammerheart, Samael, any Desaster or Varathon. I will add to my list post-haste.
 
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