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The Metal Thread |OT2| All Riffs, No Gifs

sgjackson said:
i'm def going to be slamming the usbm recommendations. i've been meaning to get around to mitochondrion and never have.

anyway: i've been reading the pitchfork song list thread. i know pitchfork is stupid but i click it anyway (i suspect this is their business model) and i'd imagine a few people in this thread do also. has anyone else noticed they appear to have some kind of rule against making sure metal albums don't get best new music? the amount of metal albums that score high 7s to low 8s is fucking insane and has to be disproportionate to every other genre.
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Yes I have definitely noticed this. I think they actually do have a policy against giving most metal albums Best New Music. If you look at the people that do those reviews, most of them are not staff writers, they are freelancers that write primarily about metal. My guess is Pitchfork had little to no metal knowledge but wanted to expand their coverage of metal which is why they hire the freelancers to do the reviews. But the people that run the site probably don't feel like the metal stuff has enough crossover appeal with their traditional readers to justify the BMN label.

Deafheaven and Pallbearer do have that crossover appeal they like which is probably why they were BMN. I kind of understand it but at the same time it's stupid and contradictory. The reviews themselves are pretty good though. I particularly like Brandon Stosuy's and Kim Kelly's reviewa. Their recommendations are usually spot on for me.
 
sgjackson said:
anyway: i've been reading the pitchfork song list thread. i know pitchfork is stupid but i click it anyway (i suspect this is their business model) and i'd imagine a few people in this thread do also. has anyone else noticed they appear to have some kind of rule against making sure metal albums don't get best new music? the amount of metal albums that score high 7s to low 8s is fucking insane and has to be disproportionate to every other genre. here's a list of shit i recognized from doing a quick search of the last couple of years.
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As a big Indie and Alternative Rock fan, I've never been much into Pitchfork.
 
Agoraphobic Nosebleed will be doing their first-ever live set at Maryland Deathfest. Pretty awesome!

Also, Pig Destroyer has some "news" coming later this week. I'm hoping it might be tour dates, as they recently posted on Facebook asking for good places to play in Boston. They have NEVER played here, so it'd be awesome if they finally broke that trend!
 
The new Dragonforce album "Maximum Overload" is surprisingly tolerable, songs are now finally cut down to 4:00 across the board, instead of the horiffic 6-8 minutes plus that a lot of the older stuff went on for. Less over-excessive guitar wankery, and some great vocal hooks. The new singer has been much easier on the ears for the last two albums than ZP Theart ever has. They're on the right track now at least.
 
Juke Joint Jezebel said:
The new Dragonforce album "Maximum Overload" is surprisingly tolerable, songs are now finally cut down to 4:00 across the board, instead of the horiffic 6-8 minutes plus that a lot of the older stuff went on for. Less over-excessive guitar wankery, and some great vocal hooks. The new singer has been much easier on the ears for the last two albums than ZP Theart ever has. They're on the right track now at least.
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Dragonforce have gone Metalcore
 
Ravager61 said:
Yes I have definitely noticed this. I think they actually do have a policy against giving most metal albums Best New Music. If you look at the people that do those reviews, most of them are not staff writers, they are freelancers that write primarily about metal. My guess is Pitchfork had little to no metal knowledge but wanted to expand their coverage of metal which is why they hire the freelancers to do the reviews. But the people that run the site probably don't feel like the metal stuff has enough crossover appeal with their traditional readers to justify the BMN label.

Deafheaven and Pallbearer do have that crossover appeal they like which is probably why they were BMN. I kind of understand it but at the same time it's stupid and contradictory. The reviews themselves are pretty good though. I particularly like Brandon Stosuy's and Kim Kelly's reviewa. Their recommendations are usually spot on for me.
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this is what i was thinking, honestly. i'm sort of hoping that people would notice shit like inquisition pulling 8s and be interested enough to want to check it out, but i think the effect is a lot more pronounced if you're willing to go ahead and slap the label on more out there (for their audience) stuff.

Flynn said:
This pitchfork disparity is yet another downside of believing that review scores have any meaning whatsoever.
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they do have meaning psychologically, even though it's largely a cognitive bias. it's why i noticed even though i know i'm going to listen to and like 90 percent of the albums they review.

if anyone takes anything from this discussion it's that you should listen to atlantean kodex - the white goddess. that shit was fucking awesome.
 
sgjackson said:
if anyone takes anything from this discussion it's that you should listen to atlantean kodex - the white goddess. that shit was fucking awesome.
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I agree so hard with his.

But really the main reason why they bunt on the best new music metal is that they don't want to scare off their mostly twee audience. Bands like Deafheaven are making inroads, but heavy music has a long way to go.
 
Andrew_Korenchkin said:
I'm a big fan of Weakling's Dead as Dreams. That's one of my favorites of the USBM "scene" (?).
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Very good album. Kinda help set the tone for modern/3rd wave USBM. Early Wolves in the Throne Room was pretty much Weakling worship.

sgjackson said:
i'm def going to be slamming the usbm recommendations. i've been meaning to get around to mitochondrion and never have.

anyway: i've been reading the pitchfork song list thread. i know pitchfork is stupid but i click it anyway (i suspect this is their business model) and i'd imagine a few people in this thread do also. has anyone else noticed they appear to have some kind of rule against making sure metal albums don't get best new music? the amount of metal albums that score high 7s to low 8s is fucking insane and has to be disproportionate to every other genre. here's a list of shit i recognized from doing a quick search of the last couple of years.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17576-portal-vexovoid/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17806-vhol-vhol/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17608-ken-mode-entrench/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17607-inter-arma-sky-burial/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17929-hessian-manegarmr/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17678-woe-withdrawal/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18255-locrain-return-to-annihilation/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18068-mouth-of-the-architect-dawning/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18395-subrosa-more-constant-than-the-gods/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18549-castevet-obsian/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18827-indian-from-all-purity/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19021-behemoth-the-satanist/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19074-pyrrhon-the-mother-of-virtues/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19269-agalloch-the-serpent-the-sphere/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19393-serpentine-path-emanations/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19421-tombs-savage-gold/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18620-inquisition-obscure-verses-for-the-multiverse/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18002-immolation-kingdom-of-conspiracy/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19381-eyehategod-eyehategod/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19457-dead-congregation-promulgation-of-the-fall/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18962-thou-heathen/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19029-woods-of-desolation-as-the-stars/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums...x-the-white-goddess-a-grammar-of-poetic-myth/ (this album is dope btw)
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18394-grave-miasma-odori-sepulcrorum/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17606-baphometic-chaosium/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17404-vanquish-in-vengeance/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18346-gorguts-colored-sands/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18360-carcass-surgical-steel/

none of which got best new music. only pallbearer and deafheaven have been chosen. it's fuckin weird. if i cared more i'd do a proper analysis of this.
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I dunno, Pitchfork tends to review metal albums that I tend to find to be… boring? And of the reviews I've read, they seem to be written from the perspective of someone who really isn't an avid metal aficionado. I guess that's good for the typical Pitchfork reader who may not be a huge metalhead, but rather an indie music fan who may happen to like a few metal albums/bands here and there. I could be completely wrong; I don't frequent the site often.

Edit: After reading their review of the new Pallbearer, I think it's pretty spot on and a bit more technically in-depth than I would have presumed. Could be an exception. Could be because it's actually a fucking brilliant album and the reviewer knew what he was talking about.
 
Phobophile said:
I dunno, Pitchfork tends to review metal albums that I tend to find to be… boring? And of the reviews I've read, they seem to be written from the perspective of someone who really isn't an avid metal aficionado. I guess that's good for the typical Pitchfork reader who may not be a huge metalhead, but rather an indie music fan who may happen to like a few metal albums/bands here and there. I could be completely wrong; I don't frequent the site often.

Edit: After reading their review of the new Pallbearer, I think it's pretty spot on and a bit more technically in-depth than I would have presumed. Could be an exception. Could be because it's actually a fucking brilliant album and the reviewer knew what he was talking about.
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i think unless you're a hardcore old school thrash or death metal person there's something in the list of albums i posted for everyone

also there's a ton of stuff in the 7.6-7.4 range i didn't include that's a lot more straightforward - the most recent mayhem, skeletonwitch, and darkthrone, for example
 
sgjackson said:
i think unless you're a hardcore old school thrash or death metal person there's something in the list of albums i posted for everyone
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Yep. Pitchfork's metal coverage is actually pretty good lately. Lots of awesome reviews and coverage of more obscure and extreme stuff. Like I said, a lot of this comes from the fact that the majority of the people doing those reviews are actually freelancers that cover metal exclusively so they know what they are talking about for the most part. I've gotten a lot of good recommendations from Pitchfork in the last few years.

I'd also recommend checking out Hell Awaits which is an article they do on there I think monthly that throws out a lot of good underground track recommendations. Here is the most recent one: http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/419-hell-awaits-disemballerina-khold-heavydeath-and-more/
 
Ravager61 said:
Yep. Pitchfork's metal coverage is actually pretty good lately. Lots of awesome reviews and coverage of more obscure and extreme stuff. Like I said, a lot of this comes from the fact that the majority of the people doing those reviews are actually freelancers that cover metal exclusively so they know what they are talking about for the most part. I've gotten a lot of good recommendations from Pitchfork in the last few years.
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They have certainly upped their coverage of the genre over the past few years; it seems like they review a metal (or hardcore or punk or what-have-you) album 2-3 times per week. Before that, it was a rarity.

And I do agree that they seem to hand out Best New Music to very, very few metal records; on the other hand, they almost never outright bash metal records either (with the latest Nachtmystium being a recent exception). It just seems like they don't want to go too far from center in either direction with the genre.
 
vatstep said:
They have certainly upped their coverage of the genre over the past few years; it seems like they review a metal (or hardcore or punk or what-have-you) album 2-3 times per week. Before that, it was a rarity.

And I do agree that they seem to hand out Best New Music to very, very few metal records; on the other hand, they almost never outright bash metal records either (with the latest Nachtmystium being a recent exception). It just seems like they don't want to go too far from center in either direction with the genre.
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the recent nachtmystium didn't review well period

what metal centric blogs do everyone read for recommendations?
 
It's been awhile since I've read any Pitchfork reviews. I found that more than often they would discuss why the band mattered or not and where the album lived in their repertoire as opposed to why they thought that the album was interesting or not.
 
Bootleg Fireworks said:
When Slumber split up, the remaining members formed two new bands: the aforementioned Enshine and Atoma. Unfortunately, Atoma are no longer active. Luckily, they released the excellent "Skylight" before they turned inactive (Atoma - Rainmen, if you're interested in finding out how they sound).

I reckon Enshine is more akin to Slumber than Atoma, but I personally prefer the Atoma record. Anyway, nice to see someone else know about 'em.:-)
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I wish Rapture would put something out though. I think they are officially done, even though they never would confirm it.
 
fallout said:
It's been awhile since I've read any Pitchfork reviews. I found that more than often they would discuss why the band mattered or not and where the album lived in their repertoire as opposed to why they thought that the album was interesting or not.
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Historical criticism is a valid perspective.
 
Juke Joint Jezebel said:
Only song on the album in that style which I'm sure a lot of hardcore fans of DF are happy about. The rest of it is good old cheesy power metal.

Digging this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewpSpUXb7eo

The new 4:00 limit makes all these new songs gel together much better than shit like "Inhuman Rampage".
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What? The Game make me groan.
Best song on the album that I've listened too (I pre-ordered the disc so it would arrive tomorrow, but because of that the amazon autorip hasn't triggered yet for some reason so I've just been listening to a youtube link or two) is easily Extraction Zone.

I think the length, while not necessarily a positive thing, did work well with the style presented in Ultra Beatdown, especially so with "The Last Journey Home" which goes for a more epic-style type of presenting itself (its not going full-on rhapsody but the structure can very easily be distinguished from the band's other 1-4 work).
 
Juke Joint Jezebel said:
The new Dragonforce album "Maximum Overload" is surprisingly tolerable, songs are now finally cut down to 4:00 across the board, instead of the horiffic 6-8 minutes plus that a lot of the older stuff went on for. Less over-excessive guitar wankery, and some great vocal hooks. The new singer has been much easier on the ears for the last two albums than ZP Theart ever has. They're on the right track now at least.
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I think it's really good, but to me it's not on the same level as The Power Within. Mother of god, did they surprise the hell out of me with that album. Still, it's very good.
 
fallout said:
Didn't say it wasn't. I just don't find it particularly worthwhile in the context of an album review.
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I don't know. Since it is no thing to just stream any album the second it comes out I find descriptions of songs kinda redundant. I dig the perspective -- reading how something thinks this band and this record fits into what is happening.
 
Alright you guys -- I have eight months to become big fas of as many of these bands as possible:

10561834_757105740994599_8588411405646709730_n.jpg


I've wanted to go to MDF for years now, and I finally have a real person job so I should be able to afford the 2015 show. Unfortunately, this is the worst lineup for me in years, as I there are only a select few bands here I recognize. Un-unfortunately, my crew of friends that go to MDF every year are unbelievably excited for this lineup, so I'm assuming I'm just an ignorant harlot for not being familiar with many of the acts, and not that lineup is in any way lackluster.

SO! Below are the bands playing at MDF that I've not only heard of, but have listened to and enjoy. Recommendations on ANY of the other bands would be great, because I really, really want to convince myself to go to this.

- Bloodbath (I've only ever heard their Unblessing the Purity EP, but I really love the song "Weak Aside")
- Cianide (I got yelled at by the artist for Hooded Menace during the last Cianide show I was at because I was wearing ear plugs and texting a girl every now and then during their set. "YOU DON'T FUCKING SEXT PEOPLE OR BLOCK YOUR EARS DURING FUCKING CIANIDE," was his almost exact quote)
- Jex Thoth
- Metal Church
- Portal (I like listening to these guys while reading Lovecraft, but I'm not sure how fun it would be to see them live)
- Primordial
- Razor (this was a recent acquisition -- thanks Bitanator!)
- Yob

Look at that! My knowledge of the MDF 2015 bands is WEAK. I guess I also listened to the new Vallenfyre album, but I don't remember a thing about it. I've heard of Sodom, but have never checked them out. A friend burned me the entire Amorphis discography a very long time ago, but I've never listened to any of it. Demilich is a cool band name, but WHAT THE HELL IS A DEMILICH?

I need some help GAF, and badly. Any advice that can lead me down the path of justifying the expenses for this trip would be fantastic, because even of the bands I AM familiar with, I'm not a mega fan of any of them. Last year had Agalloch, Bolzer, Candlemass, Dark Angel, Mgla, Ulcerate, and freaking Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats! 2013 had Abigail and Carcass and muthafuggin BOLT THROWER and MANILLA ROAD and Midnight (who I'm seeing this Saturday, woo!), and jeez, they had Pagan Altar too?

I have to stop looking at past lineups, because it's making me all the more bummed about 2015's.
 
DRAGONFORCE CHAT: I am subjecting myself to this new album. IT SERIOUSLY HAS A SONG CALLED SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT ON IT. (it's not very good)

MetalGuardian said:
- Portal (I like listening to these guys while reading Lovecraft, but I'm not sure how fun it would be to see them live)
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not gonna lie...

knmXKDcl.jpg

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...this part of your post is hilarious

anyway, what i'd be excited about from mdf:
napalm death - duh
sodom - persecution mania and agent orange are required thrash albums
agoraphobic nosebleed
portal - see pictures
devourment - sick brutal death metal band
conan - one of my first posts in this thread was pimping out monnos
origin - hopefully they just play a bunch of shit from antithesis (they won't)
antigama - meteor was pretty cool
primitive man - as was scorn. noisy sludge/doom.
inter arma - sky burial was really cool if you're into that sort of thing.
 
MetalGuardian said:
. Recommendations on ANY of the other bands would be great, because I really, really want to convince myself to go to this.
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Damn dude. You need to step up your game. This lineup is pretty killer.

Amorphis - Tales from the Thousand Lakes is a classic melodic death album and they are playing it in its entirety.
Sodom - C'mon. Classic thrash
Arcturus - I'm only familiar with their first album but it's pretty cool progressive black metal. I think they became even more avante-garde after that.
Demilich - Classic tech death band that only released one album. This is a reunion show and kind of a big deal. Listen to Nespithe.
Napalm Death - Do I really need to write something about Napalm Death?
Nuerosis - ditto Neurosis
Obituary - God damn son. Listen to Obituary.
DRI - Classic crossover band.
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Their first show ever(I think). Grindcore band from Scott Hull from Pig Destroyer
Anaal Nathrakh - Fucking killer grindcore/black metal band.
Tryiptykon - Tom Warrior from Celtic Frost's new band. Their newest album will probably make my top 10 this year
Winter - Classic death/doom band
Skepticism - One of the original funeral doom bands. Stormcrowfleet is a classic
Aura Noir - Kind of blackend rock and roll I guess. Would be a great show
Inverloch - Former members of Disembowelment playing Disembowelment songs. Progressive death/doom I guess? Transcendence into the Peripheral is great and considered a classic by many
Goatsnake - I'm not actually super familiar with their music but it's Greg Anderson from SunnO)) so it should be heavy as fuck
Tsunjer - Pretty cool straight forward black metal from Norway if you are in to that.
Devourment - Basically THE slam death band. Their bass player wears a horse mask on his head and goes by Captain Piss. Seriously good band though
Aeturnus - Melodic death metal with lot's of folk influences in their early stuff. I've really only heard their first 2 albums but I love them. I think their later stuff is more straightforward death metal.
Dragged Into Sunlight - Hatred for Mankind is still one of the heaviest and darkest death metal albums I have ever heard. Fucking amazing band.
Martyrdod - Hardcore influenced black metal. I heard they put on a good show
Funebrarum -The Sleep of Morbid Dreams of is fucking sick album. Old school death metal
Mantar - They put out an album this year that I really liked. Lot's of influences but they have a great heavy sound
Inter Arma - They kind of have an indefinable genre but I'd just call them prog metal (but not the noodly, Dreamtheater kind of prog)
 
sgjackson said:
DRAGONFORCE CHAT: I am subjecting myself to this new album. IT SERIOUSLY HAS A SONG CALLED SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT ON IT. (it's not very good)
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I like the song personally. Could stand to be a bit longer but has a great chorus (the length of the solo suffers a not due to the thematic bits though).
 
For MDF, I can confirm these bands are sick and you should check 'em out: Sodom, Razor, Demilich, Napalm Death, Neurosis, Metal Church, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, WINTER, Melt Banana, Inverloch, Bulldozer, Portal, Wolfbrigade, Demoncy, Dragged into Sunlight, CIANIDE, Jex Thoth, Master, Funebrarum, Morpheus Descends (legends in OSDM circles), Thantifaxath, Adversarial, Prosanctus Inferi, Iron Man.

Some of my personal favorites I would love to see are Cianide (one of the heaviest death/doom bands in existence), Winter, Bulldozer, Funebrarum, Morpheus Descends, Adversarial and Prosanctus Inferi.
 
MetalGuardian said:
Recommendations on ANY of the other bands would be great, because I really, really want to convince myself to go to this.
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Arcturus' Sham Mirrors is one of my favorite albums ever. Saw them live a couple of years ago and it was fantastic.

And you should really listen to Bloodbath's Resurrection Through Carnage and Nightmares Made Flesh. I feel like I can listen to them again and again without getting bored of them.

Also, as mentioned above, Tales From the Thousand Lakes by Amorphis is a classic. Elegy is good album as well, but they started changing their style towards progressive rock at that point, although the death metal growls are still there.
 
Spwn said:
Also, as mentioned above, Tales From the Thousand Lakes by Amorphis is a classic. Elegy is good album as well, but they started changing their style towards progressive rock at that point, although the death metal growls are still there.
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If you don't mind the stylistic change Eclipse is a damn good album.
 
I would also suggest melt banana, but I'm also a big fan of noise. they were awesome when I saw 'em with the locust, the end, and fantomas in 2004 or 2005.
 
MetalGuardian said:
Alright you guys -- I have eight months to become big fas of as many of these bands as possible:

10561834_757105740994599_8588411405646709730_n.jpg


I have to stop looking at past lineups, because it's making me all the more bummed about 2015's.
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Jeeze, that's sick. Just go. Don't worry about being a fan unless the ticket prices are insane. Other than that, just do it.

Oh, and Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult!
 
Just got my copy of Maximum Overload in the mail, listening to the bonus tracks for the first time and HOLY BALLS FIGHT TO BE FREE.
Although like early dragonforce all Shadow Warriors songs are 90% the same.

EDIT: It reminds me very much of "Starfire" from VotD. Hell, it sounds near exactly like "Starfire" on speed.
 
Hey Metal GAF. My band "Disguise the Curse" just released a new 2 song demo. I'd love to get some feedback from people who aren't RL friends if you have the time. I'm not quite sure how to categorize us. Our sound seems to change by the song as we always want to try something a little different each time. We have a ton of influences from Sabbath to Pantera to some old school Grave and everything in between and you can def hear some of that coming through in our music. Anyway, take a listen. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Comments, critiques and props are always welcome. Thanks!

https://soundcloud.com/disguisethecurse/sets/disguise-the-curse-demo-2
 
SpartanForce said:
https://soundcloud.com/gabriel-a-de-oliveira/sets/band-guitars

Which one you think is better? I need some feedback on those MIDI tracks.

Thanks.
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Please don't take this the wrong way, but that just reinforces that I'll never like MIDI music, even if it sounds like a metal song :P The first one was better, I was trying really hard to imagine them as actual distorted guitars. Keep it up.

Leatherface said:
Hey Metal GAF. My band "Disguise the Curse" just released a new 2 song demo. I'd love to get some feedback from people who aren't RL friends if you have the time. I'm not quite sure how to categorize us. Our sound seems to change by the song as we always want to try something a little different each time. We have a ton of influences from Sabbath to Pantera to some old school Grave and everything in between and you can def hear some of that coming through in our music. Anyway, take a listen. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Comments, critiques and props are always welcome. Thanks!

https://soundcloud.com/disguisethecurse/sets/disguise-the-curse-demo-2
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Sounds more to me like, Down/Crowbar. Didn't like the clean singing at all in the first song, seemed unnecessary and out of place, in my humble opinion of course! Solos could use some work! Not bad overall though, not the type of music I listen to a lot of, but don't mind now and again.
 
Leatherface said:
Hey Metal GAF. My band "Disguise the Curse" just released a new 2 song demo. I'd love to get some feedback from people who aren't RL friends if you have the time. I'm not quite sure how to categorize us. Our sound seems to change by the song as we always want to try something a little different each time. We have a ton of influences from Sabbath to Pantera to some old school Grave and everything in between and you can def hear some of that coming through in our music. Anyway, take a listen. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Comments, critiques and props are always welcome. Thanks!

https://soundcloud.com/disguisethecurse/sets/disguise-the-curse-demo-2
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agreeing with the other dude that this is straight up southern sludge.

the good:
-the guitar riffs here are all decent to solid for this genre and serve as a great backbone for the songs. nothing that blew my mind but there's not a riff here i'd be ashamed of.
-the vocalist is usually pretty good.
-i like the idea of thrashier sludge breakdowns and it seems like you're flirting with that idea sometimes.

the bad:
-i'm assuming this is because it's a demo but the guitar production is really thin and pushes the vocals and drums further forward than they should be. the riffs are the strength here, focus on them.
-agreed with the other dude that the clean vocals in the first song aren't great and the...they're too short to be a solo so the note runs on guitar are pretty loose also.
-there are some awkward transitions between ideas near the end of both songs - i'm not sure how it got more death metal in lord of the deep or what happened at the end of ghost, but both ideas kinda come out of nowhere instead of feeling like logical ends to the ideas you wrote around at the beginning and middle of both songs.

in general, i think it's a demo with some cool ideas but some weird songwriting decisions hold it back. the pieces are definitely there and if i heard you guys had an album coming out i'd check it out based on this.
 
Entropy - Ashen Existence

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If you are a fan of Tech Thrash and have not heard of Entropy yet, I implore you to seek it out and enjoy one of the best albums in the genre. Not only is it extremely precise and 100% killer, it is also unique and varied, even going into some Death Metal influence.

All taken in, this album will punish your senses, a Top 5 Thrash Album from the Canadian Scene, which is filled with so much class.The whole album is propped up by outstanding songs such as "Machines Way" "Necrothon" "Exalted Sith" and "Darkness Weaves" as some examples of their perfection.

The whole album should be listened to by any Metal fans, but especially the Maniac Thrasher.
 
Guys thanks much for the honest feedback. As far as the overall sound quality you are hearing, it is definitely a quickie demo so that stuff will be fixed when we hit a real studio to make a full album .

I do vox so the feedback on that is appreciated for sure. In Ghost I guess I was trying something a little different with the cleans.. sort of chanty in a way. I wasn't sure if it really was working or not though. I will play around with that and see if I can make it a little better.

As far as structure and transitions go, I guess that's the culmination of our tastes and influences melding into our own warped vision of a song. I really like them but it is interesting to hear that feedback. Maybe some better/smoother transitions can go a long way in this case.

Thank you guys so much for the feedback. I really do appreciate it! Sometimes I need to just step out side the box to keep growing. ;)
 
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