Ha ha, TS have I ever told you that you're a pain in the ass?

Not only that, they put Sunn into a rant that included Screamo-Crunk. Ouch....

Done and done, thanks.

Is there much moshing at Sunn0))) concerts?

I like to imagine slow motion, lumbering, Godzilla-style moshing.

Except that Genghis Tron don't sound like the electro parts or whatever are botched on at the last minute. It's tastefully done and sounds right. I get that IWABO are supposed to be tongue-in-cheek but car horns, harps, ridiculous synths, horse sounds? idk, it's too forced imo. Ruins whatever good parts of the songs they have.

I suppose you can compare Cloak of Love era GT to IWABO (prominant key boards, plenty of tapping) but the GT as of 2009 are a so much more refined and focussed musical prospect I almost resent the comparison. Completely different bands.






I suppose I've only heard 2-3 of their songs so perhaps I'm not in the best position to judge. I'll listen to the album and see if I change my opinion of them.

Nah, just people's heads exploding.

Pants filling up w/ shit, as well.

I haven't heard the GT of 2009, so you may be right.

and lol at GT being 'tasteful'. Tasteful!

I guess most Doom bands try to tune all the way down to the "brown note," don't they? Actually, I think Sunn0))) takes it to that next level and goes to that note that makes your intestines fall right out of your ass.

So, how loud is a Sunn O))) concert exactly? "Oh man, this shit is LOUD!" or "Holy shit, this is WAY TOO LOUD" or "OOOOOOOFUUUFUUFUFFCCKINGHUUUURTS." Is the hyperbole justified? Does it really rattle your bowels?

Its more about density than loudness. I've never worn earplugs to a Sunn O))) show - didn't need them. Khanate, on the other hand, were much louder. Then you have MBV who are just ridiculously over the top loud.

I think it's more of a "did I just lose a filling?" type of loud.

I did have a "OOOFFUUCKIIINGHUUURTS" moment the first time I saw Akimbo. I actually had to leave......(shameful, I know)

Wish I had the chance to see Sunn O))), just to check out that live reputation once and for all.

Loudest show I ever saw was Motorhead, but the closest I presumably got to that Sunn level of gut-rumbliness had to have been Jucifer. That was unreal.

Are they touring this summer? I'd definitely see them if given the chance.

I know I've said this already, but I'm really enjoying the new Code album.

http://www.myspace.com/codeblackmetal

Has the new Xasthur record "All Reflections Drained" been mentioned in here yet? Its really bad. I'm sure its done intentionally, but the production is so laughably horrible. The whole thing is a total bore.

I was listening to a cassette rip of the Xasthur record earlier this year and I thought it sounded fine. But I haven't returned to it at all.

I agree totally. It sounds like it was recorded from behind a wall or something. And normally I'd be into that sort of bizarre, unique aesthetic (especially when it comes to black metal!), but it was just really fucking boring.

Xasthur's no Leviathan, that's for sure. Haven't heard the new one yet, but his last few haven't exactly held my interest.

So is Subliminal Genocide the only good shit he's done?

I've heard nothing but bad things about the last couple, although I think somebody liked his split w/ Leviathan from a few years ago.

A lot of the early Xasthur stuff is pretty good. You should definitely check out Nocturnal Poisoning. That was the first thing I heard by him and it's still my favorite. The split with Leviathan and Telepathic With The Deceased are a close 2nd and 3rd.

Actually I forgot about Defective Epitaph, I kind of liked that one, despite its length.

I'm so far out of the loop on music in general these days, hence why I'm not around so much, but I'm excited about this, so figured I'd mention:

http://www.bravewords.com/news/114363

Pretty much my most anticipated metal album of the year. If it's anywhere as good as their last three or Abbath's side project, I'll be happy.

And, of course, a new Immortal album means more hilarious publicity photos of the band. So everyone wins, basically.

This is right on.

Also, for what it's worth, the new xasthur grew on me a lot with repeated listens. I thought the production actually added to it and tracks 3-4 are very solid - conan sample and all. It reminds me a bit of the lurker of chalice album leviathan did (basically no vox, more soundtrack-like)

The new Drudkh album is almost out!

Anyone hear anything about Sunn tour dates? I know officially now that they will be in Detroit (Well, Pontiac) on July 11th. This straight from the guy who booked them.

Pontiac?? Goddammit. They finally come here and it's a month after I'm moving out of state.

Serious question, why do people hate Tool?

Trying to get the board moving?

People hate Tool because they're successful and thereby must be sellouts

I'd have to say that Tool is possibly the most overrated/underrated band out there, depending on who you talk to.

I like Tool, for the record.

A good chunk of the die-hard Tool fans out there can come across as obnoxious. Sort of like Slayer, the fans can ruin the live experience if you let them bother you.

This is definitely a part of it. Tool fans tend to be, well, tools.

I don't like Tool such much as I like Ænima, if that makes sense.

There is a type of band that tends to excite passion, whether positive or negative. Tool is one. In fact, this type of band often has a mild glaze of prog about it: Mars Volta, Radiohead et al. Dunno if that's causal or just correlation, but there has to be an element of fandom deriving from how emotionally/musically complex they are perceived to be vs. how equally pretentious that makes them in the eyes/ears of those who don't like them.

There is also the fan thing. The aforementioned passion among devotees of soft-prog (but hard-sales) bands will inflame the antipathy felt by the un-fans. The music becomes personified, as is often the case. The jam band reduced to chubby man in tie-dye. The independent rapper being a white student with specs and rucksack. The heavy metal band being the parking lot can-cranium-crusher. It's shorthand (or an excuse) for justifying the dislike.

"Schism" was cool to hear on modern rock radio.

Sort of, except for that wince-inducing part where he earnestly declares that "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion between supposed lovers."

That line's much less wince-inducing than a literal interpretation of Stinkfist......

Tool is a perfect candidate for the Auto-tune thread. Maynard's vocals are so processed its embarassing. He's a complete joke.

OK. I've been lucky.



Makes sense. Or like sports rivalries. Tool may be the Yankees of rock :\

As have I, with both bands.

Love me some tool. The fans can be obnoxious, annoying, and overly "loyal" (they go hand in hand with NIN fans in this fashion), and certainly cloyingly superior. But the music can be great. However, I'm always surprised by how little love it seems Lateralus gets. It's by far my favourite Tool albu, and while especially recently I've been discovering how great Aenima is, it still doesn't hold a candle to Lateralus. Is it because Lateralus is less varied, more pretentiously "mystical" lyrically, etc? Personally, I think it's a gosh darn masterpiece.

Not a die-hard Tool fan - don't even have all of their albums - but there's something about Lateralus that captivates the shit out of me. I absolutely LOVE this album. The Grudge, Schism, Parabola, and Lateralus stand on their own as fantastic metal/prog/rock/whatever songs, there are epic moments in The Patient and Ticks & Leeches, and the remainder of the album is rich and meditative. Throw away the wacky Faaip de Oiad propaganda B.S. at the end and it's a damn near perfect listening experience for me.

Might just be in my top 10 of this decade...perhaps even top 5.

After being kidney-punched by Ænima it took awhile for me to get into Lateralus but I appreciate its consistency now (by skipping "Ticks & Leeches").

Tool always gave me headaches.

Really? I guess I can see this, especially since it doesn't really fit with the rest of the material, but I always saw "Ticks and Leeches" as the kickass fuck-everything interlude on the otherwise calm Lateralus. It's kind of like the only thread connecting it to Aenima style Tool. it always reminds me of that album. Plus, you know, one of those neat possibly-false backstories about how Maynard almost ruined his voice trying to sing the song... always makes it more interesting.

While I appreciate Lateralus, I honestly don't think it's even in the same zip code as Ænima as an album. The trippy, hypnotic second half is a cool departure for the band, but it sort of floats and drones along with these 8-9 minutes hypno dirges. Ænima is a balls-out hard prog metal masterpiece.

I agree. I used to love Tool, but like quite a few bands I liked from the 90s, I've found I have absolutely no use for them anymore. Being one who listens to some prog, I liked the direction they took this decade in theory much more than in practice. I bought Lateralus and played it constantly for 1 month, and pretty much haven't touched it since. Then I did the same thing with the last one that came out, except that only lasted 1 week before it got shelved. I'm officially over Tool.

EDIT: to add that I don't hate them or anything, but I've just moved on.

July 2nd Empty Bottle

I just bought 4. This show will sell out for sure.

I wouldn't want to attach to Aenima the stigma that is the word 'prog'. Other than that, I largely agree. I love Lateralus, but Aenima is one of the great albums of my lifetime. Aenima is less traditionally prog than the band ended up being (on the last two albums), but way more actually progressive. It sounds more modern to me than pretty much anything in 2009. This is largely because either bands have been afraid to ape it aesthetically, and the ones that tried failed miserably. The soft guitar tone, fantastically supple arrangements and brilliant vocal melodies are just timeless. As great as it is, Lateralus initially disappointed me with how traditional it was.

And yeah 'Ticks and Leeches' is kind of a waste, other than as preparation for the fantastic 'I hope / I hope / You choke' denouement. That in itself is rather telling: while MJK spends his time with quasi-intellectual lyrics and naivepolitik, he's most effective as the angry heavy metal front-man he seems desperate not to be.

Pretentiously mystical! That's awesome. I certainly like Tool, but they would probably be aweful to hang out with. Pompus arses!

Give 'em a sincere try. They should grow on you based on the other stuff you like.

Lateralus is my favourite of Tool's, no question.

It's been a day filled with metaly goodness...had a good conversation with Ben from Goatwhore/Soilent, I got the new YOB and Drudkh albums among others, and the Season of Mist package came with a cute/kinda gross bloody syringe pen.

The Drudkh is great so far, really proggy.

And back to Goatwhore, it's going to be to 2009 what Amon Amarth was to 2008, the "if you like metal there's no way you're not going to love this" album. Year-end listworthy.