Extreme Metal

[jon]

I’ve been listening to a lot of death metal and grindcore lately.
Grindcore: Lockup, Mumakil, 324

Death Metal: Deicide, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse

[DrLitch]

I listened to my fair share of Death/Black metal in the 90's which was probably the peak for these genres. I generally gravitated towards the Scandinavian scene where Death Metal was more melodic but arguably darker (bands like Beherit, Dismember, Dissection, In Flames, At the Gates, Edge of Sanity, Gates of Ishtar to name a few). Black metal was another genre but I preferred the early works which fused more thrash/death metal elements than the stuff that was 90% synth driven (which was trended by the popular bands at the time like Dimmu Borgir or Limbonic Art and so on). Immortal, Mayhem, Bathory, Darkthrone, Samael and bands like that were more my jam.

That said the bands you mention such as Morbid Angel (Blessed are Sick and Covenant are classic), Cannibal Corpse and Deicide are classic stuff.

Grindcore - I had some Napalm Death and Autopsy CD's back in the day but grindcore was not something I really got into outside of specific songs or bands (usually only learned after attending a live performance).

Nowadays I am still a metalhead but have developed more fusion tastes. While I now rarely listen to Death/Black metal (I still actively collect Vinyls and CD's though) I do listen to a lot of bands that had their roots in this scene but evolved by blending classical, folk, and traditional metal elements.

I currently listen to Therion, Epica, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Opeth, Rotting Christ, Primordial, Paradise Lost and so on. I also quite like bands like Iced Earth, Blind Guardian, Manowar, Judas Priest (still going strong) and I always have time for an Iron Maiden record. I also listen to bands outside of the metal scene though, I still love Tool after all these years while Fields of the Nephilim blow my mind with excellence. Then there is the neofolk scene as well which I collect and enjoy the music.

Right now though I am collecting and rediscovering the glorious underground in early 1980's bands. Picked up Samael's Medieval Prophecy EP recently from 1987, phenomenally raw sound and way ahead of it's time. Bands like Sodom, Kreator, Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Bathory, Mayhem (still after the original Deathcrush LP), Mercyful Fate all had stuff that was ahead of it's time and I am currently investing time in researching collectables (and enjoying listening to some of the works as well).

[LoganRuckman]

Has anyone ever listened to Coffins? They're a fantastic Japanese death/doom band. Corrupted is another great Japanese death/doom band.

What do you guys think about slam bands like Devourment, Awaiting The Autopsy (with a female singer performing sick gutturals), Abominable Putridity, and Party Cannon?

I hope this thread takes off. There's a lot I could discuss. Especially regarding more sludgy or doom style stuff, and if you count metalcore and mathcore, there's a lot of older bands in the genre I love. Hearts Once Nourished With Hope And Compassion by Shai Hulud is one of my favorite albums from any genre. Old school metalcore and mathcore was sick.

[lynchie137]

To be honest, I haven't really been listening to a lot of extreme metal lately. But I did happen to stumble upon this band after watching a Banger TV review on You Tube yesterday. They're called Inexorum, and here's a song off their new album...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElwsFYGjaHw

[AtariToday]

I have to suggest the band Extol to you guys. Their self titled album from 2013 is one of my all time favorites. It's different in the best way possible in that I can't quite explain their sound. It's a mix of thrash, and death metal with harmonies you simply don't hear in those genres.

The first online description I found of the album reads as follows:
"Extol is the fifth full-length studio album by the Norwegian Christian progressive death metal band Extol, released in 2013."

That doesn't quite some it up..but the band is more intricate and harder than most. Facedown records put the whole album up on youtube so no excuses to not check it out

https://youtu.be/BcCIOdRFiLY

[jon]

One thing that bugs me is that I really don't like Barney Greenway, the lead singer of Napalm Death. Their first 2 albums, Scum and From Enslavement to Obliteration were great. Then Greenway joined the band and I still don't know what to think. Harmony Corruption was alright. Utopia Banished and a couple albums from the 2000's were good. But Greenway's vocals are not great. He tries to act tough, but his voice can kind of be annoying and he looks like a wimp. Then Napalm Death got political when he joined the band. And he talks about way too much annoying political crap. They turned into this political band. I can't get into their albums with him. Which sucks so much because they had legendary musicians like Jesse Pintado and Shane Embury. But Greenway ruined everything.

[velcrozombie]

One thing that bugs me is that I really don't like Barney Greenway, the lead singer of Napalm Death. Their first 2 albums, Scum and From Enslavement to Obliteration were great. Then Greenway joined the band and I still don't know what to think. Harmony Corruption was alright. Utopia Banished and a couple albums from the 2000's were good. But Greenway's vocals are not great. He tries to act tough, but his voice can kind of be annoying and he looks like a wimp. Then Napalm Death got political when he joined the band. And he talks about way too much annoying political crap. They turned into this political band. I can't get into their albums with him. Which sucks so much because they had legendary musicians like Jesse Pintado and Shane Embury. But Greenway ruined everything.

Napalm Death has been political from the beginning, though - the very first lyrics on Scum are:

Multinational corporations/genocide of the starving nation

It's unmistakable right there on the cover:

napalm web.jpg (97.62 KiB) Viewed 3461 times

If you hear about it more now it's because Barney is outspoken and does a lot of interviews.

[DrLitch]

While Napalm Death have always been political you must consider the society they came from - early 1980's United Kingdom. Anarchist bands and the whole punk movement is where Napalm Death offshoot from. Crass's "Do They Owe us a Living" pretty much nails the frustrations of the working classes at the time (working class were being told by establishment to seek out other careers when jobs were decimated as local manufacturing industries and mining operations were shut down due to being out-competed by giant corporations in energy and manufacturing). This is pretty much the political climate where Napalm Death spawned from. Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law" is another song from this period that highlighted working class angst in the UK in the early 80's. Of course it is easy to point out that many of these bands screaming and yelling about capitalism got well rewarded financially by the very system they are fighting against. Classic Tu quoque fallacy. Whatever the case may be I do wish that political bands would shove their politics up their a$$ and just play music. I will make my own mind up in regards to political ideologies and religious beliefs.

Agreed with Jon, Barney is a pr**k, I cannot stand him.

[LoganRuckman]

https://youtu.be/GfbLWHT7vUU

So here's a modern day metal album that I am totally loving. I can definitely understand the hype. While not the first blackgaze album by a longshot, its sunshine soaked melodies and emo/screamo influence make a good case for black metal being gorgeous and beautiful. Its dreamy warmth might make you reevaluate what extreme music should be.

Purists might hate it, but if you go in with an open mind, you'll be taken to a world of sweet, atmospheric bm.

[jon]

I can't even listen to Napalm Death with Barney anymore. He's such a boneheaded egotistical jerk. And his vocals are terrible. I don't know what to think of ND anymore. They were great before Barney. But they do seem like a band that was trying everything they could to be popular.