Recommend me some quality Metal

Saw Aether Realm with As Oceans last night. It was a ludicrously great show, even if Aether Realm continued their grand tradition of being drunk as fuck for their local performances ;-)

As Oceans


Aether Realm





New Sojourner this month. 2016’s Empires of Ash was absolutely excellent, and I’m loving what I’m hearing so far. Will this be the year of black metal for me?

Also, new Drudkh this month, which is, as always, excellent

Not yet a recommendation as I haven’t heard it, but it surely will be.

New today, finally, after a long 7 year wait, is the new Mournful Congregation - The Incubus Of Karma

Friend-of-a-friend here in Raleigh is in a new atmospheric/proggy black metal group that just put out their new EP earlier this year. It’s good shit, esp. for a pretty raw band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPeWtMwRRFI&feature=youtu.be

Borealis is out with a new one, which I’ve listened to a few times this weekend. Solid melodic/power metal from Canada. Here’s one track’s official lyric vid - track down the rest on your favorite streaming service.

Completely concur with the mentions of Borealis, Mournful Congregation, and Sojourner.

So last night I was playing Into the Breach while listening to metal (as you do) and when I glanced over at the new Judas Priest cover, it hit me – where the hell are all the mech-themed metal bands? We get a million flavors of Tolkien, Lovecraft, Satan, etc., but what’s more metal than 100-ton robotic behemoths blasting the crap out of each other? Plus the whole brothers-in-arms / knightly honor dimension. And the song/album titles practically write themselves: Death From Above, Alpha Strike, Return of the Clans, etc. Someone should get on that.

Giant Robots cross a nerd threshold that metal can’t step over.

If you’re solely into Tolkien, D&D, and/or Satan, you still have a measurable chance of getting laid. It happens.

BT, on the other hand, is an excellent form of birth control.

Iron Savior gets kinda close with their scifi space war antics with intelligent super space ships (the titular Iron Savior); I think some of the stuff the humans pilot might be mecha-esque. But it’s more Star Wars than Mechwarrior.


More faves from this month have been piling up. I’m on a bit of an atmospheric black metal kick again.

from Atra Vetosus’s excellent new Apricity


From Trna’s amazing new blackgaze record, Earthcult

Also, for @CraigM:

DAMIAN WILSON YEEEE ;-)

There’s always the metalheads that grew up in the 80s.

This dude did some work on the newer movie music.

There’s also the 80s movie soundtrack theme by Lion, but that’s more pop rock than metal. And speaking of the 80s movie, there’s this which again is not really metal but damn that’s some fine costume work.

Speaking of Iron Savior, it is a shame I don’t live close to NYC anymore as I see Helloween is doing a reunion show with Kai. Although just noticed today that Tyr, Orphaned Land, and Ghost Ship Octavius are coming to town in May.

Ugh, the closest the Tyr/Orphaned Land/Aeternam tour is getting to me is Atlanta on a Monday.

I’m probably gonna fuckin drive. Ugh. UGH I SAY

Tyr and Orphaned Land? Damn, that is a fantastic lineup.

May 11th in Joliet! Practically back yard for you. I’m tempted to make the drive.

Yeah, I was shocked when I found out about the Pumpkins United Tour. Michael Kiske is back with Helloween as well, which I could have sworn was something he has repeatedly said he would never even consider (I think bad blood between he and Weikath that goes way back).

I should find a show and go, because this may never happen again.

Oh fucking hell, I think the closest date might be goddamned Chicago, lol.

Yeah, there’s not many stops here in the States. Three of them?
I wasn’t paying much attention to metal in the 80’s, but wasn’t Helloween kind of a big deal here too? Cripes, I swear I saw them on MTV even.

Yeah, they definitely had a couple of singles on Headbangers Ball.

I mostly just really love Kiske and Hansen; the actual music of Helloween is fine, but not my biggest thing ever. But man, to see such a legendary act truly reunited? That’s hard to pass up.

Me too. Their best performance together I think was on Gamma Ray’s 2012 Skeletons And Majesties live DVD. I cannot find the best song from that performance (A While In Dreamland), but here’s Kiske and Hansen together with Time To Break Free. Those two are just so much fun to watch together. Obviously great friends.

Oh man, thank you for sharing that. That is awesome. That is so awesome.