Metal Reviews

If every listening experience is subjective, and the results of which vary according to each individual than your statement makes no sense. Its a style and aesthetic thats grounded in linear instrumentation even with layering, but since you pollute every style of metal with your own idiotic spirtual gradient you're going to have a convoluted conception of its worth. There are great bands that play in the style, but you're really going overboard (like you do with evaluating everything based on some intangible spiritual hogwash). Equating a religious experience to it may be your own take on the genre, but others who listen may experience, evaluate, and reach their own conclusions with their frontal lobe intact.

Evoken have always been able to add multi-dimensional songwriting to their doom/death approach, note that I said Doom/death as opposed to the strictly atmospheric tendencies for bands like Thergothon and the usual names go for. Tracks such as Descent into Chaotic dream, Grim Eloquence, and the Unechoing dread are multi-layered with violins, spoken word vocals, and heavier riffs that are more akin to traditional doom death than you're average funeral doom band concerned with just making atmospheric music for the sake of it. I'm not sure what you mean by standard, I've never considered Evoken to be a funeral doom band. They were inspired by Disembowelment and maybe Thergothon, but they are a lot heavier than most of the bands typically listed as "funeral doom"/.

From earlier up in the thread, you said: "How do these guys get reviewed over the new Ea or Evoken is beyond me."

Ea is about as standard as funeral doom gets, I assumed you were comparing Evoken to them by contrasting them both with Ahab. Considering Evoken a funeral doom band seems pretty logical to me, as they were clearly inspired by Thergothon (the band's name a reference) and Disembowelment, but lets see what the band says.

I found an enlightening interview with one of the founding members, Nick Orlando: http://nihilistic.voila.net/Interviews/evoken.htm

He lists the two above mentioned bands and cites early MDB but also notes: "Of course, back then it was not called 'Funeral Doom' it was just good ole' doom/death and that was that. The term 'Funeral Doom' came later and I believe it was started by the Red Stream descriptions of Skepticism in their ads."

And his favorite albums: "My personal cornerstone doom albums would be: Thergothon-Stream From the Heavens; Winter-Into Darkness; Paradise Lost-Lost Paradise & Gothic; My Dying Bride-Symphonnaire Infernus & As the Flower Withers; Disembowelment-Transcendence Into the Peripheral; Cathedral-Forest Of Equilibrium; Trouble-Psalm 9 & The Skull; Black Sabbath-First 6 Lps; Skepticism-Stormcrowfleet; Esoteric-The Pernicious Enigma; Anathema-Crestfallen; Decomposed-Hope Finally Died; etc etc..."

So anyway, to bring the topic somewhat back to point: it is interesting how Evoken viewed the genre in the early days as just doom/death. I'd argue it then evolved to something slower, less death oriented, and in some cases lighter, with Skepticism and their organs obviously have a huge influence. Is this new Ahab album going to be able to change the direction of the subgenre? I don't think is stays within the established genre enough to do that, but who knows.

Never heard of Decomposed. Im gonna have to check them out after I finish Dopethrone, Anathema's the Silent Enigma was good from what I remember hearing as well. I still see more death/doom in their sound anyway, and as for the Ea comparison it was just for the sake of reviewing it I wasn't making a direct comparison to Evoken.

Unfortunately you haven't the slightest clue what you're talking about. You are no where near a mature adult that can have a decent dialogue and not shut out any other opinion regarding any sort of matter. Any sort of music that is worthwhile transcends the soul and is an altered state of consciousness beyond the mundane one. I couldn't care less if you find that amusing or make fun of me. That's just the way I see it and have experienced it. End of story. The more I know you the more I realize how much you're truly narrow-minded. You know nothing of spirituality and, what not lies beyond the after, but just what one can do to alter states of consciousness naturally and without any substances on earth to somewhere beyond the ordinary. Escaping space and time into timelessness. You have no fucking clue! Your ignorance always speaks for itself.

FIRST PREMISE IS WRONG!!

Well I agree with all of you to some extent. I listen to funeral doom and other genres for the feelings and atmospheres they create because in my personal life I'm an emotionless bastard. Certain types of music can make you feel anger, rage, depression, disconnection, happiness, and joy. I listen to these different genres and feel different things. So to some extent I agree with both D.I. And Tehom. While I don't find many things spiritual certain music does evoke (or invoke I don't know which is correct) certain emotional responses that I enjoy.

Back to Ahab. Whatever genre this album is its a great album worthy of its score and excellent review.

Give it up. This isn't a course in logistics .

funeral doom takes me to the sleepy state of consciousness where i get to battle vampire trees with a shotgun

Me too!

Only at MR can you get a detailed psychoanalysis on the adverse effects of emotional and spiritual awakening of funeral doom metal at the same time get insulted by Steve

Just recently discovered this band. I don't know what took me so long, but I like it.

I just saw this man. I'll pm you a list in a day or two.

Edit: is there a character limit in private messages? I have most of the list made but I have to add like 100 or so albums so give me a day. I should have a list for you by tomorrow night. We can go over specifics in PM's.

Will take generally any interesting sort of black, death, and traditional heavy metal/USPM. No brutal death or 15th generation Darkthrone clones please!

Best I can do is send you a list and you pick. I have OCD to some extent so I can't really let go of cd's but I have no problem sending you a zip with mp3's @ 320kbps and you can just take the mp3s off and put something on it in return and send it back. I never traded before so I don't know if that is common practice or not.