Metal Reviews

This guy knows whats up, Sinister are incredibly underrated.

I have to add Negura Bunget to recently becoming one of my favourites and possibly becoming a long-time favourite. Besides "Om" which albums are worth buying?

ALL!!!

Is Om a good place to start and if so which album should I get next, or does it really matter?

NB changed their sound with Om. They got more proggy and atmospheric. The earlier works were rawer. Deathspell Omega is a similar case, Si Monvmentvm... is their Om. NB > Dso in their first albums if you ask me. Try Maiastru Stefnic or something like that, I'm not too good at rumanian...

I am very familiar with Deathspell Omega. As for NB I finally got their Om and 'n Crugu Bradului. The atmosphere plus the complexity they bring to BM is quite unique. I can't believe it took me this long to find out about this marvelous band. Brilliant, rare, and very captivating stuff. Thanks for the recommendation again.

Maybe I needed to elaborate a bit more. I was not comparing NB with DsO musically, the sound is entirely different. The similarity is that the first albums of both bands were rawer, and then evolved into something more majestic and complex. Infernal Battles and Inquisitors of Satan are primitive, Black Metal done the Norwegian style. The change from those albums to SMRC is abysmal, like the devil actually entered into them to help them with the songwriting...

NB followed a similar path, but the first albums are far from primitive, rawer, yes, but more mature, even Zirnindu Sa is more elaborated than the first two albums of DsO, despite being released four years earlier. It's a true gem of the 2nd wave of BM.

Both bands are in my top ten, and I believe Om and SMRC will be regarded as Classics in the future, O my brother.

No, My friend, I didn't misunderstand what you said. I was simply saying that I was familiar with Deathspell Omega's sound, although I could have worded it differently to avoid misinterpretation. They sound very different from one another. 'n Crugu Bradului is quite complex in my first listen. How their music evolves is quite amazing. Layered and a very precise drummer which as I've heard is classically trained. The music on this particular album gives a lot emotionally complex feelings which is great to hear. This album definitely needs all the attention it can get as it is not easy to digest at all.

*edit wrong post.

Om, in my mind, was the absolute pinnacle of the post-Norwegian black metal sound, 'n Crugu Bradului seems more like a transition point but is excellent in its own way.

Well, I am definitely enjoying 'n Crugu Bradului a lot. But now that I am much more familiar with their sound I can certainly see how 'n Crugu Bradului was a point of changing their sounding to a much more progressive and evolutionary complexity. As you have said it's a brilliant album however one puts it. I am very glad that Negura Bunget is not just a name of a BM band for me but THE name of an incredible BM band!

All time favourite bands who have stood the test of time: Burzum, Darkthrone, Judas Iscariot, Nifelheim, Mayhem, Emperor, Immortal.

All of these bands I have been listening to for a decade or more and they are all still among my favourites. The most consistant has been Burzum in that Varg is still making music and has never once written an album that I didn't enjoy. Belus was still the best black metal album of that year, ffs.

Darthrone is one of the bands I respect most in the world and has put out countless albums that I enjoy, but I've never been able to enjoy Total Death to Sardonic Wrath. The Cult Is Alive was ok, but F.O.A.D to Circle the Wagons was a return to the forefront of black metal as far as I'm concerned. The last three albums have not disappointed me in the least. Their early bm material is timeless and I won't even stop loving those albums, that is for sure.

Same with the rest of these bands, though I didn't enjoy the later material of Emperor, Mayhem and Immortal. Their early stuff was and is among those albums which are totally unbeatable.

Other bands/albums that are also all-time favourites, but have been listening to regularly for a lesser amount of time than the above mentioned (mostly 8-9 years instead of 10 +) are Bolt Thrower, Kreator, Destruction, Vader, Dismember, Obituary.

Also, special mention goes to Slayer's Show No Mercy, which was one of the first metal albums I ever heard/bought. Loved at 13 and still love it today. The rest of the band's 80s material was good, but none beat SNM.

Oh and yeah, there aren't that many new bands that I enjoy enough to name as favourites, and too soon to say whether they will be timeless. But out of newly formed bands, I really enjoy Sarke, Hail of Bullets, Lunar Aurora, Trench Hell and Tyrant.

Editing to add Celtic Frost, Necromantia, Mercyful Fate and Hades (Nor) to my list.

Edit again: Oh shit, and Bathory...wtf is wrong with me

No love for early Celtic Frost?

Lots of love for early Celtic Frost...I knew I would forget someone... consider CF, Mercyful Fate and Necromantia added to my list lol

Oh dude, Necromantia is as cult as a band can get... Very dark and mystical sounding, big fan!

Fucking agreed! I adore those guys!

Add Voivod to my list. Kinda shameful they've not been mentioned so far.

I never got into those guys. Maybe I should re-consider them.

Try Dimension Hatross/Nothingface/Angel Rat first.
Incredible evolution and great albums!