bjorn

I've been hoping for something more like the bonus tracks from Zeitgeist, Ma Belle and Stellar in particular. I felt those had some of that classic SP magic. Nothing I've heard so far from this reunion feels like that.

This new Myopic album is fantastic: https://grimoirerecords.bandcamp.com/album/myopic I like the spacious pace of their compositions... they remind of a bunch of bands (Cynic and Krallice among others) but seem to have their own lane, recommended.

Yeah, that new single is quirky. I don't hate it though, at least it's unexpected.

It's expired now. If anyone has leads on a new code I'd appreciate it!

This isn't an extreme metal release per se, but it wouldn't fit in any other thread. It's also not available on vinyl, sadly, but this is a tragically overlooked band and I'll do what I can here to spread some awareness. In the early 2000's Virgin Black created a trilogy of albums. This blurb describes the three Requiem albums better than I can: It is a requiem mass composed as one unfolding piece, progressing from the all-orchestral first stage, through to a balanced, collaborative orchestra/band middle section, concluding with the band coming to the fore in the final and heaviest section. Total duration at 2 hours 33 minutes. Befitting “a mass for the dead”, the sounds, whether represented by orchestral or metal instrumentation, are ever-presently dirgeful and heartrending. On display is both an adherence to and an outright betrayal of the long-established tradition of requiem masses in classical music. Typifying that betrayal is the semi-atonal vocal barrage referred to as the “death choir” – a chorus of extreme voices employing a resonant undertone technique found most commonly in death metal. Musical elements such as a full string ensemble (with specifically requested low C-tuned basses), woodwinds, horns, brass, timpani, heavy A#-tuned guitars, drums, tenor/baritone and soprano solo voices, death solo voice, and full choir are at times dexterously interwoven and at other times deliberately thrust together for chaotic effect. Many passages for the words were reproduced from traditional religious mass texts and lend a ceremonial component offset by the far more personal and emotional words penned specifically for the project which interject throughout. Six individual audio engineers were engaged to realize production, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra enlisted to perform the scores, and the Adelaide Stamford Academy Choir for performance of choral arrangements. With an unerring artistic commitment, bordering on folly, composers Sesca Scaarba (formerly Samantha Escarbe) and Rowan London financially backed the project entirely themselves and notably – these many years later – still remain tens of thousands of dollars in debt to “incredibly generous and understanding people” as Rowan put it. With all ties to record labels now severed, supporters of Virgin Black can be assured that 100% of profits will go to the band. The first album was never released. Since that part of the trilogy is basically neoclassical music, I assume the label (The End Records) wanted to push the second and third albums first. The band basically disappeared for a decade, but now they've announced they'll finally release the first album of the trilogy, which is available here: https://virginblack.store/trilogy/ If you haven't checked out Mezzo Forte or Fortissimo, I can't recommend them enough. If you like funeral doom or anything close to it, I think those two albums are the absolute pinnacle of the genre.

Yes! Starting my second listen. Love the shoegazey bits with the screamy ones, they do this perfectly.

The box from Napalm came to $53 with shipping, the single violet LP from the band's site came to almost $32 with shipping and tax. I begrudgingly went with the box since an extra $21 didn't seem too crazy. I do think the concept of releasing a 7" box with no additional content is bonkers, so I hope I don't end up regretting this too much.

I agree with the comments above. I think the best approach is not to worry about it. Just buy what you want, and if you come across a pressing which sounds bad to you, return it or sell it. The risk really isn't substantial. I share your frustration with the inconsistency in quality between releases. So much of what is available today has clearly been rushed or otherwise compromised by sloppy manufacturing. But every once in a while I do get some near-perfect pressings that really elevate the experience of listening to a particular album, which somehow makes the whole thing worth it, at least for me.

Magus is really good. I’m still breaking it down mentally, but there are multiple parts that are beastly. I have so much Thou in my brain due to their massive discography, so the vocals can get a bit tiresome even though they’re awesome. I think that’ll change once I get a better feel for the lyrics, which seem to be a bit different thematically so that’s interesting. I love the recording... still gritty as hell but I can hear everything so clearly. The only time I ever saw them perform was in a tiny basement about three feet from my face, and one of my favorite things about that experience was how close they sounded to their albums. They’ve always had this very honest and unvarnished approach to album production and I love it, it’s so much heavier and better than the way most metal albums are produced.

It's great to see this album get continued recognition. I remember downloading it from emusic, maybe in 2006 or something, and not really knowing what to think about out, just knowing that it was special. I've been consistently returning to it and it keeps getting better.

Amazon has discounted this record by 20%... came to around $24 shipped for me. I assume it will be black vinyl but that's cool with me.

This is good! Thanks for sharing.

I didn't have massive expectations for Solara, but a part of me hoped it would be something closer to Ma Belle or Stellar, which had some of that classic SP magic even though they were from the Zeitgeist era. Unfortunately, it sounds more like a deliberate attempt to recreate something like Bullet. Also, the mix is horribly bright. I'll still give anything they put out a fair shake. Oceania was good, and Monuments was enjoyable as well, but to me none of this stuff really lives up to the band's potential, which is a bummer.

They are crazy to keep up with for sure. I hopped on early, otherwise I'd be utterly lost. Heathen, Summit, and Peasant are probably the most essential things to get into first. They did a run of 12" splits that I really like. The Leech, Salome, and Moloch splits are my favorites. They are short, spin at 45, and sound massive.

Grabbed all four from Deathwish. I was waffling on whether to track all of these down but getting them all in one fell swoop made it easy. I somehow have every 12"/10"/7" they've ever released, minus a couple comps, so I guess I'm keeping the streak going after all.