\m/(~_~)\m/ Bring the Metal! \m/(~_~)\m/

Nope, not asking too much at all, and it’s why they make “high fidelity ear plugs.” Check out eargasm or earasers on Amazon. They’ll set you back $30-40, but SOOOOO worth it if you’re a concert junkie who cares about both your hearing and good sound!

d4m0 wrote:

Question for everyone: what do you for ear plugs?
(...)
Are there ear plugs that are maybe specific to going to concerts

Yes, absolutely, and they're a must.

I use: DownBeats low profile plugs.

Another common recommendation are the Etymotic ER20s. I have a pair of the lower-profile ER20XS and they're good, but not as comfortable to me as the DownBeats.

A nice list: https://headphonescompared.com/best-...

Low profile plugs are good for me as I have smaller ears and find larger plugs uncomfortable (for reference: trying to wear Apple earbuds is a painful experience), people with larger ears will probably want the larger sizes and may find low profile too hard to easily pull back out.

Seinfeld-themed death metal, and it's pretty f*ckin' good: https://grindfeld.bandcamp.com/releases

Grindfeld is:
Joel Moore (Wretched): Guitars, Bass, Engineering.
Jared Klein (Rivers of Nihil, The Undying): Drums.
Monte Barnard: (Ex-Alterbeast, The Kennedy Veil): Vocals.

Thanks for the suggestions! I will definitely be picking up a pair of those special earplugs before the next show.

Seinfeld death metal? I'm in!

I’ve stumbled across a YouTube Series that is destined to end up as an all time favorite: “Songs Getting Larsed.” This is pure gold.

d4m0: That sounds exactly like the recent Revocation show I caught. Actually, both of their headlining shows that I've seen.

I bought some "special" earplugs years ago at a local guitar store. They aren't perfect, but they're better than foam earplugs from a drugstore.

Evergrey released their new song the other day. I quite like it, not as much as King of Errors but it's still very nice, hopefully the rest of the album is even better. They said it's going to be heavier than usual.

It's year-end list time! Here's the first batch of them:

Decibel Magazine (#1: YOB - Our Raw Heart)
Revolver Magazine (#1: Ghost - Prequelle)
PopMatters (#1: YOB - Our Raw Heart)
AV Club (no ranking, just 10 top albums and 10 honorable mentions)
Treble (#1: Thou - Magus)
Loudwire (#1: Sleep - The Sciences)

I don't stay up on all the new metal, but my favorite and most listened to album that came out this year was clearly Tomb Mold - Manor of Infinite Forms.

Retroactively, my album of 2017 is Gatecreeper - Sonoran Depravation.

Saw Ghost last night - they looked and sounded excellent, put on a helluva show! Two sets, no opener. Highly recommended if they’re coming through your neck of the woods on this tour and you’re into them at all.

Last time they came through around me tickets were $95 for the cheap seats up in Albany. Too rich for my blood.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I don't stay up on all the new metal, but my favorite and most listened to album that came out this year was clearly Tomb Mold - Manor of Infinite Forms.

Retroactively, my album of 2017 is Gatecreeper - Sonoran Depravation.

FED: "I'll have some death metal please."

WAITER: "Would you like some progressive or technical with that?"

FED: "Ew. No thanks."

Seriously though, those Gatecreeper and Tomb Mold albums are both very good.

Counterpoint: I think I've mentioned Revocation and Allegaeon more than anyone else in this thread. But yes, 2018 was 100% the year I got into straight up DM. Also loved Blood Incantation, Exhumed, Extremity, etc.

Speaking of which, the show featuring Skeletal Remains on tour with The Black Dahlia Murder, Ghoul, and Power Trip is this week! Okay, weak segue with only one of those being straight up DM. Whatever.

You do love Revocation and have for a while, I'll grant you that. This was mostly a reference to the DM you've been digging on lately plus the comment about not digging Horrendous.

*Legion* wrote:

You do love Revocation and have for a while, I'll grant you that. This was mostly a reference to the DM you've been digging on lately plus the comment about not digging Horrendous.

All completely fair. Plus I'm flattered that you're obviously internet crushing on me to have noticed and remembered all of that, not to mention the neighbors comment in the college football thread.

*Legion* wrote:

It's year-end list time! Here's the first batch of them:

Decibel Magazine (#1: YOB - Our Raw Heart)
Revolver Magazine (#1: Ghost - Prequelle)
PopMatters (#1: YOB - Our Raw Heart)
AV Club (no ranking, just 10 top albums and 10 honorable mentions)
Treble (#1: Thou - Magus)
Loudwire (#1: Sleep - The Sciences)

I need to spend more time with Windhand and Skeletonwitch.

I just cannot get into Thou.

Edit: Also, I thought the Ghost album had one or two songs that'll last and the rest are filler.

MaxShrek wrote:

Last time they came through around me tickets were $95 for the cheap seats up in Albany. Too rich for my blood.

Wow, that’s pretty high - don’t think I would have gone at that rate either. These were through a Blabbermouth presale and were just north of $50 with fees.

garion333 wrote:

I need to spend more time with Windhand and Skeletonwitch.

The Windhand is good, the Skeletonwitch never got anywhere with me, even though I liked their previous album.

I just cannot get into Thou.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/vhaRciM.gif)

Edit: Also, I thought the Ghost album had one or two songs that'll last and the rest are filler.

This is pretty much where I am with Ghost on the whole. Watching some music videos of theirs late night gave me more appreciation for them than I had previously. But I still see them as a band with some good singles but not producing albums that hold my attention. I also think the material suffers when it isn't accompanied with the visual element of the music videos (or, I imagine, the stage performance).

For me Ghost live was leagues better than Ghost on studio albums. He’s a stickler for sound quality/character performance, and the visual aesthetic is such a huge part of the whole thing...it all comes together really well. The songs I was less than lukewarm about on the albums had me dancing like no one was watching during the show.*

*alcohol and a smoking hot wife were significant contributing factors.

This story is relevant to my interests.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

All completely fair. Plus I'm flattered that you're obviously internet crushing on me to have noticed and remembered all of that, not to mention the neighbors comment in the college football thread.

:kiss:

IMAGE(https://i.gifer.com/1eSy.gif)

*Legion* wrote:
garion333 wrote:

I need to spend more time with Windhand and Skeletonwitch.

The Windhand is good, the Skeletonwitch never got anywhere with me, even though I liked their previous album.

I just cannot get into Thou.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/vhaRciM.gif)

Sorry, I find them dull. It's a song length + vocals thing. I tend to feel this way about a lot of sludge stuff. While you thoroughly enjoy the oppressive screaming into the void stuff, it tends to bore me after a while as it all runs together for me. Yob is masterful at drawing things out but not too far (and a wider sonic palette), I don't get that with Thou. Probably has something to do with their constant release schedule. They write, record and put it out. It's an always moving forward, no time to stop and edit mentality.

tldr They need an editor.

The Daughters album is making a ton of year end lists so I'm giving it a listen. They're not metal, at all, really, but more of an industrial noise rock thing. Still, heavy.

This song is short and full of noise. It's interesting to see who people in the comments are comparing the sound to because it's a litmus test for your knowledge of different genres, etc. NiN, Pixies, Jesus Lizard, Big Black. The guitar tone and screech is pure BigBlack to my ears, but Jesus Lizard as a reference for vox makes sense too. NiN is a stretch for me, as are Pixies though I get it, especially since Steve Albini produced some of their stuff ... and Jesus Lizard ... and he was in Big Black. Basically, this song is dope and hits a spot for me that hasn't been replicated by modern bands recently. Awesome.

The rest of the album is quite diverse, but it's all intense and experimental. Good stuff. Makes an interesting listen if you back to back it with Author & Punisher.

garion333 wrote:

Sorry, I find them dull. It's a song length + vocals thing. I tend to feel this way about a lot of sludge stuff. While you thoroughly enjoy the oppressive screaming into the void stuff, it tends to bore me after a while as it all runs together for me. Yob is masterful at drawing things out but not too far (and a wider sonic palette), I don't get that with Thou. Probably has something to do with their constant release schedule. They write, record and put it out. It's an always moving forward, no time to stop and edit mentality.

tldr They need an editor.

My counterargument:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/bMgYI6c.gif)

I dunno, Legion, maybe you're wrong. I mean, someone liked my post and it totally wasn't me. Totally.

I see you assholes smashing Garion's Like buttons now. I won't forget this.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/OKOVn97.png)

*Legion* wrote:

I see you assholes smashing Garion's Like buttons now.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/l7hOUhq.gif)

Motherf*cker, even I had to click Like on that one.

Noisey ranked Thou as the 12th best album of 2018.

Not of metal, of all music. Only 8 spots behind Ariana Grande!

More lists:

Exclaim! (#1: Vein - Errorzone)
Stereogum (#1: Fluisteraars / Turia – De Oord)
LA Weekly (#1: YOB - Our Raw Heart)

Also gotta call out Toilet Ov Hell's Top Tech Death of 2018 list as it's the only list I've seen so far with the Anachronism album on it.