I have just one demand for the Torture Chamber...

You must listen to the entirety of an album in one sitting. No taking a break to give your ears a rest, no going to get something to eat, and please remember to use the bathroom before you start. Also, no cutting an album short, like you did with that one album Jansz sent you last year (or the year before or whatever). You asked for this, so you'll touch your toes and take it all the way.

Ufommamut - Ecate
Bong - Stoner Rock
Zu - Carboniferous

This metal might not be cheesy enough for you but they're some pretty great recent releases worth checking out.

I always do. Listen to the album all the way I mean. I know I cut Jansz's short but for the TC I never do. That's the whole point, no?
I believe I listened to Geist ist teufel or something, and loved it...

My album that i'd love for you to listen to. Prepare your ears once it comes around:

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9736/13369992441.jpg
Whourkr - 4247 Snare Drums

That's Urfaust ;)

As per Batlord's request, here are some torture chamber albums in the appropriate thread.

John Zorn - Six Litanies for Heliogabalus
White Suns - Totem
Oxbow - An Evil Heat

Let's put this discussion in spoilers so TH won't get wise to our plans.

I just thought up a really good one that doesn't even need discussion.

Twilight - III: Beneath Trident's Tomb

Based off of the film series and the band is made up of sparkly vampires.

Oh
http://cdn.meme.am/images/300x/1643190.jpg
Again with the John Zorn? Does he qualify?
I don't even have to click the spoiler guys! If I quote it, there it is! :rofl:
Now you really are trying to torture me, aren't you?
:shycouch:

The man has released over 500 albums, he's done more than one genre and metal happens to be one of them.

Just an idea: if you do a separate thread for The Torture Chamber, I give you my word I will not enter it. You can then discuss all you want to in there without my knowing. Suggested titles: "Keep the **** out Trollheart!" "Ways to Torture Trollheart musically" or "Batty's Torture Chamber: no Trollhearts allowed"

Hey, TH, I know you weren't a huge fan of Steadfast by Forefather, but is there any chance you could try out their newest album Curse of the Cwelled? -- Curse of the Cwelled | Forefather

Really? I thought I ended up liking it. Mind you, I'd have to check back.
But sure, I'll give it a go.
:thumb:

You seemed to like Steadfast somewhat in the sense that I figure you found the album solid, but seemed to complain about how there wasn't enough differentiation in the tracks, which was also a complaint for that Mondstille album I recommended.

That may have been how you saw it upon your first few listens and your opinion may have changed, and you forgot of how you initially perceived it possibly? To me the album is pretty diverse as far as a lot of Folk/Black/Pagan Metal goes, though I guess I could see how listening to an album just in that style from front to back could drag on for someone.

Either way, I feel pretty confident in Curse of the Cwelled, and while I tend to view Steadfast as a pretty diverse album, relative to that it's still staying in their defined genre, I figure Curse of the Cwelled is even maybe a little bit more diverse.



Also, if you haven't checked out Necrophagia's debut album called Season of the Dead, I highly recommend it as it's a somewhat obscured release, yet quite an important one for the Death Metal sub-genre (it was released before Death's Scream Bloody Gore.)

Maybe if you feel up to it, also review another album of theirs for Metal Month? (I feel there may be a rule against a band having two albums reviewed in a year, but I can't recall it for certain.) Necrophagia is fairly well known for focusing on horror-movie/occult themed lyrics and I feel like an album like WhiteWorm Cathedral, or Deathtrip 69 would go well as something for you to review around October.

Wolves in Sheepskin - Indecent Vibrations

No, there's no such rule. You can sugegst as many albums as you like. I can only however review so many, and it's only fair I don't concentrate on one person's selection to the detriment of those of others. I'll throw them on the list.

I haven't checked back on the Steadfast album yet, but I will.
Aren't you breaking some rule about self-promotion by now? ;)

Oh most definitely.

I'd just like to add that this is a torture chamber album since it's too noisy and formless for him to ever enjoy.

It's one of Frownland's: of course it's noisy and formless and bereft of enjoyment potential! :laughing:

So I was thinking of one last recommendation for you to take on for Metal month to go along with the other stuff I rec'd for as long as you think it won't overwhelm you.

It's Rotting Christ's album Aealo. It's super accessible Melodic Black Metal full of consonant/epic guitar harmonies, ethnic Greek Folk influences, interesting clean vocals, and a good rhythm/drum section to it.

Take it on if it's not too much to work on along with everything else you've got. Also, here's a summary of the other albums I've requested for your convenience.


Forefather - Curse of the Cwelled
Necrophagia - Season of the Dead
Necrophagia - Deathtrip 69
Rotting Christ - Aealo

Plus, if you feel up to it, pick any of Sigh's albums you haven't heard yet, they're all great, though they vary in style quite a lot. I think I remember leaving a relatively brief summary of what each of their albums sounds like earlier in this thread.

If you can't take on all of my recs, pick any one or multiples of them if you can get to any of them, I hold no preference as to which you choose over the others.


If you can get through all of those and feel up for one more, try out Lost Horizon's album A Flame to the Ground Beneath, it's Progressive Power Metal and probably will be the most accessible/appealing for you out of the bunch. I won't recommend anymore for this year, since I feel I've already recommended you a fair share and want to give others an opportunity to recommend you stuff. However, if you run through reviewing everything you've gotten so far sooner than expected and would like some more, I could provide a few more if you asked.

Thanks man. I'll see how many I can fit in.

A general announcement: August 1 will mark the proper beginning of research for and writing Metal Month III. Although I have at this point already finished the full Judas Priest discography, I have not really had time to concentrate on the many other areas of the third year of this special, so from August I will be devoting all of my energies to that.

Therefore, if anyone has recs I would ask them to try to have them in by then. I may accept recs after that, but I would prefer to have all my ducks in a row and just go through them from then through to the end of October.

I'm also still looking for examples of Funeral Doom, if anyone can help.

Looking forward to making this the best Metal Month yet.

Ahab- Call of the Wretched Sea
Skepticism - Stormcrowfleet
Thergothon - Stream from the Heavens
Funeral - Tragedies

Esoteric is another band you need to hear, but I've got them saved for... something else, so accept no recs for them. They're spoken for.


You'll probably be bored ****less by this genre BTW, especially without the aid of headphones.




Sidenote: Oh, and what's your policy on recs? Cause I know you dug Goatsnake and Electric Wizard, so I got some doom/stoner I could send you.

Thanks for that man.
as for recs, sure, send away. No real policy (not getting too many so far this year, not like last year, though people probably aren't really thinking in terms of Metal Month yet) other than not to get flooded with them. But if I get too many from one person and can't do them all I'll just pick the ones I can.

Check yo PMs.

Just moving this up to remind you all there are now only two months to go, and as I'm beginning listening, researching and writing in earnest from today, if you have any albums you want to recommend me for Metal Month III, you should get on that **** now, as I can do with all the time I can get to listen to them.

It's not too late is it? I'd like you to listen to

Paysage d'Hiver - Paysage d'Hiver

We can let Batlord decide if this goes in the torture chamber or in the regular reviews. I honestly think you can handle it.

Would you take two?

If so...

1. Municipal Waste - Hazardous Mutation
2. Toxic Holocaust - An Overdose Of Death...

If not, take No. 1.

No problem.
Sure.

All right, once again I have to bow to Batty's superior knowledge of metal subgenres. He said Funeral Doom would bore me to tears and, only three albums in, I'm ready to say **** it I'm not listening to any more of that! Talk about mind-numbingly slow and boring!

My idea now is to change the "What's that all about?" section to encompass Atmospheric Black Metal, so if anyone can shout with decent bands/albums I could use in this, I would appreciate it as I've already wasted about a week on Funeral Doom which I can not use now, unless I think of some other way to utilise or feature those albums. But WTAA? needs to be sorted, so any help very much appreciated. Also, any insight on best countries for this genre, how it differs significantly from normal Black Metal, and so on.

Thanks guys!

I was originally gonna use a funeral doom double album in the Torture Chamber, so consider yourself lucky... or not, since you listened to three albums.

It wouldn't have mattered. I listened to Catacombs and began listening to Esoteric but just got so bored I couldn't finish. It wasn't quite what I'd consider torture though. Which leads us to an interesting question: what do you consider torture? Is it an album that make me **** myself, one I can't manage to get through, one which bores me stupid, or scares me, or makes me want to puke? Like, what actual result are we going for here? Never really thought about it. Like, with those FD bands I'd just browse and write and do other things till they were over: that's not torture surely?

Well, you've already listened to enough death metal, black metal, and grindcore that it would get kind of boring to just keep throwing more of the same at you. If I'm going to do that, then it has to be an album that's particularly offensive or unique. Otherwise this would be boring for both of us.

I don't want to just give you four Frownland-ish albums either, for much the same reason. Another problem is that that Gnaw Their Tongues album from last year was supposed to freak you out, but apparently atmosphere doesn't really do that, so that cuts out a lot of music I might otherwise have used.

I'll definitely rec an album that's just plain terrible though, like Limp Bizkit. No reason it has to be torturous for you alone. And just boring you to tears is a possible tactic, if the album is monotonous or long enough (hence the funeral doom double album).

Honestly, though, I don't know that this will be an interesting thing to do three years in a row. We've offended your tastes in so many ways already that another four albums you probably won't like isn't going to be an especially notable feature. Sorry to say, but after Merzbow, I really don't have another level of abrasiveness to hit you with.

How about Stallaggh's Projekt Nihil? I can't see him having any positive thoughts on that record.

Has TH already listened to the albums I sent him? Would he be willing to change the list at this point? If so then I could always check that out. I'm mad at you for giving him that Fantomas album BTW. Would've been perfect.

Just give it a cursory listen on YouTube and tell me it's not perfect torture chamber material.

TH, don't click the video, I don't want to spoil your appetite.

No and yes in order. Maybe someone else would volunteer (ie be abducted) to go in the Chamber? You're right to be honest; after one session it does kind of lose its appeal and uniqueness. I vote Frownland to listen to a ton of power and prog metal albums.... if ye're hard enough. Or you Batty: can I find anything in the world of metal that could torture you I wonder?

Not really. I don't like plenty of stuff, but nothing really offends my sensibilities in the world of metal anymore.

You know what, **** that list I gave you. Give me a day to come up with a new one. I wasn't really all that thrilled about it anyway.