Check out Lugubrum Albino de Congo - black metal mixed in with some tribal beats, jazz, and other proggy devices. It's pretty neat stuff.

Here's my (updated) list of metal from this year that i am enjoying:

Boris - Smile (American and Japanese versions)
Saviours - Into Abaddon
Torche - Meanderthal (Damn fine Melvins-gone-Pop album that deserves more attention amongst non-metalheads)
Cursed - III: Architects of Troubled Sleep
Meshuggah - ObZen
The Out_Circuit - Pierce the Empire With a Sound (Not really metal, but sometimes ventures in that direction... Think Jesu but a little more punkish)
Prurient - And Still, Wanting
Witch - Paralyzed
5ive - Hesparus (although i kinda want some vocals here. Still great though)

I'm an Opeth fanatic, but I don't really like Watershed at all. Heir Apparent and The Lotus Eater are really the only ones I like. Now that I've got that out of the way... all of these bands have produced good stuff this year:

Disfear, Keep of Kalessin, Daylight Dies, Arsis, Ihsahn, Circle II Circle, Nachtmystium, Testament

Hands-down best death metal album so far this year (by a long shot): Prostitute Disfigurement Descendants of Depravity. Totally brutal death metal sounding like it could've been a lost classic from 1993. Get it now!

The only one i'm really excited for is Keep of Kalessin - Kolossus, i have loved this band since Agnen, Vyl and Thebon are so amazing good. The newest Kataklysm is okay too but that might be 2007... i don't remember. Belphegor's new album sucked though... haha anyways stay metal metacritic

I've never been much into metal, but I loved the last Mastodon record, most of Jesu's stuff, and am really digging Torche's Meanderthal. Do any of you guys have some recommendations of heavy albums I might enjoy based on that information? I'm interested in '08 releases, but not exclusively. Thanks!

Check out The Sword and Boris for indie-approved metal (I don't like the Sword but Boris are fuckin' great). Baroness are regularly called a Mastodon tribute band by my girlfriend's metalhead brother and I would probably agree when it comes to The Red Album... although some of their monster riffs still sound stolen on First and Second.

I know there's a ton I'm missing but whatever. I'll come back later to list some of the other stuff that has helped me get into various types of metal.

Try checking into Stoner Rock... seems like it might be the direction that interests you.

Thanks for the recommendations, JGlass. And good call on the Boris - I actually stumbled across their Pink album a few years ago and pretty much had my mind blown within the first few minutes, but I haven't yet heard Smile. Is the Japanese version superior to the US one, as I've heard?

I've actually never heard the US version but I believe there was a thread discussing it.. you might want to check out Heavy Rocks also.

And at some point...check out the Sleep discography. And for heaven's sake, any metal "newbie" - especially those with a bent toward stoner/doom - should be required by law to listen to at least the first six Black Sabbath albums. At the very least, it will give you some street cred with the metal-archives folks, which could come in handy when you start looking for more recs.

Metal-archives is a great tool for finding* new metal. Heard of an extremely obscure metal band? Chances are that will be your only chance of finding any real band-related info (side projects, related bands, styles, discog, band members, etc.). There album reviews can be really informative as well.

Sleep is a great call when it comes to Stoner-- they are THE stoner band. Just one comment: most Stoner tracks are really long (10+ minutes) and some (the more doomier, sludge stuff) can be really.... krauty? (i.e. slow, repetitive). But, Stoner Rock is a great genre... tons of MONSTER riffs.

*Edit: "Minding"? Really?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JGlass,

quote:

Originally posted by JGlass:
Metal-archives is a great tool for minding new metal. Heard of an extremely obscure metal band? Chances are that will be your only chance of finding any real band-related info (side projects, related bands, styles, discog, band members, etc.). There album reviews can be really informative as well.

Yeah, I've come across it in the past, but it's only recently that I've really figured out how the place works. It's been especially useful as I've been trying to "discover" 80's thrash and proto-death/black metal bands. I also found out that they take reviewing very seriously. I put up a review for a black metal band named Lugubrum (mentioned at the top of this page), and they rejected it the first time around. They accepted the revised version, though - but it kind of felt like I was writing a manuscript for a scientific journal. Interesting experience. I'm not sure I'll do it again, though.

the "show no mercy" column on pitchfork was updated today. very impressed by the Wold song/interview. hard to pin down their sound, but it's got death-metal elements. hard to believe they hail from Saskatchewan, home of wheat and lame-o's.

Metal this year has been pretty terrible.

quote:

Originally posted by DFelon204409:
Metal this year has been pretty terrible.

But there's always Chinese Democracy to look forward to. Or not.

quote:

Originally posted by ezatldude:

quote:

Originally posted by DFelon204409:
Metal this year has been pretty terrible.

But there's always Chinese Democracy to look forward to. Or not.

True. The best heavy album of this year isn't metal, more like heavy heavy hardcore but check out Ghostlimb's Bearing and Distance. I don't want to include a direct link but if you want to check it out search around for the music review / culture blog Last Train to Cool.

I'm still listening to Strapping Young Lad's greatest hits album. I bought it for the live DVD, but it still represents one of the finest bodies of work in metal this year.

See also - Carcass 'Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious' (re-release with documentary and remastered album). I now own that album on cassette, vinyl and CD. So nice to have the classics back!

Much as I love this old music it would be great to hear something groundbreaking. When is someone going to release something truly great again?

I know I've seen Prostitute Disfigurement mentioned on here somewhere (by DFelon?) and decided to check it out.. they'd manage to escape me. Before dl'ing it I remember seeing a mention of it being metalcore... imagine my surprise when as soon as I put it on and the vocalist has a death growl! So, whether it was wiki that mislead me... either way, this album is pretty badass. Really classic sound but the constant blast beats (I love blast beats haha) are excellent.. not to mention some of those riffs are pretty great too.

quote:

Originally posted by ezatldude:
Hands-down best death metal album so far this year (by a long shot): Prostitute Disfigurement Descendants of Depravity. Totally brutal death metal sounding like it could've been a lost classic from 1993. Get it now!

I'm pretty sure it was me - but who's keeping track? Oh, right, I am. I got wind of it about a month ago from the Invisible Oranges blog. BTW, the older PD albums are even better. Now, get back to me when you try Lugubrum!

I grabbed Prostitute Disfigurement's debut (the only other album up that wasn't FLAC) and Lugubrum's De Totem.

Thanks, I'll get back to you!