The General Metal Thread

[Your_mum]

I am going to Beyond the Gates this year, my first visits to both the festival itself and Bergen. The entire line up looks very good (2-3 bands I don’t know/care for), but the main draw is King Diamond. King Diamond and Mercyful Fate at the two bands I have to see live to finally be able to die happy, so I really can’t wait for this. But there will be a lot of set lists that really hit the spot for me.

Abbath Doom Occulta - Return to the Raven Realms set

Bar All Shall Fall, every single track is a banger. I don’t care much for Abbath’s solo albums, so this is looking promising.

Helheim - Jormundgand set

I like pretty much everything they’ve released and would be happy nonetheless, but Jormundgang and Av Norrøn Ætt Are by far my favorite Helheim albums, so a Jormundgsng det looks so good. I hope they play the album in its entirety.

Taake - Doesdkvad 20th anniversary set

I’ve seen Taake several times and never been too impressed, but they’ve played a lot of the stuff released after Doedskvad, which I simply don’t care for, so this should be fun. My favorite Taake album, although it’s close between the three first albums.

Gehenna - Original line-up - First three albums set

I mainly listen to the two first albums, but I am all for this. Should be fun.

Destruction - 40 Years of Infernal Overkill

My favorite Destruction album, and they seem to be playing the entire thing. Seen them a few times and they always deliver, even when they play newer stuff I don’t like.

Absu - Featuring Zemial: The Sun of Tiphareth 30th Anniversary

Looks like Absu is playing the entire / most of the masterpiece that is The Sun of Tiphareth, their best album alongside The Third Storm of Cythraul, and ends their set with a handful of classic Zemial songs as Zemial are Prospector’s backing band for this. Looks amazing!

I Am Morbid

They’ve been out on this 30 Years of Domination tour, playing a handful of tracks from Domination and a couple of Altsrs of Madness, Blessed Are the Sick and Covenant. I’m not a fan of Domination, but this might change that. Seeing Morbid Angel play Covenant in its entirety changed my views on that album. Went in not being a fan of the album, but I’ve been a huge fan ever since.

Triptykon plays Celtic Frost

I am not a fan of Triptykon, so this is awesome. They seem to be playing three tracks off of the let Celtic Frost album which I don’t care for, but the rest are bangers.

And beside that I am really looking forward to Hellbuther, Attic, Hellripper, Koldbrann, Askeregn, Misþyrming, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, Eternal Evil, Morax, Candlemass, Trinulation, Hexvessel and Dark Sonority.

Kinda looking forward to Paradise Lost, Lucifer, Opeth and Furia as well, although I don’t think any of these are gonna please me too much.

I was actually really looking forward to Opeth after being told they played a really old school set, but the oldest is from Blackwater Park. I like Blackwater Park, but I won’t call it old school Opeth. They had four albums before this, but I don’t play anything off them. That’s so disappointing to me.

But other than that this looks incredible on paper. Can’t wait!

[Your_mum]

Vintersorg is back with a new album, and the cover art is once again done by legendary artist Kris Verwimp. How fucking incredible is this artwork? Holy shit! It’s just gorgeous.

The new song is really good too. It’s not too different from the sound found on Till Fjälls del II, but the black metal elements is certainly toned down slightly in the new song. Sounds fantastic!

[blacktooth]

Been spending some time with the new Volahn album, released at long last. Violent black metal with labyrinthine riffs and seamlessly interwoven ancestral folk interludes.

[Missa]

@Your_mum

I was actually really looking forward to Opeth after being told they played a really old school set, but the oldest is from Blackwater Park. I like Blackwater Park, but I won’t call it old school Opeth. They had four albums before this, but I don’t play anything off them. That’s so disappointing to me.

welp, they played a song off Morningrise in that set so. there you go.

me personally I’m hoping for a lot of Progpeth stuff when I set them headline in February, but I’d be happy with pretty much any set as long as it doesn’t focus on like…Damnation or Morningrise

[Your_mum]

Yeah, they played The Night and the Silent Water, as well as a track off Blackwater Park. But that still isn’t an old school set like a lot of people talked about. It wasn’t a very good gig either for me personally, but I am not in their target audience, so that is expected.

But the festival was crazy good, tho. King Diamond, Absu, Destruction, Helheim, Eternal Evil, Taake and Hellripper were fantastic, with King Diamond delivering the best gig I’ve ever witnessed. Everything about the concert, from their playing to the sound (Grieghallen had an unreal sound! Best I’ve ever heard live) to the delivery to the theatrics were just about perfect. Rest were unreal as well. So good!

As for Taake it’s my 3rd or 4th time seeing then, and they’ve always been wack live, and Hoest have always come off as being a bit too much and too eager to be the shit. But he took a backseat here, were calm and just didn’t do much, and it worked so well. Played the entire Doedskvad and one track from Nattestid.

And I’ve never seen a band with as much energy as Hellripper, and they were still being incredibly tight and good sounding. It was just crazy!

Abbath, Misþyrming, Candlemass, Dark Sonority, Koldbrann, Lucifer, Hellbutcher and Attic were all god/really fucking good as well. Abbath especially were superb!

Tribulation were disappointing, Gehenna were really boring, Paradise Lost were awful and Triptykon just didn’t do anything from me. Tom G. Warrior is cool as fuck and all that, but his “backing band” just didn’t fit the vibe of Celtic Frost. And it was all a bit tame.

All in all a brilliant festival, and probably thebest I’ve been to so far. But next year we’ll probably go to Poland and Mystic fest as it’ll be a shitload cheaper, and the line up have always been insane. But if next years lineup matches this, there’s always a chance I am going back. And Bergen was a beautiful city. Will return for sure!

[rsm_rain]

i went to see Blackbraid recently as they came to my city, and thought about ego death as i was tossed and flying around in the pit. I think i’m learning that aside from local bands and the rare chance that a vkei act visits the US, black metal shows are the only lives i care to go see. There’s something (i know i sound so pretentious, forgive me) transcendant about the wall of sound and uncompromising intensity of a band going full send on the icey harsh vocals, tremolo guitars, and the blast beats. i wish i could drag more friends to these shows and convince them to check out some of what i love like this.

Hey, go check out Blackbraid, they’re quite good

No band otherwise has similarly matched the spirit of Bergtatt since Ulver, imho

[blacktooth]

Blackbraid’s earlier albums didn’t do much for me but it sounds like he’s hit his stride on the new one. I’ll need to check it out.

Was that the tour with Lamp of Murmuur as an opener? I wanted to go but I just couldn’t make it work. Next time…

[Rena]

SABATON - I, Emperor (Official Lyric Video)

Yay new Sabaton album is out

[blacktooth]

Ever wanted flute in your black metal? Well, you’re in luck!

This just released today and I think it offers a pretty unique sound. Flute aside, it’s overall pretty punky and the bass is nice and high in the mix. Some songs kick into this sort of boastful triumphant mood (and major key?!)

[Your_mum]

That sounds pretty cool. Gonna check it out for sure.

Speaking of flute in black metal:

Quest for Blood - Quest for Blood [full album, 2008]

This is to this day the weirdest, craziest and wildest black metal album I’ve ever heard. It’s comically over the top, but at the same time there is something very pleasing about it. Enjoyable in a really weird way.

[blacktooth]

Oh this is quite something. Definitely want to spend some more time with it because I don’t think I’ve heard anyone take this particular approach before. Yukihiro Isso seems like a pretty prominent flautist too, so what an interesting collaboration.

Here’s another album that came out this past Friday and I’ve really, really been enjoying it.

Yellow Eyes (US) — Confusion Gate — 2025 full length

Yellow Eyes always had a mysterious arboreal sound to their music, but this one is the closest they’ve gotten to the cascadian style (especially with the new vocals). It’s like if the pacific northwest was even more confusing.

[rsm_rain]

flutes in black metal you say?

Liturgy - HAJJ

(01:30 if you just want to hear it for the memes but i love this whole album)

[zeus]

This is finna be a thread of it’s own soon enough.

[blacktooth]

I mean…

[Missa]

About halfway through, and you were right, this one does feel like it could fill the Wolves in the Throne Room-shaped hole in my heart after nearly a decade. Some immense soundscapes, and the vocals are perfect. Will have to check more of their stuff!

[blacktooth]

A beekeeper themed band with a concept album about ergotism and other psychedelia? I love all these crazy Swiss bands.

Dellusions of Grandeur

Plus they don’t have a bassist, so a mellotron fills that space instead.

[Your_mum]

That new Vígljós album is very good. It’s a fairly standard affair, but they nail the songwriting and melodies throughout the album. And the vocals are pretty unique and different. Checked them out because of their band pic, tho. They look so fuckin’ cool and original. Yeah, no wearing masks in itself isn’t very original, but this is probably the most original looking masked band since Cult of Fire debuted 15+ years ago.

And speaking of masked bands, I’ll just add a few Portal pictures as well, just because they look phenomenal. Lovecraftian nightmare fuel:

I get that it probably looks silly to a lot of people, but I personally love it. Hits the spot for sure!

[sume7]

New WitcheR album Öröklét is really good. Literally just premiered and Black Metal Promotion is always putting in hard work one of the best black metal channels on YouTube.