Gotcha. I recognized your avatar from the backside of the album, but was unfamiliar with the drab four; a quick google solved that. I'll have to dig into World Coming Down. I liked the September Sun single, which may be from the last one you're referring to.

This whole album is awesome. The vocalist did one album with another group as well, call Six Side Die, which is also a very fun album, in a similar style.

I like that, I'll have to look into them a bit more.

I'm not sure we've done Norma Jean yet. I was a fan back when they called themselves Luti Kriss, and their first few albums, but as is the way of things, I lost track of them. This one came out in 2019. Really solid album. More of a rock feel to it, really meaty guitars and some great riffs.



Also, a new Spiritbox track came out last week.

I have listened to Meridional more than a few times, and enjoy it, but that's the extent of my Norma Jean exposure.

Came across this album on my favorite music blog, AMG; first prompt purchase I've made in probably a year. Not super "heavy", but certainly qualifies for a mention in this thread. Their preceding debut album is also great, and I intend to purchase a physical copy of it as well.

Smudge, I hope you haven't forgotten about the exchange! Hit me with a recommendation!

Here's another from me; this album is best listened to in it's entirety, as the songs blend and transition into a cohesive whole.

I haven't forgotten, I've been taking a break and delving into... [gags] electronic/synth music. I'll check out your latest when the in-laws leave.

Just found these dudes even though they have been around for awhile.

War of Ages

Ok, back to it.

I fired this one up yesterday for the first time since I went off on a different musical tangent, and I've had it stuck in my head since. Love the chorus, and I didn't have a thing for alt chicks with blackout sleeves before, but I might now lol. Love her voice.



That whole EP is good, but it's seven years ago and both vocalists have been replaced, and their successors are both a lot more technically proficient and more varied. A little different feel and I think I like their earlier stuff better as a whole, but it's a good album and again, technically superior. They've grown a lot musically, but also gone more to the themed feel. It was symphonic deathcore before, but now it's symphonic gothic deathcore. Totally different, dontchaknow.



I think that's the single off the track, so it's a little blunted compared to the rest of the album. This track goes hard, as the kids say these days. Again, I love the chorus, and that ending... chills.



And yes, I see a pattern developing. I'm a sucker for heavy bands that are female fronted. On that note, how about a fun cover because Maria Brink? I haven't paid a lot of attention to In This Moment, but looking at their uploads this last year, they're on a real hard 80's kick.

I actually have that War of Ages album, digitally; but I don't listen to it anymore. Born of Osiris can be fun; I always get a kick out of the breakdown in Abstract Art.

I do not share your affection for female-fronted groups. I like a few songs that heavily feature female vocals though; this being one of them.

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

And I have been on a full-blown Rammstein kick lately. They were one of my favorites years ago, and I have their fist six CDs. My tastes have changed, and my ear has become perhaps better tuned, over those years. In my recent listenings, I much prefer their first album, with the second and third rounding out the top three, in that order. The third album represents a transition; it seems, to a more "wall of sound" production style. There is less detail in the music; less creativity. This is one of my favorites from the first album.

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:
I do not share your affection for female-fronted groups. I like I few songs that heavily feature female vocals though; this being one of them.

That's good, I like that one. I'll give them more of a listen. I think I can see why you like it, they have a bit of that Tool vibe going on. I'll be honest, though: if you hadn't said it was female vocals, I wouldn't have guessed it.

Kinda neat album here. Not the usual fare. Heavy, but with some really tasty saxophone layered in there. Not too much, just enough. Reminds me of late 90's Candiria kind of, but nowhere near that type of neck-breaking frenetic multiple mood changes per song.



Funny, I really liked the first Rammstein album back when it came out, but went down some different musical roads after; anything they put out subsequently struck me as more radio-oriented, and didn't grab me the same way. That's probably an unfair assessment as I think about it. I gave a few tracks off the first album a recent listen and I was surprised how well it holds up. The production is clean, not overly busy. The techno combined with that crushing guitar tone just plain works. I played Du Hast (in German, not the English version) for my son a few weeks ago and he didn't know what to make of it, couldn't decide if he loved it or hated it.

quote:

if you hadn't said it was female vocals, I wouldn't have guessed it.

I don't know that the harsh vocals are female. Two bands that come to mind, with harsh female vocals, are Venom Prison and Agoraphobic Nosebleed; neither are favorites of mine, but they're pretty good, and you may like them.

quote:

surprised how well it holds up. The production is clean, not overly busy. The techno combined with that crushing guitar tone just plain works.

Exactly. The first album sounds darn good.

Anyone listen to Sleep Token? I like the song "The Summoning". I'm just not sure I get thier shtick.

Yes, I've been enjoying Sleep Token for several months now, since I first discovered them when the singles from their new album first blew up on the interwebs.

They're hard to explain, or to nail down to a single genre (melodic-alt-prog-pop-metal-Rock&B-core?), since they're kinda all over the place over the entirety of their various albums, and even within individual songs.

Some of it is heavy. A lot of it is not, especially in their earlier albums. But all of it is good.

If The Summoning is any indication: Sleep Token isn't really my jam; especially not the R&B aspect. Rotting Christ has been a staple for me for years. This song is from their newest album; it rips. The "official" video is a lyric video; I hate lyric videos, as I think they are very distracting. So, this is a generic upload from some dude.

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:
If The Summoning is any indication: Sleep Token isn't really my jam

Vore is probably the heaviest track off their latest album.



But I hesitate to call Sleep Token "heavy music", since out of their entire catalog, more of their songs aren't necessarily heavy than those that are. More like they're an experimental band that incorporates some heavy elements into many of their songs, among other styles. However, if you listen to all their albums, they're definitely trending towards heavier music in their latest albums, compared to their earlier stuff.

Like I said in my earlier post, they're hard to nail down to a specific genre like "prog metal" or "hard alt rock" or whatever, because their songs are all over the place, and they even switch genres within songs (as seen in stuff like The Summoning and its unexpected switch to R&B towards the end).

This is some good stuff. Not my usual style, but I have been really enjoying it. Execution and production are super clean. Heavy and pretty.

I had no idea Sir Christopher Lee had his own metal band. It's not exactly my flavor, but I absolutely love that he did this.





That Fires in the Distance album is pretty good. I wouldn't listen to lots of it, but I enjoyed a playthrough.