Reflections on undernoticed classics

[Istaev]

Profanatica/Havohej
- a band that was interesting on the conceptual level but didn't follow through in execution. similar to Mayhem.

At the Gates - With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness
- underrated. yeah, there are a couple of throw-away tracks here but otherwise this is the apex of death metal. it's parallel to Burzum in that it transcends its genre. i call it 'progressive' because of its its adventurous spirit (without being "mature" or frivolously experimental), conceptual clarity, and just because it sheds everything that is ultimately extraneous to death metal. already with Terminal Spirit Disease we witness mainstreamification taking place (more hooks, simplistic song structure) but WFIKtBD they got the balance right.

Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
- ok, so "Det Som En Gang Var" is probably the most perfect black metal song ever crafted but the remaining 3 tracks, while excellent in their own right, are not quite the same caliber. Burzum's best work is spread out over his entire catalogue and his individual albums lack the cohesiveness in concept and overall track-to-track quality that albums like "In the Nightside Eclipse", "Transilvanian Hunger", or "Pure Holocaust" had. Part of the reason I think this work gets so much praise is a desire that many have to exalt Burzum above lesser bands. HLTO is the closest he came to perfection in album-form.

Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane
- a classic which pairs nicely with the debut. and unlike The Somberlain, with the notable exception of the intro (At the Fathomless Depths) every track is strong. the most annoying part of this album is in the utterly predictable song structure. aside from this annoyance, I'd suggest that this album is in actuality not significantly cheesier than The Somberlain.

Autopsy
- awesome band. probably of larger historical import to both death & black metal than is generally acknowledged. the first really evocative death metal they went straight back to Slayer and Frost for dark inspiration. while outwardly idiotic their influence on evil melodic metal is immeasurable.

[kontinual]

Autopsy
 - awesome band. probably of larger historical import to both death & black metal than is generally acknowledged. the first really evocative death metal they went straight back to Slayer and Frost for dark inspiration. while outwardly idiotic their influence on evil melodic metal is immeasurable.

I think their beckoning back to BLACK SABBATH et al was probably the more significant modifier.

[Agni]

Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
 - ok, so "Det Som En Gang Var" is probably the most perfect black metal song ever crafted but the remaining 3 tracks, while excellent in their own right, are not quite the same caliber. Burzum's best work is spread out over his entire catalogue and his individual albums lack the cohesiveness in concept and overall track-to-track quality that albums like "In the Nightside Eclipse", "Transilvanian Hunger", or "Pure Holocaust" had. Part of the reason I think this work gets so much praise is a desire that many have to exalt Burzum above lesser bands. HLTO is the closest he came to perfection in album-form.

Though DSEV is the best song from that album, it is the other three tracks that make the album what it is - cold, pagan, haunting, ambient etc. While the first track is the highlight, the rest of the album is its content.

[Dave]

Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
 - ok, so "Det Som En Gang Var" is probably the most perfect black metal song ever crafted but the remaining 3 tracks, while excellent in their own right, are not quite the same caliber. Burzum's best work is spread out over his entire catalogue and his individual albums lack the cohesiveness in concept and overall track-to-track quality that albums like "In the Nightside Eclipse", "Transilvanian Hunger", or "Pure Holocaust" had. Part of the reason I think this work gets so much praise is a desire that many have to exalt Burzum above lesser bands. HLTO is the closest he came to perfection in album-form.

Burzum lacks the cohesiveness of albums like "Transilvanian Hunger" and "Pure Holocaust" because not every song sounds the same. It's hard to pick highlights from those albums because each song is blastbeat + tremolo. Not to say those albums aren't good, but I think Burzum's albums have a cohesiveness of general mood and feelings rather than just a similar sound.

Also, I've never bought the old belief that people praise "popular" bands like Burzum just because of their relative fame, because they just want to. I have no such pretensions about Burzum and I still consider it the best black metal band.

[Prospero]

Burzum is a one-man band, that is why I enjoy it. You get the guy's message straight, a bit like when you're listening to a specific classical composer (even though Burzum isn't really classical music). As for At The Gates, I prefer "The Red in the Sky". But the point is, I don't even consider At The Gates 100% death metal. You talked about Autopsy, well, for me, they are the death metal prototype.

[Bereft]

the remaining 3 tracks, while excellent in their own right, are not quite the same caliber.

You don't think Tomhet is of the same calibre as DSEV? It manages to convey more as an instrumental than most artists ever manage with the use of lyrics.

Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane
 - a classic which pairs nicely with the debut. and unlike The Somberlain, with the notable exception of the intro (At the Fathomless Depths) every track is strong. the most annoying part of this album is in the utterly predictable song structure. aside from this annoyance, I'd suggest that this album is in actuality not significantly cheesier than The Somberlain.

I think, aside from a couple of tracks, this album is very weak compared to The Somberlian(and while we're at it, to anything Sacramentum ever did).

[antithetikal]

Earlier Sacramentum you meant I hope

[kontinual]

Earlier Sacramentum you meant I hope

I'm sure he would have said that if he meant it.  Why do you "hope" other people are thinking things they didn't say?

I'd suggest that this album is in actuality not significantly cheesier than The Somberlain.

I listened to both (back to back) last week for the first time in a while and have to agree, though I'm honestly not sure if that is positive.

DISSECTION's one attractive certainty is their command of aesthetic.  Similar bands with potentially superior ability continue to be overshadowed by this alone.

[Stranger]

Though DSEV is the best song from that album, it is the other three tracks that make the album what it is - cold, pagan, haunting, ambient etc. While the first track is the highlight, the rest of the album is its content.

That's strange. I think the third track is the highlight of that album. The first song is too rock and roll in the drumming, with a way too long middle section, followed by an ending that seems out of place.

Yes, it's a good song; even a great song. But it's not the best on that album.

[antithetikal]

I'm sure he would have said that if he meant it.  Why do you "hope" other people are thinking things they didn't say?

Would he? Why? because that's how it should be?

...

Logically, perhaps, but in practice, no...

[kontinual]

Would he? Why? because that's how it should be?

...

Logically, perhaps, but in practice, no...

You are confused.  You hoped he meant something because it is what you would have said, not what he was thinking or said.  Telling people you hope they mean things you are thinking does not promote discussion.

That's strange. I think the third track is the highlight of that album.

The more I listen, the more I agree.  Its (wonderfully-executed) climax is more sensibly placed there than in the opener.

[antithetikal]

With all the respect I owe you, if you didn't understand that by the "I hope" I was pointing out in an ironic way the fact earlier Sacramentum is much better than the later , then it's clear to me you were the confused one.

...

[kontinual]

I have a hard time understanding why your original statement was so self-apparent that it did not need qualification.  Please explain (as I am honestly curious) in what ways you feel later SACRAMENTUM is inferior to SotLB-era DISSECTION.  Note first that I have yet to pass judgment in any respect.

This is still a message board -- minds can't be read, and the assumption that everyone reading is automatically with you and your "ironic statements" is a good way to make conversations useless.

[ASBO]

Earlier Sacramentum you meant I hope

In my mind, the second Dissection album is so insipid that later Sacramentum (Thy Black Destiny, The coming of chaos) crushes it thoroughly.

Sacramentum really shined with their first two works of course, but the later stuff is not bad either.

[Istaev]

I think their beckoning back to BLACK SABBATH et al was probably the more significant modifier.

good point. actually, come to think of it, Slayer and Frost themselves bring Sabbath to mind in ways which their peers and predecessors did not. Metal should sound scary, right? Almost everything else from the early to mid-80s sounds like Judas Priest or The Exploited to me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing just pointing it out.