Articles

Since some events are deleted over the time here on last.fm , I decided to list all events I've visited in this post too.

Last Update: 21 MAY 13 || Total: 323

2o13 – 11
MAY 2o – Leipzig, Volkspalast (Kuppelhalle) // XXII. Wave-Gotik-Treffen
★★★★★ (for Ulver)
Ulver w/ Stüba philharmonie, Predominance, Contrastate
MAY 2o – Leipzig, Volkspalast (Kantine) // XXII. Wave-Gotik-Treffen
Arktau Eos, Reformed Faction
MAY 2o – Leipzig, Kohlrabizirkus // XXII. Wave-Gotik-Treffen
Alexander Paul Blake's Aeternaeum, Negurǎ Bunget

MAY 19 – Leipzig, Volkspalast (Kuppelhalle) // XXII. Wave-Gotik-Treffen
★★★★★+
Esben and the Witch
MAY 19 – Leipzig, Volkspalast (Kantine) // XXII. Wave-Gotik-Treffen
Karin Park
MAY 19 – Leipzig, Kohlrabizirkus // XXII. Wave-Gotik-Treffen
Kosheen, Namnambulu, Desireless

MAY 18 – Leipzig, AGRA // XXII. Wave-Gotik-Treffen
★★★★★+ + (for Velvet Acid Christ)
IAMX, Leæther Strip, Suicide Commando, Velvet Acid Christ, Aslan Faction
…

Gilead Media Music Festival
April 28th and 29th, 2012
Electric Lounge & Lanes, Oshkosh WI


Saturday, April 28th

Darger + Plague Mother
I’m not generally a noise enthusiast, but this 15-minute collaborative set was closer to drone than harsh noise and it started the day off on a surprisingly pretty note. I enjoyed this set more than I anticipated, despite the phalanx of photographers standing between the crowd and the performers, taking close-up pictures of their shoes and shit. I’m sure everyone will be very excited to revisit those photos of Darger’s shoes.

Arms Aloft
This melodic punk band was definitely an oddball on a bill packed with experimental metal. They reminded me of Hot Water Music or something and they had great energy and helped set the eclectic tone for the weekend.

Aseethe
I have weirdly picky taste when it comes to doom metal, and this Iowa trio didn’t really do it for me. They were naturally quite loud and slow but there was nary a melody to be…

Sat 28 Apr – Gilead Media Music Festival

Showed up when Hell was finishing their set. Wished I showed up sooner, since the last two songs they played were amazing. Fell Voices laid everything to waste. Vocals weren't mic'd, but you could hear them clearly. After a brief respite, Ash Borer took the stage. There aren't words to say how awesome their set was. All I could do was listen to the music and let my mind drift into chaos.

The next day, all I had a chance to see was Mania. Not being up in front, and being short, I could really only see the drummer. It wasn't until after the set did I realize that the guitars were being pumped in through computers. I was impressed.

Had to leave after that, since it was a 5hr30m drive back home. Wish I could have stayed to see False, Barghest, and Thou. It's a shame because I heard they all put on a great show.

Many thanks to everyone who put this all together, it was extremely enjoyable. …

Personal Memo and list of Albums I've heard and rated so far in the year
(To be updated until the year is over)


Top Albums of 2012 so far..

Agalloch - Faustian Echoes EP (10/10)
Anathema - Weather Systems (10/10)
Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction (10/10)
Arctic Plateau - The Enemy Inside (10/10)
Swallow the Sun - Emerald Forest and the Blackbird(10/10)
Lethian Dreams - Season of Raven Words (10/10)
Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light (10/10)
Borknagar - Urd (10/10)
Líam - MMIX (10/10)
Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light Pt 2 (9.6/10)
Alcest - Les Voyages De L'Âme (9.6/10)
Drudkh - Eternal Turn Of The Wheel (9/10)

Others:

A Cloud Forest - October's Overture (9/10)
Al-Namrood - Kitab Al-Awthan (7.9/10)
Azaghal - Nemesis (9.8/10)
Burzum - Umskiptar (4.5/10)
Candlemass - Psalms for the Dead (7/10)
Cannibal Corpse - Torture (7/10)
Carach Angren - Where the Corpses Sink Forever (8.9/10)
…

As with just about every year, there were way too many albums I loved for me to keep the list small. I thoroughly enjoyed everything on here, and it took some effort to arrange them all in a specific order. Also, the order doesn't directly reflect my ratings in the other journal, as my opinion on albums change over time.

Full Lengths

51. Kauan - Kuu...
50. Shroud Eater - Thundernoise
49. Ash Borer - Ash Borer
48. Ghostlimb - Infrastructure
47. Moving Mountains - Waves
46. Deafheaven - Roads to Judah
45. Arizmenda - Without Circumference Nor Center
44. Weekend Nachos - Worthless
43. Primordial - Redemption at the Puritan's Hand
42. Defeater - Empty Days and Sleepless Nights
41. Æthenor - En Form For Blå
40. La Dispute - Wildlife
39. Circle of Ouroborus - Eleven Fingers
38. Autopsy - Macabre Eternal
37. Earth - Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light 1
36. Rwake - Rest
35. Raein - Sulla linea d'orizzonte tra questa mia vita e quella di tutti
34. Wormrot - Dirge
33. Noisear - Subvert the Dominant Paradigm
…

(As seen on Equivoke)

2011 was another great year for music, there was so much great shit released by hard working groups and labels that again it was a tough year to make a list. I always feel as though I should wait like a month or two after the new year to make a list like this since I do usually miss an amazing record and regret not putting it on the list. Going from #20 to #1 this time.

Enjoy and GFYS.

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#20. Subrosa - No Help For The Mighty Ones

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u111/pathological_frolic/berserk%20banners/3203dde669bede8a807627f4c6f3e0ef_40c60c__.jpg

Label: Profound Lore Records

Samples:

Whirpoorwill
Beneath the Crown

I still can’t get over how those violins sound like trumpets, and its just so cool. What a great sludge/doom release that I was very surprised by. Majority females in this band with a semi-Neurosis/A Storm of Light aesthetic and sound floating about it, melancholic with a psychedelic flavor sprinkled throughout. …

1 Deafheaven – Roads to Judah
I guess the choices I tend to make in my top list this year, and the trend more generally within my metal tastes at least, has been towards the style of music Deafheaven play. Passionate, not afraid to mix in outright post-rock, hardcore, punk, lo-fi and folk influences, but still unquestionably brutal at times. Deafheaven are a fairly new bunch of kids on the block (they are very young, so kids is apt), but the sound they make sounds supremely accomplished and mature. Effortlessly mixing styles and creating a strong atmosphere not of dread, as much blackmetal music tends to, but of something vaguely otherworldly. They sound fresh and unbound by the framework of the genres that they straddle. Don’t get me wrong, this is still an album that sits within all that is “black”, but it has noticeable shades of colour and flair littered throughout, and feels truly dynamic in its approach.
The music itself is dense and the vocals sit well behind the music in the mix. …

1 Deafheaven – Roads to Judah
I guess the choices I tend to make in my top list this year, and the trend more generally within my metal tastes at least, has been towards the style of music Deafheaven play. Passionate, not afraid to mix in outright post-rock, hardcore, punk, lo-fi and folk influences, but still unquestionably brutal at times. Deafheaven are a fairly new bunch of kids on the block (they are very young, so kids is apt), but the sound they make sounds supremely accomplished and mature. Effortlessly mixing styles and creating a strong atmosphere not of dread, as much blackmetal music tends to, but of something vaguely otherworldly. They sound fresh and unbound by the framework of the genres that they straddle. Don’t get me wrong, this is still an album that sits within all that is “black”, but it has noticeable shades of colour and flair littered throughout, and feels truly dynamic in its approach.
The music itself is dense and the vocals sit well behind the music in the mix. …