Yer Metal Is Olde

Yer Metal Is Olde: Katatonia – Tonight’s Decision

By Master of Muppets on July 21, 2019 in 2019, Blog Posts, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Peaceville, Yer Metal Is Olde, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 43 comments

“Katatonia are something like my anti Pokémon: when I first discovered them, circa Viva Emptiness, I shared none of the love that the rest of the metalsphere had for the Swedes, and yet it and each subsequent album would eventually dig the band a little deeper into what’s become their home at the innermost depths of my heartcicle. Like the infamous pocket monsters ov yore, each successive Katatonia offering has introduced new defining elements to their makeup, constantly evolving and establishing distinct historical chapters in their wake. Today we revisit Tonight’s Decision, an album that bade farewell to Katatonia’s violent youthful tendencies and set them on a course for dark prog greatness.” They chose…wisely.

Yer Metal Is Olde: Nevermore – Dreaming Neon Black

By Holdeneye on July 10, 2019 in Yer Metal Is Olde, Groove Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Thrash Metal, 100 comments

“If a wise old man were to ask me Conan-style “What is best in metal?” I would without hesitation respond by glorifying the work of my favorite band of all time, Seattle’s Nevermore. While often lumped into the prog/power bin, their music reaches far beyond the boundaries of such a tag. By downtuning, adding elements of groove, thrash, and death metal, and coloring the whole affair with an intensely hopeless and bleak outlook, the band created a nearly unclassifiable sound that encapsulates nearly every great thing that metal has to offer.”

Yer Metal Is Olde: Nightwish – Oceanborn

By Kenstrosity on March 6, 2019 in 2019, Finnish Metal, Neo-Classical Metal, Power Metal, Spinefarm, Symphonic Metal, Yer Metal Is Olde, Neo-Classical Metal, 169 comments

“I was seven years old for most of 1999—the year Nightwish’s breakout record Oceanborn saw its worldwide release. It would be seven more years before I would finally encounter what constitutes one of the most exhilarating listening experiences of my life. Since Oceanborn dropped, scores of symphonic metal bands have made countless attempts to imitate it, yet each clone of this record since has failed spectacularly to match either its significance or its quality. Hence this little entry of mine into the annals of Yer Metal Is Olde.” Own the Night(wish).

Yer Metal Is Olde: Nasum – Inhale/Exhale

By Saunders on January 6, 2019 in 2018, Crust Punk, Grind, Relapse, Swedish Metal, Yer Metal Is Olde, Crust Punk, Grind, 35 comments

“Nasum’s influence on modern grindcore and the entire history of the genre can not be overstated. Across a relatively short recording career, featuring four full length albums, the Swedish legends created an intimidating, high quality body of work that helped propel grindcore into the modern era. Along with other modern innovators like Pig Destroyer, Nasum played a crucial role in raising the genre’s underground profile, without losing an ounce of the white knuckle intensity and raw aggression typical of grind.” It’s all in the grind.

Yer Metal Is Olde: Monster Magnet – Powertrip

By Huck N Roll on December 7, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Heavy Metal, Stoner Metal, Yer Metal Is Olde, Heavy Metal, Stoner Metal, 86 comments

“A little while ago I talked about how 1998 was not a great year for metal. Some loyal thralls disagreed with me, but you know what? I was right. However, I should add to that point the fact that, while 1998 wasn’t a great year, when the music was good it was really good. Bruce Dickinson, Opeth, Blind Guardian, and Iced Earth all released great albums, as did a few other bands I’m sure will surface (again) in the comments here. And yeah, I suppose King Diamond could be included. Not to be overlooked in all of this is Monster Magnet’s grand fifth album, Powertrip.” Power is its own reward.

Yer Metal is Olde: Opeth – My Arms, Your Hearse

By Saunders on December 4, 2018 in Candlelight Records, Death Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Swedish Metal, Yer Metal Is Olde, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Death, 141 comments

“There’s raging debate about which Opeth album sits on the pedestal as their greatest achievement. I’m not here to proclaim My Arms, Your Hearse as their best album, but it holds a special place in my heart and is a fundamental stepping stone towards the band’s momentous career peak. Fittingly it was the first Opeth album I heard around the turn of the millennium, setting me on course for a hell of a ride across the band’s decorated career.” Once were metal.

Yer Metal Is Olde: Metallica – …And Justice for All

By Saunders on November 26, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Elektra Records, Thrash Metal, Yer Metal Is Olde, Thrash Metal, 133 comments

“While other bands and individuals in my life played critical roles in sculpting me into a proud metalhead, Metallica’s famed and nearly flawless ’80s canon will always hold a place in my heart. I fondly remember family car trips listening to Metallica cassettes on an old Walkman while reading along to the lyric sheets. …And Justice for All isn’t my favorite Metallica album, although it certainly was during various stages of my childhood, but it’s something of a sentimental favorite and an album I still cherish to this day.” Olde justice.

Yer Metal is Olde: Meshuggah – Chaosphere

By Master of Muppets on October 27, 2018 in 2018, Death Metal, Djent, Nuclear Blast, Swedish Metal, Yer Metal Is Olde, Djent, 119 comments

“A calamitous ray of hope against the JNCO, Meshuggah’s Chaosphere seized metal’s conventions by the throat, flayed them alive and curb-stomped the body. Atonal chords, time signature seizures, and insane, prosaic insight screamed with voice of Hell itself and more were wrought unto those caught within the ‘sphere, and this piece is dedicated to the memories of life and heaviness as we knew them before Chaosphere ripped those scandalous bitches in two.” Birth of an abomination.

Yer Metal is (25 Years) Olde: Carcass – Heartwork

By Grymm on October 18, 2018 in British Metal, Death Metal, Yer Metal Is Olde, Death Metal, 71 comments

“Heartwork, the fourth album by Liverpool’s Carcass, was an anomaly in 1993 for several reasons. Sure, the signs existed on 1991’s Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious that the Brits were growing more proficient at their instruments, and were slowly leaving their goregrind roots behind them. But while Necroticism kept one foot in their murky, surgically grotesque past, Heartwork, saw Carcass eschewing gory lyrics and guitarist Bill Steer’s growls entirely, trimming the fat considerably, and saw them streamline their attack with incredible lead guitar work, hooks galore, and a simplified verse/chorus/verse approach, angering their diehard fanbase.” Still working.

Yer Metal Is Olde: Death – Leprosy

By Ferrous Beuller on October 14, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Yer Metal Is Olde, Death Metal, 86 comments

“As a lover of progressive music, I often muse on the use of “progressive” as a categorization as averse to adjective. The paradox of unfettered creativity being characterized, and therefore restricted, often seems alien to me. Not so for Chuck Schuldiner, who knew all too well the difference between progression and growth. Long before the intelligentsia of extreme music raised a monopoly on pens, metal sought to forge its own swords. While Death would help define progressive death metal in years to come, it was 1988’s Leprosy that would be amongst the first to channel the genre’s base instincts.” Still infectious after all these years.