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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out
- Thread starter Korladis
- Start date
I tried doing 1 per band, but I feel like Ozzy and Dio-era Sabbath are very different animals. Also, I'm pretty sure their debut isn't my favorite album, but it's such a landmark I felt it HAD to be on the list.
I also feel like "stoner rock" should be included, as I'm sure that many of mine could fit that well. Spiritual Beggars for sure does. Many times, I think I like that better than more recent Arch Enemy (same guitarist).
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No particular order, trying to limit 1 per band and for me really the albums/bands that were transformative for me.
Truckfighters - Gravity X
Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
The Sword - Apocryphon or Warp Riders
Red Fang - Murder the Mountains or self titled
Dozer - Through the eyes of Heathens or Madre de Dios
Graveyard - Hisingen Blues
Summoner - Atlantean
Monobrow - Nackarat
Elder - Reflections of a Floating World
Mastodon - The Hunter
Sleep - Dopesmoker
Egypt - Egypt
All them witches - Our Mother Electricity or Dying Surfer Meets his Maker
Man I know I'm leaving a bunch out. But without too much though these are it.
Truckfighters - Gravity X
Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
The Sword - Apocryphon or Warp Riders
Red Fang - Murder the Mountains or self titled
Dozer - Through the eyes of Heathens or Madre de Dios
Graveyard - Hisingen Blues
Summoner - Atlantean
Monobrow - Nackarat
Elder - Reflections of a Floating World
Mastodon - The Hunter
Sleep - Dopesmoker
Egypt - Egypt
All them witches - Our Mother Electricity or Dying Surfer Meets his Maker
Man I know I'm leaving a bunch out. But without too much though these are it.
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Here's what should be my last "shootout" post for a long while. I'm out of duplicate circuits/clones at this point! (Unless people want to gift me some Muffs/Rats/HM-2s...) Without further ado, my HM-2 shootout on guitar.
As you can see, I have 9 HM-2s to shootout here. I did not try the Dunwich DIY HM-2, because I tried that when I first got it, and it definitely isn't my style on guitar. It is certainly optimized for bass, and I'll leave it at that. I'll try and be brief, because I'm definitely a better bass player than guitar player, and certainly pickier about bass dirt than guitar dirt. Also, I've found I pretty much always prefer straight HM-2 clones on guitar, and this shootout didn't change that. Here goes!
Notes on tones/goals/rig: I'm doing this for chainsaw. I'm not looking for versatility in guitar tones. While I can see how some of these would be used for other tones, I'm looking solely for that sort of tone, and not much variation on it. I always started with the same settings for each pedal (or as close as possible given different knobs etc.), which are my favorite settings on the OG. These settings are: volume as needed, EQ maxed, distortion 10:30. (I have found that in my experience, more distortion after this point only seems to increase the noise floor and offer no extra distortion. 10:30 allows me to get my preferred tone AND use a noise gate to avoid unwanted squealing etc.) After trying those settings, I tried to emulate that exact tone on each pedal as best as I could. My rig for this was an old Peavey Supreme head (because HM-2 + Peavey Solid State = Swedish Death Metal), a Peavey 412 MS cab from the same period, and my trusty Ibanez ARZ507 (7 string Les Paul copy) with Seymour Duncan Nazgul/Sentient Pickups. So high gain pickups into the head version of a Bandit - fairly similar to the old school Swedish death metal bands whose tone I'm trying to ape.
OG HM-2: You know it, you love it, nothing you don't know. I have the MIT version, which depending on who you ask is inferior to the MIJ. Of course, just as many people swear they're identical...
DOD Super American Metal: I found this to be slightly grittier, just a tad harsher in the treble, and with slightly reduced bass. Still, in a mix, this would be indistinguishable from the original. I found no compelling reason to deviate from my preferred settings on this one. I LOVE old DOD, and this pedal only confirms why. Hard to track down, but worth it if you want a slightly different HM-2 tone. I think one of the DIY kits allows this as a build option, but I can't really remember.
Arion Metal Master: More bass/low mids than the original, and slightly less harsh distortion. Still a solid HM-2. I had to reduce bass to about 3:00 to get similar tones as the OG, but I could totally see this being used for lower tuned HM-2 goodness. Can be a little muddy due to the extra bass, but not indistinct or anything like that. Pretty much all of the things I liked about this on bass make it a little tougher on guitar though. Still, totally usable, and if you want a beefier HM-2, this is the one to get. Plenty of volume on this one, with the knob being around 10:00 most of the time.
RockTek Metal Worker: I never really hear anything about this one, but I snagged one a while ago for like $30. Totally worth it! To me, this is later-era Entombed in a box (even though I know they got away from the HM-2). It's got more bass than the OG, and less treble, but not as much bass as the Arion. The distortion also seems looser and less aggressive than the others. The first time I plugged this in, I have to say that I was underwhelmed. It's not as aggressive as the OG. Today, however, I was pleasantly surprised. It really sounded great for a "low gain" HM-2. I never tweaked this one to get more gain and match the OG because I was enjoying the tone so much. This one seemed loudest, as I had the volume at 9ish most of the time.
Behringer HM300: Another clone that has been discussed to death. But, everything that you've heard is true - this NAILS the OG tone for about $25. Totally worth it if you want an HM-2. If I'm being picky, I think this is slightly more treble-oriented and clearer than the OG, but I also think that could be component drift of the original after 30+ years.
Peper's Pedals HM-Too Many Clones: My favorite HM-2 for guitar. I'd been following this builder for a while, and then this popped up with Dismember's "Like An Ever Flowing Stream" artwork on it. Seeing as they're my favorite Swedish Death Metal band, and I wanted an excuse to try this clone, I HAD to get it. I wasn't disappointed. Just as raunchy as the original, with improved definition. It seems ever so slightly less abundant in the deeper lows than the original, but also seems less muddy, and isn't lacking lows by any stretch either. Almost like the lows have been shifted slightly, and are now more usable. Anyway, the best clone I've ever played for guitar, and this shootout confirmed it. I LOVE this pedal. It's the HM-2 tone I've always had in my head, and requires no tweaking. All of the modern accoutrements (true bypass, top jacks, etc.) just make this a complete win for me.
BYOC The Swede (built by Alchemy Audio): Another straight-forward clone, and currently my #2 for guitar. Bought used, so I can't verify the builder, but it has an Alchemy Audio sticker, so I assume it's Alchemy Audio. Very similar to the Peper's Pedals, but with slightly looser distortion and slightly less bass. Still, plenty of bass and distortion to go around, and reducing the highs just a touch with slightly more gain gets it back into balance EQ-wise. Considering you can pick this up for less than $100 used, and it has all the modern upgrades the original (and many other cheap clones) lacks, it's a great HM-2. I wish I could solder, so I could get this circuit and start tweaking.
Earthbound Audio Throat Locust: Another clone that I hear almost nothing about. I swear, I feel that almost no one owns this one or has reviewed it. Not sure why, either, as the builder is well-known and respected. I used to have two of these, but recently sold one to fund other dirt. Similar to my bass review, I found this best when NOT going for straight chainsaw. To get straight chainsaw, I had to reduce the mid control to about 4:00ish, and up the mid frequency to about 1:00. If I didn't do that, it seemed tuned slightly lower in the mids and had a cocked-wah tone built in. I actually think the lower tuning of the mids is one of the things that leads to its versatility. By opening up lower mid tunings, you can expand or change the peaks of the famous HM-2 EQ by either putting them closer or farther apart. I wasn't a fan of the cocked-wah tone, so I had to tweak it. Still, it can totally get the chainsaw tone by adjusting the mids. The distortion also seems slightly looser/splattier than the others, but not much. This is definitely a much more "open" HM-2 than the others, which may or may not be a bad thing. For my uses, I'm not looking for "open" tone on guitar, but it's not a negative by any stretch. However, I can't recommend this for straight chainsaw tones alone - other clones are cheaper and easier to dial in for that. But if you want other HM-2 tones, this is the clear winner. It's incredibly tweakable and can do chainsaw, but excels in "chainsaw-adjacent". If I had to make a wager, I'd say that the tone goal of this pedal was the song "Throat Locust" by Tad, and the circuit board even has "Listen To Tad" engraved on it. It can definitely nail the lower-treble HM-2 tone as demonstrated in the song. (I have no clue if Tad actually used an HM-2 or not, but it seems like maybe they did? While I enjoy the songs I hear, I can't say I'm a fan of the band - if it weren't for this pedal, I'd never have heard of them.) If you have similar tone goals, give this one a go - it may be your winner.
Bear Amps Heavier Metal: I had to give this a go on guitar as well. It did NOT chainsaw at the same settings as others - the gain range is much more usable throughout its sweep unlike the original. To chainsaw this one to my liking, I HAD to have the gain on max. I also had the left toggle switch on modified - it was a personal preference, but it seemed to tighten the tone somewhat, and focus the low end slightly. Like my bass review, this one is all about the little details. I could get lots of chainsaw tones from it, and they were all quite good. But seeing as I'm not that picky for HM-2 guitar tones, it was a bit much for my guitar needs. It most certainly can chainsaw, and can do so quite well, but is more tweakable in its scope than I'd ever need for guitar. With both builder's tweaks engaged (both toggles up) I felt this was a high gain distortion pedal, and not very HM-2 like (much like my take on the Dunwich for guitar). Much like my bass experience, at higher settings of the quench knob, the pedal began to mute and lose distortion. I kept that knob at 9:00 or less to control the low end a bit - not that it was too much, but this seemed to change the amount of clarity/definition for the circuit. Again, just like the bass review, if you want to have ultimate tweakability of a chainsaw tone, this is your pedal. But if you just want to plug in and chainsaw, there are simpler, more affordable, and readily available clones.
Bottom line: All of these can "chainsaw". So if that's your goal, no problems for any of these. If you want no nonsense chainsaw - get the Behringer (cheapest), DOD (vintage, but hard to find and about $100 minimum), Peper's Pedals (excellent clone, but hard to find, based in New Zealand, I believe, and might be a kit, too), or BYOC (offered as a kit and occasionally pre-built). If you want more low end, get the RockTek or the Arion (both of which can be hard to locate, as I don't think either are made anymore). If you want tweakability, get the Earthbound (hard to find, and I'm not sure of the builder's status these days) or Bear Amps (actively building, but with a wait).
Well, I think that's it. Hope someone benefits from all of this, and I haven't bored all of you too much. Now I may be able to actually play bass! I think some Iron Maiden may be next on the "to learn" list. That or actually learning the real bass riff under the solo during Metallica's "The Four Horsemen".
As you can see, I have 9 HM-2s to shootout here. I did not try the Dunwich DIY HM-2, because I tried that when I first got it, and it definitely isn't my style on guitar. It is certainly optimized for bass, and I'll leave it at that. I'll try and be brief, because I'm definitely a better bass player than guitar player, and certainly pickier about bass dirt than guitar dirt. Also, I've found I pretty much always prefer straight HM-2 clones on guitar, and this shootout didn't change that. Here goes!
Notes on tones/goals/rig: I'm doing this for chainsaw. I'm not looking for versatility in guitar tones. While I can see how some of these would be used for other tones, I'm looking solely for that sort of tone, and not much variation on it. I always started with the same settings for each pedal (or as close as possible given different knobs etc.), which are my favorite settings on the OG. These settings are: volume as needed, EQ maxed, distortion 10:30. (I have found that in my experience, more distortion after this point only seems to increase the noise floor and offer no extra distortion. 10:30 allows me to get my preferred tone AND use a noise gate to avoid unwanted squealing etc.) After trying those settings, I tried to emulate that exact tone on each pedal as best as I could. My rig for this was an old Peavey Supreme head (because HM-2 + Peavey Solid State = Swedish Death Metal), a Peavey 412 MS cab from the same period, and my trusty Ibanez ARZ507 (7 string Les Paul copy) with Seymour Duncan Nazgul/Sentient Pickups. So high gain pickups into the head version of a Bandit - fairly similar to the old school Swedish death metal bands whose tone I'm trying to ape.
OG HM-2: You know it, you love it, nothing you don't know. I have the MIT version, which depending on who you ask is inferior to the MIJ. Of course, just as many people swear they're identical...
DOD Super American Metal: I found this to be slightly grittier, just a tad harsher in the treble, and with slightly reduced bass. Still, in a mix, this would be indistinguishable from the original. I found no compelling reason to deviate from my preferred settings on this one. I LOVE old DOD, and this pedal only confirms why. Hard to track down, but worth it if you want a slightly different HM-2 tone. I think one of the DIY kits allows this as a build option, but I can't really remember.
Arion Metal Master: More bass/low mids than the original, and slightly less harsh distortion. Still a solid HM-2. I had to reduce bass to about 3:00 to get similar tones as the OG, but I could totally see this being used for lower tuned HM-2 goodness. Can be a little muddy due to the extra bass, but not indistinct or anything like that. Pretty much all of the things I liked about this on bass make it a little tougher on guitar though. Still, totally usable, and if you want a beefier HM-2, this is the one to get. Plenty of volume on this one, with the knob being around 10:00 most of the time.
RockTek Metal Worker: I never really hear anything about this one, but I snagged one a while ago for like $30. Totally worth it! To me, this is later-era Entombed in a box (even though I know they got away from the HM-2). It's got more bass than the OG, and less treble, but not as much bass as the Arion. The distortion also seems looser and less aggressive than the others. The first time I plugged this in, I have to say that I was underwhelmed. It's not as aggressive as the OG. Today, however, I was pleasantly surprised. It really sounded great for a "low gain" HM-2. I never tweaked this one to get more gain and match the OG because I was enjoying the tone so much. This one seemed loudest, as I had the volume at 9ish most of the time.
Behringer HM300: Another clone that has been discussed to death. But, everything that you've heard is true - this NAILS the OG tone for about $25. Totally worth it if you want an HM-2. If I'm being picky, I think this is slightly more treble-oriented and clearer than the OG, but I also think that could be component drift of the original after 30+ years.
Peper's Pedals HM-Too Many Clones: My favorite HM-2 for guitar. I'd been following this builder for a while, and then this popped up with Dismember's "Like An Ever Flowing Stream" artwork on it. Seeing as they're my favorite Swedish Death Metal band, and I wanted an excuse to try this clone, I HAD to get it. I wasn't disappointed. Just as raunchy as the original, with improved definition. It seems ever so slightly less abundant in the deeper lows than the original, but also seems less muddy, and isn't lacking lows by any stretch either. Almost like the lows have been shifted slightly, and are now more usable. Anyway, the best clone I've ever played for guitar, and this shootout confirmed it. I LOVE this pedal. It's the HM-2 tone I've always had in my head, and requires no tweaking. All of the modern accoutrements (true bypass, top jacks, etc.) just make this a complete win for me.
BYOC The Swede (built by Alchemy Audio): Another straight-forward clone, and currently my #2 for guitar. Bought used, so I can't verify the builder, but it has an Alchemy Audio sticker, so I assume it's Alchemy Audio. Very similar to the Peper's Pedals, but with slightly looser distortion and slightly less bass. Still, plenty of bass and distortion to go around, and reducing the highs just a touch with slightly more gain gets it back into balance EQ-wise. Considering you can pick this up for less than $100 used, and it has all the modern upgrades the original (and many other cheap clones) lacks, it's a great HM-2. I wish I could solder, so I could get this circuit and start tweaking.
Earthbound Audio Throat Locust: Another clone that I hear almost nothing about. I swear, I feel that almost no one owns this one or has reviewed it. Not sure why, either, as the builder is well-known and respected. I used to have two of these, but recently sold one to fund other dirt. Similar to my bass review, I found this best when NOT going for straight chainsaw. To get straight chainsaw, I had to reduce the mid control to about 4:00ish, and up the mid frequency to about 1:00. If I didn't do that, it seemed tuned slightly lower in the mids and had a cocked-wah tone built in. I actually think the lower tuning of the mids is one of the things that leads to its versatility. By opening up lower mid tunings, you can expand or change the peaks of the famous HM-2 EQ by either putting them closer or farther apart. I wasn't a fan of the cocked-wah tone, so I had to tweak it. Still, it can totally get the chainsaw tone by adjusting the mids. The distortion also seems slightly looser/splattier than the others, but not much. This is definitely a much more "open" HM-2 than the others, which may or may not be a bad thing. For my uses, I'm not looking for "open" tone on guitar, but it's not a negative by any stretch. However, I can't recommend this for straight chainsaw tones alone - other clones are cheaper and easier to dial in for that. But if you want other HM-2 tones, this is the clear winner. It's incredibly tweakable and can do chainsaw, but excels in "chainsaw-adjacent". If I had to make a wager, I'd say that the tone goal of this pedal was the song "Throat Locust" by Tad, and the circuit board even has "Listen To Tad" engraved on it. It can definitely nail the lower-treble HM-2 tone as demonstrated in the song. (I have no clue if Tad actually used an HM-2 or not, but it seems like maybe they did? While I enjoy the songs I hear, I can't say I'm a fan of the band - if it weren't for this pedal, I'd never have heard of them.) If you have similar tone goals, give this one a go - it may be your winner.
Bear Amps Heavier Metal: I had to give this a go on guitar as well. It did NOT chainsaw at the same settings as others - the gain range is much more usable throughout its sweep unlike the original. To chainsaw this one to my liking, I HAD to have the gain on max. I also had the left toggle switch on modified - it was a personal preference, but it seemed to tighten the tone somewhat, and focus the low end slightly. Like my bass review, this one is all about the little details. I could get lots of chainsaw tones from it, and they were all quite good. But seeing as I'm not that picky for HM-2 guitar tones, it was a bit much for my guitar needs. It most certainly can chainsaw, and can do so quite well, but is more tweakable in its scope than I'd ever need for guitar. With both builder's tweaks engaged (both toggles up) I felt this was a high gain distortion pedal, and not very HM-2 like (much like my take on the Dunwich for guitar). Much like my bass experience, at higher settings of the quench knob, the pedal began to mute and lose distortion. I kept that knob at 9:00 or less to control the low end a bit - not that it was too much, but this seemed to change the amount of clarity/definition for the circuit. Again, just like the bass review, if you want to have ultimate tweakability of a chainsaw tone, this is your pedal. But if you just want to plug in and chainsaw, there are simpler, more affordable, and readily available clones.
Bottom line: All of these can "chainsaw". So if that's your goal, no problems for any of these. If you want no nonsense chainsaw - get the Behringer (cheapest), DOD (vintage, but hard to find and about $100 minimum), Peper's Pedals (excellent clone, but hard to find, based in New Zealand, I believe, and might be a kit, too), or BYOC (offered as a kit and occasionally pre-built). If you want more low end, get the RockTek or the Arion (both of which can be hard to locate, as I don't think either are made anymore). If you want tweakability, get the Earthbound (hard to find, and I'm not sure of the builder's status these days) or Bear Amps (actively building, but with a wait).
Well, I think that's it. Hope someone benefits from all of this, and I haven't bored all of you too much. Now I may be able to actually play bass! I think some Iron Maiden may be next on the "to learn" list. That or actually learning the real bass riff under the solo during Metallica's "The Four Horsemen".
Funny, Hunter was the album when I stopped listening to Mastodon. Remission and Leviathan were 10/10 for me, then I thought Blood Mountain was pretty good and Crack The Skye was okay, but I didn't listen to anything after that. I know a band's sound changes over time but I'm still salty about it lol
Similarly I really liked The Sword's Gods Of The Earth but didn't get into any of their other albums, though I do think Warp Riders has one of the best album covers ever- up there with Sabbath's Paranoid. Top 10 album covers would be a fun list do to too
Similarly I really liked The Sword's Gods Of The Earth but didn't get into any of their other albums, though I do think Warp Riders has one of the best album covers ever- up there with Sabbath's Paranoid. Top 10 album covers would be a fun list do to too
Yeah their sound has changed a lot over the years. I, for whatever reason never really listened to them till a buddy sat me down when hunter had just came out. Kinda what got me into stoner/doom, Gravity X and Egypt got me hooked. I guess that's why I threw it on there, but I think you're right about Leviathan being a better album as a whole.
Covers would be kinda fun exercise. Warp Riders is a dope cover.
Covers would be kinda fun exercise. Warp Riders is a dope cover.
I'm all over the place for "transformative" albums. They cover all sorts of metal. The first "big" one would be Blind Guardian's "A Night At The Opera" which certainly isn't doom. I remember my brother liking mid-90's Metallica, so I looked into their stuff and found out they liked this "Black Sabbath" band. So I picked up some of their stuff. Then while trying to find more Black Sabbath at a record store (when THOSE were a thing), I stumbled upon Blind Guardian (being so close alphabetically) and saw their Lord of the Rings inspired albums, and the sticker said something about them being the most important/influential band since Iron Maiden (who I didn't know much of at the time, but knew one of my best friends was obsessed!). Anyway, I bought that album, looked at the insert advertising similar bands, and went down a heavy metal black hole that I'm still getting deeper into. I will forever be indebted to Blind Guardian for helping me to go from the most "mainstream" of heavy metal straight to the underground, and never looking back. To this day, I don't really know any "heavy metal" that most people know and is played on the radio. It's all the unknown stuff. As I continued my journey into heavy metal, I just looked at various bands and who toured with who and who knew who or which labels they were on and went from there. There have been TONS of albums that I finally listened to and was amazed by. Pretty much every one opened up a new sub-genre to me, and I then went head-first into a new musical obsession. I just love metal as a whole. I'm a dork, and want to know it all.
If I were to do "transformative" albums as a list, it would be something like this (and this is MUCH easier than an all doom list for me!):
1. Metallica: Master of Puppets - my first metal "masterpiece", though I'm not as into the band as I used to be.
2. Black Sabbath: Sabotage - I just remember this being a huge moment for me, and really digging the varied songs and structures throughout the album.
3. Blind Guardian: A Night At The Opera - As mentioned above, this opened the door for my metal obsession.
4. Iced Earth: Something Wicked This Way Comes - BG and IE are closely linked, and I remember thinking this was the ultimate album back in the day. Led me to look into Century Media as a label.
5. In Flames: Clayman - The song "Only For The Weak" was included on a free sampler disc, and was an integral part of me learning who I am as a person. It was a very empowering song. Though I'm not as big an In Flames fan as I once was, this song was incredibly influential to me as a developing young adult. Really got me started in melodic death metal.
6. At The Gates: Slaughter of the Soul - This put death metal on the map for me. Melodic, aggressive, contemplative and serious lyrics, this made me think about metal. It was also the album that made me pick up a 5 string bass to learn "Suicide Nation". Up until this point I had figured if Geezer and Cliff didn't need 5 strings, neither did I.
7. Kreator: Enemy of God - I'd heard of Kreator before, but never listened to them until college. The second I heard this album, I was hooked. Kreator continues to be one of my favorite bands, and though they had a rough spell in the mid 90's like most metal bands, they have yet to release a bad album in my opinion. This led to looking into German thrash as a whole.
8. Candlemass: Psalms For The Dead - This album re-ignited my love for doom after about a decade since Black Sabbath got me into metal in the first place. From here I went into all sorts of doom stuff. Probably my most recent metal acquisition taste-wise.
9. Burzum: Filosofem - Controversies aside, Burzum is the band that got me solidly into black metal past the "big names" like Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth. In a particularly dark and lonely part of my life, Burzum spoke to me. I can't say I approve of Varg's actions or anything like that, but on a purely musical level, the minimalist approach and atmosphere created by some of his songs are amazing.
10: Dismember: Massive Killing Capacity - For years, I had shunned straight up death metal. I wanted more melody. Then, I heard Dismember. Straight to the point, but with just enough melody, this renewed my love for all the heaviness in Sweden.
11: Type O Negative: Bloody Kisses - This was my first foray into "doom" metal after Sabbath. Though I enjoyed the band, I never got much past them for many years. Regardless, they got me further into the Roadrunner catalog, which led to countless other metal discoveries.
I feel like I've typed plenty tonight, but as an English major, this seems about how I'd handle such things...
I remember listening to Mastodon like 20 years ago and thinking that "March of the Fire Ants" was their only decent song. I definitely prefer their most recent stuff. It's not as heavy, but the more they progress, the more I enjoy that band.
Yeah, I think a lot of people like the later Mastodon stuff, but my feeling was that each new album wasn't as good as the last. I have the opposite opinion about Fugazi
Filosofem is great. These days I listen to a lot more death metal than black metal, but Satyricon's Now, Diobolical and Dissection's Storm Of The Light's Bane are always good.
Jesus Lizard was huge for me. If I were to think hard enough to make a list of transformative (heavy) albums, Converge's Axe to Fall would probably be on it. Definitely Dopesmoker and Dopethrone.
Filosofem is great. These days I listen to a lot more death metal than black metal, but Satyricon's Now, Diobolical and Dissection's Storm Of The Light's Bane are always good.
Jesus Lizard was huge for me. If I were to think hard enough to make a list of transformative (heavy) albums, Converge's Axe to Fall would probably be on it. Definitely Dopesmoker and Dopethrone.
In my opinion Drudkh perfected what Burzum started with "Filosofem". I wonder what they are doing right now, since the band ist from Kharkiv, Eastern Ukraine...
It feels very strange to be listening to Drudkh while reading reports and seeing pictures from Bucha...
Anyway, some instrumental stuff for you folks:
It feels very strange to be listening to Drudkh while reading reports and seeing pictures from Bucha...
Anyway, some instrumental stuff for you folks:
i have a few semi-modular synths but i haven't experimented with combining them yet. the Strega and Nyx should be an interesting pairing i think.
I revisited Mastodon's discography recently, and I was surprised to find that Blood Mountain might be my favorite overall. I feel like it's a perfect balance between their early and later styles. They were starting to move more towards melodic singing at that point, but there are still plenty of super heavy, weird riffs, and the production is better than Remission and Leviathan.
My #1 black metal band is, without question, Darkthrone. For death metal, my #1 is probably Bolt Thrower. Also love Kreator as far as thrash goes.
I also left out a lot on my list. I'd add the 1st Sword Album, which is such a killer, and add a few more like Weedeater, Church of Misery, Slomatics, etc. I'm terrible at making lists because I always seem to leave someone out
I also left out a lot on my list. I'd add the 1st Sword Album, which is such a killer, and add a few more like Weedeater, Church of Misery, Slomatics, etc. I'm terrible at making lists because I always seem to leave someone out
It's so hard to keep it to just 11 or whatever... I could probably do a top 10 of just Early 2000s Swedish Stoner Rock albums.
I know right? The Swedes kicked it in the 2000s.
I'm brutal too, weedeater would be in there, Kadavar, multiple truckfighters and Elder albums, and all the witches too. Oh and to be fully honest, The Action is Go is one of my all time favorite albums and I didn't even put any Fu Manchu on there...
I'm brutal too, weedeater would be in there, Kadavar, multiple truckfighters and Elder albums, and all the witches too. Oh and to be fully honest, The Action is Go is one of my all time favorite albums and I didn't even put any Fu Manchu on there...
Here's a stoner classic that flies under the radar:
Although they're based out of Sweden, the singer/guitarist is originally from Cuba, so a lot of the lyrics are in Spanish, and their music has some interesting Latin elements to it.
Although they're based out of Sweden, the singer/guitarist is originally from Cuba, so a lot of the lyrics are in Spanish, and their music has some interesting Latin elements to it.
While I enjoy Darkthrone, and certainly appreciate their contributions to the scene, I feel I really just LOVE their ethos. They do them. No matter what. And that's how it should be. I don't listen to them much, but when I'm in the right mood, Darkthrone just hits the right spot.
Bolt Thrower is WAY up there for me. Hard to say if I prefer Bolt Thrower of Dismember more, though. Both are fantastic. If you love Bolt Thrower, have you heard of Hail Of Bullets? I recently learned about them, and they're awesome. I may have been talking about them a few pages ago, but I don't remember.
Thrash is my "home". Sometimes, I go months without listening to it, but I always come back. It was what started me on my metal journey, and it always feels "right" when I listen to it. Too many thrash bands I love for me to mention.
