Metal Reviews

Exactly.

Forgotten Woods

decaying purity.

Yet every metal forum I go to, or every show I talk to people at and they know who the band is, loves Nevermore.

I think it's been probably 6 years or sol, I think it was their self titled? I just remember the first song on the album was a song that had the same fucking riff played the entire time and it drove me nuts. My buddy would always throw it in when we tripped.

I just remember hating it, a lot, and I'm not going to listen to them again. lol

They still don't get the attention they deserve.

So you've heard one song, six years ago? Christ, no wonder people throw down at you. What a silly way to form an opinion of a band.

arcturus are really underrated IMO

+1

Specifically I think that diSEMBOWELMENT are extremely underappreciated. Very few people listen to this even though it is (in my opinion) some of the finest Metal ever.

Also I seriously think that Profanatica are quite underrated in the sense that people regard their music as simplistic, dumb and in bad taste, when in reality they channel a sincere, primal and intense darkness that few bands are capable of. They may be a bit too 'honest' for most people and the aforementioned negative adjectives may apply to a certain extent, but they still annihilate much of the pretentious and strained Power Metal or Rock infused crap that passes for Black Metal these days. It's raw expressionism and it's not meant to be pretty.

I guess you could call it "primal", but then again any black metalhead who thinks they know what they are talking about constantly tosses those words around especially when talking about a band like Profanatica. The first few songs of Profanatitas just reek of them attempting to perfect their older material which I found typical because most of those "kvlt" bands just seem to ride their status as being underground to sell records that suck. Maybe I'm too fond of older Mayhem and Destroyer 666 to give them a chance? Or is it just the fact USBM just seems to be riding on the backs of their European counterparts?

I would say they are an amazing band but still OVERrated.

Underrated by people on this site, I assume he means.

They've had their fair share of keyboard fellatio on this site.

Instrumental metal bands

Also a genre that I'm not sure what it's called but it includes bands like Ken Mode, Taint, Kylesa, Keelhaul, and Akimbo. Like sludge but instead of being really slow or really angry it just fucking rocks. It's underrated.

Check out blacktusk. You might like it.

Indeed. One album, one masterpiece.

Indie rock and Paramore

Seriously though, the new album is great.

This.

I'll go out on a limb and say Australian doom in its entirety is underappreciated.

Yes, you're right; I think I know what I'm talking about. I have been listening to music for long enough to be able to determine for my self whether I find something good or bad and on what premises and I often do it in a heavy-handed manner.

I realise that the words I use are not particularly precise, but often it is the intangible elements of a specific piece of music that make all the difference. I think that people who listen to music and judge it solely on "objective" criteria like musicianship, technicality, tempo changes etc. have a very shallow conception of music. Art should be communicative; be it by channelling the emotions of the composer, inducing reflections (in- or over the work), creating a stimulating atmosphere or just burning with passion and devotion to the work (or a combination thereof) etc. If these aspects are neglected in an evaluation of the music then it misses the whole point, unless of course the work is trite, stale and harmless to begin with which leaves nothing else to evaluate than the technical proficiency. If the music actually affects you, it can be hard to accurately describe the effect. From a literal point of view it doesn't make sense to profess that a piece of music is "aggressive", "forlorn", "happy", "sad", "primal" or any other personal characteristic or emotional state. The composition is not an entity with emotions, but the composer is. Since it is hard to describe these qualities coherently (I am not a reviewer, but rio manages to get the point across nicely in his Burzum "Det som engang var" and Behxen "By the Blessing of Satan" reviews) it can be useful to resort to metaphors that will hopefully, if not explain, then at least illustrate the evocative and expressive attributes of the music. That's how metaphors work. They capture a point that is hard to articulate properly. Don't react to the specific wording but try to understand the metaphor. If you actually tried to pay attention the meaning instead of writing it off as "kvlt" you might actually get something out of it.

Regarding Profanatica riding their underground status, "Profanatitas De Domonatia" consists of songs that I have not seen released before besides from "Scourging and Crowning". They're also releasing an album of new material this autumn called "Disgusting Blasphemies Against God". There are 3 songs from the new album on their myspace. Go and check them out. I think they are very promising although it's hard to judge this kind of music on samples.

I'm not sure where you are going with the Mayhem and Deströyer talk. I like both those bands and manage to like Profanatica as well. Is that too much?

I agree that the USBM scene in general is overrated (which I have already stated in the "… are overrated" thread some time ago) and lacking compared to the European scene, but that doesn't automatically make all bands from the US bad. Each band should really be listened to individually without basing an opinion on their nationality. Again I'm afraid your point eludes me.

Metal Church, Flotsam & Jetsam, Magnum.