Bushmeister

We'll call this one "Death Metal Anthems". A double-disc, first featuring death metal classics such as:

1. Death - "Scream Bloody Gore"

2. Repulsion - "Slaughter Of The Innocent"

3. Possessed - "Seven Churches"

4. Obituary - "Slowly We Rot"

5. Suffocation - "Jesus Wept"

6. Cannibal Corpse - "Hammer Smashed Face"

7. Deicide - "Lunatic Of God's Creation"

8. Morbid Angel - "Welcome To Hell"

9. Immolation - "Dawn Of Possession"

10. Entombed - "Left Hand Path"

11. Carcass - "Exhume To Consume"

12. Incantation - "Eternal Torture"

And for the second disc, modern-day masterpieces:

1. Lykathea Aflame - "To Become Shelter And Salvation"

2. Wormed - "Geodesic Dome"

3. Behemoth - "At The Left Hand Ov God"

4. Fleshgore - "Sky Funeral"

5. Monstrosity - "Shadow Of Obliteration"

6. Gorerotted - "Fuck Your Ass With Broken Glass"

7. Imperial Sodomy - "Castrated"

8. Cephalic Carnage - "Piecemaker"

9. Benighted - "Spiritual Manslaughter"

10. Odious Mortem - "Conjoint Species"

11. Kronos - "Phaeton"

12. Vital Remains - "Dechristianize"

13. Nile - "Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten"

Because you actually CAN follow Nile-lyrics, with a bit of practice? Come on, at least he growls what's written on the damn lyrics sheet, unlike bands like Devourment or Wormed.

Off the top of my head, it is rather hard to come up with bands that'd play as fast and heavy as Nile without having growls deeper than a grave. However, some suggestions as follows:

Kataklysm

Jungle Rot

Unleashed

Ancient Rites

Vital Remains

Melechesh

Vesania

Out of the bunch, Unleashed and Ancient Rites are the ones with the cleanest vocals. Vital Remains is most like Nile music-wise, and Glen Benton's bellows are much more distinguishable than Sanders and co.'s. Finally, Melechesh and Vesania are more on the black metal side of things, but fast and fucking badass. Also, no death metal growls.

P.S. screw you for dissing "Scum"

No. That is gay.

Whoah, this was actually much harder than what I thought. First of all, most of my metal records would be right out. Hardly the best music to listen to while starving to death amidst the wreckage.

In that case, here we go:

Alamaailman Vasarat - Maahan

What in a what now? Basically, Alamaailman Vasarat play a very frantic style of instrumental music, combining jazz, blues and elements of rock n' roll into a mixture that is played pretty much entirely on acoustic instruments save for the bass (also, no guitars whatsoever, acoustic or electric). There are at least a dozen kinds of horns, flutes and pipes used throughout the album, on top of the bassist and two percussionists. It is catchy, dirty and a perfect soundtrack to a night of drunken swaying on top of a moss-covered rock holding a half-tin of my very best moonshine.

Steve Roach & Vida Obama - Spirit Dome

Slow, meandering ambient music. This would be my album for meditation, for relaxing and for just clearing my mind of everything that is pressing on it. There is no decipherable rhythm or melody to the music, but instead it is designed to merely soothe you and make your moods flow as smooth as possible. There are a number of other Steve Roach records I could have picked here, but the Spirit Dome has (as the name suggests) just a hint of a more spiritual approach to the whole shebang.

Summoning - Dol Guldur

Yeah, yeah, I said I'd throw my metal records out of the window. Well, not this one (or the next one either ). Summoning has an amazing relaxing effect on me, and the presence of dark forests and immense, cold mountain ranges would definitely be something I'd appreciate on some tropical nights. It was a hard time choosing a single record from Summoning, really, but in the end "Dol Guldur" strikes the greatest balance between its more black metal-oriented predecessor "Minas Morgul" and its spiritual follow-up the "Nightshade Forests"-EP, which takes Summoning's sound far further away to the symphonic direction.

Pelican - The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw

Seriously, is there NO way I couldn't just slip the "March Into The Sea"-EP into the case along with the original CD? I have often said and will say again that the full-length rendition of "March Into The Sea" is easily in the top 3 of the best songs I have ever heard, and even after four years of continuous play I still find myself enjoying the epic journey. However, "The Fire In Our Throats..." holds other great Pelican tracks such as the acoustic "-", "Aurora Borealis" and "Sirius", as well as a 10-minute version of "March..." I am torn, really - does one song trump an entire album in the end? Grudginly, I'd give up the EP for this album. Half of an amazing song paired off with a load of great ones is nothing to sneer at.

Cowboy Bebop OST - Knockin' On Heaven's Door

This is the double-disc soundtrack to the Cowboy Bebop movie "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", and one I'd choose for several reasons. First, two discs give it nice length and longevity. Second, there is a fine mix of music in here, jazz and blues dominating of course but with a few odder songs thrown in, and a few ambient works that I love to bits. And thirdly, all songs are top-notch quality. When listening to these CDs I might skip a song or two because of my mood, but never because I feel that a particular song is not worth listening to.

There we go... Although as an afterthought, a lot of people seem to be putting in gloomy CDs to remind themselves that this is all they'll have from now on. So in that vein, a honorable mention:

Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Altered States Of America

I'd happily go insane to the tune of this album. Lucky I already haven't.

The same reaction has occurred elsewhere as well recently, Skummy. Probably stems from the fact that I don't really talk about stuff like Modest Mouse that I find very enjoyable but don't have the patience or interest to delve further into similar projects.

Thank you God, it was not like I was wanting to do any work in any case. Bands in no particular order:

Napalm Death:

#1: "Suffer The Children"

#2: "You Suffer"

#3: "Multinational Corporations"

#4: "The Code Is Red... Long Live The Code"

#5: "Sold Short"

#6: "Scum"

#7: "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" (it's a great cover )

#8: "Thanks For Nothing"

#9: "Fracture In The Equation"

#10: "From Enslavement To Obliteration"

Marduk:

#1: "Dracul Va Domni Din Nou In Transilvania"

#2: "Blütrache"

#3: "Echoes From The Past"

#4: "Baptism By Fire"

#5: "Everything Bleeds"

#6: "With Satan And Victorious Weapons"

#7: "Dreams Of Blood And Iron"

#8: "The Hangman Of Prague"

#9: "Slay The Nazarene"

#10: "Those Of The Unlight"

Summoning:

#1: "Farewell"

#2: "A Distant Flame Before The Sun"

#3: "Land Of The Dead"

#4: "The Passing Of The Grey Company"

#5: "South Away"

#6: "Through The Forests Of Dol Guldur"

#7: "Saruman"

#8: "Might And Glory"

#9: "Mirdautas Vras"

#10: "Nightshade Forests"

Pelican:

#1: "March Into The Sea"

#2: "Sirius"

#3: "-"

#4: "Red Ran Amber"

#5: "Mammoth"

#6: "Dead Between The Walls"

#7: "Nightenday"

#8: "Drought"

#9: "Autumn Into Summer"

#10: "Angel Tears"

Moonsorrow:

#1: "Jumalten Kaupunki incl. Tuhatvuotinen Perintö"

#2: "Sankaritarina"

#3: "Kylän Päässä"

#4: "Raunioilla"

#5: "Sankarihauta"

#6: "Tuulen Tytär incl. Soturin Tie"

#7: "Tuleen Ajettu Maa"

#8: "Jäästä Syntynyt / Varjojen Virta"

#9: "Aurinko Ja Kuu"

#10: "Suden Uni"

Emperor:

#1: "Thus Spake The Nightspirit"

#2: "I Am The Black Wizards"

#3: "Ye Entrancemperium"

#4: "The Loss And Curse Of Reverence"

#5: "A Fine Day To Die" (another excellent cover song)

#6: "Curse You All Men!"

#7: "Inno A Satana"

#8: "Cosmic Keys To My Creations & Times"

#9: "Wrath Of The Tyrant"

#10: "Sworn"

Modest Mouse:

#1: "Other People's Lives"

#2: "A Different City"

#3: "The World At Large"

#4: "Alone Down There"

#5: "Long Distance Drunk"

#6: "Trucker's Atlas"

#7: "I Came As A Rat"

#8: "Spitting Venom"

#9: "Out Of Gas"

#10: "Blame It On The Teutons"

Pig Destroyer:

#1: "Boy Constrictor"

#2: "Piss Angel"

#3: "Frailty In Numbers"

#4: "Body Scout"

#5: "Carrion Fairy"

#6: "Treblinka"

#7: "Starbelly"

#8: "Towering Flesh"

#9: "Suicide Through Decay"

#10: "Three Second Apocalypse"

Therion:

#1: "Voyage Of Gurdjeff (The Fourth Way)"

#2: "Blood Of The Kingu"

#3: "Emerald Crown"

#4: "Son Of The Staves Of Time"

#5: "Asgård"

#6: "Midgård"

#7: "Lemuria"

#8: "Feuer Overture - Prometheus Entfesselt"

#9: "The Khlysti Evangelist"

#10: "The Wild Hunt"

Mindless Self Indulgence:

#1: "Bring The Pain"

#2: "Stupid MF"

#3: "Bed Of Roses"

#4: "Alienating Our Audience"

#5: "You'll Rebel To Anything"

#6: "Keeping Up With The Kids"

#7: "Adios Amigos"

#8: "Straight To Video (Assemblage 23 Remix)"

#9: "Prom"

#10: "Diabolical"

#: 7000 Dying Rats

A: Agoraphobic Nosebleed

B: Berzerker, The

C: Cannibal Corpse

D: Discordance Axis

E: Emperor

F: Funeral Mist

G: Godflesh

H: Haemorrhage

I: Impaled Nazarene

J: Jesu

K: Khanate

L: Last Days Of Humanity

M: Marduk

N: Napalm Death

O: Om

P: Pelican

Q: Queers, The

R: Regurgitate

S: Summoning

T: Therion

U: Ulver

V: Vlad Tepes

W: Wormed

X: Xiu Xiu

Y: Your Kid's On Fire

Z: Zillah

And going by what I have seen live (skipping the ones I had nothing for:

A: Avulsed

B: Behemoth

C: Cannibal Corpse

D: Demigod

E: Emperor

G: Gorefest

H: Hypocrisy

I: Immortal

K: Korpiklaani

L: Lamb Of God

M: Marduk

N: Nile

R: Rotten Sound

S: Sotajumala

T: Torture Killer

Haven't heard it yet (and yes it has been leaked) but more than likely it will be crushing and fucking awesome, just like Meshuggah always is.

That's why so serious

That list is almost an exact opposite of my own, Behemoth being even the only one I cared for last year. I posted some in the Best Album Of 2007-thread, but for a quick reference my top 10 for last year looks something like this:

1. Kronos - "The Hellenic Terror"

2. Volh - "Solemn March Into The Ragnarok"

3. Nile - "Ithyphallic"

4. Pelican - "City Of Echoes"

5. Moonsorrow - "Luku V: Hävitetty"

6. Sigh - "Hangman's Hymn"

7. Pig Destroyer - "Phantom Limb"

8. Bilskirnir - "Wotansvolk"

9. Jesu - "Conqueror"

10. Korpiklaani - "Tervaskanto"

Honorable mentions:

Peste Noire - "Folk Fuck Foliery"

Cephalic Carnage - "Xenosapien"

Vomitory - "Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize"

Vital Remains - "Icons Of Evil"

Anaal Nathrakh - "Hell Is Empty And All The Devils Are Here"

Mayhem - "Ordo Ab Chao"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdPKKJk_mLw

This fucking song.

Could anyone recommend me similar stuff like this? (I'll give other black metal stuff a chance, but if there's any with cleaner vocals that'd be great).

But to copy songs(s) from a CD to a computer, you would need a program for that, yes? So why, or when are they, going to go after to go after Microsoft/Dell/Sony for writing software that could be used ''illegally"? Or go after said companies for making DVD burners, cause DVD have music in them, and music = songs, so thats bad, m'kay!

This is going straight into the WTF Zone:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7122800693.html

Download Uproar: Record Industry Goes After Personal Use

By Marc Fisher

Washington Post Staff Writer

Sunday, December 30, 2007; Page M05

Despite more than 20,000 lawsuits filed against music fans in the years since they started finding free tunes online rather than buying CDs from record companies, the recording industry has utterly failed to halt the decline of the record album or the rise of digital music sharing.

Still, hardly a month goes by without a news release from the industry's lobby, the Recording Industry Association of America, touting a new wave of letters to college students and others demanding a settlement payment and threatening a legal battle.

Now, in an unusual case in which an Arizona recipient of an RIAA letter has fought back in court rather than write a check to avoid hefty legal fees, the industry is taking its argument against music sharing one step further: In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.

The industry's lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are "unauthorized copies" of copyrighted recordings.

"I couldn't believe it when I read that," says Ray Beckerman, a New York lawyer who represents six clients who have been sued by the RIAA. "The basic principle in the law is that you have to distribute actual physical copies to be guilty of violating copyright. But recently, the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation."

RIAA's hard-line position seems clear. Its Web site says: "If you make unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings, you're stealing. You're breaking the law and you could be held legally liable for thousands of dollars in damages."

They're not kidding. In October, after a trial in Minnesota -- the first time the industry has made its case before a federal jury -- Jammie Thomas was ordered to pay $220,000 to the big record companies. That's $9,250 for each of 24 songs she was accused of sharing online.

Whether customers may copy their CDs onto their computers -- an act at the very heart of the digital revolution -- has a murky legal foundation, the RIAA argues. The industry's own Web site says that making a personal copy of a CD that you bought legitimately may not be a legal right, but it "won't usually raise concerns," as long as you don't give away the music or lend it to anyone.

Of course, that's exactly what millions of people do every day. In a Los Angeles Times poll, 69 percent of teenagers surveyed said they thought it was legal to copy a CD they own and give it to a friend. The RIAA cites a study that found that more than half of current college students download music and movies illegally.

The Howell case was not the first time the industry has argued that making a personal copy from a legally purchased CD is illegal. At the Thomas trial in Minnesota, Sony BMG's chief of litigation, Jennifer Pariser, testified that "when an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song." Copying a song you bought is "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy,' " she said.

But lawyers for consumers point to a series of court rulings over the last few decades that found no violation of copyright law in the use of VCRs and other devices to time-shift TV programs; that is, to make personal copies for the purpose of making portable a legally obtained recording.

As technologies evolve, old media companies tend not to be the source of the innovation that allows them to survive. Even so, new technologies don't usually kill off old media: That's the good news for the recording industry, as for the TV, movie, newspaper and magazine businesses. But for those old media to survive, they must adapt, finding new business models and new, compelling content to offer.

The RIAA's legal crusade against its customers is a classic example of an old media company clinging to a business model that has collapsed. Four years of a failed strategy has only "created a whole market of people who specifically look to buy independent goods so as not to deal with the big record companies," Beckerman says. "Every problem they're trying to solve is worse now than when they started."

The industry "will continue to bring lawsuits" against those who "ignore years of warnings," RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said in a statement. "It's not our first choice, but it's a necessary part of the equation. There are consequences for breaking the law." And, perhaps, for firing up your computer.

Well, it's mainly a thing of getting accustomed to the style of vocals. Listen to it enough and you'll start making out the words, in the case that the singer can actually pronounce English that is (Korpiklaani ) Pick a song that you like and listen to it a few times with the lyrics sheets, then at least some of it should start to make sense afterwards.

I'm echoing the posters above me. I really have no idea how they intend to make The Hobbit last two feature-length films on its own. They either need to introduce some canon-breaking, or just come up with something out of their collective arses to make it work, especially if they aim for the length of the LOTR movies.

Let's bust out some of the better albums this year from my point of view:

Pelican - City Of Echoes

Well, granted, I did expect more, but considering what kind of effort my other favourite bands turned in (Marduk and Leng Tch'e, I am looking at your ugly mugs ) this was way and well beyond a good album. While in general more mellow and post-rock than their previous works, they cranked out probably their most metal-oriented track yet with "Dead Between The Walls". Also, the acoustic track on the CD was, yet again, excellent. I'd maybe like to see an EP or a mini-CD in the future with just acoustic tracks on it. I'm hoping however that they go back towards the more metal-oriented sound they had on their first few releases, instead of watering it down too much. As of now, they stand as a great blend on the border between Isis and Explosions In The Sky, and I'd hate to see them slip too far into the EITS-territory.

Kronos - The Hellenic Terror

I believe "holy fucking shit" were the first words I spoke when the opening track "The Road To Salvation" began blasting out from my speakers. Cutting riffs as sharp as razor blades, convincing vocal work that sticks to your head and a drummer that has no trouble keeping up the speed or the brutality. What really suckered me in though was the lyrical content and the themes of Ancient Greece: "The Hellenic Terror" is centered around such Greek legends as the Odyssey and the adventures of Thebes and Perseus. It is very nice to see death metal bands branch out from the usual lyrical content, and for that plus top-notch execution Kronos get a big thumbs up from me.

Nile - Ithyphallic

Another death metal record, this time from a band with a proven streak of excellent releases, and Nile didn't disappoint this time either. They've further played down the "wall-of-sound"-effect that had been detrimental to their sound on their earlier works, and instead focus even more on the monstrous riffs that help prop up each track to stand on their own. The album is also paced much differently from their previous efforts, with many more mid- and slow-paced parts in the songs akin to the big crowd-pleasers "Black Seeds Of Vengeance" and "Cast Down The Heretic". However, while they are very much nice to scream along to in a concert, the repetition of the slow-paced parts make the album less replayable in my opinion. But hell, Nile is still fucking awesome, Karl Sanders is a monster on the axe, and with three vocalists all handling the burden of growling, there's a much wider range of variance in the vocals than in most death metal.

Volh - Solemn March Into The Ragnarok

It was pleasing to finally hear a black metal record from Russia that wasn't badly produced NSBM-bullshit. Being a one-man band, Volh gains points for the single fact that he is actually competent with all the instruments he plays. The production is calculated and "raw", but not to the point of being unlistenable. What really won me over were the vocals, which are very drawn-out and rather high-pitched for black metal screaming, as well as the guitarwork. Unlike a lot of "raw" black metal, the guitars actually depart from the standard, fast picking and occasionally soar to some majestic riffs, adding a lot of epic feel to otherwise relatively simple tracks. The best example of this is "Let Shine In The Spears Of Valkyries", which manages to feel like a very epic song and stay in your mind with just two short guitar parts spread to the middle and end of the song. A great album if you're even remotely into this sort of black metal.

Moonsorrow - Luku V: Hävitetty

A 50+ minute album with only two songs. Sounds crazy? It probably is too, and even crazier is that the second song has actually become somewhat of a staple of their live sets. Probably Moonsorrow's most ambitious release to date, and it shows. The songs take their good while to heat up, have plenty of beautiful interludes inbetween the crashing epic parts. Otherwise, this is vintage Moonsorrow: plenty of well-utilized keyboards, mammoth riffs and vocals ranging from growls to clean singing to black metal-ish shrieking. Definitively not light listening and something that needs a good few spins on the record player before hitting home, "Luku V: Hävitetty" is still in my opinion these guys best record since their sophomore album "Voimasta Ja Kunniasta".

This is going to be the best movie ever produced, short and simple.

Let's just go balls-to-the-wall silly with this one:

Deicide - "Death To Jesus", "Blame It On God", "Slave To The Cross", "The Stench Of Redemption", "When Heaven Burns"

Vital Remains - "Dechristianize", "Hammer Down The Nails", "Savior To None... Failure For All", "Icons Of Evil"

Marduk - "Slay The Nazarene", "Fistfucking God's Planet", "Christraping Black Metal", "Beyond The Grace Of God", "The Black Tormentor Of Satan"

Napalm Death - "Deaf And Dumbstruck (Intelligent Design)", "Rabid Wolves (For Christ)", "Persona Non Grata", "Puritanical Punishment Beating"

Grand Belial's Key - "Castrate The Redeemer", "Lamb Of God Slain Will Be", "Foul Parody Of The Lord's Supper", "Pimps Of Gennesaret"

Lord Belial - "Burn The Kingdom Of Christ", "Angelgrinder", "Wrath Of The Antichrist Horde", "Ungodly Passage"

Nox - "Blind Mad God", "Insane Hatred For The Supposed Creator", "The Jesus Sect", "Satan Ex Machina", "Chronozonic Chaos Gods"

Well it wasn't fire that stopped Hitler either, it was ZE BITTER KOLD OV ZEE RUSKI VINTERS, DA!

... oh god Godwinn's

Oh ho, Elfen Lied is about much more than just tits and gore, although there's more than enough of both in the series. Epic mindfuckery awaits in the latter part of the series.

What's more, there is a disturbingly large number of men into futanari (if you don't know what that means, you're better off not looking it up: one thing, it's more extreme then just "men looking like women") that find appeal in these feminine looking men, going as far as even having the men get confused as women, or integrating with them and hiding the fact that they're male or, in some cases, being completely oblivious to the fact that they're male, as they were actually raised as though they were female.

It's... quite bizarre. But, hey, whatever tickles their fancy I suppose :\

I much prefer stok's reason as to why, as it gives you a bit of faith behind the psychological reasoning behind the fandom who they're appealing to. Sadly, that's not the only reason why x_o

Hm, an alien species entirely consisting of 'beautiful females'. It's virtually in the 'lonely teenage fantasy' realm of anime plots. Just one more thing is needed to push it over the edge...

Scorched Earth Tactics' "Grind Christmas" > all else.

It was.