A Black Metal Hurricane

Genre: (Atmospheric) Black Metal
Quality: Mostly 256 or 320kbps
About: I was up one night last week, feeling alone and slightly drunk. I decided to make a playlist for my girlfriend which I've been meaning to do for quite some time. Basically she used to listen to Black Metal but not enough to know bands by name. I also do not know what specific subgenres she listened to... I mainly listen to atmospheric/ambient/melancholic types of black metal, songs that make me FEEL.

So this playlist has songs that I feel are really easy to get into. It's aimed at people who have never tried the genre much or at all. Most of the songs are melodic, atmospheric, folk, and post-black metal... rather than raw, depressive, extreme, etc. If you're a fan of black metal you probably have all of these with the exception of Azeroth, an unknown Russian melodic black metal band (who you should definitely check out - I have the discography on this blog). Or, if you just want to hear a good playlist.

More actual albums coming soon hopefully! My life has been hectic lately. Just wanted to get this playlist on here cause... it's amazing :)


Track List:
1. Moonsorrow - Ukkosenjumalan Poika ... One of the first black metal songs i got into

2. Azeroth - Great Warriors Of Shadows ... This band was so amazing live, and the production is much better than on the studio albums! Also, this song's somewhat boring 3 minute intro is left out.

3. Woods of Desolation - Darker Days ... Current nominee for best song of 2011

4. Agalloch - Falling Snow ... Another band I got into when I first discovered black metal

5. Alcest - Ciel Errant ... Same as above, but it took me quite a while before I started to like this specific song, now it's my favorite by him.

6. Lunar Aurora - Die Quelle Im Wald ... Favorite BM band, really hard to pick a song, I picked it because of the clarinet solo.

7. Drudkh - When the Flame Turns to Ashes ... Again hard to pick a song but I picked this one because of, well the whole song sounds like flame gradually turning into ash!

8. Lantlôs - These Nights Were Ours ... One of the best songs of 2010 especially within this weird ill-defined post-blackened shoegaze genre.

9. Dimmu Borgir - Kings of the Carnival Creation ... I've tried their old stuff (its ok), their new stuff (its ok), but never thought to try the stuff in the middle before now. OH MY GOD.

10. Austere - Just for a moment... I was thinking for a long time that Black Metal and Emo would be complementary, then I found this. I'm not the typical emo/poser-hating metalhead; I listen on occasion. And the line between metal and metalcore is pretty blurry, as is the line between metalcore and posercore... So I just try not to think about it and listen to whatever I like.

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Songs From The Best Albums of 2010 (by hurricane_mario)

I have had this idea in my head to do this since about february. I realized that there were so many releases that come out every year that I needed a way to keep track. So, I kept this journal. I ended up making a top-20. 20 songs in this compilation are from the 20 albums there. Disk 1 contains songs 20-8, Disk 2 contains 7-1 interspersed with 7 other noteworthy songs. I will probably do a disk 3 "EP" later because SO MANY great songs came out in 2010.

On that note, I feel the need to discuss some major points music-wise this year.
- My year started with the frantic anticipation for Alcest and Les Discrets albums, due to the split album they put out in 2009. They both exceeded my expectations.
- Then, I found out the new Burzum album had been released, which was at the top of my chart for a month. Then came Kalmah which replaced that, then came Angra which replaced that and stayed there, because they are my favorite band.
- There were a lot of big-name bands that had released amazing albums a few years ago, but released really disappointing albums this year. Kamelot, Helloween, Blind Guardian, Astral Doors, Wuthering Heights, among others.
- At this point I was still playing Alcest and Les Discrets repeatedly and needed more of this genre - so I found Lantlos, Grey Waters, the new Drudkh album (Soliness also stood out but they did not release any material this year). I also tried a lot of regular shoegaze and of the dozens I tried, Depreciation Guild and Amusement Parks on Fire stood out. I still hope to find more.
- Also in here are just a lot of my favorite bands that cannot possibly make a bad album for my ears. Rhapsody, Joe Satriani, Sofa Surfers, Heimataerde, Stratovarius (Well, the composer of Stratovarius -- Revolution Renaissance), and finally the return of Mr. Big (technically released in 2011 but it leaked)!
- Shining I found completely by accident, I was looking for the Depressive Black Metal band, and instead I found this really unique and exciting journey of an album with the same band name.
- Tetsuo Sakurai is Jazz Fusion, if you don't know what that is, check it out! Basically speedy jazz fused with progressive rock. It features my favorite drummer, Dennis Chambers, and TS is a really great bassist virtuoso.
- Cee Lo Green gets my vote for the biggest surprise of the year, and only "mainstream" album I enjoyed this year. You may know him from "Gnarls Barkley" with their one-hit wonder "Crazy" a few years ago. This album starts with a nice intro, and each song is just captivating in it's own way, while at the same time feeling like a coherent album. Like, each song fits together in this order perfectly and it makes sense.
- Just wanted to note how clear and loud the Bass line is in Lantlos. Had it blasting one day and the guy upstairs complained that the floor was shaking, that it sounded like a vaccuum!
- Angra's song is not a "power ballad" in the traditional sense, I cannot explain it, but I guess that is why I like it so much.

Anyway, here is the track list below. The bitrate is mostly 256kbps and higher, except for (ironically) track 1-1 and track 2-13, which are 192kbps. They are all MP3 except track 1-7 and 2-2 which are AAC. The downloads are the songs themselves along with a m3u file. My interpretation of the genre of each song, which is somewhat subjective, are listed next to the song. I arranged them in the order that sounded best as a playlist, not in the order of my top 20.

As it turns out, completely by chance, Disk 1 is more chill and atmospheric and rock, and Disk 2 is more "metal." They are sub-74 minutes so they could easily be burned to CDs. As usual, I made these playlists for myself but figured someone else might enjoy them!


Disk 1 (Play time - 1:12:51)
1. Mr. Big - Undertow (Melodic / Hard Rock)
2. Pretty Maids - Cielo Drive (Thrashy Heavy Metal)
3. Analog Rebellion - Brain ≠ Heart (I Need To Know) (Downtempo / Indie / Rock)
4. The Depreciation Guild - Dream About Me (Downtempo / Shoegaze / Chiptune/8bit)
5. Heimataerde - Maarat An Numan (Darkwave / Electronic Body Music)
6. Tetsuo Sakurai - Another Kingdom (Jazz Fusion)
7. Sofa Surfers - Heavy Water (Progressive Rock-ish? / Trip-Hop? / Difficult to Categorize)
8. Mar de Grises - The Bell and the Solar Gust (Epic/Atmospheric Death/Doom Metal)
9. Les Discrets - Song For Mountains (Atmospheric / Blackened Shoegaze (Clean Vocals) / Post-Black Metal)
10. Lantlôs - Pulse/Surreal (Shoegazened Black Metal >:D (Black Vocals))
11. Alcest - Percées De Lumière (Shoegazened Black Metal)
12. Amusement Parks On Fire (Shoegaze)
13. Alex Band - Never Let You Go (Alternative Rock)
14. Dexter Freebish - Shine On (Alternative Rock / Electro)

Disk 2 (Play Time - 1:13:19)
1. Joe Satriani - Premonition (Instrumental Rock / Guitar Virtuoso)
2. Rhapsody of Fire - Sea of Fate (Power Metal)
3. The Last Days - Make The Change...Are Your Last Days (Atmospheric Instrumental / Blackened Shoegaze / Post-Black Metal)
4. Senmuth - Под знаменами Тэтишери (Symphonic Ethno Industrial Metal)
5. Shining - The Madness And The Damage Done, Pt. 1 (Progressive/Avant-Garde Rock with Black Metal, Electronic and Jazz influences)
6. Drudkh - Twilight Aureole (Post-Black Metal / Shoegazened Black Metal)
7. Kalmah - Godeye (Epic/Melodic Death Metal)
8. Cee Lo Green - Bright Lights Bigger City (Produced By Ben H. Allen Co-Produced By Graham Marsh) (Symphonic Hip-Hop / Melodic Vocals, not Rap)
9. Rage - Empty Hollow (Symphonic/Epic Power Metal)
10. Grey Waters - The Truth is in Your Eyes (Depressive Rock / Emo Vocals)
11. Arid - Custom Gold (Melodic/Progressive Rock)
12. Revolution Renaissance - Crossing the Rubicon
13. Angra - Lease of Life (my #1 song of 2010 / Power Metal "Ballad")

Mediafire Download (Disk 1)
Mediafire Download (Disk 2)

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Click donate in the top-right if you want more of these playlists!

A Metal Hurricane, Vol. 4

Genre: Varies, see description and track listing.
Quality: Mostly over 192kbps MP3, one is AAC.
About: I believe this is my best playlist to date. If you're here, likely you already have bands like Alcest (Track 8), Angra (10), Revolution Renaissance (14), and Grey Waters (9). But you probably don't have Yearning (1), Far Beyond (3), Enter My Silence (7), Pay No Respect (12), or Shadow Gallery (15). These are all great and very underrated metal bands! I won't say more specific things about the aforementioned bands, you should experience them for yourself.

Because of bands like Alcest, Austere and all related bands, I've been getting more into shoegaze. It is called that because founding artists generally stared straight down during live performances. I used last.fm shoegaze radio to find bands like The Depreciation Guild (5), who became an instant favorite. This song has such a great beat and I wish I was in a band because it would be such a nice candidate for a power metal cover!

I've always been into very melodic music, whether it's rock or metal or anything else. I was randomly browsing a blog, and I usually hate when music is played on music-blogs because people are probably already listening to music while browsing! But in this case it was a very good thing because I heard another instant favorite - Brother Firetribe (2). This is melodic rock but it is somewhat heavy at times, and it is interesting because it was actually founded by the guitarist/composer from nightwish! Annette is even in one song (not this one). The singer here is absolutely incredible, he is like a combination of Mark Boals and Michael Kiske which are my two favorite living singers. Powerful yet clean.

Kymera (6) is another unknown amazing melodic rock band, with another vocalist who reminds me of Kiske.

Glen Hansard (4) is an amazing singer-songwriter and the best decision he ever made was to release a movie called Once in 2006. This is direct from the movie and I'm not sure why but just seemed to fit very well in that spot in the playlist.

Serj Tankian (11) is of course the singer from System of A Down. I consider their first album a metal album, but since then the band and the recent solo projects have shifted more to a mainstream alternative sound. Here, he experiments which I really like. The album as a whole is too slow and uneventful, but this track grabbed me. I guess the disco-type beat.

Billionaires Boys Club (13) is the epitome of unknown hard rock. It features Mark Boals on vocals, and had some really enjoyable songs such as this one. It's just one of those bands that remained unknown for some reason. Lack of promotion and touring. This band would have done really well today now that we have internet to find all this great music!


Track List (1:13:22 total time):
1. Yearning - Bleak (Atmospheric Doom/Death Metal / Clean Vocals)
2. Brother Firetribe - I'm on Fire (Melodic Hard Rock / AOR)
3. Far Beyond - My Way Of Endless Grief (Melodic Power Metal)
4. Glen Hansard - Say it to Me Now (Acoustic / Singer-Songwriter)
5. The Depreciation Guild - Crucify You (Shoegaze / Chiptune / 8bit)
6. Khymera - No sacrifice (Melodic Rock / AOR)
7. Enter My Silence - Thin Red Line (Melodic Death Metal)
8. Alcest - Tir Nan Og (Atmospheric/Acoustic Black Metal / Shoegaze)
9. Grey Waters - The Truth is in Your Eyes (Depressive Black Rock/Metal / Shoegaze / Emo)
10. Angra - Lease of Life (Power Metal / Ballad)
11. Serj Tankian - Deserving? (Symphonic/Alternative Rock/Pop)
12. Pay No Respect - Only the Brave (Hardcore / Beatdown)
13. Billionaires Boys Club - Send Your Fat Friend Home (Hard Rock / Glam Metal / AOR)
14. Revolution Renaissance - Crossing the Rubicon (Power Metal)
15. Shadow Gallery - Colors (Melodic Metal / Ballad)

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*As usual, the music files are included as well as a .m3u file. If you have problems, let me know.*

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Yearning - Frore Meadow (2001)

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal / Shoegaze / Doom Metal
Quality: mp3 @ 192 kbps

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A Gothic Hurricane (by hurricane_mario)

Genre: Melodic Death/Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Symphonic metal, related genres.
Quality: Varied
About: I had a few of these songs going through my head the other day so I decided to make a playlist. I tried to steer away from non real gothic bands that idiots tag as gothic just because there's a female singer. But a few crept in towards the end when I ran out of ideas. I don't listen to gothic much, but when I do it's songs like these.

1. The Old Dead Tree - Start the Fire
2. Ava Inferi - Colours Of The Dark
3. To/Die/For - Guilt Ridden State
4. Flowing Tears - Godless
5. Moonspell - Everything Invaded
6. Rapture - (About) Leaving
7. Krypteria - My Fatal Kiss
8. Lacrimas Profundere - A Pearl
9. Theatre Of Tragedy - Silence
10. Aesma Daeva - The Camp of Souls
11. Xandria - Now & Forever
12. The Sins of Thy Beloved - My Love
13. HIM - Your Sweet Six Six Six
14. Sirenia - The Last Call
15. Within Temptation - What Have You Done (Feat. Keith Caputo)

Same as last time. The songs and a .m3u file. Hope it works right. Definitely will work in VLC though.


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Please support the musicians that spent so much time, effort, and money to make this great music for you - Buy their albums and go to their concerts (if possible)!
(In this case, donate button in top right.)

Suicide Solution, Vol. 2

Genre: Depressive Suicidal Black Metal + closely related genres.
Quality: 192-320kbps mp3.
About: In these past 10 months since I made Vol. 1, I've found I'd only scratched the surface of what is actually a very deep and varied genre. I want to let the world know that, while I discover it for myself. There are countless clone bands: Fast blast beats, screaming nonsense, no melody, sounds like it was recorded with a tape recorder from a dollar store on the other side of a brick wall........ That is what this collection aims to avoid.

I wanted a collection of unique yet similar sounds and ideas, with a production value that can at least be appreciated and doesn't hamper enjoyment of each song. I personally believe I did a pretty good job. I also kept it limited to 74 minutes, the standard for a CD. (Especially hard since songs of this genre tend to be so long!). I also created a cover which will be used for all future entries in this series.

I hope you will find as much enjoyment out of these songs as I do.

1. Lantlôs - These Nights Were Ours (Kind of obsessed with this song and I think its a good playlist opener. My #1 song of 2010 and I don't see how anything can top it.)

2. Happy Days - Don't Go (Really emotional song ending in what sounds like a wolf howl. Just chilling. Since I stupidly used their cover for Vol. 1 I figured I should put them in here.)

3. Apati - Sömnlösa Nätter (Just found this "black rock" band and instantly love them. Apparently their new album that just came out is even better.)

4. Monarque - La Vallée Des Larmes (This is what I was talking about when I said "unique" sounds.)

5. Mortuus Infradaemoni - Mortuus Et Prodeunt Infradaemoni (Raw yet clear song and I just love the riff. You'll know which one I'm talking about. Not technically "depressive" but come on, it is. So underrated I had to put them on here.)

6. Silencer - Taklamakan (No idea what this song is about, but it just gets into this awesome jam part where you want to bang your head.)

7. Shining - Krossade Drömmar Och Brutna Löften (I won't argue if you say they're overrated, but this is a heartfelt completely acoustic guitar track that's melancholic and sad and a great interlude.)

8. Walknut - Come, Dreadful Ygg (Another unique band I just found and need to devote more time to.)

9. All the Cold - Coldly to Heart (Essentially the last song of the "Children of Failure" split, one of the few albums to seriously make me feel like crying as the songs are so emotional. It just keeps beating you down harder, you need to get it if you don't have it.)

10. Austere - To fade with the Dusk (This band split up recently but with this song you can hear how amazing they were. Really the classic DSBM sound but they do it so perfectly and clearly.)

11. Sad Legend - The Reaper's Song (From the newest album, it seems like something is missing but that only makes me like it a little more, I think.)

Runtime: 72:42

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Alcest - Écailles De Lune (2010) (v0 mp3)

Genre: Black Metal, Shoegaze
Quality: mp3 @ v0
About: "Stylistically, Neige reverts to the sound of Black Metal that once shaped him: a picture of heart-rending, otherworldly screams, collages filled with passion and sadness, and the characteristic clean vocals. These mellow and ageless voices manage to weave a shroud of sorrow around the album. "Écailles de Lune" is like a dream, a manifesto of transience and human inferiority. For all the changes, Neige has kept all of his trademarks: calm passages, massive slabs of guitars, catchy melodies, and hook-lines going straight to the heart – all this once more delivers a convincing articulation of ALCEST's unique style.
Close your eyes and dream along. This time, melancholy shall propel and unite us. We immerse ourselves once more in fairyland. This time, it doesn't seem fresh but fallow. Its pallor and its shadows are unfathomable, and it reveals itself to us through our senses. It is always there when we quest for it."
- http://loadown.blogspot.com/ - I wasn't going to attempt to write a better review! Great review.

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- Buy CD, Vinyl, or Limited Edition Box Set

Les Discrets - Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées (2010)

Genre: Atmospheric Blackened Post-Rock Shoegaze
About: A very unique take on what is already a very unique genre. Blackened Shoegaze. They only have black parts when appropriate. No screams, but blast beats and depressive guitar parts only when they feel appropriate. The album starts out really mysterious, then very heavy and dark. After 20 minutes of amazingness, we get to the title track, which is something straight out of suicidal black metal's book. A crow cawing. A sad acoustic melody. It makes me feel like I'm laying face down in the middle of a forest, lost for a week, and the crow is just waiting for me to die so he can peck at me.

It's such an amazing feeling that this song, and this while album gives. Finally, you have another heavy song, like a struggle. But then things start to look a lot brighter, a really light and content, almost cheery melody, like a new beginning after a time of terrible tribulation. I've been through feelings like that, so to relive it and know that I got through and I'm alive is just great. I can connect to it probably more than most people. If you don't like this album, I'd say its because you can't connect with the feelings it evokes.

4shared Download


Wow, 1 whole download in 3 days... Guess my blog's popularity spike (About 100 downloads of Anal*g Rebellion, and 500 downloads of B*rzum, in 3 days) was in fact a fluke. Well, if you want to buy this album (You know, since you downloaded my file, listened once, and then deleted it...), here's the link!:

Buy 2-cd Art Book, Vinyl, or CD!!

Wilds Forlorn - The Great Loss (2010)

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal/Neoclassical
About: Angry and intense, yet with almost post-rock sounding guitars at times and a lot of melodic piano parts. One track is completely acoustic, in fact. It is so intense and epic that I could not believe when I saw it was just one guy. The drums are clearly from a machine but you'll forget about that quickly as it is the masterpieces of composition that draws you in. This album will slap you in the face then give you a bottle of milk. Then knock it out of your hand and make you cry.

Here we have a band that is so unknown that they have not been added to metal-archives yet (Actually, due to metal-archive's stupid rule that you need a physical CD, it cannot be added). Not a band, rather a solo project. He does not deserve this unknown status, in fact with this album he has proven he can play with the big names of black metal, such as Lunar Aurora, Shining, Dimmu Borgir, just to name a few off the top of my head. It's wrong of me to compare this to anyone, because here we have a very unique black metal album.

Mediafire Download

You can download this, along with an album from 2009, free from his myspace! Show your support by downloading direct from there, adding to friends, commenting on the wall, etc!
http://www.myspace.com/wildsforlorn

DEEP - In Silence Somber Solace (2010) (Demo)

Genre: Depressive Black Metal/Instrumental/Groove Metal
About: You really don't know what to expect from a band you never heard of randomly linked in the CBox. After fixing some id3 tags (ugh - was missing artist, album, track numbers, and had the wrong year!), I commenced the listening.

Track 1 is an ambient piano intro that definitely grabbed my attention, so it serves its purpose.
The rest of the album kind of has a groove metal feeling (in my opinion), but the guitars are very raw like black metal which I like. The melodies are that of depressive black metal styles (but definitely not Funeral Black Metal, as the band self-proclaims). The fact that the genre of this music is hard to pinpoint is always a good thing in my book. Nice melodies and a nice beat/groove that keeps you interested. I have listened to plenty of Depressive Black Metal and this is a very unique beat. My only complaint is the drums sound overly fake. So overall, I have to highly recommend this.

Here is the text file that was included with the album:

"-DEEP is a Malaysian Depressive/Funeral Black Metal Band.
Active since 2006 under a different banner until the change
of moniker in October 2009. Playing Depressive, melancholic
and sorrowful Funeral Black Metal, all instruments and
orchestrations were played and arranged by Deep.

-For more information on DEEP please
visit www.myspace.com/indeeprest

-To purchase DEEP's debut album In Silence Somber Solace
visit www.myspace.com/carnagemusic666

-We need interested distributors/labels to distribute the debut album
please do not hesitate to contact Carnage Music for more
information.

-Please promote this demo on your website or blog
if you like the songs on this demo.

-Any additional details please email DEEP at
benignism@yahoo.com"


By the way, I have a suggestion to the band... "deep" is a very common name. There are at least 7 bands named that, one of which is disbanded but also metal (Death metal from texas, USA). I recommend a name change, and after changing the name, distribute a physical CD demo so you can submit yourself to metal-archives.com, because a metal band basically does not exist if they are not on there. But then again I'm not part of the band so I can't control it, just suggestions.

Mediafire Download

Burzum - Belus (2010)

Genre:
About: This misanthropic Aryan sun-bitch is out of prison after 17 years. While on that note, read the story about why he was in there. It was just self defence from some psychopath. One of them was going to die that day whether they liked it or not. I'm sure we've all been trapped in a horrible situation like that... That is where his music comes from I believe.

So, we have what I beleive a lot of feelings trapped up over the years he was in jail, culminating in this record. It is definitely a spiritual successor to his masterpiece "Filosofem" released in 1996, and is 100% metal because he was not allowed guitars in jail, so I'm sure he missed it. Even the long ambient peice, similar to "Rundgang Um Die Transzendentale Säule Der Singularität" from "Filosofem" is completely electric guitar-driven. That song, "Belus' Tilbakekomst (Konklusjon)" actually reminds me a lot of "Coma" by Austere. Just this droning, repeated melody of a few notes but it really makes a solid song.

This whole album is not only solid, but a fantastic trip through the intricacies of this man's mind and emotions. I'd say download it if you are a fan of any type of metal, and definitely a candidate for top album of the year. I'm on play 5 or 6 now and every song still feels fresh and amazes me every time. Surprisingly bright cover for a black metal album... makes me think he wants to start fresh, like the sunrise on a new day... Favorite is either track 3 or 6.

I don't recommend you translate the tags, but here's what the song titles mean:
Translations:
1. Leuke's Scheme (Introduction)
2. Belus' Death
3. The River of Forgetfulness
4. Kaimadalthas' Descent
5. Sword Dance
6. The Kelio Horse
7. Dawn's Red
8. Belus' Return (Conclusion)

Mediafire Download

Now that the album is officially released, this is a rip straight from CD to 320kbps MP3:
Mediafire Download

Lunar Aurora - Seelenfeuer (1998)

Genre: Black Metal. Almost tempted to call it progressive, avant-garde or experimental, but see description for the details.
About: Lunar Aurora is a really underground band to begin with... but within that community, there is a schism (wow, love that word but haven't used it since about 9th grade) between the people who like the older music, the newer music, and both. I tend to fall into the newer music community... Andacht, Mond, and Zyklus are just perfect atmospheric black metal masterpieces. And Ars Moriendi is one of my top 10 favorite albums of all time for sure. But, ever since I first listened to Seelenfeuer in it's entirety on December 30th, 2009 I've been wanting to upload it here. Why? Normally, in any song, in any genre, even black metal, they stick with the most easily recognizable structure- 3 verses which are all different, and the same chorus in the middle, normally with a solo between the second verse and the chorus. But trying to find a definite structure this album is just like beating a dead horse with a stick. You will not get anything out of trying to find its structure.

Yet... there are still recognizable themes throughout a song so i hesitate to call it something like experimental or avant garde, and even riffs from early in the album that sound the same as later in the album. I love it because I, personally, love albums with coherence of sound, you can tell they were just in the studio from beginnning to end of this album and in response to that it is not just an album with great songs, it is an album that is great as an album, that you can listen to from start to finish quite easily because it just draws you into it's world and keeps you there.

I choose not to do a song-by song review because I want you to experience it for yourself... but it culminates in the face-obliterating epic "Kerker Aus Zeit". The main difference of older Lunar Aurora songs from newer ones, is that they do not have the ambient intros (sometimes between 2 and 5 minutes). What results from this is you just are instantly drawn into the song with whatever riff they throw at you on that song... this one being particularly epic, but after the intro riff you are just taken to another world for like 13 minutes before finally getting back to the riff. The keyboard stands out in this album because it is used as ambiance most of the time, but when it is used as a riff (such as in this song), it is just perfect.

So overall, I just love the feeling of insanity this album produces with its seemingly random tempo changes, riff changes, and I really have to applaud the drummer for this album because with crappy drumming, this album would have been pure garbage that is impossible to keep interested in because it changes so much........

...........within all this, though, you find a coherent theme and feeling, and it is unique to any listener, so go find it...

Mediafire Download

SIDE-NOTE: If anyone finds an in-stock T-shirt (second image at the top)(pretty sure this is the only Lunar Aurora shirt ever made, but if there is another shirt, that's great too) I would probably give a kidney for it, so send me a link!

Opvs Leviathan - Dark Reborn of Frozen Souls (2003) (Split with Assur (Col))

Genre: Epic Melodic Black Metal
About: This is a really full and epic sounding band from what is essentially a demo, as well as their only release. You will find epic 8-12 minute songs with evolving themes throughout these songs, and raw yet epic vocals and guitars, driving drums... Yet a completely pitiful 32 listeners on last.fm!

This is their only release, a split with "Assur" who I have also never heard of before. Edit: Added Assur because it is pretty awesome as well.

Tagged as "Opus Leviathan" because it is by far the more popular tag on last.fm, but I am not sure which one is correct... Also, for tag police, track titles cut short for who knows why, I fixed it after uploading, sorry.

http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=28659
http://www.last.fm/music/Opus+Leviathan

Track List:
Opvs Leviathan
1. Soulmoon Prevails Eternally 12:28
2. En La Pálida Esfera 04:00
3. Igne Ratvra Renovatvr Integra 09:54
4. Crossing the Paths in the Universal Night 08:04
5. In the Distant Shine His Light 05:44
6. Entrance in the Dawning Black Sun 10:05
Assur (Col)
7. Passage of a Kingdom Lost in Time 08:36
8. Pagan Night 09:15
9. Around the Flaming Black Candle 05:44
10. Through the Shine of the Waterfall 04:48
Total playing time 01:18:38

4shared Download (FIXED)

Austere (Aus) - Bleak... (Austere/Isolation Split)

Genre: Depressive Suicidal Black Metal
About: Austere has a fairly driving beat, and high pitched screams, and Isolation has a similar beat but lower, calmer vocals, and also has some acoustic parts. It is a 6 song album, but each song averages about 10 minutes, so it is an hour of screaming DSBM glory.

Austere (Aus)
1. When Even Tomorrow Looks Away 13:52
2. Instrumental 01:52
3. There's Nothing Left 13:36
Isolation (Deu)
4. From Nowhere... 05:45
5. Mosaic 16:08
6. ...To Nowhere 08:23
Total playing time 59:36

Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2

Austere (Aus) - Only the Wind Remembers / Ending the Circle of Life (2008) (Austere/Lyrinx Split)

Genre: Depressive-Suicidal Black Metal
About: The original split was a tape, but both bands re-released their parts of this split as EP's in 2009 on CD, and thats what these files are from. Austere has a fairly driving beat, and high pitched screams, whereas Lyrinx has a bit mellower, slower beat (almost doom metal-like at parts) with rougher screams. It is a 4 song album, but each song averages about 15 minutes, so it is an hour of screaming DSBM glory.

Austere (Aus)
1. Towards the Great Unknown 11:34
2. Only the Wind Remembers 13:24
Lyrinx
3. No Failure in Suicide 16:15
4. Isolation 18:42
Total playing time 59:55

Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2

Alcest - Alcest / Les Discrets Split (2009)

Alcest:

Les Discrets:


Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal, Post-Rock, Shoegaze
About: I have been eagerly awaiting this for two months now, and oh man, it was worth the wait. The first track "Percées De Lumière" marks Alcest's first new material in over two years. Whereas the previous album is more commonly classified as "shoegaze", this song makes a bit of a return back to the black metal roots, with heavier riffs and black screams. Track 2 is a mostly ambient song with some clean vocals, but it serves as a decent interlude between the two artist's songs.

Now where I was really surprised was the first "Les Discrets" track. I had listened on myspace, and thought it was ok, but this track grabbed me and bitchslapped me in the face. Surprisingly heavy, great atmosphere. Track 4 was not as memorable, and i felt the 2 minutes of silence at the end was completely unnecessary. But then Les Discrets redeems themselves with Song For Mountains. It is supposedly a demo, but it sounds pretty finished to me.

Mediafire Download

Far Beyond - Songs Of Hope And Sorrow (2009)

Genre: Black Metal (with clean vocals this time)
About: A long awaited comeback EP (well, not for me because I just found out about them yesterday, and the album was already out :D ) from this amazing one man band. At first listen, it seems a bit underwhelming compared to their previous album. But he is supposed to release another full length before Summer 2010, so I will be anxiously awaiting that.

Mediafire Download

Pagan Reign - Discography (with correct English tags)

Genre: Pagan Folk Black Metal
About: Pagan Reign (Rus) is proof that good music is made in russia. This is just enthralling pagan metal. Similar to most other pagan metal, Ensiferum, Moonsorrow, etc, but with a unique touch. The first album sounds rather demo-ey and crude (though with good recording), but by the later albums they found a really great atmosphere for themselves... then broke up D:< ... Anyway, If you get this anywhere else it'll probably be weird non-existant characters like "Đŕäĺăŕńň" or Russian, so enjoy :)... With the exception of the EP is in Russian, I can't find the translations.



Pagan Reign (Rus) - Ancient Warriors - Full-length, 2001
Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2



Pagan Reign (Rus) - Otbleski Slavi I Vozrozhdenie Bilog Velichiya (Spark of Glory and Revival of Ancient Greatness) - Full-length, 2003
(title tagged in english)
Mediafire Download



Pagan Reign (Rus) - Ydeli Biloy Veri (The Fate Of The Old Faith) - Full-length, 2004
(title not tagged in English, sorry, but you can change it yourself)
Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2



Pagan Reign (Rus) - Vo Vremena Bylin - EP, 2005
Mediafire Download



Pagan Reign (Rus) - Tverd - Ancient Fortress - Full-length, 2006
Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2

Suicide Solution, Vol. 1 - A collection of suicidal, depressive, and atmospheric black metal.

Genre: Suicidal, Depressive, Atmospheric. Mostly Black Metal with a few exceptions (noted below)
About: Depressive music, for me, is the soundtrack for particularly frostbitten days. Be it the weather, or things that happen to me, or who knows what. I am a believer that you need music that resonates with any mood you may have. If you are angry, you want some death metal, if you want to punch someones face in, you want hardcore... if you are feeling the frost climb up your back, you want this.

I truly do not understand why bands that perform this style of music are not popular worldwide. Especially in the US. Depression is practically an epidemic here, and if this music was prevelent, maybe we could cut down on that? And, even if you are not depressed, it is just great music once you tune your brain to it.

This is not my favorite genre, but I have listened to quite a lot and am familiar with enough bands to consider this a decent collection. I have included what i consider the "essentials", and also some unknown bands, some of which I discovered just now. If you have never listened to these genres, this would be a good "Starter Pack" for you. If you have, maybe there's a few in here you don't know and would like to hear?

I may do more volumes... This one is a starter pack, and includes some non-"suicidal" songs but they give off the same general feeling... further volumes would likely be strictly bands classified as "suicidal". By the way, the album name is the name of a Ozzy Osbourne song... not a big fan of the song, but the title seemed appropriate ("Centre of Eternity" is awesome though, as well as most of his big hits). Anyway, hope at least one person stumbles across this and enjoys it! I'm more likely to make more if i get a comment..

So... It took a while to find/remember the bands i wanted, but it is epic. Also, epically long, it came out to the completely arbitrary number 31 tracks, and nearly 4 hours. But it's a pretty awesome playlist IMO. (Apoligies for the volume equalization issues. Seems demos are very quiet.) Hope you enjoy :)


Track List:
1. Sad Legend - Searching for the Hope in Utter Darkness...
2. Xasthur - Cursed Be The Memory Of Light (Old Xasthur >>>> new Xasthur)
3. Desire - Funeral Doomentia
4. Daemonolatreia - Misanthropic Symbol Of Infernal Abyss
5. Lunar Aurora - Der Morgen (This album was a big departure from their previous and subsequent work, but i love it just the same, possibly more.)
6. Deep-pression - Pain... Is Everywhere...
7. Oathean - The Last Elegy for My Sad Soul
8. Dead Raven Choir - A Rosebud In June (officially "dark folk"... this is some neat stuff)
9. Drudkh - Glare Of Autumn (Not "depressive" but it has a dark melancholic feeling)
10. Life is Pain - Oppressive Nights in Mental Asylum
11. Life is Pain - Bloody Melancholy (brilliant ambiance, reminds me of Burzum - Rundgang um die transzendentale Säule der Singularität)
12. Sad Legend - Nocturnal Cries Of Agony (this song got me into depressive black metal)
13. Anti - Invocation
14. Nyktalgia - Cold Void
15. Daemonolatreia - One More Soul For Satan (makeshift Interlude... quite creepy)
16. Lurker Of Chalice - Piercing Where They Might (best atmosphere/droning in any song ever)
17. Sad - Mass Annihilation (no relation to Sad Legend)
18. Darkspace - Dark 3.12 (Part of a massive story spanning 3 albums and one demo. Last i checked they can all be downloaded for free from their website)
19. Defaillance - Oublie De Tous
20. Leviathan - Sacred Scars (Warning: face-melting is likely)
21. Make A Change... Kill Yourself - Fooling the Weak (Xasthur side project... better (than more recent xasthur at least))
22. Oathean - River of Sadness
23. Secretly In Pain - Le Chemin
24. Corpus Christii - Heavenless Bliss (again, technically not depressive but it has a nice feeling)
25. Be Persecuted - Revolves Weakly Falls (rawer than raw)
26. Rapture - To Forget (Technically doom, but nice feeling)
27. Anti - Mourning Soul
28. Alcest - Elevation (This Black Metal artist now does Shoegaze. I don't know why, because this song is f'ing brilliant! Again, not sure how "depressive" it is but i like the atmosphere)
29. Desire - (Love Is) Suicide (The past 3 hours were just foreplay for this song. Seriously, this song is orgasm.)
30. Wormphlegm - Epejumalat Monet Tesse Muinen Palveltin Lauran Ja Lesse (30 minute epic DSBM masterpiece. 30 minutes flies by, then i want more.)
31. Corpus Christii - All Hail... (Master Satan) (for the lulz. Heh, seemed appropriate to match my interlude. Good sing-a-long tune (for small children :3 ))

(1/9/2011 - Part 3 was broken, this is a re-upload of two 200-mb files instead of four 100mb files!)
Download pt 1
Download pt 2

Malevolent - Demo (2009)

Genre: Death Metal, Hardcore, Deathcore, Grindcore?, Black Metal?
About: I'm doing a few posts today to protest my school's anti-freedom of information ideals. Youtube doesn't even load properly because they restrict the internet so bad here. Anyway, this is an album I bought (yes, BOUGHT, so if you like it please refer to the Buy link below)

This is a very interesting combination of grind, death metal, and hardcore. Difficult to categorize bands are always better IMO. The breakdown in track 1 is heavy as f*ck, and then is followed by a guitar solo 0_0. I am very glad i bought this, because this band from Southern California has a lot of potential. Even as they are now, the playing is spot on, and the composition excellent. The production is crystal clear, not demo-like at all. They remind me of the band "Winds of Plague" except with a more unique approach. Please download this, and if you like it send them a message to buy or at least thank them for a job well done!

Buy CD and Shirt for 15 dollars! (or just CD for 5) (Send a message on myspace with mailing address and paypal the money) (Note, the shirt is the lower image at the top of this post, but both are off their official myspace :D)

1. Engorged in Skeetsuit
2. Sex Panther
3. Inner Unravelling of an Ocean
(side note - itunes made this read-only? Dont know why. Read-only annoys me, will look into)

Download