What are you listening to right now?

[TheMix]

Nice.
Reminded me of

[AWS260]

[hepcat]

The latest episode of What We Do in the Shadows has introduced me to The Silent Companions.

[TheMix]

... dancing... beetles...

I thought that was going to do it, but then...

... with pissburnt trousers...

[hepcat]

It fits the sensibilities of What We Do in the Shadows perfectly. It seems like something Laszlo would write.

[Eel Snave]

Al Green has a new track out where he covers "Everybody Hurts" and it sounds like it was written for him.

[Smoove_B]

First solo album ever!

[Skinypupy]

New Opeth today. I actually woke up a little early so I could throw on the good headphones and spin this in complete silence before the rest of the house woke up. Totally worth it, this is a remarkable album.

After 13 years of straying into King Crimson-style prog, they've finally gone back to their metal roots...and it was worth the wait. Interestingly, they now blend the best of both worlds with unique and really interesting song structures supported some of the most brutal shit they've ever done. Feels like they stepped away from metal for a decade plus only to come back, plant the flag in the middle of the scene, and say "Not only can we still do this whole metal thing if we want, but we can still do it better than 99.9% of the rest of you".

Oh, and Ian Anderson being the Narrator for this concept album and providing some excellent fluting (flauting?) was a brilliant decision. He's awesome, as always.

Will obviously be giving it plenty more spins today (and for the foreseeable future), but I already know that this will be neck-and-neck with Blood Incantation's "Absolute Elsewhere" for 2024's album of the year.

[LordMortis]

[Xmann]

New Opeth today. I actually woke up a little early so I could throw on the good headphones and spin this in complete silence before the rest of the house woke up. Totally worth it, this is a remarkable album.

After 13 years of straying into King Crimson-style prog, they've finally gone back to their metal roots...and it was worth the wait. Interestingly, they now blend the best of both worlds with unique and really interesting song structures supported some of the most brutal shit they've ever done. Feels like they stepped away from metal for a decade plus only to come back, plant the flag in the middle of the scene, and say "Not only can we still do this whole metal thing if we want, but we can still do it better than 99.9% of the rest of you".

Oh, and Ian Anderson being the Narrator for this concept album and providing some excellent fluting (flauting?) was a brilliant decision. He's awesome, as always.

Will obviously be giving it plenty more spins today (and for the foreseeable future), but I already know that this will be neck-and-neck with Blood Incantation's "Absolute Elsewhere" for 2024's album of the year.

Yeah this album is pure brilliance. Blood Incantation Absolute Elsewhere was my album of the year before this album. Both of these are amazing.

Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro using Tapatalk

[Skinypupy]

Blood Incantation Absolute Elsewhere was my album of the year before this album. Both of these are amazing.

I had a long drive on Saturday (about 2 hours each way) so I spun both of these albums a few times back-to-back to try and figure out which I like more. I'm still undecided, but I think I'm slightly leaning towards Blood Incantation, and here's why.

"Last Will" is a fascinating album with all sort of crazy and interesting musical twists and turns, but I think it moves a little too quickly for it's own good. Ackerfeldt himself said as much (in this interview): "He continues: “It’s a pretty happening record – there’s a lot of stuff going on. We don’t linger on parts like we did 20 years ago. I went with the flow of my own restlessness, which has resulted in quite a crazy record." It's an album that literally never stops changing throughout it's entire runtime and it feels like right when you get into the groove of something, it does a 90 degree turn into something else...often to it's own detriment.

"Absolute Elsewhere", on the other hand, has just as many quirky shifts and changes, but it actually lets you sit with each one for just the perfect amount of time before jumping to the next. Reminds me of Agalloch in their prime, where there isn't a single note that feels like it's too long, too short, or out of place. It's a less chaotic album and while it's definitely all over the place, there seems to be more of a logical structure to it that just makes perfect sense. It also has several really catchy hooks that I find myself humming long after I listen (the dub breakdown in Stargate I is a great example), while "Last Will" doesn't have anything in particular that really hooks me after the fact.

Make no mistake, they're both excellent albums. Possibly the best metal we've had in the past several years. But I'm leaning just ever-so-slightly to BI as my favorite of the two today. That's...entirely subject to change.

[LordMortis]