Recommend me some new music

Clutch is weird in that they are maybe the only band I love that I don't really have a favorite album. All of their albums are solid, but my favorite songs of theirs are spread out pretty evenly. Here's some key songs I'd recommend:

"A Shogun Named Marcus" (album Transnational Speedway)
"Spacegrass" (self-titled album)
"The Elephent Riders" (Elephant Riders)
"American Sleep", "Pure Rock Fury", "Smoke Banshee" (all from Pure Rock Fury)
"Profits of Doom", "Mob Goes Wild", "Cypress Grove" (Blast Tyrant)
"Mice And Gods", "10001110101" (Robot Hive Exodus)
"50,000 Unstoppable Watts" (Strange Cousins From The West)

Blast Tyrant is maybe their best, due to that unbelievable trio. I think "Profits of Doom" is my favorite song of theirs. That ending about "Never trust a White man driving a black van, he's saving all his voodoo for you...just for you" goes through my head all the time. Saw a white guy driving a black van while walking the dog and had to sing this part, my wife looked at my like I had a screw lose.

I saw them in 2009, which may have been the last show/concert I've been to (wow, that's sad). They killed it, full of energy and unbelievable. One of my most memorable shows up there with Black Sabbath/Judas Priest, and GWAR.

OMG I hate Clutch! I know lots of folks that love 'em though...their sound just makes me think of standing around in a club listening to the house music before a band comes on. Helmet does too.

On BM...even if you don't like it, I'd heartily recommend reading Lords of Chaos, the book written by Michael Moynihan (a satanist and a fascist, FWIW)...it's an interesting overview of BM and where it's coming from. Most of it is about the original Norwegian strain, which is where you get all of the church burning/murders/suicides and so forth for the most part. It's really a compelling story, there's lots of cultural issues going on with it. It's one of those music flashpoints that happened in a very specific place and was focused really on just a very small number of people. There's also a decent documentary on BM called Before the Light Takes Us, it used to be Netflix. It's not particularly insightful, but there's some good footage and it gives you a sense of place for these European bands.

It's definitely true that there is a lot of conviction in the BM sphere, and sometimes that can be really fascinating...it lends a genuine ferocity and commitment to not only the music, but this sense of wilful obscurity. It can be true outsider music...especially when you're listening to something like the Les Legions Noire stuff, bands that were doing like 100 _cassette_ tape issues of their albums. But that conviction cuts both ways, because you inevitably start getting into some pretty horrendous politics. There's A LOT of ultra-right wing nationalism in the genre and some of these bands are very specifically aligned with racist/fascist/nationalist organizations. Particularly in the Eastern European and Russian stuff. It's always been there, too. Some of it is sort of hidden under all of this pagan rhetoric, some of it by appeals to "European tradition". But sometimes it's right up front, like the viciously anti-semitic Grand Belial's Key. Sadly, one of the best BM bands is aligned with some nasty right wing politics, another Ukranian band called Nokturnal Mortem.

But there are also bands that are committed to pagan/Satanic/occult/mystical subject matter more than all of that. I love that Peste Noire claims that they are nationalists for the nation of Hell. Deathspell Omega is all about a more sophisticated, surrealist interpretation of Satanism. Then there are many "depressive" BM acts that are more about introspection, self-discovery, and so forth and not really about politics so much. One thing's for sure, you never get a sense that BM bands are just kind of singin' about whatever toots their whistle on a given tuesday. I respect that.

And there are lots of foul people, some genuinely bad people making BM. Burzum is AMAZING, but...yeah, Varg. Nazi, murderer, homophobe, anti-semite. A couple of the Emperor guys have killed folks, including one that was a homophobic hate crime. Jeff Whitehead (aka Wrest from Leviathan and Lurker of Chalice) was on trial for sexually assaulting his girlfriend with a tattoo gun.

But to flip it over, you've also got dudes like Fenriz from Darkthrone, who is TOTALLY in on the joke. He's a middle-aged metalhead that just loves music...the recent Darkthrone records are really just kind of drunken punk with Siouxsie and the Banshees covers and intentionally hilarious lyrics. And there are lots of guys that are into the more theatrical angle...nobody really believes that Vlad Tepes recorded their record in the catacombs under Paris, singing into a microphone stuffed into a dead rat, do they?

As for the corpse paint, yes, that comes from King Diamond (and Kiss). It also has roots in some pictures of bands like Celtic Frost and Slayer from the early 1980s where they were wearing heavy eyeliner to look ghoulish or something. It just got a little...crazy...after a while. You started to get these band photos of bands in the woods all made up with battle axes and whatnot (see: Immortal). Then you started to get ULTRA BM dudes like Nifelheim that would wear these leather gauntlets studded with hundreds of six inch nails, claiming in interviews that trve kvlt BM people never take off their leather and corpse paint.

It's such a crazy, fascinating area of music. Exploring it, you turn up so much interesting music but you do have to buy into certain things...you've got to be willing to accept listening to some ratty ass recording that sounds like it was made in somebody's toilet. You've got to buy into the throat-shredding vocals and the tremolo picking. The "necro" sound.

But there's really a lot of variety too...you can get into the lo-fi, experimental stuff like Nuit Noir (that have a kind of...jazzy...approach), or the ultra-technical bands like Deathspell Omega. There's blackened thrash (Dissection), there's black n' roll (bands that have a little more "groove", more in line with Venom). Some bands have a crusty/punk edge like Peste Noire. Others worship Burzum. Then there's "pop" BM like Satyricon or Immortal that tends to have higher production values and greater accessibility. Swedish Grammy winning BM- Enslaved. There's doomy BM, industrial BM, ambient BM. There's Summoning, who have made an entire career out of Tolkien BM. And now, indie BM. There's psychedlic BM, BM with banjoes and mouth harps, BM with bagpipes and even BM with Shane MacGowan on vocals (he guests on a Cruachan album. Obviously, they're Irish.) And then there's Sigh, Japan's entry into the BM sweepstakes. I don't even know what you'd call them. Trip hop BM? There's stuff that's barely musical at all like Ildjarn or Brenoritvrezorkre, then there's stuff that's symphonic and almost classical in its composition.

One thing is for sure- it DOES NOT all sound alike.

Lords of Chaos is an excellent read, good recommendation Barnes.

However, how the fuck can you hate Clutch? They're the ultimate windows down, crank it to 11, rock the fuck out and just cruise around band. Infectious rhythm, snappy riffs, and some of the best rough Rock vocals in existence. Seriously, if I was putting together a Hard Rock supergroup Neil Fallon would be right up there with Chris Cornell. Clutch is just fun as hell.

I've never liked Helmet so that's understandable.

Sorry, I don't like to "groove".

But hoo boy, Epheles is GREAT, nice recommendation.

Scanning Spotify, I was surprised to see that almost all of Mutiiliation is on there now, as is Vlad Tepes...that stuff must have gotten reissued somewhere. Definitely not remastered, it still sounds like shit.

HIGHLY recommended for the adventurous...most people, even BM fans, are not going to like these records. They are sloppy, badly recorded and almost anti-entertainment. But it's got that weirdo spark,that aura of this music being just about as far from the mainstream as is possible.

Also dug up Beherit's first record, which had them ostracized from the original mid-1990s BM crowd because it's so fucked up and strange. Probably the first really weird BM record.

Germany's Lunar Aurora is on there, that's some good stuff...Aosoth is good, present. Also Bergraven and Black Funeral (Indianapolis, represent!)

And Prince has two new records out today, will these be the long-awaited return to form or just more "meh, new Prince"?

I thank you all kindly for your music recommendations. I haven't found a whole lot out of this that I actually like. Still, I'm going to keep digging through it. I appreciate anything else you guys can throw out there.

I had some Amazon Bux to kill, so I'm listening to Blast Tyrant (deluxe version) right now. God bless 2-day shipping.

Pretty sweet so far. I'm picky, but I tend to like anything guitar-heavy with catchy riffs and a talented backing section, whether it be metal, hard rock, ska-core, heavy alternative, or punk. Some strong exceptions: Pogues (and their ilk), Morphine, Oingo Boingo, They Might Be Giants, Mike Doughty, and some rap.

So yeah, Barnes is nuts. Clutch is pretty good.

stormseeker75 wrote: I thank you all kindly for your music recommendations. I haven't found a whole lot out of this that I actually like. Still, I'm going to keep digging through it. I appreciate anything else you guys can throw out there.

Well, I did turn it into "Barnes on Black Metal"...

Some other options...

How about Orange Juice? Scottish post-punk act with Edywin Collins, very pop...listen to "Rip it Up" and go from there.

A Certain Ratio...widely dismissed as Joy Division clones at first, but really had more of a funk angle. Some really cool, very Factory tracks to dig into. Try the singles collection.

There's always Echo and the Bunnymen..."Ocean Rain" is your entry point.

Prince's new record is not bad...it's unrealistic to expect another "Sign o' the Times" from him, "Art Offical Age" is probably about as good as we're going to get from him. First track shows that he listened to Daft Punk's record.

If you want some really interesting Dune-themed electronics from teh 1970s, try Z, "Visions of Dune". It was just reissued and is on Spotify. Listen to "Harkonnen", great stuff.

Have you gotten around to St. Vincent yet? Well worth it. As are all TV on the Radio releases. New singles are very strong.

"Give 'Em Enough Rope" worked for you...then you have to listen to "London Calling", which is in the running for the greatest album of all time. Then try "Sandinista!" next. Probably not what you're expecting, and you won't like at least half of it...but it's an amazing record with some drop-dead brilliant tracks.

A little Gary Numan/Tubeway Army, perhaps? "Replicas" is where you need to go. You'll have heard "Cars", but this earlier stuff is darker.

Liquid Liquid, The Stranglers, Savages, Public Image LTD., James Chance, Cockney Rejects, British Sea Power, Fad Gadget, The Selecter, Government Issue, Joe Jackson, Redskins, Can, Soft Cell, Psyche, Tangerine Dream, Comsat Angels...

A few others, a bit lighter on guitar:

MuteMath - Armistice
Morphine - Cure for Pain
Devo - Duty Now for the Future
Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy - Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury
Joe Jackson - I'm the Man
Marillion - Clutching at Straws

Plus the usual punk stuff, if you like the Clash: Agent Orange (Living in Darkness), Fear (The Record), Dead Kennedys (Fresh Fruit), Plasmatics (New Hope), old Replacements (e.g., Stink, Forgot to Take Out the Trash), etc.

Also the fabulous Wilko Johnson one of the inventors of 'pub rock' in the UK late 70's. Still alive and kicking. Latest album is with a certain Mr R Daltrey and is fucking brill.

Early Graham Parker and the Rumour when Brinsley Schwarz was playing in the Rumour. Particularly The Parkerilla, a knock out live double album. I learned to play the sax by playing along to this album in 1980.

Try some Jason and the Scorchers while you're at it if you like fucking excellent harmonica driven rocking blues. These guys will blow your cock off.

Now we are talking. Thanks, lads. More to add to the queue on Monday.