Here we are, for our third edition of the staff picks of the month, this time we walk down memory lane and pick some older albums.
Ferdinand Peeters
Bullet For My Valentine - The Poison
Me, 19 years old, completely smitten, by a 21 year old psychology student, who had been going to Graspop since she was little. It was a complicated relationship, a bad break-up; Despite all of this and not having listened to this album for years, I still now all the lyrics by hearth…
Do I need to say more?
Gladys Haelters
Sleep Token - This Place Will Become Your Tomb
Worship
It was already mentioned in a previous post, that there is some doubt or discussion wether or not this could be considered metal. This also true for this artist and album.
But this is a safe space, and we have a rule “no gatekeeping” for a reason!
I have been following this band and their music for quite a while now, but the last two years the band has seen an explosive growth in popularity, and they have turned a bit into a hype or a TikTok-craze.
On one hand I wish them all the luck and popularity they are getting, but on the other hand it is a bit of a shame. Getting tickets for a concert, feels more like trying to get tickets to a Taylor Swift concert…
Reports are also surfacing more frequently about audience members who don’t know how to behave themselves during shows… If there is one group who knows all about concert etiquette, it is metalheads!
It is always a bit bittersweet when a band you have been following, grows in popularity. The time to see them a smaller and local gigs is over, and those are often the best shows.
There is much that can be said about Sleep Token, but at the same time also not; They wish to keep their identities completely separate from their music. Names, interviews or even a word during shows are barely to be found anymore. This gives them an air of mystery, what only helped their growth. People are drawn to mystery and intrigue after all.
At the same time they have built an entire lore around their characters, music and artwork, but this I don’t follow closely myself. I do try to follow the common thread through it all. Furthermore, many of the theories are driven by the fans, derived from vague or cryptic expressions they sent into the world.
They love combining multiple musical styles and using unconventional switches in tempo. Personally I find that they create true musical works of art, and choosing just one album has been quite the task. This one was eventually chosen at random.
This album, was the second album they released (in 2021), the first track “Atlantic” is a beautiful opener. “Hypnosis” and “Alkaline” are true recommendations when it comes to tracks that are closer to true metal. “High Water” and the sensitive “Missing Limbs” belong to my favourites for this album. Oftentimes, when I need a really deep focus and everything else fails, I put on the entire discography from start to finish.
A bit of foreshadowing, but it probably won’t be my last pick from Sleep Token.
To finish up, a little “did you know” fact, to circle back to my first pick of the month; The singer from Lorna Shore, doesn’t hide his love for Sleep Token at all! In his free time he often makes covers of Sleep Token tracks, to practice and test his clean vocals. Luckily Sleep Token has quite a few of them!
Behold
An Offering.
Kenzo Staelens
Evanescence - Fallen
This month I would like to present a group that is, with almost 25 million monthly listeners on spotify, know to probably everyone: Evanescence.
This group has one album, and more specifically one track, that has a not so happy story and is very close to my hearth. A somewhat more depressive period in my life. I won’t elaborate more here. But what is relevant, is that this track was able to give me a moment of peace and calm, between all the stress of my studies. Despite the fact that the track was extremely painful to listen (and still is), it still was the only track I wanted to listen to.
The track I am talking about is “My Immortal”.
Maarten VanPraet
Heilung - Futha
This time not so much an album, but more an artist: HEILUNG.
Also not entirely sure if it can be classified as metal, but the audience has some definite overlap!
I had the honour to see them live in Amsterdam, 2 years ago; this shows felt more like a religious experience than a gig, hypnotic drums, ancient chants en the audience moving along with the music.
I think it is pretty clear by now, that I have a weak spot for anything and everything occult and using old languages and spirituality of other cultures and nations.
I first got to know this group, via the trailer for the video game “Senua’s Saga 2”, an absolutely epic trailer! Haven’t had the chance to play the game myself yet.
https://youtu.be/qJWI4bkD9ZM?is=woBOQLiSn9VzXlJ2
It really is a group you have to experience live, I would definitely recommend them! That is, of course, if they do not split up, which seems close to happening, this last year.
Other recommendations for their tracks:
- Asja
- Hakkerskaldyr
- Svanrad
- Hamrar Hippyer
- Anoana
- Alfadirhaiti
Pieter-Jan Cassiman
Thou - Ceremonies of Humiliation
No crazy stories or walks down memory lane for me this time. Just me in my dimly lit living room, laying down on the carpet, in front of the record player, staring at the ceiling, albums strewn all around me, completely lost in the music.
I had a terribly hard time choosing an album to pick this month, not because I had no options, but because I had too many options. Eventually it was faith that has decided for me. I had been able to narrow down my choice to only three albums, however I wasn’t able to choose. I ended up using a random list picker to pencil in my final choice.
My faithed choice is: Thou - Ceremonies of Humiliation
An artists that has already been on my roster of album picks, last time in collaboration with Emma-Ruth Rundle. This is not an album per-se, but more a compilation of previous and earlier works, that were released as “split” albums with other artists.
It is really heavy to listen to, but this is also the very style they are known for, Their unique mix of doom, sludge and black metal. And if you’ll allow me to quote Wikipedia:
Thou’s style has been labeled as “experimental doom”, stoner metal and sludge metal. On the band’s style, AllMusic critic Gregory Heaney stated that “the band’s sound blends the shuddering heaviness of doom with the oppressive atmospherics of black metal, giving the band a monolithic sound that feels, at times, inescapable.”
The cover of this album already says enough about the feelings and emotions within this album. While most of their albums have an artwork inspired by the engravings from the Renaissance period, this album is in stark contrast with that, especially if you place it with such a title.
I can’t really put my finger on it, but their sound has something that draws me in, every time and that keeps me coming back again and again.
I am unable to pick only one track from the album to highlight, and my recommendation is to just listen to the entire album, front to back, in one go.
This is a bit hard, as unfortunately it isn’t easily available on streaming services.
If there are any Nirvana fans, they release an entire album with covers: “Blessings of the Highest Order”, it is also a definite recommendation.