I don't want to speak for Adrien but as far as I know he's never been an ATG fan, and my guess is whatever he writes about the new album will be in that context. Of course his opinion is valid and he's got an absurdly massive knowledge base in which to contextualize everything he writes/thinks, but AFAIK he comes from a different place than someone who loves the band's classic material and had certain expectations/anxieties coming into this one.
I would say your death metal experience is really similar to mine. Agreed on Cannibal, but in 1990, that shit looked like a parody of death metal and it irritated me to no end; it really shaped the way I saw the genre to an extent. And I love the first five or six In Flames records too. That band's sad decline only serves to accentuate ATG's commitment to greatness. At least they're trying something new, I guess.
It's just the era I came up in. My formative death metal was the genre's seminal stuff: Morbid Angel, Carcass, Death, Entombed, Deicide, Pestilence, etc. (I started high school in 1989.) I hated Cannibal Corpse because I didn't want death metal to be silly, I wanted it to be serious, and I still feel that way. At The Gates were just the perfect blend of ambition, ability, melody, speed, and lyrical subjects, plus Tompa Lindberg is the best "extreme" singer in history IMO. When I first heard them it sounded to my ear like they had taken the genre to new heights. Of course it's not for everyone but for me it was a huge revelation, especially because I had been there for the genre's initial rise and fall.
Believe it or not I don't keep running lists of these things. No question one of them is Metallica, probably Master although I sort of treat the first four Metallica records as a single entity, so I could just as easily swap in KEA, RTL, or Justice and be ok with the pick. The other would be either Kreator (Extreme Aggression or Coma Of Souls, I think) or Maiden (Powerslave). These are all-time classics of course, but I'm considering primarily how they have affected my life. I'm not saying Kreator were a better or more important band than Black Sabbath, but they have been more important to me personally.
I think it's probably the least distinctive track on the album, which is maybe why it's a good choice for first single (it would not have been my first choice). I think top to bottom AWWR is on par with SOTS, and for some people it will be better (it's more complex compositionally and instrumentally). It's probably more in line with Terminal Spirit Disease than SOTS, but they're all very much of a piece IMO. And I love them all.
Again, I'm speaking only for myself, not saying you'll feel the same way, but IMO "Back To The Shack" is the worst song on the album by a substantial margin.
I don't even think this kinda stuff deserves a reply but the last Weezer post I did (before hearing the album) was ... not so enthusiastic. Said one commenter: "Why has this site become so incredibly negative about everything? It’s a real downer. Like there’s no joy in it for you, or that you have no love for music anymore."
http://www.stereogum.com/1704725/preview-new-weezer-song-lonely-girl/video/
Honest to god truth: I am neither "incredibly negative" nor the recipient of "quote-whore payola." I've been listening to Weezer since 1994 -- I bought "Blue Album" within a week of its release and Pinkerton the day it came out, and I saw the band tour for both those records. I have followed their career extremely closely. From Green Album forward, I have gone into EVERY new Weezer album hoping to hear something great, and in every case, I have been left wanting (to various degrees).
UNTIL NOW. I came to this new record expecting to walk away with a couple more songs to add to my Weezer playlist, and hoping not to cringe too much on everything else. My expectations were wiped out after one listen. I'm not saying EWBAITE is flawless, but man, to me -- maybe not to you! -- it feels a little bit like a miracle.
It wasn't me either! But I gotta defend myself a little bit: I don't think this post is very negative! I did shit on the dumb extended rollout strategy, which I don't like because it seems desperate and embarrassing (and ineffectual). But I said the song snippet was, to my ear, pretty good but not great (I'd be lying if I said it was great) and I talked about how much I loved "Cleopatra"! "One of my favorite post-Pinkerton Weezer songs"! I encouraged Weezer to be great! If the tone of this site seems negative to you, maybe it is because of comments like this? ;-)
Absolutely there is a whole "anti-life" contingent in the contemporary underground scene -- off the top of my head thinking of the great mp3 blog Svn Okkvlt which is "above all ... anti-human." But that's obviously just a pose mimicking the old Deathlike Silence stuff, which was also a pose, except for when it erupted into actual violent criminal activity. I get that Thurston is kind of showing off for the black metal purists and historians who will actually appreciate his references, but he does it so condescendingly and manages to get enough wrong that it comes off like a nerdy dad trying to be cool. Which, in fact, is exactly what is happening here!
I should point out, the book he's carrying in that picture is Swedish Death Metal by Daniel Ekeroth and it's great! Everyone should read it.
http://www.bazillionpoints.com/shop/decibels-2008-book-of-the-year/
You're probably wasting some money. At some point, within a generation or two, the current Classic will no longer be compatible with iTunes updates. You can't just stockpile iPods; you also have to maintain a computer that supports the current version of iTunes AND interfaces with all the ancillary stuff. And even that is temporary, because iPod batteries eventually die and can't be replaced. All tech companies build this into their hardware -- the new stuff isn't nearly as hardy as an old Atari 2600 or whatever; it will eventually just STOP working by design. If you stockpile three or four Classics, you've probably got at least two more than you'll ever actually use, maybe even three or four more.
That's a weird way of looking at it. It's Kozelek's quote, a snapshot of his stage show and an extension of his personality, for which he's being scrutinized in the media ... I kinda feel like he's not the one stealing here?
Yeah, I know, he's not a bully, he's just a grumpy aesthete with a dry sense of humor and that whole thing manifests as insults -- but there's a faction of the fanbase that seems to get off on watching him scold the poor newcomer who doesn't know not to take a picture or shout a request or whatever. And because THAT manifests as smug silence, I perceive it as the toady thing.
This is such an underrated aspect of his game. The vocal shifts from verse to chorus to bridge on "Nothing To Win" are so fucking insane it doesn't even seem physically possible.
Thanks for the kind words, blochead! I would say Clearing The Path To Ascend is absolutely a worthy selection for your first metal album in 25+ years. It's just about peerless. And if you're digging stuff like High On Fire, you will find this one especially suited to your tastes. THAT SAID, it's not out till next week, so unless you're pre-ordering, you won't be able to buy it till next Tuesday! But yes, whenever you are able to do so: Buy it.
We just published a 3-page feature on Merchandise! There is A LOT about the new record in there! http://www.stereogum.com/1701291/this-is-the-ether-re-introducing-merchandise/franchises/cover-story/
Yep, I can confirm it exists and can say that, IMO, it's great -- and more importantly, I think most ATG fans will feel more or less the same way: I don't see how you could view it as anything less than a worthy successor to Slaughter Of The Soul. Obviously I'll write more about it when there's some music to share, but yeah, if you've been laying awake at night worrying (as I had been), you can definitely rest easy; I truly do not think you (or anyone) will be disappointed.
Oh totally, I think the sequencing on this record is so perfect, and "Marrow" is my favorite song (and the album's best). "Nothing To Win" is just such a barnburner, and I think Scheidt's vocals/guitars are especially intense in that track, to say nothing of the drum performance by Travis Foster, which is like god-mode.
Haha, not at all! If we're not here to argue about stuff like the distinction between post-goth and post-punk/neo-goth, then exactly why the hell are we here?
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