What Have You Been Listening To?

[Amlux]

Love the sound of oi!/skinhead punk but get uncomfortable at the Nazi lyrics? I don't think it should really bother you if you're pirating it instead of buying it directly, but regardless I suggest to listen to some Japanese bands in the genre instead. This comp was fucking sick!

[AsaFromNasa]

I can enjoy basically all genres of music but this shit filters me so hard. I listened to one of the albums from your top ten per year thing and it sounded like a bunch of seals dying. I like weird atonal and experimental music but that was too much for me. I feel like you sort of broadly lock in your music taste in highschool and then stick with it for the rest of your life, so my hopes of ever getting into this music is pretty slim i think.

Edit: i did not mean for this to come off as harshly as it did but I'm sure you're used to this kind of reaction haha. Are there any beginner albums you'd recommend?

Lol, no need to apologize. I think what you say about high school is interesting and true to some extent. I just happened to listen to a LOT of extreme and crazy shit in high school. For me, I just love extreme metal for a lot of reasons. What's interesting is that I actually see a lot of parallels between my love of metal and of otaku culture. I like it precisely when it's the most repulsive and uncompromising to outsiders. So when it's an anime/manga, I want all the shit that normies hate and get embarrassed by. Give me all the fucking pantsu shots and harems and chuunibyou powers and so on! Of course, there's something effervescent about this where you get the sense that there's real authenticity behind it versus when you feel it's hollow, and it's the same in metal. But at it's best it should cause precisely your very reaction IMO, haha.

That said, the most extreme music I ever was into wasn't even metal but was harsh noise, especially the Japanese stuff like Incapacitants, C.C.C.C., Hijoukaidan, Merzbow, Masonna, Astro, and the like. In fact, my username itself is from a Merzbow album. However, I have a lot of trouble listening to it as much these days. I have to be in the right mood and usually I find it somewhat hard to latch onto anything in even when my ears don't find it painful. But I still respect it very much for the degree of uncompromising extremity and balls it takes to make music this far removed from "music" as most understand it:



As for your last question about beginner albums... well, I've never been a metal "evangelist." I always find these people who have to get everyone else into their hobby to be weird and usually to not be the kind of people you want into a hobby because they seem to do it out of a sense of insecurity and thus are more likely to try to bring normalfags into the fold. So my first response is always "If it's not for you, that's fine. Listen to what you like." But if you are interested, these are some albums I listened to that really made me appreciate black metal and death metal. They're pretty classic oldies, but that's often the best place to start:



Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness (1989)
This is like the platonic ideal of old school death metal. A lot of people would point to the band Death instead (obviously, look at their name haha). But I think the first three Morbid Angel albums shit all over even Death's best work, and I like Death quite a bit.



Atheist - Unquestionable Presence (1991)
Some people who have trouble with the death metal mainstays like Atheist better, but their direction is weirder and more off-beat, with a heavy jazz influence that makes it almost whimsical and dreamy as opposed to pure evil.



Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark (1987)
One of the all-time classics, from a time when black metal was still not that distinct from thrash and was a lot more sloppy and messy and RAWKish. Blood Fire Death is an album that might be even easier on the ears as it's more epic and melodic (I like it more too), but this one is nastier and more representative of the genre as a whole.



Gorgoroth - Pentagram (1994)
If you truly hate this album, I'm afraid you just might never quite like black metal as a genre unfortunately. It doesn't mean it's the best BM album ever (it's not my favorite), but it's about as archetypal as it gets.



Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994)
Well, it's one of the most important bands for the history of the genre and this is the album with the most amazing lineup and thus definitely their magnum opus. Euronymous and Varg on the same album, for fuck's sake! And many who are turned off by the more ear-piercing shrieks of black metal might enjoy Attila Csihar's strange growly vocals more.

I could have suggested more poppy/rocky stuff, which there are certainly many good examples of, not to mention all the more classic heavy/thrash, but I figure those might be easier choices. I wanted to give stuff that really falls in the "extremes" of the genres we're talking about.

I'm also curious what album sounded like seals dying, lmao. It just makes me think of one of the most sick fucking slam death albums in the past 10 years or so, Deformity of Human Consciousness (2017) by The Dark Prison Massacre, because the cover is... well, this:


This track is fucking amazing and I can't listen to it without headbanging. DO NOT LISTEN IF YOU COULDN'T HANDLE CRYPTOPSY, THIS WILL CRUSH YOUR SKULL!!! Though I can't lie, I'd be amused by your reaction haha.

I appreciate you taking the time to share these works with me! I'll respond point by point:

What's interesting is that I actually see a lot of parallels between my love of metal and of otaku culture. I like it precisely when it's the most repulsive and uncompromising to outsiders.

I think this preference is interesting because it's violently opposed to our era of artistic compromise. There has never been a time before now where the reward for making music people want to listen to has been so high. That being said, we also live in an era of forced nostalgia. Forced because there's not much else to do in the artistic forms we have. Even calling art avant garde now refers to its relation to an era and not to its boundary pushing. Relentless boundary pushing is now a trend that's a hundred years old. I think your quest to find music that is truly horrifying is hindered this fact. Not much can surprise our culture any more and we can only look back.

That said, the most extreme music I ever was into wasn't even metal but was harsh noise

I also find this music much closer to home compared to the other music you shared. The album you posted here hurt my ears, but also listened to Shumatsu Shorijo by HijoKaidan and enjoyed it more than most of the other albums on the list.

As for your last question about beginner albums... well, I've never been a metal "evangelist." I always find these people who have to get everyone else into their hobby to be weird and usually to not be the kind of people you want into a hobby because they seem to do it out of a sense of insecurity and thus are more likely to try to bring normalfags into the fold. So my first response is always "If it's not for you, that's fine. Listen to what you like."

I have seen many many places ruined by beginners and normies asking questions like mine so I understand this reaction. The best introduction into a genre is always to lurk more and, more importantly, listen more. In my defense, this place feels a lot more personal to me and asking people about things they're interested in is a natural response in personal conversation. I also don't feel like i'm choking out good conversations about metal because this isn't a metal focused community. Thank you for giving me a look into a genre that I'm not very familiar with, it was a very interesting experience.

I listened to at least some of all the albums you sent. I won't sugar coat anything and i'll admit that it's not really for me. The most interesting thing that happened was that it slowly stopped being very shocking and the reaction i got listening to the seal album pretty much went away. My favorite was by far Unquestionable Presence followed by Under the Sign of the Black Mark. I ended up liking the instruments but couldn't really get past the vocals.

Deformity of Human Consciousness (2017) by The Dark Prison Massacre

Yes, this was basically my first taste of this kind of music.

[Thricegreat]

Moranbong band is good.



By the way North Koreans genuinely like Sony and Roland so much. :) It always makes me laugh.

[AsaFromNasa]

Anyway, another band I love to shill is デスマーチ艦隊 [Death March Kantai], which is kind of like punk-inspired visual kei but with a heavy retro WWII military aesthetic (lots of military march melodies). Fans of eroguro stuff that uses a lot of Shouwa military imagery will probably like it:

I see why you recommended it. I quite agree with that.

Genres are very different, but this is the military music I like the most.

I'm a white midwesterner who was raised catholic but a while ago i started listening to nasheeds after learning of the 72 virgin wives pious Muslim warriors are entitled to in Jannah. I did this in hope that Allah would kindle my heart so i could access my harem in the afterlife. Such hopes have since been dashed (SO PISS OFF, GLOWIES), and I have have learned of the benefits virgin men get in the Christian heaven, so I've returned my pascals wager to Catholicism. The experience has left me with an appreciation of the music new cultures though!


Also have you heard this popular NK banger yet?

[Thricegreat]

I'm a white midwesterner who was raised catholic but a while ago i started listening to nasheeds after learning of the 72 virgin wives pious Muslim warriors are entitled to in Jannah. I did this in hope that Allah would kindle my heart so i could access my harem in the afterlife. Such hopes have since been dashed (SO PISS OFF, GLOWIES), and I have have learned of the benefits virgin men get in the Christian heaven, so I've returned my pascals wager to Catholicism. The experience has left me with an appreciation of the music new cultures though!


Also have you heard this popular NK banger yet?

I like Islam music too although Islam is not my favourite religion. But I think music transcends things like that.

And yes. I have known the Chollima and I quite like it.

When it comes to non-military NK music, this is my favourite.



Also recently I found that the State Academic Russian Folk Choir named after M.E. Pyatnitsky performed Friendly Father as a Russia - North Korea cultural exchange. By the way the red word is always Kim Jong Un. I don't know what is happening. :)

[Deoster]

Anyway, another band I love to shill is デスマーチ艦隊 [Death March Kantai], which is kind of like punk-inspired visual kei but with a heavy retro WWII military aesthetic (lots of military march melodies). Fans of eroguro stuff that uses a lot of Shouwa military imagery will probably like it:

This is super sick!! Thank you for the recommendation.

A band I've been returning to recently is Alamaailman Vasarat, which is very good klezmer/metal/jazz music from Finland. It's great fun.

[Thricegreat]

Honestly I find these things romantic and I think that might not be good.







Also the title of the album "Mementokoyo" released in this year is genius.

Memento: Memento mori. Which means "Remember that you must die".
Tokoyo: Tokoyo no kuni. Basically afterlife in this context.
Koyo: Nohana Koyori is her name. If you read the title as "Memento koyo", then it is "Remember koyo".

[Thricegreat]

The end of June is near and it is the season of "とても素敵な六月でした (It Was a Very Beautiful June)".

It is a tragic vocaloid song released in 2014 by Eight. Since the release a lot of people have covered it during late June ~ early July every year.

There are various interpretations of this song. Like an answer song to "Flashback Ambience" which depicts a marriage fraud, or a simple suicide story, or some people even suggest that it is June 1945 which was right before the surrender of Japan and the end of WW2 (August 1945).

Whatever the interpretations are, the followings are my favourite covers. Of course the list is totally subjective.

The original with an English subtitle for you:



Project SEKAI (Nightcord at 25:00):



xea:



Rindo Chihaya:



Aitsuki Nakuru:



Nagisawa Shichi:



8sai.:

[Hans Sepp]

[Thricegreat]

Some famous Warabe Uta. Which mean traditional children's games songs.

Touryanse:





It is famous as a pedestrian crossing melody.

Lyrics)
A: Pass through, pass through
B: What is this narrow pathway here?
A: It's the narrow pathway of the Tenjin shrine
B: Please allow me to pass through
A: Those without good reason shall not pass
B: To celebrate this child's 7th birthday
B: I've come to dedicate my offering
A: Going in will be fine, fine, but returning will be scary
A: It's scary but
A: Pass through, pass through

There are various interpretations. A famous one is that it could mean a child abandonment.

Kagome Kagome:



Lyrics)
Kagome kagome / The bird in the basket,
When will you leave? At dawn.
The crane and turtle slipped,
Who is behind you now?

There are lots of interpretations. It is a research topic. There is even a hypothesis that "Kagome" might be a Hebrew word.

Personally I like the interpretation that it could mean a debt slave who cannot escape from the prostitution for the debt.