THE METAL PLAY LIST

Tigi wrote:

it is unrealistic, but Suffocation is known as a death metal band. they've returned in 2004 because they realized their reputation was still growing after their split. they probably went, "if you can make a living off music, it's got to be as Suffocation, because Suffocation already has a name, while we as individual musicians mean next to nothing".

in other words, they chose to try to be a whale in a puddle rather than a goldfish in an ocean.

Do they really try to live from Suffocation? Without any day job?

According to the current sales of CDs, merchandising and stuffs...
I would imagine it could cover every costs of recording, rehearsing, touring, buying instruments... But not much more... Or am I wrong?

Dunno if they stil have day jobs. In the normal scheme of things, they should not, because they could capitalize on their name and history like the bigger acts do (Slayer, Metallica, etc), no matter how half-arsed their new releases are.

But honestly, I think there's so many other death acts out there, so much confusion and so many younger fans not giving a shit anymore about who influenced what, the way I see it is that Suffocation are a bit lost in the crowd these days, despite their legendary status.

I think I get what you mean Gab, but I do agree with Tigi about the tightness of early SUFFOCATION albums.

I have read an interview with Ross Dolan in Hard N Heavy, at the time they released Harnessing Ruin and if I remember well, he was saying they had all jobs apart from the band. If a band like IMMOLATION, with a cult name, releasing album now on a regular basis (which wasnt the case before), touring every year, selling a lot of merchandise, etc... are forced to work, what would be with SUFFOCATION ?

SLAYER started to live with their music in the late '80, if I remember well what I read on Slaytanic.com or another US fan site well-documented...

About the use of seven string guitars, I think it's mostly for guys like Trey Azagthoth who play a complex music where you need at the same time a lower tuning and all the strings of a classic 6-strings guitar for all the solo work and so, isn't it ?

I used to play on ultra deep tuning but now I'm playing on Eb and D tuning mostly...

I love Trey, but he's not like the most technical player ever. I'm not saying you have to be technical to play on 7 strings or anything, it's just that all the death musicians I've ever met always had in mind the "downtuning = fat sound" or "maximum distorsion = fat sound" kind of formula. And then, while recording, it's all "it's not clean enough, what the fuck?" or on stage, "people donc't understand the riffs, what the fuck?"
Meh.
Trey never had a super fat sound, neither had Chuck nor Deeds. There's no rule!

Tigi wrote:

Trey never had a super fat sound, neither had Chuck nor Deeds. There's no rule!

At the time of "Covenant" and "Domination" Trey's guitar sound WAS fat and heavy!
Now it's not so extreme sounding anymore, but at the time it clearly was.

[quote="gabalgabow"]

Tigi wrote:

Trey never had a super fat sound, neither had Chuck nor Deeds. There's no rule!

At the time of "Covenant" and "Domination" Trey's guitar sound WAS fat and heavy!
Now it's not so extreme sounding anymore, but at the time it clearly was.

Tigi wrote:

I love Trey, but he's not like the most technical player ever. I'm not saying you have to be technical to play on 7 strings or anything, it's just that all the death musicians I've ever met always had in mind the "downtuning = fat sound" or "maximum distorsion = fat sound" kind of formula. And then, while recording, it's all "it's not clean enough, what the fuck?" or on stage, "people donc't understand the riffs, what the fuck?"
Meh.
Trey never had a super fat sound, neither had Chuck nor Deeds. There's no rule!

Yes.

If you play with ultra high distortion level, ultra down tuning etc, no one will understand what you're playing. That's a fact. If you listen to USA death metal, bands like MORBID ANGEL, DEICIDE or SUFFOCATION didn't use over distorded guitars... It's the fact that there are two guitars and a bass guitar that gives the impression of fatness. These bands, in their early days (not sure about SUFFOCATION but sure for the others) played on boosted marshall amps. Trey still does, I don't think his rig has changed for years.

It was a different attitude in Sweden if I believe what I could read, they were more into overfat sound but their music was slower and less technical (at least for the kult bands NIHILIST and the likes). Precision wasn't needed as much as for the US-style, I guess.

It's funny to be A-tuned but soon you realize that it's not the best way to play.

@Gab: sure, but I mean, compare Effigy to Covenant, as for how guitars sound it's worlds apart, don't you think?

@Ignominous: exactly, the early UK/Swedish sound was a lot dirtier, more like the punk kind of playing. The funny thing is, everyone says Marshall amps suck today, but the the albums they grew up listening to were done with them, haha.

Tigi wrote:

@Gab: sure, but I mean, compare Effigy to Covenant, as for how guitars sound it's worlds apart, don't you think?

Well... Who really cares so much about the sound?

I'm into music

Mmmh... you can't deny that how your sound is, is a part of your music. It's a global thing, I think.

Tigi : right, because punk and early hardcore was the main influence of these bands from Sweden and UK (especially NAPALM DEATH for ex).

People put their guitar into a JCM800, and say "wow the distortion is shit", and forget that back in the day everyone boosted the marshall amps with disto pedals or even modifications of the circuit. There was no ultra hi gain amps at this time !

ignominious torments wrote:

Mmmh... you can't deny that how your sound is, is a part of your music. It's a global thing, I think.

I don't care that much about this subject... It's becoming too much of a geek/ hardware worshipper thing for me...
Even with a very average amp and an average guitar I could make something could sounding...

Again, it's very personal but for me the simplest rig is the best, I can't stand those Line 6 amplifiers, they're total stereotype.

Talking about Napalm Death, I just saw them tonight, I thought Immolation would've stolen the show, but it was more a draw. Two completely different worlds. The polished, technical, somewhat melodic metal on one side, and the raw, brute, in-yer-face force on the other. One thing that's for sure, ND are never more relevant than live on a stage.

The less effects you have, the best your sound is. Just take the best amp regarding on how you want to sound.

I was at the ND/IMMOLATION show in Lille last wednesday. IMMOLATION were awesome as hell, but NAPALM DEATH were incredibly great. I never attended to any gig of both bands before, it was something completely new for me... And really, it was totally killer. Definitly NAPALM DEATH is one of the best bands of all times. They played Control and Instinct of Survival, argh!!!

I could live without hearing Suffer the children again, but the crowd definitely went apeshit with Instinct and Scum! What did you think of Macabre?

yeah scum has driven me insane !!!!!!

MACABRE ? honestly... I really hated it. What about you ?

I thought they're alright, a unique style, but you have to be into serial killers... they had a bunch of fans that night but most people hated them too. maybe they didn't like their humour

I had the album called Dahmer, and I didnt really like it...

For myself the music in itself didn't catched me... I guess I wasn't in the right mood.

I'm sure macabre are still more interesting than wanking the cadaver. talk about an original band name!

PORTAL, the spookiest band of the last years has released a video for the track 'Larvae' off their last album 'Swarth', watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmeRlIhPdUc

CARCASS - Tools of the trade MCD

ADVERSARIAL - "THRALLS" demo

YSUN (Fra) Slaughter at Dusk Demo 2009

Upcoming death/ brutal death, I'm waiting for the next demo.

SPEWGORE "Breakneck Thearpy"

-NILE - Black Seeds Of Vengeance CD.
Not their best album, but it has good moments!

-MORBID ANGEL - Blessed are the sick CD.
Interesting how they reworked older songs to make it fit in the more technical/ "experimental" approach of the album...

-GORGUTS - Considered dead CD.
Very good atmosphere, and I like this quite heavy sound...

I dont know the NILE album. The two other ones are pure awesomeness.