[Andrikos]

Yes folks, it has arrived!!!
Thanks again to Nathan for being so gracious and generous with his time and considerable talents and wit.

It arrived pristinely and professionally packaged.
I open it up and what do I see?

Our dear old friend C****, (identity has remained anonymous to protect the innocent: US!) on the black cover standing on top of a red pentagram (it is a satanic symbol to the un-informed) with the CD's title on the top:
"Nathan's Audiocircle Metal Sample" with the subtitle "Metal is not for the weak of heart"
On the insert there is the same picture of C**** (In hilarious "humongi torso on toothpic legs" form) with him saying "I usually play this sampler CD when I am working out cause it gets me so PUMPED UP! Hell Yeah! This music is heavier than my f#$%@ subwoofer!"
Of course, a small picture of the said "ultra-tweaked" subwoofer offers a punchline as heavy as its chainlinked dampener...

It is also very touching to see that "This sampler is dedicated to Jazz snobs and screaming demons everywhere!"

Thanks Nathan, you are a FIRST class guy and a very talented one too.
The sampler contains 19 classics and I can't wait to bring them to work tomorrow and give them a few thousand spins!!

Andreas
PS I had no idea anybody but me knew of Candlemass..WOW! Touching...

[Ernest]

How do I get a copy?

By the way, a pentagram is not a necessarily a Satanic symbol.  When it is oriented so that a point is pointing downwards, then that is usually a sign of bad intent.  But otherwise not.

[jackman]

Nathan is the MAN!  He made some IC's for me a couple months ago and I never had a chance to publicly thank him for his efforts.  They did not change my life, grow back my hair or give me extra "verility" as promised on his literature, but they sound really good for the money.  

Thanks NathanM!!!  You the mac!

Jman

[Andrikos]

Ernest, copies were "ordered" (free of charge, such is the Grace of the Nathan!) during a long and supremely entertaining thread that was focused on unslightly (politely put) tweaking methods employed by a virile if a bit too aggressive and humorless old coot called C****.

The shape of the pentagram was observed in the ancient times. Old wise people back then looking up the ancient dark skies observed that Venus formed the shape of a pentagram in its orbit every 4 years. Because of this timing the Olympics were set for every 4 years. A ton of other events followed this mystic rhythm.
The shape of the pentagram back in the old days had the symbolism of Mother Earth and its fertility. Pagans worshipping mother Earth used this symbol.
When the C@thol|+ church prosecuted pagans as witches, spread around the "rumor" that the pentagram was the symbol of Satan. Can you say smear campaign? Almost 2,000 years later, and this smear remains.
For more info read the infinitely fascinating book "The DaVinci code".
Unlike Nathan's IC's, it's a lifechanger!

Andreas

[Andrikos]

Wow man, Watchtower??
We must have Metalically grown up the EXACT same period of time!!
Back in the vinyl days...

Progressive metal.. good stuff

[duff138]

wow!  candlemass and watchtower!  let's see a playlist!

[satfrat]

Good stuff, heh Andrikos?  Regards, Robin

[Rob Babcock]

This one will grab your attention right out of the gate; the booklet is amazing.  I have Nero to burn & SureThing to make art, and I can print some nice art out, but not on par with Nathan's stuff.  I gotta get some tips from him on making the jewel cases...

Yes, a certain curmudgeonly 'audiophile' standing on a Pentagram is brilliant.  Once he's dead, I'm sure he'll be spinning in his grave!

The one thing I found a little humorous is NM's assertion that the Golden Age of Metal (at least with regards to his exposure to it) was '89 to 97!  Hell, I didn't even realize there was any metal after '90!   Still, I understand his point of veiw.  To me, the Golden Age ran from roughly '83 to '90.  If any dinosaur metal band had a crystal ball to look a few years into the future, he'd have seen the Planet Killing Asteroid of grunge barrelling down upon them by the early nineties.  Perhaps I need to contribute an "old school" sampler of my own?

As to the music:  yeah, I've heard some of these bands before, or at least a few of them.  But a goodly amount of them came along way after I considered that metal had died and assumed I'd have to live with the Legacy of existing metallic beauty.

The bands I liked the most:  The Champs, Skyclad, Wrathchild America, Candlemass, Trouble, Solitude Aeturnus, Skepticism, & Ras Algethi.  BTW, I thought "The March And The Stream" was fascinating, not at all boring.  Maybe after 12 minutes it woulda gotten old, but I liked it.

I used to not mind Exodus, but they started out as a stone-cold knockoff of Metallica- if you ever hear "Bonded By Blood", it sounds exactly like them playing songs that arent' quite as good as normal.  They've definately changed since '86, apparently.  I also really like Megadeth, although I didn't recognize the song Nathan included (odd, since I agree that's Megadeth's best record- my favorites are "Hangar 18" & "Master of Five Magics", tho).

I loved the heavy metal meets qypsy violinist sound of Skyclad.  Nathan, you might want to check out Blackmore's Night.  It's Deep Purple quitarist Ritchie Blackmore playing Renaisance/rock music.  Among my favorite bands, although mostly not very "heavy" music.

Solitude Aeturnus is closer to the stuff I tend to like.  I like speed metal, but it has to have some melody.  I'm more into the Judas Priest/Iron Maiden type stuff, classic old school stuff, as well as stuff you'd probably call "hair metal."   Morbid Angel, Kataklysm, Cathedral, etc- they're just a bit lacking in musicality for me.  Some of 'em reminded me a bit of Spinal Tap, to be honest.

Many thanks to Nathan for exposing me to some stuff I'd never heard.  I'll probably be buying some stuff by Solitude Aeturnus at least, and maybe Skepticism, & Ras Algethi, too.  Nathan put a lot of effort, thought, wit and work into it, and I appreciate it.

BTW, if you're interested, Nathan, I'd be willing to put together a disc of my favorite metal bands.  Some are newer, some are dinosaurs, some you've likely heard buy many you may not have.  Whaddaya say?

Thanks a lot!

Rob

[Rob Babcock]

I just placed an order w/ SecondSpin.com for a couple of CDs by Solitude Aeturnus.  Hopefully I'll have 'em within a week or two.  Incidentally, this is my first order from them; as they specialize in DVDs I'm curious to see how their service is.

[nathanm]

Thanks so much guys!  I'm really glad you liked it.  I certainly did put a lot of time into making it and it's nice to see it was appreciated.  Basically I'll take any excuse to do graphic arty stuff. Heh!  

Ernest - just PM me your mailing address and I'll send you one.

The Pentagram is indeed pointed down.

Rob - I didn't say that was THE Golden Age, but it was MY personal one.  I started listening to metal in freshman year of high school which was '89.  A lot of the tunes on the disc were purchased roughly around that time period.

The first two Solitude Aeturnus records are the best IMO.  Into the Depths or Sorrow and Beyond The Crimson Horizon.  I hope you didn't snag "Adagio" - that one's a real stinker. Ugh! Actually I've just been in contact with the guitarist of that band, John Perez who's been running Brainticket Records for a long time.  If you're looking for Ras Algehti that may be the last place you'll find it.  There might be others though.  Incredible record.  See, now the RIAA can't kill me - I generated record sales for them already!  Maybe I should mention that to John...heh heh!  Brainticket carries Doom and Psychedelic music mainly.  I've been hounding him to put up more MP3s which he says are coming, so we'll see.

BTW, if you're interested, Nathan, I'd be willing to put together a disc of my favorite metal bands. Some are newer, some are dinosaurs, some you've likely heard buy many you may not have. Whaddaya say?

Of course!

Here is a track listing for the curious:

1.   Intro   00:13
2.   The Champs  Valkyrie Is Dying\Don The Atmosphere   04:37 <-- This song was endorsed by audiojerry himself.  No joke!
3.   Blind Guardian  Blood Tears   04:30
4.   Skyclad  Cry Of The Land   04:24
5.   Watchtower  The Eldritch   03:16
6.   Wrathchild America  Surrounded By Idiots   04:30
7.   Exodus  Verbal Razors   04:06
8.   Forbidden  Out Of Body   04:28
9.   Megadeth  Take No Prisoners   03:25
10.   Morbid Angel  Suffocation   03:14
11.   Kataklysm  Elder God   04:00
12.   Atheist  Unholy War   02:17
13.   Cathedral  Serpent Eve   04:30
14.   Candlemass  Mourner's Lament   04:30
15.   Trouble  Heaven On My Mind   04:09
16.   Confessor  The Stain   04:13
17.   Solitude Aeturnus  Mirror Of Sorrow   04:30
18.   Skepticism  The March And The Stream   03:00
19.   Ras Algethi  When Fire Is Father   04:30

[Rob Babcock]

No, I wasn't trying to slander (or is it libel?) you, NathanM.  I realize you meant your Golden Age.  I just meant that it's funny that the best stuff for all of us seems to be set in concrete based on the years we were in high school (I graduated in '87).

I can't remember which ones I ordered; not knowing what was best I just ordered the two they had in stock.  Even if I get a clinker, they were only like $6, so I won't get burned.

So, did you send a copy to the ol' coot himself?  Think he'd be flattered?

Note:  I just checked my printout.  I did order Adagio (d'oh!  maybe I'll like it anyway...), and also Downfall and Through The Darkest Hour.

[nathanm]

Oooh, bummer on the SA releases Rob!  I don't have Downfall myself though.  Who knows, you might like them.  Still, I find the others to be far superior.  Brainticket should have them.

Slander?  No no, of course not!    I'm sure it's like that for everybody to an extent, you are always going to have a special fondness for the music that touched you early in life.   It's total nostalgia.  Someone borrowed me "And Justice For All" and it grew from there.  Kids of today will probably romanticize downloading Creed on iTunes when their own kids are getting bizarre music injected directly into their spinal cord or however they will be delivering music in the future.

Nope, I didn't send a copy to Professor C.  It would be a waste of a CD.  He is not interested in any of this stuff, he's off in his own world and good riddance.  I just had to lampoon him in the artwork, though.   What else can you do with a guy like that?  I hope it's painfully clear that this sampler is about 500 miles away from what they might call metal on today's rock radio and certainly NOT whatever it was he heard 2 seconds of.  

Metal never was played on the radio on any consistent basis and grunge never knocked it off the map, so to say.  It's always been there since the early '70s and continues today in an alternate universe from the radio world as it has always done.   Just about everything audiophiles like is shunned by the majority of the recording-buying public, right?  Well, it's the same thing here.

Anyway, hopefully the other fellas who got them will chime in as well.   I'm waiting for someone to say "This is unlistenable garbage! You're a loony!"

[Rob Babcock]

In my neck of the woods, heavy metal got a lot of airplay in the 80's.  We had 3 stations that cranked out the metal.  That's the difference between '85 and 92.

When I was in college, I was a jock for the college station, K.A.O.R.; I had two show per week, and all I played was 'eavy me'al, all the time!  The program director absolutely despised my music, but admitted to another jock that I was far and away the most popular guy on the air for our station.  

Music was a religion for me as a kid.  God, I laugh now at how serious it all seemed to me.  I was the kid that wore a black armband when Cliff Burton died!   Back then if it wasn't metal, I wasn't interested.  I like a lot more stuff now, but I still dig the me'al!

[Agisthos]

Myself and arthur were just having a conversation about what sort of high end audio gear can actually do justice to heavy metal.

Obviously you need something that can handle bass, but also dynamics and pace.
I am open to your suggestions....


That is an interesting selection of metal.

Classic metal like Forbidden, Morbid Angel then on the other hand Skyclad and Blind Guardian. (I love em)

Watchtower has a new album coming called mathematics

[duff138]

Confessor is great.  I believe they're actually touring again.  The drummer is amazing, he's an a new instrumental band called loincloth.

[audiojerry]

What in the hell are you guys talking about?

[Brad]

Watchtower, eh?

I tossed back a few beers with JasonM back in my college days in Austin.
Sounds like good stuff, Nathan - what do I have to do to get a copy?

Ever heard of a group called Violent Playground?   Insanely fast drumming (this was in '86 though)

My metal days were '84 to '97, but I still listen to a lot of it.  Lotta vinyl out there if you take the time to look for it.

[JoshK]

Thanks again Nathan!  I was really surprised at the level of professionalism and artwork displayed.  I really wasn't expecting you to go all out.  Very very cool!  

I gather from your earlier post (I was a freshman in '89 too) that we are about the same age although I wasn't really into metal at that time.  I definitely think the skyclad tune rocked!

[nathanm]

Rob:  That's cool.  I wasn't lucky enough to live within the reach of any low-wattage college radio stations, so consequently I never got to hear any of that.  And I bet your show was on at 2AM on mondays, right?  IF there is any metal played on radio or even on old MTV it is inevitably broadcast when everyone's asleep.    For awhile there was 1340 AM in Milwaukee that played metal.  Terrible reception, but I just about hit the roof when I heard what they were playing.  I distinctly remember hearing '.44 Caliber Brain Surgery' by Demolition Hammer on there and being blown away.  But overall metal radio in my experience has been like finding needles in haystacks.

Myself and arthur were just having a conversation about what sort of high end audio gear can actually do justice to heavy metal. Obviously you need something that can handle bass, but also dynamics and pace.  I am open to your suggestions....

I agree.  Actually dynamics are a lost art on records these days, and not just metal.  Don't get me started on that.  A good metal system has got to have lots of headroom and low distortion IMO.  The midrange has got to be nice and flat so as to not be fatiguing.  Bass has gotta be fast and tight.  But to me you really need as big of a soundstage as you can get.  It's gotta sound LARGE scale.  In all seriousness, you don't really need certain gear to play specific kinds of music, that's a bit silly.  Good performance is good performance regardless of the software.  But I would say it has to be able to play loud and not wear you out.

So you hung out with Jason McMaster Brad?  Cool!  I have a dub of the Watchtower stuff with him singing.  Pretty raw and awesome stuff if I remember correctly.  I remember thinking what an interesting contrast Dangerous Toys was to something like Watchtower.

Yes, Confessor's drummer whose name escapes me...is indeed freaking awesome.  There was another band he was in...Fly something or other. Loincloth eh?  Not a good title, but I'd be interested to hear it! Heh!  Stephen Shelton?  Is that it?

Do you wanna know the difference between today's "metal" bands and the real ones?  Today's bands name themselves after WEAK things whereas normal metal names are about STRENGTH, POWER, VIOLENCE etc.  I mean, Puddle Of Mudd? Limp Bizkit? Korn?  WEAK!!!  And it's reflected in the music as well.  These guys are writing these whiny crybaby lyrics.  It's pitiful.  It's like the mopey shoe gazing grunge taken to the next level.  I would rather listen to a made up song about a guy fighting a dragon than I would about some whiny bitch whose parents gave him a hard time growing up.  Awww-Boo fucking hoo hoo!  Folks, Kreator still has a few song titles which you can use for band names, so step right up a take one!

Thanks Josh!  You might wanna check out Skyclad's "The Wayward Sons Of Mother Earth", "A Burnt Offering For The Bone Idol", "Jonah's Ark" and "Prince Of The Poverty Line".  The best lyrics in all of metal.  Appropriate that they quoted Shakespeare on their first album cause I think Walkyier is the Shakespeare of metal.  They kinda got a bit weak after "The Silent Whales of Lunar Sea" but hey that happens with everybody.

[duff138]

"Yes, Confessor's drummer whose name escapes me...is indeed freaking awesome. There was another band he was in...Fly something or other. Loincloth eh? Not a good title, but I'd be interested to hear it! Heh! Stephen Shelton? Is that it?"


   Correct! Stephen Shelton.  Loincloth, I think it's a joke name.  They have a 7" on Southern Lord record label and a cdr demo.

  Watchtower was definitely a killer band.  Got their demo and a letter from the band thanking me for buying it!  Remember the days before the web, when you had to write to bands for demos, instead of just downloading mp3's!


  I'd love to get a compilation.