I haven’t done it yet, but I’ve made a mock-up for a custom print t-shirt that has Bach’s picture on the front, and on the back is written “Bach is better than your favorite band.”

It’s funny because it’s true.

I don’t particularly care if a band is Christian if the music is good. Firstly, a sizable chunk of the lyrics of bands I listen to are fictional or based on fiction; why be upset about one mythology and not any others? Secondly, I enjoy a lot of baroque music; good luck getting away from Christianity centered music there.

100%

I dig the way he glides around the fret board too. It doesn’t always come across in the sound just how active his maneuvers are. A guitarist that’s almost as fun just to watch as he is to listen to.

Official Guitar Playthrough Video

Not there’s anything lacking in his left hand, but John Browne’s right hand technique always makes my jaw drop. This isn’t necessarily the best video to highlight that, but if you’re interested just search his name in YouTube and have fun.

Ugh, I’m probably one of the least tech literate people on this platform. I was able to convert the original video into an MP4, but I am not understanding if there’s a way to directly bring an MP4 into the comments without uploading the video to a third party platform.

If anyone has suggestions I’m open to hearing them.

At least I have the video saved for posterity now. It has been taken down from YouTube I’m sure because of copyright from the film clip it’s showing. I’d hate for it to become completely lost over time.

Fuck. Yes.

That’s what that album does. There’s nothing like it.

Right on. I feel like with them it’s one of those deals where there is no wrong answer. Both albums are so good it makes complete sense why someone might like either one over the other. I go for Paegan… myself, but When the Kite String Pops is still pinnacle level stuff.

Which Acid Bath album is in the top spot? You MUST choose. (sorry)

And fuck yeah, Obscura is brilliant.

The Wintersun self-titled has had surprising staying power for me. I wouldn’t consider it something that’s squarely in my wheelhouse, but I still love it after… damn, that album is 20 years old…

My first extreme metal haul was three CD’s I bought at Best Buy, and Chaosphere was one of them. That album is burned into my brain.

I find a lot of times I’m more skirting around the edges of symphonic metal without landing dead center. I like female vocals a lot, so I get into stuff like Tristania and The Gathering pretty hard. And I like some stuff that’s more in the neoclassical darkwave spectrum like Autumn Tears, Rain Fell Within, Dargaard, etc. Elis is probably the most on the nose symphonic group that I enjoy a lot.

Love that Arcturus album. Probably my favorite of theirs, though Aspera Heims… has my favorite guitar solo of all time on it, so I waffle on that sometimes.

>:D

Yeah, my oversight there. Done.

Alf Svensson era AtG >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Yeah, that Trees of Eternity album is excellent. I tend to prefer the Doom:VS stuff a little bit over the Draconian stuff, but both are great.

One of my brother’s favorite bands, so I’ve heard this many, many times. It’s a top notch album for sure.

Alright, Top 13 for me, because 13 and this is what I could figure well enough and be satisfied with right now. Ordering subject to roughly change somewhere around fifth slot depending on what mood I’m in on any given day, but these are solid mainstays in my rotation (most of them for decades at this point). Doesn’t reflect how broad my interests go, but you can see that I gravitate a lot toward black metal, and I favor stuff that isn’t afraid to be its own thing. Weird is good. Non-metal albums removed though there are a couple in my top 10 if I weren’t being genre specific.

1. Dødheimsgard - A Umbra Omega
2. Ved Buens Ende - Written in Waters
3. Murmuüre - Murmuüre
4. Emptiness - Not For Music
5. The Skaden - You Will Hope I Had Died
6. Solefald - The Linear Scaffold
7. Samael - Eternal
8. At the Gates - The Red in the Sky is Ours
9. Ulver - Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr i 5 Capitler
10. Cryptopsy - None So Vile
11. Summoning - Old Mornings Dawn
12. Rotting Christ - Khronos
13. Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone

Ah, ok. Right on. I’d be super jealous if you caught them with him behind the kit. He’s maybe my favorite musician, and he can’t play drums anymore. Wish I would have been able to see him at least once in that capacity.

Nice! Round about when was this? Was Czral on drums when you caught them?

Negative, though maybe I’d rather be. I’m American.