I joined not long afterwards, your signature picture is burned into my brain and I remember from 15 years ago. Crazy man.

Hey Marko! How is Adders Fork coming along? It's me PONOS haha

The absolute horror, man. How can you survive this? Sure, obvious reasons, but I couldn't imagine being stuck in a work-week for 40+ hours. Guess I'm lucky with my job. It's stressful, but I have enough free time to recover.

Yes, the following I bought on Vinyl recently:

Woods of Ypres - Woods 5 - Grey Skies & Electric Light (love this one)

Paradise Lost - Shades of God (underrated as hell and to me it's better than what came right before and after it)

That sounds a a bit similar to my comeback a little while ago...except I was just dabbling in some nostalgia and somehow found this place again :-P

Thanks, it will probably be ready in November!

If they release a remaster of Diablo II some day, I'll quit my day job and life, I'm sure...

Yo Ponos-Soar, I actually remember that name-change of yours ^^

What kind of home recording studio are you planning? I've done the same within the last 12 months, it's exciting to actually be able to sing properly at home.

New Adder's Fork EP to come around November :-)

I've had my sig since October 2, 2004, so I've used it for almost 16 years. I was never into changing sigs much. I figured that if I got it right back then, there was no reason to change it ever again, except adjust the dimensions for every redesign since then. Of course, that also eventually eliminated it being an animated sig from the 2007 redesign to the present day. The lack of animation compared to the early days doesn't make too much of a difference if I'm being honest.

My girlfriend is still in isolation (we're still within that 2 week time period) and she has developed breathing issues that should subside on their own, but if they don't, and in fact if they even get worse, I'd hate to see her in the hospital. It's all hands on deck here--we don't want what started off as a mild case to turn into an acute one. She is continuously and understandably fatigued.

I deal with my inner pain (and I have a lot of it) with music to the best of my ability. Sometimes it can only go so far. I definitely miss going to shows or even just going outside without feeling the pressure to wear a mask. I certainly have had sex without my mask on plenty of times this year in the privacy of my own home (seriously, who'd fuck with their mask on?), and that won't change once we're all healed up from our illnesses. I'm not really super sick right now, but on the 14th, I'll be having shoulder surgery that will require me to be put in a sling for 6 weeks and physical therapy for months longer. My current condition wouldn't even allow me to enjoy the chaos that comes with being at the front of any concert anyway.

I've just spent a bunch of money on stuff, got an iMac from 2010 to record onto haha. I should make some hellenic black metal for you. Oh yeah, you posted a link for me to download the Shores of Sheol stuff I didn't have but it expired by the time I saw it. I listened to Firebringer off Monumentum the other day haha.

I could be wrong but I'm sure it's been over 10 years since we last spoke. However long it's been it's great catching up with old faces in here as it was one of my favourite threads in my prime time on this site and still want to check in here even now.

At first I wanted to get vinyls of the albums that are the best of the best to me but have been more adventurous than that. I made a true start to vinyl collecting once all the shops were allowed to reopen from lockdown as a way to try and support what's already struggling before Covid came along.

I did treat myself to a few vinyls last weekend as part of Record Store Day as well as HMV doing their own vinyl week. Ended up getting four different LPs which was more than I probably should have spent but it was needed to treat myself and all four are indeed worthy.

I know the feeling on working long hours. Doing that much in a day literally only gives you time to eat and then not much longer until it's needing to sleep. Not so much fun and the tiredness can have a lasting effect the following day or two. I swear, bank holiday just gone I was mostly tired but thankfully I've got a few extra days off to recover some more.

Latest new release I bought was Haken's Virus. I wasn't much of a fan of their previous release Vector but upon giving the new one a listen I was really blown away. So much so it's become their best effort to date! For any new prog metal goodness, I cannot recommend enough to listen to Messiah Complex from it.

Der Weg Einer Freiheit are badass

Oh shit, it's Earfetish. A name one could not simply forget over all these years.

What's up? ^^

Really? Maybe my rotting brain got something wrong there, but whatever - as you said, it's absolutely cool seeing some of the old guard running around this place, like grown-ups visiting their former playgrounds.

Damn, nice choices - especially Chemical Wedding - one of the best albums with Dickinson at the helm (and I'm actually not too big on his vocals).

Well, shit. What do you need again, maybe I still got some ^^

I'm self-employed and I've got a 10-month-old baby. What's up with you?

The last heavy metal show I went to was Deafheaven, just before he was born. I then saw Explosions in the Sky on Feb 14th and then Covid happened and I really miss shows

Woah, not bad ;-) I hope your business is not directly compromised by the whole situation and you can also get some sleep even though you have that little baby around you? ^^

I've become a hearing aid audiologist a decade ago and I'm doing pretty well in a rather sane company, so I'm good. Got a younger woman so there is no baby pressure, haha.

I tried "Sunbather" after it was released and found it OK, didn't quite gel with me. I do imagine that this sound could work wonders in a live environment though. Was it a good experience?

My last concert was Behemoth last year, with At the Gates. The former were amazing, the latter were barely OK, their drummer couldn't quite keep up with the rest of the band.

Many thanks! You know, I recall you saying ages ago that you're more of a Priest guy than a Maiden guy but it's fair game. Both fantastic bands that I couldn't live without either of them. Speaking of Priest, amongst my eBay hunting as of late thanks to being influenced by my friend for that, I snagged myself a picture disc of the You've Got Another Thing Comin' single so I'm pleased with that.

As for Chemical Wedding, definitely a fantastic album along with Accident of Birth. Those are pretty much the highlights from Bruce's solo career, although admittedly there's a solo album or two I never got around to checking out.

I've been very lucky, yeah. Glad to see you're managing!

Well really it was the worst time I've seen them; I don't rate their new album like I do their other albums. I think it's the fifth time I've seen them and most of the time they are spectacular. imo. If you like that kind of thing.

I missed Behemoth on their last tour - they sold the venue out!

What a brain, man! ^^ Indeed. But to be honest, both bands have had their fair share of missteps within the glory. Strangely, I've actually found a few gems among the dirt; "Lighting Strikes Twice", "The Clansman", "Sign of the Cross" and almost the whole Jugulator album, respectively, have been in my playlist for quite a while.

Nice catch there.

The song I mostly come back to these days is "Tears of the Dragon" which is one of the older solo-tracks if I remember correctly.

Good, good. Thanks! People need hearing aids all the time, so I'm lucky too ^^

Oh, I see. Well, I'm still not too sure what to think of that sound, it manages to be both captivating and sluggish at the same time.

Put them on your list man, worth every damn penny.

You're not wrong there. Priest have made a few albums that have been less than stellar. Point of Entry is my best example of that as it sits between British Steel and Screaming and half the time I forget it even exists. In recent times I've been assuming Screaming directly follows up British Steel.

Nostradamus was another one of theirs that didn't fare so well. Has some great songs, sure but a concept album spread over two discs doesn't suit them.

Those are some class tunes from Blaze era of Maiden. I actually find The X Factor to be a quality album whereas Virtual XI has enough gems but has a bit of dirt to go with. The Angel and the Gambler remains my least favourite song from them to this date for its repetitive nature.

Cheers! It's adding to my singles collection which will need more development. Already spent more than enough and a half on vinyl for this month and I still have Keepers of the Seven Keys (both parts) original pressings to arrive through the post. And that's not all, picked up Kings of Metal during my Birmingham day trip last weekend solely for the description of the colour vinyl. 😂

That's one of his classic tracks. It's the best I recall from that album, sadly. Will need to give Tattooed Millionaire and Balls to Picasso another spin as it's been way too long since I listened through them.

I certainly understand that. The only PoF song I'm listening to regularly is "Desert Plains". One of their better rockers.

Fully agree.

The Angel...is really quite the horrid song. I do prefer Blaze's solo work a lot over his time in Maiden ("The Man Who Would Not Die" reaches "Painkiller"-levels of instrumental intensity!) and his voice has improved A LOT with age, he has a lot more control and rawness these days.

Epic shit!

I haven't put on these albums in a long time either, currently I'm actively re-listening to "Chemical Wedding", especially "The Trumpets of Jericho" kicks my ass about as hard as it did the first time I heard it.

Currently enjoying this here as well, even though the riffs are very typical "Schaffer" chugs - Hansi Kürsch sounds great still today.

Demons & Wizards - Wolves in Winter

Also guys, the new HEATHEN album "Empire of the Blind" is out today. It sounds like it could be almost as good as everything that came before it, which is not something I'd take for a granted after another decade of silence.

Heathen - Sun In My Hand

For those who don't know the band, these are veterans of melodic/thrash metal from the late 80s. Excellent stuff.

It's that and Heading Out to the Highway that are the only highlights from the album. I've heard them play that song live before and it was still good fun. Just the album as a whole really doesn't match the rest of their works from the 70s and 80s.

I really need to invest in more of his solo works but the one song I know well and really like is Stare at the Sun. Actually, come to think about it, that album Silicon Messiah is one I've put on a few times on Spotify. It deserves a better treatment for sure.

I do have a few albums from his other band Wolfsbane who I've seen live and even got to meet Blaze to sign my CDs (fun fact: Also met Bruce Dickinson so that leaves me with Paul Di'Anno).

Now that is a terrific song. Book of Thel and Jerusalem are some of my favourites amongst it.

Still need to actually listen to the new Demons & Wizards album and I'm still happy to know they worked on a new record after 15 years. Sure, with Schaffer you know what you're getting but I've felt his works with Iced Earth made significant improvements after the mess that was the Something Wicked sequels.

A new discovery I've been made up to hear is Wind Rose. An Italian folk metal band that like to dress up like dwarves on stage. Only listened to the latest album Wintersaga but it's good fun. I haven't really discovered any new folk metal bands in ages so it's really pleasing and refreshing to have had YouTube thrown it on my TV through autoplay.

Wind Rose - Drunken Dwarves

My friend showed me a band called Moth Gatherer. Pretty fucking great stuff.

Well, these Metaltrump videos surely take quite a bit of work ^^ and they are entertaining enough.

I've been trying to find some time to dive into more 2020 material but simply couldn't make it. As is stands, this year's Unleash the Archers record is still gonna be my #1 album of this year.

What's yours? Or are you still waiting for a December release for final judgement?

I know we had some Manilla Road fans in the past. I had an urgent retail therapy last Sunday with getting a bunch of their LPs from High Roller Records and to arrive five days from Germany to my flat is really impressive.

With this lot I got all but one of their albums from the 80s, although it's extremely hard to complain given on average with postage costs each one was like £18 per LP for me.

For any new releases right now, I'm waiting for what's to come in 2021 at this point. My favourite for this year has remained to be Haken's Virus (the title is somewhat ironic for 2020). It's really pushed the boundaries for this newer generation of prog metal and I've hardly resisted to keep listening back to it during many walks to/from work. I'll also add as a prog metal album this knocks anything Dream Theater and Opeth have done in the last ten years out of the fucking park!

In 2021 I'm already anticipating some releases including Helloween and Diablo Swing Orchestra so the new year is already looking up to me.

Hey guys, it's been rather quiet once again around here. My fault as well, barely any time left for surfing around. Now, if you want to know what I've been up to: I've finished the work on my project's EP and just released it this last weekend.

If you want to hear (and see!) what my Heavy/Gothic Metal baby "Adder's Fork" is doing these days, check out this link to the music video of the title track of my brand-new EP "The Fatalist":

Hope you enjoy it, I'm gonna upload the whole EP to the Audio Portal as well (if that is still a thing).

The Audio Portal is still a thing. This was the perfect song for me to listen to right now since I'm about to go into our weekly staff teleconference and get super busy. I'm looking forward to the EP in full.

Hehe, thanks a lot man. Second song off the EP is here now:

Adder's Fork - Herald's Curse

....aaaand the third one:

Failures Grin and Fears Remain - the toughest one to write and perform considering my moderate-skill level on guitar.

I have a new official audio track visualizer for “Yesterday’s Favourite” out! This (half-)ballad is the closing song off my new Adder’s Fork EP “The Fatalist”.

I don't want to spam everything with my music here, but since there is NO OTHER CONTENT here right now, I might as well plug my shit, if you want to have a listen ;-)

HAPPY (and better) 2021 for all of you guys and gals in here!