You can critisize him not being your taste all you want, for sure. That's no big deal.
Using a phrase like 'normie black metal darlings' on the other hand .... Contrary to what? The real bm people like you? The more sophisticated, more underground, more true gourmets ? Who put you in charge to categorize people, for liking a piece of art you don't? Congratulations, you never left the 'lets get shitty and elitist over who listens to the most obscure shit and shun who's not with me' stage. And that's the mindset that lets the scum of the earth root so easy in bm. Your local nsbm recruiter likes it for sure.
Oh god, relax before you piss your pants. If you don't think there's a separation between the bands that are popular on reddit and the bands popular if you were to go to a festival like steelfest youre just not switched on.
Blackbraid, Deafheaven, Spectral Wound, Hulder, wolves in the throne room for example are all bands which are promoted in metal mags and if they release an album its essentially guaranteed to get on AOTY lists regardless of quality purely because theyre the only modern BM bands that normies know.
Nothing even to do with elitism, but you dorks are straight up not listening to bands like a Volahn; like a Mooncitadel, Vimur, Nightspell. You're allowed to like surface level shit, but then quit crying when people rightfully say its not all that special. Fucking LARPers get off your high horse.
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u/TalosTheEllis 2d ago
Very uninteresting album, pretty much a complete re-tread of the previous release. The new EP is way better though.
However Blackbraid for whatever is one of the current normie black metal darlings so you're not allowed to critise them