Yeah, I really think that since their album Alien they have been evolving their sound into something very unique. Obsidian is one of my favorite metal albums, if it can still be called that.
Interesting, what about it did specifically did you like? I actually found it pretty bland and unengaging personally. To me it just felt like an amalgamation of what everyone else was currently doing in the genre and trying to mix it with some of the current trends in hyperpop and glitchcore stuff. The only song I genuinely liked was LosT (which could just be my personal preference for punk sounds). BMTH is a great band though, my favorite album of theirs is Sempiternal (which I also just think is their best objectively), but I also unironically like Count Your Blessings.
I have been to quite a few concerts and events this past year for metal stuff.
I got to see my current favorite metal band, Imminence in April. They haven’t had a lot of experience touring so their live performance needs some work, but other than that it was a magical experience.
I was able to see Powerwolf live too, with supporting band Unleash The Archers. Both were great. That was a fun concert.
The next day I went to see Polaris, one of my current favorites. A few other bands performed before them… Nerv (amazing vocals), Thousand Below, and blessthefall (I got to give Beau a high-five which was pretty cool).
Later this year I went to Mayhem Festival and saw a ton of bands, including Born Of Osiris, Unearth, Poppy, After The Burial, Suicide Silence, We Came As Romans, Architects, August Burns Red, and the big headliner Bad Omens.
I had not heard After The Burial before, they were surprisingly good. I have since kept coming back to them. Very energetic and heavy.
This whole album is incredible, highly recommend. Frankly all of their music is good.
Getting to see Bad Omens live was sort of healing in a way. Some of their songs mean a lot to me personally, so it was really impactful to get to be there while they performed them.
That being said, August Burns Red was the highlight for me despite not being the headline like Bad Omens. They performed their entire Constellations album, which is an absolute classic. Their energy and crowd interaction was way better than anyone else there.
Unfortunately concerts are expensive, and it is probably going to be a while before I can go to any more. But it was fun while I was going. And yes, I wore ear protection for all of these. I want to be careful with my hearing while I am still young.
I need to get back into other genres of music and branch out more, metal has taken over the majority of my listening lately, sheesh!