May 2022 - "The Pit" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/083tGvGRuasSsmN8d3Nyww?si=016d1860e53341e5
Tracklisting:
01. Metallica – “…And Justice For All” (from “…And Justice For All”, 1988) [Submitted by Sonny]
02. Nuclear Assault – “Nuclear War” (from “Game Over”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]
03. Sepultura – “Inner Self” (from “Beneath the Remains”, 1989) [Submitted by Vinny]
04. Watchtower – “Instruments of Random Murder” (from “Resistance & Control”, 1989) [Submitted by Vinny]
05. Pariah “Puppet Regime” (from “Blaze of Obscurity”, 1989)
06. Razor – “Grindstone” (from “Malicious Intent”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]
07. Thrasherwolf – “A Thousand Eyes” (from “A Thousand Eyes”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]
08. Pissing Razors – “Cursed” (from “Where We Come From”, 2001)
09. The Bleeding – “Storm of the Hellspawn” (from “Morbid prophecy”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]
10. Vio-lence – “Let the World Burn” (from “Let the World Burn”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]
11. Sarcofago – “Screeches from the Silence” (from “The Laws of Scourge”, 1991) [Submitted by Daniel]
12. Power from Hell – “Old Metal” (from “Devil’s Whorehouse”, 2015) [Submitted by Vinny]
13. Demoniac – “RSV – Fool Coincidence -Testigo” (from “So It Goes”, 2020) [Submitted by Sonny]
14. Suicidal Tendencies – “Go’n Breakdown” (from “Lights…Camera…Revolution...”, 1990)
15. Anthrax – “Fueled” (from “Stomp 442”, 1995)
16. Possessed – “Séance” (from “Beyond the Gates”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]
17. Kreator – “Under a Total Blackened Sky” (from “Enemy of God”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny]
18. Eradicator – “Einflussnahme Abgelehnt” (from “Einflussnahme Abgelehnt”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]
19. Holy Terror – “Do Unto Others” (from “Mindwars”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]
20. Grinder – “Hymn for the Isolated” (from “Nothing is Sacred”, 1991)
21. Cryptosis – “Transcendence” – (from “Bionic Swarm”, 2021) [Submitted by Sonny]
22. Meshuggah – “Paralyzing Ignorance” (from “Contradictions Collapsed”, 1991)
23. Expander – “Megacorp” (from “Neuropunk Boostergang”, 2020)
24. Ektomorph – “Shalom” (from “Hangok”, 1996)
25. Sadistic Ritual – “Murmur” (from “The Enigma Boundless”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]
26. Vulture – “Clashing Iron” (from “The Guillotine”, 2017)
27. Sentinel Beast – “Phantom of the Opera” (from “Depths of Death”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]
28. Hellfekted – “Woe to the Kingdom of Blood” (from “Woe to the Kingdom of Blood”, 2020) [Submitted by Daniel]
This week has been The Pit's turn as playlist of the week and it got off to a great start with one of Metallica's last great songs, my favourite Nuclear Assault track and a track from Sepultura's best album - so a really killer beginning! I'm not overwhelmed by the Watchtower track though, the vocals are a bit annoying and it doubles down on the technical aspirations that I dislike in techthrash so it obviously was always going to be a tough sell for me.
Despite being those rarest of items, a decent English thrash band, I haven't encountered Pariah before. This one I like, especially the soloing and vocals, so I'll be checking this album out for sure. Razor are a different kettle of fish however and are a band I love, although Malicious Intent is my least favourite of theirs, this is still a slice of awesome high-velocity thrash. Thrasherwolf are another UK act and really should have tried harder to find a decent name. This is OK but nothing special (I do like the vocals though). Pissing Razors aren't really for me and sound an awful lot like Slipknot to my ears.
The Bleeding are another UK band and one of my picks. I really like this album of high-velocity deaththrash that has a great guitar sound and this track has a really memorable main riff. I was a big fan of Vio-lence's debut but in all honesty I didn't have a lot of hope for this new material, but it is actually OK - not great, but not bad either - I don't think the spoken bit in the middle adds anything and when it came on during the playlist I actually thought it was the intro to another track. I haven't listened to Sarcófago anything like as much as I should have, in fact I am only familiar with their first two albums, so this is the first track I have heard from The Laws of Scourge and it has definitely caught my attention - even the synth section doesn't feel awkward - so I'll be checking this out for sure. Power From Hell turn in a great track of anthemic, crusty-sounding, blackened speed metal with a lo-fi production that sounds filthy as fuck - I like it.
As anyone who takes any notice of my postings may know, Demoniac are one of my new favourites and the Chileans So It Goes has found itself ensconced pretty high up on the list of Sonny's all-time favourite thrash albums - memorable songs, technically accomplished execution with laser-guided solos and neck-wrenching energy to burn, what's not to like? Suicidal Tendencies debut is one of my favourite albums, pity it's punk and not metal, but metal ST have always paled for me in comparison to that hardcore classic. This is kind of OK and sounds a lot like How Will I Laugh... which is unsurprising really as this is the follow-up. I wouldn't buy it but I can listen to it for sure.
As much as I love Belladonna-era Anthrax, I have never listened to a John Bush Anthrax record. This has done very little to persuade me to change that situation. I have spun Possessed's Beyond the Gates a few times over the last weeks as part of my early death metal exploration and have come to appreciate it more than I had previously and the track Seance is brilliant thrashing mayhem with a killer riff. 2005's Enemy of God saw Kreator finally get back to what they do best and stop fucking around and Under a Total Blackened Sky illustrates perfectly what exactly that means.
Eradicator are another band of which I have been ignorant until now but this sounds pretty good, even though I think it would sound better with a crustier, filthier sound rather than the modern production job that has been utilised here. I love Holy Terror and own the 4CD Total Terror set which contains all that matters from the LA thrashers. Do Unto Others is a real fuck you!! of a track and is lightning fast, with a speed metal / crossover vibe. The Grinder track sounds very derivative and didn't do a lot for me. I was initially hesitant about Cryptosis' debut, but it finally revealed it's secret charms to me and I ended up obtaining a vinyl copy. Cryptosis don't solely rely on their technical wizardry to enthrall their listeners - unlike some techthrash acts - and write some brilliant, memorable tracks and most importantly thrash fucking hard whilst doing it. Transcendence is my favourite from Bionic Swarm.
I know it's considered sacrilege amongst the metal cognoscenti, but Meshuggah do a grand total of fuck-all for me - and still don't after this. Sorry, but I fail to hear what the fuss is all about. Despite Neuropunk Boostergang being a brilliant album title, I wasn't especially bowled over by Expander. However I am not completely set against it and it sounds like the kind of album I may need to return to at some point in the future to reappraise. Ektomorf just washed over me and failed to latch it's hooks into my mind I'm afraid - not really my thing. Sadistic Ritual's 2019 debut Visionaire of Death was a reasonable slab of deaththrash and so is this. Vulture's speed/thrash is kind of fun without being earth-shatteringly awesome if this is anything to go by.
If there was one track on here I could have done without it's an unimpressive speed metal cover of Iron Maiden's Phantom of the Opera, so minus points for Sentinel Beast. I was initially quite taken with Hellfekted's debut, but it does have glaring production problems and technical inadequacies that ultimately affect replayability. One of the album's best tracks here, but even that has it's issues. I think I'm gonna have to drop my score for this album a half point.
In summary, for me a good playlist that just dropped off a bit after the Cryptosis track. Still, there were plenty of classics and some nice discoveries that I'm looking forward to exploring further.
The wife was out of the house this afternoon so I took the opportunity to smash the latest The Pit playlist out really loud while cleaning the house & playing with the kids. I really enjoyed it too just quietly. The classics at the start set the scene very nicely & as I progressed through the set I found myself jumpin' around to bands like Thrasherwolf, Vio-lence, Demoniac, Kreator, Eradicator, Cryptosis, Expander, Ektomorf & particularly the new one from Sadistic Ritual which I didn't know was out & was probably the find of the set for me personally.