Feature releases
So now that we're almost at the end of November & some of you have now had a good chance to digest our monthly feature releases, let's share our overall thoughts as I'm keen to hear what everyone's favourite & least preferred feature releases were & also what new discoveries you've made (if any).
Here's my order of preference for the nine features this month:
1. Neptunian Maximalism - "Eons" (2020) 4.5/5
2. Faith No More - "Angel Dust" (1992) 4.5/5
3. Gaza - "I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die" (2006) 4.5/5
4. Strapping Young Lad - "Alien" (2005) 4/5
5. Shining - "V - Halmstad" (2007) 4/5
6. Disillusion - "Back To Times Of Splendor" (2004) 4/5
7. Undeath - "Lesions Of A Different Kind" (2020) 4/5
8. Black Sabbath - "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (1973) 4/5
9. Warbringer - "Weapons Of Tomorrow" (2020) 3.5/5
So it was a really rewarding musical month with no failures whatsoever for me personally. The Neptunian Maximalism & Gaza records were massive finds for me & have both taken up positions as classics in my personal Hall of Metal Champions alongside the Faith No More album which has resided there since I was a teenager. The Black Sabbath, Disillusion & Shining releases provided further confirmation that my existing positive impressions were valid & I was very pleasantly surprised by the Strapping Young Lad & Undeath albums. The Warbringer album is probably the only one of the nine releases that I'm not likely to return to all that often, despite the fact that it was generally pretty enjoyable.
Disillusion - "Back To Times Of Splendor" (2004) 5/5 (maybe even 6/5 if I could)
Gaza - "I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die" (2006) 5/5
The Gaza record is a massive mathcore classic, and the impressive Disillusion release has been confirmed to be my current favorite progressive/melodeath album of all time. I'm currently getting those bands' discographies as of this comment. Thanks again for the recs, Daniel!
1. Black Sabbath - "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (1973) 5/5
I can't in good conscience have any other of these nine albums at #1 as this has been a favourite of mine for well over forty years now. A proto-prog metal classic as the Sabs stretched themselves a bit and added Rick Wakeman on keyboards.
2. Shining - "V - Halmstad" (2007) 4.5/5
Despite not being a huge fan of Shining previously I was knocked out by this album. I found a profound connection to it on a personal level. Emotional.
3. Neptunian Maximalism - "Eons" (2020) 4.5/5
The thought of a two-hour avant-jazz album had me positively sweating with dread. But this isn't that album at all I'm absolutely thrilled to report. Yes, sure there are avant-jazz elements present, obviously, but I consider them merely icing, the heart and soul of this album is the percussion and it's ritualistic and tribal rhythms that call to something buried deep in the human psyche. I'm a big fan of ritual ambient artists like Draugurinn and Forndom, but this is on a different level completely. I must admit though that I did wonder how it became featured on a metal website, until the third section at least where it's drone metal credentials kick in. I still have some issue with the solely jazz sections and it is a long album, but these are minor gripes as this is something truly outside my comfort zone that I absolutely love. The trouble with it is, it has made me an unfaithful music listener now - I'm listening to something else, but I'm thinking of this while I'm doing so!
4. Disillusion - "Back To Times Of Splendor" (2004) 3.75/5
I dislike melo-death intensely and prog metal to me means Dream Theater-style musical wankery, so I didn't approach this with much relish. But, it is actually pretty decent, albeit with a couple of provisos. I'm still not sold on the melo-death sections particularly, although they are far from the worst I've ever heard and, secondly, the vocalist causes me a few issues. I think it was Vinny who said that the vocalist is stealing a living, it appears he's stealing it off Serj Tankian and Corey Taylor. I actually don't mind the SOAD sounding parts, but I hate that Corey Taylor-like melo-death vocal style and here it's especially horrible. But that aside, musically I enjoyed huge swathes of this, it reminds me of a heavier version of Polish prog-rock outfit Riverside, a modern prog band I particularly enjoy. Vocals apart, it's well performed and varied with some decent prog songwriting, so I'm gonna call this a (qualified) success.
5. Undeath - "Lesions Of A Different Kind" (2020) 3.5/5
Solid, if somewhat predictable, OSDM.
6. Warbringer - "Weapons Of Tomorrow" (2020) 3/5
Not bad modern thrash, but I gotta say no classic and on those occasions when they slow it down it pretty much sucks.
7. Faith No More - "Angel Dust" (1992) 2/5
American college-kid party music. Unlike the Shining and Neptunian Maximalism albums I was unable to relate to this in any way. I didn't even hate it, I just found it incomprehensible and could make no connection to the music either intellectually or emotionally. A musical placebo.
8. Strapping Young Lad - "Alien" (2005)
I haven't scored this because I honestly couldn't be arsed listening to it. I'm one of those unhip types who thinks Devin Townsend is massively overrated. A friend did encourage me to listen to it years ago and I remember not being enamoured of it. Sorry.
9. Gaza - "I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die" (2006) 0.5/5
So this is mathcore is it? Well, Fuck that! this is literally one of the most awful metal albums I've ever had the misfortune to hear. Sounds like a toddler throwing a tantrum in the supermarket because his mum won't buy him his favourite snack - if I wanted to hear that then I'd take a trip to the local Aldi. If I never hear this again it'll be too soon.
So, in summary, a couple of really amazing discoveries for me (thanks Daniel), an old favourite, a prog surprise, a couple of solid, if somewhat unremarkable releases, a couple of non-entities and an utter bag of shite (as we say round here)! The good outweigh the bad however, so thumbs up!!
Just out of interest Daniel, whilst going through this month's featured releases, I was wondering what your criteria was for selection as it seems like quite a challenging task.
To be honest my selection criteria has changed consistently since we first kicked off the feature releases Sonny. To begin with I just wanted to see as many people making comments as possible so as to build up our active content so you would have seen a fair few releases that most metalheads would know in order to encourage that. I was also making a conscious effort to choose releases from right across the spectrum of subgenres included in each clan. Over time I realised that a) some of the releases from the more niche subgenres weren't drawing a lot of attention & b) that our regularly contributing members seemed to want some more underground releases to investigate so I adjusted my approach accordingly. For last month I restructured things again to make sure that people wanting modern material were catered for so moving forwards you'll get a mixture of new releases, old classics, forgotten gems & releases that I simply thought might make for interesting discussion (e.g. the Neptunian Maximalism record). There's not really a set criteria for selection other than to make sure that people get a wide cross-section of high quality metal (that they may or may not have previous experience with) to discuss. The time it takes me is really pretty minimal when compared to the time it takes me to select & program 18 hours of Spotify playlists every month but what can I say... it's a labour of love & I enjoy every minute of it!
P.S. I'm really enjoying the feature releases part of the site & (like last month) will be making a conscious effort to contribute to the discussions on all nine monthly feature releases moving forwards. Feel free to join me guys.
Thanks for that Daniel. For the first time this month I listened to nearly all the featured releases and although I can't honestly say I enjoyed them all, it was an interesting undertaking nonetheless and one I am hoping to continue going forward, so hopefully I'll be able to come up with something to contribute to the discussions, especially regarding stuff I probably wouldn't normally listen to.
I've fallen off the a bit with the monthly releases but looking to recommit to it, since I was always trying to do all 9 each month. Here are the ones that I got through this month, hopefully spurring me to actually post on the page with some more thoughts:
1. Neptunian Maximalism - "Eons" (2020) 4.5/5
Eons is going to be one of my top albums of the year, I've been consistently impressed going back to it over and over the past few months. It's such a unique blend of so many things that it defies classification sometimes. It's heavy, wacky, atmospheric, jazzy, and many, many other things all at once.
2. Faith No More - "Angel Dust" (1992) 4.5/5
Angel Dust is such an improvement over Introduce Yourself that I couldn't believe my ears. I never really cared to try and understand why Faith No More are held in such high regard, and now I get it.
3. Gaza - "I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die" (2006) 3/5
This was a tough one, because I understand the appeal, but it still doesn't appeal to me. It's visceral, but not exactly emotional for me, if that makes sense. There's still some great stuff but it's a bit too aggressive in ways that I'm not a fan of overall. I'm not going to let my bias get the best of me, hence the 3/5 score, because there's some impressively disgusting stuff in this one.
4. Strapping Young Lad - "Alien" (2005)
I remember listening to Alien once a long time ago, but I apparently never rated it. If I remember correctly my opinion was "This is kind of just worse than City", but I'd have to actually go back to it to see.
6. Disillusion - "Back To Times Of Splendor" (2004) 3.5/5
I actually wasn't a fan of this one, although I'd have to listen to it again because the album's already completely left my memory. I just remember not being too interested in it, feels like a very love it or hate it kind of album. Still great, but I'm not sure what all the hype was about, going to have to go back to it.
7. Undeath - "Lesions Of A Different Kind" (2020) 3.5/5
I had checked this out in my 2020 listening and I'm really glad it made the cut for The Horde this month, there's a ton of great stuff in it. It obviously doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's leaps and bounds above other "generic" Death Metal released this year.
9. Warbringer - "Weapons Of Tomorrow" (2020) 3/5
I listened to this 2020 Thrash album earlier in the year and it was undeniably forgettable for me, another one that I'd have to give another spin to have some actual thoughts about it. Apparently wasn't bad though.
Before I miss this altogether, to firstly state that I genuinely look forward to both the feature releases and the playlists each month as this usually means something to challenge me or at least present something new for me to discover, despite my best intentions I never quite get around to every release or playlist so this thread will highlight my inconsistency if nothing else.
Neptunian Maximalism - Eons 2/5
After much debate I decided that I just didn't really need this in my life. Nice to hear something a bit different but couldn't escape the feeling that it was just being put together for the sheer hell of being different instead of out of any genuine cohesive process. Played like some long and intense jam session (which fits the jazz influence perfectly) as opposed to a proper album
Faith No More - Angel Dust 4.5/5
Massive rediscovery for me. The jarring and unhinged nature of the performance, composition and song content makes it sound like some really adult black comedy on one of those art channels that you really have to be in the know to be watching.
Disillusion - Back To Times of Splendour 0.5/5
Terrible vocals that I just couldn't get past.
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 2.5/5
Really don't understand the interest in this record. Not a patch on anything that came before it and some tired sounding performances. Glad they managed to pull themselves back on to form with the superb Sabotage after this record. Title track aside there's not much to praise for me here.
Undeath - Lesions of a Different Kind 4/5
One of my preferred releases of the month and probably not surprising knowing my tastes. Although no wheels get reinvented here the ability and attitude of the band carry through into the music brilliantly (although not the shit artwork). A great reminder of all the good reasons of why I got into DM.
Warbringer - Weapons of Tomorrow 3/5
Demolition Hammer worship it may be but who can argue with that if it is done well enough? Consistent delivery and energy levels of small children make the record memorable enough and the lead work gives it a little polish. Terrible lyrics though.
Shining - V Halmstad 4.5/5
Said pretty much all I wanted to say in my review. A touchy subject matter for me DSBM may be, but this record moves away from simply glorifying mental health problems and incorporates the actual essence of such illness into the fabric of the tracks. Superb and clever stuff.
December Feature Releases
The Fallen: My Dying Bride - "The Dreadful Hours" (2001) 4/5
The Gateway: Deftones - "Ohms" (2020) 4.5/5
The Guardians: Gamma Ray - "Blast From The Past" (2000) 3.5/5
The Horde: Incantation - "Diabolical Conquest" (1998) 4.5/5
The Infinite: Oranssi Pazuzu - "Mestarin kynsi" (2020) 5/5
The North: Deathspell Omega - "Veritas Diaboli Manet in Aeternum: Chaining the Katechon" E.P. (2008) 4.5/5
The Pit: Testament - "The Legacy" (1987) 4/5
The Revolution: Sunami - "Sunami" E.P. (2020) 3.5/5
The Sphere: Mick Gordon - "DOOM (Original Game Soundtrack)" (2016) 5/5
December has been another particularly awesome month of feature releases for me personally. Once again I found no sign of a dud amongst the nine clans & discovered not one but TWO genuinely elite classics that will likely feature in my all-time lists for a long time to come in the Orannsi Pazuzu & Mick Gordon albums. The Incantation & Deathspell Omega releases also reaffirmed their existing positions in my Hall Of Metal Glory while the Deftones album somewhat floored me & the My Dying Bride & Testament records reminded me of just how solid they are. Even the Gamma Ray & Sunami releases offered me some appeal despite taking me well outside of my comfort zone. I'm really looking forward to releasing next month's list on New Year's Day now as I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the monthly feature releases this month!
My Dying Bride - "The Dreadful Hours" (2001) 5/5
Gamma Ray - "Blast From The Past" (2000) 4.5/5
Two excellent albums, each a classic of their respective genre! Though the Gamma Ray release could've been slightly better... Great choices, Daniel! I'm glad to revisit those two albums, and right before I started my small break from metal (https://metal.academy/forum/23/thread/620?page=1#topic_5230). I'll be back around New Year's. Later!
- Shadowdoom9/Andi
December Feature Releases Verdict:
MDB - The Dreadful Hours: My favourite MDB full length 4/5
Deftones - Ohms: I didn't go into this with any relish at all. I had a very good friend who used to push their albums onto me (sadly now passed), despite the fact I couldn't do with their brand of metal at all - I hate White Pony and the self-titled intensely and haven't listened to the band at all for well over a decade. But I do quite like Smashing Pumpkins and this sounds like Billy Corgan & co gone metal, so finally Deftones have made a record I actually quite like! 3.5/5
Incantation - Diabolical Conquest: Brilliant, has become one of my all-time favourite death metal releases 5/5
Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi: Amazing, cementing OP's position as one of the most original metal bands around. 4.5/5
Deathspell Omega - Chaining the Katechon: Deathspell's music is all about acute angles and sharp edges that never allow the listener to really get comfortable and never more so than on this single track epic. Terrific. 4/5
Testament - The Legacy: The riffs are classic thrash chuggers and Alex Sloknik's solos are vibrant and electric, guaranteed to make your neck hairs stand on end! Chuck Billy's vocals are great, particularly for a thrash singer, with a versatility few vocalists in the genre could equal. A great example of 80's thrash. 4.5/5
Sunami - Sunami EP: As a fan of hardcore punk I must admit I quite enjoyed this short and bitter EP. 3.5/5
Mick Gordon - Doom: Horrible. I'm sorry but I hated this. If a two-hour computer game soundtrack is the best a clan can come up with, then I guess it's not for me. 1/5
Gamma Ray - whatever!?: Sorry, I just couldn't be bothered with two hours of power metal, especially after a two-hour computer game soundtrack. After all there are limits to what I will endure for The Academy!
Deftones - Ohms: I didn't go into this with any relish at all. I had a very good friend who used to push their albums onto me (sadly now passed), despite the fact I couldn't do with their brand of metal at all - I hate White Pony and the self-titled intensely and haven't listened to the band at all for well over a decade. But I do quite like Smashing Pumpkins and this sounds like Billy Corgan & co gone metal, so finally Deftones have made a record I actually quite like! 3.5/5
Quoted Sonny92
Your comment about Smashing Pumpkins is interesting because that's always been the case going all the way back to 1997's "Around The Fur". In fact, I made reference to it in my review of that album.
I don't really remember their earlier stuff that way. As I remember it it was quite shouty, but maybe I'll revisit them when I'm at a bit of a loose end. Or I may just go back to Smashing Pumpkins instead.
The self-titled release admittedly saw them taking a more abrasive & screamy approach to the vocals & production.
Mick Gordon - Doom: Horrible. I'm sorry but I hated this. If a two-hour computer game soundtrack is the best a clan can come up with, then I guess it's not for me. 1/5
Quoted Sonny92
I struggle with this too sometimes, primarily because videogame OST's are completely separate from "actual music" in my brain. I've always been deep in the gaming community but one thing I've noticed as I've socialized with more and more different sectors of the community online is that people LOVE their OST's. It seems like it's all they listen to sometimes, with all the songs they share being songs from videogames. It still feels wrong to me to judge OST's on the same playing field as normal albums because these songs are made for a distinct purpose inside the game, not just purely for listening.
One thing I will say to try and suade you is that game OST's have come an INCREDIBLY long way in recent years. The days of a track simply playing start to finish behind the gameplay then looping are pretty much behind us, with most worthwhile OST's being dynamically programmed to go along with what's going on in the game. It's why people who play these games latch onto some of these newer soundtracks so much, like DOOM or Hades, because the way the music swells and changes with what's happening really leaves an impact on the experience. DOOM is pretty much the perfect example of this, since the atmosphere is dark and brooding as you're making your way through a dark hallway, then the guitar riff builds slowly once you walk into a room with demons to kill, then kicks into overdrive once you fire your first shot. Music is becoming an experience through the gaming medium, which is awesome, but it makes it really hard to objectively rate/discuss OST's as standalone things in my opinion. People will overrate game OST's because of the experience the music gave them while enjoying some of their favorite games, and I'm definitely guilty of this (see the Hades OST), so it's just something to look out for and think about.
There are certainly film scores that I love - Gladiator, Blade Runner, Legend to name but three and there are some computer game scores I quite like (although not many I'll admit) such as Skyrim. My problem isn't so much that the Doom soundtrack is a computer game score (it is a score and not a soundtrack), it's that I genuinely found it unbearable. It just gave me a splitting headache, which considering some of the shit I listen to, is some achievement! And worst of all, IT'S NOT EVEN FUCKING DOOM!!
I've managed to review the January feature releases for all my clans plus The Gateway. Here are my ratings and a quick summary:
The Fallen: Rosetta - The Galilean Satellites (2005) - 5/5
The Infinite: Devin Townsend - Terria (2001) - 5/5
The Revolution: Botch - An Anthology of Dead Ends (2002) - 4.5/5
The Guardians: Eternal Champion - Ravening Iron (2020) - 4.5/5
The Gateway: Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance (2006) - 3/5
Katatonia's album was kind of an alt-metal disappointment, having moved far away from their death-doom roots. Eternal Champion's album was better than any other album from The Guardians to appear in 2020, but not perfect to listen to full-time. The Botch EP is also a great release, their ultimate swansong recording. The Devin Townsend and Rosetta albums were two of the best albums I've listened to and I started enjoying their discographies. You have chosen those feature releases well, Daniel!
And a feature release from November for me to talk about here:
The Sphere: Strapping Young Lad - Alien (2005) - 5/5
I became interested in Strapping Young Lad, immediately together with Devin Townsend's solo material. My true entryway to industrial metal, with more bands of that genre to come to my taste later!
January Feature Releases
The Fallen: Rosetta - "The Galilean Satellites" (2005) 5/5
The Gateway: Katatonia - "The Great Cold Distance" (2006) 4.5/5
The Guardians: Eternal Champion - "Ravening Iron" (2020) 3.5/5
The Horde: Immolation - "Here In After" (1996) 4/5
The Infinite: Devin Townsend - "Terria" (2001) 3.5/5
The North: Serpent Column - "Endless Detainment" E.P. (2020) 4/5
The Pit: Overkill - "Horrorscope" (1991) 4/5
The Revolution: Botch - "An Anthology Of Dead Ends" E.P. (2002) 4/5
The Sphere: Uniform - "Shame" (2020) 4/5
It was another ripper of a month of feature releases for me with not a dud amongst them. It was great to be able to share my long-time love for Rosetta's debut as it's undoubtedly one of my all-time favourite releases. The Immolation & Overkill release also confirmed my feelings that they are both strong examples of their type. Devin Townsend's "Terria" has grown on me a little since my last revisit & I quite enjoy it now, despite still finding it to be heavily overrated. The big surprise for me was just how much I loved the Katatonia album. It's a genuine classic for mine. The Serpent Column, Botch & Uniform releases were all new to me & they were all really impressive. Even the US power metal of Eternal Champion gave me some enjoyment. But most of all... I just love engaging with you guys on the monthly features. It's one of the best parts of Metal Academy for me personally & I genuinely look forward to hearing what you all have to say.
I've managed to review the February feature releases for all my clans plus The Sphere. Here are my ratings and a quick summary:
The Fallen: The Body - I've Seen All I Need to See (2021) 2/5
The Revolution: Inside the Beehive - Drink Bleach; Live Forever (2011) - 3/5
The Infinite: Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane (2002) - 5/5
The Guardians: Riot - ThunderSteel (1988) - 5/5
The Sphere: Godflesh - Godflesh (1988) - 5/5
The Body album was nothing but electronic drone noise I couldn't stand. The Inside the Beehive album is far out of my mostly melodic metalcore league, just like two other bands Gulch and Fawn Limbs, not to mention the album title that can offend a certain group of people (what would their next album title be, "Eat Tidepods, Be Immortal"?! Seriously just what's up with those guys?). The Pain of Salvation, Riot, and Godflesh releases are perfect examples of their respective genres! Remedy Lane was a grand trip down melodic progressive metal lane, the Godflesh EP has push my industrial metal game further with my newfound interest in that band, and ThunderSteel might be just be my entryway to the late 70s/early 80s of the Riot albums before that one, but please don't expect me to try the heavily popular classic heavy metal bands from that era like Iron Maiden and Motorhead...at least not until I feel ready. You have chosen some of the feature releases well again, Daniel!
February Feature Releases
The Fallen: The Body - "I've Seen All I Need To See" (2021) 4/5
The Gateway: Deftones - "Koi no Yokan" (2012) 4.5/5
The Guardians: Riot - "ThunderSteel" (1988) 4/5
The Horde: Asphyx - "Necroceros" (2021) 3.5/5
The Infinite: Pain Of Salvation - "Remedy Lane" (2002) 4/5
The North: Moonsorrow - "V: Hävitetty" (2007) 3.5/5
The Pit: Hexecutor - "Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge" (2020) 3/5
The Revolution: Inside The Beehive - "Drink Bleach; Live Forever" E.P. (2011) 4.5/5
The Sphere: Godflesh - "Godflesh" E.P. (1988) 4/5
Another generally rewarding month of feature releases in February which resulted in me claiming two new classics from Inside The Beehive & Deftones. There was also from a very nice surprise in The Body's brand new album which I found to be a particularly challenging & rewarding experience. I've been familiar with the Godflesh, Pain Of Salvation & Riot records for many years now but I'm pleased to say that my affection for all of them has grown over time & I now find them to be very solid examples of their type. Asphyx delivered exactly what I expected which can't be a bad thing while the Moonsorrow record confirmed my existing opinion that it's the first of their releases to offer me any genuine appeal. It was only the Hexecutor sophomore album that I found myself struggling with & I won't be returning to it any time soon. Release of the month? I'm going for that completely off-the-hook Inside The Beehive E.P. as it blew my fucking head off.
Ever since I started the monthly feature release concept, I've always had the intention that the clans would take over the responsibility for selecting their own features once we had a bit more activity on the site & given that some of you have been very active in regards to the features in recent months I've been thinking that it might be time to test the waters. To be more specific, what I'm suggesting is that all contributing clan members take a turn at selecting the monthly feature in a revolving chair arrangement. For clans that only have one or less regularly contributing member I will retain the duties or act as a second person in order to insure a bit of variety. Here's what I'm proposing as far as schedules go:
THE FALLEN: Sonny (Mar), Andi (Apr), Ben (May), Daniel (Jun)
THE GATEWAY: saxy (Mar), Daniel (Apr), saxy (May), Daniel (Jun)
THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr (Mar), saxy (Apr), Andi (May), Vinny (Jun)
THE HORDE: Vinny (Mar), Ben (Apr), Daniel (May), Vinny (Jun)
THE INFINITE: Xephyr (Mar), saxy (Apr), Andi (May), Xephyr (Jun)
THE NORTH: Ben (Mar), Vinny (Apr), Xephyr (May), Sonny (Jun)
THE PIT: Sonny (Mar), Vinny (Apr), Ben (May), Daniel (Jun)
THE REVOLUTION: Andi (Mar), Daniel (Apr), Andi (May), Daniel (Jun)
THE SPHERE: Daniel
Are you all interested in contributing? Is there anyone I'm missing? What are your thoughts on this generally?
The other alternative is that the associated clan members come up with a way to collaborate in coming up with each month's feature release. I thought that the logistics might be a little difficult to manage but feel free to give it a shot if you can think of a good way to facilitate it. Every clan may choose different methods but it really doesn't matter as long as all the clan members have decided upon the process as a group.
And finally, if you're a less active clan member that's not listed & want to be involved then just let me know & I'll add you to the schedule.
I'm definitely up for contributing! This would be a great opportunity for active members to select their own valid feature releases for their own clans in a scheduled order of months. As for anyone missing, well the most recently active Sphere member is Chris Van Etten. Can you please PM him, asking if he would like to contribute to the Sphere feature releases? Thanks!
Great idea, a bit of responsibility for me will help make me a little more sticky with the place again.
Don't think the collaborative approach would work in all honesty so happy with this approach outlined of the rotation.
What's the process then? Do we just start the thread ourselves for the featured release or do you still hold posting responsibility Daniel? Happy either way.
I have also puled together a list below for The Horde, The Pit and The North "Featured" releases from Jan 20 to present so folks picking don't replicate old picks.
Body, The - I've Seen All I Need To See (3.5/5)
Deftones - Koi no yokan (3.5/5)
Riot - ThunderSteel (2.5/5)
Asphyx - Necroceros (3/5)
Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane (3.5/5)
Moonsorrow - V: Hävitetty (4/5)
Hexecutor - Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge (3/5)