Feature releases

This is a great idea letting clan members help in the decision making of featured records for the month. I am all for helping out with both The Gateway & Infinite clan events, but I am a lot less educated when it comes to Guardian records. I know that clan is in good hands with Xephyr, Andi and Vinny choosing and I will continue to participate in discussion when I can. I feel like it would be best if I sat out on that one.

THE FALLEN: Sonny (Mar), Andi (Apr), Ben (May), Daniel (Jun)

THE GATEWAY: saxy (Mar), Daniel (Apr), saxy (May), Daniel (Jun)

THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr (Mar), Andi (Apr), Vinny (May), Xephyr (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

The process will be that I'll remain the point of coordination for the moment. I think it's best if we keep the actual releases a secret until the 1st of each month as it will add a level of anticipation. Therefore, I'm proposing that you all send me your chosen releases by private message in the last week of the following month. If your release is not already on the site then you'll need to give Ben two weeks notice to ensure that he gets them in beforehand. I'll continue to create the individual threads & posts for consistency.

Great way forward and definitely a good idea to get the active clan members involved, allowing for a bit of development of the clan concept. I'm interested to see where this goes now with additional membership input. May even encourage more peripheral members to become more involved. 

Hey Daniel, are we doing the full write-up introducing the album as well? Or will you take care of that and you just need the album from us? 

I was thinking I’d maintain the write-up responsibilities in order to keep some consistency of format & timing. I just need you to private message me the relevant release(s) & they need to already be on the site.

FYI if the nominated member doesn't get their feature release nomination in by first thing in the morning on the first day of the month (Australian time) then I'll select one myself to ensure continuity & they'll lose their opportunity until the next cycle. It would be preferable if they come in at least a couple of days before the end of the previous month so that I'm well prepared to smash out all of the posts on the morning of the 1st.

Be sure to remind me when it's my month or I'll forget!!

Good point. I think we should ensure that there is a post to tell everyone who the lucky members are for next month on the 1st when we announce that month's feature releases.

Lists updated to include the featured releases for The Infinite, The Guardians, The Gateway and The Fallen from Jan 20 to present as a guide of what has gone before.

https://metal.academy/lists/public

Great idea Vinny. And thanks a lot for taking the initiative there. This is the overall feature release list for each clan if you want to update those further (although it's in no particular order):

THE FALLEN

Celtic Frost – “Monotheist” (2006)

Paul Chain Violet Theatre – “Detaching From Satan” E.P. (1984)

Swallow The Sun – “Plague Of Butterflies” E.P. (2008)

My Dying Bride – “The Dreadful Hours” (2001)

Tiamat – “Wildhoney” (1994)

Type O Negative – “October Rust” (1996)

Boris – “Boris At Last -Feedbacker-“ (2003)

The Angelic Process – “Weighing Souls With Sand” (2007)

Neptunian Maximalism – “Eons” (2020)

The Body – “I’ve Seen All I Need To See”, 2021)

Mastodon – “Leviathan” (2004)

Isis – “Panopticon” (2004)

Rosetta – “The Galilean Satellites” (2005)

Sleep – “Dopesmoker” (2003)

Electric Wizard – “Dopethrone” (2000)

THE GATEWAY

Faith No More – “Introduce Yourself” (1987)

Primus – “Frizzle Fry” (1990)

Primus – “Sailing The Seas Of Cheese” (1991)

Deftones – “Around The Fur” (1997)

Tool – “Lateralus”(2001)

Tool – “Aenima” (1996)

Faith No More – “Angel Dust” (1992)

System Of A Down – “Toxicity” (2001)

Deftones – “Ohms” (2020)

Katatonia – “The Great Cold Distance” (2006)

Deftones –“Koi no Yokan” (2012)

Rage Against The Machine – “Rage Against The Machine” (1992)

Rage Against The Machine – “The Battle Of Los Angeles” (1999)

Korn – “Korn” (1994)

Deftones – “Adrenaline” (1995)

THE GUARDIANS

Picture – “Diamond Dreamer” (1982)

Black Sabbath – “Paranoid” (1970)

Black Sabbath – “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” (1973)

Riot – “ThunderSteel” (1988)

Iron Maiden – “The Number Of The Beast” (1982)

Manilla Road – “Mystification” (1987)

Eternal Champion – “Ravening Iron” (2020)

LORD – “Fallen Idols” (2019)

Blind Guardian – “Imaginations From The Other Side” (1995)

Helloween – “Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II” (1988)

Gamma Ray – “Blast From The Past” (2000)

Therion – “Theli” (1996)

Therion – “Secret Of The Runes” (2001)

Jason Becker – “Perpetual Burn” (1988)

Tony MacAlpine – “Maximum Security” (1987)

THE HORDE

Sepultura – “Bestial Devastation” E.P. (1985)

Undeath – “Lesions Of A Different Kind” (2020)

Incantation – “Diabolical Conquest” (1998)

Immolation – “Here In After” (1996)

Asphyx – “Necroceros” (2021)

Death – “Symbolic” (1995)

Cryptopsy – “None So Vile” (1998)

Delusional Parasitosis / Ecchymosis / Dissevered / Bleeding – “Scaphism 4-Way Split” (2017)

Entombed – “Wolverine Blues” (1993)

Insomnium – “Above The Weeping World” (2006)

Discordance Axis – “The Inalienable Dreamless” (2000)

Terrorizer – “World Downfall” (1989)

Genghis Tron – “Dead Mountain Mouth” (2006)

Dead Infection – “A Chapter Of Accidents” (1995)

Phyllomedusa – “Desiccation In Progress (Version II)” (2011)

THE INFINITE

Warning (Ger) – “Warning” (1982)

Kayo Dot – “Choirs Of The Eye” (2003)

Ved Buens Ende….. – “Written In Waters” (1995)

Today Is The Day – “Sadness Will Prevail” (2002)

Oranssi Pazuzu – “Mestarin kynsi” (2020)

Dream Theater – “Images & Words” (1992)

Opeth – “Blackwater Park” (2001)

Green Carnation - “Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness” (2001)

Disillusion – “Back To Times Of Splendor” (2004)

Devin Townsend – “Terria” (2001)

Pain Of Salvation – “Remedy Lane” (2002)

Meshuggah – “I” E.P. (2004)

Agalloch – “Ashes Against The Grain” (2006)

Solstafir – “Kold” (2009)

Solstafir – “Svartir Sandar” (2011)

THE NORTH

VBathory – “Twilight Of The Gods” (1991)

Bathory – “Hammerheart” (1990)

Falkenbach – “Heralding : The Fireblade” (2005)

Falkenbach – “Ok nefna tysvar ty” (2003)

Moonsorrow – “Verisakeet” (2005)

Moonsorrow – “V: Havitetty” (2007)

Heol Telwen – “An deiz ruz” (2005)

In Extremo – “Sunder ohne Zugel” (2001)

Darkthrone – “A Blaze In The Northern Sky” (1992)

Deathspell Omega – “Veritas Diaboli Manet in Aeternum: Chaining the Katechon” E.P., 2008)

Serpent Column – “Endless Detainment” E.P. (2020)

Burzum – “Filosofem” (1996)

Deafheaven – “Sunbather” (2013)

Kvelertak – “Kvelertak” (2010)

Shining – “V – Halmstad” (2007)

THE PIT

Acid – “Maniac” (1983)

Helloween – “Helloween” E.P. (1985)

Helstar – “Nosferatu” (1989)

Venom – “Welcome To Hell” (1981)

Artillery – “By Inheritance” (1990)

Overkill – “Feel The Fire” (1985)

Warbringer – “Weapons Of Tomorrow” (2020)

Testament – “The Legacy” (1987)

Overkill – “Horrorscope” (1991)

Hexecutor – “Beyond Any Human Conception Of Knowledge” (2020)

S.O.D. – “Speak English Or Die” (1985)

Vektor – “Black Future” (2009)

Pantera – “Vulgar Display Of Power” (1992)

Sepultura – “Chaos A.D.” (1993)

Pantera – “Cowboys From Hell” (1990)

THE REVOLUTION

Earth Crisis – “Gommorah’s Season End” (1996)

Converge – “All We Love We Leave Behind” (2012)

Hopesfall – “No Wings To Speak Of” E.P. (2001)

Sunami – “Sunami” E.P. (2020)

After The Burial – “Rareform” (2008)

Converge – “Jane Doe” (2001)

Gaza – “I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die” (2006)

Botch – “An Anthology Of Dead Ends” E.P. (2002)

Inside The Beehive – “Drink Bleach; Live Forever” E.P. (2011)

Protest The Hero – “Kezia” (2006)

HORSE The Band – “The Mechanical Hand” (2005)

Enter Shikari – “Rat Race” E.P. (2013)

Blood Stain Child – “Epsilon” (2011)

Amaranthe – “Massive Addictive” (2014)

BABYMETAL – “BABYMETAL” (2014)

THE SPHERE

Godflesh – “Selfless” (1994)

Ministry – “Psalm 69” (1992)

Godflesh – “Streetcleaner” (1989)

Strapping Young Lad – “City” (1997)

Nine Inch Nails – “Broken” E.P. (1992)

Strapping Young Lad – “Alien” (2005)

Mick Gordon – “DOOM (Original Game Soundtrack)” (2016)

Uniform – “Shame” (2020)

Godflesh – “Godflesh” E.P. (1988)

Rammstein – “Mutter” (2001)

Rammstein – “Sehnsucht” (1997)

Rammstein – “Reise, Reise” (2004)

Sybreed – “Antares” (2007)

…And Oceans – “A.M. G.O.D.” (2001)

Jamie Christopherson – “Metal Gear Rising: Reveangence Vocal Tracks” (2013)

All done, I will update moving forwards.

The allocated April feature release owners:

THE FALLEN: Andi, Ben, Daniel, Sonny

THE GATEWAY: Daniel, saxy

THE GUARDIANS: Andi, Vinny, Xephyr

THE HORDE: Ben, Daniel, Vinny

THE INFINITE: saxy, Andi, Xephyr

THE NORTH: Vinny, Xephyr, Sonny, Ben

THE PIT: Vinny, Ben, Daniel, Sonny

THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi

THE SPHERE: Daniel

I've managed to review the March feature releases for all my clans plus The Gateway. Here are my ratings and a quick summary:

The Gateway: Linkin Park - Meteora (2003) - 4/5

The Guardians: Avantasia - The Metal Opera (2001) - 5/5

The Infinite: Animals as Leaders - Animals as Leaders (2009) - 5/5

The Revolution: Trivium - In Waves (2011) - 5/5, maybe even 6/5

Man, this month was a great one for feature releases, and I think it's because of the releases submitted by us Metal Academy members (including myself). For my clans, the releases are perfect, whether they are albums from bands I've never listened to before but became love at first sight for me, or albums from different eras of my metal taste that have marked milestones for me, especially the Trivium album. The latter category includes The Gateway feature release, Linkin Park's Meteora, which was part of when I was following my brother's alt-rock/metal footsteps before I became interested in "real" metal, and I'm grateful for Linkin Park's nu metal era setting my path towards where I am today. Thanks for these amazing feature releases, everyone, including the one who started this new concept, Daniel! Looking forward to more of this cool activity and my feature release submissions for next month coming in...

Yeah I thought it was a particularly impressive group of feature releases this month too. In fact, there wasn't a dud amongst them in my opinion.

THE FALLEN: Solstice - "New Dark Age" (1998)  4/5

THE GATEWAY: Linkin Park - "Meteora" (2003)  4/5

THE GUARDIANS: Avantasia - "The Metal Opera" (2001)  3.5/5

THE HORDE: Dead Congregation - "Promulgation Of The Fall" (2014)  5/5

THE INFINITE: Animals As Leaders - "Animals As Leaders" (2009)  4/5

THE NORTH: Nehëmah - "Requiem Tenebrae" (2004)  4.5/5

THE PIT: Sacrilege - "Behind The Realms Of Madness" (1985)  3.5/5

THE REVOLUTION: Trivium - "In Waves" (2011)  3.5/5

THE SPHERE: Killing Joke - "Killing Joke" (2003)  4.5/5

The clear highlight for me was the Dead Congregation album which is likely to push for inclusion in my all-time death metal top ten & that's saying something given that it's my metal subgenre of choice. The Nehëmah & Killing Joke records are also genuine classics in my opinion. The Solstice & Animals As Leaders releases were both very solid & I have to admit to being very surprised at how much I enjoyed the Linkin Park record. If I'm honest I found the commercial elements of the Trivium record to be a lot more challenging than that of "Meteora" & I don't think there's all that much of a gap between them as far as underground credibility goes. It was nice to see that my commitment was repaid with some enjoyment in the Avantasia album & my generally positive impressions of Sacrilege's debut haven't faded in the slightest over the decades.

Here's the arrangement for next month's feature releases:

THE FALLEN: Ben, Daniel, Sonny, Andi

THE GATEWAY: saxy, Daniel

THE GUARDIANS: Vinny, Xephyr, Andi

THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben

THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, saxy

THE NORTH: Xephyr, Sonny, Ben, Vinny

THE PIT: Ben, Daniel, Sonny, Vinny

THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel

THE SPHERE: Daniel

Just two days into April, and I managed to review this month's feature releases for all my clans plus The Gateway and The Horde. Here are my ratings and a quick summary:

The Fallen: Within Temptation - Enter (1997) - 4/5

The Gateway: Devin Townsend - Addicted (2009) - 3/5

The Guardians: DragonForce - Inhuman Rampage (2006) - 5/5, maybe even 6/5

The Infinite: Evergrey - Escape of the Phoenix (2021) - 4.5/5

The Revolution: The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer) - 4.5/5

Another great month for feature releases, again probably because of the releases submitted by us Metal Academy members (including myself). The ones for my two original clans (Infinite, Revolution) have an excellent 4.5/5. My feature release submissions for The Fallen and The Guardians were the first my first ever times listening to an album from each of those two clans and are responsible for how my metal interest is today, especially the DragonForce album that marked the perfect complete start of my metal interest that I would recommend to any power metal fan. However, The Gateway feature release, Devin Townsend Project's Addicted, is the only album that I've reviewed in the list to be even a slight dud. Thanks for these amazing feature releases, everyone! Looking forward to more of this cool activity, what you all think of my submissions, and feature release submissions for next month coming in via private message...

OK, so I've gotten through all nine of our April feature releases now. Unfortunately I didn't discover any records that will be challenging for inclusion in my personal hall of metal glory this month but there was some pretty good stuff in there nonetheless as well as a couple of albums that were simply too far away from my taste to offer much in the way of appeal despite giving them a good Aussie crack. Here's the list ordered by preference:

THE INFINITE: Evergrey - "Escape Of The Phoenix" (2021) 4/5

THE SPHERE: God - "The Anatomy Of Addiction" (1994) 4/5

THE REVOLUTION: The Dillinger Escape Plan - "One Of Us Is The Killer" (2013) 4/5

THE HORDE: Martyr - "Feeding The Abscess" (2006) 4/5

THE PIT: Total Annihilation - "...On Chains Of Doom" (2020) 3.5/5

THE GATEWAY: Devin Townsend Project - "Addicted" (2009) 3.5/5

THE NORTH: Cultes des Ghoules - "Henbane" (2013) 3.5/5

THE FALLEN: Within Temptation - "Enter" (1997)  3/5

THE GUARDIANS: DragonForce - "Inhuman Rampage" (2006)  2.5/5

Well done to saxy for taking out my pole position this month too. "Escape Of The Phoenix" really surprised me in a positive way.

Here's the rostered nominators for the June feature releases for each clan:

THE FALLEN: Daniel

THE GATEWAY: Daniel

THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr

THE HORDE: Vinny

THE INFINITE: Xephyr

THE NORTH: Sonny

THE PIT: Daniel

THE REVOLUTION: Daniel

THE SPHERE: Ben

I coincidently seemed to pop up on lots of these in the one month (likely because I put myself as last in each of my clans when first devising the roster) so I've asked Ben to nominate The Sphere for a bit of variation.

Here are my ratings for this month's feature releases for all my clans plus The Gateway, and a quick summary:

The Fallen: Dolorian - Dolorian (2001) - 5/5

The Gateway: Loathe - I Let It In and It Took Everything (2020) - 5/5

The Guardians: Grand Magus - Hammer of the North (2010) - 4/5

The Infinite: Dream Theater - Train of Thought (2003) - 4.5/5

The Revolution: Born of Osiris - The Discovery (2011) - 5/5

Another great month for feature releases, again probably because of the releases submitted by us Metal Academy members (including myself). The one for The Guardians is great but could've been slightly better. My feature release submission for The Infinite was one of my first ever times listening to an album from that clan and are responsible for how my metal interest is today, and I would recommend it to any heavier progressive metal fan. The other feature releases I've reviewed deserve a perfect 5 stars! Thanks for these amazing feature releases, everyone! Looking forward to more of this activity, though it appears I'm currently on break during the June feature release submission period...

I've had a really great time with this month's feature releases. The option to have our clan members submit their own features has added an extra layer of intrigue & enthusiasm that's added to both my motivation & my enjoyment. Here's the winners & losers for me this month in order of preference with Ben getting a glowing report for giving me not one but TWO new entries into my personal Hall of Metal Glory:

THE HORDE: Suffocation - "Despise The Sun" E.P. (1998) 5/5

THE FALLEN: Dolorian - "Dolorian" (2001) 4.5/5

THE PIT: Grip Inc. - "Nemesis" (1997) 4.5/5

THE SPHERE: Fear Factory - "Demanufacture" (1995) 4/5

THE GATEWAY: Loathe - "I Let It In & It Took Everything" (2020) 4/5

THE INFINITE: Dream Theater - "Train Of Thought" (2003) 4/5

THE GUARDIANS: Grand Magus - "Hammer Of The North" (2010) 4/5

THE REVOLUTION: Born Of Osiris - "The Discovery" (2011) 4/5

THE NORTH: Funereal Presence - "Achatius" (2019) 3/5

The Suffocation release was always gonna come out on top as it's one of my all-time favourite records & comes from my favourite band but the Dolorian & Grip Inc. releases  were both new to me & frankly blew me away. I was already well acquainted with the Fear Factory album of course so it was no real surprise when I found that it still does it for me but a return visit to Born Of Osiris' "The Discovery" saw me bumping my score up a touch from my previous review of a decade ago. The Loathe, Dream Theater & Grand Magus records are all very solid & ticked all of my boxes with only Funereal presence failing to capture me. I'm really looking forward to the start of the new month so I can get stuck into a new batch of feature releases now.

Xephyr & Sonny, make sure you remember to get your submissions in for The Guardians, The infinite & The North.

Here's the list of feature release contributors for July 2021:

THE FALLEN: Sonny

THE GATEWAY: saxy

THE GUARDIANS: Andi

THE HORDE: Ben

THE INFINITE: saxy

THE NORTH: Ben

THE PIT: Sonny

THE REVOLUTION: Andi

THE SPHERE: Daniel

If any new members are interested in being added to the contributors list then please let me know & I'll have you included in the roster moving forwards.

We had a really fucking consistent list of feature releases this month. In fact, it might even challenge for our strongest month yet in my opinion as I've discovered an impressive THREE new entries into my Hall of Metal Glory without a dud in sight. Here's my scores in order of preference:

THE NORTH: Oranssi Pazuzu - "Värähtelijä" (2016)  4.5/5

THE INFINITE: Lucid Planet - "Lucid Planet II" (2020)  4.5/5

THE SPHERE: Red Harvest - "Internal Punishment Programs" (2004)  4.5/5

THE FALLEN: The Gathering - "Mandylion" (1995)  4/5

THE HORDE: Cruciamentum - "Charnel Passages" (2015)  4/5

THE PIT: Sodom - "Agent Orange" (1989)  4/5

THE GUARDIANS: Unleash the Archers - "Apex" (2017)  4/5

THE REVOLUTION: Disembodied - "If God Only Knew The Rest Were Dead" E.P. (1998)  4/5

THE GATEWAY: Dir en Grey - "Uroboros" (2008)  3.5/5

Well done to Sonny who has (to the surprise of approximately no one) picked up my release of the month while Xephyr's two inclusions both had a significant impact on me too. Given how consistently I've frothed about them of late, Ben would appear to have been tailoring his inclusions to my personal taste & if that's the case then I'd suggest that he knows me extremely well & would encourage him to continue down that path given the string of fantastic releases he's brought me over the last few months. Bring on July!

I did not post my monthly playlist and feature release outcomes until now because I was a little busy with other things this month and only reviewed 3 releases so far, but they are mostly perfect, so here are my scores:

THE FALLEN: The Gathering - "Mandylion" (1995) - 5/5

THE GATEWAY: Dir En Grey - "Uroboros" (2008) - 5/5

THE INFINITE: Lucid Planet - "Lucid Planet II" (2020) - 4/5

The Fallen and Gateway releases each deserve a perfect 5 stars, the former I've first listened to 5 years ago, and the latter I've first listened to this month! The Infinite release is great but could've been slightly better. I'm just at the lower edge of people who enjoy that album. Thanks for these amazing feature releases, everyone! Looking forward to more of this cool activity, along with feature release submissions for next month coming in via private message...

PS: NecroDevil, if you're still active after your big round of ratings, I highly recommend those releases I've mentioned above, please give them each a rating and maybe a review.