Feature releases
I only managed six of this month's features - time has been real tight lately!
The North: No surprise here. One of my all-time favourites and a resounding 5/5.
The Pit: Again, no surprise. I love early Sodom and Agent Orange along with Persecution Mania are top class teutonic thrashers. Another 5/5.
The Infinite: Sonny fails to slag Infinite release shock! Really enjoyed this, very proggy, not so metally. Concentrates on writing great songs rather than trying to dazzle with technical wizardry. I wish more prog metal sounded like this. 4/5
The Horde: Another one that floated my boat. A modern take on that filthy old-school sound and a winner all the way. 4/5
The Fallen: Not hearing an awful lot of gothic metal here, which is to it's credit. Another very proggy release that sounds in a number of places like neo-prog acts such as Mostly Autumn and Magenta (both of which I like). Classy vocals as nearly everyone seems to comment. 4/5
The Guardians: I really don't intend to shit on every power metal album I hear and this is far from the worst, but I just can't get into it at all. It just seems so overtly theatrical and a little bit naff. 2.5... no, go on - 3/5
I did borrow Internal Punishment Programs off a guy I worked with just after it came out and hated it, so I really couldn't be arsed revisiting it. Let's say 1.5/5 from memory.
Here's the lucky nominators for the August feature releases:
THE FALLEN: Andi, Ben, Daniel, Sonny
THE GATEWAY: Daniel, Saxy
THE GUARDIANS: Vinny, Xephyr, Andi
THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben
THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, Saxy
THE NORTH: Vinny, Xephyr, Sonny, Ben
THE PIT: Vinny, Ben, Daniel, Sonny
THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi
THE SPHERE: Daniel
Here are my ratings for this month's feature releases for all my clans plus The Sphere, and a quick summary:
The Guardians: Gamma Ray - Power Plant (1999) - 5/5
The Infinite: Altesia - Paragon Circus (2019) - 4/5
The Revolution: Converge - You Fail Me (2004) - 5/5
The Sphere: Ministry - The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989) - 4.5/5
Another great month for feature releases, again probably because of the releases submitted by us Metal Academy members (including myself). The one for The Infinite is great but could've been slightly better. My feature release submission for The Guardians and The Revolution deserve a perfect 5 stars and great classics for their respective genres, and I would recommend it to any fan of power metal or metalcore. The Sphere feature release I've reviewed 6 months ago in a DIS vs DAT debate and hold a 4.5 star rating, despite two sh*tters holding back the perfection the album would have otherwise. 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...
This month's feature release list was so impressive. I loved all bar one of the nine records included & even added the M.S.W. album to my Hall of Metal Glory. It was good to revisit some old favourites from my past (Ministry, Converge, Alice In Chains, Necrodeath) & the Blood Red Throne, Keep Of Kalessin & Altesia records were all worthy additions to my collection. The Altesia one was particularly surprising given that I'd never heard of them before. To be fair on Andi, I was never gonna like the Gamma Ray album as that variety of European power metal just isn't my bag.
Here's the list of features in order of preference:
1. M.S.W. - "Obliviosus" (2020) 4.5/5
2. Ministry - "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste" (1989) 4.5/5
3. Blood Red Throne - "Altered Genesis" (2005) 4/5
4. Converge - "You Fail Me" (2004) 4/5
5. Keep Of Kalessin - "Reclaim" E.P. (2004) 4/5
6. Altesia - "Paragon Circus" (2019) 4/5
7. Alice In Chains - "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" (2013) 4/5
8. Necrodeath - "Into The Macabre" (1987) 4/5
9. Gamma Ray - "Power Plant" (1999) 3/5
Well done to Sonny who has picked up my monthly award for best feature release too.
I managed seven of this month's nine releases and I thoroughly enjoyed all seven of them.
My rankings of those seven:
1. M.S.W. - "Obliviosus" (2020)
2. Necrodeath - "Into The Macabre" (1987) 4.5/5
3. Altesia - "Paragon Circus" (2019) 4/5
4. Alice In Chains - "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" (2013) 4/5
5. Keep Of Kalessin - "Reclaim" E.P. (2004) 4/5
6. Ministry - "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste" (1989) 3.5/5
7. Blood Red Throne - "Altered Genesis" (2005) 3.5/5
The Altesia album was a real find and one I even had to buy on CD. Also great to finally get to grips with Alice In Chains.
Here are the lucky recipients of the September feature release nomination duties:
THE FALLEN: Ben, Daniel, Sonny, Andi
THE GATEWAY: Saxy S, Daniel
THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Andi, Vinny
THE HORDE: Vinny, Ben, Daniel
THE INFINITE: Xephyr, Saxy S, Andi
THE NORTH: Xephyr, Sonny, Ben, Vinny
THE PIT: Ben, Daniel, Sonny, Vinny
THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel
THE SPHERE: Daniel
Here are my ratings for this month's feature releases for all my clans, and a quick summary:
The Fallen: Katatonia - Brave Murder Day (1996) - 5/5
The Guardians: Saxon - Thunderbolt (2018) - 4/5
The Infinite: Leprous - Tall Poppy Syndrome (2009) - 5/5
The Revolution: Skycamefalling - 10.21 (2000) - 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 Fallen and The Infinite deserve a perfect 5 stars and are great classics for their respective genres, and I would recommend it to any fan of death-doom or progressive metal. The Revolution release is also perfect and I look forward to listening to that band more. Thanks for these amazing feature releases, guys!
I actually think there's a strong case for this month's feature releases being the strongest we've had since we introduced the clan-member submissions arrangement as I'm not sure I've gained the consistency of enjoyment before. Here are my results in order of preference:
1. Akhlys - "The Dreaming I" (2015) 5/5
2. Leprous - "Tall Poppy Syndrome" (2009) 4.5/5
3. Katatonia - "Brave Murder Day" (1996) 4.5/5
4. Dog Fashion Disco - "Adultery" (2006) 4/5
5. Saxon - "Thunderbolt" (2018) 4/5
6. The Chasm - "Procession To The Infraworld" (2000) 4/5
7. Nuclear Assault - "Game Over" (1986) 4/5
8. Skycamefalling - "10.21" (2000) 4/5
9. OLD - "Lo Flux Tube" (1991) 3.5/5
There were a few old favourites from Nuclear Assault, Katatonia & The Chasm that are still as potent as they've ever been. There were not one but TWO brand new classics to hang in my Hall of Metal Glory from Akhlys & Leprous. The Dog Fashion Disco, Saxon & Skycamefalling releases were all pleasant surprises & I even found myself getting into the OLD record, despite not finding it particularly interesting back in the day.
And well done to Vinny who has given me one of the greatest extreme metal experiences I've ever had in that Akhlys record. To say I was blown away is a massive understatement. It's one of the best couple of discoveries I've been gifted with since the Metal Academy website started up a few years ago.
Here's the October feature release nominators:
THE FALLEN: Daniel, Sonny, Ben
THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy S
THE GUARDIANS: Andi, Vinny, Xephyr
THE HORDE: Ben, Daniel, Vinny
THE INFINITE: Saxy S, Andi, Xephyr
THE NORTH: Sonny, Ben, Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel
THE PIT: Daniel, Sonny, Vinny, Ben
THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi
THE SPHERE: Daniel
September has been an up & down month for me as far as feature releases go. There were a couple of records that did very little for me, a couple more that I quite enjoyed without ever getting too fanatical over, a few really solid records that floated my boat & a couple of genuine classics that had me frothing at the mouth. These were my results in order of preference:
THE REVOLUTION: Botch - "We Are The Romans" (1999) 5/5
THE HORDE: Altarage - "Succumb" (2021) 4.5/5
THE PIT: Infernal Majesty - "None Shall Defy" (1987) 4/5
THE INFINITE: Alcest - "Kodama" (2016) 4/5
THE FALLEN: Monolithe - "Monolithe II" (2005) 4/5
THE GATEWAY: Helmet - "Meantime" (1992) 3.5/5
THE SPHERE: Samael - "Passage" (1996) 3.5/5
THE NORTH: Manegarm - "Vredens tid" (2005) 3/5
THE GUARDIANS: Cauldron Born - "Born Of The Cauldron" (1997) 2.5/5
Well done to Andi for selecting my pick of the month.
Here's the November feature release nominators:
THE FALLEN: Sonny, Ben, Daniel
THE GATEWAY: Saxy S, Andi
THE GUARDIANS: Vinny, Xephyr, Andi
THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben
THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, Saxy S
THE NORTH: Ben, Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel, Sonny
THE PIT: Sonny, Vinny, Ben, Daniel
THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel
THE SPHERE: Daniel
Here are my ratings for this month's feature releases for all my clans, and a quick summary:
The Gateway: Linkin Park - The Hunting Party (2014) - 3.5/5
The Guardians: Fates Warning - Night on Bröcken (1984) - 4/5
The Infinite: Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I (2012) - 5/5
The Revolution: Kickback - Les 150 passions meurtrières (2001) - 2.5/5
Another good month for feature releases, again probably because of the releases submitted by us Metal Academy members (including myself), though in more mixed reactions from me. My feature release submissions for The Gateway and The Guardians are good enough for others to try but could've been slightly better. The feature release for The Infinite deserves a perfect 5 stars and is a great modern classic that I would recommend to any fan of progressive metal. The Revolution release is not really great for me and I'll never feel up to listening to more of that band anytime soon. Thanks for these amazing feature releases, guys! Looking forward to more of this cool activity, along with feature release submissions for next month coming in via private message...
I wouldn't say that October was one of our stronger months for feature releases but I still got plenty of enjoyment out of the vast majority of the nine releases on offer, even if there wasn't anything too mind-blowing in the way of new discoveries for me personally. "Extreme Aggression" has always been a huge part of my life so it was no surprise that I ended up rating it so highly. "Portal of I" has just slightly slipped back in my affections a touch over the years as my taste profile has developed however it's still a wonderful example of its type. I'll definitely need to check out the rest of Reverend Bizarre's back-catalogue if this release was any indication of their skills & I have a feeling you'll be hearing more from me on that particular band. I was across Necrophagist's & Panopticon's work prior to this revisit so I knew that Necrophagist would be right up my alley & that Panopticon would likely take a little more effort to get into. "Kentucky" did offer some reward for my efforts in the end though. I quite enjoyed the Kickback & Lard records but they're unlikely to be regular inclusions in my playlist moving forwards while I would suggest that I probably get a little more enjoyment out of "Night On Brocken" than it has any right to command. Unfortunately for Linkin Park, I just couldn't quite connect with "The Hunting Party" despite having really enjoyed their previous feature release "Meteora" some months ago now.
Here were my results in order of preference:
THE PIT: Kreator - "Extreme Aggression" (1989) 4.5/5
THE INFINITE: Ne Obliviscaris - "Portal Of I" (2012) 4/5
THE FALLEN: Reverend Bizarre - "III: So Long Suckers" (2007) 4/5
THE HORDE: Necrophagist - "Epitaph" (2004) 4/5
THE REVOLUTION: Kickback - "Les 150 Passions Meurtrieres" E.P. (2000) 3.5/5
THE SPHERE: Lard - "The Last Temptation Of Reid" (1990) 3.5/5
THE NORTH: Panopticon - "Kentucky" (2012) 3.5/5
THE GUARDIANS: Fates Warning - "Night On Brocken" (1984) 3.5/5
THE GATEWAY: Linkin Park - "The Hunting Party" (2014) 3/5
For me this month's features were a great opportunity to listen back to some old(ish) favourites in Kentucky and Extreme Aggression with the latter album going up in my estimation by a whole star. The Revolution pick was pretty inoffensive to my ears although I doubt I will revisit anytime soon. I haven't bothered with The Guardians feature release because to be honest I am really not feeling much of the content of that clan at present but the (re)discovery of Epitaph was a real high point this month. I have blanked that fucking LARD release from memory - absolute pish!
THE NORTH: Panopticon - "Kentucky" (2012) 4.5
THE HORDE: Necrophagist - "Epitaph" (2004) 4.5
THE PIT: Kreator - "Extreme Aggression" (1989) 4
THE REVOLUTION: Kickback - "Les 150 Passions Meurtrieres" E.P. (2000) 3
Managed seven of the nine features this month and enjoyed most of them. In order of awesomeness:
The North: Panopticon - Kentucky (2012) 5/5
The Fallen: Reverend Bizarre - III: So Long Suckers (2007) 4.5/5
The Pit: Kreator - Extreme Aggression (1989) 4.5/5
The Infinite: Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I (2012) 4/5
The Guardians: Fates Warning - Night on Brocken (1984) 4/5
The Sphere: Lard - The Last Temptation of Reid (1990) 2.5/5
The Horde: Necrophagist - Epitaph (2004) I'm not going to rate this as I only listened to it once and so that would be unfair.
Here's the Decemberfeature release nominators:
THE FALLEN: Ben, Daniel, Sonny
THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy S
THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Andi, Vinny
THE HORDE: Vinny, Ben, Daniel
THE INFINITE: Xephyr, Saxy S, Andi
THE NORTH: Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel, Sonny, Ben
THE PIT: Vinny, Ben, Daniel, Sonny
THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi
THE SPHERE: Daniel
Here are my ratings for this month's feature releases for all my clans, and a quick summary:
The Gateway: Spiritbox - Eternal Blue (2021) - 5/5
The Guardians: W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children (1989) - 4.5/5
The Infinite: Persefone - Core (2006) - 5/5
The Revolution: Trivium - In the Court of the Dragon (2021) - 5/5
Great month for feature releases, again probably because of the releases submitted by us Metal Academy members (including myself). My feature release submissions for The Infinite and The Revolution both deserve a perfect 5 stars, and are excellent albums that I would recommend to any fan of progressive metal and/or metalcore, respectively. The Gateway release is also perfect, and I look forward to listening to more of that band Spiritbox. The Guardians release is also great, but a half-star short of perfection due to an unappealing ballad and WASP's association with the glam metal scene. Thanks for these amazing feature releases, guys! Looking forward to more of this cool activity, along with feature release submissions for next month coming in via private message...
What a consistent bunch of features we had this month guys! There wasn't a dud amongst them in my opinion. The Nile submission was always gonna be my favourite given my taste profile however there were some really interesting sounds to be heard this month & it was clear that you all put a lot of thought into picking some records of genuine intrigue & quality. This was my order of preference:
THE HORDE: Nile - "Annihilation Of The Wicked" (2005) 4.5/5
THE FALLEN: Messa - "Feast For Water" (2018) 4/5
THE SPHERE: Andrew Hulshult - "DUSK (Original Game Soundtrack)" (2018) 4/5
THE PIT: Exumer - "Rising From The Sea" (1987) 4/5
THE GUARDIANS: W.A.S.P. - "The Headless Children" (1989) 4/5
THE INFINITE: Persefone - "Core" (2006) 4/5
THE NORTH: Sun Of The Blind - "Skullreader" (2009) 4/5
THE GATEWAY: Spiritbox - "Eternal Blue" (2021) 4/5
THE REVOLUTION: Trivium - "In The Court Of The Dragon" (2021) 3.5/5
A bit of a mixed month for me with some highs and lows, including an old favourite, a couple of goodies I hadn't heard before and some I'll never listen to again. Anyway, in order of preference:
1. The Horde: Nile - Annihilation of the Wicked 5/5
2. The Pit: Exumer - Rising from the Sea 4.5/5
3. The Infinite: Persefone - Core 4.5/5
4. The Fallen: Messa - Feast for Water 4/5
5. The North: Sun of the Blind - Skullreader 4/5
6. The Guardians: W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children 2.5/5
7. The Gateway: Spiritbox - Eternal Blue 2/5
8. The Revolution: Trivium - In the Court of the Dragon 1.5/5
9. The Sphere: Dusk soundtrack - sorry still can't bring myself to spend two and a half hours listening to a video game soundtrack!
Here's the January feature release nominators:
THE FALLEN: Daniel, Sonny, Ben
THE GATEWAY: Saxy S, Andi
THE GUARDIANS: Andi, Vinny, Xephyr
THE HORDE: Ben, Daniel, Vinny
THE INFINITE: Saxy S, Andi, Xephyr
THE NORTH: Xephyr, Daniel, Sonny, Ben, Vinny
THE PIT: Ben, Daniel, Sonny, Vinny
THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel
THE SPHERE: Daniel
It was a very successful month of feature releases for me personally with a couple of newly discovered underground classics & only the one blemish due to my irreconcilable differences with a Christmas-themed symphonic power metal record. Here are my scores in order of preference. Interestingly, neither of the two major wins for me come from my chosen clans which is a clear indication of just how exciting & powerful our clan feature releases can be if you're willing to tread outside of your comfort zone.
THE SPHERE: Kill The Thrill - "Tellurique" (2005) 4.5/5
THE INFINITE: Kayo Dot - "Moss Grew On The Swords & Plowshares Alike" (2021) 4.5/5
THE FALLEN: Rapture - "Futile" (1999) 4/5
THE NORTH: Wodensthrone - "Loss" (2009) 4/5
THE HORDE: Cretin - "Stranger" (2014) 4/5
THE PIT: Condor - "Unstoppable Power" (2017) 3.5/5
THE GATEWAY: Bad Wolves - "Dear Monsters" (2021) 3.5/5
THE REVOLUTION: Cold As Life - "Born To Land Hard" (1998) 3.5/5
THE GUARDIANS: Majestica - "A Christmas Carol" (2020) 2/5
A Christmas Carol is a very good album to get into the Christmas spirit in my opinion, and probably would've been perfect if it wasn't for the cringe-inducing ballad "The Joy of Christmas" midway through and the repetitive orchestral outro. I may not like Dear Monsters as much as my previous feature release submissions, but I'm quite pleased with Daniel's thoughts on the album, even finding a nice guilty pleasure in "Springfield Summer", an alt-country-ish ballad that I thought wouldn't work for the album. Even though our interests work differently from each other, sometimes we might each find a good win.
Here's the February feature release nominators:
THE FALLEN: Sonny, Ben, Daniel
THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy S
THE GUARDIANS: Vinny, Xephyr, Andi
THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben
THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, Saxy S
THE NORTH: Daniel, Sonny, Ben, Vinny, Xephyr
THE PIT: Daniel, Sonny, Vinny, Ben
THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi
THE SPHERE: Daniel