Feature releases

It's been a great month of feature releases with a whole slew of high quality releases. Once again I struggled with our The Guardians submission & it's becoming pretty clear that it's my least favoured clan these days. My two personal submissions were guaranteed winners for me as I'd previously rated them both the full 5 stars & neither disappointed. In fact, the Ufomamut & Lento record has now gone into my top five metal releases of all-time & it's absolutely absurd that no one knows about it. My best new discovery was the Malignant Altar album that Ben submitted. He certainly knows what I like. Anyway... here are my monthly ratings in order of preference:

THE FALLEN: Ufomammut/Lento - "Supernaturals - Record One" (2007)  5/5

THE SPHERE: The Amenta - "Flesh Is Heir" (2013)  4.5/5

THE INFINITE: Mastodon - "Crack The Skye" (2009)  4.5/5

THE HORDE: Malignant Altar - "Realms Of Exquisite Morbidity" (2021)  4/5

THE GATEWAY: Karnivool - "Themata" (2005)  4/5

THE PIT: Sadus - "Illusions" (1988)  4/5

THE REVOLUTION: Bullet For My Valentine - "Bullet For My Valentine" (2021)  4/5

THE NORTH: Borknagar - "Borknagar" (1996)  3.5/5

THE GUARDIANS: Rhapsody - "Dawn Of Victory" (2000)  2/5

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

The Gateway: Karnivool - Themata (2005) - 5/5

The Guardians: Rhapsody of Fire - Dawn of Victory (2000) - 5/5

The Infinite: Mastodon - Crack the Skye (2009) - 5/5

The Pit: Sadus - Illusions (1988) - 5/5

The Revolution: Bullet for My Valentine (2001) - 4/5

Another very solid month for feature releases, again probably because of the releases submitted by us Metal Academy members (including myself). All of the feature releases I've reviewed are perfect, except my feature release submission for The Revolution that is great enough for others to try but could've been slightly better. Thanks for these amazing feature releases, guys! Looking forward to more to come...

Here's the plan for the March feature releases:

THE FALLEN: Ben, Daniel, Sonny

THE GATEWAY: Saxy S, Andi

THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Andi, Vinny

THE HORDE: Vinny, Ben, Daniel

THE INFINITE: Xephyr, Saxy S, Andi

THE NORTH: Sonny, Ben, Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel

THE PIT: Sonny, Vinny, Ben, Daniel

THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel

THE SPHERE: Daniel

So far, I've only reviewed my two feature release submissions for this month; Chevelle's Wonder What's Next for The Gateway and Opeth's Still Life for The Infinite. I'm glad to see all this positive reaction from other members for those two. Those two releases may be the only featured releases I had time to review this month, but hopefully more next month to go with the one I'll submit...

It was one of the better groups of feature releases we've had this month in my opinion & not because it was a star-studded lineup by any means either. I had the opportunity to reaffirm decade-long passions for several old underground favourites with the 7 Horns 7 Eyes absolutely belting me & in doing so reaching heights only touched on by the true greats of metal. The Impending Doom record confirmed my suspicion that it's one of the most underrated releases I've ever come across & easily maintained it's position in my Hall of Glory while the Ahab album seems to have improved with age & was subsequently granted entry for the very first time. The Opeth & Endstille records were both really enjoyable despite having lost their positions in my Hall over time while the Chevelle record was the surprise packet of the month for me. Allegiance brought me back to my youth in no uncertain terms & are still as appealing as they've always been while my first listen to The Shizit kept me interested throughout. As has not been uncommon over recent years, The Guardians offered the only real disappointment of the nine releases & I'm starting to accept that this clan may be the furthest from my musical comfort zone.

THE HORDE: 7 Horns 7 Eyes - "Throes Of Absolution" (2012)  5/5

THE FALLEN: Ahab - "The Call Of The Wretched Sea" (2006)  4.5/5

THE REVOLUTION: Impending Doom - "Baptized In Filth" (2012)  4.5/5

THE INFINITE: Opeth - "Still Life" (1999)  4/5

THE GATEWAY: Chevelle - "Wonder What's Next" (2002)  4/5

THE NORTH: Endstille - "Infektion 1813" (2011)  4/5

THE PIT: Allegiance - "D.E.S.T.I.T.U.T.I.O.N" (1994)  4/5

THE SPHERE: The Shizit - "Soundtrack For The Revolution" (2001)  3.5/5

THE GUARDIANS: Hammer King - "Hammer King" (2021)  3/5

Here's the plan for the April feature releases:

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: Ben, Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel, Sonny

THE PIT: Vinny, Ben, Daniel, Sonny

THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi

THE SPHERE: Daniel

So far I've only reviewed my Revolution feature release submission for this month, Demon Hunter's The World is a Thorn. The reaction for this album from other members was nowhere near super positive, but I'm glad to submit that one all the same. That may be the only featured release I had time to review this month, but hopefully more next month to go with the one I'll submit. This post isn't really how I wanted to celebrate the 10000th Metal Academy forum post, but it still marks an amazing milestone. 

It's been a bit of a mixed bag for me this month to be honest with my ratings of the nine releases ranging from woeful to wonderful. It was fantastic to revisit one of my all-time favourite records from MonumentuM as well as a couple of other cool releases I've enjoyed in the past from Vastum & Bestial Warlust. There were some very solid new discoveries from Killing Joke & Ihsahn that will be getting some return listens in the future while I had a lot more time for The Bread Scientists album than some of you seem to have. Unfortunately the Hellfekted, Demon Hunter & particularly the Haggard releases weren't up my alley but you never know if you don't give 'em a crack, huh?

Here's the list in my order of preference:

1. MonumentuM - "In Absentia Christi" (1995)  5/5

2. Killing Joke - "Hosannas From The Basement of Hell" (2006)  4/5

3. Vastum - "Hole Below" (2015)  4/5

4. Ihsahn - "angL" (2008)  4/5

5. Bestial Warlust - "Blood & Valour" (1995)  4/5

6. The Bread Scientists - "Troposphere" (2021)  3.5/5

7. Hellfekted - "Woe To The Kingdom Of Blood" (2020)  3/5

8. Demon Hunter - "The World Is A Thorn" (2010)  3/5

9. Haggard - "And Thou Shalt Trust... The Seer (1997)  2/5

Not one of my favourite months to be honest. There's been some solid albums but also a larger than usual percentage of stinkers too.

1. Bestial Warlust - "Blood & Valour" (1995) 5/5

2. Ihsahn - "angL" (2008)  4/5

3. Vastum - "Hole Below" (2015)  4/5

4. Killing Joke - "Hosannas From The Basement of Hell" (2006)  4/5

5. MonumentuM - "In Absentia Christi" (1995) 4/5

6. Hellfekted - "Woe To The Kingdom Of Blood" (2020) 3/5

7. Haggard - "And Thou Shalt Trust... The Seer (1997) 1.5/5

8. The Bread Scientists - "Troposphere" (2021) 1/5

9. Demon Hunter - "The World Is A Thorn" (2010) 1/5

Here's the plan for the May feature releases:

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: Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel, Sonny, Ben

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 Gateway: Evanescence - The Bitter Truth (2021) - 3.5/5

The Guardians: Kamelot - Epica (2003) - 5/5

The Infinite: Slice the Cake - Odyssey to the West (2016) - 4/5

The Revolution: War From a Harlots Mouth - MMX (2010) - 4/5

The Sphere: Godflesh - Merciless (1994) - 4.5/5

Another very solid month for feature releases, again probably because of the releases submitted by us Metal Academy members (including myself). While the Gateway release is never really the best of these releases, I'm glad to share it here to bring Evanescence's music into discussion, to mixed results. The Guardians release is perfect for me and worth recommending to fans of Kamelot and power metal. The Infinite and Revolution releases both have a great abrasive level, but I can't say they would ever be fully perfect for my balance. And The Sphere release is a sweet classic EP from industrial metal innovators Godflesh. Thanks for these amazing feature releases, guys! Looking forward to more to come...

A verry good month as far as the clans I am interested in are concerned:

1. Monarch! - Omens 4.5/5

2. Sinister - Diabolical Summoning 4.5/5,

3. Sear Bliss - Glory and Perdition 4/5

4. D.R.I. - Full Speed Ahead 4/5

5. Godflesh - Merciless 3/5

I can't really be bothered with the rest of the features as I would just be listening to them out of obligation and don't have any real interest in any of them. In all honesty I think I'm going to take a hiatus for a couple of weeks as I'm feeling a little bit burnt out. Nine features and playlists, compiling the Fallen playlist, feeling the pressure to repeatedly listen to stuff outside my comfort zone and then feeling obliged to try to write five paragraph reviews of albums I only have a few lines to say about, are all taking their toll and draining the joy out of my listening experience at the minute.

As a result I am going to take a break for the rest of the month and try to connect with what I enjoy in metal. I will still submit a playlist for the Fallen at the end of the month as I have already done most of the work on it.

This is no reflection on the site itself which is fantastic, but is more about my own interaction with it. So I'll see you all in May. Happy Easter!!

Just from reading that list, it's clear what polar opposites we are when it comes to what we enjoy, but it's all good, I respect that. Anyway, see you later, Sonny, and happy Easter!

I can completely understand you feeling that way Sonny & you certainly shouldn't feel any obligation to contribute to all of our monthly initiatives.

This month was one of our stronger lists of feature releases for me personally as I enjoyed all nine records with four of them reminding me as to why I already have them in my Hall of Metal Glory. Those Monarch!, Godflesh, Sinister & War From A Harlots Mouth releases all reached classic status with me many years ago & none have lost anything over time either. The Slice The Cake album was the biggest discovery for me this month & I got a lot of pleasure in unpacking it's many complexities. The Evanscence record was certainly the biggest surprise for me though as I wasn't expecting to get much out of it but instead found that I enjoyed it more than a few of our other features while I was also pleasantly surprised by the Sear Bliss album which Ben had given me prior warning about as he knows how much I've struggled with similar records over the years. The Kamelot album was perhaps a little disappointing given how much I love its follow-up but still offered enough to keep me interested while D.R.I. simply did what D.R.I. do best & made it hard not to find the fun in their signature crossover thrash sound.

Here's my list in order of preference:

1. Monarch! - "Omens" (2012)  4.5/5

2. Godflesh - "Merciless" E.P. (1994)  4.5/5

3. Sinister - "Diabolical Summoning" (1993)  4.5/5

4. War From A Harlots Mouth - "MMX" (2010)  4.5/5

5. Slice The Cake - "Odyssey To The West" (2016)  4/5

6. Evanescence - "The Bitter Truth" (2021)  3.5/5

7. Kamelot - "Epica" (2003)  3.5/5

8. Sear Bliss - "Glory & Perdition" (2004)  3.5/5

9. D.R.I. - "Full Speed Ahead" (1995)  3.5/5

Here's the plan for the June feature releases:

THE FALLEN: Ben, Daniel, Sonny

THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy

THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Daniel

THE HORDE: Vinny, Ben, Daniel

THE INFINITE: Xephyr, Saxy, Andi

THE NORTH: Xephyr, Daniel, Sonny, Ben, Vinny

THE PIT: Daniel, Sonny, Vinny, Ben

THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi

THE SPHERE: Andi, Daniel

Out of interest, I thought I'd check which of the nine bands we've awarded feature release status to this month appear on Metal Archives &, as usual, I found myself feeling an element of shock at the outcome with System Of A Down, The Contortionist & Car Bomb all being deemed to not be metal enough for inclusion. Love 'em or hate 'em, all three artists are clearly metal bands, are they not? I really don't think that's in dispute, is it? Anyway.... I don't want to start a bitch-fest about the opposition. Their poor decision making in this regard just continues to baffle me & I felt I had to express it.

*end rant*

It was a very solid month of feature releases with no duds for me this month. Predictably I absolutely loved the two releases that I personally submitted (i.e. the Hate & Thorns records) with both records already residing in my Hall of Metal Glory for many years. I've always loved "Intrinsic" too although I've dropped my rating by a half star this time around. The Ritual Carnage album was an old favourite too but the Car Bomb record was my biggest discovery of the month. I was also very pleased with the result of my System Of the Down experiment & will be returning to that one. The Onirik, Internal Void & Ambush albums possibly didn't impress me as much as they have others but they all offered enough to keep me interested so well done everyone!

Here's the list of releases in order of preference:

THE HORDE: Hate - "Erebos" (2010)  4.5/5

THE SPHERE: Thorns - "Thorns" (2001)  4.5/5

THE INFINITE: The Contortionist - "Intrinsic" (2012)  4/5

THE REVOLUTION: Car Bomb - "Mordial" (2019)  4/5

THE PIT: Ritual Carnage - "Every Nerve Alive" (2000)  4/5

THE GATEWAY: System Of A Down - "Mezmerize" (2005)  4/5

THE NORTH: Onirik - "The Fire Cult Beyond Eternity" (2020)  3.5/5

THE FALLEN: Internal Void - "Standing On The Sun" (1992)  3.5/5

THE GUARDIANS: Ambush - "Firestorm" (2014)  3.5/5

Glad you enjoy these feature releases, Daniel, including my submissions! I agree that it is shocking when the bands from my greater clans (Gateway, Infinite, Revolution) aren’t deemed suitable for Metal Archives. A good reason why I quit that site before I first entered the Metal Academy. Anyway, keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more…

More than half of this month's features were really strong releases and overall it was a good month.

List in order of preference:

THE SPHERE: Thorns - "Thorns" (1999) 4.5/5

THE FALLEN: Internal Void - "Standing on the Sun" (1992) 4.5/5

THE NORTH: Onirik - "The Fire Cult Beyond Eternity" (2020) 4.5/5

THE PIT: Ritual Carnage - "Every Nerve Alive" (2000) 4/5

THE GATEWAY: System Of A Down - "Mezmerize" (2005) 4/5

THE HORDE: Hate - "Erebos" (2010) 3.5/5

THE GUARDIANS: Ambush - "Firestorm" (2014) 2.5/5

I couldn't raise enough enthusiasm to check out THE INFINITE or REVOLUTION albums to be honest. Sorry.

Here's the plan for the July feature releases:

THE FALLEN: Daniel, Sonny, Ben

THE GATEWAY: Saxy, Andi

THE GUARDIANS: Daniel, Xephyr

THE HORDE: Ben, Daniel, Vinny

THE INFINITE: Saxy, Andi, Xephyr

THE NORTH: Daniel, Sonny, Ben, Vinny, Xephyr

THE PIT: Sonny, Vinny, Ben, Daniel

THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel

THE SPHERE: Daniel, Andi

It was more of a mixed bag of feature releases for me this month with records at either end of the spectrum & a few sitting in between as well. On the one hand we had a couple of utter belters from Ode & Elegy (a new find for me) & Evoken (an old favourite of mine). On the other we had two albums that didn't do much for me at all (i.e. the "Call Of Duty" soundtrack & the Sabbat album which failed dismally in its attempts to capture my affection after I so generously gave it a second chance after all these years). The Flourishing, Code Orange, Abigor & Mercyful Fate albums were all pretty enjoyable but the only other one that really hit my musical sweet spot was the outstanding Snapcase record which really surprised me. Here were my results in order of preference with Xephyr getting my nomination for release of the month (well done mate):

1. THE INFINITE: Ode & Elegy - "Ode & Elegy" (2022)  4.5/5

2. THE FALLEN: Evoken - "Quietus" (2001)  4.5/5

3. THE REVOLUTION: Snapcase - "Progression Through Unlearning" (1997)  4/5

4. THE HORDE: Flourishing - "The Sum Of All Fossils" (2011)  3.5/5

5. THE SPHERE: Code Orange - "Underneath" (2020)  3.5/5

6. THE NORTH: Abigor - "Totschläger (A Saintslayer's Songbook)" (2020)  3.5/5

7. THE GUARDIANS: Mercyful Fate - "In The Shadows" (1993)  3.5/5

8. THE GATEWAY: Treyarch Sound - "Call of Duty: Black Ops - Zombies Soundtrack" (2011)  3/5

9. THE PIT: Sabbat - "The Dwelling" (1996)  3/5

Here are the nominators for the August feature releases:

THE FALLEN: Sonny, Ben, Daniel

THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy

THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Daniel

THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben

THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, Saxy

THE NORTH: Sonny, Ben, Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel

THE PIT: Vinny, Ben, Daniel, Sonny

THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi

THE SPHERE: Andi, Daniel

Hi everyone. I'm very pleased to advise that one of our newer members Morpheus Kitami has requested to be added to the feature release nomination roster so I've made some adjustments to include him under his three clans. The new August roster will be as follows so as to give him a chance to start immediately:

THE FALLEN: Morpheus, Sonny, Ben, Daniel

THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy

THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Morpheus

THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben

THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, Saxy

THE NORTH: Sonny, Ben, Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel

THE PIT: Vinny, Morpheus, Ben, Daniel

THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi

THE SPHERE: Andi, Daniel