Feature releases
THE FALLEN: Type O Negative - "World Coming Down" (1999) 4.5/5 (as I recall from the rating I had until last year)
THE GATEWAY: Thornhill - "Heroine" (2022) 4.5/5
THE HORDE: Pestilence - "Spheres" (1993) 5/5
THE INFINITE: Plini - "Homemade Cities" (2016) 5/5
THE REVOLUTION: Every Time I Die - "Radical" (2021) 5/5
My greatest discovery for this month Pestilence's Spheres, my own submission Every Time I Die's Radical, and one of Saxy's submissions Plini's Handmade Cities, all each receive a perfect 5 stars. I also commented on Daniel's Fallen feature release submission that I haven't listened to in over a year, Type O Negative's World Coming Down, that and Saxy's other submission Thornhill's Heroine are great enough for 4.5 stars. Glad to see some positive reaction for all those releases! It's been an awesome month. Though I'll skip out on The Sphere feature release because I've had enough of video game soundtracks disguising themselves as metal when they're aren't. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...
So I've managed to blast my way through our feature releases this month really quickly thanks to some time off work & some self-imposed isolation due to illness. I didn't find anything to add to my Hall of Metal Glory this month but there were some very appealing records amongst this lot nonetheless & I only have myself to blame given that I nominated a fair few of these records myself. I really enjoyed my revisits to the Type O Negative & Pestilence records which were old favourites from my past. The Every Time I Die album really impressed me only recently so I was already very familiar with it. The Thornhill & Plini albums were probably the nicest surprises & I find it hard to split them for the best discovery of the bunch. I'll take Thornhill by a nose I think. The Parkcrest, Pagan Altar & Furia records were pretty decent & the only release that I struggled with was the Heaven Pierce Her video game soundtrack which I find to be badly overrated. Here's the nine releases in order of preference:
THE NORTH: Type O Negative - "World Coming Down" (1999) 4/5
THE REVOLUTION: Every Time I Die - "Radical" (2021) 4/5
THE GATEWAY: Thornhill - "Heroine" (2022) 4/5
THE INFINITE: Plini - "Homemade Cities" (2016) 4/5
THE HORDE: Pestilence - "Spheres" (1993) 4/5
THE PIT: Parkcrest - "...And That Blue Will Turn To Red" (2019) 3.5/5
THE GUARDIANS: Pagan Altar - "Mythical & Magical" (2006) 3.5/5
THE NORTH: Furia - "Płoń" E.P. (2009) 3.5/5
THE SPHERE: Heaven Pierce Her - "ULTRAKILL: INFINITE HYPERDEATH" (2020) 3/5
Here's the feature release nomination list for September:
THE FALLEN: Ben, Daniel, Morpheus, Sonny
THE GATEWAY: Saxy, Andi
THE GUARDIANS: Morpheus, Rexorcist, Xephyr
THE HORDE: Vinny, Ben, Daniel
THE INFINITE: Xephyr, Saxy, Rexorcist, Andi
THE NORTH: Ben, Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel
THE PIT: Morpheus, Rexorcist, Ben, Daniel, Vinny
THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel
THE SPHERE: Daniel, Andi
THE GATEWAY: Northlane - "Obsidian" (2022) 5/5
THE INFINITE: Devin Townsend - "Deconstruction" (2011) 5/5
THE PIT: Machine Head - "The Blackening" (2007) 3.5/5
THE REVOLUTION: Atka - "Untitled Album" (2018) 2.5/5
THE SPHERE: Deathstars - "Termination Bliss (2006) 5/5
All 3 of my feature release submissions; Northlane's Obsidian, Devin Townsend's Deconstruction, and Deathstars' Termination Bliss, all each receive a perfect 5 stars, and I would recommend them to fans of their respective genres. I also reviewed Machine Head's The Blackening two years ago, and I stand by my 3.5-star rating. Daniel's Revolution feature release submission was too intense for me to go beyond 2.5 stars, but it's good to see him having a blast with that release. Glad to see some positive reaction for all those releases! It's been a great month. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...
It was a pretty mixed month of features for me actually. There wasn't anything that would make my Hall of Metal Glory but there were some strong releases that I got a lot of enjoyment out of nonetheless. There were also a couple of records that I didn't get much out of to be honest. I was already somewhat familiar with the Atka, Thy Darkened Shade, The Chasm & Machine Head releases but the rest were totally new for me with the new Northlane album being my discovery of the month. The Lord Vigo record may have been somewhat divisive but I thought it was a great submission personally. Here are my results in order of preference:
THE REVOLUTION: Atka - "Untitled Album 1" (2018) 4/5
THE GATEWAY: Northlane - "Obsidian" (2022) 4/5
THE FALLEN: Lord Vigo - "Danse de noir" (2020) 4/5
THE NORTH: Thy Darkened Shade - "Liber Lvcifer I: Khem Sedjet" (2014) 3.5/5
THE HORDE: The Chasm - "Farseeing The Paranormal Abysm" (2009) 3.5/5
THE INFINITE: Devin Townsend Project - "Deconstruction" (2011) 3.5/5
THE PIT: Machine Head - "The Blackening" (2007) 3.5/5
THE GUARDIANS: Loudness - "Soldier of Fortune" (1989) 3/5
THE SPHERE: Deathstars - "Termination Bliss" (2006) 3/5
Rexorcist, are you wanting to participate in the monthly feature release nomination roster? Let me know & I can add you in for October.
Alright. I got a few noms prepared already.
OK. I've added you into the roster (shown a few posts above this one).
Here's the feature release nomination roster for October:
THE FALLEN: Daniel, Sonny, Ben
THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy
THE GUARDIANS: Rexorcist, Xephyr
THE HORDE: Ben, Daniel, Vinny
THE INFINITE: Saxy, Rexorcist, Andi, Xephyr
THE NORTH: Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel, Ben
THE PIT: Rexorcist, Ben, Daniel, Vinny
THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi
THE SPHERE: Andi, Daniel
It was a great month of feature releases for me in September. I was obviously very familiar with the Alice in Chains, Brutal Truth, Dream Death & The Dillinger Escape Plan releases but it was nice to finally get some ratings & reviews against a couple of those after all these years. The Scarcity album absolutely blew my socks off & so did the Solitude Aeturnus one. Both of those have been rewarded with entry into my Hall of Metal Glory. The Red Harvest album was also great, if not quite as appealing as our previous Red Harvest feature release in 2004's classic "Internal Punishment Programs" album. The Ashenspire record had its moments while the fate of many a symphonic power metal album was bestowed on the poor Cross Borns release which was the victim of my taste profile as much as anything else. Well don to Ben for taking the biscuits this month in resounding fashion. Here are my scores in order of preference:
THE GATEWAY: Alice In Chains - "Dirt" (1992) 5/5
THE NORTH: Scarcity - "Aveilut" (2022) 4.5/5
THE FALLEN: Solitude Aeturnus - "Alone" (2006) 4.5/5
THE SPHERE: Red Harvest - "HyBreed" (1996) 4/5
THE REVOLUTION: The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton - "Irony Is A Dead Scene" E.P. (2002) 4/5
THE HORDE: Brutal Truth - "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" (1992) 4/5
THE PIT: Dream Death - "Journey Into Mystery" (1987) 3.5/5
THE INFINITE: Ashenspire - "Hostile Architecture" (2022) 3.5/5
THE GUARDIANS: Cross Borns - "Tales of a Winter Night" (2000) 2/5
Saxy & Rex, just a reminder that you have some feature releases to nominate for October:
THE FALLEN: Daniel, Sonny, Ben
THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy
THE GUARDIANS: Rexorcist, Xephyr
THE HORDE: Ben, Daniel, Vinny
THE INFINITE: Saxy, Rexorcist, Andi, Xephyr
THE NORTH: Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel, Ben
THE PIT: Rexorcist, Ben, Daniel, Vinny
THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi
THE SPHERE: Andi, Daniel
Just waiting on your features now Rex. Can you please send them to me by private message ASAP?
Here's the schedule for the November feature release nominations:
THE FALLEN: Sonny, Ben, Daniel
THE GATEWAY: Saxy, Andi
THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Rexorcist
THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben
THE INFINITE: Rexorcist, Andi, Xephyr, Saxy
THE NORTH: Xephyr, Daniel, Ben, Vinny
THE PIT: Ben, Vinny, Rexorcist, Daniel
THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel
THE SPHERE: Daniel, Andi
I finished reviewing the nine October feature releases earlier this week & it was a bit of a mixed bag for me this month in all honesty. The huge discovery for me was the wonderful Dreadnought record which has been granted immediate access to my Hall of Metal Glory. The Inanna & Elder releases were both very strong too. I was already across the Godflesh & Cirith Gorgor albums & found that I still have time for both of them. I also quite liked the King Diamond & Liege Lord records which I'd not previously explored. Unfortunately the Coldrain & Arkangel releases weren't really for me but neither of them were shockers.
Here's the list of releases in order of preference:
THE INFINITE: Dreadnought - "The Endless" (2022) 4.5/5
THE HORDE: Inanna - "Void Of Unending Depths" (2022) 4/5
THE FALLEN: Elder - "Dead Roots Stirring" (2011) 4/5
THE SPHERE: Godflesh - "Hymns" (2001) 3.5/5
THE GUARDIANS: King Diamond - "The Eye" (1990) 3.5/5
THE PIT: Liege Lord - "Master Control" (1988) 3.5/5
THE NORTH: Cirith Gorgor - "Onwards To The Spectral Defile" (1999) 3.5/5
THE GATEWAY: Coldrain - "Nonnegative" (2022) 3/5
THE REVOLUTION: Arkangel - "Prayers Upon Deaf Ears" E.P. (1998) 3/5
Well done to Saxy on taking the bikkies this month.
Rexorcist, will you be participating this month or should I be removing you from the roster altogether?
Here's the schedule for the December feature release nominations:
THE FALLEN: Ben, Daniel, Sonny
THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy
THE GUARDIANS: Daniel, Xephyr
THE HORDE: Vinny, Ben, Daniel
THE INFINITE: Xephyr, Saxy, Andi
THE NORTH: Daniel, Ben, Vinny, Xephyr
THE PIT: Vinny, Daniel, Ben
THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi
THE SPHERE: Andi, Daniel
Here's what I've reviewed so far:
THE HORDE: Edge of Sanity - "Purgatory Afterglow" (1994) 4.5/5 (as I recall from the rating I had until last year)
THE INFINITE: The Ocean - "Pelagial" (2013) 5/5
THE REVOLUTION: Lorna Shore - "...And I Return to Nothingness" (2021) 5/5
THE SPHERE: OLD - "The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak" (1993) 5/5
Both of my feature release submissions; The Ocean's Pelagial and Lorna Shore's And I Return to Nothingness, plus Daniel's Sphere submission OLD's The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, all each receive a perfect 5 stars, and I would recommend them to fans of their respective genres. I also commented on Daniel's Horde feature release submission that I haven't listened to in over a year, Edge of Sanity's Purgatory Afterglow, and I stand by my 4.5-star rating. It's been an awesome month so far. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...
It was a mixed month of feature releases for me this month really. The debut album from Dvvell was brilliant & really hit my sweet spot. The Critical Defiance & The Ocean albums were also very impressive. I had some fun with the Old, Sevendust, Tanith & Esoctrilihum albums but unfortunately I couldn't get into the Lorna Shore or Edge of Sanity records. Well done Sonny for taking the prize this month.
Here's the list of releases in order of preference:
THE FALLEN: Dvvell - "Quiescent" (2022) 4.5/5
THE INFINITE: The Ocean - "Pelagial" (2013) 4/5
THE PIT: Critical Defiance - "No Life Forms" (2022) 4/5
THE SPHERE: Old - "The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak" (1993) 3.5/5
THE GATEWAY: Sevendust - "Animosity" (2001) 3.5/5
THE GUARDIANS: Tanith - "In Another Time" (2019) 3.5/5
THE NORTH: Esoctrilihum - "Saopth's" (2022) 3.5/5
THE REVOLUTION: Lorna Shore - "...And I Return To Nothingness" E.P. (2021) 3/5
THE HORDE: Edge of Sanity - "Purgatory Afterglow" (1994) 3/5
Here's the schedule for the January feature release nominations:
THE FALLEN: Daniel, Sonny, Ben
THE GATEWAY: Saxy, Andi
THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Daniel
THE HORDE: Ben, Daniel, Vinny
THE INFINITE: Saxy, Andi, Xephyr
THE NORTH: Ben, Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel
THE PIT: Daniel, Ben, Vinny
THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel
THE SPHERE: Daniel, Andi
THE GATEWAY: Parkway Drive - "Darker Still" (2022) 4/5
THE GUARDIANS: Virgin Steele - "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Part One" (1994) 4.5/5 (as I recall from the rating I had until last year)
THE INFINITE: Xanthochroid - "Of Erthe and Axen: Act I" (2017) 4.5/5
THE REVOLUTION: Admiral Angry - "Buster" (2009) 4/5
THE SPHERE: Mnemic - "Mechanical Spin Phenomena" (2003) 4/5
Both of my feature release submissions, Parkway Drive's Darker Still and Mnemic's Mechanical Spin Phenomena, along with Admiral Angry's Buster each receive a great 4 stars. They're not the best but they're really enjoyable, and I would recommend them to fans of their respective genres. I also commented on Daniel's Guardians feature release submission that I haven't listened to in nearly a year, Virgin Steele's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Part One, and I stand by my 4.5-star rating. Xanthochroid's Of Erthe and Axen: Act I is also a near-perfect epic masterpiece that deserves 4.5 stars. It's been a great month so far. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...
I didn't uncover any unheralded classics this month but there were a bunch of strong & entertaining records along with a couple of releases that I couldn't connect with. I was already familiar with the Ulcerate & Overkill records & my feelings have remained relatively stable on those two. The Void of Silence, Admiral Angry, Xanthochroid & Mnemic albums were all very rewarding new discoveries for me while the Virgin Steele album was pretty decent too. I don't think I was ever really going to enjoy a Parkway Drive or a Summoning record if I'm being honest but at least I gave them a crack.
Here are my ratings in order of preference:
THE HORDE: Ulcerate - "Shrine of Paralysis" (2016) 4/5
THE FALLEN: Void of Silence - "Criteria ov 666" (2002) 4/5
THE REVOLUTION: Admiral Angry - "Buster" (2009) 4/5
THE INFINITE: Xanthochroid - "Of Erthe & Axen: Act 1" (2017) 4/5
THE SPHERE: Mnemic - "Mechanical Spin Phenomena" (2003) 4/5
THE GUARDIANS: Virgin Steele - "The Marriage of Heaven & Hell: Part One" (1994) 3.5/5
THE PIT: Overkill - "Killbox 13" (2003) 3.5/5
THE GATEWAY: Parkway Drive - "Darker Still" (2022) 3/5
THE NORTH: Summoning - "Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame" (2001) 2.5/5
Well done to Vinny who gets my bikkies this month for the Ulcerate nomination.
Here's the schedule for the February feature release nominations:
THE FALLEN: Sonny, Ben, Daniel
THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy
THE GUARDIANS: Daniel, Xephyr
THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben
THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, Saxy
THE NORTH: Vinny, Sonny, Xephyr, Daniel, Ben
THE PIT: Ben, Sonny, Vinny, Daniel
THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi
THE SPHERE: Andi, Daniel
It was a reasonably solid group of feature releases for me this month with just the one album that I struggled with in the European power metal of Fellowship. The Knut album was by far the biggest discovery for me as it blew my away & has subsequently gained entry into my Hall of Metal Glory. Both of Ben's Monstrosity & Leviathan submissions were previously known to me but I'd never gotten around to giving them the focused attention required to award them a Metal Academy rating. It was great to see them both delivering on my expectations. The Neptunian Maximalism, Communic, Author & Punisher & Moon Tooth submissions were new to me & were all very well received. I quite liked the Autonoesis album but can't say that it hit me as hard as it seems to have done to other members. Here are my scores in order of preference:
THE REVOLUTION: Knut - "Challenger" (2002) 4.5/5
THE HORDE: Monstrosity - "In Dark Purity" (1999) 4/5
THE FALLEN: Neptunian Maximalism - "Set Chaos To The Heart Of The Moon" (2022) 4/5
THE INFINITE: Communic - "Waves of Visual Decay" (2006) 4/5
THE SPHERE: Author & Punisher - "Krüller" (2022) 4/5
THE NORTH: Leviathan - "Scar Sighted" (2015) 4/5
THE GATEWAY: Moon Tooth - "Phototroph" (2022) 4/5
THE PIT: Autonoesis - "Moon of Foul Magics" (2022) 3.5/5
THE GUARDIANS: Fellowship - "The Saberlight Chronicles" (2022) 2.5/5
Well done to Andi for snatching up my bikkies in emphatic fashion this month.
Here's the lucky nominators for the March feature releases:
THE FALLEN: Ben, Daniel, Sonny
THE GATEWAY: Saxy, Andi
THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Daniel
THE HORDE: Vinny, Ben, Daniel
THE INFINITE: Xephyr, Saxy, Andi
THE NORTH: Sonny, Xephyr, Daniel, Ben, Vinny
THE PIT: Sonny, Vinny, Daniel, Ben
THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel
THE SPHERE: Daniel, Andi
Also, I've decided that I can't continue to rate & review all nine of the monthly feature releases as it's simply becoming a bit of a chore when I'm also conducting regular subgenre deep dives which often take me well outside of my musical comfort zone. I need to give myself a little more creative freedom so moving forwards I'll only be endeavoring to check out the feature releases from my four clans as a rule. I'll probably get to one of two of the others too but please don't take offense if I don't get to your nomination.
THE GATEWAY: Motionless in White - "Scoring the End of the World" (2022) 4.5/5
THE GUARDIANS: Angra - "Temple of Shadows" (2004) 4.5/5
THE INFINITE: Sikth - How May I Help You? (2002) 5/5
THE PIT: Anacrusis - "Screams and Whispers" (1993) 5/5
THE REVOLUTION: The Chariot - "Long Live" (2010) 5/5
THE SPHERE: Gothminister - "Pandemonium" (2022) 5/5
This is probably the most epic month of featured releases for me! Motionless in White's Scoring the End of the World and Angra's Temple of Shadows each receive a great 4.5 stars. They're near-perfect offerings that I would recommend them to fans of their respective genres. The other 4 featured releases I reviewed are perfect 5-star masterpieces, both two of the feature releases I've submitted (Sikth's How May I Help You? and Gothminister's Pandemonium) and two awesome discoveries (Anacrusis' Screams and Whispers and The Chariot's Long Live). Even though the Anacrusis album is way more suitable for The Infinite than The Pit, it has encouraged me to someday get ready to test out my strength in The Pit with more releases from that clan. I don't intend to make any changes to my clan lineup as of now though. If I do, The Gateway would be the one out, but I'm still sitting comfortable in that clan, so again, no changes yet. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...