Judgement Submissions

I don't hear anywhere near enough genuine metal in Danzig's sound here. It's a bluesy AC/DC-inspired hard rock record with a couple of Sabbathy heavy metal tracks & that's not enough to warrant a metal tag for mine. I'd like to see 'Danzig' removed from The Guardians & added to Non-Metal.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement Andi.

I don't mind a bit of Fuck The Facts but haven't ventured further back in their career than 2003's "Backstabber Etiquette" which I recall being a bit flat. They've certainly improved since then but I would never have picked them for something that you'd enjoy as grindcore is certainly the primary ingredient in their sound.

Gorement's solitary full-length is generally regarded as doomy death metal in a similar way to Autopsy & Asphyx however I'd suggest that there's enough genuine doom/death included to warrant a dual tagging. Just listen to tracks like 'Silent Hymn (For The Dead)', 'Sea of Silence' or 'Into Shadows' for example! I'd like to see 'The Ending Quest' added to The Fallen under the Death Doom Metal subgenre whilst maintaining its position in The Horde under Death Metal (conventional).

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

I decided to give that album some listening and a review to further push my progressive metal boundaries into more experimental and extreme territory. I would say this is kind of like the Eastern oriental equivalent to Enslaved's recent material. There's barely any weird avant-garde aspects as far as I can hear. So I agree with you here, Daniel, and will definitely give your Hall entry a YES vote.

Last year's "Zoetrope" E.P. from underground English death metallers Qrixkuor as about as death metal as they come & I've struggled to pick up much in the way of black metal in their sound. I can't see any reason for the release to reside in The North so I'd like to propose that we remove it from the can & allow it to bask in the death metal glory of The Horde.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

Last year's third album from Ukranian black metal outfit White Ward is often referred to as atmospheric black metal however I don't hear many traces of that sound. To my ears it's a progressive example of the more conventional black metal sound so I'd like to see it added to The Infinite under the Progressive Metal genre.

I've just added the release to the Hall of Judgement.

I've always had a problem with Girlschool records being tagged as Heavy Metal & 'Play Dirty' is a prime example of why as it really only includes the one genuine heavy metal track in opening number "Going Under". Therefore, I'd like to see it removed from The Guardians & added to Non-Metal.

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

These two nominations have been added to the Hall of Judgement.

OK, thanks Daniel!

I honestly have no idea how people can confuse the early Motörhead records with metal releases as some of that material is barely hard rock & clearly contains a lot more of a blues component than any metal record should offer. The band's 1983 archival live album is a prime example of this with a few of the tracks even sitting much closer to rock 'n' roll or blues rock than anything else. I'd like to see "What's Words Worth?" removed from The Guardians & added to Non-Metal.

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

The 2022 debut album from Salt Lake City-based outfit The Otolith is being tagged as a Doom Metal & Atmospheric Sludge Metal hybrid but I would argue that there's a little more to it than that. I hear a strong Ethereal Wave influence across the entire tracklisting & feel that the female vocals & alternative instrumentation would feel perfectly comfortable on a Gothic Rock release so I'd like to see the Gothic Metal tag added to this album. I'd also encourage members of The Infinite to vote down Atmospheric Sludge Metal & vote up Post-Metal as there's really not very much Sludge Metal included other than the occasional hardcore vocal line.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

I just gave this album a listen to continue my test of strength in the experimental sludge realms, and indeed it's a noise-ridden industrial sludge arsenal, ready for the listener to make a stinging dark descent. Subtle keyboard passages give light to the pummeling darkness, and the noise influences have more in common with the mechanical industrial sound, though sometimes having a bit of the post-punk level of late Daughters. So this release's judgement entry will definitely receive a YES vote from me.

I also agree. This album is really just doomy industrial metal, with slight bits of electronica and shoegaze. If this was drone metal, it would be even slower.

G.I.S.M.'s 1982 debut album certainly offers plenty in the way of metal influence however the vast majority of it's tracklisting sits far more comfortably under the Crust Punk genre which itself contains metallic elements & is suitable to cover the inclusion of a few metal moments. Therefore, I'd like to see "Detestation" removed from The Guardians & placed under Non-Metal. There's absolutely no way it's a Heavy Metal record in my opinion.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

Unlike Fist's 1980 debut album "Turn The Hell On", their heavy metal/hard rock hybrid sound is positioned much further over towards the hard rock side of the equation on their sophomore record with only two (possibly three) tracks of the nine being eligible for metal status. Therefore I'd like to see "Back With A Vengeance" removed from The Guardians & added to Non-Metal.

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

As I said in my review earlier today, although Autonoesis' sophomore album includes a lot of thrash metal riffs & beats, I don't feel that it's appropriate to call it thrash metal as a primary genre (placing it alongside bands like Metallica, Pantera or Exciter) as the melodic black metal component is much more consistent & leaves the greater impact of the two. For that reason, I'd like to remove "Moon of Foul Magics" from The Pit & the Thrash Metal genre.

This release has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

I've added this release to The Horde under Brutal Death Metal as it already qualifies.

The release already qualifies for inclusion under the mathcore subgenre so I've added it to The Revolution Andi.

I decided to give this album some listening and a review as another attempt to explore some blackgaze, and while I can definitely hear those post-rock sections, the black metal side is more dominant. Roads to Judah is a clear example of black metal in a much more atmospheric light, enough to warrant its place in the blackgaze realm, and to consider it post-metal would be a big inaccuracy. So I agree that Roads to Judah is a more appropriate album for The North than The Infinite. Vote coming up!

I agree that power metal is the more dominant genre for this album. However, while I understand that it's too melodic for The Revolution, a few songs sound close to their earlier trance-metalcore in the albums leading up to Massive Addictive, such as "Fearless" and "BOOM!". So I'm not too sure about just dropping melodic metalcore from this release. But if that does happen, that's OK too.

DOLL$BOXX's "High $pec" E.P. really has nothing whatsoever to do with Power Metal & is more of a combination of Progressive Metal & Alternative Metal. Therefore, I'd like to see it removed from The Guardians & the Power Metal genre.

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

With the demise of Trance Metal, this release has ended up in The Horde under Melodic Death metal which seems entirely inappropriate. I'd suggest that it will appeal much more the Power Metal fans than Death Metal ones so I'd like to a) see this release added to The Guardians under the Power Metal genre & b) see it removed from The Horde.

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

However, similar to My Dying Bride's "Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrium", while there are some standard death metal elements in the demos, death-doom is much closer to doom.

I don't see this release in the same way as I did "Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrium" which included just a single short death metal track between two death/doom numbers. "Drown In Darkness" includes twelve tracks which offer a roughly even split of classic death metal & death/doom. It's really not that relevant whether death/doom is much closer to doom metal as a good half of this release isn't death/doom & that's kinda the point of the dual tag which I feel is warranted here. I'm going with a NO vote on this Hall of Judgement entry as it's my opinion that this release belongs in The Horde just as much as it does in The Fallen.

Sure thing, Daniel.

This nomination has now been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been added to the Hall of Judgement.

BABYMETAL's self-titled debut album really doesn't have all that much of a trance influence outside of a couple of tracks. It sits far more comfortably under The Gateway than The Revolution so I'd like to see the Trance Metal tag removed along with its The Revolution status.

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

I'd describe Void of Silence's 2002 sophomore album as being blackened/gothic doom metal with the gothic component being significant enough to warrant the Gothic Metal tag in my opinion. I'd like to have the Gothic Metal genre added to the release on top of its existing position under Doom Metal.

I've added the release to the Hall of Judgement.

With a vote tally of YES 6 NO 0, I've decided that this is conclusive enough to make the change. Thank you to everyone that contributed to the result.

I've passed this nomination as the album already qualifies for inclusion in The Sphere without going to a vote. The relevant change has been made in the database.

The 1981 self-titled debut album from Nottinghamshire NWOBHM act Limelight is really a combination of dirty pub-style hard rock with a more expansive & melodic progressive rock sound. There's only one genuine metal track of the seven on offer so I'd like to see the album removed from The Guardians & added to Non-Metal.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

Kryptograf's debut is tagged as doom metal, but apart from one track and a bit of a riff on another, I don't think there is enough to justify a metal tag as a primary. The album is overwhelmingly heavy psych and hard rock. I propose that the album is moved from The Fallen to Non-Metal and the doom metal tag removed.

With a vote tally of YES 5 NO 0, I've decided to pass this nomination & have made the required adjustments to the database.

This release has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

There's not a single song on this one-off NWOBHM album that I regard as being legitimate metal. Instead we get a classic hard rock sound mixed with strong southern rock influences & a touch of AOR here & there. I'd like to see it removed from The Guardians & placed under Non-Metal.

The release has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

I've made the requested changes in the database as this release already qualifies.

I've made the requested changes in the database as this release already qualifies.

I've made the requested changes in the database as this release already qualifies.

With a vote tally of YES 5 NO 0, I've decided to uphold this nomination & the changes have been made in the database.

I said it about Primus' debut album "Frizzle Fry" & the same goes for their sophomore album. There's very little actual metal on offer in this record & I honestly have no idea where people a getting the link from other than Larry's past association with death metal godfathers Possessed. To my ears this record is experimental alternative/funk rock so I'd like to see "Sailing The Seas of Cheese" removed from The Gateway & added to Non-Metal.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

I've decided that the YES 5 NO 0 vote tally is enough to pass this nomination so "Mekong Delta" has been added to The Infinite under the Progressive Metal genre on top of its position in The Pit.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This submission has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This submission has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

I revisited this release a few times yesterday & have to say that I still find it to be an amazing release all these years later. I'd already heard the "Towards The Sinister" demo by that point but it hadn't done very much for me to be honest so this was the first MDB release that I could really connect with. The gothic monster that is the classic doom/death title track was a revelation while the heavily Bolt Thrower influenced "God Is Alone" is some of the finest death metal you'll hear. It really doesn't matter all that much that the instrumentalists technical skills were still very basic & the production job isn't all that strong.

For fans of Paradise Lost, Anathema & Novembers Doom.

4.5/5

I have to say that I agree with your submission Andi as only "God Is Alone" could be classed as legitimate death metal. It's a YES vote from me.

Cool Feet's 1976 debut album "Burning Desire" is generally labelled as "Hard Rock/Heavy Metal" but there's really only a couple of metal tunes amongst the eight included so I'd like to see it removed from The Guardians & added to Non-Metal.

I've subsequently added the release to the Hall of Judgement.

Saw this one coming, haha. 

I'm in full agreement on this though. 

This feels like another case of a Metal guitarist being on a project, so it must be Metal, right?

Although The Ocean is known for their blend of post-sludge and progressive metal, Pelagial is definitely a more progressive ocean. You can only find a small bit of ambience around the surface, and a couple sludgy tracks at the crushing bottom, with practically everything else in between being as progressive as progressive metal can be. So I agree with you on this one, Daniel.