Vinny's Forum Replies

The crashing and bashing tendencies of some death metal bands is not something that is always done to a reasonably high enough standard. When I hold such bands as Gorguts in the highest of regard then the bar is already set pretty high for avant-garde death metal. I will go on record as saying that Flourishing never hit the dizzy heights of Obscura on The Sum of All Fossils yet at the same time they do make a thoroughly entertaining record in the process. The urgency of the tempo that is set by album opener Thimble's Worth manages to set out a consistent taster for what is to come across the rest of their 2011 offering. What the band do particularly well is vary the pacing and tempo to give the album a real sense of dexterity.

The post-hardcore elements do not always work I admit and can lead to a sense of confusion or a rush of ideas all coming to a head in one place in particular. That being said I do get a real sense of there being a lot of thought behind the album, like time has been taken in the main to measure content and space it really well in terms of the arrangements as opposed to always pile tings on top of one another. The production job both helps and hinders this I feel. For the majority of the record there is a sense of a thin layer of murk just suppressing the content a little and not perhaps letting everything breathe as organically as the band may like based on their arrangements but at the same time the slower parts are given lots of room to build and present their more subtle nuances.

Flourishing could play though and there is very little on here not to get your head around as the band vary things up more than enough. It is not exceptionally technical overall and in fact relies on some quite simplistic repetition to provide build and crescendo in all honesty. Their playing just contains a solid amount of consistency that avoids sloppiness without ever becoming overly impressive. Whilst there are no weak tracks, there are many tracks that end up at the same place making track-blur a real problem. For an album that is weighted with the opportunity to rip up the rulebook to some degree it seems to somehow set its own limitations still on far they can actually take things. In so many ways I am torn between the comfort of the familiarity of it but also the lack of full-on bat-shit-crazy, spazzing that they never quite hit. The guitar flurries that open Momentary Senses are intriguing but do not play a big enough part in the track overall to realise that initial promise. Bits of The Sum of All Fossils tend to dominate other parts all too easily and those vocals cannot always keep up with everything that is going on, despite the measured approach and the obvious sense of arrangement there is still work to be done here. Interesting but not essential.

3.5/5

A few colleagues who came to Florida have since gone down with COVID upon return (I am not among the infected thankfully).  Florida was stupid hot (95 degrees Fahrenheit at one point) but was still a blast even though I had to work. Mad busy since getting back just over a week ago as been working in Scotland this past week so had little time to shake the jet-lag before getting out on the road.  Only this coming week to go then a long weekend in cabin near Snowdonia in Wales that has a hot tub so I will plonk myself in that for four days and enjoy some long overdue downtime.

Sorry Vinny, I forgot all about you requesting them be in by the 10th. If it's too late then no worries, but if you want to use my suggestions here they are:

Possessed - "Fallen Angel" from "Seven Churches" (1985)
Incubus (on Spotify as Opprobrium) - "The Battle of Armageddon" from "Serpent Temptation" (1988)
Ripper - "The Last Day" from "Raising the Corpse" (2014)

Thanks Sonny

July submissions from me:

Napalm Death - "Scum" (from "Scum", 1987) 02:38

Bolt Thrower - "War Master" (from "Earache Peel Sessions", 1988) 04:32

Grave - "Haunted" (from "Into the Grave", 1991) 03:38

Repulsion - "Black Breath" (from "Horrified", 1989) 02:16

Immolation - "Incineration Procession"  (from, "Acts of God", 2022) 03:27

Carcass - "Wake Up and Smell the Carcass/Emptor Caveat" (from "Torn Arteries", 2021) 04:37

Disentomb - "An Edifice of Archbestial Impurity" (from "Misery", 2019) 03:36

Horrendous - "Soothsayer" (from "Idol", 2018) 04:53

Total = 29:37

July:

Black Braid - "The River of Time Flows Through Me" (from "The River of Time Flows Through Me", 2022) 06:20

Abigor - "The Saint of Murder" (from "Totschläger: A Saintslayer's Songbook", 2020) 05:20

Uada - "The Great Mirage" (from "Djinn", 2020) 06:50

Total = 18:30

Think this is in the wrong thread Sonny.

Austrian’s Abigor are a band that I have somehow missed over the years. In fact, the very existence of an Austrian black metal scene was news to me actually. Having never heard much of any praise or criticism of the band they somehow just flew under my radar for the last three decades with only the praise amongst peers that their latest release was met with to pique my interest. Hailed as a return to form in more than one quarter the allocation of this for The North monthly feature release landed at a perfect time to bump it up my to do list.

I find the content on this record to be varied enough to hold the interest and it is delivered with a level of technical efficiency that manages to impress without becoming too showy or ever overly complex. The blend of densely layered riffs and epic song writing make for a keen ear to be needed to absorb all that Totschläger… has to offer. Just as I thought I had the measure of the record on the first listen through the album went off into a storytelling mode that appeared obvious from the moment it happened having reviewed the album title, yet somehow caught me off-guard.

The orchestral stabs of Orkblut (Sieg oder Tod) are perhaps the best example of Emperor-like structures this side of Prometheus…, yet the track itself is built from layer after layer of riffs. Literally piling the guitars atop of one another in some relentless frenzy of melodic and swarming architectural madness. At the same time, the track that follows this one, The Saint of Murder, needs no such assistance from any symphonic elements. With the guitar simply being allowed to host proceedings with its wailing tremolo supported by a solid rhythm section (twangy bass noted also) with actual licks being fired on occasion in the background. Replete with rich and lush melodies, this is the standout moment of the album for me.

After this (although I would not go as far as to say the album dips) things are just less memorable for me. I find that the complex layering becomes a tad fuddled for me on tracks like Scarlet Suite for the Devil and the conscious lean towards to a more epic sound towards the end does feel like it could be dialled down a lot. It almost feels to some degree that the flurry of ideas falls victim to some rush to get them all committed to tape before the end of the record. The dungeon synth opening to La plus longue nuit de Diable/Guiding the Nameless promises more than drawn out tempo of the main body of the track delivers sadly and the folk metal chant and battering ram drumming for Tartaros Rides just loses me sadly as my senses are more than a little lost by this point.

However, negative points aside, Totschläger… is an absolute triumph of a record in terms of being a rare breed in black metal in that it sounds like it was recorded by a band who genuinely enjoyed themselves. There is a real power behind every riff and note that those guitars spit out like fire from the bellies of hundreds of dragons. Whilst, not necessarily unique, those vocals are fitting for the sound of the music and add an important layer beyond the monstrous riffing, giving the opportunity for the mind to track something else a little more dialled down in the mix.

4/5

Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos (1989)

In November of '89, a year on from their debut, In Battle There Is No Law, Bolt Thrower issued sophomore album, Realm of Chaos. This album shows a band who have improved hugely in professionalism and who have honed their vision into sharper detail. Gone was the sloppiness of the debut, as had most of the crust influence and we had a much tougher-sounding, more brutal and heavier release as a result. This is no all-out assault of mindless brutality however and most of the tracks display some degree of progression. First track proper, Eternal War, may be the exception with it's nod to Napalm Death-style grindcore. Typically the tracks feature a slower, medium-paced, groove-laden riff with bursts of fast-paced, grind-like aggression and howling solos and they even turn in a creeping death doom riff to open the magnificant All That Remains. In Karl Willetts they have one of my absolute favourite death metal vocalists, his rasping growl epitomising what death metal vocals are all about for me.

Often with extreme metal, I will concede, an album can become a blur of similar-sounding tracks that struggle to stick in the memory after they have ceased playing and are more about the experience of listening, but in similar fashion to Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness, Realm of Chaos consists of tracks with enough memorable riffs and even melodies to stick with you after the disc has stopped spinning - a mark of exceptional songwriting I would suggest. Tracks like All That Remains and particularly World Eater are genuine death metal classics in my opinion, but there really isn't any filler on this album and I believe that Realm of Chaos can stand toe-to-toe with most of the classics of early death metal.

Although they are well-regarded, I still don't think Bolt Thrower get the credit they deserve. This was still 1989 and yet they had written the manual on brutal, grind-influenced death metal already (and went on to become one of the select few bands with decades-long careers who never put out a bad album) yet it seems to me that they remain the preserve of death metal enthusiasts and early grind adherents while lesser lights bask in the floodlights.
4.5/5

I recall having issue with this album on a production level but have to confess to it being a while since I listened to it and I may well have ended up with a horrible remastered version on CD somewhere.  Certainly need to revisit anyways.

The version on Spotify is the "Full Dynamic Range Version". So there are at least two versions available Vinny.

I was also reading on Discogs that the licence for the artwork from Games Workshop ran out in 2002 and they refused to renew it so subsequent re-releases have different cover art. The original vinyl LP is now going for £150 - £200!!

I have got this on this afternoon and a quick look on MA tells me that I have a CD reissue, remaster (THE HORROR!!!!!) which explains why it sounds stifled and horrible.  I really do not know off the top of my head of any remaster that has improved or benefited the sound.  I think I got this CD because it is a two disc affair with live footage on a DVD on disc two (which I have never watched) so after this spin I am going to get on the digital version and see how that measures up.  Familiar with FDR versions (have Altars of Madness and a couple of other classics on vinyl with that versioning) so be happy to check that one out.

I quite like this, more from the fact that the position in a fellow member's top 20 is visible on the release page.  My top 20 is pretty fluid outside of the top ten I find as number's one to ten are more or less locked in by now.

I think this approach works very well Xephyr. Like I said, the first hour or more worked extraordinarily well for me, more than I expected, but if the symphonic/power tracks were more randomly spread it may not have done so. I went into this playlist knowing full well that there would be stuff well outside my comfort zone, but I remained engaged throughout most of the runtime, so I would say a job well done 👍.

I actually use a similar method with The Fallen playlist, usually kicking off with more conventional doom or stoner metal and becoming increasingly extreme as the playlist proceeds, trying to end with the heaviest of the sludge/drone/funeral doom tracks. Hopefully this approach wouldn't scare off any casual listeners (not as I'm sure if we get any) before they get too far into it!

It's an interesting discussion as I consciously do the opposite on The Pit list, mainly because I fear people will get tired if I stack all speed together for example.  Now it is being touted in black and white on here I may switch up to follow the model you guys operate and see how that works when I do my initial run throughs.  Food for thought most definitely.

Heard positive things about this one and my first listen has proven these sentiments correct.  Not even a big fan of Abigor to begin with - they somehow just morphed into most of what was also coming out in the early to mid-nineties even though they were part of the Austrian scene.  That trademark heavy layering of guitars really hits home without smothering proceedings so I am looking forward to enjoying some more before committing to a review.

June 2022

01. Hexen – “Blast Radius” (from “State of Insurgency”, 2008) [Submitted by Vinny]

02. Nuclear – “World Depletion” (from “Jehovirus”, 2010) [Submitted by Sonny]

03. Sepultura – “War” (from “Morbid Visions/Bestial Devastation”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

04. Sodom – “Deathlike Silence” (from “Obsessed by Cruelty”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

05. Slaughtbbath “Amulets of Carnage” (from “Alchemical Warfare”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]

06. Madrost – “Charring the Rotting Earth” (from “Charring the Rotting Earth”, 2020)

07. D.R.I. – “Broke” (from “Full Speed Ahead”, 1995) [Submitted by Daniel]

08. Anthrax – “Indians” (from “Among The Living”, 1987) [Submitted by Sonny]

09. Metallicca – “Master of Puppets” (from “Master of Puppets”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

10. Strike Master – “Strong As Hell” (from “Death Based Illusions”, 2019) [Submitted by Vinny]

11. Whipstriker – “Mantas’ Black Mass” (from “Merciless Artillery”, 2018)

12. Hirax – “Black Smoke” (from “Immortal Legacy”, 2014)

13. Megadeth – “Five Magics” (from “Rust In Peace”, 1990) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Slayer – “Angel of Death” (from “Reign In Blood”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

15. Hellish – “Souls of Destruction” (from “The Spectre of Lonely Souls”, 2018) [Submitted by Sonny]

16. Atrophy – “Violent by Nature” (from “Violent by Nature”, 1990) [Submitted by Vinny]

17. Sonic Assault – “Intellectual Singularity” (from “Neon-Lit Metropolis”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

18. Tankard – “(Empty) Tankard” (from “Zombie Atack”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

19. Go Ahead and Die – “Toxic Freedom” (from “Go Ahead and Die”, 2021) [Submitted by Vinny]

20. Lonescar – “Images from Mauthausen” (from “Lust for the End”, 2021)

21. Reign of Fury – “Infernal Conflict” (from “World Detonation”, 2012)

22. Hazzerd – “The Tendencies of a Madman” (from “Misleading Evil”, 2017) [Submitted by Vinny]

23. Possessed – “March To Die” (from “Beyond the Gates”, 1986) [Submitted by Sonny]

24. Num Skull – “Ritually Abused” (from “Ritually Abused”, 1988) [Submitted by Vinny]

25. Blood Feast – “Kill for Pleasure” (from “Kill for Pleasure”, 1987)

26. Terminalist – “Invention of the Shipwreck” (from “The Great Acceleration”, 2021)

Thanks for the warm welcome and the info. Feel like more websites should have a rating of covers.

Welcome, nice to see a new member, especially with Pit clan membership.

Maybe even reviews of album covers...

It isn't a artwork review site though is it Andi and you have raised that before and I see no reason for this to be changed.  I speak as someone who spends a fair old portion of his time rating album covers as the 12 year old boy in me just likes to look at album artwork and rate it.  I find my brain copes better with the visual aspect of rating an album cover much easier than the listening aspect of rating an album, and it is also easier to do when sat in fucking endless conference calls at home when working.

Speaking as someone who is not massively interested in numbers I find the two decimal places a push too far and frankly bordering on the excessive (obsessive??).  I am a simple man of simple means and I largely came here to just review releases and shoot the shit generally.  I don't care about charts to the degree proposed here - not knocking anyone who does care - just like I find I have fallen out with the Hall feature because having been here for a while now I trust the judgement of Ben and Daniel to simply move releases that are misfiled or need extra tagging. Although the interactive nature of the Hall looks good on paper logging into the site and looking at the forum page to see all "hot" posts are just "...should be moved to.." is just a switch off for me.  Different opinions of course and I am not having a rant, just has struck me over the past week or so and thought I would share my thoughts.

Far from being regular in appearing on my thrash metal rotation, Every Nerve Alive is one of those albums that whilst I recognise the functional quality of, I find very little in the way of need to revisit it.  There is much to enjoy on this the bands sophomore release as they hack their way through eleven tracks of rampant thrash metal.  Capturing the very essence of thrash metal throughout this record is an absolute joy to listen to whilst it is on.  This sounds like a dumb statement I know, however I feel this is relevant as to why I rarely revisit the album.  I put it on the other week for the first time in a while and was instantly caught up in how aggressive and utterly relentless it was, how it did not necessarily do anything new and simply did an established blueprint really well.  However, unlike Slayer or Kreator, as soon as the record was done, it was gone from the memory banks more or less instantly.  A right romp it may be for forty-three minutes but its longevity is really short and is the kind of album that I can only enjoy in the moment as it leaves no distinct aftertaste that makes me savour any of the content beyond the duration of the meal.  There may well be a period of me patting my stomach after this meal but certainly zero recollection of why it was so good until I go back and order the same thing again.  For this reason I am knocking my score down to a 3.5/5 from the 4 I previously applied to it.

Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos (1989)

In November of '89, a year on from their debut, In Battle There Is No Law, Bolt Thrower issued sophomore album, Realm of Chaos. This album shows a band who have improved hugely in professionalism and who have honed their vision into sharper detail. Gone was the sloppiness of the debut, as had most of the crust influence and we had a much tougher-sounding, more brutal and heavier release as a result. This is no all-out assault of mindless brutality however and most of the tracks display some degree of progression. First track proper, Eternal War, may be the exception with it's nod to Napalm Death-style grindcore. Typically the tracks feature a slower, medium-paced, groove-laden riff with bursts of fast-paced, grind-like aggression and howling solos and they even turn in a creeping death doom riff to open the magnificant All That Remains. In Karl Willetts they have one of my absolute favourite death metal vocalists, his rasping growl epitomising what death metal vocals are all about for me.

Often with extreme metal, I will concede, an album can become a blur of similar-sounding tracks that struggle to stick in the memory after they have ceased playing and are more about the experience of listening, but in similar fashion to Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness, Realm of Chaos consists of tracks with enough memorable riffs and even melodies to stick with you after the disc has stopped spinning - a mark of exceptional songwriting I would suggest. Tracks like All That Remains and particularly World Eater are genuine death metal classics in my opinion, but there really isn't any filler on this album and I believe that Realm of Chaos can stand toe-to-toe with most of the classics of early death metal.

Although they are well-regarded, I still don't think Bolt Thrower get the credit they deserve. This was still 1989 and yet they had written the manual on brutal, grind-influenced death metal already (and went on to become one of the select few bands with decades-long careers who never put out a bad album) yet it seems to me that they remain the preserve of death metal enthusiasts and early grind adherents while lesser lights bask in the floodlights.
4.5/5

I recall having issue with this album on a production level but have to confess to it being a while since I listened to it and I may well have ended up with a horrible remastered version on CD somewhere.  Certainly need to revisit anyways.

Hi Ben,  please add Finnish groove/melodic death metallers Bloody Falls to the site

Guys, for next month's playlist submissions (for July) could I ask that they are in by the 10th June if possible please?  I am away for the week after that and coming back to a hectic diary both with work and socially so I want to get the list built before I head over to the states then can just tweak ahead of publishing.  No need to see them before start of next month mind - I am not an animal.

Another fortuitous by-product of this exploration of early death metal I have been undergoing is that it is helping to plug some of the gaps in my physical collection and today's subject is one of my most egregious omissions, which I am now pleased to say i have now resolved (thanks to Mr. Bezos and his extremely convenient online shopping experience!)

Said subject is, of course, one of the most important albums in the history of death metal:

Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness (1989)

OK, so I am quite reluctant to comment on Altars of Madness as it is undoubtedly one of the most highly-regarded of all death metal releases and I am not sure I can do it justice, but as it is a seminal release in the death metal canon I will have to try and do my best. I came to it quite late in the day, early on in my reintroduction to metal, around the turn of the millenium via a work colleague who was into Morbid Angel and Deicide and was kind enough to lend me a few of his CDs, Altars of Madness among them. So does it merit all the praise that is heaped upon it? Yes it absolutely does as this sets a whole new level of evilness and intensity for metal at this point in it's evolution and pretty much writes the manual for death metal going into the 1990s.

Firstly the songwriting is phenomenal, each track being immediate and vital and yet each retaining an individuality and identity that is rarely maintained to such a level in extreme metal, making each a memorable classic that doesn't just become part of the overall album's morass of sound but which stand out in their own right. Next, the guitar sound is phenomenal - I swear there are four or five guitars playing sometimes, such a sweeping hurricane of sound are we faced with. The riffs are fantastic and the solos, whilst being rooted in the example set by Slayer's Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, take this tortured style of soloing to a new level. Pete Sandoval's drumming is relentless and is technically brilliant as he employs every weapon in his arsenal to take metal drumming to a new heights with superb fills and proto-blastbeats that more than just keep time. Bassist/vocalist Dave Vincent snarls and growls his way through the unholy and blasphemous lyrics (which are probably the most predictable part of the whole album) with a demonic-sounding relish.

Even with all this amazing songwriting and musicianship, that still isn't the whole story of Altars of Madness. The cover art is fantastic with the leering mass of demons that seem to be forming and reforming from some kind of primordial protoplasm, some looking evil and savage, others looking mischievous and humourous and yet more looking merely demented. It is the sort of album cover you could study for ages and still find something new hidden within - a bit like the album itself. The details are also where it's at with AoM, the backwards-playing riff that introduces the album opener Immortal Rites and the demonic laugh Dave Vincent unleashes at the start of Maze of Torment both add to the immersion of the album and these small details help to elevate Altars of Madness in the minds of it's advocates.

All in all I would definitely agree with those who claim this as one of the greatest and most influential death metal albums of all time and I must concur that it more than deserves it's position on the highest pedestal of extreme metal classics.
5/5

I agree with everything you say here.  The first two MA albums are so huge in their importance to the genre overall and the bands work ethic second to none.  Hard to believe Pete Sandoval couldn't actually play double bass when he joined MA in 1988.  He figured it out in about two months with the guidance of Trey and Vincent and had developed mental skills in that short time.  Ross Dolan from Immolation is noted as remembering talking to the band to set up some New York shows and all he could hear in the background on the phone was Sandoval practising his double kicks.    

Safe to say that I am not as enamoured with this release as Daniel.  Whilst by no means a bad album it is very much reminiscent of everything else I hear on the Polish death metal scene.  Whether it is the more blackened acts or more traditional bands like Vader, I just find it all a bit "meh" as a scene.  Those vocals might as well be Nergal doing them for me and although I would not imply it to be a conscious effort there does appear to be some elements of Behemoth worship here.  

The drummer's performance is outstanding though and he easily takes the award for the most impressive work here.  The production job seems to stifle the guitars for me and that urgent, stabbing tone to the riffs just does not come over well as a result.  At times I find songs blur into one another and I am not sure where one has finished and another started unless I pay track by track attention and there's not enough going on here to keep me interested in that level of detail.

The Satanist reference is a good one, but without the theatricals this album just doesn't bite the same as their counterparts finest hour (in my book at least) from 2014.  A solid three for me, not awful but not earth-shattering at the same time and probably unlikely to be revisited.

3/5

I just do not think that Quorthon was that good.  I get the kvlt love for them but he really overshot himself and tried to be a lot more mature a performer than he actually was ever capable of becoming.  As I have gotten older I have less and less time for Bathory and actually cringe when I try to listen to pretty much anything beyond 1988.

Edit to the above:

Removing

Desolate Shrine - "Cast to Walk the Star of Sorrow" (from "Fires of the Dying World", 2022) 06:41

Replacing with

Nihilist - "Severe Burns" (from "Drowned", 1989) 05:38

Another sterling playlist that I found matched my current listening habits nicely (I am on a grindcore kick of late).  I am slowly coming round to Nasum and was looking for a track to draw me to a release and that track might have done it and Enemy Soil are new to me so are a neat and timely find.  Not as keen on that Napalm Death track but I am still spinning Scum intermittently at mo so perhaps one to build up to.  Forgot how fucking sick Infester were and that Cryptworm track was absolute filth as well.  Always good to see a bit of Gorguts on here also.

Was not at all into Aeviterne (who essentially are Flourishing, right?) or Father Befouled who always stray too close to Incantation worship for my liking.  Finding my own personal favourite in terms of sick humour, Macabre was a pleasing moment though.

I re -read my review and laughed out loud at me describing it as having just "an industrial tinge".  Great record and fine choice for the feature of the month.

I don't have much to add to my existing review for this.  Since I got this on vinyl earlier this year it has occupied my headspace a lot and is an album that plays well away from the turntable by simply having gouged a place in my brain over repeated listens.  I do keep meaning to check out more of his work but never quite seem to get around to it despite my obvious liking of this album.

Highlight for me this month was me getting to remember how good that Dawn album is and that I need to revisit it immediately.  That Enslaved track is from a great album also. Always nice to see a bit of Xasthur on here too but not taken well to the new BAN album they are definitely moving to far away from their core bm sound for my liking and I think Deathspell Omega have had their day as well.

Woods of Desolation were not an instant hit for me - a little too gazey.  Ultha however offered an interesting end to the playlist this month.  A big atmo-black ending that rounded the tracklist off nicely.  

Find of the month = Black Fucking Cancer - I am all over that shit like a fat lass in a cake shop!

I think on reflection that the short review writer is the more adept reviewer.  Having read Zero Tolerance mag for a number of years now I am always impressed by how the writers there get the review done in what seems like an impossibly small space.  I used to be on the "reviews must be lengthy" bandwagon for a while but as my own time to do reviews continues to decrease with my ever increasing workload, a wedding to organise and a new interest in gardening (when will the adrenaline levels drop I wonder) I just play my reviews by ear and they are simply as long as they are at the time of writing. 

For me personally I have never seen my involvement in the site as a chore.  I moderate on another forum and have never seen this as a chore either to be honest as the responsibility is shared across four of us and everybody is relatively well behaved.  If anything, I see the MA site as a place to come and stretch my wings and focus my energies into something I am passionate about without necessarily having to read everything new in the forum.  I don't partake in a lot of threads and I am far more active rating artwork/releases than I am at keeping up with the forums and that is a conscious effort on my part.  I am genuinely excited to see the features and playlists each month even though I might not get time to comment/review all of them, they usually still form some part of my listening habits for the month.

I'd just like to open up a discussion around the monthly clan playlists to see whether you're all enjoying the current format or would like to see some changes. Here's a few questions to consider:

1. How are you all enjoying them? Do you look forward to listening to & compiling them?  Yes I enjoy them and do pick up on bands to check out from listening to them and compiling them is a task I enjoy.

2. Is the two hour length appropriate? If we are to cover the various sub-genres appropriately I think no more than 90 mins

3. Do you think monthly is the right release schedule? Would bi-monthly or quarterly be more suitable & encourage a higher quality of submissions? Could it be different for different clans? I think it should be a rotational playlist - so a different clan each month (or even quarter).  Not sure how we measure "quality" of submissions as it is just down to what people have been listening to surely?  However, if we are open to changing the frequency then I think the scope of the lists changes also.

4. Should we consider dissolving a couple of the less popular playlists altogether or would that potentially confuse things? It all comes down to what is sustainable I think.  Do we have any stats on the number of plays the lists get on Spotify each month?  Personally I think only the Sphere playlist is expendable based on there being no active MA members regularly contributing

5. Do we have the track submission limits right? Is there a better way to manage the compiling of the lists?  Speaking for The Pit, I think it is right, submissions give me a solid base to work from and allow me to focus on the lesser sub-genres

5. Any other suggestions or comments? Overall who is the target audience for the playlists?  Site members or the means to attract wider an audience to the lists and the site (all due respect if it is the latter I don't think we have a high hit rate).  I never get the time to listen to all the lists in my chosen clans though so I am of the opinion that there's just too much to focus on in a mere 4 weeks before they change again so the effort is not always appreciated.

My responses in bold in the above quote.

I am off to Florida for a few days in mid-June to "work" - which in effect is just a conference my company (new owners) put on each year to launch the coming year.  9 hour flight - I hate flying - but someone else is paying for me to fly business class and get at least one free day to myself in Orlando so I will take it.  Could be the new norm with us having US owners now so best keep my passport and US visas up to date.

That's a very interesting explanantion Daniel. I don't personally know any DJs (although I do have a friend who is a brilliant graffiti artist!) so I wasn't aware that is what they do. It must certainly help in forming an opinion if you have trained your mind to pick up on things so quickly.

Tne "active listening" thing is a good point too. This is partly what I mean about having to "work" at listening to music because, for various reasons, I find it hard sometimes to concentrate. The first couple of listens I tend not to even try and just sort of let it wash over me to get a handle on it and how it chimes with me emotionally. A further listen or two are then when I try to form an opinion of the music and then I will try to put it into words, usually while listening to it again at the same time.

Of course if I don't much care for it after a listen or two then I won't bother delving further. This is sometimes where I will later pick up again on releases I have previously dismissed and reassess them more favourably.

Coming late to this debate I know but essentially I am in the Sonny and Ben camp here.  Rare that any release grabs me the first time and as I get older it gets harder for me to formulate opinions after sometimes even three listens.  Learned to take a step back now and realise that an album takes as many listens as it takes for me to really get a grasp of it.  Yes, I can still dismiss utter drivel after a few tracks but at the same time I can revisit albums I previously dismissed and find them much more palatable.  A lot of album ratings are influenced by mood and I do find that if I am in a stinker of a mood or really down then this is not the time to review something as my attitude towards it is tainted no matter how many times I have listened to it in a more calm or positive mindset already.

As for the debate around what started death metal I think we have already drawn various conclusions in the thread and I lean more towards Scream Bloody Gore than I do Seven Churches.  Reading Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore at the moment and I am still in the early grindcore section of the book but one quote that made me think was from original Napalm Death vocalist Nik Bullen.  When asked why he quit the band he said "I got a bit bored with it...because at that point as people were in the audience just shouting 'Faster, faster!' I was thinking, ' Well, if everybody just wants us to play faster and faster, it is a bit like a novelty act, and they're not really understanding on some level why we wanted to play fast in the first place, which was just to mirror their kinds of emotions and to bludgeon, really.'"

My point here is that in the early years a lot of shite got released and just because something sounded more extreme than thrash or punk at the time then it did not make it death metal by proxy.  Although not glacial in pace the establishment of death metal came after both Seven Churches and Scream Bloody Gore and both albums are very important to the history of the genre.  Now I will probably never be able to pinpoint when it became death metal for me.  Some days I think Altars of Madness others Slowly We Rot but I think the point is that no album selection is wrong or right as music for me is very personal and I believe that it is for everyone.  I will never experience an album again like when I first took in Slowly We Rot back in my teenage years.  The environment, the events leading up to that purchase, the journey home with it, the circumstances of how I couldn't listen to it at home and had to go to my grandparents house are all part of that first listen.  At the time I had no idea what any other death metal album sounded like and at that point in time, for a precious few days (maybe even weeks) that album was death metal, the be all and end all to me because I had no other reference point and the internet was not a thing for me.  I have since gone on to discover Colored Sands, Stare Into Death and Be Still, Pierced From Within, Onward to Golgotha, Close To A World Below and countless other great death metal releases - none of which I will ever enjoy like I did Obituary's debut.  So whilst immensely important for residents of a site like this, where death metal truly began is a debate that is to some degree futile as my moment happened and nothing I will find now will change that or rival it.  It will give me timeline and the all important context though and it is interesting to view Sonny's journey and here other members experiences.

Thank you gentlemen

I will add:

HeXen - "Blast Radius" (from "State of Insurgency", 2008) 04:08

Go Ahead And Die - "Toxic Freedom" (from "Go Ahead And Die", 2021) 03:26

Strike Master - "Strong As Hell" (from "Death Based Illusions", 2019) 04:19

Num Skull "Ritually Abused" (from "Ritually Abused", 1988) 04:27

Sonic Assault - "Intellectual Singularity" (from "Neon-Lit Metropolis", 2022) 03:23

Hazzerd - "The Tendencies of a Madman" (from "Misleading Evil", 2017) 04:15

Atrophy "Violent by Nature" (from "Violent by Nature", 1990) 03:54

Total = 27:52

June =

Artificial Brain - "Celestial Cyst" (from, "Artificial Brain", 2022) 04:31

Inhuman Condition - "Recycled Hate" (from "Fearsick", 2022) 03:26

Wormrot - "Behind Closed Doors" (from "Hiss", 2022) 01:28

Undeath - "Necrobionics" (from "It's Time To…Rise From The Grave", 2022) 03:31

Massacre - "The Eldritch Prophecy" (from "Resurgence", 2021) 06:24

Massacra - "Enjoy the Violence" (from "Enjoy the Violence", 1991) 03:39

Desolate Shrine - "Cast to Walk the Star of Sorrow" (from "Fires of the Dying World", 2022) 06:41

Total time = 29:40

June =

Inquisition - "From Chaos They Came" (from "Bloodshed Across The Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zentih", 2016) 04:39

Mistur - "Downfall" (from, "In Memoriam", 2016) 07:15

Watain - "We Remain" (from "The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain", 2022) 06:14

Total = 18:08

I don't think it is fair to publicly call out another member of the forum in this manner Andi.  If it bothers you that the thread was not there then I think it would have been nicer to drop Xephyr a PM to see if everything was ok rather than create the thread and then publicly remind him of how and when things need to be done.

That kind of behaviour makes me uncomfortable and I will not just let that go unchallenged.  I am not speaking for Xephyr here but the fact that you have made him feel like he has to explain himself to you is not what I would expect from anyone in this community.  

I am not looking to pick a fight either I just unhappy with how this has been done.

May 2022

01. Metallica – “…And Justice For All” (from “…And Justice For All”, 1988) [Submitted by Sonny]

02. Nuclear Assault – “Nuclear War” (from “Game Over”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

03. Sepultura – “Inner Self” (from “Beneath the Remains”, 1989) [Submitted by Vinny]

04. Watchtower – “Instruments of Random Murder” (from “Resistance & Control”, 1989) [Submitted by Vinny]

05. Pariah “Puppet Regime” (from “Blaze of Obscurity”, 1989)

06. Razor – “Grindstone” (from “Malicious Intent”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

07. Thrasherwolf – “A Thousand Eyes” (from “A Thousand Eyes”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

08. Pissing Razors – “Cursed” (from “Where We Come From”, 2001)

09. The Bleeding – “Storm of the Hellspawn” (from “Morbid prophecy”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]

10. Vio-lence – “Let the World Burn” (from “Let the World Burn”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

11. Sarcofago – “Screeches from the Silence” (from “The Laws of Scourge”, 1991) [Submitted by Daniel]

12. Power from Hell – “Old Metal” (from “Devil’s Whorehouse”, 2015) [Submitted by Vinny]

13. Demoniac – “RSV – Fool Coincidence -Testigo” (from “So It Goes”, 2020) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Suicidal Tendencies – “Go’n Breakdown” (from “Lights…Camera…Revolution...”, 1990)

15. Anthrax – “Fueled” (from “Stomp 442”, 1995)

16. Possessed – “Séance” (from “Beyond the Gates”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

17. Kreator – “Under a Total Blackened Sky” (from “Enemy of God”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny]

18. Eradicator – “Einflussnahme Abgelehnt” (from “Einflussnahme Abgelehnt”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

19. Holy Terror – “Do Unto Others” (from “Mindwars”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

20. Grinder – “Hymn for the Isolated” (from “Nothing is Sacred”, 1991)

21. Cryptosis – “Transcendence” – (from “Bionic Swarm”, 2021) [Submitted by Sonny]

22. Meshuggah – “Paralyzing Ignorance” (from “Contradictions Collapsed”, 1991)

23. Expander – “Megacorp” (from “Neuropunk Boostergang”, 2020)

24. Ektomorph – “Shalom” (from “Hangok”, 1996)

25. Sadistic Ritual – “Murmur” (from “The Enigma Boundless”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

26. Vulture – “Clashing Iron” (from “The Guillotine”, 2017)

27. Sentinel Beast – “Phantom of the Opera” (from “Depths of Death”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

28. Hellfekted – “Woe to the Kingdom of Blood” (from “Woe to the Kingdom of Blood”, 2020) [Submitted by Daniel]

Municipal Waste - "Waste 'Em All" (2003)

In some ears, Municipal Waste's debut full-length may play as a dumb-as-shit fuck about record that lacks much in the way of thought.  For me it is a great representation of their political and social agitation that did not require any polish or predictable form.  Put simply the band just offload on this album.  They use a grind mentality to the delivery of the fifteen tracks here whilst deploying the requisite catchy chops and riffs to add variety.  With some tracks clocking in at under a minute (Death Prank is a mere eleven seconds) and the longest track being one minute and thirty seconds it is a blinding experience to behold and I have no problem with this.  Fifteen tracks in fifteen minutes seems like a perfect album for a thrash head like me and serves purpose as both a great "tea-break blast" record as well as a scathing social commentary at the same time.

Based on what I have heard to date of MW, I prefer this release to their beer-guzzling shenanigans on The Art of Partying.  Despite its length the debut seems to have a lot more to say and feels more important in developing an understanding of the roots of the band.  The album also picks up momentum nicely as it rolls along with the middle section being by far the strongest.  It does tend to fade away towards the end but not in a way that ruins the overall experience.  Whilst not the most mature sounding record on the face of it, Waste 'Em All does have depth to it if you care to delve into it and tracks like Drunk As Shit really are not representative of the whole in terms of the more sarcastic and dark undertones to the record.

Looks like my 2001-2003 quest just took an upward curve.

I clicked on that button the other day as think knowing what others are listening to is interesting and I rarely go a day without listening to something (even if just as background music).  The idea of a page that shows all this in one place is great.

The Exploited - "Fuck The System" (2003)

Having noticed during my "Top Releases By Year" post in whatever that thread is called that I had a huge gap in my thrash listening between 2001 and 2003, I set about using the release section on the site to handpick some well-known names in the first instance to see what came out in that three year period that could be off any merit.  In terms of crossover I only got two hits, Municipal Waste's debut full-length and this.  But I accept that there will be more releases out there in this sub-genre but in terms of the headlines those were the options.

I do not mind a bit of punk every now and again; notwithstanding that I really do have to be the mood for it but even by that standard I found this album to be an absolute chore to listen to.  I get that it is supposed to be edgy and angsty but literally every song on here follows the same format and the boil, rinse and repeat methodology wears thin really quickly.  I found myself zoning out after 4 tracks as I literally could not tell if tracks had finished or not such was the level of repetition on display.

The album starts with someone shouting (literally roaring) out of the speakers and to be honest they may have been reacting to the playback of this frankly pointless release.  I hope 2001-2003 has better to offer than this as I look to plug this huge gap in my library with some quality releases.  Needless to say "Fuck The System" has not made the cut.

2/5

That Demoniac has been on my to do list since I saw Sonny's high praise so I am throwing it on now to see what all the fuss is about.  Sight of that nearly 20 min track puts me off though.

I gave this a spin and all was well in the main...until that saxophone came into play.  Utterly unnecessary and completely out of place; it adds nothing to this album other than to distract from the good stuff that is going on.  These guys can play and entertain me enough without going avant-garde and my attention was held pretty much for most of the final track which I was dreading as I alluded to.  They are an established artist and it shows and in all seriousness, props to them for trying something different but I just cannot contextualise it in the grander scheme of what is going on and so after just one listen, I have lost all interest.

Ok, so I have taken weeks to do this and I have found this actually useful considering my usual aversion to lists in general.  What it shows me more than anything are the gaps, so on the years where I see some albums (bear in mind this list is based entirely what I own in one format or another) I have listed as the best release I instantly see scope to delve further into that year as I genuinely cannot believe that 2002 was topped by Tsjuder.  However, I have been honest and put in an entry for each year.

1970 Black Sabbath  - Paranoid

1971 Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

1972 Black Sabbath - Vol. 4

1973 Hawkwind  - The Space Ritual Alive

1974 Kiss - s/t

1975 Black Sabbath - Sabotage

1976 Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny

1977 Motorhead - s/t

1978 Judas Priest - Stained Class

1979 Motorhead - Overkill

1980 Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

1981 Iron Maiden - Killers

1982 Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance

1983 Metallica - Kill 'Em All

1984 Metallica - Ride The Lightning

1985 Iron Maiden - Live After Death

1986 Kreator - Pleasure to Kill

1987 Death - Scream Bloody Gore

1988 Metallica - …And Justice For All

1989 Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness

1990 Obituary - Cause of death

1991 Morbid Angel - Blessed Are The Sick

1992 Demolition Hammer - Epidemic of Violence

1993 Burzum - Det som engang var

1994 Mayhem - De mysteriis dom sathanas

1995 Suffocation - Pierced from Within

1996 Neurosis  - Through Silver In Blood

1997 Borknagar  -The Olden Domain

1998 Death - Sound of Perseverance

1999 Immortal - At the Heart of Winter

2000 Immolation - Close To A World Below

2001 Opeth - Blackwater Park

2002 Tsjuder - Demonic Possession

2003 Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God

2004 Horna - split w/ Behexen

2005 Opeth - Ghost Reveries

2006 Drudkh - Blood In Our Wells

2007 WITTR - Two Hunters

2008 Darkspace - Dark Space III

2009 Drudkh - Microcosmos

2010 Hooded Menace - Never Cross The Dead

2011 Autopsy - Macabre Eternal

2012 Panopticon - Kentucky

2013 Gorguts - Colored Sands

2014 Varathron - Untrodden Corridors of Hades

2015 Akhlys - The Dreaming I

2016 Ulcerate - Shrines Of Paralysis

2017 Condor - Unstoppable Power

2018 Winterfylleth - The Harrowing of Heirdom

2019 Overkill - The Wings of War

2020 Akhlys - Melinoë

2021 Altarage - Succubus

Rubbish at lists as we know but seeing Toxik in here warms my heart.  Vektor absolutely has to be up here and you'll get no argument from me on Coroner being included.

That Demoniac has been on my to do list since I saw Sonny's high praise so I am throwing it on now to see what all the fuss is about.  Sight of that nearly 20 min track puts me off though.

So, I am undertaking The Fallen : Doom Metal - The Early Days clan challenge.  This is not me necessarily looking to pick up The Fallen as my Guardians replacement fourth clan, more me actually exploring a clan that I have only ever flirted with at best.  I am familiar with a few releases in here already (Saint Vitus, Bethlehem, Candlemass, dISEMBOWELMENT, Trouble and Katatonia all have albums in here that I have played on and off for years) so there is a fair old amount of revisiting going on in this challenge. In terms of the wider Fallen sub-genres, I am already quite partial to a bit of funeral doom and death/doom has occupied a healthy spot in my listening habits for a number of years now.  I am less familiar with sludge and drone metal but have some experience of these areas.

What I want to do is get through all the Fallen challenges (or the best part of them at least) to fully explore what is on offer here and so starting in the "early days" challenge seems like a great spot to reacquaint myself with some old stuff and pick up on any hidden gems I am unaware of or simply try some bands I have never listened to - Tiamat, Anathema, Esoteric and Skepticism, for example are entirely new to me.  Also, I have struggled historically with Cathedral and have never really rated Lee Dorrian as a vocalist, likewise Aaron Stainthorpe in MDB so this gives me an opportunity to make sure I am not just being a dick and missing something.

We've made some improvements to the site as described below. There will be a few more improvements this week if all goes to plan. As always, please let me know your feedback. Many of these changes were requested by site members, so let me know what you think of them.

1. The Latest Releases page now shows 100 releases rather than 50. I made this change after fairly consistently adding over 50 releases in a day.

2. The Private Message window is now much bigger (and better) than it was previously. You can now see what you're typing, which is a novel idea.

3. When you edit a forum post entry, you are no longer thrown back to the first thread entry. You are now taken to the post you just edited, which makes much more sense.

4. You can now edit the name of a forum thread that you created. Previously only I could do it.

5. The site menu can now be found at BOTH the top and bottom of the site, making it much easier to navigate.

6. On the Releases and Bands pages, the page number navigation can now be found at BOTH the top and bottom of the page, making it much easier to navigate.

7. There's now a "Scroll to the top arrow button" that is displayed when you scroll down any page on the site, once again making it much easier to navigate.

Cheers,

Ben.

Number 5 alone on this list makes me smile endlessly on its own but thank you for all the improvements made and the continued development of the site overall.

Probably one of the most under-appreciated death metal bands in the world, Sinister have been plying their trade for over thirty years. Whilst not consistent in their output for a number of years, they actually set a firm foundation for themselves in the early 90's with their first three albums carving out quite a name for the Dutch death metallers. With sophomore releases being the trickiest of any discography the band built on the success of their debut (which I vaguely recall) and whilst they did not necessarily better it they maintained that great trajectory going into their 1993 release.

For the uninitiated with Sinister, think Deicide, Malevolent Creation and the less predictable elements of early Cannibal Corpse and you are in the right mindset. They play that rabid death metal that I associate with the first two Deicide albums but possess a knack for delivering more structure to their riffing like CC did when they paused for breath. Opener Sadistic Intent is a CC like banger of an opener that straight away embeds deep foundations for what follows as Mike van Mastrigt's vocals take no time in bellowing their presence from the off.

He is backed up by a great set of musicians also. Andre Tolhuizen is a riffing machine who can fire his fair share of sonics when required and the percussive talents of drummer Aad Kloosterwaard are of the highest standard you would expect in the death metal world of the early 90's. Lost somewhere in the maelstrom is the bass of Bart van Wallenberg but it makes regular appearances out of the churning chaos of most tracks to let you know it is still there with the occasional echo of its rumble just audible around the periphery of proceedings.

Highlights? The relentless riffing of the title track will have any fan of death metal beaming from ear-to-ear for sure. The looming build of Leviathan is a pleasure to behold before it descends into rampant madness and the seemingly endless energy of Sadistic Intent all benchmark what this album has to offer. You simply could not ask for a better example of prime 90's death metal. Sinister knew their stuff and it showed brilliantly at this stage of their career.

4/5

The social, cultural and political commentary of D.R.I. tends to operate on two levels for me on their final full-length. The sarcasm still drips from every punk-edged pore of their sound as Kurt Brecht inflicts his gruff vocals on the listener, but at the same time the obvious and genuine anger is reflected in their frenetic pacing and punchy rhythms. I think it safe to say that we all knew what to expect from the band by this stage and Full Speed Ahead does not disappoint in that regard; it is D.R.I. through and through. It relies only on the sum of all parts to get its message across without needing to express any extreme outburst in just riffs or vocals alone. That bouncy, crossover tracks its jolly way through the majority of the album, scoring the derisory commentary with an almost engine like tenacity.

Crossover thrash is basically hard to get wrong of course. As a sub-genre it is very niche of course, relying on that crude accessibility to garner appeal. That is not to say that Full Speed Ahead is one dimensional. Tracks like They Don't Care use variety of pace nicely, opening with a doom-paced riff before becoming a more choppy affair. As such it is easy to pick high points on the album as opposed to the album just literally going full speed ahead and passing the listener by in some frenzied fashion. Not all bands who have something to say are able to articulate this beyond predictable intense riffing and furious tempos. D.R.I 's experience shows on their sixth full-length. They are able to use their full repertoire of hardcore punk, and crossover thrash metal to great effect and I think their appeal to both more mainstream as well underground audiences is clear.

I know they have suffered criticism from other hardcore punk bands for their success but this album shows the inevitability of their appeal. I cannot help but feel dialled into this record with each listen, that balance of dark comedy and scathing social angst is mixed really well on here and if you listen repeatedly I find the album sounds angrier with each spin. No crossover album is liable to get full marks from me but I can safely give four stars to this.

4/5

Following my dalliance with Bad Omens this past few weeks and also making more of a conscious effort to stretch the boundaries of my taste, I decided to give War From A Harlots Mouth a try.  I didn't hate this by a long chalk but by the same token I find it a little to fluid in its transitions to the point where I find myself switching off.  For some reason I expected I would need less concentration for this to still seep through the room and into whatever I was doing at the same time.  However, without physically sitting down and focussing on the record I find little that sticks.  When I am in the zone with it the polyrhythms do attach themselves better but I still won't pretend that I keep up with it all the time.

The jazzy interludes are the parts that really standout to me,, otherwise it is too much for my tiny brain to comprehend in the main.

3/5

So we've finally finished our move to the Gold Coast & are currently setting ourselves up in a very spacious five bedroom house with a big pool. It's a huge change for the family after so many years spent cramped in a two-bedroom apartment in Sydney's Northern Beaches. It's just a shame that I've gotten sick at an inopportune time with the house still relatively full of boxes. By the way, I place removalists on the same level as politicians & parking inspectors after last week's experience. They quite simply have no morals whatsoever.

Glad you're all moved.  Get well soon..

I bought this album when it was released after being knocked out by their Preacher Man single and still have it to this day, along with the Preacher Man 12". It's been a while since I played it, but it's a pretty decent slab of 80's goth rock. Along with The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, New Model Army and The Cult they made some of my favourite 80's rock and were where I turned when I fancied a change from thrashin' (or needed to give my neck a rest)!

Sort of only know most of these bands by name as opposed to having heard their music.  Playing The Mission "God's Own Medicine" now as getting a real penchant for this stuff at present.  Heard The Cult before, recall that "Electric" was in the pile of albums my older cousin let me borrow back when I first started to discover metal.  I am sensing the need to listen to less metal increasingly at the moment and so this seems like a convenient (if not relevant) avenue.

I would strongly recommend New Model Army's Ghost of Cain album. One of the most underrated albums of the 1980s for my money, more post-punk than goth though. Sisters of Mercy's Floodland is another brilliant record and definitely goth. Gods Own Medicine is great too, but The Mission put out several 12" eps before ever releasing an album which were even better. If you're interested in The Cult, personally I prefer 1985's Love to Electric. Wow, you've really got me tripping down memory lane now, Vinny!

Killing Joke's 1985 album Night Time is definitely worth hearing too if you haven't already.

I am on Gods Own Medicine next as I slowly pick my way through this gothic rock stuff.  It is more appealing thus far than Fields... in all honesty.  Got some extended version full of shit that is only of interest to uber-fans but still enjoyable enough on a lazy Saturday morning.

May =

Nordjevel - "Fenriir" (from "Fenriir", 2021) 05:34

Äera - "Äer" (from "Schattenfall", 2021) 11:37

Total time = 17 mins 11 seconds