Vinny's Forum Replies

August

Xentrix For Whose Advantage? from For Whose Advantage? (1990) 06:22

Terrifier Reanimator from Weapons of Thrash Destruction (2017) 05:24

Hexen Gas Chamber from State of Insurgency (2008) 04:10

Hyades Buried In Blood from And The Worst Is Yet To Come (2007) 04:27

Toxik Heart Attack from World Circus (1987) 03:48

Sarcofago Screeches from the Silence from The Laws of Scourge (1991) 03:49

Total = 28:00

August

Unleash The Archers Cleanse the Bloodlines from Apex (2017) 05:54

Darkthrone Leave No Cross Unturned  from The Underground Resistance (2013) 13:49

Kryptos Red Dawn from Afterburner (2019) 05:32

Dio Fever Dreams from Magica (2000) 04:37

Total = 29:52

August

Immolation  When The Jackals Come  from Atonement (2017) 03:54

Morgoth Isolated from Cursed (1991) 05:25

Cerebral Rot Vile Yolk of Contagion from Vile Yolk of Contagion (2021) 05:45

Hath Usurpation from Of Rot and Ruin (2019) 06:01

Loudblast The Promethean Fire from Manifesto (2020) 03:59

Inhuman Condition Europhiphobia from Rat God (2021) 02:38

Total = 27:42

August:

Mork - Svartmalt from Katedralen (2021) 04:19

Panopticon - Watching You from ...On The Subject of Mortality (2010) 09:14

Gexerott - Into Decensus Impious Ad Gloriam from Into Decensus Impious Ad Gloriam (2013) 06:55

Ondskapt - Blessed by Demonaic Wrath from Dödens Evangelium (2008) 03:23

Total = 23:51

003’s EP from Keep of Kalessin saw a completely different line up to their previous outing. Having parted ways with their drummer, bassist and vocalist. I do not know whether this split was acrimonious or otherwise, although it is certainly off to find 3 core members of a band decide they have had enough after two full lengths. Anyway, remaining member Obsidian Claw clearly had friends in high places, recruiting black metal royalty Frost (Satyricon) and Attila (Mayhem, Tormentor,etc…) for Reclaim.

I mean, with such acclaimed individuals present on the EP it is hard to expect much of anything other than superb black metal really and in some ways, you get that. I wouldn’t say that Reclaim is outstanding by any means, certainly not when you take into account who was involved. But it is still a solid blast of bm when it stops fucking around with synths and soaring/uplifting riffs that feel a bit out of place in what for the main part is a blasting bm record. I understand that the band nowadays are more noted for their melodic black metal and this shows clear signs of presence here.

Obsidian Claw handles both bass and guitar duties and keeps up well with Frost who blasts away like a machine behind the kit. Showing deft use of tremolo riffing the guitars lead the charge on this EP with the drums very much providing the thundering hooves. Attila’s grim vocals are low in the mix, creepy and nightmarish as always for the main part but able to develop into trademark howls when the tempo dictates the need to.

When in full flow, the sound has an aspect of suffocating darkness to it building to what I personally find to be a very reassuring sense of momentum across the tracks that are devoid of atmospheric interruptions. The fact that we have a bm supergroup essentially delivering this record means we are starting with high expectations, and it is perhaps these that are not realised for me during Reclaim. There is an obvious thirst to produce something special, but it still sounds a lot like the good parts of Satyricon mixed with the macabre majesty of Mayhem thrown in. When the band try to vary things and make things a little different it seems to conflict with the very ethos they are trying to create. I can happily lose the melodic leads and the variety in structure that seems to disrupt the overall flow of the release as when the guys are at it they are fine just letting it all hang out.

For a short release I was not expecting the band to form much of an identity but it sort of feels like some mates got together and had a jam session that turned into some song writing and this EP came out of the other end. The session is not bad by any means but there is more than a hint of jumbled ideas in play here and the EP (for me) suffers for it.

3/5

A clearly raging beast of a thrash metal record that has a real "necro" feel to it, largely by way of the terrible production though.  There's a real gem in here though, trying to get out regardless of whatever it got smothered in at the mixing desk and the album needs recognition for pure effort alone.  More than just an under-produced Kreator clone going on here and I would still recommend all thrash metal fans to take a listen if they haven't (like me) heard before.

3.5/5

As I get older the lines of my listening habits appear to blur all the more easily. I could have sworn that I had made my mind up a long time ago that Converge were not for me. All the furore surrounding Jane Doe was completely lost on me. Largely due to Bannon's vocal style just not really convincing me that he had the power in his pipes to punch at this weight. I don't recall much else about that record if I am honest, I find that if I pick out one element of something that I really don't like I am either dismissive of the whole or spend an eternity trying to look past the element of dissatisfaction until the whole thing clicks or I end up lamenting on losing hours of my life for no real positive outcome.

It's fair to say that I enjoy You Fail Me a lot more than I was expecting to. The hardcore punk elements shine through really well and keep me interested when things have gone a bit sour (In Her Shadow being a particular sour point on the album for me). As an album it has a consistency in terms of intensity that is quite alluring. However, at the same time it has a draining aspect to it also, meaning that I am sort of grateful that it is over when the record finishes. That is not supposed to be as negative a statement as it probably sounds, more me pointing out that the transferral of emotion from the artist to the listener here is done really well. Converge give you something to take away and think about, hold in your hands, flip over a few times and remember its ugly yet enticing content.

Still there's moments were Bannon gets on my tits still but his bandmates rescue him on most occasions. I mean Ben Koller is simply fantastic with his explosive style and is definitely the standout performance here for me. Ballou's riffing has the standard metalcore/mathcore elements present but I also like the odd groovy riff that comes into play every now and again. I don't hear a lot of bass on most tracks (maybe this is why they remixed the album and re-released it?). I mean, I know it is there most definitely but it does seem to struggle for presence on most tracks.

So, I have added this into my stream which is not something that I would ever thought a possibility in all honesty. The fact is though that this album packs a real punch and the bruising does not fade very quickly at all.

3.5/5

Delighted to see this up on the features for this month.  Not often I go straight to The Gateway for my first listen in a new month but Saxy pulled a great move here in selecting this.  I was already familiar with the release and even upped my rating of it after spending some more time with it today.

I am going to immediately go out on a limb and openly admit to liking Will Duvall era AIC more than Layne Stayley era AIC. I absolutely acknowledge the moments of quality from the 90’s – there is undeniably a sense that when they got it right Stayley and co were quite a force after all. The problem with even Dirt is that it is not a complete album, like its predecessor it is just a selection of songs with a few top notch, high-quality tracks that survive as anthems to this day. There is no sense of an album of theirs from their first iteration as a group making all that much of a statement to me, more that they could just drop some great songs. I look at Facelift and immediately get lost after the first two tracks.

Although not perfect in terms of complete albums, Duvall era AIC have more consistency and as such TDPDH and Rainier Fog have been their crowning glories as a revamped group. Sticking with TDPDH, it is clear that the band were more settled when it came to writing this album in comparison to the promising yet lacking in finesse BGWTB. Duvall certainly has a unique voice and, on this record, it synchronises in harmony with Cantrell’s perfectly. Likewise, there is a greater sense of fit to the music as well. There are times when it is criminal how at ease with each other all the instruments sound on the record. Each one audible yet so well ordered and mixed in that there is a constant freedom to the sound.

As we have come to expect from previous albums Jerry Cantrell’s presence on TDPDH is obvious. As co-vocalist he is integral in giving that harmonious sound but when he goes solo (Hung on A Hook) his sultry tones add that grunge dimension to the sound. His guitar work is emotional yet controlled in the same regard. His sense of restraint to deliver a firm and yet heartfelt performance is a trait you would expect from a guitarist of his noted talent and experience. Cantrell knows how to write songs and he damn well knows how to add a genuine piece of himself into every last one of them also. His melodies singe the air as opposed to flashing bolts of lightning everywhere and leaving acrid smells in their wake.

The heaviness in TDPDH is tempered well even though it is an element that was present on BGWTB the band have captured some of that Angry Chair riff mentality and the catchiness of Man in the Box this time around. It is still an album that is steeped in rock as opposed to being just the dark emotional tirade of grunge but it has a positivity to it that suggests a band happy with their surroundings and at ease with their identity. There were snippets of this last time out (Last of My Kind) but here it just feels more organic like they have found their space and are throwing caution to the wind on where it means they fit in terms of pigeon-holes.

The follow up to this record, built firmly on the foundations laid down on this album, with Rainier Fog taking this catchy song writing and blending more seamlessly this harder edge and as such TDPDH here is a real game-changing record for AIC. It feels like they learned how to show all of their maturity and experience in a record but sound like they had an absolute blast whilst doing it.

The Fallen was very much back-loaded for me. Started off well enough with Solitude Aeternus, but Crowbar ain't my thing 

With you on Crowbar.  Never understood the hype around them, their sound is so unnatural.  The vocals in particular aren't all that great.  A few decent riffs but really not that amazing at all.

Okay, I get it. Tetchy bunch today Metal Academy aren't we?

But I think Daniel's slant on this has to be that there's some marketing of Metal Academy in return for the exposure it gives to any bands.  Look, harsh reality is that there's about 5 or 6 regulars here who post.  Everyone has lives, work, commitments blah, blah... and so that's not a pop or a criticism but my point is plucking unknown acts out of the ether that is the internet is too random a process even if we all even had the time.  The example of Cryptic Shift is not relevant to an "unknown" act thread/feature as they are already well known.  The concept of "uknown" is too loose also.

I would suggest instead:

• Reaching out to a few labels who have a predominantly underground roster and seeing how MA and they could become mutual partners for the furthering of their band's music through our features and/or the Spotify playlists (I don't know how that would work though - I am a software salesman, not a partnerships manager)
• Do some specific marketing for "band/artist" accounts on the site.  Like there's a fan and a band, artist login for Bandcamp the same concept could be deployed here - but at some point you run the risk of the site moving away from a hobby and becoming more of a business/commercial interest and I don't know how Ben & Daniel could commit to that
• I can see Twitter is in use already from a marketing perspective, ever thought of extending this out to Instagram etc just to maximise the opportunity for growth ( I hate most social media platforms so this leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to even suggest it but at the end of the day they do work - algorhythms permitting of course).

I ain't no guru, just throwing out some ideas for thought/shooting down in flames/consideration.

Same really, barring Conan I am not aware of any bands round here.  Certainly none who are more underground anyway.

Their career is a tale of two very different halves.  The first half has a real golden run of albums up to and including ...And Justice For All where they consistently improved and matured and you could hear it on each release.  As the youthful exuberance of the first two records began to fade come Master of Puppets they were able to distract us from this fact by simply writing great songs that made up for the loss of (some) of that raw energy.  They were of course very much a changed band come ...And Justice For All but yet again managed to put together one of my favourite thrash metal albums of all time.

I wouldn't say the black album was a bad record.  I actually really enjoyed it at the time and played it to death.  I mean it hasn't aged as well as the albums that came before it and there's no getting away from the fact that this was the start of their more commercial attempts for popularity.

The second half of their career (Load onwards) is just an embarrassment in comparison to their importance to not just thrash metal but metal music as a whole. One of the all time biggest and most blatant sell-outs in music history started in 1996 and is still ongoing some near 30 years later.  I don't actually think of them as thrash metal band anymore and that abomination they made with Lou Reed shows that their standards know no boundaries any longer.

Their fan base now is completely different to what is was in the 80's and the band are a shadow of their former selves, even though the record, ticket and merch sales probably would have them believe otherwise.  Had Cliff Burton lived I would like to think that they would have stayed on a much more thrash metal pathway, but I guess we will never know.  Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely every artist's right to make a conscious change in direction.  Equally it is every fan's right to decide whether that change is for them or not.  I can get by quite easily just simply not listening to their output beyond 1991 and (pretty much as I do with Slayer) I tend think they split up after that as far as I am concerned.

Welcome to the Academy. It's great to have you here. Do you & Vinny know each other from another site? I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you the guided tour as there's a lot enjoy here. Have fun with it & feel free to contribute as much as you feel comfortable with.

EC signed up to the other forum I frequent (Metal Forum) and he was very open about wanting to discover more metal and so I pointed him here thinking the clan system and associated challenges would help.  We don't know each other at all really, just an old metalhead trying to help out a younger one find their feet.

hello there. like many, im new here, but the website looks cool! i like all the different clans, too, very nice idea. 

You made it.  Nice one.

I finally got around to my review of this and as I admit this is an album that I have struggles with some days.  To pinch a summary from my review though:

There's a heap of reasons why I would be drawn to Cruciamentum. Hell, anyone who has been paying attention to my reviews/posts can see this is right up my street. Enough nods to Bolt Thrower to keep the British Death Metal fan in me tickled pink, coupled with atmospherics applied by what sound like the hands of Morbid Angel themselves and with the addition of lashings of Dead Congregation, Incantation and Grave Miasma to boot, Charnel Passages has my name stamped all over it. It is important to add that I don't see this band as being guilty of worship of anyone else either (including the bands mentioned above); Charnel Passages is enough of a death metal heavyweight in its own right to be able to stand its own ground in an arena of many other similarly influenced bands. To my ears this is not mere regurgitation of old ideas done by someone else 30 years ago, instead the four piece offer the application of influence to their own sound which remains at the core of their offering.

4/5

Well, there's 12 minutes of my life I will never get back.  There's elements of metal here yes but it is drowned out by synths and keys and I can't actually say any of those tracks are rooted in metal at their core.  I would say they are too far away from metal to warrant inclusion as thus on the site.

Yeah, it's weird how some days have 20 anniversaries, whereas others have around 3.

Lucky we have a way to punish those ugly cover. Nuclear Death really didn't make any effort with their covers did they!

I mean, yeah!  But Demon Bitch have someone doing their artwork who thinks they much better than they actually are.  At least Nuclear Death's artist already knows they are terrible and doesn't care.

Realised that I am a fair portion of the way through the 2nd Era of Heavy Metal already so will probably pick up on that over the coming weeks.

I really enjoyed the challenges and at the time could afford to spend the time ploughing through them.  Nowadays my work is just full on but I do need to review some of the outstanding lists and see where I go next.  Oddly for me (based on recent years at least) I have been catching up with lots of recent releases so this has bulked up my reviews of late.  I do find the challenges addictive though so do need to look at a couple of my old reviews from when I was going at them as I think more than a few need a tweak now I look back.

Bròn - Pred dverima noći (2020)

July

Bullet for My Valentine - Begging for Mercy from Fever (2010)

July

Neurotech - Nonexistent from Antagonist (2011)

July

Spineshank - The Height of Callousness from The Height of Callousness (2000)

Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still (2020)

Today has been a good day, heading into late afternoon now with my AOTY from 2020.

Let's start with some context here. By the time 1989 rolled around Sodom had been around for eight years. In that time they had already treated us to their particular brand of blackened speed metal on In The Sign of Evil before hitting a more conventional thrash metal sound on Obsessed By Cruelty and their second full-length Persecution Mania. With Expurse of Sodomy bridging the gap between the debut and the sophomore the band had already set themselves a reputation for delivering some ripping thrash metal with real menace and danger behind it. By the time we got to album number three things really had taken off for the band with a live album and video (remember those?) already released.

Agent Orange is the crowning glory of the bands (near) first decade of existence and for me their career as a whole. For all of its obvious maturity and great structure it retained all of the raw energy that we had enjoyed on previous releases and honed this into a more consistent and robust form. The opening and title track shows this perfectly, probably one of the best opening tracks I have ever heard, setting the tone and tempo for the majority of the album with a chopping riff from the word go. By the time we get to Remember the Fallen we get a cool groovy riff running through the track which breaks up the pace of the record really nicely at the halfway point.

Throughout the album the guitar sits front and centre, with Frank Blackfire's riffs at the forefront of the mix and his leads similarly high in the proceedings also. Angelripper's vocals sit perfectly just underneath the guitar in the mix with his bass audible enough to be a rumbling thunder that never quite cracks into a distraction to take away from anything else. Tracks like Magic Dragon are a great example of the tightness of the band with all parts clear in the sound but none of them dominating proceedings to negative effect, the bass fills the lower stratosphere perfectly allowing the vocals, drums and guitar to occupy the upper realms and sound fully supported.

I think there's an argument to say that Tom's vocals would always give the band a blackened edge even at this developed stage of their career but the sound overall here is absolute classic thrash as the tempo changes between cutting riffs and galloping rhythms to give a real sense of variety whilst maintaining that thrash metal authenticity. The performance of the sadly missed Chris Witchunter on the skins is superb, fully of energy and deft technique.

The punky vibes to Ausgebombt is catchy as fuck and on my CD version which is a reissue it is on CD2 twice as a live track and also as a studio German version so that track is never leaving my head in 2021 at least now. My version also has a cover of Tank's Don't Walk Away which is a superb edition to the album at the end and I would say improves it even more than I first thought possible.

This album for me is pivotal in Sodom's career, firstly because I don't believe they have ever come close to topping it in terms of quality, intensity and variety. Secondly the timing of this perfect record was so important for the growth of the band as I believe without Agent Orange Sodom would not be as important as they are today in the realms of their legendary status in thrash metal. Better Off Dead which is the album that followed this is a pale effort in comparison and I have little memory of Tapping The Vein be anywhere near this record. A simply essential thrash metal record that should be in every fan of the genres collection.

5/5

Sodom - Agent Orange 1989

Time for a review of this methinks.

You chose the correct clan to post about “Black Metal” in my opinion Vinny. Well done!

P.S. “Sabotage” is my second favourite Sabbath studio album from “Paranoid”.

I really like the experimental side of Paranoid, it is such a challenging record in places which puts it just behind the superb Master Of Reality for me which is the all-time great of the Sabbath discography.

This clan was the only place for that Venom record to my ears as well.  I realised that I had never played the second LP (my copy is a reissue gatefold) and there's a heap of BBC sessions and singles on sides C & D so been an interesting listen this morning.

Unearthly Trance - Stalking The Ghost (2017)

I bought this on vinyl on a whim as I was moving house and wanted something new to listen to at my new place.  Wasn't the most beneficial whim I have ever had from memory and I have hardly played it since but giving it a spin this morning as I get through chores and feel like I want something gloomy and moody on that still has a bit of bite to it also.

Venom - Black Metal (1982)

Black Sabbath - Sabotage (1975)

Brief and altogether really unhelpful input from me.

STOP WASTING YOUR LIVES PUTTING EVERYTHING INTO PIGEON-HOLES!!!!  DRIVES ME MENTAL!

Rant over.

Carry on.  (Not like you weren't going to anyways)

I sat last night and watched the documentary on which most of the album Kentucky is based.  It's a tough watch at times in terms of the quality of the footage but at the same time really interesting to understand the reality of the struggle and the levels of corruption and even murder that they encountered to eventually get nearer to what they wanted (the eventual contract wasn't as appealing across the board depending on age/years of service in the mines).  Definitely worth a vie when you have a couple of hours to kill one evening.

Go on, I'll bite first.

I don't disagree with the majority included on your list (have to revisit that Opprobrium album before commenting on it - and Carcass would not make my list) but I would re-order them.

1) Obituary - Slowly We Rot, this is simply a huge album for me as it was my gateway album into death metal and genuinely listening to this for the first time is one of the greatest moments of my life.

2) Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness, probably one of the most essential death metal releases of all time.  Total non-conformity from Trey with certain keys or scales make this an album that challenged the very form of music itself.

3) Pestilence - Consuming Impulse, to quote my review "This was all from a band several thousand of miles away from the developing US death metal scene, yet the Dutch band from Enschede, Overijssel dropped an album of such magnitude and presence that it could trade blows with the Morbid Angel's and Obituary's of the time and only narrowly lose out on points."

4) Death - Leprosy, no argument from me here, top of the pile of Death releases for the 80's.  Huge strides taken from the debut in just a year, pushing the band and the genre further forwards than we imagined possible.

5) Death - Scream Bloody Gore, surprised myself with the inclusion of this behind Pestilence but in all honesty I just know the Pestilence album better and I think that this album's importance is more relevant terms of the genre definition it did at the time.  The best was very much still yet to come from Chuck at this point.

6) Autopsy - Severed Survival, filthy stuff put plain and simple.  Plug in, no fuck's left to give death metal that crushes all in its path.  Reifert pulls another early death metal classic out of thin air and lands on his feet again.

7) Macabre - Gloom, upping the unpredictability stakes ten-fold is what Macabre do best.  Nineteen tracks of serial killer themed blasting two minute grind is a superb night out in my book.

8) Possessed - Seven Churches, the birth of death/thrash gets a look in towards the end of the list.  Not as highly-rated as perhaps some of my peers would want to see it I know but this release sort of passes me by most of the time nowadays.

9) Terrorizer - World Downfall, we are getting to the bottom of the barrel now for me and these last two only really qualify for the fact that they were released in a decade with limited number of releases.

10) Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos, not that I hate it but I have big problems with the production on this making it one of the most stifled sounding death metal albums of the time.

Winner, winner. Chicken dinner.

I can't begin to throw enough superlatives at this record.  The same week that my vinyl copy of Mestarin Kynsi arrived I discover this gem also and will no doubt be testing my bank balance again this month now.

What a tense and intriguing record from start to finish.  Delivered within structures that I find terrifying to listen to personally as they can take very simple effects and use them as conflicting ideals within each song or key passages in each, building this sense of false security all the time which keeps me absolutely hooked.

The review says it all.

5/5

So first of all, thanks Xephyr for introducing me to this album.  It is fair to say that I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I have and equally clear is that I might just have a new favourite band.  The connection I made with this record was more or less immediate and was one that was as unexpected as it was welcome.  From the sheer quality of the musicians to the compositional ability of the song writing and the balance to everything, there's so much to admire here.

Brittney is one of the most talented without being overtly showy vocalists I have heard and the way she controls her delivery to compete with (and often best) the fire and energy of those riffs and leads is extraordinary.  There's no high-pitched shrieks needed her for her to make her presence known, a real solid no-frills performance if ever I heard one.  The one black mark against the record is Grant's poor efforts at harsh vocals which as I note in my review are laughable at times and the one thing that keeps the album away from full marks.

4.5/5 

Portal - Avow  (2021)

After Altarage earlier in the year this needs to be an extraordinary record to stand up to what the Spaniards delivered.  First full listen through this morning so we will see.

Just got my CD copy a couple of days ago. Love this album, Vinny and thanks for putting me onto it. But have you seen the large number of snarky comments on it's RYM page? I fucking swear, I don't know what some people expect from an album sometimes. Can't they just accept it as a good/great black metal album that doesn't threaten to change the face of black metal but is just a damn entertaining listen? Or does one person state a dislike for it and then others feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon? That's one of my main beefs with RYM I guess, the pile-on bully mode that sometimes takes the place of considered thought. Luckily that's not an issue here at the Academy and another reason I prefer to engage in civilised discussions here - I virtually never post on RYM forums, but as you can tell it's hard to shut me up on the MA ones!

I don't do RYM in all honesty but I have heard the elitism is rife there.  Yeah, that's one of the main draws here for me too, an open atmosphere without being fluffy.  On my other site were I moderate we have pretty much the same ethos.

Suggestions for July's playlist:

Kanonenfieber - Grabenlieder (5:25) from Menschenmühle (2021)

I have played that album to death since the CD/Tee bundle arrived and that track is one of the standouts.  Good choice sir.

I own it on CD and do play it regularly enough to agree with some of what Xeph says about the "loose" values around the performance and production - which likewise I accept is part of the charm for some (myself included).  I personally prefer Remains of a Ruined, Dead, Cursed Soul for my Mütiilation hit when needed although both probably deserve my two penneth of a review.

Austin Lunn, aka Panopticon, gives a nice career retrospective on today's Bandcamp Daily.

https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/panopticon-black-metal-list

Interesting stuff.  I still criminally neglect his discography beyond Kentucky and The Scars of Man... and really need to delve into picking up some vinyl of his.

The tortured soul character certainly fits the music he makes but it is never melancholic for melancholy's sake, there's a real raw depth to it.

That version of "Am I Evil?" is actually in this month's playlist Vinny.

Bugger.

Please replace with Iron Maiden - Caught Somewhere In Time from Somewhere In Time (1986) 07:27

July:

High Command - Inexorable Darkness from Beyond the Wall of Desolation (2019) 04:57

Traitor - Mad Dictator from Knee-deep in the Dead (2018) 04:27

Desaster - Learn to Love the Void from Churches Without Saints (2021) 03:58

Nekromantheon - The Visions of Trigmegistos from The Visions of Trigmegistos (2021) 04:48

Demiser - Through The Gate Eternal from Through The Gate Eternal (2021) 03:58

Usurper -  Kill For Metal from Cryptobeast (2005) 05:32

Total = 27:40

Amorphis - Black Winter Day from Tales From The Thousand Lakes (1994) 03:51

Cancer - Hung, Drawn and Quartered from Death Shall Rise (1991) 03:25

Venom Prison - Defy The Tyrant from Primeval (2020) 03:50

Grave Miasma - Glorification of the Impure from Endless Pilgrimage (2016) 05:21

Baest - Goregasm from Necro Sapiens (2021) 04:24

Portal - Eye from Avow (2021) 05:35

Lik - Funeral Anthem from Misanthropic Breed (2021) 03:28

Total = 29:54

July :

Cloven Hoof - Bathory from Age of Steel (2020) 05:46

Bitch - Be My Slave from Be My Slave (1983) 04:40

Fates Warning - The Apparition from Spectre Within (1985) 05:50

Metal Church - Fake Healer from Blessing in Disguise (1989) 05:57

Diamond Head - Am I Evil from Lightning to the Nations (1980) 07:40

Total = 29:49

July:

Vreid - Shadowland  from Wild North West (2021) 09:53

Nattverd - Det bloer paa alt som spirer from Vandring (2021) 06:34

Imperium Dekadenz - Nebelbrandung from Dämmerung Der Szenarien (2007) 06:46

Total = 23:13

A strong start to this month's North list with that Spectral Wound track which is one of my regular spins of the past month or so.  Once I get the mining riffs of Fuath out of my head I soon find myself wondering why I have never really pursued more Obsequiae and quickly make a note to check out more of their stuff.  Moving swiftly into one of the worst things I have ever heard from Skyclad (not my usual experience of them) but then all is saved by the rich earthiness of that WITTR track - the in form Sonny does it again!

Heretoir just drifts by after that - through no fault of their own, just a tough track to follow - and I find myself reaching for the skip button to end the nonsense that is Bal-Sagoth before Arkona get things back on track - although at first I found myself caught off-guard because this clearly wasn't the Russian band I was familiar with.  More quality stuff from Shining follows and I have a little sleep during that Xasthur track to recharge my batteries (good track just heard it many times so spied my opportunity) before my new favourite band Mare Cognitum drop another stellar track which forces me to go even further into their back catalogue.  The conflict of whether I like Diabolical Masquerade this year or not is presented to me next and I decide 2021 is a good year for Blackheim.

Now I discover that Wintherr's at it again and this news has passed me by somehow.  I fell out with him for Im Wald which was far too long and my attention span struggled massively with it.  On this release it seems the internet is a bit upset with this release but from what I hear on this track it is nice and abrasive stuff.  Sonny wins himself another 100 internet points for putting my second favourite band in the world Yith on the list.

Good month (again), fuck me we are good at this!

I really enjoyed this month.  It was full of stuff that made me remember exactly why I got into thrash in the first place and had a few classics that I hadn't heard for a while (Anthrax and Slayer in particular).  Picked up on that Lich King track as they are a band I have struggled to get on with but his one was really energetic and frenetic so I will be checking out the whole album based on that track.  I do need to still check out that Hydra Vein album that Sonny recommended the other week.

I don't know why I haven't heard Paranorm before but I will be exploring them further also.  I am even giving Steel Bearing Hand another go.

Still not loving Evile or Skeletonwitch though.  Even the vocalist change on Evile hasn't turned me onto them.

Virtual hi-fives all round though.

Hello, I think you're still not the oldest here btw.  Good to see new blood on the site.

We just did a feature on that Loathe record - which wasn't to my particular taste but each to their own and all that.  

Looking forwards to hearing your thoughts on releases in reviews and forum threads etc.

I don't mind "it" as it happens.  The Deftones influence is strong enough to even carry off the blatantly commercial sounding Two Way Mirror without it grating that much.  The bouncy metalcore aspect to it works in the main also , I'd just like the record as a whole to be a little more settled compositionally as they clearly have a lot to say but it is too much like hard work trying to keep with the expression of it.

I don't love it but at the same time I don't hate it.  As with most Revolution (and a few Gateway) bands - I don't need it in my life though.  There's not enough intrigue to keep me interested for fifty minutes as nothing feels framed that well and it is not that I need boundaries to my metal music (far from it usually) but for the obvious clash of styles that go on, the focus on detail is off.

3/5