Ben's Forum Replies

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

I guess it should come as no surprise that another genre discussion has resulted in very little clarity around a best way forward, if indeed there is one. I just want to say that I respect everyone's opinions before I continue, so please don't read any of my comments as combative.

The big issue I have with all of this is the contrasting ways that we're expected to deal with different genres. With Thrash Metal, it's easy. Is the band playing using Thrash Metal techniques (in other words, are they playing Thrash Metal)? Yes? Then it's a Thrash Metal release. The same can be said for the vast majority of metal genres.

For some reason we're expected to treat Progressive Metal in a completely different way. We're not asking whether the band is playing any particular style of metal. We're now asking whether it "takes a more expansive & often quite cerebral approach to composition & possesses accomplished performances, complex song structures, clean & precise production qualities & the ability to build an atmosphere that takes the listener to places that are in direct contrast to their everyday lives". This seems HUGELY subjective to me. The bands could be playing absolutely any style of metal and fit the above description, or they could sound extremely similar to Dream Theater but not meet several of the criteria.

I still think Progressive Metal is flawed as an idea in general. I still stand by the opinion that there should be a genre that covers all the Dream Theater-ish bands, which ideally would not be called Progressive Metal. Almost everything else that gets lumped into Progressive Metal has (or can easily have) a logical place for it to go that doesn't require a this highly misused catch-all.

So in conclusion, Viking Metal is a real thing. 

The same idea could be used to solve our "symphonic" problem in my opinion although there is one problem we'd have to overcome. If we had an "extreme symphonic metal" subgenre it'd solve the issue of extreme metal releases residing within The Guardians. The only question would be what clan would you associate an extreme symphonic metal subgenre with. We've already got a symphonic black metal one too.

I personally don't think the Extreme thing solves much. One man's (or woman's) extreme is another's soft. It's pretty subjective, and isn't representative of any particular sound.

That's just my opinion though.

I think the Metal Academy clans should be a secondary consideration to creating a simplified and practical metal genre tree. Or maybe not? 

Plus there's no reason why we couldn't have a rule that any of the Progressive subgenres are connected with their natural clan and The Infinite.

So then Extreme Progressive Metal would become the catch all for any releases that have progressive qualities but aren't actually Progressive Metal. It improves things slightly, but all those releases (that we agree aren't actually Progressive Metal in the truest sense) would still sit under the Progressive Metal genre. It still feels like sweeping things under the carpet.

Why can't we just call Individual Thought Patterns "Progressive Death Metal"? If that subgenre existed under Death Metal, then that album is perfectly covered. Same with Atheist.

Well, let's continue down the theoretical rabbit hole and see where we end up.

If you created all sorts of Progressive subgenres to strip out all the releases that have progressive tendencies (Progressive Death Metal, Progressive Black Metal, Progressive Thrash Metal etc.) what genre would be applied to the likes of Dream Theater, Queensryche, Fates Warning, Symphony X, Circus Maximus, Liquid Tension Experiment etc.

If we don't want an overly thematic or descriptive genre title, we have to come up with something that feels right without drawing unsuspecting metal listeners into choosing it incorrectly. My first thought is Dream Metal. I know it sounds too fluffy for a metal genre, but it really draws attention to the link to Dream Theater. Plus many musicians could only "dream" of being able to perform some of the stuff these bands play.

Anyone got another idea? I'm trying to come up with a word that relates to technical proficiency, or virtuosity or something like that.

Back to the actual topic though... I agree with Daniel that Viking Metal is an actual sound, as found on Hammerheart and Twilight of the Gods. I just don't think there are many bands that actually play it. I was listening to one just yesterday though that certainly fits the bill. Check out this Hades track.

They definitely need to be genres. I just think the names are misleading. I believe descriptive names should be saved for Subgenres. For example, Death Metal is a top level genre, then it has more descriptive subgenres, such as Melodic Death Metal, Brutal Death Metal and Technical Death Metal. This is how genres should be IMO.

Terms like Symphonic, Melodic, Brutal, Technical, Progressive, Depressive, Atmospheric should be saved for subgenres, otherwise you run the risk of people using them incorrectly. Having descriptive genre names results in a band like Fleshgod Apocalypse getting linked to Symphonic Metal, and absolutely EVERYTHING that has progressive qualities being linked to Progressive Metal.

Take a look at the top 30 or so albums for Progressive Metal on RYM. Do the likes of Tool, Opeth, Mastodon, Gojira, Atheist, Queensryche, Maudlin of the Well, Voivod, Dream Theater, Enslaved and Nevermore actually sound at all similar? Is there any reason for a fan of Dream Theater to assume that they would enjoy Atheist? Is there any real reason to assume that a huge fan of Voivod would totally dig Maudlin of the Well too? I see Orphaned Land has Progressive Metal as its primary genre too. Is it progressive? Yeah, sure. Does it sound like Queensryche?

Gothic Metal is another example. Having such a descriptive name results in a whole heap of black metal bands like Cradle of Filth getting dumped into that genre. There are also heaps of bands that are definitely what we consider to be Gothic Metal that have absolutely nothing to do with gothic in its literal sense (The Gathering and Lacuna Coil come to mind). It's confusing, so no wonder people get it wrong.

Note that this is all a theoretical conversation. I'm not suggesting we get rid of any of these genres or even that we should change them to something else. I just wish they were different. Imagine a world where there are between 10 to 20 non-descriptive metal genres that are used to clump together releases that actually "sound" somewhat similar, rather than merely having the same theme or some musical element like being progressive or contain symphonic instrumentation. Genres would be so much more useful then, allowing people to easily discover music that's actually similar in style to something else they've enjoyed.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 3rd to the 12th of September, 2021.

1. Jazkamer (FALLEN, INFINITE)

2. Suma (FALLEN, INFINITE)

3. Toner Low (FALLEN)

4. Orthodox (FALLEN, INFINITE)

5. Akimbo (FALLEN)

6. The River (FALLEN)

7. Accept Death (FALLEN)

8. Om / Current 93 (FALLEN)

9. Earth / Sunn O))) (FALLEN)

10. Red Sparowes / Made Out of Babies / Battle of Mice (FALLEN, INFINITE)

11. Sahg (FALLEN, GUARDIANS)

12. Inborn Suffering (FALLEN)

13. The Abominable Iron Sloth (FALLEN)

14. Kalas (FALLEN)

15. Angtoria (FALLEN, GUARDIANS)

16. Across Tundras (FALLEN, INFINITE)

17. Dominia (FALLEN, GUARDIANS, HORDE, NORTH)

18. Marche Funèbre (FALLEN)

19. Youth Code & King Yosef (SPHERE)

20. Drottnar (INFINITE, NORTH)

21. Shaolin Death Squad (INFINITE)

22. Naikaku (INFINITE)

23. Sebkha-Chott (INFINITE)

24. Lye by Mistake (INFINITE, REVOLUTION)

25. Sleep Terror (INFINITE, HORDE)

26. Axamenta (INFINITE, NORTH, HORDE)

27. Ikuinen Kaamos (INFINITE, NORTH, HORDE)

28. Twisted Into Form (INFINITE)

29. To-Mera (INFINITE)

30. The Flying Luttenbachers (INFINITE)

31. Outworld (INFINITE)

32. Kayo Dot / Bloody Panda (INFINITE)

33. Electro Quarterstaff (INFINITE)

34. Prototype (INFINITE, GUARDIANS)

35. Sir Lord Baltimore (GUARDIANS)

36. Crescent Shield (GUARDIANS)

37. Chrome Division (GUARDIANS)

38. Beautiful Sin (GUARDIANS)

39. Luca Turilli's Dreamquest (GUARDIANS)

40. Edu Falaschi (GUARDIANS)

41. Leverage (GUARDIANS)

42. Significant Point (GUARDIANS, PIT)

43. Evil Army (PIT)

44. Space Chaser (PIT)

45. Blockheads (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

46. Negativa (HORDE)

47. Astomatous (HORDE)

48. Magrudergrind / Shitstorm (HORDE)

49. Shitstorm (HORDE)

50. Dim Mak (HORDE)

51. Cretin (HORDE)

52. Masturbation (HORDE)

53. Graf Orlock (HORDE)

54. Cutting Pink With Knives (HORDE)

55. Atheretic (HORDE)

56. Cloacal Kiss (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

57. Torchbearer (HORDE, NORTH)

58. Guttural Secrete (HORDE)

59. Robinson (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

60. Infected Malignity (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

61. Mumakil (HORDE)

62. Gory Blister (HORDE)

63. Pitbulls in the Nursery (HORDE)

64. Miseration (HORDE)

65. Lividity (HORDE)

66. Coldworker (HORDE)

67. Proclamation (NORTH)

68. Inferi (NORTH)

69. Anti (NORTH)

70. Hypothermia (NORTH)

71. Urfaust / Circle of Ouroborus (NORTH)

72. Szron / Kriegsmaschine (NORTH)

73. Ulytau (NORTH)

74. Fauna (NORTH)

75. Monte Penumbra (NORTH)

76. Leiþa (NORTH) - requested by Vinny

77. Sapthuran (NORTH)

78. Sapthuran / Leviathan (NORTH)

79. Branikald (NORTH)

80. Ljå (NORTH)

81. Forest Silence (NORTH)

82. Pagan Reign (NORTH)

83. Black Messiah (NORTH)

84. Wedard (NORTH)

85. Heresi (NORTH)

86. Melencolia Estatica (NORTH)

87. Szron (NORTH)

88. Sterbend (NORTH)

89. Jotunspor (NORTH)

90. Downcross (NORTH)

91. Silent Civilian (REVOLUTION)

92. Phoenix Bodies (REVOLUTION)

93. Arsonists Get All the Girls (REVOLUTION)

94. Burning Skies (REVOLUTION)

95. As Blood Runs Black (REVOLUTION)

96. First Blood (REVOLUTION)

97. Destroy the Runner (REVOLUTION)

Viking metal is one of those sub-genres that has so few genuine adherents that it feels almost irrelevant to me. I honestly wonder sometimes whether life is too short to contemplate for any length of time whether an album fits snugly into a micro-genre or not. If the purpose of genre tagging is to guide people to other releases similar to ones they like, do these really niche genres serve much of a purpose at all as they feel way too specific.

As a more general Academy question, which I guess needs to be directed to Ben or Daniel, does downvoting a genre in the genre tags on a release serve any purpose on the site or can the genre tags only be changed via The Hall? I have downvoted Viking Metal on Vredens Tid so it has zero positive and one negative vote, but it still shows folk and viking metal as it's genre tags.

We don't want the Clans for a Release to change without going through the Hall of Judgement. For that reason, we didn't want Genres to automatically be affected by people downvoting a Subgenre. Think of the Subgenres as just a helpful additional filtering tool. Then again, if a release is having a particular subgenre downvoted significantly, that could be grounds for adding it to the Hall for proper judgement, or as Andi suggested, treating it as judgement itself.

As for Viking Metal, it's the same issue raised many a time. Genres shouldn't have names that relate to a location (NWOBHM, US Power Metal), nor should they have purely thematic names (Viking Metal) or vaguely descriptive names (Progressive Metal, Symphonic Metal). Just go and look how many people have tried to give Amon Amarth albums the Viking Metal genre to see why Viking Metal is a problem. Sure, they've been correctly downvoted, but many listeners were obviously convinced to select it by the name.

Thrash Metal is a perfect name for that genre. People know what Thrash Metal is based on the style of music they're listening to, because the name itself isn't suggestive enough to lead them astray. Death, Black  and Power Metal are also great genre names.

All good points Ben. I agree with you that you are not well qualified for any of your four clans & should consider not having any. ;)

P.S. Please dump my ass back in The North when you get a minute. *runs off to review the latest Mago de Oz record*

Done! Welcome back brother of The North!

Runemagick - Dethrone the Flesh off Enter the Realm of Death (1999)

Vital Remains - Dechristanize off Dechistianize (2003)

Arch Enemy - Nemesis off Doomsday Machine (2005)

Funebrarum - Perish Beneath off The Sleep of Morbid Dreams (2009)

Nile - In the Name of Amun off What Should Not Be Unearthed (2015)

Total Running Time: 29 minutes and 26 seconds

Abigor - The Rising of Our Tribe off Orkblut (1995)

Anaal Nathrakh - When Fire Rains Down From the Sky, Mankind Will Reap as It Has Sown off When Fire Rains Down From the Sky, Mankind Will Reap as It Has Sown (2003)

An Autumn for Crippled Children - To Set Sail to the Ends of the Earth off Lost (2010)

Progenie Terrestra Pura - subLuce off oltreLuna (2017

Total Running Time: 23 minutes and 18 seconds

Esoteric - Dominion of Slaves off The Pernicious Enigma (1997)

Black Lodge - Dissonance off Covet (1995)

Lacuna Coil - Senzafine off Halflife (2000)

Total Running Time = 28 minutes and 23 seconds

I'll do a "no order / only one release per band" list, as I've haven't listened to a lot of these in a long time. Plus the list would be dominated by Shape of Despair and Esoteric too.

Thergothen - Stream from the Heavens (1994)

Esoteric - Pernicious Enigma (1997)

Skepticism - Lead and Aether (1997)

Worship - Last Tape Before Doomsday (1999)

Shape of Despair - Angels of Distress (2001)

Evoken - Quietus (2001)

Tyranny - Tides of Awakening (2005)

Monolithe - Monolithe II (2005)

Ahab - The Call of the Wretched (2006)

Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper (2017)

I'm in The Fallen, but have very little interest in Drone Metal or Sludge Metal. It's really only Death Doom and Funeral Doom that I'm that passionate about.

I'm in The Pit, but can't stand Crossover Thrash. I'm not all that keen on Groove Metal either.

I'm in The Horde, but find very little to enjoy in Grindcore. I struggle with a lot of Brutal and Slam Death Metal too, and despise Death 'n' Roll.

I'm in The North, but haven't discovered much that I like in Folk Metal. Viking Metal is just a confused genre, so hard to discuss.

I think it's rare that someone will connect with every style of metal related to each of their clans. I say don't overthink things, and just join the clans that you feel most connected to. The system was designed to work on a macro scale, and can't possibly capture every taste discrepancy that individual attendees have.

And you know my general rule of thumb. Why spend lots of time listening to styles of music you know you hate. Life's just too short to subject yourself to that sort of thing. Why bother listening to the latest Mägo de Oz (which you're clearly going to despise), when you can just crank up Dead Congregation or Akhlys instead? You might as well listen to Britney Spears.

Of course, each to their own though. 

I can't say this interests me personally, but if others want it...

This is an easy question for me, as probably 80% of my metal listening is Black Metal these days. I just have The North running through my blood I guess, feeling so much more affiliated to it than any other clan. I actually made my graphic artist redo the North icon three times (at great cost), as it needed to be 100% right, which I didn't do for any of the others. I'm stoked with how it ended up if you're wondering.

I think about why I have such an affinity with the genre sometimes. I give plenty of Death Metal and Doom Metal releases 4.5 to 5 stars, and genuinely love them, but when I open up Spotify and decide what I'm going to listen to, rarely do any of those releases come to mind. I consistently turn to Black Metal (both old and new), and I'm currently working my way through every Black Metal release from the 80s and 90s, filling in all the gaps I had the first time around.

As for my inclusion in The Pit, I honestly don't think I've listened to more than a handful of albums released in the past 15 years, so I couldn't even tell you how I feel about modern thrash metal. I just know that 80s thrash metal will always be super important to my development, and it will never fail to capture me when I finally get around to revisiting it.

Here's my review of this great release, once again written a long time ago...

Samael certainly shocked their fans with Passage. Beginning their existence as an extremely raw and simple black metal band (as can be heard on debut Worship Him and follow-up Blood Ritual), this Swiss band had already evolved into a more intense and hard-hitting blasphemous outfit on 1994’s Ceremony of Opposites. They’d gained a lot of new fans with that release (myself included), all of which were waiting anxiously to see where this evolution would go next. 1995’s stop gap EP Rebellion should have warned us all of what might be coming with its increased use of keyboard atmospherics, not to mention an Alice Cooper cover, but this resulting full length album was still an immensely brave release. The industrial elements that had been hinted at on previous releases had been amplified dramatically, the keyboards given far greater importance, and the whole thing was seemingly designed for a mainstream audience. Surely none of these changes were going to please black metal fans!

Yet somehow, despite this huge shift in tone and sound, Passage is blatantly Samael! The heavy, simple, yet effective riffs are there, the energy the band had found on Ceremony of Opposites is if anything amped up and Vorph’s vocals still contain that accented venom we all know and love. This is most definitely the same Samael engine used to create their early albums, but the chassis it runs in is a completely upgraded, shiny new model. Samael made the correct judgement that their previous Satanic themes wouldn’t sit too well with the shift in approach and took on a more Occult / Cosmological subject matter, which is perfectly synchronized with the striking yet simple artwork that adorns the cover. The symphonic aspect is wonderfully executed, with tracks such as Liquid Soul Dimension and Moonskin driven by gripping, and in the latter’s case, beautiful keyboard work. While the focus was certainly taken away from the guitars, it’s worth noting that the band added a second guitarist for the recording, which gives the album a far bigger sound all up.

Not everything the band attempted on this album turned to gold. The programmed drums are great in general, giving the album an almost mechanical and powerful quality, but they occasionally make things a bit too sterile. The beginning of Angel’s Decay is an example of where they sound too characterless, perhaps even too clean for my liking. But 90% of the time they achieve their goal perfectly, with The Ones Who Came Before’s double bass kicking combination with dance beats displaying possibilities conventional drumming could never accomplish. Passage is an example of a band that was willing to take a risk, breaking down the restrictive boundaries that black metal fans often place on their beloved genre, and coming up with something that not only brought them a new audience, but was good enough to impress their existing fan base. If you’re into black metal, industrial metal or even gothic metal, there’s a lot to enjoy here. Highlight tracks are Rain, My Savior, The Ones Who Came Before and Moonskin.

4.5/5

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 27th of August to the 2nd of September, 2021.

1. Plague Years (PIT)

2. Vulvocrania (REVOLUTION, HORDE)

3. Biolich (INFINITE, HORDE)

4. Iress (INFINITE, FALLEN)

5. Voices From the Fuselage (INFINITE)

6. De Magia Veterum (INFINITE, NORTH)

7. Epiphanic Truth (INFINITE, HORDE)

8. The Beast of Nod (INFINITE, HORDE)

9. Thrones (FALLEN)

10. Sorta Magora (FALLEN, NORTH) - requested by Sonny

11. Völur (FALLEN)

12. Hellish Form (FALLEN)

13. Light This City (HORDE)

14. Invultation (HORDE, NORTH)

15. Stormcrow (HORDE)

16. Blind Stare (HORDE)

17. Terminally Your Aborted Ghost (HORDE)

18. Wizardthrone (HORDE)

19. Asphyxiate (HORDE)

20. Beastcraft (NORTH)

21. Wold (NORTH)

22. Hell Militia (NORTH)

23. Malicious Secrets / Antaeus / Mütiilation / Deathspell Omega (NORTH)

24. Akitsa / Prurient (NORTH)

25. Marblebog (NORTH)

26. Malign (NORTH)

27. Hantaoma (NORTH)

28. Adorior (NORTH)

29. LIK (NORTH)

30. Khandra (NORTH)

Here's my review. It was written many years ago, but I doubt I'd feel very different about it today.

It’s always difficult to write a review for a favourite album. Expressing how much music means to you in words can be a daunting prospect, as the thought of not doing an album justice weighs heavily on the mind whenever attempting it. Brave Murder Day is such an album for me and I hope that I manage to convey my adoration for it over the next few paragraphs. These Swedes had already impressed me greatly by the time I came across this treasure, with their debut full length album Dance of December Souls and the following For Funerals to Come EP both containing hauntingly atmospheric death doom metal, with fantastic melodies and passion-filled vocals. However, as much as I found their music to be moving and entertaining, there’s no doubt that it displayed some signs of immaturity, with less than tight musicianship on occasion and room for improvement in the way their tracks were structured. Taking all this into account, I figured Katatonia would be all the better for the experience, and that their next album would in all likelihood overcome these awkward moments and deliver something very special indeed. Little did I know that this next album would come very close to never eventuating at all, and how dramatically different it would be once it finally did.

After the success of Dance of December Souls, Renkse and Blackheim were not only struggling to find a stable line-up, but they were also finding it difficult to decide exactly where to take their sound. They had toyed with the idea of performing gothic rock with the Scarlet Heavens recording (eventually appearing on a split vinyl with Primordial) before ditching the idea and reverting back to their original sound. This indecision appears to have come to a head after the For Funerals to Come session in 1994, which led to these long term friends putting Katatonia on hold for an indefinite period of time. Blackheim used the sabbatical to explore other genres of metal, putting his energy into the black metal carnival that is Diabolical Masquerade (creating the amazing Ravendusk in My Heart in the process), and also taking part in a thrash metal band called Bewitched. Renkse on the other hand combined with Fredrik Norrman to form October Tide, recording Rain Without End before the end of 1995. It has to be said that October Tide’s debut album, which wouldn’t be officially released until 1997, is where the Brave Murder Day sound was really established, and one has to wonder whether Katatonia would have gone down this path at all had this short hiatus not taken place.

In early 1996, the duo reformed Katatonia and significantly brought Norrman into the fold. There was however one more issue they needed to deal with before getting down to business. Jonas could no longer perform the harsh vocals he was known for due to the extensive damage it was doing to his throat. They’d have to find a replacement vocalist and what better place to look than amongst your own country mates. In steps Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth fame. While the man may receive criticism from a growing number of Opeth bashers (as is the case with anything popular it seems), there’s just no doubt in my mind that Mikael is one of the finest vocalists in metal. His performance on Brave Murder Day may not demonstrate the extent of his capabilities, but the controlled anger and melancholy he brings suits the musical themes perfectly. Blackheim and Fredrik produce multitudes of sumptuous melodies throughout, but the other technique that they utilise to achieve their goal is repetition. These tracks have such a calming, hypnotic effect on the listener, despite the extreme despondency that this sound conveys. The album has influenced so many other bands (not least of all Finnish band Rapture) and changed the perception of what doom death metal is capable of. After all, there’s nothing romantic or gothic about Brave Murder Day. It’s mid paced, droning and raw!

Brave Murder Day’s title is taken directly from the first three tracks on the album, but there are six tracks in all totalling just over forty minutes. The first of these (Brave obviously) is the best of the lot in my opinion, being a ten minute classic built around constant rhythmic riffs and Mikael’s grief-stricken vocals. Murder, Rainroom and closer Endtime come awfully close to matching Brave and are all brilliant, but their lesser running times don’t quite allow them the room to outshine it. 12 stands out as having a slightly different structure to the rest, which isn’t surprising considering it’s actually a reworking of an earlier Katatonia track called Black Erotica, originally recorded for the W.A.R. Compilation Volume 1 for Wrong Again Records in 1995. There’s no question that it’s third track Day that causes the most controversy amongst fans of the band. This depressing little “ballad” was the first track to contain entirely clean vocals from Renkse and many consider his performance here to be a bit weak, despite the fact that he would take over full time clean vocals on all albums from this point onwards. While I agree that he would go from strength to strength with each subsequent album, I still think this track gives the album a much needed shift in intensity and his emotional, vulnerable style only adds to the melancholy.

One of the other things of note when discussing Brave Murder Day is that the album was originally released completely un-mastered. Why this happened is anyone’s guess (perhaps the band felt no need to tinker with the result) but it wasn’t until 2006 that Peaceville would re-release the album in mastered form for the very first time. I haven’t heard this updated version, but to be honest, I see no need to. The production on the original has nothing of note that needs adjusting and the organic sound of the instruments works in its favour rather than against it. The thing that does make the Peaceville release appealing is that it also includes the fantastic EP Sounds of Decay. This three track EP contains the only other material recorded with this line-up and therefore sits perfectly alongside Brave Murder Day, unlike the For Funerals to Come EP which is included on the Century Media version. That being said, both of these EPs can be found on the Brave Yester Days compilation (along with stacks of other rare and unreleased material), so there’s no real reason in my mind to upgrade from the original pressing of this classic album. In the end, Brave Murder Day is an album that all fans of depressive metal should own, regardless of which version you choose. It’s an album I can never get sick of and is thoroughly deserving of five stars.

5/5

Hey, this is pretty cool Xephyr! You've definitely got a voice for radio (and that's not a comment about your face haha!). It's really great to actually see / hear you after reading so many of your posts / reviews.

It's a shame that you can't include some tracks or even partial tracks. Thanks for the Metal Academy mention!

Also, props for including Perturbator. 

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement. I've gone with the first entry, and will add the second if successful.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release had been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release had been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 23rd to the 26th of August, 2021.

1. Usurpress (FALLEN, HORDE)

2. Bala (FALLEN)

3. Lamented Souls (FALLEN)

4. Mythological Cold Towers (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

5. Green Dragon (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

6. Ishmael (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

7. Grey Daturas (FALLEN)

8. Horndal (FALLEN)

9. The Big F (GATEWAY)

10. Ethel the Frog (GUARDIANS)

11. Tower of Rome (HORDE)

12. Hentai Cum Dungeon (HORDE)

13. Thøtcrime (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

14. Gendo Ikari (HORDE)

15. 暗狱戮尸 (HORDE, INFINITE)

16. Korpse (HORDE)

17. Enbilulugugal (HORDE, NORTH)

18. Diskord (HORDE, INFINITE)

19. ByoNoiseGenerator (HORDE)

20. Tombstoner (HORDE) - requested by Vinny

21. Ænigmatum (HORDE, INFINITE) - requested by Vinny

22. Aereogramme (INFINITE)

23. Terra Odium (INFINITE)

24. Power From Hell (PIT, NORTH)

25. Czarci Świt (NORTH)

26. Auld Ridge (NORTH)

27. Leviathan / Crebain (NORTH)

28. Wanderer (REVOLUTION)

29. Magnitude (REVOLUTION)

30. The Browning (REVOLUTION)

Ah, I see. Let me see if that can be done.

I'm proud of all the cool stuff we have here at Metal Academy, but I do worry that it could be daunting and/or confusing for newcomers. It doesn't help that the FAQ is outdated and hidden in fine print at the bottom of the site. I want to update it and make it more visible, but ideally in a cool way that really showcases what the site is all about. I'm going to think about how to achieve that, but if anyone has any ideas or has seen something great on another site, please let me know. I wish I had the skills to make an awesome animation that guides people through everything the Metal Academy has to offer its attendees, but alas, I don't.

I'd also like to get an idea from people which features we currently have are valuable to you and which ones aren't particularly. Note that I'm not intending to remove features, but maybe they don't all have to be in the main menu bar? Could we "dumb" down the front page to make it more accessible?

Personally, I mostly use the Releases and Forums buttons, but regularly access the Gallery, Lists and Anniversaries pages too. While I think we need it, I don't personally find value in the Bands page, but maybe others do? I also basically never access the Charts now, as the Releases page allows me to achieve the same functionality with way more options (such as year, format and sub-genre). The only thing the Releases page doesn't have is a numbered order for your results. Do people still find value in the Charts page?

As usual, all feedback is welcome.

Vinny and Sonny, I want to make sure that I fully understand what it is when you're suggesting improvements to the navigation. Are you saying that you want to be able to see the icons / field selectors at the bottom of the page as well as the top on the Releases and Bands pages specifically?

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 14th to the 22nd of August, 2021.

1. Berri Txarrak (GATEWAY)

2. Depswa (GATEWAY)

3. Passenger (GATEWAY)

4. Motograter (GATEWAY)

5. Ildjarn-Nidhogg (NORTH)

6. Hail (NORTH)

7. Illnath (NORTH, HORDE)

8. Paysage d'Hiver / Vinterriket (NORTH)

9. Algor (NORTH)

10. Teen Cthulhu (NORTH, REVOLUTION)

11. Koldbrann (NORTH)

12. Aaskereia (NORTH)

13. Kadenzza (NORTH)

14. Barbatos (NORTH, PIT)

15. Von (NORTH, FALLEN)

16. Epheles (NORTH)

17. Tenebrae in Perpetuum (NORTH)

18. Furze (NORTH, FALLEN)

19. Vargsang (NORTH)

20. Luror (NORTH)

21. Tvangeste (NORTH)

22. Since by Man (REVOLUTION)

23. Comity (REVOLUTION, FALLEN)

24. Sworn Enemy (REVOLUTION)

25. Blood Has Been Shed (REVOLUTION)

26. Bridge Burner (REVOLUTION)

27. Himsa (REVOLUTION)

28. Goatsblood (FALLEN)

29. Rune (FALLEN, HORDE)

30. Buried at Sea (FALLEN, INFINITE)

31. Brainoil (FALLEN)

32. For My Pain... (FALLEN)

33. Bedemon (FALLEN, GUARDIANS)

34. Aina (GUARDIANS)

35. Balance of Power (GUARDIANS, INFINITE)

36. MinstreliX (GUARDIANS)

37. Electrocution 250 (INFINITE)

38. Taal (INFINITE)

39. Farmakon (INFINITE, HORDE)

40. Sun Caged (INFINITE)

41. Traun (INFINITE)

42. Mi'Gauss (HORDE)

43. Brutus (HORDE)

44. Curse of the Golden Vampire (HORDE)

45. Dave Phillips (HORDE)

46. Soils of Fate (HORDE)

47. Slugathor (HORDE)

48. Pavor (HORDE)

49. Dungeon Serpent (HORDE)

50. Panzerchrist (HORDE)

51. Unmoored (HORDE)

52. Verminous (HORDE)

53. Frightmare (HORDE, PIT)

54. Inhume (HORDE)

55. Funerus (HORDE)

56. Wayd (HORDE)

57. Ahumado Granujo (HORDE)

58. Gruesome Malady (HORDE)

59. Charnel Grounds (HORDE)

60. Inoculation (HORDE)

61. Inveracity (HORDE)

62. Ulysses Siren (PIT)

63. Traitor (PIT)

I agree Sonny, and sadly I feel like it's just how the internet is these days. It seems to be "cool" to totally troll something that everyone has been anticipating, whether it be a movie, a TV show, an album, or whatever. Before things are even released now, you have people giving things 0 out of 10 just for the heck of it, and making "worst thing ever" type comments (or even throwing around terms like incel I see). Apparently it's a fun thing to do, but I'll never understand it.

Metal Academy has been designed with this in mind (it's obviously not completely avoidable), and if that means we dramatically limit our numbers, then that's a price I'm sure we're all willing to pay.

I've tried to enjoy Power Metal over the years, but really struggle with it. And yet I LOVE this album!

So either this isn't actually Power Metal at all (or at least not straight Power Metal), or there have to be other bands / albums in the genre that I'll enjoy. Maybe someone with experience can advise?

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 7th to the 13th of August, 2021.

1. Five Pointe O (GATEWAY)

2. 3rd Strike (GATEWAY)

3. Downthesun (GATEWAY)

4. Corey Feldman (GATEWAY)

5. Pulse Ultra (GATEWAY, INFINITE)

6. The Apex Theory (GATEWAY, INFINITE)

7. Trust Company (GATEWAY)

8. Sweet Noise (GATEWAY)

9. Sôber (GATEWAY)

10. Cadacross (GUARDIANS, HORDE)

11. Daisuke Ishiwatari / Koichi Seiyama (GUARDIANS)

12. Arrayan Path (GUARDIANS)

13. Crystalium (NORTH)

14. Mütiilation / Deathspell Omega (NORTH)

15. Graven (NORTH)

16. Gospel of the Horns (NORTH, PIT)

17. Apotheosis (NORTH, INFINITE)

18. Leviathan (SWE) (NORTH)

19. Nazgûl (NORTH)

20. Bestial Mockery (NORTH, PIT, HORDE)

21. Nordlicht (NORTH)

22. Demiser (NORTH, PIT)

23. Valac (NORTH)

24. Felled (NORTH) - requested by Vinny

25. Duskmourn (NORTH, HORDE)

26. Thunderstorm (FALLEN)

27. The Fantômas Melvins Big Band (FALLEN, INFINITE)

28. Floor (FALLEN)

29. Racebannon (FALLEN, REVOLUTION)

30. Sourvein (FALLEN)

31. Somnuri (FALLEN, INFINITE)

32. Merzbow / Shora (REVOLUTION)

33. Circuit Circuit (REVOLUTION)

34. Osiah (REVOLUTION)

35. Ron Jarzombek (INFINITE)

36. Dripping (INFINITE, HORDE)

37. HAH (INFINITE)

38. Alienation Mental (HORDE)

39. Lymphatic Phlegm (HORDE)

40. Asesino (HORDE)

41. Paracoccidioidomicosisproctitissarcomucosis (HORDE)

42. Pustulated (HORDE)

43. Excommunion (HORDE)

44. Dimension Zero (HORDE)

45. Birdflesh (HORDE)

46. Crypta (HORDE)

47. ThrashWall (PIT)

Misery by Disbelief off Worst Enemy (2001)

Ceremonies of Deceit (Effulgence Rituals) by Internecine off The Book of Lambs (2002)

Venator by Be'lakor off Stone's Reach (2009)

Crucifixation by Deicide off Deicide (1990)

Relics by Nasum off Helvete (2003)

Stench of Paradise Burning by Disincarnate off Dreams of the Carrion Kind (1993)

Total Running Time: 30 minutes and 16 seconds (sorry!)

A Dying Wish by Anathema off The Silent Enigma (1995)

Coalescent of the Inhumane Awareness by Tyranny off Tides of Awakening (2005)

Stellar Tombs by Draconian off Sovran (2015)

Total Running Time: 23 minutes and 13 seconds

Cursed Excruciation / The Sinuous Serpent of Genesis (Leviathan)  by Mystifier off Goetia (1993) 

Diabolical Beauty  by Dawn  off Nær sólen gar niþer for evogher (1994) 

Epitome XI  by Blut aus Nord  off 777 - The Desanctification  (2011) 

Total Running Time: 21 minutes and 44 seconds

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 1st to the 6th of August, 2021.

1. Onward (GUARDIANS)

2. Crom (GUARDIANS, HORDE)

3. Beatallica (GUARDIANS)

4. Lullacry (GUARDIANS, FALLEN)

5. Lordian Guard (GUARDIANS)

6. Wayne (GUARDIANS, PIT)

7. Beto Vázquez Infinity (GUARDIANS)

8. Wardrum (GUARDIANS)

9. Vediog Svaor (NORTH, INFINITE)

10. Passéisme (NORTH)

11. Enslavement of Beauty (NORTH, HORDE)

12. Apokalyptic Raids (NORTH, HORDE, PIT)

13. Arthemesia (NORTH)

14. Legion, The (NORTH)

15. King's-Evil (PIT)

16. Condition Critical (PIT)

17. Shizit, The (SPHERE, GATEWAY, REVOLUTION)

18. Crossbreed (SPHERE, GATEWAY)

19. Corrupted / 324 / Discordance Axis (HORDE, FALLEN)

20. The Sawtooth Grin (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

21. Winter Bestowed (HORDE)

22. Arsedestroyer (HORDE)

23. Murder Squad (HORDE)

24. Gronibard (HORDE)

25. 324 (HORDE, FALLEN)

26. Virulence (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

27. Pyaemia (HORDE)

28. Deteriorot (HORDE)

29. Circle of Dead Children (HORDE)

30. Fuck...I'm Dead (HORDE)

31. Hellchild (HORDE, REVOLUTION, FALLEN)

32. Ophidian I (HORDE)

33. 5ive (INFINITE, FALLEN)

34. Karaboudjan (INFINITE)

35. Death Engine (INFINITE, FALLEN)

36. Heaven's Cry (INFINITE)

37. Terra Firma (FALLEN)

38. Acid King / The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight (FALLEN)

39. Dozer (FALLEN)

40. Avrigus (FALLEN)

41. Astroqueen (FALLEN)

42. Wormphlegm (FALLEN)

43. Laudanum (FALLEN)

44. Well of Souls (FALLEN)

45. Darko (REVOLUTION)

46. Converge / Hellchild (REVOLUTION)

47. Luti-Kriss (REVOLUTION, GATEWAY

48. Dry Kill Logic (REVOLUTION, GATEWAY)

49. Stereomud (GATEWAY)

50. 40 Below Summer (GATEWAY)

51. Boy Hits Car (GATEWAY)

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.