Daniel's Forum Replies

This morning's track is the title track from Judas Priest's "Stained Class" which is a clear heavy metal number with its driving metal riffage.

I also checked out Thin Lizzy's "Live & Dangerous" live album from 1978 yesterday. It's clearly a hard rock record rather than a metal one but I'd suggest that there are a few tracks that should qualify for metal status.

The mighty Black Sabbath would release another promotional single just prior to the release of their third album "Master of Reality" in the classic "Sweet Leaf" which was released in July 1971. It very much represents the prototype for the stoner metal genre overall with its obviously drug-fueled lyrics, thick, fuzzy guitar riffs & groovy, mid-tempo rhythms. The majority of people claiming it as a heavy metal tune are off the mark by miles.

Cathedral - "Soul Sacrifice" E.P. (1992)

Coventry stoner doom masters Cathedral's debut album "Forest of Equilibrium" absolutely floored me back in 1991. I simply found it so refreshing to hear a record that was so inspired by the past yet presented its influences in a way that sounded entirely fresh & which contained so much depth. It certainly helped that it's one of the doomiest records I've ever heard in my life as I'm sure you all know of my passion for gratuitous waves of deep audio oppression by now. I'd purchase "Forest of Equilibrium" on cassette shortly after it was released & it would immediately become a life-long favourite of mine. I'd frantically go hunting for more of this sound too which would lead me to Cathedral's marvelous 1990 "In Memorium" demo tape which I also regard as a genuine doom metal classic. That would unfortunately have to do me for a while, that is until Earache Records released their "Gods of Grind" compilation CD the following year, a release that included E.P.'s from Carcass, Entombed, Confessor &... what do you know, huh? A new Cathedral E.P.!!

Contrary to popular opinion, the "Soul Sacrifice" E.P. wasn't recorded during the "Forest of Equilibrium" sessions, instead being laid down in January 1992. The version of "Soul Sacrifice" that appears on the E.P. is slightly different to the one that I regard as being the only real blemish on the debut album. The differences don't leave it commanding a different response from me though I'm afraid. I simply can't get into that more chuggy, up-tempo & groovy stoner metal shit. The other three songs are all brand new which left me with considerable excitement. Sadly though, two of the three take a similar musical direction to the title track so I find myself struggling with both "Golden Blood (Flooding)" & particularly "Autumn Twilight". Lee Dorrian's heavily pitchy vocal stylings are done no favours by this material either. Thankfully though, the remaining song "Frozen Rapture" is an absolute doom metal monster of the most epic proportions imaginable. In fact, it's seriously one of the greatest examples of the genre I've ever heard in my life & I can't imagine why it never managed to make it onto a full-length album. Sure, there's a short stoner metal groove riff accompanied by s cheesy cowbell about two thirds of the way through the song but it's all over very quickly with things returning to pure desperation & depression. I can't tell you how life-changing this song has been for me across my life. It still gives me chills to this day.

So, the "Soul Sacrifice" E.P. sounds fairly inessential really, doesn't it? It kinda says something that I find it to be comfortably the weaker of the four E.P.'s on the "Gods of Grind compilation too but "Soul Sacrifice" falls into a fairly unique bracket of releases for me in that it can genuinely be carried by the one stunning piece, despite the fact that I get very little out of the remaining inclusions. It's also worth mentioning that the online consensus that the E.P. is a doom metal release is overly ambitious given that three of the four songs clearly fall into the groovy stoner metal camp. "Golden Blood (Flooding)" has a fantastic doom section towards the end that sits right up there in the top echelon of the genre but sadly it's wasted on a lengthy track that spends far more time in Groovetown. I'm sure stoner nuts that bow down at the altar of bands like Sleep, Church of Misery & Orange Goblin might have less of a problem with this material than I do but I still don't see "Soul Sacrifice" competing with the better releases from the stoner metal genre. It's merely an inessential platform for Cathedral to showcase one of its finest moments in my opinion so I'll always keep the CD handy, even if I might use the skip button a few times (often to return to the start of "Frozen Rapture" for another run).

3.5/5

I'm thinking that a good way to move forwards with the monthly playlist name change concept might be for me to develop a new tenth playlist that I can use as a test case in order to see if I can draw a wider audience to it. That way I can avoid fucking around with our established playlists. I've started to program one already but will take my time with it because it's important that it's of a very high quality & is programmed in a way that will attract an audience if it's going to make for a valid test case i.e. people need to be wowed by it if they're going to commit to subscribing to it & I'm not sure I've given that idea enough care in the past. I also need to do more research on how to name it well because most experts seem to say that changing the name of your playlist is a bad idea as it confuses your audience.

Some more tips from the web are that a) it's best practice to start your playlist with the five strongest tracks as a majority of people only give a playlist a maximum of five songs to win them over & b) you'll draw more hits if you include some classic songs in each playlist in order to draw in the less educated market segment. It's also worth including some of the more popular bands that reflect the overarching sound of your list in the playlist description in order to jag some additional search results.

I checked out the 1978 demo tapes from Russia's Легион & London's Girlschool this week but found them both to offer very little in the way of metal. I also investigated Budgie's 1978 seventh album "Impeckable" which is unquestionably a hard rock record.

5th July 1971 would herald the return of the legendary Black Sabbath following their world-changing 1970 sophomore album "Paranoid". On this day they'd release the "Children of the Grave" single which would present the world with a taster from their upcoming third album "Master of Reality". Unlike many of Sabbath's early classics, "Children of the Grave" showcases that classic mid-paced, galloping chug riff that would in no small part go on to defines what heavy metal music is to this day.

This morning's track is Judas Priest's "Better by You, Better Than Me". I'm gonna go against the grain here by saying this is predominantly a hard rock song rather than a heavy metal one. Sure, there's one obvious metal riff during the pre-chorus but the remainder clearly sits in the rock space in my opinion.

Godflesh - "Pure" (1992)

While I wouldn't ever suggest that industrial metal is one of my favourite genres, there are plenty of artists from within that realm that appeal to me but none of them come close to the sheer class & inventiveness of Birmingham's Godflesh who were at least partially responsible for birthing the genre in the first place. I fell hopelessly in love with Godflesh through their classic 1989 debut album "Streetcleaner" which saw me quickly investigating their seminal 1988 self-titled E.P., a release that soon proved itself to contain some similarly masterful material. I'd subsequently get onboard with 1991's stunning "Slavestate" & very solid "Cold World" E.P.'s as soon as they hit the streets as well as Godflesh's brilliant "Slateman" single in what was an imposing initial run of amazing releases that saw Ben & I thoroughly obsessing over Godflesh during the first half of the 1990's. 1992's "Pure" sophomore album would play a large role in that obsession too after I picked it up on cassette shortly after release.

"Pure" sees band leader Justin Broadrick (Jesu/Fall of Because/Napalm Death) embracing his experimental side by further incorporating elements he'd hinted at in the past to create a record that very much owns its own unique identity. It's calling cards come in the form of its repetitive, draw-out song-structures & abrasive layers of guitar work, both of which would provide the inspiration for the post-metal genre that would be developed in the coming years. The heavily hip hop-inspired drum programming & crushingly heavy basslines of G.C. Green (Fall of Because) are perhaps even further accentuated than on past releases with the atmosphere reflecting the coldness of the magnificent cover artwork beautifully. Broadrick's vocals now alternate between a hardcore-ish bark & a wispy & intentionally pitchy clean delivery that has remained with him throughout his career.

"Pure" is not an immediate release by any stretch of the imagination as it can take some time to open up, even upon return visits. It can be most closely associated with 1991's "Cold World" E.P. given that they were both recorded in the same session. There's not even anything that hints at being a weaker track on the lengthy 80-minute tracklisting with some of Godflesh's strongest material being scattered evenly across the album to reward the patient listener for their committed attention. The heavily dance music-inspired "Mothra", the post-rock infused "Don't Bring Me Flowers" & the enormous 21-minute dark ambient closer "Pure II" are simply devastating & represent my personal highlights while some of the other more significant tracks like "Predominance" & "Monotremata" also tick all of my boxes to qualify for classic status.

While 1989's "Streetcleaner" is perhaps destined to remain the pinnacle of Godflesh's illustrious back catalogue for all eternity (closely followed by the underrated "The Earache Peel Sessions" E.P. for me personally), "Pure" doesn't sit all that far behind in my opinion. In fact, I'd suggest that it slightly surpasses the self-titled & "Slavestate" E.P.'s in my esteem these days, comfortably eclipsing "Cold World" too. It's a marvelous example of what true industrial metal music can achieve. You know... music that simply sounds & feels like it's been created by layering samples of factory sounds over the top of each other to create a dark & brooding atmosphere? Godflesh did this better & far more consistently than anyone else during the first half of the 1990's &, in doing so, etched their name into my soul for a lifetime. When I return to these records every so often I feel a calmness & a warmth inside, even in the coldest & harshest of musical landscapes, & it's this achievement above all else that represents Justin Broadrick's most revering calling card. If you only ever find the time to investigate one industrial metal artist then it simply must be this one.

4.5/5

P.S. This revisit has forced me to reassess my Top Ten Metal Releases of All Time list with "Pure" forcing Emperor's "In The Nightside Eclipse" out & positioning itself at number 98.

I can't say that I've ever invested much time into Creed but the material I have heard has had nothing much to do with metal. If you think there are some Creed releases that should qualify for inclusion in the Academy database then feel free to advise which ones they are & I can arrange to have them added as Non-Metal. That way you can nominate them to be added to the Hall of Judgement so that people can vote on whether to include them here or not.

I've always really enjoyed Dutch brutal death metallers Severe Torture but had kinda lost hope of ever hearing another release from them in the fourteen years since 2010's excellent "Slaughtered" album. Next month we finally see Severe Torture's long-awaited sixth full-length "Torn From the Jaws of Death" hitting the shelves though & I'll be sure to check it out at some point.

I really dug 2021's "Escape of the Phoenix" album but haven't gotten around to investigating any of Everygrey's other thirteen full-lengths as yet. The Swedes brand new album "Theories of Emptiness" hits the shelves on 7th June so I might need to check it out at some point.

I've always quite liked the one-off 1979 "Fröm The Fjörds" album from Connecticut trio Legend, a record that combines a number of influences including the heavy metal of Black Sabbath, the progressive rock of Yes & the jazz fusion of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. It was also one of the earliest genuine metal releases to come out of the USA. Interestingly, drummer Raymond E. Frigon has turned born-again Christian & decided to re-record the album with the adjusted title of "From The Lord" & with new Christian lyrics. He's the only one of the members that are left these days so this isn't the most relevant release of 2024.

The new E.P. from Brooklyn-based avant-garde black metal outfit Liturgy was released this week. It's called "Immortal Life II" & I'll probably check it out at some point given that I've always gained some enjoyment from Liturgy's albums. Their E.P.'s have been a little more inconsistent though with 2008's "Immortal Life" E.P. being pretty ordinary so (given that this would seem to be the sequel to that ill-fated release) I'd suggest that this record could go either way. What in the actual fuck is going on with that cover artwork though, eh?

Japan's Flower Travellin' Band would release arguably their finest work on 25 April 1971 in their widely praised sophomore album "Satori". It opens with this highly psychedelic yet inherently metallic piece entitled "Satori Part I". Heavy metal, heavy psych & traditional doom metal are all subgenres that inevitably get tossed around when analyzing this song. I'd argue that it's too metallic for heavy psych. It's certainly doomy in parts & no doubt contains the occasional chuggy heavy metal riff but it's also seriously druggy, so much so that I feel that it should qualify as stoner metal. See what you think.

Today's track is Judas Priest's "White Heat, Red Hot" which I'd suggest should qualify as heavy metal:

December 1970 would signal the arrival of Brooklyn's Sir Lord Baltimore & their debut album "Kingdom Come". While their general linkage to metal is unjustified with their sound generally sitting much closer to heavy psych, the title track is pure, Black Sabbath-inspired stoner metal & stands out from the rest of the tracklisting very obviously:

This morning's track is Judas Priest's infamous "Exciter" which I'd suggest is an early example of speed metal:

This was my short review from many years ago now & it's stood the test of time with "Tools of the Trade" still proving itself to be a solid inclusion in the Carcass back catalogue. In fact, I'd suggest that I now place it alongside "Heartwork" on the second shelf beneath the wonderful "Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious" which is one of my all-time favourite releases from any genre.

I've always found this little E.P. to be an invaluable part of any serious Carcass fan's collection. Sure it only features one brand new track but it still has plenty to offer. Not only is the title track an absolute cracker but you also get the album version of "Incarnated Solvent Abuse" (arguably their career highlight) as well as re-recorded versions of two early Carcass songs that had not previously had the opportunity to be presented with a decent production. The fresh versions of "Pyosisified (Rotten To The Gore") & "Hepatic Tissue Fermentation II" are great improvements on the originals in my opinion. The fact that the tracks all seem to have been recorded during the "Necroticism" sessions is also a welcome bonus as it makes for a more even & flowing listening experience; a trait that isn't always made a priority when putting together EPs like this one.

4/5

Here's my updated top ten after Rorschach have usurped Disembodied to enter my list for the very first time:

01. Converge – “All We Love We Leave Behind” (2012)

02. Converge – “You Fail Me” (2004)

03. Converge – “Axe To Fall” (2009)

04. Loathe – “I Let It In & It Took Everything” (2020)

05. Converge – “When Forever Comes Crashing” (1998)

06. Between The Buried & Me - “Colors_Live” (2008)

07. Snapcase - "Progression Through Unlearning" (1997)

08. Every Time I Die – “Radical” (2021)

09. Converge – “Jane Doe” (2001)

10. Rorschach - "Protestant" (1993)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/178

Here's my review:

New Jersey metalcore outfit Rorschach have been on my radar to check out for quite some time now. I'd heard a few of their tracks while I was still programming the monthly The Revolution playlists & had always found their sound fairly attractive but I guess I'm not generally one to go chasing too much in the way of metalcore. The task of selecting every second The Revolution feature release has finally seen me investigating Rorschach though & I'm very glad I did because I've found them to be a class act that's deserving of the hype they inevitably seem to draw.

"Protestant" was clearly produced by a very competent group of musicians who knew what they were doing & had a clear sound in mind. Like a lot of the early metalcore releases, it sits heavily on the hardcore punk side of the metalcore equation but utilizes the best elements of that genre in conjunction with metal influences to great effect. The level of musicianship is exceptional for a bunch of rebellious punks to be honest with the arrangement & composition being very mature & showcasing a lot in the way of technique. I'm not the biggest fan of Charles Maggio's vocals as they tend to err on the generic, screamy side of the metalcore spectrum but they're certainly not a deal breaker by any means. It's the guitar work of Keith Huckins (Deadguy/Kiss It Goodbye) & Nick Forté (Raspberry Bulbs) that's the real attraction here though, particularly when they explore more atmospheric, arpeggiated or chaotic realms.

Another strength is that there are no weak tracks included amongst the thirteen included on "Protestant". It begins in very solid fashion & tends to maintain that level for most of the tracklisting. There's only really the one track that I'd suggest is capable of competing at the top tier of the metalcore hierarchy though in the classic "Blinders". The references to the mathcore subgenre are a little bit of a stretch though to tell you the truth. Yes, this material was fairly sophisticated for the time but I'm not sure I would ever tag it as chaotic, hectic or spasmodic. It's perhaps just a touch more progressive than you would usually expect from the hardcore scene which is intended as a compliment in this context.

"Protestant" is a very strong record overall & is definitely the sort of metalcore record I find myself attracted to. It doesn't rely on production or gimmicks to draw the listeners attention, instead focusing on strong song-writing & punk rock energy to perform the task & it works a treat. In fact, I've gone so far as to include "Protestant" in my newly revised Top Ten Metalcore Releases of All Time list which is really saying something given that it's not generally a genre of choice for me. I can tell a good record when I hear one though & "Protestant" fits the bill nicely.

4/5

November 1970 would see the release of the classic self-titled debut album from Germany's Lucifer's Friend, a record that I'd suggest sits somewhere between hard rock & heavy psych overall. The opening track "Ride The Sky" is another story altogether though with its driving bottom-string chug riff putting it comfortably into head-banging heavy metal territory. It sounds a hell of a lot like Deep Purple's more metallic moments but also sports the obvious Led Zeppelin plagiarism in the horn part which replicates the theme from "Immigrant Song".

The last track from Sorcery's "Sinister Soldiers" album is "Schitzoid" which I'd suggest should qualify as heavy metal:

This means that I've tagged only two tracks from "Sinister Soldiers" as being metal which is not enough for it to qualify as a metal release overall. It's a hard rock/heavy psych record for mine. Tomorrow we'll be starting a brand new release in Judas Priest's classic 1978 fourth album "Stained Class" which I would suggest holds strong metal prospects.

Here's my review:

When Ben nominated the brand new sophomore album from Los Angeles death metallers Civerous as our May feature release a couple of weeks ago I found myself full of hopes & dreams of a potentially very positive experience. I’ve given Civerous’ 2021 debut album “Decrepit Flesh Relic” a few listens in recent years & found it to be a very enjoyable experience while the early reports on their newie “Maze Envy” had tended to indicate that it was another step up from the debut so all was boding very well for the potential success of this week's undertaking. None of the reviews I'd read would end up giving me a hint at the magnitude of the impact that “Maze Envy” would make on me though as it’s an astoundingly good extreme metal record & potentially one that will stay with me for many decades.

“Maze Envy” is a seven-track, 42-minute affair that comes in a striking purple cover. It took me a while to come around to the artwork at first but now I find myself loving it. The indecipherable band logo isn’t real flash but thankfully the contents of the album are quite remarkable. You’ll rarely find a better produced death metal record in my opinion with every instrument being full, clear, powerful & in your face while the energy levels are kept high & the crescendos receive earth-shattering power. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the production job is one of the major selling points for the album & I’d be perfectly happy if every metal release I ever heard in my life sounded like this one to be honest.

Civerous’ sound is generally touted as sitting somewhere between the doom/death & death metal genres but I have to admit that I’m not buying the doom/death tag here. Sure, “Maze Envy” has its doomy moments but there’s not enough of that material to justify a dual tag with the general atmosphere sitting clearly in the death metal camp. There are a number of other influences at play here though too with black metal, post-metal & even deathcore & djent receiving the occasional airing. It all works wonderfully well though with the vast majority of the material seemingly reaching the fullest realization of its potential. Front man Lord Foul is an absolute animal & his ultra-gutteral vocals are right up there with the best in the death metal game. They’re offset by the regular use of blackened screams that are almost as effective. I’m also a huge fan of the powerful yet innovative drumming of Aidan Neuner, as well as the subtle keyboards that are incorporated at just the right moments to ensure maximum atmosphere.

Sadly “Maze Envy” begins with its only weak point in the artsy modern classical intro piece “The Azure Eye” which does very little for me but the remainder of the album is right on the money, particularly the second half of the tracklisting which maintains its position in the more elite levels of the death metal hierarchy throughout. The one-two punch of new classics “Levitation Tomb” & the title track is utterly devastating while the two songs that bookend the album (“Shrouded in Crystals” & “Geryon (The Plummet”) aren’t far behind. This is crushingly heavy peak-time death metal of the highest order, so much so that I can easily see “Maze Envy” being my album of the year in another 7-8 months. The contrast of the Spectral Voice/diSEMBOWELMENT style doom/death sections & the more up-front Grave Miasma/Phrenelith/Incantation style death metal is so fucking appealing to this old extreme metalhead that I can hardly contain my joy right now. "Maze Envy" is just what I look for in my metal in 2024.

4.5/5

This morning we're gonna take a look at a deeper cut that hit the scene on 21st October 1970 & it takes the form of a cover of Black Sabbath's classic title track from earlier that year, only this time it's done in a deeper, more atmospheric & much more psychedelic style that I absolutely love. It's taken from Japanese icons Flower Travellin' Band's underappreciated debut album "Anywhere" & it also represents a very pure example of the traditional doom metal sound in my opinion. See what you think.

This morning's track is Sorcery's "Sorcerer" which I regard as being hard rock:

Black Sabbath's "Electric Funeral" from 1970's classic "Paranoid" album is an interesting one because it kinda crosses over between stoner metal & doom metal. On the one hand you have the slow tempos & imposing atmosphere of traditional doom metal & on the other one you have the extensive use of wah pedal which adds a thick layer of psychedelics & makes it hard to pick just the one genre tag. As a result, I'm gonna say that this was the first true stoner doom track.

Black Sabbath's "Electric Funeral" from 1970's classic "Paranoid" album is an interesting one because it kinda crosses over between stoner metal & doom metal. On the one hand you have the slow tempos & imposing atmosphere of traditional doom metal & on the other one you have the extensive use of wah pedal which adds a thick layer of psychedelics & makes it hard to pick just the one genre tag. As a result, I'm gonna say that this was the first true stoner doom track.

This morning's track is Sorcery's "Airborne" which I regard as being hard rock:

I was thinking the same thing about the Metal Academy Radio thing. I think the Metal Academy brand needs to be in the titles more than the names of the clans do though. I'm also thinking that the titles should start with the genre rather than Metal Academy because it's more likely to be the genre that draws people in initially & I'd ideally like people to know that it's a monthly playlist just by reading the title. I think we need some form of uniformity but are open to ideas. Currently I'm thinking something like "Heavy Metal Homework - A Monthly Metal Academy Playlist" would work. If you search the term "Homework" on Spotify you'll find that all of the playlists that come up have hundreds (if not thousands) of likes so I think that sort of differentiator might work for us.

This one might be a little controversial as most people seem to tag it as heavy metal but I'm gonna dispute that. Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" from their classic 1970 sophomore album "Paranoid" (which was released on 18th September 1970) is too slow & doomy for heavy metal in my opinion. The dark, lumbering riffs that make up the majority of the song's run time are classic doom metal & possess the atmosphere to match. It's only really the solo sections that see heavy metal playing a role which draws things into the traditional doom metal space.

This morning's track is Sorcery's "Snowshit" which I'd suggest is heavy psych:

Some of the more blatant examples of plagiarism I can recall in recent times come through Aura Noir's 1996 track "The One Who Smite" which blatantly clones both Sodom & Slayer. Check out the opening riff & then compare it to the opening riff from Sodom's "Proselytism Real" from 1986:

Now compare the riff at 1:54 in "The One Who Smite" to the riff at 1:38 in Slayer's "Angel of Death" (also from 1986):

I've just passed this nomination Andi.

Here's my review:

Being a local gives any self-respecting metalhead some additional rights within their homeland as it affords you the privilege of being in the know about a number of artists that offer a high-quality product but, for one reason or another, have failed to break out of the confines of their international borders. Canberra four-piece Alchemist fit that bill very nicely for us Aussies & I think you'd be surprised as to how big a role they ended up playing in the childhood of both of your Metal Academy administrators. Ben & I came across Alchemist very early on in their recording career when we picked up their 1993 "Jar of Kingdom" CD from the local record store. We were both under-age at the time so didn't have much of an understanding of who Alchemist were at that point but, over the next 3-4 years, that situation would drastically change with the boys playing an increasingly more significant role in our lives. I'd pickup Alchemist's 1991 "Demo '91" demo tape directly through the band shortly afterwards but it wouldn't make anything like the sort of impact that Alchemist's next couple of albums did & I look back on both of those with great fondness & nostalgia now. I'd also see Alchemist play live on countless occasions during the mid-1990's as they were a regular visitor to our hometown of Sydney which is less than a three-hour drive from Australia's capital city, not to mention their involvement in both organizing & performing at the legendary annual Canberra metal festival Metal For The Brain which was very much a right of passage for Aussie metalheads. Alchemist were an amazing experience in a live environment too, particularly when you've just dropped a tab of LSD as I had on one memorable occasion in Newtown. That's a story for another time though as we're really here to talk about Alchemist's debut album "Jar of Kingdom" which is still a very interesting listen all these years later.

Alchemist were formed by band leader Adam Agius (The Levitation Hex) back in 1987 & had begun life as a tech thrash band with their first two demo tapes "Eternal Wedlock" & "Demo '90" sitting predominantly in that space. I recently revisited their third demo tape "Demo '91" though & found Alchemist to be in a transitional phase that saw them sitting halfway between a Voivod-ish tech thrash model & a far more experimental & creative avant-garde/psychedelic sound. Did it work? Weeellll.... not quite. It was far more interesting than it was enjoyable. Alchemist's debut album would see the promise of that demos A side coming to fruition though with the band having had the time to complete their transition into a fully-fledged avant-garde death metal band. Agius was the only original member remaining by this stage & he'd recruited a very talented trio of accomplices to assist him in the creation of some of the most bizarre metal music the world (& certainly a seventeen year-old me) had ever heard to the time.

"Jar of Kingdom" sports a very unusual production job that can initially be a little off-putting. The bass & rhythm guitars possess a strangely bassed-out tone with very little in the way of high-end & it sees them being somewhat lost in the background. This affords the psychedelics that are layered over the top the opportunity to play the role of the sole instrumental protagonist. You can still make out all of the riffs but one feels that the album could have been a touch more effective if those riffs were given a little more scope. In saying that though, I can't deny that this flaw only amplifies the things that make Alchemist truly unique i.e. their strange, quirky & downright bizarre psychedelic melodics. It also gives Adam more room to move as a frontman with his vocals now being presented as a rabid, unintelligible death metal bark. He never takes himself too seriously though so the listener rarely finds themselves with that classic extreme metal scowl on their face as this music is simply too fun for that.

The tracklisting on "Jar of Kingdom" is very consistent & was clearly the result of the lengthy six-year engagement period & extensive live experience. It opens with my favourite inclusion in "Abstraction" which showcases Alchemist's new sound in all its glory. My other clear favourite is the short & atmospheric "Found" which features guest female vocals from Adam's family friend Michelle Klemke. The other eight tracks are universally rewarding but rarely overcome the fact that I simply can't ever genuinely "love" a record that's this silly. The re-recorded version of my favourite song from "Demo '91" in "Enhancing Enigma" was most welcome while there are number of others that would soon become live favourites for me & my friends. I'd imagine that it would be quite hard for those that have never had the pleasure of witnessing an Alchemist show to imagine this material being presented in a faithful format in a live environment but I can assure you that the band sounded almost exactly like this live, if not better.

Look... I'm not going to sit here & tell you that "Jar of Kingdom" is essential listening & it doesn't come close to touching Alchemist's next couple of records either but it was an important record in the annuls of Aussie metal history nonetheless & I think it has something to offer, particularly for those members of The Infinite who are gifted with a more eclectic taste profile. I mean, I'd argue that if you haven't heard Alchemist then you're completely in the dark about some of the places that metal music can go as they created arguably the most psychedelic example of metal music you'll ever encounter. Imagine a combination of the silly avant-garde experimentation of Mr. Bungle & the weird-ass death metal of Phlebotomized or Pan.Thy.Monium & you won't be far off the mark. Perhaps you think that there are musical borders that simply can't be broken through? Well, Alchemist emphatically piss on that idea with their debut album & they should be given credit for that if nothing else.

3.5/5

On 18th September 1970 Black Sabbath changed the world forever through the release of their classic sophomore album "Paranoid" which has gone on to become one of the most infuential records in metal history. The opening track from that album is arguably my favourite Sabbath tune & is generally tagged as heavy metal but when given closer scrutiny you'll find very little that resembles the classic heavy metal sound of bands like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. It's very much a mish-mash of different sounds that, when combined, amounts to something that's fairly difficult to categorize. Let's break the song down a bit:

* The intro to "War Pigs" is pure doom metal with the inclusion of the siren signaling the impending doom of humanity.

* The verse is centered in blues rock territory with jazzy high-hats & bluesy lead guitar licks. Once the full riff appears with its descending run of power chords we see it building into something that resembles heavy metal though.

* The riff that follows the verse possesses the bottom-string chugging & power chords of heavy metal although there's a lot more swagger here you'd usually expect from that genre as it really gets your hips moving so it feels more like hard rock. The restrained guitar tone certainly contributes to this.

* The doubled guitar solo section sits within the realms of heavy psych with Geezer Butler's basslines moving around beautifully beneath Iommi's capable, Jimi Hendrix-inspired shredding.

* The closing movement sees things taking a turn in a progressive rock direction with Iommi again adding doubled guitar solos in an ad lib fashion with Butler once again exerting himself in a more melodic fashion.

So, as you can see, we have a highly complex & varied array of sounds & styles here with doom metal, blues rock, heavy metal, heavy psych & progressive rock all playing important roles in the holistic outcome. Is this a metal song? Yeah, definitely. But what genre tag can draw together all of those different sounds? Traditional doom metal? No, this certainly isn't consistently doomy enough to justify that tag. Heavy metal? I don't think so as "War Pigs" simply doesn't sound anything like our modern understanding of what the heavy metal genre is intended to be. It's far too organic, bluesy & psychedelic for that, perhaps even too heavily influenced by the late 1960's. It does make for amazing stoner material though with all of the different sounds listed being encompassed by the stoner metal tag, even if it may not be your most traditional example of the stoner metal genre. The blues rock, heavy psych & early progressive rock components are simply too significant to be tagging a track like "War Pigs" as heavy metal, despite the presence of that genre at times. To do that would be to over-simplify what is a much more complex & cerebral song than that.

Today we take a look at Sorcery's "Slippin Away (For K.E.R.)" which I'd suggest sits somewhere between heavy psych & hard rock:

Just prior to the release of their sophomore album "Paranoid" in September 1970, Black Sabbath released this single for a song that was very much an afterthought & manufactured purely to provide their label with a song that was suitable for the 7" single format. It would go on to become one of the defining song in the entire history of heavy metal music with its fast pace & focus on palm-muted bottom-string bar chord down-picking:

This morning's track is Sorcery's "Last Good-Bye" which I'd suggest is best associated with progressive rock:

Interestingly, I really dig the cover version of Venom's "Heaven's on Fire" that appears as a bonus track on the Spotify version of the record & feel that it would have improved the album if it had of been included on the original release.

Here's my review:

Those of us that were as heavily involved in the tape trading scene as I was back in the 1990's might remember just how much hype there was around Oslo-based blackened thrash metallers Aura Noir around the time that their first couple of proper releases hit the shelves, partially due to the involvement of respected metal musicians Carl-Michael Eide (aka Aggressor - Infernö/Ved Buens Ende/Cadaver/Dødheimsgard/Satyricon/Ulver/Virus) & Ole Jørgen Moe (aka Apollyon - Coffin Storm/Cadaver/Dødheimsgard/Immortal) who both shared the instrumental contributions equally in a multi-instrumental fashion. I don't believe I ever heard either of Aura Noir's demo tapes but their 1995 debut E.P. "Dreams Like Deserts" was an outstanding way to introduce themselves to the underground & is still my pick of the band's discography to this day. My enjoyment of that release would see me urgently requesting a dubbed cassette copy of the Norwegians' 1996 debut album "Black Thrash Attack" as soon as it hit the lists of my fellow traders. Aura Noir's debut album saw them bringing guitarist Rune Eriksen (RUÏM/Twilight of the Gods/Vltimas/Ava Inferi/Mayhem/Nader Sadek) into the fold for the first time in what must surely go down as somewhat of an extreme metal supergroup & one that presented their musical roots very openly through their music too. Much like Aura Noir's other full-lengths, I don't recall enjoying "Black Thrash Attack" as much as I did "Dreams Like Deserts" so I haven't returned to it since but I do recall finding it fairly enjoyable so Sonny's feature release nomination has come as a pleasant surprise.

"Black Thrash Attack" is every bit the record that's advertised on the front cover as you'll rarely find a more blatant & pure example of the blackened thrash sound. It's raw & aggressive but, as with so many of Aura Noir's sources of inspiration, it doesn't take itself too seriously either. You won't find anything terribly original here. In fact, you can expect a totally retro vibe with the First Wave of Black Metal being the dominating influence. From track to track you'll no doubt pickup parts that have at the very least been inspired by early Bathory, Venom, Slayer & particularly Sodom whose influence appears quite regularly. The vocals, on the other hand, predominantly tend to sit in Quorthon (Bathory) & Nocturno Culto (Darkthrone) territory & are one of the most appealing elements of a record. Like so many of the founding fathers of black/death/thrash metal did, this sees Aura Noir fitting very nicely into that groove between multiple extreme metal genres & also sees the Norwegians absolutely maxing out on their underground appeal with the kvlt elitists out there.

The album kicks off in stellar fashion with four really strong tracks opening proceedings & by the end of "Wretched Face of Evil" I was starting to wonder if I'd been a little harsh on "Black Thrash Attack" back in the day as the material seemed to be of a higher standard than I recalled. Unfortunately, the remaining six tracks don't match that quality though, despite the majority of them being pretty enjoyable & undeniably thrashy tunes in their own right. "Destructor" is the one song where I find myself struggling for engagement but everything else has a lovely, familiar old-school vibe about it, sometimes because I've literally heard some of the riffs a thousand times before (see the blatant Sodom & Slayer plagiarism in "The One Who Smite" for example).

I think "Black Thrash Attack" probably falls into that category where I really want to like it more than I actually do. Those first four tracks are excellent & immediately see me dropping my guard but, once I've dug into the record in more detail, I find that it doesn't quite hold up to greater scrutiny. There isn't a genuine classic here (although "Conqueror" tries very hard to get there) & that's probably another reason why I can't achieve a more solid rating but the B side simply isn't of four-star standard in my opinion. It's respectable, I admit, but I can't claim that it gets my blood flowing to the same extent as the A side does. This failing leaves Aura Noir with a decent blackened thrash record that should appeal to fans of bands like Nifelheim, Destroyer 666 & Desaster & may also be the band's strongest full-length but it's one that's unlikely to see me reaching for it all that often in the future.

3.5

Here's my review:

While it's probably worth mentioning from the start that New York's Living Colour have never really fit within the stringent criteria required to enter my personal taste profile, I've always had an appreciation for what they do, particularly during their late 80's & early 90's heyday which is where my knowledge of them ends. I was first introduced to Living Colour through their super-popular smash hit "Cult of Personality" which I discovered on a compilation album shortly after its release back in 1988 & it would lead me to progressively pick up dubbed copies of their first three full-lengths as they hit the market, all of which offered me similar levels of entertainment even if I never considered any of them to be essential. Interestingly though, I never considered Living Colour to be a metal band during their earlier days with their 1988 debut album "Vivid" being more of a funky hard rock record. The links to metal grew off the back of 1990's "Time's Up" record which I regard as one of the extremely rare examples of a true "funk metal" release with the vast majority of other records being tagged as such failing to convince me of their eligibility for the niche subgenre. I always thought of 1993's "Stain" as being Living Colour's strongest work to the time but I haven't heard it since my last year of high school in 1993 though so I'm here to confirm or deny that allegation today.

One thing's for certain & that's that "Stain" was Living Colour's most consistent & most mature record to the time. Where both "Vivid" & "Time's Up" contained a few obviously weaker tracks to balance out the inclusion of their hugely successful singles, "Stain" possesses neither trait, instead offing a solid set of thirteen tracks that never disappoint but rarely amaze. The fact that it rarely leaves me cringing is a big plus though, as is the wonderful contribution of guitarist Vernon Reid who I feel delivers one of his most compelling performances here with his jazz fusion inspired & whacked out solos being thoroughly captivating. New bass player Doug Wimbish also proves himself to be a true star of his chosen craft with a powerful & invariably impressive array of basslines that anchor the songs beautifully. One thing I do think is worth noting though is that this material is not nearly as funky as it's made out to be so the links to funk metal are misguided. "Stain" is much more of a blend of alternative metal & hard rock for mine with only closer "Wall" fitting the bill for funk metal so I'd encourage all members of The Gateway to down-vote Funk Metal & up-vote Alternative Metal on the Metal Academy release page.

As to be expected with a Living Colour record, the tracklisting offers plenty of variety with regular change-up songs being included in order to keep things interesting & showcase the talented musicians' flexibility. My favourites are the synth-driven art rock piece "Nothingness". the experimental/avant-garde hip hop number "WTFF" & the afore-mentioning "Wall" which I think was a great way to close out the album. The quirky ode to bisexuality "Bi" is the most obviously commercialized inclusion while "Hemp" even sees Living Colour attempting a deep ambient sound. There are a number of hard rock-based tracks that will no doubt have fit very comfortably into US commercial rock radio programming at the time but they all maintain a reasonable level of integrity & quality.

After a few active listens on my commute to work & back this week, I'm gonna have to suggest that my position on "Stain" hasn't changed much. Perhaps Reid's contribution may be slanting me in this direction given my obvious penchant for high-end guitar playing but I still think that "Stain" was Living Colour's best album to the time. I've certainly confirmed my suspicion that it was their most mature & consistent one. Perhaps I just enjoy an alternative metal sound more than a funk metal one or a funky hard rock one but I tend to think there's a little more to it than that & feel that "Stain" has been a little hard done by due to the lack of hit singles it contains. If you're a fan of "Vivid" or "Time's Up" or similar bands like Extreme, Electric Boys or Ugly Kid Joe then I'm willing to bet you'll enjoy "Stain" too.

3.5/5

Today's song is Sorcery's "Sugar Sweet Lady (Debbie's Song)" which I'd suggest is a psychedelic rock tune:

I get what you are saying here Daniel and I would definitely agree that the main riff is a heavy metal riff, but the rest of the track contains an overwhelming amount of blues and rock to call it an actual heavy metal track. I wouldn't deny that it is a very early example of a heavy metal riff used in a song, but would be reluctant to make any bigger claim for it than that.

I don't disagree that the rest of the song is hard rock but that main riff makes up at least half the runtime (i.e. all of the verses & the solo section) so a dual tagging is the only accurate option in my opinion. It would seem wrong to simply go with hard rock when the song is built around a metal riff after all.

Also on 1970's "Deep Purple In Rock" album we find closer "Hard Lovin' Man" which I don't think will create as much debate. Just listen to that galloping main riff which utilises palm-muted bottom-string triplets to create pure heavy metal fire. Iron Maiden were clearly listening closely.

I feel like you're on the right track there Sonny. I'll spend a bit more time thinking about this topic on the weekend but would appreciate it if everyone kept throwing out ideas. We obviously won't be able to list every major genre that's included in the playlist title for a clan like The Fallen but do you think it's too limiting to say Doom Metal for that one, Heavy Metal for The Guardians, Black Metal for The North or Thrash Metal for The Pit?

It actually took my quite a few revisits before I decided on stoner metal over heavy metal Sonny so it was a close call that could have gone either way really. I don't hear the traditional doom metal sound there though, despite many people making that claim.

Today's track is Sorcery's "Fly The Sky" which I'd suggest is hard rock:

In my online research to date, one thing that's been the unanimous message from successful playlist administrators has been that you need to have a well-defined niche & a clear differentiator from the opposition in order to stand out. I'm not sure that the clans are it as people likely won't know about those prior to our playlists coming up in their searches & it won't be possible to explain them in this format either. It's also worth noting that we're trying to advertise & draw people to our playlists here as our first point of call rather than the website. That will hopefully come later & we can use the playlist descriptions to advertise Metal Academy but the first step is to get people interested in listening to & subscribing to our playlists. The playlist names need to leave the potential listener intrigued or satisfy a niche requirement they have such as a study accompaniment or music to have the COVID to or something like that. We want every person that puts "COVID" into their search to see our playlist come up first for example. If our title is "thrash metal" then you're competing with a zillion much more popular playlists that will obviously come up first.

I certainly get what you're saying gents. I am willing to options that I may not have in the past if it will see more people hearing these playlists though because I feel like we've missed an opportunity thus far.

This morning we kick-off a new release in Sorcery's "Sinister Soldiers: debut album from 1978 which opens with "Arachnid (The Dark King)" which I'd suggest should qualify as metal & sits predominantly in the stoner metal space.

Also on Randy Holden's "Population II" album from the early 1970, we find this shorter reenactment of the previously mentioned "Fruit & Icebergs" which showcases the same slow tempos, crushingly heavy metal riffs & the lumberous doom metal atmosphere of the original version (if one that's strongly infused with heavy psych which once again sees it falling into the traditional doom metal tag):