Daniel's Forum Replies

Suffocation - "Pinnacle of Bedlam" (2013)

New York brutal/technical death metal godfathers Suffocation have been my favourite band since way back in the mid-1990’s so when I finally returned to the metal scene from my decade-long sabbatical in 2009 I wasted no time at all in catching up on their three 2000’s albums with the quality ranging from pretty decent (2009’s “Blood Oath”) to very solid (2004’s “Souls To Deny”) to fucking superb (2006’s self-titled). I’d have to wait four more years until I’d hit another new Suffocation full-length in real time though so when 2013’s “Pinnacle of Bedlam” finally landed I got all hot & bothered & waxed lyrical about it to anyone that’d listen. It’s been quite a while since I revisited it though so I've been quite keen to reassess it, especially after awarding the self-titled album an impressive 4.5 star rating only a month or so back. To be open & transparent, I’ve long suspected that my initial five star rating for “Pinnacle of Bedlam” might have been a touch ambitious so a reassessment to firm up its positioning against an album of the undeniable strength of the self-titled was well overdue.

Now let’s get one thing straight right from the get-go, if you don’t like Suffocation’s previous work then this record isn’t going to do anything to change that as it’s very much an example of the bands signature sound. The difference here however is the stunning production job & polished performances which ooze of class & enable the listener to achieve maximum reward for the aural battering they’ve subjected themselves to. “Pinnacle of Bedlam” is everything that Suffocation aspire to be. It’s unwaveringly brutal although perhaps not as relentlessly blasting as some of their other works. It might be one of their more technical releases though as it sees the instrumentalists confidently & powerfully working their way through a string of ambitiously structured riffs that will no doubt see your average extreme metal fan bowing down in worship of the greatest brutal death metal band of all. I’d also suggest that this might be one of Suffocation’s most melodic releases with guitarists Terence Hobbs (Criminal Element/Deprecated) & Guy Marchais (Internal Bleeding/Pyrexia) & bassist Derek Boyer (Criminal Element/Decrepit Birth/Deprecated) working their way through some quite challenging & angular runs & harmonies while returning skinsman Dave Culross (Malevolent Creation) completes a flawless example of high-precision extreme metal drumming. Legendary front man Frank Mullen doesn’t let the team down either with a stellar display of how to create monstrous yet still completely intelligible death metal grunting. He’s certainly one of the all-time greats in his field for mine.

“Pinnacle of Bedlam” gets off to a magnificent start through “Cycle of Suffering” & “Purgatorial Punishment” which are classic Suffocation tunes if I’ve ever heard them but I’m afraid the tracklisting doesn’t stay at that level consistently enough to warrant full marks if I’m being honest. Album highlight “Rapture of Revocation” is right up there with the bands very best work & “Sullen Days”, “Inversion” & the title track aren’t far behind it either but then we also see a few less-inspired hardcore riffs & slightly lethargic beats seeping into songs like “Eminent Wrath” “As Grace Descends” & “My Demise” which leaves them struggling to overcome the “very solid filler track” tag. The re-recorded version of “Beginning of Sorrow” is equally solid but doesn’t add a lot to the album from a creative point of view in my opinion, despite being an improvement on the already reasonably enjoyable original that opened 1993’s “Breeding The Spawn” sophomore album. I mean, there’s nothing that I’d rate as any less than four stars included here as this is an undeniably classy death metal record but I’m not sure that it challenges the elite of the elite. In saying that though, I do still rate it just slightly ahead of the massively underrated self-titled album which puts it right up there with my favourite releases of the decade. If you’re a fan of bands like Dying Fetus, Cryptopsy & Nile then you owe it to yourself to indulge in this wonderful example of the genre leaders flexing their muscles. "Pinnacle of Bedlam" is yet another classic release from my favourite band of all time.

4.5/5

Interesting thoughts Sonny. The vocals were certainly challenging for me initially but I managed to see past them over time & now find "I've Seen All I Need to See" to be a really solid power electronics/drone metal record.

"Sonic Excess In Its Purest Form" has been my favourite Crowbar record for eons now. In fact, I'd suggest that it's their only genuinely essential release overall.

I would say that progressive metal would have been the next best option outside of neoclassical metal as tracks like "Saturation Point", "Evil Thrill" & "Forbidden City" all fall into that category. That's not enough to claim it as a primary genre though in my opinion. The speed metal component really only amounts for parts of "Evil Thrill" & "Anvils" too. There's not even a complete song in that style.

Here's my review:

The nomination of New York avant-garde/technical death metal outfit Sarmat’s brand new debut album as the August feature release for our The Infinite clan has come at an opportune moment given that I was considering giving “Determined To Strike” a spin over the next month or so anyway. My interest had been tweaked by the descriptions I’d been reading online which indicated that the album is one of the more pure examples of the jazz/metal hybrid you’re likely to find &, in hindsight, that seems like a fair call. You see, Sarmat are a collaborative project that has ties to both fields. There can be no denying that their target audience is the extreme metal crowd on the evidence here but jazz fans shouldn’t find themselves in completely foreign territory either as the loose song-structures, melodic & rhythmic freedom & commitment to improvisation are drawn directly from jazz. It sounds great on paper but ambitious undertakings like these don’t always hit the mark so I was prepared for the outcome to go either way.

“Determined To Strike” is a relatively short six-track affair that wastes little time in presenting its full array of qualities. You can expect to hear some extremely chaotic riff construction that’s often based on ideas that sit closer to Mahavishnu Orchestra than they do Nile. They don’t always work for mine but when they do it’s generally when Sarmat hit on a more traditional death metal riff to offset the madness going on around it. Front man Andrew Gonzalez possesses an extremely guttural death growl that almost rivals Demilich main man Antti Boman for sheer depth. He does sound a little out of place when layered over such complex & sophisticated instrumentation if I’m being completely honest & he would definitely have been better suited to a more traditional brutal death metal band but he does a reasonable job of it nonetheless. Imperial Triumphant bassist/pianist Steve Blanco puts in an impressive display that highlights his undeniable chops but I’m afraid drummer James Jones (also of New York heavy metallers TOWER) struggles to keep up. To be fair on him, he’s had to cope with a pretty ordinary drum sound that lacks power & highlights every misstep. Still, he’s pretty clearly the weakest link here & I feel that “Determined To Strike” could have been a more appealing release with a more accomplished performance behind the kit. The strongest contribution though comes in the form of some very exciting & melodically adventurous jazz fusion guitar work from the dual attack of Cotter Champlin (Artificial Brain) & Matt Hollenberg (Cleric/John Frum/John Zorn/Simulacrum). I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the two tracks that I enjoy the most are the ones with the most melodic & expansive guitar solos in “Formed From Filth” (my personal favourite) & the title track. Also, the regular use of a brass section is a surprisingly successful addition, often in conjunction with blasting death metal riffage too thank you very much.

The production job is a bit of an issue for Sarmat to be honest. It’s not just the drum sound although it’s probably the worst component. I feel that a cleaner sound production was essential in order to get the most out of an extremely complex metal release like this one but what we’ve received is a little too murky to do the album justice. It’s not a deal-breaker by any means but it certainly has an impact on my overall enjoyment. There are times when Sarmat seem almost on the verge on of the sickly, veering out of control through loose structures that hint at complete collapse. It’s only the class of some of the instrumentalists that manage to right the ship just in time to prevent a catastrophe. Perhaps this element might be appealing to some our members but I personally prefer a touch more precision in my extreme metal.

You likely won’t have heard a metal record that sounds much like “Determined To Strike” before which is a definite feather in Sarmat’s caps. Imagine the avant-garde, jazz-infused sound of Imperial Triumphant mixed with the complex dissonance of Gorguts & toss in the chaos of Defeated Sanity & the absolute insanity of some of John Zorn’s jazz projects & you’ll come close to imagining what’s in store for you. It won’t be for everyone but I have no doubt that there will be some that absolutely worship it. I have to admit that I find “Determined To Strike” to be more of an interesting listen than a consistently enjoyable one but it’s served its purpose quite well in leaving me feeling somewhat refreshed at its completion.

3.5/5

 Jazz fusion-inspired avant-garde/technical death metal from New York, USA.

Slayer's "Reign In Blood" is my favourite metal album of all time but the release that best reflects my taste & preferences is Suffocation's "Pierced From Within" as I've always been most inclined towards the more brutal end of death metal & it simply doesn't come more professionally executed than that record. I'm generally more inclined towards death metal vocals where you can actually understand what they're saying & Frank Mullen makes the adjustment towards greater intelligibility on that particular release too.

Here's my review:

I’ll always remember the early 1990’s as a truly magical time in my life with the extreme metal scene being the catalyst for a whole new world of discovery for me. I’d already gotten into thrash/death/black metal in the late 1980’s but the new decade would summon forth an explosion of riches for any budding young metal enthusiast. The Norwegian black metal scene would become one of the protagonists in that movement & I count myself as being very lucky to have been across it from its very inception. I was already familiar with Darkthrone’s death metal debut album “Soulside Journey” as well as being well versed in “First Wave” black metal bands like Bathory, Sodom & Hellhammer by the time Darkthrone’s life-changing sophomore album “A Blaze in The Northern Sky” dropped in 1992 & I think that really helped me to be prepared for what was a seriously imposing release for the uninitiated. Bathory’s “Under The Sign Of The Black Mark” was a definite favourite of mine at the time (& still is too) & I think that record was as good an entry point as you were likely to find. Over the course of the next 3-4 years though, Darkthrone would create a legacy that few can touch in black metal circles, not only through what’s gone on to become known as the “Unholy Trinity” (a trio of classic records that people like to group together) but also through 1995’s very solid “Panzerfaust” album. After that amazing period of activity though, Darkthrone have released a long string of divisive records, most of which I’ve checked out at some point but few of which I’ve found to offer anything close to the devastating atmosphere of records like “Transilvanian Hunger”. There’s even been a couple of albums that I let pass me by completely (including Darkthrone’s last full-length “Eternal Halls……”) so I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect from the duo’s latest release “Astral Fortress”, particularly given that awfully tame cover image.

Loyal fans really talked “Astral Fortress” up online last year though (particularly on Twitter) & I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it tweaked my interest. I decided to give the album a quick once over shortly after release but went in with a level of hesitation & self-preservation. I mean, I was still harboring a level of resentment after recalling my disappointment with a record like 2010’s “Circling The Wagons”. Upon sitting through “Astral Fortress” though, I had to admit that it offered a lot of potential. I had a feeling that it might be a grower so I penciled it in as one to revisit in the near future, a venture that has ended up being triggered by Vinny’s nomination for our August “The Fallen” feature release.

Darkthrone have traversed pretty much all of the genres they treasured so much during their formative years across their long career. They obviously started their recording career as a death metal band before transforming themselves into one of the great black metal artists & then dabbled in heavy metal, doom metal, thrash metal, speed metal & even a bit of punk at times. “Astral Fortress” sees them dipping their toes into most of those pools & producing an album that is almost uncategorizable. There’s a definite black metal aesthetic here but (apart from the opening track) it never quite “feels” like a black metal release. There are plenty of doomy riffs & tempos but I’m not sure it sits comfortably alongside the bands that influenced them like Trouble either. There are thrash & death metal riffs that pop up from time to time too, as well as some obvious heavy metal characteristics like the use of guitar harmonies in closing track “Eon 2”. None of those terms seem appropriate to tag “Astral Fortress” though to be honest. It’s really a combination of all of those components & I have to say that the way Darkthrone pull this off in such a cohesive manner gives the album a freshness that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

Perhaps this shouldn’t surprise me as the main influence on display is another band that combined all of the more extreme subgenres of their time in Celtic Frost. In fact, most of the album sounds like a tribute to the Swiss legends if I’m being honest but, rather than simply emulate their idols, Fenriz & Nocturno Culto have used their influence to not only pay homage to them but also to celebrate everything that was great about them. You see, Darkthrone simply get it. They understand what it was about the music of the 1980’s that laid the platform for what was to come. It didn’t need relentless blast-beats or super-gutteral & unintelligible growls to create a dark & mysterious atmosphere. Those bands understood how to use space, tension & restraint. They knew the power of good song-writing over simply creating a series of riffs. “Astral Fortress” is all about harnessing those elements in a modern way & the result is an honest, authentic & organic record of genuine depth. It’s one that I admire & respect more than I do adore but at the completion of each listen I find myself feeling like I’ve experienced something of meaning, like I’ve seen inside the souls of these two men.

The tracklisting is very consistent with just the pointless two-minute experimental piece “Kolbotn, West of the Vast Forests” being a failure. I wouldn’t say that I regard any of the six proper songs as being genuine classics but all of them have their inspired moments. Unfortunately most of them also have one or two riffs that see my interest being placed on hold too (mostly the thrashier or more traditional heavy metal parts) but I can still very clearly see the passion in what Darkthrone do so I simply find myself waiting for those parts to pass by so that I can once again dig into the meat on these bones. Nocturno Culto’s vocals are nothing like the grim & croaky black metal style he built his name on these days, instead opting for a grunt that sounds uncannily like the great Tom G. Warrior which can hardly be a coincidence, can it? I like them though & think they serve the record well.

There’s a feeling of control about “Astral Fortress” that I have no doubt to be intentional & it reminds me of modern day Enslaved & Satyricon in that way. The tempos rarely ascend to much above mid-pace & they keep enough space in the compositions to maximize their accessibility. The more successful examples can be found in opener “Caravan of Broken Ghosts” (my personal favourite), the doomy “Stalagmite Necklace”, the epic (& humourously titled) “The Seas Beneath The Seas Of The Sea” & the more melodic “Eon 2”. If you’re a big Celtic Frost, Hellhammer or Gallhammer fan then I can’t see you not enjoying this record & it’s certainly drawn a renewed interest in the band from me. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that “Astral Fortress” should be essential listening for anyone with ties to the 1980’s underground metal scene. It holds its own against more widely celebrated Darkthrone albums like “Under A Funeral Moon” & “Panzerfaust” too in my opinion.

4/5

Oh, totally Ben. I was gonna raise that one too.

Thorsten "Toto" Bergmann's performance on German speed/thrash metallers Living Death's 1984 debut album "Vengeance of Hell".

Steve "Lips" Kudlow from Anvil in general.

Iron Maiden's Blaze Bayley albums.

I agree. I've never gotten on with "Crystal Logic" & his tone is a contributing factor.

Grouper - "A I A: Alien Observer" (2011)

The sixth album from this talented Californian ambient producer.

The most recent one I've encountered is Mike Muir from Suicidal Tendencies for his terrible performance on albums like "Join The Army" & "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today".

Here's my review:

How good are favourite bands then? In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I quite often enjoy my favourite bands more than other bands which is interesting, isn't it? They just seem to appeal to me a little more for one reason or another & New York death metal legends Suffocation have been the long-time leader of that pack as their sound & technique is simply so in tune with my own view on what extreme music should be. I’ve made no secret about the fact that Suffocation’s classic period is about as good as metal gets for me personally but what makes them sit in such a prominent position in my affections is the quality of lesser known releases like this one, the second full-length after their solid return to the scene through 2004’s “Souls To Deny” album.

The general consensus around 2006’s self-titled record has always baffled me to be honest. Sure, it doesn’t try anything terribly new & tends to reside primarily in realms that Suffocation had built for themselves more than a decade earlier but it just does what it does so fucking well guys. I truly believe that the only difference between a merely decent Suffocation release & a truly mind-blowing Suffocation release is the quality of the production job because I don’t think they’re capable of writing anything that’s not ridiculously strong. They sit way too far above the competition for that.

And when I say “they” I’m really talking about chief song-writer Terence Hobbs & front man Frank Mullen because they’re the only band members to have stayed the entire course yet Suffocation continue to churn out records that… well… sound exactly like Suffocation. Unlike the AC/DC’s of the world though, I find that I can not only handle another helping of exactly the same shit as Suffocation have dished up several times before but I go back for triple helpings. A lot of the reasoning behind that can be attributed to the fact that bands of this ilk simply don’t come around very often. There’s a class about Suffocation that literally no one can touch, including the highly regarded peers that they’re generally compared with like Dying Fetus, Cryptopsy & Nile. The incredible knack for balancing brutality & complexity within their riff structures could have come from no one else & those twisted yet highly expansive chromatic guitar solos are a clear trademark (check out the lengthy one that makes up the entire mid-section of "Abomination Reborn" for an example of one of Terence’s best). Despite my close affiliations with the brutal death metal scene, I've always preferred a bit of intelligibility in my death grunts too & Mullen is the best example you'll find as he somehow manages to achieve monstrous savagery while still allowing the listener to understand the message behind some pretty imposing lyrical content (see "Entrails of You" for example).

If we take a look at the self-titled album in a little more detail though, the first thing that’s worth mentioning is that (unlike “Souls To Deny”) they’ve got the production right this time. As soon as I heard that I knew that I was in for a devastating journey & indeed that’s what I received. Short, hellish intro track “Oblivion” is perfectly suited to introducing the annihilation that’s to come with opener “Abomination Reborn” being one of the band’s most brutal offerings & highlighting powerhouse drummer Mike Smith’s incredible strength & endurance in no uncertain terms thanks to an ultra-heavyweight drum sound. It’s a great way to kick off the record. Things settle down for a few tracks from there with some solid & muscular outings that don’t disappoint but can’t quite match the dizzying heights of their opener. By the time we hit the midpoint of the tracklisting though, order has been well & truly restored with four of the next five songs being elite examples of the brutal death metal subgenre, particularly “Translucent Patterns of Delirium” (my personal favourite) & “Regret” which are nothing short of perfect in my eyes. The album closes with the now obligatory rework of a song taken from Suffocation’s poorly produced “Breeding The Spawn” record in “Prelude To Repulsion” which easily manages to eclipse the original version. It does sound just slightly out of place here though as it’s both a lot more consciously technical & a touch less chunky & brutal than the other nine proper songs.

At the end of the day, I can’t imagine why any true Suffocation or brutal death metal fan wouldn’t completely flip out for this stuff to tell you the truth. Some tracks have less impact than others but the highlights are so strong that I’ve found it hard not to continue to return to this release repeatedly over the 14 years since I first encountered it. Does it compete with the band’s classic period releases? You know what, it might not be a match for Suffocation’s most accomplished & ultra-premium works (“Pierced From Within” & the “Despise The Sun” E.P.) but I wouldn’t place it too far behind classics like “Effigy of the Forgotten” & the “Human Waste” E.P. if I’m being completely honest. I think some of that comes down to the fact that those releases don’t sound quite so fresh these days due to the unmitigated flogging I’ve given them over the years as well as the slightly more polished & modern sound that the self-titled benefits from but don’t let this one pass you by if you have even a passing interest in this band or in brutal/technical death metal in general.

4.5/5

This is what I wrote about this album at the time:

Where the fuck did this short thirty minute gem of an album come from?! I think I might just have found my new AOTY right here. Imagine the super dark & crushingly heavy sludge metal of Primitive Man combined with the mechanical industrial beats of Godflesh & the cold production of Uniform & you won't be far off the mark. Throw in some death metal riffs too just to stroke my comfort zone a bit more too. I just fucking love this shit!

4.5/5

Here's my review:

I first encountered the 2001 debut album from Swedish black metallers Armagedda back in 2009 after quite enjoying their 2003 sophomore album “Only True Believers” & subsequently giving the band’s other two albums a quick once over. There can be no denying that “The Final War Approaching” offers a very familiar formula. The question is really about whether you NEED your black metal to reach out a little further than to simply emulate the greats of the genre or not. I generally find that I don’t personally. I can easily tolerate a band that creates a very similar sound to a band that I love as long as it’s done really well. So just how well does Armagedda do it here then? Let’s find out.

Armagedda have quite clearly been studying hard at the Fenriz School of Black Metal because “The Final War Approaching” sounds pretty much exactly like Darkthrone’s classic “Transilvanian Hunger” album which is admittedly one of my all-time favourite black metal records. Front man Graav (LIK/Lönndom) summons forth a suitably grim variation on Nocturno Culto’s blackened snarl while his predominantly tremolo-picked riffs consistently manage to conjure up that 1990’s Scandinavian atmosphere without ever really achieving the x-factor that the Norwegian black metal gods seemed to able to come up with upon demand. I’d suggest that the production has been left intentionally variable which was a feature of some of Darkthrone’s unholy trinity & it works pretty well here too although bassist Andreas Petterson (Stilla/Leviathan/Lönndom) may disagree with me as it depends on which song you’re listening to as to whether you can make out his basslines or not. Drummer Phycon (Leviathan) doesn’t exactly benefit either as his kit sounds pretty awful & highlights his limitations as a musician pretty obviously, although this is admittedly in line with the aesthetic that Armagedda were going for anyway.

Despite the obvious plagiarism, I find myself enjoying most of “The Final War Approaching”. The A side is unanimously successful in its quest to keep the listener engaged through a simple formula of hypnotic & melodic tremolo-picked riffs, simplistic & uncluttered drumming & blasphemous & demonic vocals. Things start to fall apart at various stages during the back end of the tracklisting (see “Unholy Sacrifice” & “Död och pina”) but there’s certainly enough quality on offer to make the album a satisfying listen for those with a penchant for other Swedish bands who make a similar attempt at the Darkthrone model like Craft or Pest. Armagedda’s best moments invariably come when they slow things down a little on tracks like “Skogens mörka djup” (my personal favourite) & “My Eternal Journey” but they can also be quite effective when they hit top speed as they do during the faster sections of “Transilvanian Hunger”-worshipping opener “Deathminded”. Where they fall in a heap is when they opt for punky one-two style beats as they inevitably work to detract from some potentially strong song-writing & leave me feeling a little disappointed at the completion of each track they're employed on.

At the end of the day, I feel that I can be reasonably confident in saying that “The Final War Approaching” will appeal to those black metal fans that crave atmosphere over originality but will leave many a bit cold through its blatant genericism. Personally, I fall into the former camp & have subsequently found a fair bit to like about the album without any risk of it becoming a long-term favourite. I guess I just love the purist black metal model & always have. It’s nice to be able to indulge in music that makes you feel nostalgic at times though, isn’t it? Especially when it’s executed with a clear understanding of what made the original masters so great to begin with.

3.5/5

P.S. The irony of this release sounding much more like Darkthrone than this month's Darkthrone feature release has not escaped me either.

I absolutely love "De vermis mysteriis" Sonny & regard it as one of the top few stoner metal releases I've encountered over the years. But then... I'm an absolute tragic for production jobs like that one.

Here's my review:

German thrash metal heavy-weights Sodom played a pretty major role in my formative years. I believe I first discovered them through the video clip for their 1989 single “Ausgebombt” which was shown on a late-night music video TV show & prompted me to pick up the “Agent Orange” album on cassette. I proceeded to play the absolute shit out of it which resulted in me exploring the rest of Sodom’s back catalogue fairly quickly afterwards. What I found was that there is a definite line that can be drawn between the more recent material that I really enjoyed (1987’s “Persecution Mania” sophomore album & “Expurse of Sodomy” E.P.) & Sodom’s rawer & more primitive earlier work (their two early demos, 1985’s “In The Sign of Evil” E.P. & 1986’s “Obsessed by Cruelty” debut album). I’ve never really gotten on with Sodom’s early works to be honest. As a musician myself, I feel that I’m too consistently distracted by the awful (or lack of) musicianship which makes the whole package feel like I’m listening to a bunch of twelve year-olds. But there can be no denying the quality of Sodom’s late 80’s classics & they really did secure my attention for each successive Sodom release until I’d drift away from the scene in the late 1990’s. Upon returning to metal in 2009 I would quickly discover that Sodom’s 2001 tenth full-length was being held up as a major resurrection of the band’s past glories with some claiming it as their best record overall. That idea had the teenage thrasher in me salivating so I went in head-first; ready, willing & able to be blown away. Needless to say that I was left a little disappointed by that experience. I recall finding “M-16” to be quite enjoyable but didn’t see it as anything terribly special so I haven’t returned to “M-16” since. I’ve often wondered if my expectations were simply too high which led me to be a little harsh on Sodom there though so this month’s feature release nomination has given me a good opportunity to review my position with more of an open mind.

Upon first listen, “M-16” is undeniably a Sodom record. The war themes they’ve so regularly targeted are all over the cover art, lyrics & general atmosphere while band leader Tom Angelripper is undeniable in his commitment to the cause. Tom’s backed by two former members of German power/heavy metal band Crows in guitarist Bernemann & drummer Bobby Schottkowski (currently with English NWOBHM stalwarts Tank), both of whom had been with the band since 1997’s “Til Death Do Us Unite” album, & the trio have produced a meat-&-potatoes style of thrash metal record that ticks most of the boxes that the band’s passionate fanbase look for in a Sodom release. The album is well produced & performed but I’m not sure that there’s anything especially noteworthy in the packaging which leaves the song-writing with the task of capturing the listener’s imagination. So, the big question is does it manage to do that? Well, I think the answer is yes & no for me personally but that’s clearly not the case for others.

You see, “M-16” is an inconsistent record in my opinion. There are certainly more hits than misses but the highlights never reach the heights of Sodom’s past glories. A lot of the album is enjoyable enough on the surface but is lacking in the edge that made the band famous to begin with. Guitarist Bernemann’s lead guitar contribution is a prime example in that there’s nothing wrong with his solos. They’re actually quite serviceable to be honest but none of them really stands out or adds to the songs so they tend to drift past without me even noticing them a lot of the time. Sodom have always been best when they drop the shackles & go for broke & that’s still the case here but those moments are not regular enough for “M-16” to be the classic record it’s hyped up to be. A lot of people seem to love Sodom’s slower war anthems but they can often sound a bit clunky to me. Take the very popular “Napalm In The Morning” for example. It’s basically built around a riff that’s essentially a minor variation on one that Bathory came up with in the late 1980’s & that’s about all there is to say about it really. It’s overly simple & lacks sophistication, instead relying on the lyrical themes & the link to “Apocalypse Now” to capture the listener’s interest. Admittedly it seems to have achieved that task too but I need a bit more in my thrash metal than that. Other tracks fair a little worse than that too with the chorus hooks from both “Little Boy” & “Marines” coming across as particularly dumb. And then we have the closing surf rock cover song “Surfin’ Bird”… what the fuck were they thinking with that one then, eh?

Look, I’m certainly sounding a little more critical than I would like to here because the song structures are noticeably more tight & cohesive than they were during the band's 1980's hey day & the tracklisting still has plenty to offer your average Kreator, Slayer & Destruction nut. “Genocide” & “Lead Injection” are both prime examples of that while you’ll find four or five others that are more than serviceable examples of the Sodom formula too. I guess it just frustrates me that a record like “M-16” can be placed up on such a pedestal. While I certainly enjoy it a lot more than Sodom’s 1982-1986 releases, I can’t say that it ever comes close to touching those 1987-1989 classics. In fact, I’d suggest that if this was the debut album from a brand new band then you’d likely never hear about it & the band in question would quickly drift off into the vast canyon of acts that didn't manage to differentiate themselves from the pack. It’s nothing more than a reasonably enjoyable (if inessential) Sodom record & I struggle to see why it’s regarded more highly than some of their other releases. I can only assume it’s for similar reasons to why some of the later Kreator & Exodus records were overrated i.e. they saw the bands returning to a reasonable level of form after a creative slump & were subsequently overhyped as a result.

3.5/5

Oneohtrix Point Never - "Replica" (2011)

The most highly celebrated work from this Massachusetts electronic/ambient producer.

Mustaine would traditionally already have been smashed before he even arrived.

Nice work Ben. I'm sure the other members have no idea as to the significant cost of these exercises. I do though & it's greatly appreciated.

Rex, you can make that address into a link by using the LINK button when posting (hint: it looks like a chain link). Interesting list by the way. Nice variety.

An immensely atmospheric single-track funeral doom metal monster from Seattle, USA.

I'd suggest that my issues are more with the quality of the hooks than they are with Joey Belladonna who I've always really liked. In saying that though, I prefer Bush's tone & style & think he's one of the better metal front men going around. I've only heard a couple of Bush's Anthrax releases though ("Sound of White Noise" & "The Greater of Two Evils") so I wouldn't say that I'm in a good position to make a call on who is best suited to front Anthrax.

I think you're bang on there Sonny as those singalong choruses have definitely lost their lustre over the years. I simply don't find the hooks to be as mature as I remember them being as a thirteen year old when thrash metal was still so new to me. There's a lack of sophistication & depth in comparison to the releases that competitors like Metallica & Slayer were producing at the time.

To be fair, I'd listen to his death metal opinions above mine. We often disagree, but then I find myself coming around to his way of thinking more often than I'd like to admit (ssshhhh... don't tell him I said that).

I'd suggest that people make an exception with melodic death metal Ben. I think we both know that I can't be trusted to provide a fair judgement in that space.

Anthrax - "State of Euphoria" (1988)

New York thrash metallers Anthrax were a big band in my life from a very young age. While it’s true that I may regard them as the least significant of the Big Four, the first decade of their recording career was unanimously well received & represents a significant point of nostalgia for me. My entry point for the band though was perhaps one of their less highly praised releases in 1988’s “State of Euphoria” fourth full-length, an album I purchased on cassette some time in 1989 when I was just 13 years of age. It made a very significant impact on me too & I’ve always been able to recall every second of its runtime. My early experiences with “State of Euphoria” was soon trigger me to explore the remainder of Anthrax’s back catalogue &, while “State of Euphoria” would very quickly be usurped in the pecking order by classics like 1985’s “Spreading The Disease” & 1987’s “Among The Living”, I’ve still held it in high regard to this day, despite not having given it a spin in what must be decades. Let’s see how it’s held then.

The striking yellow cover art certainly gets your attention, doesn’t it? I like looking at it even if it’s not all that aesthetically special. The production job on “State of Euphoria” seems to be the source of heated debate online these days though with people seemingly split on whether it’s good or bad. Personally, I think it’s all a bit of a storm in a teacup as I have no problem with it, particularly given the time it was released. Perhaps some diehard fans would rather that Frank Bello’s bass was a little higher in the mix but it’s certainly loud enough for me. It’s the song-writing that really matters however & the tracklisting starts off very strong with three of the four best tracks kicking off the album & giving it a decidedly front-loaded feel. Opener “Be All, End All” is my personal favourite but I’ve been very surprised to find that I actually don’t consider ANY of this material to compete with Anthrax’s more classic songs. “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”, “Make Me Laugh” & “Schism” are all unquestionably catchy & enjoyable tracks but none of them are truly exceptional. In saying that though, I don’t think there are any real failures here either. Perhaps the short & silly bass interlude “13” might fit that category but it’s fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I honestly can’t say that any of the proper songs aren’t memorable though as I’ve already stated that I can recall every minute of the album.

Anthrax have been open about the fact that they were pushed into the studio before they were ready by their super-eager record label & it’s hard to know whether that’s had an impact on the song-writing quality or not. I tend to think it has though as there are some great Anthrax riffs & hooks in many of these tracks but they can’t quite manage to pull them together into complete masterpieces. In one track you might have a flat riff with a punky beat while in another Joey’s chorus hook might be a little lacklustre. It’s nothing that’ll ruin the whole track for you but it does tend to hold me back from full engagement. The cover song “Antisocial” is an interesting one because it’s generally regarded as one of the more successful tracks yet I’d argue that it’s perhaps the weaker of the proper songs. I wondered whether this may perhaps have something to do with my familiarity with the original Trust version which I consider to be the stronger of the two but that clearly can’t be the case as I felt this way long before I heard Trust’s 1980 “Repression” album.

This revisit has been a bit of an eye-opener to be honest. I’ve long feared that I might be overrating “State of Euphoria” due to feelings of nostalgia from when I was just a kid & it’s turned out to be the case in the end. I had hoped that I might still be able to get my score up to four stars as I recalled it being a lot closer to “Spreading The Disease” & “Among The Living” in terms of overall quality but the reality is that “State of Euphoria” sits much closer to Anthrax’s 1984 debut album “Fistful of Metal” in my opinion. In saying that though, it’s not all doom & gloom because there’s still plenty of interest here for fans of Overkill, Nuclear Assault & Metallica.

3.5/5

I was thinking about the one-listen-review concept some more last night & there are two other elements that come into play (at least they do for me personally). I find that mood & context can skew my view on a release one way or the other. For example, if I'm tired & listen to a highly intense or complex death metal album, there's no way that I'll appreciate it as much as if I'm wide awake & energetic. Or if I've just listened to Marduk & then decide to put on Twisted Sister, I'm always going to find Twisted Sister to be fairly light-weight in comparison which may impact my scoring but I still might feel like listening to them. The same goes for production as some production jobs will inevitably sound dodgier or more impressive than they are depending on what you play them after. For that reason, I like to listen to my music in a couple of different headspaces & environments before reaching a consensus on what rating I'll award a particular release & I never do my final listen late in the day when I'm not alert. Perhaps I take this process a little too seriously but... ya know what... Ben & I run an online metal ratings/reviews website so the integrity of our views can be kinda a big deal for parts of our audience.

A very solid progressive heavy metal instrumental from the Swedish neoclassical guitar virtuoso.

After revisiting the Cattle Decapitation album shown above I realized that I still haven't collated a Top Ten Deathgrind Releases of All Time list so I thought I'd remedy that this morning. Here's what I came up with:

01. Napalm Death - "Mentally Murdered" E.P. (1989)

02. Cattle Decapitation - "Monolith of Inhumanity" (2012)

03. Brutal Truth - "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" (1992)

04. Napalm Death - "Utopia Banished" (1992)

05. Napalm Death - "Mass Appeal Madness" E.P. (1991)

06. Lock Up - "Necropolis Transparent" (2011)

07. Cephalic Carnage - "Misled by Certainty" (2010)

08. Damaged - "Passive Backseat Demon Engines" E.P. (1995)

09. Misery Index - "Heirs to Slavery" (2010)

10. Aborted - "Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done" (2003)

And before anyone says it, of course Terrorizer's "World Downfall" would have made the list if it qualified as deathgrind in our database. For the record, I agree with our database that it's a straight-up grindcore record though.

Look, I can't speak for anyone else but I can assure you that my opinion on a release changes over three active listens. The first listen is always about resetting my expectations & removing any preconceptions that I may have held about what was in store for me. It's only on the second listen that I start to gain access to some of the nuances & begin to reach an informed opinion. The third listen confirms that my thoughts from the second listen are correct & decides between close scoring calls which is always easier for me on the third listen. Sometimes I may even need a fourth listen to firm up my opinion if the release is quite complex.

Honestly, I don't even want to only listen to a release just the once. I like to become more involved with my music than that. Call me a wanker for saying this but, as a musician myself, I feel that I owe it to the artist in some way. I never do anything requiring brain power while listening to music that I intend the rate or review either as I like to be fully present & immerse myself in the artist's vision so I'm either lying, driving or walking. 

I have to concur with the others that my planned listening time is already maxed out by the monthly feature releases, particularly given my refusal to rate or review a release without giving it at least 3-4 active listens over a couple of days. I work 50+ hours a week & have three young kids who command all of my free time so I'd be reluctant to reduce my free listening time any further at this point when it only really amounts to the time before anyone else wakes up.

Rex, regardless of whether other members would like to participate in your suggested initiative, can I suggest that you join the feature release rosters for your chosen clans? That way you can choose releases that you'd like to have your fellow clan members attention drawn to &, in doing so, can potentially contribute to the cause listed above. It's not a bad way to see Hall of Judgement nominations coming to fruition too & I know you've been keen to contribute there too.

I love Deftones to be honest. Well... post-"Adrenaline" Deftones anyway. "Around The Fur" was really solid but I prefer later releases like "Koi no Yokan" & "Ohms". "White Pony" is definitely their pièce de résistance though.

A classy Canadian tech thrash masterpiece that was somewhat of an anthem for me as a teenager.

With Andi still taking a break from the feature release roster, here are the owners of the September submissions:

THE FALLEN: Daniel, Sonny, Morpheus Kitami, Ben, Vinny

THE GATEWAY: Saxy, Saxy, Andi, Saxy

THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Morpheus Kitami

THE HORDE: Vinny, Ben, Daniel

THE INFINITE: Saxy, Andi, Xephyr

THE NORTH: Daniel, Xephyr, Ben, Vinny, Sonny

THE PIT: Daniel, Ben, Morpheus Kitami, Sonny, Vinny

THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi, Daniel

THE SPHERE: Daniel, Daniel, Andi, Daniel

Here's my nomination for the September playlist Andi:

Scorn - "Deep In - Eaten Over and Over" (from "Vae Solis", 1992)

Here's my September playlist nomination:

Whitechapel - "Single File To Dehumanization" (from "A New Era Of Corruption", 2010)

Here are my September playlist nominations Vinny:

Blood Tsunami - "Castle of Skulls" (from "Grand Feast For Vultures", 2009)

Annihilator - "Road To Ruin" (from "Never, Neverland", 1990)

Suicidal Tendencies - "Trip At The Brain" (from "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today", 1988)

Here are my September playlist nominations Ben:

Tómarúm - "As Black Forms From Grey" (from "Ash in Realms of Stone Icons", 2022)

Tilintetgjort - "Hex" (from "In Death I Shall Arise", 2023)

Teitanblood - "Domains of Darkness and Ancient Evil" (from "Seven Chalices", 2009)

 Liturgy - "Caela" (from "93696", 2023)

Here are my submissions for the September playlist:

Tzompantli - "Ohtlatocopailcahualuztli" (from "Tlazcaltiliztli", 2022)

Bloodbath - "Blasting The Virginborn" (from "Unblessing the Purity" E.P., 2008)

Aborted - "Parasitic Flesh Resection" (from "Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done", 2003)

Teitanblood - "The Abomination of Desolation" (from "Seven Chalices", 2009)

Sanguisugabogg - "Testicular Rot" (from "Homicidal Ecstasy", 2023)

Cattle Decapitation - "Your Disposal" (from "Monolith of Inhumanity", 2012)

Here's my submission for the September playlist Xephyr:

Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force - "Heaven Tonight" (from "Odyssey", 1988)

Here's my submission for the September playlist Saxy:

Jane's Addiction - "Mountain Song" (from "Nothing's Shocking", 1988)

Here are my submissions for the September playlist Sonny:

Tzompantli - "Yaotiacahuanetzli" (from "Tlazcaltiliztli", 2022)

My Dying Bride - "And My Fury Stands Ready" (from "Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light", 2004)

August 2023

01. Nocturnal Graves – “Beyond The Flesh” (from “An Outlaw’s Stand”, 2022) [Submitted by Daniel]

02. Phlebotomized – “Bury My Heart” (from “Clouds of Confusion”, 2023)

03. Contrarian – “In Gehenna” (from “Sage Of Shekhinah”, 2023)

04. Sadist – “Escogido” (from “Tribe”, 1996)

05. In Flames – “Stand Ablaze” (from “Subterranean” E.P., 1995)

06. Balmora – “July, Unending” (from “With Thorns Of Glass & Petals Of Grief” E.P., 2023)

07. Hellwitch – “Delegated Disruption” (from “Annihilational Intercention”, 2023)

08. Torture Rack – “Morning Star Massacre” (from “Primeval Onslaught”, 2023)

09. Creeping Death – “Intestinal Wrap” (from “Boundless Domain”, 2023)

10. Apparition – “Unequilibrium” (from “Feel”, 2021) [Submitted by Daniel]

11. Bandit – “End Of The Rainbow” (from “Siege of Self”, 2023)

12. Ulcerate – “Confronting Entropy” (from “Vermis”, 2013) [Submitted by Daniel]

13. Gigan – “Electro-Stimulated Hallucinatory Response” (from “Multi-Dimensional Fractal-Sorcery & Super Science”, 2013)

14. Houkago Grind Time – “Bakyunsified (Moe To The Gore)“ (from “Saving The World By Overloading It With Mincecore Brigade“ E.P., 2019)

15. Cavalera – “War” (from “Morbid Visions”, 2023)

16. Blind Equation – “BXE666” (from “Born To Die” E.P., 2020)

17. Aevangelist – “Veils” (from “Omen Ex Simulacra”, 2013)

18. Crisis Sigil – “Skybox” (from “God Cum Poltergeist”, 2023)

19. Septage – “Of Gangrene Limbs” (from “Septisk eradikasyon” E.P., 2021)

20. Atavistia – “Cosmic Warfare” (from “Cosmic Warfare”, 2023)

21. Burnt By The Sun – “Buffy” (from “Burnt By The Sun” E.P., 2001)

22. ZOMBIESHARK! – “Idiot Machine” (from “Born From A Wish” E.P., 2022)

23. Cattle Decapitation – “Humanure” (from “Humanure”, 2004)

24. Deeds of Flesh – “Summarily Killed” (from “Path of the Weakening”, 1999)

25. Tithe – “Demon” (from “Inverse Rapture”, 2023)

26. Disfiguring The Goddess – “Black Earth Child” (from “Black Earth Child”, 2013)

27. Inhume – “Incineration Of The Body By Own Will” (from “In For The Kill”, 2003)

28. Suffocation – “Translucent Patterns of Delirium” (from “Suffocation”, 2006) [Submitted by Daniel]

29. Acranius – “Life Sustainment Will Continue Mutilation” (from “When Mutation Becomes Homicidal”, 2013)

30. Katalepsy – “Lurking In The Depth” (from “Autopsychosis”, 2013) [Submitted by Daniel]

31. Devangelic – “Which Shall Be The Darkness Of The Heretic” (from “Xul”, 2023)

More on the subject of slam, people on RYM don't seem to like Disfiguring the Goddess that much.  But I am head over heels with Deprive.  I adore that Lovecraftian vibe.

I really dig 2012's "Sleeper" E.P. & feel it should qualify here too.

"Obscene Majesty" is comfortably my Devourment release of choice.

In my experience, I agree with Andi that Emmure are nowhere near as bad as people make them out to be. I actually don't mind 2011's "Speaker of the Dead" & 2012's "Slave to the Game" albums.

On a similar slant, I'm nominating Suicide Silence's 2011 "The Black Crown" album which we featured last month & I ended up awarding four stars.

I completely agree. The flack that album receives is totally misguided in my opinion.

A very solid progressive metal outing from these Canadian thrashers.