Daniel's Forum Replies
Popol Vuh - "In den Gärten Pharaos" (1971)
The sophomore album from these German experimentalists is an early classic of the ambient genre. I've been a big fan of it for decades now & bought the CD re-release with bonus tracks around twenty years ago. Unlike most people, I find it hard to split the first two Popol Vuh records but the two bonus tracks included give this one a slight edge due their proto-techno leanings. Where "Affenstunde" (i.e. their debut album from earlier the same year) is more of a conventional ambient record, "In den Gärten Pharaos" sits somewhere between tribal ambient & drone with both of the lengthy tracks creating a wonderful transcendental tension.
For fans of Fripp & Eno, Klaus Schulze & Cluster.
4/5
I believe the book that’s had the most influence on metal lyrics & themes is by this dude called God. It’s an old one. I forget the name but I think it starts with a “b”. Some bad ass atrocities transpire in it too by all reports. Metal as fuck!
I agree about the unusual spacey psychedelics this album has and will vote YES for this Hall entry, Daniel. But I also hear a lot of progressiveness in the complexity and structure enough to make it qualify as progressive metal. So I'd like to submit an additional entry to have Anomalous Abstractigate Infinitessimus added to The Infinite as progressive metal while staying in The Horde and dissonant death metal.
I don't hear anything particularly progressive or technical personally. The dissonant death metal subgenre comes with an expectation of a certain level of complexity so I see no need for those sort of tags. The avant-garde component is enough of a differentiator to justify an additional tag though.
I'm guessing that the database is still reflecting the status from when Vinny was a member of The Guardians. I'll have Ben investigate it. Thanks for the heads up.
S.I.C. - "S.I.C." demo (1987)
I've been looking around the internet for this obscure demo tape that I used to enjoy back in the day & have finally located this recording on YouTube which sounds pretty good considering it's an Australian crossover thrash demo from the mid-1980's. In fact, I think I slightly prefer this cassette over S.I.C.'s 1988 "Screaming In Churches" E.P. as the extra hardcore punk edge really suits these Melbourne rapscallions & their outrageous party antics. This time I'd suggest that a good half of the eight tracks sit just as much in the hardcore space as they do the crossover one but it's definitely when they let loose with violent punk aggression & limb-tearing speed that I find myself most engaged. The sounds of a teenage skater party on "Party Crashed" bring back oh so many memories from my youth too which is an added bonus. S.I.C. is yet another Aussie band that deserved more attention than they received.
For fans of S.O.D., Suicidal Tendencies & M.O.D.
3.5/5
This nomination has been passed uncontested.
https://metal.academy/hall/568
I decided to pass "Aquarela" uncontested.
The reduced regularity should allow me to contribute to the list, despite my plan to pull my metal listening habits back a fair amount.
Martire - "Demo 1" (1988)
I still quite like this early Australian extreme metal demo tape from a notorious Adelaide band that typifies the sound that my homeland has become known for over the years. The production job on this five-song effort is muffled & distant but the riffs still manage to cut through in hectic, rip-roaring fashion nonetheless which sees me able to overlook the primitive aesthetic. The black metal component of Martire's sound wasn't quite as developed as it would be on their 1991 self-titled E.P. although opener "Evilution" is certainly a devilish example of blackened death metal & is the clear highlight in my opinion. The rest of the cassette is a bit thrashier which sees this release sitting more comfortably under a death/thrash tag than a purely death metal one. I don't think many people would consider this to be an essential release (even for the early Australian scene) but it certainly offers something of interest if you're into stuff like Sextrash, early Sepultura or 1987-91 era Sadistik Exekution. It's worth noting that there's a track missing from the YouTube version though.
3.5/5
For the time being, I'm gonna propose the following:
1. I'll instigate collaborator privileges for Sonny on the playlists for The Horde & The North & for Andi on The Revolution & The Sphere so that they can update those lists without my involvement.
2. The clan members can decide between themselves on how regularly they'd like to update the playlists. I don't think there's any necessity for it to be the same for each clan but I'll leave it up to you guys.
3. I'll remove myself & Ben from the feature release nomination list.
4. Andi can manage the feature release nomination list on the FEATURE RELEASE thread moving forwards as he seems to be the most passionate about continuing with it.
5. Feature nominators can private message Ben with their releases of choice before the last day of the month but be aware that he won't chase you so if you don't get it on time then you'll lose your slot.
Well, Judas Priest's "Painkiller" is certainly the one that best represents it & immediately springs to mind but I'm also gonna add Bestial Warlust's "At the Graveyard of God" & Bathory's "Blood Fire Death".
As I said Andi, you need to get yourself a Spotify account because I'm not intending on continuing to manually upload your playlists for you.
Not much would need to change Andi. I'd simply remove myself & Ben from the feature release roster & each clan's nominating party would simply private message Ben with their feature releases prior to the last day of the month so that he has time to update the FEATURE RELEASE page. With playlists, other members would need to take over the programming of The Horde & The North lists & you'd need to get a Spotify account so that I can share the two lists with you as an additional collaborator. Everyone else currently updates their own lists as a collaborator so we could just keep that arrangement going.
I've really enjoyed the new Gigan album over the last few months & think it's probably their best work thus far. It's certainly a very solid example of avant-garde dissonant death metal but I wouldn't place it in the same class as the Ulcerate, Civerous or Carnophage records so it's not coming into consideration for this award. If you love shit like Artificial Brain, Pyrrhon & Mithras though, I'd definitely recommend that you check it out.
Dream Theater - "Parasomnia"
The progressive metal gods sixteenth full-length album is due for release on 7th Feburary & will no doubt dominate all proghead's thoughts & discussions for several months afterwards.
Impending Doom - "Towards the Light" E.P.
The latest release from one of my favourite deathcore bands. Even though I didn't like their debut E.P. "The Sin & Doom of Godless Men", I've enjoyed all of California's Impending Doom's first four albums (particularly 2012's incredible "Baptized in Filth" fourth full-length) so I might keep an eye on the reception of this one. If you dig artists like Whitechapel & Carnifex then you might wanna consider checking this E.P. out too.
Tokyo Blade - "Time is the Fire"
The twelfth full-length from this NWOBHM act. I'm well across their first two album but haven't heard anything they've released since 1981. I wasn't too fond of their 1980 self-titled debut but didn't mind the follow-up "Night of the Blade". All the Iron Maiden tragics out there might wanna investigate this one but I'm not sure it interests me enough to explore if I'm being honest.
Yeah, the first half of both of those songs main riffs is certainly identical. It's hard to say whether that's coincidence or not though as it's such a common technique for heavy guitarists.
I don't think I've heard anything worth listening to from Venom since 2000's "Resurrection" album so I don't think I'd be all that enthused about the prospect of seeing that lineup live. I'd be more inclined to check out Venom Inc. as their last full-length (i.e. 2022's "There's Only Black") was actually pretty decent.
🤘Thanks very much for all of these excellent recommendations!🤘
You're most welcome Mike. Feel free to post your own recommendations, ratings & reviews because we'd love to hear your thoughts.
Just updated my Top Ten Dissonant Death Metal Releases of All Time list after reviewing Ulcerate's "Cutting the Throat of God" album last week & found that it's still heavily weighted towards the two clear subgenre leaders:
01. Ulcerate - "Stare Into Death & Be Still" (2020)
02. Ulcerate - "Cutting the Throat of God" (2024)
03. Gorguts - "Colored Sands" (2013)
04. Ulcerate - "Everything Is Fire" (2009)
05. Ad Nauseam - "Imperative Imperceptible Impulse" (2021)
06. Gorguts - "From Wisdom to Hate" (2001)
07. Ulcerate - "The Destroyers of All" (2011)
08. Ulcerate - "Vermis" (2013)
09. Gorguts - "Obscura" (1998)
10. Ulcerate - "Shrines of Paralysis" (2016)
What?! No dinosaur-themed European power metal bands out there?? The shame!!! Manowar already had a head-start on the costumes with "Into Glory Ride" too.
Those perceptions haven't really changed in the underground metal scene to be honest. Cradle of Filth certainly had their moments during the mid-to-late 1990's but there was a good decade or so when they seemed terribly water-down & disposable, almost a parody of the image they'd worked so hard to create. Some of their recent releases have been surprisingly decent but one gets the feeling that the damage had already been done as far as the band's credibility & lasting legacy is concerned.
I checked out Knocked Loose's "You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To" this week & found it to be a damn fine metalcore record that will be hard to beat for our The Revolution award. I'd suggest that it's a step up from 2021's "A Tear in the Fabric of Life" which was my only other experience with the band.
Exodus have once again parted ways with front man Steve Souza & have once again replaced him with Rob Dukes with the recording of the new album imminent
Nice! I didn't mind Barshasketh's last couple of albums but haven't gotten around to listening to their new one yet. I'll place it on my to-do list.
I took a detailed look at the new Defeated Sanity record I've been enjoying over the last couple of months yesterday & it's yet another extraordinarily overthetop release from the very consistent German brutal/technical death metal band. I don't think I could say that it's a classic though so it won't compete for my The Horde award. It's definitely worth exploring if you can handle extraordinarily technical, ADD-fueled brutality though.
Do you also hear a bit of an industrial sound here too, Daniel, particularly in the machine-like dehumanisation of tracks like the title track and "Ikikäärme"?
I do but I wouldn't say that it's worthy of aq secondary tag as it's not all that prominent in the overall direction of the album. The psychedelic side of the Oranssi Pazuzu sound has certainly been pushed to the back this time though, hasn't it? I'm gonna put up a Hall of Judgement poll to have the album put into The North at some stage today so make sure that you vote in that mate.
I just finished reviewing the latest Paysage d'Hiver album & it's another classic in my opinion. It honestly had the potential to be one of the all-time great black metal records if not for one flaw which I go into detail about but, as it stands, I'm gonna place it in second place for my The North award, slightly behind Oranssi Pazuzu (if we end up counting it here of course).
Here's my review:
Melbourne progressive metal outfit Taramis hold somewhat of a prestigious position in the story of Australian metal. They were arguably the first metal act of any note to start messing with progressive influences which gave them a distinct point of difference while still maintaining enough of a traditional heavy metal component to ensure that they didn't lose any of the old-schoolers along the way. I didn't become aware of them until their 1991 sophomore album "Stretch of the Imagination" which I regard as being their finest work however my recent investigations into the early roots of the Aussie metal scene have seen me finally exploring their 1985 "Blood and Honour" demo tape & 1987 debut album "Queen of Thieves", neither of which are as thrashy as the band would eventually become. The Prowler demo was a decent enough heavy metal release although it was a lot less expansive & more conventional than the Taramis releases. It was clear that there was some talent there though so I was interested to see how that would develop on "Queen of Thieves". It certainly has too as this is a far more sophisticated release than the demo ever aspired to be.
The impact of Taramis' debut album is a little restricted due to an overly raw production job that was fairly typical of underground releases of the time. It was recorded at Saturn Studios in Melbourne with unknown producer George Simak who isn't exactly a household name in the local metal scene. The results are pretty much as you would expect too with the guitars sounding tinny & far too far back in the mix while the vocals of operatic front man Shane Southby boom out over the top with no restraint whatsoever. It's a fairly unforgiving position for the theatrical Southby whose soaring, air-raid siren style, high-pitched voice often struggles for control, even spilling over into the pitchy & cringe-worthy on tracks like "The Chosen" where he completely ruins what was otherwise a very solid progressive metal number from an instrumental point of view. He's a lot more successful on other tracks though & I've found myself enjoying a good three quarters of the tracklisting with heavy metal closer "My Life" being the only other failure. Taramis are at their best when they're at their most adventurous & prove themselves to be highly capable musicians along the way. Iron Maiden have clearly been a major inspiration for them & you can easily pick up the influence of their more progressive mid-to-late 80's records on "Queen of Thieves", particularly on the basslines of Danny Komorr who forms a formidable partnership with former Nothing Sacred drummer Dave Browne. The guitar solos of Craig Robertson aren't the most polished or theoretically correct you'll find but they are always interesting & fit the purpose quite well. It's kinda hard to pigeon-hole Taramis' sound at this point though as they tend to jump around a bit but I think a progressive power metal tag is probably the best fit, despite the consistent presence of traditional heavy metal. I think Southby's vocal style simply points me in the direction of power metal every time I question myself & there's a similar feel to Manilla Road in the atmospheres at times too.
The raw production job does limit how far Taramis can take you to an extent but I've found more than enough appeal in "Queen of Thieves" to keep me interested. It's probably just lacking those couple of classic tracks to draw your attention away from its flaws with only the excellent progressive metal anthem "Doesn't Seem" pushing up into second tier territory. The rest of the album largely sits back in the third tier for this type of music but it was an admirable first-up effort for Taramis nonetheless. History has shown that it did just enough to afford them a rare status amongst a local scene that was still quite immature in terms of the more progressive end of metal so it deserves its place in Australian metal folklore.
For fans of Adramelch, Iron Maiden & Manilla Road.
3.5/5
Hmmm... the age old question. I thought the general consensus was that vocals alone don't contribute to genre selection. If an album has black metal "music" with clean vocals, it's still black metal. If an album has pop "music" with black metal vocals, it's still just pop. To move away from this logic creates all sorts of bad genre choices, particularly as death and black metal vocals appear across all sorts of subgenres these days.
Yes, that's generally been my stance over the years but this record isn't as straight-forward as that. You see, if you examine it in detail, you'll find that the vocals are the main thing tying this record to metal. The instrumentation is quite diverse & spends a fair bit more time outside of the metal scope so I don't think you could say that this is a straight-up "avant-garde metal" release as such. In fact, if you were to base your genre-tag solely on the instrumentation then this release may not even qualify for the Academy. The vocals are about as black metal as they come though & I don't think you'd find another metal release that's not tagged with at least a "blackened" prefix if they offered something similar. Given that the black metal component is the primary link to metal & it's prominent enough in the sound of the album to command a metal tag, I feel that an avant-garde black metal tag is the best fit for it. Have a listen for yourself though as I'm certainly open to other ideas if they're a better fit.
Many of you might disagree but I think the wonderfully grim black metal vocals that appear across the majority of the latest Oranssi Pazuzu album are enough to drag it into avant-garde black metal territory, despite the music clearly having been divorced from black metal a long time ago now. That puts "Muuntautuja" in front in the race for my The North Release of the Year too.
I've just finished reviewing the Oranssi Pazuzu album & it's another genuine classic in my opinion. It's easily my front runner for The Infinite now.
Revenge - "Violation.Strife.Abominate"
The seventh full-length album from these Canadian war metallers is due for release on 31st January & I'll definitely be checking it out as I always enjoy Revenge records, despite never regarding any of them as being essential.
Pentagram - "Lightning in a Bottle"
The US doom metal legends' ninth full-length album is due for release on 31st January & I'm sure Sonny will be all over it. I have to admit that my experiences with Pentagram are limited to their first couple of records & the "First Daze" compilations so I'm a bit out of the loop but I still return to their self-titled debut album quite regularly. I think I'll wait to hear what people think of this one before committing.
Turbo - "Blizny"
The Polish heavy metallers long-awaiting thirteenth full-length will finally be seeing the light of day a full twelve years after 2013's "Piąty żywioł" record. I haven't heard anything Turbo have done since 1992's "One Way" eighth album but I enjoyed some of their releases back in my tape trading days, particularly 1987's thrashtastic "Ostatni wojownik" fourth full-length which I've returned to quite often over the years. I believe these guys have returned to their heavy metal roots these days though so I'm not sure I'll get to this one unless it's found to be a belter by other members.
There's a new Vader E.P. called "Humanihility" coming out shortly followed by the recording of a new album later in the year.
Destruction - "Birth of Malice" E.P.
I can't say that I'm overly enthused about this one as Destruction's last couple of releases have been fairly lacklustre in my opinion.
In other news, Exodus are hitting the studio to record their new album early this year.
I'm gonna throw a cat amongst the pigeons by suggesting that Chat Pile's "Cool World" should be considered for our The Gateway award as I'd suggest there's even more alternative metal than there is sludge metal across the duration of the album with influences like Helmet, Primus & Korn being easily detectable. I've raised a Hall of Judgement poll around this idea so please contribute if you're able to.
I've just reviewed the Chat Pile album. It's another really solid effort too & I tend to prefer it over 2022's "God's Country" debut which I also really enjoyed. I think the Thou record is the better of the two though when it comes to the more popular sludge metal releases though.
Great review Sonny & vey much in line with my own feelings. Tech thrash or not tech thrash?
Then we have Drudkh and Immortal too boot, again with tracks pulled from two great albums.
Yeah, those Drudkh & Immortal tracks are both very solid, aren't they? The whole "Autumn Aurora" album is too actually but I have to admit that I've never considered "Sons of Northern Darkness" to be anything more than decent. I think it's just a little more melodic & accessible than I'd like from Immortal to be honest. I certainly get some enjoyment out of it but I rarely feel like returning to it when I have their more aggressive material to turn to.
Could not get on with that Bathory track
I don't mind that track actually. In fact, I don't mind a good two-thirds of the songs on "Requiem" but the other third is bad enough to see me generally steering well clear.
The Slaughter Lord inclusion is probably my favourite song from them. Anyone that thinks that war metal came about through Blasphemy in 1989 should take a listen to that track & some of the early Sarcofago demo tapes in my opinion.
I was sceptical as to whether the Ulcerate album would appeal to me, but it is a genuine era-defining release and I too was blown away by it. It is also my AOTY and I could see it being the metal release of the decade, ultimately. Unfortunately I was unable to score a vinyl copy and the scalpers on Discogs are asking silly money, so I got my CD copy today instead.
It's actually cracked its way into my Top 100 Metal Releases of All Time list which is no small feat after nearly four decades of metal indulgence.
I've been a fan of Adorior since their first album back in the late 1990's Sonny. They're always very consistent, even if they're not particularly prolific. I've really enjoyed my couple of casual listens to the new record over the last few months too & it may even be their finest work to date. Hopefully I get the time to review it before the end of January but the list is pretty long at this point.
I just finished reviewing the new Ulcerate album & it's fair to say that I can't see it being beaten for my AOTY.
I've just finished reviewing the Blood Incantation record. It's certainly very solid but it won't be competing for my top spot with the likes of Civerous, Ulcerate & Carnophage. I slightly prefer their previous album "Hidden History of the Human Race” but there's very little between them.
Here's my review:
There are many theories about where metal music originated from in my home country of Australia & there are a generally a few different names that tend to pop up in such discussions, from Ash to Buffalo, to Taste & Bengal Tigers. But the truth is that none of those artists managed to produce a significant enough release that consistently tapped into the metal sounds we’d been hearing from other parts of the world in the first decade of the heavy metal genres existence. There were certainly of few genuine metal songs included here & there (Hell, Ash’s 1971 “Midnight Witch/Warrant” single was basically stoner metal) but there wasn’t a full album or E.P. full of music that I would class as being predominantly metal. That is, until a Melbourne four-piece by the name of Storm appeared on the scene in 1981 with their live shows doing enough to convince renowned Melbourne record store Central Station Records & Tapes to release a four-song E.P. on 7” vinyl. It would be here that we’d find the earliest of the true metal releases to come out of this country.
Storm would enter York Street Studios in Melbourne late in the summer of 1981 to record the self-produced E.P. with Central Station Records owner Jo Palumbo overseeing the project as executive producer. During the sessions, it would be discovered that there could potentially be legal implications in continuing on under the Storm moniker which had been copyrighted overseas so the band elected to change their name to Taipan, a highly venomous & distinctly Australian snake that seemed entirely suitable for the band’s incisive sound. There are conflicting reports about when the E.P. would eventually be released though, some claiming that it was later in 1981 & others suggesting that the band would have to wait more than a full year until June 1982 to see the fruit of their efforts hitting the shelves. I tend to believe it was the latter but it’s of little consequence in the grand scheme of Australian metal folklore as that still gave Taipan at least a year’s head-start on their competition.
The self-titled Taipan E.P. (or “Breakout” as it would be retitled for the 1984 Bullet Records 12” vinyl reissue) certainly sounds pretty rough & ready by modern standards, instead tapping into the DIY aesthetic that most of the British NWOBHM scene was built on. It’s quite noisy & unceremoniously announces itself as a raucous racket that’s chock full of live rock ‘n’ roll electricity & the energy of youth. All of the instruments can comfortably be made out though & you can easily picture the various band members rocking out on the sweat-soaked stage of a small, smoky suburban pub while listening to it. Like the majority of the NWOBHM that the band were no doubt indulging themselves in at the time, there’s a clear hard rock influence to Taipan’s sound although the regular use of chuggy, palm-muted bottom-string pedal notes & upbeat tempos should leave you with no doubt as to Taipan’s metal credentials. The influence of the first Iron Maiden album is undeniable, particularly the impact of it’s opening song “Prowler” which I’d be very surprised if Taipan didn’t cover prior to this release given the similarities to many of their riff structures. Guitarist Dave Zerafa’s vocals present themselves with a similar punky vibe to Maiden front man Paul Dianno, perhaps with more of the naïve, snot-nosed arrogance of Tygers of Pan Tang’s Jess Cox or Holocaust’s Gary Lettice. Zerafa & Chuck Vandenbelt’s guitar solos come more from the bluesy Motorhead camp though & are really effective, proving both exponents to possess a clear understanding of what made 70’s hard rock so exciting even if neither are as accomplished as many of their overseas peers.
The tracklisting is very consistent, particularly for a debut release, with all four songs awarding the listener with the sort of energy hit that might see a younger audience using it as a backdrop for all sorts of ungodly mischief. The driving basslines & rhythms play a strong role in that effect as they command a physical response. I can’t say that Taipan’s sound is particularly my thing given that my roots lie in the latter part of the decade when metal had already dropped all of its bluesy hard rock influence but it’s pretty much impossible not to identify the appeal in this material nonetheless. In saying that, I’m not sure that I can say that my life would have been any worse off for not ever having experienced Taipan which is perhaps the main reason why I couldn’t muster a higher score than the 3.5 stars I’ve dished out here. Of the four songs included, I’d suggest that the first songs from each side (i.e. “Breakout” & “Tired of You”) are probably the strongest but there’s not much between all of them to be honest. Closer “The Cellar” feels a little different to the other three tracks, partially because bassist Emilio Sarpa handles the vocals on that one but possibly more because it’s comfortably the most metal track of the four, dropping the bluesy hard rock influence & focusing purely on chunky down-picked metal riffs. You know what? It also sounds very similar to Metallica’s “Seek & Destroy” which I always felt had been written as a variation on some of the ideas presented in Judas Priest’s “Victim of Changes” & Diamond Head’s “Dead Reckoning” but are now wondering whether Dave, Lars & James might also have heard Taipan’s debut at some stage too. Admittedly “The Cellar” sounds very much like Diamond Head too though & I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an influence there.
Look, I’m not sure too many of you will find the “Taipan” E.P. to offer terribly much that you haven’t already heard but it’s certainly a fun listen that provides a rewarding look into the roots of the Aussie metal scene. It’s a shame that Taipan didn’t go on with things after it’s release given that their next release (1985’s “1770” E.P.) didn’t arrive until several years afterwards & strangely showed Taipan to have dropped their metal sound altogether in favour of a more sophisticated progressive rock one. They would, however, reform in 2007 when they’d return to their heavy metal roots & I believe are still applying their craft today. I’d encourage all of our The Guardians members to check the band’s debut effort out though, if only to enjoy fifteen minutes of the sort of beer-fuelled, hard rock-infused heavy metal shenanigans that would no doubt have Lemmy smiling over his whiskey glass.
For fans of Black Jack, Trilogy & early Iron Maiden.
3.5/5
Here's my updated Top Ten Brutal Death Metal Releases of All Time list after absolutely loving this month's The Horde feature release from Turkey's Carnophage:
01. Suffocation – “Pierced From Within” (1995)
02. Suffocation – “Despise The Sun” E.P. (1998)
03. Suffocation – “Effigy Of The Forgotten” (1991)
04. Suffocation – “Human Waste” E.P. (1991)
05. Hour Of Penance – “The Vile Conception” (2008)
06. Hour Of Penance – “Paradogma” (2010)
07. Carnophage - "Matter of a Darker Nature" (2024)
08. Suffocation – “Pinnacle Of Bedlam” (2013)
09. Suffocation – “Suffocation” (2006)
10. Deadly Remains – “Severing Humanity” (2012)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/144