Daniel's Forum Replies

Chat Pile - "God's Country" (2022)

Last year's debut album from this Oklahoma four-piece seems to be getting major attention recently so I thought I'd see what all the fuss is about. "God's Country" is being tagged as a noise rock & sludge metal hybrid but there's a lot more going on here than that. There's certainly a strong Sonic Youth noise rock influence present but I don't think this a rock release so I find the use of a rock subgenre as a primary tag to be a little deceptive. This is more of a metal meets hardcore thing in my opinion with the vocals being firmly planted in psychotic hardcore realms & the instrumentation being predominantly metal with post-hardcore & noise rock leanings. The thing that most listeners seem to be missing though is that the biggest influence being championed on "God's Country" would seem to be Godflesh &, as a result, I'd suggest that this is actually just as much of an industrial metal record as it is a sludge metal one, perhaps even more so. There's even a noticeable Korn influence in some of the rhythmic riffage which is done very tastefully. All that aside, "God's Country" is also a high quality release that's worthy of a lot of the attention it's receiving. The vocals are emotion-charged & meaningful while the riffs are heavy & intense. The field recording/acappella piece "I Don't Care If I Burn" is a bit of a waste of space but the rest of the tracklisting is very consistent without ever really hinting at any genuine highlights. Fans of Godflesh & Fange should definitely check it out.

4/5

Swans - "White Light From the Mouth of Infinity" (1991)

A spectacular example of the gothic rock sound. Right up there with my favourite releases from the genre in fact. Perhaps not the best record to play games with my kids or do the supermarket shopping to though as it's a seriously dark album but then again... I've never been one to give much of a fuck as great music can move me no matter where I am or what I'm doing.

It was a reasonably solid group of feature releases for me this month with just the one album that I struggled with in the European power metal of Fellowship. The Knut album was by far the biggest discovery for me as it blew my away & has subsequently gained entry into my Hall of Metal Glory. Both of Ben's Monstrosity & Leviathan submissions were previously known to me but I'd never gotten around to giving them the focused attention required to award them a Metal Academy rating. It was great to see them both delivering on my expectations. The Neptunian Maximalism, Communic, Author & Punisher & Moon Tooth submissions were new to me & were all very well received. I quite liked the Autonoesis album but can't say that it hit me as hard as it seems to have done to other members. Here are my scores in order of preference:

THE REVOLUTION: Knut - "Challenger" (2002)  4.5/5

THE HORDE: Monstrosity - "In Dark Purity" (1999)  4/5

THE FALLEN: Neptunian Maximalism - "Set Chaos To The Heart Of The Moon" (2022)  4/5

THE INFINITE: Communic - "Waves of Visual Decay" (2006)  4/5

THE SPHERE: Author & Punisher - "Krüller" (2022)  4/5

THE NORTH: Leviathan - "Scar Sighted" (2015)  4/5

THE GATEWAY: Moon Tooth - "Phototroph" (2022)  4/5

THE PIT: Autonoesis - "Moon of Foul Magics" (2022)  3.5/5

THE GUARDIANS: Fellowship - "The Saberlight Chronicles" (2022)  2.5/5

Well done to Andi for snatching up my bikkies in emphatic fashion this month.

A wonderful progressive metal outing with stunning vocal hooks & sophisticated riffage.

I really enjoyed this one Saxy. It was a pleasant surprise as I wasn't across Moon Tooth previously & there's no doubt that they're a capable & classy metal outfit. I'd suggest that they're probably more of a progressive metal band than an alternative metal one & "Phototroph" might have been a slightly better fit for The Infinite but there can be no denying Moon Tooth's alternative edge, particularly in the vocals of John Carbone who sounds very much like Sevendust front man Lajon Witherspoon to me. There's a strong Mastodon influence here with many of the riff structures being quite complex but there are also some tracks that take a more accessible alternative route. I particularly enjoy the lead guitar work of Riot V axe man Nick Lee who showcases a clear Eric Johnson influence in his fluent & speedy runs. The only track I didn't enjoy was the lightweight "Carry Me Home" but this was easily compensated for by the stunning progressive metal highlight track "O My Isle" which is a couple of steps up from the rest of the material (& is apparently the least popular track on the album according to RYM). Another nice feature release selection here gents.

4/5

Unfortunately for Monstrosity, they've kinda gone on to become known as somewhat of a breeding ground for more well-known bands to cherry-pick new members from over the years Sonny. It's not just George Fischer that originated in Monstrosity. They've also shared members with Malevolent Creation, Terrorizer, Cynic, Solstice, Death, etc. but have never quite managed to make the leap out from the underground. I've been following them since their 1992 debut album "Imperial Doom" & they rarely disappoint. This one is very much as I remember it i.e. a high quality meat-&-potatoes death metal record with some techy tendencies. Jason Avery sounds like he's trying very hard to sound like Fischer & to his credit makes a very good fist of it. The musicianship is outstanding throughout & I really appreciate the attention to detail in the riff structures & arrangements. There's not a bad track included although there's probably not enough genuine highlight tracks to command my higher scores. The best moments generally come when the band go for a more sophisticated sound like they do on "Perpetual War" (my personal favourite), "Hymns of Tragedy" or the searing "Dust To Dust". I absolutely love the "Angel of Death" cover too as, despite being very faithful to the original, it manages to harness the unequalled electricity of mid-80's Slayer in a way that doesn't sound out of place amongst the rest of the tracklisting. It essentially still sounds like the greatest metal song ever written which is a feather in anyone's cap. If you love the classic death metal sound of bands like Cannibal Corpse, Malevolent Creation or Sinister then "In Dark Purity" will certainly hit your spot, even if it doesn't push too many boundaries.

4/5

G.I.S.M. - "Detestation" (1984)

This debut album from rough 'n' ready Japanese hardcore outfit G.I.S.M. represents a very early example of the Crust Punk sound with the band incorporating heavy metal & speed metal elements into their filthy hardcore arsenal in a similar way to Amebix's "Arise!" album. The production & musicianship is extremely primitive & the vocals are kinda silly so I struggled with this record although it's very easy to see the influence it may have had on the early exponents of Norwegian Black Metal (Mayhem, Darkthrone, etc.). I can see why some people might want to lump "Detestation" in with the metal crowd but this material is far too obviously weighted towards the hardcore side of the equation in my opinion so I don't buy it personally. This album might appeal to diehard punk fans or metalheads with a strong penchant for punkier metal acts like Plasmatics or Sacrilege but it unfortunately wasn't for me.

3/5

Absolutely agree & you've beaten me to it.

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

He's kinda "falling" into it, isn't he?

*drum roll & cymbal crash*

"I'm here all week."

I'm clearly in the minority when it comes to "Dance of December Souls" but I have to admit that I still sit in the space you previously resided in with this record Vinny. These were my thoughts when I last revisited it in November 2021:

To be honest, I've never understood the unanimous praise that Katatonia's debut full-length seems to inevitably draw. Sure, it's got some lovely melodies & creates a uniquely sombre atmosphere at times but is it really a genuine classic? I don't think so. The musicianship is pretty amateurish, the vocals are lacking in power & control, the arrangements are pretty loose, it's lacking in heaviness for a doom release & Dan Swano's keyboards are cheesy as hell for the most part. Somehow though, the overall package seems to draw me in just enough to qualify for a pass mark. I think the first couple of proper songs taint my impression a bit as they both sound pretty lethargic & this is exacerbated by the fact that the closer is absolutely awful but there's a lengthy four track run in between that I really enjoy & it just does enough to overcome my concerns. In fact, you can pretty easily see where a classic like "Brave Murder Day" came from during that stronger period & perhaps that fact alone is enough to command a 3.5/5 rating from me. I have to say that I've never understood the links to melodic black metal though. There's approximately one minute of black metal here if you look closely. There's a lot more of the gothic component which would stay with Katatonia for most of their career. Overall, I'd suggest that "Dance of December Souls" is a mildly enjoyable if inessential & overrated release that kicked off a consistently high quality discography.

3.5/5

Quiet Riot - "Mental Health" (1983)

I fucking hated the first two albums from Los Angeles glam metal outfit Quiet Riot. I investigated them primarily due to the presence of legendary Ozzy Osbourne guitar virtuoso Randy Rhoads many years ago but found them to be horribly cheesy & poorly executed with Randy not really standing out as anything terribly special two or three years before his association with Ozzy. Fast forward to five years later though & this third album took the band from bedroom bangers to household names overnight, mainly off the back of their hugely popular cover version of Slade's "Cum On Feel The Noize" which was a global mega-hit for them, taking them to the top of the Billboard charts which was a first for a heavy rock band in the USA. I listened to that song a zillion times as a seven or eight year-old as my mum had a compilation record that included it & it's obviously the clear album highlight here too.

"Mental Health" is admittedly a much better record than Quiet Riot's first two efforts but I still can't count myself as a fan. The cheesy glam metal sound that most of this record is pushing is simply far too bubblegum for my taste. There are a couple of genuine heavy metal tracks here in "Breathless" & "Run For Cover" but these are easily squashed by two awfully commercialized AOR/soft rock numbers. There's even a blatant attempt at emulating Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" which just comes across as a waste of space given the comparitively immature skills of guitarist Carlos Cavazo & his focus on simply copying his idol. The rhythm section of future Blue Oyster Cult, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Dio & Whitesnake bassist Rudy Sarzo & future WASP drummer Frankie Banali do a pretty good job here. As does front man Kevin DuBrow who has a great voice for glam metal but unfortunately the weak moments are far too catastrophic to allow the stronger tracks like "Cum On Feel The Noize", the title track & "Breathless" to carry the album. I'm afraid I don't ever think Quiet Riot will be for me but you may have better luck if you're a big fan of bands like Twisted Sister, WASP & Motley Crue.

3/5

Yeah, this was certainly a very solid & enjoyable record for me. I can't say that I connect with it on the same level as some of you do but I appreciate it as a piece of art. The heart & soul that's been put into it is certainly impressive. What it lacks is the melodic hooks to take it to the elite level though in my opinion. For all his passion, I don't think that Tristan has a good enough voice to make any of these tracks genuine classics. Instead, I just find them to be densely orchestrated, well executed & quite ambitious works that hit the spot without ever ascending into the stratosphere. The Portishead cover was an interesting choice & I initially struggled with it a bit as the original is the best song from one of the greatest albums in my lifetime. This reworking took quite a few listens to draw me in but never to the extent of the original. The first half of the album is very strong & consistent. Unfortunately I think the tracklisting fades over the last couple of tracks, particularly the closing title track which sounds a bit sickly to me (particularly the chorus which I can't stand) & is the only song that I don't have time for. Besides that blemish though, I don't have too many qualms with this high quality industrial metal record.

4/5

P.S. If someone can point me in the direction of the drone metal on this release it'd be much appreciated. I can't identify any but suspect that it's being drawn from the power electronics influence & it's deep, farty electronic noises. There's certainly a strong gothic/doom metal component as well as electro-industrial. In fact, much of this material sounds like Type O Negative songs being covered by a power electronics artist to me.

Thanks Andi. I've just voted YES on that one.

This month's feature release has seen me having to alter my Top Ten Mathcore Releases of All Time with The Dillinger Escape Plan & Mike Patton's "Irony Is A Dead Scene" E.P. having to make way for Knut's "Challenger".

01. Botch – “We Are The Romans” (1999)

02. Gaza – “No Absolutes In Human Suffering” (2012)

03. Inside The Beehive – “Drink Bleach; Live Forever” E.P. (2011)

04. Gaza – “I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die” (2006)

05. Knut - "Challenger" (2002)

06. War From A Harlots Mouth – “MMX” (2010)

07. Botch – “An Anthology Of Dead Ends” E.P. (2002)

08. The Dillinger Escape Plan – “One Of Us Is The Killer” (2013)

09. Converge – “You Fail Me” (2004)

10. Serpent Column – “Endless Detainment” E.P. (2020)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/180

Yeah, this one's a ripper of a feature release Andi. I absolutely loved it! The raw hardcore aggression, the brilliantly executed mathcore technicality, the crushingly heavy sludge metal crunch... it's all sensationally executed with vocalist Didier Séverin totally slaying with his violent screams of pure hatred over the top. The musicianship is outstanding & the production is excellent. It's interesting that this release only has the mathcore tag at present because a good half of the album is sludge metal in one form or another. The first four tracks are very mathcore heavy but from there on it becomes a total sludge-fest (think Old Man Gloom or early Isis) with my favourite track on the album (i.e. "H/armless") being an industrial sludge monster & a couple of tracks even hinting at the post-sludge of Neurosis. I think I'll be posting a Hall of Judgement entry for this one. This is music to truly fuck shit up to & I regard it as a top five mathcore release for me overall. Outstanding stuff!

4.5/5

A catchy little heavy rocker from this Irish NWOBHM power trio.

Mama's Boys - "Plug It In" (1982)

A very well produced & executed debut album from this very underground Irish NWOBHM outfit who played a crunchy brand of hard rock similar to AC/DC, Thin Lizzy & "Wheels Of Steel"-era Saxon. The musicianship is excellent but I think Mama's Boys probably just lacked a bit of x-factor in both the song-writing & the vocal delivery as the album lacks any real highlights & includes 3 or 4 pretty flat tunes, particularly when the band branch out into lighter & more accessible creative spaces. The album isn't currently listed on the Academy database & I'd be happy to keep it that way as there's really very little actual metal included here.

3/5

Siouxsie & The Banshees - "Juju" (1981)

The soundtrack to playing Barbies with my four-year old daughter & swimming in our pool with my six year-old daughter on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

I don't mean to ruin the fantasies of any of you kvlt/elitist types out there but Autonoesis is apparently this guy:

Well, you aren't wrong with your assessment of this one Xephyr & I'm not going to be offering any surprises with my own feelings as a result. The whole album feels like it's got a thick layer of Vaseline over the top of it with the band taking an unapologetically bubblegum approach to their power metal & hinting at Christmas carol cheese with great regularity. The soft production job & super-precise performances have had any hint of an edge sanded off with everything sounding so perfect that it's hard to find anything that resembles aggression outside of the driving double-kick work. The symphonics are ultra-smooth & sit quite high in the mix to ensure that the rhythm guitars don't try anything funny by heading into heavier territories while the neoclassical guitar solos sound like every other Yngwie Malmsteen wannabe you've ever heard & leave me feeling pretty bored despite the obvious technical talents on display. Vocalist Matthew Corry possesses the sort of pipes where you can easily imagine his throat to be positively oozing with honey but he stays well within himself at all times & never makes any attempt to belt out the higher registers which again makes "The Saberlight Chronicles" a very easy-listening metal release indeed. But it's also a very generic one in my opinion. Any fan of European power metal will have heard this super-melodic symphonically-driven stuff a thousand times before from bands like Rhapsody & Dragonforce while Fellowship's hints at a more progressive & sophisticated Kamelot style approach never really get going for long enough to make an impression. Look... there was never any question of this album being something I'd enjoy & I really struggle to differentiate between the good & the bad in this subgenre given that both generally leave me feeling alienated. I did enjoy "The Hours of Wintertime" though which is an example of European power metal done well.

2.5/5

Nice choice Ben. I really enjoyed this one. It was a huge undertaking for a multi-instrumentalist solo artist to attempt given the broad scope of sounds & techniques on show. I'd probably use the traditional black metal tag to draw together all of the different elements that are at play here but you'll also find examples of depressive black metal, atmospheric black metal, avant-garde metal, dissonant death metal, funeral doom metal & dark ambient scattered across the tracklisting. For all of the creativity on display, Wrest also manages to present his work in a twisted, tortured fashion that borders on the sickly at times. His barks & screams only add to the feeling that you're listening to the work of a deranged mind. It sounds like he's down-tuned his guitars a bit here too which gives his bottom-string tremolo-picked riffs a darker, more deathly feel than most black metal while his bass work is interesting & adventurous. If there's one weakness in Leviathan's sound then it's in the drumming which is serviceable enough without ever feeling authoritative. I guess this shouldn't be surprising for a one-man band but he makes up for it with some really inventive song structures which make for a dense & ambitious release that successfully covers a lot of artistic ground while drawing the listener into a thick & deeply blackened atmosphere.

4/5

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - "Let Love In" (1994)

Drinking a glass of cheap Sauvignon Blanc & watching the Sydney Sixers play the Melbourne Stars on TV with the sound down & this album playing over the top.

Cocteau Twins - "Treasure" (1984)

The dreamy & ethereal soundtrack to a couple of hours spent swimming in our pool with the kids on a beautiful sunny Friday afternoon on the Gold Coast.

The Cure - "Pornography" (1982)

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I'd be fine with you omitting the atmospheric sludge metal releases mate as I think that's the general consensus of our regulars at this point & I'm not likely to get through a proper deep dive for a while yet as there's at least one other one that I need to get through first.

You haven't fucked anything up mate. Your post is fine. I just wanted to make sure that people don't think that there's a consistent cut-off point across the clans because there aren't enough ratings in some clans to have the same cut-off as others.

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

Really digging this catchy heavy metal/hard rock power ballad from third tier NWOBHM band Fist this morning.

Fist - "Back With A Vengeance" (1982)

I wasn't a fan of Newcastle-based NWOBHM act Fist's 1980 debut album "Turn The Hell On" when I investigated it during my Metal Academy podcast research many years ago now so I suppose I should have known better than to try it on with their sophomore record from a couple of years later. The band line-up is very different from that of "Turn The Hell On" though with two of their four members having been replaced with three new faces, the most notable of which is new front man Glen Coates whose talented hard rock voice is a welcome addition. Unfortunately the song-writing is just as inconsistent as it was on the debut which leaves the record falling a bit flat despite a very decent production job & some excellent musicianship. Unlike the debut which was very much a heavy metal/hard rock hybrid, I'd suggest that "Back With A Vengeance" is positioned much further over towards the hard rock side of the equation with the Van Halen & AC/DC references being more common than the "Sad Wings of Destiny"-era Judas Priest & Motorhead (particularly in the use of double-kick)  ones. This leaves Fist's second full-length sitting in the same sort of space as Tygers of Pan Tang's post-"Spellbound" NWOBHM records or Vardis' "100 M.P.H." live album in my opinion & I'll be posting a Hall of Judgement entry to have it removed from The Guardians as a result.

3/5

So you think it's closer to a thrash release than a black metal one Saxy? I was on the fence a little bit at first but ended up thinking of it a more of a melodic black metal release than a thrash one. A couple of the early tracks kinda point people in the thrash direction (i.e. the Vektor-isms of the title track & the blackened death/thrash of "Raise The Dead", particularly their Slayer-worshipping bridge sections in both) but I don't really think I'd label any of the subsequent tracks as genuine thrash metal to be honest. The melodic black metal subgenre has always had a thrashy component to it so I felt that it kinda covered it. The progressive material is a little too sporadic to go with a primary tag too in my opinion so the meloblack thing is close enough for me (although admittedly not with a lot of confidence).

To clarify, three ratings isn't necessarily the requisite number of ratings for eligibility for each clan's awards. It was simply the logical cut-off point for The Horde when I posted my thread last night. We'll make a call on what the cut-off will be for each clan at the end of the month once we see where things fall. If there were only two releases with five or more ratings & six with four ratings then it would probably make sense to make the cut-off four for example.

So we should consider Atmospheric Sludge Metal releases for The Fallen award Sonny? I was under the impression that you weren't too keen on that idea. I'm intending on doing a deep dive into the Atmospheric Sludge Metal subgenre some time in the near future in order to categorically make a decision on whether to omit it from The Fallen or not but until that time I'm fairly open to what we do with it. Thoughts?

I'd suggest that Neptunian Maximalism's "Set Chaos To The Heart Of The Moon" should be considered for this award & it should have enough ratings to see it brought into play due to me nominating it as our January feature release.

Wow! Just fucking wow! This artist would have to be the most exciting thing to happen to music in a long, long time & they're simply made for live performance. I knew they would be. It was obvious from the first listen to "Éons" a couple of years ago now & this live album (recorded at the Roadburn Festival no less) has drawn 50% of its tracklisting from that wonderful debut triple album so it could hardly fail now, could it? Neptunian Maximalism are everything creative all at once. They're avant-garde, spiritual, transcendental, psychedelic, hypnotic & cerebral all at the same time! This performance isn't without fault mind you as the eight minute opening avant-garde experimental piece "Sustain" is somewhat of a self-indulgent failure in my opinion but once the band kick into gear it's a procession of wins at various different levels from there on. I particularly love the shorter, deeper & more stripped back material like "The Rising", "Neptune's Rising" & closer "Neptunian's Raga Marwa" as these works take me to the most cerebral places which has always been an obsession of mine. I'm so glad that I chose this record as a feature this month as I might never have gotten to it otherwise. "Set Chaos To The Heart Of The Moon" represents a unique indulgence for all open-minded fans of music & art in general.

4/5

Here's my review:

With the New Year now upon us, I’ve notice that last year’s “Moon of Foul Magics” sophomore album from mysterious Toronto extreme metal outfit Autonoesis seems to be hitting a lot of people’s end of year lists so I thought I’d better see what all the fuss is about given that their 2020 self-titled debut managed to slip past me too. The second Autonoesis record is being touted by fans as being a total riff-fest, somewhat of a tribute to the greatness of metal. Well, let’s see if all of the praise is warranted, shall we?

“Moon of Foul Magics” can be a confusing & overwhelming experience upon first listen. There’s a lot of flip-flopping between different influences & subgenres going on which makes it hard to know what to make of it until you’ve given it a couple more airings. Black metal, thrash metal, progressive metal & even a bit of death metal & Viking metal (see the Bathory inspired “Valhöll) are all represented here but if you examine the tracklisting in detail you’ll find that the record is really built on a melodic black metal platform, similar to Dissection, Sacramentum & “At The Heart Of Winter”-era Immortal (particularly in “Nihility, Endless Winter”). The thrash component is very obvious in the classic half-time Slayer/Dave Lombardo breakdowns & more technically complex Coroner/Vektor riffs but I think it’s a touch ambitious to suggest that a release like this one should sit in The Pit alongside the Metallicas, Panteras & Exciters. It would appear to me to be a much more comfortable fit for The North. The progressive component is more sporadically used & is most apparent in the Opeth style clean sections which are beautifully executed just quietly.

The guitar work is very skilfully performed with a high degree of musicality & melody being employed at all times. I can’t say that I enjoy the neoclassical slant on the solos though as I’ve always struggled a bit with that particular technique when it comes to extreme metal, particularly when there’s lots of wanky sweep picking being used like there is here. The black metal screams are fairly generic & uneventful & I can take or leave them but the real weakness in the Autonoesis sound is in the drumming which lacks ambition & sophistication, particularly when you consider how much creative license has been taken with the rest of the instrumentation. This left me wondering whether Autonoesis are really a one-man band & the more I think about it the more I feel that I might be onto something there.

I have to say that I’m a little surprised at the overwhelming acclaim that “Moon of Foul Magics” is receiving online. Perhaps it just comes down to personal taste as the more melodic side of extreme metal has never been my strong suit but I don’t find anything particularly classic here to tell you the truth. It’s certainly an enjoyable metal record with a lot to say but I tend to find it to be a little unfocused & light-weight, not to mention a bit lengthy. It’s like Autonoesis have used the album as a place to showcase how broad their taste in metal is with many songs starting in one place & ending in a drastically different one. I have time for most of the nine individual tracks (with “Crypt of Thought” being the exception) but none of them manage to quite hit my musical sweet spot. I guess I’m just not the target audience for a record like “Moon of Foul Magics”.

3.5/5

Trance Metal has now been completely removed from the database with each release now sitting under the most significant alternative primary/secondary genre/subgenre.

I've added this release to The Horde under Brutal Death Metal as it already qualifies.

I found "Waves of Visual Decay" to be an excellent feature release nomination Saxy. I really enjoyed it's well produced & executed brand of mildly techy progressive metal which is built on a wealth of tight & chunky US power metal style riffage. The performances are all very precise, particularly the rhythm section who are as solid as you'll find. The epic vocals are very similar to former Nevermore/Sanctuary front man Warrell Dane (R.I.P.) with his higher register delivery aping Judas Priest's Rob Halford in a very similar way too. The consistent use of layered vocal harmonies does give a lot of the material a pretty samey feel though. The more stripped back tracks (see "Watching It All Disappear" & the title track) are definitely a step down from the heavier material but there are no weak tracks included as Communic are a highly professional metal act. The guitar solos represent somewhat of a missed opportunity though as they're only used sporadically & are fairly uneventful when compared to the prog elite. Does Communic sound exactly like Nevermore? Shit yeah they do but I really like Nevermore so it's not such an issue, especially given that "Waves of Visual Decay" hits very much the same spot as that much missed band & isn't far behind records like "This Godless Endeavour" & "Dead Heart In A Dead World" in terms of quality in all honesty.

4/5

Exodus - "1982 Demo" demo (1982)

I originally picked this crude demo tape up through the tape trading scene back in the day. I'd consciously sought it out (along with the band's other demos) as I'd fallen hopelessly in love with the first few Exodus records, particularly "Bonded By Blood" & "Fabulous Disaster". Sadly, I recall being disappointed with this particular release & didn't return to it until now when I've completely forgotten why I disliked it in the first place. It pretty soon became apparent as to why a young thrasher like myself would have found little appeal in it though as this is far from the early thrash/speed metal release it's often made out to be.

What we get here are three traditional heavy metal tunes that are much more in line with Iron Maiden & Motorhead than they are with Metallica. That's not an issue as such as I don't mind me some classic metal but the muted, distant & unproduced sound quality is also very poor & doesn't do the pretty decent song-writing any justice. The musicianship is very good throughout & it's clear that Exodus were always capable in that department, particularly guitarists Gary Holt & future Metallica axeman Kirk Hammett who absolutely shred & give Dave Mustaine's early works a serious run for their money. In fact, it's very clear why James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich cherry-picked Kirk as Mustaine's replacement because you can easily identify his trademark chops here & the wonderful dualing guitar solos are the clear highlight of the release. This demo also features bassist Jeff Andrews who would be replaced by Rob McKillop prior to "Bonded By Blood" & would go on to play in an early version of Possessed in 1983. Legendary front man & general nut case Paul Baloff's vocals are much more traditional than you might expect here. They're nowhere near as out of control as you'll find on the debut album which proves that much of his divisive delivery was intentional. He's serviceable enough without ever really competing with his guitarists for the limelight which might be why he opted to go for a more psychotic approach in the future.

Ultimately, "1982 Demo" is nothing more than an historical showcase of the early workings of a band that would go on to bigger & brighter things. There were loads of much more substantial heavy metal releases floating around at the time & if it weren't for the Exodus name then I doubt anyone would even have heard of this little cassette. The band must have transitioned to their faster & more intense thrash metal sound very quickly afterwards given how important they're regarded as having been in the early Bay Area scene, especially since Metallica's "No Life 'til Leather" tape would be released in July of 1982. I'm afraid this is another one for the completists only.

2.5/5

Satan - "Into The Fire" demo (1982)

"Into The Fire" was the second demo tape from these Newcastle heavy metallers who would go on to become huge players in the NWOBHM movement shortly afterwards through their 1983 debut album "Court In The Act". I first dug into Satan during my research for the Metal Academy podcast many years ago now. I really couldn't get into their 1982 "Kiss of Death / Heads Will Roll" single as it was simply too primitive but I did quite like "Court In The Act" although it never really threatened to have me gushing over it like most NWOBHM fans seem to. This demo came between those two releases & unsurprisingly sits right in the middle from a quality & development perspective. Six of the seven tracks would end up on the album in a more polished & developed form but this is still a very well produced & executed demo for the time. There are truckloads of effective Iron Maiden inspired guitar harmonies going on although the guitar solos are noticeably weaker than those we'd receive on "Court In The Act" the following year. Blitzkrieg front man Brian Ross was still yet to join the band & I'm not the biggest fan of his performance on the album so I was kinda hoping that previous singer Ian Swift might be more to my taste but unfortunately it seems that he has a lot less talent than Ross. In fact, he really struggles to stay in key throughout the whole tracklisting so it's lucky that the instrumentation & song-writing offer enough to keep people interested. Overall, I'd suggest that this is an inessential piece of work that doesn't offer a lot of replay value given that nearly all of the material was re-recorded in a superior format so I'd only recommend "Into The Fire" for the Satan tragics & NWOBHM completists out there. Think Angel Witch & Blitzkrieg meets Paul Dianno-era Iron Maiden & you won't be too far off the mark.

3/5

The release already qualifies for inclusion under the mathcore subgenre so I've added it to The Revolution Andi.

I've really enjoyed what I've heard of "Challenger" through the monthly playlists so I'm looking forward to checking it out Andi.

Yeah, nice choice Ben. I've been meaning to giving this one a deeper investigation for some time now.

Hahahaha.... awesome question Vinny.

Nice choice too Ben as you know I love me some Monstrosity & I haven't rated this record as yet either. It's probably been a decade or more since I've heard it & I recall really digging it so I'm excited to see if my feelings have been maintained.

This one sounds really interesting Saxy. I've not heard Moon Tooth as yet as far as I'm aware so I'm looking forward to seeing what this record has to offer.

Fellowship aren't going to be for everyone since they are relentlessly upbeat and happy

Hhhmmmm..... sounds pretty scary but I'll give it a fair crack nonetheless.

Sorted.

With a vote tally of YES 8 NO 3, Ben's request to have Fleshgod Apocalypse's "Agony" album removed from The Guardians while remaining in The Horde has been upheld & the required changes have been made to the database.

This old favourite has finally gotten too tatty for my wife to accept as suitable gentlemanly attire so I've reluctantly been forced to send it into retirement.

Also on this topic, I've noticed that I now have the option to "Invite collaborators" on each Spotify playlist. Ben & I just trialed this functionality & it enabled him to update The North playlist without my involvement which reduced my workload & empowered him to take full control of that playlist moving forwards. It's my preference that each playlist owner becomes a collaborator so that you can do the same. I'm not sure how it will work if you don't have a paid Spotify account but let's test it out & see what happens. I'll communicate with each of you over the next day or so to see if we can give you the required privileges.

Deafheaven - "Roads To Judah" (2011)

San Francisco blackgaze outfit Deafheaven certainly got a few people’s attention with their 2010 demo & I had a bit of time for it myself but it was their debut full-length “Roads To Judah” that really grabbed my attention, pissing off many a kvlt elitist in the process too. You see, despite their undeniable black metal aesthetics, Deafheaven somehow manage to beautifully incorporate the dreamy melodic ideas of the shoegaze genre into their riffs which on paper would seem to be a very poor fit for black metal but in practice sounds like a bit of a masterstroke. The contrast the relentless blast-beats & tortured screams offer to the shoegaze chord changes is certainly different yet I find it to be strangely soothing & somehow both uplifting & melancholic at the same time. Deafheaven went on to master that sound with their classic 2013 sophomore album “Sunbather” but their debut should not be overlooked as it’s a very solid piece of work in its own right.

“Roads To Judah” is a relatively short album by modern standards, clocking in at just 38 minutes in duration which feels appropriate at its completion. The four lengthy tracks all have merit & generally explore multiple different soundscapes within the same piece which often sees the album receiving a dual tagging of blackgaze & post-metal as a result. The blackgaze tag is certainly warranted as the majority of the record is black metal focused & the influence of shoegaze is undeniable on at least three-quarters of the tracklisting. I’d suggest that the post-metal tag is a little ambitious though. Sure, there are several post-rock inspired sections scattered across the album but the blackgaze material is much more prominent & I think that tag inherently covers a bit of post-rock influence anyway so to my ears the post-metal element is more of a secondary component. Front man George Clarke’s blackened shrieks would unquestionably get better over the coming years but he does an admirable job here, as does drummer Trevor Deschryver who blasts away with everything he’s got but would be replaced shortly afterwards by the more obviously talented Daniel Tracy before the recording of “Sunbather”.

Despite being somewhat enamoured with the quality of the overtly blackgaze inclusions, I can’t help but find the track that showcases the least amount of shoegaze influence to be the clear highlight of the album in closer “Tunnel Of Trees” which begins with five minutes of savage black metal extremity & finishes with another five of glistening post-metal atmospherics. It’s a stunning piece of work that really sees the album finishing on a high. The rest of the tracklisting is of a consistently high quality but fails to connect with me on quite the same level, presumably due to the lack of genuine darkness in some of the chord changes & atmospherics. “Language Games” is probably the best example of that as it begins in fine fashion but loses its way a touch around the middle of the song with some lighter-weight melodic ideas. It’s very hard to fault tracks like “Violet” & “Unrequited” though as they seem to complete their mission with emphatic success, despite my tendencies towards a darker brand of extreme metal.

It’s very easy to be critical of “Roads To Judah” by being drawn into like-for-like comparison with its successor but “Sunbather” hadn’t been recorded when I first wrapped my ears around “Roads to Judah” so I wasn’t afforded that luxury until some time later & it deserves to be experienced as an isolated piece of work in its own right regardless. You know what? Fuck the elitists that brutally put this band down because they don’t deserve it. It’s all posturing bullshit as these guys know their black metal alright but they also give it their own original spin that sounds as professional as it does musical. Deafheaven can’t put a foot wrong & sit at the pinnacle of their chosen subgenre as far as I’m concerned.

4/5

Here's the schedule for the February feature release nominations:

THE FALLEN: Sonny, Ben, Daniel

THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy

THE GUARDIANS: Daniel, Xephyr

THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben

THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, Saxy

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

THE PIT: Ben, Sonny, Vinny, Daniel

THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi

THE SPHERE: Andi, Daniel

Excellent! Thanks for your input everyone. I won't be creating these from today & will delete the historical playlists some time in the next couple of days too.