Daniel's Forum Replies

Blood Ceremony - "Blood Ceremony" (2008)

Despite being aware of their existence for many years now, I hadn’t ever seriously considered checking out anything from Canada’s Blood Ceremony before now but became intrigued after noticing an old Hall of Judgement post & followed up with a read of Sonny’s review which certainly sounded interesting. I decided I’d check out the band’s self-titled debut to see what it was all about I’ve come away feeling like I’ve experienced something that’s primarily centered in the past but somehow seems to sound fresh & invigorating at the same time.

Blood Ceremony’s sound can be difficult to describe using your traditional genre tags as there’s a whole bunch of components being used to make up the final product. Firstly you have the heavy doom metal riffs of Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut album only they're played with more of a hard rock tone which keeps the band in stoner rock territory despite the undeniable atmosphere of pure doom at times. Then you have the use of 60’s psychedelia, particularly in the use of organ which reminds me very much of The Doors at times. The incorporation of flute as a primary instrument was unexpected with the influence Jethro Tull, Black Widow & other 70’s flute-friendly progressive rock bands being easily apparent there. There’s even a little bit of folk thrown into the mix every now & then & when you top it all off with a female front woman & a seriously retro production job that could well have come from the early 70’s you’ve got yourself one very interesting mix of sounds.

So how did I enjoy it overall? Weeellll… “Blood Ceremony” certainly has its moments & rarely sees me losing focus despite there being a noticeable lapse in the middle of the tracklisting (see “A Wine Of Wizardry” & “Rare Lord”). I really enjoy the authentic feel & doomy atmosphere however I rarely see myself fully giving in to the band’s charms due to a couple of clear flaws. Front woman Alia O’Brien isn’t the most gifted of singers & can be a little pitchy at times however you kinda forgive her in the interest of atmosphere. Her contribution with the flute becomes greater as the album progresses & I have to admit that my patience wears a little thin after a while. I think they’ve overdone it a touch with the solos in the back end of the record. The lead guitar work is always welcome though & shows a great combination of feel & attitude. Album highlight “Return To Forever” is where the song-writing is clearly the strongest & everything just seems to completely gel at long last. A large portion of the remaining tracks seem pleasant enough but rarely push for higher honors.

At the end of the day I think “Blood Ceremony” serves its purpose pretty well for a very specific audience & offered a refreshing change from my usual listening habits. I would imagine that the late 60’s/early 70’s female-fronted doom rock trend that was growing in popularity at the time would have embraced it with open arms but I have to admit that I don’t find the song-writing to be strong enough to command return visits even though the riffs are certainly there in spades. I’d be interested to know if O’Brien’s vocals improve on subsequent releases though because she’s not bad as such. She just needs to work with some stronger material & reach a little deeper for the x-factor that can take a reasonably enjoyable release into much stronger areas.

For fans of Electric Citizen, Jex Thoth & Witchcraft.

3.5/5

My two cents is that I agree that cutting the ties with The Fallen makes sense both stylistically & logistically but I don't really see much point in keeping Post-Sludge Metal separate from the rest of Post-Metal as 95% of people are referring to the sludge variety when they think of the term "Post-Metal" anyway. In fact, I don't think there's really much of a Post-Metal genre without it in all honesty.

It's worth noting that making any changes in these areas will require some major database rework (even just changing the name to Post-Sludge Metal surprisingly) so at the moment this is all hypothetical. Keep the feedback coming & I'll discuss any changes that the group collaboratively agrees to with Ben.

Thanks for clarifying Andi. I appreciate the open feedback.

Has anyone else got any opinions on this topic?

The Ricky Gervais Show - "The Podcasts - The Best of & Brand New" 3 x CD Set (2006)

Tore through the entire first season of the Ricky Gervais Show podcast including the Extended Exclusive Episode over the last few days. I'm not much of a fan of Ricky's to tell you the truth but this was hilarious shit, mainly because he's actually not the main focal point. Karl Pilkington does most of the talking while Ricky & Stephen Merchant take the piss out of him for hours on end. Karl is an absolute genius if this is all an act (which it presumably is). His perspective on the world is truly one of a kind. Really glad I gave this stuff a crack.

I'm not sure you completely understood my question Andi as I wasn't really asking about whether post-black metal or post-death metal are legitimate subgenres or how you'd define them. (For the record though, there are plenty of post-black metal releases out there that aren't associated with blackgaze.) I was really asking if Post-Sludge Metal is the only post-x subgenre that's deserving of it's own category in your opinion &, if so, why. From what you've written I'm gathering that you probably do think it's the only one that's significant enough but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. (I'm not saying you're wrong on that by the way.)

The next question I'll ask is if you think that if we adjusted the functionality of the releases page to a) allow you to search on releases that have multiple specified subgenres (like Post-Metal & Sludge Metal) & b) allow to you to choose to search on releases that ONLY have your specified subgenres (so you could select releases that only have Post-Metal & not releases that have both Sludge Metal AND Post-Metal) it would serve the purpose just as well? Would we still need a Post-Sludge Metal subgenre if that was the case?

I'm definitely up for calling the subgenre "Post-Sludge Metal", and I think it should be just a post-metal subgenre, so any "Post-Sludge Metal" releases would be removed from The Fallen except if they're also "Sludge Metal (Conventional)".

Andi, let's explore that theory a little bit further. In your opinion, is Post-Sludge Metal a complete one-off that should be treated differently to the rest of the main genres? How would you suggest we handle post-black metal releases for example? Or post-death metal releases? Would you create another post-x subgenre for those? Please be aware that there's no wrong answer here.

Technically Atmospheric Sludge Metal is only a part of the one clan (i.e. The Infinite). Subgenres can only be a part of one clan in our database. We manually add each Atmospheric Sludge Metal release to The Fallen as well when creating the release in the database so that it resides in both clans.

Blood Incantation - "Hidden History Of The Human Race" (2019)

I’ve been meaning to give high regarded Canadian death metallers Blood Incantation’s 2019 sophomore album “Hidden History Of The Human Race” a proper review ever since giving it a few casual spins shortly after release but somehow it’s taken me a full three years to get there which is more of an indication of how broad my musical passions are than anything else as there’s a very lengthy queue for my attention these days. You see, despite really enjoying the record upon first listen it very quickly became obvious that it requires “active listening” to take in all of the nuances, particularly given the dense & cavernous production job & tendency to drift into progressive self-indulgence & atmospherics at times. But here I am, fully prepared for what’s in front of me & open to emulating the extreme adoration of metalheads around the globe if the merit’s there.

It's interesting that so many people comment on how great the production job on “Hidden History Of The Human Race” is because it has it’s faults in my opinion. It does tend to sound pretty murky at times which really works for a band like Incantation but can limit the effectiveness of a more complex artist like Blood Incantation clearly aspire to be. You can certainly make out everything that’s going on but a little bit more clarity & definition in those guitars could have elevated things a bit in my opinion. The cover artwork is another source of adoration that I find interesting. It’s an attractive image of course but does it successfully highlight the dark death metal atmosphere Blood Incantation are capable of or does it really come off as being a little try-hard & portray the band as a bunch of nerdy conspiracy theorists? I tend to lean towards the latter in all honesty but let’s not let that get in the way of what is really a very solid death metal record.

The programming of the tracklisting is a topic that needs unpacking because I think the band’s management got it a little wrong by opening with the most traditional death metal number & gradually getting more progressive & expansive over the four tracks. Brutal opener “Slave Species Of The Gods” doesn’t really leave you with an accurate depiction of what to expect from the rest of the album & I think it would have been a better idea to place it after “Inner Paths (To Outer Space)” in the track 3 position with the eighteen minute prog death epic coming immediately after it. In its current configuration though we see the album opening without much deviation from the classic Morbid Angel death metal model with the dense production job giving it an atmosphere that reminds me of countrymen Tomb Mold. Second track “The Giza Power Plant” sees the riff structures immediately getting a little techier with the first signs of a more expansive approach taking the form of some Nile-influenced middle-Eastern melodies & themes. But the real gold here can be found when Blood Incantation release the shackles that are holding back their self-indulgences & go for a completely progressive approach with instrumental third track “Inner Paths (To Outer Space)” being the finest example of this in my opinion. The first half of that track sees the band opting for a more stripped back & melodic post-metal sound before taking off into fully fledged progressive metal similar to Cynic & finally returning to their death metal roots during the climax. To my ears the first half of this track is the perfect amalgamation of the band’s influences & ambitions but that’s not to discount the strength of the gargantuan eighteen-minute progressive death metal excursion that is closing number “Awakening From the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul)” mind you. This monster piece sees Blood Incantation working all of their various influences & components into the one composition that takes numerous exciting twists & turns through disparate locations like space ambient & doom/death without ever losing its natural flow. It can sound a little artsy (i.e. progressive for the sake of being progressive) at times but I think it offers enough musical substance to see it overcoming those aspersions & it ends up being the perfect way to end what was a relatively short album with a surprisingly large amount of ideas. It kinda reminds me of The Chasm’s more ambitious works in that respect.

So is “Hidden History Of The Human Race” the genuine progressive death metal classic it was made out to be at the time? Hhhhmmmm…. the short answer is no it’s not. The musicianship & execution is very good but I do think the vocals sound pretty generic. The sci-fi themes work well but I can’t say that I enjoyed the band’s progressive take on death metal as much as I do their major influences as I tend to think I’d be more likely to reach for Timeghoul’s 1994 “Panaramic Twilight” demo when I’m in the mood for this sort of thing. I just don’t think that Blood Incantation hit my death metal sweet spot as often as I’d need to be placing a record like this one on the very top shelf despite its obvious class & credentials. Still, this is a very high quality death metal release that oozes of underground credibility while simultaneously ticking more than its fair share of creative boxes so fans of the progressive death metal sound will undoubtedly find a lot to enjoy here.

For fans of Timeghoul, The Chasm & Tomb Mold.

4/5

I have a couple of questions for everyone. I've never felt completely comfortable with us using the subgenre title "Atmospheric Sludge Metal" for a number of reasons:

1. It's only really used on the one site i.e. RYM.

2. The sound is clearly a combination of post-rock & sludge metal & for other subgenres such as black metal, punk & hardcore that have a very similar situation we've simply adopted the "post-x" tag which seems more fitting.

3. The sound of the majority of the bands grouped under the tag is generally more Post-Metal than it is Sludge Metal so I can't see why we don't utilize the "post-" prefix as it seems appropriate.

So my questions are:

1. Would you rather call the subgenre "Post-Sludge Metal" in our database? Or perhaps you have another idea we could consider?

2. Would you rather simply do away with the subgenre altogether & put all of these releases under the Post-Metal tag given that there are so few Post-Metal releases that fall outside of the Sludge realm? Then any releases that possess enough legitimate Sludge to warrant it can have a dual tag of Post-Metal & Sludge Metal. Essentially it'd be the same way we do things with Progressive Metal for example.

Feel free to share your open opinions on this as I'm very open to everyone's ideas here.

A classy instrumental progressive death metal excursion from this Canadian outfit that sees them touching on post-metal atmospherics & fully fledged progressive metal ala Cynic.

"Paracletus" was added to The infinite after receiving a unanimous 15-1 YES vote in the Hall of Judgement.

Vektor's "Black Future" was added to The Infinite after receiving a unanimous 14-1 YES vote in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of judgement.

Smashed this whole playlist out while working out this morning. Other than the tracks I submitted, I really loved the Blut aus Nord, Black Fucking Cancer & Ultha tracks in particular while I agree that the post-metal approach of Aera seems to be heavily underrated. As with Vinny, the Xasthur & Falls Of Rauros tracks did very little for me which won't come as a surprise to Ben.

For this weekend's top ten list I decided to put together my Top Ten Mathcore Releases of All Time. See what you think & feel free to post your own:

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

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

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

08. Converge – “You Fail Me” (2004)

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

10. The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Irony Is A Dead Scene” E.P. (2002)

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

My updated Top Ten Conventional Death Metal Releases of All Time list sees Obituary's "Cause Of Death" dropping out while Morbid Angel's "Covenant" makes a long-awaited return:

01. Morbid Angel – “Altars Of Madness” (1989)

02. Death - "Human" (1991)

03. Immolation – “Close To A World Below” (2000)

04. Dragged Into Sunlight – “Hatred For Mankind” (2009)

05. Carcass – “Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious” (1991)

06. Dead Congregation – “Promulgation Of The Fall” (2014)

07. Morbid Angel – “Blessed Are The Sick” (1991)

08. Deicide – “Deicide” (1990)

09. The Amenta - "Flesh Is Heir" (2013)

10. Morbid Angel - "Covenant" (1993)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/143

One of the greatest of all Florida death metal tracks in my opinion. What a vocalist! What a lead guitarist! What an atmosphere!

Obituary - "Cause Of Death" (1990)

Back in the day this record definitely would have received an instant 5 stars from me as it was simply that influential on me at a very young & impressionable age when I was just freshly converted to the wonders of death metal. These days I can see it through an unbiased lens & it's definitely not without it's faults but it was certainly a revelation at the time & the highlights are truly gargantuan. John Tardy's monstrous vocal performance is arguably the best in all of death metal in my opinion. He's certainly the most unique vocalist the scene has ever produced as there's  no one that comes close to touching the sheer ferocity of his talent. The recruitment of hired gun shredder James Murphy was a master stroke too as his highly melodic & technically dazzling contribution really does take this record to another level from anything the band would have been able to produce previously. The trademark Obituary rearranged-5th chords have never sounded so good while the cover artwork is my personal favourite of all time & goes a long way to maximizing my passion. The weaknesses of the album are the faster sections where the rhythm section draw upon "Leprosy"-era Death for inspiration as those parts tend to sound a little tame in comparison to the ridiculously heavy & doomy slow sections which are Obituary's real forte if you ask me. It's often a matter of less is more with Obituary as their controlled restraint is possibly their biggest strength & that's not something you can say about too many extreme metal acts. The song structures sound pretty loose & pieced together at times but thankfully every track includes at least one or two monlithic riffs of pure death to draw you in & Obituary understood how to create that authentic graveyard atmosphere as well as any death metal band that's ever picked up an instrument.

Looking back it's not difficult to see why "Cause Of Death" not only set a new standard for the band but also took them to the top of the Florida tree with Morbid Angel. The album reeks of underground credibility but it also manages to stay accessible enough to draw in a sizeable fanbase. I can't say that I regard it as highly as I did when I was a kid but it's clearly Obituary's finest work & stands as a key piece of death metal's historical puzzle. Even the cover version of Celtic Frost's "Circle Of The Tyrants" is a strong inclusion & represents one of the rare occasions when I actually think the cover may eclipse the original. The huge influence of Frost on Obituary's signature sound certainly helped in that regard as it doesn't sound anywhere near as out of place as many extreme metal cover versions do. When I look back on my youth in years to come I doubt my brain will ever forget to attach a soundtrack that includes belters like "Infected" or "Memories Remain" to the images in my head & this last 24 hours has seen me relishing the chance to regain an awareness of a time that I regard as one of the best of my entire life, purely through the sounds that played such a huge role in it. 

For fans of Autopsy, Jungle Rot & Asphyx.

4.5/5

An immense half-hour drone piece from Washington's godfathers of the drone metal sound.

My updated Top Ten Drone Metal Releases Of All Time after adding Earth's "Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version"" at the expense of Sunn O)))'s "Monoliths & Dimensions"":

01. Sunn O))) – “Black One” (2005)

02. Boris – “Boris At Last -Feedbacker-“ (2003)

03. Jesu – “Jesu” (2004)

04. Monarch! – “Omen” (2012)

05. Neptunian Maximalism – “Eons” (2020)

06. Boris with Merzbow – “Rock Dream” (2007)

07. Earth - "Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version" (1993)

08. Corrupted – “Llenandose de gusanos” (1999)

09. Earth – “Extra-Capsular Extraction” E.P. (1991)

10. Melvins - "Lysol" (1992)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/137

Earth - "Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version" (1993)

Earth's 1993 debut full-length "Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version" is arguably the most important & influential drone metal release of all-time. Interestingly though I've never regarded it as a genuine classic up until now & have always preferred Earth's 1991 debut E.P. "Extra-Capsular Extraction". I think this revisit may have seen me changing my tune though as I've come out of it finding it noticeably harder to deny its classic status than I have previously.

I think there's a couple of reason why I've not managed to get there previously with the most obvious one being that the shortest & most popular track on the album (15 minute opener "Seven Angels) has never struck me as being anything particularly special even though I do find it enjoyable. It's the most traditionally structured of the three lengthy pieces which I feel is probably what makes it the most popular as it's clearly the most accessible but I do think it sounds a fair bit like Tom Warrior & Martin Ain from Celtic Frost testing their rigs during a Celtic Frost soundcheck. Thankfully I'd happily listen to those guys all day long but I can't say that it blows my mind as it seems to me to be incomplete without further accompaniment. Things pick up very quickly though with the 27 minute "Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine" which is a less structured drone metal piece that still maintains some semblance of riffs amidst an almost industrial atmosphere. That's some very solid & outrageously heavy drone metal right there & it's worth remembering that no one else was making anything like this shit at the time. But the real reason that I can't help but gush over "Earth 2" these days is my sheer delight at the half hour monster that is "Like Gold & Faceted" which sees the band completely abandoning traditional rock tools & creating a wonderfully monotonous & highly cerebral journey through the darkest terrain imaginable. I mean this muthafucka sounds utterly triumphant but also as evil as any black metal act known to man. It invariably draws me to conjure up images of Lord Satan himself standing atop a mountainous peak in front of a huge army of his demonic minions & slowly raising his hands to the Heavens while all of mankind is forced to instantly accept that evil has finally overcome the last ray of hope for humanity. I can very easily see what Earth were trying to achieve with this track as it's undoubtedly been modelled on similar drone works from the previous decades but the outcome is absolutely immense, making it by far & away one of the best examples of the genre you'll find. In fact, I'll be fucked if this track alone isn't enough to warrant the inclusion of "Earth 2" in my Hall of Metal Glory so I simply couldn't resist the urge to elevate my score a bit further.

"Earth 2" certainly wasn't made to appeal to everyone but those that "get it" are in for a transcendent experience. I highly recommend the commitment to "active listening" with this one because if you let it become background music it'll no doubt SOUND like background music. Patience is required to wade through the murky sludge in search of transcendence but rest assured that it is in there waiting for you & the rewards easily justify the effort. "Earth 2" was made for a dark room & a good pair of headphones at high volume whilst lying on a bed with your eyes shut. If you let it engulf you then it's actually possible to see the event horizon that Sonny portrayed so beautifully in his review. This should be essential listening for all drone metal fans.

For fans of Sunn O))), Boris & Nadja.

4.5/5

Lusine Zakaryan - "Կոմիտասի երգերը և հայկական հինավուրց մեղեդիներ / Песни Комитаса и старинные армянские мелодии" (1969)

I've been really pissing my wife off over the last few days by playing this old Armenian church opera record on repeat. It features the truly divine vocal of Lusine Zakaryan who absolutely soars here. It's certainly located a fair way outside of my usual comfort zone but I find it to have a soothing & relaxing effect on me while I'm winding down from a hard day's work by taking my time to prepare two lots of dinners for my wife & kids. Unfortunately I don't think I'll get away with it for much longer as the missus simply can't tolerate anything a bit different. It's top 40 hits that she's known for decades or nothing at all I'm afraid. Anyway.... this is good stuff for a complete change-up.

San Francisco Bay Area thrash at its finest.

It was certainly an improvement on the debut but they still had a way to go before they'd develop into the well-oiled machine that they'd eventually become in my opinion. It may not be something that people outside of the extreme metal community are too aware of but it requires a fair bit of time & practice to come to grips with playing heavily down-tuned guitars in that you need to a) figure out how to control the floppier strings which require more finesse not to go out of tune, have a greater tendency to shake around & produce excess noise & also feel very different to a regularly tuned instrument & b) find a style that works well with that tuning i.e. doesn't sound too messy & noisy regardless of how precisely you might be playing. "Realm Of Chaos" is tuned down to A which is much lower than 99% of death metal bands would dare to go. These days you would certainly play a seven string guitar if you were going to attempt that & even then you'd be detuning a full two semitones. I don't think they'd quite found their perfect sweet spot in that regard just yet & I can hear them noticeably struggling at times. It was no surprise that they opted to only detune half as far for "War Master" which was tuned to C#.

Here are my thought in "Realm Of Chaos" after revisiting it a while back:

Revisited this old friend for the first time in many years this morning. It was my introduction to Bolt Thrower around 1989/90 & I would go on to purchase the album on cassette a short time afterwards. "Realm Of Chaos" showcases a band that was starting to find their sound but was still waiting for their technical skills to catch up with their ambition because the production & performances are pretty sloppy but this doesn't take away from a gloriously pure death metal atmosphere. There's a much stronger grindcore influence to this album than you'll hear on Bolt Thrower's later material with early Napalm Death & Carcass clearly having been an inspiration along with "Reign In Blood" era Slayer. You'll get the odd hint at those signature Bolt Thrower melodies here & there but the catchy song-writing is already in full effect, despite the rawer, faster & more blast-beat driven approach. This is still a very solid death metal record that possibly hasn't aged as well as some which has subsequently seen me rating it behind later releases like "The IVth Crusade", "...For Victory" & "Those Once Loyal".

For fans of Benediction, Hail of Bullets & 90's Napalm Death.

4/5

Ben, please add the brand new Static Dress album "Rouge Carpet Disaster".

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - "Infest The Rats' Nest" (2019)

I remember being very surprised when I first discovered that Melbourne psychedelic rock legends King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard had somehow made it onto the radars of extreme metal fans all around the world. I’d never really committed to investigating them for myself but I'd always intended to & it was very hard to ignore the impact they’d made on my local Aussie rock scene in a relatively short period of time. Boy, had they made every effort to cash in on their fame too. I mean any band that manages to release a full fourteen full-length albums in just seven years in the modern day is running well against the curve these days, aren’t they? And that’s just what the Gizzard had managed to achieve going into this record which would see them breaking the two records per year barrier. They’d been very much the local buzz band for a good five years by this point with critics & fans alike gushing over their druggy, retro vibe ever since 2014’s “I’m In Your Mind Fuzz” album but I have to admit that I’d never heard them referred to as being a metal band before so I was intrigued by 2019’s “Infest The Rats’ Nest” & wasted little time in giving it the once over.

Now let’s put it out there straight off the bat that the general tendency to tag “Infest The Rats’ nest” as a thrash metal record isn’t exactly accurate. Sure, there are a fair few fast tracks that definitely include more than the odd thrash riff but this simply doesn’t feel like a thrash record in any way, shape or form thanks to the fuzzy, 1970’s style production job. It’s not slicing & abrasive like thrash should be & doesn’t sound half as metal as a “Bonded By Blood” or a “Pleasure To Kill” which is why my inclusion of the opening track “Planet B” on a monthly playlist for The Pit never quite seemed to sit too well with me. Instead we get a record that feels much more like a stoner metal release, kinda like the thrashier High On Fire material in many ways. There is one monster stoner doom epic included here that reminds me a lot of bluesy early Black Sabbath meets stoner monsters Sleep too & it may well be my favourite track on the album. The more up-tempo numbers like “Organ Farmer” leave me with more of a Ministry vibe in that the thrashy riffs are pretty simple & rhythmic but are invariably effective.

The use of short & highly psychedelic guitar solos is most welcome & always maintains the link to the Gizzard’s retro roots too. I love the way that front man Stu Mackenzie never allows them to overstay their welcome & this conscious restraint definitely helps to accentuate the song-writing which is a real strength for the band. Stu’s voice is as powerful as it is gruff & the tight doubling of his voice in the production phase was nothing short of a master stroke. One criticism I do have though is that “Infest the Rats’ Nest” is a very top heavy record with the opening four tracks being the clear highlights of the nine track set, despite there being no signs of anything subpar included. I can’t help but think that it might have been a better option to finish with the epic doom of “Superbug” in order to crush the listener into a pulp on the way out & leave a greater impression but I guess it wasn’t to be.

Ultimately it’s pretty hard to be critical of an album like “Infest the Rats’ Nest” that has so much soul for a release that’s widely (& incorrectly) touted as extreme metal. The contrast of 70’s warmth with the incisive urgency of the 80’s is unusual & at the very least interesting. I can’t say that I was ever completely sold on the concept though. Perhaps my thrash metal roots are just a little too stuck in their ways & for that reason I teetered on the edge between a respectable 3.5/5 score & a very solid 4/5 for some time before allowing myself to commit to the more impressive option, a call that was largely contributed to by my admiration for the sheer class that King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard ooze of from every pore on this release. I don't think I'll be alone in going that direction though & I'm not surprised that metalheads from around the globe have found "Infest the Rats' Nest" to be such an addictive record given just how accessible it is for heavy music fans from such different backgrounds & scenes.

For fans of High On Fire, Sleep & Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats.

4/5

High quality stoner doom from Melbourne, Australia.

Aussie.. Aussie.. Aussie...... Oi.. Oi.. Oi!

Thrashy stoner metal from Melbourne, Australia.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could vote on the Hall of Judgement entry for this release Xephyr.

I've corrected this release's clan associations & removed the Hall entry Andi.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

The nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

The nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has no been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.