Daniel's Forum Threads
Cocteau Twins - "Treasure" (1984)
I've been revisiting some of the early Cocteau Twins releases recently which has seen me remembering & better coming to terms with a difficult part of my life during the mid-1990's. I think their third full-length "Treasure" might be the best of the albums I've heard from them too as it beautifully summarizes both of the group's signature sounds i.e. whispy dream pop & darker ethereal wave. Interestingly (but perhaps not too surprisingly) though, it's the deeper & lesser-known material that really floats my boat with "Aloysius", "Otterley", "Beatrix" & "Donimo" all playing very strong roles in my life at the time. I think "The Spangle Maker" E.P. from earlier that year may be even better than this release in my opinion but there can be no denying that "Treasure" is a beautiful, lush record that you can float around in during moments of introspection.
For fans of Beach House, Dead Can Dance & Mazzy Star.
4/5
Behemoth - "Demigod" (2004)
I quite liked the first couple of mid-1990's releases from Poland's Behemoth but they went through somewhat of a lull after that &, in doing so, managed to lose my interest during that 1996-98 period for the most part. It wasn't until my return to metal in 2009 & that I'd reconnect with these guys & I've generally checked out everything that they've put out since. I know a lot of people will place 2014's "The Satanist" record up on a pedestal as Behemoth's finest work but I've always felt that their 2004 seventh full-length "Demigod" had a slight edge personally, mainly because I really don't like the very popular "Ora pro nobis Lucifer" from "The Satanist". Other than that, the two releases are of a pretty similar standard although I'd suggest that there is slightly less of a black metal component to "Demigod" which is more of a straight down the line death metal release with the occasional hint at black metal. There are no weak tracks included while front man Nergal's vocals are aggressive & sinister & talented drummer Inferno's blast beats are savage & precise. I will say that the clicky drum sound doesn't work as well when Inferno goes for a standard blast beat but the alternating ones are both powerful & spectacular. Check out the underrated "Before the Æons Came" which is my personal favourite. "Demigod" is a very solid death metal record that should satisfy most of our The Horde members.
For fans of Hate, Belphegor & Sulphur Aeon.
4/5
This one should be up your alley Ben. Seven episodes that build nicely to a pretty massive crescendo over the last few episodes.
Seen it. Wouldn't miss anything made by Mike Flanagan (Haunting of Hill House is one of the greatest tv series ever in my opinion). The Fall of the House of Usher was really good too.
Scott Kelly/Steve Von Till/Wino - "Songs of Townes Van Zandt" (2012)
I came across this collaboration record after really enjoying the three solo albums from Neurosis' Scott Kelly more than a decade ago & found it to offer some more very high-quality deep folk music with a stripped back & introspective feel. Interestingly, I'd suggest that Kelly is actually the weaker of the performers here with The Obsessed/Saint Vitus/Spirit Caravan front man Scott Weinrich's contribution being pretty spectacular & Neurosis band mate Steve Von Till's efforts sounding a little more accomplished too. I was blown away when I first heard this record in 2013 but that fanfare has eased off a little over time & these days I slightly prefer Kelly's last couple of albums "The Forgiven Ghost in Me" & "The Wake" when I feel like this sort of stuff. It's still an excellent example of Americana though.
For fans of Townes Van Zandt, Marissa Nadler & John Baizley.
4/5
Saint Vitus - "Die Healing" (1995)
Los Angeles doom metal legends Saint Vitus are definitely one of my favourites from the more traditional end of the genre but I hadn't heard their highly praised seventh full-length until now. That's a shame because I think it sits pretty comfortably alongside the band's more widely celebrated releases like "Saint Vitus" & "Born Too Late". It's arguably one of Saint Vitus' most doomy records & is full of very simply structured but infectiously heavy riffs. Front man Scott Reager's vocal performance is likely quite divisive though as he takes the overblown theatrics to extremes at times while guitarist Dave Chandler gives zero fucks that he can't really play lead guitar, instead doing his usual bit by turning his wah pedal on & playing as many notes as possible in a short period of time. "Born Too Late" is my pick of Saint Vitus' work these days with "Saint Vitus" coming in second but I've been really impressed by "Die Healing", particularly the incredible "Sloth" which is one the band's crowning glories in my opinion. It's a pity that closer "Just Another Notch" is so underwhelming though.
For fans of Pentagram, Black Sabbath & The Obsessed.
4/5
Hela - "A Reign to Conquer" (2026)
I have followed spanish doom crew Hela since their earliest days and have found them to be consistent deliverers of understated female-fronted doom metal. They are one of those bands that don't push the boat out too far from familiar shores and are quite unlikely to be anyone's favourites doom metal band, but keep plugging away, refining their sound and carving out a niche for themselves.
"A Reign to Conquer" features half a dozen 7-8 minute tracks that follow a similar pattern. Taking their cues from post-metal, they generally begin softly and serenely and build in intensity as the track progresses. The intensity level never really rises above a mildly elevated pulse rate, though, and the band don't really seem to be ploughing the old atmospheric sludge furrow of catharsis through ferocity, but are content to merely shake their proverbial fists at the sky rather than tear it down. They remain melodic throughout with some doleful riffs and new vocalist, Raquel Navarro, has a plaintive, yearning style of vocal delivery that underpins the melancholy atmosphere so vital to decent doom metal.
What Hela do they do pretty well and both the songwriting and performances are proficient and point to a very professional outfit who know what they want to deliver and exactly how go about it. This all sounds like criticism through faint praise I know and I like the band, but the simple truth is that they are a decent doom metal outfit who produce albums that are enjoyable enough, but which will seldom stick with you for too long after they end.
There is a serious side note which needs addressing regarding the production which may negatively impact most people's enjoyment - it certainly did mine. This is the fact that the album features terrible sound compression which makes it feel like it is being rammed into your ears, rather than allowing the nuances of the music as written to be experienced. This is especially sad because this feels like an album that is written with subtlety and contrast in mind. For example, listen to the album's best track "Emerald Mirror", which is amped up to levels that cause actual sound distortion when it is evidently written as a far more subtle exploration of light and shade which I feel is seriously undermined by the production. Even Raquel's vocals are distorted by the mix and a more sympathetic production job would have seen my score elevated a good half-star or more I believe.
3/5
Immortal - "Battles in the North" (1995)
While 1993's "Pure Holocaust" sophomore album was the record that cemented Norwegian black metal icons Immortal as a band that commanded my interest, it was third full-length "Battle in the North" that saw them joining the top tier of the genre for me personally & I still regard it as a black metal classic today. I purchased the digipack CD upon release (along with a long-sleeve shirt that I wore around the scene religiously for a while there) & it received a good ol' flogging during the back end of 1995. Immortal upped the brutality significantly once front man Abbath took over the drumming duties on "Pure Holocaust" but this? This was a whole different kettle of fish & still sits amongst the most intense extreme metal releases ever recorded. The riffs are swarming & inhuman, the drumming is relentlessly pummeling & Abbath's signature croaky vocals are demonic & sinister, not to mention ridiculously catchy. There are those critics out there who criticize Abbath's drumming as being incompetent but that's not a valid concern if you know a thing or two about extreme metal drumming. Sure, his kick drum work isn't always super-precise but the clicky kick drum triggers that are right at the front of the mix go a long way to highlighting every blemish & these imperfections aren't anything unusual for black metal drummers. His arms are not a problem at all though & it's really the guitars that struggle to keep up with the frantic rhythms at times. That's what people are complaining about without actually realising the root cause. This minor flaw is not a significant problem for me anyway though with songs like the title track, "Cursed Realms of the Winterdemons" & "At the Stormy Gates of Mist" being some of my all-time favourite black metal numbers. There isn't a weak number amongst the ten on offer & I'm gonna suggest that "Battle in the North" is easily Immortal best album, leaving highly regarded releases like "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism", "At the Heart of Winter" & "Sons of Northern Darkness" in the dust.
For fans of Inquisition, Abbath & Mayhem.
4.5/5
New Great Falls comp released this month, Conscription. Noise-rock/sludge turned up to eleven.
His Name is Alive - " Love Can't Buy Happiness" (1990)
This obscure demo tape seems to have gained somewhat of a cult following over the years so I thought I'd see what it's about. You can expect a sound that utilizes sound collage techniques in combination with post-rock & dream pop elements to create a warm, fuzzy atmosphere. The 17-song tracklisting is a little bit hit & miss but the stronger tracks tend to be the longer ones which has seen me coming away from "Love Can't Buy Happiness" with a predominantly positive feeling.
For fans of Natural Snow Buildings, Stars of the Lid & Lovesliescrushing.
3.5/5
Imperial Triumphant - "Goldstar" (2025)
Another high-quality record from this unusual New York trio, possibly their finest work actually. Guitarist Zachary Ezrin (Folterkammer) does a great job behind the microphone with his deep death growls being both powerful & well phrased. I really enjoy the drumming of Kenny Grohowski (John Frum/Secret Chiefs 3/Titan to Tachyons) too while Sarmat bass player Steve Blanco also provides us with a capable performance. The black metal component of the Imperial Triumphant's 2010's era is long gone by this point with "Goldstar" sitting more comfortably under an Avant-Garde/Experimental Death Metal tag in my opinion. Even the dissonant elements are probably not consistent enough to call this full-blown dissonant death metal. There's a lot of progressive metal & tech death influence here though too. Unsurprisingly, I find "Goldstar"s best moments to be when the boys simply go hell for leather with the more frenetic & aggressive phases being the most effective & often marrying up with the simpler sections of the album but that's not to say that the more experimental parts of "Goldstar" aren't impressive as they're very smoothly incorporated for a record that jumps around so much. If you exclusively like your death metal of the old school variety then you'll wanna steer well clear of this release but those that like a bit of ambition & creativity should find it to be universally interesting because there's no doubt that it's a classy effort by a forward-thinking extreme metal outfit.
For fans of Pyrrhon, Ad Nauseam & Portal.
4/5
Rhythm & Sound - "The Versions" (2003)
This is a remixes collection of material taken from the above-mentioned "w/ the Artists" album & it's just as incredible too, even if it requires a little more patience again due to its repetitive nature & minimal construction. If pushed, I'd probably suggest that I slightly favour the original album as the vocals are incredible & "The Versions" is mostly instrumental but there's very little in it & both should be regarded as being essential dub releases from the important Berlin scene.
For fans of Deepchord, Deadbeat & Paul St. Hilaire.
4.5/5
Misotheist - "De Pinte" (2025)
Four albums into their career and I finally discover Misotheist. Hailing from the traditional black metal heartland of Norway (Trondheim in fact), their sound reminds me a lot more of Icelandic bm stalwarts Sinmara or Svartidauði with dissonant elements of DSO thrown in there also for good measure. This is the kind of chaotic, deranged black metal that grabs my interest nowadays. Quickly finding a foundation in the netherworld, this album stays in that territory for its full duration. The combination of solid riffs and suffocating atmospheres are a killer combo here. Make no mistake about it, Misotheist are here to do damage, and it is a lasting damage designed to inflict maximum suffering. After a year of keeping up with black metal releases last year, and toning that effort down somewhat this year, my attention is intended to be devoted only to exceptional black metal albums this year. De Pinte (“The Tormented”), absolutely qualifies.
Crawling and claustrophobic melodies do little to temper the threat of blasting fury that the artist can unleash forth at any moment. A feeling of unease permeates the slower tempos on display whilst the more aggressive sections soon activate the overwhelming flight mechanism as nobody in the right mind would want to fight against this sound. Tormented is a perfect description of how those vocals sound. With agonising cries against a constant sense of threat and menace, this is not intended to be a comfortable listen. Yet the dissonant aspect to the sound does help provide some stark comfort to me. On the title track it acts like some cold and dense fog enveloping my being, wrapping in me in the track itself as it scores a multitude of etchings upon my skin.
This is probably the darkest thing I have heard so far this year. It is not dramatic or theatrical as you might expect. Instead, there is just a real confidence behind the performance that exhibits a clear belief in their own ability and an absolute steadfastness in their devotion to their chosen artform. The title track that closes the album goes on for over twenty-one-minutes, but I love every one of those minutes. It builds so well and maintains such a presence when it does establish itself as fully formed; this is clearly written by a master of the genre. Misotheist have absolutely no hairs and graces about them, they are simply dedicated beyond belief and are able to produce one of the most organic, natural sounding black metal albums of the year so far.
Vinyl ordered.
4.5/5
Agent Orange - "Bloodstains" E.P. (1980)
A short three-song affair that spans just five minutes in duration & represents the earliest proper releases from this California hardcore surf punk trio. I fucking love the title track which carries this record & is an absolute classic of the early hardcore scene in my opinion. The other two songs "America" & "Bored With You" are pretty decent too but sound noticeably different to the illustrious opener, often displaying more than a hint of Motorhead at times. This is a high-quality recording that should offer plenty of appeal to the punk crowd.
For fans of Black Flag, Germs & Circle Jerks.
4/5
combatwoundedveteran - "I Know a Girl Who Develops Crime Scene Photos" (1999)
The debut (& sole) full-length album from this Tampa, Florida five-piece is a nineteen-minute/nineteen-track beast of a record that combines the emoviolence sound of the screamo scene with genuine grindcore to great effect. I'm clearly more drawn to the latter though so the most enjoyable parts of the album are definitely when these guys simply let loose & fire out light-speed blast-beats on all cylinders with little regard for their own well-being. When they get a little more weird I find my attention drifting a touch but I can still appreciate this ultra-extreme release, even if I'd suggest that it might be one that I'll return to too often in the future given that it's pretty one-dimensional with the screamo vocals offering little in the way of depth or substance.
For fans of Bucket Full of Teeth, Diploid & Setsuko.
3.5/5
Motörhead - Another Perfect Day (1983)
It has got to be said - I have been far too hard on "Another Perfect Day" for far too many years. Motörhead were one of my absolute favourites in the late 70's, probably even more so than Sabbath, so when the 'classic' lineup split and Fast Eddie moved on, I wasn't really prepared for what came next. Sure, I quite liked "Robbo" when he was with Thin Lizzy, but Motörhead were a whole different kettle of fish. Consequently, the release of "Another Perfect Day" saw me turning away from Lemmy and the guys for the very first time. The situation was exacerbated by my discovery of thrash metal shortly after and for a very long time I didn't really give The 'Head much thought. Time has seen my attitude change and I have really dug on a few of the later albums, yet I stubbornly refused to give much eartime to "Another Perfect Day". So now, over the last few days whilst I have been compiling my favourites of '83 list, I have spent a fair bit of time with this misfit of a record and, you know what, I have really enjoyed the experience and I keep coming back to it for just one more spin. It is almost like I am hearing it for the first time. Brian Robertson's more expansive guitar style actually complements Lemmy's thundering basslines and gruff vocal delivery beautifully and his soaring soloing is a whole lot better and more expressive than I ever gave it credit for.
On the downside, I am not so sure that there are any real standouts like "Overkill", "Stone Dead Forever", "(We Are) the Roadcrew" or "(Don't Need) Religion", but there are some solid tracks here and the soloing on a track like "One Track Mind" give the band a fresh dimension and dynamic. I guess it is better late than never but I was a pig-headed little fucker when I was younger (what do you mean I still am?) and I guess I have missed out on some good stuff over the years because of it. Remember, though, that I couldn't just bang this on a streaming platform to allow me time to get into it, I would have had to shell out hard-earned cash for an LP and from what I had heard of it at the time I wasn't prepared to do so. I am glad I got there in the end though.
4/5 (up from probably a 2 in 1983).
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle (2009)
Genres: Americana, Alt-Country, Chamber Folk, Country Folk, Singer/Songwriter
Bill Callahan is a name that's well-regarded in the Americana scene, but I rarely ever go on full-on Americana binges. They come out of the blue, mostly out of necessity to explore a scene, and usually I only get through a couple albums by an artist rather than a deep exploration, Callahan included. But due to his new album being well-received, and my disappointment with MEC's Sojourner, I decided I'd finally just get the guy's opus out of the blue.
Now my original intent was to check out a few of his other works before heading to the opus, but the other two works, while good, didn't grab me by the heart, so I disregarded him in place of other Americana artists. But I'm glad I up and chose to listen to this after the two-hour repetitive MEC album posing as a box set. See, most Americana albums... I tend not to be impressed with because there's a very common habit of Americana fans slapping multiple genre tags on an album where each genre is largely built for slow guitar and drum songs, and the emotional range is limited to sad or calming songs. This isn't creativity to me.
But with this album, it's different. You may find that the genre tags for this album are largely the same, but replacing post-rock with chamber folk. And this combination is balanced and unpredictable at the same time, adding various kinds of repeating instrumentations that one can't guess at all, much like a clever EDM album. This greatly helps with the autumn vibe expressed on the album cover. This can easily save many of the songs that drag on a minute or two longer than they otherwise need to. In fact, a part of me even fell in love with the seventh track, All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast. Easily an Americana favorite of mine. On this subject of the creativity, most of the repetition and drawn out behavior take place in the first half, but is not enough to drag the whole album down. It's largely absent in the second half, with the exception of the nine minute epic, Faith / Void, which, with its chorus, justifies the 50-something appearances of "what if" in the titular Creed song. The instrumentation still finds room for raw autumn beauty.
Now the internet is under the impression that this is Callahan's opus. I'm not QUITE sure I'd call it that, but it's close. I slightly prefered Dream River for its combination of prog folk and psych folk elements. Still, this is a very clever album that stays enjoyable while being slower than necessary. It's a good atmospheric folk piece that I recommend hearing at least once.
84
Excessive Force - "In Your Blood" (1995)
This week saw me breaking my cherry with this highly regarded Straight Edge metalcore outfit from California & it's been a reasonably worthwhile venture too as "In Your Blood" certainly hits the spot for some simple yet aggressive hardcore-inspired metal music. There's not a huge amount of variation across the ten tracks with most of the material taking a similar approach but there aren't too many failures here either with only a couple of flatter numbers (see "Vengeance" & "No Excuses") across the ten tracks on offer. Unfortunately, there aren't all that many highlight tracks that stand out from the rest here either though which has certainly played a role in my middling score. The title track is probably the only one that I can identify as being a cut above the others & some of that comes down to the very basic riff construction that's been used throughout the album, leaving the impression that the band members may have only just read "Baby's First Hardcore Riff" or "Metalcore For Dummies". Thankfully, the execution is really tight & the guitar tone is nice & chunky which gives the song-writing a bit of oomph but I could still do without the consistent use of gang vocals & bouncy metalcore breakdown riffs. I guess that's more of a taste thing though as those are obviously generic hardcore traits so you can't really blame a metalcore band for using them. Overall, "In Your Blood" isn't a bad record though & I think most fans of 90's hardcore/metalcore will get a fair bit out of it.
For fans of Reprisal, Chokehold & 7 Angels 7 Plagues.
3.5/5
Yellow Magic Orchestra - "Solid State Survivor" (1979)
The most highly celebrated of this Japanese synthpop outfits many studio albums is yet another one that fails to connect with me on any level due to its inherently cheesy approach to music production. A lot of this material sounds like a cheap early-80's video game soundtrack which I assume is a large part of the appeal for some people but which puts me off pretty majorly. I'd probably take "Solid State Survivor" over the first two Yellow Magic Orchestra records but it still never manages to ascend out of the garbage bin at the back of my home office & I think 1981's "BGM" follow-up was a good couple of steps up from here, even if I still have no time for that particular release either.
For fans of Telex, Kraftwerk & Ryuichi Sakamoto.
2/5
Scattered Remnants - "Inherent Perversion" E.P. (1995)
This week's revisit to the debut release from this Massachusetts-based brutal death metal outfit has reminded me of just how solid a band Scattered Remnants were. I picked "Inherent Perversion" up through the mid-90's tape trading scene & connected with it pretty much immediately which saw my dubbed cassette copy getting a whole bunch of replays that year. I'd even hazard to suggest that it may have had an effect on my song-writing for Neuropath given the similar sounds between the two acts. Scattered Remnants always maintain a thick layer of authenticity as they combine the exciting brutal death metal sound of Suffocation with a filthier graveyard death metal sound similar to Incantation. The vocals are excellent & tear strips off of the listener while the dirty production job is very well suited to this style of music & compliments the performances which never aim at perfection. I really love chunky shit like this & there are some excellent riffs on display here so "Inherent Perversion" comes highly recommended for all of our The Horde members.
For fans of Eternal Suffering, Pyrexia & Internal Bleeding.
4/5
Harold Budd - "The Pavilion of Dreams" (1978)
The second full-length from this Californian ambient legend is a pretty decent listen, if not as classic as it's often made out to be. It's four lengthy tracks sit in more of a new age space than an ambient one with a clear jazz & classical component appearing at times. It's perhaps not as exciting as I would like but there are no weak moments included. I don't think it's Budd's best work (not even close) but that hasn''t stopped it from playing a role in a couple of relaxing drives to & from work this week.
For fans of Brian Eno, Pharoah Sanders & Hiroshi Yoshimura.
3.5/5
Bohren & der Club of Gore - "Black Earth" (2002)
After my incredibly successful revisit to 2000's "Mission Sunset" album recently, I thought I'd pull out my old "Black Earth" CD too & have been rewarded to an equally mind-blowing extent. These guys are quite frankly playing on another level to the rest of the dark jazz scene & I now have to speak of them in terms of being one of my very favourite musical artists overall. "Black Earth" is even deeper, darker & more stripped back than "Mission Sunset" was & sits right up my alley from a stylistic point of view. I think I'd give its predecessor a slight edge over it in terms of overall consistency these days though but there's very little in it as both are pretty much perfect. I challenge any doom metal fan to tell me that this jazz is not their bag.
For fans of Dale Cooper Quartet & The Dictaphones, The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble & Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation.
5/5
Negură Bunget - "OM" (2006)
I first encountered Romanian black metallers Negură Bunget through the tape trading scene back in the mid-1990's with their 1996 "Zîrnindu-să" debut release not doing very much for me to tell you the truth. I wouldn't encounter them again until Ben introduced me to their fourth full-length "OM" upon my return to metal from a decade-long hiatus in 2009 & I have to admit that I initially found it to be a challenge for a few reasons. Time saw me warming to it though & I now find myself returning to "OM" semi-regularly, if not claiming it to be the masterpiece that many punters would have you believe it is.
"OM" possesses a very clear personality that's all its own with its array of different sounds & influences being presented in a fairly coherent way throughout & the main attraction being the full, lush synthesizer sounds of front man Hupogrammos (Dordeduh/Sunset in the 12th House) & fellow guitarist Sol Faur (Dordeduh/Sunset in the 12th House). Hupogrammos' vocal performance is passionate & authentic too which fits the requirement nicely. Unfortunately, all is not roses though with the thin rhythm guitar tone & weak snare sound leaving a little to be desired & not doing a very good job at masking the instrumentalist's obvious technical limitations. The six-string performances of both men are fairly sloppy at times while drummer Negru's blast beats are an absolute rabble that should never have been attempted on the evidence presented here. Thankfully though, the atmospherics on display throughout "OM" are generally quite stunning which allows the album to overcome those deficiencies reasonably comfortably. It certainly helps that the opening three tracks are nothing short of marvelous & it's a little disappointing that the quality dial never quite reaches those heights again for the remainder of this lengthy 67-minute release. Progressive folk metal number "Hora soarelui" is the only genuine disappointment included though with its bouncy folk melodies being a little too much for this battle-hardened extreme metalhead to cope with.
For all its failings, I find "OM" to be an endearing listen these days, as well as being the clear career high-point of Negură Bunget's inconsistent recording career overall.
For fans of Dordeduh, Marțolea & Darkestrah.
4/5