Xephyr's Forum Replies

I don't have very strong feelings on this one, but I agree that it REALLY toes the line. The ideas in the beginning are very doom-y, but I'm not sure if the execution backs it up. The tempo change is still super borderline because it comes across as a more bouncy rock riff rather than a chugging heavy metal one, but I wouldn't be able to explain why. 

I'd have to go with Daniel on Hard Rock / Stoner

I'd agree with the traditional doom metal tag.

Speaking of that from Daniel's post, hi I'm back, Daniel summoned me and I'll try to paraphrase what I wrote back to him in regards to In Rock. So, gonna backpedal the discussion a little bit, but I've missed most of this since I'm not a diehard genre discusser. 

I think it's an interesting perspective to have been born in the mid-90's since most of the dust between Rock, Hard Rock, and Heavy Metal had definitely subsided by then. Growing up, bands like Led Zeppelin, Rush, Blue Oyster Cult, and Deep Purple were kind of just Rock and not necessary Hard Rock like people who grew up during those bands' heyday would say. Those bands were heavier for the time, but for me they all got lumped into the same Classic Rock stations and overall umbrella, so there seemed to only be a distinction between Led Zeppelin Rock vs like...Yes or Pink Floyd's Prog Rock and The Beatles for Soft Rock. What does that mean for Deep Purple's In Rock?

Well...the funny thing is that Deep Purple were a two hit wonder by the 90's and 2000's. They were the band that did the funny "Smoke On the Water" riff that everyone makes fun of as baby's first guitar riff, and "Highway Star" for the awesome opening then not really caring about the rest of the song for some reason. Because of this, I never checked out Deep Purple. I was fuckin' wrong for that, In Rock is an incredible album that made me rethink Deep Purple as a band entirely. I thoroughly enjoyed In Rock way more than I thought I would, but...I still don't think it's quite there as a Metal album. I initially thought it was, but after sleeping on it and relistening to other 1970's Hard Rock/Metal albums, it's still too much in the grey area for me personally. The ideas are there, but they're muddied up by too many other influences much in the same way as Black Sabbath's debut. If anything, I'm more skeptical of Black Sabbath than I am In Rock just due to the massive Blues Rock influence that Sabbath has. 

It's very apparent that Sabbath and Deep Purple were going for very different things though, since the Sabbath debut sounds definitely evil and plodding whereas In Rock is way more energetic and loose. It's cool to see the different Metal subgenre ideas appear before Metal was even really a thing, since like others have said before in this thread, Metal can take on many forms. 

If anything, these sorts of discussions make me wonder about the validity and line that the Hard Rock genre has more than the Heavy or Doom Metal one. Hard Rock, to me, seems to have lost its footing as music continues to push its extremes and "Heavier Rock" just doesn't seem to cut it for a distinction sometimes. Especially for someone like me who, as said in the first paragraph, grew up in a world where Rock and Hard Rock were kind of the same thing. 

After all that rambling, In Rock is a fantastic album but after reading all the arguments for and against it, I don't think it has quite enough teeth to it to really be considered Heavy Metal for me. Hopefully I can try to be more active in the discussion now that things have calmed down on the personal side of things, glad to see people still sticking around!

At the risk of showing my ignorance, what is a discord?

Quoted Sonny

Discord is a social app where you can create a Server and invite people to it. You can then craft the server to your liking with text channels where people can send messages, or create voice channels that people can join and talk. It's highly customizable since you can have bots do automated things or give people certain roles that allows/disallows them to do things that you specify. With how MA is currently set up, it'd basically be an alternate version of what we already have here if set up. Separate text channels for each clan, running announcement channels that would alert everyone of the new Features of the month. It's just more immediate than forums, since people use it to chat in real time like text messaging. 

Just to chime in since I'm technically a regular, sites like Metal Academy take a tremendous amount of effort compared to normal social media sites. And honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way since it makes the content on here more interesting and based less on engagement farming for the sake of a number going up. Algorithms and all that junk. 

But again, it takes effort. Right now my schedule and brain capacity between work, studying, and the rest of my life doesn't allow me to get the creative review juices flowing. As I'm sure you've seen from my lack of reviews or engagement on a lot of monthly things. Hopefully this'll turn around eventually but the framework of the site does ask for a lot out of people. Which again, is fine.

Huh, I'm glad I looked into this because I'm with Rex in MUCH preferring this over Nosferatu. I didn't get the hype behind that release and even though it wasn't bad, it kind of put me off from diving any deeper into Helstar's discography. A Distant Thunder was overall way more interesting and kept my attention with some extremely solid US Power Metal riffing that borrows a bit from Thrash here and there. The vocal performance isn't my favorite but it fits right in the pocket of what I prefer out of the more shrieky Power Metal vocalists. Strong first impression from this one and it makes me want to check out more Helstar in the future. 

4/5

Godthrymm - Distortions (2023)

Godthrymm's newest album just came out last week and it's more of what you'd expect from the band, but at the same time I'd expect nothing less. So far this one is just as quality as their first, so if Sonny hasn't seen that this one dropped yet I'd highly recommend to check it out. 

Seconding what Vinny said, I'm glad to hear they gave you severance benefits at the very least. The job market is just ridiculous nowadays so I'm wishing the best for you and that something comes along quick. 

Sonny nails it in the last paragraph and with "...the artist's view should have primary consideration as it is their work and vision". 

This makes it awkward for people who catalogue things because what if the artist releases something but never claims it to be a full release or not? I don't know if there's a good way to go about it. 

As for how to think about EP's versus LP's, it's something I definitely struggle with. I tend to like longer songs and more drawn out ideas, so when a Grindcore, Hardcore, or even a Thrash song comes in for a minute and a half and just ends, there's an unending, nagging feeling of 'what, that's it?' that I always get. That goes for albums too. I find myself having to shove my expectations away and looking at 10-20 minute projects for what they present rather than what I think they lack. Riff, chorus, riff, done and leaving the stage in 45 seconds? Not really my thing but I've been trying to get better about looking at it objectively. 

EP's are kind of the same way where I always seem to have a hesitation of giving full marks to 2 or 3 songs and saying it's a perfect project. It's the same reason why I don't like rating individual songs; I enjoy looking at things more holistically. This is where certain EP's definitely feel like EP's and others definitely feel like albums. I gave Hordanes Land by Enslaved a 4.5 and it feels like a full experience from start to finish in its 30 minute runtime. I wouldn't want to tack on anything else. Meanwhile, Worm released an EP called Bluenothing, which I gave a 4, but walked away from it more excited for the coming full-length than the actual EP. It's such a weird case-by-case basis.

I spent way too long thinking about the absurd story behind this pretty disappointing album, and finally had a few hours and the motivation to write a way too long review outlining what in the hell happened this year in the world of silly, dumb Power Metal. After writing this much about an album that doesn't even really matter (it's a 2/5 for me), I feel like I'm somehow contractually obligated to write something about the newest Gloryhammer since that album is somehow on-par with the rest of their material. 

I mean, look at that album cover, what was I even expecting here? 

Full review is below, I probably went overboard but I thought it was important considering how confused I was through this whole thing.

A Baffling Resurrection

I'm not the best historian so I can't accurately say when, but at some point, Power Metal became excessively silly. To most, Power Metal is probably synonymous with cheesy, simple, and hook-laden choruses about the lead singer's Dungeons and Dragons campaign or the band's self-insert in a Lord of the Rings inspired fantasy world. The modern scene has certainly employed a ton of high-fantasy ideas more often than not, but genre pioneers like Helloween, Blind Guardian, and Running Wild kept their topics rather tame and simple and their Metal writing suitably blazing for Power Metal overall. Theatrical and over-the-top musings about ancient warriors and spells, hobbits, and pirates may have been a bit silly when compared to the rest of the Metal landscape, but it never stepped into the absolutely absurd. Then, atop a fearsome dragon screaming across a blackened sky lit only by bolts of magical lightning, Rhapsody began their mighty conquest of the ludicrous side of Power Metal. More and more Power Metal bands embraced the idea of going full bore with fantastical storytelling, replacing tame song titles like "Wizard's Crown" or "March of Time" with incredibly wild ones like "Dargor, Shadowlord Of The Black Mountain" or "In The Mighty Hall Of The Fire King". In the early 2010's, a certain band from Scotland decided to take the joke and run with it. Gloryhammer, a side project created by Alestorm's Christopher Bowes, uses a set cast of characters, real places like Dundee or the Kingdom of Fife, and facetious lyrics and storytelling that's meant to be silly. Gloryhammer's initial trilogy of albums was led by vocalist Thomas Winkler as the central hero Angus McFife, but after some rough behind-the-scenes behavior on the rest of the band's part, Winkler was replaced in mid-2021. I enjoyed Gloryhammer's slightly stupid but fun take on creating their own little Power Metal universe, so losing the original Angus was a bit disheartening.

I felt like this longwinded foreword was necessary because Angus McSix and the Sword of Power might be one of the most confusing album experiences I've ever had. In the middle of 2022 I heard whisperings that Gloryhammer was back in the studio and released a pretty disappointing single with "Fly Away", the first new track with new vocalist Sozos Michael. This new track felt incredibly generic after the tragic death of Angus McFife in Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex and I started to wonder why the band didn't just lean into the situation at hand. The original Angus McFife literally threw himself into a volcano at the end of the album, why not just reincarnate him as the next Angus in the timeline, or shove his burned skeleton into a magical time-travelling robot? It felt like such a wasted opportunity. Then, earlier this year, a single day after I joked to a friend about calling the new guy Angus McSix, Angus McSix was officially born as Winkler's new project. Well I'll be damned, the guy actually just ran with the joke. The Sword of Power released about a month before the newest Gloryhammer offering, so I was very curious about what Winkler would do to separate himself from his previous gig. Something wasn't exactly adding up on the first listen though, since the story seemed to be utterly incomprehensible with an intro track being haphazardly shoved into the middle of the album. A few days later I learned that the stock track listing is completely wrong and there is a "lore order" that the tracks are meant to be played in to get the full album experience. Great. This was a massive realization in album sequencing for me as the true order of the album makes the final product flow way better than what's initially listed.

After all the dust, confusion, and drama around this album settled, I gotta say that it's just not very good. Which, after all this exposition, is pretty disappointing, not gonna lie. Angus McSix intentionally ripping off Gloryhammer had all the means to be an absolute blast, but neither the music or the lyrics amount to much at all in the end. Angus McSix pushes their Power Metal guitars all the way to the back of the mix in favor of overpowering synths and choirs that flatten everything into a drab wall of nothing. The more electronic-forward approach has its highlights like "Eternal Warrior" or "In A Past Reality" where there's some interesting interplay between the more rhythmic guitar chugs as the synths take charge of the melody. Most of those moments are short lived, though, as The Sword of Power quickly veers into truly embarrassing territory outside of its four or so passable tracks. "Ride To Hell's" awkward, synthetic sounding gang vocals alongside thumping EDM bass was a bit much for me, but that was just the warmup to the total mess that is "Laser-Shooting Dinosaur". At least I can give it points for fully committing to Angus McSix's attempted theme of pumping electronic music supported by semblances of Power Metal riffs, whereas "Fireflies of Doom" with its awful chorus, eye-rolling key change, and uninteresting synth choices is the key example for how this all went wrong. After a bit more research I found out that the culprit behind all the musical choices I generally dislike is Sebastian Levermann of Orden Ogan, debuting as Arch Demon Seebulon, The Origin of all Evil. Incredibly fitting, to say the least, since Orden Ogan's synth-drenched style was never really my thing.

There are a few highlights on The Sword of Power, though, and these give a short glimpse into how this parody of a parody could have panned out if a bit more care was put into the identity and ideas of this thing. "Master of the Universe" is legitimately funny (if not petty) with its direct callouts to Gloryhammer, declaring Angus McSix reincarnated as a shining upgrade clad in gleaming gold. "Sixcalibur" is basically what I expected out of this project as Winkler provides some powerful verses and a fun, catchy chorus alongside forced lore about Angus McSix's weapon replacement to smite interstellar goblins. The closing "Starlord Of The Sixtus Stellar System" is the closest the album gets to a ripping guitar riff and although it pales in comparison to Gloryhammer's ten minute finales, the "Angus!" chants still get me to crack a smile. The rest of the album doesn't manage to keep up the energy level as the more sweeping "Amazons Of Caledonia" and "The Key To Eternity" come across as dull and tired despite the high energy synths. Winkler's vocal performance isn't anything to write home about either, which is wild considering The Sword of Power seems to be his direct rebuttal towards the Angus of old. "Master Of The Universe", "Sixcalibur", and "Eternal Warrior" showcase his skills well, but it's nothing that eclipses his performances on Gloryhammer. The constant use of choir, backing vocals, and overdubs causes Winkler to lose a ton of power and identity as he's drowned out by mediocre melodies and barely memorable riffs.

The Sword of Power is an unfortunate case study in what feels like the eventual culmination of silly Power Metal losing the backbone of what made it interesting in the first place. While Gloryhammer was no stranger to overpowering synth and orchestral melodies, the Power Metal portion along with the theming and overall sound design on their synths gave them the energy and audacity to make their whole shtick work out. Winkler and Levermann sought to differentiate Angus McSix by going for a more stellar and godlike theme, but the heavenly soundscapes suck out most of the energy from the compositions without adding much to the feel of the story. The story itself is disappointing as well since it's filled to the brim with Gloryhammer pandering that feels like it's included to desperately try to pull fans to Angus McSix's side rather than just running with the joke. Instead of getting a new epic tale of Angus McSix across the solar systems, The Sword of Power throws in demon fireflies as undead unicorn substitutes, the Key of Eternity as the bauble that Angus must quest to find, and Thalestris from Caledonia as the beginning of Angus' cast of stage mates. All of it feels like a lame rehash without adding anything new or exciting, especially when the storytelling aspect of the album is basically nonexistent. For as dumb as Gloryhammer can be, they still understand how to set up a concept album with clear protagonists, antagonists, and stakes of any kind. The Sword of Power is entirely a prologue piece from what I can tell, which is a pretty disappointing choice considering they took an entire album to get through two or three plot points without even mentioning any sort of main villain.

Is all of this complaining about a parody of a parody Power Metal band worthless and unfounded considering it's just supposed to be fun? Probably, but I think there's room to have higher standards for silly Power Metal, especially since other bands have shown that it's possible. Angus McSix took what made Gloryhammer fun and created a cheap and, quite frankly, lazy knockoff that stripped back the Power Metal energy in favor of Trance Metal electronics and uninspired symphonics. I respect them for trying to go in a musically different direction even though it doesn't appeal to me at all, but when the lyrical content and theme of the album tries to compete directly with the obvious competition, it becomes a bit confusing. Adding the track order debacle on top of that, something doesn't quite add up here. Maybe it was a time crunch, maybe it was a misunderstanding with the label, or maybe this is all they could muster to try and salvage their own lore out of alternate reality Kingdom of Fife. As a fan of silly Power Metal, I'm hoping Winkler and company can eventually find their footing and provide something with a bit more identity and pizzazz than what's on display here.

Lore Order Track Listing

7, 8, 9, 5, 2, 1, 10, 11, 3, 4, 6

I remember giving this album a chance in 2021 since it was getting a lot of traction early in the year, plus it was definitely out of my comfort zone at the time. In some aspects the 40-minute runtime was excruciatingly long, but in the end I was able to get what they were going for. I was able to get past a lot of the abrasive aspects and it started to become pretty compelling in the end. However, I never went back to it after those initial listens and, through remembering what this album sounded like, I can only imagine my patience with it would wane if I would try to jump back in. I don't find this kind of sound design inherently interesting on a mechanical level, so I'm probably going to leave this one as a nice listening experiment for me. 

Incredibly insightful review Daniel, I learned a ton since I didn't think to really delve into the band members yet. It makes a lot of sense that someone from Imperial Triumphant would have their hand in a project like this, but having Artificial Brain's guitarist in there made something click together in my head for where I've heard this sort of dissonant style from. Obviously Sarmat is very much it's own unique project but it's cool to see that all these extreme metal musicians are still hopping on a ton of side projects that allow them to try and push the boundaries. 

I say "try" because I'm 100% with you on your final paragraph. I think the insanity of it all resonated with me pretty well at first, but I'll be interested to see how I feel about it after letting the dust settle for a bit. I want to say it's more of a proof of concept rather than a fully fleshed out product, but I think that description doesn't do Determined To Strike justice as it's still a cool and wild piece of music. 

My favorite Metal album is still (slightly boringly) Opeth's Blackwater Park but my gut says that Ne Obliviscaris' Portal Of I reflects what I get most excited about when checking out new albums. I like my complex melodies, extended song structures, progressive experimentation, a nice mix of clean and harsh vocals, don't mind a bit of cheesiness here and there, but still enjoy the harsh and brutal aspect of Metal when done well and with intention. A lot of those vague qualities carry over into what I enjoy about Power Metal or Atmospheric Black Metal as well. 

I've actually only listened to the most recent High On Fire album from 2018, somehow I didn't realize they were so prolific and will definitely have to go back and check out some of their other stuff. Hell, I even saw them live and for some reason never went past the one album they were touring for. 

I was a much bigger fan of this Predatory Light album last year than the Negative Plane album that seemed to grab all the attention. I remember Negative Plane being a bit too goofy sounding to me while Death and the Twilight Hours was able to blend Black and Heavy Metal in a cooler and more exciting way for me personally. Even though the songs are super long the album itself is nicely concise, made it easy and fun to go back to. 

I'm glad that the review date issue has finally been fixed, and it's nice to know that backend stuff is being noted and taken care of. Good work guys. 

It seems like 6:33 have a Dog Fashion Disco thing going on so I'm down to try that out. 

September

Odz Manouk - "I Will Crush To Marrow This Crow Of Ill" - Odz Manouk (2010)

RUIM - "Black Royal Spiritism" - Black Royal Spiritism - I - O Sino da Igreja (2023)

For September: 

Ashbreather - "Hivemind VIII" from Hivemind (2022)

Psychonaut - "Violate Consensus Reality" from Violate Consensus Reality (2022)

Ostraca - "Heaven is Still" from Disaster (2023)

I guess to give a real world example, my coworker is a serial genre-hopper and listens to anything and everything. He wasn't that much into Metal, but when we started talking more at work, sharing music, and posting my album listen on one of my desk walls, he started delving deeper. He's a massive shoegaze/noise rock/post punk fan, and the subgenre that has clicked for him the most has undoubtedly been Black Metal. He still likes a ton of other Metal stuff but always seems to hold Black Metal in high regards coming from the background that he did, so I would say that The North aligns the best. 

I was skeptical at first but after listening to more of his stuff I can see some decent similarities between the vocals, the production, and the overall feel of everything. He even had Ultha, Asunojokei, Bríi, and White Ward as part of his Top 50 of 2022 list, so even though it's an extremely small sample size of one singular person, I can personally see the connection here.

I want to say that I gave this one a fair shake but in all honesty I didn't get too far. 

Darkmoon Blade are just not my thing as I don't really have any nostalgia for this kind of thing and the way that the vocal melodies fit in with the rest of what the band was trying to do made my skin crawl. I guess I can say that the instrumental portion of Darkmoon Rising does okay for what it is, but there wasn't a single riff that really caught my ear the entire time. Couple that with some rough songwriting in how they incorporate the riffs with the vocals and this one was an absolute disaster for me, sadly. I'm sure there are albums in this style that I'd enjoy, like that one Nite album from last year Voices of the Kronian Moon, but that's more aligned with Black Metal whereas this is definitely trying to be Heavy Metal.

1.5/5

No Daniel, it's even less of a Thrash album than Rats' Nest in my opinion. I've personally labeled it as Progressive Stoner with a few flashes of Thrash-like riffing here and there. 

I'm not a Hall of Judgement kind of guy but Thrash would definitely need to be removed from the main genres in my opinion. 

I like it better than Rats' Nest (see my rather lengthy review) because it leans into King Gizz's jammy, psych tendencies in a way that produces something pretty exciting and unique for Metal, so it's definitely worth a listen, but a Thrash album this is not. 

Welcome, glad to have ya around!

Profane Order - One Nightmare Unto Another

It may be a little cleaner than some like their War Metal, but I've been throroughly enjoying Profane Order's new 2023 offering One Nightmare Unto Another, and this is coming from someone who genuinely does not car for War Metal all that much. It's probably because One Nightmare Unto Another is a bit less chaotic than other War Metal albums I've come across with riffs that I can follow along with and more succinct songwriting centered around those riffs. There's a distinct lack of any atmospheric touches that the Infernal Coil or Teitanblood albums from Daniel's list have, making it a bit more one-dimensional, but I think it works for an album that's only 25 minutes long. All in all this one has been hitting the spot when I'm in the need for something that just sounds mean. Real mean.

https://metal.academy/releases/42625

Saxy's review reminded me to check this one out at the beginning of the week and it's right up my alley with the added melodicism you alluded to, Sonny. I came to many of the same conclusions in that it's very well crafted and it'll definitely receive high marks and a few relistens from me this year as the atmosphere is something I really enjoy, but it lacks a bit of "excitement" throughout the runtime, even though Death Doom doesn't follow normal excitement parameters for it to be effective. Solid, but lacks a bit of that unquantifiable magic. 

Funny enough, I managed to come across Stormwitch in 2018 with their newest album Bound to the Witch which was...okay at best, but it had a few songs in there that I thought were genuinely good. That's coming from a Power Metal fan, though, as it was still very much generic and forgettable at the end of the day. Never decided to go back to their earlier material, so you've got me a little more interested now? I'm sure it won't be anything mind-blowing, especially since 80's Heavy Metal can be hit or miss for me since I can't say I've ever had too much of a soft spot for classic Heavy Metal in general, apart from the obvious giants of the era. You'll most likely be seeing an early Stormwitch song in the Guardians playlist next month, I'm sure I've had their stuff on there before but not with any sort of consistency. 

I'll go with the Hulkoff album. 

For Cult of Daath:

Slit Throats and Ritual Nights definitely lived up to its expectations as a bare bones, classic Black Metal album. There are zero frills about this one as it hearkens back to the genres roots with incredibly low quality, evil sounding vocals, simplistic but effective riffing, and a sturdy bass-forward mixing that makes the whole thing sound enveloping and massive. It's sadly one of those albums where I feel like I've heard a lot of it before, but it definitely works as a palette cleanser if you're tired of the more "sophisticated" Black Metal that you tend to hear nowadays. I had a pretty good time with it on in the background and while I think that 50-minutes is a little long for what it is, I couldn't really find anything particularly bad about it. Can't find anything that really surprised me either, so it's just a solid, classic offering for those looking for that sort of thing. I'll see if I can write out a better review for it in the coming week or so, it's definitely a cool one to keep in the back pocket. 

3/5

June 2023

1. Unleash The Archers - "Awakening" from Apex (2017)

2. Liege Lord - "Master Control" from Master Control (1988)

3. Trivium - "Endless Night" from The Sin and the Sentence (2017)

4. Tanith - "Seven Moons (Galantia Pt. 2)" from Voyage (2023)

5. Air Raid - "Lionheart" from Fatal Encounter (2023)

6. Crossfire - "Atomic War" from Second Attack (1985)

7. Grave Digger - "The Final War" from Excalibur (1999)

8. Killer - "Bodies and Bones" from Wall of Sound (1982)

9. Elvenking - "The Hanging Tree" from Reader of the Runes - Rapture (2023)

10. Xandria - "Asteria" from The Wonders Still Awaiting (2023)

11. Shield of Wings - "Frozen Harbor" from Unfinished (2022)

12. Angus McSix - "Master of the Universe" from Master of the Universe (2023)

13. Fellowship - "Avalon" from The Saberlight Chronicles (2022)

14. Lacrimosa - "Alleine zu zweit" from Elodia (1999)

15. Kamelot - "New Babylon" from The Awakening (2023)

16. Allen Lande - "Lady of Winter" from The Great Divide (2014)

17. Beast In Black - "Beast In Black" from Berserker (2017)

18. Cacophany - "Savage" from Speed Metal Symphony (1987)

19. Stormwitch - "Priest of Evil" from Walpurgis Night (1984)

20. Dionysus - "Eyes of the World" from Anima Mundi (2004)

So...I may have bitten off a little more than I can handle with The Ordeal.  

It is New York based Painted In Exile's debut and only album after being together on the records for 9 years and it obviously shows, given how much is going on in this album. Even though it's probably correct to place The Ordeal as a Progressive Metal primary, I view it as a misguided vessel for Deathcore and Tech Death ideas, as those styles are what make up the primary focus of this album. Even though a lot of time is spend on progressive meanderings with some decent guitar solos, piano interludes, and mellow soundscapes that sound good enough, it always circles back to Deathcore climaxes that are, in my opinion, just not good. I think these guys are perfectly good musicians and they come up with some very interesting ideas in the more erratic Progressive Metal space; for example "Jupiter" is a pretty awesome song as it establishes a moody atmosphere before climaxing into a not-so-overblown riff with harmonized harsh and clean vocals at the end. Whereas the opener "House of Cards" and especially the 11-minute epic "DM" relish a bit too much in Deathcore chugging and breakdowns for anything to be effective to me. It just doesn't fit together for me, especially given how long some of these compositions can be. 

It's a shame because I think there are some decent ideas that are surrounded by core ideas that the band obviously didn't want to give up, which is commendable, but it doesn't work out for me. I listened to this early in the month and really didn't want to go back to it, and relistening to snippits as I'm writing this confirmed that suspicion. I'll hopefully be able to write a slightly more in-depth review in the next week or so, but again, this is a deeply complex project that has a lot of moving parts, gonna be a tough one. Also, "Not For Nothin'" might be one of the worst interludes I've heard in a very, very long time. It derails the back half, especially since "Like A Memory", "These People", and "My Keeper" are on the gentler side. I think these guys could have had something great if they found a better balance or production style to fit their heavy-to-soft style as well as work on the vocals a bit; neither the harshes nor the cleans instill me with too much confidence throughout the entire album. 

Very interesting listen, tough one though. 

2/5

I was going to try and get back into the swing of trying to write a bit more about some Monthly Features but this one kind of stumped me and Sonny pretty much took the words out of my mouth on this one. There isn't really a lot here and, honestly, I've always kind of struggled with looking at very short EP's or singles as something to rate and have a ton of opinions about. I've found that I'm very much a fan of the album format and that's what gets my gears turning in terms of opinions, so Mad Locust Rising is pretty much over by the time I start to form any real opinions on it. 

I don't know what it is about certain Thrash vocalists, but something about the vocal delivery and melodies that they choose over the admittedly great Thrash riffs just don't do it for me, which kind of makes me feel like a hypocrite considering how many over the top Power Metal vocalists I love to listen to. Sonny has said a similar thing but I'm even farther down the rabbit hole since I blast stuff like Gloryhammer and Avantasia on the regular when I'm in the mood. "Mad Locust Rising" and "Let It Be Done/The Day At Guyana" definitely have the riffing chops to rival any classic 80's Thrash, but I can't really see myself preferring this over the many, many other solid examples that the beginnings of Thrash gave us. The production definitely has that messy, echo-y quality to it which adds some nice grime to all the riffs but it's very inconsistent with the vocals, with Cyriis sometimes pushed to the back and sometimes coming in way too hot. I don't have too much history with Judas Priest apart from a couple songs so I'm not exactly ecstatic about "The Ripper" cover, but that's probably why people might be labelling this as Speed Metal? Which is still kind of wrong? 

It's funny because I was ready to come out guns blazing saying that this was Speed Metal, but after relistening to some earlier 80's Speed Metal...yeah this is a Thrash EP. The tempos and riffing style are much too fast and the drumming has that classic quarter note alternating snare and hi-hat; it rips too hard to be a speedier version of Heavy Metal. Sadly it still doesn't do much for me. 

3/5

Yuuup, it's a good one. The larger lean into Crossover Thrash ala Power Trip has made me enjoy this one more off the rip than their previous record, even though that one was very solid as well. It fell off for me throughout the year though, hopefully this can hold up over a lotta listens. Even though some of the riffs on this thing have been done to death, I'm still not tired of the chugging shown on "Nation of Fear" and "War Remains" so they're definitely doing something right.

I was also going to ask about the Iron Maiden, but there's obviously too much passion emanating from Daniel that I'll leave it to my imagination. 

It did make me curious though, as this is probably easier than the Best 10 Albums Of All Time. Encenathrakh is easily #1, but the rest isn't in any order, and the De Magia Veterum album may be a bit of a stretch since I'm more used to Black Metal than I was a few years ago.

1. Encenathrakh - Ithate Thngth Oceate
2. Delusional Parasitosis / Ecchymosis / Dissevered / Bleeding - Scaphism 4-Way Split (2017)
3. Machine Head - Catharsis (2018)
4. The Devil Wears Prada - The Act (2019)
5. Combichrist - One Fire (2019)
6. Body Count - Carnivore (2020)
7. De Magia Veterum - Naked Swords Into the Wombs of the Enemy (2017)
8. Ada Rook - UGLY DEATH NO REDEMPTION ANGEL CURSE I LOVE YOU (2022)
9. Phyllomedusa - Desiccation in Progress (Version II) (2011)
10. Antediluvian - The Divine Punishment (2021)

Under The Red Cloud is actually a pretty big album for me since it was another stepping stone in finding out what kind of Metal I liked back when I was listening to almost purely Tool, Dream Theater, and Opeth with some others thrown in there. The CD still lives in my car to this day and I used the opening track as the backing to my radio show ad/bumper and it was the first Amorphis album I had heard at the time. For better or worse, Amorphis have been doing the same thing very well ever since their 2006 release Eclipse. I haven't gotten through all their albums, but Under The Red Cloud remains one of their strongest for me, especially compared to their more recent material. Skyforger gets close, but I always end up coming back to this album rather than that one. Maybe it's because I've heard the same thing from them for a bit too long that I've become jaded with their new stuff, but it just doesn't have the punch, excitement, and memorability that I think this album has. 

Amorphis have always occupied this middling space where it feels like they're not exactly sure what they want to be but, as Daniel alluded to, they're some of the best at incorporating all these elements into a package that manages to just make sense at the end of it all. "Under the Red Cloud", "Bad Blood", "Death of a King", and "Enemy at the Gates" are all killer tracks and through listening to it for so long, all the other tracks aren't too far behind either. It's just a solid package from start to finish that has fallen off a bit from its original 4.5 rating since I don't think that it offers anything truly spectacular all things considered. The combination of Melodic Death and Folk is obviously something that I'm more predisposed towards, but I guess I'm just surprised that this album out of all of them has stood the test time against all the rest of their material, considering they have quite a few albums now. I think that their early days with Tales From the Thousand Lakes and Elegy are more interesting listens, but Under The Red Cloud is most likely the most genuine modern Amorphis sound that they'll be able to craft. They're an incredibly consistent band that I think I've started to be a little harsh on, but I guess that's what happens when you listen to a band a lot. 

4/5, used to be a 4.5/5.

I'll take Painted In Exile on. 

I am! I failed my test attempt but I'm not going to limit myself on stuff anymore, gonna try again in 2-3 months. So I'll be around again. 

I'll take the Cult of Daath.

Kaatayra's Só Quem Viu O Relâmpago À Sua Direita Sabe, if I'm interpreting the prompt correctly

Breaking my radio silence a bit to offer up some Black Metal discoveries I've been particularly addicted to recently, which has been a lot of Speed/Black'n'Roll influence surprisingly. 

Hellripper - Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags (2023) - This one is a bit more Speed Metal than Black Metal and is exactly what you'd expect from Hellripper, but I think it's his best outing to date. 

Spirit Possession - Of the Sign... (2023) - This one is more Black Metal than Speed Metal but has a serious old-school vibe and production that has only gotten better the more I've listened to it. The guitar work is phenomenal in my opinion. 

Chapel - Satan's Rock n Roll (2012) - I found Chapel after reading some discussion about the new Hellripper album and this more unknown Black n' Roll album has become my all-time favorite in the primarily niche subgenre. It rocks ridiculously hard, every single song is either about Satan or alcohol, and it may be sort of dumb at times but I love it. 

Enslaved - Hordanes Land (1993) - Enslaved continue to surprise me after I thoroughly enjoyed their new album Heimdal. If anything, Enslaved might be the most consistent and interesting band in metal history, or at least they should be in the running. The fact that they've been able to continually reinvent themselves without crashing and burning like many other bands is impressive, but it turns out I was unaware of how good their technical "debut" album was. This is the same EP that shows up on their split with Emperor in 1993 and it's definitively a piece of Black Metal history that will take a few more listens to fully grasp. It's been a while since I listened to some seriously raw Black Metal, but I gotta say it's good to be back. 

I'll be back to say hi to everyone officially again starting on the 24th.

Sadly I'm not, exam is April 20th, I'll be free from this special kind of torment and back better than ever in May.

Back to spending part of my Saturday reminding myself why we put fly ash in concrete and whatever the hell Marshall testing is for asphalt strength 

I'm in the final 2 months of preparing for my professional engineering exam, (Civil, Construction focused) so you won't be hearing too much of me until then. I think I made this post in here almost a year ago when I was optimistic that I was going to get this over with last November, but obviously that dream is long gone. It's extremely difficult to analyze and write about music past just listening to and enjoying it when I have to learn and remember how to do everything from pipe flow calcs, to concrete compressive strength, to retaining wall bearing capacities, to earthwork computations and OSHA regulations. Plus keeping on my gym schedule on top of everything else.

Just know that I'm still listening to music and checking out the Feature Releases and Draft albums here and there and am still very much enjoying them, even though I might not have the motivation to say much as of now. I'll probably remind Ben/Saxy to take me out of the next Draft round for the next two months while I get things sort, and I'll let someone know if I have issues making the Guardians playlists for March, April, and May. 

2022 was definitely a weird year overall. I don't think that there were a ton of truly standout releases, especially in some of the Clans that others have referenced, but it produced my longest list yet of albums that deserve a listen or two. So while it wasn't the most exciting year, it was the deepest and most consistent year I've had so far. Let me go through these real quick. 

The Fallen - Although I haven't gone back to it that much, Quiescent is definitely deserving. It's hard for me to truly get into due to my tastes, but it's still an insanely compelling listen when I get the strength to turn it on for another spin. I preferred Messa's Close and Epitaphe's II, but I'm far from upset about this. 

The Gateway - I'm kind of disappointed with this one, as I think Cave In's offering was much stronger, but I don't think Obsidian is a weak album by any means. 

The Guardians - No surprises here, I'm not the biggest fan of Blind Guardian's more modern material, so this was a massive improvement for them to go back to the kinds of riffs and songwriting that I prefer. It still manages to combine their old and new styles though, making it a really interesting listen for a band that's been going at it for a long time now. There were a lot of other strong releases this year though, especially in the Heavy Metal category. Sonny alluded to Earth Infernal, but Sumerland's Dreamkiller is also a great record, as well as Riot City's Electric Elite. These three albums basically form a trifecta of any classic Heavy Metal style you'd want, ranging from Black Sabbath, to Judas Priest. 

The Horde - I'm pretty torn about this one. I loved Woe when I first listened to it, but as the year went on, I kept finding more and more problems with it. I think my 4.5 still fits, as I still love this style of Metal overall, but to see it take 1st place in The Horde feels a bit disingenuous as I categorize this as an Infinite release way more than a Horde one. While it was an admittedly quiet year for The Horde, I think Inanna, Artificial Brain, or Allegaeon have more of a place than Woe, even though those albums are fairly divisive too. Pretty strange year for The Horde overall as the big albums are hybrids and more progressive overall. 

The Infinite - Not really a surprise, I would have preferred Tómarúm in here, or even Epitaphe, but that's definitely due to personal taste. Even Imperial Triumphant deserve a shoutout, really strong year for this clan overall, Cult of Luna are just way too consistent though. 

The North - This one is VERY surprising as someone who really couldn't get into the atmosphere of this one. I gave it a solid 3.5 score since it accomplishes what it sets out to do very well, but I can't personally get in the right mindset to hear what everyone else seems to be hearing. That being said, the rest of the Black Metal I really enjoyed this year was VERY off the wall, so I wasn't expecting my favorites to be chart-toppers. 

The Pit - There wasn't really another option here. I'd say Autonoesis but I'd consider that more of a North album, I have no issues with Critical Defiance taking it home with some actual straight-up Thrash. 

The Revolution - I'm kind of sad that The Callous Daoboys didn't get more attention here, but Static Dress serve up some serious nostalgia and I'm not surprised this one took it. 

The Sphere - No arguments here, thoroughly enjoyed Krüller all the way through the year. 

Going to try and blast through these picks to catch up, I've been slacking on the Metal Academy part of my schedule as other stuff has piled up. Hopefully some of these will turn into full reviews one day? 

Old Man's Child

I wasn't aware of this band before choosing this album, but I was pretty surprised to hear a really solid Melodic Black Metal album that is more of an all-rounder compared to the fantastical or medieval styles most other second-wave bands adopted at the time. I really enjoyed this one on the whole, it has a ton of great riff ideas that bounce between normal Black Metal fare and more interlude-y stuff like "Wounds From the Night of Magic". Acoustic guitar and symphonic synths and choir are mostly used to give it that melodic edge and even though the vocals ruin some of the moments, like on "On Through the Desert Storm", I'm a big fan of this. I'm wondering if this got remastered for Spotify, as some reviews were complaining about the lo-fi production and not being able to hear certain parts, which is a problem I never ran into. The production on whatever this version is sounds much more modern, not thin at all, and overall loud, so I'd be interested to see if I can track down the original recording if this is, in fact, some sort of remaster. The songwriting feels a bit simplistic though, so I'm wondering if it'll lose its luster over multiple listens, but for now this one sits comfortably in the higher tier of 1990's Black Metal for me due to my bias.

4/5

A Light In The Dark

This was a pretty dull and boring Blackgaze album that is way more "-gaze" than it is Black Metal. I don't have the best ear for genres but I'd say this is more Post-Metal/Rock than anything, apart from the vocals and the occasional and more aggressive tremolo riff. That being said it's very pretty; it definitely lives up to its album cover of transporting the listener to a reflective, grassy hill at midnight overlooking the sparkling city skyline, but that doesn't keep it from mostly being a snooze-fest. The electronic additions can be neat, but they don't really elevate it all that much. Won't be coming back to this one. 

2.5/5 

It looks like Ben is third up so I'll edit this with my pick after he goes. 

January 2023

1. Blind Guardian – “Blood of the Elves” (from “The God Machine”, 2022)

2. Sumerlands – “Heavens Above” (from “Dreamkiller”, 2022)

3. Iron Maiden – “Heaven Can Wait” (from “Somewhere In Time (2015 Remaster)", 2015)

4. Helloween – “Rise Without Chains” (from “Helloween”, 2021)

5. Avantasia – “Seduction Of Decay" (from "Ghostlights”, 2016)

6. Black Sabbath – “Under The Sun” (from “Vol. 4 (2014 Remaster)", 2014)

7. Riot City – “Eye of the Jaguar” (from “Electric Elite”, 2022)

8. Judas Priest – “Beyond the Realms of Death” (from “Stained Class", 1978)

9. The Lord Weird Slough Feg – “Vargr Moon” (from “Traveller", 2013)

10. Nightwish – "Creek Mary's Blood” (from “Once”, 2004)

11. Twilight Force – “Forest of Destiny" (from “Tales of Ancient Prophecies", 2014)

12. Unleash the Archers – “Soulbound” (from “Abyss", 2020)

13. Saxon – “See the Light Shining" (from “Wheels of Steel (2009 Remaster)”, 2009)

14. Iced Earth – “Desert Rain” (from “Night Of The Stormrider", 1991)

15. The Ferrymen – “The Last Wave" (from “One More River To Cross" 2022)

16. HAMMER KING – “Kingdemonium” (from “Kingdemonium", 2022)

17. Rhapsody – “The Dark Tower of Abyss” (from “Symphony of Enchanted Lands", 1998)

18. Herzel – “Maîtres de l'océan" (from “Le dernier rempart”, 2021)

19. Epica - "Synergize - Manic Manifest" (from "Omega", 2021)

February 2023

1. King Diamond – “Behind These Walls” (from “The Eye”, 1990) (Submitted by Daniel)

2. Cool Feet – “The Man from Marakesh” (from “Burning Desire”, 1976) (Submitted by Daniel)

3. Amaranthe – “Crystalline” (from “Manifest", 2020) (Submitted by Daniel)

4. Acid – “Prince of Hell and Fire” (from “Maniac”, 1983) (Submitted by Sonny)

5. DragonForce – “The Edge of the World" (from "Reaching To Infinity”, 2017) (Submitted by Andi)

6. Twilight Force – “Skyknights of Aldaria” (from “At the Heart of Wintervale", 2023)

7. The Lightbringer of Sweden – “Strike Back” (from “The New World Order”, 2023)

8. Jag Panzer – “Harder Than Steel” (from “Ample Destruction", 1984)

9. Kamelot – “Lunar Sanctum" (from “The Fourth Legacy", 1999)

10. Dark Moor – "Maid of Orleans” (from “The Hall of the Olden Dreams”, 2000)

11. Lost Horizon – “Welcome Back" (from “Awakening the World", 2001)

12. Heavens Gate – “Flashes” (from “Livin' in Hysteria", 2003)

13. Rage – “Solitary Man" (from “Trapped!”, 2020)

14. Pharaoh – “By the Night Sky” (from “The Longest Night", 2006)

15. Bloodbound – “Desdemonamelia" (from “Nosferatu" 2006)

16. Eternity's End – “Under Crimson Moonlight” (from “Unyielding", 2019)

17. Visions of Atlantis – “Melancholy Angel” (from “Pirates", 2022)

18. Steel Prophet – “Spectres" (from “Dark Hallucinations”, 1999)

19. Serenity - "Wings of Pride" (from "The Last Knight", 2020)

20. Human Fortress - "Thunder" (from "Reign of Gold", 2019)

21. Warrior Path - "The Mad King" (from "The Mad King", 2021)

23. Avantasia - "Misplaced Among the Angels" (from "A Paranormal Evening With the Moonflower Society", 2022)

I'll take Borealis please, Prog/Power Metal always intrigues me because there's normally very little Progressive Metal to be found on them, so I'll be interested to see if this one actually holds up. 

I did a short writeup that will hopefully (eventually) turn into a full review for last month: 

The Antichrist Imperium - Volume II: Every Tongue Shall Praise Satan (2018)

To be honest, I ended up enjoying this album way more than I thought I was going to. I think it’s a very confused album at times, but at the same time, that aspect helps keep this album interesting throughout. The Antichrist Imperium double down on their evil and blatantly Satan worshipping shtick and while I don’t think that aspect makes it instantly compelling, they’re able to consistently play around with the theme in different ways so it doesn’t become too dull. This is a tough album to pin down since it has a little bit of everything, but it’s sort of like an alternate reality Persefone with more Black/Death Metal influence and slightly more atmosphere due to the spoken word interludes? Fans of dense and chaotic Prog Metal will definitely enjoy this, but I find the vocalist to be just okay with both their cleans and harshes, even though there are some fleeting moments of well done contrast between the two. “Liturgy of the Iconoclast” is a much needed hit of variety with its clean vocals and more melodic riffing, but it still ends up in the same place as the rest of the tracks at the end.

This album sits right in the middle of being a Death/Black Metal album with a few too many Progressive influences, and a Prog Metal album that may be a bit too extreme for some. It’s great for someone with my taste, but I’m not sure who else exactly this sort of fusion satisfies, since both sides end up detracting a bit from one another over the course of the album. It’s still a unique spin on the evil and anti-religious theme that Black Metal is known for, and it has a few great moments, but I don’t think it offers anything intensely compelling. It was still able to keep my attention thanks to its relentless Prog Riffing and sometimes satisfying songwriting with atmospheric interludes, but that’s about it. Apparently they have a 2022 album out, maybe they’ll be able to refine their approach a bit on that one?

3.5/5

Thanks for the heads up, I'll try and get some extra cover ratings in by then to make it more interesting. 

I've posted up a slightly longer review for that Deathspell album I rolled, time to make time to go back to that Antichrist Imperium album. I listened to it once and definitely didn't hate it.

A Fiery Taste

It's somewhat unbelievable that I can look at the over 2,000 albums that I've listened to up to this point and still feel intimidated by certain bands. I've delved into the depths of Brutal Death and Goregrind, as well as enveloped myself in the chaotic static of underground Black and War Metal, but something about the reputation that precedes Frenchmen Deathspell Omega keeps me at a firm arm's length from truly spending time with them. I knew that their discography was daunting, but I was unaware of their secondary lineup of highly praised EP's that began to be released after their initial 2004 breakout album Si monvmentvm reqvires, circvmspice. Most consist of one twenty minute song or simple movements like Kénôse, but Drought asserts itself as a miniature Deathspell Omega experience that provides something more hectic, aggressive, and blunt than their standard winding and dissonant melodies. The slow and brooding opener "Salowe Vision" is able to lull the listener into thinking they may be in for another Paracletus experience, but "Fiery Serpents" bursts in and shelves all those preconceived notions. The clearer and louder overall production, the punchier drums, the sharper guitars, and the more balanced but haggard vocals see Deathspell Omega move into more traditional and slightly more Math-y Progressive Metal territory all while retaining their unhinged chaos in terms of their songwriting and rhythm structures. Drought brings a forceful heaviness that feels a bit alien for the band, especially since the fiery, evil atmosphere of Paracletus is historically what they've done best, but this short EP shows that their overall style is able to be shaped and wrought in slightly different ways to produce material that's just as compelling. Despite being an intimidatingly dense 20 minutes, I really enjoy the balance that Deathspell Omega has been able to create, with "Fiery Serpents", "Scorpions & Drought", and the first half of "Abrasive Swirling Murk" being absolute pandemonium and an obvious inspiration for later acts like the currently popular Serpent Column. "Sand" and "The Crackled Book of Life" slow things down a bit at the end without sacrificing any of the harrowing and jagged riffing that keeps Drought pushing forward.

Even though it's only 20 minutes long, there's a lot to take in when it comes to the beginning of Deathspell Omega's metamorphosis into their more modern style that they'd debut on The Synarchy of Molten Bones four years later. The band has since then gone through even more changes, sadly in a direction that leaves me less interested than something like Drought, so it's been exciting to finally sit down and be able to try and digest a bit of what Deathspell Omega has to offer. It's impressive how chaotic and crushing the riffs and drumming can be while still maintaining a sense of coherency, which is what is ultimately able to keep me interested given the jammed nature of their music. It's hard for me to say this is an absolutely outstanding release though, given it's length and slight pacing issues, but at the same time I think the length is what makes this album a standout in their discography. With the rest of their EP's being 20-minute single song marathons, having a bite-sized slice of Deathspell Omega isn't necessarily a bad thing at the end of the day. As someone who wants to appreciate this band more but never seems to be in the right mood, Drought is a fantastic gateway album that doesn't require as much commitment or focus as their more complex and sinister albums. Thanks to its less muddled production, it's able to pack a hell of a punch that highlights and elevates their classic sounding riffs compared to their recent, safer, and more balanced albums The Furnaces of Palingenesia or The Long Defeat. I think it's safe to say that I have some Deathspell Omega albums to catch up with now that Drought was able to successfully drag me back into their ominous and tumultuous inferno.

I need to make time for this record next week; it slipped past me in 2022 and I may need to make an exception and update my list, by the sounds of it. 

Artificial Brain's self-titled deserves a spot here, in my opinion. 

I have a personal bias for Allegaeon's Damnum, but I can't see it being to everyone's liking.

A few more from my own list that I think should be in contention:

Grenadier -Trumpet's Blare In Blazing Glory

Tchornobog / Abyssal - Tchornobog / Abyssal

Fallujah - Empyrean

Aeviterne - The Ailing Façade 

I think that's a fair assessment coming from the other side of the opinion spectrum and I'm surprised you haven't rated it lower to be honest. It's impartial to call The Saberlight Chronicles bubblegum or Disney Metal because even I would classify it as that, but I hesitate to call it the exact same as any other Power Metal band, especially since Fellowship are much more reserved and admittedly poppy than Rhapsody or Kamelot. Even though the symphonics give everything a glossy texture compared to the more aggressive examples you provided, they actually enhance everything and are well written compared to the plethora of other symphonic-backed releases that end up sounding muddy and extremely dull since everything ends up running together. They use constantly use a ton of symphonics but each song remains mostly guitar driven except for parts in "Hearts Upon the Hill", "The Saint Beyond the River", and obviously the ballad "Silhouette", creating a nice balance that other groups just can't seem to get right in my opinion. You're also correct that Corry never really pushes his register, although I think that "Glory Days" and the ending of "Glint" start to give a little bit of what you were looking for, maybe he'll push a little farther in the future? The neo-classical "shredding" is a bit generic I guess, but it's able to add that necessary flair without being completely overbearing since many of the choruses just consist of power chords backed by symphonics. Even I tend to roll my eyes at Malmsteen shredding when it's out of left field and goes on for way too long, but I never had that issue with Fellowship. Believe it or not, this album really proved itself to have the staying power and energy that a lot of modern Power Metal albums don't for me, as I've gone back to it dozens of times and I'm able to sit through the whole thing without feeling the need to skip, which is a huge accomplishment considering how many modern Power Metal albums I listen to once and never return to.

I think that Daeva's Through Sheer Will and Black Magic... and Chemicide's Common Sense are the only other ones I can offer, I personally think this was a pretty weak year for Thrash overall.

I think that Ultha, White Ward, and Vauruvã's Por nós da ventania are the picks for Atmospheric Black Metal this year, I found all three of them to be stronger than all the current 3 rating albums save for Moon of Foul Magics. 

Véhémence's Ordalies is also a sleeper pick in my opinion, but you have to enjoy the slightly wonky and melodic medieval folk angle. 

I'm in agreement that Challenger absolutely rips. It reminds me a lot of Altarage's Succumb, since the album ends up in a completely different place than where it started. Whereas Succumb starts out as intimidating and swirling Death Metal and slowly devolves into abyssal drone, Challenger begins as a tumultuous and chaotic Mathcore experience that ends up being more of a sludgy chugfest by the end. I've found that I really enjoy this sort of album progression since it worked for me on Succumb, but I think Knut does an even better job at it considering how different the two subgenres seem. I think that the 20 minute closer goes on for a bit too long for repeated listens for me, but it was awesome to see where they were going to go with it the first time around. 

I think this highlights my personal issue with Mathcore though, as even though I really enjoyed this album and, much like Botch's We Are The Romans, I'm going to give it a pretty high score, there's a good chance I won't return to it anytime soon. For me, these sorts of records are only really appealing to me if I'm in a certain mood, and sadly I think that mood is filled by other types of albums that I gravitate towards instead. While I agree that the vocals are impressive, they definitely wear on me given how long of an album Challenger is for this genre. All that being said though, this is a sick album that incorporates sludgy chug in a way that I haven't heard before and I'm 100% down for it. 

4/5