UnhinderedbyTalent's Forum Replies
Well, this was a neat little find as I went through the feature releases this month. My usual excuse of not having the time to listen to much of the releases was left to one side by virtue of this being an EP. That twenty-one minute run time was perfect for me to perform a few smash and grab raids on Contra iglesia y estado on breaks between work calls and it even accompanied a few workouts this past week also. What kept it on such frequent rotation was the obvious passion for their art that Dekapited clearly have. As thrash metal continues to be viewed with that regurgitated/retro lensed glasses on, it is clear that this band are just out for the fun of it. High energy levels with a consistent and scathing attack make for a very entertaining experience indeed for me.
Laden with Sepultura and Sodom vibes, Contra iglesia y estado does little to reinvent the wheel, and it is stronger as a result of this in my book. I cannot point to any weak tracks on here, even though the overall rating still sitting below a five star mark does mean that I equally cannot flag this EP as being truly remarkable overall. However, what is here is powerful sounding stuff. The blows hit with a consistent level of force and are certainly not pulling any punches as they rain down on the listener. The ferocious form of Chilean thrash that we have come to know and love (well me at least) from the likes of Critical Defiance and Ripper is certainly coursing through the veins of Dekapited as well.
The appeal of this EP for me is its earthiness. It sounds like a true reflection of the band. Never tryingto be something that they are not, Dekapited here simply play the music they love and provide a fine celebration of thrash metal at its best. Short, sharp and succinct whilst being delivered with a hell of a level of grit this leaves me full of promise for further exploration of their discography. My only reservation is how they make this style of balls to the wall intense thrash metal interesting across a full length release, but I guess I will have to wait and see.
4/5
Only just seen this. Actually just perfect for what I am looking for. Thanks for sharing.
For March please Sonny:
Shadowspawn - "Sacrament of Deceit" (from "Blasphemica", 2023)
Analepsy - "Witness of Extinction" (from "Atrocities from Beyond", 2017)
Unmerciful - "Ravenous Impulse" (from "Ravenous Impulse", 2016)
Waking the Cadaver - "Blood Splattered Satisfaction" (from "Peverse Recollections of a Necromancer", 2007)
Engulfed - "Occult Incantations" (from "Unearthly Litanies of Despair", 2024)
Twilight Glimmer - "Fate of Mankind" (from "Indignation", 2013)
Gatecreeper - "Patriarchal Grip" (from "Sonoran Depravation", 2016)
Obscura - "Silver Linings" (from "A Sonification", 2025)
Blood Red Throne - "Revocation of Humankind" (from "Union of Flesh and Machine", 2016)
Vinny, Karl, Xephyr, as Daniel has stepped back from the playlists and features you may now submit up to 30 minutes of suggestions.
Please submit your suggestions by 15th March for inclusion in the April playlist.
Got ya.
Vinny & Karl, as Daniel has stepped back from the playlists and features, you may now both submit up to 40 minutes worth of suggestions for the playlist.
Please submit them by 15th February for inclusion on the March playlist.
Daniel, if you still want to submit some then that is fine by me, your knowledge of the clan far exceeds my own and your picks better informed as a result, so are always welcome.
Thanks Sonny
Vinny, as it is just me and you now suggesting tracks for the Fallen playlist you may now submit up to 50 minutes worth (I will reserve some time for less popular sub-genres that you and I don't cover with our submissions).
Submissions by 15th April for May's playlist please.
I hear ya big man
Having recently rated every single 2024 release cover over a couple of weeks, it got me thinking about whether others use similar criteria to me. I know not everyone here is interested in rating covers, but as a lifelong lover of art, I think I value it more than many other metal fans. Below is a list of things that I love / hate, with so many of the ratings I give to covers being influenced by these aspects. I thought I'd provide some examples of each as well, just for fun.
As always, it's fine if you disagree with my assessments or processes. There is no wrong answer when assessing art, despite our tendency as humans to feel otherwise. And yes, I generally overthink everything in life.
1. Genre appropriate art will always rate higher
It's true that a good album cover is a good album cover, but it can be off-putting when, as an example, a doom metal album has a cover that would be more appropriate on a thrash metal album. I think thrash metal is a pretty good genre to showcase this. Would the latest Evildead cover be good for a gothic metal release? No, it would be weird. But it screams thrash metal, with a mixture of fun silliness and the political / environmental themes so prevalent in the genre while still being an attractive piece of art. There are themes that pop up for all the clans and when a cover jumps out as "feeling" wrong for the genre, I can't help but rate it accordingly.
2. Logos should be present, appropriate and positioned well
No matter how good the artwork is, I will always lower scores when a logo is not present on a cover. It's an album cover! If it doesn't have a logo, it's just a piece of art. Logos should also be appropriate for the material. I don't want to see an ineligible jagged black metal logo on a heavy metal release, nor do I want to see a pink fluffy logo on a brutal death metal release. Finally, logos can have a massively positive impact on a cover when they are positioned well. Often that means centre top, but other times they're better placed elsewhere to allow the artwork to have more impact. It's not a science, with symmetry and "feel" coming into play. Below (Thron's Pilgrim) is a good example of a pretty cool logo (that itself has great symmetry) for which it's positioning improves the overall impact of the art. The only question I had was whether it was ever so slightly interfered by overlapping with the face, but then that somehow seems fitting given the torturous position of the subject. Yes, these are the things that I think about!
3. No degrading or real life images of trauma / death / excrement
In a way I'm almost grateful for bands that put horrific real-life images of crushed heads, the results of suicide, and people shitting in the mouths of others. It allows me to ignore those releases entirely. I have zero respect for any artist that thinks it's cool to adorn their art with disgustingly offensive or blatantly inappropriate real world imagery, no matter how good their music is. It's just another reason why outsiders look upon metal fans with such disdain. That said, while I'm still not always a big fan of it, I have less hostility towards non-photo representations of violence. Violence very obviously has a place in metal, and many of my favourite album covers have an element of destruction, evil and death. There's a big difference between a painted image of a serial killer surrounded by butchered cadavers and an actual photo of a raped, decapitated body.
4. Fantasy, Horror and Sci-Fi will always get my attention
I admit it! I'm a massive geek. When I'm not listening to metal, I'm reading comics, playing videogames and watching horror, science fiction or fantasy movies / tv series. I've been obsessed with all things genre since I was a little boy (yes, Daniel and I collected Masters of the Universe figures and had watched every Friday the 13th, Halloween, Evil Dead and Nightmare on Elm Street by our early teens). I'm always going to be more attracted to album covers that cover these themes, whether it be the horror of The North and The Horde, the science fiction of the The Infinite and The Sphere or the incredible fantasy artwork that adorns The Guardians. On the flipside, I have far less interest in militaristic or purely historical imagery that doesn't crossover into genre. All this probably explains why Iron Maiden's album covers grabbed me instantly and have never let go!
5. Cutesy has no place in metal
Call me a traditionalist, but I just can't associate cutesy, cartoony imagery with anything related to metal. I know Anime has a lot of fans, but I instantly dish out low ratings to any album cover adorned by cutesy, big-eyed young girls, no matter how disconcertingly large their breasts are. Each to their own, but it's an immediate nope for me.
6. What's with all the cassette insert covers!?
Are there really metal fans out there listening to all their metal releases through cassette players? I highly doubt it, so why are so many bands making album covers seemingly designed to print out and fold into cassette cases. They make for awful covers and make the band seem completely amateurish. Where is the demand for this coming from?
7. I'm a sucker for symmetry and a central character
I've already mentioned symmetry and I think that's probably one of the main draw factors for me. I don't think I consciously realised it, but when I look at all my higher rated images, so many of them have a central character that draws the eyes to it, with a background that sets the mood and gives a sense of place while often building on that symmetry. The below image (Silhouette's Les dires de l'âme) is a very good example of this. Not only are the central character and the logo dead centre, but all of the imagery around them is entirely symmetrical. I find this highly satisfying, which probably says a lot about my general OCD behaviour (without which this site would certainly not exist).
I'm sure I could come up with more, but I'd like to hear from others. Do you care about album covers at all? What works for you and what doesn't?
With the exception of his cassette cover comments, Ben has basically hit the nail on the head with his post here. Item number 3 around degrading images of women is one particular sore point for me. Album covers that just scream "TITS" are just telling me not to bother listening. Similarily, the endless covers featuring sadistic, obese, bald and ugly as fuck males hacking bits off women hold very little interest for the same reason.
With regards to AI in art - it's not art, simple as for me. Seeing AI in use in hospital settings (for example) makes me think it is literally the greatest change of my lifetime. For me, there is a fine line between optimisation and AI as the latter should give you new data points, not just streamline existing processes and flows. So in this example getting a computer to do the artwork for you is just a waste of the technology in my book, before we even get to it being a giant slap in the face for artists.
P.S. if we can start a "Preachy Twat" clan then I am all over that.
I have a spreadsheet that is far less detailed than Ben/Daniel's version - mine is more of a catalogue as opposed to a ratings calculator though. Whilst the above method looks great, I don't have the time nor the patience to undertake such tasks so all credit to the boys for following this.
My lists would change so often that I would never keep up with them if I am honest. Just like those above, I have mainstays (first two Morbid Angel and Obituary records will always be top four I suspect) and that is largely down to me experiencing them under circumstances I can never recreate - in the main being young and capturing music that spoke to me so well in that youthful state of mind. As a result, most of what has come after the age of 21 that has made any list is virtually guaranteed to be interchangeable unless I heard it at a particularly difficult point in my life which added meaningfulness.
In short, lists are for nerds and catalogues rule.
Would you put me on rotation for The Fallen clan please Andi?
Negura Bunget - "Om" (2006)
Revisiting some of the discoveries I made during my time here at Metal Academy and I had clean forgotten I had this on CD. Still as impressive to my ears as it was when I reviewed this back in 2021:
It would be fair to say that my first encounter with Negura Bunget was not a resoundingly positive experience. My review of their 2002 offering ‘N Crugu Bradului alluded to me finding their lack of grounding to be disorientating and confusing. The obstacles that I hit there were in a shortened format for a full-length release at only four tracks and came across as being a gush of ideas without any of them really being developed fully and thus it sounded like they were just there for the hell of it.
Fast forward four years and the band released what many have claimed to be their crowning glory in the equally varied and more expansive, Om. From the off, I get along with this record instantly as it has presence that is felt before we ever get to any music being played. The ambient and haunting opening track might sound to some like a man whispering and eventually shouting in a field but to the more conscientious listener there is a dark undertone set by this opening three minutes on the album that never leaves. In fact, it permeates the album as it pervades all eleven tracks. Even in the “jollier” folk moments there is still this sense of a mournful tone to proceedings.
It is not that Om uses less influences as such or borrows from less genres and styles. It is obvious this time around that this glut of directions gets applied much more coherently on the album. Ideas feel much more well-developed here and not just thrown together. As the album evolves it unlocks folk, ambient, black metal, post-rock and progressive passages that may not always compute as being the next logical step in a track or indeed the track listing itself, but they are executed with such attention to detail that they rarely fail to hit the spot.
This album is far too much to take in on one listen. As a standalone record – which is how I really should be viewing it given my limited experience of the band – this is a truly remarkable opus that requires close and repeated listening to truly understand the extent of its depth. There are elements of symphonia thrown in here that could fall out of any Emperor or Summoning record, but they are not too grandiose to become a distraction.
It is an album that is driven by an engine of drums that at first listen you might not pick up on the quality of. My limited understanding of the band is that the now deceased drummer was the last remaining member of the band following the exit of all other members. The performance here (before the reshuffle) is commanding without being domineering, so the drums feel like they are maintaining the pace but are not entirely steering things on their own. With clever little runs and fills they make for a very entertaining venture when listened to in some sense of isolation from the rest of the instrumentation and vocals.
My overarching thoughts on Om are very positive. The album may well be conceptual in some parts given the epic sense of it being some movie soundtrack. Alternatively, it may just be very well written and could well be the career defining release that I have heard it described to be.
4.5/5
Sorcerer - “Devotion” (2024)
Having been a one time elitist, “all core is shit” type (until a few years of MA was under my belt at least), the metalcore world still occupies a very rare level of content in my listening habits. On paper at least, metalcore should not be that alien a concept to me. That combination of hardcore punk and the extreme elements of metal is a sum that I should have no problem with the outcome of. I don’t mind hardcore punk and I obviously love me some extreme metal. However, I think that true combination is not there in most of what I hear from the sub-genre, all too often getting infused with other elements that aren’t necessarily as advertised. Enter Sorcerer’s 2024 album, Devotion. This absolutely fits the above described blueprint perfectly.
Sorcerer are angry. Not “my Mom took my Game Boy off me because I called her fat” angry though. More of a gnarly level of pissed off that wouldn’t sound out of place on an Agnostic Front record. Devotion is a real middle finger to the world type of album that certainly gets things off its chest whilst still deploying a strong ear for melody and pacing as it goes along. Simply put, I could put Devotion on all day (in the right mood) and not need to change the record. It possesses a level of angst that somehow is not intrusive, a sort of “getting on with it in the background whilst I do my ironing” kind of vibe. Occasionally I am more engaged with it more than I am others because I too hate relationships/people in general (for example). As it stands Devotion has been on everyday for about three weeks. In the car, on the beanie earphones whilst in bed, in the office whilst I continue to battle the corporate monstrosity that I work for and even whilst gaming of late (this would make a healthy addition to the radio in GTA in particular I think).
My (largely untrained) ear picks up elements of Converge (whose You Fail Me album got a revisit off the back of listening to this Sorcerer record) and I am also reminded a lot of the gnarlier aspects of some crossover thrash that I have heard over the years also. The energy levels are high for pretty much all of the record yet as I mentioned above, there is some care, some level of thought and attention to Devotion also. Closing track Someone Else’s Skin, for example, starts off with a scathing almost bm tremolo sounding riff before veering into more familiar punk territory, settling into those crossover moments nicely again for me. However, by the end of the track we have gone through some almost tender moments of reflection and contemplation, giving the track a real wholesome feel. The photograph on the cover of the album is probably one of the best representations of what actually lies beneath. Battle-hardened, wounded and ugly as fuck music with the tenderness of those tears on the soldiers face suggesting the depth I have been able to describe.
4/5
Exhumed - "Limb from Limb" (from "Gore Metal", 1998)
I've already nominated an Exhumed track Vinny. Do you want to choose something else mate?
Sorry, it can be scrapped.
New The Pit playlist release schedule as follows:
There will be no February 25 playlist.
The playlist will recurr quarterly moving forwards, starting in March 25.
Submissions for Feb's playlist will be honored for March.
Deadline for submission of tracks (Max 40 mins for clan members) is still the 15th of the month before the playlist is published:
For June 25 playlist = 15th May
For Sept 25 playlist = 15th Aug
For Dec 25 playlist = 15th Nov
There’s nine clans, all to my knowledge still covered by a member to programme them. Sonny is master of three clans and Andi of at least two that I counted.
Although the consensus seems to be that people enjoy putting the lists together, I am sure nobody sees the connection with them that they think is going to happen.
I would suggest that in the spirit of keeping the playlists alive (if only for the pleasure of the members involved) that we just rotate a clan per month into the playlist, a sort of “Featured Clan Playlist” format that covers all the clans over 9 months and then just starts again. This facilitates programmers being able to cover more than one clan, without having additional time burdens and the nomination system can still be deployed.
I will be honest, having reviewed the above and seeing the “open” option for playlist frequency, I am looking at only doing The Pit playlist on a quarterly basis (from March) anyway.
Maybe even align the clan feature release with featured clan playlist for that month to avoid burnout with that also?
Just suggestions mind, but whilst I admire the dedication being shown here, it is not going to grow the site by largely doing the same things.
First of all, I am sorry to read that you are having some health issues Daniel. I too have slightly damaged hearing and you are right to protect your eardrums as best you can.
Secondly, the playlists as a concept are both rewarding and unrewarding at the same time. Rewarding because I get to discover some great music in programming the Pit playlist but unrewarding because the uptake on listens is low. I am lucky if I get chance to listen to one of my clan playlists over the course of a month and equally, staying on top of the feature releases requires me to remember to create the time against a hefty workload, fitness and family schedule.
Although the features and playlists are a couple of things that keep MA a unique experience, I do not believe we have the footprint to justify continuing them. I say that with a really heavy heart since as a concept I really like the site. Even if they are only discontinued for a period of time, I sense they will never come back.
There’s no way I could takeover The North or The Horde playlists, as much as I would love to have a run at either, I am barely finding time for The Pit playlist.
In short, as hard as it is to say, I think both the feature releases and playlists should be stood down, even if only on an interim basis.
Anthony Linell - "Outlines (Repurposed) - 2013-2019"
I am on around my seventh or eighth listen through of Matter of a Darker Nature as I write this review. With Turkish death metal being somewhat of an unexplored geography for me it has been surprising to see such a healthy influence from Suffocation, even though they are the band with probably the most copied style in all of death metal (well Incantation aside maybe). As I have sat with this album over the past couple of weeks, I have swung between being in awe of the technical mastery that unites effortlessly with the more brutal elements of the sound and wondering if this is just outright Suffocation worship or even plagiarism. If I am honest, I think both reactions have a degree of validity to them. However, whilst this style of death metal is well-known to be plagiarised for years, it does still require a level of technical ability to execute this well.
Wherever your standpoint is, Carnophage certainly have the years of playing under their belts to have honed their art form. Playing as one of the key acts in the Turkish Death Metal movement (TRDM – founded by Cenotaph’s Batu Çetin) for nearly twenty years clearly, they are more than just a Suffocation tribute act. The sound on their third album is monstrous to say the least. From the very start there is a suffocating (pun intended) element to the weight of the riffs and when combined with that stabbing urgency that features through the album, it all soon comes together to suggest a group of musicians who are of a significant level of repute. Onur Özçelik on the drums is unbelievable at times. The successes of Matter of a Darker Nature would be much reduced without his presence I sense.
However, as a band, they sound like a tight unit overall. Pace changes seem to be done as shifts as opposed to jarring hairpin turns. Even in the more frenetic moments everyone seems to be in line with everyone else. No one instrument or performance dominates proceedings yet at the same time all the component parts can establish themselves notably. They remind me of Blood Red Throne in places whilst also echoing elements of Defeated Sanity also.
What places the cherry on the cake for the record is the measured songwriting that leads to a succinct run time of just over thirty-two minutes. This makes for a real palatable experience for me since my experience of some technical brutal death metal albums is that they are either quite lengthy or all tracks fall into a three-minute maximum time limit and are over before I can blink. With only one song kissing the five-minute mark, it appears that Carnophage know how to showcase their skills without overstaying their welcome or falling into formulaic territory.
4/5
Wyatt E. - "Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1"
Mesopotamian myth obssessed, drone/doom band, Wyatt E. have released their third full-length on 10th January. Never heard of these Belgians and drone is not usually my thing, but the history angle intrigues me enough to want to check it out regardless.
Onirophagus "Revelations from the Void"
Spanish death doom due out 17th January. Two tracks streaming over on their bc page. This will be their third album, first one since 2019.
Häxkapell - "Om jordens blod och urgravens grepp"
Swedish one-man bm out Häxkapell releases his sophmore album some four years after his debut Eldhymner. The two promo tracks are decent enough to see me park this for a full run through when it is released on 17th January.
Feathers - "If All Here Now" 2013
Instead of just endless metal records this year, I have set myself the challenge of discovering at least one new non-metal artist or album a week in 2025. Feathers was an easy pick up after I heard the song Dark Matter on GTA V, Mirror Park Radio the other evening and I soon found myself knee deep in the driving synthpop and dreamy indietronica of If All Here Now which is the artists only album to date. It is a hook-laden and enchanting listen would please any Depeche Mode or Cold Cave fan.
Standouts are the superb opening track Land of the Innocent, the infectious Familiar So Strange and the brooding Leaves Start Trembling.
4/5
Strong month. For a start, we have Kvist and Thorns on here with tracks from two of my favourite albums. Then we have Drudkh and Immortal too boot, again with tracks pulled from two great albums. Missed both the Ungfell and Nachtmystium albums from last year and so seeing those tracks put me on to two decent (if not all that remarkable) releases I had missed. Could not get on with that Bathory track or whatever the hell the final track was, but still a great accompaniment to this icy cold weather we are having in England.
Technical thrash?
Here's my review:
There is a lot for me to like about Excursion Demise. In theory at least, those clear Demolition Hammer and Dark Angel influences postively kick down the front door as the album announces its own arrival with a an intensity level touching on nuclear. Everything is frenzied more or less from the off (well once the fade up of the intro lapses), and with a vocal style that I always feel sounds like the lyrics are tripping over the music in some clumsy yet somehow with a rhythmic relationship to the music, things look promising for Invocator early on. The drums also show a welcome presence on the opening, title track. Not technical as such, but interesting enough to be able to mix it up whilst hitting a consistent level of power at the same time, against a mix that does not necessarily sound like it wants to help them at all. I am unsure though as to why the band elected to put in a thirty-two second track instead of just using it as an intro to what they bill as track number three, yet to me it is all clearly one track?? It is not a massive issue but is certainly an early annoyance.
Strong start though it has, Excursion Demise suffers badly from a poor production job on the guitars. The riffs are lacking any power in the mix at all, playing at times as if they are black metal riffs, such is their lack of meat. Conversely, the sonic chaos that I would describe the lead work as being offers a much more scathing and memorable experience for me. It is like the guitars got recorded on a different day inside a barrel with just a couple of holes in it, whilst the rest of the instruments and vocals got done in a studio proper. Whlst I can still put the album down as being overall a suitably frenzied and frantic experience for my metal tastes, the rhythm guitar does ultimately detract from my otherwise positive listening experience here. Only on the excellent The Persistance from Memorial Chasm comes close to being able to overcome these production struggles but if ever there was a case for a remix of an album, Excursion Demise is top of the list in my book.
Still, for me to find an album of this style from the 90's that I had never heard of before (although I recognise their sophomore, Weave the Apocalypse from programming the playlist) is a good enough treat. There are not many albums of this intensity that I discover on a frequent basis. Just as I thought I had swept the decks clean of most decent thrash metal releases from back in the day, Ben churns one up as a feature release to keep me on my toes. I just wish the quality of the production, matched the quality of the music. Whether a conscious effort or not (I doubt it was conscious) it is the main thing that keeps Excursion Demise away from the higher scores range.
3.5/5
Obvs it’s Ulcerate all the way for me. I am such a fan boy of them though. By comparison, I found that Blood Incantation record to be an absolute yawnfest! Civerous didn’t move me all that much on reflection. I would add Vitriol (USA) and Noxis’ records from this year also.
Also Replicant, Gatecreeper and Slimelord.
I would suggest Mayhemic's "Toba" - only discovered it yesterday mind thanks to Sonny, but it is superb blackened thrash metal.
For Feb please Ben:
The Great Old Ones - "Me, the Dreamer" (from "Kadath", 2024)
Ellende - "Ballade Auf Den Tod" (from "Todbringer", 2016)
For Feb please Daniel:
The Fallen Prophets - "Beneath the Veil of Flesh" (from "Beneath the Veil of Flesh", 2024)
Black Curse - "Ruinous Paths…" (from "Burning in Celestial Poison", 2024)
Revocation - "Lessons in Occult Theft" (from "Netherheaven", 2022)
Burn Down Eden - "Fake News for Breakfast" (from "Epiphany", 2024)
Vitriol - "Flowers of Sadism" (from "Suffer & Become", 2024)
Exhumed - "Limb from Limb" (from "Gore Metal", 1998)
For Feb please Sonny:
Paradise Lost - "No Forgiveness" (from "Shades of God", 1992)
Woods of Ypres - "Shards of Love" (from "Woods 4: The Green Album", 2009)
Slimelord - "The Hissing Moor" (from "Chytridiomycosis Relinquished", 2024)
Thanks all.
January 2025
1. Sarcator – “Where the Void Begins” (from “Where the Void Begins”, 2024)
2. Slayer – “Jesus Saves” (from “Reign in Blood”, 1986) [Submitted by Sonny]
3. Slaughter Lord – “Legion” (from ”Thrash Til' Death”, 1998) [Submitted by Daniel]
4. Injector - “Never Enter the Core” (from “Endless Scorn”, 2024)
5. Dissimulator – “Neural Hack” (from “Lower Form Resistance”, 2024)
6. Cryptosis – “Faceless Matter” (from “Faceless Matter”, 2024)
7. Ascend the Helix – “Anachronism” (from “Anamnesis”, 2024)
8. Tankist - “The More Equal” (from “Forced Equal”, 2023)
9. Kreator – “Awakening of the Gods” (from “Pleasure to Kill”, 1986) [Submitted by Sonny]
10. Bathory - “Necroticus” (from “Requiem”,1994) [Submitted by Daniel]
11. Exodus - “A Lesson in Violence” (from “Bonded by Blood”, 1985) [Submitted by Sonny]
12. Hobb's Angel of Death – “Chainsaw Massacre” (from “Hobbs Satan's Crusade”, 2003) [Submitted by Daniel]
13. Mortal Sin – “Mayhemic Destruction” (from “Mayhemic Destruction”, 1987) [Submitted by Daniel]
14. Vulture - “Death Row” (from “Sentinels”, 2024) [Submitted by Sonny]
15. Uberserker – “Cimmerian Warbeasts” (from “Ineffable Force of Will”, 2024)
16. Night Slasher – “Pit of Hate” (from “Night Slasher”, 2024 )
17. Rampage - “Producers Edge” (from “Veil of Mourn”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]
18. Nasty Savage – “Schizoid Platform” (from “Jeopardy Room”, 2024) [Submitted by Morpheus Kitami]
19. Combat Shock – “Warlord of the Wasteland” (from “Everything Goes Wrong”, 2023)
20. Grove Street, Sylosis – “Ultimate Penalty” (from “Ultimate Penalty”, 2024)
21. All This Filth – “This is Misery” (from “Misery Season”, 2019)
22. Deathblow – “Accelerated Decrepitude” (from “Insect Politics”, 2020)
23. Vicious Blade – “Relentless Force” (from “Relentless Force”, 2024)
24. Pentagram Chile – “Spell of the Pentagram” (from “The Malefice”, 2013) [Submitted by Sonny]
25. Satanic Priest – “Don't Burn the Witch” (from “…Of Blasphemies & Lust”, 2024)
26. Drymarchon – “Total Violence (Souless Indoctrination)” (from “Mori in Inge (Die in a Fire)”, 2024)
27. VILT – “Crown of Thorns” (from “Crown of Thorns”, 2024)
Hi Ben, a couple of finds from 2024 that I would appreciate if you could please add to the site:
Balwezo Westijiz (Sweden)
Fir (Netherlands)
I would say that overall my time here at MA has helped to develop my metal tastes. In summary:
- Like Sonny, I have found myself more engaged with the "core" elements of metal music and in turn this has also led me to some neat finds in the alternative metal category. I will not pretend to have any extensive knowledge (or indeed tolerance) across the whole sub-genres but for someone who had at one point in my life taken the elitist standpoint that "all core was shit", this has been a big change for me.
- My exploration of The Fallen to replace The Guardians as one of my clans was made so much easier by having challenges that called out key releases. There's an argument to say that I never really enjoyed traditional heavy metal now looking back at my formative years and that epic doom was more my palate at the time. I am still going to go on record as saying that The Fallen is my most neglected clan but I even have a death/doom release on my end of year list this year.
As with everything else, finding time to listen to as much music as I want to is increasingly hard to come by and my heydays of reviewing all of my clans feature releases/playlists to pick up new favourites are well and truly behind me but I still continue to find the odd release from here that makes me smile (or at least nod my head appreciatively).
Vitiriol - "Suffer & Become" (Century Media) 2024
Portland’s Vitriol may have adopted a band name that instantly screams deathcore or metalcore at least, but a listen to any of Suffer & Become and you will soon find that they something else altogether. This album is a dense and chaotic explosion of death metal; probably the best modern death metal I have heard this year outside of the mighty Ulcerate. Make no mistake, there is A LOT going on here. The multitude of parts that layer Suffer & Become take some digestion most certainly (here, multiple listens are needed folks) and at times I do find myself looking for space to breath and absorb this raging torrent of death metal.
Clearly put together by accomplished artists, the contributors to this album come from a varied palate of metal experience. The drums from a brutal death metal background, the guitars are more deathcore (yet Steve Jansson of epic doom outfit, Crypt Sermon fame guests on track three) with supremo Kyle Rasmussen showing his agility on leads and riffs alike. That is not to say that the experience of the riffs on the album is them being deathcore sounding. Whilst there most certainly is a hint of it somewhere, as a band Vitriol have a huge amount of Hate Eternal influence here alongside the grindcore sounding aspects of Cattle Decapitation (thankfully minus the horrible vocals of the latter band). With nods to Nile, Morbid Angel and Cryptopsy, the group allow a healthy platform of death metal staples to shape Suffer & Become. The solo work is some of the best I have heard in a long time. I have lost count of how many death metal albums I have heard over the last five years alone that are sadly redundant in the lead work department. Rasmussen and Ellis are fucking beasts though. Think Morbid Angel at their Altars… or Blessed… best (minus a lot of the swarming chaos) and you are on the right track.
Confidence feels high on this record and the inclusion of an instrumental track in the exact middle of the record shows this. In an otherwise manic riffest of a record, some clean strings are quite striking in their arrival, especially given their off-kilter tuning. This track too ends up a nefarious mass of riffs which introduces the second (and for me better) half of the record.
For the front end of the album, Vitriol appears to be setting pace only. From Weaponized Loss onwards is where they truly hit their stride, however. This track is the first one where the chaos gets some order applied to it, some discernible structure alongside those diving, blackened melodies that works to a truly overwhelming effect. As the backend of the album continues, tracks seem to grow in stature; that earlier confidence seemingly taking on new heights of assurance making this part of the album the domineering force. In some regards, this gift could be considered a curse as if the whole of the album matched the virility of the last five tracks, then we would have a real contender for album of the year here. As it happens the first half of the record feels unfulfilled by way of comparison.
The clear highlights of the record for me are the final two tracks. Both, I Am Every Enemy and He Will Fight Savagely see the band finally pull all that potential promised on Weaponized Loss and hone into perfect death metal music. Bearing in mind that this is their sophomore release, the potential for Vitriol to grow into a modern death metal behemoth feels tangible and wholly realistic. If they can maintain a stable line up then these guys could well be unstoppable come album number three.
4/5
Searching through groove metal over the past twelve months or so has churned up a mixed bag of releases. Crossing into core, death metal and of course thrash metal, the journey has been one that has broadened my horizons from my personal (and seemingly insular) belief that the genre consisted of Pantera and (early) Machine Head as its brief contribution to the metal world before it was consumed by the arrival of nu metal. Hitting a search on Metal Academy for releases in the genre up to 2020 pulls fifteen pages of results containing household names such as Anthrax, Overkill, Decapitated, Lamb of God as well as at least three bands containing one or more of the Cavalera brothers.
By the time Quadra was released, both Max and Igor were no longer in Sepultura. Andreas Kisser and Paulo Xisto were the only long-standing members left (although I often smirk at Paulo’s status under that banner given, he played nothing on Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains or Arise). With the now familiar voice of Derrick Green fronting the band and Eloy Casagrande starting his third album on the drum stool, Quadra had a stable line up and this shows in abundance on the record for me. Kisser was always lauded as a great guitarist back in the day and I never really got onboard with that sentiment if I am honest. Yet on Quadra I find his work is consistent and versatile. That slightly detuned solo on Capital Enslavement could have really been butchered I sense, but despite it risking teetering on the brink of plain amateur, Kisser carries it off nicely. Likewise, his riffing maybe a little too familiar, resulting in some sense of there being a lack of variation across the riff and rhythm sections of Quadra, but it is entertaining enough when the vocals and song structures add the necessary depth to the album that is at times lacking.
The above having been said, Quadra may not be my favourite Sepultura release. But having heard everything up to an including Chaos A.D. on a consistent basis over the years, Quadra is the most interesting release from the band to my ears. The thrash metal elements are sparse, and the groove metal takes more of a centre stage. This is no bad thing. Based on my groove metal exploration to date, I would say Quadra is one of the better releases I have heard. Within these progressive structures there is no loss of the urgency I would seek in the tempo of the record. The orchestration of tracks like Guardians of the Earth are done against an obvious metal backdrop and blend well. The crowning glory of the album is without question for me the well-balanced, Agony of Defeat. Here the choir arrangement is professionally done to add depth to the tack, giving it a sense of the epic. Bestial Devastation fans need not apply.
I prefer this record to Roots, an album that whenever I have attempted to delve into has resulted in some horrible combination of confusion and disappointment. Indeed, I would go as far as to say that I prefer Quadra to pretty much anything Max and Igor have put out since they departed the band. If, like me, you had assumed Sepultura’s better releases where behind them after 1993 then you would be mistaken. This is not Arise or Beneath the Remains, it is something else altogether, and whilst it will never trump those two it is still a very strong release based on its own merits.
4/5
Checked out the playlist whilst working in the garage earlier today. Another nice list, Vinny, thanks a lot.
Some "new to me" bangers on this one - the new Destruction, Acid Force, Enforced, Lich King and two of the best were left for last with Urn and Ragehammer both killing it. I had originally nominated Altar of Sacrifice for next month, so that's obviously a real winner for me, along with Indians (it's always good to hear tracks from Among the Living) and Sodom. I love the Antiverse album, so their's was a winner. The Sepultura track was pretty good as well - I've never listened to them post-Max, so maybe it's time for that to change. Extol was the only track that did nothing for me, so all-in-all a very successful list that has turned up some new discoveries for me to check out.
Thanks Sonny, that Sepultura album is the Feature for The Pit this month.
1. Messa - Close (2022)
2. Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper (2017)
3. Bell Witch - Four Phantoms (2015)
4. Kowloon Walled City - Container Ships (2012)
5. Neurosis - Through Silver In Blood (1996)
6. Candlemass - Nightfall (1987)
7. Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)
8. Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction (2012)
9. Triptykon - Melana Chasmata (2014)
10. Sub Rosa - More Constant Than the Gods (2013)
Update:
1. Deftones - White Pony
2. Katatonia - Fall of Hearts
3. Faith No More - The Real Thing
4. Faith No More - Angel Dust
5. Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual (least metal release on here, sue me)
6. Alice in Chains - Dirt
7. Soundgarden - Louder Than Love
8. Bodycount - Bloodlust
9. Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
10. Chevelle - Niratias
I have been listening to a lot of Katatonia this past few weeks. They are a band who very rarely get much air play beyond the debut and their latter day penchant for progressive/alternative rock/metal has not always been welcomed by me. Fall of Hearts just spoke to me at exactly the right time in my life and I have hardly put it down since (vinyl copy on order from Peaceville as I type). The blend of awkward and cumbersome structures that forbid catchiness but does not sacrifice memorability is clever, whether fully intended or not.
2. Darkthrone - It Beckons Us All
I can't place my finger on it but just cannot get into the latest Darkthrone. I have loved everything they have done recently but cannot get my head around this one. Had a fair few spins of it too. Could be that I am a bit tired of the format/style now and it needs some variety to jazz it up for me. I keep trying though.
As with any end of year list, my focus is never really on new releases anymore and so I can only vouch for a handful of those (Civerous, Coffins, Ponte del Diavolo and Darkthrone). Prob should check a few of those out that I missed (The Obsessed, Hamferð and Spectral Voice).
For January please Daniel:
Uninhibited - "Overwhelming Dejection" (from "Reign of the Unholy", 2024)
Spiritual Deception - "Dirac Sea" (from "Semitae Mentis", 2024)
Paganizer - "Life of Decay" (from "Flesh Requiem", 2024)
Gigan - "Trans-Dimensional Crossing of the Alta-Tenuis" (from "Anomalous Abstractigate Infinitessimus", 2024)
Emasculator - "In Resplendent Terror" (from "The Disfigured and the Divine", 2024)
Brujeria - "Sida De La Mente" (from "Bruzerizmo", 2000)
Krisiun - "Whore of the Unlight" (from "Southern Storm", 2008)
Inhuman Depravity - "Obsessed with the Mummified" (from "The Experimendead", 2022)
Soul Remnants - "Cauldron of Blood" (from "Black and Blood", 2013)
For January please Sonny:
Neon Nightmare - "Promethean Gift" (from "Faded Dream", 2024)
Black Oath - "Wicked Queen" (from "To Below and Beyond", 2022)
For January please Ben:
Primeval Well - "Ghost Fires Burn Light in Our Eyes" (from "Talkin' in Tongues with Mountain Spirits", 2021)
Horn - "Dagetostaon" (from "Daudswiärk", 2024)
December 24
1. Dark Angel – “Time Does Not Heal” (from “Time Does Not Heal”,1991)
2. Destruction – “No Kings – No Masters” (from “No Kings – No Masters”, 2024)
3. Slayer – “Altar of Sacrifice” (from “Reign in Blood”, 1986)
4. Seax – “Forged by Metal” (from “Speed Metal Mania”, 2016)
5. Devastator – “Spiritual Warfare” (from “Baptised in Blasphemy”, 2023)
6. Living Death – “Intruder” (from “Protected from Reality”, 1987) [Submitted by Unhinderedbytalent]
7. Sepultura – “Isolation” (from “Quadra”, 2020) [Submitted by Unhinderedbytalent]
8. Nervosa – “Horrodome” (from “Downfall of Mankind”, 2018)
9. Antiverse – “Hallucigenia” (from “Under the Regolith”, 2018)
10. Extol – “Paradigms” (from “Synergy”, 2003) [Submitted by Daniel]
11. Despair – “Cry for Liberty” (from “Decay of Humanity”, 1990)
12. Rampage – “Acid Storm, Pt.2” (from “Veil of Mourn”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]
13. Exodus – “Cajun Hell” (from “Fabulous Disaster”, 1989)
14. Tankard – “Lockdown Forever” (from “Pavlov’s Dawgs”, 2022)
15. Anthrax – “Indians” (from “Among the Living”, 1987)
16. Sacred Reich – “Sacred Reich” (from “Ignorance”, 1987)
17. Sodom – “Shoot Today – Kill Tomorrow” (from “Epitome of Torture”, 2020)
18. Acid Force – “Preachers of Mayhem” (from “World Targets of Megadeaths”, 2023)
19. Suicidal Tendencies – “You Can’t Bring Me Down” (from “Lights…Camera…Revolution”, 1990)
20. Enforced – “Betting on the End” (from “A Leap into the Dark EP”, 2024)
21. Lich King – “Combat Mosh” (from “Born of the Bomb”, 2012)
22. Iron Reagan – “Drop the Gun” (from “Worse than Dead”, 2013)
23. A Life Once Lost – "Vulture" (from "Hunter", 2005)
24. Lamb of God – “Ruin” (from “As the Palaces Burn”, 2003)
25. Warbringer – “Remain Violent” (from “Woe to the Vanquished”, 2017)
26. Bewitcher - “Death Returns…” (from “Cursed Be Thy Kingdom”, 2021)
27. Ragehammer – “We Are the Hammer” (from “In Certain Death”, 2020)
28. Urn – “Celestial Light” (from “The Burning”, 2017)
I was already across this release as we headed into November and so seeing it added to the feature roster lined it up nicely for review. As those folky rich melodies sent my brain into a near trace-like state, I did start to question my credentials as a nail coated wristband wearing black metal fan. But then I remembered my enjoyment of Mare Cognitum and Darkspace and convinced myself that my icy soul was no nearer to being thawed as I first feared. The inclusion of such a heavy amount of synths is perhaps the most challenging part of Vortex of the Worlds yet at the same time it would not work as well as an album without them. They do sound incredibly artificial and are without doubt the main culprit in steering the album away from the more extreme boundaries of black metal, but I find at the same time they are relatively easy to make peace with given their obvious contribution to such a rich and luscious soundscape.
When taken out of consideration for a moment, the synths are far from the only positive element of the instrumentation. The tremolo riffing is excellent (Transcendence) both in isolation and also in accompaniment to everything else. When paired with vocals, they ground the album in the more familiar and safe territory of atmo-black. The programmed drums do not go unnoticed, but are hardly a problem either as I do not believe that Labyrinthus Stellarum wrote Vortex of the Worlds with any desire to focus on percussion. The lack of bass is the only real issue I have as it does makes things sound unnecessarily sterile and gives those synths an almost smothering edge at times. There is a rumbling "something" in the background but I would suggest it is just the intentionally density added in the production to mask the lack of bass.
My instinct suggests that Labyrinthus Stellarum will move too far away from a core black metal sound in subsequent releases to this one. For now, Vortex of the Worlds is a sensible gateway into that vortex that I sense will soon lose some of its appeal in the coming records. I am more than happy to celebrate the successes of this record though and acknowledge its bravery in sticking to its ideals and values. It retains a unique edge without dropping into a Summoning level of repetition and genuinely has some exciting and intense moments that standout. The songwriting suggests that particular methodology is sound enough as the crescendos mid-track are effective and create some of the strongest moments in the record. The album has grown on me with repeated listens but I can sense that looming distance is coming still.
3.5/5
Reverend Bizarre - "Doom Over the World" ( from "II:Crush the Insects", 2005)
Castle Rat - "Dagger Dragger" (from "Into the Realm", 2024)
Pallbearer - "Cruel Road" (from "Heartless", 2017)
Horna - "Haudanusva Perimä" (from "vihassa ja verikostossa", 2000)
Labrynthus Stellarum - "The Light of Dying Worlds" (from "Vortex of the Worlds", 2024)
Nargaroth - "Black Metal ist Krieg" (from "Black Metal ist Krieg", 2001)
Fatal Realm - "Hammer of Heresy" (from "Demo", 2024)
Vomit Forth - "Rotting Wool" (from "Terrified of God", 2024)
I,Cursed - "Liminal" (from "I,Cursed/Blood Service split EP", 2023)
Dismember - "Crime Divine" (from "Massive Killing Capacity", 1995)
Tribal Gaze - "Twitching on the Cross" (from "split w/Deadbody", 2024)
De Profundis - "Sectarian Warfare" (from "The Corruption of Virtue", 2022)
Festergore - "Cryogenic Decay" (from "Constellation of Endless Blight", 2024)
Cult of Lilith - "Cosmic Maelstrom" (from "Mara", 2020)
Kataklysm - "Gravestones & Coffins" (from "Goliath", 2023)
Full of Hell - "Transmuting Chemical Burns" (from "Coagulated Bliss", 2024)
November 2024
1. Mekong Delta – “Imagination” (from “Visions Fugitives”,1994)
2. Rage – “Sent by the Devil” (from “Black in Mind”, 1995) [Submitted by Daniel]
3. Yellow Machinegun – “Oh Die! Oh!! Choose Die!!!” (from “Father’s Golden Fish”, 1996)
4. Testament – “Demonic Refusal” (from “Demonic”, 1997)
5. Ritual Carnage – “Servant of the Black’” (from “The Highest Law”, 1998)
6. S.O.D. – “Bigger Than the Devil” (from “Bigger Than the Devil”, 1999)
7. Sabbat – “Death Zone” (from “Satanasword”, 2000)
8. Susperia – “Specimen” (from “Predominance”, 2001)
9. Ratos de Poräo – “Terror Declarado” (from “Onisciente Coletivo”, 2002)
10. Dew-Scented – “Turn to Ash” (from “Issue VI”, 2005)
11. Kayser – “Good Citizen” (from “The Good Citizen”, 2006)
12. Overkill – “Devils in the Mist” (from “Immortalis”, 2007)
13. Eliminator – “Breaking the Wheel” (from “Breaking the Wheel”, 2008)
14. Kreator – “Demon Prince” (from “Hordes of Chaos”, 2009)
15. Exodus – “The Ballad of Leonard and Charles” (from “Exhibit B: The Human Condition”, 2010)
16. Anthrax – “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t” (from “Worship Music”, 2011)
17. Soulfly – “Gladiator” (from “Enslaved”, 2012)
18. Antipeewee – “Pleasure of Flesh” (from “Human Grill Party”, 2013)
19. Exodia – “Town of No Return” (from “Hellbringer”, 2014)
20. Comaniac – “Secret Seed” (from “Return to the Wasteland”, 2015)
21. Bat – “Code Rude” (from “Wings of Chains”, 2016)
22. Fuego Eterno – “El arte de lo oculto” (from “El arte de lo oculto”, 2017)
23. Almost Dead – "Shot to the Head" (from "Lay Me Down to Waste", 2018)
24. Xentrix – “The Red Mist Descends” (from “Bury the Pain”, 2019)
25. Wraith – “Outbreak” (from “Index Case”, 2020)
26. Space Chaser - “Cryoshock” (from “Give Us Life”, 2021)
27. Night Lord – “Ostatni Smierci Krzyk” (from “Death Doesn’t Wait”, 2022)
28. Bloodletter – “The Howling Dead” (from “A Different Kind of Hell”, 2023)
29. Hemotoxin – “Malediction” (from “When Time Becomes Loss”, 2024) [Submitted by Daniel]
There's far too much music, yes. I no longer take any pleasure in seeking out what is new in the current year. Thinking about it logically, just because it has come out this year, why do I need to listen to it immediately? Just my view of course as I find it hard to be arsed putting together year end lists of any length and the "hobby" aspect of seeking new music that some people enjoy is fine for them but just not something that interests me any longer. I just don't bother.
Nowadays I am extra lazy and just let the music streaming services suggest me a weekly playlist to run at which usually out of around 30 tracks churns out 2 decent records I listen to for the week. I read no media publications online or in print (since Zero Tolerance mag appears to have died) and so do not have sight of what is coming out anyways. Other than Bandcamp emails I am pretty out of touch with new music and certainly lack the time or gumption to search organically myself when the mood takes me.
For me, life's too short to keep up with new music.
Warning - "Faces" (from "Watching From A Distance", 2006)
Woorms - "Mouth is a Wound" (from "Slake", 2019)
Evoken - "Towers of Frozen Dusk" (from "Shades of Night Descending", 1994)
Nile - "True Gods of the Desert" (from "The Underworld Awaits Us All", 2024)
Coffins - "Domains of Black Miasma" (from "Sinister Oath", 2024)
Altars - "Black Light Upon Us" (from "Ascetic Reflection", 2022)
Absu - "Descent to Acheron (Evolving into the Progression of Woe)" (from "Barathrum; V.I.T.R.I.O.L.", 1993)
Nails - "Violence is Forever" (from "You Will Never Be One Of Us", 2016)
Ex Deo - "The Rise of Hannibal" (from "The Immortal Wars", 2017)
Cannibal Corpse - "Scourge of Iron" (from "Torture", 2012)