Vinny's Forum Replies

Thanks Sonny

Thanks Andi

Thanks Saxy

Svartsyn - "Vortex of The Destroyer" (2025)

Hands down one of the best black metal releases of 2025 for me so far.  I hit it off with this one from the very first time I heard it.  Review in pipeline.

We are just under a month away from the submissions deadline for the next The Pit playlist which will drop in June.  Happy to take one suggestion from non-clan members if anyone wishes to participate.

It is baffling to me that despite the obvious dearth of decent material in the last 35 years Metallica are still the planet's biggest metal band. I am glad I got to see them live in the 80s when they were at their best and not this pale parody of a thrash metal act because, as the great Bill Shankly meant to say, "if Metallica were playing at the bottom of my garden I would shut the curtains, put on my headphones and listen to Master of Puppets".

This made me laugh out loud.

Decrepisy "Deific Mouring (2025)

I am starting to amass a fandom for Daniel Butler. After finding Acephalix many moons ago and subsequently Vastum a couple of years later, I know have stumbled across Decrepisy (which I am unsure is even an actual term). In a year that has so far floated my death doom boat very little in the first quarter of 2025, I was instantly full of hope when I heard Daniel Butler and Kyle House from Acephalix were involved in Decrepisy. Deific Mourning I am pleased to say, certainly lives up to the expectations that I have of these artists, and the bands numbers being bolstered by current Morbid Angel live drummer (as well as Funebraum and Ascended Blood sticksman of course), Charles Koryn and Jonathan Quintana on guitars (of Ritual Necromancy and Coffin Rot fame), all works out well for their sophomore release.

Deific Mourning sounds like a beast in the throes of uncontrollable grief for it’s fallen lord. It is like an acid bath of sorrow. The density of the sound is like a mournful millstone around your neck, the cavernous vocals grunting and gurning their dismal and gloomy emotions until they surround you. All the while the guitars chug away in a punishing and laborious drudgery, as if consigned to riff away for an eternity of mourning. The leads when they come, are just as melancholic, sharpening the pain as they seep into tracks. These leads are my only element of criticism on the record though, as despite them having impact, they feel placed rather than planned sometimes. Whilst they by no means ruin any of the tracks, they do have a sense of them being an afterthought on more than one occasion.

Koryn’s drumming is well-balanced throughout the record, coming to the fore especially well on the stripped back ‘Spiritual Decay 1/4 Dead’. It sounds like a professional performance from him. Indeed, the only element that feels a bit lost in the mix is the bass. Kyle handles bass alongside his guitar duties, and so perhaps this explains why the four strings have little presence overall (not that you miss them by any means). The multi-talented Leila Abdul-Rauf (Vastum, Cardinal Wyrm), guests on the record, dropping some menacing synths and additional vocals into the fray.

Album highlight for me is the brooding album closer ‘Afterhours’. I suspect Leila is heavily involved on this one with its looming dark ambience and abyssal echoes. It plays like some agonising cabaret in places, yet as some shamanic ritual in others. It is unexpected at the end of an album that to this point has been so clearly rooted in death doom, but it works brilliantly. The distortion applied to the guitars gives a b-movie aesthetic to the proceedings as the threat builds up and up during the track. Decrepisy may have passed me by with their first record, but I am so glad I did not miss this one. Off to blast me some Acephalix and Vastum for the rest of the bank holiday.

4.5/5

Metallica - 72 Seasons (2023)

Metallica - Hardwired...to Self-Destruct (2016)

Two for the price of one!!

Over the last two or three days I have been filling in the gaps in my Metallica discography knowledge and relistening to the rest for a track-rating project. In an attempt to make the venture more palatable I decided to work backwards. That way, at least I would still have the good stuff to look forward to. Anyway, I had never sat down with the last two albums, in fact I hadn't listened to anything after the complete shitshow that was St. Anger, so I went into Hardwired and 72 Seasons completely blind. In truth, neither was as awful as I had feared and both were certainly an improvement over the band's previously mentioned career nadir. Don't get me wrong, neither do they come close to rivalling their 80s output, but then again what does? There are actually some pretty decent tracks here, both the title tracks, "Lux Aeterna" from the later album and "Dream No More" and "Confusion" from Hardwired are solid efforts.

No, the insurmountable problem for me with both these albums, which was also an issue with 2008's "supposed" return to form, Death Magnetic, is the self-indulgence exhibited by the band. They have always been a band that lean towards lengthier tracks, Master of Puppets itself has three eight-minute-plus tracks, but on these two albums the musical ideas presented in no way justify the interminible runtimes. In fact Metallica now come off as little more than a heavy metal jam band and a parody of their former greatness. The ideas here in no way justify well over two-and-a-half hours of your valuable listening time. Hardwired could easily lose three tracks from the back end, in fact lose the whole second disc except "Confusion" whilst 72 Seasons would be much better if it ended at "Crown of Barbed Wire". Then remove a chorus from each of the remaining tracks and the jobs a good' un as we say round here.

Oh and someone please tell Hetfield to stop singing - his voice is shot and is at times fairly painful to listen to. Add the compression and loudness wars fallout on top of these issues and we have a couple of (very long) albums of material that is subpar for the band that gave us Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets and, if truth be told, for many lesser lights too. Metallica peers such as Testament and even Exodus have released much better albums in the same time span. Listening to both of these is like one of those sad old men with a pony tail and convertible sports car trying to recapture his long-lost youth and just coming off like some kind of weird tosser. It makes me sad rather than angry.

A generous 3/5 for each for old-times sake.

I just reread my review of 72 Seasons and can see that we are on the same page here.  Not heard (and probably won't be bothering to) Hardwired... as I think the final quote from my review sums it up for me:

'Metallica in 2023 are indecisive, isolated in their own version of reality and completely unrecognisable as the force of music they so quickly became some forty years ago. For once the hype is correct and I have seemingly missed nothing during the last thirty years.'

Hello Ben, could you please add:

Misanthropic Darkwoods from Ecuador

I have done a couple of listens through to this and although I get the talent and the direction, it just doesn’t work for me.  For a start, the songs are too long and have far too much to say over their duration.  As a result they feel like a collection of ideas moulded (although not forcibly so) into whole songs.  I find myself losing interest pretty quickly to be honest and then I get snapped back into the room by a more beautiful or interesting moment.  I even tried the bedtime black metal trick, where I sit in bed with headphones on and listen to something in the dark, yet this still didn’t keep me present with the album.

I like my folk music now and again (in fact, increasingly so of late) but I almost just want this to be all folk or all black metal really.  As I say, clearly a talent, but not one that is resonating with me.

2/5

An indicator on how old I am geting today in the Anniversary section.  White Zombie's 'Astro-Creep: 2000 - Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head' is thirty-five years old.  I can remember having this on either cassette or CD back when I was thirteen.  'Creature of the Wheel' and 'More Human Than Human' are the only two songs I can recall now but I think it was probably a case of I had bought the album cold and didn't really like it all that much but just played it anyway due to my limited selection back then.  The days before digital music could be harsh on a penniless teenager.  Although I so often hark for those days of less choice and more reliance on hand me downs or loans.

Drudkh - 'Shadow Play' (2025)

Drudkh tailed off for me not long after Microcosmos. A Handful of Stars was a poor follow up to 2009’s triumph of a release and I progressively lost interest in the band. In writing this review, I looked back at some of my ratings for what has come after 2010 and found that on the few I had rated, I had little if any memory of what they sounded like (ratings on relevant releases have therefore been deleted from MA). Whereas I would have once looked forward to a Drudkh album, I found news of Shadow Play arriving landing with a less than muted applause. For me it almost feels like Drudkh have said everything I wanted to hear on their first few records. Those first four albums were the band’s golden run in my book and although they most certainly do have albums outside of that window of releases that I enjoy, I sensed that Shadow Play was not going to see me reaching for the higher end of the scoring range.

My fears were confounded by the frankly boring album opener ‘Scattering the Ashes’, a seven-minute plus track that is frankly one of the dullest pieces of music the Ukranians have ever written. I get the sound of the footfalls in the snow are of someone carrying an urn, however the track itself goes nowhere in between the footfalls that bookend the instrumental. Not a positive start then. Hold on though, both ‘April’ and ‘The Exile’ immediately get me interested in the album again with their driving rhythms and charging pace. The riffs seem to wrap effortlessly around one another, seemingly at home regardless of the tempo being deployed at the time. The rich melody that Drudkh are famous for is certainly still at the forefront of their music. The sound of the guitar alongside Roman’s grim vocals are familiar and welcome sounds. There’s a jangle to a Drudkh tremolo that sometimes sounds like a 60’s psychedelic rock jam. As we get onto the halfway point of the album, things are looking up.

I would go as far as to say that the previous two tracks are a couple of the best songs Drudkh have pulled together in a long time. Solid and memorable, urgent and pressing, as well as sounding like they are performed with passion and guile. ‘Fallen Blossom’ introduces a more aggressive sound, not dissimilar to the overall sound of album The Swan Road. Whilst the melody is still obvious, there is a harsher, colder edge to it on here. Even when the track seems to settle down into a rhythm, it still feels oppositional. The keys do little to soothe this abrasive edge, seeming to support its threat and intent with menacing atmospheres. The track builds into a tumultuous mass of tremolos and percussion, never taking its foot off the gas for the final third of the song. A more melodic opening greets us on ‘The Eve’, even if we are still seeing no signs of the pace letting up in the first instance. At this point I did start to wonder if some variety was missing here, but just as the demons started to have me doubting Drudkh, there’s a swell of accessible, more leniently paced melodies that is cleverly given space to breath and develop before becoming consumed again in the more raging torrents of the track. There is great use of pacing here, even though I missed this on my first few listens, it seems so obvious as I listen through on my review write-up.

Album closer, ‘The Thirst’ sounds like there may be some folk instruments at play in the raging mix that starts the track. I cannot see anything listed other than guitars and keyboards, so it may just be clever use of the keys, but I hear some light droning warbling in the background that seems to be a different pitch to the tremolo that I would normally attribute such sound too. In the end though, Shadow Play is not an album that needs much in the way of expansion. It says what it needs to say very well without much in the way of thrills being needed. It is one of the most consistent Drudkh albums that I have heard in a while and it really is only let down by that lifeless opening track which thankfully soon becomes a distant memory as the real quality of the album soon starts to take over.

4.5/5

Ben, can you add the new Fluisteraars release please?

'De kronieken van het verdwenen kasteel - III - Grunsfoort'

Whilst listening to Year of the Cobra, I found myself debating how difficult it must be to be in a two-piece drum and bass doom combo. I mean there must be a lot of pressure on the bassist to start with. How much do you yield to the temptation to play it like a rhythm guitar, or perhaps go the opposite way and use the bass to create dense atmospheres like Bell Witch? On YotC, Amy manages a bit of both. She carves out some bone-jangling riffs for sure, yet she also gives us enough bottom end to thicken up proceedings nicely on the tamer sections, when the beefier riffs are on the back burner. You can sense the same dilemna with the drums of course. Do they take precedence over the bass or simply play along in support of the four strings? Again, like his wife, Johanes finds a good balance here. As unremarkable as his performance maybe, the presence he brings cannot be underestimated.

Of course, Amy also has responsibility for the vocals. Her dreamy, stoner/psychedelic style works in great contrast to her heavier bass work. The vocal performance on album closer 'Prayer' stands out in particular with its very personal and sentimental traits making for a deeply heartfelt display. It is not often a doom track manages to invoke emotion in me, but I genuinely fought back tears when listening to that song. As the album highlight for me, it is a shame that such beauty is quite isolated here.

With some sense of inevitability perhaps, YotC suffers to a degree of a lack of variation. Tracks such as 'Alone' lose me completely, and no matter how many times I play the record, I cannot tell you how 'Sleep' sounds. Stronger tracks like opener '...Full Sails', 'War Drop' and 'Daemonium' are sufficient to rescue the record from the lower end of the scoring spectrum. Like I said at the top of this review, tough gig this two-piece doom set up and unfortunately it shows here.

3.5/5

Work in progress really Sonny.  The highest rated occupy the top two slots with the majority of the other rated and reviewed ones in order.  For example, I feel The Great Old Ones is going to place high but I simply have not gotten around to it yet in terms of enough critical listening time.  I will limit it to no more than 20 in the list otherwise it just becomes a list of some black metal albums i listened to this year.

I'll keep an eye on it Vinny because I haven't been engaging with new releases as much this year as I do normally and so it will be nice to see the best quality new black metal easily. TGOO's "Kadath" is my album of the year so far, but then again I have only listened properly to three!!

As you can see from my list, Gràb is the find of the year so far with that Grima record a close second.  I am trying to do simiar for The Fallen - both are based off new releases that Ben adds here but The North one has a couple of discoveries from elsewhere.

I shall be even more interested in your Fallen list, Vinny!

List is public for The Fallen now Sonny.

Work in progress really Sonny.  The highest rated occupy the top two slots with the majority of the other rated and reviewed ones in order.  For example, I feel The Great Old Ones is going to place high but I simply have not gotten around to it yet in terms of enough critical listening time.  I will limit it to no more than 20 in the list otherwise it just becomes a list of some black metal albums i listened to this year.

I'll keep an eye on it Vinny because I haven't been engaging with new releases as much this year as I do normally and so it will be nice to see the best quality new black metal easily. TGOO's "Kadath" is my album of the year so far, but then again I have only listened properly to three!!

As you can see from my list, Gràb is the find of the year so far with that Grima record a close second.  I am trying to do simiar for The Fallen - both are based off new releases that Ben adds here but The North one has a couple of discoveries from elsewhere.

Work in progress really Sonny.  The highest rated occupy the top two slots with the majority of the other rated and reviewed ones in order.  For example, I feel The Great Old Ones is going to place high but I simply have not gotten around to it yet in terms of enough critical listening time.  I will limit it to no more than 20 in the list otherwise it just becomes a list of some black metal albums i listened to this year.

For once, I am across most of the new releases in black metal this year.  Even managing to keep a running list in the Lists section for anyone interested.

https://metal.academy/lists/single/310

Andi, can you add me on the roster for The North too please?

Hi Ben, please can you add:

Frosthymn (Russia)

Latest release from Ene "The Ruined Temple" (EP)

Latest release from Kêres "Skryer of the Lighthouse"

Uhka - "Yön tälle puolen"

Xificurk (Poland)

They/Live - "Nature & Structure" (2025)

Synthy, poppy, electronic goodness right here.  Perfect soundtrack to ease me into the working day.  Was a fan of their previous effort "Ablation" but this is a step up.

For May 25 please Sonny:

Onirophagus - "Landsickness" (from "Revelations from the Void", 2025)

Kowloon Walled City - "Sleep Debt" (from "Gambling on the Richter Scale", 2009)

Black Bile - "L'Oratoire" (from "L'Oratoire", 2023)

Pentagram - "Walk The Sociopath" (from "Lightning in a Bottle", 2025)

Year of the Cobra - "Full Sails" (from "Year of the Cobra", 2025)

Morast - "On Pyre" (from "Fentanyl", 2025)

Cradle of Filth - "When Misery Was A Stranger" (from "The Screaming of the Valkyries", 2025)

16 - "Blood Atonement Blues" (from "Guides for the Misguided", 2025)

Wren "Black Rain Falls" (2025)

Wren is one of the most unmetal sounding band names that could be picked really. One step up from Sparrow or Dunnock I suppose but still leans heavily on the lame side of the bird world. Whilst it may not be the most threatening name in the world metal, Wren does fit the atmospheric sludge of this London four piece as they explore a vast and dense landscape across their third album, Black Rain Falls. Foraging through punishingly slow riffs, flitting between ethereal density and atmospheric ecosystems and nesting in the rafters of the solid structures of the seven tracks on offer.

Describing themselves as a ‘blackened noise band’ (at least according to the Spotify bio anyway) could not be further from the truth, as there is no noisy element to this record. The agonising pace of album highlight, ‘Toil in the Undergrowth’ is testimony to how captivating atmospheric sludge is. By the time the first riff lands we are three minutes into the track. Those hoarse and tormented vocals heralding the arrival of the track proper perfectly as that riff crashes in behind them. This album is full of Neurosis and Isis influences, and as a result had me hooked from the off. Songs feel like they are expanding even though there is little in the way of variation to suggest this is naturally the case. Any progression is deliberate and measured, feeling organic and unforced.

Tracks often end feeling like very little has happened in the way of change once the established format has been engineered, but still, I get sense of total satisfaction from the majority of what is on offer here. The interlude in the middle of the record feels a bit out of place though, even though it does in some ways introduce the dense, bassy opening of ‘Metric of Grief' nicely. Album closer ‘Scorched Hinds’ is one of the more obvious Neurosis sounding tracks, with its shifts and swells accompanied by chiming guitar notes that remind me of Kowloon Walled City. There is a lot to like in the simplicity of Black Rain Falls and it stands out as one of my happier new finds in The Fallen clan of late.

Thanks all.

After 17 years (little over 2.5 married) me and my wife have agreed to go our separate ways.  Amicable thankfully, so no yelling and shouting.  Hard few months ahead but looking forwards to some solitude at the end of it.

Ninkharsag - "The Black Swords of Winter" (2025)

Liverpool (UK) based black metallers, Ninkharsag caught my attention with their sophomore, The Dread March of Solemn Gods back in 2021. Claiming four well-earned stars for their efforts on that one, the future looked promising for what started out as a one-man project back in 2009 and had since grown into a four-piece band. Their brand of charging, rampant melodic black metal, instantly brought the likes of Dissection and Sacramentum to mind. Coupled with some Watain-like intensity, the sound of Ninkharsag soon found favour with these ears.

This EP nicely scratches my Ninkharsag itch as I wait for the next full-length. Continuing their themes of ancient history, magic and occultism, The Black Swords of Winter is a raging torrent of melodic black metal that ticks more than enough boxes for me over the six tracks on offer. Suitably opened by a moody and atmospheric intro track, the EP soon picks up the pace and barely lets up for the next twenty-two-minutes. Muhammad Candra’s artwork absolutely represents the icy content that lies within. As the flames of the dragon on the cover suggest, any burn here is a cold one.

It is nice to find a band in my local area that are forging a solid path through a ton of (mostly) unremarkable black metal releases so far this year. The nods to the Swedish bands mentioned above never feel like unbridled worship and they retain a freshness to the sound, like new life is somehow being breathed into a tried and tested formula. Looking forwards still to the next full length offering, if they can keep this standard up, it should be another winner.

4/5

Met with Gen Prac. Nothing conclusive, so we get to navigate the American Healthcare system. I have to schedule a catscan/mri. I have been feeling quite a bit better the last few days and I'm really hoping it's something small like my glass being out of focus (got new ones) or something trivial like that.

Sorry to hear this although I am sure you will be fine.

Gràb - Kremess (2025)

I was around some thirty albums into a black metal in 2025 discovery trip this week and if I am honest, I was starting to despair. Other than a couple of brief glimmers of hope which I will save the detail of for some further reviews, I was starting to think that 2025 was going to be a barren year. Now, there are a couple of caveats to that initial view, the first being that in general I make no effort to stay on top of new releases. Secondly, I am solely going off the new bm releases added to MA, so there will inevitably be gaps at whatever point of the year I bother to look since we cannot possibly capture all releases in these output trigger happy days that we live in. Anyway, after sitting through two of Drowning the Light’s five albums they have released so far this year, and wondering why the hell I was bothering, I finally landed on German duo, Gràb (German for “grey/old”).

I have listened to a lot of black metal over the years and the albums that I hold in high regard all exude passion for their artform. In a sub-genre that champions the minimalist approach it is easy to become lost in a sea of raw, primitive and yet utterly emotionless music. There is absolutely a time and place for that, however with where I am at in my bm musings nowadays I like to hear some heart in what I am listening to. Luckily for me, Gràb are full of passion for what they do. Yes, the melodicism helps no end here. That smattering of doomy atmosphere also does much to enhance the experience. But at the very core of Kremess is the undeniable presence of musicians revelling in what they love doing and in turn letting the listener revel in the majesty of the music they produce.

The Bavarian lyrics may be completely undecipherable to me, but it does not matter one bit. I feel I can still connect with the whole experience of Kremess regardless. There is a lot going on instrumentally here as well. With viola, flute and dulcimer all being deployed alongside keyboards, guitar, bass and drums, Kremess offers a real gamut of instrumentation. Yet nothing is ever allowed to override the core bm offering of the band’s sound. As eclectic as some of the instrument choices may seem, they are cleverly deployed and incorporated into the overall aesthetic. Gràb know how to write songs, and it shows in abundance here.

Produced by Empyrium’s Markus Stock, the members of Empyrium contribute light touches to parts of the album. The choral elements Thomas Helm adds on Im Hexnhoiz (A Weihraz-Gschicht, Kapitel Oans) and Deifeszeig add real depth to both tracks with the former being one of the standout moments on the album for me. It would be easy to get fooled by the slightly amateur (yet still somehow charming) artwork on the album cover that this is a base bm record that will be full icy atmospherics, and do not get me wrong, they are there. However, Kremess possesses a majesty to the grim musings that make up the eight tracks on offer. My initial fear that it was too long at fifty-five minutes was soon dispelled as the arrangement of the album is just as top notch as the content.

Triumphs such as Vom Gråb im Moos (A Weihraz-Gschicht, Kapitel Zwoa) at the midway point of the record and on album closer Dà letzte Winter, make the duration seem more than worth it. This record ends as strong as it starts, something which I rarely feel listening to new music nowadays. Hands down the best release of 2025 so far, Kremess restores my faith in black metal amidst the slew of gazey, avant garde releases (who needs samba black metal??) that was starting to seem the norm so far this year. It does of course also set the bar high from here on in.

5/5

Hi Ben, could you add the new EP from Ninkharsag please? The Black Swords of Winter.

Hi Ben, could you add the new album from Year of the Cobra please?

Here you go Sonny:

Kvist - "Stupet" (from "For kunsten maa vi evig vike", 1996)

Ungfell - "Im Ruusch" (from "De Ghörnt", 2024)

Satanic Warmaster - "Harken the Bells of Damnation" (from "Exultation of Cruelty", 2024)

Ruïm - "Fall of Seraphs" (from "Black Royal Spiritism - I - O Sino da lgreja", 2023)

March 2025

1. Metallica – “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” (from “Master of puppets”, 1986) [Submitted by Sonny]

2. Prong – “One Outnumbered” (from “Cleansing”, 1994) [Submitted by Vinny]

3. Power Trip – “Crossbreaker” (from ”Manifest Decimation”, 2013)

4. Onslaught - “Bow Down to the Clowns” (from “Generation Antichrist”, 2020)

5. Sepultura – “Last Time” (from “Quadra”, 2020) [Submitted by Daniel]

6. Hobbs Angel of Death – “The Journey” (from “Hobbs’ Satan’s Crusade”, 2003) [Submitted by Daniel]

7. Rampage – “Terrortaphobia” (from “Veil of Mourn”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

8. Agressa - “Tunks” (from “Nuclear Death”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

9. Mass Confusion – “Die by the Ward” (from “The Demos 88-92”, 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

10. Celtic Frost - “Fainted Eyes” (from “To Mega Therion”,1985) [Submitted by Sonny]

11. Kingdom of Hate- “Prayer” (from “The Search”, 2009) [Submitted by Sonny]

12. Massakre – “Red September” (from “Crematorium”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny]

13. Mayhemic – “Triumph Portrait” (from “Toba”, 2024) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Nimrod - “Mortality of the Sea” (from “Legacy of the Dead”, 2023) [Submitted by Sonny]

15. Possessed – “Burning in Hell” (from “Seven Churches”, 1985) [Submitted by Sonny]

16. Razor – “Edge of the Razor” (from “Violent Restitution”, 1988) [ Submitted by Sonny]

17. Fallen Angel - “Ice” (from “Faith Fails”, 1992)

18. Grinder – “Hymn for the Isolated” (from “Nothing is Sacred”, 1991)

19. Impaler – “Vicious Dreams” (from “Wake Up Screaming”, 1990)

20. Ulysses Siren – “Leviathan” (from “Above the Ashes”, 2003)

21. Pest Control – “P.M.C.” (from “Year of the Pest”, 2024)

22. Despair – “Decay of Humanity” (from “Decay of Humanity”, 1990)

23. Witchtrap – “Lemmy” (from “Trap the Witch”, 2015)

24. Violent Sin – “Malicious Stirring” (from “Serpent’s Call”, 2023)

25. Warbringer – “A Better World” (from “Wrath and Ruin”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

26. Sadus – “it’s the Sickness” (from “The Shadow Inside”, 2023)

27. Heathen – “Dead and Gone” (from “Empire of the Blind”, 2020)

28. Battlecreek – “King of Rats” (from “Maze of the Mind”, 2024)

29. Take Offense – Assassination” (from “T.o.tality”,2024)

30. Refore – “Illusion of Existence” (from “Illusion of Existence”, 2024)

31. Megadeth – “Lucretia” (from “Rust in Peace”, 1990) [Submitted by SaxyS)

Mala - "Mirrors" (2016)

Pentagram - Lightning in a Bottle (2025)

After over five decades of drugs, crime and doom, Bobby Liebling returns with a whole new line up, some ten years after Pentagram's last album. Although I do not follow Pentagram releases (in fact, I lost track right after their self-titled debut if I am honest) but something about that vibrant artwork caught my eye and I thought to myself that if the content of the album was anywhere near as focused as the cover art then this could be a real treat. As it turns out, I am more than half correct. There are some absolute bangers on this record. Although I had not caught any of them as singles the three tracks that came out prior to the album release are all strongly written affairs. The opening track, Live Again certainly lives up to its billing as with the new line up in full flow, Pentagram sound just as good now as they did forty or fifty years ago.

Touching on psychedelia, stoner rock, hard rock and classic rock alongside the more doom-laden side to proceedings, Lightning in a Bottle is actually quite a varied affair. Full of lyrical absurdities ("I spoke to Death last night, he wore a nightmare gown, and when I spoke your name, he turned his eyes down to the ground" - from "I Spoke to Death") and widdling solos, all performed to a backdrop of solid and consistent percussion, I found this record way more interesting than I expected. The artists Bobby has recruited might have their moments of mistiming here and there (which somehow is just acceptable) but overall they have put together eleven consistent tracks. Unafraid to play with pace and tempo, the band create a distinct feeling of balance over the album. Starting off with the previously praised opening track, Live Again and then closing the album with the deliciously doomy Walk the Sociopath, Pentagram have managed to achieve a complete album experience here.

Whilst not flawless, all the tracks belong here and bring something unique to the table. Whether it is the spiralling, fuzzy chaos of Lady Heroin or the solid and direct punch of Thundercrest, most tracks leave a mark for me as I have listened through the album a few times today. Above all else, I am impressed with how good Liebling sounds. The guy is 71 for fuck's sake! On here he puts in a shift that belies any stereotypes linked to his age. Energetic, reflective and even outright thoughtful, Liebling gives a truly stellar showing here. Props also to guitarist Tony Reed who manages to mark his own identity on the record whilst still somehow staying true to the Pentagram sound at the same time. The bonus tracks on the digital version are not essential and of the main listing I can genuinely only call out I'll Certainly See You In Hell and Solve the Puzzle as being the items that should have been left on the cutting room floor.

4/5

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"