UnhinderedbyTalent's Forum Replies

Maybe even reviews of album covers...

It isn't a artwork review site though is it Andi and you have raised that before and I see no reason for this to be changed.  I speak as someone who spends a fair old portion of his time rating album covers as the 12 year old boy in me just likes to look at album artwork and rate it.  I find my brain copes better with the visual aspect of rating an album cover much easier than the listening aspect of rating an album, and it is also easier to do when sat in fucking endless conference calls at home when working.

Speaking as someone who is not massively interested in numbers I find the two decimal places a push too far and frankly bordering on the excessive (obsessive??).  I am a simple man of simple means and I largely came here to just review releases and shoot the shit generally.  I don't care about charts to the degree proposed here - not knocking anyone who does care - just like I find I have fallen out with the Hall feature because having been here for a while now I trust the judgement of Ben and Daniel to simply move releases that are misfiled or need extra tagging. Although the interactive nature of the Hall looks good on paper logging into the site and looking at the forum page to see all "hot" posts are just "...should be moved to.." is just a switch off for me.  Different opinions of course and I am not having a rant, just has struck me over the past week or so and thought I would share my thoughts.

Far from being regular in appearing on my thrash metal rotation, Every Nerve Alive is one of those albums that whilst I recognise the functional quality of, I find very little in the way of need to revisit it.  There is much to enjoy on this the bands sophomore release as they hack their way through eleven tracks of rampant thrash metal.  Capturing the very essence of thrash metal throughout this record is an absolute joy to listen to whilst it is on.  This sounds like a dumb statement I know, however I feel this is relevant as to why I rarely revisit the album.  I put it on the other week for the first time in a while and was instantly caught up in how aggressive and utterly relentless it was, how it did not necessarily do anything new and simply did an established blueprint really well.  However, unlike Slayer or Kreator, as soon as the record was done, it was gone from the memory banks more or less instantly.  A right romp it may be for forty-three minutes but its longevity is really short and is the kind of album that I can only enjoy in the moment as it leaves no distinct aftertaste that makes me savour any of the content beyond the duration of the meal.  There may well be a period of me patting my stomach after this meal but certainly zero recollection of why it was so good until I go back and order the same thing again.  For this reason I am knocking my score down to a 3.5/5 from the 4 I previously applied to it.

Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos (1989)

In November of '89, a year on from their debut, In Battle There Is No Law, Bolt Thrower issued sophomore album, Realm of Chaos. This album shows a band who have improved hugely in professionalism and who have honed their vision into sharper detail. Gone was the sloppiness of the debut, as had most of the crust influence and we had a much tougher-sounding, more brutal and heavier release as a result. This is no all-out assault of mindless brutality however and most of the tracks display some degree of progression. First track proper, Eternal War, may be the exception with it's nod to Napalm Death-style grindcore. Typically the tracks feature a slower, medium-paced, groove-laden riff with bursts of fast-paced, grind-like aggression and howling solos and they even turn in a creeping death doom riff to open the magnificant All That Remains. In Karl Willetts they have one of my absolute favourite death metal vocalists, his rasping growl epitomising what death metal vocals are all about for me.

Often with extreme metal, I will concede, an album can become a blur of similar-sounding tracks that struggle to stick in the memory after they have ceased playing and are more about the experience of listening, but in similar fashion to Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness, Realm of Chaos consists of tracks with enough memorable riffs and even melodies to stick with you after the disc has stopped spinning - a mark of exceptional songwriting I would suggest. Tracks like All That Remains and particularly World Eater are genuine death metal classics in my opinion, but there really isn't any filler on this album and I believe that Realm of Chaos can stand toe-to-toe with most of the classics of early death metal.

Although they are well-regarded, I still don't think Bolt Thrower get the credit they deserve. This was still 1989 and yet they had written the manual on brutal, grind-influenced death metal already (and went on to become one of the select few bands with decades-long careers who never put out a bad album) yet it seems to me that they remain the preserve of death metal enthusiasts and early grind adherents while lesser lights bask in the floodlights.
4.5/5

I recall having issue with this album on a production level but have to confess to it being a while since I listened to it and I may well have ended up with a horrible remastered version on CD somewhere.  Certainly need to revisit anyways.

Hi Ben,  please add Finnish groove/melodic death metallers Bloody Falls to the site

Guys, for next month's playlist submissions (for July) could I ask that they are in by the 10th June if possible please?  I am away for the week after that and coming back to a hectic diary both with work and socially so I want to get the list built before I head over to the states then can just tweak ahead of publishing.  No need to see them before start of next month mind - I am not an animal.

Another fortuitous by-product of this exploration of early death metal I have been undergoing is that it is helping to plug some of the gaps in my physical collection and today's subject is one of my most egregious omissions, which I am now pleased to say i have now resolved (thanks to Mr. Bezos and his extremely convenient online shopping experience!)

Said subject is, of course, one of the most important albums in the history of death metal:

Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness (1989)

OK, so I am quite reluctant to comment on Altars of Madness as it is undoubtedly one of the most highly-regarded of all death metal releases and I am not sure I can do it justice, but as it is a seminal release in the death metal canon I will have to try and do my best. I came to it quite late in the day, early on in my reintroduction to metal, around the turn of the millenium via a work colleague who was into Morbid Angel and Deicide and was kind enough to lend me a few of his CDs, Altars of Madness among them. So does it merit all the praise that is heaped upon it? Yes it absolutely does as this sets a whole new level of evilness and intensity for metal at this point in it's evolution and pretty much writes the manual for death metal going into the 1990s.

Firstly the songwriting is phenomenal, each track being immediate and vital and yet each retaining an individuality and identity that is rarely maintained to such a level in extreme metal, making each a memorable classic that doesn't just become part of the overall album's morass of sound but which stand out in their own right. Next, the guitar sound is phenomenal - I swear there are four or five guitars playing sometimes, such a sweeping hurricane of sound are we faced with. The riffs are fantastic and the solos, whilst being rooted in the example set by Slayer's Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, take this tortured style of soloing to a new level. Pete Sandoval's drumming is relentless and is technically brilliant as he employs every weapon in his arsenal to take metal drumming to a new heights with superb fills and proto-blastbeats that more than just keep time. Bassist/vocalist Dave Vincent snarls and growls his way through the unholy and blasphemous lyrics (which are probably the most predictable part of the whole album) with a demonic-sounding relish.

Even with all this amazing songwriting and musicianship, that still isn't the whole story of Altars of Madness. The cover art is fantastic with the leering mass of demons that seem to be forming and reforming from some kind of primordial protoplasm, some looking evil and savage, others looking mischievous and humourous and yet more looking merely demented. It is the sort of album cover you could study for ages and still find something new hidden within - a bit like the album itself. The details are also where it's at with AoM, the backwards-playing riff that introduces the album opener Immortal Rites and the demonic laugh Dave Vincent unleashes at the start of Maze of Torment both add to the immersion of the album and these small details help to elevate Altars of Madness in the minds of it's advocates.

All in all I would definitely agree with those who claim this as one of the greatest and most influential death metal albums of all time and I must concur that it more than deserves it's position on the highest pedestal of extreme metal classics.
5/5

I agree with everything you say here.  The first two MA albums are so huge in their importance to the genre overall and the bands work ethic second to none.  Hard to believe Pete Sandoval couldn't actually play double bass when he joined MA in 1988.  He figured it out in about two months with the guidance of Trey and Vincent and had developed mental skills in that short time.  Ross Dolan from Immolation is noted as remembering talking to the band to set up some New York shows and all he could hear in the background on the phone was Sandoval practising his double kicks.    

Safe to say that I am not as enamoured with this release as Daniel.  Whilst by no means a bad album it is very much reminiscent of everything else I hear on the Polish death metal scene.  Whether it is the more blackened acts or more traditional bands like Vader, I just find it all a bit "meh" as a scene.  Those vocals might as well be Nergal doing them for me and although I would not imply it to be a conscious effort there does appear to be some elements of Behemoth worship here.  

The drummer's performance is outstanding though and he easily takes the award for the most impressive work here.  The production job seems to stifle the guitars for me and that urgent, stabbing tone to the riffs just does not come over well as a result.  At times I find songs blur into one another and I am not sure where one has finished and another started unless I pay track by track attention and there's not enough going on here to keep me interested in that level of detail.

The Satanist reference is a good one, but without the theatricals this album just doesn't bite the same as their counterparts finest hour (in my book at least) from 2014.  A solid three for me, not awful but not earth-shattering at the same time and probably unlikely to be revisited.

3/5

I just do not think that Quorthon was that good.  I get the kvlt love for them but he really overshot himself and tried to be a lot more mature a performer than he actually was ever capable of becoming.  As I have gotten older I have less and less time for Bathory and actually cringe when I try to listen to pretty much anything beyond 1988.

Edit to the above:

Removing

Desolate Shrine - "Cast to Walk the Star of Sorrow" (from "Fires of the Dying World", 2022) 06:41

Replacing with

Nihilist - "Severe Burns" (from "Drowned", 1989) 05:38

Another sterling playlist that I found matched my current listening habits nicely (I am on a grindcore kick of late).  I am slowly coming round to Nasum and was looking for a track to draw me to a release and that track might have done it and Enemy Soil are new to me so are a neat and timely find.  Not as keen on that Napalm Death track but I am still spinning Scum intermittently at mo so perhaps one to build up to.  Forgot how fucking sick Infester were and that Cryptworm track was absolute filth as well.  Always good to see a bit of Gorguts on here also.

Was not at all into Aeviterne (who essentially are Flourishing, right?) or Father Befouled who always stray too close to Incantation worship for my liking.  Finding my own personal favourite in terms of sick humour, Macabre was a pleasing moment though.

I re -read my review and laughed out loud at me describing it as having just "an industrial tinge".  Great record and fine choice for the feature of the month.

I don't have much to add to my existing review for this.  Since I got this on vinyl earlier this year it has occupied my headspace a lot and is an album that plays well away from the turntable by simply having gouged a place in my brain over repeated listens.  I do keep meaning to check out more of his work but never quite seem to get around to it despite my obvious liking of this album.

Highlight for me this month was me getting to remember how good that Dawn album is and that I need to revisit it immediately.  That Enslaved track is from a great album also. Always nice to see a bit of Xasthur on here too but not taken well to the new BAN album they are definitely moving to far away from their core bm sound for my liking and I think Deathspell Omega have had their day as well.

Woods of Desolation were not an instant hit for me - a little too gazey.  Ultha however offered an interesting end to the playlist this month.  A big atmo-black ending that rounded the tracklist off nicely.  

Find of the month = Black Fucking Cancer - I am all over that shit like a fat lass in a cake shop!

I think on reflection that the short review writer is the more adept reviewer.  Having read Zero Tolerance mag for a number of years now I am always impressed by how the writers there get the review done in what seems like an impossibly small space.  I used to be on the "reviews must be lengthy" bandwagon for a while but as my own time to do reviews continues to decrease with my ever increasing workload, a wedding to organise and a new interest in gardening (when will the adrenaline levels drop I wonder) I just play my reviews by ear and they are simply as long as they are at the time of writing. 

For me personally I have never seen my involvement in the site as a chore.  I moderate on another forum and have never seen this as a chore either to be honest as the responsibility is shared across four of us and everybody is relatively well behaved.  If anything, I see the MA site as a place to come and stretch my wings and focus my energies into something I am passionate about without necessarily having to read everything new in the forum.  I don't partake in a lot of threads and I am far more active rating artwork/releases than I am at keeping up with the forums and that is a conscious effort on my part.  I am genuinely excited to see the features and playlists each month even though I might not get time to comment/review all of them, they usually still form some part of my listening habits for the month.

I'd just like to open up a discussion around the monthly clan playlists to see whether you're all enjoying the current format or would like to see some changes. Here's a few questions to consider:

1. How are you all enjoying them? Do you look forward to listening to & compiling them?  Yes I enjoy them and do pick up on bands to check out from listening to them and compiling them is a task I enjoy.

2. Is the two hour length appropriate? If we are to cover the various sub-genres appropriately I think no more than 90 mins

3. Do you think monthly is the right release schedule? Would bi-monthly or quarterly be more suitable & encourage a higher quality of submissions? Could it be different for different clans? I think it should be a rotational playlist - so a different clan each month (or even quarter).  Not sure how we measure "quality" of submissions as it is just down to what people have been listening to surely?  However, if we are open to changing the frequency then I think the scope of the lists changes also.

4. Should we consider dissolving a couple of the less popular playlists altogether or would that potentially confuse things? It all comes down to what is sustainable I think.  Do we have any stats on the number of plays the lists get on Spotify each month?  Personally I think only the Sphere playlist is expendable based on there being no active MA members regularly contributing

5. Do we have the track submission limits right? Is there a better way to manage the compiling of the lists?  Speaking for The Pit, I think it is right, submissions give me a solid base to work from and allow me to focus on the lesser sub-genres

5. Any other suggestions or comments? Overall who is the target audience for the playlists?  Site members or the means to attract wider an audience to the lists and the site (all due respect if it is the latter I don't think we have a high hit rate).  I never get the time to listen to all the lists in my chosen clans though so I am of the opinion that there's just too much to focus on in a mere 4 weeks before they change again so the effort is not always appreciated.

My responses in bold in the above quote.

I am off to Florida for a few days in mid-June to "work" - which in effect is just a conference my company (new owners) put on each year to launch the coming year.  9 hour flight - I hate flying - but someone else is paying for me to fly business class and get at least one free day to myself in Orlando so I will take it.  Could be the new norm with us having US owners now so best keep my passport and US visas up to date.

That's a very interesting explanantion Daniel. I don't personally know any DJs (although I do have a friend who is a brilliant graffiti artist!) so I wasn't aware that is what they do. It must certainly help in forming an opinion if you have trained your mind to pick up on things so quickly.

Tne "active listening" thing is a good point too. This is partly what I mean about having to "work" at listening to music because, for various reasons, I find it hard sometimes to concentrate. The first couple of listens I tend not to even try and just sort of let it wash over me to get a handle on it and how it chimes with me emotionally. A further listen or two are then when I try to form an opinion of the music and then I will try to put it into words, usually while listening to it again at the same time.

Of course if I don't much care for it after a listen or two then I won't bother delving further. This is sometimes where I will later pick up again on releases I have previously dismissed and reassess them more favourably.

Coming late to this debate I know but essentially I am in the Sonny and Ben camp here.  Rare that any release grabs me the first time and as I get older it gets harder for me to formulate opinions after sometimes even three listens.  Learned to take a step back now and realise that an album takes as many listens as it takes for me to really get a grasp of it.  Yes, I can still dismiss utter drivel after a few tracks but at the same time I can revisit albums I previously dismissed and find them much more palatable.  A lot of album ratings are influenced by mood and I do find that if I am in a stinker of a mood or really down then this is not the time to review something as my attitude towards it is tainted no matter how many times I have listened to it in a more calm or positive mindset already.

As for the debate around what started death metal I think we have already drawn various conclusions in the thread and I lean more towards Scream Bloody Gore than I do Seven Churches.  Reading Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore at the moment and I am still in the early grindcore section of the book but one quote that made me think was from original Napalm Death vocalist Nik Bullen.  When asked why he quit the band he said "I got a bit bored with it...because at that point as people were in the audience just shouting 'Faster, faster!' I was thinking, ' Well, if everybody just wants us to play faster and faster, it is a bit like a novelty act, and they're not really understanding on some level why we wanted to play fast in the first place, which was just to mirror their kinds of emotions and to bludgeon, really.'"

My point here is that in the early years a lot of shite got released and just because something sounded more extreme than thrash or punk at the time then it did not make it death metal by proxy.  Although not glacial in pace the establishment of death metal came after both Seven Churches and Scream Bloody Gore and both albums are very important to the history of the genre.  Now I will probably never be able to pinpoint when it became death metal for me.  Some days I think Altars of Madness others Slowly We Rot but I think the point is that no album selection is wrong or right as music for me is very personal and I believe that it is for everyone.  I will never experience an album again like when I first took in Slowly We Rot back in my teenage years.  The environment, the events leading up to that purchase, the journey home with it, the circumstances of how I couldn't listen to it at home and had to go to my grandparents house are all part of that first listen.  At the time I had no idea what any other death metal album sounded like and at that point in time, for a precious few days (maybe even weeks) that album was death metal, the be all and end all to me because I had no other reference point and the internet was not a thing for me.  I have since gone on to discover Colored Sands, Stare Into Death and Be Still, Pierced From Within, Onward to Golgotha, Close To A World Below and countless other great death metal releases - none of which I will ever enjoy like I did Obituary's debut.  So whilst immensely important for residents of a site like this, where death metal truly began is a debate that is to some degree futile as my moment happened and nothing I will find now will change that or rival it.  It will give me timeline and the all important context though and it is interesting to view Sonny's journey and here other members experiences.

Thank you gentlemen

I will add:

HeXen - "Blast Radius" (from "State of Insurgency", 2008) 04:08

Go Ahead And Die - "Toxic Freedom" (from "Go Ahead And Die", 2021) 03:26

Strike Master - "Strong As Hell" (from "Death Based Illusions", 2019) 04:19

Num Skull "Ritually Abused" (from "Ritually Abused", 1988) 04:27

Sonic Assault - "Intellectual Singularity" (from "Neon-Lit Metropolis", 2022) 03:23

Hazzerd - "The Tendencies of a Madman" (from "Misleading Evil", 2017) 04:15

Atrophy "Violent by Nature" (from "Violent by Nature", 1990) 03:54

Total = 27:52

June =

Artificial Brain - "Celestial Cyst" (from, "Artificial Brain", 2022) 04:31

Inhuman Condition - "Recycled Hate" (from "Fearsick", 2022) 03:26

Wormrot - "Behind Closed Doors" (from "Hiss", 2022) 01:28

Undeath - "Necrobionics" (from "It's Time To…Rise From The Grave", 2022) 03:31

Massacre - "The Eldritch Prophecy" (from "Resurgence", 2021) 06:24

Massacra - "Enjoy the Violence" (from "Enjoy the Violence", 1991) 03:39

Desolate Shrine - "Cast to Walk the Star of Sorrow" (from "Fires of the Dying World", 2022) 06:41

Total time = 29:40

June =

Inquisition - "From Chaos They Came" (from "Bloodshed Across The Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zentih", 2016) 04:39

Mistur - "Downfall" (from, "In Memoriam", 2016) 07:15

Watain - "We Remain" (from "The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain", 2022) 06:14

Total = 18:08

I don't think it is fair to publicly call out another member of the forum in this manner Andi.  If it bothers you that the thread was not there then I think it would have been nicer to drop Xephyr a PM to see if everything was ok rather than create the thread and then publicly remind him of how and when things need to be done.

That kind of behaviour makes me uncomfortable and I will not just let that go unchallenged.  I am not speaking for Xephyr here but the fact that you have made him feel like he has to explain himself to you is not what I would expect from anyone in this community.  

I am not looking to pick a fight either I just unhappy with how this has been done.

May 2022

01. Metallica – “…And Justice For All” (from “…And Justice For All”, 1988) [Submitted by Sonny]

02. Nuclear Assault – “Nuclear War” (from “Game Over”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

03. Sepultura – “Inner Self” (from “Beneath the Remains”, 1989) [Submitted by Vinny]

04. Watchtower – “Instruments of Random Murder” (from “Resistance & Control”, 1989) [Submitted by Vinny]

05. Pariah “Puppet Regime” (from “Blaze of Obscurity”, 1989)

06. Razor – “Grindstone” (from “Malicious Intent”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

07. Thrasherwolf – “A Thousand Eyes” (from “A Thousand Eyes”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

08. Pissing Razors – “Cursed” (from “Where We Come From”, 2001)

09. The Bleeding – “Storm of the Hellspawn” (from “Morbid prophecy”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]

10. Vio-lence – “Let the World Burn” (from “Let the World Burn”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

11. Sarcofago – “Screeches from the Silence” (from “The Laws of Scourge”, 1991) [Submitted by Daniel]

12. Power from Hell – “Old Metal” (from “Devil’s Whorehouse”, 2015) [Submitted by Vinny]

13. Demoniac – “RSV – Fool Coincidence -Testigo” (from “So It Goes”, 2020) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Suicidal Tendencies – “Go’n Breakdown” (from “Lights…Camera…Revolution...”, 1990)

15. Anthrax – “Fueled” (from “Stomp 442”, 1995)

16. Possessed – “Séance” (from “Beyond the Gates”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

17. Kreator – “Under a Total Blackened Sky” (from “Enemy of God”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny]

18. Eradicator – “Einflussnahme Abgelehnt” (from “Einflussnahme Abgelehnt”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

19. Holy Terror – “Do Unto Others” (from “Mindwars”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

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

21. Cryptosis – “Transcendence” – (from “Bionic Swarm”, 2021) [Submitted by Sonny]

22. Meshuggah – “Paralyzing Ignorance” (from “Contradictions Collapsed”, 1991)

23. Expander – “Megacorp” (from “Neuropunk Boostergang”, 2020)

24. Ektomorph – “Shalom” (from “Hangok”, 1996)

25. Sadistic Ritual – “Murmur” (from “The Enigma Boundless”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

26. Vulture – “Clashing Iron” (from “The Guillotine”, 2017)

27. Sentinel Beast – “Phantom of the Opera” (from “Depths of Death”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

28. Hellfekted – “Woe to the Kingdom of Blood” (from “Woe to the Kingdom of Blood”, 2020) [Submitted by Daniel]

Municipal Waste - "Waste 'Em All" (2003)

In some ears, Municipal Waste's debut full-length may play as a dumb-as-shit fuck about record that lacks much in the way of thought.  For me it is a great representation of their political and social agitation that did not require any polish or predictable form.  Put simply the band just offload on this album.  They use a grind mentality to the delivery of the fifteen tracks here whilst deploying the requisite catchy chops and riffs to add variety.  With some tracks clocking in at under a minute (Death Prank is a mere eleven seconds) and the longest track being one minute and thirty seconds it is a blinding experience to behold and I have no problem with this.  Fifteen tracks in fifteen minutes seems like a perfect album for a thrash head like me and serves purpose as both a great "tea-break blast" record as well as a scathing social commentary at the same time.

Based on what I have heard to date of MW, I prefer this release to their beer-guzzling shenanigans on The Art of Partying.  Despite its length the debut seems to have a lot more to say and feels more important in developing an understanding of the roots of the band.  The album also picks up momentum nicely as it rolls along with the middle section being by far the strongest.  It does tend to fade away towards the end but not in a way that ruins the overall experience.  Whilst not the most mature sounding record on the face of it, Waste 'Em All does have depth to it if you care to delve into it and tracks like Drunk As Shit really are not representative of the whole in terms of the more sarcastic and dark undertones to the record.

Looks like my 2001-2003 quest just took an upward curve.

I clicked on that button the other day as think knowing what others are listening to is interesting and I rarely go a day without listening to something (even if just as background music).  The idea of a page that shows all this in one place is great.

The Exploited - "Fuck The System" (2003)

Having noticed during my "Top Releases By Year" post in whatever that thread is called that I had a huge gap in my thrash listening between 2001 and 2003, I set about using the release section on the site to handpick some well-known names in the first instance to see what came out in that three year period that could be off any merit.  In terms of crossover I only got two hits, Municipal Waste's debut full-length and this.  But I accept that there will be more releases out there in this sub-genre but in terms of the headlines those were the options.

I do not mind a bit of punk every now and again; notwithstanding that I really do have to be the mood for it but even by that standard I found this album to be an absolute chore to listen to.  I get that it is supposed to be edgy and angsty but literally every song on here follows the same format and the boil, rinse and repeat methodology wears thin really quickly.  I found myself zoning out after 4 tracks as I literally could not tell if tracks had finished or not such was the level of repetition on display.

The album starts with someone shouting (literally roaring) out of the speakers and to be honest they may have been reacting to the playback of this frankly pointless release.  I hope 2001-2003 has better to offer than this as I look to plug this huge gap in my library with some quality releases.  Needless to say "Fuck The System" has not made the cut.

2/5

That Demoniac has been on my to do list since I saw Sonny's high praise so I am throwing it on now to see what all the fuss is about.  Sight of that nearly 20 min track puts me off though.

I gave this a spin and all was well in the main...until that saxophone came into play.  Utterly unnecessary and completely out of place; it adds nothing to this album other than to distract from the good stuff that is going on.  These guys can play and entertain me enough without going avant-garde and my attention was held pretty much for most of the final track which I was dreading as I alluded to.  They are an established artist and it shows and in all seriousness, props to them for trying something different but I just cannot contextualise it in the grander scheme of what is going on and so after just one listen, I have lost all interest.

Ok, so I have taken weeks to do this and I have found this actually useful considering my usual aversion to lists in general.  What it shows me more than anything are the gaps, so on the years where I see some albums (bear in mind this list is based entirely what I own in one format or another) I have listed as the best release I instantly see scope to delve further into that year as I genuinely cannot believe that 2002 was topped by Tsjuder.  However, I have been honest and put in an entry for each year.

1970 Black Sabbath  - Paranoid

1971 Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

1972 Black Sabbath - Vol. 4

1973 Hawkwind  - The Space Ritual Alive

1974 Kiss - s/t

1975 Black Sabbath - Sabotage

1976 Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny

1977 Motorhead - s/t

1978 Judas Priest - Stained Class

1979 Motorhead - Overkill

1980 Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

1981 Iron Maiden - Killers

1982 Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance

1983 Metallica - Kill 'Em All

1984 Metallica - Ride The Lightning

1985 Iron Maiden - Live After Death

1986 Kreator - Pleasure to Kill

1987 Death - Scream Bloody Gore

1988 Metallica - …And Justice For All

1989 Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness

1990 Obituary - Cause of death

1991 Morbid Angel - Blessed Are The Sick

1992 Demolition Hammer - Epidemic of Violence

1993 Burzum - Det som engang var

1994 Mayhem - De mysteriis dom sathanas

1995 Suffocation - Pierced from Within

1996 Neurosis  - Through Silver In Blood

1997 Borknagar  -The Olden Domain

1998 Death - Sound of Perseverance

1999 Immortal - At the Heart of Winter

2000 Immolation - Close To A World Below

2001 Opeth - Blackwater Park

2002 Tsjuder - Demonic Possession

2003 Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God

2004 Horna - split w/ Behexen

2005 Opeth - Ghost Reveries

2006 Drudkh - Blood In Our Wells

2007 WITTR - Two Hunters

2008 Darkspace - Dark Space III

2009 Drudkh - Microcosmos

2010 Hooded Menace - Never Cross The Dead

2011 Autopsy - Macabre Eternal

2012 Panopticon - Kentucky

2013 Gorguts - Colored Sands

2014 Varathron - Untrodden Corridors of Hades

2015 Akhlys - The Dreaming I

2016 Ulcerate - Shrines Of Paralysis

2017 Condor - Unstoppable Power

2018 Winterfylleth - The Harrowing of Heirdom

2019 Overkill - The Wings of War

2020 Akhlys - Melinoë

2021 Altarage - Succubus

Rubbish at lists as we know but seeing Toxik in here warms my heart.  Vektor absolutely has to be up here and you'll get no argument from me on Coroner being included.

That Demoniac has been on my to do list since I saw Sonny's high praise so I am throwing it on now to see what all the fuss is about.  Sight of that nearly 20 min track puts me off though.

So, I am undertaking The Fallen : Doom Metal - The Early Days clan challenge.  This is not me necessarily looking to pick up The Fallen as my Guardians replacement fourth clan, more me actually exploring a clan that I have only ever flirted with at best.  I am familiar with a few releases in here already (Saint Vitus, Bethlehem, Candlemass, dISEMBOWELMENT, Trouble and Katatonia all have albums in here that I have played on and off for years) so there is a fair old amount of revisiting going on in this challenge. In terms of the wider Fallen sub-genres, I am already quite partial to a bit of funeral doom and death/doom has occupied a healthy spot in my listening habits for a number of years now.  I am less familiar with sludge and drone metal but have some experience of these areas.

What I want to do is get through all the Fallen challenges (or the best part of them at least) to fully explore what is on offer here and so starting in the "early days" challenge seems like a great spot to reacquaint myself with some old stuff and pick up on any hidden gems I am unaware of or simply try some bands I have never listened to - Tiamat, Anathema, Esoteric and Skepticism, for example are entirely new to me.  Also, I have struggled historically with Cathedral and have never really rated Lee Dorrian as a vocalist, likewise Aaron Stainthorpe in MDB so this gives me an opportunity to make sure I am not just being a dick and missing something.

We've made some improvements to the site as described below. There will be a few more improvements this week if all goes to plan. As always, please let me know your feedback. Many of these changes were requested by site members, so let me know what you think of them.

1. The Latest Releases page now shows 100 releases rather than 50. I made this change after fairly consistently adding over 50 releases in a day.

2. The Private Message window is now much bigger (and better) than it was previously. You can now see what you're typing, which is a novel idea.

3. When you edit a forum post entry, you are no longer thrown back to the first thread entry. You are now taken to the post you just edited, which makes much more sense.

4. You can now edit the name of a forum thread that you created. Previously only I could do it.

5. The site menu can now be found at BOTH the top and bottom of the site, making it much easier to navigate.

6. On the Releases and Bands pages, the page number navigation can now be found at BOTH the top and bottom of the page, making it much easier to navigate.

7. There's now a "Scroll to the top arrow button" that is displayed when you scroll down any page on the site, once again making it much easier to navigate.

Cheers,

Ben.

Number 5 alone on this list makes me smile endlessly on its own but thank you for all the improvements made and the continued development of the site overall.

Probably one of the most under-appreciated death metal bands in the world, Sinister have been plying their trade for over thirty years. Whilst not consistent in their output for a number of years, they actually set a firm foundation for themselves in the early 90's with their first three albums carving out quite a name for the Dutch death metallers. With sophomore releases being the trickiest of any discography the band built on the success of their debut (which I vaguely recall) and whilst they did not necessarily better it they maintained that great trajectory going into their 1993 release.

For the uninitiated with Sinister, think Deicide, Malevolent Creation and the less predictable elements of early Cannibal Corpse and you are in the right mindset. They play that rabid death metal that I associate with the first two Deicide albums but possess a knack for delivering more structure to their riffing like CC did when they paused for breath. Opener Sadistic Intent is a CC like banger of an opener that straight away embeds deep foundations for what follows as Mike van Mastrigt's vocals take no time in bellowing their presence from the off.

He is backed up by a great set of musicians also. Andre Tolhuizen is a riffing machine who can fire his fair share of sonics when required and the percussive talents of drummer Aad Kloosterwaard are of the highest standard you would expect in the death metal world of the early 90's. Lost somewhere in the maelstrom is the bass of Bart van Wallenberg but it makes regular appearances out of the churning chaos of most tracks to let you know it is still there with the occasional echo of its rumble just audible around the periphery of proceedings.

Highlights? The relentless riffing of the title track will have any fan of death metal beaming from ear-to-ear for sure. The looming build of Leviathan is a pleasure to behold before it descends into rampant madness and the seemingly endless energy of Sadistic Intent all benchmark what this album has to offer. You simply could not ask for a better example of prime 90's death metal. Sinister knew their stuff and it showed brilliantly at this stage of their career.

4/5

The social, cultural and political commentary of D.R.I. tends to operate on two levels for me on their final full-length. The sarcasm still drips from every punk-edged pore of their sound as Kurt Brecht inflicts his gruff vocals on the listener, but at the same time the obvious and genuine anger is reflected in their frenetic pacing and punchy rhythms. I think it safe to say that we all knew what to expect from the band by this stage and Full Speed Ahead does not disappoint in that regard; it is D.R.I. through and through. It relies only on the sum of all parts to get its message across without needing to express any extreme outburst in just riffs or vocals alone. That bouncy, crossover tracks its jolly way through the majority of the album, scoring the derisory commentary with an almost engine like tenacity.

Crossover thrash is basically hard to get wrong of course. As a sub-genre it is very niche of course, relying on that crude accessibility to garner appeal. That is not to say that Full Speed Ahead is one dimensional. Tracks like They Don't Care use variety of pace nicely, opening with a doom-paced riff before becoming a more choppy affair. As such it is easy to pick high points on the album as opposed to the album just literally going full speed ahead and passing the listener by in some frenzied fashion. Not all bands who have something to say are able to articulate this beyond predictable intense riffing and furious tempos. D.R.I 's experience shows on their sixth full-length. They are able to use their full repertoire of hardcore punk, and crossover thrash metal to great effect and I think their appeal to both more mainstream as well underground audiences is clear.

I know they have suffered criticism from other hardcore punk bands for their success but this album shows the inevitability of their appeal. I cannot help but feel dialled into this record with each listen, that balance of dark comedy and scathing social angst is mixed really well on here and if you listen repeatedly I find the album sounds angrier with each spin. No crossover album is liable to get full marks from me but I can safely give four stars to this.

4/5

Following my dalliance with Bad Omens this past few weeks and also making more of a conscious effort to stretch the boundaries of my taste, I decided to give War From A Harlots Mouth a try.  I didn't hate this by a long chalk but by the same token I find it a little to fluid in its transitions to the point where I find myself switching off.  For some reason I expected I would need less concentration for this to still seep through the room and into whatever I was doing at the same time.  However, without physically sitting down and focussing on the record I find little that sticks.  When I am in the zone with it the polyrhythms do attach themselves better but I still won't pretend that I keep up with it all the time.

The jazzy interludes are the parts that really standout to me,, otherwise it is too much for my tiny brain to comprehend in the main.

3/5

So we've finally finished our move to the Gold Coast & are currently setting ourselves up in a very spacious five bedroom house with a big pool. It's a huge change for the family after so many years spent cramped in a two-bedroom apartment in Sydney's Northern Beaches. It's just a shame that I've gotten sick at an inopportune time with the house still relatively full of boxes. By the way, I place removalists on the same level as politicians & parking inspectors after last week's experience. They quite simply have no morals whatsoever.

Glad you're all moved.  Get well soon..

I bought this album when it was released after being knocked out by their Preacher Man single and still have it to this day, along with the Preacher Man 12". It's been a while since I played it, but it's a pretty decent slab of 80's goth rock. Along with The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, New Model Army and The Cult they made some of my favourite 80's rock and were where I turned when I fancied a change from thrashin' (or needed to give my neck a rest)!

Sort of only know most of these bands by name as opposed to having heard their music.  Playing The Mission "God's Own Medicine" now as getting a real penchant for this stuff at present.  Heard The Cult before, recall that "Electric" was in the pile of albums my older cousin let me borrow back when I first started to discover metal.  I am sensing the need to listen to less metal increasingly at the moment and so this seems like a convenient (if not relevant) avenue.

I would strongly recommend New Model Army's Ghost of Cain album. One of the most underrated albums of the 1980s for my money, more post-punk than goth though. Sisters of Mercy's Floodland is another brilliant record and definitely goth. Gods Own Medicine is great too, but The Mission put out several 12" eps before ever releasing an album which were even better. If you're interested in The Cult, personally I prefer 1985's Love to Electric. Wow, you've really got me tripping down memory lane now, Vinny!

Killing Joke's 1985 album Night Time is definitely worth hearing too if you haven't already.

I am on Gods Own Medicine next as I slowly pick my way through this gothic rock stuff.  It is more appealing thus far than Fields... in all honesty.  Got some extended version full of shit that is only of interest to uber-fans but still enjoyable enough on a lazy Saturday morning.

May =

Nordjevel - "Fenriir" (from "Fenriir", 2021) 05:34

Äera - "Äer" (from "Schattenfall", 2021) 11:37

Total time = 17 mins 11 seconds

I hadn't even noticed that Vinny. please replace it with this one:

Sentinel Beast - "Phantom Of The Opera" (from "Depths Of Death", 1986)

Done

Metallica - "Master Of Puppets" (from "Master Of Puppets", 1986)

I know Sonny has already selected Metallica from a different album though so I am going to allow a double bubble on Metallica this month as both tracks are superb.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record I will not be submitting anything for May's Guardians playlist.

I will be taking a month off from The Horde playlist for May thanks Daniel.

For May I would like to throw in:

Bad Omens - "What do you want from me?" (from "The Death of Peace of Mind", 2022)

Thanks gentlemen, I will be adding:

Vio-lence - "Let the World Burn" (from "Let the World Burn", 2022) 05:10

Power from Hell - "Old Metal" (from "Devil's Whorehouse", 2015) 03:21

Watchtower - "Instruments of Random Murder" (from "Resistance & Control", 1989) 04:04

Solitary - "I Will Not Tolerate" (from "The Truth Behind the Lies", 2020) 04:40

Thrasherwolf - "A Thousand Eyes" (from "A Thousand Eyes", 2022) 03:00

Sadistic Ritual - "Murmur" (from "The Enigma, Boundless" 2022) 04:25

Eradicator - "Einflussnahme Abgelehnt" (from "Einflussnahme Abgelehnt", 2022) 05:17

Run time = 29:57

Back in their prime when they were revelling in the glory of tracks such as Going Under, Bring Me To Life and My Immortal I actually didn't mind Evanesence.  There were certainly worse nu-metal acts out there at the time and Amy Lee could most certainly sing (still can based on this album).  Time clearly has not been kind to Evanesence as they are lacking virtually all of the bite that they had back in the day.  Everything here is very sugar-coated and therefore always liable to fall into my sights with a negative undertone.  

You mention this was a more "metal" based release Andi, but I personally struggle to see little more than heavy rock at play here and I am thankful that I have only revisited them on this record and not their previous outputs.  That electronic element is very dominant and at the expense of the raw edges needed to really give this any hope of lasting attention from me.  

Fair play to the band for carrying on under what sound like horrific personal circumstances and also for using their outlet for talking about serious stuff too.  This music no doubt has an audience in more than one regard but beyond the clear strength of character in the members I remain very unimpressed with this.  To me this is prime fodder for your Hall of Judgement submission thingy to say this is not metal.

2/5

To the best of my knowledge, I have never heard any Hungarian metal regardless of any sub-genre guise. Somehow, over the last nearly three decades, I have never come across Sear Bliss. Whilst I cannot recall having heard even a fleeting few bars of any of Glory and Perdition, somehow it does sound familiar. After one full listen through I was already marking similarities with Summoning where Glory and Perdition used horns and synths to note its presence in the room. The fact that I do not mind a bit of Summoning one bit probably helps me to register and accept the use of electronic and symphonic elements on this month’s feature release even though I am not a massive fan of the symphonic black metal sub-genre overall.

Having said that, I do not find this album to be overly symphonic, despite a near constant feed of orchestral instrumentation. It certainly plays an important supporting role in proceedings but is never allowed to dominate. Instead, those brass instruments create a swell in their delivery, expanding the sound of the album as the intricate keys tantalise with the promise of further wonder to come. Often these elements are played in as simple stabs or flourishes and as such are beautifully paced over the album. In the traditional sense it is the guitars that drive proceedings the most, with their riffs propelling the tracks forward. The charging opening to Two Worlds Collide underlines this input superbly. Also noticeable are the drums as they thump away in just the right space in the background to support the other component parts and keep everything tracked together nicely. Check out the superb work being done on Dreams Spectre to properly capture the contribution the sticks make to this album. This balance of the instruments and the atmospheric and symphonic elements is expertly done; using the alien voice on Reverie is a bold move yet it sits well atop of the music without feeling intrusive or downright odd.

Sear Bliss also manage to carry off the inclusion of some interludes on the album, doing this well in the sense that they do not disrupt the flow of the overall record. Normally when I see such compositions dropped into any album, I die a little inside as I just find they often scream “FILLER!” in my experience. The three here (one is the outro I guess) are all around the minute and a half mark and do transition the album nicely.

Whilst not anywhere near as aggressive as I normally like my bm, Sear Bliss do deliver melodic bm well. There is a sense at first that it is put together a bit hap-hazard but as I revisit the album there is a sense of coagulation across all tracks and this makes me think it is more planned than it first appears to be. With repeated listens the blasting pace is most definitely there, and it never feels out of control or rudely cut off by any of the pace or tempo changes. Although not staggeringly so, the epic nature of the writing here belies a band that I at least need to give a little more attention to. I note that Mayhem’s Attila and proffers vocals on two tracks here suggesting that this is a band with a good degree of stature in the underground already. In many ways Sear Bliss are reminiscent of a more aggressive Negura Bunget. This mix of earthy structures interspersed with the astral bursts of rich and lush melodies such as on the track Glory to Perdition reminds me of the Romanians only with a much-reduced level of complexity or extravagance.

Ben seemed to be a tad pensive in announcing this as his feature for the month, but I think this has been an excellent choice and one that certainly rewards with repeated listens. With the cosmological parts set firmly in their place around the core bm elements, Glory and Perdition captures an experience as opposed to just being an album to listen to. In its more atmospheric moments, it reminds me of Darkspace / Paysage D’hiver and in the more traditional moments it can hold its own with any of the bands I mention through out this review. I think the only criticism is that it is not as instantaneous an experience as some might want and the fact that it does need a few listens may put some off. The work is worth the reward though and the album records a healthy four stars which may creep up as I continue to put this on rotation.

4/5

Daniel, Vinny, each of you guys have a good Revolution track you wanna submit? Theo-Wyoming, I hope you're still in the Revolution track-submitting zone and have any good ideas for the playlist.

PS: Daniel, please update the Spotify playlists soon so the links can be added to our respective playlist threads.

Nothing from me.

Pretty sure I didn’t submit that Mortal Sin track Vinny. “Face of Despair” was 1989 too.

Amended, apologies.

April 2022

01. Parkcrest – “Impossible to Hide” (from “And That Blue Will Turn to Red”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]

02. Dark Angel – “Time Does Not Heal” (from “Time Does Not Heal”, 1991) [Submitted by Daniel]

03. Exodus – “Slipping Into Madness” (from “Persona Non Grata”, 2021) [Submitted by Vinny]

04. Inhuman Nature – “The Hangman Draws Near” (from “Inhuman Nature”, 2019) [Submitted by Vinny]

05. Soulfly – “Ritual” (from “Ritual”, 2018)

06. Allegiance – “Chaos Dies” (from “Destitution”, 1994) [Submitted by Daniel]

07. Municipal Waste – “Nailed Casket” (from “Hazardous Mutation”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny]

08. Hellripper – “All Hail the Goat” (from “Black Arts & Alchemy”, 2019) [Submitted by Vinny]

09. Messiah – “Messiah” (from “Hymn To Abramelin”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

10. Hirax – “Hate, Fear & Power” (from “Hate, Fear & Power”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

11. Grave Desecrator – “Insult” (from “Insult”, 2010) [Submitted by Sonny]

12. Wraith – “Gatemaster” (from “Undo The Chains”, 2021) [Submitted by Vinny]

13. Celtic Frost – “Circle of the Tyrants” (from “To Mega Therion”, 1985) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Invocator – “The Persistence from Memorial Chasm” (from “Excursions Demise”, 1991)

15. Ravager – “Dead Future” (from “Thrashletics”,2019) [Submitted by Vinny]

16. Tymo – “Sanity Clause” (from “The Art of a Maniac”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

17. Sepultura – “Cyber God” (from “Machine Messiah”, 2017)

18. Juggernaut – “Juggernaut” (from “Baptism Under Fire”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

19. Mortal Sin – “The Infantry Corps” (from “Face of Despair”, 1989) 

20. Despair – “Slow Death” (from “History of Hate”, 1988)

21. Sodom – “Blasphemer” (from “In The Sign of Evil”, 1985) [Submitted by Sonny]

22. Diabolic Night – “Sovereigns of Doom” (from “Beyond the Realm”, 2019)

23. Insane – “Four Magicians” (from “Wait and Pray”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny]

24. Wehrmacht – “Shark Attack” (from “Shark Attack”, 1987)

25. Dekapited – “Contra iglesia y estado” (from “Contra iglesia y estado”, 2011) [Submitted by Sonny]

26. The Haunted– “Ceremony” (from “Versus”, 2008)

27. Sacrosanct – “With Malice Prepense” (from “Recesses for the Depraved”, 1991)

28. Bulldozer – “The Death of Gods” (from “The Final Separation”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

So, in terms of RYM, I have never had any time to really use it and because it is not specific to metal I have not really had the inclination to bother really.  I do not doubt that any of what is said is correct though as my overall experience of the internet in general is that the less reviews, ratings or general opinions on music that I read the better.  There’s things I read everywhere that annoy me, even on here and I have learned to pay less attention overall as I discovered and grew my live of metal all by myself and that’s still how I best enjoy it.  

Whilst I accept the criticism of EM, if the intent of the site was to set its own boundaries of what it considered to be metal then I personally have no issue with that.  I am not really well-versed in core related sub-genres and if I have to go elsewhere to find out about them then I am fine with that.  I kind of like that consistency to it and that assurance of what to expect from the site.

So life is all a bit difficult this week. My wife & two daughters all have COVID so I've been stuck in our two bedroom apartment in isolation for the past 5-6 days. I'm still testing negative but it'll be disastrous if I test positive in the coming days as we've got to be out of our apartment with all of our belongings being moved into storage by Friday's settlement with the new owner. We'll be staying in a serviced apartment in the city for a week while we wait for the settlement of our new home on the Gold Coast on 7th April. I'm so looking forward to this relocation being over & done with so that I can go back to focusing solely on the extreme stresses that my everyday job has been presenting me with of late.

Since opening everything up here in the UK, I now hear of more and more people with COVID than ever.  I have managed to avoid it for the entire time there's been the pandemic but as I am increasingly encouraged to get back out on the road in face to face meetings I fear my vaccines will be tested.

We are away in Wales for a couple of days from tomorrow for my fiancée's birthday in some fancy spa hotel.  I won't have any treatments but there's a hot tub on our balcony (she's booked the penthouse suite - my credit card is crying) so I will just chill in the room whilst she goes and gets her treatments.  Work phone and laptop will be in the luggage unfortunately (I don't ever get to be entirely "off-work" really) but at least I will not be sat looking at them all day.

Need a break though, having had my eldest cat put to sleep in the last fortnight we need to get some relaxing time in.  I don't have kids, I have cats so the loss of any of them is fucking awful for us.