UnhinderedbyTalent's Forum Replies

Glorious death metal from the US, from Malignant Altar.  Off their Realms of Exquisite Morbidity EP, due out 10th Dec.

Darkspace member's solo output is arguably more than covered off in terms of quality by Wintherr with his Paysage d'Hiver releases. With a lot of that discography still to discover it was on my mind to park listening to Zhaaral's single album under his Sun of The Blind logo until I had fully explored his bandmate's much more vast list of releases (the first of which will arrive on vinyl this weekend as it happens). As I alluded to in the forum thread, Skullreader is a grower needing more than a cursory listen to fully appreciate what it delivers.

Despite me having spent numerous hours with it, I am still not overly in love with it. If anything I find it to be great background music, which is hardly glowing praise and does sound unfair when it is obvious that there is lots of evidence of talent on this record. This a very lush and melodic experience overall and not one that relies too much on just swooshing atmospherics to set the scene. The repetition on the record breeds an assuring familiarity as it plays but at the same time makes it impossible to maintain the focus solely upon just the music. It does need more atmosphere though as it is far too warm sounding (without being Hellenic) as a result of the lush and rich melodies. Whilst I cannot fault the effort and the means behind it, I have to conclude that the delivery is off, resulting in an album that seems to just pass me by as opposed to give much in the way of snapping my attention onto it for just over forty minutes.

Zhaaral is really a victim of his bandmates success as I have heard very similar ideas done much better by Wintherr (consistently so over the cross-section of the discography I have heard) and as a result I can't help but feel Skullreader just to be an attempt to get something off Zhaaral's chest that he himself was probably over quite quickly - hence the one release only. It isn't a bad album but it just gets a bit dreary the more you try to chip away at it to glean some sense of excitement and direction.

3/5

Sorry Vinny, hope I'm not too late. My December suggestions:

Sacrifice - Burned at the Stake (4:44) from Torment in Fire (1986)

Mutilator - Paranoic Command (3:43) from Immortal Force (1987)

Xentrix - Balance of Power (5:14) from Shattered Existence (1989)

Messiah - Akasha Chronicle (3:55) from Choir of Horrors (1991)

Further apologies, I haven't actually checked if all are available on Spotify due to the lateness of my submission. Sorry, again.

All added Sonny.

This is growing on me.  First listen left me cold (and not in a kvlt bm way) and I thought it a bit boring.  It is better than I first thought but not ready to jump in with a review yet.  I find it a bit too melodic overall and this is more memorable than the atmospheric aspects of the record for me.

More to follow.

Ben, please add Gaahl's WYRD's latest release The Humming Mountain.

Thanks.

I'll look into what can be done with the Hall voting. Perhaps we can make it so people can change their votes? I don't really see why we shouldn't allow that. Thoughts?

I don't think there's any way to control browser behaviour though. If you click back in the browser or close a window, I don't think the site can do anything to save you. Maybe I'm wrong? Have any of you seen that elsewhere?

I have seen numerous sites (usually in my day job so more corporate based than MA) where you get a "If you leave this page changes will be lost!" style pop ups.  A lot of CRM's have these so I am not sure how easy it is to code them into a site but would think it could be done.

If Bubblegum Octopus are indicative of the cybergrind genre then it most definitely does need putting in the avant-garde section.  I can't subject myself to listening to anymore of it (knowingly) to explore its future to make a truly informed decision though.

Since I got a new mouse with a back button right near my thumb I have lost reviews numerous times this past few months.  Now taken to writing in Word and pasting over when done.

Ben?

Can you ban your brother from the site please for that Bubblegum Octopus track he placed on here?

EDIT:

He's forgiven for that Sermon of Flames track.  Fuck me, what a terrifying track that is.

Hi Ben,

Please add:

Scarecrow (United States) - Death Angel and Exhumed members collaboration

Dungeon Crawl (United States)

Mortal Vision (Ukraine)

Knife (Germany) - Black/Speed Metal

Methedras (Italy)

Dead Heat (United States) - Crossover/Thrash Metal

Thanks.

Just three from me for December:

Sorcerer - "The Hammer of Witches" (from Lamenting of the Innocent, 2020)

Night Cobra -  "The Serpent's Kiss" (from The Serpent's Kiss, 2022)

Shadowland - "Ligeia" (from The Necromancer's Castle, 2021)

Length = 14:35

Still not feeling too much of the trad metal/heavy metal vibe at present so listening to a lot less of this clan for now.

I already reviewed this album and my words back a couple of years ago still ring true to this day.

My introduction record to Nile, their fourth full-length offered a brilliant gateway into their brand of technical and brutal death metal. Vast though it seemed in scope at the time the whole experience felt varied and accessible still. Whether it was the far eastern promise on the strings or the looming beastly riffs that cemented the death metal credentials of the record, there was enough ability on show for the record to gain instant respect from this listener.

For me this record completed the band's golden run that started with 2000's Black Seeds Of Vengeance. It engaged all the brutality of the preceding two records but also showed a much more mature and skilled delivery, complete with a story-telling to the song writing that made the whole experience even more compelling. The multi-instrumental wizard that is Karl Sanders leads brilliantly on this release. His supporting cast of Toler-Wade, Vesano and the brilliant Kollias play sterling roles in the execution of the album and Kernon's production job lets the music come across as vibrant as Landau's artwork suggests it will be.

The band for me went into a bit of a decline post-Annihilation of the Wicked culminating in the decidedly ordinary Vile Nilotic Rites in 2019. But their 2005 release was a triumph in both design and content and is an album I still visit with regularity to this day.

4/5

Exumer’s sophomore album is a complete unknown to me, indeed the band has a very limited footprint in my world. Having heard their debut album a coupe of times and being sufficiently unmoved to progress further into their discography I would have very easily missed out on a bit of a gem had this not been put up for feature this month on MA.

The first thing I note however is a criticism. The drums start off strong in the mix as opening track Winds of Death begins but soon disappear behind a wall of heaving vocals and rabid riffing and although they are most certainly there throughout the album, they are never clear enough to be fully appreciated.

Percussion challenges aside, Rising From The Sea is a blinding thrash metal record. It is utterly relentless in its delivery and cunningly melodic at the same time. The melodic riffs that alter the pace of the title track so well are just one example of these nuances that make this more than just a balls to the wall thrash metal record. The title track reminds me of the kind of structuring that Megadeth deployed years later on Hangar 18, with the swirling sonics being more reminiscent of Slayer, however.

There is a ton of references to other Teutonic bands of course, with Kreator, Destruction and Sodom all popping in as influences although Kreator started out around the same time as Exumer so more the likely the influence is a shared sound. Vocalist Paul Arakari has that perfect thrash metal style with his gruff vocals a perfect complement to the instrumentation. Although not exactly stellar performances (they are a bit too wild sometimes) Bernie and Ray Mensh make a huge impression with their rhythm and lead work, even if they could have done with reining it in a bit on occasion.

I think the direction f the production was correct on this as the sound does capture that raw, underground intensity that us extreme metal fans crave so much. That having been said, the album sounds like it was recorded in a studio as opposed to a basement or rehearsal space. Whilst never coming off as overly professional, the band retain that energy that they display with wanton abandon at times, centring them as underground in their sound.

For album number two this was one hell of a thrash metal record, notwithstanding that some of the rawness was genuinely down to the ability (or lack of) of some of the musicians involved. However, I take nothing away from Exumer on this record because its rough edges are all part of the charm it exudes and they are more than forgivable.

4/5

Here's my submission for December:

Author & Punisher - "The Speakers Are Systematically Blown" (from Beastland, 2018)

Hi Ben, could you please add UK sludge metallers Mastiff?

December:

200 Stab Wounds  - "Drilling Your Head" (from Slave to the Scalpel, 2021)

Apparition - "Nonlocality" (from Feel, 2021)

Vomit the Soul - "The Lost Aurea" (from Cold, 2021)

Wombbath - "A World of Destruction" (from Agma, 2021)

Coffinrot - "Reduced to Visceral Sludge" (from Reduced to Visceral Sludge, 2021)

Aeon - "Queen of Lies" (from God Ends Here, 2021)

Exhumed - "Worming" (from Worming, 2021)

Total = 29:59

December:

Cantique Lepreux - "Lune défroquée" (from Sectes, 2021)

Astrophobos - "Liktal" (from Corpus, 2021)

Antichrist Siege Machine - "Carried Into Darkness" (from Purifying Blade, 2021)

Inferno - "The Wailing Horizon" (from Paradeigma (Phosphenes of Aphotic Eternity), 2021) 

Total = 18:31

I'm very excited to announce that Vinny will be taking over the programming & management of the monthly Metal Academy Radio "The Pit" Spotify playlist moving forwards (starting with the November list). I think this will be a real win for the site as it was always hard to me to ensure the highest quality standards when programming nine two-hour playlists every month. I'm very excited to see what Vinny will pump out each month too as our tastes are pretty well aligned & he's consistently shown himself to have his finger on the pulse as far as underground releases go.

This is a great move and this collaborative approach, which has already proved popular with the monthly feature releases, is a really exciting direction for the site to take. Good luck to Vinny and Andi and I'm really looking forward to what those guys come up with on the playlists going forward. Speaking for myself, I hugely enjoyed putting November's Fallen playlist together and hope that it ticks the right boxes with everyone. It is a task I have approached very seriously as I feel the playlists are one of the major external faces of the site and I'm sure I speak for all involved in saying I hope we can provide a positive face and help to grow Metal Academy in the future with our efforts. Also many thanks and much respect to Daniel for what I now realise must have been his many hours of dedication in putting together NINE playlists every month solely for the enjoyment of other metalheads.

I would echo, this.  I really needed something to focus my mind on metal after a few hectic and miserable weeks with work and then me having two new kittens to integrate this past fortnight.  To do this for 9 playlists must be a monumental effort as I have listened through the Pit playlist about ten times to try and get the flow and mix of styles right.  Shows the dedication to the site of Daniel alongside the great work that Ben does as well and makes me appreciate this place all the more.

I'm pleased to announce that Andi will be programming & managing the monthly Metal Academy Radio "The Revolution" Spotify playlist moving forwards (starting with the November list). Andi has been our only regularly contributing member of The Revolution since our inception & I'm excited about the prospect of having someone more dedicated to the clan being responsible for unearthing new & exciting sounds from all eras & subgenres.

Another perfect fit here.

I'm very excited to announce that Sonny will be taking over the programming & management of the monthly Metal Academy Radio "The Fallen" Spotify playlist moving forwards (starting with the November list). I think this will only work to improve what is already one of our strongest & most consistent playlists in my opinion.

This will be a great step forward for the Fallen playlist.  Sonny is the perfect choice for this.

Ben can you please add:

The latest album from Worm (Foreverglade) to the band's releases

Apparition - Los Angeles, California

Thanks

For me this month's features were a great opportunity to listen back to some old(ish) favourites in Kentucky and Extreme Aggression with the latter album going up in my estimation by a whole star.  The Revolution pick was pretty inoffensive to my ears although I doubt I will revisit anytime soon.  I haven't bothered with The Guardians feature release because to be honest I am really not feeling much of the content of that clan at present but the (re)discovery of Epitaph was a real high point this month.  I have blanked that fucking LARD release from memory - absolute pish!

THE NORTH: Panopticon - "Kentucky" (2012) 4.5

THE HORDE: Necrophagist - "Epitaph" (2004) 4.5

THE PIT: Kreator - "Extreme Aggression" (1989) 4

THE REVOLUTION: Kickback - "Les 150 Passions Meurtrieres" E.P. (2000) 3

Kreator’s fourth full-length starts off strong enough with the title track bashing and dashing its way across an opening four minutes plus of the kind of rabid thrash metal that I always associate with Kreator. This opening salvo sounds like the raw Kreator I fell in love with back with Pleasure to Kill and Endless Pain before it. The drums sound prominent yet not dominating and Mille’s vocals are full of that familiar demented edge. The guitars by way of contrast feel further back in the mix when the song is in full flow, yet their presence is still obvious and key to proceedings.

My previous review of this album had oddly seen me having troubles with the record when I wrote a piece for another site about all the Kreator full-lengths from the 80’s. I guess having done an end-to-end of all their albums in that decade in the space of a couple of days had left me a little tired towards the end and so I think I had written this album off certainly by way of comparison to the others. The fact is though that Extreme Aggression fucking rips. The standalone riffing of Love Us or Hate Us is testimony to just how full of attitude this record is; more than proving its worth at the second time of reviewing.

I understand that this album started to be recorded in a studio in Berlin, but producer Randy Burns had concerns over the set up of the studio and although they tried, mid-recording of Mille’s vocals one day, Burns pulled the plug, and the band took themselves over to the States a few months to re-record the album and do it better justice. One of the instruments that benefited here was the drums. Recorded in the same studio that saw Phil Collins deliver In The Air Tonight, Ventor’s skins sound fucking amazing on Extreme Aggression and as mentioned before this was not to the detriment of any other parts of the Kreator machine either.

With guitarist Jörg Tritze still not comfortable in the studio Mille was left to all guitar duties (as per the previous album) and the energy that flows from both the riffs and the sonic leads sounds like there were more than one of him the studio. His riffs being borderline as beastly as his vocals the two talents of Mille Petrozza combine well to deliver and exciting and memorable performance. The pace and vitriol of Betrayer is extraordinary as it toys and teases with the tempo like a video game character hitting power-ups at various points in the song and then settling back down momentarily before they hit another one.

Extreme Aggression is an incredibly tight thrash metal record that operates within boundaries set out from the very start. As such, its intensity does feel like it detracts from the overall quality of the album as it is a little too consistent for its own good and it kind of needs a brooding number dropped in around the halfway point to mix it up a little. However, for the die-hard Kreator fan there’s so much here to love that I am not sure many of them would care.

4/5

I don't spend much time on forums that are not metal orientated.  Ironically perhaps the members of these metal-orientated forums clearly listen to wider genres of music.  They sure as hell pack in a lot of hours of metal in the "What are you listening to?" threads but are always posting ambient, post-punk, retro-electro, hip-hop, folk and even pop music albums in the same aforementioned threads.  

To answer your question Sonny, I think people always fear what they don't understand.  The concept of music that does not conform to "agreed" norms or familiar structures or sounds of music can all too easily alienate people.  Plus the negativity machine that is social media and the internet in general can easily escalate the isolated issues amongst certain metal icons (Burzum, Ozzy, Marilyn Manson etc) and tar the whole genre with the same brush.  I genuinely think that those that are most critical of any type of music are the most closed-minded all round.  I haven't seen anyone on my regular haunts (here included) slag off non-metal music, but I have seen people articulate without prejudice why they don't listen to particular genres.

I will always remember on the old Tez forums a member posted a non-metal album in the "..listening..." thread and somebody else questioned why they could post a non-metal album on a metal forum.  The poster then delivered a simple yet effective response on how narrow-minded it was to assume that a person would only listen to one genre of music and that it was possible to like more than one style of music.

Ignorance is bliss and unfortunately a lot of people are comfortably dumb!

I just found this YouTube video about this guy's opinions about 10 albums he thinks are terrible:

But ARE they though?? A few of these albums are known to be classics (such as the Sepultura and Celtic Frost albums), and some more of them seem decent and not bad enough to be condemned as atrocities. It is quite odd that he chose the album with my ultimate favorite song (DragonForce's Inhuman Rampage, "Through the Fire and Flames") and the album with the worst ever metal song in my opinion (My Dying Bride's 34.788%... Complete, "Heroin Chic"), but hey, it was his choice of albums. So to paraphrase a catchphrase from a certain cartoon rabbit, ain't they stinkers? Discuss!

I haven't watched the video (have no intention of doing so).  I cannot think of a more blatant attention seeking attempt other than blazing in bold and colourful font across your vid that you are going to deliberately tear into ten records.  These types are the former trolls of forums now given new life and "airtime" by the power of a webcam and a Youtube account.  Everything that is wrong with social media, vlogging and modern day trolling right here folks.

The focus here should not be on whether the person who made the video is correct or not (the intent is to say controversial things for views, likes and comment just for the hell of it - I mean he's holding a Dragonforce album in his hand so if he bought that album cold in the digital age, more fucking fool him) more of how bored this guy is that he actually thinks anyone wants to hear his drivel broadcast.

Havukruunu - Kuu Erkylän yllä (2021) (EP)

Havukruunu continues to never miss on any of their records thus far, I think this is a phenomenal EP that makes me wonder why this isn't just the first half of a full album. Can't wait for their next full release. Any fan of Pagan Black Metal needs to check this out despite the cover being kind of silly, wish they would have kept the black and white motif.

These guys keep popping up on my radar and I never seem to get around to them.  An EP might be a good place to start.  Early impressions are enticing at least.

I can't believe Providence by Immolation is 10 years old today.  From memory that was one of the free releases on Scion Audio Visual (now closed) and it was actually quite good.  Decent artwork too.  Where does the time go?

I plan on revisiting this in the coming week but if my memory serves me well (and that's a big if nowadays) I felt this was a bit of a let down in comparison to the previous material.  I recall I had some issues with the production and also a lack of aggression (the irony).  I also recall that they recorded the album twice after the first version was deemed to be done using too basic a studio set up for Randy Burns requirements, so after initial recording in Berlin they decamped to the States to do it again some four months later.

Anyways, I ramble too much.  Review to follow.

Well, the Anniversaries section continues to make me feel old with Benediction and Pungent Stench both hitting the 30 year mark today.  I have very little time for The Grand Leveller but it has always been there on the periphery of my death metal listening.  I only ever really listened to that one Pungent Stench record and really should probably stretch my legs through their discography.

I decided this month to make more of an effort with some of the clans playlists and featured releases that I don't always bother with.  First effort was The Sphere which was a disaster thanks to that fucking LARD album, so I was hoping that a jaunt into the Infinite would reveal some items of interest.  Thankfully, I got more than expected and have now added Evergrey, Symphony X and Russian Circles to my "to do" list.  The latter band always struck me as being a bit of hipster act for some reason but that track was solid enough to impress me into checking out the whole album at some point.

Most of the avant-garde/core crossover stuff was lost on me though and just what the hell is going on with the likes of Carbonized and Faxed Head is completely beyond me.  Really good to see Ænigmatum on there as this release has fast grown on me in recent weeks and my splatter-effect vinyl has seen a good few spins since its arrival a few weeks back.

Picked up some new listens like I mentioned so overall a decent folly into the unknown.

I get along fine with this.  French metallic hardcore done with a ton of bricks level of heaviness but also with a sense of measure in the approach.  As opposed to a decapitating approach to every track there is actual build on most occasions that kind of gives the brain the breathing space in between tracks when needed.  Don't think the rap track works that well though but perfectly a acceptable listen otherwise.

3/5

Eternal Evil - Bestial Fornication from The Warriors Awakening Brings The Unholy Slaughter 2021, 02:20

Nervosa - Under Ruins from Perpetual Chaos 2021, 03:58

Fuelled By Fire - Thrash Is Back from Spread the Fire 2007, 05:14

Merciless Death - Slaughter Lord from Evil in the Night 2007, 03:04

Strike Master - Inflexible Steel from Vicious Nightmare 2009, 05:47

Devastation - Deliver the Suffering from Idolatory 1991, 06:23

Gammacide - Shock Treatment from Victims of Science 1989, 02:52

Run time = 29:38

November (Italian Death Metal)

Fulci - Tomb from Exhumed Information 2021, 02:39

Tenebro -  Liberaci dal Male from Cannibalismo Sanguinario 2020, 04:44

Human Decay - Abusami from Mefitico 2018, 03:42

Helslave - Perpetual Damnation from From the Sulphur Depths 2021, 03:31

Coexistence - Metaphysical Essence from Collateral Dimension 2020, 06:40

Distruzione - Senza futuro from Endogena 1996, 04:35

Subhuman - In memoria di me from Tributo Di Sangue 2013, 04:08

Run time = 29:59

There'll be no submissions from me for November for The Guardians playlist, having a month off from it.

November has a more traditional BM theme:

Horna- Saatanan Viha from Kuoleman Kirjo 2020, 04:18

Sargeist - Let The Devil In from Let The Devil In 2010, 04:08

Blut Aus Nord - The Territory of Witches / Guardians of the Dark Lake  from Memoria Vetusta I - Fathers of the Icy Age 1996, 08:12

Immortal - Unsilent Storms in the North Abyss from Pure Holocaust 1993, 03:14

Run time = 19:52

Hi guys. Now that I've been reinstated in The North, please be aware that next month's submissions will be limited to 20 minutes each in what will be our most collaborative clan playlist ever. We now have five contributing members which should make things really interesting.

Bloody newbies, coming over to our clan, taking all our minutes, shagging all our women! 

Excellent choice for this month's featured release for The North Clan, nice one Sonny.  My review is quite recent for this and I have nothing further to add other than to say that since writing the review and understanding the theme behind it I have now watched the film-documentary, Harlan County and it is every bit as fascinating to a nerdy local history fan like me.  I don't think it would have as much relevance for me had I not heard Panopticon beforehand, however the album defines and frames the struggle really well and adds a real dimension to it.

Kentucky gets touted as the "breakthrough" release for Panopticon but I have to say it has taken me a good near decade to get to grips with it and its combination of folk, bluegrass and black metal elements. Without going into too much detail, if the album cover doesn't give it away, the subject matter for the album is the labour struggles in mining in (fittingly) Kentucky with a heavy focus on the film-documentary Harlan County, USA from which many samples are used to great effect.

It is a challenge to get the balance of samples right in a record. They all too easily clash in my experience and can quite quickly become a distraction that detracts from the music itself. However, Panopticon give a masterclass in the application of the samples here, using the black metal elements to give them a real sense of drama and the bluegrass and folk elements to underline the real human aspect to the stories also. As such it is an album you feel compelled to listen to in its entirety in order to do both the record itself and the stories real justice.

The styles of music all have a relevant place here and all are firmly placed across the record with 3 tracks being folk covers and 3 being predominantly black metal (Black Waters sits as some ambient track towards the end - again adding depth; some reflection as the album draws to a close). This combination of genres works well overall on the album as a whole but on individual tracks the transitions don't always feel they are executed cleanly and whilst never sounding clunky as such they do keep the record off full marks on the rating.

For such a passionate subject matter there's a feeling that the storytelling is done sensibly and the album feels that more sincere and authentic to the cause as a result. It's sparked an interest in me to go and watch the documentary and learn more which is what good music should do I suppose. My initial reservation some ten years ago upon first hearing this seems nonsensical now and is evident of my lack of musical maturity at the time because overall this works and is one of the few albums in recent years i have truly connected with.

Now we are talking!

The wonderful blooping leads of Muhammed Suiçmez and Christian Münzner are a joy to behold on Epitaph, they act like some melodic palate cleanser to the stringent structures of the technical death metal that dominates the album with an almost military like presence. This presence is more NATO than hostile invaders though as I find much of the uniformity of Epitaph to be quite pleasing and almost gentle.

The riffs are almost like a melodic technical death metal in origin, and they seem to bounce off the drums and bass as they support them. The pacing of the drums is superb throughout the album also, with tracks like the title track showing the versatility of Hannes Grossmann brilliantly. His drumming acts almost as a buffer to those urgent and racing riffs.

What also strikes me about Necrophagist’s sophomore is how comfortable a listen it is in terms of individual track and overall album length at the same time. With the longest track being at five minutes there is no sense of bloated technicality on show here. Instead tracks stick around just long enough to showcase the talent on show and then it is off to the next track. All too often on technical death metal albums I find a bit of clock watching going on and having to fight the temptation to hit the skip button, however there are no such impatient impulses here. This is largely due to the time relief that is applied but also because the song writing is genuinely interesting. I cannot help but be transfixed by the penultimate track Seven and its catchy riffing and mechanical rhythms that breath organically alongside one another superbly.

Despite being more than familiar with Epitaph I was surprised to see that I did not even have a copy stored in my stream subscription (now rectified). Considering the mastery on show here it is a shame the band went their separate ways after this as there was so much promise still left to be fulfilled. However, talk about going out on a high note.

4.5/5

The repetitive structures that occupy the world of extreme metal (or just some non-extreme metal in fact as well) are often as much of a curse as they are a gift in my experience. On the one hand you have the punishing riff patterns of say funeral doom that layer an instant level of emotional torture at the door of the listener and subject them to a looped burden for several minutes at a time. At the opposite end of the spectrum are albums like The Last Temptation of Reid, that get lumped into the Industrial genre (quite unnecessarily) down to their seemingly endless regurgitation of punk riffs and spoken word vocals.

God this is juvenile! I mean if there is one thing that Jello Biafra should not have done in his career it is contribute anything to Lard. His Dead Kennedys legacy is all but made a mockery of here; stabbing riffs and tappy drums make for a punky urgency to proceedings but this is a piss poor attempt to try and revisit former glories on behalf Biafra. There is no entertainment value for me to Lard. Unlike The Dead Kennedys, there is nothing contentious here to make the immaturity rational or even fun to that end. It plays like a lazy (and nowhere near as talented) Jane’s Addiction record only somehow made worse by endless spoken word lyrics and predictable structures – yes there is a difference between repetition and predictability folks.

My overarching experience when listening to this album is that I just want it to stop and leave me alone. It is by far one of the most alienating albums I think I have ever heard and as such is memorable to me for all the wrong reasons. It cements for me the ever-growing notion that Al Jourgensen is one of the most over-rated artists in the history of metal. With Barker and Ward here to add more Ministry credentials to the Lard sound it all just underlines why I find Ministry so dull and uninspiring nowadays. Add to this the mindless song structures and terrible vocals and this makes for one painful listen.

0.5/5

I flirt with synthwave, retro-electro, dark ebm and also dark ambient and cyber-ambient when working to keep the mind tuned onto something else other than figures most of the day.

Cloud Rat - Fever Dreams now here's a blast from the past when I went through a grindcore about (obviously) ten years ago.  There was something supercharged about the immediacy of Cloud Rat that seemed to pack a little more punch than their contemporaries. 

I nearly missed this one which would have been my loss.

Canadians Infernäl Mäjesty operate in the zone of thrash metal that is rabid and putrid without necessarily dropping into blackened territory. Their debut album is a pretty fucking intense experience, even for a hardened thrash metal veteran like me. It is reminiscent of Possessed in terms of the death metal like intensity it generates, but also Slayer as a reference point for how true the thrash credentials are at the same time.

The album suffers an oddity in terms of structure early on with an instrumental track immediately after the opening song. This loses a lot of momentum from the album in all honesty and despite the big build up that goes on during track 3, Night of the Living Dead puts things back on course more from an atmosphere perspective as opposed to reasserting the intensity levels immediately. This is a strange choice of running order - even though it is obvious to see the link with the instrumental as an intro to the horror themed track mentioned above - and one that overall I do not think the record recovers from overall. The feeling of things being a little disjointed thereafter is not entirely shook off at any point, despite the obvious distraction of the thunderous racket that occupies most of the album.

This does not make None Shall Defy a bad album by any means. It is clearly made by a group of young people with all the morbid fascinations of horror, comics and serial killers that you would perhaps expect from the stereotype of thrash metal bands at the time. These dark curiosities transpose well into song writing content and provide the necessary dank sound to the frantic tempos as a reminder that whatever we are racing through there is something vile not too far away, permeating the air with its corrosive odour.

At times it does feel like a much slower version of Slayer as opposed to others where they seem to match the mad thrashing intensity of the aforementioned stars of the genre. Vocalist Chris Bailey does remind me of Tom Araya a lot, and the looping sonics of Steve Terror (yep, I know!) and Kenny Hallman are certainly not a football field away from Hanneman and King. I don't think drummer Rick Nemes quite matches Lombardo in the skill stakes but he still does a great job of bashing his way through the record.

Terrible artwork aside, None Shall Defy is a great old-school thrash metal record that is probably criminally overlooked by most fans of the genre.

4/5

But you've added the songs?  Nobody makes rubbish playlists with songs they don't like?

Anyway, clearly a niche thing I don't understand so will leave this as my only involvement in this thread.

Rate your own playlists?  What?  Why?

Qrixkuor - Poison Palinopsia (2021)

So 2021 has gotten to the point where I'm checking out things very outside of my wheelhouse, and this one was one of the standouts that definitely wasn't for me but at the same time I could feel like there was something there. I'm going to have to spend some more time with this one as it's extremely dense and long, with the album consisting of two 24-minute tracks.

I'd be really interested to see how Daniel and Vinny feel about this one, since it's pretty dense and somewhat similar to this month's feature album minus all of the Drone Metal leanings, replaced with more atmospheric passages. It's a 3/5 for me after one listen but I can see it gaining some stock if I give it another shot. 

I am familiar with the band but haven’t heard this.  Added to my list.

I have a succinct input here really as the older I get the less tolerant of Bathory in general I get.  I have Hammerheart on picture disc and each time I put it on I cringe a little more.  As such I haven't explored the "genre" (we all know I love another "genre" discussion) as it kind of died for me before I ever bothered to look at it as a standalone style.  

  I will admit to spending a few mornings just taking a few precious minutes sat in the woods across from where I live just enjoying being surrounded by nature and this is where my developing passion for folk/pagan/atmospheric/cascadian black metal but it has also pushed me towards a lot of non-metal music with similar relevance such as Wardruna. 

Hey Vinny have you listened to either of Wardruna's Einar Selvik's collaborations with Enslaved's Ivar Bjornson. They are both very good and span several genres, not just nordic folk (although that is the primary focus). Skuggsjá: A Piece for Mind & Mirror was written as a contribution to the 200-year celebration of the founding of the Norwegian constitution.

I am aware of but haven't taken in too much of this collaboration's stuff.  It is on my "to do" list though (that endless, ever-growing list we all have).

Hi Ben, please could you add Leiþa to the site?  One release to date Sisyphus.  Thanks.

Inquisition - Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith (2016)

Dusting off some vinyl this afternoon and as I put my Immolation record back in the rack I saw this.  The very zenith (pun intended) of Inquisition's output.  Rich and melodic yet still cold as fuck.

5/5

The North.  Hands down.

A lot like Sonny's experience of doom metal, I feel I am confined increasingly to the classics in The Pit and The Horde and I do believe that I am over most of what The Guardians can offer me after nearly 30 years of listening to metal.

Black metal was in fact the latter of the four genres that I am affiliated with that I in fact discovered.  This was in no small part down to me not being able to tolerate the minimalist sound of the genre for a number of years.  However, now that I have established roots in the genre I find that there's not only a plethora of older stuff to still get acquainted with but that the crop of new and upcoming material is just as enticing and interesting as well.

Yes the misanthropic element appeals massively (I work in a very corporate, people-focused environment and Mon-Fri is fucking agonising let me tell you), but also there's increasingly much more of a connection with the pagan elements of black metal for me.  I live somewhere reasonably rural and can soon enough find myself surrounded by nature within just a ten minute walk from my house.  I will admit to spending a few mornings just taking a few precious minutes sat in the woods across from where I live just enjoying being surrounded by nature and this is where my developing passion for folk/pagan/atmospheric/cascadian black metal but it has also pushed me towards a lot of non-metal music with similar relevance such as Wardruna.  Oddly, I can see that if ever there's a genre of metal that is ever going to aid me exiting the scene altogether then it is probably black metal as a result of the combination for me to be closer to nature and also as probably the last great unknown of the metal world I will exhaust.

Like Sonny (I am saying that a lot in this post but he makes good points), I am not religious personally but I do actually find a high degree of interest in folklore and mythology - only touching on elements of true history by way of comparison to Sonny - and bm is dripping with this in terms of themes and storytelling.  I have learned lots from Naas Alcameth and his fascination with sleep and dreams.  Even though I am in no way affiliated with any political view or ideology I do acknowledge that bm is littered with such tricky and unpleasant opinions perhaps more than most other genres which is also part of its appeal because like it or not there's an allure to the forbidden which for me is sometimes just trying to get to the bottom of why people invest themselves in such ludicrous ideas and views in the first place.

Parting shot on what is perhaps one of my most reflective MA posts.  Even though I know lots of people listen to BM, somehow I have the sub-conscious notion that the genre is mine, personal to me and some safe-place to hide from the world that I am forced to wade through whilst being someone else entirely each day.