UnhinderedbyTalent's Forum Replies
Ordinance - in Purge There is No Remission (2020)
Riffy (endless riffing) black metal from Finland. Heavy on the Satanism as well as the non-stop wall of riffs (have I mentioned the riffs yet?)
In all honesty, I usually have my suggestions lists written for the coming month as I submit the current month's list. There's always stuff that I can't fit in to the current month that inevitably falls over and I am constantly finding stuff so find I am always in excess of tracks when I get to submitting my monthly lists. In a hectic working week I find myself listening to a lot of other playlists or individual tracks from bands when I need to take five or ten minutes breathing space away from my laptop so it serves me well for building a solid choice of tracks for the monthly playlists.
I believe I have just completed The North: Black Metal - The Modern Era challenge after a little over a year. I have definitely enjoyed this one - tough though it was - as I have discovered some great albums through it.
I've just been looking through the earlier posts in this thread and can't see if I informed Ben of my completion of THE PIT: Thrash Metal - The 80s challenge which I completed some time last year.
That's a challenge for each of my three clans completed, so now I have to determine which clan to go for as a fourth. I am still not sure and that makes me wonder if I should even have a fourth clan if I can't commit to one or the other. Of the six remaining, The Gateway, Revolution and Sphere are out for me. The Guardians, Horde and Infinite all have plenty of albums I love, but also a lot that I'm not keen on. I still intend to keep on with the challenges, but I may not seek a fourth clan at the end of it.
Bizarrely, I was torn between The Fallen and The Guardians when I was looking at a fourth clan. Despite having spent most of my life with traditional metal I was debating picking The Fallen to broaden my limited knowledge of the doom/sludge genre. Glad I went with The Guardians in the end, although I would class it as perhaps my weakest clan overall.
Really impressed with the Iron Savior track, I definitely need to branch out into more of their stuff. I found a Grand Magus track that I like that isn't on Hammer of the North, although the song itself is really rescued by the solo.
Found I could sit through the Helloween track which is unusual for me but have literally no time for Angra and I still cannot stand King Diamond. Herzel intrigue me though. Normally I don't work to well with vocals in a foreign language but there's so much other goodness going on at the same time that it is hard not to be enamoured really. I still haven't checked them out beyond playlists though but need to get some time with the album at some point.
Judicator showed promise but I can't really get on with that vocal delivery, heard it too many times before for it to be done this blatantly without any variation or particularly outstanding elements elsewhere on the song to distract me/make things interesting. Similarly with Orden Ogan; has enough bite to begin with but gets watered down far too easily to hold the interest.
I realised today that I own that Children of Bodom album but have hardly ever played it. Nothing wrong with it really just a bit pedestrian and synth heavy but the guitar does really shine still throughout although feels more melodic death than straight up traditional metal. I do need more Bloodbound in my life though.
1. Akhlys - The Dreaming I (2015)
2. Enslaved - Below The Lights (2003)
3. Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God (2003)
4. Darkthrone - Panzerfaust (1995)
5. Immortal - Pure Holocaust (1993)
6. Burzum - Filosofem (1996)
7. Panopticon - Kentucky (2012)
8. Inquisition - Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith (2016)
9. Drudkh - Microcosmos (2009)
10. Cultes des Ghoules - Henbane (2015)
Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments (2021)Been really enjoying Perturbator's newest album since it's a decently big style shift for him. Lot of darker, gothic elements that push him farther away from the slightly cheesy 80's Synthwave style that he's so known for. Most of the vocals sound like they could have come directly from a Gothic Metal record, minus some of the enthusiasm. Managed to write a full review linked below.
Well well, another Perturbator fan! Definitely one of my favourite non-metal artists. I have to admit I'm finding the new album to be a little hit and miss, but I'll give it time to grow on me. The Uncanny Valley has been a highly regular listen for me for the past 5 years.
Was mad into his stuff for a while but have drifted away in the past few years. New Model was my preferred spin at the time.
Thought the playlist started out a little patchy if honest with me only liking every other track until Gorguts kicked in then I thought it was flawless up until Herpes where I lost interest in the grinding slant that the list took on leading into sheer brutality. Thankfully rounded off nicely with Nile though.
Main surprise for me is how much I like that Venom Prison track as normally I find myself firmly disliking what they do but that track got thrown up on some random Spotify playlist and it stuck with me instantly. Definitely on the more death metal side of their sound but also a sensible vein of metalcore present still. My brief forays into the Revolution style bands has definitely altered my opinion on "core" in terms of softening my stance on it and being more open to it in my listening.
The first band I will check out following on from the playlist is Atvm! What an amazing track that is, not what I expected at all either. Interesting stuff indeed. On the other end of the timeline I am all over the death thrash of Psychic Possessor, never heard of them until today but will be giving that one a run through over the weekend also.
I actually took sometime out to explore The Fallen playlist this month and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great to see Wolvennest on there who are one my current preferred bands but also really enjoyed listening to some ISIS again. The Melvins, COC, Bongzilla and Witchfinder General all worked for me to and I am liking The Body the more I listen to them.
I really didn't get on with The Gathering, just sounded weird like to styles of music mashed together and sounded terrible. Beyond Dawn wasn't for me either. I have experience of Big Brave before and I find them okay without the vocals.
Winning track was that Candlemass one though. Must play that album later today.
The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from 9th to the 15th of July, 2021.
27. Lluvia (NORTH)
33. Morbosidad / Perversor (NORTH, HORDE, PIT)
Yes! Why I hadn't asked for at least Lluvia I have no idea. Both great bands though, thanks Ben.
Winners this month:
Panopticon, Darkthrone, Shining, Kanonenfieber, Evilfeast & Batushka (an album I really need to spend more time with)
A healthy mix of current releases and some more established sounds also.
If I am honest this release did at first have me more than a little torn. It is not that I do not enjoy Obliviosus, more that it takes such a monumental amount of effort to even begin to digest it that I do find myself somewhat fatigued by it after each listen. This draining effect I can put down to two factors. Number one, it is so emotionally wrought that you cannot fail to be engaged by the sorrow in this tragedy-soaked release. Secondly, it is such a vast record in terms of its influences that you do find the very fabric of its existence to be a much more detailed tapestry than the tags that get put against the release initially suggest.
Were an alien to land tomorrow and I played them his release I would probably describe it to them as follows. An album written on the scale of an atmospheric black metal album with a cacophony of sludge/post-sludge influences all over it, interspersed with some clear funeral doom (a la Bell Witch) in places – especially the opening track. I am not one usually too hot on the concept of genres/sub-genres but to describe this album without referencing thus would be a travesty.
Now, my individual take on this album (knowing its subject matter) is that the turgid nature of the tracks is a perfect representation of the artists personal battle with grief. Never having gone through a tragedy of the nature of what is described here I may well be quite far off the mark here; however, I do pick up a distinct sense of each track representing a differing stage of grief. Opening track O Brother is an angry yet confused sounding affair that cries out the soul of a person coming to terms with a loss they cannot quite process. In the complexity of this period of trying to process the situation anger takes the driving seat and what you get is a very personal insight into the human psyche during one of life’s true tests of a person’s resilience.
Second track Funus, sounds like a reversal of the opening statement and comes across as the artist trying to seek the positives from the life that is lost or to simply dwell (albeit temporarily) in a positive space. Assuming this to be a (Latin?) translation meaning funeral, the track feels like an attempt to give someone who has caused such obvious disruption to your life the best possible send-off still.
By the time track three rolls around we are back to the unenviable task of trying to process again, only this time the anger gives way to a more desolate and hopeless sound, like the inevitability of the situation simply cannot be challenged. This is one of the more draining tracks here. As an individual track it just comes across as so lost and bereft of hope it sticks with me perhaps more than its astray structure suggests it should do when balanced in the sum of all parts.
The final track here is probably one of the best closing tracks I have heard in a long time. It carries through the lost direction of the previous track initially but then slowly consolidates the emotion and energy back into the angry space the album began in, only this time taking that anger even further and giving it focus to what is a perfect culmination to the record. It incorporates so many elements during the opening ten minutes that it sounds like all the conflicting emotions and fathomless darkness are being positioned finally and to some degree accepted.
The reference to Neurosis that Daniel makes is perhaps the nearest comparator for the whole release I can think of. Whilst not identifiable as such consistently in the sound, the elements of Neurosis are present in the heart and soul that has been put into the record in terms of the writing and the delivery of this very personal and draining release.
5/5
Wolvennest- Temple
I stumbled across this by accident a few weeks back and actually really like it. The Belgian accent in particular adds to the experience, especially on album highlight, All That Black. I know Sonny is familiar with it so would be happy to take recommendations of similar artists in the occult/doom vein if you have any shout outs sir? (Or indeed anyone else of course).
8. Dare - Blood from Stone
I've never actually heard of this one before Vinny. What's the story behind that selection?
It's arguably more hard-rock but has such a blistering intensity to it that it most definitely belongs in the list. Former band of celebrated physicist Brian Cox as a point of trivia.
Also has Darren Wharton of Thin Lizzy keyboard fame as the frontman. I won't say every song is perfect but the album is end to end stocked full of impactful tracks and the only real interruption to the flow is a couple of ballads that I usually skip in all honesty. It is one of the most consistent albums in my collection and one that still gets regular plays.
1. Iron Maiden - Killers
2. Judas Priest - Painkiller
3. Grand Magus - Hammer of the North
4. Blind Guardian - Imaginations form the Other Side
5. Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
6. Saxon - Strong Arm of the Law
7. Crimson Glory - Transendence
8. Dare - Blood from Stone
9. Queensryche - Empire
10. W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol
5. Alice in Chains - Dirt
Quoted Vinny
I thought you liked the last couple of Alice In Chains records far more than the Layne Stayley era Vinny.
I do but I don’t really see Duvall era AIC as that alternative and certainly don’t have enough value from those releases as I do from Dirt in terms of I grew up with Dirt on regular rotation. They are still more complete releases since they reformed but in an all time top 10 Dirt has more than earned its place.
Go on, I'll bite:
1. Deftones - White Pony
2. Faith No More - The Real Thing
3. Faith No More - Angel Dust
4. Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual (least metal release on here, sue me)
5. Alice in Chains - Dirt
6. Soundgarden - Louder Than Love
7. Bodycount - Bloodlust
8. Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
9. Life of Agony - River Runs Read
10. Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero
First off, sterling choice for The Horde featured release Ben. I had never heard any Blood Red Throne before this, and I am kicking myself for missing out on Altered Genesis for so long. I did wonder when doing my research on this band quite how they would incorporate Scandinavian death metal and black metal elements into their sound as Wikipedia/Metal Archives seemed to indicate. I think it is fair to say that I hear no bm on Altered Genesis, this is a straight up, face ripper of a death metal record. Firmly routed in the vein of Cannibal Corpse, Vomitory and Bloodbath this is intense death metal with a groovy set of riffs and some clever technical elements to elevate it beyond those base CC comparators.
In terms of track sequencing, at first glance it just looks like BRT have slammed back-to-back raging death metal bangers for a twelve-track album. However, this is a cleverly put together death metal album that takes in regular gasps of fresh air to reinvigorate itself at various points over the album. For the first four or five tracks they build up the duration of each track, concisely increasing the experience of their scathing death metal style. The band peak out around the five-and-a-half-minute point in terms of the longest track (the title track as it happens) before finishing off the album with a storming culmination of three tracks under four minutes long to complete the experience pretty much how it started.
Around the halfway point the album takes on a slightly more technical edge as the bass seems to become more prominent in the sound, touching on Suffocation like audibility as well as Dying Fetus like runs where the four strings seem to go off on their own tangent. This really piques the interest levels for me at a point where most albums start to lose my interest. It is like the band have held back an element of their sound on purpose so they can tease the listener’s ears further. This technical edge also makes the twelve tracks more manageable as you go through arguably three different stages of evolution with the album overall.
The delivery of the album is exactly how most death metal fans would want to hear their death metal played, fast, heavy and utterly relentless. I cannot remember many albums outside of the early 90s that has this level of energy present from start to finish. It is like a Deicide record mentality played with a Suffocation level of technicality and entertained by some Swedish riffs for good measure. This was the last record to feature the stupidly named Mr. Hustler on vocals and so it will be interesting as I check out to see if there is any noticeable dip in quality on output after his departure because on here, he is superb. The vocals are consistent on the record and are perhaps the one element that does not change across the whole track listing, never adapting to become even a momentary scowl or shriek, opting instead to maintain that guttural style end-to-end.
It is fair to say that I am sold.
Needless to say from my review, I do not share the same levels of enthusiasm for this record as most of you. Meandering at times with only two songs I actually find palatable and these are still not without fault. I get the layering and how it shows the variety of influences but it is all so boring in the direction they take it I just cannot justify the time it takes to explore the album in full when I am already seeing such little return on my investment from the initial few minutes of each track as it starts off.
2/5
Solid list this month.
High points (minus my selections) = Evile (considering I said last month they did nothing for me), Razor, Sodom, Sacred Reich, Midnight, Coroner and Slayer
Low points = Soulfly, The Accüsed, Crumbsuckers, Living Death, Flotsam & Jetsam, Usurper (yes, I chose that) and Artillery (what the hell happened there lads?)
August
1,000 Homo DJs - Supernaut from Supernaut (1990)
August
Alice In Chains - So Far Under from Rainier Fog (2018)
August
Leeched - The Grey Tide from To Dull The Blades of Your Abuse (2020)
August
Xentrix For Whose Advantage? from For Whose Advantage? (1990) 06:22
Terrifier Reanimator from Weapons of Thrash Destruction (2017) 05:24
Hexen Gas Chamber from State of Insurgency (2008) 04:10
Hyades Buried In Blood from And The Worst Is Yet To Come (2007) 04:27
Toxik Heart Attack from World Circus (1987) 03:48
Sarcofago Screeches from the Silence from The Laws of Scourge (1991) 03:49
Total = 28:00
August
Unleash The Archers Cleanse the Bloodlines from Apex (2017) 05:54
Darkthrone Leave No Cross Unturned from The Underground Resistance (2013) 13:49
Kryptos Red Dawn from Afterburner (2019) 05:32
Dio Fever Dreams from Magica (2000) 04:37
Total = 29:52
August
Immolation When The Jackals Come from Atonement (2017) 03:54
Morgoth Isolated from Cursed (1991) 05:25
Cerebral Rot Vile Yolk of Contagion from Vile Yolk of Contagion (2021) 05:45
Hath Usurpation from Of Rot and Ruin (2019) 06:01
Loudblast The Promethean Fire from Manifesto (2020) 03:59
Inhuman Condition Europhiphobia from Rat God (2021) 02:38
Total = 27:42
August:
Mork - Svartmalt from Katedralen (2021) 04:19
Panopticon - Watching You from ...On The Subject of Mortality (2010) 09:14
Gexerott - Into Decensus Impious Ad Gloriam from Into Decensus Impious Ad Gloriam (2013) 06:55
Ondskapt - Blessed by Demonaic Wrath from Dödens Evangelium (2008) 03:23
Total = 23:51
003’s EP from Keep of Kalessin saw a completely different line up to their previous outing. Having parted ways with their drummer, bassist and vocalist. I do not know whether this split was acrimonious or otherwise, although it is certainly off to find 3 core members of a band decide they have had enough after two full lengths. Anyway, remaining member Obsidian Claw clearly had friends in high places, recruiting black metal royalty Frost (Satyricon) and Attila (Mayhem, Tormentor,etc…) for Reclaim.
I mean, with such acclaimed individuals present on the EP it is hard to expect much of anything other than superb black metal really and in some ways, you get that. I wouldn’t say that Reclaim is outstanding by any means, certainly not when you take into account who was involved. But it is still a solid blast of bm when it stops fucking around with synths and soaring/uplifting riffs that feel a bit out of place in what for the main part is a blasting bm record. I understand that the band nowadays are more noted for their melodic black metal and this shows clear signs of presence here.
Obsidian Claw handles both bass and guitar duties and keeps up well with Frost who blasts away like a machine behind the kit. Showing deft use of tremolo riffing the guitars lead the charge on this EP with the drums very much providing the thundering hooves. Attila’s grim vocals are low in the mix, creepy and nightmarish as always for the main part but able to develop into trademark howls when the tempo dictates the need to.
When in full flow, the sound has an aspect of suffocating darkness to it building to what I personally find to be a very reassuring sense of momentum across the tracks that are devoid of atmospheric interruptions. The fact that we have a bm supergroup essentially delivering this record means we are starting with high expectations, and it is perhaps these that are not realised for me during Reclaim. There is an obvious thirst to produce something special, but it still sounds a lot like the good parts of Satyricon mixed with the macabre majesty of Mayhem thrown in. When the band try to vary things and make things a little different it seems to conflict with the very ethos they are trying to create. I can happily lose the melodic leads and the variety in structure that seems to disrupt the overall flow of the release as when the guys are at it they are fine just letting it all hang out.
For a short release I was not expecting the band to form much of an identity but it sort of feels like some mates got together and had a jam session that turned into some song writing and this EP came out of the other end. The session is not bad by any means but there is more than a hint of jumbled ideas in play here and the EP (for me) suffers for it.
3/5
A clearly raging beast of a thrash metal record that has a real "necro" feel to it, largely by way of the terrible production though. There's a real gem in here though, trying to get out regardless of whatever it got smothered in at the mixing desk and the album needs recognition for pure effort alone. More than just an under-produced Kreator clone going on here and I would still recommend all thrash metal fans to take a listen if they haven't (like me) heard before.
3.5/5
As I get older the lines of my listening habits appear to blur all the more easily. I could have sworn that I had made my mind up a long time ago that Converge were not for me. All the furore surrounding Jane Doe was completely lost on me. Largely due to Bannon's vocal style just not really convincing me that he had the power in his pipes to punch at this weight. I don't recall much else about that record if I am honest, I find that if I pick out one element of something that I really don't like I am either dismissive of the whole or spend an eternity trying to look past the element of dissatisfaction until the whole thing clicks or I end up lamenting on losing hours of my life for no real positive outcome.
It's fair to say that I enjoy You Fail Me a lot more than I was expecting to. The hardcore punk elements shine through really well and keep me interested when things have gone a bit sour (In Her Shadow being a particular sour point on the album for me). As an album it has a consistency in terms of intensity that is quite alluring. However, at the same time it has a draining aspect to it also, meaning that I am sort of grateful that it is over when the record finishes. That is not supposed to be as negative a statement as it probably sounds, more me pointing out that the transferral of emotion from the artist to the listener here is done really well. Converge give you something to take away and think about, hold in your hands, flip over a few times and remember its ugly yet enticing content.
Still there's moments were Bannon gets on my tits still but his bandmates rescue him on most occasions. I mean Ben Koller is simply fantastic with his explosive style and is definitely the standout performance here for me. Ballou's riffing has the standard metalcore/mathcore elements present but I also like the odd groovy riff that comes into play every now and again. I don't hear a lot of bass on most tracks (maybe this is why they remixed the album and re-released it?). I mean, I know it is there most definitely but it does seem to struggle for presence on most tracks.
So, I have added this into my stream which is not something that I would ever thought a possibility in all honesty. The fact is though that this album packs a real punch and the bruising does not fade very quickly at all.
3.5/5
Delighted to see this up on the features for this month. Not often I go straight to The Gateway for my first listen in a new month but Saxy pulled a great move here in selecting this. I was already familiar with the release and even upped my rating of it after spending some more time with it today.
I am going to immediately go out on a limb and openly admit to liking Will Duvall era AIC more than Layne Stayley era AIC. I absolutely acknowledge the moments of quality from the 90’s – there is undeniably a sense that when they got it right Stayley and co were quite a force after all. The problem with even Dirt is that it is not a complete album, like its predecessor it is just a selection of songs with a few top notch, high-quality tracks that survive as anthems to this day. There is no sense of an album of theirs from their first iteration as a group making all that much of a statement to me, more that they could just drop some great songs. I look at Facelift and immediately get lost after the first two tracks.
Although not perfect in terms of complete albums, Duvall era AIC have more consistency and as such TDPDH and Rainier Fog have been their crowning glories as a revamped group. Sticking with TDPDH, it is clear that the band were more settled when it came to writing this album in comparison to the promising yet lacking in finesse BGWTB. Duvall certainly has a unique voice and, on this record, it synchronises in harmony with Cantrell’s perfectly. Likewise, there is a greater sense of fit to the music as well. There are times when it is criminal how at ease with each other all the instruments sound on the record. Each one audible yet so well ordered and mixed in that there is a constant freedom to the sound.
As we have come to expect from previous albums Jerry Cantrell’s presence on TDPDH is obvious. As co-vocalist he is integral in giving that harmonious sound but when he goes solo (Hung on A Hook) his sultry tones add that grunge dimension to the sound. His guitar work is emotional yet controlled in the same regard. His sense of restraint to deliver a firm and yet heartfelt performance is a trait you would expect from a guitarist of his noted talent and experience. Cantrell knows how to write songs and he damn well knows how to add a genuine piece of himself into every last one of them also. His melodies singe the air as opposed to flashing bolts of lightning everywhere and leaving acrid smells in their wake.
The heaviness in TDPDH is tempered well even though it is an element that was present on BGWTB the band have captured some of that Angry Chair riff mentality and the catchiness of Man in the Box this time around. It is still an album that is steeped in rock as opposed to being just the dark emotional tirade of grunge but it has a positivity to it that suggests a band happy with their surroundings and at ease with their identity. There were snippets of this last time out (Last of My Kind) but here it just feels more organic like they have found their space and are throwing caution to the wind on where it means they fit in terms of pigeon-holes.
The follow up to this record, built firmly on the foundations laid down on this album, with Rainier Fog taking this catchy song writing and blending more seamlessly this harder edge and as such TDPDH here is a real game-changing record for AIC. It feels like they learned how to show all of their maturity and experience in a record but sound like they had an absolute blast whilst doing it.
The Fallen was very much back-loaded for me. Started off well enough with Solitude Aeternus, but Crowbar ain't my thing
With you on Crowbar. Never understood the hype around them, their sound is so unnatural. The vocals in particular aren't all that great. A few decent riffs but really not that amazing at all.
Okay, I get it. Tetchy bunch today Metal Academy aren't we?
But I think Daniel's slant on this has to be that there's some marketing of Metal Academy in return for the exposure it gives to any bands. Look, harsh reality is that there's about 5 or 6 regulars here who post. Everyone has lives, work, commitments blah, blah... and so that's not a pop or a criticism but my point is plucking unknown acts out of the ether that is the internet is too random a process even if we all even had the time. The example of Cryptic Shift is not relevant to an "unknown" act thread/feature as they are already well known. The concept of "uknown" is too loose also.
I would suggest instead:
- Reaching out to a few labels who have a predominantly underground roster and seeing how MA and they could become mutual partners for the furthering of their band's music through our features and/or the Spotify playlists (I don't know how that would work though - I am a software salesman, not a partnerships manager)
- Do some specific marketing for "band/artist" accounts on the site. Like there's a fan and a band, artist login for Bandcamp the same concept could be deployed here - but at some point you run the risk of the site moving away from a hobby and becoming more of a business/commercial interest and I don't know how Ben & Daniel could commit to that
- I can see Twitter is in use already from a marketing perspective, ever thought of extending this out to Instagram etc just to maximise the opportunity for growth ( I hate most social media platforms so this leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to even suggest it but at the end of the day they do work - algorhythms permitting of course).
I ain't no guru, just throwing out some ideas for thought/shooting down in flames/consideration.
Same really, barring Conan I am not aware of any bands round here. Certainly none who are more underground anyway.
Their career is a tale of two very different halves. The first half has a real golden run of albums up to and including ...And Justice For All where they consistently improved and matured and you could hear it on each release. As the youthful exuberance of the first two records began to fade come Master of Puppets they were able to distract us from this fact by simply writing great songs that made up for the loss of (some) of that raw energy. They were of course very much a changed band come ...And Justice For All but yet again managed to put together one of my favourite thrash metal albums of all time.
I wouldn't say the black album was a bad record. I actually really enjoyed it at the time and played it to death. I mean it hasn't aged as well as the albums that came before it and there's no getting away from the fact that this was the start of their more commercial attempts for popularity.
The second half of their career (Load onwards) is just an embarrassment in comparison to their importance to not just thrash metal but metal music as a whole. One of the all time biggest and most blatant sell-outs in music history started in 1996 and is still ongoing some near 30 years later. I don't actually think of them as thrash metal band anymore and that abomination they made with Lou Reed shows that their standards know no boundaries any longer.
Their fan base now is completely different to what is was in the 80's and the band are a shadow of their former selves, even though the record, ticket and merch sales probably would have them believe otherwise. Had Cliff Burton lived I would like to think that they would have stayed on a much more thrash metal pathway, but I guess we will never know. Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely every artist's right to make a conscious change in direction. Equally it is every fan's right to decide whether that change is for them or not. I can get by quite easily just simply not listening to their output beyond 1991 and (pretty much as I do with Slayer) I tend think they split up after that as far as I am concerned.
Welcome to the Academy. It's great to have you here. Do you & Vinny know each other from another site? I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you the guided tour as there's a lot enjoy here. Have fun with it & feel free to contribute as much as you feel comfortable with.
EC signed up to the other forum I frequent (Metal Forum) and he was very open about wanting to discover more metal and so I pointed him here thinking the clan system and associated challenges would help. We don't know each other at all really, just an old metalhead trying to help out a younger one find their feet.
hello there. like many, im new here, but the website looks cool! i like all the different clans, too, very nice idea.
You made it. Nice one.
I finally got around to my review of this and as I admit this is an album that I have struggles with some days. To pinch a summary from my review though:
There's a heap of reasons why I would be drawn to Cruciamentum. Hell, anyone who has been paying attention to my reviews/posts can see this is right up my street. Enough nods to Bolt Thrower to keep the British Death Metal fan in me tickled pink, coupled with atmospherics applied by what sound like the hands of Morbid Angel themselves and with the addition of lashings of Dead Congregation, Incantation and Grave Miasma to boot, Charnel Passages has my name stamped all over it. It is important to add that I don't see this band as being guilty of worship of anyone else either (including the bands mentioned above); Charnel Passages is enough of a death metal heavyweight in its own right to be able to stand its own ground in an arena of many other similarly influenced bands. To my ears this is not mere regurgitation of old ideas done by someone else 30 years ago, instead the four piece offer the application of influence to their own sound which remains at the core of their offering.
4/5
Well, there's 12 minutes of my life I will never get back. There's elements of metal here yes but it is drowned out by synths and keys and I can't actually say any of those tracks are rooted in metal at their core. I would say they are too far away from metal to warrant inclusion as thus on the site.
Yeah, it's weird how some days have 20 anniversaries, whereas others have around 3.
Lucky we have a way to punish those ugly cover. Nuclear Death really didn't make any effort with their covers did they!
I mean, yeah! But Demon Bitch have someone doing their artwork who thinks they much better than they actually are. At least Nuclear Death's artist already knows they are terrible and doesn't care.
Realised that I am a fair portion of the way through the 2nd Era of Heavy Metal already so will probably pick up on that over the coming weeks.
I really enjoyed the challenges and at the time could afford to spend the time ploughing through them. Nowadays my work is just full on but I do need to review some of the outstanding lists and see where I go next. Oddly for me (based on recent years at least) I have been catching up with lots of recent releases so this has bulked up my reviews of late. I do find the challenges addictive though so do need to look at a couple of my old reviews from when I was going at them as I think more than a few need a tweak now I look back.
Bròn - Pred dverima noći (2020)
July
Bullet for My Valentine - Begging for Mercy from Fever (2010)
July
Neurotech - Nonexistent from Antagonist (2011)
July
Spineshank - The Height of Callousness from The Height of Callousness (2000)
Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still (2020)
Today has been a good day, heading into late afternoon now with my AOTY from 2020.
Let's start with some context here. By the time 1989 rolled around Sodom had been around for eight years. In that time they had already treated us to their particular brand of blackened speed metal on In The Sign of Evil before hitting a more conventional thrash metal sound on Obsessed By Cruelty and their second full-length Persecution Mania. With Expurse of Sodomy bridging the gap between the debut and the sophomore the band had already set themselves a reputation for delivering some ripping thrash metal with real menace and danger behind it. By the time we got to album number three things really had taken off for the band with a live album and video (remember those?) already released.
Agent Orange is the crowning glory of the bands (near) first decade of existence and for me their career as a whole. For all of its obvious maturity and great structure it retained all of the raw energy that we had enjoyed on previous releases and honed this into a more consistent and robust form. The opening and title track shows this perfectly, probably one of the best opening tracks I have ever heard, setting the tone and tempo for the majority of the album with a chopping riff from the word go. By the time we get to Remember the Fallen we get a cool groovy riff running through the track which breaks up the pace of the record really nicely at the halfway point.
Throughout the album the guitar sits front and centre, with Frank Blackfire's riffs at the forefront of the mix and his leads similarly high in the proceedings also. Angelripper's vocals sit perfectly just underneath the guitar in the mix with his bass audible enough to be a rumbling thunder that never quite cracks into a distraction to take away from anything else. Tracks like Magic Dragon are a great example of the tightness of the band with all parts clear in the sound but none of them dominating proceedings to negative effect, the bass fills the lower stratosphere perfectly allowing the vocals, drums and guitar to occupy the upper realms and sound fully supported.
I think there's an argument to say that Tom's vocals would always give the band a blackened edge even at this developed stage of their career but the sound overall here is absolute classic thrash as the tempo changes between cutting riffs and galloping rhythms to give a real sense of variety whilst maintaining that thrash metal authenticity. The performance of the sadly missed Chris Witchunter on the skins is superb, fully of energy and deft technique.
The punky vibes to Ausgebombt is catchy as fuck and on my CD version which is a reissue it is on CD2 twice as a live track and also as a studio German version so that track is never leaving my head in 2021 at least now. My version also has a cover of Tank's Don't Walk Away which is a superb edition to the album at the end and I would say improves it even more than I first thought possible.
This album for me is pivotal in Sodom's career, firstly because I don't believe they have ever come close to topping it in terms of quality, intensity and variety. Secondly the timing of this perfect record was so important for the growth of the band as I believe without Agent Orange Sodom would not be as important as they are today in the realms of their legendary status in thrash metal. Better Off Dead which is the album that followed this is a pale effort in comparison and I have little memory of Tapping The Vein be anywhere near this record. A simply essential thrash metal record that should be in every fan of the genres collection.
5/5
Sodom - Agent Orange 1989
Time for a review of this methinks.