UnhinderedbyTalent's Forum Replies

Some of you may recall me mentioning that a record label called Sphere of Apparition was interested in mastering & re-releasing the two mid-1990's demo tapes from my old brutal death metal band Neuropath. Well, things have been progressing nicely since I last provided an update. The mastering has been completed & both tapes sound as good as it's possible to get them. The CD cover layout is almost finalized. Options for the front cover artwork are being explored at the moment too. I'd guess that the final release date will be some time in the middle of the year depending on how quickly we can get the cover art signed off. It'll be starting in a CD only format but there's potential to expand on that depending on demand. There may be t-shirts too. It's very exciting stuff for an ol' metalhead like myself.

Congrats man.  Looking forward to hearing this.

Interesting thoughts here Sonny.  I strangely have not reviewed or rated this one despite me having a vinyl copy Mrs Vinny bought for me.  I am probably the opposite of you and would put this album above Carnage, although I agree that they are two differing beasts in that Dismember's offering is a much more savage entity.  I find with all Swedish death metal that it has limited playtime as opposed to other styles of death metal in that if I throw this or Left Hand Path on for a spin then the itch is scratched and I rarely (if ever) go on a three or four album listening spree back to back of pure Swedish death metal bangers, unlike Saturday when I was battering death doom for three hours.  Need to get my arse in gear and get a review done of this album though (and Left Hand Path as well it seems).

Hope mother and baby are both doing well Daniel.

This month's playlist was another success to my ears and I have a couple of new bands to check out form the list, namely Crawl and Black Oath.  I had already been listening to The Otolith (given they are basically part remnants of Subrosa who I have also been listening to).  That Ufomammut track reminded me that I already have that album in my digital library and it got quite a bashing when I was working away on the Isle of Wight one year.  I also really enjoyed that Tribulation track which is odd because I have not really gelled with much of their stuff to date.

I will be adding;

Dark Angel - "The Burning of Sodom" (from "Darkness Descends", 1986)

Trastorned - "Metal Violence" (from "Into the Void", 2023)

Sodom - "Code Red" (from "Code Red", 1999)

Witchery - "Midnight at the Graveyard" (from "Restless & Dead", 1998)

Onslaught - "Twisted Jesus" (from "Killing Peace", 2007)

Wargasm - "Undead" (from "Why Play Around?", 1988)

Anything coming from you Sonny?

I mean in Durkin's case yeah but Madsen was hit by a bus so not really age/illness related.

As if I needed any confirmation of Slayer's demise from thrash metal legends, Repentless more than nails the coffin lid shut.  Andi's right to my ears, this album soon degenerates into groove metal with some knock off Machine Head riffs and structures littered all over the place.

Good stuff Sonny, looking forward to following this journey in the thread.

Onslaught - Killing Peace (2007)

There is a perhaps negligible amount of Onslaught in my thrash music catalogue given my penchant for this sub-genre. I have not made this a conscious effort by any means but I can only surmise that nothing has grabbed me all that well during the various outings I have given the band over the years. Needless to say that Killing Peace is not what I expected, it is marginally more groove metal than it is thrash which does not make it a bad record, just an unexpected outcome I guess.

As a result, the album lacks a sense of rhythm overall. It is not devoid of rhythm by any means but lacks the requisite level of consistent chug and chop that you would expect of an established thrash act like Onslaught. It is still an album that is stacked full of riffs however and has a big sound behind the production job that compliments the vocals, guitars and drums superbly.

The delirious energy of Sy Keeler’s vocals (a la Blitz's style in Overkill) is endearing enough on its own to carry the album but the guitars of Jordan and Rockett fire out flares of monstrous Machine Head-like riffs. When the record does revert to a more thrashy format it is with a distinctly modern edge that resembles very little of the old-school thrash metal blueprint. Whilst the power and aggression is there this is an album that is consciously seeking catchiness from more 90’s groove references than anything the band put out themselves in the 80’s.  There are a lot of Slayer riffs hiding in here though from around the South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss era that you do not have to search all that hard to find.

However, this was a comeback album after more than fifteen years after they parted ways and they certainly came back with a bang. They proved they could match the younger crop of bands in the energy stakes without sounding contrived or indeed having to try all that hard. For an old-school thrasher like me, Killing Peace is not an album I will be revisiting any time soon but it is still a very solid groove metal album for fans of the sub-genre.

3.5/5

Hi Ben, can you consider me for inclusion on this next month please?

Deadlife - Between Hatred & Melancholy (2018)

Prolific artist, Anders Nord is the driving force behind Hermóðr (atmospheric black metal) and Mist (another depressive black metal outfit) as well as Deadlife. With nine full-lengths, twenty-two Ep's and nine splits in twelve years, he's a busy chap (his output with his other two bands is equally exhausting). As such, I would expect a fifteen-minute single length track to perhaps sound a little tired. In fact the exact opposite is true, considering this is depressive black metal it feels more positive than I would first imagine it should.

Elements of atmospheric bm seep into Between Hatred & Melancholy almost organically. Without getting all sweeping and whooshing, the tension it builds does serve the depressive tag reasonably well at the end of the day but there is an ever present uplifting element to a song that has such a negative title. It is like the basic elements of Coldworld blended with the lusher parts of Drudkh on Autumn Eternal or Forgotten Legends. There is no sense of let down with this Ep though, desite it not being what I first thought it is well arranged as a single track and holds my interest well enough for the duration.

It is a great accompaniment on a long walk out I discovered today but is equally just at home being played in my lair at home. Relying on whispered, ghastly vocals in the main, the track does allow some more calming chant-like accompaniments in towards the final third of the track. Although it varies little in terms of the instrumentation, this repetition works well alongside the aforementioned atmosphere and the track feels like it has a real depth to it overall. I am unlikely to visit it often but it was a neat discovery off the back of the Review Draft this month.

3.5/5

Hi Sonny, for April I would like to submit:

Subrosa - "Fat of the Ram" (from "More Constant Than the Gods", 2013)

Mournful Congregation - "A Slow March to the Burial" (from "The Unspoken Hymns", 2011)

I am not going to be writing a review of this album as there is one simple yet (for me) glaring issue which I am sure is only something I will have a challenge with and it would just look dumb in an actual review.  I get the musicianship and the quality of the performance on show here.  These guys are a talented bunch, that much is obvious.  What I cannot get past on this record is that bird song sample that is on every track.  I get that it is part of the aesthetic but it is so irritating.  It is the exact same sample that my wife has on her alarm so hearing the sound that wakes me up each morning and heralds the start of the working day is not something I want to hear on an album.  Bizarre I know, but that's my take on this one. 

April =

Liber Null - "Hexenblood Vessel" (from "For Whom Is the Night", 2022)

Cerberus - "Kingdom of Emptiness" (from "My Prophecy Will Come", 2022)

Panopticon - "Into the North Woods" (from "Autumn Eternal", 2015)

April = 

Languish - "Failed State" (from "Feeding the Flames of Annihilation", 2022)

Memoriam - "All Is Lost" (from "Rise to Power", 2023)

Ripspreader - "Slasher's Night Out" (from "Crypt World", 2022)

Autophagy - "Becoming" (from "Bacteriophage", 2022)

Deicide - "In Hell I Burn" (from "Legion", 1992)

Bolt Thrower - "Zeroed" (from "Mercenary", 1998)

Benediction - "Nightfear" (from "Transcend the Rubicon", 1993)

According to my music catalogue sheet 2002 is a poor year for metal. At least for my tastes anyway. Tsjuder's Demonic Possession sits as my top release for the year and as much as I like that release I find it hard to believe that this is the best that the year has to offer. So I have been on a mini-exploration of 2002 to see what else came out that year and I find myself now sat with Bloodbath's Resurrection Through Carnage and this the sophomore release from Poland's Decapitation. The bad news is that I do not particularly like technical death metal all that much. The good news is that I found Decapitated's debut album a real banger so it set up the sophomore as an opportunity to see if the band could continue this vein of rich form.

I acknowledge the prowess required to perform this style of music but I still cannot help but find Nihility a little bit dull. It is not like the band do not deploy riffs well - their arrangements are actually pretty good - more that they all sound the same and lack any real bite overall. Vogg can play most certainly and the lead work underlines this fact perfectly well but the guitars lack the heart of the drums (done by the late Vitek - Vogg's brother of course). Sauron's vocals are monstrous enough also and I like how Martin's bass is not all that obvious but carries a perfect tone in accompaniment to the guitar and so goes some way to maintaining a level of intensity that the strings of Vogg alone cannot achieve.

Other than the really well-known Spheres of Madness not a lot stands out on this album I am afraid. As technically proficient as it is, it is not entertaining and strays too far away from the gritty aggression that determined my relationship with death metal in the first place for the album to ever see any of the top end of my scoresheet. I kind of want to applaud what I hear but then immediately find myself going "now what? What's next guys? Oh. More of the same" and pretty quickly find myself caught in repetitive and predictable loop of regurgitated riffs and ideas after just a handful of tracks. My hopes for 2002 now lie with Bloodbath it seems.

3/5

Aevangelist - Omniquity (2015)

*Both Aevangelist and Esoterica perform on this split but I have only reviewed the Aevangelist contribution to this release (To the Dream Plateau of Hideous Revelation) - listed as being released in 2013 on MA which I believe to be wrong.

Aevangelist's brand of abysmal horror metal is known to me already. Refusing to simply dwell in one niche and continuously carve their own path has not always worked out for them in my opinion. Elements of blackened death metal coupled with atmospheric noise elements and spoken word interludes mid-track have not always been done with the best practice around arrangements in all honesty. This is not the case here thankfully and the single, twenty-two minute track works its way through a very dark and foreboding soundscape. It balances the aforementioned elements well and avoids any violent clashing of styles or sounds.

Omniquity, heaves and convulses with a real sense of torment that is never released even when the vile content comes spewing forth in its full and fetid flow. Safe to say, that even in the most chaotic of moments there is always something going on to draw your focus to here. Whether it is the never-ending agonised cries in the bottom of the mix, the haunting echo of the random horn section blowing its death call or the maelstrom of percussion that occupies most of the track, you are never going to get bored here.

Transcending a simple piece of sound to listen to, Omniquity showcases Aevangelist at their best giving the listener a truly horrific auditory experience. Grab your headphones/earphones, turn out the lights and hit play to truly grasp this one.

4/5

Let's see.  I know that Antediluvian release already and like Sonny will shy away from Bathory.  I will take Deadlife - a fifteen minute, single track EP looks appealing enough alongside my similar choice in The Horde this month. 

Two folk/pagan metal bands, a blackened death metal/horror release and Bathory left.

Over to you Ben.

A bit of Onslaught seems sensible enough for me.

Over to you Ben.

Let's go with Aevangelist.

Over to you Ben.

March 2023

01. Exhorder – “Legions of Death” (from “Slaughter in the Vatican”, 1990) [Submitted by Sonny]

02. Demolition Hammer – “Skull Fracturing Nightmare” (from “Epidemic of Violence”, 1992)

03. The Scourger – “Dark Invitation to Armageddon” (from “Dark Invitation to Armageddon”, 2008)

04. Autonoesis – “Moon of Foul Magics” (from “Moon of Foul Magics”, 2022) [Submitted by Daniel]

05. Hanzel und Gretyl- “We Rise As Demons” (from “Satanik Germanik”, 2018)

06. Whipstriker – “Midnight, Sex & Wine” (from “7” Eps 2014 – 2017 (Seven Inches of Hell, Part II)”, 2018) [Submitted by Vinny]

07. The Accüsed – “Distractions” (from “Oh, Martha!”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny]

08. G.I.S.M. – “(Tere Their) Syphilitic Vaginas to Pieces” (from “Detestation”, 1983) [Submitted by Daniel]

09. Nekrofilth – “Ready to Defile” (from “Worm Ritual”, 2018)

10. Hellbringer – “Coven of Darkness” (from “Awakened From the Abyss”, 2016)

11. Beastiality – “Sacrificial Chants” (from “Sacrificial Chants”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

12. Hellish– “Black Stones” (from “The Dance of the Four Elemental Serpents”, 2022) [Submitted by Sonny]

13. Bulldozer. – “Fallen Angel” (from “The Day of Wrath”, 1985) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Death SS – “Inquisitor - 1983” (from “The Story of Death SS: 1977 – 1984”, 1987) [Submitted by Daniel]

15. Nether – “Event Horizon” (from “Beyond the Celestial Sphere”, 2020)

16. Testament – “Night of the Witch” (from “Titans of Creation”, 2020)

17. Anthrax – “Time” (from “Persistence of Time”, 1990) [Submitted by Sonny]

18. Sepultura – “Slaves of Pain” (from “Beneath the Remains”, 1989)

19. Kreator– “Pleasure to Kill” (from “Pleasure to Kill”, 1986)

20. Must Kill – “Ghost Malevolent” (from “Ghost Malevolent”, 2020)

21. Lamb of God – “Bloodshot Eyes” (from “Lamb of God”, 2020)

22. Vorbid – “Invention Intervention” (from “Mind”, 2018)

23. Assassin – “The Swamp Thing” (from “Bestia immundis”, 2020)

24. Cyanide Grenade – “Judgement Day” (from “Kind of Virus”, 2020)

25. Exorcizphobia – “Stuck Between Realities” (from “Friend of Lunacy”, 2021)

Hi Ben, please can you add:

Liber Null - Dutch/Italian

Cerberus - Germany

I went through my first The Fallen playlist this month.  My takeaway picks were The Hounds of Hasselvander, Fvneral Fvck, Mansion, Ahab and The Howling Void.  I didn't mind Admiral Angry either but I have never understood the hype around Orange Goblin and this tack didn't change my mind either.  Some cool takeaways to explore in more detail though.  Thanks Sonny.

I will go with just one addition please Sonny (thanks again for letting me get in on the action this month).  I will go with:

Monolord - "Larvae" (from "No Comfort", 2019)

Thanks Sonny, I will drop something in the correct thread.

Gnaw Their Tongues - I Speak the Truth, Yet With Every Word Uttered, Thousands Die (2020)

Largely unfamiliar to me as a sub-genre, my introduction into the world of black noise has been as intriguing as it was unplanned. Worth mentioning that for a period - some 10 or so years ago I guess - I went on a bit of a noise listening spree, so the concept of the style is not lost on me by any means. As an advocate of growing yourself only by stepping outside of your comfort zone, I have no qualms about picking up news sounds and experiences in metal whatsoever, notwithstanding that there is some complete and utter shit out there of course. Gnaw Their Tongues is not complete and utter shit is the headline here. It has a unique place that it inhabits but as with all good artists that standout from the mainstream, this niche-listening market thrives on being esoteric.

Joking aside, I get the "who is going to be brave enough to take on the Gnaw Their Tongues review" comment. This is not an easy listen and it is not supposed to be. Likewise, it is not necessarily an easy experience to explain in a review (the truth is that if you do not listen to this record, my words will not be sufficient a description to truly do justice to the experience). The best way I can summarise the listen throughs I have done is to pick up on a description that I gave to my wife when she asked me why I listen to such "horrible" (sic) music. I have listened to a lot of music in my life. From pop to dance music, classical to jazz, country to metal, etc, etc. All have shared a common appeal to me at various points in my life. The act of someone (or a collective group of people) baring their soul, emotions and most candid thoughts or beliefs via the medium of music is why I spend so much time listening to music. The further away from accepted norms or risk an artist is willing to push themselves then the more likely they are to pique my interest. Step way from conventional song writing and structures (which most definitely have their place) and I am instantly intrigued. Gnaw Their Tongues therefore ticks the boxes aplenty.

In terms of a rating, as much as I can relate to this record and style of music, it is a victim of its own marginalisation. I do not see this being ever more than background music for me. It is far too chaotic to ever be a sit down listen with all other distractions removed experience. My brain simply would not be able to entertain that. Like I said above, this inhabits a unique place, but I don't need to pay attention to the detail for it to fulfil its potential.

3.5/5

Congratulations (I should say commiserations as is customary in The Fallen) Vinny. Will you be wanting to contribute to the monthly playlists & be added to the feature release roster?

yes please Daniel

Welcome brother Vinny!  

Cheers Ben *raises goblet of sacrificial virgin's blood*

I believe that all albums in THE FALLEN: Doom Metal - The Early Days challenge are now reviewed by me.  Barring Witchfinder General and Type O Negative, this was a pleasurable experience and I have found some new favourite bands and records to keep me happy.  Especially pleased with the Funeral Doom offerings I have discovered here which I enjoyed more than some of the death doom content that I thought would be my main preference.  I have learned that there is epic doom beyond Candlemass, you just have to search for it.  I can see from some of the other challenges in the clan that I have some reviews and ratings already submitted so they will probably be a good place to continue my exploration.

Therefore, I would like to request entry into The Fallen clan please.  

Solitude Aeturnus - Into the Depths of Sorrow (1991)

My struggles with Solitude Aeturnus (or more Rob's vocals) have been documented before on Metal Academy, so seeing their debut album crop up on The Fallen challenge hardly filled me with joy in all honesty. I deliberately left it to the end thinking that to some degree the outcome was more or less set that I would be disappointed with the album overall. Epic doom has a bar that was set high by the mighty Candlemass and is often a level that is failed to be lived up to in my experience so I go into most epic doom records with my guard firmly up.

Except, here I soon find myself dropping my dukes, within mere minutes in fact I am sat nodding appreciatively along to Into the Depths of Sorrow before I even know it. My concerns that Rob's vocals are going to be a whiny and whimpering affair are not founded as it turns out, in fact I think he submits a very measured and yet clearly strong performance over the eight tracks on offer. I will not pretend to love all of his work on here (things so go astray badly on closing track, Where Angels Dare to Tread) but in the main this is a much better experience than I was expecting. The album has much more to it than Rob of course. Rivera and Perez are a pair of riff demons and they are the real engine of Into the Depths of Sorrow. There are times when things are not exactly going to my liking in every other aspect of the sound but I still have no beef with the guitar work that is going on. It is more subtle than you would think at first also. They are happy to pick strings when necessary to let other parts of the music take a front seat but then out of nowhere comes a lead, fired like a bullet across the track to take things off in a new direction.

I have a couple of minor criticisms that are enough to keep the album away from the top end of the scoring chart. The drums have an odd sterility to them which half the time I think works well and the other half I feel is just a bit odd sounding. They have presence, absolutely they do, but at the same time they have an almost programmed feel to them which is odd considering that John Covington is sat behind the skins. Also, in parts, I feel the album is too epic for its own good. I mean when Transcending Sentinels starts, you are fucking ready for it to start as it seems to have an unnecessarily long build up. But these are minor quibbles on a record that has been a great end to my The Fallen clan challenge.

4/5

Pagan Altar - Volume I/Pagan Altar (1982)

Delighted to find a Pagan Altar release in my current clan challenge for The Fallen. Having espoused my love for The Lords of Hypocrisy already on the site, I get to fawn over their debut album now also. As you will see from my other review, I am totally onboard with Terry Jones' vocals to the point where I would say they "make" Pagan Altar who they are really. His vocals, coupled with the superb bluesy riffs of Jones' son, Alan and the Ward-esque drumming of John Mizrahi are the very essence of Pagan Altar.

This album is a thoroughly authentic experience for me to listen to. It requires very little unwrapping as this is not multi-layered by any means and that is why it works so well. This a real plug 'n play type of record. This is not to say that it is simplistic though, as I already mentioned the drumming of Mizrahi reminds me a lot of Bill Ward, dropping in little runs and fills that you do not always pick up at first listen - repeated listens really does reward the listener with this one folks. Again, far from being a dominant force, Trevor Portch's bass is ever-audible throughout the album giving a real completeness to the sound of the record with all members seeming to make as full as possible a contribution.

With an album that is themed on magic and mystical content it is interesting that the instrumental track that sits as the penultimate offering on the record was originally left as an untitled track. The title of Acoustics only appeared once the pressing plant undertook the task of producing CD versions of the album. The band apparently later referred to the track as being named The Dance of the Banshee which certainly seems more in keeping with the rest of the album. Clearly striding with a heavy metal influence throughout, Volume I is a romp of a retrospective jaunt down memory lane for fans of late 70s/early 80s psychedelic rock and heavy metal. Not quite as laden and oppressing as Black Sabbath but still the band's sound held a density and atmosphere that resonates to this day. All hail Pagan Altar! 

4.5/5

Unholy - The Second Ring of Power (1994)

The story of Unholy is one of a band who are honorary members of the "close but no cigar" award based on the biographic detail of their career available online. Make a record, convince yourselves it will sell millions, it doesn't sell millions and so you blame the record company and look for a bigger deal before splitting up anyway. Then, you get back together a couple of years later, make an album, convince yourselves...(etc, etc). The Second Ring of Power was their sophomore album from nearly thirty years ago and it is an album that sort of tracks the up and down nature of their careers.

For a start, it is fair to say that I have heard both better and worse death doom in my time. Unholy certainly knew their influences and were never afraid to get into the agonisingly slow zone when needed. The thing that resonates from the album after a few listens though is the more atmospheric and near gothic tropes that sporadically appear on the record. The guest vocal appearance of Merja Salmela is the main driver behind this sense of the gothic element and when coupled with the funeral keys often makes for a decidedly (un)death doom like experience.

I get the sense that Unholy were almost trying too hard to get into the upper echelons of death doom in the 90s with this record. Whether the gothic element was a conscious effort to sound different (or to sound less Thergothon and more My Dying Bride) I will never know but they lacked the song writing prowess to pull this off in all honesty and so parts of this record sound quite amateurish. Add to this experience the horrendous album closer Serious Personality Disturbance and Deep Anxiety and this album soon finds itself caught in the lower end of my score range. Competent guys but punching way above their weight on this one.

3/5

Bethlehem - Dark Metal (1994)

Having heard the delirious display of Dictus te necare many times before now, the album that comes before it has been quite a turn up for the books by way of comparison. Depending on your view of Bethlehem's sophomore release you will find the vocal performance on their debut effort much more controlled whilst still retaining the ghastly edge that goes into overdrive on the follow up record. Going into Dark Metal I was not expecting a predominantly death doom orientated record. The progression from this death march-paced release to the demented, depressive black metal of Dictus te necare in just two years is more obvious than your may at first think. Musically and often stylistically as well it is certainly structured differently, however Dark Metal is laden with a sense of the futility and despondency that spewed forth with such vitriol on the follow up album.

Feeling much more measured and balanced than its successor, Dark Metal feels more inviting a prospect to listen to. It is well constructed and thoughtfully produced death doom metal in the main that has an undeniable black metal aesthetic to it. This bm influence is undeniably in the vocals of Andreas Classen, however he does have variety in his kit bag to be able to pull off some great death metal vocals also. The latter part of his skillset certainly serves the direction of the album better overall. The riffs are simple yet effective and the drumming is perfectly serviceable if not all that remarkable overall. It is the daunting atmospheres however that really carry the album home. Combining these simple structures with a solid use of pacing really does create some density to proceedings and there is a constant sense of dread throughout Dark Metal.

For me, it takes a bit too long to truly get going and I would argue that for the first three tracks at least, the band are clearly finding their feet. I would say that the latter half of the record therefore is much stronger than the early track listing. Although not searching for an identity as such, the band are definitely unable to settle on a permanent direction at first. From 3rd Nocturnal Prayer onwards however the record is virtually a flawless experience. Colour me impressed though as I had always assumed Bethlehem to be an out and out bm band so their debut release is a neat find.

4/5

Hi Ben,

I have a few additions please:

Cyanide Grenade (Russia)

Nether (Croatia)

Hellbringer (Australia)

Must Kill (UK)

Exorcizphobia (Czechia)

Beastiality (Sweden)

March =

Craft - "The Silence Thereafter" (from "Terror Propaganda (Second Black Metal Attack)" ,2002)

Gnaw Their Tongues - "Purity Coffins" (from "I Speak the Truth, Yet With Every Word Uttered, Thousands Die" ,2020)

Grift - "Den stora tystnaden" (From "Arvet", 2017)

Sorry I am a little late this month Ben.

Skepticism - Stormcrowfleet (1995)

My initial exploration of the early funeral doom albums is coming to an end with Skepticism's debut album from 1995. This near-hour length experience is possibly my favoured to date and I am writing this review have just done a 90 minute walk through the cold and grey countryside near my house and it was the perfect grim accompaniment to my heavy footfalls. With repeated listens over the last few weeks of this album and the other funeral doom releases in this challenge I have come to finally understand the connection I am so easily able to make with this kind of music that appeals to me so much the more I discover of it.

Stormcrowfleet is a weighty offering. It never tries to present itself as being anything else, right from the off its dismal keys and crushing riffs hide none of its monolithic nature. Those slow and deliberate drums alongside those deep, guttural vocals only add to the tortuous pace of the album. I have already on previous funeral doom releases how important repetition is and of course we have that in abundance here again. The fact is that. end to end, Stormcrowfleet is utterly deathly. It creeps at the pace of the ages of time itself, showing now urgency to end its futile progression. In a world where I (like all of us) have my fair share of burdens and weight to carry on my shoulders, albums such as this are a welcome distraction.

The best visualisation of this is a deep silo, chute or vertical tunnel with a huge weight being slowly pushed down it on vast hydraulics. This weight (in this instance Stormcrowfleet) creates pressure that pushes the weight of my woes and worries up and away as a greater mass that needs to occupy the space they constantly reside in. This dispersal of the day to day banality of life is so welcome that I find albums such as this quite cathartic. There is a moment of such a subtle yet emotionally devastating explosion at about two-and-a-half-minutes into By Silent Wings that it genuinely stops me dead in my tracks every time I hear it.

Whilst not perfect, the production job here is better than on the debuts by Winter and Thergothon and this gives this album just enough elevation above those two releases to get it top marks out of the three of them. My best find to date on this journey without a doubt and I am looking forwards to more long walks with this as my soundtrack.

5/5

You got to hand it to these Icelandic bm bands, they are good at what they do. In researching this review, I had a look at a few names in the scene and from Abominor through to Zhrine, you are kind of spoilt for choice. Over the past five years or so, I have spent some considerable time with Revelations of the Red Sword from Svartidauði. I would say that in that half decade I have only grown more attached to its undulating dissonance the longer that I have listened to it. This statement is made more important by the fact that I will freely admit to hearing something new each time I listen to it.

This continued voyage of discovery is what keeps me coming back to the record. I almost con myself to some degree in thinking I am revisiting to enjoy those familiar moments when in fact I subconsciously know that I am here again to uncover yet more from this gift that keeps on giving. Decidedly French sounding in their take on the style (albeit a little less blunt than that particular geography), Svartidauði fill each track here with complex layers of dissonance that can take time to mould on the brain – hence my sense of constantly learning new things from this.

What you have here is thoroughly modern bm with some real depth to explore to boot. I cannot accurately plot into words how eleven-minute plus closer Aurem Lux makes me feel. It is one of the most complete pieces of music in metal that I have heard in a long time and is a perfect curtain call on a band who are sadly no longer together to give us anymore of this brilliance.

4.5/5

Deathchain - Deadmeat Disciples (2003)

Finnish death/thrashers Deathchain are a welcome discovery via this month's review draft choices. Featuring a couple of members who at one point in time were in Demilich (albeit one is still the live drummer), Deathchain like to always include the words 'dead' or 'death' in their album titles. It is by no means their best quirk. Instead I would simply draw attention to their raging death/thrash sound full of volcanic riffing and flesh-stripping vocals as being the biggest takeaway that I get from their debut release that I have somehow missed for the last twenty years.

Vocalist, Rotten (no longer with the band) has the perfect style for the death/thrash sub-genre. Ranging from harsh and scathing to match those riffs through to a low, guttural gurn being applied when needed to mix things up. Guitarists, Bobby Undertaker and Corpse (FFS) know their way along a fretboard and can fire in sonic leads as well as keep an intense riffing pattern going also. Sometimes with death/thrash I find myself trapped in a melodic death metal space with lots of groove metal elements applied which really are not the boxes that I want ticking when I choose me some death/thrash metal. Thankfully, there is none of that here as Deadmeat Disciples is bang on the money in terms of delivering exactly what they promise to.

Consistency is key on any album, and Deathchain almost fall foul of ending up as too consistent (almost folks, almost) as there are a couple of occasions where the album blends into familiar ground that has already been explored. The short run time mitigates this though at just under thirty-three minutes. My only real criticism is more to cry out the injustice of the mix on the drums. Kassara is clearly a talent and you can hear the power in that stick work, however it is never really allowed to shine and always feels like the drums have been included as an afterthought. Still a great discovery though and highly recommended to fans of The Crown and Legion of the Damned.

4/5

In a parallel universe somewhere, Proggy Vinny is writing a review about an album he discovered from a band called Anacrusis who took a traditional thrash metal foundation and built a progressive (if not all that daring) structure on top of it. Proggy Vinny and Anacrusis moved into that structure and lived happily ever after.

Here, in this miserable excuse of a universe, this Vinny was not looking for a progressive thrash metal album and so wished Anacrusis all the best and declined to go to more than 50 or so minutes of the house-warming. Joking aside, Screams and Whispers is not a bad record. It is not something I ever want to hear again but I accept that the issue there is more me just not liking this as opposed to Anacrusis sounding just downright offensive. I can easily acknowledge the instrumental work and do on occasion find myself nodding and tapping along to sections of songs on the record. However, I cannot get on with Kenn Nardi's vocals. They absolutely ruin every track without fail. Even when he tries to go a bit Chuck Billy (agree entirely with Daniel) it just doesn't work.

It is baffling to think that he is noted as the originator and "mastermind" of the band because he is by far the weakest link. He can't sing. End of. His voice is only unique because of how weak it sounds and to try and keep any thrash credentials here is bordering on bizarre with such an unsuitable vocal style present. Not for me folks.

2/5

Vinny, "Torn Apart" was included in this month's playlist. Feel free to pick an alternative track.

Doh!

"Without a Comscience" then please.

March

Obituary - "Torn Apart" (from "Dying of Everything", 2023)

Intoxicated - "Watch You Burn" (from "Watch You Burn", 2022)

Corpsessed - "Profane Phlegm" (from "Succumb to Rot", 2022)

Bloodbath - "Like Fire" (from "Resurrection Through Carnage", 2002)

Cannibal Corpse - "Pit of Zombies" (from "Gore Obsessed", 2002)

Decapitated - "Babylon's Pride" (from "Nihility", 2002)

Nile - "The Blessed Dead" (from "In Their Darkened Shrines", 2002)

Thergothon - Stream From the Heavens (1994)

Exploring early funeral doom is fast becoming my favourite way to relax. It really is testimony to the knowledge of the creator of this clan challenge (The Fallen: Doom Metal - The Early Days) as to how good an introduction to the clan this list of releases is. Until recently I had only really listened to Bell Witch's Mirror Reaper as my only regular experience of funeral doom. Understanding where the whole sub-genre that influenced that record comes from is a real treat. As with my review of Winter's Into Darkness, I find the sheer simplicity of Thergothon's Stream From the Heavens to be remarkable in the sense of the immersive atmosphere that it creates. Not that Winter's debut was dripping with high production values, but Thergothon's debut sounds like it was recorded in a basement somewhere in their native Finland.

What makes this album more remarkable is that there was only three members who recorded all this. Sharing vocal, keyboard and guitar duties across all three of them (with drums handled solely by Jori Sjöroos), Stream From the Heavens is a real team effort. This is not only dripping in atmosphere folks, it is heavy as fuck as well. It takes the blueprint of Into Darkness and ramps up the weight dramatically. The funeral atmospheres are serviced brilliantly by the almost black metal vocal style that sits alongside those dreary clean vocals (that also have a fair amount of spoken word alongside them). These grim and deathly croaks add a real dimension to this record and are perhaps my favourite part of the whole experience.

I guess my only mystery here is why this album is called Stream From the Heavens when this sounds like it comes up from the opposite direction altogether. Consistently, the record pulls you further and further into the agonisingly slow and dense atmosphere that it creates without making the whole experience feel like it goes on for too long. At a shade under 41 minutes, this album is a perfectly palatable slab of music that never feels like it outstays its welcome. It is bizarre how such fetid sounding vocals and crushing riffs can relax me so much but this album replaces any weight on my shoulders with a much different and more interesting weight I guess.

4.5/5

Winter - Into Darkness (1990)

In my book, 1990 was a sterling year for releases. Just take a look in the Releases section on the site folks and tell me otherwise amigos! It was one of the key formative years of discovery for me in metal and one that is close to my heart as a result. Now, although not on any "top" release list of mine for the year, I am already aware of the existence of Winter and their classic debut album Into Darkness having read much love for it and venturing into numerous listens over the years. The fact is, not having been that into most of the doom metal world and associated sub-genres, I hadn't really paid it that much attention until having to revisit for The Fallen clan challenge I am undertaking.

Having heard it several times in recent weeks I would describe it as a very functional album. Backhanded compliment though that may be it is most certainly true to my ears at least. I don't recall an album that marries the sum of its parts so well in all honesty. Servants of the Warsmen for example is so simplistic yet effective that it actually makes me smile (not the intention of the record - I know!) with its almost arrogant presentation. At the same time, the album overall is a (deliberately) monotonous affair that uses repetition extensively. This does not get boring at any point since the idea is to create an atmosphere and inhabit that dank space for the entre 46 minutes of the album run time.

My "functional" comment therefore is aimed as nothing but praise, certainly when we add the context of the timing of this record (there wasn't much of anything like this out there at the time). To create such an immersive experience with such a stripped back and down-tuned set of parts is truly interesting to me. It is almost an effortless record to listen to because it does the job it intends to do so well. As if opening up the album with an instrumental track is not bold enough a move, we get another one in the middle of the album which kicks off the whole tortuously slow second half of the record.

I would describe Winter's one and only full-length as "nonchalant" in delivery, designed to baffle by the sheer weight of the basic arrangements alone. But the bafflement is dulled by the slow doping your brain gets track after track as Into Darkness washes over you. One of the most relaxing listening experiences of my Fallen clan journey so far.

4/5

In terms of The Pit, although I did not find it that remarkable, Critical Defiance was destined to win as nothing else really stood out across the site for all the regulars (based on what I read anyway).  MegaDave and Kreator or Destruction were never going to get anywhere near most certainly.  My standout releases were Autonoesis and Schizophrenia (although I can't say I revisited the latter much since my four star rating).

The North felt much more like my home last year.  Although I have come to it late, the BAN album is really good but I feel I need a lot more time with it at present before settling on a rating.  I really enjoyed Gaerea the most out of the releases I cottoned on to last year.  Such a mature and accomplished release and great to see a band I have found myself following increasingly over the years really hitting their stride.  Although not quite hitting full marks, Wiegedood's release is another proud physical trophy in my vinyl collection from last year.  That's some ugly shit right there folks.  A special shout out to Nordicwinter who has fast become a firm favourite over the last 18 months since my discovery of his music. 

Upon reflection, The Horde enjoyed a mediocre year.  I did my fair share of dishing out 4 star ratings but nothing (not even the mighty Immolation) could hit top marks last year.  Abhorrency were a fucking blast and Tribal Gaze took my face off but I just do not find myself going back to it that much since the first month of repeated plays.  Ripped to Shreds and Mortuous would be my shout outs.

Although no longer affiliated with The Guardians, I agree that The God Machine was a standout record for the clan and Blind Guardian themselves.  A welcome return to form after several pompous and over the top releases.  Super pleased to see Krüller win The Sphere, another mature release from an artist I see going from strength to strength with every release. 

Only heard that Messa record from The Fallen and that hit top marks for me.  I have to fess up that I have played that Death of Piece of Mind record by Bad Omens so much in the car last year that it is probably my most played release of the year, so unusually, The Gateway tops my list in terms of most played release of the year.

Corpsessed "Succumb to Rot" (2022)

Back in 2014 I stumbled across the distinctly Finnish yet still decidedly modern death metal of Corpsessed. It took me a while to forgive their stupid band name choice but thankfully their brand of death metal spoke to me a lot better than their moniker does. Back then, their debut, Abysmal Thresholds was a perfectly respectable slab of death metal that offered consistency in bundles if not suffering a little in terms of being able to standout from the pack. Fast forwards nearly a decade and it is clear these Finns have matured tenfold and they show throughout Succumb to Rot that they can hold their own against the likes of Krypts and Cruciamentum in the modern death metal arena. Whilst most certainly still borrowing from the Funebrarum and Incantation rule book, Corpsessed have developed their own sound.

Taking those textbook mining riffs and a keen ear for catchiness, this quintet have made a memorable and explosive album of raging death metal. At a shade over thirty-six minutes the album is delivered relentlessly and without any hope of mercy. Niko Matilainen's ghastly vocals alone are an unnerving focal point for the weighty tunes that land track after track. With the rhythm section of Jussi-Pekka Manner (drums) and Tuomas Kulmala (bass) superbly supporting the guitars of Jyri Lustig and Matti Mäkelä, Succumb to Rot soon starts to feel almost welcoming with its macabre embrace after only a few spins.

Accepting this is not ground-breaking stuff, this is so well done you won't really care that the leads and sonics are non-existent. You'll be far too busy get bludgeoned by the groovy riffs to care anyways. Strong and powerful from start to finish, Succumb to Rot gets your attention by smacking you aside the head constantly for eight tracks. The last decade may contain some further gems from Corpsessed and based on this experience a review of the past releases is definitely needed.

4/5

A solid month on the North list this month.  Really impressed by Hoplites, Decayed and None tracks.  Not so hot on that new Drudkh, and those ...And Oceans or Nocte Obducta tracks.  However, I skipped none of the list (not even Deafheaven).

I have heard that Varathron before so that is out and I do not fancy any "gaze" this month so Autumn for Crippled Children is out too.  De Arma doesn't look my thing either with rumours of "post-rock" early in their career.  As interesting as Feminazgul sound I will pick up the gauntlet laid down by Ben and go with Gnaw Their Tongues.

Over to you Xephyr...

Mine worked without the new link.  I just went on the app, cleared off last month's tracks then added my playlist to it.

Give me some of that Deathchain please.

Over to you Ben...

Corpsessed for me - quite liked Abysmal Thresholds back in 2014 so will be good to get to grips with them again.