Daniel's Forum Replies

KYPCK - "Черно" (2008)

The debut album from this Finnish doom metal outfit whose name is pronounced "Kursk". It's a very heavy release with a noticeable amount of gothic metal influence scattered across most of the tracklisting & the lyrics are presented in Russian so as to stay in line with the band's cold war gimmick. I have to admit that the Russian vocals don't do a lot for me but the crushing doom riffage & overall professionalism of the composition & arrangements is outstanding so I'd recommend that fans of Type O Negative, Crowbar & Triptykon check it out. 

4/5

A sludge metal masterpiece from before Isis became one of the gods of post-metal. For fans of Acid Bath, Old Man Gloom & Eyehategod.

Isis - "The Mosquito Control" E.P. (1998)

I still think Isis' debut release "The Mosquito Control" E.P. is one of the most underrated metal releases ever recorded. It's the very definition of what sludge metal is for me. It's ridiculously heavy & as angry as a balaclava full of bees but still manages to cover more cerebral ground than most sludge bands can achieve. I know this isn't a common opinion but this is actually my favourite Isis release & that's saying something as they're one of my all-time favourite bands. For fans of Acid Bath, Old Man Gloom & Eyehategod.

5/5

Yeah it's an absolute stunner, isn't it? One of my favourite tracks from the album.

Ben, please add Finnish doom metallers KYPCK, American sludge metallers Black Cobra & Japanese sludge metallers Greenmachine.

Classic doom metal & a fitting way to end Cathedral's recorded career. This epic track pays clear tribute to Cathedral's early days but the lengthy four minute climax section sounds a lot like something Opeth might have done in a live environment in my opinion. For fans of Pentagram, early Trouble & Celtic Frost's doomier material.

Cathedral - "The Last Spire" (2013)

These UK doom metal legends decided to turn back the clock for their final studio effort & it resulted in their heaviest, doomiest record since their classic 1991 debut album "Forest Of Equilibrium". A particularly chunky production job gets full value out of the wealth of wonderfully slow riffs & this enables the instrumentalists to easily achieve enough quality to cater for Lee Dorian's trademark vocal delivery which can be more than a little grating at the best of times. All six of the proper tracks fall comfortably into classic doom territory however only a couple of them stay there for their entire duration with the other four offering hints at traditional doom metal, stoner metal & progressive rock which I would imagine might have been a conscious attempt to summarize the bands career. Hell, there are even touches of gothic metal & death metal tossed about once or twice but these flurries of variation never last too long before a monstrous riff of pure doom tears its way back into the fold & crushes you under its enormous weight. Some of the song structures do sound a touch forced with widely disparate parts being pasted together without much in the way of natural progression however the power of the riff comes out on top on most occasions with Lee's more major failings predictably making for Cathedral's weakest moments. Is it just me or do a couple of tracks sound very much like Celtic Frost's doomier moments? I don't think I'm imagining it & would be surprised if it was pure coincidence. "The Last Spire" isn't a perfect record by any stretch but it's a damn sight more appealing than anything I've heard from Cathedral in a a very long time & I have to admit to being surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

For fans of Pentagram, early Trouble & Celtic Frost's doomier material.

4/5

Did you submit your rating for this one Chris? When I go to the release page I can only see saxy's & mine. Just wondering if there's a database issue or if you just forgot. Plus, it could effect our The Sphere Release Of The Year award result.

OK, so allow me to retort...

1. Killing Machine is a good album, but Rocka Rolla is unremarkable. Neither are a patch on Stained Class and Sad Wings.

2. Really?? err... OK. That IS an unpopular opinion (and it IS a shit record).

4, I disagree. Exciter, Stained Class and Beyond the Realms of Death are all among Priest's best songs.

Quoted Sonny92

Unlike most people, I don't find "Rocka Rolla" to be all that unremarkable. I can understand the claims that it's lacking a bit of focus as there's certainly a lot of jumping around stylistically but you could also say that this equates to some interesting variety. I really enjoy the progressive & psychedelic components & (with the exception of "Winter Retreat") find it to be a very consistent record as far as overall quality goes. In fact, "Run Of The Mill" is an amazing piece of work & it takes up over 20% of the run time. I think "Rocka Rolla" suffers a lot from the fact that it's not a metal record. In my experience Priest fans don't generally take too kindly to that sort of thing.

I really like "Sad Wings Of Destiny" (with the exception of "Epitaph") but I just don't think it has as many highlights as people make out. "Victim Of Changes" is the only classic for me personally & I've never thought a track like "Tyrant" was as special as some people make it out to be.

There's definitely a strong case for claiming "Stained Class" to be the most consistently metal release to the time but that doesn't make me like it more than some of Priest other 70's releases. I've never understood why "Exciter" is held up on such a pedestal. It sounds pretty light-weight & bouncy to my ears & makes me feel like tapping my toe more than bang my head which is not a positive observation. It's not in the same league as an absolute banger of an opener like "Delivering The Goods" or "Victim Of Changes" in my opinion. I've never thought the title track was all that remarkable either actually. My faves from "Stained Class" are "Better by You, Better Than Me", "Beyond the Realms of Death" & "Heroes End" with the cover being my pick of the bunch. I dunno about you but I actually don't like "Invader" much. It's the only dud on the tracklisting for mine.

"Turbo" was my introduction to Priest & came at a very impressionable time in my life. It was the age of arena rock megastars so I was already well accustomed to a bit of hair metal pomp. "Turbo Lover" & "Out In The Cold" not only sit amongst my favourite Priest tracks ever but I actually hold them up as some of the greatest heavy metal anthems ever recorded so that obviously skews my opinion a bit. Sure there are a couple of overly commerical duds in the middle of the tracklisting (see "Rock You All Around the World" & "Parental Guidance") but that was hardly unusual for a Priest album to the time & the rest of the album is actually very strong if you can deal with a bit of 80's synth work in the production (which I clearly can). I honestly can't fault tracks like "Locked In" & "Hot For Love". Even "Private Property" gets me going if I'm honest.

OK, so it's time for me to share some of my wacky Judas Priest opinions. Don't say I didn't warn you. :)

1. Priest's best 70's studio albums were "Killing Machine" & "Rocka Rolla".

2. "Turbo" is one of Judas Priest's top three studio albums.

3. "Screaming For Vengeance" isn't as metal as it's made out to be & is overrated.

4. "Stained Class" is a consistent release but is lacking in the highlights department.

5. "Sin After Sin" has a three track quality hole in the middle of the album which makes it Priest's weakest 70's release.

6. "Living After Midnight" is an absolute shocker.

I've noticed our monthly feature release for The Sphere (Uniform's "Shame" album) is making good ground on Code Orange's "Underneath" for the industrial metal crown. I'd imagine we'll likely get another rating or two before the end of the month which could see it taking the biscuits. It'll be interesting to see what eventuates there.

Unbelievably downtrodden, disconsolate & emotionally engaging English doom metal for fans of 40 Watt Sun, Pallbearer & My Dying Bride.

Warning - "Watching From A Distance" (2006)

Warning's 2006 sophomore album is the absolute epitome of the classic doom metal sound in my opinion. The majestic atmosphere of dread & despair that I crave so much has rarely been presented in a more pure form than it is here. When I first heard "Watching From A Distance" back in 2009 I found that I really struggled with Patrick Walker's whiny vocal style but I have to admit that time has seen his genuinely emotive & honest approach burrowing under my skin to such an extent that I now regard him as one of the key components in what makes Warning so great. Musically, this may as well be funeral doom metal in that it's incredibly slow with an atmosphere that's so downtrodden & disconsolate that I'd imagine many metalheads will struggle with their own feelings. In fact it's use of dark but stunningly beautiful & melancholic guitar harmonies reminds me of Mournful Congregation's "Weeping" demo in that way & that can only be a good thing as I worshipped that tape in the mid-90's. You'll get hints at the early works of classic death/doom acts like My Dying Bride & Anathema here at times too only the high register clean vocals keep it centered in classic doom territory & seem inspired by Ozzy Osbourne's darker & more sombre 70's performances. Some will adore "Watching From A Distance" while others will undoubtedly find it depressing. For me personally, it creates a strangely uplifting & empowering feeling & by the end of the five epic tracks I feel emotionally drained but thoroughly rewarded. There are few releases that can have this sort of impact on the listener.

For fans of 40 Watt Sun, Pallbearer & My Dying Bride.

4.5/5

"An Anthology Of Dead Ends" is really just the five tracks totaling roughly twenty-two minutes in duration with a 14 second intro piece that might as well be a part of the second track. (In fact I see very little reason to separate "Spaim" other than to create another silly song title with a country's name misspelt with an "m" in place of the "n".) It is however an incredibly well composed, executed & compiled piece of art in every sense with stunning musicianship & a precision production job that allows all of the instruments to breathe beautifully. Perhaps it's just the fact that it's a touch less chaotic & the intensity isn't quite as relentless that sees it falling a little short of its older sibling "We Are The Romans" which I regard as the pinnacle of the mathcore subgenre.

 If you want to be technical about it you could argue that this isn't purely a mathcore release as I'd suggest that only two of the five proper tracks fall into that category. "Japam" & "Micaragua" sit more comfortably under the traditional metalcore tag in my opinion while the laidback seven minute centrepiece of the album "Afghamistam" is pretty much alternative rock only with some wonderfully executed rhythmic complexity that will likely pass over many people's heads if they're not paying close attention. David Verellen's vocals often remind me of Pantera's Phil Anselmo's screamier moments & there are a few bouncier riffs that almost hint at a Rage Against The Machine influence & this all makes for a very interesting listen however only "Vietmam" & the crushingly cerebral & noise-laden closer "Micaragua" manage to reach classic status for me personally.

While I can't say that this E.P. blows me away in quite the same way as "We Are The Romans" did, it's still a very solid release & a fitting way to end a short but captivating career.

4/5

P.S. I'll be interested to see what saxy thinks of this one as I get the feeling that it might not repulse him as much as other mathcore releases do.

One of the more black metal oriented tracks from US blackened mathcore outfit Serpent Column's "Endless Detainment" E.P. from last year (this month's feature release for The North). What a belter! One of the tracks of the year in my opinion. For fans of Deathspell Omega, Krallice & Plebeian Grandstand.

Serpent Column's "Endless Detainment" is a really chaotic little E.P. full of short stop/start style blast-fests with shrieking, unintelligible vocals & a dense & inaccessible production. It's almost unimaginable to think that it might have been produced by just the two musicians to be perfectly honest. I don't think anyone will be too surprised that this release was right up my alley though given my love of both black metal & mathcore & to their credit Serpent Column have done a splendid job at combining the two genres in a fluent & exciting way with neither style taking the ascendancy. If pushed I'd suggest that the mathcore component might slightly outweigh the black metal one as I think you'll struggle if you don't enjoy mathcore but could probably still get by if you're not into black metal. There's a considerable amount of complexity to a lot of this material & the duo deserve full credit for managing to keep it all together. It's interesting that I've seen little mention of the significant grindcore component too as it's pretty obvious across a number of the nine tracks. The short run time certainly helps to make this a more palatable experience & I ended up playing it three times in a row without feeling like I needed a break to recover this morning. Perhaps "Endless Detainment" might have been better served as a The Revolution feature but I got a lot of enjoyment out of it & think it was a worthy inclusion.

For fans of Deathspell Omega, Plebeian Grandstand & Krallice.

4/5

Live albums are overrated

I've got a good one:

Ben's opinions are overrated.

Uniform - "Shame" (2020)

Chris Van Etten, I think you'll dig this one.

Noisy New York industrial metal for fans of Godflesh, Ministry & Big Black.

I thoroughly enjoyed this feature release. I hadn't actually heard Uniform before I started putting together the monthly "The Sphere" Spotify playlists but they immediately grabbed my attention & I've included a few more tracks from "Shame" in the subsequent months. The first thing you'll notice upon pressing play is the unusual production job which is intentionally cold, noisy & devoid of colour (very much like the album cover actually) with little attention given to separating the individual instruments. Uniform's sound brings together a number of different influences however there's little doubt that it sits most comfortably under the industrial metal banner as they spend plenty of time in both Godflesh & Ministry camps at various stages with the vocal delivery reminding me of a more hardcore-inflicted version of Godflesh mastermind Justin Broadrick one minute & Ministry main man Al Jourgensen the next. On top of that industrial backbone you get plenty of noise rock, hardcore punk & sludge metal references along the way with some fairly raw Burzum-esque black metal instrumentation (complete with blast beats) tossed in on a couple of tracks as well. I actually feel that "Shame"s best moments are when Uniform explore their slower, bleaker & sludgier atmospheres as that's when they're at their most crushing & the noisy production is most appropriate. This is a very solid album with no real weak tracks & I found it to be a worthy recipient of this month's feature release.

For fans of Godflesh, Ministry & Big Black.

4/5

According to the latest studies, 14 years of age is where this phenomenon is at its strongest.

1. "Crystal Mountain" is comfortably the weakest song on Death's "Symbolic".

2. "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" is Megadeth's best record.

3. "Super Collider" isn't all that bad for a poppy metal record & is superior to four or five of Megadeth's other albums.

4. "Countdown To Extinction" & "Killing Is My Business... And Business is Good!" are both inessential.

5. "Painkiller" is Judas Priest's only genuinely classic album.

*Prepares for the inevitable backlash to my horrifying (but completely honest) claims* :)

Epic US power metal for fans of Manilla Road, Brocas Helm & Omen.

This one unsurprisingly took me a little outside my comfort zone but not in a bad way. I guess I enjoy the concept of epic metal more than I do the actual result in most cases but this release won me over after a few listens. It fits very comfortably under the US power metal banner in my opinion as the epic atmospheres & strong melodic component are built around a base of traditional heavy metal which is a little different to the more speed metal oriented European power metal sound. The fantasy-themed vocals remind me very heavily of Manilla Road's Mark Shelton & I'd be surprised if this wasn't intentional as the Road seem to be the major influence here. Both sides open with the tracks that offer me the most appeal & I was impressed with the chunky, well-composed heavy metal riffage & exciting & expansive lead solos which are easily proficient enough to keep this old shredder on his toes. There are also some doomy sections thrown in here & there which are pretty cool, particularly on closing track "Banners Of Arhai". Unfortunately the more melodic & overtly power metal oriented material doesn't do a lot for me (see "War At The Edge Of The World" & particularly the title track which has a very cheesy chorus) but "Ravening Iron" definitely offers enough to keep my interest without ever really threatening to command regular revisits.

For fans of Manilla Road, Brocas Helm & Omen.

3.5/5

^^^^^^^

Outstanding post right there.

Everyone's opinion is valid here at Metal Academy Andi so don't feel bad for challenging the consensus view. In saying that though, I think you made the right call to pull that nomination as I never found myself questioning the metal credentials of "The Great Cold Distance" across any of my five listens this weekend.

1. King Diamond is a terrible vocalist and the real talent in Mercyful Fate has always been Denner and Shermann.  That withstanding, none of their albums are worthy of nearly half of the praise they receive and all of KD's solo releases are boring.

2. Likewise, Joey Belladonna is an overrated vocalist and Anthrax's output is patchy at best.

3. Voivod have never released a good album and are none of my business.

4. Amon Amarth have been releasing the same album for the last 29 years and it is still boring.

5. The internet has too many fucking lists on it.

6. Iron Maiden were at their best when Paul Di'Anno was on vocals.

7. Meshuggah sacrifice power and passion in their music in favour of unnecessary complexity.

8. AC/DC are massively overrated and nowhere near as influential as fans make them out to be.

Despite the fact that I've grown to love King Diamond over time, I agree that the real gold comes via his accompanying instrumentalists. It wasn't only the guitarists with Mercyful Fate. Drummer Kim Ruzz was absolutely on fire on records like "Melissa" too. I have to admit that I actually prefer some of the King's solo material over Fate's best work & Andy LaRocque is a major component of that. I think it comes down to my age as much as anything as, even though I prefer the darker Fate atmosphere, I can't deny my attraction to the flashier, shreddier solo work.

I really love Joey Belladonna to be honest. He's a major reason for my long-time love of records like "Spreading The Disease" & "Among The Living". Not only can he really sing but he also possesses enormous charisma & brings a level of x-factor that's hard to define.

The internet can never have too many lists. In fact, I think there should be a separate internet specifically for lists. If that was the case I'd probably never visit Google again.

I disagree on the Meshuggah topic. Their complexity is half of the attraction for an old muso like me as it's just so over the top. They're still ridiculously heavy too.

If you spent as much time researching & listening to the NWOBHM as Ben & I did whilst preparing for the Metal Academy podcast you may change your mind on the AC/DC topic. Sure they've released the same album a thousand times in a row but almost every underground NWOBHM band took as much influence from AC/DC as they did from Black Sabbath, Judas Priest (who took their own influence from AC/DC) or Motorhead. I don't think I was prepared for just how important they were to the development of that scene & metal in general. Van Halen too for that matter. 

Here are my general ones

1. Lyrics matter. Bad lyrics ruin good stuff for me, and they always equate into a rating unless I don't understand the language (even then I will translate if possible). Bad lyrics are no different than bad guitar to me. 

2. I don't care about impact or historical significance or anything like that. I listen to music in a vacuum. And thus...

3. 70's metal, in general, is not that great. It's only revered because it came first. Basically one riff and a guitar solo away from Hard Rock. There was almost no innovation for the first decade, whereas the 80's saw a massive explosion in subgenres, technique, delivery, etc. There is not a single 70's metal album I consider a masterpiece, with Judas Priest's Sin After Sin being my favorite, but nowhere near my top.

4. Atmosphere, mood, emotion, delivery > technical skill, prowess, wankery, complexity 

5. Doom Metal is one of my favorite genres, but 80's Doom is really bland. Even Cadlemass is not among my favorite Doom artists. I feel 80's Doom had not yet captured the - as I mention above - atmosphere and mood that it gained in the 90's that made it a truly melancholic genre rather than just a lethargic and boring one.

Here are more specific ones

1. All In Flames albums are great, and their dive into Alternative Metal still makes them one of the most innovative bands ever. One day people will realize these guys basically perfected Pop Metal and once the stigma for that dies I believe they will get the credit they deserve.

2. Since I see the name being thrown around... Thrash Voivod > Prog Voivod

3. Most underground Thrash is better than any of the Big 4 barring Slayer. The other 3 were pretty much Thrash lite and that's probably why they got popular. (I still love them, just love my dark underground Thrash more).

4. St. Anger is not that bad? Not great, but... 

I honestly don't care all that much about lyrics unless they have a significant impact on the atmosphere which I would say is quite rare. I'd also suggest that this wasn't always the case for me though. When I was much younger & had to purchase physical copies of everything I would spend hours & hours pondering over lyric sheets but at the end of the day I'm a musician who cares much more for the sounds coming out of the speakers than I do the lyrics, image or cover art.

I can certainly understand people not getting into 70's metal. I personally only regard one 70's release as a genuine metal classic (i.e. "Paranoid") however I don't agree that there was very little innovation going on. Albums like Black Sabbath's "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", Rainbow's "Rising" or Legend's "From The Fjords" were all pushing metal music forwards in my opinion.

In regards to 80's doom metal, again I can understand where you're coming from there. The traditional model wasn't as targeted as it was the result of a wider array of influences (perhaps the result of rock music being at its absolute peak during the 70's) & isn't for everyone. I think the popularity of party-time hair metal probably encouraged people to provide a response in the other direction by the late 80's.

I like Voivod's first couple of releases but don't think they compare to their next few albums. They only really got going with "Killing Technology" in my opinion.

I think the best work of the Big Four is hard to top. Sure there are bands that were/are more consistent but few can match the mid-to-late 80's output of those four bands.

"St. Anger" really is that bad in my opinion. Unlistenably bad in fact.

What a stunning example of high class alternative metal with a progressive attitude! For fans of Tool, Deftones & Opeth.

I have to say that I'm surprised at your general feelings of lethargy around this album Andi because I get a very different vibe from "A Great Cold Distance". It's anything but commercially accessible in my opinion. It's actually a dark, moody & atmospheric beast that's highly progressive in structure & only opens up upon repeat listens. In fact it's one of those rare releases that possess hooks so subtle that they creep up on you over time, only to have a more long-lasting effect once they dig their teeth in by commanding a greater level of emotional engagement. As justification for this statement, I actually had to give this album a full five listens before passing judgement (I usually go with three) because I found that my feelings were growing exponentially with each revisit & I wanted to give them time to settle. 

The production & performances are nothing short of spectacular & I'm genuinely in awe of Katatonia's class, professionalism & overall consistency. I mean there's not a single track that comes close to failure with more than half of the tracklisting pushing out into classic territory. Jonas Renkse's smooth vocal delivery can sound a touch repetitive & monotonous on first listen as he stays well within himself for the majority of the album however it wasn't long before I realized the suitability of this approach as a foil for the moodier thematic content & atmosphere.

RYM has this record tagged as an alternative metal primary with doom metal & gothic rock secondaries. The secondaries are completely misguided as there's very little of either sound included but how they haven't got progressive metal listed as at least a secondary is anyone's guess. In fact, I'm gonna go with it as a second primary as this release isn't too dissimilar to Tool's post-2000 material & I'd suggest that it'd sit pretty comfortably under The Infinite. 

I honestly didn't think I'd be saying this going into "The Great Cold Distance" but it may have displaced "Brave Murder Day" as my favourite Katatonia release & provides further evidence that the band will be successful at any musical endeavor they undertake. Fans of Tool, Deftones & Opeth should get a lot out of it if they allow it the time to reveal its charms.

4.5/5

I like these spicy hot takes! Here's some of mine:

• Slayer's Reign in Blood is shit. I never cared for Slayer, and even though Seasons in the Abyss is a classic in every sense of the word, most people excuse this album's awful production as part of the charm. It's not.
• Anthrax were (and still are) the best of the big four. But since were on the topic...
• Testament are the best thrash band that came out of the eighties, with the best overall discography of any of the big four, and should have been apart of the big four instead of that meandering solo shit show that is Dave Mustaine's Megadeth.
• Pantera fans are the worst fans in all of metal. Their idolization of this band as a deity who are incapable of critique is honestly terrifying and my favour with the band has deteriorated greatly because of it since the passing of Dimebag.
• Emperor's best album was Prometheus
• Ænima is still Tool's worst album. Even after having Fear Inoculum for over a year.
• Opeth's progressive rock pivot of the 2010s is not as bad as you initially thought.

That's all I got for now. If this thread keeps up and I see some more spicy hot takes, I may update.

What about the production job on "Reign In Blood" doesn't float your boat exactly? I'm intrigued as its generally regarded as the benchmark that all other thrash records are judged against. It's also my all-time favourite metal release.

Despite really loving "Spreading The Disease" & "Among The Living", I'd say that Anthrax are the least substantial of the Big Four personally.

I've never seen Testament as being on the same level as the Big Four. Their first couple of records were obviously very strong but didn't really push the thrash genre forwards & weren't done any favours by their thin production jobs. I don't think I've ever rated one of their records above a 4/5 to be honest. They're the definition of a second tier artist for mine.

I get where you're coming but my recent experiences with Twitter have shown that obsessive Metallica fans are much less tolerable than Pantera's. That platform is literally full of people whose primary mission in life is to try to convince people that Metallica's post-Black Album material is actually comprised of a long list of unheralded classics.

"Prometheus" was a solid release but I'd have to go with the majority on this one. "In The Nightside Eclipse" is the pinnacle of Emperor's career for mine with the releases either side of it rounding out the top three.

I rate "Aenima" as a genuine classic & Tool's second-best album behind "Lateralus.

I agree about Opeth's prog rock era. I don't think that band are capable of producing rubbish.

I'd go so far as to say that I've never heard a melodeath release that I regard as a legitimate classic.

Voivod never have & never will be a thrash metal band.

Not even At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul? That's THE melodeath classic!

I've never heard a lot of people besides you say Voivod isn't thrash metal at all. #6 on your list, Daniel!

No, not even "Slaughter Of The Soul" which I regard as the finest melodeath release I've ever heard.

And with regards to Voivod, Ben & I have often pondered as to why no one has questioned their thrash credentials before because it's always seemed like a stretch to both of us. In fact, since I started advertising my opinions on this topic I've received a general agreement from most people I've spoken to so I stand by my position on that. You don't agree?

Here's some Metallica-related opinions I hold:

1. I'm certainly not saying that I find it to be an enjoyable experience but I'd actually take the "Lulu" collaboration with Lou Reed over "St. Anger", "Load", "Reload" or "Death Magnetic" which I just regard as being nothing more than musical masturbation. The first disk is utterly disgraceful but the second is actually pretty decent if you give it a chance & at least they tried something different instead of chasing further commercial success or presenting poor replications of past glories.

2. Despite the common consensus, "Kill 'Em All" is actually the LEAST thrash metal of Metallica's first four albums. At least half of the tracklisting is made up of traditional heavy metal & speed metal numbers in my opinion.

3. I have no problem with the production on "...And Justice For All". In fact, it's their heaviest, classiest, angriest, thrashiest, most complex & best overall album.

4. Cliff Burton's contribution to Metallica's classic releases is overstated. Yes he was a great bassist but the legendary status he seems to have built up since his death is over the top. He provided good support for the two primary song-writers & taught them a bit of musical theory along the way but he wasn't the primary ingredient in what made Metallica special. It was there before he joined the band & was still there afterwards too.

5. There's nothing wrong with Lars' drumming on the classic Metallica albums.

6. "Creeping Death" actually has a pretty commercial sounding chorus & (even though I really like it) I don't think it's stood the test of time as well as the rest of the album. It's a bit overrated in my opinion.

7. "The Black Album" is actually a pretty solid heavy metal album & doesn't deserve the flack it gets in underground metal circles.

4. Grindcore is just eardrum-piercing noise, and you can't claim you can survive listening to that noise for 24 hours without me thinking that's bullsh*t.

5. The standard gory death metal is overrated, melodic death metal deserves more attention.

9. Why are trance metal and trancecore not equated to each other?! They connect like a puzzle!

10. Voivod's 80s era is as awesome as what people think of other thrash bands from that decade.

Quoted shadowdoom9

4. I disagree. Grindcore can be thoroughly exhilarating when done well.

5. I disagree. Old school death metal is infinitely more appealing than the vast majority of melodeath in my opinion. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I've never heard a melodeath release that I regard as a legitimate classic.

9. I'd argue that a lot of trancecore isn't actually metal whereas I don't generally dispute the claims of trance metal which can actually be pretty heavy even though it's coated in cheese.

10. That's hardly an unpopular opinion Andi. Albums like "Killing Technology", "Dimension Hatross" & "Nothingface" are very highly regarded. And by the way....  Voivod never have & never will be a thrash metal band.

Here are a few of my own unpopular opinions that come to mind...

1. Opeth's Morningrise is the worst of their first 6 albums.

2. Pestilence's Spheres is their best work (or at least on par with Testimony of the Ancients).

3. Dimmu Borgir were at one point a really great band.

4. Everything Hellhammer ever released was fairly shit.

5. The Sound of Perseverance is Death's worst album

1. I agree with Andi on this. "Orchid" wasn't the finished article yet as far as I'm concerned & (despite quite liking it) I've never seen it as being on the same level as the rest of Opeth's extreme metal phase.

2. I can see where you're coming from but I'd go with "Testimony Of The Ancients" personally. Interestingly, the consensus seems to be "Consuming Impulse" these days.

3. I agree but possibly not for the exact same period. I've got 2001-2003. What about you?

4. I agree that the "Death Fiend" & "Triumph Of Death" demos are pretty ordinary but "Satanic Rites" & "Apocalyptic Raids" are definitely worth a listen even if they aren't the classics they're often made out to be in black metal circles & aren't on the same level as Celtic Frost.

5. I'd actually take "The Sound Of Perseverance" over the first three Death records but there are no right answers when it comes to that band. They had arguably the most consistent back catalogue in extreme metal.

For the record, this is easily the best Sabbath live recording I've heard:

If it had of been released as a live album I would have regarded it is a genuine classic.

"Voodoo" is my favourite Dio-fronted Sabbath track & one of my all-time favourites for the heavy metal subgenre overall.

I think all of Ozzy's 80's & 90's solo releases are worth listening to (mainly for the guitarists) but none are essential. "Diary Of A Madman" is the best of them in my opinion as it's a little less commercially focused & a bit darker than "Blizzard Of Ozz".

I might put together a list of Priest-related opinions next because I think you'll find some of my thoughts to be quite shocking. ;)

Here's some of Black Sabbath related ones for ya:

1. Black Sabbath only have one genuinely classic album i.e. "Paranoid".

2. "Cross Purposes" & "Seventh Star" aren't bad records & are significantly better than duds like "Technical Ecstasy" & "Never Say Die!".

3. "Live Evil" is the best Sabbath live album.

4. "Heaven & Hell" is overrated & is actually pretty commercially focused. "Mob Rules" is much better.

5. "Vol. 4" isn't all that it's cracked up to be & is comfortably the weakest of Sabbath's first six. "Dehumanizer" & "Headless Cross" are better records.

This should be fun. Here's my responses:

1. "The Number of The Beast" was the most sophisticated metal album released to the time & a significant step up from the Dianno years which were OK but massively overrated in my opinion. In fact, neither "Iron Maiden" or "Killers" made my NWOBHM top ten list.

2. "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" is the second best heavy metal album of all time behind "Somewhere In Time" in my opinion. I find "Piece Of Mind" to be the weakest of the Dickinson-fronted Maiden albums of the 1980's, mainly due to a dud track & a dodgy production job.

3. "Defenders of the Faith" is the second best Priest studio album behind "Painkiller".

4. Pretty much agree with that.

5. Disagree. He's certainly divisive but his unpredictability, personality, durability & overall talent make him a pretty special member of the Hall.

6. Disagree although there's not much between them. "Overkill" is Motorhead's best studio album for mine.

7. I agree that it's not that bad an album however "Divine Intervention" is massively underrated & is a step up from anything they did afterwards. The only Slayer albums not worth my time are "Undisputed Attitude" & "World Painted Blood".

8. Post-metal is most certainly metal & can in fact be some of the most intense you'll find.

9. Completely agree.

10. Completely agree. I don't think that's an unpopular opinion either.

11. Completed disagree. Pantera were light-years ahead of Machine Head.

12. Couldn't disagree more. Death sit amongst the top three death metal bands of all time.

Classic New York death metal for fans of Incantation, Morbid Angel & early Gorguts.

"Here In After" is of course a very solid slab of traditional death metal although it's not without its flaws. There's not a huge amount of variety on offer but I can accept that from a band whose primary focus is on brutality & the creation of dark atmospheres. My main concern is with the performances as Immolation do tend to sound a little sloppy here at times, particularly in the drumming department which causes several sections to break down into a bit of a mess. Thankfully the previously mentioned atmosphere is always evident & the consistency of the tracklisting allows the band to hold my interest throughout. Besides, I can't deny that I love the death metal sound in its purest form & the interesting guitar solos always get me with their unique approach to melody & phrasing. "Here In After" is a clear step down from my favourite Immolation record in 2000's classic "Close To A World Below" but you can't really go wrong with it if you're a fan of Incantation, Morbid Angel & early Gorguts.

4/5

Xephyr, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy your reviews & don't see much necessity to make any changes to your current model. You always have a well-informed & well-defined opinion that I universally respect even though I may not always see things the same way as you due to our differing backgrounds & tastes.

There are a couple of points that I'd like to make on reviews in general though:

1. I always like to see people providing some detail around their previous experience with the band in question & their back catalogue at the start of their reviews. I think this helps people to understand the reviewer's relationship with the album/band/subgenre a little better before hearing their opinion. You'll see that my first paragraphs generally try to set the scene in this way.

2. If someone includes a track-by-track analysis in their review then I either skip that section or stop reading altogether. I see very little value in putting together extravagant descriptions of every track for people that more often than not have no prior experience with the release & therefore have no sense of context. It simply doesn't mean anything to me & comes across more as a platform for the author to show off their writing skills more than anything of value to the reader. 99% of the time when I read a review I just want to find out what the overall album sounds like & couldn't care less if track 5 has a longer breakdown than the tracks around it or the closing number is the fastest on the tracklisting. I'll find that out if/when I listen to the release myself.

3. I find reviews that recycle information from the internet or other reviews to be pretty pointless.  I'm looking to hear people's personal perspectives & don't want a summary of what other people think or of the content of the band's Wikipedia page. A lot of the time when you read reviews that take this approach you find that the reviewer's opinions on the release tend to follow the common consensus too & that defeats the purpose of reviewing an album. I like to read fresh opinions that ask new & interesting questions & for that reason I'd encourage people not to read up on releases before reviewing them if at all possible.

To clarify saxy, RYM lists atmospheric sludge metal as a child of both sludge metal & post metal simultaneously.

Interesting thoughts saxy. I actually think the idea of playing the two releases over the top of each other is a huge wank &, after careful consideration, I chose to rate the album on the individual disks alone as they totally blow me away without ever needing to layer them & that's the way the release comes on Spotify. I honestly can't remember what the layered version sounds like to tell you the truth but I completely agree with you that if the album was genuinely meant to be listened to in that fashion then surely it would have been released that way to begin with.

This pointless hidden track from Devin Townsend's "Terria" album actually caused me to drop my score a half mark.

This one's more Black Sabbath inspired than it is thrashy.

I've been really enjoying this classy little instrumental piece from this month's feature release this morning. For fans of Porcupine Tree, Leprous & Haken.

I actually didn't enjoy "Terria" much on my first encounter with it back in 2009 & have subsequently given it the cold shoulder ever since. After giving it a few spins over the last couple of days I can easily see why I struggled with it initially too as it takes me well outside of my musical comfort zone into some fairly uplifting, joyous & at times quite quirky spaces. Those terms are generally the polar opposite of where my taste bracket lies but I'm glad that I've given the album another chance this week because I feel like I've started to discover its charms. The glistening production, high quality performances & expansive prog rock inspired sound are no doubt impressive & any fanatical music fan is likely to give in to them eventually. In saying that though, I don't think that I can say honestly that I regard any of the tracklisting as a genuine classic which was certainly not the case with an album like Devin's "Ocean Machine: Biomech" debut which is a personal favourite of mine. I just don't think the hooks are strong enough (with the possible exception of "Stagnant" which is still a touch too cheesy to claim classic status). On the other hand, the tracklisting is generally very consistent with only the closing hidden track "Humble" representing any sort of failure. And a significant failure it is too because I ended up dropping my score a half mark due to the fact that I couldn't get my five & a half minutes of wasted time back after having to endure that artistic travesty. Overall, I can't say I'm likely to be returning to "Terria" all that often but it's definitely proven a point to me & I've enjoyed the experience much more than I thought I would.

For fans of Porcupine Tree, Leprous & Haken.

3.5/5

I think that this is more of a debate on the validity of the entire atmospheric sludge metal subgenre tag than it is on the tagging of this particular release Andi. I mean by the commonly accepted meaning of the term this release fits in well enough with records of the same tagging but my issue is that there's no real necessity for this subgenre to exist when most of the releases it contains are much closer to post-metal & post-rock than they are to sludge, doom & hardcore. A vocal style shouldn't dictate a primary subgenre in my opinion as there are many other elements that need to be considered.

Regardless, I believe that RYM is the only major site that references atmospheric sludge metal. Ben & I intend on reviewing the whole Metal Academy subgenre tree situation shortly so we might leave this topic to be discussed during that process.

I have say that "The Galilean Satellites" is yet another example of just how unnecessary the "atmospheric sludge metal" tag is. As with the vast majority of releases that receive that tag, there's really not much sludge metal on this release other than the vocal delivery. Sludge metal is essentially a brand of doom metal that's infused with hardcore punk & there's nothing hardcore or doom about this release. It's a true post-metal release in every sense of the term in my opinion. Lengthy, drawn-out tracks? Check! The use of textures & atmosphere over traditional riffs? Check! The strong use of repetition & the subtle layering of different elements in order to build tension over time? Check! Huge noisy crescendos to release that tension? Check! A strong focus on ambience, experimentation & artistic expression? Check! In fact, "The Galilean Satellites" sits far more comfortably in The Infinite than it does in The Fallen in my opinion.

Your thoughts on this Andi?