Daniel's Forum Replies

Ben, please add Pighead (Germany) & Provocation (Germany).

Aggressive mid-80's thrash metal from New Jersey. For fans of Slayer & Dark Angel.

1987's "Destined For Extinction" is another underrated piece of mid-80's Slayer/Dark Angel worship. Or perhaps I'm just a sucker for this nasty over the top style thrash.

Blessed Death - "Destined For Extinction" (1987)

Sonny & Vinny, I recommend that you give this one a shot for some mid-80's Slayer/Dark Angel style US thrash.

Blessed Death - "Destined For Extinction" (1987)

I didn't have much time for 1985's "Kill Or Be Killed" debut from New Jersey outfit Blessed Death which is often linked to thrash but was actually more of a speed metal record. However their 1987 follow-up record "Destined For Extinction" is another kettle of fish altogether with the band having fully transitioned into an aggressive thrash outfit in line with the model that some of America's more brutal thrash exponents were pushing at the time. The production isn't wonderful but the dirty sound seems to suit the band's nastier approach & you can always make out what's going on so it's not an issue at all. Vocalist Larry Portelli may be a sticking point for some with his seemingly random use of high-pitched screams but (with the exception of the very ordinary "Pray For Death") I can comfortably deal with him most of the time.

At the end of the day this album takes me back to my roots. It's nothing you haven't heard before & I don't think they ever quite nail the song-writing quality to compete with the top tier bands but all fans of 83-86 period Slayer & "Darkness Descends"-era Dark Angel should find a lot to enjoy here. Blessed Death tip toe around the Slayer plagiarism line pretty closely at times with the solo sections in particular being a carbon copy of Slayer's most frantic & extreme works but (as I said with my recent Exumer review) that can't be a bad thing as classic Slayer is simply the best music ever recorded in my opinion.

4/5

Hi Andi. There is a possibility of allowing a fifth clan in the future but it's not on our radar at this stage. If we ever do it we definitely won't be allowing a sixth.

But in saying that, I think it's important for everyone to remember what the purpose of the clans are before we discuss adding any more additional clan options. The reality is that the actual individuals involved don't benefit at all from being a member of an additional clan. The whole clan concept means that it's the overall site that benefits from having only well informed people being part of each clan & therefore giving the charts & overall ratings more meaning. Also, I challenge anyone to tell me that they're fanatical about five different clans. You'll find that 99% of the time there are only portions of some of those clans that appeal to them. For example, if you became a member of The Fallen because you love Drone Metal & are partial to a bit of Stoner Metal here & there, there's every chance that you'll rate releases from the other subgenres that are covered under The Fallen & give negatively slanted scores which will in turn dilute the clan ratings system. Particularly if you're completing Clan Challenges. It was for this reason that I gave up my membership of The North despite holding black metal as one of my favourite subgenres. 

So what I'm trying to say is that I recommend that everyone keeps the best interests of the site in mind when choosing their clans. Look at the overall subgenres that are included under each clan & choose the ones that are the best fit for your personal tastes. It really doesn't matter if you like a subgenre that's covered by another clan as long as you are well informed & enthusiastic about the clans that you ARE a part of. You can always complete additional challenges from other clans at your leisure anyway.

There are no alternative accounts allowed on Metal Academy I'm afraid Andi. It defeats the purpose of what we're trying to achieve.

I've got it sitting in my plsylist for the next couple of weeks so I'll get back to you.

The Knife - "Silent Shout" (2006)

The fourth album from this Swedish electropop duo. I don't mind it.

Obituary's "Cause Of Death" & Sepultura's "Arise" immediately spring to mind as personal favourite album covers.

I have absolutely no idea how you're not a member of The Guardians Andi. 

I actually think the shorter pieces are the best parts of the album. "Planets", "25th Floor" & "Kaleidoscope" are absolutely stunning in their scope & execution. It was amazing to hear a band stepping outside of the comfort zone in such emphatic fashion. "Do You Dream Of Me?" is my pick of the proper songs.

Amongst the most emotionally charged & thoroughly beautiful pieces of lead guitar work ever recorded in my opinion.

I finally got around to giving "Wildhoney" a revisit over the last couple of days & I have to say that I still fucking love it. It's just so classy & may be my favourite gothic metal release overall. I'd actually suggest that less the half of the runtime is actually metal with a variety of interesting influences (The Cure, Dead Can Dance, Pink Floyd, etc.) being utilized to create something genuinely original & thoroughly captivating. The guitar solos are the clear highlight. That lead tone is utterly sensational & the execution is quite stunning too.

4.5/5

Some decent New York hardcore inspired crossover thrash.

Ben, please add Pestilential Shadows (Australia).

Ben, please add Pathology (USA).

Ben, please add Pantheist (Belgium).

One of the true classics of the traditional doom metal movement. That riiiiiiiffffff….. oh that rrrriiiiifffffff!!!!!

Some high energy speed metal from one of the mainstays of Canadian thrash.

Razor - "Custom Killing" (1987)

Razor's fourth album features the same sort of early-Slayer-meets-Venom style thrash & speed metal as their earlier releases however this time it comes with an unsatisfactory production job that leaves the rhythm guitars miles too far back in the mix. Thankfully the band's natural energy is able to overcome this obstacle. Particularly a couple of the speed metal numbers which is where I find Razor to be at their best at this stage in their careers. They've always had a dirty, grimy edge to them that's still well in effect here too but this time they've also tried their hand at a couple of 11 minute thrash epics which both seem to work pretty well. I think "Custom Killing" deserves a touch more credit than it gets to be honest as I quite like it. How bad is this cover artwork though?! Anyone else pick up a strong Overkill vibe from that white devil skull thing?

3.5/5

Ben, please add Ouroboros (Australia).

Ben, please add Otep (USA).

Ben, please add Otargos (France).

No problem at all. I’d be interested to get your take on that a Exumer record too actually.

Ben, please add Omnihility (USA) & Orphalis (Germany).

christangrant, given your strong passion for classic Slayer, I think you might really dig this one. Give it a few spins & let us know what you think.

This album is terribly underrated. I think it's mainly due to fans of the traditional rough & ready Teutonic thrash sound taking offense to the obviously more US influenced u-turn Exumer have taken here. If you like mid-80's Slayer then you should be all over it although you'll undoubtedly be able to pick out the exact tracks they're trying to emulate.

Exumer - "Rising From The Sea" (1987)

A genuine melodeath classic from the originators of the subgenre.

Carcass - "Heartwork" (1993)

This album has traditionally always been my favourite melodic death metal record but my recent revisit to At the Gates' "Slaughter Of The Soul" has forced me to question that. So what was the result? Wwwwwweeeeeellllllll…. it was very fucking close but I think I'm gonna have to go with "Slaughter Of The Soul" in a photo finish.

4/5

Peak time Teutonic thrash metal that sounds a hell of a lot like mid-80's Slayer. I fucking love it!

Exumer - "Rising From The Sea" (1987)

Am I the only one who finds German thrashers Exumer's least celebrated sophomore effort to be better than their highly regarded debut "Possessed By Fire" from the previous year? From my brief googling it would seem to be that way. Everyone seems to say that it was a bit of a misfire with flat riffs & very little energy but I can't for the life of me see where that opinion's coming from. Sure it's not as raw, is slightly more accomplished musically & is a complete & utter rip-off of "Hell Awaits" & "Reign In Blood" era Slayer but metal doesn't get any better than classic Slayer & the band do a pretty good job at interpreting it so who fucking cares. The new vocalist is pretty bad ass too & he contributes a more than decent Tom Araya impression. Despite a stupid two minute S.O.D. style comedy number I find this to be a massively underrated record.

4/5

Ben, please add Oceano (USA).

Ben, please add Nox Aurea (Sweden) & Omega Massif (Germany).

Ben, please add Nothing Sacred (Australia).

Ben, please add Norse (Australia) & Nox (Netherlands).

Next level funeral doom metal from Birmingham.

The fact that blackgaze is regarded as a metal subgenre means that we'll be including all releases that fall under that label. I mean one of the biggest reasons for wanting to create this website in the first place was our frustration with other sites that black mark certain subgenres of metal just because they don't like them or don't think they fit into their personal idea of what metal should be (I'm looking at you Reddit & Metal Archives). So we won't be omitting them.

But as for whether I personally regard these releases as being metal or not, in my experience I do. I don't think there's really much doubt that records like Deafheaven's "Sunbather", Alcest's "Écailles de lune", Woods of Desolation's "Torn Beyond Reason" or Lantlôs' ".neon" are metal based. I think people's questioning about their metal credentials is based more around their BLACK metal credentials than metal overall as they certainly have a different atmosphere to what a lot of people are comfortable with in their black metal. It can be one that's very much in direct contract with the black metal philosophy but I don't mind being challenged artistically & find that I really like some of these releases. Alcest however are simply not for me.

The Swedish Gods of the djent subgenre flexing their muscles in emphatic fashion.

Ben, please add Nidingr (Norway).

Ben, please add Nephelium (UAE) & Neuraxis (Canada).

UK grindcore/thrashcore.

Early UK grindcore/thrashcore ala Napalm Death, Heresy, Carcass & Terrorizer.

My revised list after revisiting the diSEMBOWELMENT record today: 

25. Deicide - "Deicide" (1990)   

24. Obituary - "Cause Of Death" (1990)   

23. Suffocation - "Effigy Of The Forgotten" (1991)   

22. My Dying Bride - "Turn Loose The Swans" (1993)   

21. Entombed - "Clandestine" (1991)   

20. Morbid Angel - "Blessed Are The Sick" (1991)   

19. Metallica - "Master Of Puppets" (1986)   

18. Darkthrone - "Transilvanian Hunger" (1994)   

17. Carcass - "Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious" (1991)   

16. ISIS - "Panopticon" (2004)   

15. Neurosis - "Souls At Zero" (1992)  

14. Slayer - "South Of Heaven" (1988)   

13. Immolation - "Close To A World Below" (2000)   

12. Suffocation - "Pierced From Within" (1995)   

11. Boris - "Boris At Last -Feedbacker-" (2003)   

10. Alice In Chains - "Dirt" (1992)   

09. Death - "Human" (1991)   

08. Morbid Angel - "Altars Of Madness" (1989)   

07. Metallica - "...And Justice For All" (1988)   

06. diSEMBOWELMENT - "Transcendence Into The Peripheral" (1993)   

05. ISIS - "The Mosquito Control" E.P. (1998)   

04. Sunn O))) - "Black One" (2005)   

03. Deathspell Omega - "Kenose" E.P. (2005)   

02. Burzum - "Filosofem" (1996)   

01. Slayer - "Reign In Blood" (1986)

Possibly the best track to ever come out of the Australian metal scene in my opinion. Absolutely crushing yet stunningly beautiful death doom metal with unsurpassed atmosphere.

Ben, please add Negligence (Slovenia).

Ben, please add Unseen Terror (UK), Napoleon Skullfukk (Finland) & Necros Christos (Germany).

Ben, please add Murmur (USA).

Ben, please add Mortem (Russia) & Mortician (USA).

Welcome Jamey! So glad you could join us. I'm curious to hear your story on how you were eventually drawn to the dark side if you'd care to share. What was that moment when you realized you were a metalhead?