Daniel's Forum Replies
"Black Future" is certainly a very interesting record & I regard it as Vektor's best work but I still can't that say I've ever felt it deserving of the classic status that so many critics seem to label it with. I'd describe it as a cross between the technical thrash metal of Coroner & Sadus & the progressive metal of Voivod with little bits of the more melodic Swedish black/death metal bands like Dissection or At The Gates tossed in here & there. All of that sounds brilliant on paper but in reality I only find myself saying "Yeah I quite like this" instead of "FFFUUUUCCCKKKINNNNN YYYEEAAAHHHHH!!!!". It's just missing something for me & I feel very similarly about later works like "Terminal Redux" too. They're high quality thrash records but I struggle with overall engagement at times.
3.5/5
My relationship with Opeth goes right back to their 1995 debut album "Orchid" & I religiously checked out every subsequent release & invariably got a lot of enjoyment out of them however I can't say that I ever regarded an Opeth record as a genuinely classic release until "Blackwater Park". For me, it was the culmination of everything they'd been working towards for the previous decade & it finally opened me up to the sort of adoration that Ben had been throwing at the band for 5 or 6 years up to that point. It's not my favourite Opeth record. That honour belongs to 2002's follow-up "Deliverance" but there can be no denying the class & consistency of "Blackwater Park". It's a wonderful record in my opinion.
4.5/5
Andi, are you already onboard with this one? If not then I'd suggest you get on it.
The highlight of The Dillinger Escape Plan's one-off collaboration with Faith No More/Fantomas/Mr. Bungle/Tomahawk front man Mike Patton. Superbly interesting & unique mathcore.
The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton - "Irony Is A Dead Scene" E.P. (2002)
I'm really enjoying this little collaboration between two big names at the moment. The usual Dillinger intensity has been somewhat off-set by the avant-garde experi(mental) stylings of Patton which makes it really interesting as you never quite know what to expect next. In fact, I was surprised to discover that Patton's influence has extended far further than I would have thought likely as you could be forgiven for thinking this was a Mr. Bungle record during certain sections. The Aphex Twin cover version was a nice surprise too although it doesn't quite match the original for twisted scare-factor. "Irony Is A Dead Scene" is a unique alternative for fans of either artist should satisfy those who enjoy Converge, Mr. Bungle & Car Bomb.
4/5
Interestingly, I bought the standard "The Angel & The Dark River" CD (i.e. not the digipack) immediately upon release & "The Sexuality Of Bereavement" was included on it so I don't think it was limited to the digipack.
Turbo - "Ostatni wojownik" (1987)
Sonny & Vinny, I think you might enjoy this raw & sophisticated early Polish thrash record. I'm really digging it at the moment. It's classy & consistent with excellent musicianship & a raspy European vocal delivery. The band always sounds in control whilst always maintaining that dirty Teutonic edge.
Raw & Sophisticated early Polish thrash metal for fans of KAT, Destruction & Coroner.
Turbo - "Ostatni wojownik" (1987)
Raw & sophisticated Polish thrash metal with speed metal influences & an over the top raspy European vocal delivery for fans of KAT, Destruction & Coroner. In fact, this was the earliest Polish thrash release that I'm aware of & it makes an extremely good fist of it too. It has a clear Teutonic edge to it whilst also maintaining the classy execution of the US thrash sound. Turbo started as a more than decent hard rock band & I quite enjoyed their 1983 debut album "Dorosle dzieci" but this is not only a completely different kettle of fish but also a clear step up from that record.
4/5
The new album from Japanese drone/stoner/noise/post metal outfit Boris entitled "No" which is due to be released on 3rd July.
The new single from Atlanta alternative metal establishment Sevendust. It's a cover version of Soundgarden's "The Day I Tried To Live".
The new single from crazy LA death metal outfit Brujeria entitled "COVID-666".
The new single from Justin Broadrick's shoegaze/post-rock project Jesu entitled "Because Of You" which is taken from his upcoming E.P. entitled "Never" which is due for release on 1st July.
Ripping Canadian death/thrash for fans of Slayer, Possessed & 1980's Morbid Angel.
So I checked out Witches Hammer's "Damnation Is My Salvation" album over the last couple of days & I really liked it. In short, it's a death/thrash hybrid with hints at black metal. In fact, I can't believe that no one has voted for death metal primary on RYM because it's close to being the major element on display here. These guys have both feet firmly planted in the 1980's with their sound sitting right between the first couple of Slayer records & 1980's Morbid Angel (i.e. my two favourite bands ever). Very much where Possessed & early Protector reside actually. The occasional hint at black metal brings to mind pre-"In The Nightside Eclipse" Emperor. The performances aren't pristine & the production sounds very much of that era which gives everything an added feeling of forboding darkness & old-school authenticity. I absolutely love this release from an atmospheric & stylistic point of view but I think some of the bouncier thrash beats bring things back to the pack a little. As does the fact that Witches Hammer don't really hide their influences all that well ((see "Witches Hammer" for example which is clearly a reworking of Slayer's "Black Magic"). It's a well received 4/5 rating from me though as I feel this is a release that I'll be returning to quite often in the near future.
You seem to understand my musical taste pretty well Xephyr. Thanks for the heads up!
P.S. Sonny & Ben, you'll both really dig this.
The Field - "From Here We Go Sublime" (2007)
Outstanding minimal tech house from Sweden. A couple of really big tracks from my DJ days on this one.
The very solid opener from Neue Deutsche Härte's finest hour. For fans of Eisbrecher, Oomph! & Lindemann.
So I've finally gotten around to giving "Mutter" a few spins over the last couple of days which is likely my first experience with the Neue Deutsche Härte subgenre overall. My initial impressions weren't good as I found this music to be overly simplistic & more than a little cheesy. Interestingly though, the song-writing really opened up on my third listen & I ended up finding "Mutter" to be a pretty fun listen even though it's never likely to become a regular as far as return visits go. For fans of Eisbrecher, Oomph! & Lindemann.
3.5/5
Hhmmmm... a quick read of some of the reviews tells me that this release will almost certainly satisfy my undying craving for raw & brutal underground thrash. Thanks for the heads up Xephyr. It's gone onto my playlist for next week.
I've just added a new list to the Metal Academy Lists section. You can now find "Daniel's Top Ten Early Teutonic Thrash Releases (1984-1986)" here:
https://metal.academy/lists/single/68
I have no doubt that this one will prove to be controversial... as much for its omissions as for its inclusions. Please feel free to post your own versions of the list here for discussion.
Mid-80's Teutonic thrash with a noticeable US flavour. For fans of Testament, mid-80's Megadeth & early Angel Dust.
Paradox - "Product Of Imagination" (1987)
The debut album from this German four-piece whose sound is a blend of thrash, speed & heavy metal with thrash being the major component. They sound much more American than they do German & fans of Testament, mid-80's Megadeth & early Angel Dust should find plenty to enjoy here.
3.5/5
I agree with you here illusionist & it's certainly not just the vocals. Many of the riff structures of very similar to "Human"-era Death & quite frankly we need to be differentiating this sort of release from the Dream Theater's & Queensryche's of the prog metal world.
One of my all-time favourite progressive death metal tunes. For fans of Atheist, "Spheres"-era Pestilence & the second half of Death's career.
Thrashy Californian heavy metal from 1987. For fans of Metal Church, Queensryche & Overkill.
Lååz Rockit - "Know Your Enemy" (1987)
The third album from these Californian thrashers is generally regarded as their first genuine thrash record after their first two efforts owed just as much to traditional heavy metal but I have to say that I still hear a little more Queensryche-style heavy metal than thrash on this one. That's not necessarily a bad thing mind you as there's some excellent musicianship & some good thrashy riffage on offer. Unfortunately "Know Your Enemy" suffers from some dodgy song-writing though with a few tracks having subpar choruses that don't flow with the rest of the songs. They've also included a silly joke song at the end which is always a bad decision as far as I'm concerned. These flaws are a bit of a shame as there's enough quality on offer to see this release pushing for a higher score than has been achieved. In saying that though, I'd suggest that this was still Lååz Rockit's best work to the time. For fans of Metal Church, Queensryche & Overkill.
3.5/5
The new live album from German Thrash metallers Destruction entitled ""Born to Thrash - Live in Germany" which is due to be released on 17th July.
The new album from Massachusetts deathcore outfit The Acacia Strain entitled "Slow Decay" which is due for release on 17th July.
The low point of Jamie Christopherson's "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Vocal Tracks" video game soundtrack from 2013. Horrible stuff!
Jamie Christopherson - "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Vocal Tracks" (2013)
This overrated release highlights yet another of the many advantages that Metal Academy enjoys over a site like RYM where video game soundtracks like this one almost universally receive overly-inflated scores. This is due to the large percentage of ratings that are submitted by video game fans who have no business rating a metal release & likely haven't even listened to the soundtrack as a purely musical piece of art. Metal Academy 1 RYM 0.
A stunningly stripped-back & atmospheric mix of an already very solid cyber metal anthem. For fans of Neurotech, Deathstars & Sybreed.
Sounds like a very laborious task for Ben to implement Sonny. I'm all for it!
OK, so I'm hearing that it can be done. NICE! I'm really looking forward to it!
I don’t really think it’s as relevant for label lists to be honest. Would you have to add the feature to ALL of the list pages? Couldn’t it just be for the Metal Academy Lists & Clan Challenges pages? Even then, we’d still have some lists like “Daniel’s Top Ten Releases Of 1983” which aren’t clan specific but I just thought that those wouldn’t have a filter category at all (i.e. if you select any clan they aren’t displayed) or they have a generic one for lists which relate to all genres.
Wow! Despite it's serious praise on other websites, this release has been pretty much a universal failure here. This is why Metal Academy is so good a reference point for your more discerning metalheads in my opinion. We have a bunch of very well informed metal obsessives who call 'em purely as they see 'em & it will eventually see our charts being far more relevant than our oppositions in my opinion.
I'd still like to see a clan filter option on the METAL ACADEMY LISTS page as I'd like to expand it in the future & think it's already pretty cluttered.
I've sent an email to the new Dani to see if he also created the other account.
Quoted Ben
Do the email addresses give it away?
The brand new album from Greek death metal outfit Echidna entitled "Escape From Civilization" which was released a couple of days ago. It's been a full ten years since their 2010 debut album "Manifests of Human Existence" which I wasn't a huge fan of.
Bay Area metal icons MACHINE HEAD have released ‘Civil Unrest’, a 2-song digital single, featuring A-side, ‘Stop The Bleeding’ and B-side, ‘Bulletproof’, with the former featuring additional guest vocals from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman, Jesse Leach. This pair of fierce protest anthems were both written days after the back-to-back murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. They are not for the faint of heart.
The gritty performance video was directed and edited by Mike Sloat, shot on location on the streets of Oakland, CA, with Jesse’s part filmed in Kingston, NY with David Brodsky.
Vocalist / guitarist Robb Flynn shares the inspiration behind the release:
“I wrote and sang the lyrics on Wednesday May 27th 2020, the day that the four officers who murdered George Floyd were (originally) not charged with anything. This day was engulfed in protests and riots across America. I drove into Oakland, past large demonstrations already happening and in a fury wrote down everything I was feeling after watching the horrific footage. Within hours, what I wanted to say, what I needed to say had been recorded in the song.”
“I decided to sing it over a song called ‘Stop The Bleeding’, that we had recorded back in December. 2018 with Jared [MacEachearn, MACHINE HEAD bass guitar] and Carlos Cruz [Warbringer] on drums.
‘Stop The Bleeding’ features a guest appearance from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman, Jesse Leach, seeing Flynn and Leach trading lyrical lines that spit anger and frustration at current events.
Flynn continues, “I had been speaking with Jesse for maybe 6 months about singing on the song, as it always had a little bit of a Killswitch vibe to me. Unfortunately (or fortunately), our schedules hadn’t lined up, but with the subsequent lockdown from coronavirus, we had time to make it work. After what happened to George Floyd, I sent him the lyrics I’d written and he replied saying he was “100% on board”. Jesse is someone I consider to be a pioneer and in many ways, one of the men who changed the face of metal. His contribution to this song made it extremely powerful and it’s an honor to have him be a part of it.”
Jesse Leach mirrors the sentiment, stating, “Being asked to be part of this song is an honor. Yes, because it’s Machine Head, but more importantly, this is a message that needs to be heard and spread. These issues concerning abuses of power and racism are timeless. I have written about these previously and I’ll write about them again. I think Robb really nailed this one, both lyrically and sonically. My hope is this song helps awaken those who hear it. Robb has been a frequent voice of the voiceless in these times, so teaming up with him is a no brainer. We need more of our Metal Community to speak out on social issues and help raise awareness, especially during these crucial times. Music is the soundtrack to our lives, it transcends language and culture. This is the reason we as musicians need to do our part to spark thought and discussion on these types of issues. We can make a difference through music and we can help stop the bleeding.”
MACHINE HEAD are donating a significant portion of their streaming proceeds from ‘Stop The Bleeding’ to http://grassrootslaw.org, the organization representing George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
The B-side, ‘Bulletproof’ is a new song, also recorded with Carlos and Jared back in December 2018. Flynn adds, “The lyrics for ‘Bulletproof’ were finished in the aftermath of not only the Ahmaud Arbery murder at the hands of white supremacist, but everything twisting out of control in our World. The isolation and craziness of the pandemic, the lockdown protesters storming government buildings with AR-15‘s, as well as the blatant lies and conspiracies pouring out of our political leaders mouths, hour by hour, day after day.”
The songs needed something visually provocative as ‘sleeve artwork’, so the band looked to longtime collaborator Strephon Taylor who hand illustrated various elements from this moment in time, to make a powerful statement about America and the World.
Both tracks were produced by Robb Flynn (Machine Head, Roadrunner United, Sworn Enemy, Dress The Dead) and engineered by Zack Ohren at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, CA, with the devastating mix being handled by long-time MACHINE HEAD collaborator and producer extraordinaire, Colin Richardson, together with Chris Clancy at Audioworks Productions UK. The tracks were mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound.
I'd guess that they're actually the same person Andi. Can you check that please Ben?
This should be right up your alley Sonny. Sounds like Sodom meets Slayer.
Amongst the best examples of mid-80's Teutonic thrash metal. For fans of Sodom, Slayer & Assassin.
Violent Force - "Malevolent Assault Of Tomorrow" (1987)
The sole album from this unheralded German thrash metal outfit. It's a very solid release too & will definitely appeal to fans of Sodom, Slayer & Assassin.
4/5
I love the monthly feature concept & think it would really work to open provide further input into those monthly discussions. Plus is might reduce my workload a touch too as I potentially wouldn't have to paste in an explanation of the relevance of the thread every time for new players.
The album cover ratings concept isn't something that I'd use all that often in all honesty as I've never really cared too much about recording my feelings on anything but the music. I can see how appealing it is for others though & would encourage it's inclusion purely as a differentiator as I've never seen another site that does it.
The today-in-metal concept is pretty cool however it does sound like you'd need to facilitate this every single day Ben. Or could you automate it by choosing the releases in advance maybe?
Sleep - "Sleep's Holy Mountain" (1992)
Have you heard this classic stoner metal record Chris Van Etten & SilentScream213?
Extremely heavy stoner doom from San Jose, California. The main riff is clearly influenced by "Sabbath Bloody Sabbat" before an "N.I.B." bass line kicks in around the halfway mark & the lead guitar work goes all "Electric Funeral" on your ass. For fans of Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard & "The Ethereal Mirror" period Cathedral.
The new E.P. from Canadian progressive metallers Voivod entitled "The End Of Dormancy" which is due for release on 10th July. The E.P. is centred around a new version of "The Wake" track "The End Of Dormancy", which has been titled "The End Of Dormancy (Metal Section)". It has an brass section comprising of saxophone, trombone and trumpet.
The new single from Massachusetts deathcore outfit The Acacia Strain entitled "Y".
The ripping opening track from the third album from these Brazilian crossover thrash legends. Fans of DRI, SOD & Suicidal Tendencies should really dig this.
Ratos de Porão - "Cada dia mais sujo e agressivo" (1987)
Ratos de Porão's third album would see them transforming themselves from a traditional hardcore/crust punk outfit into a genuine crossover thrash band; the first of any note to come out of Brazil. Some good aggressive up-tempo thrash on offer here despite a raw & muddy production. Fans of DRI, SOD & Suicidal Tendencies should find enjoyment here.
3.5/5