Daniel's Forum Replies

This one's for you Andi.

Superb Icelandic post-metal for fans of Agalloch, Russian Circles & Toundra. This particular track shows off Solstafir's black metal roots with a vocal performance that reminds me heavily of Primordial's  A.A. Nemtheanga.

It may have taken me a long time to get around to giving this album a spin but boy was it worth the effort because I absolutely loved it. In truth, "Kold" is probably a little more post-rock than it is post-metal but the professionalism this band is capable of in creating these textured soundscapes is quite remarkable. The emotive vocals sound a lot like Primordial's A.A. Nemtheanga at times & Anathema's Vincent Cavanagh at others. The use of post-rock's trademark long repetitive build-ups moving into immense climaxes technique is beautifully executed & there's a class about everything Solstafir do here. "Kold" is not a single listen undertaking by any means. It's very long & only opens up after several listens however I strongly encourage you to give it a few spins & see if it's for you. For fans of Agalloch, Russian Circles & Toundra.

4.5/5

01. War Pigs

02. Black Sabbath

03. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

04. Snowblind

05. Symptom Of The Universe

06. Sweet Leaf

07. Iron Man

08. Hole In The Sky

09. Planet Caravan

10. N.I.B.

I accidentally voted YES instead of NO here & apparently Ben can’t easily change it so you’ve got a handy head start here Andi.

Ben, please add the Boris with Merzbow album “Rock Dream”.

To be fair Andi, melodic death metal is one of the more populous subgenres included in The Horde so it isn't really one of the ones I'm referring to.

Chris Van Etten, have you got any track suggestions for inclusion in the September The Sphere Playlist?

Sonny, Ben, Vinny, Chris... got any suggestions for the September The Pit playlist (max three each)?

Sonny, Ben, Xephyr.... got a few track suggestions for the September The North playlist (max three each)?

Xephyr & saxy, do you have a few track submissions for the September The Infinite playlist from your August listening sessions (max. three each)?

Ben, have you got a few recommendations for the September The Horde playlist?

Xephyr, Vinny, Saxy.... any track suggestions from your August playlists for inclusion in the September The Guardians clan playlist? Please keep it to a maximum of three tracks per person.

Sorry Andi. We decided that we're only taking suggestions from clan members so as to keep the playlists clan relevant.

Saxy, do you have any suggestions for the September playlist?

Andi, Ben, Chris Van Etten.... I'm just putting the September list together at the moment. Got any track suggestions from stuff you've listened to in August? Let's try to keep it to a maximum of 3 suggestions each so that we can all get some play time.

With the initial run of playlists I tried to allow for roughly equal inclusions for all clan subgenres in order to satisfy everyone. After listening to some of the playlists & receiving feedback from various members on the topic, Ben & I are thinking I should go for a different approach whereby the primary subgenres receive the majority of the play time & the niche subgenres only get the odd track here & there (perhaps one per playlist for most of them). It wasn't such an issue with clans like The Fallen that have much longer track lengths but was very noticeable with ones like The Gateway, The Horde, The Infinite & The Guardians which include niche subgenres (funk metal, rap metal, gorenoise, cybergrind, avant-garde metal, neoclassical metal, etc.) that not everyone likes.

Does everyone agree with that approach?

I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed some of this playlist too, particularly the more intense stuff during the second half. In fact, I actually don't mind a lot of the heavier nu metal stuff which I don't often admit to myself. The funk metal & rap metal stuff is largely hit & miss for me personally & that Corey Feldman album is one of the worst things I've ever heard in my life & was very much a novelty inclusion. There's actually a lot worse I could have included from that album which is saying something. Who knew Corey had made a pop/metal record after he'd ceased to become even remotely relevant??

Yeah I felt fairly similarly about this playlist to be honest Vinny & it reminded me the reasons why I opted to remove myself from The North altogether because there's a substantial portion of the subgenres it covers that are simply too far removed from my personal tastes which sit very much in line with with your own. I could easily have stuck to my comfort zones when creating these lists but it I would always have left someone disappointed so I opted to go with a more holistic approach. I'll be interested to see what the community consensus is on that over the next month or so but I think things will inevitably morph into whatever direction the clan members want to take over time once we have more regular suggestions for inclusion coming in.

Doomy Pennsylvania thrash metal from 1987. For fans of Celtic Frost, Hellhammer & Obituary.

Dream Death - "Journey Into Mystery" (1987)

The debut album from this Pennsylvania-based thrash metal outfit who sound very much like what Celtic Frost would have sounded like if Tom Araya was their front man. There's a really strong doom element to their sound. In fact, I much prefer the doomier parts over the more up-tempo material to be honest. Also, I have to admit that I spent most of this revisit thinking just how much this record would be up Sonny's alley so I wasn't surprised in the slightest to see that he's rated this a 4.5/5 just now. Saves me from recommending it to him. For fans of Celtic Frost, Hellhammer & Obituary.

3.5/5

You've already rated it Andi!

My revised list:

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

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

23. Leprous - "Live at Rockefeller Music Hall" (2016)

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

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

20. Darkthrone - "Transilvanian Hunger" (1994)      

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

18. ISIS - "Panopticon" (2004)      

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

16. Botch - "We Are The Romans" (1999) 

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

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

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

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

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

10. Death - "Human" (1991)      

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

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

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

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

05. Sunn O))) - "Black One" (2005)      

04. Pig Destroyer - "Natasha" E.P. (2008)  

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

02. Burzum - "Filosofem" (1996)      

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

Xephyr & saxy, please report directly to this double live album pronto. I repeat... your presence is required here immediately.... over.

Is this the best piece of progressive metal ever performed? Quite possibly!

A track from the new "Pharos" E.P. from former Emperor front man & Norwegian progressive metal master Ihsahn.

A track from the upcoming "Metal City" album from NWOBHM legends Raven (due for release on 18th September).

A teaser from the upcoming live release from Swedish doom metal outfit Atarvarium entitled "An Evening With Avatarium - Live in Stockholm January 2020" (due for release tomorrow).

The new single from Fates Warning entitled "Scars" which is taken from the Connecticut progressive metallers upcoming album "Long Day Good Night" (due for release on 6th November).

The new Carcass single "The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue" which is taken from their upcoming "Despicable" E.P. (due for release on 30th October).

The new Napalm Death single "Amoral" which is taken from their upcoming album "Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism" which is due for release on 18th September.

The new E.P. from Canadian progressive metallers Protest The Hero entitled "Fabula & Syuzhet". Both tracks were recorded as B-sides during the sessions for the band's new album "Palimpsest".

The new single from Sacramento-based alternative metal outfit Deftones entitled "Ohms" which is taken from their upcoming album of the same name which is due for release on 25th September.

The new single from Swedish gothic metal outfit Draconian entitled "The Sacrificial Flame" which is taken from their upcoming album "Under a Godless Veil" which is due for release on 30th October.

The new Metallica single which is taken from their upcoming "S&M2" live release with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra which is due for release tomorrow.

The new single from French deathgrind outfit Benighted entitled "Serve To Deserve".

I wasn't aware that they were visible until I published them here. That one's not ready yet so I'll make them secret until they're ready in future.

No Mercy - "Widespread Bloodshed/Love Runs Red" (1987)

This record seems to be heavily overrated, perhaps mainly due to the fact that Suicidal Tendencies re-recorded some of this material after No Mercy broke up. I just don't see the attraction personally as I find the rough & ready production & Mike Muir's out of key vocals to be pretty tough to stomach.

Some very unpolished Venice beach thrash metal featuring several members of Suicidal Tendencies. For fans of Suicidal Tendencies, Nuclear Assault & Slayer.

No Mercy - "Widespread Bloodshed/Love Runs Red" (1987)

This is essentially a Suicidal Tendencies side project that focuses more on a traditional thrash metal sound than a crossover one. It seems to be quite highly regarded but I can't justify those sort of opinions as the weak & noisy production & Mike Muir's terrible vocal performance are very hard to see past. Some of this material was re-recorded by Suicidal Tendencies following the separation of No Mercy so perhaps that's where the love stems from. I'm not a fan of Suicidal Tendencies' "Join The Army" album from the same year either but I'd probably take it over this one. For fans of Suicidal Tendencies, Nuclear Assault & Slayer.

3/5

I like this concept of a playlist suggestions thread in the forums as I think having a playlist that reflects the clan's current listening habits is a nice idea. I'll start these today.

Also, I've been programming these playlists in a very specific way thus far & I don't thing it's been working very well. As a former DJ, I always used to program my sets to slowly build in intensity as the tracklisting progresses i.e. start from the lighter & least intense track & increase the intensity as the set progresses. That way there aren't any flat sections where the listener gets bored & they continually find themselves being drawn further into the music. It also ensures that there's no major drop in intensity from one track to the next which is a really bad thing for a dancefloor if you don't place & execute well. Unfortunately with metal it's meaning that the opening tracks aren't really grabbing the listener so I'm gonna change approaches for the start of the playlists moving forwards by starting with some of the bigger tunes & pulling it back for a slow build after I've grabbed the listener's attention. Check out the new playlist for The Pit that will go up shortly for an example.

A stunning progressive metal instrumental from one of the greatest talents the 1980's neoclassical guitar shred era produced.

I gave "Perpetual Burn" a few revisits today & found that I still quite enjoy it. I actually bought it on CD way back in the very early 1990's & was blown away by Becker's technique at the time, especially for someone so young. I do have to admit that I've never been particularly comfortable with his neoclassicisms though as they often sound like exercises more than actual music & even delve into Xmas carol schmaltz at times (see the disappointing "Air" for example). Thankfully a good half of "Perpetual Burn" takes a more traditional progressive metal approach & it's this material that really interests me. The album highlights are certainly when Jason goes for melody over technique & the crunchier metal sections are also among the more exciting moments so fans of Marty Friedman, Cacophony & Yngwie Malmsteen should be all over this record. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I slightly prefer it to Yngwie's highly celebrated "Rising Force" debut.

3.5/5

Thanks for the feedback Xephyr. I like the idea too. In fact, in the long-term I was actually thinking that the responsibility for putting the monthly playlists together could sit with the senior members of each clan who could coordinate it with their fellow clan members in whatever way they felt fit as long as it covered the entire subgenre spectrum that the clan encompasses & drew upon the whole history of metal rather than just being from a specific era. This is because I see these as a way to a) draw in new members from a wide array of backgrounds & experience levels & b) I'd like people to hear something fresh & new every time they attend the Academy. 

I notice you haven't rated this one yet Sonny. I'm keen to hear your thoughts on it as I've always thought it was a very solid piece of Bay Area thrash.

Seriously, how good is the main riff from this chuggy Bay Area thrash anthem??

Model 500 - "Night Drive (Thru-Babylon) / Time Space Transmat / No UFO's" 12" (1985)

Dusted this old dancefloor bomb off for a loungeroom dance-off with my one & four year-old daughters this morning. It was one of earliest Detroit techno releases from the legendary Juan Atkins (i.e. the creator of techno music). The two tracks on the A side might as well be identical but they're both totally killer examples of electro-tinged acid techno & I used to pull them both out on occasion whilst DJing in underground techno clubs back in the 2000's. The B side is a remix of Juan's classic "No UFO's" that never did much for me. It's overlong & peters out quite badly during the second half.

4/5

I agree with you Xephyr.

How about the Pagan black metal & Depressive black metal subgenres? Different enough to warrant their own subgenres?

I've got one for people more qualified than I to debate. Do we really need to differentiate Celtic metal & Medieval folk metal from your traditional folk metal variety? Are they really that different that they need their own subgenres? Are there people that only like one or the other?

How about depressive power metal or blackened funk metal?

By the way Ben, goregrind is definitely a different beast to traditional grindcore. It has its own attributes & deserves its own category in my opinion.