Daniel's Forum Replies

Thin Lizzy - "Thunder & Lightning" (1983)

If you're a die-hard metalhead who's generally scared off by the mere mention of the term "rock" but are still interested to see why these Irish legends were so influential on so many of your favourite metal bands then look no further. This record is the one for you as it sees Lizzy heading in a noticeably heavier & more 80's-oriented direction following the recruitment of former Tygers Of Pan Tang shredder John Sykes & I'll give you the hint that he doesn't let anyone down in the shred department either. There are far fewer of Lizzy's trademark harmonies on display here as the whole band seems to have followed Sykes lead towards a more flashy & modern sound. Unfortunately the album is overproduced with many songs extended further than have any right to go & the compositions often being cluttered with needless keyboards & effects. The song-writing is a little inconsistent too with a few overly cheesy numbers on offer; particularly in the back end which peters out quite badly. But thankfully the highlight tracks are very strong which makes the record worth investigating even if it's not quite as appealing as Lizzy's more classic late 70's heyday.

3.5/5

Ben, please add Twilight (USA).

Ben, please add Trauma (Poland) & Trigger The Bloodshed (England).

Agnostic Front - "Cause For Alarm"(1986)

A fine example of New York crossover thrash & hardcore punk. Twenty-four minutes may not seem like a suitable duration for a full-length album but when it's got this much energy it's best not to overdo it. Fans of Cro-Mags, Ludichrist & Leeway should be all over this.

4/5

Godflesh - "Streetcleaner" (1989)

Possibly my all-time favourite industrial metal release. So fucking dark & incredibly original. It still sounds as fresh today as it did when I was 14 years old.

4.5/5

 Détente - "Recognize No Authority" (1986)

The debut album from this female-fronted LA thrash metal outfit. The vocal delivery can become a bit monotonous after a while. Dawn Crosby has a similarly overthetop style to former Exodus front man Paul Baloff so she probably won't appeal to everyone. The tracklisting isn't as consistent as I'd like but there's enough quality riffage on display here to keep me interested. Not to mention some excellent shredding guitar solos. Definitely worth a listen.

3.5/5

Ben, please add Throes Of Dawn (Finland).

Ben, please add Throats (UK).

Ben, please add The Howling Wind (USA).

Deafheaven - "Sunbather" (2013)

I've never been able to understand the hatred for this record. It's very close to being a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned & is clearly the best example of the blackgaze subgenre that I've experienced. Sure there are some sweeter melodies than you'd usually associate with black metal but they're nicely counter-balanced by some searing aggression. The musicianship is excellent & those screeching vocals really do it for me. It's just such a professional package all round.

4.5/5

I'm using Microsoft Edge.

It's taking you back to the page you were on when you wrote the reply. So since you're clicking Reply to Thread on the first page, that's where it takes you back to. This never happened to me, because I click through to the most recent page before entering my reply at the end of the thread. Once I post it, I'm taken straight to my reply.

I'll see if I can make it so that the user is always taken to the end of the thread when they post a reply.

Ben, I just went to the last page of the "What are you listening to now? - The Pit Edition thread via the link in the LAST REPLY column of The Pit forum & posted a new reply to the thread. I then got taken back to the first post on the first page of that thread. That's not in line with what you are saying above.

Ludichrist - "Immaculate Deception" (1986)

The debut album from a New York crossover thrash/hardcore band that would later go on to become Scatterbrain of "Don't Call Me Dude" fame. I've never been much of a fan of humour in my metal but the musicianship is good & there's plenty of variety. Sadly I don't find the song-writing to be engaging enough though. Fans of Cryptic Slaughter, Cro-Mags & Leeway may disagree with me.

3/5

Ostrogoth - "Full Moon's Eyes" E.P. (1983)

Ostrogoth's debut release sits amongst the most celebrated Belgian examples of the traditional heavy metal sound. It draws heavily from the NWOBHM with Iron Maiden & Grim Reaper being strong points of reference but there's also more than the odd nod towards speed metal. In fact, the title track even crosses over into fully-fledged European power metal territory which unsurprisingly didn't sit all that comfortably with me. The tracklisting is a little hit & miss but the couple of stronger tracks make it worthy of your time. I have to admit that I slightly prefer their more mature & refined debut full-length "Ecstasy & Danger" over this one though.

3.5/5

Attitude Adjustment - "American Paranoia" (1986)

An enjoyable full-length debut from this San Francisco-based crossover thrashcore outfit. It's flat-out speed & energy from start to finish but can sound a little samey at times. Fans of DRI & Agnostic Front should find a lot to enjoy here though.

3.5/5

Cattle Decapitation - "Death Atlas" (Release date: 29th November)

The eighth studio album from this Californian brutal death metal outfit.

Hour Of Penance - "Misotheism" (Release date: 25th October)

The eighth studio album from these Italian brutal deathsters.

Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra - "Legacy Of The Dark Lands" (Release date: 8th November)

Apparently the new album from these German power metal stalwarts is some kind of orchestral experiment.

Blut aus Nord - "Hallucinogen" (Release date: 11th October)

The new full-length from these French black metal heavy-weights. I can already hear Ben drooling.

Steve Grimmett's Grim Reaper - "At The Gates" (Release date: 11th October)

The fifth album from this important NWOBHM outfit from Worcestershire, England.

Ben, please add these bands:

Septycal Gorge (Italy)

Severe Torture (Netherlands)

Soreption (Sweden)

Can you please add their self-titled E.P. then? I wanted them added so I could add a review of that release.

See I never realized that I could click on the LAST REPLY column entries to get to the last post. I guess it's just not intuitive because I haven't seen another forum with that functionality before. Or perhaps I just haven't realized it was there on those sites either. I think a lot of other forums have page numbers next to or beneath the thread title so you can easily navigate to the first few or last few pages & given that I didn't see those I assumed that I could only click on the thread title.

Sepultura - "Morbid Visions" (1986)

Insert commentary from above only with a touch more intensity, better (if still decidedly inferior) drumming, less competent tuning & substantially more bass in the (admittedly still very raw) mix. Very similar quality overall though. This album absolutely belts the early Sodom releases in my opinion which shouldn't be a surprise when you consider just how many of these riffs the Seps boys reused on their classic albums a few years later. Prime time Brazilian death/thrash metal.

4/5

Sepultura/Overdose - "Bestial Devastation / Século X.X." split (1985)

The Brazilian thrash Gods' debut E.P. backed by a three-song effort from heavy/speed metal countrymen Overdose. The Sepultura material is a real guilty pleasure for me as its evil necro atmosphere make me quite nostalgic despite the primitive production & performances. In fact, there's enough brutality on offer for half of these tracks to qualify as genuine death metal which makes it one of the earliest releases from the subgenre. Kinda sounds like a combination of the more brutal US bands like Slayer & Possessed crossed with the early Teutonic thrash material from Sodom & Kreator. I find the more speed metal-oriented Overdose material to be fairly hard to stomach though which brings the whole release down. Their epic ten minute Mercyful Fate & Iron Maiden inspired heavy metal opener is much more to my taste.

I greatly prefer the 1990 re-release of "Bestial Devastation" (4/5) to this release as it not only omits the Overdose material but it also includes a re-recording of "Troops Of Doom" from Sepultura's debut full-length from the following year "Morbid Visions".

3/5

Ben, please add The Schoenberg Automaton (Australia).

Ben, please add Psycroptic (Australia).

Ben, please add Remembrance (France).

]

DJ Sprinles -"Where Dancefloors Stand Still" (2013)

An ambient deep house DJ mix from Minnesota USA.

Wolves In The Throne Room - "Two Hunters" (2007)

Superb atmospheric black metal from Washington USA. Mixes the classic Scandinavian black metal sound of Burzum, Darkthrone & Emperor with the post-metal of Neurosis & Isis & the analogue ambience of Gas & Popol Vuh. Quite possibly the best US black metal release ever recorded.

4.5/5

Ben, please add Pressure Points (Finland).

Ben, please add Pensées nocturnes (France) & Petrychor (USA).

Sentinel Beast - "Depths Of Death" (1986)

The debut album from this female-fronted Sacramento thrash/speed metal outfit. They really lay on the velocity & kinda sound like Vio-lence meets Acid meets Iron Maiden. Great shredding guitar solos. I quite like it.

3.5/5

Pretty Maids - "Pretty Maids" E.P. (1983) 

The self-titled E.P. from Danish heavy metallers Pretty Maids is an inconsistent release whose highlights aren't quite strong enough to overcome the two cheesy AOR numbers on offer. It's a shame really as the production & performances are all pretty solid for a debut & the other four songs all rock pretty hard. You can definitely hear hints of the more synth-driven sound they'd champion on the debut full-length the following year but in a more subtle way. Unfortunately I don't think the song-writing is as strong as "Red, Hot & Heavy" though. It kinda sounds like a cross between W.A.S.P. & the NWOBHM with some Thin Lizzy & UFO thrown in for good measure. 

3/5

Cyclone - "Brutal Destruction" (1986)

Belgian thrash metal for fans of early Metallica, Slayer & Dark Angel. It's not bad actually but certainly doesn't offer anything you won't have heard many times before.

3.5/5

Juggernaut  - "Baptism Under Fire" (1986)

The debut album from a talented four-piece progressive metal outfit from San Antonio, USA who used speed metal & traditional heavy metal as their platforms of choice. Unfortunately the production is well below par & the song-writing is often quite weak despite some very flashy technicality. The guitar solos are particularly impressive but apart from a trio of strong tracks in the middle of the B side there's really not a lot to see here. The most noteworthy aspect of the album is the inclusion of future Fates Warning, Halford, Iced Earth & Riot drummer Bobby Jarzombek. Fans of Rush, Watchtower & Mekong Delta may find something to enjoy here but I won't be returning any time soon.

3/5

Motor City Drum Ensemble - "Raw Cuts Vol. 1" (2009)

High quality deep house from Stuttgart, Germany.

Crucifixion - "After The Fox" compilation (Release date: 27th September)

A compilation of the complete studio recordings from this underground NWOBHM band from the early 1980's.

Ereb Altor - "Järtecken" (Release date: 20th September)

The eighth studio album from these Swedish Viking/black metallers.

Cult Of Luna - "A Dawn To Fear" (Release date: 20th September)

This Swedish post-metal outfits ninth studio album.

Leprous - "Pitfalls" (Release date: 25th October)

The seventh album from this Norwegian progressive rock/metal outfit.

Mayhem - "Daemon" (Release date: 25th October)

The Norwegian black metal Gods return with their sixth full-length album.

HEAVY METAL - Thinking back I've come to the decision that my first experience with genuine heavy metal would have been through the music video for Motorhead's "Ace Of Spades" in the very early 1980's. I was immediately attracted to the speed & intensity even though I was only so young so I guess you're born with it.

NEOCLASSICAL METAL - I started playing guitar in 1988 & very quickly became obsessed with finding progressively more technically proficient examples of lead guitar technique. The first example of neoclassical guitar playing I encountered was Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force's "Heaven Tonight" single which quickly led me to their "Odyssey" album. Possibly more of a heavy metal record overall but the same can't be said for their "Rising Force" debut which I picked up a short time later.

POWER METAL - I'm pretty sure this was through tracks from Helloween's "Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II" which were being played on underground metal radio in the late 80's I didn't like it much at the time & I still don't although I would find the US variety of power metal much more easily palatable in the near future.

SYMPHONIC METAL - I think this might have been through X Japan's "Art Of Life" E.P. through tape trading with a Japanese trader in the mid-90's. Another release that didn't do much for me & the whole symphonic metal subgenre has been something that I've always struggled with since too.

Have you forgotten to put up the last three bands I requested Ben? It's probably been a week since I posted them.

Dio - "Dio at Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987" (2010)

A high quality double live release compiling two of Dio's triumphant performances at Donington. The production isn't amazing with the rhythm guitars sounding a little muffled but Ronnie's performance is superb & you can't really go wrong with a tracklisting spanning classic material from Dio, Black Sabbath & Rainbow. Lead guitarist Craig Goldy absolutely slays on the second disk too.

4/5

Weakling - "Dead As Dreams" (2000)

Possibly the most celebrated US black metal release ever. It's certainly pretty strong & also quite diverse. Kinda like Satyricon meets Wolves In The Throne Room with post-rock & My Dying Bride influences scattered around. The vocals have a fair bit of Burzum about them while the immensely long song durations don't seem to bother me too much. Perhaps due to the unusual song structures.

4/5

Yes I've experienced that bug too. The only way I could get my copied text to display in an appropriate font size was to delete my review altogether & start again. It's nothing to do with the copying you've done. I've tried pasting it into Word & resizing & formatting it before pasting it in but to no avail. It seems like the work of Jesus to me. That bastard is always looking for ways to bring us down.

Welcome to Metal Academy Xephyr. It's really great to have you here. Particularly given your background & the fact that you're adding some much needed diversity given our extreme metal dominant membership thus far. Please feel free to spread the word. We need as many ratings & reviews as possible to make the site as relevant as possible so the more the merrier.

Alcest - "Spiritual Instinct" (Release date: 25th October)

The sixth full-length studio album from these Frenchmen whose sound sits somewhere between black metal, shoegaze & post-metal.

In Mourning - "Garden Of Storms" (Release date: 4th October)

The fifth studio album from this Swedish progressive melodeath outfit.