Daniel's Forum Replies

Kreator - "Terrible Certainty" (1987)

1987's third full-length album from German thrash metal leaders Kreator was another very solid release for the band although it failed to reach the heights of their previous couple of releases ("Pleasure To Kill" & the "Flag Of Hate" E.P.). It saw Kreator going for a cleaner & more sophisticated sound &, whilst the riffs were certainly there, the song-writing & technical skills weren't quite fully developed just yet. Don't get me wrong. There's definitely enough high quality Teutonic thrash on offer to keep me happy (including a couple of genuine classics in "Blind Faith" & "Toxic Trace") but the band would take great strides forwards with their next couple of albums & this resulted in "Terrible Certainty" kinda resembling the middle child that inevitably gets less attention. It would bring Kreator back to the pack for a short period that also included the disappointing "Out of the Dark... Into the Light" E.P.

For fans of Sodom, Slayer & Destruction.

4/5

I busted this one out at a wine dinner with my two best mates last night as one of my them suggested that he'd love to hear some progressive metal with balls. He enjoys bands like Dream Theater from a purely instrumental point of view but can't deal with the operatic vocal style. It dig the trick nicely & he really got into it.

OK so I’m gonna have to thank saxy profusely for leading me down this path because “Eons” has quite simply left me with my jaw lying on the ground over the last few days & has single-handedly proven the validity of the push to include some more modern feature releases. It’s an indescribably beautiful & gloriously intimidating 128-minute triple album that truly defies categorization. The most common labels attributed to it seem to be avant-garde jazz & drone metal but neither is a terribly good fit in my opinion. It’s easy enough to see why people want to go down those paths but this is a long way from a jazz release even though it consistently draws upon shared tools. It’s also not a metal release when taken holistically but a good portion of the material seems to borrow from that niche subgenre’s intimidating grandeur & there are certainly a few tracks that are a good fit for that tag. I’d throw in ritual ambient & traditional drone as equally strong components of Neptunian Maximalism's sound, particularly due to the consistent pulse that binds their noise-laden soundscapes & the extensive layering of Eastern-influenced sounds on offer, both of which see me often being reminded of Dead Can Dance although the link is more in the aesthetic than the overall sound. There are hints at krautrock in the celebration of experimentation here too. The more drone metal inspired works on the third record are where things come together in their purest & most gripping realization & I’d suggest that the four tracks it contains are very close to perfect. The more jazz inspired pieces don’t have quite the same effect but are just as intriguing from an artistic point of view.

"Eons" is a dark, brooding, cerebral & spiritually enlightening experience that seems custom-made for someone like me that likes to be challenged both artistically & emotionally by my music. It's interesting that the cover art is a pretty good graphical indication of what you can expect to find contained within actually. You’ll rarely find an album that more successfully takes the listener outside of their comfort zone & into an entirely new world. Just don’t expect that world to be as immediately welcoming as you might hope because the sheer breadth of this musical undertaking is not for the faint of heart. Neptunian Maximalism have conjured up a release that sounds very much like the soundtrack to a ritualistic human sacrifice. It will undoubtedly have you questioning whether you want to watch such an atrocity however you’ll struggle to look away as the process seems to hint at a spiritual transcendence that only exists in our dreams & fantasies. 

4.5/5

I truly loved that review Xephyr. It's delightful tongue-in-cheek yet informative & factual approach had me smiling from ear to ear.... which was kinda the point of including a gorenoise release as a feature now, wasn't it?

Glad you liked your 15th birthday present Ben. I put a lot of thought into it.

Here's a few high profile omissions that I frankly don't have much time for:

Suicidal Tendencies - "Join The Army"

Cryptic Slaughter - "Money Talks"

Corrosion Of Conformity - "Technocracy" E.P.

In truth I don't have much time for number 9 & 10 in my list either. They're really just filling in the numbers with the top 8 being the real meat of the list for me. It's also interesting that my top pick for the year is the lowest rated of the bunch on RYM which just goes to show how much better our ratings system is. The reason that Agnostic Front's thrashier materal is so heavily down-rated is because the punks have a problem with them stepped out from under the hardcore punk banner so it completely skews to voting. It's clearly not a reflection of the overall quality of the album.

Wow! You can really tell we grew up together, can't you? I would suggest that if you liked live albums & could tolerate Paul Baloff's vocal delivery we may have had the exact same ten!

Yours is much more interesting than mine, damn you!

Let me state categorically that "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" is a great Black Sabbath album. It saw the band expanding dramatically on the hints at innovation they'd shown on "Vol. 4" & the outcome was an enthralling new take on what heavy metal music had the potential to be. Remember... this was Black Sabbath's fifth album & there hadn't really been anyone else that had managed to create a genuine heavy metal record by that stage which is quite remarkable in itself. That's not to say that this is a perfect record mind you as there are a couple of weak tracks included (see "Fluff" & "Looking For Today") but the highlights are easily strong enough to carry them (see the classic title track & "Killing Yourself To Live") & the more expansive array of influences & production techniques still sound fresh & exciting today. "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" may not make my top five for Sabbath overall but it's definitely a stronger record than a good 70% of the band's studio albums & that still amounts to a damn fine heavy metal release. I'd take it comfortably over the 1972's "Vol. 4" which I find to be a touch overrated, despite being generally enjoyable.

4/5

I agree with you Vinny. "Angel Dust" is a genuinely classic release that sits comfortably within my top ten releases for not only the alternative metal subgenre but for The Gateway as a whole. I was already well & truly a convert of Faith No More by the time it was released & perhaps that's why I'll always give their previous album "The Real Thing" a slight edge but there can be no denying the incredible ability the band had for creating heavy, quirky, ambitious & totally original music that somehow managed to maintain an incredible level of accessibility for the casual listener at the same time. It's interesting that I never found Faith No More to get close to reaching this standard again, despite finding all of their subsequent albums to be generally appealing. I think it's because the main focal point for me as a fan of extreme metal was always Jim Martin. Even during their more twisted & unusual moments, Jim's riffage had an inherent thrashiness to it that I could really dig my teeth into but it was always the band's heavier material that gave me the most enjoyment (see "Jizzlobber" or "Surprise! You're Dead!" for two of my favourites). Once Jim left the band my interest started to wane a little. "Angel Dust" should be essential listening for all members of The Gateway.

4.5/5

Sonny, this is an absolute no-brainer for you.

Intense Canadian thrash metal that sounds like Hellhammer & Celtic Frost meet Slayer & DRI.

Slaughter - "Strappado" (1987)

The 1987 debut album from Canadian thrash metallers Slaughter offers a fresh sound that sits right in the sweet spot between the filthy & depressive extreme metal of Hellhammer & Celtic Frost & the faster US thrash of D.R.I. & Slayer. The guitar tone is very close to the model that death metal would adopt over the next 4 or 5 years (particularly the classic Swedish sound) & I'd imagine that "Strappado" might have been a significant influence there. The vocals tend to be a little inconsistent & some of the riffs are a bit generic but this record is all about atmosphere & it succeeds comfortably in replicating that timeless Tom G. Warrior style darkness. Hell, we even get the occasional "Urgh!" thrown in for good measure. I do slightly prefer Slaughter's more obviously Slayer-influenced 1985 crossover thrash demo "Surrender Or Die" over this one but there's not a lot in it & "Strappado" is just as fine an example of your more underground 80's thrash metal in my opinion.

4/5

Saxy & Xephyr, I'd suggest you get onto this one. It's exactly what you'd hope it would be.

A magical reenactment of one of Opeth's more beautiful works.

Opeth - "The Roundhouse Tapes" (2007)

A belter of a double live album from the masters of their subgenre. I've had the DVD for probably a decade now but had never tried listening to the album version until now & I've gotta say that I enjoy it more when I can simply focus on what's coming out of the speakers. The tracklisting is spectacular with lengthy & fully realised inclusions that span their entire career & it's very hard to fault the execution or consistency, particularly on the second disk which is mind-blowing. As a bonus, you get to enjoy Mikael Akerfeld's sense of humour which is as much a part of the appeal of an Opeth show as the music is. He's a genuine entertainer & if you have even a passing interest in Opeth then you can't really go wrong with this release. In fact I think this might be my favourite Opeth release these days.

4.5/5

Welcome to the Academy Keleros. We're very pleased you've registered & introduced yourself & I'd encourage you to get amongst it. We have some very cool & interactive features here & I'd recommend that you check these ones out as a starting point:

1. If you go into the LISTS menu you'll find the Clan Challenges. These are like a guided tour through many of the most important bands & releases from each subgenre. The idea is that if you can rate & review all of the releases in one of the Clan Challenges for your each of your existing three clans then you'll get the opportunity to complete a fourth from an alternative clan. Successful completion of that challenge will allow you to take on that fourth clan permanently.

2. The Hall of Judgement - This is the place that releases go when our members nominate them as having incorrect genre tags. It gives all clan members the chance to vote on the most appropriate course of action with the overall result deciding the fate of that particular release as far as which clans it ultimately resides in. We'd encourage you to have your say there.

3. If you go to the various forums you'll find a thread in each clan forum for clan members to submit their suggested tracks for inclusion in that month's clan-specific Spotify playlist. This is so we can make the playlists a true representation of our clan's listening habits. We also have a thread for that month's playlist which links you to its location on Spotify. These playlists are a great way to find new music & enjoy great tracks from the past. We encourage feedback & love to hear what our members think about the inclusions.

4. Under the FEATURED menu you'll find the month's feature release for each clan. The intention is to encourage our members to check out & discuss noteworthy releases from the deep past right up to the present & they've been a very popular feature with our regular contributors. We'd love to hear your thoughts on some of these releases.

5. Let us all know what your listening to right now by posting on the clan-specific forums. Once people know what you like you might find that you start to get recommendations from other members through the dedicated recommendation threads & you'll generally find them to be right on the money. This is one of the coolest things about Metal Academy in my opinion.

6. And finally, the more ratings & reviews the site has the more effective it will be in guiding our members to music that fits their personal tastes so we encourage you to contribute as much as possible to the Metal Academy database.

That's enough from me. We hope you have fun & enjoy the site. We have great little community of well-informed, metal-obsessed music lovers from a diverse array of backgrounds & locations here & think you'll fit right in.

A track from the upcoming Dream Theater live album entitled "Distant Memories - Live in London" which is due for release on 27th November.

A track from the new Voivod live album entitled "Lost Machine" which is due for release on 27th November.

A track from the upcoming "The Watcher Of All" E.P. from Aussie tech deathsters Psycroptic.

A snippet from the upcoming Deafheaven live album "10 Years Gone". This was actually the first song they ever wrote.

The new single from Italian symphonic death metallers Fleshgod Apocalypse is an acoustic version of one of the tracks from their 2019 album "Veleno".

The new Phyllomedusa album is finally here Ben. I know you were frothing for this one.

Vinny, this one should appeal to you if you're not already familiar with it.

Dark & classy Canadian thrash metal for fans of Slayer, Razor & Sacrifice.

Infernäl Mäjesty - "None Shall Defy" (1987)

The 1987 debut album from Canadian thrash metal outfit Infernäl Mäjesty is an aggressive riff-fest with a dark atmosphere & an impressive level of class in the song-writing & arrangements. Slayer has obviously been a major influence on the band which can't hurt however they offer enough of their own to differentiate themselves from their idols. The guitar solos aren't amazing & the drum production is a little stale however there's a nice level of separation between the instruments. Some of the riff structures hint at what would become death metal & I can't help but shake the thought that Morbid Angel's Trey Azagthoth might have been quite the fan because I can hear some similar ideas here. Overall, this is a very consistent & high quality thrash record that will appeal to fans of Slayer, Razor & Sacrifice.

4/5

Sonny, have you given this one a chance? I'm always surprised at how much I enjoy it when I probably shouldn't in theory.

One of the more chilled tracks from Down's debut album. It's clearly a tribute to Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan" but I can't help loving it.

Down - "NOLA" (1995)

The debut studio album from New Orleans-based stoner metal supergroup Down is a very solid & consistent piece work that draws heavily on Black Sabbath for influence ("Vol 4" in particular), only with a distinctly Southern twang reminiscent of southern rock artists like Lynard Skynard. The band features members of Pantera, Crowbar, Corrosion Of Conformity & Eyehategod & you can definitely hear bits of all of these artists however the contributions of Pantera front man Phil Anselmo & Corrosion Of Conformity guitarist Pepper Keenan are the most prominent & important elements. It's a groovy riff-fest that may not fall inside my comfort zone but makes up for it in swagger & attitude. I particularly like the more chilled moments which are clearly tributes to Black Sabbath's more subdued moments. For fans of Corrosion Of Conformity, Alabama Thunderpussy & Black Label Society.

4/5

A track from the brand new "Under Sullen Skies" album from Brooklyn-based black/sludge metallers Tombs which is due for release on 20th November.

A track from the brand new album from Canadian grindcore outfit Fuck The Facts (entitled "Pleine noirceur") which is due for release on 20th November.

A track from the brand new My Dying Bride E.P. (entitled "Macabre Cabaret") which is due for release on 20th November.

What do you think of the new Sepultura single? And yes, before you ask,  it IS a cover version of British synthpop act Soft Cell's timeless hit.

Ben, have you ever checked this one out? I think you'll dig it.

Aggressive Canadian thrash metal for fans of Slayer, Dark Angel & late 80's Kreator.

Sacrifice - "Forward To Termination" (1987)

Canadian thrashers Sacrifice returned in a big way with their 1987 sophomore album "Forward To Termination". I'm a big fan of their 1985 debut "Torment In Fire" which was essentially nothing more than classic Slayer worship but here we find a more well-defined & sophisticated offering that includes significantly stronger highlights. The gnarly vocals of axe-slinging front man Rob Urbinati are definitely the coolest part of Sacrifice's sound however there are also plenty of great thrash riffs on offer. Sacrifice don't tend to be overly clinical in their execution however they're clearly at their strongest when they drop the shackles & really going for broke as some of the more mid-paced & chuggy sections can sound a little generic. There are no weak tracks on offer though & fans of Slayer, Dark Angel & late 80's Kreator should find plenty of value here.

4/5

Saxy, have you ever given this one a run?

Classic Danish heavy metal for fans of Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest & Ozzy Osbourne.

King Diamond - "Conspiracy" (1987)

I know Mercyful Fate generally receive more accolades for their significant influence on the subsequent direction of metal music & I certainly have a preference for the atmosphere they created on their first couple of releases, however if I'm completely honest with myself I slightly favour some of King Diamond's solo records over anything that Fate were responsible for. I think the fact that I was bred on late 80's metal certainly contributes to that but I just really dig the razor-sharp yet finely polished production, the memorable & anthemic choruses & Andy LaRocque's spectacular lead guitar performance on a record like the King's fourth album "Conspiracy". Sure, "Don't Break The Oath" took a fairly similar approach if you look at it closely, however the progressive & neoclassical components are integrated more smoothly here & never really touch on the pomposity of that record. As a result, we don't see "Conspiracy" ever really flirting with cheesiness which is something I can't say about "Don't Break The Oath" at times. "Abigail" is still my favourite King Diamond related release however "Conspiracy" gives it a real run for the money & only just falls short of matching its more readily celebrated older sibling. There's a class & consistency about it that's very hard to deny, even by those that struggle with the King's overthetop vocal stylings. I actually couldn't give a bugger about the concept/storyline. It's all about the high quality metal & fans of Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest & Ozzy Osbourne should get a lot of enjoyment out of this record. 

4/5

Sarcófago - "I.N.R.I." (1987)

Ultra-raw, super-kvlt black metal from Brazil. For fans of Vulcano, early Sodom & the first couple of Sepultura records.

3.5/5

Ultra-raw Brazilian black metal from 1987. For fans of Vulcano, early Sodom & the first couple of Sepultura releases.

A couple of tracks from the upcoming "Carnival Of Killers" album from long-standing Chicago death metal outfit Macabre which is due for release on 13th November.

A track from the new self-titled album from long-standing Teutonic thrash metallers Accu§er which is due for release on 13th November.

A taster from the new "Live In Chicago" live album from Californian death metal legends Autopsy which is due for release on 30th October.

The brand new single from Swedish melodeath champions Dark Tranquillity's new album "Moment" which is due for release on 20th November.

The title track from the brand new "Under Pressure" E.P. from long-standing Bay Area thrashers Death Angel.

Spectacular sludge metal from Washington's godfathers of the subgenre.

Melvins - "Houdini" (1993)

1993's fifth full-length album from influential Washington trio Melvins (entitled "Houdini") has always left me a little frustrated to be honest. On the one hand you have some seriously high-end & heavy-as-fuck sludge/doom metal material with some particularly bad-ass vocals which see me immediately reaching for my higher scores. But this is then off-set by a few completely redundant alternative rock & experimental tracks which add nothing whatsoever to the record, particularly the very confusing ten minute closer "Spread Eagle Beagle". It's a real mixed bag stylistically as this isn't strictly a sludge metal record when taken holistically. There are various different genres spread across the tracklisting. The opening couple of belters certainly fall into the sludge metal category but the rest of the album sees everything from grunge to stoner metal to alternative rock to doom metal to experimental music. Of course the heavier tracks are the ones that appeal to me the most. It's actually pretty easy to see the influence that Melvins had on the more important (& ultimately heavier) grunge bands  & I'd actually go so far as to suggest that grunge should have equal bragging rights with sludge when genre-tagging the album. Overall, the highs are balanced out by the lows & we're left with a pretty enjoyable record that offered the potential for so much more. If you have a diverse taste palate that includes sludge (Acid Bath), stoner (Kyuss), grunge (Nirvana/Soundgarden/Alice In Chains) & alternative rock (Queens Of The Stone Age/Pixies) then you might wanna check it out.

3.5/5

That Chaos Divine track is a belter Xephyr. Nice choice!