Daniel's Forum Replies
Ministry - "ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ [Psalm 69]" (1992)
This absolutely classic masterpiece in Al Jourgensen's finest work in my opinion. A perfect mixture of industrial & thrash metal for fans of Nailbomb, Strapping Young Lad & White Zombie.
4.5/5
I agree that "Exhale" isn't a very good track but I actually don't mind the "Halo In A Haystack" album & find it to be generally underrated.
Interesting selections but do we really need this thread Andi? There's nothing stopping anyone posting tracks in threads that sit outside of their personal clan allocations & If you're not sure what genre a band or track best fits under then you can check on other online resources or simply make the call yourself. You know your shit so it should be pretty much on the money most of the time & it's not all that critical that you get it 100% anyway.
Fast, raw & aggressive mid-80's Teutonic thrash for fans of Kreator, Destruction & Necronomicon.
Darkness - "Death Squad" (1987)
The debut album from this relatively unknown German thrash outfit who sound almost exactly like the first three Kreator records. It's fast, raw & violent & I don't mind it from a purely nostalgic point of view. For fans of Kreator, Destruction & Necronomicon.
3.5/5
I'm happy for you to assume that it was a deliberate choice Sonny. Although in truth I'm not even smart enough to have noticed the significance until just now. :)
Saxy, can I just compliment you on the quality of the review you’ve submitted for this release? Whatever time you put into writing it was thoroughly worth it because I got a lot of enjoyment from reading it. It’s passionate , well informed & intelligent & it explains in no uncertain terms why the album means so much to you. In fact, it made me want to revisit the record with a greater context & renewed level of enthusiasm which is just what a great review should do. Keep ‘em coming!
Ben, I notice you haven't rated this one. Can I assume that you're already all over it?
What did you end up thinking of "Im Wald" Vinny?
This track might be the finest moment in Polish black metal. For fans of Uada, Kriegsmaschine & Plaga.
Mgła - "Exercises In Futility" (2015)
A brilliant flexing of the creative muscles of Poland's finest black metal export. I can't understand the backlash from your black metal elitists to be honestFans of Uada, Kriegmaschine & Plaga should already be all over this one.
4.5/5
Ben, please add Violent Force (Germany).
I must have seen Tumbleweed live on three or four occasions at around the time of this release. They frequented the Northern Beaches part of Sydney as they had a strong fanbase there & my school friends & I were going to pretty much any all-ages gig we could get to during our last couple of years of high school.. I'd suggest you've put this release in the right forum though. The stoner rock tag seems to be fairly appropriate in my opinion.
I'm a big fan of this record & I have a strong affiliation with their entire back catalogue. "Jane Doe" is probably Converge's heaviest & most intense record & is as abrasive as it is ambitious. The level of musicianship these guys possess is pretty amazing but I've never been completely comfortable with the vocals which does tend to cap my scoring potential. This isn't my favourite Converge record. The 2004 follow-up "You Fail Me" owns that title at the moment but there's no question that this is a classy & challenging release. It's a 4/5 from me.
These bands really do take all of the trademark characteristics of the slam movement & accentuate them to their extremes. I'm generally a big fan of the more brutal side of death metal so there's a fair bit to interest me here however the ridiculously pingy snare sounds, overuse of gravity blast beats & continuously monotonous vocal delivery that makes no attempt to enunciate actual words can be challenging at times. Thankfully the riffs are always chunky & exciting though. I didn't like Ecchymosis much but the other three bands were all pretty cool. Particularly Delusional Paratosis. It's a 3.5/5 from me.
I didn't like 1996's "Evil Empire" album much but I found "The Battle Of Los Angeles" to be a welcome return to form. I don't think I'll ever really love a rap metal album but RATM are leagues ahead of the field in my opinion & this album sits only just slightly behind their self-titled debut for the premier release of the subgenre. It's a 3.5/5 from me. Here's my review:
It's a genuine gothic metal classic as far as I'm concerned. I can overlook its flaws because the hooks & highlights are simply sublime. It's a 4.5/5 from me. Here's my review:
https://metal.academy/reviews/16177/936
Sonny, have you checked this one out before? I think you'll probably dig it as I know you loved their debut.
Birmingham thrash metal for fans of Détente, Onslaught & English Dogs. This track has an extended intro that reminds me heavily of Slayer's "Hell Awaits" while some of the more thrashy moments also sound a bit like "Darkness Descends" era Dark Angel.
Sacrilege - "Within The Prophecy" (1987)
The sophomore album from these Birmingham thrashers sees them dropping most of the crust punk component of their sound in favour of a more mid-tempo but no less dirty thrash metal sound that maintains the over-the-top guitar tone of the debut. I actually rate it more highly than its more highly regarded older sibling. For fans of Détente, Onslaught & English Dogs.
4/5
To be fair, “Spheres” sits far closer to Cynic than it does to Dying Fetus or Nile. It’s a legitimate progressive death metal record,
Great feedback here guys & I think there's a lot of merit in these ideas. I'll speak to Ben when he gets back & see if we can make it work in some capacity.
They're both very underrated records. "Spheres" was extremely divisive upon release. Ben & I loved it but it seemed like the rest of the death metal scene seemed to hate it. It's gained in popularity over the years but it still deserves more credit than it receives. "Skydancer" really stands out in Dark Tranquillity's back catalogue as it sounds noticeably different to the sound they'd make their trademark on subsequent releases.I think that's put off a fair few melodeath fans whose introduction was through their later material but I liked it at the time of release & I don't think that will have changed. As for a winner, I'm gonna go with Pestilence as it's clearly a cut above in my opinion.
Congratulations Andi. You've absolutely caned through the reviews in the last few days in particular. Seriously, your head must be spinning. Time to enjoy some well-earned downtime. Ben is back tomorrow so I'll give him the heads up to award you your fourth clan then.
I like the idea of including brand new releases as features however there are a number of concerns that have stopped me from doing that thus far. For starters, I think we may see less people being in a position to contribute than if we select releases that our more experienced members have likely already heard & won't need to revisit in order to comment on. Also, it's worth considering that some subgenres don't have much of a presence in the modern market i.e. NWOBHM, nu metal, speed metal, rap metal, etc. If we were to go with current releases, we'd really need most of our active members to explore nine new releases per month to see a decent amount of activity with some of them being from outside of their musical comfort zones as we don't have a large enough membership in some clans yet whereas if we include some of the more classic releases we often see older members having some experience with these records regardless of genre preference. I think that bringing important releases from all eras of metal to the attention of people that may not have been exposed to them before seems to be working thus far but that's just my opinion & we like the idea of Metal Academy being a democracy so I'm open to being guided by what the community wants. What does everyone else think on this topic? What would you prefer to see?
I like the concept of the monthly features being displayed on the front page with the cover images being shown with the clan symbols printed on top like we’ve been doing with our social media posts of late. Perhaps they could just be kept as the first release shown in the recent additions section i.e. they could be “sticky” but only for that month. Or alternatively/preferably, we could have a totally designated section on the front page so as to provide a constant advertisement & encouragement to contribute. If you click on the album cover it could take you to a seperate feature release page where you can contribute ratings, reviews & discussion. I’d suggest that all ratings & reviews should be replicated on the regular release page. Historical feature releases could continue to be viewed so that people can see past features & have the option to go back & contribute to previous month’s pages if they wished. These feature pages would be filterable by clan.
I agree with the consensus thus far & have to go with Pestilence. They’re both great records in their own right but death metal is my primary metal subgenre & “Consuming Impulse” was released right at the time that Chuck Schuldiner had drawn me across from thrash so it was an exciting time to be discovering extreme metal. Pestilence essentially took the sound I’d loved on “Leprosy”, beefed up the production & added a little more complexity. What’s not to love about that??
The new live album from German funeral doom metal exponents Ahab entitled "Live Prey" is due for release on 26th June.
The new album from US metalcore outfit Emmure entitled "Hindsight" which is due for release on 26th June.
The new single from London progressive metallers Haken entitled "Invasion" which is taken from their upcoming album "Virus".
Ben, I think you'd likely dig this one given that you enjoy their 1982 self-titled release.
One of the earliest examples of traditional doom metal from London's NWOBHM masters. For fans of Ozzy-period Black Sabbath, 70's Pentagram & Manilla Road.
Pagan Altar - "The Time Lord" E.P. (2004)
A compilation of the 1978/79 demo recordings from these NWOBHM/traditional doom metal pioneers. The timing of these recordings may well make this the earliest legitimate example of the traditional doom metal subgenre that I've encountered & I actually like it a touch better than Pagan Altar's 1982 self-titled release due to its greater level of consistency & cool 70's psychedelic rock vibe. Fans of Ozzy-period Black Sabbath, 70's Pentagram & Manilla Road should find some enjoyment here despite the demo-quality production.
3.5/5
Cryptic Slaughter's sophomore album "Money Talks" is overrated in m y opinion. The guitar sound is weak & thin, the performances are sloppy & the dilution of their sound through the regular use of groovy mid-tempo breakdowns doesn't interest me as much as their up-tempo blasting stuff. There's always debate over which of the first two albums is the better record but I don't actually think it's all that close actually.
Aggressive Californian thrashcore for fans of DRI, Attitude Adjustment & Wehrmacht.
Cryptic Slaughter - "Money Talks" (1987)
The sophomore album from these Californian thrashcore exponents. I've never warmed to it as much as most crossover fans seem to & comfortably prefer the more consistently fast debut "Convicted". The production & performances are subpar & the addition of mid-tempo breakdowns isn't as effective as the light-speed blast-fests. The aggressive vocals are good though. For fans of DRI, Attitude Adjustment & Wehrmacht.
3/5
Celtic Frost get this one but not by as much as most people would probably think for an old school thrasher like myself. I actually rate both of these releases at 4/5 as they're both very strong but I don't regard either as sitting among the greatest releases in my life. "To Mega Therion" is just a slightly more consistent record than "Skeptics Apocalypse" in my opinion. It has a greater quantity of highlight tracks.
Ben, please add Darkness (Germany).
Hmmm.... it's a very interesting idea. I look forward to exploring this idea with Ben over the next week or so. Keep 'em coming guys!
This is something we've discussed before actually & I think it would be a positive move.
Great idea Sonny. I like it a lot.
Possibly the greatest Swedish death metal track ever recorded. For fans of Dismember, Grave & Carnage.
You know what Sonny? You're 100% right. I've reconsidered my position on this critical issue & as a result:
Ben, please add Amethyst Colored Chameleon, Amphibians Performing Surgery, Battus, Botfly, Cicada Molting, Crustacea Zoëa Larvae, Emitting Pentatomid, Macrophagous Gilled Larvae, olm, Omphalectoicxanthopsia, Purplemouth, Slug in Garden, Toad Birth & Unconcentrated Faeces Otengeny.
That seems pretty straight forward to me Ben. Is it possible that people are pressing the wrong thing after selecting their first clan & sacrificing their additional ones inadvertently?
Hey! I thought we were an equal opportunity, non-discriminatory & all-welcoming site. Stop oppressing me & the rest of the immensely populous frog-themed gorenoise community!
I'm considering working with my developer in the next few months, so if anyone has anything they think could improve Metal Academy, please speak up. I'm not sure that there has been anything that anyone has requested so far that I haven't implemented or at least considered very carefully.
Ben, can you see if there's a way that we can better inform people that they have the option to select three clans when registering on the site? It's obviously not intuitive as we get so many people selecting just the one.
The brand new Enslaved single "Homebound" which is taken from their new album "Utgard" which is due for release later in the year.
The new E.P. from Maryland's finest frog-themed gorenoise exponent Phyllomedusa was released last week. It's entitled "0% Survival Rate".