Daniel's Forum Replies

Abominable Putridity - "Demolisher" E.P. (Release date: 5th July)

Slam death metal from Russia.

Bengal Tigers - "Metal Fetish" E.P. (1982)

Aussie hard rock that hints at heavy metal at times. The production is very much in the underground NWOBHM style & the vocals & lead guitar work are very good. Fans of early Riot, Twisted Sister & AC/DC should find a fair bit to enjoy here.

3.5/5

Riot V - "Live in Japan 2018" DVD (Release date: 2nd August)

The new live video from these legendary New York power/heavy metallers.

Russian Circles - "Blood Year" (Release date: 2nd August)

The seventh full-length album from this Chicago-based post-metal outfit.

Ben, please add Avsky from Sweden.

Ben, please add these bands:

AtomA (Sweden)

Periphery (USA)

W.A.S.P. - "The Crimson Idol" (1992)

4.5/5

Primus - "Frizzle Fry" (1990)

4/5

Bathory - "Twilight Of The Gods" (1991)

4/5

Taipan - "Taipan" E.P. (1981)

Australian NWOBHM-style heavy metal that reminds me of early Tygers Of Pan Tang with a bit of an early Motley Crue commercial edge to it. Possibly the earliest Aussie metal release worth mentioning.

3.5/5

Overkill - "Feel The Fire" (1985)

The debut album from these New Jersey thrash metal heavy-weights.

The Contortionist - "Early Grave" single (Release date: 25th June)

The new single taken from the US progressive metallers upcoming "Our Bones" EP.

Ben, please add these bands:

Arise (Sweden)

Black Sun Aeon (Finland)

The Breathing Process (USA)

Venom - "Possessed" (1985)

Ben, please add German heavy metallers Sinner & NWOBHM outfit Wolf.

Wormed - "Metaportal" E.P. (Release date: 19th July)

Brutal/technical death metal from Madrid, Spain.

Boris - "Tears" E.P. (Release date: 26th June)

Blitzkrieg - "A Time Of Changes" (1985)

NWOBHM style heavy metal from Leicester, England.

Ben, please add the following bands:

Anihilated (England)

Korzus (Brazil)

Metreya (Australia)

Metallica - "Hardwired...to Self Destruct" (2016)

I think this is Metallica's best studio album since the "Black Album" but it's still a deeply flawed piece of work. 

3/5

Pallbearer - "Atlantis" single (Release date: 14th June)

The new single from these US doom metal merchants.

Rotting Christ/Varathron - "Duality of the Unholy Existence" split E.P. (Release date: 28th June)

Two greats of Greek melodic black metal come together.

Ben, please add the following bands:

Adrift For Days (Australia)

Blood For The Black Owl (USA)

Crematory (Germany)

Halford - "Live Insurrection" (2001)

A high quality double live album that showcases Rob at his best. This is a seriously metal release.

4/5

Welcome Andi & thanks a lot for the positive feedback. Ben & I have always intended the "Metal Academy" website to be more of a community than a dictatorship. In fact, our members probably haven't realized it yet but they actually have as much access to change the site as I do at the moment because Ben is currently the only administrator & is responsible for managing all of the delivery aspects of the website project (yes he's an IT nerd). We share all of the decision-making on how it looks & feels & what functionality we'll include but I'm more heavily responsible for the creation of the "Metal Academy" podcast which takes up most of my spare time so I enjoy the website as much from a user point of view as anything else. To be honest, we'd really like our members to have as much say in how the site functions & is laid out as we do so please feel free to offer improvement suggestions. We've already taken up several positive & productive suggestions from our members.

Also, we're thrilled to see you joining The Revolution because that clan has been a little quiet early on. As have The Sphere & The Gateway so I'd like to openly encourage people to get involved with those clans. You won't see any clan shaming on this website so people should feel free to go with whichever clans they honestly feel they're most passionate about. It's actually essential for the clan concept to work to its full potential when you think about it. We want everyone to be able to be themselves & openly express their opinions here. The more ratings & reviews submitted the better so don't be shy. We're very keen to hear your thoughts on the music you love.... or hate for that matter.

And finally... spread the word! Let's make this into something valuable & long-term for fans of metal music!

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

This post is a prime example of why the "Metal Academy" website is a superior tool for finding new music that fits your unique personal tastes than our competition can boast of. I've always been a fan of the Sunn O))) material I've encountered but I doubt that I would ever have checked this album out if not for the high regard its held in by our own Revolution666 & Jon who both awarded it the full five stars. "Black One" doesn't receive anything like that sort of rating on the less targeted rating & review sites that allow their scoring to be diluted by less devoted listeners. This is one of the best albums I've ever heard in my life to be perfectly honest. Our clan system works like a muthafucka!

5/5

Demonic Resurrection - "Live At Bloodstock" (Release date: 8th June)

The new live album from this Indian symphonic death metal outfit.

Make The Suffer - "Hollowed Heart" single (Release date: 7th June)

The new single from this Aussie deathcore outfit.

Ben, please add these bands:

Aborted (Belgium)

Aeternam (Canada)

Ares Kingdom (USA)

Metallica - "Through The Never" (2013)

A very decent double live album that makes up for James' weaker post-Black album vocal performance with a particularly strong tracklisting full of classic material.

4/5

Ben, please add 1349 (Norway), Agrypnie (Germany) & An Autumn For Crippled Children (Netherlands).

Holocaust - "Heavy Metal Mania - The Singles" compilation (Release date: 28th June)

Scottish heavy metal from the NWOBHM. Includes the "Heavy Metal Mania", "Smokin' Valves", "Coming Through" & "The Raw Loud N Live Tour" EPs.

Blind Guardian - "1988-2003" box set (Release date: 28th June)

A vinyl box set from these German power metal gods that includes the "Battalions of Fear", "Follow the Blind",  "Tales From the Twilight World", "Somewhere Far Beyond" & "Imaginations from the other side" albums.

This one has just gone up for voting.

This one has just gone up for voting.

Iron Maiden - "Live After Death" (1985)

Deathspell Omega - "Paracletus" (2010)

Fucking supreme avant-garde/dissonant French black metal. This album pretty much went over my head when I first encountered it back in 2010 but once it clicked it's absolutely nailed me. It's pure genius in many ways.

4.5/5

Grim Reaper - "Fear No Evil" (1985)

The second album from this meat-&-potatoes NWOBHM outfit.

Helloween - "Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II" (1988)

I've never been much of a fan of the band or of European power metal in general but this is probably my favourite Helloween release. At least there are a couple of really decent tracks that I get a lot of enjoyment out of. When taken overall though, it's still a bit of a chore to sit through.

3/5

Ben, please add Wendy O. Williams, Brocas Helm & Griffin.

Loudness - "Live in Tokyo: Loudness World Tour 2018 - Rise to Glory" (Release date: 17th May)

Japanese heavy metal.

I think my first industrial metal experience was through hearing tracks from Godflesh's self-titled E.P. on late-night metal radio program around 1989. I remember thinking it wasn't too bad but the release of "Streetcleaner" shortly afterwards made a much bigger impact on me.

Metalcore - I picked up Earth Crisis' "All Out War" E.P. through tape trading some time around 1992/93. I didn't like it at all but thankfully the metalcore subgenre & I have come to terms with each other since.

Melodic metalcore - I'm honestly not sure I've ever actively listened to any.

Trance metal - I have no idea what this subgenre is all about. The very thought of what it might sound like sees me scurrying into the corner of the room with my hands over my eyes & tears streaming down my face.

Thrash metal - I first heard Metallica's "...And Justice For All" from a ripped copy a school mate gave me in late 1988. I'd been asking about it after recognizing the band's name in the Australian ARIA Top 50 charts. It completely changed my life.

Groove metal - I first heard tracks from Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell" album on late-night metal radio program in late 1990 & was instantly attracted to the band's sound.

Speed metal - I first heard tracks from Helloween's first couple of releases on a late-night metal radio program some time around 1989. I didn't like what I heard much but thankfully those records aren't representative of the common garden variety of speed metal & it wouldn't be long before I found other bands that were more to my taste.

Black metal - I first heard tracks from Bathory's "Blood Fire Death" on a late-night metal radio program some time around 1989 & I was instantly hooked.

Folk metal - I believe the first experiences I had with folk metal were through the folkier tracks on a ripped copy of Isengard's "Vinterskugge" compilation I received through tape trading in 1994. I didn't like the sound of folk metal then & I still don't now.

Viking metal - As with black metal, Bathory was my entry point. This time through "Hammerheart" & likely from the same radio program only a year or so later than my initial black metal experience.

Saxon - "Innocence Is No Excuse" (1985)

Progressive metal - My first progressive metal experience was through hearing tracks from Voivod's "Dimension Hatröss" & "Nothingface" albums on late-night metal radio programs in the very late 1980's. 

Avant-Garde Metal - The first genuinely avant-garde metal release I heard was the lone studio album from Norway's Ved Buens Ende..... which was entitled "Written In Waters". It was released in 1995 but I picked it up through tape trading after hearing "The Carrior of Wounds" on the 1996 Blackend Records compilation "Blackend: The Black Metal Compilation Vol. 1" which I picked up at my local record store.

Post-Metal - I first heard post-metal through tracks from Neurosis' "Souls At Zero" album being played on late-night metal radio programs around 1992/93.

My introduction to an alternative metal sound came in 1988 during my first year of high school. My best mate had an older cousin who was a Charlie Benante-obsessed drummer & we went around to his place one weekend. He had a pretty reasonable metal-focused vinyl collection & one of the records he played me was Anthrax's rap/metal hybrid E.P. "I'm The Man" which left me with a huge smile across my dial. I was already an Anthrax fan but I don't think I was aware of that release previously.

Doom metal - Black Sabbath were obviously the first place that I heard a doomier variety of metal however the full-time I heard anything from the full-time doom metal outfit was through Candlemass' "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" record some time in the very late 80's when I heard "Solitude" being played on a late-night metal radio program. I have to admit that it didn't really click with me initially & would take a fair while to sink in, although admittedly "Solitude" is not one of my favourite Candlemass songs & I wouldn't be sold on the band in general until much later on anyway. The more epic feel to their sound initially took me a little bit too far outside of my musical comfort zone. Pentagram's debut was the first doom release I heard that clicked with me straight away & that came to my attention through hearing "Sign Of The Wolf (Pentagram)" on the same show a week or two later. Not a particularly doomy example of the Pentagram sound it has to be said but it gained my attention & Pentagram's close affiliation with the more traditional Black Sabbath sound really appealed to me so it wouldn't be long before I was completely infatuated with the slower, drearier variety of metal.

Drone metal - My first drone metal experience was through Earth's "Extra-Capsular Extraction" E.P. in the early 90's (possibly on underground metal radio once more) & I found it intriguing right from the start with subsequent listens seeing me becoming more & more enamored with the repetitive sound that would put me into a trance-like state. I've always been a fan of the more deep & cerebral styles of music (ambient, techno, etc.) so drone metal & I were always going to work together.

Gothic metal - I picked up the Paradise Lost "Icon" digipack at the time of release back in 1993 & was expecting more of that doom/death they'd been dishing out for the past three albums. Little did I know that I'd end up finding the best material of their career to take the form of this new gothic metal sound.

Sludge metal - When I was in high school there was only one other true metal fan in my year & we used to trade our music & go to gigs together quite regularly. Some time in 1991 he ripped me a copy of Fudge Tunnel's "Hate Songs In E Minor" & told me to keep an open mind because I was generally into thrash/death/black/doom metal. Well that little record really impressed me & it wasn't far away from my tape deck for a few months afterwards. That HUGE wall of guitar noise playing those HUGE riffs!!

Stoner metal - I was an absolutely massive fan of the monumental doom classic that was Cathedral's "Forest Of Equilibrium" debut. But when I picked up their follow-up two years later in 1993 I was left with a feeling of "What in the actual fuck is this?". It was much groovier affair with a stronger focus on psychedelia & I have to admit  that I struggled with it initially. Repeat listens eventually saw it breaking through my defenses but it would never be a big record for me in much the same way that the stoner metal subgenre would rarely impress me as much as pure doom.