Daniel's Forum Replies

Ben, please add Birth Of Depravity (Greece).

Ben, please add Bifrost (Austria).

Flotsam & Jetsam - "Doomsday For The Deceiver" (1986)

The outstanding debut album from US thrash metallers Flotsam & Jetsam featuring future Metallica bassist Jason Newsted. Kinda sounds like Metallica & Megadeth meets the more melodic sounds of Agent Steel & early Queensryche. Very polished & ambitious for a first up effort. I've always dug it.

4/5

Ben, please add Bengal Tigers (Australia).

Ben, please add Beneath (Iceland) & Beneath The Massacre (Canada).

Ben, please add Belenos (France).

Ben, please add the gloriously named Begging For Incest (Germany) as well as Belphegor (Austria).

Damaar - "Triumph Through Spears of Sacrilege" demo (2007)

The only release from this Lebanese war metal outfit & you'll do well to find something that's more extreme than this. The vocal performance is utterly soul-destroying while the production job is as disgusting as you'd hope for from such a release. And that intro track is one of the scariest things yet put to tape. This is great stuff & fans of Bestial Warlust, Revenge & Conqueror should get on it urgently.

4/5

Nuclear Assault - "Game Over" (1986)

I've always enjoyed the debut album from these New York thrashers. Sure the guitar sound is lacking in distortion & definition but the rest of the mix makes up for it. As does the soild performance from the rhythm section. The tracklisting is very consistent & the band really didn't sound like anyone in particular. They'd already developed their own brand of hardcore-tinged thrash metal that never quite pushed out into full-blown crossover territory. Quality stuff.

4/5

Wow! Looks like quite a hectic place to be. How do I get to the beach to catch some rays? And which region offers the best home delivery pizza options?

Welcome to "Metal Academy" Isabel. That's one of my favourite songs too. Particularly the part where it goes "djent djent dj dj dj dj dj djent djent squeal" & the drums go "knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-dugga-dugga-ccchh". 

Vocalist: “Breeeeeee-breeeeeeeeee-Satany gutsy stuff-brreeeeee-oink-SQQQQQUUUEEEEEE”

I can't see them doing it purely for the money. I mean they've likely been offered a ridiculous amount of money over the years but have always turned it down.... until now. Hhhmmm… it doesn't reek of financial desperation to me. It seems more like unfinished business.

Thanks so much for going the passion & effort in making that video Andi. It's much appreciated. I've also made a targeted drive to grow our membership base over the last few days & we've seen a sharp upwards turn in our numbers with some very knowledgeable metalheads joining our ranks. I'll continue to push in the same way for the next little while & are very excited to see what's possible. Stay metal mate!

Ben was checking that album out earlier this week & comparing it to classic Opeth. I've got it on my iPhone to listen to over the next few weeks on Xephyr's recommendation.

The new single from this Swedish djent/prog metal outfit.

Welcome to the site saxy. I'm so glad you decided to come across & it's great to get an insight into where your metal roots began. Also, it's so cool that we've had a few new members joining The Gateway over the last few days. The site has been fairly extreme metal dominant up till now & we've always wanted it to be more universal & all-encompassing so keep up the good work as far as alternative metal content. It's all great stuff. 

Ben, please add Avgrunn (Spain).

Ben, please add Avenger (Germany).

Ben, please add Ava Inferi (Portugal).

Welcome to the site TJ. Don't be shy. We're building something special here & would like to encourage you to a) be as active as possible & b) invite all of your friends as ultimately the more ratings & reviews we have the more effective the clan concept is. Also, if you have any suggestions for improvements or bug fixes then please offer us the feedback. Traditionally we've taken up people's suggestions pretty quickly & it's led to greatly improved user experience.

Ben, please add At War (USA) & Attitude Adjustment (USA).

Culprit - "Guilty As Charged" (1983)

The sole album from this Seattle-based progressive rock/metal outfit whose sound sits somewhere between classic Rush, 70's Riot & Paul Dianno-era Iron Maiden. It's really well written but is let down a bit by a very thin Mike Varney (Shrapnel Records head) production.

3.5/5

Onslaught - "The Force" (1986)

I wasn't much of a fan of Onslaught's 1985 debut album "Power From Hell" but I find their sophomore album from the following year to be a much more appealing prospect. There's a lot less hardcore punk about it & it's a total riff-fest but in saying that it's far from flawless. The track lengths are needlessly extended, the high pitched vocal squeals are annoying & the riffs & guitar solos tend to be pretty basic & generic compared to other well-known thrash records of the time. So why do I still find myself enjoying it? I guess it's the fact that it sounds like a mixture of the first two Slayer albums, "Bonded By Blood" era Exodus & classic Venom.  

3.5/5

Ben, please add Ascension (Germany).

Ben, please add Ascariasis (Canada).

Ben, please add As They Burn (France).

Strapping Young Lad - "City" (1997)

A very solid slab of industrial metal that should appeal to fans of Fear Factory, Ministry & Nailbomb. I'm not sure it's the classic release it's often made out to be but it sure hits the spot.

4/5

Hhmmmm…. interesting. I'll be adding this one to my list for the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the heads up Xephyr. :)

Exumer - "Possessed By Fire" (1986)

A pretty decent Teutonic thrash metal debut that should appeal to fans of Exodus, Slayer & Kreator.

3.5/5

Ben, please add Antropofagus (Italy).

Ben, please add Antichrist (Canada).

Emperor - "LIve Inferno" (2009)

A classic double live album from the Norwegian Gods of symphonic black metal featuring the reunion shows from Inferno & Wacken. Fantastic production & performances. I absolutely love this shit!

4.5/5

I'm a huge fan & would definitely give this project a listen. Danny's earnt the right to these sort of self-indulgences in my opinion.

Ben, please add Anhedonist (USA) & Antediluvian (Canada).

Ben, please add Angel Eyes (USA).

Crumbsuckers - "Life Of Dreams" (1986)

The debut studio album from this New York crossover thrash/hardcore act. The musicianship is excellent for this style of music & the gnarly vocals suit the violence of the music quite beautifully. I don't mind it. Fans of bands like Cro-Mags, Leeway & Agnostic Front should enjoy this.

3.5/5

Ben, please add the Agoraphobic Nosebleed & Converge split as well as Alice Through The Windshield Glass (Australia).

Alcatrazz - "No Parole From Rock 'n' Roll" (1983)

Yngwie Malmsteen teams up with Graham Bonnet for an epic combination of hard rock & heavy metal with Yngwie's signature neoclassical style being showcased in no uncertain terms. Bonnet's performance leaves nothing in the tank either & it's a real shame that the two commercially focused singles are so poor (particularly opening track "Island In The Sun") because the rest of the album is top class. Fans of Scorpions, Rainbow & Deep Purple should enjoy this as it's probably Alcatrazz' best work. Steer well clear of the subsequent live album "Live Sentence: No Parole From Rock 'n' Roll" with it's poor production.

3.5/5