Daniel's Forum Replies

This track reminds me so much of KISS's "God Gave Rock & Roll To You" (I mean Wyld Stallyns) which was featured on the "Bill & ted's Bogus Journey" soundtrack. It's simply far too cheesy for me as it highlights all of the worst attributes of 80's rock/metal.

Other things I'm digging about the site:

1. The Hall Of Judgement concept. I think it gives the site a real edge & I really enjoy contributing to it. I can't wait to see what it looks like with a few more active members.

2. The Clan Challenges aren't something that appeals to me personally as I don't think I need to be a part of another clan & committing to a long list of reviews seems a little beyond me right now but I've been so pleasantly surprised by the response to Ben's concept. I wonder if we can expand on it in the future?

3. The monthly feature releases are a real passion of mine because they're a fantastic conversation starter & an avenue for people to learn about new bands & subgenres. I'm hoping that more & more people get involved with those so that we get to a stage where dozens of reviews & posts are coming in for each release. I really enjoy the process of selecting them too. I look forward to it each month & try to give us an even blend of classics & lesser known releases.

4. I want to continue to expand on the Metal Academy Lists section so that metal fans have a great resource for learning about specific subgenres or selected periods in the metal story.

5. I'm so grateful & flattered that our regular contributors see enough value in this concept to continue to return despite it only being early days. I'm convinced that your faith will pay off in time but until then I'm hoping that you're all enjoying it as much as I am.

6. Ben has put a huge amount of effort into the population & maintenance of the database & ensuring that the site looks amazing & functions correctly. He's really done an amazing job at building this site for our enjoyment.

I absolutely love it to be honest. It's everything we envisaged it would be & more & it's proven to be the perfect thing to fill the gap that was left when we realized that we couldn't continue with the podcast. I absolutely love talking about metal music with other passionate metalheads & it's been the perfect platform for that but it would be great if we could find a way to build the numbers a bit faster. I don't think I ever realized the sheer amount of effort that would have to go into marketing the site in order to keep the membership numbers trickling over & it took me a while to discover that most of our audience aren't necessarily the types to associate with large social groups of metal fans who they would progressively bring into the fold.That's not something that's going to discourage us from continuing but it's certainly a frustration & I'd be a happy man if anyone could suggest a better marketing plan than I'm currently employing. 

As for the future, I'm hoping that we can continue to develop the clan culture & add a little bit of competition at some point. I'd like to see the clans becoming mini-communities in themselves with their own leaders/moderators who share the marketing, population & maintenance load with us. I'm also looking forward to the charts becoming more & more relevant as our database grows. I'm actually planning to encourage more up-&-coming band members & labels to join the site as regular contributors as I'd like to be able to give our members band's an avenue for reaching a new market through our monthly feature releases & I'd also like to see more & more regular recommendations happening between the regulars as we find ourselves becoming more accustomed to each others unique tastes so as to make Metal Academy the very best resource to find new metal music.

How are you guys feeling about the site? Do you have any requests or suggestions that you feel would improve it?

I agree with you Vinny. I've always quite liked "Metal Church" but have never thought of it as anything particularly special. The first three tracks are amazing. Particularly the first two which are sensational but there's a big hole in the middle of the album with both "Gods Of Wrath" & "Hitman" being well below par in my opinion. I also agree that David Wayne has some very ordinary moments at times. When he's on form he's a real force to be reckoned with but then he'll throw in something like that out of key "Woh..woh..who..woh..woooohhhh" at the end of the chorus for "Hitman" & ruin it all. The closing Deep Purple cover version is surprisingly great but it's only a 3.5/5 album for mine.

Tymell, if you haven't already heard this then I'd highly recommend that you do as you'll definitely love it. It's not to my taste but if you dig Savatage then it'll more than float your boat.

Nup! I'm afraid I still don't get it even though I love Criss Oliva's guitar work.

Florida heavy metal. For fans of Metal Church, Virgin Steele & Queensryche.

Savatage - "Ghost In The Ruins - A Tribute To Criss Oliva" (1995)

I thought that perhaps if you put all of Savatage's best work together & presented it in a format that highlighted the awesome skills of their late guitarist Criss Oliva it might offer me more appeal than their hugely popular studio albums & in fairness this may well be my preferred Savatage release but it still doesn't do much for me. I've just always struggled with this band but fans of Metal Church, Virgin Steele & Queensryche should check it out & make up their own mind.

3/5

In all honesty, RYM is the only place you'll see the term "atmospheric sludge metal". They're really just referring to the post-metal genre which they added only relatively recently & now have competing against atmospheric sludge in a pointless trade-off between two subgenres that are essentially the same thing. There are very few releases that are labelled as post-metal that aren't also tagged as atmospheric sludge. I think it should all fall under post-metal & reside in The Infinite.

Ben, can I suggest that you still make up those more niche challenges but just choose the most relevant releases that have a healthy amount of votes for the subgenre regardless of whether they're the most numerous or not (as long as the release's most popular subgenre is still within the same clan of course)? The intention is to give people into each specific subgenre some releases that fit the taste requirements of the clan & I think this approach will work out more often than not for subgenres like Viking metal & Neoclassical metal. Thoughts?

Welcome Chris! We're delighted to have you & would like to encourage you to be as active as possible. We love to hear our member's thoughts on all things music related & the more ratings & reviews we get into the database the more effective the site will be. Also, it sounds like you're gonna love the Hall Of Judgement so make sure you check that out under the HALL tab. Plus, you may also be interested in our clan challenges under the LISTS tab. We look forward to seeing you around here quite a bit.

P.S. Feel free to invite any other obsessive metalheads you might know to the site too. The more the merrier!

One of the thrashier numbers from Suicidal's 1987 album "Join The Army".

Suicidal Tendencies - "Join The Army" (1987)

Suicidal's sophomore effort is more of a transition album than a genuine crossover thrash release in my opinion. It sits more on the hardcore side of the equation than the metal one. The thin guitar sound, dodgy vocal performance from Mike Muir & consistent use of hardcore-style gang vocals make it a pretty hard slog for me personally but fans of DRI, Cro-Mags & “Animosity”-period Corrosion Of Conformity might disagree.

3/5

The new single from US deathcore outfit The Acacia Strain entitled "A".

My Dying Bride win this one by an absolute mile for me personally. I've always found "Dance Of December Souls" to be heavily overrated while "Turn Loose The Swans" sits amongst the top few releases in the entire doom/death subgenre.

To be honest, the vocal performance was simply far, far too theatrical for my taste. I found it thoroughly abhorrent & couldn't sit through it. That was quite a while ago now & I'd be interested to see if I still feel the same way.

Absolutely supreme US progressive metal from the masters of the subgenre. Spectacular stuff for fans of Rush, Fates Warning & Haken.

Dream Theater - "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory" (1999)

Giving one of my ol' faves a thrashing today & it still does it for me in all the right areas. It doesn't quite top "Images & Words" for my favourite Dream Theater record but it's pretty damn close these days. A wonderful example of the progressive metal concept album. For fans of Rush, Fates Warning & Haken.

4.5/5

The new E.P. from Polish blackened death metallers Behemoth entitled "A Forest" which is due for release on 29th May. The title track is a cover version of The Cure & it features a guest appearance from current Shining & former Bethlehem front man Niklas Kvarforth.

A new split cassette & 10" vinyl release from Norwegian black metall outfits Taake & Deathcult entitled "Jaertegn" which is due for release on 12th June.

The new album from Wisconsin-based brutal death metal outfit Putrid Pile entitled "Revel In Lunacy".

The new album from Graham Bonnet's long-standing Los Angeles heavy rock outfit Alcatrazz entitled "Born Innocent" which is due for release on 31st July..

Ben, please add Hades (USA).

One of the thrashier numbers from the Nashville speed metallers' debut album "Live To Die". For fans of Lååz Rockit, ZnöWhite & Anthrax. 

That's certainly a valid opinion saxy. Personally, I was already a First Wave black metal fan by the time this album was released & it just absolutely floored me. The sheer audacity to even attempt it in the midst of the very peak of the death metal movement showed these guys to have gigantic mega-balls & it was just what I was looking for at the time. You'll rarely find a more accurate depiction of pure darkness & the cold Norwegian winter than this.

4.5/5

The new live album from English sludge metallers Fudge Tunnel entitled "Best Of The Desk - Live In Europe 1993".

My favourite song from the album. It reminds me very much of the sound that Fear Factory would push later on that year & the solo has more than a little Tom Morello about it with Rage Against The Machine's debut also coming later on in 1992.

I've just posted one of my longest & most details reviews on this one. I just had so much to say once I got writing. I think it's because this record came at such an important time in my formative years. Groove metal isn't really my preferred style but it's a great record nonetheless. Dimebag is puts in an almost god-like performance & the rhythm section & production are outstanding too.

https://metal.academy/reviews/16628/2876

4/5

Immolation - Close To A World Below (2000)

Got a CD copy of this yesterday and the sound is fucking monstrous!  One of my all time favourite Immolation records right here. 5/5

I fucking love this record. It's in my top five for death metal overall.

Aggressive mid-80's Brazilian thrash metal in the vein of Slayer, "Darkness Descends"-era Dark Angel & 80's Sepultura.

Mutilator - "Immortal Force" (1987)

Aggressive Brazilian thrash metal that suffers from the usual poor production but has enough attitude & violence to keep me entertained. Fans of Slayer, "Darkness Descends"-era Dark Angel & 80's Sepultura should find enjoyment here.

3.5/5

The new single from Belgian sludge metallers Amenra entitled "De zotte morgen".

The new single from German atmospheric black metallers ColdWorld entitled "We Are Doomed". Hhhmmmm…. that sounds like an uplifting prospect, doesn't it!

The new single from Californian deathcore outfit Suicide Silence entitled "Overlord". It's a non-album track that was recorded during the sessions for their latest full-length "Become The Hunter".

Paysage d'Hiver - "Im Wald" (2020)

Ben, Sonny & Vinny, you simply have to hear this. Particularly the second hour which is absolutely sublime.

It's not available on YouTube as yet but I'm absolutely worshipping the 19 minute epic closer "So hallt es wider" from Paysage d'Hiver's new album "Im Wald" right now.

Paysage d'Hiver - "Im Wald" (2020)

Utterly essential atmospheric black metal for fans of Burzum, Darkspace & Darkthrone. It spans an incredible 120 minutes with the second hour being as metal music gets.

4.5/5

There are some interesting opinions here which is what makes these monthly feature releases such fun. Personally, I think "Lateralus" is an amazing record & Tool's best work but it's not perfect. Unlike "Aenima", I don't think there are any weak inclusions however tracks like "Mantra" & "Faaip de Oiad" definitely aren't as engaging as the better material. "Aenima" isn't far behind as far as overall quality however I do  find tracks like "Intermission" & "Die Eier von Satan" to be pretty hard going. Minor faults aside though, they're both classic releases as far as I'm concerned & I've never placed their other albums (with the exception of the horribly underrated live release "Salival") into that category. 4.5/5 each from me.

Ben, please add Intruder (USA).

Sunn O))) - "Life Metal Rehearsal 230518"

Sunn O))) - "Life Metal Rehearsal 250518"

Sunn O))) - "Life Metal Rehearsal 260518"

Sunn O))) have released a collection of rehearsal demo sets from their “Life Metal” album. A press release said of these offerings:  

‘During the writing of SUNN O)))‘s opus Life Metal, Greg and Stephen created three rehearsal demos of riffs and production ideas in Anderson’s Downtown LA rehearsal studio. They are raw, primordial, translucent, amusing, rough, heavy-as-fuck and paralyzing.’ 

Yeah "Icon" is my favourite Paradise Lost record too. I bought it on release & it took me a few listens to overcome my initial shock at their transition however the new sound was so full, vibrant & authoritative that it won me over pretty quickly. It was a massive comeback after "Shades Of God" which I found to be a bit disappointing after "Gothic".

The new album from one -man Finnish atmospheric black metal project October Falls entitled "A Fall Of An Epoch" which is due for release on 30th May.

The new E.P. from Chicago sludge metallers Bongripper entitled "Glaciers".

Need I say anything here?

The new single from Swedish alternative metallers Katatonia's new "City Burials" album.

I completely agree Saxy. In fact, "Monotheist" is my favourite Frost release these days.

4.5/5

Aaaahhhh…. I see what you were getting at with that power metal reference now. I'm certainly no expert on European power metal but it's worth mentioning that US heavy metal bands like Savatage & Warlord were already experimenting with symphonics back as far as 1983/84 & I'd be surprised if they weren't some sort of influence on the symphonic elements that appeared in European power metal a little later on.

I guess I've always thought that people make too much of Paradise Lost being the first to the table as far as death/doom goes. Particularly as "Lost Paradise" didn't exactly set the world on fire. Winter's 1990 album "Into Darkness" was a stronger release in my opinion & it was more influential on the various scenes that I was connected to at the time. I guess the point I was trying to make in my last post was that there were other bands doing the death/doom thing during that 1989/90 period & they were rarely influenced by Paradise Lost so it's a pretty good bet that the subgenre would have developed whether "Gothic" came along or not. Having said that, "Gothic" was a massive improvement on the debut. I can't say that I've ever thought of the first few Paradise Lost albums as gothic metal though. Gothic influenced? Sure! But they were definitely more death metal based & that was why I was suggesting that Type O Negative might be a more accurate starting point for the subgenre with Celtic Frost being a major influence. I used to socialize in the Sydney gothic scene back in the early 90's (mainly for the hot goth chicks & the drugs) but I can't remember Paradise Lost making all that much of an impact outside of the metal scene until "Icon". Type O Negative, on the other hand, were a huge reason why the goths started to appear at metal shows & that was further exacerbated by black metal bands like Cradle Of Filth a bit later on.

With regards to Celtic Frost (& Hellhammer for that matter), the thrash metal tag never really sat all that comfortably with me to be honest. It's been used more as a catch-all because it sounds a little more accurate than the black metal, death metal or doom metal tags do but Frost really don't sound much like the rest of the thrash bands out there. They always had a fair bit of doom metal about them so "Monotheist" wasn't a huge surprise.

Some very big calls there Andi.

I'd like to throw a cat amongst the pigeons here & suggest that Autopsy are as responsible as anyone for the birth of the doom/death sound. 1989's "Severed Survival" included a whole bunch of doomy Trouble influenced sections & it changed a lot of people's attitudes towards slower tempos in extreme metal. There's also a Dutch band called Sempiternal Deathreign that made a stir in the underground around that time & they released their first album "The Spooky Gloom" in 1989.

As far as gothic metal goes, Type O Negative would be my pick for the earliest exponents but there's a strong case for claiming that Celtic Frost were the inspiration for some of the more gothic & symphonic elements that popped up in the early 90's extreme metal scene.

Paradise Lost influenced power metal? Helloween are responsible for the evolution of speed metal into a separate European power metal subgenre in my opinion. "Walls Of Jericho" is the record that saw that transition taking place.

A terrible acoustic joke track featuring Anthrax/S.O.D. guitarist Scott Ian.

High energy hardcore-driven crossover thrash with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. For fans of S.O.D., D.R.I. & Anthrax.