Daniel's Forum Replies

Some absolutely stonking mid-80's Belgian thrash metal for fans of Deathrow, Metal Church & Flotsam & Jetsam.

Target - "Mission Executed" (1987)

High quality Belgian thrash metal for fans of Deathrow, Metal Church & Flotsam & Jetsam.

4/5

Personally, this is a pretty tight call. I've had a very long affiliation with both records & think they're both pretty great without regarding either amongst the elite releases in my life. Priest are the more metal of the two bands. In fact, I don't even regard "Rising" or any other Rainbow record as legitimate metal but that's not what we're debating here. The albums are about on par when it comes to highlight tracks but "Sad Wings Of Destiny" has 50% more tracks so "Rising" has the edge there. In saying that though, "Rising" has a couple of tracks in the middle that don't do anything for me while "Sad Wings Of Destiny" only has the one in "Epitaph". Hhhhhmmmmm…. I'm gonna go with "Rising" on this occasion due to the greater percentage of high quality tracks.

Rising 1 - Sad Wings Of Destiny 0

Look, I definitely understand what you're saying because I agree with you but "Consuming Impulse" would be in the top few most celebrated death metal albums of the 80's & was released in the same year as "Altars Of Madness" so it was as close as I could get. I do think it's unfair not to mention that Pestilence took the sound of Death's "Leprosy", added additional complexity & sophistication & presented it all with a thicker & heavier production though. It wasn't sending death metal careering to new heights in the same way that Morbid Angel were but it was still giving it a fair nudge forward. It's a great death metal record in its own right. Just not a genuinely classic one in my opinion. "Altars Of Madess" on the other hand is the best death metal album ever recorded. Every fucking track is a classic (with the possible exception of "Lord Of All Fevers & Plague" which was omitted on the vinyl version anyway).

Altars Of Madness 2 - Consuming Impulse 0

This one is fairly clear to me despite regarding both records as genuine classics. Layne Stayley is one of my all-time favourite singers & Jerry Cantrell's talent for writing ultra-sludgy Sabbath riffs & stunningly dark vocal harmonies is unparalleled. There are absolutely no weak tracks on "Dirt" & in fact most are 5/5 bombs. "Dirt" sits in my top ten metal albums ever released & I regard it as just about perfect. "Angel Dust" had a major impact on my life too but if I'm honest with myself I have to admit that a straighter edged, darker & more brooding band like AIC is simply closer to my sweet spot than the quirkier & more experimental FNM sound. I also slightly prefer "The Real Thing" as my go-to FNM album & I'm not much of a fan of the closing track "Midnight Cowboy". So it's "Dirt" by a clear margin for me.

Dirt 1 - Angel Dust 1

I find this one a very difficult proposition to be honest. Neither record have made a particularly big impression on my life despite the fact that I find them both to be pretty enjoyable. Witchfinder General have the advantage in the riffs department of course however they do sound like a poor man's Black Sabbath most of the time. I love the challenging early 70’s progressive & psychedelic rock elements in Pagan Altar's sound as well as the more epic feel. The more expansive musicianship (particularly the guitar work of Alan Jones) gives Pagan Altar an edge over the much sloppier Witchfinder General sound too but interestingly it's the repetitive vocals on "Pagan Altar" that I struggle with rather than Zeeb's on "Death Penalty". Terry Jones sometimes sounds like he’s just singing the same phrase over & over again.

I think "Death Penalty" is the more consistent record however it doesn't have quite as many highlights as "Pagan Altar". Some of the remaining Pagan Altar material lacks the hooks that "Death Penalty" has though & the songs sometimes have a tendency to go past without leaving much of an impression even though I generally like what I’m hearing. The doomier moments on "Pagan Altar" are amazing for the time but there really isn’t a song which fully harnesses that sound without diluting it with more bouncy up-tempo material which is a real shame in my opinion. So I'm gonna go with "Death Penalty" by the barest of margins. Mainly due to the Pagan Altar record finishing with a nearly nine minute track that I find to be a bit disappointing.

Death Penalty  1 - Pagan Altar 1

Congratulations Vinny. You've just submitted 100 quality reviews in absolutely fuck all time mate. That's HUUUUUUUGE!!

Ben, please add Target (Belgium).

You've saved me from making the recommendation I was planning for you Andi. :)

Why the hell include tracks like this on an album of this sort of quality:

A genuine classic of the gothic metal subgenre.

I agree with Ben. If we've proven anything with the Hall of Judgement so far it's that external sources are very unreliable. I mean every Hall result has been a YES for changing the general consensus. Having said that, if you can give us a musical reason why you personally think Kyuss' music is at least as much metal as it is rock then I'm open to including these entries Andi.

And for the record, I've been a Kyuss fan since the early 90's & have never been comfortable with including them as a metal band.

Ben, please add Uncreation (Spain) & Unfathomable Ruination (UK).

Raw & aggressive crossover thrash from Montreal, Canada.

Aggression - "The Full Treatment" (1987)

Raw & aggressive crossover thrash from Montreal, Canada. Fans of early Slaughter, "Darkness Descends"-era Dark Angel & Cryptic Slaughter should find this interesting.

3.5/5

Queensrÿche - "Operation:LIVEcrime" (1991)

Shezma & saxystephens, I recommend that you check out this live album of you haven't already. I think you'll really dig it.

Stunning progressive metal from Washington's finest.

Queensrÿche - "Operation:LIVEcrime" (1991)

A live album recorded in 1991 that features the classic "Operation:Mindcrime" album performed in full along with a couple of extra tracks tacked onto the end. It's unsurprisingly a quality record & fans of the studio version will definitely enjoy it.

4/5

Ben, please add the Ufomammut-Lento split album.

Ben, please add Tysondog (UK).

Ben, please add Aggression (Canada).

Ben, please add Tombthroat (Germany) & Trepalium (France).

Ben, please add Tombs (USA).

Aggressive New Jersey thrash metal ala early Exodus, "Show No Mercy"-era Slayer & Possessed.

Blood Feast - "Kill For Pleasure" (1987)

Aggressive New Jersey thrash metal ala early Exodus, "Show No Mercy"-era Slayer & Possessed.

3.5/5

Ben, please add Thrash Queen (USA).

Ben, please add Thrall (Australia).

Ben, please add Terrordrome (Greece), The Levitation Hex (Australia) & The Red Shore (Australia).

The fifth album "Sünder ohne Zügel" from German medieval folk metallers In Extremo offers just as much nu metal & alternative metal as it does folk music & there's very little of anything medieval about it. It's overrated as far as I can see.

Medieval folk metal from Berlin.

In Extremo - "Sünder ohne Zügel" (2001)

German folk metal from Berlin.

3/5

Ben, please add Taproot (USA).

Ben, please add Talanas (UK).

Ben, please add Taipan (Australia).

Ben, please add Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster (UK).

Ben, please add Suicide Silence (USA).

Ben, please add Sudden Impact (Canada).

Early US death metal from Ohio, USA.

Necrophagia - "Season Of The Dead" (1987)

3.5/5

Ben, please add Sperm of Antichrist (USA).

They've only released a demo.

Your face has only released a demo.

Ben, please add Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition (France).

Ben, please add Stealing Axion (USA).

Ben, please add Starkweather (USA).

Andi, have you ever checked this one out? I think you'd really dig it.

One of the greatest doom/death tracks ever recorded in my opinion & probably Katatonia's finest moment.

Katatonia - "Brave Murder Day" (1996)

Stunningly melodic Swedish doom/death featuring Opeth's Mikael Akerfeld on vocals. This was a huge record for me during the most difficult time of my life where my emotions were all over the place. It really hit me right where I needed to be hit at the time. Admittedly it hasn't aged as well as I thought it might have (i.e. the song structures are very pieced together & the snare sound is quite similar to hitting a matchbox) but those superlative melodies, beautifully composed harmonies & Mikael's aggressive vocals make this an essential release for the subgenre.

For fans of: early Paradise Lost, early Anathema, October Tide

4.5/5

Ben, please add Sperm of Antichrist (USA).

Ben, please add Sotajumala (Finland) & Splattered Entrails (USA).

This Celtic folk outro piece was the only track from this French outfit's sole album that I actually enjoyed.