Daniel's Forum Replies

Mark definitely sounded better than Barnes.

Mark is absolutely frothing that you just said that. His most major influence/idol is 1991-92 Chris Barnes.

Here's my review:

You simply couldn’t ignore Los Angeles industrial death metallers Fear Factory when they exploded onto the scene with their 1992 debut album “Soul of a New Machine”. Although their sound wasn’t ideally suited to my personal taste, I still found myself purchasing the CD & attending the shows with all of my metal-loving mates & quite enjoying myself along the way. Metal radio was all over Fear Factory so you almost had no choice but to become exposed to them & their unique combination of precision, melody & extremity sounded really fresh at the time. As an album, I don’t mind “Soul of a New Machine” but feel that the band would comfortably eclipse it with their next album “Demanufacture” which is still the benchmark for Fear Factory to this day in my opinion. Somewhere in between those two albums though, we find this little remix E.P. which drew a somewhat shocked response from a teenage me. The very gall of an extreme metal band to attempt EDM-infused versions of their more popular songs! It certainly sounded like an awful idea to me on paper so I don’t think I went into it with a lot of hope to be honest & that may well have played a role in me eventually dismissing “Fear is the Mindkiller” as a release that was categorically not for me. However, by the end of the 1990’s I’d been sucked up by the exciting techno juggernaut & spent the next decade spinning tunes in dark, underground clubs so I’m hoping that now I might be better predisposed to enjoying this record. Let’s find out, shall we?

“Fear is the Mindkiller” contains six songs & clocks in at around the 32 minute mark. Five of those pieces are electronica/electro-industrial remixes of tracks taken from the debut album with the album version of “Self Immolation” also being tossed in for good measure. I honestly think that “Self Immolation” was a strange track to nominate to fill out the run time given that a) it’s not one of the better tracks from “Soul of a New Machine” & b) there are already two remixed versions of that track included on the E.P. which leads to repetition. Thankfully though, there is some quality to be found in this material, even for those of you that might only be open to metal music. None of the original tracks are indecipherable in these remixes with all five of them offering regular snippets at the very least. Interesingly though, it’s the pieces that take Fear Factory the furthest away from their original works that work best with “Self Immolation (Vein Tap Mix)” & “Scumgrief” (Deep Dub Trauma Mix)” being comfortably my pick of the bunch. The one failure actually lines up with the heaviest of the songs in the Pig Fuck Mix of “Scapegoat” which is essentially just a misguided attempt to place a dance beat behind the original & fails to connect on anywhere near the same level.

I’ve found myself quite liking “Fear is the Mindkiller” for the most part. The electronic component isn’t done to an elite level but (apart from “Scapegoat”) it’s executed reasonably well &, on most occasions, brings something a bit different to the originals. I can’t say that I regard the E.P. as being essential but, then again, I don’t consider “Soul of a New Machine” to be either. This is certainly an underrated release, perhaps receiving undue criticism from a metal community that can at times be fairly closed-minded when it comes to electronic music.

For fans of HEALTH, Front Line Assembly & Ministry's "Rio Grande Dub Ya".

3.5/5

Here's my review:

I was lucky enough to discover Vader very early on in their recording career with 1992’s “The Ultimate Incantation” debut album first crossing my path shortly after release & at a time when I was completely obsessed with death metal (which… let’s fact it… has never really changed, has it?). I quite liked it too although the fact that I haven’t returned to it since the 1990’s is probably a sign that its impact wasn’t as significant as some of the more classic death metal releases of the time. It did, however, do enough for me to see me seeking out its follow-up “De Profundis” as soon as it hit the streets as well as a couple of Vader’s earlier demos in 1989’s “Necrolust” & 1990’s “Morbid Reich”, both of which I got some enjoyment out of. “De Profundis” would be the record that would cement Vader as an artist worthy of deeper attention for me though so I’ve been excited to take another look at it this week.

Now, let’s get the obvious out of the way right from the start. “De Profundis” is a well-executed example of mid- 90’s death metal produced by a band that clearly possessed a strong pedigree in the extreme metal underground. The band can all play their instruments well & the production is more than acceptable. Those statements alone will generally be enough to ensure a strong score from me given my undeniable affiliations with the genre & era. The question has to be asked about Vader’s credentials for the higher tier ratings though & we're about to take a look at why.

For all the positives on display on “De Profundis”, the major elephant in the room is the fact that they are so clearly trying to emulate the most premium band in the entire global scene at the time in Morbid Angel. The worship is absolutely blatant at times with the riff structures, vocal style & phrasing, drumming & guitar solos all paying homage to the one & only Morbid Angel, a band that I was as obsessed with as any other artist in my life-time when “De Profundis” hit the streets. This leads to the question of whether Vader can compete on that lofty scale & the answer is a categorical no which immediately limits Vader’s scoring potential given that they’ve been relegated to tier two status right from the get-go. The class in their execution & the consistency in their song-writing ability are their feathers in both caps though & Vader draw upon both of those attributes to create a high-quality (if a touch generic) death metal record.

The vocals of front man Piotr Wiwczarek are worth discussing because they’re slightly different to what you would usually expect from a death metal band. His tone is simply not as monstrous or growly, perhaps even semi-clean, & I see this as a slight weakness if I’m being honest. His intelligibility could be argued to be a strength though as it gives Vader a level of accessibility that some of their peers are not always afforded. There are plenty of blast-beats on offer & Morbid Angel’s Pete Sandoval has clearly been an influence on drummer Krzysztof Raczkowski although he lacks the unparalleled power, control & precision of his idol. The guitar solos are probably the highlight of the record for me & we once again see Morbid Angel being the major influence here with Trey Azagthoth’s psychotic chaos being reflected pretty accurately here & with great effect too just quietly. I love the sheer over-the-top energy they bring to proceedings & can accept the similarities to the man who was very much my own personal idol at the time.

One of the real strengths of “De Profundis” is the consistent quality in the song-writing with the tracklisting being very consistent & offering no weak tracks as such. It doesn’t, however, offer as many highlights as I would generally need from an elite death metal release with only the outstanding “Blood of Kingu” (I’m assuming yet another reference to Morbid Angel’s lyrics) being the clear classic of the nine songs. “Of Moon, Blood, Dream & Me” stands out as the weaker number included & is affected by Wiwczarek’s vocal performance which seems to struggle a bit at times but it’s still worth a few listens & isn’t a major distraction.

Look, despite the fact that “De Profundis” doesn’t attempt anything majorly new & targets one band’s sound in particular, I can’t deny that I fucking love that sound so I was always going to find a lot of entertainment in Vader’s sophomore effort. In fact, I’d suggest that it may well be the Pole’s best full-length overall although I do tend to reach for their 2005 “The Art of War” E.P. as my go-to Vader release these days. I can’t see too many battle-hardened death metal fanatics not getting some jollies out of this one.

For fans of Morbid Angel, Hate & Malevolent Creation.

4/5

Welcome Karl. We're delighted to have you & look forward to getting to know you & your musical tastes. I think you'll find that the site ticks all of the boxes you're looking to tick & our community is generally very welcoming & encouraging of new members so feel free to explore & express yourself.

I've always found that the fact that I was already a Cannibal Corpse fan before the release of "Tomb of the Mutilated" gives me a slightly different perspective to many people. It was the record that converted a lot of the kids in my area over to death metal & that certainly did my band Neuropath a lot of favours as the only more brutal death metal band that existed in Sydney back in 1993. I don't think there's any doubt that it was the shock-factor that was responsible for Cannibal Corpse's rise as, despite it being a solid enough release from a purely musical point of view, there were frankly more classic death metal records out there. There can be no denying how fun it was to listen to as a young fella though & it certainly ticked the brutality box that was so much of a passion for me at the time. Some of that gloss has definitely been taken off it over time though & I struggle with Paul's drumming in particular these days as he really does only have three beats that he repeats over & over again with one of those admittedly having invented the double-kick-driven blast-beat technique that would become common-place in the scene almost immediately afterwards. These days I find myself preferring records like "The Bleeding", "Evisceration Plague", "Kill" & "Butchered At Birth" over "Tomb of the Mutilated" but I'll always have a soft spot for it. Neuropath was heavily influenced by early Cannibal Corpse & inevitably always seemed to be associated with them too, perhaps unsurprisingly given our early lyrical direction. We actually played a cover version of "Hammer Smashed Face" at the end of a couple of shows in order to satisfy the repeated crowd requests.

Here's my adjusted Top Ten Technical Thrash Releases of All Time list after revisiting Obliveon's "Nemesis" this week which sees Toxik's "World Circus" dropping out of my list:

01. Coroner – “Mental Vortex” (1991)

02. Sadus – “A Vision Of Misery” (1992)

03. Sadus - "Swallowed in Black" (1990)

04. Obliveon - "Nemesis" (1993)

05. Coroner – “No More Color” (1989)

06. Hellwitch - "Syzygial Miscreancy" (1990)

07. Cryptic Shift – “Visitations From Enceladus” (2020)

08. Ripping Corpse - "Dreaming With The Dead" (1991)

09. KAT - "Bastard" (1992)

10. Obliveon - "From This Day Forward" (1990)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/173

Here's my review:

Montreal technical thrashers Obliveon were a pretty big band for me back in the early 1990’s with both of their first two releases playing relatively important roles in my musical journey as I became "progressively" more interested in the more technical side of extreme metal (see what I did there?). I first discovered them through a dubbed copy of their 1990 debut full-length “From This Day Forward” which I really dug & kept in my Walkman for a few solid months. That prompted me to seek out 1993’s “Nemesis” sophomore album from the tape trading scene as soon as it was released & both records would play a role in me taking my own band’s sound into more expansive structural territories over the next few years, even if I opted for a much more deathly sound. These two releases would be where my journey with Obliveon ended though as the idea of them moving to more of a groove metal sound didn’t appeal to me much so I have to admit that I’m still yet to check out Obliveon's two mid-to-late 1990’s records. Regardless of that oversight, I’m excited to relive my time with Obliveon this week, particularly given that my recent revisit of “From This Day Forward” was so successful.

It's interesting that Xephyr has had such issues with the production job on “Nemesis” because, outside of the strangely off-putting lead guitar tone that appears when they present some of their more progressive & melodic ideas, I struggle to hear the flaws he’s described if I’m being honest. Sure, the drums have a mechanical feel but that works in pretty nicely with the complexity of the riff structures in my opinion. I don’t find that the guitars lack depth or the vocals are too loud either. To my ears everything seems to be pretty well balanced & more than appropriate for an extreme metal release of the time. Perhaps I’m just very used to this record after all these years or are simply more comfortable with early 90’s metal releases in general given my pedigree? I dunno but let’s just say that the production isn’t an issue for me & leave it at that. In fact, I love how the bass guitar cuts through the mix so nicely & everything is so clear & intelligible, despite the incredible technicality on show.

Obliveon have often been claimed as a death/thrash hybrid & you can easily see why. The main selling point for the links to death metal can be found in the vocals which come across as a deathly version of Kreator front man Mille Petrozza & are more than adequate to get the job done. Instrumentally, Obliveon lean comfortably over towards the thrash side of the equation though & I don’t think you’ll be shocked by the extremity of “Nemesis”. It’s not about brutality, instead being weighted heavily towards class, sophistication & execution which are all boxes that it ticks in unanimous fashion throughout the eight tracks on offer. There’s no doubt that Obliveon were pushing the complexity levels right up to the outer thresholds that the metal scene had achieved to the time & they seem to do it really easily too. The talent on show is astounding at times &, unlike some of their tech thrash peers, that element can be seen across the board with the rhythm section being particularly impressive. There’s definitely some commonality in the way the riffs are structured as Obliveon tend to favour a spider-fingered, palm-muted, single-string style of riff that’s performed extremely tightly & if you can buy into that technique (which I clearly can) then you’re in for a real treat as few can do it as well as it’s been done here. I’m a big fan of the way the bass guitar is used & there's are a lot of interesting yet subtle colour added through the drum fills that bring a lot to the overall package too. My only complaint might be that there could have been a little less restraint shown in the guitar solos which often take a more melodic approach than one would normally expect from their thrash.

As with “From This Day Forward”, Obliveon struggle to create genuine highlight tracks here though & a lot of that comes down to the fact that it’s difficult to achieve that when your song structures are focused so heavily on complexity. They do manage to reach that elusive pinnacle on “Frosted Avowals” though which is easily my favourite Obliveon track & made a significant impact on me back in the day. The quality level dropped just a touch at the end of “From This Day Forward” but that’s not the case with “Nemesis” which is slightly more consistent & that’s probably the main reason why I tend to favour it over its elder sibling. There’s not a lot between them though & I’d suggest that both should be essential listening for fans of the more technical side of extreme metal.

For fans of Vektor, Voivod & Аспид.

4/5

August 1973 heralded the earliest roots of the Sydney metal scene I grew up in with heavy psych four-piece Buffalo's sophomore album "Volcanic Rock" kicking off with this heavy metal number that contains high-energy, chugging riffage & a bad-ass Chris Cornell-like vocal delivery:

This morning's track is Black Sabbath's "Over To You" which is a pretty clear-cut hard rock tune:

Today we examine an epic track from Welsh trio Budgie's "Never Turn Your Back On A Friend" third album which was released in June 1973. Budgie are generally regarded as being a metal band but frankly that's one of the myths we're trying to free ourselves of with these threads. This track is as close as they got to metal in their early days & even then it's pretty borderline. "You're The Best Thing Since Powdered Milk" sees them combining blues rock, psychedelia, stoner rock & heavy metal as the 10+ minute piece transitions through a number of different phases. After giving it a fair few revisits I've decided that there's enough metal to warrant inclusion here, mainly in the two main riffs. The first presents that classic bottom string pedal-point although the vocals sound like The Black Crowes & the rhythm section are stuck in blues rock land. The second sees Budgie clearly showcasing the influence of Black Sabbath's "Children of the Grave" with that lumbering gallop. There's even an unaccompanied bass solo in the middle that was clearly ripped off by Iron Maiden. I could probably have opted for a stoner metal tag here given the non-metal components but ended up going with heavy metal as the metal material takes that direction even if the overall track "feels" more like stoner rock most of the time. See what you think.

Here's my review:

Earlier this year I conducted an exercise whereby I made a dedicated attempt to identify the first five metal releases that converted me to the ways of darkness & the results (surprisingly) seemed to indicate that London legends Motorhead may well have been band #1 for me through their 1984 “No Remorse” compilation. Needless to say then that we’ve had as long a relationship as I can boast in metal terms. Interestingly though, I’d never heard any of Motorhead’s studio albums past 1987’s eighth full-length “Rock ‘n’ Roll” until this week when I investigated this month’s The Guardians feature release in 1993’s “Bastards” which is their eleventh full-length. Motorhead have never been a band that’s gonna make too many of my best-of lists but they are one that I hold an enormous amount of respect for & generally enjoy too with only their early self-titled & “On Parole” records not offering me some level of appeal along with 1980’s throw-away “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers” E.P. & the disappointing 1983 live album “What’s Words Worth?”. Everything else is at least worthy a few listens so, when a well-educated mate of mine recently mentioned that “Bastards” might be the release to finally convince me of Motorhead’s metal credentials, my ears pricked up & I made a conscious note to investigate it at some stage.

Upon first listen it became immediately obvious that “Bastards” is a very different sounding record to the other Motorhead albums I’ve partaken in over the years. The production job is much cleaner & more metallic with Phil Campbell & Wurzel’s guitar tones being thick & heavy & Mikkey Dee’s drum kit sounding sharp & precise. I have to admit that this caught me off guard a little at first because Lemmy’s bass guitar seems like much less of a protagonist in this environment & his vocals don’t seem as comfortable without the dirty grit that Motorhead made their calling card over the years. Repeat listens saw me overcoming this obstacle though & predominantly off the back of some quality hooks & song-writing.

My mate was 100% correct on “Bastards”. It’s by far the most metal release I’ve heard from Motorhead & a dual tagging is more than justified here. The album kicks off with the two most obviously metal tracks too with opener “On Your Feet Or On Your Knees” & speed metal stomper “Burner” both tearing shreds off the unsuspecting listener. The rest of the tracklisting sees Lemmy & co. consistently playing in that grey area between heavy metal & hard rock which often makes it hard to make a call one way or the other. That’s not to say that "Bastards" is a drastic stylistic departure for Motorhead though as you can still identify their bluesy roots easily enough during many songs & I never feel like I’m listening to anyone else.

“Bastards” is an extremely consistent album in many ways. The four-piece band sound like a well-oiled machine & it’s hard to imagine that they were capable of creating anything that was noticeably subpar at this stage in their evolution. The record is at its peak during the three-track run that contains “Burner” (my personal favourite), “Death or Glory” & “I Am The Sword” but “On Your Feet or On Your Knees”, “Bad Woman”, “Liar” & closer “Devils” are really solid too. In saying that though, I’ve always struggled to see Motorhead challenging for my higher scores & nothing has changed in that regard. I just don’t think they appeal to me enough from a purely stylistic point of view & that limitation sees me unable to claim any of the twelve songs as genuine classics, despite all of them offering me a level of enjoyment.

Nonetheless, “Bastards” has really surprised me this week. I wasn’t expecting it to challenge some of Motorhead’s more famous releases for top honours but that would seem to be the case here with only “Overkill” & “Ace of Spades” sitting above it on my Motorhead pecking order now. Don’t be afraid kiddies. This is a high-quality metal release in its own right & is one that’s deserving of essential status in the context of Motorhead’s illustrious career too.

For fans of Venom, Tank & Girlschool.

4/5

This morning's song is Black Sabbath's "Air Dance" which I'd suggest fits best under progressive rock:

If the subgenre has the words “melodic” or “symphonic” as a prefix then I’ll usually struggle with it.

Punky one-two drum beats shit me. So does the use of cow bell, particularly when used in conjunction with groovy stoner metal riffs. Any sort of cheese sees me tapping out too i.e. a lot of European power metal.

Welcome to the Academy Max. The way to make a request for a band to be added to the database is to raise it in the dedicated clan forum thread which is pinned to the top of the list of threads. Please bear in mind that we only support albums & E.P.’s as opposed to singles & demos.

Pentagram's 1973 "Bias Studio Recordings" demo included this little stoner tune that tip toes along the line between stoner metal & stoner rock with its dark themes, blues rock influence, doomy feel & psychedelic lead guitar work:

This morning's track is Black Sabbath's "Shock Wave", a song that most people same to associate with heavy metal but I don't see as anything more than hard rock personally. The main instrumental elements are classic open-string hard rock riffs with the rhythm section possessing a rock swagger. The only time that things start to head in a metal direction is during the guitar solo & outro with a trademark stoner metal riff being utilized but it's not enough to see the song qualifying overall.

This morning we examine the birth of one of doom metal's biggest names with Pentagram's "Bias Studio Recordings" demo being released on 22nd March 1973. It contained this classic doom anthem:

This morning's track is Black Sabbath's "A Hard Road" which is clearly a hard rock number:

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

https://metal.academy/hall/504

Andi, I've passed "Classica" uncontested & have posted "Novembrine Waltz" in the Hall of Judgement.

https://metal.academy/hall/503

This nomination has just been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

https://metal.academy/hall/502

Yeah, I'm particularly proud of these results as it's the ultimate sign that Metal Academy are running our own race & are presenting things in the way that they really are rather than simply following the consensus. I even waited until we had the full quota of votes on these ones because I knew how controversial they may be if they were passed.

With a vote tally of YES 9 NO 4, this Hall of Judgement entry has been successful. I've added "Paranoid" to the Stoner Metal genre in the database.

With a vote tally of YES 8 NO 0, this Hall of Judgement entry has been successful & the release has now been added to The Fallen under the Stoner Metal genre.

This Hall of Judgement entry seems to be going in only one direction with the current vote tally sitting at YES 5 NO 0 so I've decided to pass it. The release has now been changed to reflect the new position under both The Horde & The Infinite with the Progressive Metal genre having been added.

I checked out Iron Maiden's four-song demo that was recorded at the very end of 1978 yesterday. To my ears, it's a heavy metal release with hard rock & progressive rock influences.

See, this is why we have a Hall of Judgement where clan members can vote on contentious genre-tagging issues like this one. If you haven’t familiarized yourself with it already, I’d encourage you to do so.

Nah, I’m very well versed in that record & early metal in general given that I’m a long-time metal historian who ran a podcast focused purely on early metal for many years. It makes no difference how “heavy” the music is as far as I’m concerned. Rock music can be heavier than metal at times. It’s about the tools being used & I don’t see it outside of a couple of tracks with “Bang”. We went through the album track by track in the “Roots of Metal” thread some time ago & came up with the same outcome. These threads are 100% about dispelling the myths that have been perpetuated over the decades since so I’ve been completely ignoring the traditional stances, instead drawing upon my musical training & experience in both rock & metal. There have been some controversial results at times but I stand by them as I’ve put in the work & have come to my positions after detailed consideration. Feel free to disagree with me though as everyone’s entitled to their opinions & I encourage the debate as long as everyone remains respectful & doesn’t claim that they know more than everyone else.

Well, yes there's a couple of metal tracks on the Bang album but I don't think the record as a whole qualifies as metal. It sits much more comfortably under hard rock for mine. I've got "Last Will & Testament" pegged as psychedelic rock & "The Queen" as hard rock personally.

It might sound strange for someone that has such a lengthy metal story but I've never owned a battle jacket/vest. I always wore leather motorcycle jacket or a full-length trench coat back in my days playing in metal bands. I wear metal shirts exclusively, even today at 48 years of age.

It's got a bit of a psychedelic Velvet Underground/Lou Reed meets Americana feel to it. I like it. Well done mate.

This morning we examine the A side from one of only two 7" singles released by a Belgian trio by the name of Load Control. Interestingly given its title, 1972's "Scotland" showcases some exotic Eastern-based influences as well as a fair bit of heavy psych but the main riff is rooted in heavy metal so I feel that it fits best here (even if there is probably a case for a stoner metal tag):

This morning's song is Black Sabbath's "Junior's Eyes" which some people will have you believe is heavy metal but which I'm gonna suggest is hard rock with progressive/psychedelic rock influences:

Also, I checked out the 1978 "Give Me A Smile" E.P. from England's Anniversary yesterday as it's often touted as an early NWOBHM release. It's not. It's not even hard rock & sounds more like what we know as alternative rocks there days.

Very interesting. Here's some of my own facts ZeroSymbolic7188:

1. The only two people that have ever argued for more than four clans have had minimal participation in their existing clan's activities so it's unclear what they'd even gain from it.

2. The three clan challenges you've completed so far have only suggested that your taste profile isn't broad enough to cover your existing clans, let alone being ready to expand into additional clans that you're supposedly a little less fanatical about.

3. You're trying to convince Ben & I that we should change the entire basis for the passion project we've been pursuing at our own cost for over six years in order to satisfy your own personal agenda.

4. We've already stated numerous times that we have no intention of making the changes you're requesting.

I'm sorry for being so blunt but how about we move on from this topic now because it's not gonna go anywhere positive or constructive. If you're enjoying the site as it is then I hope you'll continue to enjoy it in its current configuration.

I checked out the 1978 "Four by Three" E.P. from English trio The Next band this morning but found no metal whatsoever, despite it being claimed as an early NWOBHM release. It's purely a hard rock record in my opinion.

Here's my review:

I was genuinely surprised by how much I loved the 2004 "Requiem Tenebrae" third album from French black metallers Nehëmah when Ben nominated it for feature release status some time ago now. It didn't do anything particularly different to the gods of the Norwegian second wave but goddamn it did it well, so much so that I've since gone on to claim it as somewhat of a minor classic these days. It's with great joy then that I report that Nehëmah's 2002 debut album offers more of the same & has knocked my socks off once again.

Nehëmah's sound sits entirely within tried & tested territory but it's very clear that they possess an impeccable pedigree in the genre. The production job on "Light of a Dead Star" is perfect for this style of music with the lo-fi wall of trebly guitars achieving that swarming, relentless assault that all good conventional black metal of this ilk tends to do. The musicianship is quite capable without ever overdoing it & this can best be seen in the drumming which is very powerful but never over-precise. I do have to mention that the album's weaker moments do tend to coincide with the periods where band leader Corven opts for those bouncier one-two beats that Ben & I both struggle with though & I feel that the release might have had the potential to score even higher if not for those distractions.

Darkthrone have clearly been the most major influence on Nehëmah, their unholy trinity in particular. Corven's vocals often sound exactly like Nocturno Culto's but you know what? I fucking miss classic Darkthrone & these style of ultra-grim, uncompromisingly evil vocals really fucking do it for me so I don't give one iota of shit if the style & tone has been lifted from one of the greats of the genre. The faster & more blasting tracks are Nehëmah's strength but they are also quite adept at slowing things down in order to explore some more atmospheric territory at times too with apparent Burzum influences popping up on occasion & the subtle use of keyboards & chanted clean vocals used to good effect.

The eight-song tracklisting is impeccable & imposing with two atmospheric ambient pieces bookmarking the black metal material. The first of these interlude-style tracks is "The Witch Burns..." which is a wonderful way to kick off a black metal record with its tone giving the strong impression of witnessing an actual burning at the stake. The proper songs are scattered with highlights too, the best of which start & end the album in the extraordinarily Darkthrone-esque title track & the ultra-dark & soul-engulfing "Misty Swamps". "In October Nightshades" & "I Will Sleep With The Drgaon" are just as striking though which should give you an indication of just how special this record is. Unfortunately, the only negative is that Nehëmah never quite manage to completely nail a five-star song with some minor flaw creeping into every one of the lengthy tracks & seeing me pulling my rating back just a touch.

"Requiem Tenebrae" may well remain the pinnacle of Nehëmah's recording career for all eternity but I have to admit that "Light of a Dead Star" gives it a serious run for its money, only just slipping behind due to its inability to completely nail an entire piece. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of completely devastating moments on this album though with some parts hitting my sweet spot so hard that I felt completely overwhelmed. "Light of a Dead Star" should be compulsory listening for all fans of straight down the line conventional black metal.

For fans of Darkthrone, Immortal & Marduk.

4.5/5

I don't know where you're looking for releases to explore Rex but I'd suggest that RYM's coverage of dance music leaves a lot to be desired with most releases receiving almost no coverage there. I guess this is impacted by the fact that most of the best dance music isn't artist album-based which is RYM's main focus & also the fact that RYM is fairly heavily driven by the USA which isn't the strongest market for more mature dance music. If you really want to dig into the best that dance music has to offer then I'd be more inclined to look at dance-oriented sites. The more popular DJ mixes are also a good place to find great material too.

Looking at the artists you've already listed like The Prodigy & Underworld, have you already explored Chemical Brothers, Leftfield & Orbital?

Shoot me a private message with your email address if you'd like me to Dropbox you some of my DJ sets from the 2000's.

See, this is the kind of thing where all the fibers of my body keep poking at each other until I say, "Challenge accepted."

There's a common phrase that says "Jack of all trades, master of none" & I think it pretty accurately describes my position on the topic.

We all have certain forms of one genre or another that we're the most passionate about, like how my favorite brand of EDM is breakbeat whereas I struggle with house.  

This is exactly my point & what we're trying to tap into. I feel that I have one of the most diverse metal palates you'll find but there's no doubt that I prefer death metal over heavy metal. That's not to say that I don't know a shitload about heavy metal, have releases that I genuinely love from that genre & could talk about it for hours on end (like I did on the Metal Academy podcast for years) but the fact remains that I'll always reach for a death metal record over a heavy metal one. We want our The Guardians clan members to be the ones that reach for the heavy metal record first (along with their other clans of course). Most of our member's activity tends to be focused on a couple of preferred clans too which suggests that four clans is more than enough.

I think it's time I cleared things up a bit here. The clan feature is the basis for the entire site. What we want to build are communities of the most passionate fans that are dedicated to the genre sets their clans contain & are, therefore, able to autonomously perpetuate regular healthy discussion, well-educated & respectful ratings & reviews & high-quality recommendations for their clan-mates. It's my firm opinion that no one has a comprehensive enough taste in metal to achieve that for all nine clans & I was actually against allowing a fourth clan if I'm being honest open & transparent. Ben & I are capable of awarding ourselves all nine clans if we wish but we've never even considered it because it erodes the value of the clan philosophy. In fact, there was a year there where I dropped one of my four clans altogether & went with only three because I felt that my passion for that clan wasn't complete & over-arching enough to ensure that my ratings weren't tainting the overall clan ratings. Some people choose to only go with one or two clans from the start for the same reason & we've also seen some of our most active members swap or even drop clans at times too as people generally see what we're trying to achieve & buy into the philosophy.

The clan challenges are there for those few committed members to really indulge themselves in while everyone else enjoys the other clan activities. They weren't meant to be easy & aren't for everyone. They're a "challenge" after all. If we're an Academy then these are our Masters degrees. They're fully intended to test the member & are a showcase for our entire community of that person's suitability for the clan in question. A suitable potential clan member will generally find the challenges to be very rewarding & get a sense of accomplishment after finishing them a month or more later, often receiving congratulations from the wider community for their efforts. Where we see people struggling with a large portion of the material in a challenge then that's a pretty decent sign that they aren't a good fit & should probably choose an alternate one because they're potentially going to have a negative effect on the clan ratings. We don't dictate to people on what three clans they can choose during their Academy enrollment but if their attempt to secure a fourth clan does not show the required level of understanding, respect & commitment to the clan then we reserve the right to block it (which we have done on rare occasions). People have tried to create their own clan challenge lists in the past too but that's defeating the purpose so we haven't allowed it. We feel that we've offered enough variety of options in the existing lists (more than I'm comfortable with actually) that if you can't find something that fits your taste profile then you probably should be looking at other clans anyway.

And finally, the clans are used in so many more ways than the challenges. They enable you to nominate the monthly clan feature releases & to contribute to the monthly clan Spotify playlists with some of our more actively contributing clan members even being charged with programming them. They also allow people the right to vote on genre-tagging in the Hall of Judgement (a very important tool that's way underutilized) & "like" their fellow clan-member's reviews. And most importantly, they enable our well-informed members to contribute to creating the cultural environment we always hoped to create with fans of some of the more divisive subgenres (like slam death metal, power metal or melodic metalcore) being able to identify the cream of those sounds without having to worry about every release being down-rated by people that have no business even listening to that release in the first place. They contribute to a member's site identity & enable their peers to understand their unique taste profile so that they can help to bring exciting new music to their attention.

So... the moral of the story is that I'd like people to keep this in mind when choosing to attempt a clan challenge for entry into a fourth clan. It's important that you select the clan that you have the widest interest in to ensure the integrity of the clan system. Niche interests are no doubt very passionate but that's not ultimately what will enhance the value of the clans. On the contrary, there's the potential to degrade it. It's also important that the wider community can see that any aspiring member is giving the challenges the time & respect they deserve as clan membership is a privilege that some people place a high level of value on.

It doesn't get much more underground than the release this obscure 1972 track is taken from with Peru's Tarkus only releasing 50 copies of their self-titled debut album. It's extremely raw stuff but "Tema para Lilus" unquestionably possesses all of the calling cards of the traditional doom metal sound:

Today's song is Black Sabbath's "Johnny Blade" which is close enough to heavy metal in my opinion:

Private message Ben with the details & he’ll change it for you.

This morning we take a look at another one of heavy metal's deeper cuts, this time being taken from the one-off 1972 album "Mournin" from German progressive/hard rock outfit Night Sun. "Living With The Dying" combines a dark & eerie atmosphere with a chuggy headbanging pulse & proggy keyboards. It's great shit & is thoroughly deserving of its metal status in my opinion.

This morning we kick off Black Sabbath's 1978 eighth album "Never Say Die!" with the opening title track, a number that people often seem to want to label as being heavy metal but which is really nothing more than hard rock in my opinion:

That’s not a bad idea actually. I like the idea of giving each clan its own feel. We’d have to have the cost vs reward investigated though as anything that’s done to the site comes with a price tag.

On the Discord/chat topic, I think we might need a much bigger pool of active members to make it worthwhile. Unless you think it could be a draw card to bring people to the site? Are there other live chat resources that are metal-specific?

I was a techno DJ during the 2000’s & still hold a deep passion for electronic music Rex.

Anything recorded?

Yeah, tonnes. I’ll private message you.

I was a techno DJ during the 2000’s & still hold a deep passion for electronic music Rex.