Daniel's Forum Replies
I've passed this nomination uncontested Andi.
I've passed these two nominations uncontested Andi.
I really struggle with "Arntor", as well as Windir's next couple of albums to be honest. I guess I'm simply not the intended audience for these guys.
I've passed this nomination uncontested Andi.
I've passed this nomination uncontested Andi.
I've passed these two nominations uncontested Andi.
I've passed this nomination uncontested Andi.
I've just added these three nominations Andi:
https://metal.academy/hall/601
https://metal.academy/hall/602
https://metal.academy/hall/603
For the record, I'm well across "Parallel Minds" & I don't think there's enough Power Metal there to command a second primary genre tag.
Andi, I've passed the first nomination & added the second to the Hall of Judgement.
Cruciform - "Paradox" demo (1995)
This relatively unknown two-song demo tape is a real treat for underground doom/death fans & is, in fact, one of my all-time favourite releases from the genre overall. Cruciform were arguably the best extreme metal band in Sydney when I first started playing gigs with Neuropath around 1993 & I very quickly found myself idolizing them while becoming friends with their guitarist Leon Kelly who worked at my local record store. They definitely influenced me in a number of ways over the next four or five years & also played a role in my eventual defection from Neuropath to western Sydney doom/death outfit Elysium in 1997. Their 1993 "Atavism" E.P. was pretty decent but it's this wonderful cassette that best showcases the creative potential that Cruciform offered, eventually resulting in them receiving attention from overseas labels like Earache Records. Unfortunately, they split up just when they were on the cusp of taking the next level though. Although the production & performances on "Paradox" aren't perfect, the song-writing is brilliant with second track "Gutter" sitting amongst my favourite doom/death tracks off all time. See what you think.
For fans of Hearse, Sorrow & Delerium.
4.5/5
This one might fit the criteria Rex:
Dornenreich - “Her von welken Nächten” (2001)
Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity - "Streetnoise" (1969)
It took me a couple of listens to truly appreciate 1969's double sophomore album from this talented group of collaborators. I'd probably describe their sound as being progressive jazz-rock with the striking vocals of Driscoll & the well-executed organ work of Auger being the main focal points. The deeper moments are great while there are also a few really interesting cover versions that take a totally different direction to the originals. Thoroughly recommended.
For fans of Soft Machine, The Moody Blues & early Deep Purple.
4/5
Amon Amarth - "Twilight of the Thunder God" (2008)
The seventh & most well-known full-length from these Swedish Viking worshippers is one of their best releases in my opinion & I get a little more out of it than I do most other melodic death metal records. The tracklisting is still pretty hit & miss but, on this occasion, we find that the highlights are strong enough to carry the weaker inclusions with the opening title track being one of my favourite melodeath tracks. The song structures are very simple so it's all about whether Amon Amarth can hit that melodic sweet spot or not & they do as often as not. The heavier cuts are unsurprisingly where my personal preferences lie though.
For fans of Dethklok, King of Asgard & Unleashed.
3.5/5
Uuummmm... anyone else (other the Ben) loving the Ashes so far? I didn't think so.
My weekend was made extra great by my Detroit Pistons having another two wins to see us maintaining our position at the top of the Eastern conference on 19-5. I'm not gonna get ahead of myself as I'm well aware that the Western conference is far stronger & we're only a third of the way through a long season but I'm pretty confident that we'll make more of a dent in the playoffs than we did last year. I'm not sure I can see us beating Western heavyweights like Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, LA Lakers or Houston Rockets in a seven-match series yet though.
Season 4 of "Morning Wars" started off a little slow but really got going by the end. I've quite enjoyed it.
My wife has been very unwell for more than two weeks now, culminating in her being hospitalized for the last two days & nights. I've been home from work in order to look after the kids which hasn't been a drama but I'm really hoping that she comes good soon because the poor woman has endured more than enough health concerns over the last couple of years.
I've really enjoyed my first novel from this American crime author & screenplay writer. The twists are well constructed & the storyline is quite original. I might be back for more from Megan at some point.
^^^ This one is definitely on my radar as I'm a big Blut aus Nord fan.
Grand Funk - "Grand Funk" (1969)
The 1969 sophomore album from Michigan's Grand Funk Railroad (or simply Grand Funk as they were known at the time) is an absolute beauty that features a noticeably gritty psychedelic hard rock sound & a timeless production job that leaves all of the different elements sounding warm & well separated. The bluesy vocals of drummer Don Brewer & guitarist Mark Farner are exceptional here with some sections giving me the strong impression that a young Rob Halford may have been paying close attention to this record. It's a big call but I'd take "Grank Funk" over "Led Zeppelin II" these days & it's not all that far behind "Led Zeppelin I" either.
For fans of Uriah Heep, Blue Öyster Cult & early Scorpions.
4/5
Avenged Sevenfold - "City of Evil" (2005)
I have to admit that I took my first few listens to an Avenged Sevenfold record this week & quickly discovered that a) I don't think I've ever heard a single song by them in my life & b) I can easily understand why as they are clearly none of my business. "City of Evil" apparently saw them moving away from the melodic metalcore sound of their earlier records with this third full-length seeing the Californians playing with a proggy heavy metal sound that's often infiltrated by a European power metal influence. "City of Evil" is also a dreadfully commercialized slab of metal with the awful backing vocals & cheesy power metal guitar melodies doing nothing for me whatsoever. The vocals of front man M. Shadows are a tall ask for me too as he seems to want to channel Mike Patton's whiny higher register delivery but can't pull it off sufficiently which leaves it sitting pretty uncomfortably over this material. Thankfully, the instrumentalists are seriously good musicians & the record is very well produced which enables songs like "Blinded in Chains", "Betrayed" & the clear album highlight "Bat Country" to dig their teeth in but the rest of the tracklisting does very little for me, particularly the horrendous ballad "Seize the Day" & the woeful chorus of "Strength of the World". I guess Avenged Sevenfold simply aren't for me, at least not in this format.
For fans of Trivium, Bullet for My Valentine & Alter Bridge.
2.5/5
If they had swapped "Police Truck" for "Drug Me" it would be even better though.
I completely agree with that idea as "Drug Me" doesn't do much for me.
Rhythm & Sound - "w/ the Artists" (2003)
A stunning dub record that I picked up on CD at the time of release after stumbling upon it due to its associations with the dub techno scene. It's as deep & stripped back as a motherfucker & features some unbelievable vocal contributions from guest contributors which makes "w/ the Artists" one of my all-time favourite reggae AND chillout releases.
For fans of Basic Channel, Maurizio & Deepchord.
4.5/5
Pogrom - "A Dream of Nightful Silence" demo (1995)
This three-piece doom/death outfit hit the Sydney scene around a year after my own band Neuropath started playing gigs. They hailed from the Blue Mountains area which is west of Sydney & was somewhat of a hot-spot for interest in metal at the time. Pogrom were built around the Dyer brothers (vocalist/bassist Beau & drummer Neil) & when they released this demo tape & I think they were only 14-16 years old from memory. They'd change their moniker to Across the Scarlet Moat shortly afterwards & would release a couple of other underground recordings under that name. I'd go on to play in another doom/death band with Beau (Grenade/Innsmouth/Lord Kaos) around 1997 called Elysium (later changed to Stone Wings) & knew him quite well.
"A Dream of Nightful Silence" certainly isn't the most accomplished recording but it does show Pogrom to have their own style, even at such an early point in their careers. While they fit into the doom/death subgenre based purely on the triple vocal attack which blends cleans with a Jeff Walker-style higher register delivery & some very deep death growls, the instrumentation is more organic & much less dense than death metal, reminding me more of traditional doom metal acts like Pentagram only with a distinctly folky slant to it that hints at a black metal influence. Neil's (Elysium/Grenade/Innsmouth/Murkrat/Sacriphyx/Stone Wings) drumming is really quite bouncy & rocky which ensures that Pogrom never sound too crushingly doomy either which is to the releases detriment in my opinion. He's a pretty accomplished drummer for a young teenager though. I think the guitars of Own Richards (Decayed Divinity) could have been louder too which would have given Pogrom a heavier sound.
This material doesn't do a lot for me these days to be honest & it'll be interesting to see how the Across the Scarlet Moat demo compares when I finally get around to revisiting it.
For fans of Across the Scarlet Moat, Katatonia & Anathema.
2.5/5
Dead Kennedys - "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables" (1980)
I came across Dead Kennedys' debut full-length at around the same time I was introduced to Slayer back in my early high school days & it was through the same school mate too. I can't say that Dead Kennedys ever resonated with me like they did for a couple of my metal mates & they still don't to tell you the truth, although I do quite like this record nonetheless. Unfortunately, it's noticeably devoid of any tracks that I genuinely love so it doesn't tend to be a release that I go out of my way to seek out when I'm looking for an early hardcore punk fix.
For fans of Black Flag, Minutemen & The Vandals.
3.5/5
Suffocation - "Blood Oath" (2009)
The sixth full-length from my all-time favourite metal band left me feeling a little underwhelmed at the time but perhaps it was always destined for a middling response given that it was the first 2000's-era Suffocation record I checked out after my return to metal in 2009 so my expectations were extremely high given my long-time love for their early works. This revisit has seen me overcoming whatever obstacles detracted from my original opinion on "Blood Oath" though, even the slightly muddy, bass-heavy production job which could have done with a little more life. Songs like the title track & "Pray for Forgiveness" absolutely crush with Frank Mullen's monstrous vocals in fine form & those twisted chromatic guitar solos & crushing slam riffs doing their best to take your head clean off. "Blood Oath" may have been claimed to be Suffocation's least impressive release to the time but I comfortably prefer it over 1993's horribly produced "Breeding the Spawn" album & give it a slight edge over 2004's comeback record "Souls to Deny" too. There's certainly plenty here for all the brutal death metal nuts out there as Suffocation simply can't be touched in this field in my opinion.
For fans of Dying Fetus, Cryptopsy & Nile.
4/5
Nice choice. I enjoy everything these guys have released in the past as they're a quality act. In saying that, I need to check out their new album "The Sleeping City" some time soon.
Oooooo.... I haven't gotten to this one as yet but I quite enjoyed my brief dalliance with Nexion's 2020 debut album "Seven Oracles" so I'll be getting onboard with "Sundrung" at some point.
I gave this E.P. a couple of casual listens at the time of release & recall it being pretty decent & potentially some of the best work that Cianide have done since the early 90's. I might pop it onto my to-do list for further exploration.
While I've always kept up to date with most of the Bulldozer back-catalogue over the years, I have to admit that I've struggled to get into some of their more seminal records. Their first two full-lengths are a prime example of that as neither have ever done a lot for me. I do get a little bit more out of the thrashier "The Final Separation" than I do the speed metal of "The Day of Wrath" but I don't think I'll ever understand the underground appeal of either if I'm being honest. The claims that they're an early example of genuine black metal are misguided too in my opinion, despite with Fenriz may say. 3/5
Acrimony - "Tumuli Shroomaroom" (1997)
I've really enjoyed my first experience with Welsh stoner metallers Acrimony this week. Their 1997 sophomore record is a very solid example of the genre which offers a level of appeal that's largely driven by its lengthier highlight tracks. I particularly like the more psychedelic, cerebral moments with the gruff vocals also being a perfect fit for this style of metal. It's a fairly long listen at 65 minutes but is well worth the investment of time as the last couple of tracks are quite the epic climax after a more middling period through the mid-section of the tracklisting. This is good stuff that I'd recommend to all of our stoner-inclined The Fallen members.
For fans of Stoned Jesus, Unida & Church of Misery.
4/5
Mastodon - "Once More 'Round the Sun" (2014)
The sixth full-length from these Atlanta progressive metal legends is another strong release that may not challenge Mastodon's earlier classics but there can be no denying the quality of the arrangements & performances on display here. The references to stoner metal are misguided as this is once again a purely progressive metal affair, much like the three albums that preceded it. As with 2011's "The Hunter", there are not enough genuinely classic songs included here to be challenging Mastodon's glory days but there is still a class about everything these guys do that has seen me continue to lap up material like this. I'll be interested to see if their more recent work has the same effect when I finally get around to exploring it. I think I'll give "Once More 'Round the Sun" a slight edge over "The Hunter" in terms of overall consistency which seems to be in line with the general consensus these days.
For fans of Baroness, High on Fire & Gojira.
4/5
The Red Crayola with The Familiar Ugly - "The Parable of Arable Land" (1967)
I've really struggled with the popular debut album from this Houston-based experimental psychedelic rock act this week as I don't understand the pointless noise interludes & (with the exception of the excellent "War Sucks") the actual songs aren't strong enough to balance the equation. Apparently, the band invited all of their fans down to the studio with whatever they could find to make sounds & then recorded them all randomly banging away over the top of each other with the result leaping over the boundary of what can be considered to be music. I'm baffled as to the level of praise this record generally receives.
For fans of Pere Ubu, Spacemen 3 & The 13th Floor Elevators.
2.5/5
Oracle of the Void - "In Darkness Is Found the Greater Enlightenment" demo (1995)
The Australian underground extreme metal scene was a really exciting place to be back in the mid-1990's & I could spend all day running you through high-quality releases & demos from bands that never amounted to anything of significance, mainly off the back of living in such an isolated part of the world during the pre-internet days. Coffs Harbour-based black metallers Oracle of the Void are one such artist & I doubt that any of you have heard of them but that doesn't stop their 1995 demo tape from being a better listen than those of the big Norwegian names like Emperor, Enslaved, Satyricon or Burzum from earlier in the decade. There can be no doubt that Oracle of the Void were heavily influenced by early Emperor as you could be forgiven for mistaking "In Darkness Is Found the Greater Enlightenment" for some of their early works if you didn't know any better with the high-pitched screams & tasteful use of keyboards clearly having been inspired by Ihsahn & co. These guys utilize a dual vocal attack though, combining those blackened screams with ultra-deep death growls to good effect. My brutal death metal band Neuropath played a show with Oracle of the Void at the Agincourt Hotel in Sydney in around 1996 & it was there that I picked up this demo tape which was re-released as a 10" E.P. in 2006. They put on a great show & were nice enough chaps too. I recall them playing a cover version of Immortal's "Unsilent Storms in the North Abyss" early on in their setlist, only to repeat it again at the end of the set at the request of various members of the audience.
For fans of Emperor, Abigor & Nazxul.
4/5
Another great win from my beloved Detroit Pistons over the Indiana Pacers today sees our winning stretch growing to a record thirteen straight wins. We're now 15-2!! Unfortunately, my Sydney Kings were fucking crap in both offense & defense against the Tasmania JackJumpers on the weekend, losing by a woeful 23 points. Interestingly, I'm finding that I care way more about the NBA than I do about our local competition these days. Despite commentators now saying that the NBL is now arguably the second strongest basketball league in the world, it's still not even close to the level of the NBA in my opinion.
A fantastic 129-116 win from my Pistons over the Bucks this morning after the Bucks had beaten us on the last thirteen consecutive matchups. That's now a franchise record of twelve straight wins, sitting three games clear of second place at the top of the Eastern conference. This could be our year!
What an extraordinary second & final day of the First Ashes Test! As sad as I am that I won't have the opportunity to watch another day of Test cricket today, I'm super-proud of the Aussies for recovering like they did & feel honoured to be able to say that I watched that Travis Head innings as it played out. It was simply one of the greatest Ashes innings ever & will be very hard for the Poms to come back from in the Second Test in two weeks time. I'm a strong critic of the Bazball model that England swear by & I think they'll be having a good hard think about whether they can afford to continue with such an attacking style of batting in Australian conditions given how ineffective their batting has been in Perth.
Today is all about basketball now with the Detroit Pistons vs Milwaukee Bucks NBA match & the Sydney Kings vs Tasmania JackJumpers NBL match both taking place during the middle of the day. My wife will no doubt be pissed but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.
So, I've decided to start a new monthly playlist that provides people with a surprise mix of metal material that doesn't focus on any particular clan. It's essentially just a selection of the best material from all of the releases I've listened to enough to rate in recent weeks & I've called it "Metal Academy Radio's Metal Party Mix Tape" for the time being. I think my listening habits are broad enough to give it the desired amount of variety & have intentionally left the programming really random so that you never know what's coming next but also because I have no time to spend on programming these days. It'll be continually evolving as I listen to my next release with the longer-term inclusions giving way to the more recent experiences. I've been really enjoying this playlist over the last couple of weeks. See what you think.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2JhEdPqjMqaMjnqIYKSwlq?si=abbc65cf26dc4c67
To say I'm disappointed in the Aussies' batting performance yesterday is an understatement. In fact, the batting from both sides left a lot to be desired, despite the excellent bowling. Travis Head & Alex Carey should take a good hard look at themselves after those dismissals while the Aussie management has some serious answers to give following the Usman Khawaja debacle. I'm hoping for a better showing today as it would be a real disaster for the First Test to finish inside three days.
I know that I listen to quite a lot of stuff that wouldn't be found on this site. My passion will always be metal, but I have much broader tastes than I once did.
*pauses his Gary Numan record to flame Ben for being an impotent scene-queen poser*
Gary Numan - "The Pleasure Principle" (1979)
I quite enjoyed the 1979 "Replicas" debut album from London new wave outfit Tubeway Army recently so I thought I'd give front man Gary Numan's first solo effort from later the same year a crack this week & I've found it to offer a similar (perhaps slightly greater) level of enjoyment. The early synth sounds somehow seem to be both dated & timeless at the same time while I really dig Numan's vocals which provide the perfect accompaniment for the spacy instrumentation. I've found myself becoming increasingly interested in these old synthpop sounds of late. There's something refreshingly authentic in their simplicity & creativity.
For fans of Kraftwerk, Ultravox & The Human League.
3.5/5
Children of Bodom - "Hatebreeder" (1999)
This was the first time I've revisited these Finnish melodic death metallers' sophomore album in over fifteen years & I could very quickly see why as, much like it's follow-up "Follow the Reaper" which I struggled with a couple of months ago, "Hatebreeder" champions a sound that I simply can't stomach. It's comprised of tightly executed power metal instrumentation with front man Alexi Wildchild Laiho's raspy melodeath vocals & shredding neoclassical lead solos being layered over the top & none of that was ever going to sit very close to my wheelhouse. I will say that "Hatebreeder" is slightly better than "Follow the Reaper" (which is arguably their most well-known record) but I really should have known better than to venture into these territories again.
For fans of Kalmah, Norther & Wintersun.
2.5/5
Look, I think there's something in the idea that metal continues to gain & lose popularity in a cyclic fashion but I don't think there's any reason to believe that it's a regular cycle of seven years. Personally, I don't think it's a repeatable pattern. It's simply about when the next big commercial metal subgenre or band pops up in my opinion & you can't really put a timeline on that.
As for where all the metalheads have gone, I think it's easy to take a shallow view & say that we don't see as many of the traditional long-haired, black-band-shirt-wearing metalheads in society today but I think there's a reason for that. I've recently discovered that there are quite a few metalheads at my workplace for example but only two of them outwardly show off their musical passion & they are both of a similar ilk to myself. The others all got into metal through nu metal or later & we've seen that fans of post-2000 metal fads no longer feel the need to display their passion through long-hair & black band t-shirts so it's harder to identify them. They do however have a tendency towards tattoos but that's not strictly a metal trait any more with a larger & larger percentage of the population showing off significant amounts of permanent body art. So, what I'm saying is that there may be more metalheads around than people realise because it's not always obvious any more which is a little sad in my opinion.
Robert Ashley - "Private Parts" (1978)
A two-track, 46-minute journey that draws upon a combination of soothing spoken word & ambient new age music to good effect. The A side is excellent & is the real reason to explore this release although the B side is also fairly enjoyable. You really need to be able to become involved with a record from a purely atmospheric point of view to understand an album like this one as there isn't any semblance of traditional song structure to be found. "Private Parts" is a gentle, artsy record that will appeal to gentle, artsy people.
For fans of John Cage, Steve Reich & Morton Feldman.
3.5/5
Bring Me the Horizon - "Post Human: Survival Horror" E.P. (2020)
I thought I'd give this Sheffield-based act another chance to impress me after being pleasantly surprised by their excellent 2013 fourth album "Sempiternal" earlier this year. Unfortunately, this very popular nine-song E.P. has left me feeling pretty disappointed though. It starts off really strongly with the first two tracks both being excellent but the tracklisting becomes noticeably patchy after that which has ultimately left me feeling a little cold about the whole experience. Don't get me wrong, there are three or four enjoyable numbers included here but they're not enough to cancel out creative failures like the BABYMETAL collaboration "Kingslayer". "Post Human: Survival Horror" is a much more commercially focused release than "Sempiternal" was with the electronic component having been accentuated significantly, not in a good way though.
For fans of Motionless in White, Wargasm, and Linkin Park.
3/5
My Detroit Pistons (13-2) beat the Atlanta Hawks (9-6) by 120-112 yesterday to achieve the greatest winning streak in our history at eleven straight wins. We're now sitting ahead of second place by three matches at the top of the Eastern conference with our next fixture being against the Milwaukee Bucks (8-7) on Saturday. We've lost thirteen straight matches against the Bucks but they'll be without the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo who has been the difference between the two sides in recent meetings.