Daniel's Forum Replies

01. Reign In Blood

02. South Of Heaven

03. Seasons In The Abyss

04. Decade Of Aggression: Live

05. Live Undead E.P.

06. Haunting The Chapel E.P.

07. Show No Mercy

08. Divine Intervention

09. Hell Awaits

10. God Hates Us All

11. Repentless

12. Christ Illusion

13. Diabolus in musica

14. World Painted Blood

15. Undisputed Attitude

01. Human

02. Individual Thought Patterns

03. Symbolic

04. The Sound of Perseverance

05. Live in L.A. (Death & Raw)

06. Leprosy

07. Spiritual Healing

08. Scream Bloody Gore

09. Reign of Terror demo

10. Death by Metal demo

11. Infernal Death demo

01. ...And Justice For All

02. Master of Puppets

03. Ride the Lightning

04. The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited

05. Through the Never

06. Kill 'Em All

07. Black Album

08. Live Shit: Binge & Purge

09. Whiplash E.P.

10. No Life 'til Leather demo

11. Garage Inc.

12. Power Metal demo

13. S&M

14. Hardwired...to Self Destruct

15. Lulu

16. Beyond Magnetic

17. Death Magnetic

18. Load

19. Reload

20. St. Anger

I haven't even heard "72 Seasons" to be honest.

Terry Riley - "A Rainbow in Curved Air" (1969)

It's been a while since I last heard the third album from California minimalism guru Terry Riley but I've always enjoyed it so I thought I'd finally commit to awarding it a firm rating this week. "A Rainbow in Curved Air" includes just the two lengthy tracks with the nineteen-minute title track arguably being the piece that originally saw people becoming aware of the progressive electronic sound & the twenty-two-minute "Poppy Nogood & the Phantom Band" being a droney example of the minimalism concept that Riley had played such as strong role in promoting previously, particularly with his previous record "In C" which was very well received by open-minded music fans. I have to admit that, despite its ground-breaking nature & fresh, bright feel, I couldn't really get into the title track this week. It just seemed too scatter-gun in its approach & could really have done with more focus on structure. It was always "Poppy Nogood & the Phantom Band" that was the real attraction for me here though as I really admire the ideas & execution, particularly in the use of out of phase tape loops which was seriously advanced for the time. I love the deep drone section too. Perhaps this isn't the classic that many people will have you believe it is but there can be no denying its importance.

For fans of Maxime Denuc, Bing & Ruth & Mariusz Duda.

3.5/5

Fester Fanatics - "Greatest Cocktail Party Hits: Vol. 1" (1989)

The second & final studio album from this notorious Sydney heavy metal band & this time it's a fun collection of tongue-in-cheek cover versions that I actually enjoy more than Fester Fanatics' fairly flat 1987 debut album "What Choice Do We Have?". Sure, there are a couple of duds here (see the glam metal version of KISS' "I Want You" & the hard rocking take on The Doors' "Hello I Love You" for example) but the other eight songs are all pretty enjoyable, particularly the two that open the record in the pub rock version of The Swingers' "Counting the Beat" & a thrashed up rendition of The Vapors "Turning Japanese". The production job isn't amazing & front man Alfie Fester is hardly the most talented singer you'll ever encounter but the boys make up for it in laughs & singalongs. Guitarist Jed Starr's guitar solos are the clear highlight of the album as he was a seriously capable shredder that has never received the kudos he perhaps deserved. I can't see this release seeing many of you becoming diehard Fester fanatics but you could do a lot worse than to belt it out at your next house party as it's guaranteed to have your mates singing along.

For fans of Massive Appendage, KISS & Rose Tattoo.

3.5/5

01. Transilvanian Hunger

02. A Blaze in the Northern Sky

03. Under a Funeral Moon

04. Panzerfaust

05. Soulside Journey

06. Old Star

07. Ravishing Grimness

08. Hate Them

09. Arctic Thunder

10. Sardonic Wrath

01. Paranoid

02. Sabotage

03. Mob Rules

04. Black Sabbath

05. Master of Reality

06. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

07. Heaven & Hell

08. Dehumanizer

09. Headless Cross

10. Vol. 4

01. Somewhere in Time

02. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

03. Powerslave

04. The Number of the Beast

05. Peace of Mind

06. A Matter of Life & Death

07. Brave New World

08. Iron Maiden

09. Killers

10. No Prayer for the Dying

Admittedly, I haven't heard Maiden's last album "Senjutsu" as yet.

ATLUS Sound Team - "Persona5" video game soundtrack (2017)

An immense 3 hour 47 minute/110 track collection of material from this Japanese video game production team, covering a whole range of sounds from jazz to funk to soul to lounge to EDM to metal. As with all releases of this type, a lot of the material isn't given adequate time to breathe & there's a fair amount of filler but there are also plenty of golden moments for those with a bit of patience. I tend to favour the deeper, loungier material with the more electronic sounding stuff having more of a disposable AI vibe. The best songs are usually also the longest ones though so the wins outweigh the losses to make this worth a few listens, particularly on long drives when you need something lengthy that doesn't require much thinking or effort. The funk/jazz bass playing is nothing short of spectacular throughout too.

For fans of Osamu Sato & Out Ass Mao, The Brand New Heavies & Buckshot LeFonque.

3.5/5

The tool being used was definitely AI as you know it Sonny. It's worth noting that there are different calibers of AI programs around though. Our bass player is a graphic designer too & we initially wanted him to do the cover artwork so that it would truly represent the band. After six weeks of him trying to come up a result using a free AI program, the label & I decided that we weren't able to get the result we were looking for & agreed to have the label's designer give it a crack with his expensive AI software package. The results were remarkably different & in very quick time too. As with anything, I would suggest that there's an art form to this process too so the human element was certainly a factor.

Essentially AI software is using a pool of material to morph together all of the ideas that are given to it so the more direct guidance you give it, the more unique & detailed your result becomes. This is not very different to the music creation process which generally starts with influences. Some bands will provide an exact replica of another band's sound while others will simply use it as inspiration to create something more unique. The whole Pestilence online shit-fight is an interesting one because I honestly don't think too many people would have said anything if they hadn't gone with such a cheap & dodgy AI image that's not a true representation of what these tools can do. It certainly didn't help that they then went & defended themselves in such an aggressive way & with such bullshit reasoning. Yes, it's true that most artists/labels can't afford to contract an elite artist to create something entirely tailored to their vision but they could easily have purchased something pre-existing online from a little-known yet still highly talented artist for virtually nothing. In fact, I'd be surprised if people wouldn't have paid Pestilence to take their art given the band's profile. Musicians definitely deserve to have their product released in a package that represents their vision though. I'm proud of the one we produced but it isn't what I visualized in my head & I even had to change the title I initially wanted for the CD because it didn't fit the image we eventually went with. Thankfully I think it looks great & people seem to agree.

Honestly, a lot of music out there already sounds like it was produced by AI. Just look at the glut of Japanese video game soundtracks on the market that seem to inevitably reach the upper echilons of the RYM charts. Plus, a large part of modern-day music is sample-based which almost entirely borrows from the huge pool of historical music (see hip hop & electronic dance music for example). I just see AI as another tool that can be used for as much good as it can for bad depending on who's using it. I obviously don't condone plagiarism but I have no issues with following this process to assist in achieving some fresh & original artwork which AI can certainly do.

While I can understand people's issues with AI art, I feel that it's worth sharing a few things from the perspective of a recording artist that has been in the position to navigate the options for their own album release. Firstly, it's probably worth clearing up that it's generally not the band that ends up paying for the cover art. It's the label. We didn't pay a cent for our cover art & we had the option to go with AI or otherwise. The creative control was completely sitting with me & the rest of the band too. The options presented to us were a) we could have the label purchase a pre-delivered piece of art of our choice from an online source or b) we could have the label's graphic designer create something that was tailored to my specific vision using AI. Contrary to popular opinion, there is actually not much cost difference between the two options as online art can be secured for virtually nothing given that the artists are all super-keen to have their work feature on album covers & there's a huge amount of competition for spots.

After reviewing some very impressive examples the label sent through (none of which I could tell were created using AI), I initially chose to go with the AI option which meant that the label were paying their experienced graphic designer to work with me on creating something that was previously only in my head. I gave him a whole bunch of ideas & he then delivered me various different concepts, some of which were very closely aligned to what I was imagining in my brain. The more detailed the information I gave him about what I wanted, the more accurately he was able to get the drafts to align with my vision. I'd ask him to change little details about the images & he would make the required adjustments so they were constantly evolving. In the end, we were very close to coming up with something that looked nothing like anything I'd ever seen before yet perfectly fit the vision I had as the creator of the music the release was presenting. Unfortunately for us, the owners of the AI software our designer was using decided to take a stand against any form of graphic violence at an inopportune moment & banned most (or all) of the many sources that the software were drawing from to create these images. I was told that we couldn't salvage the work we'd done up until that time too. At that point, we had the option to stick with the AI but go for a far less imposing outcome or to take a look at the market for pre-existing pieces. I opted to do the latter &, after spending a week searching, I came up with a selection of agreeable options, none of which would have cost the label more than $140 USD with many being well under $100 USD. There were some things that I didn't like about the eventual winner to begin with (i.e. it had firey devil horns at the top that looked a bit cheesy & the structure wasn't perfectly centrered) so we simply asked the creator to change those things, which they did in quick time, presumably digitally.

Now, let me be clear that Ben was across the whole process & he always preferred the non-AI options which is not surprising given that he's a long-time art fan. Me personally? I actually feel like we missed the opportunity to have the CD presented with a cover that better represented the vision I had in my head & looked like nothing I'd ever seen before using AI. The idea that AI art is simply a rehash of other people's ideas isn't entirely accurate from what I saw as the designer was able to create pretty much what I had in my head & could tailor the finer details to my specifications. While the eventual artwork we used is certainly attractive, it looks very much like it could have come from the early 90's Roadrunner releases & is not nearly as intimidating or dark as the ideas we were tossing around earlier on. It's also worth mentioning that someone was still being paid during this exercise & probably more than it would have cost to buy an image from an online artist too.

That's just my two cents & I'm acutely aware that I might get flamed for sharing these thoughts. I'm not a passionate supporter of AI but I thought it was worth sharing my experiences so that others can take what they wish from it. I think it's also worth remembering that a lot of the music we listen to is drawing upon things like chords, synthesizers & drum programming as tools. Those things were all created by someone else & are simply being presented in a different way. Perhaps this is different. Perhaps not.

Iron Lightning - "Don't Fear... the Darkness" demo (1989)

The first of two demo tapes from Brisbane trio Iron Lightning who were spawned from what was arguably Queensland's first thrash metal act in Black Widow. It's a pretty rough affair that sees the band taking the popular US sound of Metallica & Megadeth & combining it with a clear US power metal influence. The vocals are very much a poor man's take on James Hetfield &, while the song-writing is fairly expansive, the execution is quite primitive which leaves "Don't Fear... the Darkness" sounding pretty lacklustre.

For fans of Lååz Rockit, Sentinel Beast & Hades.

2.5/5

For the record, cassettes have made a huge comeback in underground extreme metal circles which is why you're seeing those cassette insert covers from releases that are literally only made in that physical format. I've received a few cassettes from metal connections only recently actually & thought to myself "What the f**k am I supposed to do with this then?"

I honestly couldn't care less whether a band utilizes AI for their cover artwork. We were actually going to use AI for the Neuropath cover artwork before the platform our designer was using decided to ban all the gory stuff. The ideas we were coming up with were genuinely unnerving & intimidating & suited the themes beautifully. I was initially disappointed that we couldn't use it until I noticed the eventual artwork we went with on sale online.

I take all of those things into account in my individual track ratings Rex. That's one of the reasons that I'm so meticulous about listening to releases from start to finish & in their entirety as a complete piece of art.

Another place where I find that the methodology Ben & I use isn't perfect is when you've got a lengthy single-track release like Meshuggah's "I" E.P. for example. You end up with a flat score for the release that doesn't differentiate it with smaller percentages. It's not a major problem but it's worth noting nonetheless. It's better when those lengthy tracks are broken up so that you can score the individual parts (see the Spotify version of Edge of Sanity's "Crimson" for example).

One characteristic of the Excel sheet Ben & I use is the difficulty in achieving a genuine five-star release & you can see that reflected in my Metal Academy scoring. You see, for a release to meet the criteria for the full five stars it has to average at least 4.75/5 across its entire run time. When you're looking at each track in such detail you'll soon find that even some of your all-time favourites don't meet that criteria. I like that attribute personally as I like to keep my five-star ratings for a select few. Others may not though so there's no right or wrong way to score your art. Sonny's & Vinny's way is no better or worse than my own as far as I'm concerned & I can completely understand if people think that my methodology is overly analytic. It does, however, ensure that I'm actively listening at all times as you need to be when you're scoring each individual track against a scoring matrix. It also makes the creation of lists very simple as it just requires a bit of intelligent filtering.

Equinox - "Ecstasy in Black" demo (1989)

A particularly underground one-off demo tape from a Sydney-based thrash metal band that used their limited skills to create some fairly basic yet still quite catchy mid-paced material based mainly on the popular US model. The raspy Mille Petrozza-esque vocals give things a slightly different spin though which helps Equinox to get under my skin a little bit. I find the first two of the three songs included ("Whisper" & "Rise to Offend") to be quite enjoyable while closer "Lost Legion" tends to fall a little flat, in large part due to its lack of ambition. If you like your thrash a little more chuggy & utilizing your more controlled tempo ranges then you may find some enjoyment in "Ecstasy in Black" but I doubt you'll give it a lot of time.

For fans of Anthrax, Exodus & Metallica.

3.5/5

I understand exactly what both of you are saying, but do you not find that your opinions and "enjoyment factor" changes over time? Just for example, I have been re-evaluating my 2016 list (from RYM) which was made at the time and found that several albums have moved significantly, both up and down. I was convinced of their positionings at the time, but time has woven it's spell and now I am equally convinced otherwise. I guess I am asking can a list ever be anything more than a snapshot in time?

There will always be occasions when our opinions change over time. I think that can be minimized a bit by giving each release the time to fully sink in & be experienced in different environments when you initially encounter it but, even then, there are times when I've found that I simply didn't fully understand a new sound or even an entire subgenre & it took me a several revisits to come around to it (see post-metal, dissonant death metal, blackgaze, etc.). I find that my opinions don't seem to change all that much on the stock genres over time though & I put that down to experience & the standard way I score each release. Ultimately, I don't think it matters all that much if your scores are just a reflection of how you felt in a certain year though. You can always change it retrospectively as I've had to do a number of times over the course of my recent reassessment of a lot of the releases I listened to back in the 1980's & 1990's.

I have got to ask, Daniel, are you being serious about the spreadsheet or is that a bit of sarcasm aimed at ardent listmakers like myself, because I can assure you I do nothing of the sort?

No, I'm completely serious Sonny. Been doing it for many years now.

Of all of the more widely acclaimed black metal acts on the planet, Negura Bunget is one that I've always struggled with to be honest. I go into each revisit with an open mind & high hopes but inevitably find myself tentatively backing away with my hands up & a look of confusion on my face.

I would suggest that my release scoring system is as comprehensive as it's possible to be. Many years ago, I created a spreadsheet that takes the duration of each track & my scores for each song & comes up with an average enjoyment score across the total duration of the release. It obviously doesn't allow for factors like programming or overly indulgent length but I try to use the individual track scores to reflect my feelings on those sort of things in order to try to cover all aspects of the release in question. This makes benchmarking one release against another quite simple as I have each one recorded to two decimal places & can use my discretion when there are any ties. This exercise is just something I do for myself as I enjoy the process. I don't honestly think anyone else would care what my 26th favourite funeral doom release is. In my experience, I've found that anything over a top ten will hold no interest to other people. I believe Ben still uses the same spreadsheet too.

I think the Ulcerate, Oranssi Pazuzu & Knocked Loose records were kinda no-brainers. I'm skeptical about the Critical Defiance one's claims but at the end of the day it comes down to how much the entire site has enjoyed a release which is always going to favour the more well-known artists.

Mortal Sin - "Voyage of the Disturbed" single (1989)

This limited edition 12" single was only sold at live shows at a time when the Sydney thrash legends were at the peak of their popularity. It features the title track (which was drawn from Mortal Sin's "Face of Despair" sophomore album from the same year) as well as three live cuts which were recorded at arguably the most important Australian metal performance of all time in the Sydneysiders hometown support slot for Metallica's "...And Justice For All" tour. I've always quite liked "Voyage of the Disturbed" so that was never gonna be an issue. The production job on the live material is very raw though. Thankfully the song-writing still gets the opportunity to shine through on two of the three live cuts with the title track doing justice to its studio version & "Terminal Reward" showing why it's one of my favourite cuts from "Face of Despair", even if it has lost a bit of its glossy coating along the way. Unfortunately, "For Richer For Poorer" hasn't fared quite so well but there's still enough to keep me interested here, despite the fact that a release like this one was never going to be particularly essential.

For fans of Xentrix, Stone & Hobbs Angel of Death.

3.5/5

Armoured Angel - "Wings of Death" demo (1989)

The second demo tape from this legendary Canberra extreme metal establishment who would go on to become one of the premier death metal artists to come out of my home country. The crude heavy metal of their 1985 "Baptism in Blood" demo is all but forgotten with the trio now sporting a far more intense & slightly deathly thrash metal sound similar to early Slayer & Kreator. It's all pretty simple but is very well executed with the song-writing allowing for enough space to give the material an accessible edge in the live environment. I've never been much of a fan of "Madame Guillotine" but other three tracks are all pretty enjoyable (particularly the beautifully titled "Christian Slaughter" which is my pick of the bunch), even if none of them sound particularly essential in the modern day. There's no doubt that Armoured Angel would get much better in the next few years but "Wings of Death" is still a respectable first attempt at extreme metal.

For fans of Slaughter Lord, Hellbringer & Deceased...

3.5/5

UR - "The Final Frontier" E.P. (1991)

A classic three-track Detroit techno release from the legendary Underground Resistance collective. I played the incredibly emotive title track live multiple times as a DJ during the 2000's & it never failed to raise the roof. The other two pieces are also worth hearing, particularly closer "Base Camp Alpha 808" which is beautifully composed & possesses enormous depth & sophistication. "Entering Quadrant Five" is clearly the weaker of the three given that one of its samples suffers from timing issues but it still leaves me really wanting to like it so "The Final Frontier" E.P. should be considered to be essential listening for acid techno fans.

For fans of Jeff Mills, Model 500 & A Martian From Detroit.

4.5/5

Bezerker - "Laugh at the Light" demo (1988)

This obscure demo tape made a very big impression on me as a kid & I've never really understood why it didn't go on to create more of a buzz internationally because it's a very solid & classy example of the thrash metal genre indeed. In fact, I'd take this over anything Mortal Sin released during the late 1980's which is a good indication of just how sophisticated & accomplished this Adelaide-based five-piece were. There's a noticeable power metal edge to their sound & I'd be surprised if the US power metal movement hadn't been somewhat of an inspiration for that. Front man Patrick Cummins (no, not the current Australian Test cricket captain) has a marvelous voice & is the clear focal point here but the riffs are stellar too with the production job being above average for a release of this type. This is serious thrash metal ladies & gentlemen & I can't recommend it enough to those members of The Pit that think they've heard it all as far as the genre goes.

For fans of Rampage, Hades & Addictive.

4/5

* Sonny & Vinny, I thoroughly recommend this one to you two.

Sixteen Horsepower - "Sackcloth 'n' Ashes" (1996)

I discovered the debut album from this Los Angeles artist a couple of years ago & have thoroughly enjoyed my first revisit this week. In fact, they may well make the best country music I've ever heard, albeit with a strong gothic element to it. This is some bad ass shit featuring a front man with serious charisma as well as artistic talent. Great stuff!

For fans of Jay Munley, Tarantella & Me and That Man.

4/5

Shihad - "Dead & Buried" demo (1988)

This bunch of Kiwis were a pretty big deal in Australia for the decade between 1993 & 2003, both as Shihad & their subsequent moniker Pacifier. I think I saw them play live twice during that period as my de facto partner of the time was really into them. They were actually an alternative rock band by that stage & gained a lot of popularity off the back of their breakthrough 1993 debut album "Churn". Little did the alternative radio audience know that Shihad had once been a more than decent thrash metal band in the vein of the big names of the San Francisco Bay Area scene. Their first recorded effort was this crude three-song demo tape which offers some pretty decent song-writing & performances, only thwarted by the very ordinary sound quality which leaves the material feeling largely nullified. Still.. you could already see that these guys had something about them, even if they're largely copying "Ride the Lightning" & "Master of Puppets".

For fans of Metallica, Exodus & Testament.

3/5

Nice choice Rex. I've always been a big Mahavishnu fan & bought "Between Nothingness & Eternity" on CD around three decades ago. I might pull it out for a revisit shortly.

Shiro Sagisu - "The End of Evangelion" film soundtrack (1997)

The soundtrack to a popular Japanese anime science fiction film. As with many releases of this type, I found it to be a little patchy in terms of consistency but the decent material outweighed the filler to make for a reasonably enjoyable experience overall. The music is mostly orchestral but there are a few vocal numbers tossed into the mix featuring a sweet female voice. I'm not crazy about this one but it served its purpose fairly well while driving to & from work yesterday.

For fans of Jonny Greenwood's "The Master", Scott Walker's "The Childhood of a Leader" & Joe Hisaishi's "Gake no ue no Ponyo".

3.5/5

Taramis - "Demo" (1988)

This four-song demo was released the year after this month's The Infinite feature release in Melbourne progressive power metal four-piece Taramis' 1987 debut album "Queen of Thieves". The sound quality is demo quality of course but you can easily make everything out & the song-writing quality seems to have become a little more consistent by this stage too, even if I wouldn't suggest that any of the tracks are particularly essential. There's a greater level of complexity to some of this material but it still comes & goes a little which was a characteristic of the album too. Shane Southby's operatic histrionics are perhaps even more overt than they were previously but he seems to suit the more technical structures a little more & is a touch less pitchy too which sees him becoming less of an issue for me. I'd suggest that I enjoy this demo slightly more than "Queen of Thieves" but they're fairly close in terms of overall quality.

For fans of Nothing Sacred, Adramelch & Sieges Even.

3.5/5

I'm gonna make a bold move here by swapping out the Black Sabbath track with what I consider to be the worst thing they ever dished out (with the possible exception of "Embryo" but that's not really a song now, is it?).

1. Black Sabbath "It's Alright"

2. Anthrax "Toast to the Extras"

3. Megadeth "Wanderlust"

4. Helloween "Heavy Metal Hamsters"

5. Scorpions "Still Loving You"

6. Judas Priest "Parental Guidance"

7. Slayer "Threshold"

8. Iron Maiden "Nodding Donkey Blues"

Interestingly, "Still Loving You" is comfortably my favourite track on the "Love at First Sting" album. "Wanderlust" is the only track I like from Megadeth's "Risk" album too & I don't mind Slayer's "Threshold" either.

Being an old techno DJ & a diehard Pistons fan, I don’t want this for Detroit.

Vicious Circle - "Into the Void" (1988)

After exploring all of Vicious Circle's 1980's output over the last few months, I've finally come across a release that I regard as being genuine metal but it's not the crossover thrash variety that most critics would have you believe it is. "Into the Void" is the Melbourne hardcore establishment's fourth full-length album & this time they've fully embraced the metallic influences that only briefly hinted at a new direction on previous releases. With "Into the Void" we find Vicious Circle taking an up-tempo, energetic heavy metal sound that I'd describe as a faster, punkier take on Iron Maiden's early works although you can expect some deviation into hardcore punk & crossover thrash territory on occasion too. The wishy-washy production & loose performances fall strictly into the hardcore camp though & the whole thing could have done with more bass guitar in the mix. Paul Lindsay's vocals have certainly changed a bit & he really struggles on the more stripped back material here with songs like "Ward 7 West" & "Chainsaw to Roses Part 1" being nothing short of disastrous & single-handedly ensuring that this would be Vicious Circle's weakest album to date, despite the majority of the material being more than acceptable. These guys made for a much better hardcore band than a heavy metal one in my opinion though so I'd recommend that you pass on "Into the Void" & head back to the band's early demo tapes instead.

For fans of GWAR, Warfare & Permanent Damage.

3/5

I've always had a really hard time with Quiet Riot's "Slick Black Cadillac & the "Quiet Riot II" album in general so I'm gonna opt to unceremoniously cull it & go with an Aussie glam metal classic in Boss' 1984 "Strange Games" single from their sole full-length "Step On It".

1. Boss - "Strange Games"

2. Motley Crue "Take me to the Top"

3. Dokken "Breaking the Chains

4. Twisted Sister "Shoot 'Em Down"

5. WASP "The Torture Never Stops"

6. Skid Row "Quicksand Jesus"

7. Warrant "April 2031"

8. Van Halen "Unchained"

I'm gonna sacrifice the Becoming the Archetype track & will replace it with Skyfire's "Dimensions Unseen" from their 2001 "Timeless Departure" debut album which has a bit of a power metal feel to a lot of the material.

1. Ex Deo - "The Roman"

2. Before the Dawn - "Last Song"

3. Ryujin - "Dragon, Fly Free"

4. Skyfire - "Dimensions Unseen"

5. Fleshgod Apocalypse - "Morphine Waltz"

6. Trail of Tears - "Bloodstained Endurance"

7. Wintersun - "Battle Against Time"

8. Into Eternity - "Dead or Dreaming"

I've going to opt to replace Plasmatics' "The Damned" as I've never had much time for it & are going to nominate Randy Holden's "Fruit & Iceburgs" from the former Blue Cheer & The Other Half guitarist's debut solo album "Population II". It was one mean motherfucker of a psychedelic doom metal monster for 1970 in my opinion.

1. Three Dog Night "Momma Told me Not to Come"

2. Pentagram "Be Forewarned

3. Alice Cooper "Desperado"

4. Randy Holden - "Fruit & Iceburgs"

5. Holy Moses "Satans Angel"

6. Savage Master "Queen Satan"

7. Satyricon "Black Crow on a Tombstone"

8. Venom "Witching Hour"

I'd like to sacrifice the Turmion Katilot track in the name of including my favourite track from last month's The Sphere feature release. Deathless were a duo that included two vocalist/bassists & a drum machine in the early 1990's. One of them used to serve me regularly at my favourite metal record store Utopia Records in Sydney back in the day too.

1. The Kovenant - "The Human Abstract"

2. Skrew - "Cold Angel Press"

3. Health, Lamb of God - "Cold Blood"

4. Fear Factory-"Edge Crusher"

5. Mechina - "Tartarus"

6. Godflesh - "Don't Bring Me Flowers"

7. Deathless - "In Unmet Chambers Slain I"

8. Ministry - "No W Redux"

We do have a dedicated thread for glam metal in the Non-Metal forum.

To be fair, the reason it’s called metal is because a lot of the guitar work uses flashy metal techniques &, when taken in isolation, would probably justify inclusion here a lot of the time. But glam metal takes those metallic guitars & blends them with a more stripped back & open hard rock rhythm section & pop song-writing & melodic hooks which makes it far more accessible for your average rock radio listener. It’s less driving & has that rock swagger about it

The Haste the Day track would seem to be the least significant inclusion to me so I'm gonna replace it with the opening track from Melbourne metalcore godfathers Mindsnare's 1996 debut album "Credulity", a song called "Flood". These guys were a big deal in the early Aussie hardcore/metalcore scene. They pretty much led the way for everything that followed.

1. Make Them Suffer - "Epitaph"

2. Unearth - "The Great Dividers"

3. Trivium - "In Waves"

4. For the Fallen Dreams - "Stone"

5. As I Lay Dying - "Within Destruction"

6. Unbroken - "D4"

7. Wage War - "Stitch"

8. Mindsnare - "Flood"

I'm gonna go with dropping the Pain of Salvation track as the weakest link & will replace it with my favourite song from our current The Infinite feature release in Taramis' 1987 "Queen of Thieves" debut album.

 1. Taramis - "Doesn't Seem"

2. Meshuggah – "New Millennium Cyanide Christ"

3. The Ocean – "Hadopelagic II: Let Them Believe"

4. Ne Obliviscaris – "Painters of the Tempest – Part II – Triptych"

5. Scale the Summit – "Atlas Novus"

6. Textures – "Polars"

7. Opeth – "S4"

8. Gojira – "Mea Culpa"

That Falling in Reverse track isn't my bag at all so I'm gonna have to replace it with the title track from Spiderbait's 1992 "Shashavaglava" album which was quite popular with the kids around these parts when I was in high school.

1. Evanescence – "Lithium"

2. New Years Day – "Relentless"

3. Mushroomhead – "Fall In Line"

4. Memphis May Fire – "Necessary Evil"

5. Spiderbait - "Shashavaglava"

6. Disturbed – "Torn"

7. Godsmack – "1000hp"

8. Linkin Park – "Two Faced"

I'm gonna take out the Buzzo*en track which I've only just become aware of so it hasn't played a major role in my life to date & will replace it with one of my favourite anthems from the local Australian scene of the early 1990's in the opening track "Loose" from Christbait's 1992 "Yeast" E.P.:

1. Ash - "Midnight Witch"

2. Black Sabbath "Snowblind"

3. Burning Witch "Sacred Predictions"

4. Sleep "Dragonaut"

5. Eyehategod "New Orleans is the New Vietnam"

6. Electric Wizard "Funeralopolis"

7. Year of the Cobra "Lion and the Unicorn"

8. Christbait - "Loose"

I'd suggest that the Motorhead track is looking a little less significant than the other seven inclusions now so I'm gonna opt to replace it with Budgie's "You're The Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk" which I'd suggest is one of the Welsh bands only genuine metal songs, sporting a heavy metal meets stoner rock vibe.

1. Deep Purple - "Bloodsucker"

2. Uriah Heep "Look At Yourself"

3. Diamond Head "Am I Evil?"

4. Budgie - "You're the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk"

5. Blitzkrieg "Blitzkrieg"

6. Iron Maiden "Wrathchild"

7. Black Sabbath "Children of the Grave"

8. Venom "Countess Bathory"

A few comments on today's post:

A lot of metalheads may scoff at it but I'm also a huge fan of Sade. I grew up with her through my parents but ended up finding that I wanted her around after leaving home as a nineteen-year-old so I ended up buying a couple of her CDs that I still listen to regularly today.

90% of guitarists never learn how to read music so Eddie's not really anything unusual in that regard. It's not really necessary unless you're a jazz or classical guitarist. In saying that, Eddie was my absolute idol growing up & I worshipped the ground that he walked on.

Ben & I always had a wealth of music around but we didn't grow up with Elvis Presley. In fact, I'd suggest that not many Aussies did during that period actually. I don't think he was anywhere near as popular over here, at least not during the 1980's when he was already long gone.

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - "Live at Montreux 1982 & 1985" (2001)

A double live album that includes two performances at the same venue from almost exactly three years apart. I love Stevie's guitar playing of course as he's frankly one of the best blues men ever to pick up the instrument. I do find the tracklisting to be a little hit & miss though with most of the highlights coming in the second half of the 1985 show which is comfortably the stronger of the two in my opinion. I struggle a bit with the more traditionally structured instrumental blues stompers & greatly prefer the deeper, edgier & more stripped back material like "Tin Pan Alley" which is fucking unbelievable. I also love Stevie's Hendrix-inspired blues rock material which sits much closer to my comfort zone. Still... I generally enjoyed this release & think that blues nuts will take a lot more from it than I have.

For fans of Johnny Winter, Freddie King & The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

3.5/5

The chuggy, down-picked, heavily palm-muted bottom-string staccato pedal-note riff is obviously a clear trait of metal. They obviously haven't employed a thick metal guitar tone though which sees it coming across more like something that The Angels would do.

Might as well post my top 10 ambient albums.  Won't include ambient pop.  Most of these are quite diverse, but still have ambient as a primary.

1. Vangelis - Blade Runner

2. The Future Sound of London - Lifeforms

3. Angelo Badalamenti - Soundtrack From Twin Peaks

4. William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops

5. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972

6. Uboa - Impossible Light

7. Vangelis - Oceanic

8. Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) - Replica

9. Vangelis - Albedo 0.39

10. Geinoh Yamashirogumi - Symphonic Suite AKIRA

An interesting list. I've been a big ambient fan for decades now so it's a little hard to decide on a short list of favourites but here's something I threw together quickly this morning:

01. Biosphere – “Substrata” (1997)

02. Robert Rich – “Somnium” (2001)

03. Steve Roach – “Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces” (2003)

04. Brian Eno – “Ambient 1: Music for Airports” (1978)

05. Stars of the Lid – “The Tired Sounds of” (2001)

06. Stars of the Lid – “And Their Refinement of the Decline” (2007)

07. Steve Roach – “Structures from Silence” (1984)

08. A Winged Victory For The Sullen – “A Winged Victory for the Sullen” (2011)

09. Gas – “Pop” (2000)

10. Global Communication – “76:14” (1994)