Daniel's Forum Replies

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)

I'd like to do away with Sodom's "Napalm in the Morning" as I've always found it to be a little flat. In its place, I've gone for an early Aussie thrash metal classic in Tyrus' "Bubonic Plague" from their self-titled 1986 demo tape.

1. Exumer "Possessed by Fire"

2. Anthrax "Caught in a Mosh"

3. Metallica "Whiplash"

4. Tyrus - "Bubonic Plague"

5. Megadeth "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due"

6. Exodus "Deathamphetamine"

7. Slayer "Raining Blood"

8. Voivod "The X-Stream"

I'm not going to go into what makes something metal or not as I spent years covering that on the Metal Academy podcast (the first few episodes which were predominantly about where metal originated from & what made it different) & have discussed it at length here on the website too but needless to say that it's got nothing to do with what a band says they are or whether the metal public embraces them. It's 100% about the musical techniques being employed & there are clear defining characteristics that relate to both rock & metal. For the "Roots of Metal" exercise, I used a benchmark of 40% metal being the absolute cut-off point which allowed a release to have just under half of its run time being classed as genuine metal. With that in mind, Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album is the first metal release but only if you take certain versions of it i.e. the US version or the Spotify version. This is because, if you examine each track in detail, you'll find that the only genuine metal songs on it are "Black Sabbath" (traditional doom metal), "N.I.B." (stoner metal) & "Wicked World" (stoner rock/metal) but they play a significant enough role in the way the album plays out for it to just sneak over the line for metal status by my criteria. "Wicked World" wasn't on all versions of the album which is why there are versions that meet the 40% criteria & those that don't.

I've opted to replace Burzum's "War" because I've always thought it was decidedly shithouse & noticeably breaks up the flow of the debut album. In its place, I've gone for a really obscure one in Holy Moses' "Satan's Angel" which is taken from their 1982 demo tape of the same name. I wanted to highlight this one as I feel that it's the true root of the black metal genre.

1. Holy Moses - "Satan's Angel"

2. Sargeist "Black Fucking Murder"

3. Nargaroth "Possessed by Black Fucking Metal"

4. Satyricon "Mother North"

5. Immortal "Blashyrkh-Mighty Ravendark"

6. Darkthrone "In the Shadow of the Horns"

7. Mayhem "Freezing Moon"

8. Bathory "One Rode to Asa Bay"

I've opted to replace Angel Witch's title track as I've always found it to be very tough going if I'm being completely honest. It's far too poppy for my liking & sounds like it's been taken directly from the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in my opinion. In its place, I've opted to go with a song that I'd suggest played a strong role in defining the sound we now know as heavy metal in "Bloodsucker" from Deep Purple's classic 1970 "Deep Purple in Rock" album.

1. Deep Purple - "Bloodsucker"

2. Uriah Heep "Look At Yourself"

3. Judas Priest "Rocka Rolla"

4. Motorhead "English Rose"

5. Rainbow "Run with the Wolf"

6. Iron Maiden "Wrathchild"

7. Black Sabbath "Children of the Grave"

8. Venom "Countess Bathory"

I'm gonna opt to replace the Weedeater track as I feel that it's probably the least impressive of the list so far & will fill the gap with what was arguably the first genuine metal song to come out of my home country of Australia in Ash's 1971 "Midnight Witch", a track that I feel is more than deserving of the stoner metal tag & is also worthy of a lot more attention than it's received over the years. These guys only released two obscure singles before dissolving, the first of which was a psychedelic pop effort, which makes "Midnight Witch" even more attractive to those who might be looking for underground gems.

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. Witch "Rip Van Winkle"

8. Buzzo*en "Hollow"

Pestilence (AUS) - "Pestilence" demo (1988)

This one-off demo tape saw Perth-based punks Pestilence producing arguably Australia's earliest grindcore release. It does a very good job at it too & compares favourably to the acts that had spawned the scene on a global level over the previous couple of years. The performances are fairly loose as you would expect from an early grindcore release but the production is surprisingly clear. I particularly enjoy the deathly vocals & the out-of-control blast-beats. I've always had a soft spot for good quality grindcore & this old demo still ticks all of my boxes even if it's not something I return to all that often. It certainly made for good drunken fun back in the day too.

For fans of Unseen Terror, Amebix & "Scum"-period Napalm Death.

3.5/5

Carcass were by far at their best when they hit the midpoint between grindcore and death metal that was Symphinies of Sickness. I have never been a fan of Heartwork and their later stuff. It may have been a fine album by somebody else, but this is Carcass here.

“Necroticism” is definitely my Carcass album of choice & by a fair margin too. I adored “Symphonies of Sickness” back in the day but a little of the gloss has faded from it over time & I now place it behind “Heartwork” in the Carcass pecking order.

As far as Obituary is concerned "Suffocation" was the first full Death metal song I ever heard, and it still goes hard. That album is very important to me-no bad choices on it.

I agree with you there. I don’t think there are any duds on “Slowly We Rot” either.

I think I would shift the track list around and stick it in between "Terminate Damnation" and "Phobofile" but that's semantics.

Oh, I didn't realise that programming was to be considered. I'll take that into account in future. And thank you for your compliment too. :)

1. Cannibal Corpse "A Skull Full of Maggots"

2. Neuropath "Incantations of Decrepit Nihilism"

3. Morbid Angel "Where the Slime Live"

4. Mortification "Terminate Damnation"

5. Cryptopsy "Phobophile"

6. Athiest "On they Slay"

7. Death "The Philosopher"

8. Carcass "Heartwork"

I decided to drop Obituary's "Slowly We Rot" from the list primarily because I played live it so often as a crowd pleaser at the end of Neuropath shows that I'd happily never hear it again. Interestingly, I'd actually suggest that it's one of the weaker songs from Obituary's debut too if I'm being honest, despite it being comfortably the most popular inclusion with fans. I've added Neuropath's "Incantations of Decrepit Nihilism" which we probably played even more often but which I never seem to tire of hearing, particularly since it's had the remaster treatment for the "At Damnation's Core" CD.

Spectral Birth - "The Turbulence" demo (1988)

The first of two demo tapes from this Melbourne death/thrash duo who were also responsible for Incubus' 1987 "Sinful Dreams" demo before changing their moniker for obvious reasons. There are no complaints about the production which is really very good for a late 80's extreme metal demo tape. "Sinful Dreams" had more of a blackened edge to the vocals while this one sees guitarist/bassist Laurie Ferdinands's delivery sitting closer to death metal. The instrumentation is pure thrash though & draws entirely from the Teutonic side of the genre for influence. There's a sophistication to Spectral Birth's sound that sometimes sees me reaching for comparisons to bands like Vektor & Sadus even though there's nothing particularly technical on offer from a structural point of view. The execution is nice & tight & shows a level of compositional maturity though. The tracklisting is extremely consistent with all five songs tending to sit at predominantly the same quality level but I wouldn't say that any of them stand out as genuine Aussie thrash classics. I'd probably give "The Turbulence" a slight edge over "Sinful Dreams" which I also have a fair bit of time for but I wouldn't say that either should be essential listening for our The Pit members.

For fans of Agressor, Kreator & Destruction.

3.5/5

Ben, please add the Incubus/Spectral Birth split 12" from 2004.

Yeah, it is which in some ways makes it even more attractive to the kvlt elitist in me.

Nomenclature Diablerie - "888" demo (1988)

Big time undiscovered gem alert right here guys! Unless you were a part of the Sydney extreme metal scene of the late 80s/early 90's then you're very unlikely to have come into contact with this little beauty which made a major impact on me when I first encountered it. It's a two-song/nine-minute affair that's crudely produced & sloppily executed but which offers genuine occult atmosphere, memorable riffs, an original & experimental sound, fantastically monstrous death growls & powerful blast beats from Sadistik Exekution/Aggressa/Reverend Kriss Hades drummer Sloth. I'll go so far as to claim this one as essential listening in the context of the early Australian scene. If the Addictive demo I spoke of yesterday was the best Sydney thrash release to the time then this one gets my vote for death metal. Aussie metal overall actually. They don't make 'em like this any more.

For fans of Sadistik Exekution, Slaughter Lord & Celtic Frost.

4/5

^^^^ Sonny, please report directly to this release as I feel that you'll love it.

No Remorse - "Stroke of Death" demo (1988)

A pretty decent one-off demo tape from a Victorian thrash metal band that were clearly trying their very best to emulate the first two Metallica records, particularly "Kill 'Em All" which shouldn't come as a surprise given the band's moniker. These guys went on to become the more deathly Persecution shortly afterwards but, at this stage, we receive a fairly simple brand of conventional thrash metal that won't offer anything terribly different but is pulled off well enough to keep members of The Pit entertained, mainly through nostalgia for the songs that No Remorse have clearly used for inspiration.

For fans of Mortal Sin, early Metallica & "Killing is My Business... & Business is Good!"-era Megadeth.

3.5/5

Fuck Brian Eno.

That's a pretty extreme statement. I'd take a number of Eno releases over "In den Gärten Pharaos" personally. He's thoroughly deserving of his status as a god in ambient music circles as far as I'm concerned.

Addictive - "Ward 74" demo (1988)

The only demo tape from a legendary Sydney thrash metal band that I looked up to as a young fella. In fact, these days I'd suggest that "Ward 74" may have been the best thrash metal release to have come out of my home city at the time it was released which is saying something considering that we'd already seen the likes of Slaughter Lord's "Taste of Blood" demo, Mortal Sin's "Mayhemic Destruction" & Massive Appendage's "The Severed Erection". The production job isn't amazing but is acceptable for a late 1980's demo recording. There are a couple of really solid, if not particularly original, thrash anthems here in "Sonder Commando" & "What Ward Are You In?". Testament's more aggressive "The Legacy" material springs to mind quite often, as does Allegiance's 1994 debut album "D.e.s.t.i.t.u.t.i.o.n". which makes "Ward 74" worth a listen or two for our more comprehensive thrash nuts.

For fans of Massive Appendage, Allegiance & early Testament.

3.5/5

Popol Vuh - "In den Gärten Pharaos" (1971)

The sophomore album from these German experimentalists is an early classic of the ambient genre. I've been a big fan of it for decades now & bought the CD re-release with bonus tracks around twenty years ago. Unlike most people, I find it hard to split the first two Popol Vuh records but the two bonus tracks included give this one a slight edge due their proto-techno leanings. Where "Affenstunde" (i.e. their debut album from earlier the same year) is more of a conventional ambient record, "In den Gärten Pharaos" sits somewhere between tribal ambient & drone with both of the lengthy tracks creating a wonderful transcendental tension.

For fans of Fripp & Eno, Klaus Schulze & Cluster.

4/5

I believe the book that’s had the most influence on metal lyrics & themes is by this dude called God. It’s an old one. I forget the name but I think it starts with a “b”. Some bad ass atrocities transpire in it too by all reports. Metal as fuck!