Daniel's Forum Replies

Fates Warning - "Awaken The Guardian" (1986)

Connecticut progressive metal legends Fates Warning & I have a very long association going back over three decades now. I’ve always held them in high esteem since becoming infatuated with their classic “Point of View” single in 1991 & subsequently purchasing the “Parallels” album on CD but strangely my enjoyment of that album didn’t see me exploring the rest of their back-catalogue much until Ben & I conducted our research on their earlier releases for the Metal Academy podcast in the mid-2010s. Fates Warning’s crude 1984 debut album “Night on Bröcken” certainly had its charms with its American take on the NWOBHM sound often resembling Iron Maiden a little too closely to see the band differentiating themselves from the pack. Their 1985 sophomore album “The Spectre Within” was another story altogether though as it saw Fates Warning fully indulging in their more progressive Rush influences &, in doing so, virtually creating what we know now as the progressive metal sound. Don’t get me wrong, there were certainly a few earlier underground records that had a crack at it but none managed to incorporate progressive elements into their sound so smoothly & cohesively & I found “The Spectre Within” to be a really strong record with even the unusual high-pitched histrionics of front man John Arch failing to tarnish the challenging & universally professional instrumentation.

This is my first focused investigation of Fates Warning’s highly praised 1986 follow-up “Awaken The Guardian” though & my expectations were very high off the back of “The Spectre Within” which I awarded a well-deserved four star rating during the podcast. I’d been looking forward to seeing where the band would take their sound next as “Parallels” (their sixth album) was a little more restrained from a purely technical point of view. “Awaken The Guardian”, however, sees Fates Warning surging forwards with the complex progressive approach they'd begun exporing on “The Spectre Within” in what would have to have been one of the most ambitious undertakings for metal to the time. I mean this record could very well break a few people’s brains from a purely rhythmic point of view as it’s relentless in its pursuit of unusual & ever-changing time signatures. Then when you throw in Arch’s vocals which go even further than before with their melodic experimentation you get a very unusual record that sounds like nothing before it & very few after it too.

But this brings me to my criticisms of “Awaken The Guardian”. Despite being a unanimously successful & highly revered release in my household, “The Spectre Within” did struggle a little with its balance between expansive artistic license & genuinely memorable song-writing with only album highlight “The Apparition” seeing Fates Warning creating the much sought-after "classic song” as opposed to a very impressive & interesting technical display. The rest of the material simply didn’t possess the hooks that are required to have the listener singing along for days afterwards, a task that’s already hard enough given Arch’s inimitable operatic style which requires a level of acceptance in regard to taking the good with the bad. “Awaken The Guardian” struggles a little more in this regard, perhaps due to the even more overtly progressive instrumental approach which sees Arch having to force his melodies to work over rhythms that are already hard enough to digest. Despite what fans will have you believe, Arch DOES sing out of key quite regularly here & it can be grating if you’re not able to achieve some level of respect for the aural adventure he takes you on. Personally, I’m able to achieve that balance but, despite the fact that there's nothing close to a bad track on offer, there just aren’t enough truly memorable hooks included to warrant all of the praise & I find myself relying on the heavier instrumental parts of the album that see the band dipping into US power metal territory (see “Valley of the Dolls” or “Prelude To Ruin”) to take me to greater heights. Unfortunately Fates Warning can’t quite sustain it for long enough for my liking though. The more restrained album highlight “Guardian” is certainly a strong track but is it a genuine classic like “The Apparition” was? I don’t think so personally & things aren't helped by a fairly thin production job either.

Look, if you’re a prog tragic then “Awaken The Guardian” is probably a bit of a no-brainer but I can’t say that I regard it as highly as “The Spectre Within” or the better works from prog metal contemporaries like Queensryche & Dream Theater who are simply better at getting that technicality vs song-writing balance right. Admittedly both benefit from much more traditionally talented front men but I would happily have accepted a bit less rhythmic extravagance & a little more of a focus on making the sort of captivating heavy metal anthems that Crimson Glory are so successful at.

3.5/5

Devourment - "Butcher The Weak" (2006)

I first became aware of Dallas-based slam death metal establishment Devourment back in 1997/98 through their “Impaled” demo which I picked up through the tape trading scene. I remember really digging it too although I’d start my decade-long sabbatical from the metal scene shortly afterwards & wouldn’t return to metal until 2009 when I’d immediately looked to catch up on what I’d missed from my beloved brutal death metal scene. The band’s 1999 debut album “Molesting The Decapitated” would be my first point of call as many a pundit seemed to be claiming it as a seminal record for the scene at the time. On paper that album was always going to appeal to my particular taste profile however it certainly wasn’t without its flaws which left me wondering whether Devourment would improve on those with subsequent releases, particularly given the long period between their debut & the release of their sophomore album “Butcher The Weak”. The gap was mainly due to the incarceration of guitarist Ruben Rosas (ironically on the day that “Molesting The Decapitated” was released) which triggered a series of splits & reformations that would derail Devourment's immediate plans for world domination but “Butcher The Weak” would finally see the light of day as an independent release in 2005. Devourment would be picked up by Minnesota label Brutal Bands shortly afterwards though & the label would facilitate the re-recording of the whole record so there are technically two versions of this release, the second & arguably more accepted version being the one I’m reviewing today.

Those that were familiar with “Molesting The Decapitated” prior to checking out “Butcher The Weak” likely weren’t surprised by what they heard as its successor doesn’t try to change the formula much but it does manage to improve on it a touch. There were a number of obstacles I faced in my appreciation of Devourment’s first up effort & the completely unintelligible, ultra-gutteral drainpipe vocal performance was certainly one of them. Bassist Mike Majewski has taken over the microphone duties from Rosas this time with the former front man opting to take on all of the guitars instead but the result is still the same with Majewski making very little attempt to enunciate his words. This will definitely be a dealbreaker for those metalheads not already accustomed to slam/brutal death metal as you’ll rarely hear a more overt example of that technique than you do here, at least not from a vocalist that’s not using a vocoder like is commonly the case with the goregrind scene. The other major issue I had with the debut was the sloppy drumming & tightly-wound, pinging snare drum sound. Thankfully new drummer Eric Park has been gifted with a much more natural & powerful snare sound this time which makes the whole record a lot more easily digestible. Unfortunately though, Park doesn’t seem to be much better than former skinsman Brad Fincher at performing blast beats & gravity blasts so you’ll still find a lot of examples where Park struggles to keep up with the rest of the band once the tempo starts to reach light-speed.

Thankfully though, Devourment are at their best when they’re sticking to their signature slow-to-mid tempo slam riffs & you’ll do well to find a more obvious example of the slam death metal sound than this particular record as it doesn’t hold back at all in presenting its differentiating element. I’ve always been a sucker for the heavily palm-muted, Suffocation-style breakdown & Devourment have made a career out of replicating it through as many different variations on the theme as they can come up with. It might not be the most original or creative mode of attack but I inevitably find my body reacting in positive ways so who the fuck am I to question it, particularly when used in conjunction with some well placed double kick work. Could “Butcher The Weak” have done with some spasmatic guitar solos to help the tracks reach greater heights? Shit yeah it could have but I’ve said that about all of the Devourment records I’ve reviewed to date so I’m relatively at peace with it at this point.

So just where does “Butcher The Weak” sit as far as Devourment’s discography & the overall slam death metal scene goes? Well, I’d argue that it’s a minor improvement on “Molesting The Decapitated” & one of the better examples of the slam death sound you’ll find. It would take the band thirteen years to top it with 2019’s “Obscene Majesty” album being Devourment’s finest full-length in my opinion. If you hate slam death metal then this record ain’t gonna change that in the slightest. In fact, it’ll likely further repel you if I’m being honest but fans of bands like Abominable Putridity, Kraanium & Internal Bleeding will no doubt find a fair bit to enjoy in “Butcher The Weak”.

3.5/5

Here's my updated Top Ten Slam Death Metal Releases of All Time list:

01. Pathology – “The Time Of Great Purification” (2012)

02. Abominable Putridity – “The Anomalies Of Artificial Origin” (2012)

03. Devourment – “Obscene Majesty” (2019)

04. Devour The Unborn – “Consuming The Morgue Remains” (2012)

05. Disfiguring The Goddess – “Sleeper” (2012)

06. Pighead – “Rotten Body Reanimation” (2012)

07. Coprophiliac – “Whining Bitch Treatment” (2012)

08. Devourment - "Butcher The Weak" (2006)

09. Devourment - "Molesting The Decapitated" (1999)

10. Delusional Parasitosis/Ecchymosis/Dissevered/Bleeding – “Scaphism 4-Way Split” (2017)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/145

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

I've passed this nomination as these releases no longer qualify for inclusion in The Revolution.

My updated Top Ten Speed Metal Releases of All Time list:

01. Exciter – “Long Live The Loud” (1985)

02. Acid – “Maniac” (1983)

03. Agent Steel – “Skeptics Apocalypse” (1985)

04. Midnight - "Let There Be Witchery" (2022)

05. Voivod - "War & Pain" (1984)

06. Venom – “At War With Satan” (1984)

07. Savage Grace – “Master Of Disguise” (1985)

08. Iron Angel – “Hellish Crossfire” (1985)

09. ADX - "Execution" (1985)

10. Acid – “Acid” (1983)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/176

ADX - "Execution" (1985)

The 1985 debut album from French metal establishment ADX represented somewhat of a gap in my metal knowledge as it's quite highly regarded, particularly in their home country. ADX are still running strong after twelve albums & 41 years in the business but I'd previously only heard their 1990 fourth album "Weird Visions" & it didn't exactly set my world on fire to be fair. "Execution" is a much stronger effort though with the band showing off some highly accomplished chops & benefiting from a raw yet razor-sharp production job that perfectly accentuates ADX's strengths.

ADX's sound sits somewhere in between the high velocity speed metal of Savage Grace & the NWOBHM-influenced French heavy metal of H-Bomb & early Sortilege, perhaps being a little closer to the heavy metal side of the equation when examined closely. There's a great energy about everything the band do here with the shredding guitar solos being the clear highlight for me personally. The weakest link is an inconsistent performance by front man Phil whose voice isn't the strongest you'll find & probably isn't helped by his opting to perform in his native tongue either. The instrumental component manages to cover for him for the most part though with only the unintelligent closer "Caligula" falling short of par for me personally. It's also the most popular song on the tracklisting though so go figure. My favourite number is heavy metal anthem "Prière de Satan" which features some lovely melodic guitar work & is easily Phil's most effective contribution with some highly memorable vocal hooks. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that it's a French metal classic.

So "Execution" is a pretty decent listen overall, even if it's fallen well short of the classic status that some would have you believe it to be worthy of. It's probably the most high energy release I've heard from the early French scene though which differentiates it from other respectable records from bands like Blaspheme, High Power, Trust or Warning. In fact, I'd imagine that most speed metal freaks will probably get a lot more out of "Execution" than I do as speed metal doesn't tend to be a genre that I find myself connecting with as readily as your traditional brand of heavy metal. 

3.5/5

Rippikoulu - "Musta seremonia" demo (1993)

I hadn't revisited this cult classic of a mid-90's demo tape in many years but Ben recently asked me for my opinion on it & I noticed that I hadn't rated it on Metal Academy yet so I felt it was about time I gave it another sitting. The six tracks included run for just over half an hour which is a good length for this kind of release &, while the production may be really raw, it  loses none of it's effectiveness. In fact, I feel that the crushing down-tuned riffage & depressive atmospherics are only enhanced by it which is the sign of a true underground gem. I really love the deep death growls too as they're wonderfully monstrous but don't sound generic in the slightest.

Musically, Rippikoulu's sound is a tale of two cities. On the one hand you have the dark, suffocating doom/death of bands like Spectral Voice, Winter & diSEMBOWELMENT, only it's been combined with the grimy, mid-paced, tremolo-picked conventional death metal of early Bolt Thrower & the outcome is nothing short of splendid. Perhaps the lack of production can make a lot of the material sound a touch samey but it's only a short release & the couple of more atmospheric highlights that close out the demo certainly stand out, particularly the spectacular "Pimeys yllä Jumalan maan" which about as good as doom/death gets. If I'm being picky I'd say that the faster parts are a little less effective than the doomier sections but this is a quality effort from a band that clearly showed a lot of unfulfilled potential.

4/5

French heavy metal from 1985.

French speed metal from 1985.

I really liked the first three Death records. Hell, "Leprosy" was my introduction to death metal! But I wouldn't say that any of those early releases saw me bowing down in worship. "Human" changed that immediately & still sits in my top three for death metal as a whole to this day. 5/5

Q5 - "Steel The Light" (1984)

There was a bit of a minor scene happening in Seattle in the mid-1980's with bands like Q5, TKO, Culprit, Nightshade & Mistrust all floating around & often sharing members. "Steel The Light" is the most highly regarded release to come out of that lot & sees Q5 approaching NWOBHM-style heavy metal & an AC/DC-inspired brand of hard rock in equal measure. Jonathan Scott K's powerful vocals are well suited to this kind of music & the presence of guitarist Floyd Rose (yes, the man behind the locking nut/floating tremolo system) won't be lost on the guitarists out there. The album is very much a tale of two halves with the majority of the metal material appearing on the A side & the more commercially accessible tracks filling the B side. That B side does include a couple of duds in the AOR-infused glam metal ballad "Come & Gone" & the generic AC/DC-plagiarizing "Rock On" but the rest of the album is quite entertaining, particularly the classic title track which draws upon lumbering Dio-fronted metal anthems like "Heaven & Hell" & "Holy Diver" for influence. I also really enjoy the catchy closer "Teenage Runaway" which sees the album finishing on a high & will have you singing along in your head for hours afterward. If you like heavy rockers like Krokus, Pretty Maids & Culprit then you'll no doubt find a bit to like about "Steel The Light".

3.5/5

A couple other bands fitting this category that come to my mind include Annihilator and Kamelot

You're on your own with the Annihilator call Andi. I'd actually go the complete other direction with them to be honest.

Can't forget about Converge, though I say their greatness starts from their second album, Petitioning the Empty Sky, onwards.

I quite like Converge's debut album "Halo in a Haystack" to be honest. I don't think they've released a dud in their entire career.

Death is the most obvious one but I'd also nominate Converge & Gorguts.

Annihilator - "Alice in Hell" (1989)

I was a big fan of "Alice In Hell" when it was released & it still comes across as a really solid & ambitious thrash metal debut today. Every song includes at least a couple of classic thrash riffs but there are also plenty of more melodic King Diamond & Iron Maiden style heavy metal parts tossed in throughout the tracklisting, only they're generally played at high speed which gives the album a noticeable speed metal feel (see "WTYD", "Word Salad", "Ligeia"). The bass lines are really interesting & are also quite prominent in the mix which really enhances the progressive nature of the composition. Randy Rampage's vocals have invariably been a cause for debate over the years but I've always quite liked them. Jeff Waters guitar solos are certainly impressive, if a little high in the mix. His opening intro piece "Crystal Ann" is pure Yngwie Malmsteen worship.

I have to admit that the song structures are pretty loose by today's standards. In fact, a few of the songs sound quite pieced together but the quality of the riffs is good enough to overcome it. The links to technical thrash metal are overly ambitious as there's really not very much genuinely technical stuff on offer. "Alice In Hell" sits much more comfortably alongside bands like Testament & particularly Megadeth although it's the precision performances & overall sophistication in the song-writing that draws comparisons with the likes of Coroner.

Annihilator's debut album is comfortably their best work but I've never regarded it as a thrash classic. The title track certainly is & there's a case for "Burn Like A Buzzsaw Blade" too but the remainder of the album doesn't quite fit the bill, despite displaying an undeniable consistency & maturity.

4/5

Deafheaven - "10 Years Gone" (2020)

A live in the studio affair that the band decided to record after the tour they'd prepared for was cancelled due to COVID. It's a splendid outing too & includes material spanning the whole course of the Deafheaven's decade-long career. The production is wonderfully bright & clear & the performances are absolutely spot-on breathing new life into tracks like "Language Games" & album highlight "Baby Blue". There's not anything that falls short of being a very solid example of the post-blackgaze sound here & fans of the band should treat this release as essential listening.

For fans of Alcest, An Autumn For Crippled Children & Lantlôs.

4/5

Here's my updated Top Ten Blackgaze Releases of All Time list:

01. Deafheaven - "Sunbather" (2013)

02. Deafheaven - "10 Years Gone" (2020)

03. Woods of Desolation - "Torn Beyond Reason" (2011)

04. Deafheaven - "Roads to Judah" (2011)

05. Deafheaven - "New Bermuda" (2015)

06. Alcest - "Kodama" (2016)

07. Deafheaven - "Ordinary Corrupt Human Love" (2018)

08. Lantlôs - ".neon" (2010)

09. Alcest - "Écailles de lune" (2010)

10. Sadness - "I Want To Be There" (2019)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/204

Fontaines D.C. - "Skinty Fia" (2022)

Post-punk/gothic rock from Dublin, Ireland.

Teitanblood - "The Baneful Choir" (2019)

What a fucking ripper of a third album from one of the best couple of bands in the war metal space in Spain's Teitanblood. In fact, I rate "The Baneful Choir" more highly than the band's highly regarded sophomore effort "Death" to be honest. They tend to lean further towards the death metal side of the black/death equation a lot of the time with a super-dark production job & some outstanding dark ambient pieces combining for a devastating atmosphere. Imagine the savage war metal of Blasphemy & Archgoat crossed with the blackened death metal of Antediluvian & you'll come close to describing this cacophony, only these guys do it better than all of them in my opinion. There's even a brilliant doom/death track included early in the blemish-free tracklisting. Loving it!

4.5/5

Here's my revised Top Ten War Metal Releases of All Time list:

01. Infernal Coil - "Within a World Forgotten" (2018)

02. Teitanblood - "The Baneful Choir" (2019)

03. Teitanblood - "Death" (2014)

04. Damaar - "Triumph Through Spears of Sacrilege" (2007)

05. Archgoat - "Whore of Bethlehem" (2006)

06. Bestial Warlust - "Blood & Valour" (1995)

07. Conqueror - "War Cult Supremacy" (1999)

08. Blasphemy - "Blood Upon The Altar" demo (1989)

09. Blasphemy - "Gods of War" (1993)

10. Blasphemy - "Fallen Angel of Doom...." (1990)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/216

Carcass - "Reek of Putrefaction" (1988)

I've always struggled with Carcass' debut album to be honest. Between the appalling production, woeful lead guitar tone & ridiculously over-the-top vocal performances, it all simply sounds a little silly to my ears. Of course, there was nothing quite like it at the time & it's gone on to influence a multitude of bands that became infatuated with the novelty but I have to admit that I find it hard to take seriously. I know it's not meant to be but I LIKE to take my extreme metal seriously if you know what I mean. Perhaps the fact that I was introduced to the band through the far superior "Symphonies of Sickness" sophomore effort has made it a bit harder to appreciate "Reek of Putrefaction"? I dunno but at least I've managed to increase my rating just a touch since my last revisit, mainly off the back of the shorter & more brutal material as I'm not a huge fan of the groovier grind stuff. I'm afraid I don't see that rating ever moving higher than it is now though.

3/5

Ben, please add Aussie thrashers Aggressa & Fester Fanatics.

Permanent Damage - "End of Innocence" (1987)

I picked up a dubbed cassette copy of this very extremely underground vinyl release through one of my Aussie tape traders back in the day & remember quite liking it. I'm not usually the biggest fan of crossover thrash but something about this Melbourne band's debut album connects with me. Their sound nicely balances the punk & metal sounds with the vocals belonging more in the hardcore space & the thrashier songs like opener "Warcry" & album highlight "Victim of Misery" being my preferred inclusions. Perhaps I'm falling victim to nostalgia here but I'm actually inclined to sneak it into my updated Top Ten Crossover Thrash Releases of All Time list.

3.5/5

01. Suicidal Tendencies – “Lights Camera Revolution” (1989)

02. S.O.D. – “Speak English or Die” (1985)

03. Suicidal Tendences – “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” (1988)

04. Agnostic Front – “Cause For Alarm” (1986)

05. Cryptic Slaughter – “Convicted” (1986)

06. The Accused – “The Return Of… Martha Splatterhead” (1986)

07. Agnostic Front – “Liberty & Justic For…” (1987)

08. Attitude Adjustment – “American Paranoia” (1986)

09. Crumbsuckers – “Life Of Dreams” (1986)

10. Permanent Damage - "End of Innocence" (1987)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/174

Ben, please add 1987's "End of Innocence" album from Melbourne crossover thrashers Permanent Damage.

By definition stoner rock can include doom riffs. I see Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats as sitting in the stoner metal/rock & heavy psych space personally. Is doom rock essentially stoner rock without the psychedelics? I don’t think so. I think it’s very much an interchangeable term for the occult hard/progressive rock bands that Andi mentioned.

Destruction - "Live Without Sense" (1989)

I’ve never found German thrash metal heavy-weights Destruction to be quite as compelling as Kreator & Sodom to be honest. I enjoyed their “Bestial Invasion of Hell” demo but their first couple of proper releases (1984’s “Sentence of Death” E.P. & 1985’s “Infernal Overkill” full-length album) did very little for me. It wasn’t until they started to go in a more sophisticated direction with 1986’s “Eternal Devastation” that my interest would start to be tweaked & they’d continue to build on that over their next couple of releases until they’d peak with my favourite Destruction album in 1987’s classic “Release From Agony” which was clearly their most complex & innovative record to the time. So 1989 would seem to have been the perfect time to release Destruction’s first live album in the cleverly titled “Live Without Sense” (a reworking of the titled of one of their songs “Life Without Sense”), wouldn’t it? Well, for me it was anyway. And the result is as enjoyable & impressible as it had the potential to be too.

“Live Without Sense” is a well-produced & executed summary of Destruction’s career to the time. The production does a good job at balancing the raw electricity of the band’s studio work with a consistent clarity that sees every instrument owning its own space. The only criticism I would have there is the snare sound which does highlight drummer Olly’s position as the weak point of the band. It’s just a little intrusive which makes the simpler beats sound more basic than they might otherwise have done. The guitar work slays here though, despite the fact that both men think they’re better than they actually are. The consistent use of high-end techniques such as classically-influenced sweep-picked arpeggios was certainly pushing both musicians limitations but they somehow manage to get away with it due to the fact that they’re simply so cool. Yes, some of the lead solos are a bit sloppy but they also sound quite inspired & fuelled by Satan himself. Front man Schmier & I have had our differences over the years & that’s not been totally been ironed out here with those high-pitched squeals I struggle with so much still popping up from time to time but it’s hard to deny that he sounds pretty bad-ass for the majority of the run time.

The tracklisting offers a nice mix of material with inclusions from every record in Destruction’s back catalogue. I don’t think it’s any surprise that the tracks that appeal to me the least (“Thrash Attack”, “Invincible Force” & “Bestial Invasion”) are drawn from the 1984/85 period releases but thankfully they’ve benefitted from the band’s greatly improved chops & now sound significantly more tight & professional than they originally did. This gives “Live Without Sense” an impressive level of consistency with all of the more recent material being exceptionally strong. In saying that though, the only track that I regard as a genuine thrash classic is “Reject Emotions” with its darker atmosphere reminding me of Slayer’s more mid-paced material. The more technical songs like “Dissatisfied Existence” work really well & often see me reaching for Coroner comparisons which can’t be a bad thing. I could really do without the inclusion of an unaccompanied guitar solo & two humorous interludes (i.e “Pink Panther” & “In The Mood”) though as they each represent slight blemishes on an otherwise exceptionally solid tracklisting. The guitar solo may impress those that aren’t trained musicians but I’d suggest that Eddie Van Halen & Randy Rhoads can rest easy as their crowns are in no jeopardy.

“Live Without Sense” is an excellent example of a thrash metal live album & won’t disappoint any fans of Destruction or the genre in general. In fact, I place it behind only “Release From Agony” in terms of the band’s overall discography with the clear production & strong tracklisting making it an attractive listening option for someone like myself that wasn’t convinced by Destruction’s more crudely presented early releases.

4/5

I'd suggest that there are a few Danzig tracks that fall into that category as they have that doomy Black Sabbath atmosphere but still sit well within the confines of rock. A lot of those 70's inspired heavy psych & stoner rock bands like Witchcraft probably fall into that category too. In truth though, I've never felt the urge to label a release as doom rock. I tend to go one way or the other.

The Damned - "The Black Album" (1980)

Punk rock with a gothic edge from London, England.

That's a great review Sonny. Well done mate! :)

Cannibal Corpse - "Kill" (2006)

You can rely on two things in life: taxes & Cannibal Corpse delivering a quality death metal product. We’re now thirty-five years & fifteen albums into their career & the Buffalo death metal legends are still going strong with their last album proving to be as popular as anything they’ve released in more than two decades. My experience with the band began right back at their debut album “Eaten Back To Life” & has taken me through the majority of my life. Back in the early-to-mid 1990’s I counted them as a major influence on me as a musician &, despite the fact that they’ve tended to steer away from delivering any surprises over the years & have subsequently earnt a reputation for being the AC/DC of death metal in that their albums sound predominantly the same, my respect for Cannibal Corpse as an artist has proven to be unwavering. I hold a lot of admiration for their undying commitment to never selling out, staying brutal & pushing themselves technically & 2006’s tenth album “Kill” is no exception. In fact, it may just be some of the band’s finest work.

Unlike the vast majority of the Cannibal Corpse back catalogue, “Kill” doesn’t come adorned with ultra-gory & cartoonish cover artwork. This time the band wanted to let their music do the talking & that’s backed up by a very serious & professional musical approach that sees the band pushing their techniques to their limits. The album marks the return of guitarist Rob Barrett (Solstice/Eulogy/Malevolent Creation) who had previously played on 1994’s “The Bleeding” & 1996’s “Vile”, a move that brought with it great promise for me personally as I consider myself a fan of both records. It also saw Hate Eternal/Morbid Angel/Ripping Corpse/Alas guitarist Erik Rutan taking on the production duties for the first time, a responsibility he’d continue to own for most of Cannibal Corpse’s subsequent releases. You can see why too as “Kill” sounds great with the heavily down-tuned guitars achieving perfect clarity & the drum kit punching through with precision. I regard this as quite an achievement given the band’s brand new super-low tuning of G#.

The thirteen song tracklisting offers a solid level of consistency throughout with no weak tracks included. The riff work is exceptionally angular & expansive & represents one of the highlights of the album with bassist & songwriter Alex Webster having come up with a truck-load of interesting spider-handed runs that keep me on my toes throughout. It’s a very technical album actually & I think the return of Barrett has helped to enable that along with the unquestionable skills of his partner in crime Pat O’Brien. The guitar solos are the other major talking point as they invariably represent the peak of each track. Some are spectacularly shreddy while the use of wah-pedal is employed to great effect in the more atmospheric moments. Webster’s performance is outstanding as usual & once again shows him to be one of the elite bass players in the extreme metal scene.

I don’t think there’ll be any surprises when I mention the albums limitations though. Front man George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher does what he does, nothing more, nothing less. You know exactly what to expect from George as he’s built a career on doing largely the same thing on every album. He’s no doubt a wonderful asset in a live environment with his ultra-masculine, metal-as-fuck persona dominating the show but in the studio he can sound a touch monotonous after a while & this does limit the levels that a modern Cannibal Corpse record can reach. The other (& more significant) limiter can be found in Paul Mazurkiewicz’s repetitive blast-beat style which sounds pretty tame by today’s standards. The rumours of him only possessing three beats in his repertoire are somewhat justified in my opinion & it’s been a long-time annoyance of mine. His strength though, lies in his contribution to the slow-to-mid-paced material where he utilizes double-time ride cymbal work to great effect & I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this also correlates with the band’s strength. Cannibal Corpse’s more up-tempo & brutal passages can sound a little unsophisticated & thuggish but when they slow things down a bit they achieve the complete opposite effect with slower tracks like “Death Walking Terror” & closing instrumental “Infinite Misery” (my personal favourite) representing some of the high points of Cannibal Corpse’s entire career.

“Kill” may not be a tier one death metal record but it is a damn solid one nonetheless & I can see very few fans of the genre complaining too much. It’s nice to have a band that can so regularly & so consistently deliver a product of invariable quality as the extreme metal scene seems to gravitate towards the more progressive & adventurous artists over the last decade or two. I probably wouldn’t have thought it possible many years ago but I do tend to favour a record like “Kill” slightly over childhood faves like “Butchered At Birth” & “Tomb Of The Mutilated” these days, perhaps due to the increased maturity, consistency & sophistication in the band’s sound. In fact, it may be one of Cannibal Corpse’s more successful ventures overall.

4/5

Sonny, here's a definition of sludge metal that I wrote a couple of years ago. I was intending on doing one for all genres but haven't gotten around to finishing it. I'd be interested in your feedback on whether you think it's accurate or not as it's 100% my personal perspective but I think these guidelines do allow for an instrumental sludge metal artist.

Sludge metal shares several of the characteristics of doom & stoner metal in its use of heavily down-tuned guitars & crushingly heavy, groove-driven, riff-based song structures however the influence of hardcore punk sees sludge possessing a noticeably angrier, noisier & more abrasive atmosphere that allows for the use of faster tempos & harder hitting rhythms. Sludge metal vocalists predominantly employ harsh hardcore-style screams &/or grunts which also provide a clear differentiator from doom/stoner. The trademark sludge metal guitar tone is very dense, dirty & bottom-heavy with feedback squalls & noise being regular features. The consistent use of slower tempos is quite common & often leads to crossover with doom metal however (unlike doom) this is not compulsory with predominantly up-tempo & thrashy examples of sludge metal maintaining their ties to the genre through their harsh & aggressive vocals, filthy guitar tone & angry atmosphere. Average track lengths are shorter than those traditionally employed in doom metal.

Kreator - "Out Of The Dark... Into The Light" E.P. (1988)

I make no apologies for my deep love of German thrash metal icons Kreator, specifically their 1986-1990 period. In fact, if I had my way then they’d be a part of the Big Four & I’m not talking about the Teutonic one either. I first discovered Kreator through the “Betrayer” video clip through a late-night Australian music video program called Rage in 1989/90 & never looked back. I very quickly picked up everything I could find from the band, including this E.P. which I secured on CD. Over the years though, I’ve tended to regard “Out Of The Dark… Into The Light” as an inessential cash-grab more than anything else & have largely overlooked it in favour of Kreator’s more highly regarded studio material. Have I been a little harsh? I suspect I might have been so I’ve decided to review my position for the first time in well over a decade this week.

“Out Of The Dark… Into the Light” is essentially a five-song combination of studio & live tracks that served as a stop-gap between 1987’s “Terrible Certainty” third album & 1989’s wonderful “Extreme Aggression” record. The two studio tracks include one new original in “Impossible To Cure” which is an excitingly raw & shredtastic thrasher that’s perhaps not as classic as some of Kreator’s best material but is a particularly solid inclusion nonetheless. The other studio track is a cover version of NWOBHM outfit Raven’s “Lambs To The Slaughter” which is taken from their 1981 debut album “Rock Until You Drop”. I’ve always struggled with Raven to tell you truth & the original version of this song didn’t exactly set my world on fire so I’m not surprised that this cover came across as really flat. It sees Kreator taking more of a heavy/speed metal approach with the occasional use of higher-pitched vocals from Mille & it simply doesn’t work in my opinion. In truth, I think this track has impacted my overall impression of the E.P. a little more than it should have over the years too.

The three live tracks included were taken from a 1988 performance at the Dynamo Club in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. All three songs represent big tracks in Kreator’s back catalogue however they do tend to be some of the more overrated ones & the performances are very rough indeed. In fact, the title track from “Terrible Certainty” is presented as somewhat of a dog’s breakfast with its timing & precision issues seeing me struggling to find much enjoyment in it. “Riot of Violence”, on the other hand, has always thrived in the live environment & that’s still the case here, despite the sloppy musicianship. “Awakening of the Gods” is certainly a more impressive song than it’s given the chance to be here with the rhythm guitar parts seeming to be far too much for one of the axemen but it’s still a strong enough example of Teutonic thrash to keep me interested.

So you can see that “Out Of The Dark… Into The Light” is very much a mixed bag that’s been thrown together from a bunch of disparate & imperfect off-cuts but I can’t deny that there’s just enough of interest to justify it’s release. The raucous & slightly abrasive production job is perhaps the last time we'd see that from Kreator with "Extreme Aggression" seeing them starting to clean up their act & it works reasonably well here. Extreme metal bands performing heavy metal cover versions in a style that’s different from their usual one is not generally a practice I profess to support & that’s once again been proven to be the case here. It’s amazing how much of a difference there is between the skill levels shown in the live performances here versus 2003’s “Live Kreation” double live album too. They’re very much chalk & cheese. In saying that though, I don’t think many people listen to Kreator for their technicality & the exciting energy levels are still there so the rawer presentation isn’t a disaster, even if “Terrible Certainty” struggles to stay afloat. Overall, I’d suggest that “Out Of The Dark… Into The Light” is certainly inessenital & is very much an only-for-the-diehards release but if my rating is anything to go then it would appear that I must class myself as one of those.

3.5/5

Even after that thorough listening for my review, I don't find enough groove metal in the debut to be a primary genre for the album. You are right about the songs you mentioned having groove metal riffing, Daniel ("Scapegoat", "Martyr", "Scumgrief"), but it's more of a secondary genre for this album along with grindcore and alternative metal. Industrial death metal is the primary sound for this band's debut.

Fair enough Andi. I'm admittedly on the fence about it. I do think there's much more groove metal than there is death metal on the first half of the album though. It just disappears in the second half in exchange for the deathgrind component & I get the feeling that Fear Factory have front-loaded the album with their newer material with their older death metal-based songs being tacked on the end. Instrumentally I'd say there's as much groove metal as there is death/grind overall but feel that the vocals are the reason that people lean towards the more extreme genres when describing the album.

Mortal Sin - "Face of Despair" (1989)

Sydney thrash legends Mortal Sin were very much the hometown heroes when I was first being initiated into the extreme metal scene in the very late 1980’s & early 1990’s. I’d become aware of them through the title track from their highly regarded 1987 debut album “Mayhemic Destruction” which was one of the standout tracks on the cover CD from the first edition of seminal Australian metal magazine “Hot Metal” & it very quickly saw me hunting down dubbed cassette versions of Mortal Sin’s full-length albums which were picked up from older kids at my school. I recall finding both “Mayhemic Destruction” & their 1989 sophomore effort “Face of Despair” to be enjoyable listens but neither would have the sort of impact I would see them having on my peers in the local scene over the coming years. It would be Mortal Sin’s live presence that would have me placing them on a pedestal as one of the earlier sources of inspiration for me wanting to become a metal musician. Nothing much had changed when I looked back on “Mayhemic Destruction” recently but it’s about time I revisited “Face of Despair” to see how it compares.

“Mayhemic Destruction” was very much an example of “Kill ‘Em All” worship with it’s simple NWOBHM-infused thrash sounding a touch dated even by 1987. “Face of Despair” presents a very confident band that ooze of professionalism & have clearly honed their craft over the two years since the debut. The clear production & super-tight performances are very impressive with the lead guitar work being particularly effective. Front man Mat Maurer still sounds a lot like Metallica’s James Hetfield but it’s the instrumentation that’s the focal point here with the band opting for a mid-paced chug more often than all-out velocity. That in itself isn’t a negative as there are plenty of great mid-paced thrash albums out there but I do think the album feels a little lethargic at times & would have preferred a touch more energy. It just seems like the mid-paced material is less inspired than the faster parts which see the guitarists showing exceptional right-hand precision & offer a similar sound to early Testament.

The tracklisting begins very strongly with opening cut “I Am Immortal” going on to become one of the great metal anthems of the Sydney scene but I’d have to wait until quite late in the album to see proceedings reaching the same sort of heights again through my favourite track on the album “Terminal Reward” (which includes an incredible bridge & solo section). A lot of the other material is more than serviceable but fails to grab you by the balls like top tier thrash releases tend to do which is mainly due to a general lack of intensity. If you’re going to keep things a little more chuggy then it’s essential that the song-writing is top notch in order to compete with the big boys but I don’t feel that Mortal Sin often compete at the elite level, instead tending to stay amongst the also-rans for the most part. There are a couple of weak tracks included that ensure that “Face of Despair” stays there too with “Martyrs of Eternity” & the terrible novelty closer “Robbie Soles” leaving me cold.

I may not enjoy “Face of Despair” quite as much as I do the youthful exuberance of “Mayhemic Destruction” but it’s far from a poor effort & there’s actually not all that much between the two. “Face of Despair” is a more than decent sophomore album but I do find it hard to see where the unanimous praise that the rest of the Sydney scene heaps on the early Mortal Sin albums comes from to be honest. This is a working-class thrash record from a band that clearly knows what they’re doing but it fails to dazzle me enough to see me coming back to it regularly & that kinda sums up my feelings on the early Australian metal scene overall. I think we had a tendency to overrate our home-town heroes in the late 1980’s given that we were so far away from the rest of the world & were rarely impacted by big name tours in a pre-internet world.

3.5/5

I'll have you know that I don't fuck around with serious matters such as this Ben. There's simply far too much at stake.

Have just noticed that Nothing Sacred's "Deathwish" E.P. wasn't in my list & thought it deserved some more attention so it's been added at the expense of Thrash Queen's "Manslayer":

01. Hello Kitty Suicide Club - "^_^" (2012)

02. Effluence - "Liquefied" E.P. (2022)

03. Cremator - "Home Style Surgery" (1988)

04. Exterminator - "Total Extermination" (1987)

05. Iron Maiden - "Virtual XI" (1997)

06. Enbilulugugal - "Noizemongers for GoatSerpent" (2004)

07. Lazy - "Uchusen Chikyugo" (1980)

08. Nothing Sacred - "Deathwish" E.P. (1985)

09. Heol Telwen - "An deiz ruz" (2005)

10. Emit - "The Dark Bleeding" demo (2003)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/205

I look forward to hearing your take on it Andi. The Machine Head style stuff I'm talking about is far more evident on the first half of the record than the second which is where you'll find more of the Napalm Death-inspired deathgrind material. I'd suggest that most of the big songs (i.e. "Scapegoat", "Martyr", "Scumgrief", etc.) are based on groove metal riffs though to be honest.

Metal Archives only list Nails on the basis of You Will Never Be One of Us, not this record also - wtf?

Quoted UnhinderedbyTalent

This is nothing unusual for Metal Archives which is inherently flawed in its approach. How bands like Converge, System Of A Down, Bring Me The Horizon & The Contortionist are deemed to be not metal enough to qualify for the site but Deep Purple, Scorpions & Rush are is anyone's guess. Even Meshuggah were only "accepted into the Metal Archives based on their material up to and including Contradictions Collapse."

On a side note, RYM has this release dual-tagged as Black Metal & Dissonant Death Metal. For the record, there's absolutely zero death metal on offer here. It's yet another case of the inadequacies of the RYM genre-tagging model as people are simply voting up Dissonant Death Metal to cover the dissonance in the black metal.

Here's my review:

If there’s one thing the modern black metal scene is good for it’s one-man bands with every man & his dog seemingly having multiple solo projects on the go these days. If there’s another it’s super-dense & heavily compressed production jobs with the emphasis being more on darkness & atmosphere than clarity & precision in 2023. What’s not very common though is the existence of too many quality black metal acts from countries as heavily policed as China is & that’s what we have here. In fact, I’d suggest that Hoplites (who hails from the eastern coastal province of Zheziang) may well be the most significant metal act ever to hail from the land of the red dragon. He also appears to be one of those extreme metal acts who seems to want to release new material every other week which could be regarded as a gift or an affliction depending on your opinion of the artist’s general quality & consistency. Hoplites’ sophomore album “Ψευδομένη” was only released back in January of this year but here we are looking at Liu Zhenyang’s third full-length “Τρωθησομένη” which seems to be taking his reputation to greater heights again.

What we have here is quite a complex & inaccessible record that definitely requires some commitment before it’s true worth can be evaluated as its density can be quite daunting on first listen. I’d describe Hoplites sound as sitting well within the confines of the black metal spectrum with screaming high-pitched vocals, consistently brutal & blasting drum programming & abrasive & dissonant guitar work but there’s a strong thrash metal influence to some of the riffs with Saxy’s Vektor comparison not being all that far from the mark. The artificial nature of the drumming is certainly fairly obvious to the trained ear but I don’t think it’s enough to turn anyone off & would imagine that most untrained listeners probably wouldn’t even pick up on it, especially given that so many extreme metal releases utilize some pretty inorganic drum triggers these days. Liu has no doubt spent a fair bit of time on the programming as it can hardly be described as simplistic with a lot of nuance being put into the cymbal work. There’s an element of chaos to Hoplites’ approach here though which reminds me of the mathcore-infused sound of US black metallers Serpent Column, even though I wouldn’t say that I hear any actual metalcore on the record as such. It’s more the electric energy derived from the tendency to jump around a lot with little warning that draws that comparison. The strong focus on dissonance & experimentation in the guitar work perhaps unsurprisingly brings to mind French black metal gods Deathspell Omega which can’t be a bad thing in my book either.

“Τρωθησομένη” gets off to a splendid start with three of the first four tracks sitting amongst the album highlights. In fact, the A side is very strong indeed but unfortunately the B side sees the quality dropping a bit, admittedly not enough to see me becoming bored or impatient but there can be no denying that I thought I was headed for a higher rating early on. The final track “Θεῖα Δεσμά” was really the deciding factor there as it’s the only one of the ten tracks on offer that I find no enjoyment in. If it’d been replaced or omitted then I feel that a four-star rating was well & truly on the cards but, as it is, this inclusion provided me with just enough incentive to see me reducing my score to that of a respectable but inessential release. “Τρωθησομένη” is a suffocating but inherently record that probably offers more potential than it’s actually delivered if I’m being honest.

3.5/5

Does anyone else feel that there might be enough groove metal on offer here for inclusion in The Pit? I'm in two minds about it.

I've ended up quite liking "Under The Red Cloud", perhaps even more than Amorphis' classic 1994 "Tales From The Thousand Lakes" sophomore album which I reviewed only recently. It's a beautifully composed & executed effort that enjoys a lovely production job & is comprised of three main components with an overarching progressive metal philosophy being countered by elements of melodic death metal & folk metal. I really enjoy the first two of those three sounds but unsurprisingly struggle a bit with the latter, even though Amorphis admittedly do it much better than most. I've actually been really surprised that Amorphis still offer most of the things that made them so popular in the first place though as I saw them play live on the tour for their previous album "Circle" in 2013 & remember finding their modern sound to be a little flat. It's been refreshing to hear it presented in such an attractive format here & I'm wondering whether I've been a touch hasty in ignoring them for so many years.

3.5/5

The Hall of Judgement entry can be located here so everyone should feel free to have their say on what genres this release should rightfully be entitled to be tagged as:

https://metal.academy/hall/281

I had a feeling you'd really dig it Vinny. In the interest of our Hall of Judgement entry, how would you tag "Mad Locust Rising"? On RYM it's listed as a Speed Metal primary with Heavy Metal & Thrash Metal secondaries but I have to admit that I don't hear any genuine Speed Metal on this release & would suggest that people have used the term as a midway point between the Thrash Metal & Heavy Metal sounds on offer. Personally I'd go with Thrash Metal & US Power Metal primaries with a Heavy Metal secondary. In Metal Academy terms I'd be happy for it to simply sit under Thrash Metal. What are your thoughts?

Here's my review from last year:

I’ve long regarded Los Angeles five-piece Agent Steel’s 1985 debut album “Skeptics Apocalypse” as one of the top few speed metal records I’ve ever experienced so it’s fair to say that I didn’t hesitate in considering the band’s next couple of releases for inclusion while putting together an outline of the records I’d investigate as a part of this month’s speed metal deep dive. Agent Steel’s debut kinda fell into the speed metal tag due to it being made up of tracks that belonged in either the thrash metal or heavy metal camps so speed metal seemed like a happy medium, particularly given the extra melody in the vocals & guitar lines that wouldn’t normally be associated with genuine thrash. My review of 1987’s “Unstoppable Force” sophomore album last week found that the band hadn’t diluted their commitment to velocity in the slightest & I’d describe it as a relentless assault on the senses although the production & vocal performances left a fair bit to be desired & a lot of the more aggressive material is more speed metal focused than it is thrash. Having now closed that chapter in my understanding of Agent Steel’s essential releases I’m left only to fill the gap between the two albums with 1986’s “Mad Locust Rising” E.P., a twelve-minute affair that makes full use of it’s short run time.

“Mad Locust Rising” is made up of just the four tracks with the first being an insignificant 17 second intro piece that might as well have been a part of the first proper song as it serves no purpose on its own. The opening title track however is an absolute rip-snorter & takes a super aggressive thrash metal approach that’s far more similar to Slayer & Kreator than it is to Exciter or Helstar. Even polarizing front man John Cyriis’ whiny performance seems to fit the music beautifully & I’m not sure that Agent Steel could have come up with a better opener to be honest. Why the hell this track wasn’t deemed worthy of inclusion on a proper album is anyone’s guess. Next up we get a very solid & well executed cover version of Judas Priest’s “The Ripper” which is pretty faithful to the original but adds some modern-day oomph with a delivery that’s more in line with the US power metal sound. And finally, the E.P. is closed out with another thrasher in “Let It Be Done/The Day At Guyana” which is the more complex of the three proper songs & offers some fantastic riffs, particularly the Slayer-esque outro section from “The Day At Guyana” which would become a highly praised instrumental track on the “Unstoppable Force” album.

The production job is nice & raw but possesses a wonderful energy that beautifully highlights the strengths of the consistently high quality tracklisting. The performances are all excellent too with the over the top shredding of Juan Garcia & Kurt Colfelt being a definite highlight, particularly their Kerry King/Jeff Hannemann style effort on the title track which takes an already superb track to another level altogether. It’s really very hard to fault this little E.P. & I have to say that I’m surprised that it hasn’t gained more notoriety over the years. I can only suggest that the short run time is the main reason behind that but the other may be that fans weren’t quite prepared for the onslaught of aggressive thrash as there’s not really any speed metal on offer here with thrash metal & US power metal being far more appropriate genre tags.

I have to say that “Mad Locust Rising” has torn off my face & handed it back to me in pieces in many respects. I wasn’t in any way prepared to enjoy it as much as I have & now regard it as my favourite Agent Steel record by a clear margin. Is that due to the fact that it takes a direction that’s much more in line with my personal taste profile? Well… yes it certainly is but isn’t that how we all judge the merits of our music? It certainly is for me & I’m very glad to have discovered this short but very sweet little E.P. from a very important band in the US power metal movement.

For fans of Metal Church, Lååz Rockit & Destructor.

4.5/5

I've been across "The Karelian Isthmus" since it was released three decades ago Andi. It's not a bad death metal record either & has been on my radar to revisit for a while now. I'm very familiar with everything that Amorphis released between 1991 & 1997 but I'm pretty sure that's where my knowledge ends. I've been digging my teeth into this month's feature release this morning though & should be in a position to voice my opinions tomorrow.

Here's my review:

By 1992 I found myself firmly entrenched in an underground metal landscape that was continually pushing the threshold of what extreme metal could be. The death metal scene had taken off in a major way & would shortly reach its peak while the second wave of black metal was about to take the world by storm with less abrasive styles like thrash retreating back into the underground to take cover. This had a lot to do with global grunge boom as heavy music fans & musicians were heading out into more aggressive territories to look for alternatives to the continual stream of melancholy & flannelette shirts they were being presented by the media. In many ways it was the perfect time for a band like Los Angeles four-piece Fear Factory to make a statement that would see the opposite factions being unified on some level with their debut album “Soul of a New Machine” possessing a crossover potential that few realized the death metal scene could achieve at the time.

My initial experiences with Fear Factory were through the late-night Sydney metal radio programs that I’d religiously tune into. “Scapegoat” & “Martyr” had very quickly become essential weekly inclusions & had grabbed my attention due to their fresh new sound that didn’t exactly fit into my usual taste profile but left me somewhat intrigued to find out what else they had to offer. I didn't hesitate in picking up the “Soul of a New Machine” CD from the local record store & quickly went about acclimatizing myself with it with an enthusiasm that only a 16 year-old can muster. What I found was that there were more strings to Fear Factory’s bow than I’d first realized. The more popular & accessible tracks I was already familiar with were offset by a much more extreme sound that bore its roots in the underground tape trading scene & this drew me in further than I'd initially anticpiated. I think it’s fair to say that “Soul of a New Machine” was never going to feature in any of my best-of lists but I definitely found myself enjoying it purely as a point of variety.

As I mentioned, the early Fear Factory sound contains several major components. To start with you have the industrial metal base which combines the dissonant, almost factory-like sounds of Godflesh with the brand new mechanical, machine-gun style staccato riffs that Fear Factory would make their calling card across their entire career. It’s hard to imagine where bands like Strapping Young Lad or Meshuggah would be without this element to tell you the truth. The second component is the strong use of groove-based riffs which was likely borrowed from bands like Pantera & Prong but sounds closest to fellow Californians Machine Head who undoubtedly drew influence from Fear Factory. And finally we have the inclusion of genuine extreme metal components with the tremolo-picked death metal riffs of Bolt Thrower & the blasting deathgrind chaos of Napalm Death being the most obvious influences. When you combine these elements with a vocal performance that takes a number of interesting directions you get a very original & highly engaging sound that possibly drew me in a touch more than “Soul of a New Machine” deserved in all honesty.

Front man Burton C. Bell’s performance is multi-faceted. Unlike later Fear Factory releases, his standard delivery is a gruff death metal grunt but he regularly swaps between a more accessible version & a deeper & more guttural interpretation that sounds very similar to Napalm Death icon Mark "Barney" Greenway. The really interesting part comes when Burton opts for a clean singing style during many of the more captivating choruses though. He manages to create a dreamy & transcendent atmosphere that made Fear Factory quite unique at the time & would see them further expanding on the concept with future releases. Despite my obvious tendency towards the more deathly side of Fear Factory’s sound, I actually find many of these clean-sung parts to be the highlights of some of the tracks & it’s not hard to see why that component of the band’s sound would go on to become so influential on the global metal scene as it opened the band up to a more mainstream audience than had ever been afforded to a death metal(-ish) band before. Guitarist Dino Cazares & drummer Raymond Herrara work in complete unison with their predominantly rhythmic attack being just as influential as Burton’s vocal contribution. I’m not sure we’d heard a metal band using guitar purely for rhythmic, percussive purposes to this extent before (not even Pantera) & when combined with Herrara’s super-precise kick-drum work it makes for a compelling musical statement that will likely see your body succumbing to the infectious grooves on offer.

But, even though Fear Factory had undoubtedly touched on a new & interesting sound that would have a significant impact on the global metal scene, I will always regard their debut as a bit player in my early 90’s story. You see, despite recognizing all of the new & interesting ways that the band had changed metal forever (just take a look at the nu metal boom & tell me that had nothing to do with Fear Factory), I can’t help but find myself left a little short-changed when reaching the end of what is a very ambitious seventeen song tracklisting. Literally none of the tracks reach classic status for me personally & I think that has a lot to do with my not being the biggest fans of groove metal to be honest as most tracks contain some pretty simple, chuggy riffs that will never breach my upper scoring echelon. There are no weak numbers included as the album is generally fairly consistent but the tracklisting does tend to fade at the end with a string of less significant grind-influenced tracks closing the album out. I can’t help but feel that some of this stuff could have been culled in the interest of quality & it might have seen my rating being bumped up a touch as I really wasn’t all that far away from going a little higher.

Still, it’s hard to be too critical of a record like “Soul of a New Machine” given its importance & impact. It was perhaps more of a scene-setter for Fear Factory’s coming piece-da-resistance in 1995 sophomore album “Demanufacture” which would see the band achieving a far more complete creative vision but it’s a worthwhile record to explore nonetheless. In truth, I strongly suspected that my score would end up where it has as the album has never been one that I've found myself wanting to return to as regularly as many others from a particularly strong year in metal. In fact, I doubt it’d even make my top 20 from 1992 in all honesty but that’s more of a reflection of just how much I was in my musical element than it is a representation of the merits of this ground-breaking release.

3.5/5

I was well onboard with everything Amorphis did up until their 1996 third album "Elegy" but then let them go completely after that for some reason, even though I really like "Elegy". I think the only record I've heard from them since is the 2010 re-recording album "Magic & Mayhem: Tales From the Early Years" so I'm actually quite curious to hear this one. I've just added this release to my May playlist.

The godfather of death metal hard at work on Death's 1998 tour for the "The Sound of Perseverance" album.