Daniel's Forum Replies
I was thinking about the one-listen-review concept some more last night & there are two other elements that come into play (at least they do for me personally). I find that mood & context can skew my view on a release one way or the other. For example, if I'm tired & listen to a highly intense or complex death metal album, there's no way that I'll appreciate it as much as if I'm wide awake & energetic. Or if I've just listened to Marduk & then decide to put on Twisted Sister, I'm always going to find Twisted Sister to be fairly light-weight in comparison which may impact my scoring but I still might feel like listening to them. The same goes for production as some production jobs will inevitably sound dodgier or more impressive than they are depending on what you play them after. For that reason, I like to listen to my music in a couple of different headspaces & environments before reaching a consensus on what rating I'll award a particular release & I never do my final listen late in the day when I'm not alert. Perhaps I take this process a little too seriously but... ya know what... Ben & I run an online metal ratings/reviews website so the integrity of our views can be kinda a big deal for parts of our audience.
A very solid progressive heavy metal instrumental from the Swedish neoclassical guitar virtuoso.
After revisiting the Cattle Decapitation album shown above I realized that I still haven't collated a Top Ten Deathgrind Releases of All Time list so I thought I'd remedy that this morning. Here's what I came up with:
01. Napalm Death - "Mentally Murdered" E.P. (1989)
02. Cattle Decapitation - "Monolith of Inhumanity" (2012)
03. Brutal Truth - "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" (1992)
04. Napalm Death - "Utopia Banished" (1992)
05. Napalm Death - "Mass Appeal Madness" E.P. (1991)
06. Lock Up - "Necropolis Transparent" (2011)
07. Cephalic Carnage - "Misled by Certainty" (2010)
08. Damaged - "Passive Backseat Demon Engines" E.P. (1995)
09. Misery Index - "Heirs to Slavery" (2010)
10. Aborted - "Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done" (2003)
And before anyone says it, of course Terrorizer's "World Downfall" would have made the list if it qualified as deathgrind in our database. For the record, I agree with our database that it's a straight-up grindcore record though.
Look, I can't speak for anyone else but I can assure you that my opinion on a release changes over three active listens. The first listen is always about resetting my expectations & removing any preconceptions that I may have held about what was in store for me. It's only on the second listen that I start to gain access to some of the nuances & begin to reach an informed opinion. The third listen confirms that my thoughts from the second listen are correct & decides between close scoring calls which is always easier for me on the third listen. Sometimes I may even need a fourth listen to firm up my opinion if the release is quite complex.
Honestly, I don't even want to only listen to a release just the once. I like to become more involved with my music than that. Call me a wanker for saying this but, as a musician myself, I feel that I owe it to the artist in some way. I never do anything requiring brain power while listening to music that I intend the rate or review either as I like to be fully present & immerse myself in the artist's vision so I'm either lying, driving or walking.
I have to concur with the others that my planned listening time is already maxed out by the monthly feature releases, particularly given my refusal to rate or review a release without giving it at least 3-4 active listens over a couple of days. I work 50+ hours a week & have three young kids who command all of my free time so I'd be reluctant to reduce my free listening time any further at this point when it only really amounts to the time before anyone else wakes up.
Rex, regardless of whether other members would like to participate in your suggested initiative, can I suggest that you join the feature release rosters for your chosen clans? That way you can choose releases that you'd like to have your fellow clan members attention drawn to &, in doing so, can potentially contribute to the cause listed above. It's not a bad way to see Hall of Judgement nominations coming to fruition too & I know you've been keen to contribute there too.
I love Deftones to be honest. Well... post-"Adrenaline" Deftones anyway. "Around The Fur" was really solid but I prefer later releases like "Koi no Yokan" & "Ohms". "White Pony" is definitely their pièce de résistance though.
A classy Canadian tech thrash masterpiece that was somewhat of an anthem for me as a teenager.
With Andi still taking a break from the feature release roster, here are the owners of the September submissions:
THE FALLEN: Daniel, Sonny, Morpheus Kitami, Ben, Vinny
THE GATEWAY: Saxy, Saxy, Andi, Saxy
THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Morpheus Kitami
THE HORDE: Vinny, Ben, Daniel
THE INFINITE: Saxy, Andi, Xephyr
THE NORTH: Daniel, Xephyr, Ben, Vinny, Sonny
THE PIT: Daniel, Ben, Morpheus Kitami, Sonny, Vinny
THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi, Daniel
THE SPHERE: Daniel, Daniel, Andi, Daniel
Here's my nomination for the September playlist Andi:
Scorn - "Deep In - Eaten Over and Over" (from "Vae Solis", 1992)
Here's my September playlist nomination:
Whitechapel - "Single File To Dehumanization" (from "A New Era Of Corruption", 2010)
Here are my September playlist nominations Vinny:
Blood Tsunami - "Castle of Skulls" (from "Grand Feast For Vultures", 2009)
Annihilator - "Road To Ruin" (from "Never, Neverland", 1990)
Suicidal Tendencies - "Trip At The Brain" (from "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today", 1988)
Here are my September playlist nominations Ben:
Tómarúm - "As Black Forms From Grey" (from "Ash in Realms of Stone Icons", 2022)
Tilintetgjort - "Hex" (from "In Death I Shall Arise", 2023)
Teitanblood - "Domains of Darkness and Ancient Evil" (from "Seven Chalices", 2009)
Liturgy - "Caela" (from "93696", 2023)
Here are my submissions for the September playlist:
Tzompantli - "Ohtlatocopailcahualuztli" (from "Tlazcaltiliztli", 2022)
Bloodbath - "Blasting The Virginborn" (from "Unblessing the Purity" E.P., 2008)
Aborted - "Parasitic Flesh Resection" (from "Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done", 2003)
Teitanblood - "The Abomination of Desolation" (from "Seven Chalices", 2009)
Sanguisugabogg - "Testicular Rot" (from "Homicidal Ecstasy", 2023)
Cattle Decapitation - "Your Disposal" (from "Monolith of Inhumanity", 2012)
Here's my submission for the September playlist Xephyr:
Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force - "Heaven Tonight" (from "Odyssey", 1988)
Here's my submission for the September playlist Saxy:
Jane's Addiction - "Mountain Song" (from "Nothing's Shocking", 1988)
Here are my submissions for the September playlist Sonny:
Tzompantli - "Yaotiacahuanetzli" (from "Tlazcaltiliztli", 2022)
My Dying Bride - "And My Fury Stands Ready" (from "Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light", 2004)
August 2023
01. Nocturnal Graves – “Beyond The Flesh” (from “An Outlaw’s Stand”, 2022) [Submitted by Daniel]
02. Phlebotomized – “Bury My Heart” (from “Clouds of Confusion”, 2023)
03. Contrarian – “In Gehenna” (from “Sage Of Shekhinah”, 2023)
04. Sadist – “Escogido” (from “Tribe”, 1996)
05. In Flames – “Stand Ablaze” (from “Subterranean” E.P., 1995)
06. Balmora – “July, Unending” (from “With Thorns Of Glass & Petals Of Grief” E.P., 2023)
07. Hellwitch – “Delegated Disruption” (from “Annihilational Intercention”, 2023)
08. Torture Rack – “Morning Star Massacre” (from “Primeval Onslaught”, 2023)
09. Creeping Death – “Intestinal Wrap” (from “Boundless Domain”, 2023)
10. Apparition – “Unequilibrium” (from “Feel”, 2021) [Submitted by Daniel]
11. Bandit – “End Of The Rainbow” (from “Siege of Self”, 2023)
12. Ulcerate – “Confronting Entropy” (from “Vermis”, 2013) [Submitted by Daniel]
13. Gigan – “Electro-Stimulated Hallucinatory Response” (from “Multi-Dimensional Fractal-Sorcery & Super Science”, 2013)
14. Houkago Grind Time – “Bakyunsified (Moe To The Gore)“ (from “Saving The World By Overloading It With Mincecore Brigade“ E.P., 2019)
15. Cavalera – “War” (from “Morbid Visions”, 2023)
16. Blind Equation – “BXE666” (from “Born To Die” E.P., 2020)
17. Aevangelist – “Veils” (from “Omen Ex Simulacra”, 2013)
18. Crisis Sigil – “Skybox” (from “God Cum Poltergeist”, 2023)
19. Septage – “Of Gangrene Limbs” (from “Septisk eradikasyon” E.P., 2021)
20. Atavistia – “Cosmic Warfare” (from “Cosmic Warfare”, 2023)
21. Burnt By The Sun – “Buffy” (from “Burnt By The Sun” E.P., 2001)
22. ZOMBIESHARK! – “Idiot Machine” (from “Born From A Wish” E.P., 2022)
23. Cattle Decapitation – “Humanure” (from “Humanure”, 2004)
24. Deeds of Flesh – “Summarily Killed” (from “Path of the Weakening”, 1999)
25. Tithe – “Demon” (from “Inverse Rapture”, 2023)
26. Disfiguring The Goddess – “Black Earth Child” (from “Black Earth Child”, 2013)
27. Inhume – “Incineration Of The Body By Own Will” (from “In For The Kill”, 2003)
28. Suffocation – “Translucent Patterns of Delirium” (from “Suffocation”, 2006) [Submitted by Daniel]
29. Acranius – “Life Sustainment Will Continue Mutilation” (from “When Mutation Becomes Homicidal”, 2013)
30. Katalepsy – “Lurking In The Depth” (from “Autopsychosis”, 2013) [Submitted by Daniel]
31. Devangelic – “Which Shall Be The Darkness Of The Heretic” (from “Xul”, 2023)
More on the subject of slam, people on RYM don't seem to like Disfiguring the Goddess that much. But I am head over heels with Deprive. I adore that Lovecraftian vibe.
I really dig 2012's "Sleeper" E.P. & feel it should qualify here too.
"Obscene Majesty" is comfortably my Devourment release of choice.
In my experience, I agree with Andi that Emmure are nowhere near as bad as people make them out to be. I actually don't mind 2011's "Speaker of the Dead" & 2012's "Slave to the Game" albums.
On a similar slant, I'm nominating Suicide Silence's 2011 "The Black Crown" album which we featured last month & I ended up awarding four stars.
I completely agree. The flack that album receives is totally misguided in my opinion.
A very solid progressive metal outing from these Canadian thrashers.
So when the best album by the best band in this genre doesn't even qualify, it just feels so awkward,
I get what you're saying but "the best album by the best album" is purely subjective & often doesn't match up with "most popular" which I assume is what you really meant?
I still maintain that Suicidal Tendencies have never topped their debut and as such were a better hardcore band than a thrash band. I still spin that album quite often (even though the Reagan stuff is outdated now) but almost never play any of their later material.
As you're no doubt aware by now, my taste for hardcore & punk in general isn't very strong so I've always regarded "Lights Camera Revolution" & (to a lesser extent) "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today" as the only essential Suicidal records which is why I've been so surprised at how little appeal the latter offered me upon revisiting it.
It's harder for me. I have a very strict ruleset for albums I will regard with the highest respect on an artistic view. I've had a difficult time finding a crossover thrash album I hold with this regard, because many of the best albums still show the bands making at least one of the biggest mistakes in making an album that's brilliant front to back, and this mistake is usually sameyness and the lack of variety to keep things original. So when the best album by the best band in this genre doesn't even qualify, it just feels so awkward, unlike the difference between Pogues' Rum Sodomy and the Lash and If I Should Fall From Grace with God, which are both IMO flawless and tackle their respective different genres (celtic rock and celtic punk), without blemish. For Suicidal Tendencies, the genre switch here happened right after the band had used up their best ideas.
I'm curious Rex, if you regard sameyness & a lack of variety as deal-breakers in achieving a classic record, how did Devourment's "Butcher The Weak" make it through to achieve a full five star rating this morning?
This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.
Here's my updated Top Ten Crossover Thrash Releases of All Time list after discovering that Suicidal Tendencies' "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today" a) isn't really a crossover release & b) isn't nearly as good as I remembered it being during this weekend's revisit:
01. Suicidal Tendencies – “Lights Camera Revolution” (1989)
02. S.O.D. – “Speak English or Die” (1985)
03. Agnostic Front – “Cause For Alarm” (1986)
04. Cryptic Slaughter – “Convicted” (1986)
05. The Accused – “The Return Of… Martha Splatterhead” (1986)
06. Agnostic Front – “Liberty & Justice For…” (1987)
07. Attitude Adjustment – “American Paranoia” (1986)
08. Crumbsuckers – “Life Of Dreams” (1986)
09. Permanent Damage - "End of Innocence" (1987)
10. Excel - "Split Image" (1987)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/174
Suicidal Tendencies - "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today" (1988)
1988’s “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” album represents my first experience with Venice Beach crossover thrash legends Suicidal Tendencies who initially came to my attention through the classic opening track “Trip At The Brain” which I heard on a late-night underground metal program some time in 1989. I’d certainly seen their name around while associating with a group of skaters from the year above me at high school but hadn’t taken the time to explore them until that moment. This admittedly very impressive track would prove to be the catalyst for further exploration though with Ben & I would soon picking up “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” on cassette. It’s a release that I've held vague but generally fond memories of over the years yet I can’t say that I remembered too many of the specifics going into this revisit as I haven’t returned to it in decades. I’ve recently found myself asking why that is as I certainly remember a lot more of its 1990 follow-up “Lights Camera Revolution”, an album that I regard as being the pinnacle of the crossover thrash movement. Well... we’re about to get some greater transparency on that so let’s dive right in.
I don’t have much time for Suicidal Tendencies’ 1987 sophomore album “Join The Army”. It was more of a transitional record than a genuine crossover record with the rhythm guitar tone still remaining firmly in punk territory. I really struggled with Mike Muir’s pitchy & generally inadequate vocal performance too which made the album a bit of a chore to listen to if I'm being honest. The introduction of new lead guitarist Rocky George was the source of great promise though as he brought with him a metal focus & an instrumental competence that gave Suicidal a noticeable lift in potential. “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” may only have landed a year later but the differences in approach between the two albums become apparent very quickly after pressing play. The production job is much thicker, more cohesive & generally much more focused on a metal sound rather than a hardcore one. Also, you’ll struggle to identify much in the way of hardcore on the first four tracks which see Suicidal now sitting firmly in a metal space. Hints at hardcore will eventually appear once you reach the middle of the tracklisting & there are a few legitimate crossover thrash tracks included (“The Miracle”, “The Feeling’s Back” & CD bonus track “Suicyco Mania”) but I think it’s fair to say that crossover is more of a secondary component than the primary one as Suicidal simply feel more like a genuine metal band at this point. The classic heavy metal influence that was evident on “Join The Army” is once again clearly visible here with songs like “Pledge Your Allegiance”, the title track & “One Too Many Times” sitting very much in that space while “Surf & Slam” & “Sorry?!” see the band hit on a sound that could only be described as speed metal in my opinion. It’s (perhaps unsurprisingly) the undiluted thrash metal of tracks like “Trip At The Brain” & “If I Don’t Wake Up” that have the most impact on me though.
Rocky George’s lead guitar work is a definite highlight as he builds on the concepts he’d started on “Join The Army” & takes them to another level with his tendency to contribute a continuous layer of shredding lead work over the course of entire songs becoming somewhat of a trademark at this point. His chops would improve further on “Lights Camera Revolution” but he was already very capable & pulls it all off with relative ease. Muir’s vocals are another story altogether though & I’d have to suggest that my nostalgic memories of the album hadn’t prepared me for the fact that Muir simply can’t sing. The instrumentation is generally very consistent across the entire tracklisting but it's Muir’s contribution that either makes or breaks each song & unfortunately I’d have to suggest that there are more misses than hits on this occasion. He absolutely destroys songs like “Hearing Voices” & “Sorry?!”, making potentially quite fun (if fairly generic) thrash & speed metal songs into cringe-worthy disappointments that fail to live up to their potential due to some clumsy execution & some very lazy chorus hooks. The consistent use of hardcore-style gang vocals doesn’t help all that much either it has to be said.
It's funny that (other than the obvious highlight in opener “Trip At The Brain”) not a lot of this material sounded very familiar at all so I’ve had to question whether I really did rate this album all that highly back in the day. I tend to have a very strong memory for music so, based on this experience, I'd have to suggest that I may not have spent as much of my formative years with “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” as I thought I did. It’s been good to finally get some clarity on its qualities now though & I’ve subsequently realigned my position on the album. It's a very inconsistent release that serves mainly transitional purposes as the first genuine thrash record Suicidal released on their journey towards their career-defining follow-up album. If you go completely nuts for bands like D.R.I., Municipal Waste & Dr. Living Dead then you’ll definitely want to give it a few spins though, if only as a point of historical reference.
3/5
A couple of releases that got an airing while cleaning the house yesterday:
BUCK-TICK - "十三階は月光 (Juusankai wa gekkou)" (2005)
Alternative/gothic rock from the Japanese visual kei movement.
Bodychoke - "Cold River Songs" (1998)
Noise/post/gothic rock from London, England.
Suffocation basically took Cannibal Corpse's gimmick to a new level, except from what I hear, Cannibal Corpse was better.
5.5 / 10
To be fair, Suffocation's signature sound predates Cannibal Corpse's one pretty comfortably as Suffocation had already pretty much defined their sound on their 1990 "Reincremation" demo & further refined it for "Human Waste", both of which were released prior to Cannibal Corpse upping the ante on their brutality for 1991's "Butchered At Birth" sophomore album.
A catchy heavy metal number from these Canadian thrash metallers.
Bell Witch - "Mirror Reaper" (2017)
It’s interesting that I’ve held a decade-long relationship with Seattle-based funeral doom metal duo Bell Witch now but are still yet to submit a rating or review for one of the releases. That’s not all that unusual as I tend to listen to a lot of new metal releases while doing other things & have a strict policy of only rating/reviewing releases that I’ve invested a minimum of three active listens in. The reason that it’s a little unexpected with Bell Witch though is that I tend to put the effort in with artists that are this widely praised & that begs the question of why I haven’t with “Mirror Reaper” which is very highly regarded, particularly with the regulars on our wonderful online platform. Is it because I find the prospect of an 84-minute single track funeral doom metal album a daunting prospect? I think it might be to tell you the truth but I’ve decided that it’s about time that I bit the bullet because I remember “Mirror Reaper” being a very engaging release & besides… that pearler of a cover is surely justification enough, isn’t it?
“Mirror Reaper” sees Bell Witch returning with a slightly different lineup to that of their 2015 sophomore album "Four Phantoms" following the tragic death of drummer Adrian Guerra, an event that seems to have played a major role in the direction of their third album. Founding member, vocalist & bass player Dylan Desmond (formerly of funeral sludge metallers Sathothrace) has subsequently recruited Jesse Shreibman (current drummer with Portland death metallers Autophagy) to replace his lost brother in arms & together they continue to expand on Bell Witch’s unique take on funeral doom which famously excludes any guitar work whatsoever. That’s right ladies & gentlemen, Bell Witch don’t have a guitarist & most people probably wouldn’t pick it up if they didn't read about it in the media as they use the bass in a layered fashion that ingeniously mimics a traditional guitar but also gives their sound a slightly different feel. This fact alone makes a band like Bell Witch a very intriguing prospect of course but once you get through your first listen you'll find that you soon get over it & get on with your enjoyment of the band’s music as a whole.
Bell Witch’s unique brand of funeral doom metal is both highly atmospheric & quite sombre & introspective in nature. It’s certainly crushingly heavy at times (particularly when Desmond’s super-deep death growls are brought to the foreground) but the duo choose their moments to bring out their more savage side. More often we find them directing their focus towards the listener’s emotional side, regularly utilizing stripped-back post-rock sections to great effect with the predominant use of bass guitar & a whiny-ish indie-style vocal delivery giving them a depth that other artists don’t generally touch on. That word “depth” is actually a very good reference for a record like “Mirror Reaper” because it’s an undeniably deep album but depth isn’t the same thing as substance & I’ll elaborate on that a little bit because it’s an important factor in my final scoring. Bell Witch have absolutely nailed the execution of their craft with “Mirror Reaper”. In fact, I’d be very surprised if it’s not exactly what they envisaged when going into the studio with the production perfectly capturing the mellow atmospherics. What’s missing for me is the melodic hooks to take me from really enjoying an album to levels of utter worship. Perhaps the lack of traditional guitars contributes to that as I don’t feel there are enough melodic hooks for me to latch onto & I find myself craving some lead guitar work at various stages throughout the run time.
Regardless of this, Bell Witch have produced a high quality, emotionally-gripping release that portrays the band’s grief very well. It’s not the heaviest funeral doom record you’ll ever hear & perhaps that’s been to the Bell Witch’s detriment when it comes to appealing to someone with my personal taste profile but I find it very hard to pull my gaze away from what’s going on here, despite the album being undeniably self-indulgent in it’s scope. I think some of that can be put down to the fact that the piece is structured in a way that sees it slowly evolving into several quite different sections which gives the album a memorability that’s not always evident on single-track funeral doom records. For all these reasons, I don’t doubt that funeral doom nuts will go bonkers over "Mirror Reaper", especially those with a penchant for artists like Germany’s Ahab, Nashville’s Loss or fellow Seattleites Un.
4/5
Here's my updated Top Ten Funeral Doom Metal Release of All Time list with Monolithe's very solid "Monolithe II" being the unlucky one to miss out on this occasion:
01. Esoteric - "The Maniacal Vale" (2008)
02. Esoteric – “Paragon of Dissonance” (2011)
03. Esoteric – “Metamorphogenesis” (1999)
04. Esoteric - "A Pyrrhic Existence" (2019)
05. Ahab - "The Call of The Wretched Sea" (2006)
06. Esoteric - "The Pernicious Enigma" (1997)
07. Evoken – “Atra Mors” (2012)
08. The Howling Void – “Shadows Over The Cosmos” (2010)
09. Bell Witch - "Mirror Reaper" (2017)
10. Thergothon – “Stream From The Heavens” (1994)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/132
Powerful late 80's heavy metal from one of the gods of the genre & featuring a wonderful performance from Zakk Wylde on guitar.
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 the release no longer qualifies for inclusion in The Gateway.
Here's my updated top ten list after enjoying this week's revisit to Yngwie Malmsteen's "Odyssey" a fair bit more than I was expecting:
01. Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force – “Odyssey” (1988)
02. Vinnie Moore – “Mind’s Eye” (1986)
03. Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force – “Marching Out” (1985)
04. Jason Becker – “Perpetual Burn” (1988)
05. Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force – “Rising Force” (1984)
06. Yngwie Malmsteen – “Trial By Fire: Live In Leningrad” (1989)
07. Yngwie J. Malmsteen – “Trilogy” (1986)
08. Cacophony – “Speed Metal Symphony” (1987)
09. Yngwie Malmsteen – “The Seventh Sign” (1994)
10. Marty Friedman – “Dragon’s Kiss” (1988)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/141
Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force - "Odyssey" (1988)
1988’s “Odyssey” album represents my introduction to Swedish neoclassical guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen with my first experience being through a track that included on the cover CD from the initial edition of Australian metal magazine “Hot Metal” in 1989 (yes the same one that I spoke about earlier this week in my Ozzy Osbourne review). The song in question was an accessible & anthemic heavy metal number called “Heaven Tonight” that possesses some incredibly catchy vocal hooks & some truly transcendent guitar work. Despite my already having been converted to extreme metal in a major way, I couldn’t help but become a little bit obsessed with this song & it saw me purchasing the “Odyssey” cassette shortly afterwards which would subsequently see me exploring all of Yngwie’s back catalogue & each successive release right through to the middle of the 1990s. I’d soon find myself focusing most of my attention on the first couple of Yngwie records but in the back of my mind I’ve always held a strong passion for “Odyssey”. I’m not sure I realized just how powerful my feelings of nostalgia were for it until now though.
“Odyssey” sees Yngwie continuing to move in a more commercial direction than his earlier works with the focus being just as much on song-writing as it is on the band leader’s instrumental virtuosity. It saw Yngwie recruiting former Rainbow front man Joe Lynn Turner to front his Rising Force band with Joe putting in a stellar performance that I’d suggest even steals the show given that Yngwie’s solos tend to spend the majority of their time retreading old ground. This is highlighted in the fact that all of my favourite songs are those with strong & memorable chorus hooks. Anders & Jens Johansson are back once again & I’ve always enjoyed their jazzy & very musical contributions while former Rainbow & Black Sabbath bassist Bob Daisley also make a contribution by taking over the bass duties on a number of tracks.
The band explore a number of different sounds across the tracklisting from power metal (“Rising Force”, “Riot In The Dungeons”, “Faster Than The Speed Of Light”) to neoclassical metal (“Bite The Bullet”, “Riot In The Dungeons”) to progressive metal (“Krakatau”) to AOR (“Dreaming (Tell Me)”) to hard rock (“Now Is The Time”) but the major component of the album sits with classic heavy metal. In fact, it frustrates me that we so often see Yngwie's more vocal-oriented albums being labelled as neoclassical metal simply because of his lead guitar techniques. There really isn’t a lot of neoclassical influence in most of the song structures if you examine them closely. The tracklisting is pretty consistent with only the horribly dated hard rocker “Now Is The Time” failing to reach an acceptable level but it’s the mind-blowing singalong highlights that really get to me. “Heaven Tonight” is still my pick of the bunch but any time I hear songs like “Déjà vu” or “Crystal Ball” I inevitably find myself struggling to reach Lynn Turner’s range at the top of my voice & invariably make a dick of myself yet you’ll struggle to take the smile off my face. There’s an element of class about most of the remainder of the album too though & I’m not sure that I remember feeling as emphatically positive about an Yngwie tracklisting in all honesty.
“Odyssey” has definitely left me surprised at how strong my nostalgia is for it & I’d actually suggest that it’s my favourite Yngwie release these days. Who am I kidding? If this is a neoclassical metal record (which it’s not) then it’s the finest example that I’ve yet experienced. Apparently I don’t care much if Yngwie focuses on a more song-driven format & can even tolerate a little cheese in the interest of memorability. I’d strongly encourage fans of artists like Cacophony, Axel Rudi Pell & Alcatrazz to check “Odyssey” out while keeping an open mind as it’s a quality heavy metal release in its own right rather than simply being a platform for its illustrious band leader to stroke his ego.
4/5
Avant-garde progressive metal from Brooklyn, USA.
My updated Top Ten Technical Thrash Metal Releases of All Time list after Annihilator's "Alice in Hell" became ineligible (i.e. is rightfully no longer listed as Technical Thrash Metal at Metal Academy) & my revisit to Vektor's "Outer Isolation" drew unexpectedly favourable results:
01. Coroner – “Mental Vortex” (1991)
02. Sadus – “A Vision Of Misery” (1992)
03. Coroner – “No More Color” (1989)
04. Cryptic Shift – “Visitations From Enceladus” (2020)
05. Ripping Corpse - "Dreaming With The Dead" (1991)
06. Toxik – “World Circus” (1987)
07. Аспид – “Кровоизлияние” (1993)
08. Coroner – “Punishment For Decadence” (1988)
09. Vektor - "Outer Isolation" (2011)
10. Vektor – “Black Future” (2009)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/173
Annihilator - "Never, Neverland" (1990)
This Canadian thrash metal outfit made a big impression on Ben & I with their 1989 debut album "Alice In Hell" (4/5) & Annihilator's sophomore record is generally regarded as another essential listening experience for any self-respecting thrasher. I have to admit that I've never quite seen it that way though if I'm being completely honest. The replacement of front man Randy Rampage with Coburn Pharr is certainly an obvious point of difference but I think Coburn does a reasonable job here, even if he does give the album a very different feel to the more aggressive & less melodic Randy. Jeff Waters guitar work is sensational & potentially tops his first up effort. His performances alone are really on another level to the rest of the thrash competition. The links to technical thrash metal were misguided with the debut but here Jeff has ramped up the complexity (particularly during the first half of the tracklisting) & I feel that the tag sits much more comfortably this time.
The album starts off in a rich vein of form with one of Annihilator's best tracks in "The Fun Palace" before continuing in solid fashion for the remainder of the A side. The B side sees the quality dropping a touch though with all of the highlights sitting on the other side. The only weak track as such is the silly "Kraf Dinner" but the rest of the B side is pretty decent without ever really commanding your attention. As with "Alice in Hell", there are a couple of speed metal numbers included in "Kraf Dinner" & "Reduced To Ash" while "Phantasmagoria" & "I Am In Command" take a more traditional thrash metal approach. We also get a little traditional heavy metal in "Stonewall" while the title track & "Imperiled Eyes" are fully fledged progressive metal works so there's certainly enough variety of offer. It just comes down to consistency & I'm afraid to say that "Never, Neverland" hasn't quite lived up to its potential when compared with its highly celebrated older sibling. Diehard fans of the more technically inclined thrash bands like Coroner, Heathen & Toxik might disagree though.
3.5/5
Ozzy Osbourne - "No Rest For The Wicked" (1988)
Another decent if inessential Ozzy solo record, this time featuring the wonderfully precise & powerful lead guitar work of Zakk Wylde. Highlights like "Breaking All The Rules" & "Fire In The Sky" are very solid but only "Miracle Man" (which was my introduction to Ozzy back in 1989) meets classic standard while the couple of rock tune are both disappointing, particularly the God-awful glam metal song "Crazy Babies". I actually like this one a touch more than the over-produced "Bark At The Moon" these days & it won't disappoint fans of classic heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath, Dio & Iommi.
3.5/5
A very solid heavy metal guitar shred anthem from the Megadeth/Cacophony axeman.
Liturgy - "93696" (2023)
So I thought it was about time that I checked out the most heavily hyped black metal-related release of the year so far in the sixth full-length album from unusual Brooklyn outfit Liturgy. I've found their career to be a little hit & miss over the years since first drawing my attention back in 2009 but there's no question that records like 2019's "H.A.Q.Q." & 2011's "Aesthethica" (my personal favourite) are interesting takes on the extreme metal medium that push the boundaries of what the scene was originally intended to cover.
"93696" sees Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix & co. taking their creativity to a number of weird & wonderful places with a sound that may utilize black metal tools but in reality is in direct opposition to the very ethos of what black metal stands for. I mean, I believe that this release is intended as a soundtrack for the process of ascending to Heaven for fuck's sake which is hardly common-place black metal territory now, is it? Here we find Liturgy drawing upon "Lawrence of Arabia" style cinematic sounds, quirky Frank Zappa-esque jazz rock, Tool-ish progressive metal & full-blown experimental music for inspiration & they pull it all together in a way that leaves the listener consistently on edge. Despite the use of tremolo-picking & blast-beats, the only genuine trace of black metal left in Liturgy's sound can be found in Hunt-Hendrix's shrieking vocal delivery to be honest as the atmosphere simply doesn't feel like black metal any more.
The album is certainly built around two 14+ minute epics but there are a number of other lengthy tracks that take the listener on a mini-journey as well. Interestingly though, I find many of the short interludes to be nothing short of outstanding & some of the most rewarding pieces on offer while there's really only one failure amongst the fifteen tracks in the loose & pointless "Red Crown II". The hugely ambitious 82 minute run time probably needed a fair bit of risk-taking & adventure in order to maintain the listener's interest in all honesty though so you can forgive the odd misstep, especially when the holistic package represents Liturgy's best work in more than a decade. The more hardened black metal disciples should take a look within deep themselves before attempting "93696" as it definitely requires an open mind but fans of more expansive artists like Krallice, Victory Over The Sun & Jute Gyte shouldn't hesitate to check it out.
3.5/5
Echo & the Bunnymen - "Heaven Up Here" (1981)
Post-punk/gothic rock from Liverpool, England.
It defeats the purpose for me to revisit the album as I'm not a member of either clan so I can't vote on the Hall of Judgement entry. I'll let those with more of a vested interest battle it out at the below link. It's fair to say that I don't think "Biomech" qualifies as either Alternative Metal or Industrial Metal though.
I've added a Hall of Judgement entry to have the release added to The Gateway under Alternative Metal first as we can't remove it from The Infinite until it has another clan.
It's certainly not clear-cut & I remember pondering over the correct tag at the time but ended up conceding in the end. Feel free to nominate it for the Hall of Judgement as that's what it's there for.
Yes, I’d suggest that it qualifies as progressive metal.
Jane's Addiction - "Nothing's Shocking" (1988)
Despite being thoroughly infatuated with extreme metal, I've always been open to all types of music, even from quite a young age. Evidence of this can be seen in my deep emotional attachment to the first couple of albums from this Los Angeles alternative rock outfit. I first discovered Jane's Addiction through their 1990 sophomore record "Ritual de lo habitual" shortly after release & worked my way backwards to their debut studio album "Nothing's Shocking" as well as their self-titled 1987 live album. "Ritual de lo habitual" is the undisputed high point of their career but "Nothing's Shocking" is still a wonderful listen in it's own right. It's certainly not as consistent as it's younger sibling but there's a crap-tonne of variation & the highlights are truly magical.
I've recently seen "Nothing's Shocking" being claimed as an alternative metal release at other online resources but that's pushing the friendship way further than it can sustain in my opinion because metal only makes a small contribution to the album with the rock component outweighing it by a significant margin. When they do get their metal on Perry Farrell & co manage to create a vital & hard-edged sound that may well have provided some influence for a band like Tool. At other times you can expect everything from a fairly unintimidating brand of alternative rock that sounds like it was the inspiration for bands like Spin Doctors & Blind Melon to ambitious psychedelic & acoustic rock outings that bring to mind Led Zeppelin's more experimental mid-70's records to funk-infused alternative groovers similar to what Living Colour were doing at the time to intense & dangerous hard rockers ala Guns 'n' Roses. There's certainly a couple of misses (see the disposable "Standing In The Shower...Thinking" & "Thank You Boys") but the hits confront you with the power of ten zillion jet engines, leaving the most inspired tracks like "Up The Beach", "Ted, Just Admit It" & particularly "Summertime Rolls" & "Mountain Song" sitting amongst my favourite memories of being 14 & 15 years old. I tend to go for the heavier & more stripped back & atmospheric tracks at either end of the spectrum the most but if you're in any way inclined towards late 80's/early 90's alternative rock & grunge then I'd encourage you to check out "Nothing's Shocking".
4/5