Daniel's Forum Replies

Here's my review:

I’ve found my taste profile to be increasingly open to The Revolution in recent years but it tends to be only certain pockets that really float my boat with others leaving me a bit flat. Clearly the most appealing style of metalcore for me though is the more chaotic & extreme forms of mathcore, particularly when combined with sludge metal &/or grindcore. I’ve been known to seek out releases that fall into that bracket occasionally in order to satisfy my itch for those sounds & Mouthbreather’s “Pig” appeared to be a very promising prospect based on the information I was reading online with reviews being generally very positive & the grindcore genre receiving regular mentions as an influence so I was pretty confident of finding another off-the-hook addition to my small list of short & psychotic balls of energy.

Interestingly though, the very short seven minute “Pig” E.P. isn’t exactly what I thought it would be. For starters, it’s far from the most technical of mathcore releases. In fact, I’d suggest that it falls somewhere in between mathcore & traditional metalcore even though it’s quite a noisy & chaotic release. It’s structures just aren’t that rhythmically complex & the links to the mathy end of the genre tend to come more from the unusual use of guitar noise which is a feature of the record. Where is the grindcore that people have been referencing though? I can only identify about 30 seconds of grind influence across the whole seven tracks to be honest which left me a touch disappointed given my strong affiliation with The Horde. I can only guess that it’s the very short track lengths that are prompting people to make that link but let's not forget that short track lengths are par for the course in purist hardcore circles.

Anthony Santagati’s over-the-top vocals fall well within the confines of the metalcore spectrum & he does a reasonably good job as he spits his words out with undeniable spite & vitriol. The use of metalcore breakdowns is quite prominent too with the occasional use of gravity drops also being employed to provide a little more oomph. Both of those elements see Mouthbreather losing a little steam for me personally as they start to angle them back towards the masses when they don’t actually sound all that generic. “Ryan Goes To Rehab” is more of a short sludge metal piece which appears to have been included in order to break up the relentless barrage of metallic hardcore aggression. I think it’s fit for purpose too but the same can’t be said for closing sound collage piece “Religion & Tonic” which sees the E.P. petering out in a whimper & is one of the deciding factors in “Pig” missing out on a pass mark from me when you consider that it’s also one of the longer inclusions in the tracklisting. The other main detractor is the noticeable lack of highlights with all six of the metal-based tracks being quite good but none of them ever really threatening to reach a solid 4/5 score. When your closer is as poor as this one then you really need at least a couple of truly great tracks to balance it out but unfortunately that’s not the case here.

I’ve been a little disappointed with “Pig” to be honest as I was expecting more given how highly regarded it seems to be. Bands like Gaza, War From A Harlot’s Mouth & Inside The Beehive do this extreme brand of mathcore much better than this in my opinion & I’d recommend that you explore those artists before venturing towards Mouthbreather. Then again, the seven minute run time hardly requires much investment now, does it?

3/5

To my ears "Pig" is a metalcore/mathcore hybrid in roughly equal portions. I can only find about 30 seconds of grindcore influence on the whole release to be honest & even then it's only an influence rather than a primary sound. I wouldn't even go for a grindcore secondary subgenre on this one so I'm afraid it'll be a NO vote from me.

I've just posted this nomination in the Hall of Judgement too.

Here's my review:

A privileged few of you may be aware of The Black Twilight Circle, a mysterious group of black metal producers from California who collaboratively create a consistently underground & lo-fi brand of extreme music that’s intended to maintain & celebrate the primitive nature of the black metal movement. Many of the releases come only on cassette (often with no titles) while live shows provide an indication that many of the bands are made up of the same members. It’s a fascinating & exciting scene to explore & amongst all of that came the Rhinoservs label, a vessel for the musical aspirations of two passionate individuals in Austin Omar Delgadillo (aka A.) & Devon Boutelle (aka Yagian) between 2010 & 2013 & highlighted by this highly regarded split E.P. from Tukaaria (A.) & Odz Manouk (Yagian).

The E.P. was originally released only on cassette in 2011 before being re-released on vinyl by Final Agony Records in 2013 so it seems to have been intentionally kept away from the masses by utilizing inaccessible mediums that are only explored by the artist’s intended audience. I have to say that this approach has worked too because I can’t deny that it gives the E.P. a mystique that it might not have otherwise possessed & the primitive, lo-fi cover art provides further support for that endeavour. The music contained within sounds very much like the artwork would have you believe too so the scene is set beautifully for a transcendent & liberating black metal experience.

The release kicks off with three tracks from A’s Tukaaria project which see him opting for a particularly lo-fi sound with the production changing drastically between the tracks in a similar way to what Darkthrone would do during the mid-1990s. It’s a chaotic sound with sloppy performances & swarming, dissonant tremolo-picked guitars that are a little lacking in distortion at times. I’d hazard to guess that both attributes may be intentional as they only add to the aura around this music to tell you the truth. The most noteworthy point of interest around the Takaaria material however is the way that the bass guitar is positioned in the mix which is quite prominent for a raw black metal release. Its tone is a little poppy & weird too which gives the material a unique character. Yagian’s two Odz Manouk tracks are a bit more traditional & noticeably less chaotic than the Tukaaria stuff, perhaps benefiting from the thicker & more bass heavy production. “The Scavenger” is easily the standout track on the five on offer on this release which goes a long way to explaining why I find myself preferring the Odz Manouk songs over the Tukaaria ones.

This split is no doubt a fascinating release which offers a consistent level of quality throughout but I have to question whether it offers enough class to compete with similar & more senior players in the American black metal scene like Leviathan & Ash Borer. I’ve certainly enjoyed my time with this cassette but are left doubting whether I’m likely to return to it when there’s such a wealth of great music out there to explore & that feeling alone sees my scoring potential being limited. In saying that though, I do think some of our other members may get more out of this release than I do.

3.5/5

Here's my review:

Underground US power metal five-piece Fifth Angel have been on my radar for many years however, despite being well across most of the other major contributors to the movement, I've somehow managed to let them slip past me to date. But given the generally positive reports on the Seattle band’s self-titled Shrapnel Records debut album, I thought I’d take the opportunity to nominate it for The Guardians feature status so as to bring it to everyone’s attention & give it a chance to prove to me that Fifth Angel’s reputation is based on merit.

Let’s put it out there right from the beginning that “Fifth Angel” sounds unapologetically of its time with all of the common traits of any mid-80’s heavy metal album being present & accounted for but I don’t think that should be taken as a negative. The record is well produced with the song-writing being given every chance to impress while the musicianship is of a high standard too. Lead guitarist James Byrd is of particular note as his solos represent some of the high points of the release & it doesn’t surprise me that he’s since gone on to a solo career as a neoclassical shredder because his chops are clear for all to see. Front man Ted Pilot possesses a pure & melodic tone that’s pleasant enough but doesn’t ever threaten to compete with the elite heavy metal vocalists while I also noticed the presence of drummer Ken Mary who is somewhat of a rock/metal journeyman given that he’s spent time with everyone from Accept, Alice Cooper, Chastain, House of Lords & Impellitteri. In fact, he’s the current drummer for popular Phoenix thrash metallers Flotsam & Jetsam which is a little surprising. Ken doesn’t try to pull off anything terribly special here but he certainly lays down a solid basis for the other band members to build on.

Fifth Angel tackle their melodic metal sound from a few different angles across the nine tracks. Their sound is rooted in classic heavy metal with some songs being comparable to the hard rock-driven crunch of Dio (see “Shout It Out” for example) & others taking a more modern & aggressive US power metal direction similar to Crimson Glory, early Queensryche (perhaps not surprisingly given they both hail from the same town) or Lizzy Borden. There are a few tracks that verge on the European variety of power metal too with “Call Out The Warning” being the most fully realised but I feel that this is much more of a traditional heavy metal record than it is a power metal one with my preferences unsurprisingly being angled towards the heavy metal material over the power metal-ish stuff.

As with all heavy metal releases, it’s the vocal hooks & song-writing that play the biggest part in deciding on how much you buy into the artist’s vision & that’s a key point to discuss as I think it’s an issue here. While all of the bands I referenced above consistently create engaging, memorable songs that have you singing along with them in your head for days afterwards, I don’t think I can say that same for Fifth Angel. “Shout It Out”, “The Night” (my personal favourite) & closer “Fade To Flames” are all pretty cool tracks but I can’t say that any of them are anything more than pleasant while the remainder of the album just sounds pretty flat to my ears, even despite the band’s obvious metal credentials. I can see why people enjoy a record like this one but I think I need a little more to keep me entertained so I can’t see myself returning to “Fifth Angel” in the future.

3/5

This change has now been completed. There are obviously a lot of releases that have both technical death metal & dissonant death metal subgenres attached. I'd encourage everyone to assist in correcting that by voting on the subgenre tagging on the associated release page after listening to these releases.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

Here's my review:

With the exception of one or two prominent acts, I’d only just begun my initial approaches to the sludge metal genre when I decided to check out the 2010 “When All Became None” debut album from Indianapolis five-piece Coffinworm at the time of release so I can’t say that I’m too surprised by my three star rating although, after the experiences of the last couple of days, I hold grave fears for the relevance & accuracy of that assessment. You see, this month’s The Fallen clan feature release has made a sizeable dent in the front of my skull & one that I’m not likely to forget in a hurry.

I often find that the releases that are most closely tailored to my musical taste are downrated by others & I think that’s par for the course when you have such dark preferences & such an aversion to melody or any form of light at the end of the tunnel. “IV.I.VIII” is a prime example of a release that hits squarely on my musical sweet spot though in that it’s violently aggressive, deeply nihilistic & suffocatingly oppressive. Coffinworm have quite simply left any hint of accessibility at the door & have pummeled me with a hardcore fury that I’ve rarely experienced before. Opener “Sympathectomy” utilizes full-on grindcore to lay waste to any misconceptions I may have had about the depth of depravity I was about to witness before the next couple of tracks add a blackened edge to drag me further & further down into the abyss. Yes, you’ll often see records like this one tagged as blackened sludge/doom but the fact of the matter is that the black metal influence is only aesthetic & there is no straight-up doom metal on offer. This is just about the epitome of what sludge metal should aspire to be in my opinion & my best description is the uncompromising sludge/doom of bands like Thou & Cough combined with the in-your-face extremity of Dragged Into Sunlight. I mean if Mastodon & Melvins are your favourite sludge bands & you’re looking for something similar then I’m afraid this ain’t it buddy.

The two-pronged vocal delivery of front man Dave Berkowitz is unrivalled in its visceral spite. One minute he sounds like a rabid grindcore grunter & the next he’s a psychotic hardcore madman of the highest order. The instrumentation is super tight, crushingly heavy & beautifully produced too with the thick guitar tone leaving the listener pulverized under the weight of doom-laden hardcore power chords. You even get some blast-beats here & there but they’re performed in a loose & violent way that really suits Coffinworm’s sound. Ultimately this band sounds for all money like they’ve absolutely nailed their sound & are now hellbent on stuffing it down your throat with great force.

There’s a wonderful consistency to the tracklisting with all of the six tracks being highly impressive. There are a couple of clear highlights however & it’s these that see what could have been a very solid & impressive release being elevated to heights that few sludge metal acts manage to reach. The first is the superbly blackened “Instant Death Syndrome” with its use of open-string riffs that could have been borrowed from mid-90’s Satyricon & the second is the magnificent eight-minute epic that is “Of Eating Disorders & Restraining Orders” which may just be the pinnacle of Coffinworm’s sound. At the end of the day though, your more seasoned sludge fan is very unlikely to find much to complain about here, even though a few of the tracks include a weaker section here or there that sees my hopes of them reaching classic status squandered to an extent.

“IV.I.VIII” is a marvellous choice for a Metal Academy feature release as it’s so clearly underrated but is highly likely to appeal to some of our more experienced & battle-hardened regulars. It’s definitely made me take a good hard look at my musical development too as I simply can’t condone my having rated this band so poorly back in 2010 when their debut is generally regarded as being superior to this sophomore record. It’s left me feeling quite proud of how far I’ve managed to develop my metal taste actually as I would never have been able to stomach a hardcore-driven beast of an album like this one fifteen years ago. Now though, this is very much my bag, my cup of tea & my jam all wrapped up into a ball of anger & punishment.

4.5/5

But an album could still be tagged as both technical and dissonant death metal could it not, Ben? 

Yeah definitely Sonny. 

The Septicflesh nomination is no longer relevant as we've now moved that release onto the brand new Symphonic Death Metal subgenre.

Along with the addition of the new Symphonic Death Metal subgenre, Ben & I have also been discussing the potential for adding a Dissonant Death Metal subgenre. Dissonant Death Metal is currently employed at a competitor's website as a subgenre of Technical Death Metal & we both believe that it's a legitimate sound that can easily be differentiated from other strands of death metal however I'd suggest that it's up for debate as to whether Dissonant Death Metal should really be a child of Technical Death Metal. Sure, there are times when releases are both technical & dissonant & it requires a level of technical proficiency to push the boundaries of acceptable melodic & harmonic deployment but I don't believe they're mutually exclusive. Artificial Brain's self-titled album & Flourishing's "The Sum of All Fossils" are two releases where I feel that the tech death tag isn't justified & both can sit fairly comfortably under the dissonant death metal tag without being regarded as being overly technical. The dissonant brand of death metal can also be quite divisive & you're certainly not guaranteed to enjoy Gorguts or Ulcerate just because you love Nile or Necrophagist & vice versa because those bands/styles often sound nothing alike. For those reasons, we're considering separating the two & I'd just like to put it out there to see what your feelings are before moving forwards.

Thanks for your feedback guys. The associated database changes have now been completed so we officially have a new subgenre in The Horde.

Ben, I just noticed that Demonic Resurrection's "The Return to Darkness" album seems to be missing for some reason.

Here's my review:

Aussie death metal outfit Temple Nightside seem to have slipped under most Metal Academics’s radars in recent years but a quick Google search will see a lot of extreme metal aficionados harbouring great hope for their 2016 third album “The Hecatomb” given the enormous pedigree of the individuals involved. Vocalist/guitarist Mitchell Keepin has been involved with several noteworthy black metal projects including Austere, Naxzul & Pestilential Shadows while also being the sole member of funeral doom metal act Funeral Mourning, New Zealand-based guitarist Phil Kusabs has spent time with everyone from Diocletian to Qrixkuor to Ulcerate to Vassafor along with having performed live with Canadian war metal godfathers Blasphemy & Russian death/black metal band Pseudogod while bassist Bjorn Rusell is the main man behind highly regarded Aussie doom/death duo Grave Upheaval so there’s an absolute shit-tonne of experience behind the team responsible for “The Hecatomb”. That knowledge doesn’t go to waste here either as the album is absolutely oozing of a deep understanding of what makes death metal so appealing at its most primal level. It’s filthy, it’s brutal, it’s atmospheric & it’s cripplingly dark so it ticks almost all of the boxes that any self-respecting death metal nut might have when going into an underground release. To its credit, these things are combined to produce a consistently engaging, entertaining & high-quality release too.

If you’re looking for an ultra-clinical tech death record with dazzling displays of technical prowess & a super-clean production job then “The Hecatomb” may not be what you’re looking for as Temple Nightside have taken a very different path with their approach here. The production is kept intentionally a little murky in the interest of creating a seriously dark atmosphere that takes the listener well outside of their comfort zone. All of the instruments & melodic themes are still easily discernible though so they’ve done a marvellous job at giving this beast of a record a level of accessibility that not all of the band’s peers are so fortunate to achieve. The cavernous drum sound is worth mentioning as it’s a long way from the clicky triggered sounds that a lot of the death metal scene resorts to by default these days. Keepin’s vocals are very much what you’d expect from a darker modern death metal release in that they’re deep & monstrous but also present themselves with a whispery quality at times which reminds me the delivery of several funeral death metal artists. The wonderful cover artwork is a strikingly apt representation of the sounds you can expect to hear too which is a nice touch.

I’ve noticed Temple Nightside being labelled as a blackened death metal artist on multiple online resources over the last few days but I’m not picking up much in the way of black metal on “The Hecatomb” to tell you the truth. There is however a significant dose of doom on offer though, almost enough to warrant a dual tagging. In fact, many of the doomier moments are amongst of the stronger parts of the album in my opinion, particularly on doom/death monster “Within The Arms Of Nothingness” which is probably my favourite of the six proper songs included, closely followed by “Fortress of Burden & Distress”. Nine minute closer “Charnel Winds” pushes all the way out into funeral doom metal territory & pulls it off with ease too while the three short interludes are a brilliant addition to the unblemished tracklisting, so much so that I’d suggest that they wouldn’t sound out of place on one of the more premium dark ambient releases. The only negative point I will make is that I feel that “Graven” was possibly not the best track to open with. I went into the release with high expectations coming off the back of Ben’s positive feedback but, despite still being an entertaining listen, “Graven” is the track that I find to be the least appealing of the nine on offer so it took me a couple of listens to see my position on “The Hecatomb” reaching its full potential.

The diSEMEBOWLMENT influence Ben picked up on in his review is obvious at times although Temple Nightside don’t explore as wide, twisted & avant-garde array of influences, preferring to harness the more deathly components of their idol’s sound & getting pretty close in terms of atmosphere on occasion too. They possess a similar aesthetic to darker, noisier death metal bands like Antediluvian or fellow Aussies Portal only their more traditional riff structures sit closer to an old school death metal act like Incantation. On paper that sounds like an enticing concoction & the reality is pretty accurate to that description with “The Hecatomb” being a highly rewarding & undeniably professional death metal release that will likely offer plenty of appeal for the genre’s purists through its commitment to a truly graven & deeply atmospheric experience.

4/5

Charlie Megira and The Hefker Girl - "Charlie Megira und the Hefker Girl" (2006)

Gothic rock/post-punk

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This release is already listed under Non-Metal Sonny. I haven't head it personally but if Demon's first two albums are anything to go by then I completely agree that they're not worthy of metal credentials.

Here's my review:

I feel that I’ll probably be in the extreme minority of metalheads in that I have previously had some experience with Boston thrash metallers Wargasm (who included two members of Boston thrash/heavy/power metallers Meliah Rage whose first couple of albums were fairly popular in the late 1980's & early 1990's). I picked up their 1988 debut album “Why Play Around?” through a tape trader back in the early 1990's & gave it several spins before dumping it on the top of the immense pile of material that I found to be pretty enjoyable but not engaging enough to warrant a return visit. I can recall very few of the details of that experience now but needless to say that it didn’t result in me being encouraged to investigate Wargasm’s subsequent releases so I haven’t gone into this revisit with much hope of finding an undiscovered gem.

By 1988 the thrash scene had well & truly matured. Prior to then you’d find a large portion of the more underground releases to be extremely raw & unpolished but by the time the last couple of the years of the decade rolled around there was a lot more class & capability being shown by your average thrash exponent given that the Big Four had managed to cross over into the mainstream to an extent with their more recent material. “Why Play Around?” is one of these records in that it’s professionally produced & executed which sees it being given every chance to impress your average fan & it does so to a reasonable extent too it has to be said. The riffs are tight & thrashy, the lead guitar work is surprisingly capable for such an underground band & the vocals are delivered with confidence.

But the thing with a band like Wargasm is that there’s simply not much to talk about. They take a mid-paced approach to their thrash for the most part with the majority of the riffage coming across as pretty generic & overly basic. It’s hard to pin point the issue with the vocals as they’re certainly serviceable but I’d hazard to suggest that they’re simply lacking a bit of x factor &, despite the fact that the seven proper songs steer well of anything that could be considered to be subpar, it’s rare that they take me close to the upper echelon as far as aggression & energy go. Instead, I find myself perennially sitting in a beige room where everything looks & feels easy on the eye but nothing really encourages me to leave my seat. The couple of highlight tracks “Undead” & “Humanoid” invariably occur when Wargasm throw their shackles aside for a while & thrash out a bit more so it’s a shame that they didn’t embrace their raucous side more often to tell you the truth. The two interludes also offer very little of any substance & could easily have been omitted without too much fuss given the 44 minute run time.

At the end of the day, any major music scene will inevitably have talented also-rans as not everyone can crack the big time. Unfortunately for Wargasm they’ve found themselves coming too late in the game for a record like “Why Play Around?” to register much of a blip on the thrash radar, despite the fact that it’s a mildly enjoyable & fairly capable example of the subgenre. You’ll easily be able to pick up on the band’s wide array of influences across the tracklisting with any number of prominent bands featuring at any one time but it’s rare that they find themselves competing on the same level as a Testament, Overkill or even Xentrix. Unfortunately Wargasm simply lack the sophistication required to stand out in a market that was well & truly saturated by that stage but you can't say that they don't perform their roles admirably nonetheless. In fairness, I never really found myself considering a poor score for Wargasm here but it’s fairly telling that I also never threatened to award them a higher one either as there’s just not enough pizzazz on offer to see “Why Play Around?” differentiating itself from the masses.

3.5/5

That album’s fucking awesome just quietly Ben.

I bought that Altar album on CD as soon as it was released based on rave reviews that stated it was as evil as Deicide. Spoiler alert: I recall being very disappointed.

“At War With Satan” is my favourite Venom album just quietly.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

Boris - "Amplifier Worship" (1998)

As many of you are probably already aware, I’ve enjoyed a long & fruitful relationship with adventurous Japanese trio Boris & regard three or four of their 2000’s releases to be genuine classics. Their back catalogue is so extensive that I’ve still got a lot to explore if I’m even to come close to understanding the full scope & breadth of their musical influence though. In saying that, I probably should have ventured towards their 1998 debut album “Amplifier Worship long before now given the general consensus that it’s somewhat of a pinnacle of drone/sludge metal as that idea is clearly so closely aligned with my personal taste profile. Even the album title just reeks of appeal for someone like myself so I’ve gone into this massive 64 minute journey with a great deal of positivity & hope.

As is usually the case with Boris records, the genre tagging for “Amplifier Worship” simply doesn’t do it justice & isn’t exactly the best representation of what you should expect to hear as there are a number of elements at play. There is definitely some Earth-inspired drone metal on offer here in the first half of opener “Huge” & the entirety of the epic 16 minute closer “Vomitself” however I don’t think that’s enough to make it a primary genre given that there are other components that are more prevalent with a Melvins style sludge metal sound being one of them. In fact, I’ve never heard Boris sound so sludgy before & I’ve gotta say that I really enjoy the filthy hardcore aggression that raises its head a few times here, particularly in the savage guitar attack & screaming vocal delivery which is as angry as you’ll hear from this band. You’ll find plenty of sludge across the first four of the five tracks but you’ll inevitably also uncover a shit-tonne of post-rock in epic excursions like “Ganbou-Ki”, “Hama” & “Kuruimizu”, enough to warrant “Amplifier Worship” being labelled as a post-sludge metal release in my opinion actually. There’s a deeply psychedelic feel to some of this material too though, so much so that I’ve found myself reaching to krautrock artists like Can for comparison on occasion which can’t be a bad thing.

The overall consistency of the tracklisting is excellent. It’s almost a completely flat line to tell you the truth with each successive track being found to be just as strong as the last. There’s definitely a lack of that knock-out blow that Boris have proven themselves to be so capable of over the years though with none of the five songs scaling the heights that we now know Boris to be capable of when they’re at the top of their game. This isn’t a major criticism mind you as “Amplifier Worship” is unlikely to disappoint many fans but it does prevent it from competing with Boris’ more complete works like “Boris At Last -Feedbacker-“, “Rock Dream”, Akuma no Uta” or “Pink”. I do slightly favour it over releases like “flood” or the first couple of “Heavy Rocks” albums though which isn’t something to be sneezed at. There’s something to be said for an approach that takes the album title quite literally. As a guitarist myself, I revel & thrive in the warm yet crushingly heavy sound of many high quality quad boxes reverberating at extreme volumes & Boris have mastered the art of creating organised pieces out of seemingly unstructured jams. They’re a very rare beast in today’s market & I’m sure will continue to offer me a lot of joy as I continue to unlock more of their massive discography for a good while yet.

4/5

Here's the feature release roster for May:

THE FALLEN: Daniel, Sonny, Ben, Vinny

THE GATEWAY: Saxy, Andi

THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Daniel

THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben

THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, Saxy

THE NORTH: Xephyr, Ben, Vinny, Sonny, Daniel

THE PIT: Daniel, Ben, Sonny, Vinny

THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel

THE SPHERE: Daniel, Andi

There will be no submissions from me this month Andi.

Here are my submissions for the May playlist Vinny:

Destruction - "Mad Butcher" (from "Bestial Invasion Of Hell" demo, 1984)

Tormentor (aka Kreator) - "Tormentor - End Of The World Demo Version" (from "Endless Pain (Bonus Track Edition)", 1985)

Gojira - "Silvera" (from "Magma", 2016)

Here are my submissions for the May playlist Ben:

Conqueror - "Domitor Invictus" (from "War.Cult.Supremacy", 2016)

Alcest - "Faiseurs de mondes" (from "Les voyages de l'ame", 2012)

Here are my submissions for the May playlist:

Decapitated - "Spheres Of Madness" 9from "Nihility", 2002)

Suffocation - "Souls To Deny" (from "Souls To Deny", 2004)

Amorphis - "First Doom" (from "Tales From The Thousand Lakes", 1994)

Here's my submission for the May playlist Xephyr:

Yngwie J. Malmsteen - "You Don't Remember, I'll Never Forget" (from "Trilogy", 1986)

Here's my May playlist submission Saxy:

Linkin Park - "Crawling" (from "Hybrid Theory", 2000)

Here are my May playlist submissions Sonny:

Saturnus - "I Love Thee" (from "Paradise Belongs To You", 1997)

Chelsea Wolfe - "Dragged Out" (from "Abyss", 2015)

Boris - "Huge" (from "Amplifier Worship", 1998)

My track submission wasn’t considered for inclusion this month Saxy?

April 2023

01. Insomnium – “Lilian” (from “Anno 1696”, 2023)

02. Majesties – “The World Unseen” (from “Vast Reaches Unclaimed”, 2023)

03. Hieronymus Bosch – “The Human Abstract” (from “The Human Abstract”, 1995)

04. Bolt Thrower – “Zeroed” (from “Mercenary”, 1998) [Submitted by Vinny]

05. Napalm Death – “Politicians” (from “Leaders Not Followers” E.P., 1999)

06. Gorod – “We Are The Sun Gods” (from “The Orb”, 2023)

07. Benediction – “Nightfear” (from “Transcend The Rubicon”, 1993) [Submitted by Vinny]

08. Gorement – “My Ending Quest” (from “The Ending Quest”, 1994) [Submitted by Daniel]

09. Ulthar – “Helionomicon” (from Helionomicon”, 2023)

10. Ripspreader – “Slasher’s Night Out” (from “Crypt World”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

11. Memoriam – “All Is Lost” (from “Rise To Power”, 2023) [Submitted by Vinny]

12. Haemorrhage – “Mortuary Riot” (from “Morgue Sweet Home”, 2002)

13. Kruelty – “Burn The System” (from “Untopia”, 2023)

14. Ghoul – “Tomb After Tomb” (from “We Came For The Dead!!!”, 2002)

15. Whourkr – “Squirk” (from “Concrete”, 2008) [Submitted by Daniel]

16. Deicide – “In Hell I Burn” (from “Legion”, 1992) [Submitted by Vinny]

17. Portal – “Larvae” (from “Swarth”, 2009)

18. Ulcerate – “Burning Skies” (from “The Destroyers Of All”, 2011)

19. Autophagy – “Becoming” (from “Bacteriophage”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

20. Languish – “Failed State” (from “Feeding The Flames Of Annihilation”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

21. Bologna Violenta – “Sono diventati mostri” (from “Il nuovissimo mondo”, 2010) [Submitted by Daniel]

22. Genghis Tron – “Ride The Steambolt” (from “Cloak of Love” E.P., 2005) [Submitted by Daniel]

23. Thotcrime – “Pog Destroyer” (from “onyourcomputer”, 2020) [Submitted by Daniel]

24. Rotten Sound – “Calm” (from “Drain”, 1999)

25. The Berzerker – “Reality” (from “The Berzerker”, 2000) [Submitted by Daniel]

26. Agoraphobic Nosebleed – “Just Ten Cents A Day…” (from “Altered States of America”, 2003) [Submitted by Daniel]

27. Kraanium – “Post Mortal Fixation” (from “Post Mortal Coital Fixation”, 2012)

28. Ezophagothomia – “Instinct of Inhuman Devourment” (from “Instinct of Inhuman Devourment”, 2011)

29. 7 H. Target – “Brahmastra” (from “Yantra Creating”, 2023)

30. Defeated Sanity – “Conceived Through Savagery” (from “The Sanguinary Impetus”, 2020) [Submitted by Daniel]

The nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

These nominations have been passed.

This nomination has been passed.

This nomination has been passed.

I don't have a middle name as I find them to be unsophisticated.

"Mental Funeral" is Autopsy's finest work in my opinion. I'm possibly not as big an Autopsy fan as most extreme metal nuts are as I tend to favour a more sophisticated brand of death metal but they really hit a sweet spot with this record as well as the "Retribution For The Dead" E.P. from the same year, both of which I found to be a clear step up from "Severed Survival" (3.5/5) which I've always found to be overrated. The enhanced doom component was certainly most welcome.

4/5

Dokken - "Back For The Attack" (1987)

Following on from last week’s disappointing investigation of Los Angeles glam metal legends Dokken’s 1985 third album “Under Lock & Key”, I thought it would be worth me reassessing the record that first drew me to the band (& more specifically their wonderful guitarist George Lynch) iback in the late 1980's in order to see whether my positivity around 1987’s “Back For The Attack” (Dokken’s highest selling record) was more about teen nostalgia than it was genuine merit. The unpolished hard rock of Don Dokken’s 1981 debut album “Breakin’ The Chains” didn’t do much for me when I checked it out during my Metal Academy podcast research many years ago now but it’s 1984 follow-up “Tooth & Nail” was much more metal & subsequently fit in closer to my taste profile so my experience with arguably the band’s most highly regarded release (i.e. “Under Lock & Key”) was a touch underwhelming. This saw me going into “Back For The Attack” a little tentatively but with high hopes of a glam metal revival.

The first thing I noticed about “Back For The Attack” was the production with Lynch’s guitar tone being absolutely shredding. It’s very easy to see why people will want to lump Dokken in with your classic heavy metal sound based on that element alone, especially when you consider that Lynch’s performance is the clear highlight of the album. In fact, I think this is really where George comes of age because I’d found myself doubting myself a little while listening to the first three records. He was certainly pretty special but nothing like as mind-blowing as he is here. This right here is what placed him in my top few guitar influences & I can’t fully express how impressive his tone & phrasing are here, not to mention the dazzling technique. Don puts in possibly his best performance to date too with several of the chorus hooks drawing me in when the overall aesthetics of the song-writing sees me wanting to pull away. This wasn’t the case with “Under Lock & Key” which was simply too poppy & commercialized me for but “Back For The Attack” has a metal edge & stronger, more mature song-writing that allows the highlight tracks to more than compensate for the cheesier glam metal numbers like “So Many Tears”, “Burning Like A Flame” & the particularly poor “Stop Fighting Love”.

Dokken have never sounded tighter & more cohesive than they do on “Back For The Attack” &, when combined with an attractive album cover, it’s not hard to see why it might have been such a commercial success for the band. I particularly enjoy the gritty hard rock of “Heaven Sent”, the energetic glam metal of “Sleepless Night” & the clear album highlight “Mr. Scary” which sees Lynch being allowed to stand alone in the spotlight & show us all what he’s really capable of in what must surely be one of the greatest instrumental guitar displays of all time. “Breakin’ The Chains” & “Under Lock & Key” simply sound watered down compared to the best material on this record with some of the transitions hitting with a weightier crunch than Dokken had previously achieved to the time. I guess this begs the question of whether “Back For The Attack” is a genuine heavy metal record or not which I think is a really interesting question because, much like “Under Lock & Key”, the guitars sit very much in metal territory. I think the answer depends on the listener’s position on whether glam metal is a hard rock subgenre or a metal one. Here at Metal Academy we’ve generally taking the stance that it’s more rock than metal &, that being the case, I would have to suggest that this album sits outside of our scope. Sure, there are a few metal tunes included amongst the thirteen songs on the tracklisting but I don’t think that’s enough to compete with the lop-sided result of its battle with glam metal extravagance here. The chorus hooks, hard rock beats & gang vocals are simply too easy on the ear for this to be regarded as a genuine metal release in my opinion. Songs like “Kiss Of Death”, “Standing In The Shadows”, “Mr. Scary” & “Lost Behind The Wall” should offer heavy metal fans a fair bit of encouragement nonetheless though.

Overall, I’d suggest that “Back For The Attack” is the best of Dokken’s four 1980’s studio albums with it just pipping out “Tooth & Nail”. It may not be as sophisticated as I remember it being as a kid but it’s presented in an undeniably attractive package that may have a thick layer of icing sugar on the outside but also has a deliciously gooey centre that tastes bloody great at times.

3.5/5

P.S. I think I'm comfortable with where this release sits in the top ten list I posted earlier in this thread. No changes required.

Here's my Top Ten Metal Releases of 1986 list:

01. Slayer - "Reign In Blood"

02. Metallica - "Master of Puppets"

03. Iron Maiden - "Somewhere In Time"

04. Kreator - "Pleasure To Kill"

05. Megadeth - "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?"

06. Kreator - "Flag of Hate" E.P.

07. Agent Steel - "Mad Locust Rising" E.P.

08. Dark Angel - "Darkness Descends"

09. Crimson Glory - "Crimson Glory"

10. Saint Vitus - "Born Too Late"

https://metal.academy/lists/single/213

This would have to be in the running for the greatest year in all of metal. I mean "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" didn't even make my list!

Iron Maiden - "Maiden England" (1994)

English heavy metal heavy-weights Iron Maiden & I have travelled a life-long journey together that’s been full of mind-blowing peaks as well as a few devastatingly low troughs but I’ve found their huge quantity of live releases to generally be pretty reliable over the years. Whether it’s their all-time classic 1985 double album “Live After Death”, 2002’s very solid “Rock In Rio”, their highly regarded underground bootleg “Beast Over Hammersmith” or their early Paul Dianno-fronted EP’s like “Maiden Japan” or “Live!! +One”, Maiden have invariably managed to reproduce the rollicking good time their obsessive fan base experiences at every show & is no doubt helped by the ridiculously large quantity of metal anthems they have access to in their back catalogue. I’d not heard 1994’s “Maiden England” double album before though & was feeling like some familiar tunes to rock out to while running some errands over the last few days so it fit the bill perfectly.

“Maiden England” is yet another double album/video package that has been remastered & re-released with the inclusion of a hefty amount of bonus material in recent years but I’ve opted to review the original version only for this exercise. On paper it really should be something utterly amazing too, at least for someone like myself whose favourite heavy metal releases of all time are Maiden’s more progressive late 80’s albums because “Maiden England” was recorded at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England on 27th & 28th November 1988 on the tour for the “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son” record. The tracklisting is everything you could want from such a show too in that it includes a bunch of the big tracks from “Somewhere In Time” & “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son” along with a selection of old classics, a couple of which seem to have been intentionally selected as tracks that weren’t included on “Live After Death” in “Still Life” & “The Prisoner”. So the scene was certainly set for a truly transcendent live release from one of the best in the business & there’s no doubt that it’s delivered a worthwhile outcome but there are a couple of obstacles here that prevent “Maiden England” from being held up on the same sort of pedestals as some of the other releases I mentioned above.

The first issue is the production which, despite not being inherently bad in any way, is a bit lacking. The guitars are sitting a little too far back in the mix with the rhythm section being more prominent & Steve Harris’ bass guitar sounding very jangly indeed which sees some of these songs lacking the punch of their cleaner studio counterparts. But the main issue here is front man Bruce Dickinson’s vocal performance which is patchy to say that least. He gets the job done just fine on more than half of the tracklisting but there are a few tracks where he’s noticeably pitchy, particularly struggling to reach the higher notes. This sees undeniable classics like “Wasted Years” being reduced to just solid inclusions which is a real shame as there was so much potential in this tracklisting, even though those deeper cuts I mentioned earlier were never classics to begin with. It also needs to be mentioned that I’ve never liked Iron Maiden’s title track which closes out this release. It’s always lacked sophistication to my ears so it wasn’t the best way to finish things up in my opinion.

While “Maiden England” may not be Maiden’s best live release, fans of the band are unlikely to be left disappointed as it still ticks so many of the required boxes, especially in the tracklisting. The execution isn’t perfect but it’s very hard to be too critical of a band that stands out there on their own in the world of classic heavy metal. Put this release on at a party & you’ll inevitably have a bunch of drunken dickheads poorly singing along to every word after a couple of tracks & I’d no doubt be one of them.

4/5

Here's my Top Ten Metal Releases of 1985 list:

01. Exodus - "Bonded By Blood"

02. Anthrax - "Spreading The Disease"

03. Iron Maiden - "Live After Death"

04. Pentagram - "Pentagram"

05.Anthrax - "Armed & Dangerous" E.P.

06. Slayer - "Hell Awaits"

07. Celtic Frost - "To Mega Therion"

08. S.O.D. - "Speak English Or Die"

09. Fates Warning - "The Spectre Within"

10. Exciter - "Long Live The Loud"

It's worth noting that Slaughter's "Surrender Or Die" demo would have made the list at number 7 if it had of been on our database though.

https://metal.academy/lists/single/210

Don't forget to vote on the other Hall entry for this release too Andi.

Here's my updated Top ten Groove Metal Releases of All Time list after checking out Gojira's "Magma" album over the last couple of days & being well impressed:

01. Coroner – “Grin” (1993)

02. Grip Inc. – “Nemesis” (1997)

03. Exhorder – “The Law” (1992)

04. Gojira - "Magma" (2016)

05. Pantera – “Vulgar Display Of Power” (1992)

06. Pantera – “Cowboys From Hell” (1990)

07. Sepultura – “Chaos A.D.” (1993)

08. Pantera – “The Great Southern Trendkill” (1996)

09. Pantera – “Far Beyond Driven” (1994)

10. Anthrax – “Sound Of White Noise” (1993)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/175

Gojira - "Magma" (2016)

I came into the Gojira game a lot later than some of you might have as I was still on my metal sabbatical when 2005’s classic “From Mars To Sirius” third album dropped. It wouldn’t be for another four years that Ben would finally bring it to my attention & needless to say that it made an immediate impact on me. I’d quickly investigate the rest of Gojira’s back catalogue including their highly praised 2008 fourth album “The Way Of All Flesh” which I found to be very solid. When 2012’s “L’enfant sauvage” was released I was well a truly salivating for more Gojira & tended to heaps giant amounts of praise on it as a result, a position I’ve since reassessed & now regard it pretty similarly to its predecessor. Strangely though, that’s where the Gojira story has stagnated for me as I’ve not investigated their two subsequent full-lengths for one reason or another. Let’s rectify that oversight now by taking a look at Gojira’s 2016 sixth album “Magma”.

The “L’enfant sauvage” album had seen Gojira dropping their death metal roots for the first time in order focus on a groovier progressive metal sound &, despite what you might read, “Magma” is very much the next logical step in that evolution. Perhaps “Magma” might not be as overtly technical as previous efforts however this is still a progressive metal record at its core with djenty Meshuggah-style staccato riffage still being an important component of their sound. The final hints at death metal that were still evident on “L’enfant sauvage” are no longer visible on “Magma” with tracks like “The Cell”, “Stranded”, “Pray” & “Only Pain” pushing the groove metal associations to greater levels than ever before & “Chaos AD”-era Sepultura being an obvious point of reference in not only the heavier material but also the stripped back & casual folk closer “Liberation”. Interestingly, there are a couple of tracks that push out into doomier territory with stunning progressive sludge opener “The Shooting Star” sounding more like Mastodon than anyone else & outstanding interlude “Yellow Stone” sitting in post-sludge territory. I’m sure most listeners will also be left thinking of Fear Factory at times due to the brilliantly executed rhythmic precision in some of the riffage & perhaps even a little Korn in the few nu metal-ish moments but the main point of reference with “Magma” is definitely Devin Townsend/Strapping Young Lad in my opinion with Joe Duplantier’s vocal delivery reminding me a lot of Devin’s & the general style of the music falling into similar spaces as well.

This is a more restrained & controlled Gojira than we’ve ever heard before. There’s a newly found maturity in the way they milk every last drop out of each riff with great attention to detail having been placed on not over-playing their hands. When combined with a shorter run time (both for the individual tracks & the album as a whole) this makes for a fairly accessible metal record that was always going to promote crossover appeal & commercial success. Perhaps this has been to Gojira’s detriment with their more underground fan base but a good metal record is a good metal record as far as I’m concerned, particularly one as well produced as this one. I love the moodier parts of the album with the sludgier tracks & some amazingly well thought-out transitions being amongst the key elements that “Magma” has to offer along with some very consistent & mature song-writing. Joe’s vocals don’t suffer for the lack of death growls either as he’s got enough emotion & variation in his repertoire to captivate listeners who are open to the idea.

“Magma” may not be one of Gojira’s more intense releases but it is one of their most atmospheric & engaging & I for one am totally onboard with their new direction. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that this might be the band’s best album since “From Mars To Sirius” which is a pretty big call when you consider how highly regarded “The Way Of All Flesh” & “L’enfant sauvage” are. Perhaps it’s time to see what 2021’s ill-fated “Fortitude” record has to offer.

4/5

Here's my Top Ten Metal Releases of 1984 list too:

01. Metallica - "Ride The Lightning"

02. Iron Maiden - "Powerslave"

03. Slayer - "Live Undead" E.P.

04. Slayer - "Haunting The Chapel" E.P.

05. Medieval Steel - "Medieval Steel" E.P.

06. Paul Chain Violet Theatre - "Detaching From Satan" E.P.

07. Judas Priest - "Defenders Of The Faith"

08. Saint Vitus - "Saint Vitus"

09. Queensryche - "The Warning"

10. Trouble - "Psalm 9"

https://metal.academy/lists/single/209

Deep Purple & Guns 'n' Roses have been added to the database as Non-Metal purely because Rex intends to raise Hall entries for a few releases to have them added to The Guardians. As is Ben's usual process, he's added only the proposed metal releases & the ones released in between them.