Daniel's Forum Replies

I usually listen to the playlists while exercising & for very much the same reasons as Sonny has listed above. If I have the opportunity to actively focus on music then I'll usually do that with something I want to properly review but if I'm not given that opportunity then the playlists are where I turn.

Rage - "Reign of Fear" (1986)

It’s hard to believe that German stalwarts Rage have released 25 full-length albums in their recording career to date & that many of them have been quite popular yet a diehard metalhead like myself who likes to pride himself on his overarching knowledge of the scene has still yet to experience even a single one of these albums in full after something like 38 years of obsessive metal indulgence but that appears to be the situation here. I was certainly aware of what Rage sound like as I was exposed to bits & pieces of albums like 1990’s “Reflections Of A Shadow” on underground metal radio programs back in my formative years but I have to admit that they never quite seemed like something that’d interest me & it would seem that my suspicions may have been on the money based on the evidence at hand after visitng their 1986 debut album “Reign of Fear” over the last couple of days.

“Reign Of Fear” sees Rage beginning life as a more than decent metal band with a couple of different strings to their bow. In one corner you have the clear influence of the thrash metal which was obviously achieving world domination at the time, most of which would present itself in the form of a simpler meat-&-potatoes brand of speed metal with the crudely performed vocals of front man Peter “Peavy” Wagner giving Rage a distinctly German sound. Then you have the Judas Priest worshipping heavy metal that was so pivotal in molding the local scene through bands like Grave Digger, Running Wild & Avenger. The tracklisting tends to hop between the two styles with consistent regularity but I wouldn’t say that it causes the experience to come across as random or unfocused. It seems kinda natural for Rage to be honest & the band performs their jobs admirably for the most part, proving themselves to have a decent understanding of the tools required to make an enjoyable metal record. Unfortunately no one told poor Peavy though as his performance behind the microphone leaves much to be desired. Staying in key was a big problem for Wagner at the time & he ends up making a real meal of things but is probably not helped by some dodgy song-writing at times too.

In fairness “Reign of Fear” starts off really well with the first couple of tracks leaving me feeling very positive about its prospects. I found the second song “Deceiver” to be particularly appealing & regard it as the album highlight but things descend very quickly after that & I’m not sure that any of the remaining seven tracks offer much of interest with the awful “Chaste Flesh” being a clear low point for the album. I’m not sure if it’s just a taste thing but I definitely enjoyed the slower & more traditional heavy metal tracks a lot less than most of the thrashier material. Speed metal anthem “Hand of Glory” even hints at the early German power metal sound which isn’t really my bag either it has to be said but look… I don’t think it’s a genre thing. It’s definitely a quality issue as the speed metal material enjoys a stronger allocation of the run time & I’m always open to well written, executed & produced heavy metal. This stuff just sounds a bit second-rate, kinda like the first couple of Running Wild albums.

1986 was a huge year for the thrashier end of metal & Rage had a big opportunity to capitalize on that buzz if they could get it right, especially given the timing of this release. Sadly, I feel that they missed the bus a bit & that’s perhaps why I’ve not ended up giving them a crack before now.

For fans of early Running Wild/Helloween & 80’s Blind Guardian.

3/5

This release is a little tougher to pigeonhole as far what clan it would best sit under as the tracklisting is kinda equally split. In saying that though, there are a number of heavy metal tracks included here & the vast majority of the speed metal numbers are best suited to The Pit. That kinda buys into what I said earlier in this thread about speed metal records often muddying the waters through the inclusion of slower heavy metal tracks to break up the monotony of consistently high-tempo thrashers. It is worth noting though that I do think one of the speed metal tracks "Suicide" would likely fit better under The Guardians than The Pit though so I'm still open to both sides of the argument going into the rest of this deep dive.

Bewitcher - "Under The Witching Cross" (2019)

I hadn’t heard much of Portland-based trio Bewitcher before checking this 2019 sophomore album out as a part of my speed metal deep dive but they’ve got a little bit to offer to tell you the truth. Their sound isn’t anything new by any means as Venom, Motorhead & Bathory’s debut album pretty much summed this style up in the early 1980’s but the production & execution are excellent which gives the song-writing every opportunity to dig its teeth in.

There’s an obvious blackened component to front man Matteo Von Bewitcher’s grim vocal delivery that might never challenge the likes of Quorthon for raw evil but certainly gives Bewitcher an extra layer of street credibility. In fact, tracks like opening blackened speed metal anthem “Savage Lands of Satan” & black ‘n’ roll banger “In The Sign Of The Goat” even push out into extreme metal territory but Bewitcher’s music isn’t to be taken too seriously. It’s purely made up of fun-loving, beer-drinking party-time tunes for long-haired scallywags who are looking for a good time with the mates their parents told them not to associate with. It’s certainly a speed metal release but it’s one that keeps one foot in the rock ‘n’ roll camp while doubling down on the Satanism at the same time. Although it was never intended to change anyone’s lives, you can’t help but buy into the energy that Bewitcher possess in their composition & performances.

For fans of Hellripper, Bat & Bütcher.

3.5/5

Once again, this one sits more comfortably in The Pit than it would in The Guardians in my opinion.

Sweet Trip - "Velocity : Design : Comfort" (2003)

The second full-length from this San Francisco group which combines glitch pop, IDM & shoegaze in a quirky & joyous package that's probably a little too sweet, happy & child-like for my taste.

I finished reviewing the nine October feature releases earlier this week & it was a bit of a mixed bag for me this month in all honesty. The huge discovery for me was the wonderful Dreadnought record which has been granted immediate access to my Hall of Metal Glory. The Inanna & Elder releases were both very strong too. I was already across the Godflesh & Cirith Gorgor albums & found that I still have time for both of them. I also quite liked the King Diamond & Liege Lord records which I'd not previously explored. Unfortunately the Coldrain & Arkangel releases weren't really for me but neither of them were shockers.

Here's the list of releases in order of preference:

THE INFINITE: Dreadnought - "The Endless" (2022)  4.5/5

THE HORDE: Inanna - "Void Of Unending Depths" (2022)  4/5

THE FALLEN: Elder - "Dead Roots Stirring" (2011)  4/5

THE SPHERE: Godflesh - "Hymns" (2001)  3.5/5

THE GUARDIANS: King Diamond - "The Eye" (1990)  3.5/5

THE PIT: Liege Lord - "Master Control" (1988)  3.5/5

THE NORTH: Cirith Gorgor - "Onwards To The Spectral Defile" (1999)  3.5/5

THE GATEWAY: Coldrain - "Nonnegative" (2022)  3/5

THE REVOLUTION: Arkangel - "Prayers Upon Deaf Ears" E.P. (1998)  3/5

Well done to Saxy on taking the bikkies this month. 

Rexorcist, will you be participating this month or should I be removing you from the roster altogether?

So I've decided to take up Andi's request for me to do a deep dive into the Speed Metal genre & review our current position on which clan it should rightfully sit under given that one of our competitors has recently labelled it as a subgenre of Heavy Metal. Let's see how we go then.

Agent Steel - "Unstoppable Force" (1987)

I’ve always loved Los Angeles’ speed metal outfit Agent Steel’s 1985 debut album “Skeptics Apocalypse” & it’s been firmly entrenched as one of my favourite speed metal records for many years now so it’s high time I investigated some of the band’s later material, isn’t it? Their 1987 sophomore effort “Unstoppable Force” seemed to be the logical place to start as it’s almost as highly regarded by their fan base & would apparently maintain the speed metal sound of the debut. Let’s see how it fairs in comparison then, shall we?

The production job on “Unstoppable Force” leaves a fair bit to be desired as it’s very raw & quite tinny. This isn’t anything all that unusual for the time however I’m not sure it’s an ideal fit for Agent Steel whose sound is a little more polished than that. The music is certainly very thrashy however & I maintain my position that Agent Steel offer just as much legitimate thrash metal as they do speed metal. It’s just that they also include a few tracks that sit firmly in the classic heavy metal camp so the speed metal tag makes for a happy medium.

There’s a lovely energy to most of the nine tracks on offer with the A side being packed with most of the more aggressive material. The B side is where you’ll see the band slowing things down & adding a bit more melody on a few tracks but I do have to say that I prefer the more up-tempo Agent Steel material over the more traditional heavy metal numbers like “Still Searchin” & “Nothin’ Left” which I find to be a little flat in comparison. In saying that though, closing ballad “Traveler” ends up being one of the album highlights for me along with the thrash-tastic opening title track.

The most notable element of the album though is clearly the vocal contribution of front man John Cyriis whose performance was always going to be polarizing. He displays an over the top theatricality that certainly won’t be for everyone & has bitten off a bit more than he can chew here in my opinion. It's a bit of a shame that John often comes across like a late-night cat fight in the back alley with his pitchy high-pitched squeals & air-raid siren style dive bombs. Thankfully though the instrumental component of the album is excellent with loads of quality riffs & some wonderfully shredding lead solos.

Overall, “Unstoppable Force” makes for an acceptable follow-up to “Skeptics Apocalypse”, if not one that offers the same level of appeal. The production job probably doesn’t help but it’s not really a deterrent either as I’m pretty used to that sort of thing after all these years of indulging in underground metal. If only the producer & his fellow band mates would just have pulled Cyriis into line a bit & told him to tone down the theatrics then we might have had a much stronger product on our hands. As it is though we get a reasonably enjoyable speed metal record that’s unlikely to hit too many best-of lists.

For fans of Helstar, Exciter & Ranger.

3.5/5

"Unstoppable Force" clearly sits more comfortably under The Pit than it does The Guardians in my opinion & totally fits in with my long-standing opinion that people are fooled into thinking that speed metal is closer to heavy metal than thrash metal by the fact that there are usually a few heavy metal numbers included on every speed metal record in order to break up the potential monotony of an album that maintains a high tempo throughout.

Here's my review:

Belgian trio Arkangel seem to have built up a fairly strong reputation in the underground metalcore scene over the years with all of their releases being held in quite high regard by those in the know. I recently realised that I hadn’t actually checked them out before & found the links to thrash & death metal to be quite the drawcard. Their most critically acclaimed debut E.P. seemed to be a good starting point given its short run time so I thought I’d start there with this month’s The Revolution feature release seeming like the perfect opportunity for us all to explore 1998’s “Prayers Upon Deaf Ears” together.

My first impressions of Arkangel weren’t great it has to be said. The production job on “Prayers Upon Deaf Ears” is subpar at best with the levels being all over the place, a fairly ordinary snare sound & the vocals blaring over the top at obscene volumes. The level of musicianship isn’t real flash either to be honest & this leaves the band sounding a bit unprofessional to tell you the truth. Some of the six tracks simply don’t gel with the vocals sounding like they could be screaming over a completely different song to the one their band mates are trying to produce. I think the production probably accentuates that effect further too. The vocals are admittedly quite aggressive & are one of Arkangel’s strengths but I can’t find seem to find myself getting all that excited about them which tells me that they’re being done an injustice by their accompaniments.

Arkangel’s sound is pretty vicious for the late 90’s & is strongly influenced by extreme metal. The guitar tone is very much in line with US thrash/groove metal outfit Exhorder & some of the riffs remind me of them too actually. You can also expect some pretty blatant Slayer worship going on at times while some of the tremolo-picked single notes riffs seem to have been plucked straight out of the early Entombed playbook. That all sounds great on paper & I would have thought it would have amounted to an enjoyable release for me but it wasn’t to be with the last few tracks seeing my hopes being further dashed & leading into one of those awfully meaningless hidden tracks after a pause of about a minute.

I imagine that releases like “Prayers Upon Deaf Ears” build their reputations on pure vitriol but I need a bit more quality to keep me interested so I can’t help but feel that it’s an overrated record. The technical deficiencies are too blaringly obvious & the overall package seems more like a demo than a proper release.

For fans All Out War, Day Of Suffering & xRepentancex.

3/5

I hadn’t encountered Denver-based progressive metal outfit Dreadnought before but I’m very glad I’ve rectified that omission now because their brand new fifth album “The Endless” is one of the best releases I’ve heard in 2022. Dreadnought’s sound sees them combine a progressive take on metal with the tribal drumming & atmospherics of post-metal to wonderful effect & is further highlighted by the angelic female vocals of band leader Kelly Schilling. You can expect to see the band occasionally heading into black metal & some more avant-garde territory at times but Dreadnought are definitely at their best when their attention is focused purely on creating emotionally-charged & deeply moving atmospheres that bring to mind some of Anathema’s mid-to-latter period releases. The 3rd & the Mortal also springs to mind quite often, particularly given the vocal approach & progressive leanings.

On the negative, I have to admit that the first two of the six tracks included here are comfortably the weakest even if they’re still pretty engaging. But my goodness I was in for a surprise after that with three of the remaining four pieces being nothing short of mind-blowing. There’s a transcendental elegance to Dreadnought’s music that appeals to me on the deepest emotional level when they get it right & I can’t imagine how this release isn’t being held in much higher regard. I suspect it’s due to the lack of patience from the modern audience as you really do have to give this album a chance to open up, particularly given the unfortunate way they’ve programmed the tracklisting which I presume was to include some of the more extreme black metal stuff at the start of the album to get people’s attention.

Dreadnought are the perfect example of what the modern metal scene has to offer. They’re fresh & ambitious & have a rare talent for connecting with their audience on an emotional level that allows them to be transported to wonderfully lush & drastically foreign places. They’ve been a real find for me this month & I want to commend Saxy on his feature release nomination because this is what Metal Academy is all about i.e. identifying high quality & interesting releases that offer great appeal but that you’d likely never encounter otherwise.

For fans of Obsidian Kingdom, Kontinuum & Solstafir.

4.5/5

It’s interesting that I’ve never heard a full Liege Lord record before now. I’ve certainly been aware of their highly regarded trio of 80’s albums for many years but they were hardly a household name back in my formative years & I’ve not found myself being tempted previously. I did however quite like the title track from their classic 1988 “Master Control” album when I investigated it for inclusion in the monthly The Guardians playlist a couple of years ago & have subsequently intended on giving it a decent chance ever since. What better time than now I guess!

“Master Control” kicks off in fairly hectic fashion by placing its cards down on the table right from the get-go. Although there’s a significant amount of speed metal included throughout the tracklisting & I agree with that genre being awarded a dual role, the US power metal tag is the most accurate label for this record given the chunky guitar tone, the up-tempo feel of a lot of the material & the operatic higher-register vocal performance of Joe Comeau. You can expect to identify hints at heavy metal & genuine thrash popping up here & there but neither are consistent enough to command further representation.

Comeau is a dead-ringer for Iron Maiden/Samson front man Bruce Dickinson. In fact, his likeness is really pretty uncanny & it’s very clear that he’s worshipped at the Maiden altar for many a year. He does sound a touch like Overkill front man Bobby Ellsworth’s more Maiden-inspired mid-80’s moments sometimes too though, particularly in his phrasing when the music gets a little more thrashy. The production is a touch inconsistent from track to track but the performances are very precise & the execution is pure class with the fantastic guitar solos being an obvious highlight.

The A side is very consistent indeed with no weaker tracks but the B side is a little more hit & miss. Both of my album highlights come in the second half of the album though in the Judas Priest inspired heavy metal anthem “Feel The Blade” & the thrashier US power metal of “Rapture”. Unfortunately these strengths are offset by a couple of duds in “Broken Wasteland” & “Suspicion” which tend to even out my feelings a bit after cancelling out the good impression left by those two highlight tracks. The lack of a couple of truly elite level pieces definitely places a cap on the appeal that “Master Control” has the power to muster but this isn’t a bad US power metal record. It’s just not really the classic that it’s so often made out to be these days in my opinion.

For fans of Helstar, Savage Grace & Agent Steel.

3.5/5

Here's my review:

I didn’t become aware of Dutch black metallers Cirith Gorgor until they’d already released four full-length albums & they’d surprisingly been learning their craft for a good sixteen years by that point. My initial experience came at the hands of this debut album “Onwards To The Spectral Defile” which I remember quite enjoying but apparently not enough to warrant return visits or focused analysis. I’d also touch on Cirith Gorgor’s “Unveiling The Essence” sophomore record from a couple of years later with a similar outcome if my memory serves me correctly however I can’t recall hearing anything the band have done since 2001 & I'm a little hazy on the band in general so it’s probably a good time to refresh things by unpacking this month’s The North clan feature release.

“Onward To The Spectral Defile” is very much a meat-&-potatoes style of black metal record. It doesn’t ever attempt to reinvent the wheel, instead looking to harness some fairly basic & traditional black metal building blocks in as savage a fashion as they can produce. The clear focus of the Cirith Gorgor sound is in the blast-beat driven brutality of bands like Marduk, Dark Funeral & Immortal however they try their best to hide the fact that they’re a bit of a one-trick pony by tossing in some melodic content over the top. In fact, all of the eight black metal tracks included veer off the path of abrasive blasting at some stage with the occasional thrash metal or folk/Viking metal influence popping up here or there along the way. Being a life-long devotee of the more brutal end of extreme metal, I do find significant attraction to the more relentless & abrasive part of the Cirith Gorgor package but I also see the need to break things up by providing a little bit of variety as they’re not as talented at creating atmosphere as the bigger names in that field so they’re always at risk of suffering from a lack of substance even though they can certainly play as fast & brutal as the competition Unfortunately though, the more melodic & thrashy content is vastly inferior to their aggressive stuff & the band even sound a bit messy when they slow things down with their timing not always hitting the mark when they’ve got a little more room to work with. So I guess I find myself at a bit of a contradiction in that “Onwards To the Spectral Defile” clearly needs it’s melodic component but at the same time I also wish it wasn’t there a lot of the time.

The album is very well produced for this style of black metal as you can hear everything very clearly. Nimroth’s shrieking black metal vocals are suitably snarly & sinister & are one of the highlights of the record, even if he doesn’t offer much in the way of variety. I have to say that the guitar solos fall well short of the mark though & add nothing at all to the overall package. They’re simply far too basic & lacking in polish, ambition & accomplishment. Thankfully I can always rely on Cirith Gorgor to return with a light-speed blast-beat session to batter those negative thoughts right out of my brain & that thought pretty much sums up this album for me really. It’s not perfect as it has a few obvious flaws but I can’t resist the relentless savagery that permeates much of the tracklisting & that component alone is able to compensate for the poorer material like the ill-fated thrash metal section in “Sons of the New Dawn” or the flat closing piano interlude “Thorns of Oblivion”. “Onwards To The Spectral Defile” won’t change too many lives but it will certainly give some a bit of casual entertainment when they’re in the mood for a brutal (yet still somewhat melodic) battering.

For fans of Enthroned, Gorgoroth & Sargeist.

3.5/5

Burial - "Untrue" (2007)

This classic sophomore album from London electronic producer Burial is a wonder of the future garage movement & has been a long-time favourite of mine when I wanna chill out on a lazy Saturday afternoon drive.

I've decided that the current YES 2 NO 7 tally for "Master of Puppets" is sufficient enough to decide this Hall entry so the nomination to have the album added to The Guardians has been denied. The "Ride The Lightning" entry is still open at the Hall of Judgement but is very close to a result so get your votes in while you still can.

This nomination has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

Here's my review:

Denmark’s favourite Satanic falsetto master King Diamond & his legendary band Mercyful Fate were somewhat of an acquired taste for me over the years. Initially I really struggled with his over the top vocal theatrics however time & attention would see me slowly being converted & these days I quite enjoy the King’s bombastic pomp. Interestingly though, I tend to lean towards his solo work over the more highly praised Mercyful Fate work with albums like 1987’s “Abigail” & 1989’s “Conspiracy” sitting at the top of his back catalogue for me personally, largely contributed to by the wonderful guitar work of Swedish virtuoso & future-Death axeman Andy LaRocque. It’s a little unusual then that I don’t recall ever properly investigating anything the King has done since the 1980’s which leaves a couple of blaringly obvious gaps in my metal armory. 1990’s fifth solo album “The Eye” is probably the most significant of those releases so let’s see what it’s all about.

You certainly won’t be terribly surprised by what you hear on “The Eye” if you’ve got any sort of experience with the King’s earlier solo work as it possesses all of his famous calling cards. It’s yet another concept album that's unapologetically metal & pulls out all the stops to create that spooky horror movie atmosphere that he's so obviously obsessed with. The neoclassical element is still there although it’s probably not used quite as often as on some of the King’s work while there’s plenty of church organ included to enhance the gothic feel. The only real point of difference with “The Eye” over his earlier works is the increased progressive component as there's been a stronger focus placed on artistic creativity here in my opinion. In fact, I’d argue that “The Eye” is easily as much of a progressive metal record as it is a heavy metal one. I mean it’s comfortably as progressive as the more popular Queensryche records for example, perhaps more so.

So all of the pieces are in place for another exceedingly fun trip round a moonlit graveyard but there’s something missing versus the King’s best work in my opinion. There’s no questioning the ambition on display & the performances of the instrumentalists are all of a very high quality but I think the song-writing suffers a little bit at the hands of the storyline which is not an uncommon feeling for me when it comes to concept albums. I guess I just don’t think there are as many vocal hooks of that elite level here & it certainly doesn’t help that I find the closing track “The Curse” to be pretty flat & the weakest inclusion in the tracklisting. I’d also hazard to suggest that LaRocque’s contribution is a little less of a drawcard than usual as he seems to have gone for a more melodic approach rather than the ridiculously shredding style he’d championed in the late 1980’s. In saying that though, future Memento Mori, Mercyful Fate & Denner/Shermann drummer Snowy Shaw puts in a classy display that gives the more ambitious material a rock-solid basis to build off.

After giving “The Eye” a few good listens over the last couple of days I’m left with the impression that it’s a pretty decent King Diamond record that’s benefited greatly from the added interest associated with the more progressive approach. It’s brought me a reasonable amount of enjoyment but I can’t say that I regard it as essential listening for your average heavy metal junkie. It’s certainly worth a few listens but I don’t think it’s on the same level as records like “Abigail” or “Conspiracy”, or the first couple of Mercyful Fate releases for that matter. Perhaps I’m just not a big enough KD junkie as I actually don’t consider it to be all that far behind “Don’t Break The Oath” or “Them” in all honesty & would probably take it over the highly regarded Mercyful Fate comeback album “In The Shadows”.

For fans of Mercyful Fate, Attic & Portrait.

3.5/5

Look, if you agree with my argument Andi then I'm just gonna push this one through as the only reason the release was added to The Revolution in the first place was due to your deciding genre vote on RYM which left Metalcore at 2-1. 

This submission has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

What are your thoughts on this as our resident metalcore nut Andi?

Here's my review:

My knowledge of Japanese five-piece Coldrain was fairly restricted prior to giving their brand new seventh album “Nonnegative” its first spin. I’d seen the name around the traps since the mid-2010’s but had never taken the plunge to explore what they had to offer which is mainly due to the circles that they seem to reside in. The idea of the alt-metalcore sound is often more of a deterrent than it is an attraction for me but there are certainly examples that have surprised me over the years. In saying that, I wasn’t even aware that Coldrain had a new album out until Andi put it forward for the monthly The Gateway feature release but I like to keep an open mind no matter what style or subgenre I’m listening to so I went in with my ears open & keen to be surprised. It's fair to say that surprised I was from the first few seconds of “Nonnegative” too.

You see, the sound that Coldrain are pushing here is amongst the most pop driven I’ve experienced in metal music to date. The characteristics of metal music are all there & I never found myself questioning the band’s credentials for inclusion at Metal Academy but if I'm being honest I have to admit that my first couple of listens were spent battling with my own internal prejudices. We get bubblegum pop hooks galore here & literally every song could be a single or a stadium anthem. Honestly, I wouldn’t even blink if I saw Kelly Clarkson singing one of these song on a Sunday morning talk-show. I particularly struggled with the gang-style backing vocals early on but the production is suitably big & glossy & there could be no denying the quality of the vocal harmonies employed by front man Masato whose delivery reminds me very much of Chester Bennington from Linkin Park.

It’s interesting that “Nonnegative” seems to be tagged as both Alternative Metal & Metalcore because the latter of the two tags is inaccurate in my opinion. There are certainly metalcore influences across a lot of the tracklisting but the majority of the material sits miles further over to the Alternative Metal side of the equation. There is a clear punk component but the thing is that it’s a gross injustice to say that an album like this one has anything to do with hardcore punk as it honestly couldn’t get further away from that scene. The punk influence is much more focused on pop punk bands like Blink 182 & there’s absolutely no connection to the likes of Converge or Knocked Loose. I think the fairest outcome is to say that it’s an Alternative Metal release with Melodic Metalcore influences as the sporadic use of metalcore vocals & breakdowns needs to be highlighted somewhere, just not in the primary genre-tagging.

In saying all that though, it’s interesting that I actually find the more metalcore focused moments to be the album’s weakest points. They simply sound so generic & immature. Although the pop hooks are particularly cheesy, there can be no doubt that they’re well done & that repeat listens see them digging their teeth in on the stronger material. For example, my first couple of listens saw me labelling the ballad “Boys & Girls” as the clear low point of the album but by listen four I’d turned that opinion all the way around to it now being the highlight of the album. The guitar solos are really well executed too but at the end of the day I find myself thinking that “Nonnegative” is a pop metal release that’s not really intended for a metal audience. It’s got much stronger ties with commercial radio & a teenage market that craves the simple vocal hooks of the pop charts. I mean there's even a No Doubt cover version included here for fuck's sake & it's not half bad to tell you the truth. Time will tell whether Coldrain ever achieve the commercial success that they are so clearly targeting but in the meantime I think my time with them might be done because, even though there are no complete abortions on offer, I only really enjoyed about 40% of this album with the rest taking me a little too far outside of my musical comfort zone.

For fans of Linkin Park, I Prevail & Wovenwar.

P.S. What the fuck is with the ridiculously cheap cover "art"?? If you're gonna create something this commercially marketable then surely it would be better served by a glossy & attractive cover to draw people in, wouldn't it?

Well in fairness Sonny,  this release doesn't belong in any other clan & will likely appeal to most The Fallen members but I just struggle with it having any genuine claim to metal qualification. Don't take my word for it though because it's just my opinion whereas on RYM it has YES 117 NO 2 for Stoner Metal & YES 51 NO 61 for Stoner Rock. I don't think people realize that Stoner Rock takes "stylistic influence from Doom Metal and Heavy Psych" & as soon as they hear a doom riff they immediately associate it with metal.

This submission has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.

Here's my review:

I first discovered Massachusetts-based stoner metal trio Elder while programming the monthly The Fallen playlists a couple of years ago & was invariably impressed by what I heard. They sounded like a very capable & professional outfit that knew their way around their instruments & had a very well-defined sound. I subsequently investigated their 2012 “Spires Burn/Release” E.P. in order to get a better idea of what they’re all about & found it to be a very solid release indeed. 2017’s “Reflections of a Floating World” would follow shortly afterwards & would leave a similar impression so I quickly found myself claiming myself as a fan of the band. And this leads me to this month’s The Fallen feature release in Elder’s 2011 sophomore album “Dead Roots Stirring” which I selfishly selected in order to further expand my knowledge of Elder’s back catalogue.

“Dead Roots Stirring” is a 51 minute excursion across five lengthy tracks that all offer something a little different from each other while always maintain a clear direction & focus. Unlike “Spires Burn/Release” which sat roughly at the mid-point between stoner metal & stoner rock, this record sees Elder staying firmly on the stoner rock side of the equation &, despite what you may read elsewhere, there’s really very little metal to be found here. There’s simply far too much blues in both the tone & structure of the five songs included & I’d suggest that the band’s influences come mainly from late 60’s/early 70’s blues rock bands like Cream more than they do metal bands like Black Sabbath. Don’t take that as any sort of negative though because this music still has plenty in the tank in the way of classy rock music. The production job is well-executed & gives Elder an authentic 60’s/70’s vibe that also plays a major part in steering the album away from metal. It’s got that lovely fuzzy sound with a dirty distortion on the guitars that feeds very nicely into the more psychedelic moments which are a real highlight of the record. The bass tone is full & powerful which does a great job at selling the doomier moments where the band finally click into overdrive. You won’t find much in the way of the more ambitious progressive rock sounds that can be found on “Reflections of a Floating World” here as yet but that’s not to say that this is simple music with the song structures still being quite expansive & building over time with twelve minute closer “Knot” being a prime example given that it doesn’t really show you its full hand until the last third of the song.

The best material tends to come at the start of the tracklisting with opener “Gemini” (my album highlight) & the lengthy title track being my personal favourites but there isn’t a lot of variation in quality between the various songs with only fourth track “The End” seeing things dipping just a touch. In saying that though, I’m not sure this style of music will ever command my higher scores unless it heads into psychedelic territory more often than Elder do here. Front man Nick DiSalvo has a great voice for this style of music & he does hint at some really great vocal hooks that may have the potential to take things higher up into the stratosphere but it never quite eventuates & the album is much more focused on lengthy instrumental passages anyway. This isn’t intended as a major criticism though as I’ve found it hard to fault Elder on ANY of the three releases I’ve checked out to date. They’re a class act who understand their craft really well & are very unlikely to dish up something subpar.

If you’re a fan of stoner rock then you’ll definitely want to check out “Dead Roots Stirring”. I’d suggest that it’s probably the weaker of the three Elder releases mentioned above with the progressive stoner rock sounds of “Reflections of a Floating World” remaining my personal favourite but don't take that as a negative comment because it’s still a great record that’s provided me with further encouragement to continue investigating this talented artist’s back catalogue.

For fans of Om, Stoned Jesus & Acid King.

4/5

Great selection Ben. Here's my review:

My brother Ben can always be relied upon for quality feature releases & this brand new third album from Chilean death metallers Inanna is no exception as the band clearly possess a strong pedigree in all forms of deathly delights. “Void of Unending Depths” sees them tackling a number of different extreme metal subgenres & proving themselves to be proficient in all of them in the process. It’s quite a lengthy record for this style of music at nearly an hour in duration & I feel that it does overstay its welcome a touch but you can’t deny the quality that’s on offer.

The album begins in a very different way to what it finishes & opens with the strongest track on the tracklisting in dissonant death metal monster “Evolutionary Inversion” before “Among Subaqueous Spectres” sees them dipping their feet into more of a death/thrash sound which reminds me of US death metallers Serpens Aeon’s thrashier moments. The dissonant take on the classic death metal sound returns for “Far Away In Other Spheres” before the record starts to take a turn into increasingly more progressive territory for the remaining four tracks, the B side taking very much a progressive death metal direction in its entirety. I have to admit that the thrashier drumming doesn’t appeal to me as much as the darker death metal stuff & I think Inanna are probably at their best when they get their dissonant pants on.

The production job is very well suited to this style of music & does a good job at highlighting the dark atmosphere while the performances of the four instrumentalists are all high class. I particularly enjoy the use of blast beats but the highlights of the album tend to come through the sporadic incorporation of ethereal lead guitar melodies that remind me very much of Paradise Lost. It’s easy to pick up the influence of classic death metal bands like Immolation & Morbid Angel in the first half of the album while the commitment to progressive song structures & stylistic diversity is similar to that taken by South American counterparts The Chasm. Interestingly, I find the atmospheric interludes included in a few of the tracks to be inspired by Iron Maiden as much as anyone else (particularly the eerie mid-section of their classic “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”) but the last few tracks see the instrumentalists casting their creative inhibitions aside & tackling some highly technical riff structures. Front man Max Neira is an absolute beast with his super-deep yet still easily decipherable death growls providing another highlight for Inanna but unfortunately I find the higher pitched screams to sound a little immature in comparison.

“Void of Unending Depths” is a splendid example of the modern death metal sound & is very hard to fault. If anything, I’d suggest that Inanna may just be lacking a bit of focus as the record jumps around quite a bit & I tend to think that perhaps their next album might be the true culmination of their creative development once they firm up exactly what it is they’re trying to achieve. Regardless, there aren’t a lot of releases that can match Inanna for death metal integrity these days & I doubt there will be too many extreme metal fans out there that can’t get onboard with it.

For fans of The Chasm, Serpens Aeon & Morbid Angel.

4/5

It's been many years since I heard "Clouds" but I think I'd probably rate it the same score as you have Vinny. Tiamat's next album "Wild Honey" was their first to really command my attention.

Bathory - "Jubileum, Vol. I" (1992)

Bathory was a big fucking deal for me when this best-of compilation was released thirty years ago today; so much so that I bought it immediately upon release & primarily so that I could gain acccess to the unreleased tracks. Seriously though, when you put Quorthon's best material together on one CD it really does make an impressive celebration of his recorded career. Vol 1 was comfortably better than Vol 2 & 3 & I played the absolute living shit out of it.

Negură Bunget - "'n crugu bradului" (2002)

It's 20 years since the highly regarded sophomore album from Romanian atmospheric black metallers Negură Bunget first hit the shelves today. I've gotta say that I've never understood the attraction to this band (in fact I rated this album 2/5 on my last revisit) but they seem to have developed an almost cult-like following over the years. 

I picked "Έσοπτρον" up on CD at the time of release & Ben & I both really enjoyed it. I don't think I've ever rated or reviewed it though so I'll need to rectify that at some stage.

This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

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

Some very cool country music with a darker gothic edge. I haven't returned to this one for a while but it really suited my morning chores nicely as I've prepared to have friends around for the NRL Grand Final this afternoon.

Here's my new review after deleting my old one from 2010:

I came into Birmingham industrial metal godfathers Godflesh’s 2001 sixth album “Hymns” very late when you consider that I’d been a huge fan of the band since around 1989/90. My decade-long hiatus from metal during the 2000’s saw me completely avoiding it until a good year after my return which meant that it had already been out & about for a good nine years by the time I reviewed it in 2010. I have to say that I wasn’t blown away by it either it has to be said. That’s not to say that I thought it was a bad record or anything but I had such high expectations of Justin Broadrick’s projects by that stage & I just found “Hymns” to be a little bit lacking by comparison. It’s been a full twelve years since that review now though so I’ll be coming in with fresh ears & it’ll be interesting to see if my feelings have changed over time.

Godflesh has always possessed a very unique sound that had stayed with them throughout their career even though they’d usually experiment with it in different ways on each release & that trend continues with “Hymns”. 1999’s hip hop inspired “Us & Them” album was probably the record where they’d taken the most risks across their back-catalogue to the time so I was kind of expecting them to expand on that further but “Hymns” sees them bringing things back to a more organic & stripped back sound that relies more heavily on the guitars than the beats which are kept a little further back in the mix. Despite the guitars & bass being so far forward, I feel that this lack of power in the drums makes “Hymns” sound a touch less heavy & places a stronger reliance on the riffs which may or may not be a good thing depending on your taste. You’ll also find that Justin & co. have incorporated alternative & nu metal influences into their sound to an extent which is obvious enough to give the album its own identity but not significant enough to overshadow the industrial metal platform that the band had built their careers on. I mean this fucker still sounds like it could be made up of sounds from a factory but the workers are probably playing alternative radio in the workshop if you know what I mean. Those of you that are familiar with the alternative scene will likely pick up on moments that sound distinctly like Korn, Primus, Soundgarden & Smashing Pumpkins across the lengthy 73 minute tracklisting with the emphasis on groove-driven riffs reminding me quite a lot of a band like Nottingham sludge metallers Fudge Tunnel. Some of the more staccato-based riffage can also draw comparisons with Helmet & Prong but the interesting thing is that at the end of the album I’m still left feeling that “Hymns” sits most comfortably alongside industrial metal counterparts like Killing Joke.

It's interesting that a lot of people seem to want to link Godflesh with the Sludge Metal genre. I can definitely see why given the dissonant riff structures & thick & oppressive guitar tone but there’s a noticeable lack of the anger & aggression required for sludge qualification in my opinion. Godflesh’s music is much more trance-inducing with its repetition being a key component in its appeal so I can't agree with that sentiment. With the possible exception of the very poor hidden track, I also struggle to see how “Hymns” has anything to do with Post-Metal as it’s reliance on riffs is far too extreme for that. As far as I can see this album is still very firmly rooted in the Industrial Metal genre with the alternative elements adding a point of differentiation for a record that has essentially seen Godflesh regressing a bit towards past glories from their recent releases. The jumpy nu metal rhythms that pop up here & there aren’t particularly to my taste if I’m being honest & at times I’m left wondering if the band were clutching at straws in the hope of finding relevance in a quickly changing heavy music scene. I mean let’s be honest, the weaker moments like the nu metal track “Deaf, Dumb & Blind” sound pretty uninspired but then the album highlights like the catchy alternative metal number “Anthem” & the sublime atmospheric closer “Jesu” are some of Godflesh’s very best work so the album can be a little bit up & down. It certainly takes a few tracks to get going which can impact initial impressions but the back end of the record is the stronger of the two sides which sees it redeeming itself over time. In saying that though, there’s very little question that the run time is too long & the requirement for the hidden track is more than a little questionable.

As a Godflesh album, I would have to say that “Hymns” is certainly worth a few listens but I’d suggest that is was the band’s weakest full-length to the time. Despite the respectable rating I’ve given it, I do end up feeling a little disappointed given their star-studded back catalogue. Perhaps my taste profile isn’t really in line with the alternative feel to a lot of the material? Yeah sure, that definitely plays it’s part here but I’m not sure that can explain a few of the flatter tracks here which sound like a band in auto-pilot. It's probably telling that I find the tracks with Justin's gruffer vocal delivery to be more appealing than those that see him struggling with his more melodic side too. I can't help but think that this is a sign of my own affiliations with Godflesh's early works but you have to admire the way the band consistently reach for something a little different without completely severing the ties with their past.

For fans of Pitchshifter, Fall Of Because & HALO.

3.5/5

This playlist is now up on Spotify.

With a current vote tally of YES 7 NO 2, I've decided to pass the second of the two submissions so the Post-Metal genre has now been added to "Mestarin kynsi". Thank you to everyone who contributed to the vote & allowed us to achieve a majority outcome.

Grouper - "A I A: Alien Observer" (2011)

Angelic female-fronted ambient from California, USA. It's a classy effort & I really dig it.

None this month thanks .

None this month thanks.

I believe that Dorsal Atlantica release is a re-recording of Dorsal Atlântica's 1986 debut album "Antes do fim" which I love. Corrosion of Conformity's "Animosity" is worth a listen if you don't mind a bit of early crossover thrash too.

Eyehategod - "Dopesick" (1996)

Every now & then I find a major gap in my knowledge of a fairly significant player in the global metal scene & that was certainly the case with New Orleans sludge metallers Eyehategod when I realised that I’d never actually heard one of their releases in full the other day. I did actually have a ticket to see them play live at one point but they ended up cancelling the show so it never actually eventuated. Anyway, I went about filling this glaring hole in my understanding of the more significant metal releases over the last couple of days & I’ve gotta say that I really enjoyed the experience.

The term “Sludge Metal” is often misused in my opinion. Some people seem to think that it’s required whenever a band opts for a particularly dirty (read: “sludgy”) guitar tone which was never the intent of the label. What it’s really referring to are bands that use the aesthetics of doom metal & stoner metal yet give the music the vocal delivery, aggression & general abrasiveness of hardcore punk & you’ll rarely find a better example of that than Eyehategod. Much like California’s Dystopia, this band have taken the crushingly heavy stoner doom model & combined it with a never-ending stream of drug-addicted depression & depravity to create what can only be described as one of the most hopeless & discouraging atmospheres you’re likely to find. Front man Mike IX Williams sounds like a man possessed with so much spite & resentment that he’s about to tear his own limbs off start attacking people with them as he spits his words out with an enormous amount of malicious intent.

Musically, Eyehategod’s sound tends to drift between slow & crushingly heavy doom riffs & groovier Black Sabbath style stoner metal riffs with the occasional up-tempo hardcore section tossed in for a bit of variety every now & then but never over-staying its welcome. I personally love the doomier parts but find the stoner sections to be noticeably less appealing which is very much a reflection of my taste profile more than it is anything to do with the quality of the music on offer. There’s not a single track of the twelve included that doesn’t offer some level of enjoyment but I don’t think there’s anything here that I’d claim to be a genuine classic. Even the best material includes some element that brings it back down from the upper heights of my affection with album highlight & closing track “Anxiety Hangover” being a prime example of that as it taints its wonderfully doomy first half with one of those groovy stoner riffs right in the middle of the song. It’s also worth noting that the production doesn’t offer any sort of brightness or light which is likely intentional but it does make for a record that sounds pretty samey. Thankfully I enjoy the depressive atmosphere enough to make the whole experience a very enjoyable one though.

There’s no doubt that “Dopesick” is a quality example of the sludge metal genre as it ticks all of the critical boxes. Is it the classic release that many make it out to be though? I’m not so sure about that. Perhaps if I had of come across it 25 years ago I might think so but right now it would seem more like a record that you’d cherry-pick for those occasions when you’ve simply had a gut-full & want to fuck shit up to the soundtrack for your own self-destruction.

For fans of Acid Bath, Iron Monkey & Grief.

4/5

Nice choice Ben. "Nighttime Birds" is an absolute classic in my opinion & sits amongst the top couple of gothic metal releases I've ever experienced.

Here's the schedule for the November feature release nominations:

THE FALLEN: Sonny, Ben, Daniel

THE GATEWAY: Saxy, Andi

THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Rexorcist

THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben

THE INFINITE: Rexorcist, Andi, Xephyr, Saxy

THE NORTH: Xephyr, Daniel, Ben, Vinny

THE PIT: Ben, Vinny, Rexorcist, Daniel

THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel

THE SPHERE: Daniel, Andi

Here's my submission for the November playlist Vinny:

Sepultura - "We Who Are Not As Others" (from "Chaos AD", 1993)

Here are my submissions for the November playlist Ben:

Gnaw Their Tongues - "Lick The Poison From The Cave Walls" (from "Abyss of Longing Throats", 2015)

Батюшка [Batushka] - "Ектения • VIII • Спасение" (from "Литоургиiа (Litourgiya)", 2015)

Nahvalr - "Swallower of Bile" (from "Nahvalr", 2008)

Here are my submissions for the November playlist:

Brutal Truth - "Stench of Prophet" (from "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses", 1992)

Dying Fetus - "Idealogical Subjugation" (from "Wrong One To Fuck With", 2017)

Nails - "No Surrender" (from "Abandon All Life", 2013)

Here's my submission for the November playlist Xephyr:

Cross Borns - "The Hill Of Destiny" (from "Tales of a Winter Night", 2000)

Here are my submissions for the November playlist Sonny:

Solitude Aeturnus - "Upon Within" (from "Alone", 2006)

Eyehategod - "Anxiety Hangover" (from "Dopesick", 1996)

October 2022

01. Bloodbath – “Zombie Inferno” (from “Survival of the Sickest”, 2022)

02. Soilwork – “Övergivenheten” (from “Övergivenheten”, 2022)

03. Revocation – “Diabolical Majesty” (from “Netherheaven”, 2022)

04. Xysma – “I Feel Like Lou Reed” (from “Deluxe”, 1994)

05. The Chasm – “Vault To The Voyage” (from “Farseeing The Paranormal Abysm”, 2009) [Submitted by Daniel]

06. In Flames – “Behind Space” (from “Lunar Strain”, 1994)

07. Gorguts – “Nostalgia” (from “Obscura”, 1998) [Submitted by Daniel]

08. Miasmatic Necrosis – “The Putridarium” (from “Apex Profane”, 2020)

09. Master – “Pledge of Allegiance” (from “Master”, 1990) [Submitted by Vinny]

10. Jungle Rot – “A Burning Cinder” (from “Jungle Rot”, 2018) [Submitted by Vinny]

11. Sedimentum – “Krypto chronique II” (from “Suppuration morphogénésiaque”, 2022)

12. Consumption – “Suffering Divine” (from “Necrotic Lust”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

13. Portal – “Sunken” (from “Seepia”, 2002) [Submitted by Daniel]

14. Carnal Diafragma – “Human Monster” (from “Space Symphony Around Us”, 2006)

15. The Zenith Passage – “Deus Deceptor” (from “Solipsist”, 2016) [Submitted by Vinny]

16. Cephalic Carnage – “Hybrid” (from “Exploiting Dysfunction”, 2000)

17. Fallujah – “Embrace Oblivion” (from “Empyrean”, 2022)

18. Belphegor – “Blackest Sabbath 1997” (from “The Devils”, 2022)

19. Hissing – “Meltdown” (from “Hypervirulence Architecture”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

20. Fleshgrind – “Burning Your World” (from “Destined For Defilement”, 1997)

21. ZOMBIESHARK! – “Keyboards For Insects” (from “I Will Destroy You, Myself, and Everything I've Ever Loved.”, 2020)

22. Exhumed – “Necromaniac” (from “Gore Metal”, 1998) [Submitted by Vinny]

23. Cryptopsy – “Emaciate” (from “Whisper Supremacy”, 1998) [Submitted by Daniel]

24. Amputated – “Slam Pig” (from “Wading Through Rancid Offal”, 2009)

25. Waking The Cadaver – “Beyond Cops” (from “Beyond Cops. Beyond God.”, 2010)

26. Aborted – “Drag Me To Hell” (from “ManiaCult”, 2021) [Submitted by Vinny]

27. Vermin Womb – “Rot In Hell” (from “Retaliation”, 2022)

28. Nails – “Friend To All” (from “You Will Never Be One Of Us”, 2016) [Submitted by Daniel]

29. Atka – “2xs{:777ll.}4xs{/:\}5xs{:j7::}4xs{ll}3xs{//}” (from “Untitled Album 1”, 2018) [Submitted by Daniel]

Sepultura - "Chaos AD" (1993)

I think it’s fair to say that Brazilian thrash metallers Sepultura were more of an obsession than a passion for me from the time I first discovered their classic third full-length album “Beneath The Remains” in late 1989 right up until the release of this divisive fifth full-length. The timing of their infamous breakout from the underground was perfectly aligned with my own period of extreme metal discovery so they represented somewhat of a cult figure in my formative years & if it would have been up to me then the world would have waited until their arrival as a premier thrash act before deriving any sort of Big Four of thrash metal. But………. this brings me to the “Chaos AD” album from 1993, a record that would see the band dramatically altering the course of their careers via a fresh & innovative new sound.

I can still remember excitedly rocking up at Sandy’s Records in the Northern Beaches of Sydney on the day of release, racing home to experience “Chaos AD” for the very first time & the feelings of confusion I battled with as a result. It wasn’t that I found the music I was hearing to be unpleasant in any way. It was that it was so clearly very different from what I was expecting after the thrash metal icon that was 1991’s “Arise” album. The production job on "Chaos AD" is very solid with the rhythm guitars offering a chunky, heavy-weight platform that enables the fairly simple & uncluttered song-writing to do its work in workman-like fashion. Igor’s drums possess an organic depth, particularly the toms which were clearly meant to be a highlight of the record thanks to the continued focus on tribal rhythms that had been experimented with on “Arise”. There isn’t the brightness & energy to the guitars that I was expecting to hear though which is in large part due to the band having experimented with down-tuning their instruments for the first time. That’s not to say that the experiment didn’t work though as these more rhythmic & groovy riffs certainly benefited from the approach. It’s just that they sounded a little foreign to my fanatical thrash-trained ears at the time. You see, unlike the Sepultura of old, this Sepultura was in no hurry whatsoever with the songs given plenty of space & sticking predominantly to mid-paced tempos, the result of which was a more accessible product that was capable of seeing Sepultura crossing over into an as yet untapped market. Despite my initial hesitation though, I couldn’t deny that they'd managed to achieve this without losing much of their creative street credibility because “Chaos AD” is a long way from a sell-out.

Pantera had changed the face of the global metal scene in the very early 1990’s with their groove metal sound seeing a trillion bands adopting a more rhythmic approach to metal guitar playing & we can definitely see that influence on “Chaos AD” as there’s really very little that you can call legitimate thrash metal on this album. There’s an obvious hardcore punk edge to a lot of the material with Andreas Kisser having now turned all of his attention to creating dissonant, textured interludes rather than flashy, melodic guitar solos. The lyrics are predominantly politically focused which suits the material very well too. Igor is certainly the star of the show as far as the performances go as the groove metal platform afforded him additional room to move given the more rhythmic nature of the riffs around him. I saw Sepultura play live on the tour in support of the album back in 1994 actually & it was no surprise to find that the new material came across brilliantly in a live environment. I’d been lucky enough to see them two years earlier on the tour for the “Arise” album & they were just as impressive the second time around to be honest.

It didn’t take me all that long to find a level of acceptance for “Chaos AD”. My major challenge was accepting that the Sepultura I’d loved & adored was now a thing of the past & to treat the new Sepultura as almost an entirely different band. Once I was able to do that I found that it’s actually a very consistent, well written & professionally produced metal record that achieved a feat that so many have failed at. It had created something fresh & different that could draw the attention of a wider audience but still appeal to a large percentage of their existing fans (at least those with an open mind). I have to say that the New Model Army cover version of “The Hunt” was a poor choice as it stands out very clearly in an otherwise quite cohesive artistic statement & there aren’t many genuine classics here either but the majority of the album is very strong nonetheless with “We Who Are Not As Others” (the least popular metal track on the album unsurprisingly) being my clear standout. There’s no doubt that “Chaos AD” was a step down from the two classics that preceded it but I actually think it sits very comfortably next to the Sepultura’s earlier material these days. In fact, I’d probably take it over “Bestial Devastation” & Morbid Visions” & don't place it too far behind “Schizophrenia” either. Fans of the band’s earlier work really should give “Chaos AD” a chance as you may just find yourself buying what it’s selling.

For fans of Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy & Machine Head.

4/5

Here's my updated Top Ten Groove Metal Releases Of All Time list after finding that "Chaos AD" doesn't quite appeal to me as much as Pantera's two classics these days:

01. Coroner – “Grin” (1993)

02. Grip Inc. – “Nemesis” (1997)

03. Exhorder – “The Law” (1992)

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

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

06. Sepultura – “Chaos A.D.” (1993)

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

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

09. Trepalium – “XIII” (2009)

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

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

The revenue is now coming from streaming - a digital world that was nonexistent back in the day.

From everything I've read & heard, bands actually make bugger-all off streaming their music unless they're at the extreme top level. I have several friends that produce music that's sold on streaming platforms & they're always complaining that they make next to nothing from it. All but the absolute elite metal bands make most of their money from touring & merchandise sales these days. The importance of producing their own music is so that they can get people to book them for live shows.

claire rousay - "t4t" (2019)

I thought I'd give some Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response recordings (otherwise known as ASMR) a shot & see if they made my head tingle like they're supposed to. They certainly did at times. They can also be boring as shit to tell you the truth. I'm not sure the pay-off is strong enough to justify the effort involved unfortunately. Perhaps if I was lying still in a quiet room & trying to relax with headphones on it'd be more effective than cleaning up the kitchen & making dinner with it playing on a Bluetooth speaker? Yeah probably.

The Specials - "Specials" (1979)

A legendary 2 tone ska album from Coventry, England. It's a bit of fun but doesn't have much lasting appeal for me stylistically.

Veniamin D'rkin - "Крышкин дом" (2001)

Man-&-his-guitar style singer-songwriter Russian folk music. Didn't really dig it much but there are a couple of pretty cool stripped-back tracks in the back end.

Just waiting on your features now Rex. Can you please send them to me by private message ASAP?