Daniel's Forum Replies
Nine Inch Nails - "Still" (2002)
A deep, stripped back & introspective record from Trent Reznor that you need to be in the right mood for. You can expect some reworks of past works, some new material & also some more ambient stuff. It's pretty close to essential listening if you're a fan of the band & I found it pretty interesting.
I say that I feel metal is more popular now because it seems to be more in the public consciousness than it was before. Most people have heard of Metallica and Iron Maiden, sure, but also bands like Linkin Park and Slipknot who are forever on Kerrang!!'s TV channel or on Scuzz are also well known.
See I guess that's kinda my point really. Linkin Park & Slipknot's popularity peaked at around the turn of the century which is 20+ years ago now but where are the new mega-bands to replace them? I could be completely off the mark here but if people are still predominately associating metal with bands from multiple decades ago rather than the current crop of metal acts then I would have thought that would have been an indicator that the scene had retreated into the underground again. Who are we looking at from the 2010's & 2020's that can compete at that level?
I think that people's perceptions around metal's image are probably drawn from their own experiences. As someone that was raised in a middle-class family, was always provided for well & lived in one of the most attractive parts of the world, I can't say that I ever thought of metal as anything working class until I was playing in bands & saw the audience we would draw to shows. At that point it became very clear that metal was more attractive to a specific clientelle but I don't think that audience has changed much over time (at least it hasn't in Australia where metal music is probably less popular & has always remaining exclusively in the underground). Metal is clearly an escape & a way to get your aggression out for many people & it's possible that there's not as much of a requirement for that in the upper class. The Aussie metal scene was generally always quite inclusive & welcoming for those outsiders that struggled for acceptance elsewhere, again not something that the upper class have a problem with most of the time. You could be a part of something that felt like it was vital & important but also had an element of secrecy about it which gave it an added level of attraction for many people. Perhaps the internet has put an end to a lot of that feeling of being "in the know" as everything is so accessible now but I tend to think that metal is still very much an underground thing.
I'm interested to know why you think metal has grown in popularity since the early 2000's Sonny as that's certainly not the case over here in Oz. It's never been more uncool to be an Aussie metalhead as far as I can tell. The only bands anyone outside of the scene is aware of are the classic bands from the 1980's & early 1990's which was when metal was at its peak here.
Boris - "Heavy Rocks" (2002)
Tokyo’s Boris are an interesting artist in a creative sense as they’ve never felt confined to any one sound or scene &, as a result, people really struggle to pigeon-hole them under an easily understood subgenre tag. I’m not sure whether that’s been an advantage or a hindrance for them over the years in all honesty as they seem to have developed a huge cult following & always seem to draw positive acclaim from critics but have probably never managed to truly break into the sort of fanatical support that they so clearly deserve. Us metalheads seem to want to make sure they stay tightly wrapped within the banner of the underground metal scene however they’ve never really sat all that comfortably there & Boris' seminal 2002 fourth full-length album “Heavy Rocks” is a prime example of that.
The first three Boris albums were heavily directed towards a drone inspired sound & saw the band really building a niche for themselves through highly regarded records like 1998’s “Amplifier Worship” & 2000’s “Flood” but with “Heavy Rocks” we see Boris moving into new territory with a fresh sound that’s much more focused on traditional rock music than their previous records were. In doing so though, Boris lost none of their street appeal as they very quickly proved themselves to have a deep understanding of what it is that makes heavy rock music so exciting. There’s a danger in these sounds that we find so rarely in modern rock music & it takes me back to a time when rock represented an exciting escape for me as a youngster with the experience of the live performance taking on an almost transcendent stature in an artist’s creative image. You see, as with most of Boris’ lengthy back catalogue, “Heavy Rocks” really does sound like a recording of a live band with very few of the rough edges having been buffed out. You can feel the amplifier’s buzzing & almost see the kids leaping from the stage & thrashing themselves about in glee & that’s what makes a band like Boris so appealing.
Musically speaking, I have to admit that “Heavy Rocks” doesn’t sit as close to my musical comfort zone as Boris’ drone metal works though. Most people seem to want to lump it in with Stoner Metal which isn’t entirely accurate. There’s far too much of a late 60's blues rock influence in this material for it to sit primarily in the metal space. In fact, I really struggle to see why "Heavy Rocks is not unanimously tagged as Stoner Rock because it fits the description of that genre to a tee in my opinion. The loose vocal delivery is miles away from anything a metal front man might attempt while the overall feel of the instrumentation generally possesses a much noisier & bluesier outlook too. The psychedelic guitar excursions are brilliantly executed & are a real highlight for me personally, particularly album high point “Soft Edge” which is nothing short of spectacular (&, as is so often the case with me, is also the least popular track on the album). Boris simply seem to “get it” if you know what I mean & the fact that front man Takeshi doesn’t even try to stay in tune is completely overlooked in the interest of the elusive quest for heavy rock supremacy. There’s a deep-seated authenticity to this material that makes it inherently relatable but gives it some added x-factor as well. To put it bluntly, it's simply a way cooler record than the vast majority of the competition could ever hope to muster up.
In saying that, I do think that “Heavy Rocks” is a fairly top-heavy release. Despite not possessing anything that comes close to being a weak track, I have to admit that all of the best material sits on the A side with the flip side seeming to be a little bit lacking in comparison. Perhaps it’s simply a matter of taste as I would suggest that I was always going to be more drawn to the crushingly heavy stoner metal of opener “Heavy Friends”, the stripped-back psychedelia of “Soft Edge” & the more aggressive & dangerous rock outings like “Korosu” & “Dyna-Soar”. Boris would perhaps execute this stoner rock sound with slightly more consistency on 2003’s “Akuma no uta” album too but one can’t be too critical of a rock record with this level of potency. It’s all too rare that you encounter music that encapsulates what it means to be “rock” in such a clear & concise fashion these days so “Heavy Rocks” should be celebrated for what it represents as much as what it’s achieved.
For fans of Melvins, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard & Church of Misery.
4/5
Here's my revised list:
1970: Black Sabbath – “Paranoid”
1971: Black Sabbath – “Master Of Reality”
1972: Black Sabbath – “Vol 4”
1973: Black Sabbath – “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”
1974: Budgie – “In For The Kill”
1975: Black Sabbath – “Sabotage”
1976: Judas Priest - "Sad Wings Of Destiny"
1977: Quartz – “Quartz”
1978: Judas Priest – “Killing Machine”
1979: Judas Priest – “Unleashed In The East”
1980: Diamond Head – “Lightning To The Nations”
1981: Motorhead – “No Sleep Till Hammersmith”
1982: Ozzy Osbourne – “Speak Of The Devil”
1983: Slayer – “Show No Mercy”
1984: Metallica – “Ride The Lightning”
1985: Exodus – “Bonded By Blood”
1986: Slayer – “Reign In Blood”
1987: Bathory – “Under The Sign Of The Black Mark”
1988: Metallica – “…And Justice For All”
1989: Morbid Angel – “Altars Of Madness”
1990: Slayer - "Seasons In The Abyss"
1991: Death – “Human”
1992: Alice In Chains – “Dirt”
1993: diSEMBOWELMENT – “Transcendence Into The Peripheral”
1994: Darkthrone – “Transilvanian Hunger”
1995: Suffocation – “Pierced From Within”
1996: Burzum – “Filosofem”
1997: The Gathering - "Nighttime Birds"
1998: ISIS – “The Mosquito Control” E.P.
1999: Botch - "We Are The Romans"
2000: Immolation – “Close To A World Below”
2001: Tool - "Lateralus"
2002: ISIS – “Oceanic”
2003: Boris – “Boris At Last -Feedbacker-“
2004: ISIS – “Panopticon”
2005: Deathspell Omega – “Kenose” E.P.
2006: Celtic Frost – “Monotheist”
2007: Ufomammut/Lento - "Supernaturals - Record One"
2008: Pig Destroyer - "Natasha" E.P.
2009: Dragged Into Sunlight - "Hatred For Mankind"
2010: Hate - "Erebos"
2011: Inside The Beehive - "Drink Bleach; Live Forever" E.P.
2012: 7 Horns 7 Eyes - "Throes Of Absolution"
2013: The Amenta - "Flesh Is Heir"
2014: Dead Congregation - "Promulgation Of The Fall"
2015: Akhlys - "The Dreaming I"
2016: Mick Gordon - "Doom (Original Game Soundtrack)"
2017: The Ruins Of Beverast - "Exuvia"
2018: Infernal Coil - "Within A World Forgotten"
2019: Altesia - "Paragon Circus"
2020: Oranssi Pazuzu - "Mestarin kynsi"
2021: Fange - "Pantocrator"
2022: Scarcity - "Aveilut"
Batushka - "Litourgiya" (2015)
I've really enjoyed this week's revisit to one of the more popular black metal releases of the 2010's. "Litourgiya" is essentially made up of some fairly traditional & simply structured but very well executed Polish black metal with the ground-breaking addition of some church-style chanted male vocals as a clear point of differentiation. This certainly making for an interesting combination but if I'm honest I'd have to suggest that it's not that component of Batushka's sound that I find most appealing. In fact, the weakest moments on the album generally match up with the less inspired chant sections. The best elements at play here are the searing black metal screams & the incredibly precise blast beats. For the record, I actually had to check I wasn't listening to programmed drums when I first encountered this album, such was the sheer confidence & control on display. The riffs aren't anything all that different to what you would usually expect however the guitars appear to be down-tuned which gives Batushka a slightly different tone to most of the competition. Closer "Ектения • VIII • Спасение" is the only track that I find to be a genuine classic but there are no weak tracks included which makes "Litourgiya" a very professional & high quality release with enough accessibility to appeal to broad cross-section of extreme metal fans.
For fans of Cult of Fire, Mgła & early Uada.
4/5
Trhä - "Nvenlanëg" (2020)
I first came across Mexican one-man black metal artist Trhä shortly after the release of this debut album & generally liked what I heard so I always intended on returning to it for a more comprehensive analysis at some point. However I must admit that my poor experiences while reviewing Trhä’s follow-up release (the “Novej kalhnjënno” E.P. from later the same year) saw me delaying things a bit longer while I built up the courage. Thankfully “Nvenlanëg” is a much more enticing prospect than it’s younger sibling though & has left me feeling generally positive about its merits.
“Nvenlanëg” is comprised of three lengthy tracks that amount to a total duration of 55 minutes with the main component being a lo-fi atmospheric black metal sound similar to Swiss act Paysage d’Hiver. Despite a strong focus on frost-bitten winters though, this record isn’t half as cold as Paysage d’Hiver’s classic releases. There’s a dreamy positivity to a lot of the melodies with the synthesizers being the protagonists more often than not. At times you’ll actually find a similar atmosphere to a blackgaze artist like Sadness only Trhä never veers too far from the path of blasphemy, his vocals opting for the trademark tortured route of so many of his atmospheric black metal counterparts. The regular use of winter synth style ambience breaks the album up nicely & is quite effective in its enhancement of the themes.
I can’t say that “Nvenlanëg” hits my black metal comfort zone particularly. It’s a little too light-weight for that but I do find more than enough depth in its atmospherics to keep me interested. The epic 23 minute opener “Lhelhën Majlan” summarizes the album’s content well while 18 minute closer “Alandlhan ëlh Nítak” is probably the most fully realised example of the Trhä sound. The track in the middle “Nëlhlica” doesn’t appeal to me much though to be honest. It’s simply too melodic for my taste & seems like a step down from the other two tracks.
I can’t say that I feel the fanfare around “Nvenlanëg” is warranted but it’s not a bad record nonetheless. It’s certainly a good three levels up from the awful “Novej kalhnjënno” E.P. & hits the wintery atmosphere it was aiming for pretty well, despite not gathering the darkness & evil around it in the process.
For fans of Paysage d’Hiver, Bekëth Nexëhmü & Evilfeast.
3.5/5
For some reason the notes on this submission didn't match up exactly with what was originally asked for in this thread & it sounded a bit misleading so I've deleted it & recreated the entry. I also found that the album wasn't in The Revolution in the first place but should definitely have qualified for it so I've added it under Melodic Metalcore.
Andi, you might want to submit your vote again.
Nails - "Abandon All Life" (2013)
I have to say that after revisiting all three of Californian grindcore legends Nails’ full-length albums over the last few months I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re really out there on their own as far as the leading grindcore exponents go. No one can touch them in this space as they simply possess another gear to even the most highly regarded of opposition & this sophomore album may just be the high point of the entire movement. Once again we have an extremely short run time at just over seventeen minutes in duration but one that’s dominated by the inclusion of two lengthier sludge metal pieces that take up just under half the run time. Both of these tracks are utterly superb & you get the feeling that Nails might have been one of the greats of the sludge scene if they’d chosen their niche a little differently as they have serious talent in the elusive & highly desirable art of riff creation. The rest of the album is made up of the most extreme grindcore violence you’ve ever heard in your life, only with ultra-clinical performances & a wonderfully powerful production job from Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou. The drum sound & guitar & bass tones are all spectacular & go about tearing your face off in the most efficient manner imaginable. The performance of drummer Taylor Young should be highlighted in particular as the guy is an absolute beast. His blast beats are as pummeling as any in extreme metal & he’s a major contributor to making “Abandon All Life” sound so fucking tight. The only negative I can find here is that I’m not sure I dig the slight change in vocal delivery from front man Todd Jones as much as his other efforts but that’s a small price to pay for what has essentially now become my favourite grindcore release of all time from my favourite grindcore band of all time.
For fans of Full Of Hell, Dead In The Dirt & Trap Them.
4.5/5
Here's my revised Top Ten Grindcore Releases of All Time list for those that are interested:
01. Nails - "Abandon All Life" (2013)
02. Nails - "You Will Never Be One Of Us" (2016)
03. Discordance Axis – “The Inalienable Dreamless” (2000)
04. Pig Destroyer – “Prowler In The Yard” (2001)
05. Pig Destroyer – “Terrifyer” (2004)
06. Nasum - "Helvete" (2003)
07. Atka - "Untitled Album 1" (2018)
08. Terrorizer - "World Downfall" (1989)
09. Repulsion – “Horrified” (1989)
10. Unseen Terror – “The Peel Sessions” (1989)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/149
This submission has now been posted in the Hall of Judgement.
With a result of Yes 7 No 1, I've today decided to uphold this Hall of Judgement entry & add "Värähtelijä" to The Infinite clan as well as the the Post-Metal genre.
Also what the sh*t is this?! I checked on the release page for the Leave Everything Behind EP, and The Sphere clan appeared as part of the release's clan lineup! I enjoy The Sphere, but there's no way Amaranthe can be part of that clan...unless they can be considered cyber metal, but even that's way too far-fetched.
Well spotted Andi. I'd suggest that was simply a data-entry error from Ben. I've corrected that in the database now.
Also, I'm going to add an additional Hall entry to have "Leave Everything Behind" removed from Trance Metal as I don't think there's enough Trance there to justify it.
There is absolutely zero death metal on this release. You couldn't find anything further away from death metal in my opinion. What in the actual fuck are people thinking?? It's a categorical YES vote from me Andi. I'd also question the Trance Metal tag on this release too because I never feel like what I'm hearing is a strong Trance influence. What are your thoughts on that Andi? To my ears this is a very poppy version of Melodic Metalcore with a whole bunch of influences ranging from Power Metal to Progressive Metal to Djent to Linkin Park-ish Alternative Metal.
Dying Fetus - "Wrong One To Fuck With" (2017)
The most recent full-length from Maryland death metallers Dying Fetus has seen me drawing very much the same conclusion as I have with the vast majority of their previous releases. While I certainly find “Wrong One To Fuck With” to be a more than decent brutal/technical death metal album, it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect from them with very little variation on past themes. The production is very clean (almost as clean as the pristine performances from the trio who can no doubt play the living shit out of their instruments) while the band’s trademark hardcore grooves are still very much in effect along with the thrashier sections that remind me a lot of Slayer. Then toss in the consistent use of blast beats & slam riffs as well as those intentionally technical & often sweep-picked wanky parts that server very little purpose other than to show off the band members techniques & you get a Dying Fetus album…. any Dying Fetus album really.
Now that’s not such a big deal in theory as I generally love my brutal death metal & it doesn’t always need to be anything too original to get my juices flowing but the thing with Dying Fetus is that they seem to lack a bit in the way of soul. Everything sounds so intentional, calculated & precise but the song-writing is often where the band’s attention could have been better spent. Many of the transitions sound jerky & pieced-together while the groove sections are often a bit too basic. In direct contrast though, those technical parts I mentioned earlier are far too obvious & (as with every other Dying Fetus record) sound much more like practice exercises than they do actual music. Even the vocal phrasing is lacking in ambition as it often simply follows the rhythm of the riffs & lacks a bit of sophistication. Dying Fetus are definitely at their best when they’re simply blasting away with reckless abandon though & there’s enough of that to justify your interest if you’re a fan of the more brutal end of death metal.
Overall, I’d suggest that “Wrong One To Fuck With” is another decent but fairly uneventful Dying Fetus record that’s fun while you’re listening to it but doesn’t command much in the way of repeat listens. That’s very much par for the course in how I’ve felt about their albums since day one however I’d suggest that earlier releases like “Reign Supreme” & “Destroy The Opposition” still have a slight edge over this one. There’s an undeniable consistency of quality across the ten tracks included (eleven if you’re listening to a version with the bonus track “Induce Terror”) but sadly there are no genuine highlights here & the tracklisting does tend to sound a little samey as a result. Every track has great parts mixed in with flatter parts with the good clearly out-weighing the bad but never by an emphatic margin.
For fans of Suffocation, Nile & Cryptopsy.
3.5/5
Somi - "Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba" (2022)
Vocal jazz with genuine soul & emotion. I believe she resides in the USA but a lot of this is heavily influenced by traditional African music. It's made for a more than decent background accompaniment over the last few days when I've wanted to wind down a bit.
Two big records for me are hitting major milestones today with German thrashers Protector's 1987 debut E.P. "Misanthropy" reaching 35 years of age & French atmospheric black metal masters Blut aus Nord's 2012 "777 - Cosmosophy" album turning 10. The Protector E.P. is one of the earliest genuine death metal records in my opinion & is also one of the best releases to come from the genre in the 1980's too (4/5). I love the sheer balls that Blut aus Nord displayed during their early 2010's 777 trilogy with "777 - Cosmosophy" being perhaps the best of the three releases (4.5/5).
So this brings me to the end of my Black Noise deep dive with the outcome being as follows:
Is Black Noise really a defined sound? YES it is but it's often misused to describe your noisier conventional Black Metal or noisy music that really doesn't have much to do with metal.
Is it worth differentiating from other forms of Black Metal? YES because I think it'll only have a very niche audience with many Black Metal fans wanting to steer away from it.
Does it belong in The North? YES very clearly.
Should it be added to the Metal Academy database? YES I think it should.
Затухание - "Затухание" E.P. (2012)
A short eleven minute ride through a very faithful six tracks of Black Noise with half of the the tracklisting taking a pure Noise direction & the other half sounding like traditional Black Metal with the levels heavily overdriven to give it that white noise aesthetic. I do find a bit of enjoyment in the raucous Black Metal material which should appeal to those that like to blow off some steam with their mates after a few drinks but the pure Noise stuff is pretty redundant & is the very definition of filler in my opinion. It's a shame this release isn't on Spotify as the ideal outcome would be to add the couple of decent tracks to your playlist & turf the rest.
For fans of Wold, Mnima & Enbililugugal.
3/5
Saxy & Rex, just a reminder that you have some feature releases to nominate for October:
THE FALLEN: Daniel, Sonny, Ben
THE GATEWAY: Andi, Saxy
THE GUARDIANS: Rexorcist, Xephyr
THE HORDE: Ben, Daniel, Vinny
THE INFINITE: Saxy, Rexorcist, Andi, Xephyr
THE NORTH: Vinny, Xephyr, Daniel, Ben
THE PIT: Rexorcist, Ben, Daniel, Vinny
THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi
THE SPHERE: Andi, Daniel
Ben, please add the self-titled Nahvalr album & place it under Black Metal for the moment.
Enbilulugugal - "Noizemongers for GoatSerpent" (2004)
I'm not usually one for completely crucifying metal releases for the sake of melodrama however this 40 minutes of agonizing pain is something a little bit special. It essentially sounds like a bunch of extreme metal fans got together for drinks & things got WWAAYYY out of hand with the results being documented for all eternity. The song-writing is non-existent, the musicianship is completely absent & the production is a dog's breakfast. Essentially this is a bunch of sloppily performed black metal played with complete disregard for traditional musical values & produced in as noisy a fashion as possible with a dude screaming his guts out randomly over the top without any semblance of a lyric. I have no doubt that there will be those that think this is musical genius (Beherit fans, I'm looking at you) but for me it's a waste of time & effort from everyone involved. In the context of my Black Noise experiment, I'd suggest that it sits in between Black Metal & Black Noise with traditional Noise being a secondary influence.
For fans of Abruptum, Gonkulator & Beherit.
1.5/5
Elvis Presley - "From Elvis in Memphis" (1969)
My father-in-law was over on Monday so out came the old Elvis records. This one saw Elvis taking on soul & country music. Jeez, he sounds a lot like Cher at times here. She must have been seriously influenced by him. I can also hear a fair few similarities to Tom Jones on this album in particular. It's not my bag by any means but the old man seemed to dig it. It does include the classic "In the Ghetto" to close out the album though of course.
Gnaw Their Tongues - "Abyss of Longing Throats" (2015)
The Surinamese Black Noise champion produces another release that's blown me away with his twelve full-length offering a sound that sits right in between Black Noise, Black Metal & Industrial Metal. It's certainly the most Black Metal oriented record I've heard from him this month while the Industrial component gives the album its own identity, despite still possessing Maurice de Jong's trademark sound i.e. darkness, torture & general extremity. I can't tell you how much I've connected with Gnaw Their Tongues over the last week or so. It's like he can read my mind with the horrifying atmospheres he creates, the flourishes of ambient beauty, the clinical production, the complete focus on global nihilism in it's most confronting form. I don't think anyone sounds quite like him to be honest & this is another horribly underrated record in my opinion.
For fans of Abruptum, An Axis of Perdition & Vessel of Iniquity.
4.5/5
Nahvalr - "Nahvalr" (2008)
This sole full-length album from US duo Nahvalr is essentially a collage of sounds put together from snippets sent in to the producers by fans of their main band i.e. post-punk legends Have A Nice Life. This release has a bit of a unique sound in that it combines the Black Noise sound with Post-Metal to great effect & I'd actually be inclined to go with a dual primary tag here. There's also enough Industrial Metal on offer to command a secondary tag. The consistency of the tracklisting is excellent with no individual track falling below a very solid & professional level. The way the boys have used the lo-fi aesthetic to create atmosphere is very impressive & I actually found that the record got better as it progressed with the last two tracks being the best of the lot. This is definitely one of the better releases I've come across since I began the deep dive.
For fans of Abruptum, Gnaw Their Tongues & La Torture des ténèbres.
4/5
We've gotten through the harmony test & the twelve week scan unscathed sao it seems that it's gonna happen. We're having a third daughter in March!
The Flaming Lips - "The Soft Bulletin" (1999)
Some poppy neo-psychedelia to keep me interested while I play with the kids & do some housework on my Sunday morning. It's not really my thing as it's a little too quirky & happy for my taste & is more of a pleasant background distraction than being genuinely engaging but fans of this sort of thing will no doubt love the shit out of it.
For fans of MGMT, Dorgas & Animal Collective.
Given the lop-sided tally to date I've decided to pass this Hall nomination at YES 7 NO 1. As a result the Speed Metal genre has been added to the release on top of its existing Thrash Metal one. Thanks to everyone that contributed to this vote.
Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach - "Painted From Memory" (1998)
Some really smooth adult contemporary pop music that's gone down very well for a cool Saturday morning house cleaning session.
Emit - "The Dark Bleeding" demo (2003)
This seminal underground demo tape seems to receive a lot more attention that it deserves as it's unfocused concoction of textural noise & silly black metal shrieks doesn't really work as a piece of art. As with the debut album from Sweden's Abruptum, it sounds very much improvised a lot of the time with most of the release spent mucking around on a guitar making as repulsive a sound collage as possible by utilizing far too many effects. The vocals & the reliance on guitars as the principle creative outlets keep "The Dark Bleeding" in Black Noise territory but it certainly leans further over towards the Noise side more than it does the metal one. The two lengthier tracks "Dead Before Death" & "Unknown I (Greets Me Again)" really are fucking awful & it's only the very solid traditional Noise piece "Communications with Shadows" that sees this demo veering away from a truly embarrassing rating (not that it should be too proud of the one it's received mind you). Anyone claiming this demo to be a work of genius is simply trying way too hard. It's an intentionally weird mish-mash of abrasive sounds that make very little sense from a musical point of view.
For fans of Rev. Kriss Hades, Abruptum & Nahvalr.
2/5
Gnawing Their Tongues - "Reeking Pained & Shuddering" (2007)
I think it’s fair to say that many outsiders can’t comprehend why fans of extreme metal spend their time searching for releases that essentially take them further & further into the depths of Hell. There are those release that do it in a subtle way by masking some of the intent through the use of melody & more accessible song structures of course. But then there are those that bask in & celebrate to sheer darkness & evil by steering as far away from anything your average music fan could understand as possible & in doing so ensure that they remain as underground as possible. Well, with his third full-length album Surinamese producer Gnaw Their Tongues didn’t only ensure that he’ll stay well within the unholy confines of the underground but he created an entire new level of musical horror. In fact, “Reeking Pained & Shuddering” may just be the perfect musical representation of Hell itself as I think it may just be the most evil piece of musical art I’ve ever encountered.
In my recent review of Gnaw Their Tongues’ 2018 album “Genocidal Majesty” I questioned the validity of it’s links to metal, despite the inherent darkness & power it possesses within it’s inhuman Power Electronics sound. I won’t be doing the same with “Reeking Pained & Shuddering” however as the glory of extreme metal runs thick in its veins & is the very core of its atmosphere. It certainly fits the criteria for Black Noise qualification as it harnesses both genres equally but also draws upon Drone Metal & Black Ambient to give it a more rounded position with which to spread its message of violence & torture. The riffs here are doomy as fuck while Maurice de Jong’s screaming vocals are as over the top & psychotic as you’ll ever find, even within the realms of black metal. Both represent sensational additions to the Black Noise sound & give the album additional layers. So too do the beautiful gothic ambient accompaniments which further compliment the horrors the listener is witnessing by adding a cinematic quality.
The black metal component is strongest on the record’s most popular song “Nihilisim; Tied Up & Burning” but I tend to find that track to be the least impressive of the six included with its programmed blast beats & more traditional black metal guitar work sounding a little too run of the mill to make the same impact as the other material. The wonderfully titled opener “Blood Spills Out Of Everything I Touch” kicks things off in transcendent fashion & is followed by the very solid & equally well named “Utter Futility of Creation” but it’s the second half of the album that sees Gnawing Their Tongues truly reaching the peak of his blasphemic powers. In fact, I’d suggest that I’ve never heard a more perfect side of metal in my life with the deep dark ambient of “The Evening Wolves” creating an imposing atmosphere for black noise masterpiece “Destroying Is Creating” & the ten minute album highlight “Transition” to capitalize on in the most emphatic fashion.
“Reeking Pained & Shuddering” is a visceral & cerebral experience to say the least & is certainly not for the faint-hearted. It’s audience will be limited even within the extreme metal scene as it simply doesn’t allow for any form of hope or light at the end of the tunnel. It presents the world as the most harsh, barren & generally disgusting place & utilizes the most sickening serial killer associated vocal samples on Earth to drive its point home. There will certainly be times when I won’t feel up to listening to a record like this as it’s simply that depressive. But when I feel the urge to get into nastier territory I’m not sure I’ll find a more blatant example of hatred in music.
For fans of Abruptum, La Torture des ténèbres & Nahvalr.
4.5/5
I basically agree with everything you've said there Ben. That intro track was a particularly poor choice but the rest of the album is very solid & worthy of a comfortable 4/5 rating.
I hope you find plenty of other releases you dig too.
Or is it more in line with the general ethos of The Fallen to wish Vinny no luck whatsoever in finding releases he enjoys in order to maximize the chances of him wallowing in hopelessness & despair?
Gnaw Their Tongues - "Genocidal Majesty" (2018)
I first encountered Surinamese producer Maurice de Jong & his Gnawing Their Tongues moniker upon my return to metal back in 2009 & have had a long & often stormy relationship with him ever since. At times I’ve found it almost impossible to relate to his music which tends to be completely devoid of anything humanly relatable while at others he can create one of the purest soundtracks to the apocalypse you’re ever likely to encounter. For this reason I generally appraoch his releases with a level of caution & self-preservation, just as I have on this occasion with his fourteenth album “Genocidal Majesty”; a record that I’ve committed to investigating as a part of my Black Noise deep dive.
Gnaw Their Tongues’ “music” can be quite an intimidating prospect for the uninitiated. You see, it can often sound completely foreign to your average listener given that it’s very much at odds with the concepts that traditional music is built on. For example you’ll find very little melody here, if any at all. Instead you can expect to be assaulted with buzzing swarms of feedback, scraping metallic abrasions, ear-piercing static, high-pitched electronic data transmissions & big farty dubstep-ish bass tones which often amounts to the unpleasant experience of a close-range encounter with breaking glass. It’s futuristic & inhuman, cold & desolate. And when it’s all over it tends to leave you with a bleak outlook of pure loneliness & despair. Humans inherently need hope in their lives & you’ll find very little of it here in an industrial landscape that’s purely electronic & brings to mind images of suicide & torture. But just like a car crash, I find it so hard to look away because there’s something so visceral & powerful about this art that captivates me in a very different way to your average heavy metal anthem.
“Genocidal Majesty” is an extremely consistent record. Its run time is kept short at just 31 minutes with the entire tracklisting maintaining a very high standard & a finely honed sense of focus. There’s very little doubt that Maurice knew his sound very well by this point in his career as the album represents a fully realised & beautifully executed creative vision. There’s really very little reference to metal here though. The are no guitars or any other form of organic instrumentation included so the record sits far more comfortably within the realms of industrial music than it does within metal. In fact, you’ll rarely find a release that so perfectly fits the description of the Power Electronics subgenre so it very clearly belongs under that banner. Maurice’s insane screams are a definite highlight & offer a lot of appeal to me. I assume that this is where the links to black metal are drawn from but in truth they could just as easily have been lifted from a metalcore record. I could probably have done without the guest vocal contributions from The Body’s Chip King as I’ve never been a fan of his atonal, high-pitched squeals which don’t even sound like they’re vocals to tell you the truth & only end up contributing yet another uncomfortable & unnerving component to what is essentially the soundtrack to a horror movie that’s yet to be made. There’s a strong sense of cinematic drama about “Genocidal Majesty” with the rare appearances of synth pad sounds offering some minor relief from the relentless industrial battering you’re receiving from the remainder of the run time (see the bonus track on the Spotify release “Void Sickness” for example which is perhaps unsurprisingly my favourite track on the record). Given the general professionalism of the overall production though, I have to say that the snare sound could have done with a bit of work as it tends to remind me of chip tune a lot of the time which isn’t a positive comment.
I’ve been really impressed with “Genocidal” Majesty”. Its quest to alienate & isolate the listener has been unanimously successful so it certainly isn’t for everyone but those that seek refuge in the uglier side of underground music in order to take them as far away from every day suburban life will likely find a strange sense of pleasure in the universal unpleasantness of the experience. As far the Black Noise sound I came in looking for goes though there really isn’t much of a connection to this fine example of Power Electronics. I think us metalheads sometimes think we have monopoly on extreme music & like to draw everything in that bracket in under our metallic banner but I think it’s a stretch too far with this particular release.
For fans of The Body, Utarm & Spektr.
4/5
Abruptum - "Obscuritatem advoco amplectère me" (1993)
The debut album from this cult Swedish artist is one of the weirdest & most ambitious metal-related releases you're ever likely to hear. It comprises of two enormously challenging 25+ minute pieces that seem to be completely improvised. If they're not then I have no idea how they were composed. They also bring into question the concept of what constitutes music because there's some absolutely random shit going on here & it often has nothing whatsoever to do with traditional musical theory. The idea of calling this a black metal or black noise release is questionable at best in my opinion too. There's no doubt that the First Wave of Black Metal sounds of early Sodom & Hellhammer (particularly "Triumph of Death") played a big role in Abruptum's DNA but there's simply so much more that falls WWAAYYY outside of conventional metal ideals going on here. In fact, I'd hazard to describe "Obscuritatem advoco amplectère me" as experimental/psychedelic noise rock meets avant-garde metal. Much of the admittedly pretty doomy guitar work is comprised of feedback & dissonant attacks on open strings which leaves the aesthetic sounding far more Bauhaus than Bathory while a lot of the drumming sits closer to rock than it does to metal. But then you'll get these sudden bursts of unaccompanied blast beats here & there & psychotic vocals that remind me of the Japanese extreme metal scene or a very young Tom Angelripper (Sodom). It's certainly noisy stuff but can I really say this is black noise? I don't think I'd say it's genuine noise music OR black metal to be honest. I think people are simply clutching at straws in a vain attempt to label this musical cacophony which is far more interesting than it is enjoyable.
For fans of Emit, Gnaw Their Tongues & Enbilulugugal.
2.5/5
Μνήμα [Mnima] - "Disciples of Excremental Liturgies" (2022)
Greek outfit Mnima has been around for a good few years now & have put out ten zillion EP's in that time but this debut full-length is the first release I've committed to checking out. For a supposed "black noise" release, I've gotta say that it offers bugger all in the way of genuine noise music though. In fact, this is really just a very raw & particularly lo-fi black metal release with vocals that sound a lot like Burzum mastermind Varg Vikernes & musicianship that's left at the door for the sake of demonic authenticity. The first half of the release is actually pretty decent with the admittedly generic tremolo-picked riffage possessing some reasonably enjoyable melodic hooks. Unfortunately the B side is noticeably weaker which taints the whole experience for me & I'm left wondering how my black noise experiment has found me venturing here in the first place. "Disciples of Excremental Liturgies" is nothing to write home about & there are much stronger black metal releases out there this year.
For fans of Black Cilice, Candelabrum & Burzum.
3/5
La Torture des ténèbres - "IV: Memoirs of a Machine Girl" (2017)
The second phase of my Black Noise deep dive saw me tackling the fourth full-length album from Canadian solo act La Torture des ténèbres (French for “The Torture of Darkness” i.e. as opposed to the wholesome, family-oriented & generally fun garden variety of torture presumably). “IV: Memoirs of a Machine Girl” is an 81 minute marathon for the senses that’ll see your mental stability being well & truly tested so I’d steer well clear of it if you harbor any concerns around your mental health. La Torture des ténèbres is the brain-child of Jessica Kinney; an artist whose creative vision originally began within the more familiar realms of atmospheric black metal but over time has seen her expanding the scope of her metal roots with “IV: Memoirs of a Machine Girl” showcasing a much more expansive array of sounds & possibly even having transcended the confines of metal altogether.
“IV: Memoirs of a Machine Girl” is an absolute beast of a release featuring six very lengthy pieces that all comfortably exceed the ten minute mark. Jess obviously doesn’t care all that much for the vinyl or CD formats of my generation because it almost seems like she’s intentionally extended the album’s run time so that it’s just too long to fit on a single CD. Whatever the reason for it may be though, the run time definitely overstays its welcome a touch & I challenge anyone to actively listen to the entire duration of the album without experiencing some sort of mental fatigue. Personally, I feel that it would have benefitted significantly from the omission of the final track which would have seen it finishing at a still quite indulgent 68 minutes. That’s not to say that closer “Lysol, Scrub Away Your Sanity” is weak in any way but I’m not sure I needed yet another sensory barrage after the first five tracks had seemingly achieved everything that Jess had set out to do.
There are a few different elements to the La Torture des ténèbres sound that are repeated across the tracklisting. The first is the beautiful, dreamy & very Mazzy Star-ish downtempo sections which have layers of effects applied to them in order to give them an eery & sombre feel. I get the feeling that Jess could actually be a very talented performer in that space if she focused her powers on good rather than evil. Then you have the over-the-top noise sections which are much more prevalent & generally see a guitar part providing some sort of melody under a huge & overbearing wall of artificial noise. The first couple of tracks see the instrumentation hinting at a black metal atmosphere but the noise dominates proceedings to such a degree that I’d be reluctant to label this as anything metal related. Outside of those first two tracks I struggle to see the links to black metal though with the general feel of the base music leaning much more closely towards the dreamy post-rock of Sigur Ros. In fact, I’m not even sure the guitars have had any pre-mix distortion applied to them in all honesty so (unlike Wold’s “Screech Owl” that I kicked off my Black Noise deep dive with) most of “IV: Memoirs of a Machine Girl” just doesn’t feel remotely like black metal & I doubt it was ever intended for the black metal audience. The thing that probably sees it being tied back to black metal though are Jessica’s tortured & psychotic screams which sound very much like they could have been taken from a depressive black metal release. They’re relentless in their negativity &, when combined with some pretty twisted samples, ensure that you will find no form of light or empowerment in this music. It’s an ugly wasteland of disgust & disconsolation.
When all of these elements are combined, the result takes the form of a noise release much more than it does a metal one & I tend to think that labelling “IV: Memoirs of a Machine Girl” as a metal release is a bit of a stretch. That’s not to say that it’s not a rewarding experience for the metal audience though. Given my taste profile I’m not surprised that I find the first couple of tracks to be a little more enjoyable than the remainder of the album. The atmosphere of those two tracks hints at a majestic blackened darkness that I find more appealing than the slightly less imposing post-rock driven material but that’s not to say that there are any weak tracks included because there’s not. It’s a very consistent record that could maybe have done with some trimming from a pure indulgence point of view but would also have benefitted from the six tracks having proper endings instead of simply cutting them off dead when they were still in full flight. Overall though, I’d suggest that “IV: Memoirs of a Machine Girl” is a very respectable noise release that seems to sit pretty comfortably under the Non-Metal tag in our database.
For fans of Gnaw Their Tongues, Utarm & Nahvalr.
3.5/5
Here's an example of La Torture des ténèbres at their most blackened:
This submission has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.
This nomination has been posted in the the Hall of Judgement.
Cusco - "Apurimac" (1988)
I thought we'd go for some soothing Andean new age music for our family picnic in the park. Little did I know just how cheesy it could get though. This fairly well known release (from a German artist strangely enough) is nothing short of fucking awful!
Whilst Alone is also an awesome record for sure, I don't think it has anything as iconic as Well of Souls or At the Gallows End on it , so is downslope from Nightfall for me. But this is nitpicking as they are both records I would unhesitatingly recommend to any trad/epic doom fan.
Contrary to popular opinion, I've never found "At the Gallows End" to be anything terribly special to tell you the truth. I do quite like it but definitely think of it as one of the least appealing couple of tracks on "Nightfall". "Well of Souls" is certainly an amazing track but my personal favourites are "Bewtiched" & "Black Candles" which I regard as being the equal of anything I've heard from the epic doom metal subgenre. In fairness though, I'd place Solitude Aeturnus' "Scent of Death" right alongside them in that respect.
"Nightfall" was actually my favourite epic doom metal record until last week when the Solitude Aeturnus feature record overtook it. It's certainly my favourite Candlemass release though.
"The Threepenny Opera [Off-Broadway Revival Cast]" soundtrack (1954)
Another one for playing with the kids. Didn't interest me much but the kids seems to find old musical soundtracks fairly calming which can only be a good thing when my six-year old daughter is quite sick.
Sons of Kemet - "Your Queen Is A Reptile" (2018)
The third album from this London-based afrojazz outfit & I don't mind it. There are certainly some tracks that I enjoy more than others but when they hit on something great they really capitalize on it with some wonderfully intuitive group collaboration. It certainly made for a worthy accompaniment to cleaning the house & playing with the kids this morning.
Wold - "Screech Owl" (2007)
OK, so let's kick off with one of the more blatantly black noise releases in the 2007 sophomore release from Canadian artist Wold (can't you tell by their logo on the cover?). If you were thinking that black noise is likely to be an extremely lo-fi take on black metal then you were 100% correct as you won't find a more intentional attempt at audio degradation than you'll find here. In fact, the fading intros & outros of many of the thirteen tracks give hints at what the original music might have sounded like before it had the levels strategically blasted up into the realms of extreme distortion in post-production, all in the quest for a greater textural & atmospheric layer of hideous noise. So, does it work? Well when Wold get it right it certainly does but those moments are so few when you take into account that this bloated release stretches out to an unbearably lengthy 73 minutes in duration. The ultra-grim black metal vocals of Fortress Crookedjaw are certainly very appealing for extreme metal aficionados like myself but the instrumentation is often lacking in any sort of musical quality, instead taking the form of battering & offensive distortion more than something you'd find genuine pleasure in listening to. When Wold hint at melody through their more ambient excursions though you can clearly see the attraction to this sort of music. They just haven't got the balance right at all here.
The clear standout tracks are the super evil "This Is How I Know" (which is by far the best example of the black noise subgenre included here & is a piece of work that has slowly snuck up on me over several listens before finally encouraging me to label it as a masterpiece) & the super-repetitive & trance-inducing thirteen-minute black ambient/noise closer "Undying Fire Of Urian" which absolutely carry this album. Sadly though it's not enough to make up for the clear failures like the God-awful "Nervosa" & "I'm The Chisel" which are pretty close to as dumb as extreme music gets. The couple of traditional noise tracks included also offer nothing at all from a musical point of view, failing to create any sort of dark atmosphere that you can grab on to. I think it's fair to say that I'm not the target audience for a record like "Screech Owl" but I still have my doubts that it'll be sitting at the top end of the subgenre. If it was then I'd have to think that the incredibly poor cover art would likely taint the entire subgenre & scare off many potential listeners.
But is "Screech Owl" a metal album? That's a very good question. The basis of these tracks is clearly black metal but the music has been brutally warped far enough that the original recordings are pretty much unrecognizable. The black metal vocals definitely reel it back in a bit though & the atmosphere is identifiably black metal for the majority of the run-time so I'm gonna say that, even though this release clearly sounds more like noise music with black metal vocals layered over the top, I'm comfortable with it residing in The North under a black metal subgenre. On the evidence of this release I'd suggest that Black Noise is a subgenre of black metal too. Let's see if I maintain that opinion over the next couple of weeks, shall we?
For fans of Gnaw Their Tongues, Sutekh Hexen & Затухание.
2.5/5
Here's an example of black noise that utilizes synth melodies to offset the ugliness:
And here's my updated Top Ten Conventional Black Metal Releases of All Time list after falling in love with the new Scarcity album (not that it's at all conventional but I don't think it's got much to do with the atmospheric black metal subgenre & we don't have an experimental black metal subgenre at the Academy):
Yeah, I didn't mind "Soul of a New Machine". I wouldn't say that I fell in love with it or anything (which is perhaps why my CD ended up in your possession) but it was something fresh & a little bit different for the time & it also offered a bit of crossover appeal for some of my friends that weren't as into the more extreme underground stuff I was obsessed with at the time. I agree that "Demanufacture" was a significant step up from "Soul of a New Machine" & is clearly Fear Factory's best record still to this day. It wasn't as much in line with my taste profile as the debut was but it was just a classier outing all round.
It was a great month of feature releases for me in September. I was obviously very familiar with the Alice in Chains, Brutal Truth, Dream Death & The Dillinger Escape Plan releases but it was nice to finally get some ratings & reviews against a couple of those after all these years. The Scarcity album absolutely blew my socks off & so did the Solitude Aeturnus one. Both of those have been rewarded with entry into my Hall of Metal Glory. The Red Harvest album was also great, if not quite as appealing as our previous Red Harvest feature release in 2004's classic "Internal Punishment Programs" album. The Ashenspire record had its moments while the fate of many a symphonic power metal album was bestowed on the poor Cross Borns release which was the victim of my taste profile as much as anything else. Well don to Ben for taking the biscuits this month in resounding fashion. Here are my scores in order of preference:
THE GATEWAY: Alice In Chains - "Dirt" (1992) 5/5
THE NORTH: Scarcity - "Aveilut" (2022) 4.5/5
THE FALLEN: Solitude Aeturnus - "Alone" (2006) 4.5/5
THE SPHERE: Red Harvest - "HyBreed" (1996) 4/5
THE REVOLUTION: The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton - "Irony Is A Dead Scene" E.P. (2002) 4/5
THE HORDE: Brutal Truth - "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" (1992) 4/5
THE PIT: Dream Death - "Journey Into Mystery" (1987) 3.5/5
THE INFINITE: Ashenspire - "Hostile Architecture" (2022) 3.5/5
THE GUARDIANS: Cross Borns - "Tales of a Winter Night" (2000) 2/5
If Ashenspire did have any black metal roots then they've certainly been tossed aside for this highly regarded sophomore effort, haven't they? It's definitely an unusual release & one that does sit pretty comfortably under the avant-garde progressive metal tag. The most noteworthy elements on display are the theatrical & almost psychotic clean vocals of drummer Alasdair Dunn who continues to rant like a man possessed in his unapologetically Scottish accent throughout the entire tracklisting, mostly speaking or shouting more than actually singing. The other is the use of some extremely jarring time signatures that do tend to interrupt the flow of the song-writing at times. The ambition is undeniable but the execution isn't quite what I'd hoped, particularly the performance of Dunn behind the kit as his drum sound isn't ideal for metal (it's more in line with jazz) & he sounds pretty messy when he gets his blast beats on. The use of violin is done very well & brings to mind Ne Obliviscaris as it provides a little stability in even the most chaotic of movements while the overtly Scottish & emotionally charged vocals combine with some of the more sweeping black metal oriented chord progressions to remind me of Irish folk metal legends Primordial. The sheer insanity & creativity is more in line with a band like Arcturus though.
As you can probably tell, I struggled with "Hostile Architecture" a little bit at times but I can't deny that my overall impressions after four full listens were generally positive. There's no doubt that it's Dunn that's my major obstacle here & I can't deny that I would greatly prefer a more traditional & talented front man but I think I find it hard not to look on a pure form of artistic expression like this one with fondness & endearment as it's not all that common in a market that's saturated by copy cats. In saying that though, I can't say that I'm likely to return to the album in the future. It's an experience that I'm glad that I've had but it simply doesn't tick enough of my boxes to command any level of adoration.
For fans of Primordial, Ne Obliviscaris & Arcturus.
3.5/5