Daniel's Forum Replies
Boris - "Heavy Rocks" (2011)
I’ve been a big fan of Tokyo trio Boris for a very long time now but they’re so prolific & their back catalogue is so extensive that it’s really pretty hard to keep up with them. They also cover so much musical ground (often within the confines of the same release) that you never know what to expect as they jump wildly between different genres at random. I really enjoyed the high quality stoner rock of Boris’ 2002 “Heavy Rocks” album recently though & noticed that they’ve also released two more albums with the exact same name in 2011 & 2022 (presumably intended as a thematically linked trilogy) so I thought I’d give the 2011 sequel a few spins to see what it has to offer.
If ever Boris have failed to commit to a defined direction with an album it’s here as the 2011 “Heavy Rocks” album suffers a real case of ADD with so many genres stuffed into the ten tracks that it’s almost impossible to tag this release with anything that seems appropriate. It's generally regarded as a stoner rock/metal record but I’d suggest that those genres only really account for a couple of tracks included here with the others exploring a whole array of sounds including neo-psychedelia, alternative rock, hardcore punk, post-rock, post-metal, doom metal & thrash metal. To my ears there’s not enough metal to warrant a metal primary tag though if I'm being honest. In fact, I’d estimate that only about a third of the tracklisting is legitimate metal with stoner metal opener “Riot Sugar”, the epic thirteen minute post-doom metal monster “Aileron” (my album highlight) & short thrash metal closer “Czechoslovakia” being the sole contributors. If pushed I’d probably go with post-rock & alternative rock as the best fit for primary tags on this one so I’ll be submitting a Hall of Judgement nomination to have “Heavy Rocks” removed from The Fallen & added the Non-Metal shortly.
From a general quality perspective, the consistency of the tracklisting seems to be pretty jerky & a good half of the songs included don’t do all that much for me. Some of their signature pitchy vocal melodies sound a bit flat which doesn’t help but thankfully the two best tracks on the album both exceed twelve minutes which saves “Heavy Rocks” to an extent. There’s a very casual feel to the way Boris present themselves here though. I know they’ve always pushed that dangerous edge that the modern rock scene seems to be so lacking in but at times they push things a little too far & can tend to sound a bit lazy in my opinion. Boris are certainly at their best when they’re at their most cerebral with the post-rock inspired excursions & the more psychedelic stoner material being clearly more appealing than the messy alternative rock & punk material but... I dunno.... I can’t help but be a touch disappointed with 2011’s “Heavy Rocks” even though it’s a pretty enjoyable experience when viewed holistically. I guess I just know that Boris are capable of so much more & feel that a little quality control might go a long way at a time when they seem to be releasing three or four full-length albums per year. This may well be the weakest Boris album I’ve heard actually but thankfully it’s still not a bad listen & their prolific past ensures that I’ll likely never run out of unexplored gold either.
3.5/5
See, for a release to qualify as cybergrind I would suggest that it needs to be first & foremost a grindcore release. This record only uses grindcore as a tool amongst a bunch of other sounds. There's no doubt that there's grindcore there. I'm not disputing that. But I doubt that more than a quarter of the run time is actually made up of genuine grindcore which leads me to believe that the release has no place in The Horde.
This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.
This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.
The revised feature release nomination roster after including Vinny in The Fallen:
THE FALLEN: Ben, Vinny, Daniel, Sonny
THE GATEWAY: Saxy, Andi
THE GUARDIANS: Xephyr, Daniel
THE HORDE: Vinny, Ben, Daniel
THE INFINITE: Xephyr, Saxy, Andi
THE NORTH: Sonny, Xephyr, Daniel, Ben, Vinny
THE PIT: Sonny, Vinny, Daniel, Ben
THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel
THE SPHERE: Daniel, Andi
OK, so the long-awaited result of my cybergrind deep dive is finally at hand! It was an arduous journey but I feel that I've reached an outcome, even if it wasn't exactly as clear as day after all that effort.
When you read the definition of what cybergrind actually is on RYM you'll find that it's essentially grindcore with electronic elements layered over the top so the first thing I was looking for in each release was "Is this a form of grindcore?". Then the second thing I was asking myself was "If so, does the electronic component add enough of a differentiator to warrant it's own separate subgenre?" Let's see how I went:
As you can see, of the ten releases I reviewed, only five were legitimately grindcore-related releases which meant that five were completely ineligible for the tag.
Of those five eligible releases, one was simply a grindcore release with a drum machine handling the beats instead of a drummer. I don't consider that to require it's own genre because if you didn't know it wasn't a real drummer then it's no different to grindcore.
So that leaves just four releases of the ten that I regard as being true cybergrind releases, two of which were combined with avant-garde metal.
The remainder were mostly very poorly tagged by people that clearly don't have an understanding of not only what grindcore is but also what metal is in general in some cases. But the question that faced me at the end of the deep dive was this: If there are a few legitimate cybergrind releases out there, is that enough to warrant the subgenre staying in the Metal Academy database & maintaining its position in The Horde?
Well, after discussing it with Ben this afternoon, we've decided to keep cybergrind in the database & to work on cleaning out the inappropriate use of the tag over time. The tagging on RYM, Metal Archive, etc has become increasingly rubbish of late so we'd like to see Metal Academy taking the bull by the horns by going against the grain & providing a far more accurate representation of where our releases sit.
I guess this means that I'll still have issues when creating the monthly The Horde playlists if I want to include some cybergrind material each month but this deep dive is really the first step in fixing that up in the database so I can only see the situation improving over time.
Thotcrime - "ønyøurcømputer" (2020)
The final release in my cybergrind deep dive is the debut album from a multinational artist by the name of Thotcrime, a release that sounds very different to any of the other nine records I’ve investigated thus far. Now, it’s worth noting that I use the term “album” very loosely here because the eleven tracks included on 2020’s “ønyøurcømputer” clock in at just over fifteen minutes in total duration which I’d suggest is more than pushing the friendship when it comes to claiming album rights. Regardless though, I’d have to say that the length of the record is fairly appropriate in this case as I feel that the novelty would wear off fairly quickly.
What we have here is a release that takes the sounds of The Revolution & injects them with a raw infusion of grindcore & electronics to give it an additional dose of chaos. There’s certainly not enough grindcore on offer to be able to justify cybergrind being claimed as a primary genre though & I’d suggest that a dual mathcore & Nintendocore tag would be all that’s required when you consider that a lot of the electronic component leans towards that old-school video-game sound. There are a few touches of traditional metalcore included & even the odd hint at avant-garde metal at times but the dominant elements of this album are clearly rooted in the mathy end of The Revolution.
The screaming male hardcore vocals aren't anything terribly unusual for a metalcore based artist & tend to come across as a little generic if I'm being honest but Thotcrime also include some clean female vocals to change things up a bit, although I have to admit that they don’t really work & I find them to be a touch annoying so the vocal side of” ønyøurcømputer” is certainly its weak point. The instrumental side of the band is much more interesting with the use of blast-beats & blindingly fast double kick work being the major points of excitement for this ol’d extreme metalhead. The performances are very tight with the guitarists pulling off some highly technical & progressive riff structures that include melodic runs that are quite similar to those utilized in the modern tech-death sound. I really enjoy it when the band hit on some of their simpler power-chord driven metalcore riffs too.
It's worth noting that the second half of the album is stronger than the first so I’d suggest that you show a bit of patience if you find yourself struggling a bit midway through the tracklisting. Unfortunately though, despite the wins out-weighing the losses here, I wouldn’t say that there are any individual tracks that stand out as genuine highlights. There’s a consistency to this material that sees the difference between the stronger material & the weaker songs simply amounting to the inclusion of one annoyingly quirky riff or verse. When taken holistically though, I can’t deny that “ønyøurcømputer” offers something of value & I’ve quite enjoyed the experience overall.
3.5/5
Whourkr - "Concrete" (2008)
The 2008 sophomore album from French cybergrind duo Whourkr is one truly unusual beast & I’m honestly not sure I’ve heard anything like it before. These guys take a penchant for extreme metal genres like deathcore & slam death metal & combine it with a bizarre array of electronic weirdness & then layer the most psychotic vocal performance you’ve ever heard over the top to create a record that will certainly startle the unsuspecting listener. A great production job certainly helps with the thick guitar tone really accentuating the chunky riffage on offer. The incorporation of cut-up breakcore beats has worked nicely here too as that component has been well integrated into the band’s sound but it’s the vocals of - i snor that are the really alarming element at play. If you took Mike Patton’s weirdest efforts & multiplied the insanity level by a margin of three then you’d be getting close to understanding what this twisted individual has been able to muster here. It’s a feather in his cap that he’s able to continuously come up with new & ever more ridiculous forms of oral battery & I’d imagine it would be almost a full-time undertaking.
As for the cybergrind thing… weeellll…. I’m not really hearing a lot of grindcore here to be honest. The clear protagonist is the avant-garde nature of this music & I’d hazard to suggest that the only primary genre tag necessary with “Concrete” is the avant-garde metal one given that they have a lot more in common with Mr. Bungle & Arcturus than they do with Pig Destroyer or Nasum. Interestingly though, it’s the two more traditional & progressively inclined tracks in “Santo” & closer (& album highlight) “Plantea” that really float my boat with some of the other material perhaps taking me a little too far in regard to unhinged experimentation. “Concrete” is a pretty entertaining record nonetheless though & I’d suggest that there might be a few members of The Infinite that might get more out of it than I have. Ben too actually.
3.5/5
It may surprise a few people but I've never found much to enjoy in Destruction's first two releases "Sentence of Death" (3/5) & "Infernal Overkill" (3/5). In fact, I find them to be seriously overrated. It's "Eternal Devastation" (4/5) that's where Destruction begins to be of interest to me as I've always found the added precision & complexity to be a major drawcard. It's a very solid thrash record indeed.
"Peace Sells" (4.5/5) is Megadeth's finest work for mine. It very much represents the soundtrack to my youth with a sophistication that was as yet unmatched for the thrash scene.
Elder - "Lore" (2015)
I’ve really been enjoying Massachusetts-based trio Elder over the last couple of years since discovering their excellent 2012 “Spires Burn/Release” E.P. which triggered my subsequent exploration of the band’s back-catalogue. I’d eventually nominate their 2011 sophomore album “Dead Roots Stirring” as a The Fallen feature release & also got stuck into their 2017 “Reflections of a Floating World” fourth album at some point while contributing to the Hall of Judgement, both of which presented Elder as a highly professional & seriously talented group of creative musicians. It only makes sense then that I would look to fill in the gaps between those very solid records with 2015’s “Lore” album which seems to be just as highly regarded as the releases I’d already experienced.
Despite being consistently linked to the stoner metal genre, Elder have always been a bit of an anomaly as far as genre tagging goes. I found “Dead Roots Stirring” to sit firmly within the realms of stoner rock with some psychedelic influences popping up here & there. “Spires Burn/Release” saw them upping the heaviness & working its magic in the space between stoner metal & stoner rock but “Reflections of a Floating World” possessed a more progressive sound than those two records so I’ve tended to tag it as progressive stoner rock. This left me wondering whether “Lore” would represent the starting point for Elder’s more progressive excursions & I’d eventually discover that this is the case as I’ve found it to sit a little closer to its successor in terms of ambition & technique although I don’t see as much psychedelia as I’ve heard from them in the past. Despite including a number of metallic riffs, "Lore" isn't a metal record in the true sense of the term as the production is intentionally centred around a more organic 70’s sound & the guitar work never stays in Sabbath mode for long before returning to a more ambitious & techy approach akin to progressive rock icons like Yes. I do hear a fair whack of Tool in some of the grungier parts of the album though which can’t be a bad thing while some of the riff structures also recall a band like Mastodon.
I remember mentioning in the past that the limiting factor in Elder’s chances of reaching my higher scores is the vocals & that’s still the case here. It’s not that they’re not well done as I actually think they’ve improved since “Dead Roots Stirring” but it’s a question of whether they can hit upon melodic hooks of the highest calibre. As has become the norm for Elder, the vocals are used fairly sparingly with the instrumentation generally taking the front seat so when they do come in they have the opportunity to make a bigger impact. We can see an example of that on album highlight “Legend” whose memorable hooks see it overflowing into classic territory. I don’t think Elder quite get there with the remainder of the material though & it’s left to the more progressive moments to capture me which they do with utmost ease.
Ultimately, I have to say that I challenge any fan of mature & ambitious rock music not to like a record like “Lore” as it’s yet another triumph for a band that had already well & truly proven themselves by that point. My affection may still be a little stuck behind the confines of its more palatable rock packaging but it’s almost impossible not admire the skill of a band who seems to be incapable of making an ordinary record. I have to say that I favour Elder’s more progressive releases over their earlier works these days with “Reflections of a Floating World” still remaining the high point of my Elder experience to date but “Lore” has done extremely well to come in a close second after a couple of very rewarding days of listening pleasure.
4/5
I have to admit that I've never had much time for Warfare's "Metal Anarchy" (2.5/5). It's lacking in class in my opinion & I'm not surprised that it didn't do much from a commercial point of view. "Among The Living" (4.5/5) on the other hand is an undisputed classic & played a huge part in my late 80's/early 90's teenage years.
Yeah, I don't mind the Speedwolf album Andi (3.5/5). I can't say I'm as enthusiastic as you are but it's certainly worth a listen or two. It's definitely a speed metal record but there's an obvious heavy metal secondary influence there too so I would agree with your assessment of it sitting somewhere between the two clans.
I would suggest that we reduce our limit for The Fallen track nominations to 24 minutes each from next month Sonny.
Yeah, I agree that "Metal Revolution" (3.5/5) is a better example of a genuine speed metal release Andi. It's not a bad one either. It was a massive improvement on their 1984 "Vengeance of Hell" debut (2.5/5) which was very ordinary indeed, particularly the production & vocals which were about as bad as you'll find.
Congratulations (I should say commiserations as is customary in The Fallen) Vinny. Will you be wanting to contribute to the monthly playlists & be added to the feature release roster?
Xephyr, it's your turn to select the March feature releases for The Guardians & The Infinite. Do you want to participate or skip your turn?
Phantomsmasher - "Atomsmasher" (2001)
I have to admit that legendary underground metal producer James Plotkin’s Phantomsmasher project (or Atomsmasher as it was called at the time of this release before being legally forced to change the name) is one that I’ve been giving a wide birth for several years now after hearing snippets of it while exploring the monthly playlists for The Horde. Those experiences usually left me wondering what in the actual fuck I was hearing & being baffled as to how an artist like this one was attached to the clan, let alone metal in general. But this cybergrind deep dive has led me to finally bite the bullet which was an imposing prospect to say the least so I made the conscious effort to clear my mind of any preconceptions prior to taking the plunge. While doing so I reminded myself of other Plotkin projects like Old, Khanate or even some of his solo production work that I’ve quite enjoyed over the years to give this music a fair chance to engage with me.
Despite all of that mental preparation though, I challenge even the most well-informed listener not to find “Atomsmasher” to be one of the most bizarre pieces of art they’ve ever experienced. Plotkin has become known for giving the musical boundaries a good ol’ stretch over the years but he completely decimates them here with an album that pushes the definition of what can be considered to be music to breaking point. Is this cybergrind? Absolutely not. Despite the use of cut-up & heavily effected blast-beats (from Burnt By The Sun/Human Remains/Discordance Axis/Exit-13/Municipal Waste/Melt-Banana skins man Dave Witte no less) & psychotically screamed (& generally ridiculous) vocal shenanigans, there isn’t really any trace of grindcore here. Hell, there’s nothing even remotely like metal if I’m being honest! Metal is built on heavy guitars & riffs but there’s next to no guitars included on this record. To my ears it’s a combination of avant-garde experimental music, electronic music, psychedelia & noise; a concoction that sits far closer to the electronic & avant-garde genres than it does to even the more ambitious metal subgenres like avant-garde metal. It’s really pretty hard to fathom how someone can have conjured up this racket within the confines of their brain, so much so that I’d suggest that they actually haven’t & have simply laid down tracks until they’d created this cacophony out of pure chance.
That’s not to say that there’s no value in this album though. No, don’t misunderstand me on that point because, despite my non-commital rating, there’s only one track that I regard as being truly terrible (see “Skitchy” which provides no value whatsoever & is the very definition of filler). The majority of the remaining tracks can be a bit of a struggle though if I’m being honest. There are really only two “songs” that I achieve much connection with, the first being the superbly ambient “Gilgamesh” which is the best piece of work on the tracklisting by a fair margin & the second being the lengthiest inclusion in “Skull Shot” which takes the listener in a number of different directions & may not always be successful but ultimately saw me buying into its strange & mysterious charms. You see, “Atomsmasher” sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard before & it should be commended for that but the question has to be asked as to whether I can say that I genuinely WANT to hear it again. I’d suggest that the answer is no, at least for the moment. And I also have to ask what benefit a record like this one brings to your average metalhead’s lives as the cybergrind tag is so fucking misguided it’s not funny.
At the end of the day, I think there will always be a market for consciously silly & ridiculous music like Phantomsmasher have produced here. I’d say that market would be the same people that seem to rate artists like Naked City or Painkiller so highly as there are some similarities here, only they’re taken in a much more electronic direction. As for our Metal Academy regulars, I’ve got my doubts about the appeal of a record like this one. One thing’s for sure though, if it is going to offer any sort of pleasure it’d be to those more inclined towards The Infinite than The Horde.
3/5
This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.
I'll be interested to hear your perspective on Helloween's "Walls of Jericho" Andi as (unlike Helloween's self-titled debut E.P. which took a clear speed metal direction) I've never considered it to qualify as a speed metal record. To my ears it's the first genuine European power metal record but also has strong ties to traditional heavy metal. The only obvious speed metal track is "Metal Invaders" in my opinion although "Phantoms of Death" is kinda a power/heavy/speed metal hybrid. See if you agree.
The Berzerker - "The Berzerker" (2000)
When it comes to the niche cybergrind subgenre, the debut album from Melbourne’s The Berzerker is one of the more appropriate & deserving releases to receive the tag. Released on legendary UK extreme metal label Earache Records, “The Berzerker” sees creative mastermind Luke Kenny presenting a soundscape that combines the dark & twisted industrial beats of speedcore & gabber with the down-tuned grind riffage of early Carcass, a particularly extreme musical hybrid that shows promise initially but doesn’t always work if I’m being honest.
The album starts really well with album highlight “Reality” kicking things off & a string of decent inclusions following close behind it. Things start to get a little shaky towards the middle of the tracklisting before the ball gets dropped altogether over the last few tracks which include a couple of fairly pointless (& quite lengthy compared to the rest of the album) noise tracks to close things out. You’ll notice some obvious industrial influences on tracks like “February” & “Ignorance” while there are a couple of tunes that draw upon black metal for inspiration too (see “Forever” & “Ignorance”). It’s the over-the-top electronic beats that differentiate The Berzerker from your run of the mill deathgrind bands though & they can be a touch intrusive at times, particularly when they’re played at light-speed. I also find that the simpler power chord riffs lack a bit of ambition which detracts from the impact of the more brutal blast-beat sections.
Look, “The Berzerker” isn’t a total disaster but there are enough issues here to leave a slightly unpleasant taste in my mouth. I dig it from a conceptual point of view & appreciate the ambition, influences & atmospherics but it doesn’t quite gel consistently enough for my liking.
3/5
OM - "Conference of the Birds" (2006)
I first encountered US duo OM (a side-project of legendary stoner metal trio Sleep) back in 2013 through their very solid 2009 fourth album “God Is Good” & immediately picked up a ticket to their show at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney which ended up being of a similarly high quality. Their bottom-heavy brand of psychedelic stoner metal really hit my sweet spot & I found the lack of any guitars (other than the bass variety) to be intriguing. The vocals of Al Cisneros were probably the limiter when it came to how far OM could travel within my musical stratosphere as they probably weren’t any more than serviceable but instrumentally these guys comfortably exceeded their meagre numbers. Strangely OM seemed to drift off my radar from there & I’ve only really gotten around to giving them a bit more of my attention now, a full decade later & this time with their 2006 sophomore album “Conference of the Birds”.
“Conference of the Birds” is comprised of just the two epic tracks; a sixteen-minute atmospheric psychedelic rock number called “At Giza” (which reminds me a lot of The Doors up until the last two & a half minutes when it takes off into crushing stoner doom territory) & an even more gargantuan seventeen-minute stoner metal monster in “Flight of the Eagle”. The former took some time to fully dig its teeth in but eventually became an engaging trip through a retrospective sound that has always appealed to me, capped off with a suitably immense crescendo that seemed unlikely halfway into the track. The latter had a more immediate impact due its more consistent focus on slumbering doom riffs of the highest order & should satisfy anyone with more than a passing interest in the stoner metal genre. I love the way Al works his ever-moving basslines into the pieces, in the process filling out the space that would usually be smothered with guitars. His tone during the heavier sections is filthy & I'd imagine that a lot of unsuspecting listeners may assume that they're hearing some seriously down-tuned guitars anyway. Let's just say that OM make one hell of a racket for a duo.
As with “God Is Good”, “Conference of the Birds” is another very high quality release that possesses both weight & substance but those vocals are again the reason that I’m not tempted to even take a casual glance about that 4/5 region. Let’s not let that distract us from the positives here though as I doubt OM have it in them to produce anything that’s significantly below par. I’d suggest that this release will likely offer plenty of appeal to someone like Sonny.
4/5
I don't buy the links to thrash with "This Godless Endeavor" to be honest. I don't think there's even enough thrash for a secondary genre tag so I don't think it should qualify for The Pit . It's a progressive metal record with US power metal & groove metal influences as far as I'm concerned.
So I've unfortunately encountered a release that's seen me reassessing how bad music can be over the last couple of days & has surprisingly seen me removing Metallica's "St. Anger" from my top ten which is something I never thought would happen when I first heard that disgraceful misfire of an album.
01. Hello Kitty Suicide Club - "^_^" (2012)
02. Effluence - "Liquefied" E.P. (2022)
03. Cremator - "Home Style Surgery" (1988)
04. Exterminator - "Total Extermination" (1987)
05. Iron Maiden - "Virtual XI" (1997)
06. Enbilulugugal - "Noizemongers for GoatSerpent" (2004)
07. Lazy - "Uchusen Chikyugo" (1980)
08. Heol Telwen - "An deiz ruz" (2005)
09. Emit - "The Dark Bleeding" demo (2003)
10. Thrash Queen - "Manslayer" (1985)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/205
Hello Kitty Suicide Club - "^_^" (2012)
Some of you are probably aware that I recently compiled & posted a list of my ten worst metal releases of all time, a task that I took quite seriously. Upon completing the task, I subsequently encouraged others to attempt something similar in the interest of healthy conversation. The planning for my cybergrind deep dive was well underway by that stage & I’d already selected the releases that I was going to explore so it was a little disconcerting when I noticed that our fellow member Rexorcist had included Hello Kitty Suicide Club’s “^_^” album at number three on his own worst-of list given that it was included in my list of ten cybergrind releases. I wondered whether that would just be a taste thing rather than a reflection of quality (or lack there-of) so I decided to charge through regardless & I now have to admit that the whole exercise has ended up being one of the most tedious experiences I’ve had since we began our Metal Academy journey. My stubborn unwillingness to break my minimum-three-listen rule has ended up being my worst enemy here as, despite Hello Kitty Suicide Club’s sophomore album only being 24 minutes in duration, this whole exercise has felt like a thousand years given just how little of substance there is to grab onto here. In fact, I’d have to suggest that “^_^” may well be the worst release I’ve heard in all of my years of rating & reviewing metal.
Let’s get one thing straight, Hello Kitty Suicide Club is not meant to be taken seriously. A brief look at the track titles should tell you that. In fact, I’d hazard to suggest that the prime intent of it’s two contributors was to make the worst album ever recorded, a task they’ve succeeded at emphatically. The sound they’ve chosen to achieve such a feat? An attempt at emulating the most primitive brand of underground extreme music using only the cheapest & most outdated electronic equipment they could find with some psychotic & completely random screaming over the top. Yes, you can expect to hear some grind riffs produced on something that sounds like the Casio keyboard you remember from your childhood only it’ll be intentionally played out of time & there will be some extraordinarily annoying & abrasive high-pitched screaming invading your ears simultaneously. You can also expect to hear humorous film & TV samples from cult classics like “Anchorman” & “South Park” thrown in for good measure as well as some genuine synth pop moments that remind you of Kraftwerk at times too with those elements being clearly the least repulsive parts of the album.
Is this metal? Not in the slightest. Whoever the fuck thought it was appropriate to link this record with grindcore has no concept or understanding of what makes something metal. There are no guitars included here & the only thing I can see that has any relation to metal are the horrific vocals & occasional use of fast electronic kick-drums & pseudo-blast beats. This album is purely an avant-garde electronic music release & sounds a gazillion miles more like the soundtrack to the earliest computer games than it does Napalm Death. In fact, even if you were going to accept it as metal you’d have no hesitation in lumping it in with avant-garde metal as opposed to grindcore. Show me a death/grind nut that is comfortable with this cover art being associated with their chosen passion & I’ll be very surprised as Hello Kitty Suicide Club have done everything in their power to leave those serious individuals with nothing to grab onto here in what must surely be the most heinous musical atrocity ever committed to tape. “^_^” categorially has no place at the Metal Academy. Hell, it has no place residing anywhere on Earth! It really is that bad that it’s creators are probably receiving royalties from underground crime syndicates across the globe who have the ultimate tool of torture at their disposal here.
0.5/5
There's no stenchcore or crossover thrash either just quietly.
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - "Altered States of America" (2003)
I was already very aware of Massachusetts blast-merchants Agoraphobic Nosebleed prior to this deep dive & they're apparently the most well-known cybergrind artist if online resources are to be believed but this third full-length has left me questioning my understanding of the parameters of the genre to be honest. You see, "Altered States of America" is really just a grindcore record that uses a drum machine & to me that doesn't constitute a new genre. I mean if you didn't know it wasn't a real drummer then what's the difference really? Of course, you DO know it's not a real drummer as no drummer alive could play as fast as these blast-beats.
The album can make for a significant challenge for some listeners (Ben, I'm looking at you) as it includes a full 100 tracks across it's very short 21 minute duration which makes it pretty hard to rate but I have to say that I found myself buying into the band's dark, twisted & satirical social themes & don't pay much attention to the track numbers changing within seconds of each other. This is some seriously brutal grindcore but you can make out every nuance of the riffs very easily & they're generally of a pretty high quality too. I also really enjoy the psychotic vocal delivery which only accentuates the sheer extremity of what must surely be one of the most intense bands on the global scene. They certainly aren't for everyone but then... neither am I!
I can't say that "Altered States of America" is a cybergrind record because there's really nothing "cyber" about it other than a drum machine. It's definitely best represented by The Horde though. There's no question about that.
4/5
Living Colour - "Vivid" (1988)
It’s funny how I occasionally find myself in a situation where I’ve maintained a position on a certain record for many decades only to finally undertake a reassessment of it's value & decide that I don’t think I’ve even heard it before because nothing about it sounds familiar. It doesn’t happen very often but it’s occurred over the last couple of days with the 1988 debut album from New York’s Living Colour. I'm sure that I first discovered them shortly after the release of this record through the inclusion of their big hit & opening track “Cult of Personality” on a compilation I’d acquired & I know that song back to front but the rest of the album? Nup… I can’t honestly say that I recognise a single second of it so I don’t think I actually checked it out even though Living Colour’s 1990 sophomore record “Time’s Up” got quite regular plays around my home as a teenager so this gives me the opportunity to approach it with unbiased ears.
Living Colour were known as one of the big players in the early funk metal movement & became really popular in Australia off the back of their 1991 hit single “Love Rears It’s Ugly Head”. I quite liked them at the time but remember questioning their links to metal & “Vivid” certainly sees me revisiting those feelings as there’s very little genuine metal on this record. I can only think that people have had their opinions influenced by “Cult of Personality” more than anything as it’s clearly the most metal track on the album & even then it’s kind of a heavy metal/hard rock hybrid. The rest of the record sees this talented outfit championing a sound that’s better described as an unintimidating blend of commercial hard rock & bouncy funk rock with some poppier moments scattered across the tracklisting. Unsurprisingly, those poppier tracks are the clear fails here too & “Vivid” is a lot less consistent than I thought it’d be, particularly when you consider the talent on show.
Living Colour’s main focal point is definitely band leader & guitar virtuoso Vernon Reid who absolutely slays here, his exciting jazz fusion guitar solos representing the high point of almost every song. I’m a big fan of his expansive & experimental style & the album is worth listening to solely for his contribution but bass player Muzz Skillings & vocalist Corey Glover also put in stellar performances & you get the feeling that the band was always going to make it big given the collective weight of their musical chops. This makes it a bit of a shame that they opted to explore a few obvious cash-grabbing opportunities on this album because when they extend themselves creatively they’re a more than decent & very likeable unit. Sadly though, poppy filler like “I Want To Know” & “Glamour Boys” see the shine taken off the better material. I’m not sure it sees my score dropping at all but it’s definitely reduced my opinion of Living Colour just a touch.
Ultimately, “Vivid” is a competent rock record produced by a class act that really knew what they were doing. It’s just not one that offers me the sort of appeal to see me returning to it in the future. My childhood memories recall “Time’s Up” being a more complete piece of work but I’m starting to question myself on that now & may have to give it a fresh assessment at some point before committing to claims like that. In the meantime I’ll be raising a Hall of Judgement posting as I really don’t think “Vivid” has a place at the Metal Academy if I’m being honest.
3.5/5
Gigantic Brain - "The Invasion Discography" (2004)
Now if I ever had my doubts about the authenticity of the Cybergrind subgenre & it's credentials for qualification into The Horde then the 2004 debut full-length from Virginia's Gigantic Brain has well & truly put those to bed. "The Invasion Discography" is an enormous release that features a ridiculous 63 tracks spanning an exhausting 59 minutes. Essentially what you can expect here is a sci-fi inspired brand of goregrind that revels in taking you into the weird & avant-garde through head-caving electronic dissonance & over-the-top artificial blast-beats. Gigantic Brain certainly don't take themselves too seriously but they can also come across as fairly disposable for that very reason as there's really very little of substance here. The vocals aren't too bad, despite pushing the threshold of the silly & absurd at times.
"The Invasion Discography" is actually a compilation of all of the Gigantic Brain's work up until that time & it's not too hard to hear where one project ends & another begins as the production & volume can be a little variable. The tracklisting actually begins with a lot of promise as I quite enjoy the majority of the first twelve or so tracks. Unfortunately I suspect that those represented the newest material on offer as the remainder of the release sees a noticeable drop in quality & excitement with a fair chunk of the tracks bordering on self-indulgence or repetition. There's no doubt that I enjoy the extremity of Gigantic Brain's sound but when they fail to engage me it's generally because they've gotten too silly, have opted for annoying electronic sounds or have included some fairly bouncy, almost nu metal-ish chug riffs.
Overall, I'd suggest that "The Invasion Discography" is simply too ambitious for it's own good. It doesn't work as an album because it's far too long & the material is inconsistent. I think Gigantic Brain would have been far better off releasing this material in bit-sized chunks, particularly the first portion of the album which is actually pretty good.
3/5
Scorpions - "Love at First Sting" (1984)
I've always found that I get some enjoyment out of Scorpions records but have never found myself gushing over them like the majority of rock/metal fans seem to. Sure, the guitar solos are great but they have a fair amount of cheese included on every record too & I'm pretty sure that all of our regular contributors clearly understand my aversion to that abominable trait by now. I was familiar with the full string of five albums from 1976's "Virgin Killer" up until 1982's widely celebrated "Blackout" record (not to mention their 1978 "Tokyo Tapes" live release) prior to coming into "Love at First Sting" with all of them sitting at that 3.5/5 mark but the Germans highly regarded 1984 ninth full-length may be the first album I've heard from them where I struggled to overcome the commercialism with fully-fledged glam metal raising its head on more than one occasion.
The tracklisting begins quite well with the heavy rock of opener "Bad Boys Running Wild" being pretty entertaining however proceedings descend significantly after that with five lacklustre efforts in a row before the band miraculously resurrects things with three quality hard rock numbers to close out the album. Closing ballad "Still Loving You" is the clear album highlight & leaves me feeling better about the whole experience but I can't quite shake the memories of glam metal numbers like "Rock You Like A Hurricane", "The Same Thrill" or "Big City Nights" with their obvious pop hooks that were so clearly intended to crack the American rock radio circuit. There's no doubt that Matthias Jabs' guitar solos are exhilarating & my ears prick up every time he steps up to the plate but, as with every other Scorpions record, I have serious doubts about the metal credentials of "Love at First Sting". There's really only the one song that I regard as being genuine metal in the fairly dull "Coming Home" although "Bad Boys Running Wild" kinda skims along the borderline between hard rock & heavy metal. I guess they're a metal band if you think that Van Halen, AC/DC or Guns 'n' Roses are but I very strongly disagree with that sentiment.
"Love at First Sting" gives 80's Scorpions fans exactly what they want but I'm afraid this is where they've started to lose me & I'm a little fearful about what's to come from their later material given that it's not regarded anywhere near as highly as the band's classic era which ended with this record.
3/5
It looks like you've forgotten to put your rating on the release page Sonny.
I agree with that assessment Ben. It's a 4/5 record for mine.
Bologna Violenta - "Il nuovissimo mondo" (2010)
This Italian solo artist is the next cybergrind producer I've explored & I've been a little surprised to find that I do actually consider the music contained within his debut album to be an offshoot of grindcore, be it a fairly avant-garde version of it. "Il nuovissimo mondo" is a short 25 minute album comprising of 23 tracks that generally mix a range of silly ambient/jazz/experimental sounds with blasting electronic blastbeats & Italian porn samples. I don't think it's meant to be taken seriously which is always a negative for me as I'm kvlt as fvck & take myself far too seriously. There are only a couple of complete failures amongst the tracklisting but there's also only a few tracks that I can say that I genuinely enjoy so it's come across as a bit of a flat release overall. Even though it pains me a little to say so, I have eventually had to admit to myself that it belongs in The Horde but I'd also place it in The Infinite under Avant-Garde Metal as it's simply too weird to be regarded as purely grindcore based.
3/5
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - "Blood Lust" (2011)
English retro outfit Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats seemed to get a whole bunch of attention in the early 2010's, no doubt buoyed by (& partially responsible for) the revival of interest in the old-school heavy psych & traditional doom metal sound. That sound has always offered me a fair amount of appeal however I've somehow managed to steer clear of exploring a full Uncle Acid record until now. I've certainly heard a few tracks here & there but can't say that I've heard anything that made me stand up & pay attention. They did however seem to be unintimidating enough for me to play while driving my young kids around in the car so I thought I'd pull out the band's most highly regarded release to see what all the fuss is about.
2011's "Blood Lust" has clearly been intentionally tailored to sound like the late 1960's/early 1970's with a thick layer of fuzzy distortion having been layered over the top of everything (including the vocals). It's like the levels have been intentionally overdriven & this leads many people to link the band to the heavy psych movement because there is a reasonable amount of psychedelia on offer in some of this material. There's also a fair whack of stoner rock/metal about these songs with the riffs often taking a groovy, mid-paced direction with the rhythm section opting for a bluesy rocking-to-sleep style beat that references traditional doom metal without fully committing to the oppressive atmosphere & sluggish tempos. "Withered Hand Of Evil" is the clear exception as it sees the band descending into fully-fledged doom territory while CD bonus track "Down To The Fire" is a lovely way to close out the album with it's references to the British folk rock scene. The whiny higher register vocal delivery of front man Kevin Starrs is very effective & the added distortion gives him a similar mystique to that which Electric Wizard have often achieved with their vocals.
I enjoyed "Blood Lust" quite a bit with every one of its nine tracks offering me some level of appeal. I definitely would have preferred a bit more of the genuine doom metal I was expecting though as much of this material is a little more mid-paced & groovy than I'd hoped but I do buy into the whole retro vibe it's been so successful at recreating & there's no doubt that "Blood Lust" succeeds in building a lovely thick atmosphere. At the end of the day I think I can see why Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats have been so successful but I don't think they'll ever reach the same level of affection with me personally, even if I get a general feeling of enjoyment out of their music.
3.5/5
I just relistened to the album to see if I could see where you're coming from Andi. I have to say that I can't. I stand by everything I said. I don't hear any traditional hard rock whatsoever on "Louder Than Love". Certainly not glam metal. The riffs are built on groovy blues rock structures which brings them more into line with stoner. It's got Black Sabbath "Vol 4" influence all through it. The fact that Kyuss & Motorpsycho didn't release their albums for another couple of years is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Sabbath invented stoner metal in the early 1970's along with a slew of other metal genres.
Swans - "The Great Annihilator" (1995)
High quality experimental post-punk & gothic rock from New York, USA.
Noism - "±" (2008)
I hadn't heard of Tokyo-based duo Noism before but I'm unlikely to forget them after experiencing (yes, experiencing) their one-off 2008 album "±" as I've rarely taken such a musical battering & that's saying something given my taste profile. You see, the racket this artist produces across the short 21 minute duration of this release is almost unparalleled. Imagine a continuous barrage of freeform breakcore drum machine programming with seemingly random psychotic death metal guitar noise underneath it, changing wildly from one idea to the next without any warning or thought for compositional integrity. It's relentless in it's savage attack on the senses, confusing the mind so as to ensure that identifying the individual components is almost too tiring to attempt. It's a confusing ride & it's probably a good thing that Noism opted to leave the album purely instrumental because I'm not sure my ears could stand another component.
"±" is certainly short for an album but there's little doubt that it needs to be as there's no way to differentiate between the individual tracks. They all sound very much the same, kinda like an argument between a nail gun & a machine gun has gotten wwwaaayyyy out of hand. It's just so fucking extreme though which sees my eyes being continually drawn to this creative car crash. Why do I find myself liking this cacophony so much? I think it's the underlying hum of authentic underground deathgrind in the guitar work which pays no attention to traditional structure but manages to fill the space with an authenticity that I can relate to on a purely visceral level. This is genuine cybergrind ladies & gentlemen. It fits the description perfectly & has single-handedly proven to me that the niche subgenre has some basis for existing in the first place. Approach this release at your own peril but, if you're prepared to take that risk, accept "±" for what it is & enjoy the undiluted chaos it throws at you from close range.
4/5
Genghis Tron - "Cloak of Love" E.P. (2005)
I really enjoyed Genghis Tron's 2006 debut album "Dead Mountain Mouth" when I nominated it as a feature release for The Horde back in 2006. It sounded so fresh & original at the time (not to mention well produced) however I do remember questioning it's credentials for the clan & those feelings have stayed with me ever since, only being further exacerbated by my experiences in programming cybergrind material into the monthly The Horde playlists. It only makes sense then that I would begin my cybergrind deep dive by exploring Genghis Tron's debut release in 2005's "Cloak of Love" E.P.
This little record offers more of a taste than a meal with it's run time flying by in just twelve minutes but I get the feeling that these sort of releases are better off not overstaying their welcome with the risk of their novelty value wearing off being rather high. There are five short tracks on offer here & things start off rather well with the first three tracks all being pretty interesting & generally rewarding. Unfortunately though, the remaining two see Genghis Tron's quirky silliness being pushed a little too far & see the overall result being tainted for me.
So, is this cybergrind? Well, "Ride The Steambolt" certainly is as it uses grindcore as it's basic building blocks but I'd suggest that the other four tracks use it more as a tool than a core component. Those four tracks have more electronica & downtempo than metal & when the blast-beats come in they're often sporadic & rarely overstay their welcome. The atmosphere these songs create is really quite bizarre too & I feel that they're far better suited to an Avant-Garde Metal tag as you'll rarely find a stranger sounding metal record. And this is a metal record. Let's be clear about that because despite the strong electronic focus the blast-beats & screaming vocals work to completely alienate anyone that's not already associated with those techniques so I can't see too many fans of EDM coming in for a casual listen.
As with "Dead Mountain Mouth", it's the smooth downtempo moments that really shine here & I even enjoy the more quirky electronica more than I do most of the metal too. I can't help but feel that perhaps Genghis Tron would have been better suited to creating some more serious electronic releases than going for an off-the-wall approach like they have here. But, in saying that, they seem to have found somewhat of a niche in the market & are doing pretty well for themselves so what would I know.
3/5
Here's the best example of the cybergrind sound:
Soundgarden - "Louder Than Love" (1989)
I found this CD lying around in a big box of old CDs in the back of the cupboard & felt like revisiting it this week. "Louder Than Love" was my introduction to Soundgarden (& probably the grunge scene) back in the day through the video clips to "Hands All Over" & "Loud Love" which used to be played on a music show called "Rage" on late-night Australian TV. It was through these songs that I fell in love with Chris Cornell's voice & he'd go on to become my all-time favourite singer. "Louder Than Love" covers a lot of different musical territory with grunge, stoner rock & stoner metal being the most prominent in my opinion. There are a few genuinely doomy & sludgy moments & even a hint at southern rock but overall I think this record is best served by a dual Metal Academy tag of Alternative Metal & Stoner Metal so I'll be putting a Hall of Judgement nomination through to get stoner metal added shortly.
Soundgarden have always been at their best when they're at their Black Sabbath-inspired heaviest & that's definitely the case here. A lot of that has to do with Cornell having his leash taken off so that he can truly soar with those soul-piercing shrieks but the way the band build tension & use tinges of psychedelia is also pretty amazing. There are some truly sublime tracks on this record, some of Soundgarden's finest ever in fact. Both sides open with two utterly killer monsters & it's not hard to see why the grunge movement blew up off the back of that stuff. Unfortunately both sides take a downward trajectory after that with the B side sadly descending a little too far over the last couple of songs which leaves the album finishing on a poor note. If you can look past those filler tracks though, there is some wonderful material included from a band that was packed with stars & featuring one of the greatest rock/metal front men of all time in his absolute prime. Cornell would continue to ride that peak into 1991's all-conquering & career-defining "Badmotorfinger" record & "Louder Than Love" has tended to be overlooked ever since but I can assure you that it's worth exploring if you're into rock/metal music in general (which you obviously are if you're at the Academy).
4/5
I'm glad that I selected this album as our February 2023 feature release as it's ended up delivering what I'd hoped it would &, in doing so, has probably surpassed it's more familiar 2012 follow-up "One Wing" in terms of creative aggression too. If you simply can't get into the modern metalcore sound with young, skinny white dudes with long fringes, huge round ear rings & obscene neck tattoos swinging their limbs violently around in windmill fashion then I'd suggest that you might struggle a bit with "Long Live", particularly with vocalist Josh Scogin's continuous barrage of rude screaming. However, if you're partial to the odd rebellious breakdown & give "Long Live" enough time to reveal its charms then you may just discover the highly professional & super-intense band within. There's a great electricity & urgency about everything that The Chariot produce for us here & I never found myself reaching for generic metalcore terms, despite the fact that The Chariot are not attempting to reinvent the wheel here. The A side flashes by in an instant & without too much complaint or fanfare but it's the B side that contains all of the real gold in my opinion with the mathy "The Earth", the post-hardcore inspired "Robert Rios" & the crushingly epic album highlight "The King" taking the album to another level & carrying it up a half mark in my eventual rating. The production is spot on for this type of music as it captures every nuance while losing none of it's visceral edge. If you enjoy high quality, no-holds-barred metalcore then I'd suggest that you check out "Long Live".
4/5
See, my personal limit is 40% for primary genre tags unless there's no clear alternative genre & all potential candidates are low. If you're a power metal fan who hates progressive metal then you're not gonna have much fun with a record that's only 20% power metal & 80% progressive metal. I'd suggest that a minimum of 40% is enough to make it interesting for someone like that. I wouldn't want an album topping the charts when only 30% of its run time is spent within the dedicated genre for that chart either.
I'm certainly no power metal aficionado Andi so I may well be barking up the wrong tree but the only tracks I consider to be power metal (i.e. not far further over onto the progressive side) are "Spread Your Fire", "Angels & Demons" & "The Temple of Hate" ("Angels & Demons" being more of a 50/50 of prog/power metal). Which others do you regard as fitting the bill for power metal?
OK, so I really tried with this one. I genuinely wanted to like it (particularly as the guitar solos are so spectacular) but I just couldn't quite get it over the line in the end & it wasn't because it's a power metal record as the reality is that it's actually not. I challenge anyone to identify more than two or three of the thirteen tracks that are genuine power metal here. The two obvious ones ("Spread Your Wings" & "The Temple of Hate") fall into that Helloween/Rhapsody space & are pretty intolerable to me though so I guess the genre has still had an impact on my overall enjoyment factor. If you examine the tracklisting closely though you'll find that most of the album is actually made up of a fairly ambitious brand of Dream Theater-inspired progressive metal which sounds good on paper but in practice ends up being too laden with cheese for my taste. It was a bit frustrating to find that I enjoy just over half of the individual tracks but that the inclusions that I can't get into are so wide of the mark that it taints the whole experience for me.
As I said, those solos try their very best to salvage things for me as they're as good as you'll hear (Better than Dream Theater though Andi? That hurts! Petrucci is my guitar idol!). Front man Edu Falaschi tries really hard to sound like James LaBrie for the majority of the album & pulls it off pretty well for the most part while the orchestration is really well done but it's the usual concept album tropes that drag things down with numerous filler tracks being included purely for the sake of a storyline that I have next to no interest in. The symphonic element is predominantly used as an accompaniment rather than a focal point which was a relief but Angra simply lose me too often to warrant me returning to "Temple of Shadows". Instead I find the record to be a good source of playlist tracks with songs like "Winds of Destination" & "Morning Star" being high quality examples of the progressive metal genre.
3/5
I'm glad Ben choose this release as this month's feature because it's been on my radar to revisit for a while now & I'd probably have checked it out this month at some point anyway. I remember not being as positive about it as I'd hoped at the time of release which is probably why it's taken me all these years to get back to it &, to be honest, not a lot's changed. Ben's been a massive fan of "Screams & Whispers" for a zillion years now but I just can't see what the big deal is. It's a serviceable progressive metal record with some thrash metal influence. I don't think it's accurate to call it a progressive thrash release as the progressive side of Anacrusis' sound dominates this tracklisting with a fair amount of US power metal in their sound. The thrashier parts remind me a lot of Testament's "Practice What You Preach" & "Souls Of Black" albums & vocalist Kenn Nardi seems to try to sound like Chuck Billy during his more aggressive moments too but I'd compare "Screams & Whispers" more to bands like Watchtower, Mekong Delta & particularly Nevermore more than I would to Coroner or Vektor.
Unlike Sonny though, I'm gonna have to admit that I find the vocals to be one of the weaker components of "Screams & Whispers". I wouldn't say they're much more than serviceable & think that a record like this one is sorely lacking a top line front man. I also find the production to sound noticeably dated with the rhythm guitar tone suffering from a hollow frequency scoop that was very much of its time & the keyboards being pretty random & more than a bit cheesy. I don't really find the album to get going until it makes a late surge through the one-two punch of the Voivod-inspired "My Soul's Affliction" into "Driven" but sadly the tracklisting dies in the ass shortly afterwards with the lengthy closer "Brotherhood?" which is the clear low point of the album.
I dunno. There are some really good things going on here (particularly the proggier lead guitar work which generally elevates things) but I'm afraid I don't see this record as the minor underground classic it's widely regarded as being. Enjoyable? Certainly but, despite the clear talent on display, I find it a bit hard to look past the flaws here.
3.5/5
This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement.
Danzig - "Danzig" (1988)
Interestingly I'd never given Glenn Danzig's widely celebrated self-titled debut an active listen until now. I was certainly across the couple of tracks that got flogged on underground metal radio back in the late 80's/early 90's ("Twist of Cain" & "Mother" specifically) but the rest of the record was previously unknown to me. I didn't mind Danzig's 1990 sophomore album "Danzig II: Lucifuge" though so I thought I might also enjoy the debut & I do to a similar extent. Neither album are particularly to my taste but both offer a crunchy brand of bluesy AC/DC style hard rock with a darker Black Sabbath edge & a vocal delivery that pays homage to Elvis Presley. Is it a metal release? Not even close in my opinion. There are a couple of legitimate heavy metal tunes amongst the ten on offer (see "Am I Demon" & "The Hunter") but I can't say that I ever really find myself considering a metal-based tag for this one. The consistency of the tracklisting is certainly pretty good though as there's not a weak track in sight but, in saying that, I don't think there's a truly classic song here either. In fact, the two most popular tracks are probably the ones that I enjoy the least amongst this lot. I do dig the bluesy feel & the warm & uncluttered back-to-basics production but I don't think "Danzig" will be one that I return to all that often. I'd probably take the follow-up over this one by a slim margin.
3.5/5
Vinny, "Torn Apart" was included in this month's playlist. Feel free to pick an alternative track.
Great submission Vinny. "Revelations of the Red Sword" is a classy & sophisticated modern black metal record that very much sounds like it could have come from the French scene as it would sit pretty comfortably alongside the likes of Deathspell Omega & Blut aus Nord. The vocals aren't necessarily your dime-a-dozen black metal shriek & kinda remind me of early Gorguts at times while the instrumentation takes a dissonant route that's high on atmospherics & complexity. The tracklisting is extremely consistent with each of the six tracks being of a very high standard. Svartidauði wait until the epic eleven minute closer "Aureum Lux" to really seal the deal though & it's a pretty spectacular way to finish off a very rewarding extreme metal release.
4/5
The Dvvell, Northlane & Critical Defiance releases all got my vote as winners of their respective clans so I'm very comfortable with those. Although I've yet to explore it, the Blind Guardian record seems to be fairly unanimous on social media too so it was a bit of a no-brainer for a clan that we found had surprisingly few ratings in our datatbase in 2022. The An Abstract Illusion record was an interesting one. Ben & I had to decide on a cut-off point for The Horde as far as minimum ratings go & had two different potential winners depending on which one we chose. In the end we decided that there simply wasn't enough releases with 4+ ratings to make it a valid option so we went with 3 which saw Inanna missing out. I would have gone with Inanna personally but are comfortable with the result nonetheless because I know Ben will absolutely love "Woe" & even if he only awarded it a four star rating it would still be ahead of Inanna. Besides, two of our regulars awarded "Woe" an impressive 4.5/5 rating which should count for something. My personal pick for The Infinite would have been the self-titled Ode & Elegy album but I'm happy with Cult of Luna as it's a stunning release in its own right. The Author & Punisher album is also a worthy winner. I personally enjoyed the Northlane record a touch more but it's already won another clan award & there isn't a lot between the two for mine. I haven't gotten around to the Static Dress album as yet but will likely get to it at some point in the future while I've opted not to rate the Blut aus Nord one to date as I think it deserves a little more active listening time than I've afforded it thus far.
Overall, I agree with Vinny that The Pit & my beloved The Horde had a pretty quiet year from what I've seen & heard. The Infinite was the clan that I think came out on top in 2022 with a slew of outstanding records. This is what my top ten looks like at present with the top seven being the releases that really smashed me:
01. Scarcity - "Aveilut"
02. Ode & Elegy - "Ode & Elegy"
03. Hate Forest - "Innermost"
04. Cult of Luna - "The Long Road Home"
05. Dreadnought - "The Endless"
06. Dvvell - "Quiescent"
07. Disillusion - "Ayam"
08. Inanna - "Void of Unending Depths"
09. Neptunian Maximalism - "Set Chaos To The Heart Of The Moon"
10. Immolation - "Acts of God"
For the record, the Northlane album gets my vote from the couple of eligible releases I explored last year.
Apparently I didn't check out a single The Revolution release from 2022.