Daniel's Forum Replies

A Texas thrash metal anthem from my youth.

Here's my updated Top Ten Groove Metal Releases Of All Time list after revisting Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell" this weekend:

01. Coroner – “Grin” (1993)

02. Grip Inc. – “Nemesis” (1997)

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

04. Exhorder – “The Law” (1992)

05. Sepultura – “Chaos A.D.” (1993)

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

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

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

09. Trepalium – “XIII” (2009)

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

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

Pantera - "Cowboys From Hell" (1990)

Let me set the scene for you. It’s mid-1990 & a fourteen year-old boy (admittedly a very good looking one) sits in his bedroom in Sydney late at night with his headphones on listening to the radio with a cassette player set to record the show at the same time. The track changes & a chuggy throb starts up that’s unlike anything the youth has ever heard before. A guitar appears & starts playing a palm-muted melodic run then all of a sudden… IT HITS! The whole band kicks in & starts slamming out one of the tightest, chunkiest grooves metal had ever heard to the time. It's fair to say that the young man’s ears have more than pricked up by this stage but what’s this? The guitar solo comes in unaccompanied in a similar way to his idol Eddie Van Halen. And Jesus Christ this dude can shred! He’s got chops for days, weeks & years! And those vocals! They exude a powerful hardcore attitude but still maintain a strong sense of melody. The boy would replay this song repeatedly over the next week until the late night metal show returned the following week. This time we had another inclusion from this supposedly new band Pantera but it was a heavy metal inspired ballad with soaring vocals & dive-bombing guitar solos like none he’d heard before. This ongoing week-to-week process would go on for some time before the boy felt the need to pick the full album up through tape trading & he would give it a good ol' thrashing over the next year or so. Pantera would release their breakout sixth album in 1992 & would subsequently change the world with their story going down in metal history for all eternity.

I imagine that this would be a fairly familiar story for many of us but it’s one that I remember vividly. It was immediately apparent that there was something different about Pantera’s “Cowboys From Hell”, an album that most fans assumed was their recorded debut until they’d learn otherwise. You see Pantera had begun life as a decidedly run-of-the-mill heavy metal band with an unusually talented lead guitar virtuoso in their early teens under the guidance of Darrell & Vinny’s record-producing father. They’d release four albums between 1983 & 1988 that would drift a long way under my radar before finally discovering a new sound & taking it to the world. The resulting “Cowboys From Hell” album not only showcased that new direction to the world but it would also signal somewhat of a changing of the guard for a thrash metal scene which was starting to decline in the wake of the fast ascending grunge phenomenon that would completely explode the following year. But listening back now it’s hard to deny that “Cowboys From Hell” was very much a transitional album too as the tracklisting doesn’t completely embrace this new sound (known as Groove Metal) at the expense of past glories. I think it’d be more accurate to suggest that it incorporates it as the primary source of creativity while blending it with more familiar sounds. As a result, I find it hard to deny that this is as much a thrash record as it is a groove metal one with the remnants of Pantera’s Judas Priest worshipping US power metal experimentation still showing their head on quite a few occasions.

I think it’s important to note that if I had of rated this album back in the day I would likely have scored it a bit higher than I have here but it’s also worth mentioning that I’ve somehow managed to shun it completely for a good couple of decades which seemed kinda strange too. When listening to “Cowboys From Hell” with new ears now though it’s certainly not a perfect record & I can easily see why it wasn’t the soundtrack for my youth that it was for so many others. You see it hasn’t aged as well as I’d hoped. The production sounds kinda dated now, particularly the rhythm guitar tone which left so many jaws on the ground back in the day. It’s also easy to forget that there are three or four weaker tracks amongst the twelve on offer. No weak ones mind you, it’s just important to recognize that it wasn’t all hits. I have to admit that the whole groove metal thing isn’t really my cup of tea & that’s reflected in my opinion on some of the supposedly classic tracks on the album. Songs like the title track & “Domination” don’t smash me like they do/did other metal fans. I certainly like them (& I adore the guitar work in particular) but they aren’t going to see me reaching for my elite scores. Those are reserved for the tracks that steer away from the new groove metal sound with thrash metal anthem “Message In Blood” being the clear album highlight for me. It’s interesting that it’s also one of the least popular tracks on the album but that’s not unusual for me. The other track that completely slays is the classic heavy metal ballad “Cemetery Gates”. The main riff has clearly been inspired by Randy Rhoads era Ozzy Osbourne & is one the greatest in the history of metal in my opinion, particularly when used in conjunction with Phil Anselmo’s wonderfully emotive chorus hook. What an amazing climax Darrell & Phil created at the end too!

The new groove metal sound is best championed on the title track, “Primal Concrete Sledge”, “Clash With Reality”, “Medicine Man” & “The Sleep”. “Heresy”, “Message In Blood” & “The Art Of Shredding” are pure thrash metal though while tracks like “Psycho Holiday”, “Cemetery Gates” & “Shattered” give hints towards US power metal & even your more traditional heavy metal. The fact that you can very easily differentiate the different songs & parts of songs into their various categories tells you that Pantera’s sound was still a work in progress at this stage. It was a very impressive work in progress of course but I wouldn’t say that “Cowboys From Hell” is where we see groove metal being truly defined. That would have to wait for Pantera’s 1992 sixth album “Vulgar Display Of Power”, a record that I’ve now decided I appreciate a touch more than this one after all these years. There can be no denying the power of this band as a unit though. The rhythm section were as tight as you’d find & when they hit on one of their classic grooves it draws a physical response from the listener. For me though I’d suggest that there’s not a lot of depth to some of the groovier material outside of that head-nodding, body swaying thing that happens. I find songs like “Heresy”, “Domination”, “Clash With Reality” & “The Sleep” to be more of a pleasant experience than essential listening. Phil’s vocal performance still has one foot in the higher register Rob Halford camp most of the time & I wonder whether my knowledge of his screamier & more aggressive hardcore-inspired future is seeing me subconsciously craving a bit of that when listening to “Cowboys From Hell” these days.

Ultimately it’s very hard to be critical of this record as it sounded so fresh at the time & changed the metal landscape forever in several ways. While my score is still a good one it’s definitely limited by my musical comfort zones. I think I might need to revisit some of Pantera’s later works over the next few months to see how those records have been treated by time too. I suspect that I might find at least one of those to overtake the two early 90’s big boys at this point in my life.

For fans of Soulfly, Sepultura & Exhorder.

4/5

Singaporian grindcore.

Wormrot - "Hiss" (2022)

Singapore's metal pride & joy return with another enjoyable blast of grindcore shenanigans, this time choosing to dilute their blasting grind sound with a whole range of different subgenre shifts in the name of creativity. You'll even find the use of strings on a number of tracks although still in a fairly stabbing & abrasive manner for the most part. To be honest though, I still listen to grindcore for the short, sharp shock of brutality that only that subgenre can bring so I found myself enjoying the more traditional tracks a lot more than some of the more artsy ones. "Hiss" doesn't overstay it's welcome at just over half an hour for the 21 tracks though & ticks most of the grindcore boxes along the way but I can't say that it's something I can see myself returning to all that often even though I enjoyed it while it was on. It may be the talk of the town on Twitter right now but there's better grind releases out there in my opinion.

For fans of Insect Warfare, Nasum & Pig Destroyer.

3.5/5

I find it really interesting to read your perspectives on these releases Sonny as they're very different from my own but are just as relevant. I think our upbringings & the period we grew up in play incredibly important roles in our long-term opinions on music & this is a prime example of that. Both of the records you've reviewed reside quite comfortably in my top four heavy metal records ever recorded & I don't doubt that this has a lot to do with when I discovered & fell in love with genuine metal music. While I was surrounded by hard rock & commercial metal from a very young age, it wasn't until I discovered Maiden, Priest, Sabbath & Motorhead in 1987/88 that I moved away from rock altogether in order to focus all of my time (& arguably my life) on proper metal music. It needs to be highlighted that Maiden's  "Somewhere In Time" & "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son", Priest's "Turbo" & "Killing Machine", Motorhead's "No Remorse" & an Ozzy-era Sabbath compilation were the records that won me over & by the time 1988 was over I'd not only bathed in the strength of all of their back catalogues & branched out to the other senior heavy metal acts but had also discovered "...And Justice For All" & my extreme metal journey had begun. Given that pedigree, I've always held those records up on a pedestal & the two Maiden albums are still my favourite heavy metal albums of all time ("Somewhere In Time" having the slight edge). Interestingly, I've never understood the hatred for "Turbo" either & it's still in my top three Priest studio records today. It sounds very much of its time but I was at a very impressionable age & had commercial radio around me at all times in my family environment so was much more open to things like stadium rock anthems & 80's synthesizers than I'd imagine you would have been as a more educated & mature music fan. I completely flipped out when "Painkiller" was released in 1990 though as my taste had come a long way by that point. It's still arguably the most metal record I've ever heard & is the very epitome of the genre in my opinion. In fact, it's the only Priest record that resides in my Hall of Metal Glory. Anyway... I've gone off topic a bit. I think it was inevitable that when I went back & listened to Priest's mid-70's albums after having already indulged myself in their 80's material that I'd find them to sound a little tame in comparison as the tone was a lot more organic & less over the top than I was used to so & I still held up the more expansive, shredding & far less bluesy 80's model of virtuosic post-Eddie Van Halen guitar playing as the benchmark & probably always will as it's what I was raised on.

For the record, I agree with you that "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" is the superior record of the two but not by much.

Harmonious Thelonious - "Kabriman" E.P. (2019)

An outstanding German tribal techno E.P. that comprises of three tracks, all of which draw heavily from African tribal music as a theme. It's deep, minimal, repetitive & cerebral i.e. right up my alley.

Post-black metal from Languedoc-Roussillon, France.

Alcest - "Écailles de lune" (2010)

I didn't have much time for French blackgaze outfit Alcest's 2010 sophomore album at the time of release as I simply couldn't accept a wispy, ethereal & generally positive sound within the context of extreme metal at the time. It just seemed too much at odds with my concept of what a black metal record should be. I think it says a lot about how far I've come as a music fan that I'm now able to not only accept but actually enjoy albums like this one these days. It's simply a matter of accepting that this isn't meant to fit into my personal ideals & needs to be judged on its own merits instead of being placed next to my beloved Bathorys & Mayhems.

"Écailles de lune" sees Alcest presenting combination of shoegaze, black metal & post-rock elements (along with some noticeably goth rock inspired clean guitar sections) in what I'd describe as a post-blackgaze release overall. The vocal style ranges from dreamy, unintimidating & androgynous clean singing to screamy black metal shrieks while the instrumentation offers a lot of variety with noise-laden shoegaze walls of sound leading into blasting black metal tremolo-picked riffage & stripped back post-rock meanderings. My enjoyability of the material included across the six tracks also varies quite a bit too with the brilliantly executed short dark ambient piece "Abysses" being my clear album highlight. Opener "Écailles de lune - Part 1" & the wonderful "Solar Song" see Alcest indulging in your more traditional shoegaze melodicism while closer "Sur l'océan couleur de fer" opts for a drawn-out post-rock excursion. The black metal elements are mainly left for post-black metal anthem "Écailles de lune - Part 2" & the disappointing blackgaze of "Percées de lumière" which is the only one of the six tracks on offer that I don't get along with.

The production job is of course lush & accessible with everything sounding very easy on the ear. It's interesting how Alcest can manage to use the black metal tools of evil in such a positive way but still make it sound so natural. It certainly makes for another interesting Alcest release but I can't say that I enjoy "Écailles de lune" quite as much as I do some of their other albums like 2016's "Kodama" or their 2007 debut "Souvenirs d'un autre monde". I don't think I find it's appeal to be quite as consistent this time & the inclusion of "Percées de lumière" does tend to grate on me a little bit when you consider that there are only the six tracks on offer. Still... I get quite a bit of enjoyment out of "Écailles de lune" these days & can't really fathom how I could have scored it a 2.5/5 back in the day given that I was actually pretty close to going with a 4/5 on this revisit.

For fans of Amesoeurs, Deafheaven & Lantlôs.

3.5/5

"Images & Words" was hhuuggee for me too & is still my favourite Dream Theater release today. "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory" has certainly caught up quite a bit over the years though & isn't far behind now to be honest.

Yeah I absolutely love "Psalm 69" too. It's definitely one of the pinnacles of the industrial metal genre in my opinion & is easily Ministry's best work.

Blackened melodeath from Mexico.

The Chasm - "Conjuration of the Spectral Empire" (2003)

Once again I find myself significantly underwhelmed by a revisit to a supposedly classic album from Mexican death metallers The Chasm. I haven't heard this one since 2009 & I can see why now. As is usually the case with The Chasm, people find it very hard to pigeon hole them into any obvious subgenre but I find it very strange that the melodic death metal tag isn't dished out far more often because this record comfortably fits into that category. Much like its follow-up "The Spell Of Retribution" though there's a noticeable black metal component to this material, particularly in the arpeggiated riff style. In fact, I once again see myself wanting to call this blackened melodeath which is probably why I struggle with it more than most extreme metal fans. As usual, The Chasm smash as many melodic riffs as possible into every song, rarely giving them much time to breathe. There's inevitably some gold in there somewhere but no sooner than you've discovered it you'll find it disappearing again never to return. Also, there are many people who rave about the musicianship on The Chasm albums but the truth is that their performances are generally always pretty sloppy. It's like their technique has never caught up with their ambition & the dodgy production doesn't help either. In saying that, I do enjoy a good half of the tracklisting so it's not all doom & gloom. The lengthy & fairly flat instrumentals placed at either end of the album don't do it any favours though.

For fans of Cenotaph, Shub Niggurath & Adramelech.

3/5

French progressive metal.

Gojira - "The Way Of All Flesh" (2008)

I wasn't the biggest fan of French metal megastars Gojira's fourth album when I first encountered it back in 2009. Perhaps it just sounded a little flat in comparison with the band's classic 2005 record "From Mars To Sirius" but it would seem that my opinion has changed significantly over the years as I now find "The Way Of All Flesh" to be a very enjoyable metal release indeed. It's probably a little more straight forward than I remember from the band as it isn't their most progressive release but it's definitely hard to categorize. I'd suggest that it sits somewhere in the grey area between progressive metal, death metal & groove metal although neither of those labels is really all that reflective of the music it contains. If pushed I'd suggest that progressive metal is probably the closest description of the three but this era of Gojira kinda sounds like Strapping Young Lad meets "Domination"-period Morbid Angel with the vocals sitting very much in that Devin Townsend space. There aren't the quantity of genuine classics to see this record pushing for elite status but there are rarely weak moments either (with the exception of the clear low point "A Sight to Behold" which I have very little time for). Interestingly though, the two most impressive moments are left right to the end with the closing title track being the pinnacle of the Gojira sound at the time & the untitled hidden post-metal track being the best thing on the entire album.

"The Way Of All Flesh" is a very solid release in it's own right. It may represent the band going through the motions to an extent but if that was the case then it's proof that even Gojira's less inspired work is top shelf metal music.

For fans of Hacride, Mastodon & Devin Townsend Project.

4/5

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

Brutal/technical death metal from New York, USA.

Suffocation - "Breeding The Spawn" (1993)

If there's one record in the history of extreme metal that has a right to feel hard done by then it must surely be New York brutal/technical death metal legends Suffocation's 1993 sophomore album "Breeding The Spawn" as there has rarely (if ever) been an album that offered so much but was let down so badly by production issues. On the surface it sounds absolutely horrible but if you can manage to dig a little deeper & uncover the actual content you'll soon find that it had the potential to be as influential as any of the band's other classic era releases. "Breeding The Spawn" sees the band upping the ante on the technicality fairly significantly while maintaining the ultra-brutal sound they'd developed on "Effigy Of The Forgotten". When you hear a song like the title track re-recorded for the classic "Pierced From Within" album you can see very clearly the class that this era of the band had to offer & I don't think death metal song structures had been this complex before. Strangely there are a couple of tracks that suffered even worse production issues than others (see "Epitaph of the Credulous" & "Ignorant Deprivation" which were pretty much ruined) but the rest of the album has the potential to be enjoyed if you try hard enough. I'm pretty sure that most of our regulars will already know of my 30+ year love affair with Suffocation & that probably sees me being a little more lenient than some might be here though. Nostalgia would also come into it as I absolutely idolized these guys at the time.

For fans of Dying Fetus, Deeds Of Flesh & Pyrexia.

3.5/5

As to why it should be in The Spheres, this has a collection of influences and shifting sounds that sounds to me like a lot of prog bands with a focus on shorter songs.

I assume you meant The Infinite rather than The Sphere, correct?

My favourite song from Marduk's death metal-oriented 1992 debut album is really more of a doom/death track.

Marduk - "Dark Endless" (1992)

I've never been the biggest fan of Swedish black metallers Marduk's 1992 debut album & this weekend's revisit hasn't seen that position changing much. "Dark Eternal" doesn't have much to do with black metal to be honest. The band were still experimenting with the classic down-tuned Swedish death metal sound at the time & there are only a couple of sections that see the black metal genre being represented. I think some fans use Andreas Axelsson's screamy (& not especially effective) vocal style alone to make the link to black metal shriek but it's not all that different from At The Gates' front man Tomas Lindberg's approach & there's a lot more to black metal than that. There's actually significantly more doom metal on "Dark Endless" than there is black metal & the doom parts are really the best parts of the album in my opinion. The more conventional death metal material isn't all that special to tell you the truth & 1993's defection to black metal for their sophomore album "Those of the Unlight" was most welcome for me personally.

For fans of early Darkthrone, At The Gates & Absu.

3/5

CODE KUNST - "People" (2020)

Took the family for a relaxing country drive & stopped in at a farm for morning tea before returning to the beach for lunch. This South Korean R&B album wouldn't usually be my thing but made for a relaxing accompaniment that the whole family could chill out to.

Is Rage - Light into the Darkness (the acoustic version, if possible) okay?

I just checked on Spotify & that track is available in my region so it should be fine.

Witch Fever - "Reincarnate" E.P. (2021)

I've really been digging this 19 minute, six track E.P. from Manchester all-girl outfit Witch Fever this week. If you miss the early-90's classic grunge days then this is the release you're looking for. Think "Bleach"-era Nirvana meets that aggressive Babes In Toyland & L7 style riot grrrl sound with a few nods to Black Sabbath. Why aren't these girls really big right now? Perhaps they are & I've just missed the memo?

Polish black metal

So I've managed to blast my way through our feature releases this month really quickly thanks to some time off work & some self-imposed isolation due to illness. I didn't find anything to add to my Hall of Metal Glory this month but there were some very appealing records amongst this lot nonetheless & I only have myself to blame given that I nominated a fair few of these records myself. I really enjoyed my revisits to the Type O Negative & Pestilence records which were old favourites from my past. The Every Time I Die album really impressed me only recently so I was already very familiar with it. The Thornhill & Plini albums were probably the nicest surprises & I find it hard to split them for the best discovery of the bunch. I'll take Thornhill by a nose I think. The Parkcrest, Pagan Altar & Furia records were pretty decent & the only release that I struggled with was the Heaven Pierce Her video game soundtrack which I find to be badly overrated. Here's the nine releases in order of preference:

THE NORTH: Type O Negative - "World Coming Down" (1999)  4/5

THE REVOLUTION: Every Time I Die - "Radical" (2021)  4/5

THE GATEWAY: Thornhill - "Heroine" (2022)  4/5

THE INFINITE: Plini - "Homemade Cities" (2016)  4/5

THE HORDE: Pestilence - "Spheres" (1993)  4/5

THE PIT: Parkcrest - "...And That Blue Will Turn To Red" (2019)  3.5/5

THE GUARDIANS: Pagan Altar - "Mythical & Magical" (2006)  3.5/5

THE NORTH: Furia - "Płoń" E.P. (2009)  3.5/5

THE SPHERE: Heaven Pierce Her - "ULTRAKILL: INFINITE HYPERDEATH" (2020)  3/5

2009’s widely celebrated “Płoń” E.P. represented my initiation into the world of highly regarded Polish black metal outfit Furia shortly after my return to metal the same year. I’d noticed the praise it was receiving amongst some of the more reputable online metal resources & felt compelled to see what the modern black metal scene had to offer given my past passions for the genre. Given it’s short duration, I was possibly able to justify a few more repeat listens than I’d generally give to a release that doesn’t immediately tick a few of my boxes too so Furia can’t say that they weren’t given a fair crack at winning over my affections. I guess the only question remaining is how successful they were in this endeavor so let’s dig right into that then, shall we?

“Płoń” is an interesting release in that Furia manage to cover almost the complete scope of the subgenre set contained by The North in just a short 15 minute package which is most unusual, especially when you consider that the overall result doesn’t sound terribly jerky & works pretty well as a representation of a defined Furia sound. You’ll find elements of everything from your conventional black metal model to atmospheric black metal to melodic black metal to black ‘n’ roll to Pagan black metal to folk metal to Viking metal to post-black metal on this three track E.P. which made it a pretty good candidate for a feature release in my opinion (thus me selecting it I guess). There’s something for everyone here but it’s Furia’s sweeping & consistently melodic black metal riffage that ties everything together & ensures that “Płoń” doesn’t sound in any way jerky, despite jumping from subgenre to subgenre fairly regularly.

Furia’s sound is quite organic in black metal terms which ties in well with the Pagan aesthetic of some of the material. Vocalist Nihil (also the mastermind behind Polish black metal outfit Morowe) offers a tortured yelp more than your traditional black metal scream & often brings to mind self-mutilating Shining front man Kvarforth in that regard while Namtar’s drums possess a refreshingly natural tone that’s light-years away from the clicky triggered sound of most modern black metal drum kits. It simply sounds like a real kit that could be sitting in the room with you & is being played by a real human being. The guitars have a warm tone too which accentuates the tremolo-picked & arpeggiated riffs nicely.

The E.P. opens up with “Zgniję, nie odpowiem!”, a track that frustrates me to be honest because it simultaneously holds the releases best & worst moments. The drawn-out post-metal breakdown in the middle of this track is beautifully ambient & atmospheric & shows the potential in Furia's sound but this is surrounded by parts that offer me very little appeal. I struggle at the best of times with a lot of folk metal & Pagan black metal & this track is where you’ll find the most obvious references to those subgenres along with some black ‘n’ roll beats that were never likely to go down too well with this old extremist. All of this unfortunately amounts to a disappointing opening to proceedings. Things pick up from there though with the more traditional black metal of “Ohydny jestem” & the album highlight title track being much more to my taste. I can’t say that either tick all of my boxes though. There’s still a bit more melody than I’m comfortable with at times as this isn’t the most sinister sounding black metal you’ll find. The Viking section (complete with the backing of a choir) in the title track isn’t something I’d usually go for but I can’t help but be won over by the atmosphere in that track nonetheless.

Look, I’m not going to tell you that “Płoń” is an essential release or a hidden gem but I chose it because I think it’ll offer a broad cross-section of our members plenty of appeal & likely more than it does for myself. My own feelings haven’t changed terribly much as I still don’t love this record as much as a lot of the underground seems to but I can see the reasons that it’s regarded so highly as it’s an accessible yet artistically diverse release that’s well composed & executed.

For fans of Odraza, Morowe & Plaga.

3.5/5

I can still vividly remember the day I picked this CD up very shortly after release. I'd been a hhhuuugggee fan of Pestilence's previous album "Testimony of the Ancients" so I had very high hopes for its successor. I had no idea of what to expect going in though so I was as surprised as anyone with the band's new direction which took some huge creative risks through the full integration of jazz fusion influences into their signature death metal sound. Atheist had already gone down that path a couple of years earlier with their classic "Unquestionable Presence" album but this was a very different kettle of fish sporting a totally fresh take on the concept.

As Ben suggested above, "Spheres" was almost unanimously panned within underground metal circles at the time but we never really paid a lot of attention to what the masses thought & both found the sheer ambition & creativity of this album to be nothing short on invigorating. I don't think there's any doubt that Ben's enthusiasm was a little more intense than my own though & this revisit has reminded me of why. You see, while there's no denying that Pestilence deserve a lot more credit for their bold adventurousness here, there are plenty of moments that simply don't work too. You'll find overly complex rhythms that push the musicality limits a little too far, cheesy & dated sounding synth lines that sometimes clash with the metal riffage & intentionally off-key leadwork that crosses over the line into sickly territory but then there are also some stunningly angular riffs that remind me of Swiss tech thrashers Coroner as much as anyone & some wonderfully entertaining jazz drumming & bass playing to accompany Patrick Mameli's signature death growls which I'd loved for many years by this stage. Tracks like "Soul Search" & "The Level of Perception" are up there with the band's finest work but other pieces seemed misguided & over-ambitious & fell on their own swords in the name of art (see the jazzy "Personal Energy" or closer "Demise of Time"). It's intriguing stuff. You can't deny that. But it's not quite fully realised in my opinion. The sentiment was right but the execution got a little bit ahead of itself. Perhaps Pestilence just needed another record between "Testimony of the Ancients" & this one to test the waters & try things in a less extreme format before taking the plunge? I think that's probably the case but credit where it's due because "Spheres" represented one hell of a side-step for extreme metal.

There's no denying that "Spheres" was unfairly crucified by the metal public who weren't quite ready for this sort of experimentation from one of their death metal pin-up boys at the time but for me "Spheres" represents a very brave move from a well established band that were always looking to take death metal to its next logical step. The positives comfortably outweigh the negatives & I generally find the experience to be thoroughly rewarding with even the parts that failed to gel earning brownie points for ambition. Don't believe everything you read about this record because it's well worth your time.

For fans of Death, Atheist & Cynic.

4/5

Classy Dutch progressive death metal from 1993.

Just finishing five days of annual leave. The first two spent looking after sick kids. The last three spent sick as a dog from whatever I caught from them. Back to work tomorrow. It never ends!!

One of the more metal focused tracks from Sydney-based guitar virtuoso Plini's 2016 debut album "Handmade Cities".

I've been aware of Plini's existence for a long time now given that he hails from my home town of Sydney although I've never gotten around to giving any of his records a spin until now & I can honestly say that I've been very impressed with the experience too. The dude not only has chops to burn but he also understands the value of quality song-writing. What we have here is a combination of djenty progressive metal, artsy progressive rock & experimental jazz fusion (three styles that offer a lot of appeal for me personally), all bundled up into your classic late 80's instrumental guitar virtuoso style package. Plini wears his influences on his sleeve as I can easily pick up elements of Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth & Al Di Meola in his sound however he still manages to give his solos his own personal touch as well. The thing that really dazzles me is his restraint & his stunning use of phrasing. This is certainly NOT your showiest guitar shredder record & that's a credit to Plini's understanding of what makes good music, something he's likely learnt from Satriani's philosophies on composition. He sounds like he's in total control at all times & there's not a note that's played without purpose & conviction. The simpler Satriani-esque melodies are definitely the highlight for me here, along with the more stripped back solos where Plini can be more emotive & expressive. Where he starts to lose me a bit is when he ventures into that quirky & joyous Frank Zappa-inspired territory that Steve Vai has so often made his own in the past. It all gets a little too arty-fartsy for my taste once things head in that pleasantly unintimidating early 80's jazz fusion direction but I don't ever feel like pressing skip because the promise of something more interesting is always only a few moments away.

Overall I'd suggest that "Handmade Cities" is a really solid example of the instrumental guitar record & has enough of a point of difference to represent a fresh take. What it lacks though is those one or two standout tracks that can elevate a "very solid" record to an "outstanding" one but you get the feeling that Plini has that in him on the evidence here & he may have already delivered on that potential for all I know.

For fans of Liquid Tension Experiment, Joe Satriani & Steve Vai.

4/5

Shoegazy, djenty alternative metal from Melbourne, Australia. Aussie Aussie Aussie.... Oi Oi Oi....

I really got into this one thanks Saxy. The production is massive & overthetop (in fact, there's a strong case for suggesting that it's actually a touch over-produced) which gives every element ample opportunity to contribute to some wonderfully glistening soundscapes that are filled out by the generous use of synthesizers. Vocalist Jacob Charlton may sound very familiar (see Chino Moreno from Deftones for a point of reference) but there can be no denying his talent. The consistent use of microphone distortion has been quite effective here too it has to be said. The rhythm section is unbelievably tight & every time they come together with hard-hitting djent stabs it raises the intensity a few notches. The guitar tone is crushingly heavy too & the instrumentalists perform their craft with the utmost precision. I think RYM have got the genre tagging just right for once because Thornhill seem to have taken that shoegazy Deftones althernative metal sound & added in a much stronger djent component, perhaps taking reference from bands like Loathe & Northlane in that regard. From what I can make out Thornhill used to be a Metalcore outfit but if that was the case then they've dropped that sound completely in favour of a more accessible approach that really should take them to a much wider audience of enthusiastic fans. I must admit that the quality does drop a bit over the second half of the album but I can't deny my enjoyment of what is a highly professional & classy effort from a band that seems to know their sound very well these days.

For fans of Deftones, Loathe & Northlane.

4/5

I quite enjoyed "...And That Blue Will Turn To Red". I'd never encountered Parkcrest before but ended up really liking the way they harness the Bay Area, the Teutonic scene & the South American scene all at once. They certainly possess a really fantastic energy. The more intense & thrashier stuff is clearly Parkcrest's comfort zone & they seem to excel once they're drawing upon "Darkness Descends" & "Beneath The Remains" for influence. They've also spent a fair bit of time listening to classic Iron Maiden over the years though too as there are plenty of places where they throw in an unaccompanied Steve Harris style bass riff during a midtempo section or a melodic guitar lead that wouldn't have seemed out of place on a record like "Powerslave". The drumming isn't as polished as a Dave Lombardo but there's an undeniable urgency & electricity about the consistently high tempos & I think Nicolás Villanueva has done himself some big favours by examining Igor Cavalera's transitions on the classic Sepultura thrash records. The bass playing plays an important role here too with Sodom's Tom Angelripper being the source of inspiration I suspect. This is an absolute riff-fest though with the twin guitars jumping from one impressive riff to another in a never-ending stream. Javier Salgado & Diego Armijo can both certainly play fast but when they start to get a bit more technical & attempt some emotive lead work you can start to see their technical limitations starting to show.

I find "...And That Blue Will Turn To Red" to be top class in patches & these signs all point to Parkcrest's next record having the potential to be a really big one for them but I don't think they're quite there yet. They've crammed these tracks full of content & a lot of it is extremely strong but there are also less impressive inclusions tacked into every song as well so I feel that a little quality control would go a long way. The six minute closing title track didn't do very much for me either & has resulted in me dropping my score from a 4/5 which is disappointing given how strongly the record started over the first few tracks. It deserved a better climax than that in my opinion. Another thing that limited my scoring a touch were Salgado's vocals which are serviceable but don't really possess the charisma of the top tier thrash front men. He sounds great during the more violent stuff but sounds a bit flat when he's barking over simple power chords during a couple of the choruses. So yeah... a promising release for the future with some untapped potential still yet to be drawn to the surface.

For fans of Ripper, "Darkness Descends"-era Dark Angel & late 80's Sepultura.

3.5/5

P.S. What the fuck are they doing choosing such an inappropriate moniker?? What in the actual fuck even IS a "Parkcrest" other than the name of a rich suburb in some posh part of town?

English heavy metal with a nostalgic feel & a classic Sabbath/Dio/Maiden gallop.

I came to London's Pagan Altar relatively late in their career while putting together the Metal Academy podcast several years ago & immediately found them to be an interesting prospect. They were generally labelled as one the early exponents of the doom metal sound & I found their 1982 self-titled release to offer a fair bit of enjoyment even if there were a few flaws in their sound that I struggled with. They definitely weren't a pure doom outfit either as there was also a lot of traditional heavy metal in their sound as well as a touch of psychedelia. I later experimented with Pagan Altar's re-release of their early demos (entitled "The Time Lord" which was released in 2004) & found it's combination of doom metal & 70's hard/psychedelic rock to be just as entertaining. In fact, at that point I started to label Pagan Altar as the first true exponent of the traditional doom metal sound given that those recordings dated way back to 1978/79. And this brings us to "Mythical & Magical" (Pagan Altar's third full-length album released in 2006) which is a record that seems to receive universal praise from somewhat of a cult following within the underground metal scene & I was very keen to find out why.

The first thing I noticed about "Mythical & Magical" is the raw production which doesn't sound anything like the clinical modern-day metal production jobs we're so used to hearing these days. This one is thinner, dirtier & sounds very much like it could have surfaced from the early 80's NWOBHM scene which I would guess was something the band were likely aiming for. Much like Pagan Altar's earlier material, "Mythical & Magical" offers an interesting mix of styles & influences although it's well worth noting that there's very little doom metal on offer here. This time the band have opted for a sound that seems to draw upon the hard rock-driven NWOBHM sound of early Iron Maiden & Judas Priest, the more epic US power metal of Cirith Ungol & Manilla Road & the more organic & bluesy American hard rock of the 1970's with dashes of progressive rock, folk & even country tossed in for good measure. The high-pitched vocals of Terry Jones are instantly recognizable & are still just as repetitive as they ever were so if you've struggled with him previously then you shouldn't expect much respite here while the emotive & creative lead guitar work of his son Alan is as impressive as I remember it being & is the obvious highlight of the album with most of the tracklisting's peaks appearing at the crescendos of his lengthy solos. Things do get a bit cheesy at times, particularly during the guitar harmonies & the more epic sounding sections. I actually find the more expansive & progressive tracks to be the most consistently interesting (see "The Sorcerer" & "The Erl King") with the simpler hard rock numbers sounding pretty tame & boring in comparison. When Pagan Altar focus purely on a heavy metal sound they're generally very successful, particularly on opener "Samhein" which utilizes a dark Sabbath/Dio/Maiden gallop (there are several across the tracklisting actually) & builds in intensity gradually over time. I could definitely do without the country rock number "The Crowman" as it sounds like it's been torn straight off US country radio while the short & fairly lightweight folk instrumental "Sharnie" doesn't add much to the album either in all honesty.

In the end I found "Mythical & Magical" to be a bit of a mixed bag with the tracklisting struggling for consistency. In fact, I'd suggest that I really only got enjoyment out of half the album. Thankfully the stronger material is classy enough to carry the dull moments which has resulted in the experience feeling fairly positive overall. I still can't say that I see what the big deal is with Pagan Altar though as this is once again a release that I've enjoyed while I listened to it but are unlikely to return to very often in the future. In terms of the band's discography, I'd suggest that this is probably the least appealing of the three Pagan Altar releases I've checked out to date & I suspect that's got a fair bit to do with the lack of doom metal on offer but there's not all that much between the three really. "Mythical & Magical" is a nostalgic ride through a period in rock/metal history that I was too young to fully take in & it serves that purpose quite well but I can't say that I see it as being in any way essential.

For fans of Cirith Ungol, Manilla Road & early Cauchemar.

3.5/5

The other thing is that it's a noticeably top-heavy release with all of the weaker material residing in the back end of the tracklisting. There aren't any bad tracks as such but there's a noticeable lull from tracks 9-12 in my opinion.

Whereas this has some very impressive melodic doom on the back half (most notably the title track and "Everything Dies") but the first few tracks are bafflingly bad. "White Slavery" and "Everyone I Loved Is Dead" are atrocious and I would not blame a soul for turning the album off prematurely. If you can make it through the first six tracks, you'll find some of Type O Negative's best songs.

Quoted Saxy S

Hahahaha.... there's only one thing you can rely on at the Academy & that's diversity of opinion. 

John Massoni with Sonic Boom - "The Sundowner Sessions" E.P. (2000)

After doing Elvis I felt that it was time to push the threshold again with some highly cerebral experimental ambient music. Pretty good stuff too. Really repetitive & hypnotic.

"Deicide" was absolutely life-changing for me at the time. I picked it up from an older school-mate very early in the piece & was completely blown away as it was comfortably the most evil sounding thing I'd heard to the time. It's also totally devoid of filler with the songs all being really well defined & realised by that point. Benton's sheer anger was a highlight but I love the super shredding lead solos which beautifully balanced technique with pure chaos. They clearly came from the Kerry King school of solos but the mid-heavy tone made them cut through the mix to slice my teenage face off.This was basically an album full of death metal anthems & I don't think Deicide have come close to matching it in all the years since.

5/5

I actually think the three longer interludes add further weight to the depressive atmosphere so i don’t mind them. The eleven second joke track that kicks off the album is an absolute travesty though & should be eliminated from existence immediately. Much like Tool, Type O Negative seem to have no inkling that their fans don’t want their serious metal music diluted with redundant humour. It only detracts from the overall product & this would likely be another reason why Ben traded me his CD as I know he hates that shit.

Yeah it’s probably worth doing but there’s really not a lot we can do about it to be honest. I don’t think it’s worth changing the playlists when there could be any number of licensing concerns depending on what part of the world you’re streaming from.

Doomy gothic metal from New York, USA.

I really enjoyed revisiting this record over the last couple of days. I don't recall it being claimed as any sort of classic back in the day. That seems to have been something of historical thing but I'm not sure it's warranted despite "World Coming Down" being of a consistently high quality. Sure, this is one ToN record that is well & truly deserving of the dual gothic/doom metal tag & on paper I'd suggest that it really should be my Type O Negative record of choice given it's darker, doomier sound however that's not really the reality here. For me, ToN have always been about those huge vocal hooks backed by glistening early-80's goth rock-inspired instrumentation & there's significantly less of that on offer than was the case with its glorious predecessor "October Rust" (ToN's best work in my opinion). The sheer depth of the doom material is as crushingly heavy as you'll find (see tracks like "White Slavery" or the title track for example) but I don't think they manage to completely capitalize on it with strong enough hooks to see "World Coming Down" being spoken of in the same sort of terms as "October Rust". The other thing is that it's a noticeably top-heavy release with all of the weaker material residing in the back end of the tracklisting. There aren't any bad tracks as such but there's a noticeable lull from tracks 9-12 in my opinion. Still... this is a really solid release & I haven't quite discovered why Ben felt the need to part with it. Perhaps it's the Beatles cover version medley that closes the album as I know he hates covers. It's admittedly a really good example of one though with the band giving the songs there own lumbering, ultra-heavy spin.

For fans of A Pale Horse Named Death, Paradise Lost & My Dying Bride.

4/5

I have to agree with a lot of what you've said there Sonny. I've always found "Left Hand Path" to be decidedly underwhelming given all of the hype. I first experienced it shortly after release & remember thinking that it sounded really fresh but I just couldn't seem to find that sweet spot at any point & ended up moving on relatively quickly even though it was a generally enjoyable listen. "Clandestine" was another kettle of fish altogether though & completely blew my socks off. These days I'd even take "Wolverine Blues" over "Left Hand Path" if pushed to decide between the two. My position is obviously a complete anomaly within the death metal underground of course however I believe that Ben thinks "Left Hand Path" is somewhat overrated too so it could well be something to do with our metal upbringing.

3.5/5

Elvis Presley - "That's the Way It Is" (1970)

My wife has very traditional tastes in music & I've been pushing the threshold a little bit in relation to the music I've been playing around the house of late so I thought I'd better put on something that's more in line with her preferences this morning. This album was from Elvis' period performing at Las Vegas casinos & you can definitely hear it in the material. It's not really my bag to be honest.

Alice Coltrane - "Turiya Sings" (1982)

Wonderfully deep new age music to wind down to from this legendary jazz musician & wife of John Coltrane himself. I've found myself returning to this release again & again over the years. It was only ever intended to be a meditational support tool for her religious group & was only made in a limited number of cassettes.

Yeah, I've found this release to be pretty disappointing too Xephyr. It suffers from all of the trademark attributes of all but the elite video game soundtracks in that it jumps around all over the place & doesn't offer a lot of attention to detail. The industrial metal component is only evident for around a third of the run time so I don't actually think this is a genuine metal release either, particularly given that the metal elements tend to be used in more of a supporting capacity with drum & bass being the stronger contributor here. You also get smatterings of a bunch of other genres including jazz, breakbeat, ambient, classical, industrial & progressive electronic. The tracklisting is very inconsistent & this is further exacerbated by the fact that the release is generally too long as well. I do really enjoy some of this material but unfortunately the stronger inclusions are out-numbered by the ordinary ones so I can't see myself returning to "ULTRAKILL: INFINITE HYPERDEATH" any time soon.

For fans of The Blood Of Heroes, Andrew Hulshult's "DUSK" & Mick Gordon's "Doom" soundtracks.

3/5

Really struggled with this sloppy drum & bass/industrial metal hybrid. The metal component sounds uninspired & phoned in.