Daniel's Forum Replies

Spectral Wound - "A Diabolic Thirst" (2021)

Aaaahhhhh.... here we go. Some straight down the line classic black metal in the vein of the Norwegian second wave & it's done really well too. I love Spectral Wound's sound; the screaming vocals, the icy cold buzzsaw guitars, the consistently blasting drums...  You shouldn't expect anything drastically different here but damn it's a well executed package. Unfortunately there are a few bouncy rock beats included on tracks like "Frigid & Spellbound" & "Soul Destroying Black Debauchery" that taint their impact a touch. There's a stronger sense of melody than many of their contemporaries too. Not enough to command the Melodic Black Metal tag that I see on our database mind you. These minor quibbles aren't enough to curb my enthusiasm for what is essentially a representation of a band that's glorifying & basking in the essence of true black metal though. I think Mare Cognitum still have top spot for the year for me in the black metal stakes thus far with Ethereal Shroud coming in a close second but I'll give this one third spot ahead of Les Chants de Nihil & Panopticon. Just check out tracks like the massive album closer "Diabolical Immanence" or the dark as fuck album highlight "Mausoleal Drift" if you want to feel true black metal atmosphere.

4/5

Some fantastically psychedelic progressive rock/metal from Brazil.

Papangu - "Holoceno" (2021)

I checked out the Papangu album over the weekend & really enjoyed it. It's got a lovely late 60's/early 70's vibe about it & gets progressively better & better as you move through the tracklisting with the tracks get longer & more expansive. In fact I'd suggest that, despite the first four of the seven tracks being reasonably enjoyable, the record doesn't actually start reaching its full potential until the last three songs, particularly the epic ten-minute title track that closes out the album. I have to say that I'm baffled by the genre tags that seem to be associated with "Holoceno" though. Avant-garde metal? Not a chance. Nothing here sounds particularly avant-garde. Zeuhl? Not really, no. Sludge metal? There's absolutely no sludge here whatsoever. In fact I'd actually suggest that even calling this a metal record is a stretch because the metal component is really only visible for a small portion of the album. Progressive rock is comfortably the main focus here with heavy psych also playing a major role in the back end & I'm much more likely to reference Yes or Flower Travellin' Band than I am Mastodon or Melvins. The tone & aesthetic is kinda similar to stoner rock at times which is kinda cool (see opening track "Ave-Bala" for example). I think I can just manage to convince myself to accept a progressive metal primary as when Papangu do get their metal on they certainly make it count (as witnessed in the four minutes of pure black metal in "Terra Arrasada"). Anyway.. it's a really interesting listen & a quality release that fans of The Infinite should really investigate.

4/5

P.S. How the fuck did Torstein Lofthus (i.e. the former drummer from Norwegian avant-garde progressive metal outfit Shining) become involved with this bunch of Brazilians??

Effluence - "Psychocephalic Spawning" (2021)

Given the glut of high ratings I've seen for this debut full-length from US solo act Effluence, I thought I'd better give it a few spins before January was out. It's been touted as an avant-garde take on brutal/technical death metal that takes the extremity to.... well.... the extreme... & that's not an understatement by any means but sadly "Psychocephalic Spawning" offers far more in novelty value than it does in substance. You see, this record is guilty of pushing the threshold of what can logically be considered to be music further than I'm comfortable with & ultimately comes across sounding like Devourment & Phyllomedusa collaborating on a Naked City/Painkiller cover project. Not in a good way either. Matt Stephens has used a bunch of non-traditional instruments here but do I really ever need to hear recorder used in my extreme metal? The answer is a categorical "Fuck no I don't!" I'm afraid.  In fact, it all comes across as sounding pretty silly to be honest. I mean the vocals are just one long continuous gurgle. Does this album really qualify as a brutal death metal release? Yeah there's definitely enough common elements here to make that claim with the focus being primarily on pure savagery & the blasting drums ascending to gravity blast levels at times. I have my doubts about the tech death claim though as there's virtually no precision on display here, despite some quite adventurous song structures. The gutteral nature of the vocals & some of the mid-paced riffage hint at a slam death metal influence however the ridiculously over the top wall of noise showcases stronger affiliations with the divisive gorenoise subgenre. At times the chaos borders on being completely improvised but you definitely get the feeling that Stephens knows exactly what he's doing. The longer pieces seem to be the ones that are getting the majority of the praise but personally I found the shorter tracks to be the most tolerable as they were perhaps a touch more traditional in structure. At the end of the day "Psychocephalic Spawning" seems to be designed for stoned teenagers to laugh their arses off to but it offers very little in the way of genuine replay value for me personally. I guess I just prefer a more serious brand of death metal.

2/5

For the sake of clarity, the releases I listed are not the only releases that will be considered for the ultimate award. I was just trying to highlight records that have been significant this year to try to promote some fresh listens & get some healthy discussion going. Feel free to add any that you feel should be here.

That’s a seriously interesting list Scarecrow. Well done!

It is absolutely “imperative” that you get on this one with great urgency Vinny. It’ll be right up your alley.

Powerful & emotionally engaging US post-sludge metal.

Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - "Bloodmoon: I" (2021)

What a stunning collaboration this is then!? I'd never given gothic rock artist Chelsea Wolfe a real chance before but her style beautifully compliments the sludgy atmosphere & riffage of metalcore masters Converge here for a varied & emotionally engaging journey that sees both artists stretching themselves into uncharted territory while never really sounding outside of their comfort zones. The beginning & end of this record are utterly spectacular while the middle requires multiple listens for its charms to fully sink in so I saw the appeal of "Bloodmoon:I" increasing dramatically with each revisit. The gothic rock/ethereal wave influence from Chelsea is certainly evident on some of this material but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with Gothic Metal being a primary genre for this record. The post-sludge metal tag is more than sufficient to cover most of this material with full-blown sludge metal pushing for inclusion but failing at the last hurdle due to the large amount of ground this album covers & the phenomenal atmosphere it pervades. I often found myself referencing Mastodon's progressive sludge metal sound while a couple of the tracks even hint at an Alice In Chains/alternative metal feel. There's just so much substance to this material. "Bloodmoon: I" definitely represents one of the strongest releases I've heard from 2021. 

4.5/5

Ok, I get where you're coming from. I think I might have a listen to a few more examples of Trance Metal & see how they feel with that in mind. Let's see how I go with these three:

This one seems to sit somewhere between melodic death metal & symphonic power metal. It wouldn't fit perfectly into The Gateway OR The Guardians but it's definitely closer to the Guardians' Power Metal sound. It's certainly nothing to do with The Gateway or The Revolution in my opinion.

This one is pretty much a poppier version of melodic metalcore with some trancey elements thrown in for good measure. I'd suggest that it'd probably fit well enough under the Trancecore banner rather than the Trance Metal one.

This one isn't really very synth-driven so I'd suggest it shouldn't really qualify for Trance Metal status. I can see why it would fit into Alternative Metal but it's probably just as much a Heavy Metal song. There's not any Power Metal or Symphonic Metal here.

Hhhmmm... I think I'm still sitting closer to thinking that Trance Metal should be a genre of The Guardians & can have multiple tags added to cater for additional elements when required. It's not a very well defined subgenre though in my opinion & I think we'd probably all be better served by not separating these releases from the more traditional subgenres that they draw their basic building blocks from.

I generally agree with the consensus here. I'm very much onboard with the quality & diversity that the current crop of metal artists seem to be producing in spades. We don't have any hugely popular yet fairly commercial sounding subgenres flooding the market to taint our impressions of what metal is these days like we have at certain times in the past but that also means that we're not seeing huge amounts of new fans being introduced to the scene either. Metal Academy's ongoing struggle to build a sizable contributing membership in an ever-shrinking metal market is as strong an indicator of that as any but you don't have to look very hard to find a scintillating new metal experience. I do have to mention though that the metal festival scene doesn't do the market any favours by consistently producing lineups that are focused purely on past glories rather than giving any sort of exposure to the current crop of potential stars. This is obviously an indication of what the market wants to hear of course & it's another sign of a metal scene that's generally regarded as having peaked many years ago but it'd be nice to see some promoters taking some risks occasionally.

High quality & hugely climactic melodic black metal from California, USA.

Mare Cognitum - "Solar Paroxysm" (2021)

Last year's fifth album from Californian atmospheric black metal solo act Mare Cognitum is a high quality affair that showcases an artist with a ridiculous amount of raw talent right across the instrumental spectrum. There's no sign of a weaker track in this solid 56 minute/five track exercise in blasting melodic black metal. In fact, Jacob Buczarski just seems to go from strength to strength with the hugely climactic atmosphere of closing number "Ataraxia Tunnels" being my album highlight. I have to admit that Mare Cognitum's sound is a little more melodic than I'm comfortable with & that was always going to see my rating potential being limited but I can't deny the professionalism in the song-writing & execution here. The one thing that I will say though is that apart from one track (i.e. the very strong "Terra Requiem") this is not even close to an atmospheric black metal release so it took me a couple of listens to reset my expectations. 80% of the tracklisting is pure melo-black metal in my opinion. Still... I'd probably take this album over the likes of "Trisagion", "Le tyran et l'esthète" & "…And Again Into The Light" so it's doing a lot of things right.

4/5

In my opinion Trance Metal fits much better in The Gateway because Alternative Metal is usually what's given as a catch-all to "Pop Metal," which is what Trance Metal is usually going for. I get the comparisons to Symphonic and Power Metal, as especially the Japanese strain of Trance Metal is heavily influenced by the styles, but I don't think Trance Metal at all fits aesthetically with The Guardians (not that I'm a kvltist or anything, but the name of the clan implies a sound closer to "original" Heavy Metal, and Trance Metal is anything but). Babymetal should for sure be in The Gateway as they are certainly Alternative Metal even when not doing Trance Metal. Just my two cents though.

Interesting perspective. Do you have some examples of some Pop Metal records that have been lumped into The Gateway purely as a catch-all rather than because they possess an alternative inspired sound? It's not really my area of expertise so I'm interested to see exactly what you're talking about.

From what I'm hearing above, there is a pure Trance Metal sound but it seems that most major artists that play with it tend to blend it with another subgenre & that's probably why we've fallen into the trap of lumping them in with The Revolution which in hindsight seems to be a bit misguided. The Metal Academy database can cater for records with two major components pretty nicely though as releases can reside in two clans so I think what's important is to get the pure Trance Metal sound into the most suitable clan & from what I've heard that seems to be The Guardians. It's not really about any perceived aesthetic related to the clan title. It's about what audience is most likely to embrace that particular subgenre & I can't see that being fans of Alice In Chains, Korn, Primus or Rage Against The Machine. I see it being fans of the more clean, epic & melodic (not to mention more than a little cheesy) symphonic metal &/or power metal sound. I could be wrong as my experience is pretty limited but that's my two cents. Perhaps you have some further examples that'll see me leaning back towards The Gateway?

On the Babymetal topic, I actually don't think they sit too comfortably under the Trance Metal tag to be honest. They tend to play with several different genres like Nu Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Death Metal, etc. but the electronic component isn't always prevalent & isn't always reminiscent of Trance music. Oh... & their albums are already in The Gateway by the way.

Truly mind-blowing avant-garde dissonant tech death from France.

Ad Nauseam - "Imperative Imperceptible Impulse" (2021)

Every so often you'll discover a release that not only tries for an original sound but attempts to completely rewrite the book on what music is even trying to be & that's what we have hear. Every reviewer that I've seen give a negative or indifferent account of "Imperative Imperceptible Impulse" has tried in vain to make logical sense of it but if you try to do that you will fail dismally. The chaos & lack of traditional structure is the whole point. It's intended as a whirlwind of complex atonality & is meant to take the listener well outside of their comfort zone. If that's what you look for in music then welcome to an enthralling ride. If it's not then I'd suggest getting off the train immediately. Fans of Gorguts & Ulcerate will already be well versed in the art of dissonant tech death & this record isn't all that different to them on the surface but it's a superbly executed example of the style to be fair. I find it nothing short of mind-blowing that a band can sound like two dozen aluminum garbage bins rolling out of control down the steepest hill in town & still give the impression of being completely in control. The drum sound is spectacularly powerful & highlights a stunning performance to hold everything together. At the end of each listen I'm left wondering if what I've just listened to even qualifies as music but I've loved every second of it. I mean this might be what metal music will sound like in a hundred years time once we've exhausted all of our traditional subgenres & are left reaching further & further afield for creative inspiration. It's so impressive that it's been released in the current day & I have nothing but respect for the musicians involved. I can't even fathom how you would write this kinda stuff as it's just too out there. Amazing!

4.5/5

Here are my thoughts:

The Babymetal track certainly doesn't belong in The Revolution. To my ears it's closest to Symphonic Power Metal & would sit much more comfortably in The Guardians. I'm not sure it really warrants a tag like Trance Metal. Pop Metal is a probably more appropriate term for it in my opinion.

The Blood Stain Child track has actually opened my eyes a bit because it's actually much closer to genuine trance than I was expecting & I can definitely see why it's been labelled as trance metal. There's absolutely no way know it should reside in The Revolution. It should definitely be in The Guardians as it's once again closest to Symphonic Power Metal.

The Amaranthe track is pretty close to trance too actually. I may have to take back my statement on trance metal not being a thing if these couple of tracks are anything to go by. It definitely belongs in The Guardians too & has absolutely fuck-all to do with The Revolution.

Based on these three tracks I think we've got it badly wrong when we allocated Trance Metal to The Revolution. On this evidence I'd recommend that it remains as a tag on the site but I think it should sit in The Guardians as a primary genre or a subgenre of Power Metal.

Ok, I'll bite in a hypothetical capacity Andi.

Everyone, please give these tracks a listen & tell us a) if you think it warrants a subgenre of its own i.e. Trance Metal, b) if you think it should reside in The Revolution clan & c) if it would fit just as comfortably under another existing subgenre tag & if so which one.

Now that I've looked over the actual terminology, yes I think it makes more sense to have Trance Metal just be a subgenre instead of a main genre. It doesn't have to go anywhere, like how Funeral Doom isn't listed under The Fallen or Melodic Death Metal isn't listed under The Horde. To quote Daniel, "...There are very few genuine Trance Metal releases of any note...", making it more out of place when compared to the other main genres listed under each clan. 

For clarity, Funeral Doom Metal & Melodic Death Metal are subgenres of our Doom Metal & Death Metal genres respectively & form a part of The Fallen & The Horde clans. The only subgenre tag we have that doesn't sit beneath a primary genre & isn't part of a clan is Non-Metal. Are you suggesting that there simply isn't an appropriate clan for Trance Metal? My knowledge of the subgenre is very limited so I'm very interested in the feedback of those that have more experience with the Trance Metal sound.

A beautifully tranquil post-minimalist world music piece from this Brazilian black/folk metal producer.

Kaatayra - "Inpariquipê" (2021)

I was drawn to the fifth album from this Brazilian atmospheric black metal producer through the consistent feedback that it offers a totally unique & original take on metal music & also through the interest created by Xephyr's wonderful review. Did it live up to the hype? Well... in a word YES... it certainly did but not in the way I thought it might. You see this record is not a metal record in any way, shape or form & I'm absolutely baffled as to how it's even found its way to this site. In fact, I'd suggest that if this album had a different moniker on the cover then we'd never have ended up encountering it in our lifetimes. There literally isn't a single second of metal music on it. The links to metal are entirely based on the historical space the producer has played in. What we get here is a wonderfully engaging mixture of traditional Brazilian avant-folk music, krautrock, post-minimalism & even a bit of early 80's Latin jazz with the inclusion of some fast drumming with double kick & the occasional black metal shriek fooling metalheads into clutching onto the extremely tenuous links to metal. It's a thoroughly captivating listen though with the post-rock structures seeing each track slowly building in tension before reaching rich climaxes or taking upexpected u-turns towards an atmosphere that's entirely different to the one they started with. In truth the sections that include elements of metal are the least impressive parts by a significant margin in my opinion & I actually wish that Kaatayra had gone with a sound that was focused entirely on their more stripped back world music sound with the stunning opening track "Tiquindê" & the stonerific second half of "Dundararaiê" being prime examples of why. If you're looking for the latest folk metal jig or dissonant avant-garde black metal masterpiece then don't come looking here. But if you've got an open mind & are keen to change things up a bit with something completely different though then do yourself a favour & give "Inpariquipê" at least a few spins to sink in. It's very much a diamond in the rough.

4/5

It's been a great month of feature releases with a whole slew of high quality releases. Once again I struggled with our The Guardians submission & it's becoming pretty clear that it's my least favoured clan these days. My two personal submissions were guaranteed winners for me as I'd previously rated them both the full 5 stars & neither disappointed. In fact, the Ufomamut & Lento record has now gone into my top five metal releases of all-time & it's absolutely absurd that no one knows about it. My best new discovery was the Malignant Altar album that Ben submitted. He certainly knows what I like. Anyway... here are my monthly ratings in order of preference:

THE FALLEN: Ufomammut/Lento - "Supernaturals - Record One" (2007)  5/5

THE SPHERE: The Amenta - "Flesh Is Heir" (2013)  4.5/5

THE INFINITE: Mastodon - "Crack The Skye" (2009)  4.5/5

THE HORDE: Malignant Altar - "Realms Of Exquisite Morbidity" (2021)  4/5

THE GATEWAY: Karnivool - "Themata" (2005)  4/5

THE PIT: Sadus - "Illusions" (1988)  4/5

THE REVOLUTION: Bullet For My Valentine - "Bullet For My Valentine" (2021)  4/5

THE NORTH: Borknagar - "Borknagar" (1996)  3.5/5

THE GUARDIANS: Rhapsody - "Dawn Of Victory" (2000)  2/5

A blasting death metal-influenced black metal track from this Kentucky-based solo artist.

Given the high ratings from most of our regular contributors, I thought I'd better check out Panopticon's "...And Again Into The Light" record for myself before the end of January & I can see why it's so highly regarded. It was certainly a grower for me as a) I've never been entirely comfortable with Lunn's approach to black metal due to the focus on country/folk elements & shimmering melody & b) I initially struggled with the limitations in Lunn's drumming skills, but repeat listens saw me being able to see through those obstacles & gain access to the gooey centre they encompassed. While there are no weak tracks included, I don't find the first three tracks to be as appealing as the rest of the album which is very solid indeed. That appears to be a taste thing though as fans & critics seem to regard a couple of those early tracks as album highlights but it definitely meant that I needed a couple more spins to overcome the initial feeling that this was just another mildly enjoyable Panopticon release. The blasting death metal-influenced "Moth Eaten Soul" is upsurprisingly the one that appeals to me the most & I think the deeper vocals are slightly more effective than Lunn's usual black metal shrieks. I also really enjoy the more stripped back post-rock inspired sections which are beautifully done. The parts that I find to be less appealing are the more orchestrated metal sections which I feel sound a bit more pretty & uplifting than I'm comfortable with from my black metal. Still.... this is a high quality extreme metal record that I rate more highly than our recent feature release in Panopticon's 2012 fourth full-length "Kentucky".

4/5

A pop song with death growls would be very interesting, but it wouldn't really catch on.

My five year old daughter listens to BABYMETAL & they have a few tracks that tick that box.

A fantastically catchy alternative metal anthem from Boston, USA.

Poppy - "EAT (NXT (Soundtrack)" E.P. (2021)

So, in the interest of increasing the validity of next month's 2021 The Gateway & The Revolution Release of the Year results, I thought I'd give this short fourteen minute alternative metalcore TV wrestling soundtrack E.P. a few spins to see why it's so highly regarded & I've come out of the experience with a confused smile on my face more than anything else. You see, of the five tracks included the first two seem to be the ones that have become fan favourites but I found them both to be pretty flat personally. In fact, after those two songs I was feeling like this release may not be for me however the remaining three tracks are all quite fun with the shortest cut on the E.P. "Breeders" having some pretty amazing hooks it has to be said.

Poppy's sound is certainly pretty unique & draws influence from some unusual places. It's edgy & fresh & in your face but never fails to remind you that it's essentially a pop release. Does it really warrant the metalcore tag though? I would go with a resounding no in that regard. There's only really one track that goes down a route that's pretty much deathcore from an instrumental perspective (i.e. "Say Cheese") but the rest of this release is far poppy for a metalcore primary (see what I did there?) & there really isn't all that much genuine hardcore influence anyway. The alternative metal tag is sufficient to cover this release in my opinion. The long & short of it is that while I'd suggest that "EAT" is definitely worth a quick spin it's unlikely to make too many dedicated metal fans AOTY lists.

3.5/5

Super-aggressive Californian thrash metal.

It's been fun to return to this record after so many years. I still really enjoy it too. It's not a perfect thrash album as it has its flaws but its very hard to deny the youthful electricity on display. It's very obvious that Sadus decided to make it their own personal mission to outdo "Reign In Blood" & "Darkness Descends" in the speed department as they really throw the kitchen sink at it. The consistently high velocity makes the short run time pretty much essential & ensures that I don't get bored. The execution & production are a little inconsistent & lack the polish of the tier ones. Although Steve DiGiorgio's bass playing is a real highlight of the Sadus sound, I have to say that he doesn't sit all that well in the mix here. He's too far forward in my opinion. I do love Darren Travis' psychotic vocals though. Boy he can spit out some words in quick succession & the Slayer-esque guitar solos take some of these songs to another level of extremity. I think the main appeal of a record like "Illusions" is that it just sums up the era so beautifully, a time that I was going through the most exciting period of musical discovery in my lifetime & one that I'll always treasure.

4/5

My family & I are currently in the initial stages of relocating interstate from New South Wales to Queensland which includes the sale of our apartment & the purchase of a new one in the Gold Coast. The logistics of this are astronomical in a COVID environment with two little kids at home & both of us working. If I could snap my fingers & travel forwards in time by two months  I wouldn't hesitate.

I think I probably have a very high tolerance for extremity after all these years of indulging in the more intense end of metal. I usually only refer to something is being super-extreme if it sits in the brutal/slam death metal, grindcore, war metal or the more blasting black metal space although I think drone metal, sludge metal & mathcore can all touch on these levels of extremity at times, as can your more modern death metal & tech death outfits.

Doomy old school death metal from Houston, USA.

I really enjoyed this one. Of course it doesn't do anything new whatsoever but it never claimed to & instead offers an easily palatable & professionally produced brand of death metal that should satisfy all fans of the genre. Malignant Altar sit right in the sweet spot between Morbid Angel & the darker, swampier Incantation sound which seems to be a bit of a trend in recent times but they do it all exceptionally well. I particularly enjoy the doomier sections which are clearly a strength for the band. The two minute dark ambient title track is staggeringly good & may well be my favourite track actually. You can't really go wrong with this one. The quality never dips below tier two level & you can easily tell that Malignant Altar have a very strong death metal pedigree.

4/5

I wouldn't recommend that we add Deathcore to The Horde Andi. Most Death Metal fanatics have problems with Deathcore in my experience & the intention of the clans is to is to link subgenres that are likely to appeal to the same audience. I think it's fine residing only in The Revolution although I could be convinced that it's better as a main Genre rather than a subgenre of Metalcore.

On the Trance Metal topic, after putting together The Revolution playlists for a couple of years & religiously including a Trance Metal track I've become very much aware that it doesn't sit all that comfortably alongside the Metalcore subgenre set. I'm interested to get everyone's feedback on whether you think it would sit better in another clan &, if so, which one that might be. The Gateway perhaps? Even The Guardians given the similarities to Power Metal & Symphonic Metal? Thoughts? Where do you think Trance Metal belongs?

On the Trancecore topic, from my playlist programming experience it seems to me that it's more of a variation on Melodic  Metalcore than anything else. Am I wrong?

NOTE: Please bare in mind that all this talk is just hypothetical at this stage because it's a significant exercise to make changes like these.

Post-stoner doom from Italy.

Here's my updated list:

25. ISIS - "Panopticon" (2004)

24. Suffocation - "Despise The Sun" E.P.

23. ISIS - "The Mosquito Control" E.P. (1998)

22. Dragged Into Sunlight - "Hatred For Mankind" (2009)

21. diSEMBOWELMENT - "Transcendence Into The Peripheral" (1993)

20. Neurosis - "Souls At Zero" (1992)

19. Botch - "We Are The Romans" (1999)

18. Rosetta - "The Galilean Satellites" (2005)

17. Slayer - "South Of Heaven" (1988)

16. Immolation - "Close To A World Below" (2000)

15. Esoteric - "The Maniacal Vale" (2008)

14. Suffocation - "Pierced From Within" (1995)

13. Boris - "Boris At Last -Feedbacker-" (2003)

12. Alice In Chains - "Dirt" (1992)

11. Death - "Human" (1991)

10. Morbid Angel - "Altars Of Madness" (1989)

09. Metallica - "...And Justice For All" (1988)

08. Mick Gordon - "DOOM (Original Game Soundtrack)" (2016)

07. Akhlys - "The Dreaming I" (2015)

06. Sunn O))) - "Black One" (2005)

05. Ufomammut/Lento - "Supernaturals - Record One" (2007)

04. Pig Destroyer - "Natasha" E.P. (2008)

03. Deathspell Omega - "Kenose" E.P. (2005)

02. Burzum - "Filosofem" (1996)

01. Slayer - "Reign In Blood" (1986)

Here's my revised list:

1970: Black Sabbath – “Paranoid”

1971: Black Sabbath – “Master Of Reality”

1972: Black Sabbath – “Vol 4”

1973: Black Sabbath – “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”

1974: Budgie – “In For The Kill”

1975: Black Sabbath – “Sabotage”

1976: Judas Priest - "Sad Wings Of Destiny"

1977: Quartz – “Quartz”

1978: Judas Priest – “Killing Machine”

1979: Judas Priest – “Unleashed In The East”

1980: Diamond Head – “Lightning To The Nations”

1981: Motorhead – “No Sleep Till Hammersmith”

1982: Ozzy Osbourne – “Speak Of The Devil”

1983: Slayer – “Show No Mercy”

1984: Metallica – “Ride The Lightning”

1985: Exodus – “Bonded By Blood”

1986: Slayer – “Reign In Blood”

1987: Bathory – “Under The Sign Of The Black Mark”

1988: Metallica – “…And Justice For All”

1989: Morbid Angel – “Altars Of Madness”

1990: Slayer - "Seasons In The Abyss"

1991: Death – “Human”

1992: Alice In Chains – “Dirt”

1993: diSEMBOWELMENT – “Transcendence Into The Peripheral”

1994: Darkthrone – “Transilvanian Hunger”

1995: Suffocation – “Pierced From Within”

1996: Burzum – “Filosofem”

1997: Exodus – “Another Lesson In Violence”

1998: ISIS – “The Mosquito Control” E.P.

1999: Botch - "We Are The Romans"

2000: Immolation – “Close To A World Below”

2001: Tool - "Lateralus"

2002: ISIS – “Oceanic”

2003: Boris – “Boris At Last -Feedbacker-“

2004: ISIS – “Panopticon”

2005: Deathspell Omega – “Kenose” E.P.

2006: Celtic Frost – “Monotheist”

2007: Ufomammut/Lento - "Supernaturals - Record One"

2008: Pig Destroyer - "Natasha" E.P.

2009: Dragged Into Sunlight - "Hatred For Mankind" (2009)

2010: Deathspell Omega - "Paracletus"

2011: Inside The Beehive - "Drink Bleach; Live Forever" E.P.

2012: Deftones - "Koi no Yokan"

2013: Gorguts - "Colored Sands"

2014: Dead Congregation - "Promulgation Of The Fall"

2015: Akhlys - "The Dreaming I"

2016: Mick Gordon - "Doom (Original Game Soundtrack)"

2017: Fen - "Winter"

2018: Saxon - "Thunderbolt"

2019: Altesia - "Paragon Circus"

2020: Oranssi Pazuzu - "Mestarin kynsi"

2021: Altarage - "Succumb"

OK, so I've given this release three full revisits over the last couple of days & it's nothing short of breath-taking. Not only do I regard it as highly as I did when I first experienced it more than a decade ago now but my feelings may even have developed further. It's quite simply everything I look for in a The Fallen clan release brought together to make up one life-changing package. I'm a big fan of Ufomammut but this transcends anything I've heard from them individually. The way it draws together the crushingly slow riffage of doom metal, the mind-expanding psychedelia of stoner metal & the stripped back tribal structures & slowly building tension-&-release of post-sludge is nothing short of remarkable, as is the production job with the guitar tone being pure perfection for this style of music. I saw someone suggesting that "Supernaturals - Record One" reminded them of Electric Wizard crossed with Neurosis & that's a pretty accurate description as I'd probably tag it as post-stoner doom. Is this a live album as listed on RYM? I very much doubt it but it's a top five metal release for me personally & will comfortably retain its position at the top of my doom metal top ten. Remarkable stuff!

5/5

Great review Saxy. You've summed "Crack the Skye" up beautifully. It's an undisputed classic as far as I'm concerned & I've also gone with a 4.5/5. It comes in a close second to "Leviathan" (also 4.5/5) in Mastodon's overall career for me. I guess I just prefer "Leviathan"s dirtier, sludgier sound that little bit more but there's not a lot in it.

Hi Scarecrow. Very valid questions. When we originally created the Metal Academy website we had to decide on a reasonable configuration & wouldn't profess to be experts in every metal subgenre so we simply went with the most well informed position we could at the time. In saying that though, we're always looking for ways to improve the site & have made dozens of changes over time. I agree with you that in hindsight Melodic Metalcore should be under Metalcore & it's likely be something that we'll look to change in the future. Just bare in mind that every change we make to the database structure can create a considerable logistical challenge as we've already got tens of thousands of releases in play under the current structure. There's also a financial cost for us to make most changes so we tend to do them in batches in order to get the most bang for buck with our developer.

As for why there's not a trance metal clan challenge, that's because there are very few genuine trance metal releases of any note which makes it pretty irrelevant as a guide to a potential new clan member's understanding of The Revolution. In fact, I'm now of the opinion that Trance Metal probably doesn't belong in The Revolution & may not even warrant its own subgenre. That might be something we look at over time too.

As far as I'm aware, "extreme metal" is a term that was originally created to encompass all of the genres that are generally hard on the ear for your average music fan. That comprises of anything related to thrash metal, death metal, black metal & grindcore & includes subgenres like death doom metal & funeral doom metal. I've never considered speed metal to be a part of it as it's essentially just sped-up heavy metal & generally includes more melody than the more rhythmic thrash sound. It's interesting that the elitists out there have never allowed for deathcore to be included under this banner when it clearly should be. I'd argue that a lot of mathcore & sludge metal are also pushing into that territory but I'm reasonably comfortable with where the cut-off is at the moment.

Is it hard to define what "extreme metal" is these days due to our ever-increasing desensitization? I don't think we need to take it too literally. I'm comfortable with the intent of the term & it serves its purpose in my opinion. I mean you could argue that "heavy metal" isn't really all that heavy by today's standards but we all know what it means so why fix what's not broken.

For this weekend's top ten list I've decided to do my Top Ten Djent Releases of All Time, a task that was always going to end in an extremely one-sided result.

01. Meshuggah – “I” E.P. (2004)

02. Meshuggah – “Catch Thirtythree” (2005)

03. Meshuggah – “Destroy Erase Improve” (1995)

04. Meshuggah – “Koloss” (2012)

05. Vildhjarta – “Måsstaden” (2011)

06. Skyharbor – “Blinding White Noise: Illusion & Chaos” (2012)

07. Meshuggah – “Alive” (2010)

08. Meshuggah – “Nothing” (2006)

09. Meshuggah – “Nothing” (2002)

10. Meshuggah – “obZen” (2008)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/155

Mid-90's Norwegian black/Viking metal.

It's been a very long time since I've checked this album out. In fact, I don't think I would have heard it since the late 1990's. I remember finding it to be a mildly enjoyable listen at the time but feeling that it wasn't worthy of the praise it was receiving from many fans & critics. As a result, I didn't often feel the urge to return to it & that position has been maintained with a few key flaws preventing me from fully committing. The more brutal black metal sections are great but I'm not as into the more melodic parts of the fully fledged black metal songs which often have a bouncy half-time feel to the drumming which sounds pretty loose & primitive for such a highly regarded artist. The harsh black metal vocals are pretty good but I don't always love the chanty Viking stuff which simply isn't to my taste. I wouldn't say that this is a Viking Metal release though. It does take influence from the genre at times but I think the Black metal tag is enough to cover the majority of the album.

Borknagar may well have been a supergroup of sorts at the time but that doesn't reflect in the quality of the musicianship on display, particularly that of founding member & guitarist Øystein G. Brun & Gorgoroth drummer Grim, both of whom contribute some patchy performances. The keyboard work can often sound pretty cheap too. In saying that, I do generally enjoy all of the genuine black metal tracks included as they definitely offer some good Scandinavian atmosphere. It's some of the five interlude pieces that I find to be pretty ordinary, particularly the very weak two track run of "Ved steingard" & "Krigsstev" which falls well beneath the bar. Overall I think "Borknagar" is worth a listen for fans of the Second Wave of Black Metal but I wouldn't expect it to offer you a life-changing experience.

3.5/5

Super extreme industrial death metal from my home town in Sydney, Australia.

Wonderfully atmospheric industrial death metal from Sydney, Australia. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.... Oi, Oi, Oi!

After giving this album a few revisits over the last couple of days I think my review from back in 2013 still holds up very well. These guys are generally listed as residing in my home city of Sydney but that's not entirely true as they're really more of national collaboration with Malignant Monster vocalist Cain Cresall coming out of Perth (which is over a four hour flight away from Sydney) & legendary Psycroptic, Abramelin & Ruins drummer Dave Haley residing in the island state of Tasmania. Regardless, these guys are like metal royalty here in Sydney & have blown away many a touring act in the live environment too. Dave is widely regarded as one of the best metal drummers in Australia (along with Ne Obliviscaris skinsman Daniel Presland) & is globally renowned while Cain is quite simply one of the most theatrical & psychotic front men you'll ever see & the album cover is a very true representation of what you could expect to see at one of his live shows. He's truly intimidating & creates a seriously imposing atmosphere. Anyway... here's my review:

I've always been a big fan of this band. Their first two albums were outstanding examples of industrial-edged death metal & their live shows are a true spectacle. I class them as my personal favourite from the current crop of Aussie metal bands so I had very high hopes for this release & it certainly hasn't let me down. In fact they've stepped it up to another level altogether. The production is better than ever before & it presents the songs in the best possible light. If you don't like triggered drum sounds then look no further because they don't get much more mechanized & up-front than this. It really does enhance the industrial vibe though & the drumming is a real highlight. This is some of the most extreme metal you will find anywhere. Stylistically they sit somewhere between Damaged, Anaal Nathrakh & Godflesh. It's extremely dark & chaotic with the electronic component adding to the insanity of the atmosphere. The slower sections are outstanding & push this dark atmosphere even further. They've included a couple of high quality industrial tracks evenly distributed amongst the metal tracks to give you a little respite from the non-stop assault on your senses & they fit the purpose well. I honestly can't fault this album. Amazing!

4.5/5

I wouldn't but it's not a perfect exercise. The clan members may nominate tracks from those releases anyway.

I've been assumed to be a bot by RYM a number of times while putting together playlists in the past which I found really annoying. Lately I've been thinking that I'd rather not use a competitors site for the task anyway & are planning on trialing the prioritized use of our Latest Reviews page (filtered by the clan in question) & the Track Of The Day threads in each clan forum so as to guide my track selection in a way that most accurately highlights the listening habits of the site. I can easily see the dates of each rating on the Latest Reviews page which makes it easy to pick the ones that you've all been listening to within the month in question.