Daniel's Forum Replies
I've gotten tired of my favourite genres a number of times through my life but it's never prevented me from coming back refreshed after some time away. Hell, I got tired of metal in general at one point & spent a decade in the techno scene before returning to it fifteen years ago & have never looked back.
Sorry Sonny. I accidently deleted your post while I was scrolling on my phone half-awake. Feel free to repost it. We really should consider an "Are you sure you wanna delete this post?" prompt at some point.
Permanent Damage - "End of Innocence" (1987)
It was only within the last year that I really discovered the sole full-length album from Melbourne hardcore punk act Permanent Damage & the experience excited me. The crossover thrash component of the album saw me getting a little over-enthusiastic & I feel like I jumped the gun a little bit on claiming "End of Innocence" as an unheralded gem of the early crossover movement. This is my first revisit since that time & I feel like I've been able to see through the weeds a little bit better this time & have come out with a slightly different take on it. I still enjoy the album quite a bit, perhaps even more than I did on those initial sessions, but the additional scrutiny I've given the album on a track-by-track basis has seen me questioning my previous position a bit, not in relation to the merits of "End of Innocence" as a piece of art but more around the validity of Permanent Damage's claims to a place at the Metal Academy table.
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself experimenting with Permanent Damage's earlier self-titled single from 1985, a three-song affair that offered nothing much in the way of metal & which led me to this reassessment of the band's 1987 album. As with the other Melbourne hardcore acts I've been playing around with in recent months (see Depression, Vicious Circle, etc.), Permanent Damage started out as a pure punk outfit before allowing the surging global metal movement to infiltrate their sound. By the time the band had entered the studio to record "End of Innocence" they were a much more potent force though & one has to wonder about how much these underground acts influenced each other in this regard. There had been significant changes to Permanent Damage's lineup in the two years since the single with original drummer Jenk having been replaced by Danny O'Callahan who also spent some time with fellow Melbourne hardcore/crossover band Depression where Jenk's brother Spike had handled the vocal duties during their early days so the scene was certainly a little bit incestuous at the time. Peter Young had also been added as a second guitarist with Young handling the lead duties while Izy Semovic played the supporting rhythm guitar role. It's unclear as to how much of an impact these changes had had on Permanent Damage's sound (if any) but if I had to guess I'd say that Permanent Damage had picked up a bit of their more metallic direction from Depression who were the more established band at the time.
"End of Innocence" was recorded in two days at S.S. Studios in Sydney & was mastered at the legendary Studio 301 which is, interestingly enough, where I had my own solo CD mastered back in 1999. It sounds great too with the production job nicely balancing the rawness of a live hardcore band with the clarity required to give it a level of accessibility. The album opens in a really energetic fashion with three of the thrashier songs landing in quick succession. Front man Manny Maragoudakis does a great job at summoning the audience to throw themselves around the house, car, mosh pit or any other venue they may have chosen for the task & I find him to be quite a charismatic figure whose use of phrasing is quite captivating at times. The metal component starts to take a backward seat through the middle of the album though with hardcore punk being the dominant force across the majority of the record, so much so that I've had to rethink my earlier position on Permanent Damage's right to be here at the Academy. Overall, I think I was a little hasty in awarding them a crossover thrash badge because I now feel that that was perhaps a little ambitious. Of the sixteen tracks on offer here, I'd suggest that only five of them really warrant a thrash tag which isn't enough for me to go with a dual tag. The thrash component ends up being more of an influence than a protagonist when the album is viewed holistically so I've been forced to back down on my previous position in this regard.
Despite this revelation, I've still found myself enjoying "End of Innocence" quite a bit & it's definitely worth a few listens for fans of the hardcore sound. Album highlight "Victim of Misery" is honestly one of the best hardcore tracks I've ever heard & has thoroughly blown me away this week with me repeatedly reaching for the skip button to replay it while taking the long drive to work each morning. Crossover thrash opener "Warcry" is also really strong, as is energetic hardcore outing "Sniff Your Defeat". There are only a couple of flatter moments across the sixteen tracks too with the hardcore/crossover hybrid "Live for Life" & the lighter-weight hardcore number "Kill for Lies" both falling a little short of the mark for me personally. Still, it's hard to be too critical because the track lengths are quite short which means that any blemishes are short-lived. During the back end of the album you can also find a couple of more expansive & experimental tracks that add some interest with both the title track & closer "Time" sitting further over into post-hardcore territory than they do your more frantic & red-blooded hardcore punk space.
While I'm disappointed that I can no longer consider "End of Innocence" as one of my favourite crossover thrash records, I am excited that I've discovered yet another world class Aussie hardcore record. I honestly had no idea that we had so many great hardcore bands during the 1980's & I think Melbourne must have been a great place to be if you were a snot-nosed mohawk-wearing punk rocker at the time. I don't think too many fans of the genre will be disappointed with "End of Innocence" even if it's perhaps not quite as vital or as metal as the better Depression work from the same period.
For fans of Depression, Condemned? & Vicious Circle.
3.5/5
Unfortunately the Manowar cover by Edge of Sanity was a misstep
Yeah, it doesn't do anything for me either but I figured that others might like it more than myself given that I don't like the original & it seems to be regarded as the best song from Manowar's most popular album. Interestingly, one of my work mates listens to this playlist religiously & he mentioned that track as his highlight this month which surprised me.
Enchantment - "Dance the Marble Naked" (1994)
I hadn't heard of English doom/death outfit Enchantment before when my younger brother Ben brought home of copy of their debut album "Dance the Marble Naked" back in 1994. We were both massively into the then thriving doom/death metal scene & would often surprise each other with new & exciting releases from faraway lands that ticked all of our preferred boxes, often after purchasing them cold or based purely on word of mouth or cover artwork. I think "Dance the Marble Naked" was probably a record store recommendation as the latest release from the metal subgenre that Ben was most passionate about at the time & I say this with a level of confidence because there's a definite flaw with Enchantment's first-up effort that I know frustrates Ben & would likely have prevented him from laying down his cold hard cash had he been given the opportunity to investigate the album's contents prior to making his purchase. I wasn't sure how big a role that flaw was going to play in my first revisit to this record since the 1990's but it's safe to say that I was a little guarded while going into listen number one this week.
"Dance the Marble Naked" was recorded at Academy Studios, West Yorkshire in February 1994 with Peaceville Records founder Hammy handling the production duties & doing a fine job of it too. Hammy had already produced a string of high-quality extreme metal releases from bands like Anathema, Autopsy, My Dying Bride & Paradise Lost so his credentials were pretty much perfect for the task at hand & you can hear a clear proficiency in the way he goes about his craft here with the album sounding crisp, clear & heavy. Enchantment had picked up a six-album deal with Century Media Records off the back of their 1993 "A Tear for Young Eloquence" demo tape which I've not heard before. Sadly though, they'd only get the chance to fulfill just the one record before unceremoniously splitting up, a state they'd remain in until they joined the modern trend of old 80's & 90's metal bands reforming many years later in 2019. They've since gone on to record their sophomore album "Cold Soul Embrace" a full twenty-eight years after "Dance the Marble Naked" first hit the streets but I'm yet to hear that particular release, perhaps due to my recollections of the struggles I experienced with the debut so many years ago.
Enchantment's sound was not anything new for the doom/death scene. In fact, it was very much in line with what we'd already grown to know & love from the Peaceville Three with much more time spent on emulation than genuine creation. There are so many familiar moments on "Dance the Marble Naked" but the execution is nothing short of excellent so it's hard to be too critical, despite the regular feelings of deja vu I experienced throughout my three listens over the last few days. Enchantment rarely stray from the tried-&-tested doom/death model much either, although there are moments when they hit on a more classic death metal riff & head down that road for a while before reverting back to a doomier model. The gothic edge that their fellow countrymen had become known for is readily available here with the clean spoken word sections having clearly been borrowed from My Dying Bride's Aaron Stainthorpe & being quite effective too. Instrumental closer "Meadows" is the only track that deviates from the self-imposed confines of Enchantment's subgenre of choice as it takes more of a Smashing Pumpkins-style alternative rock direction & does it pretty proficiently too, making for a pleasant end to an otherwise consistently depressive doom/death record.
Now, that all sounds generally positive, doesn't it? But let's get to the elephant in the room which is front man Paul Jones & his cringe-inducing death bellows. I've heard a lot of death growls & grunts over the years but rarely have I heard them sound like this, nor have I wanted them too. Jones sounds completely out of his depth as he fumbles his way through a succession of forced & incompetent accompaniments to some otherwise more than serviceable instrumentation. Some tracks display his failing worse than others but even the stronger material included is considerably less effective for his involvement & I struggle to see how his band mates managed put up with him for so long to be honest. Actually, if I had to guess as to why Enchantment ended up splitting so early in their recording contract then I'd likely find myself pointing directly at poor Paul. It's a real shame because the other four band members do an excellent job here & show themselves to have a very solid understanding of what made the early 90's doom/death scene so exciting. If the band had of opted for almost any other death growler then I think they could have been quite successful, even if they had missed the boat a little bit by arriving on the scene a few years too late to be discussed in the same terms as the founding godfathers of their sound. The fact that none of the other band members would go on to contribute anything else of note to the metal world makes this an even greater tragedy.
"Dance the Marble Naked" includes eight songs & spans around 43 minutes in length with only one track (i.e. "God Send") having been re-recorded from the "A Tear for Young Eloquence" demo tape. The album opens with its clear highlight track in "Kneading with Honey" which left me with some hope for an improved experience this time, despite Jones' obvious failings. Sadly though, things would descend fairly quickly from there with only the previously mentioned "God Send" & "Meadows" offering me much in the way of appeal as I was simply unable to see past the uncomfortable feelings that Jones' inadequacies instilled in me. "Of Acorns That Gather" is a particularly hard pill to swallow but most of the other material showed great promise, only to see Enchantment's dreams of underground success unceremoniously dumped into a bottomless pit by their unforgiveable selection of Jones as their front man.
Ben has often mentioned "Dance the Marble Naked" as the finest example during discussions about otherwise high-quality records that have been completely ruined by some inappropriate vocals & I'm afraid that I have to agree on this occasion. Unfortunately, I don't think that this will end up being a matter of personal taste though & I challenge any doom/death tragic to say that they can accept this flaw that has ended up being a complete deal-breaker for me. The fact that the album has still achieved a reasonable score is simply a reflection of how competent the rest of the band are as well as how well produced Enchantment's debut was.
For fans of Castle, Anathema & My Dying Bride.
3/5
Well said Sonny. "Flag of Hate" was a HHUUGGEE record for me during my formative years & it still well & truly hits that spot today. One criticism I will make is that the more expansive song structures do sound quite pieced together when I listen to it with my more experienced modern-day ears but the raw intensity has lost none of its potency. I regard "Flag of Hate" as my second-favourite Kreator record behind "Pleasure to KIll" these days.
"Kingdom Come" is a heavy psych record with blues rock & hard rock influences in my opinion. I'd suggest that the only genuine metal song is the title track which draws upon Black Sabbath for inspiration & it sticks out like a sore thumb as a result. The rest of the record sees them crossing The Jimi Hendrix Experience with Led Zeppelin for the most part.
Nice! I'll be adding that one to my list then after thoroughly enjoying 2022's "Tlazcaltiliztli" debut album. :)
Vicious Circle - "Hope & Wait" E.P. (1987)
My recent explorations of the earliest roots of the Australian extreme metal scene have seen me spending far more time with Melbourne hardcore punk outfit Vicious Circle than I'd bargained for. While I was certainly aware of the band & owned dubbed copies of a few of their albums as a kid, I never gave them much of my attention & can't say that I ever thought of them as a genuine crossover thrash artist. That position hasn't changed much in the current day either with none of Vicious Circle's early material fitting the bill, most of it sitting mainly in punk territory. I hadn't been exposed to their 1987 "Hope & Wait" E.P. before now though so I was hoping that perhaps it might be at least partially responsible for the band's metal status on other well-known websites. "Hope & Wait" was the title of a song from the Victorian's album from earlier the same year so the E.P. seemed to be more of an extended single & has been pretty hard to track down but I finally managed to locate it & have given it a few listens this morning, only to discover that it's a fairly inconsequential record in Vicious Circle's back catalogue.
The "Hope & Wait" E.P. includes four short songs spanning just fifteen minutes, three of which were already available on 1987's "Rhyme with Reason" album which was more of a compilation of material that was recorded at different points in Vicious Circle's recent past. Most of that material was drawn from 1986's disappointing "Reflections" sophomore album but there were also a couple of new tracks included with both of them reappearing here. The E.P. was recorded at Sound Concept Studios in 1987 & sports a fairly raw production job with a tinny guitar sound but it suits the material quite well & affords all of the instruments plenty of room to move. Tracks like "Rule 17" & "Turn to Stone" sounded a little out of place on "Rhyme with Reason" given that their production was so obviously different from the rest of the material but here we see the four songs sounding much more unified, even if Vicious Circle do explore a few different subgenres across the short tracklisting.
Once again, I do have to question Vicious Circle's claims to a crossover thrash tag because there's really only one song that fits the bill here in the fairly average "Turn to Stone". The opening title track sits somewhere between hard rock & heavy metal, "Rule 17" is more of a conventional punk rock outing & "Warhol Crazy" (the only new track included & the only reason for the more diehard punters to purchase "Hope & Wait") sees the band returning to their hardcore punk roots. Despite the variation, I think the hardcore punk tag fits much better as a generic tag for this collection of songs in much the same way as it did for Vicious Circle's last few releases. This record does sound a little more raw due to the tinny production job I mentioned earlier but the tracks themselves aren't wildly different from anything we'd heard from these punks previously, especially given that this was now the third Vicious Circle release to feature "Hope & Wait" which is a song that I still haven't taken much of a shining to. I do enjoy "Rule 17" & "Warhol Crazy" though which goes further to enforce my existing position that Vicious Circle should probably have simply stuck to their hardcore guns as they seem to be a better punk band than they are when they're exploring a wider musical palate with front man Paul Lindsay's snot-nosed delivery always ensuring that Vicious Circle's punk credentials are kept intact.
At the end of the day, I find it hard to find any reason why anyone would need to own "Hope & Wait". Perhaps the more obsessive fan might need to own the only new track here in "Warhol Crazy" but anyone else would be better served by investing in the "Rhyme with Reason" album as it's a more consistent & enjoyable record than this one & offers a lot more value for money too. I'm sure there was a reason for the release of "Hope & Wait" from a record company perspective but I'm not really seeing it personally. It's certainly not horrible but it is a little flat & doesn't do much to enhance Vicious Circle's existing reputation as one of the leaders of the Aussie hardcore scene.
For fans of early Depression, Condemned? & Permanent Damage.
3/5
Yes, I agree that it’s a complete mystery as to how that setting was engaged Ben. I guess we’ll never know.
*accidently presses the ANYONE BUT BEN button*
I usually get the album cover images from their respective release pages in this site, but if that's what causing all these issues, I can reduce their size for future posts.
If I do that then I reduce always their size from 1000 x 1000 to 600 x 600 which is a much more manageable size. There's no doubt that large images slow down the pages they're attached to so I'd recommend that you keep that in mind but I'm not sure that's all there is to this issue. I definitely noticed the New Music pages slowing down after I posted a number of links to cover images from RYM which were then updated so the link became invalid some time later. I could be wrong but I think that's had a bigger impact on our load speed. Perhaps the page is spending time searching for those links? I dunno. And page speed might not have anything to do with the issue that Sonny's reported here either.
Even though I'm not experiencing the same fault, there's definitely something dodgy about that thread as every time I post a response on it I get an "ERROR 500" error. When I refresh the page I find that the post has been accepted though.
Oooo... that sounds promising Sonny. I've really liked everything I've heard from those Frenchmen so I'll definitely be popping this one onto my list for future exploration.
Ben, I'm wondering whether this is due to the same thing that's been causing these New Music threads to take a long time to load recently. I've long suspected that it's due to me having linked album covers where the links no longer work or where others have posted large cover images. Thoughts?
I’m not experiencing the same issue with that thread Sonny. Have you tried another device?
The new double live Electric Wizard album "Black Magic Rituals & Perversions: Vol 1" hits the shelves on 13th December. I haven't seen them live before & haven't explored any of their studio releases in ages either. The last one would probably be 2010's "Black Masses" album actually. I've generally always enjoyed Electric Wizard though so I might chuck this on at some point. Anyone seen them live?
Yep. I'm in. Who else is?
Will definitely be checking this one out at some point as Kreator are always great live.
I've passed this nomination uncontested Andi.
Taramis - "Queen of Thieves" (1987)
Melbourne progressive metal outfit Taramis hold somewhat of a prestigious position in the story of Australian metal. They were arguably the first metal act of any note to start messing with progressive influences which gave them a distinct point of difference while still maintaining enough of a traditional heavy metal component to ensure that they didn't lose any of the old-schoolers along the way. I didn't become aware of them until their 1991 sophomore album "Stretch of the Imagination" which I regard as being their finest work however my recent investigations into the early roots of the Aussie metal scene have seen me finally exploring their 1985 "Blood and Honour" demo tape & 1987 debut album "Queen of Thieves", neither of which are as thrashy as the band would eventually become. The Prowler demo was a decent enough heavy metal release although it was a lot less expansive & more conventional than the Taramis releases. It was clear that there was some talent there though so I was interested to see how that would develop on "Queen of Thieves". It certainly has too as this is a far more sophisticated release than the demo ever aspired to be.
The impact of Taramis' debut album is a little restricted due to an overly raw production job that was fairly typical of underground releases of the time. It was recorded at Saturn Studios in Melbourne with unknown producer George Simak who isn't exactly a household name in the local metal scene. The results are pretty much as you would expect too with the guitars sounding tinny & far too far back in the mix while the vocals of operatic front man Shane Southby boom out over the top with no restraint whatsoever. It's a fairly unforgiving position for the theatrical Southby whose soaring, air-raid siren style, high-pitched voice often struggles for control, even spilling over into the pitchy & cringe-worthy on tracks like "The Chosen" where he completely ruins what was otherwise a very solid progressive metal number from an instrumental point of view. He's a lot more successful on other tracks though & I've found myself enjoying a good three quarters of the tracklisting with heavy metal closer "My Life" being the only other failure. Taramis are at their best when they're at their most adventurous & prove themselves to be highly capable musicians along the way. Iron Maiden have clearly been a major inspiration for them & you can easily pick up the influence of their more progressive mid-to-late 80's records on "Queen of Thieves", particularly on the basslines of Danny Komorr who forms a formidable partnership with former Nothing Sacred drummer Dave Browne. The guitar solos of Craig Robertson aren't the most polished or theoretically correct you'll find but they are always interesting & fit the purpose quite well. It's kinda hard to pigeon-hole Taramis' sound at this point though as they tend to jump around a bit but I think a progressive power metal tag is probably the best fit, despite the consistent presence of traditional heavy metal. I think Southby's vocal style simply points me in the direction of power metal every time I question myself & there's a similar feel to Manilla Road in the atmospheres at times too.
The raw production job does limit how far Taramis can take you to an extent but I've found more than enough appeal in "Queen of Thieves" to keep me interested. It's probably just lacking those couple of classic tracks to draw your attention away from its flaws with only the excellent progressive metal anthem "Doesn't Seem" pushing up into second tier territory. The rest of the album largely sits back in the third tier for this type of music but it was an admirable first-up effort for Taramis nonetheless. History has shown that it did just enough to afford them a rare status amongst a local scene that was still quite immature in terms of the more progressive end of metal so it deserves its place in Australian metal folklore.
For fans of Adramelch, Iron Maiden & Manilla Road.
3.5/5
Anathema - "We Are The Bible" 7" single (1994)
This limited release Peaceville Records single is one of the more underrated releases in the English doom/death legends' prestigious back catalogue. In fact, I regard it as somewhat of a hidden gem. It's comprised of just the two tracks that span less than eleven minutes & opener "Nailed To The Cross/666" is merely acceptable however the real gold can be found on the B side with the psychedelic "Eternal Rise of the Sun" being a marvelous example of the creative power of this band. I may be a total Anathema fanboy but I think people have unfairly treated this record over the years. It's not anything like doom/death either. I'd suggest that a better description would be gothic stoner doom.
For fans of Katatonia, Paradise Lost & My Dying Bride.
4.5/5
SSDC - "State Sponsored Dissident Crucifixion" demo (1987)
Aussie hardcore punk. There's a little bit of metal here & there but the references to early thrash & crossover are drastically overstated.
Bathory - "Requiem" (1994)
By the early 1990's, Swedish metal gods Bathory had already made a huge impression on my life. I'd first discovered Quorthon & his various forms of stylist expression through 1988's incredible "Blood Fire Death" album, a record that would represent my earliest experience with genuine black metal, & it would change me in ways that I've never really recovered from. I would very quickly take in the rest of Bathory's prestigious back catalogue with each successive release seeing Quorthon gaining in credibility as one of the most original & influential artists of all time in terms of metal music. 1991's Twilight of the Gods" sixth album may have seen Bathory taking their foot off the pedal a little bit but was still a very solid effort when viewed outside of the context of the record that preceded it. I just think that Bathory had defined their Viking metal sound so emphatically with "Hammerheart" from the previous year that its follow-up was always going to struggle to achieve the same level of notoriety. There's no doubt that "Twilight of the Gods" is still a very strong record in its own right but I can't say that I consider it to be as classic as the three records that led into it. It did leave me wondering where Quorthon's next creative endeavour might take him though as it was still an immensely ambitious creative statement. We'd have to wait a full three years to find out though &, by the time 1994's "Requiem" appeared, I think my anticipation had waned a touch. Make no mistake about it, Ben & I still raced out to buy the album immediately upon release but I don't think my expectations were quite as high as they had been for the previous two records. Thank goodness they weren't either because "Requiem" is far from the classic that many people simply expected from Quorthon by that point in his highly celebrated career.
The first thing that hits you about "Requiem" is the rawness in Quorthon's production job. The album was once again recorded at Stockholm's Montezuma Studio which had seen Bathory creating yet another huge wall of epic Viking metal with "Twilight of the Gods" but this would be the first time that Quorthon had attempted to produce a Bathory record without the oversight of his father Börje Forsberg &, if these results are anything to go by, then it was a bad decision. My major gripe is with the artificial drum sound which is nothing short of abominable. The album cover lists Vvornth as once again handling the drums on this record but that name is generally accepted to be a pseudonym adopted by a number of different performed who filled the seat for Bathory from 1998 to 1996. On this occasion though, I don't actually think Vvornth is human because the drums on "Requiem" sound like a cheap drum machine to me but even that suspicion doesn't fully portray how bad the snare sound is here. In fact, it rivals Metallica's "St. Anger" for sheer cringe factor if I'm being completely honest. The rest of the kit isn't much better either with the kick drums & toms sounding thin & clicky. The rest of the instrumentation isn't too bad actually but there's very little in the way of studio gloss to be found here with the rhythm guitar tone being as raw as they come.
If you were expecting the next installment of Bathory's epic Viking metal legacy with "Requiem" then you were going to be sorely disappointed & I think it's fair to say that I was. "Requiem" sees Quorthon taking a complete change of stylistic direction towards a fairly generic thrash metal sound which is a little hard to understand. It doesn't actually sound all that bad on paper but the reality isn't all that it might have been. Quorthon has still maintained his trademark black metal shriek but the music sounds very much like an attempt to emulate classic Exodus & Kreator &, while there are some great riffs employed at times, it's hard to overcome the impact of those awful drums. The vocals tend to be fairly hit & miss too with the faster & more aggressive material benefiting from their extremity while the more restrained inclusions tend to suffer the opposite fate with Quorthon's raspy screams sounding far too over the top for the instrumentation that supports them. The guitar solos are instantly recognisable & see Quorthon simply blazing away on fast (if relatively simple) pentatonic licks with no attempt to hold anything back. As an holistic package though, "Requiem" simply seems a bit lacking in ambition after the incredible run of forward-thinking releases that Bathory were already responsible for producing over the previous decade or so.
Production issues aside, the nine-song tracklisting actually begins fairly well with the first tree tracks all being pretty enjoyable, particularly the excellent "Necroticus" which is my clear pick of the bunch. Things start to get noticeably shaky from there though with three of the next four songs all falling well short of the mark. "War Machine", "Pax vobiscum" & "Suffocate" don't even come close to reaching an acceptable level of appeal with me personally &, even though things return to some level of normality at the end of the album, I've always found it very difficult to repair the damage that had been done through the middle of the album. Don't get me wrong, there is some seriously shredding blackened thrash on this album at times but there's little doubt that it's presented in an inappropriate packaging & that Quorthon is miles better than this simple collection of tunes which never attempt to push through any pre-existing musical boundaries. It simply feels so safe, not to mention more than a little amateurish, so I can't deny my disappointment in what seemed like such an anti-climax at the time.
I think you'd be a brave man to claim that "Requiem" was anything other than the first genuine disappointment in Bathory's incredibly prestigious recording career & things would only get worse for Quorthon over the next twelve months as he continued to explore this "new" sound. I tried my very best not to let these creative misfires taint the legacy that Bathory had built up in my esteem & I think I did a reasonable job of it too. I can't deny that the Swedes would never again return to the throne they'd created with their past glories though & I definitely sensed that this might be the case at the time too. "Requiem" may not be a complete disaster but it certainly fell well short of the stratospheric levels of musical mastery we'd come to expect from Bathory so I feel that this might be my last revisit to one of Sweden's more tragic descents.
For fans of Exodus, Kreator & Sodom.
3/5
Psychrist - "The Abysmal Fiend" E.P. (1994)
During the formative years of my own death metal band Neuropath, there were a number of Aussie artists that played important roles in inspiring us to take things to a much higher level than we may otherwise have done & Canberra death metallers Psychrist were one of the more important. I had the pleasure of seeing them play live on a number of occasions & always loved their sound while their debut E.P. "The Abysmal Fiend" played a starring role around our rehearsal room & social gatherings for an extended period. I'd quite enjoyed Psychrist's 1992 demo tape but the E.P. was more emphatic in its statement & it was fantastic to hear a local group creating something that rivalled the Americans for class & intensity. It's really surprised me to discover that Psychrist haven't even been added to our database yet as they simply seem like such a significant player in Australian extreme metal & perhaps that just emphasizes how isolated we were in a pre-internet time. Regardless, I hope you take something from this review as Psychrist deserve to be heard & not just because of my nostalgia for a simpler time.
"The Abysmal Fiend" is a 26-minute, six-song affair that sports a more than acceptable Powerhouse Studio production job from a completely unheard of producer named Craig Beck who hasn't gone on to do anything else of note as far as I'm aware. It sounds thick & chunky yet maintains enough rawness to offer an obvious appeal for the more underground side of the scene with the guitar tone coming across as fairly sloppy in isolation yet becoming strangely cohesive when positioned within the full band aesthetic. The execution is highly professional for a first-up effort with Psychrist sounding like they'd been doing it their whole lives at this point. I recently reviewed a couple of the early releases from Brisbane death metallers Misery who were also a huge influence on Neuropath & this doesn't sound all that dissimilar to them or Gorguts' 1991 debut album "Considered Dead" although it's a lot faster & more brutal at times, particularly due to the addition of some fast & precise blast beats from drummer James Simper. In fact, there are a couple of tracks that spill all the way over into the brutal death metal space (see "The Shroud of Profanity" & "Copraphile") which no doubt left me with feeling a wide array of jollies back in the day given my fascination with the early brutal death metal scene. Psychrist display a really good sense of dynamics here though as there's a lot of variety in their decisions around tempo & this is a real strength. I particularly enjoy the vocals of guitarist & band leader Yuri Ward (Armoured Angel/Lord Kaos) who I enjoyed a few chats with over a beer or two back in the day while the use of harmonies & layering in the guitar work is professionally executed with bassist Dan Marsden (Astriaal) holding bottom end down nicely.
The tracklisting is completely without blemish & is very solid indeed. Interestingly, the obvious weak point is the shortest & most consistently brutal track in "Copraphile" which simply offers less in the way of depth & nuance than the rest of the material. I still enjoy it but I prefer it when Psychrist reach a little further than that. The other five songs are all really strong without any of them ever really cracking into the top tier of the death metal spectrum. "Tears of the Deceased" is the only inclusion to have been revamped from the demo tape & it doesn't sound out of place here either. The best offerings are probably opener "Inhumation" & the excellent "Spiral" (my personal favourite) which appeared on the Warhead Records compilation "Warhead Records Volume 1" the following year. I can hear a few riffs across the album that remind me very much of some of Neuropath's early tracks (particularly in the drumming) so the influence that these guys had on me is pretty obvious to be honest. Our second demo "Desert of Excruciation" would end up being released on the same Warhead Records label as "The Abysmal Fiend" too which isn't a coincidence given the impact that it & the other early Warhead releases had on me & my band mates when we were frantically exploring the merits of the Aussie live scene.
Psychrist would become a pretty stable part of my musical diet off the back of this release & would also represent something that I aspired to match at some point. I've been very pleased to discover that that level of idolatry wasn't without merit during this revisit either because "The Abysmal Fiend" is an excellent death metal release in its own right & is possibly the best thing that the band accomplished during their decade-long recording career so it's deservedly earnt its place in the annuls of Australian death metal history in my opinion.
For fans of Backyard Mortuary, Abramelin & Misery.
4/5
Alchemist - "Eternal Wedlock" demo (1987)
The debut release from these legendary Australian extreme metal icons is often regarded as being a tech thrash release & I'm not gonna deny that there is a strong thrash component here but there was already so much more to Alchemist's sound even at this early stage, so much so that I feel a progressive thrash metal tag is more accurate. The death growls of the future are nowhere to be found with clean vocalist Murray Neill making his only appearance for Alchemist. Those who are familiar with the band's work will no doubt identify the second track "Kill For It" as the title track from Alchemist's more than decent 1993 debut album "Jar of Kingdom" & it's by far the most avant-garde (not to mention entertaining) track of the four on offer here. The others are all quite thrashy & technical while exploring some fairly ambitious musical territory for a first-up effort. I actually tend to enjoy this cassette more than their more popular 1991 demo tape these days. It's not a bad release actually, even though my attention tends to wane a little during the closing title track.
For fans of Voivod, Rush & Coroner.
3.5/5
Dead/Regurgitate - "Dead/Regurgitate" split album (1994)
I stumbled upon this split album featuring Germany's Dead & Sweden's Regurgitate during my mid-90's tape trading heyday, inspired to investigate it after having really dug Regurgitate's debut album "Effortless Regurgitation of Bright Red Blood" from earlier the same year. I'd never heard of Dead before but ended up getting a fair bit of enjoyment out of both band's contributions to what could only be described as one of the better goregrind releases I've encountered. I don't believe I've returned to it in the many years since though, instead tending to turn to a couple of my Regurgitate records of choice whenever I feel the urge but I'm glad that I've finally given it another listen this week, even if I suspect that it might not receive another sitting from me in the future.
This split release is a collection that includes eight new songs from each band as well as the five Regurgitate tracks that were included on their split 7" single with German noisegrind outfit Vaginalmassaker back in 1992. Dead's inclusions would later receive a dedicated release on 2011's "For Lovers of the New Bizarre" album while I think this is the only place you'll find the new Regurgitate material. The two bands have quite different sounds to each other but are both well worth hearing & it's really just a matter of taste as to which you might prefer. Dead's contribution is very well produced with a thick & chunky guitar tone that fills your headphones with a heavy combination of classic death metal & blasting goregrind. I'd suggest that the former is comfortably in the ascendency here though which makes Dead an attractive option for me given my taste profile. The Germans tend to explore a lot more territory in regard to tempo than their more consistently brutal Swedish counterparts with their triple-vocal approach drawing close comparisons to Carcass' late 80's releases. Regurgitate offer a much dirtier & more traditional goregrind sound that I tend to prefer, mainly because it's a touch more relentless in its commitment to pure savagery. The tracks from the 7" single sound noticeably different though & are clearly less effective than the newer material with the vocals being produced in that ridiculous vocoded, monster-esque fashion that has often annoyed me about the goregrind scene. I greatly prefer the more deathly growl employed on the more brutal new songs that make up for their less impressive production job with pure energy & attitude.
You can't really go wrong with these 21 tracks if you're an extreme metal fan with only a couple of duds amongst them. Dead's decision to close out their side with an annoying cover version of Mentors' "Woman of Sodom" was hard to understand as it certainly detracts from what was otherwise a pretty rock solid deathgrind experience. The first track from Regurgitate's split with single with Vaginalmassaker "Morbid Reality" isn't amazing either but I get a fair bit of enjoyment out of the remainder of this record without ever really discovering anything too game-changing. Dead's best material comes right at the beginning of the album with the one-two punch of "For Lovers of the New Bizarre" into "Far Beyond Your Imagination" being the clear highlights. The new Regurgitate inclusions offer a more consistently strong standard though which is perhaps why I've ended up exploring more of their releases in the future while leaving Dead behind. The first three songs on their side are all really solid while the same can be said for the trio of tracks starting with the violent mosh pit anthem "Praedilectio for Menorrhagia". None of Regurgitate's efforts overstay their welcome which is just how I like my grindcore. As soon as they've hit on a riff that I find to be less appealing they've moved on to something that hits my fancy which is a great way to keep the listeners attention.
While this split release might not be the most original one you'll ever hear, it does offer a point of difference from the rest of the goregrind records out there in that neither band fit into the generic goregrind model. I've really enjoyed Dead's more death metal-inspired sound as well as the strong production job while Regurgitate's tendency to steer away from those ridiculous vocoded vocals for the majority of their allocation while blasting me into submission with exciting grindcore instrumentation has left me feeling exhilarated at times. It's a shame that they didn't close out the album in the same fashion though as the shorter tracks from the Vaginalmassaker split sound a little inferior in comparison, even if I generally enjoy most of those songs in isolation. As it is though, the Dead/Regurgitate split has been well worth a revisit, even if I can't see myself returning to it any time soon. I think I'm far more likely to reach for my Regurgitate releases of choice (i.e. "Effortless Regurgitation of Bright Red Blood" & 2002's "Hatefilled Vengeance" E.P.) instead to be honest.
For fans of Dead Infection, Haemorrhage & early Carcass.
3.5/5
Welcome to the Academy David. From your post, I'd suggest that you've come to the right place. Please feel free to become as involved as little or as much as you'd like & don't be shy. We're generally a very pleasant & friendly bunch who are all extremely passionate about our metal.
Incubus (AUS) - "Sinful Dreams" demo (1987)
The sole demo recording from Melbourne-based extreme thrash metallers Incubus who would change their name to Spectral Birth shortly afterwards for obvious reasons. Incubus have often been referred to as a death/thrash duo however I've always thought they were more of a blackened thrash prospect with the vocals of guitarist/bassist Laurie Ferdinands feeling much more like black metal shrieks than death metal grunts to me. The instrumentation is pure thrash though & there's some pretty good stuff amongst the four songs on offer here too with only closer "Passage of Souls: Sinful Dreams" falling flat.
For fans of Agressor, Massacra & "Blood Fire Death"-era Bathory.
3.5/5
Ben, please add Canberra death metallers Psychrist.
Dead - "For Lovers of the New Bizarre" (2011)
German deathgrind outfit Dead & I first made our acquaintance back in 1994 when I stumbled over their split CD with Swedish goregrinders Regurgitate, a release that I quite liked at the time but one that wasn't strong quite enough to see me following Dead into the future with the band still active today. Earlier this week though, I decided to revisit the Dead/Regurgitate split &, while I was undertaking that exercise, I discovered that Dead's contribution to that release could be found in isolation on their 2011 "For Lovers of the New Bizarre" album. That particular record has given me some mild enjoyment over the last few days which has triggered me to write this review, a positive affirmation of the talents of a relatively unknown yet still more than decent extreme metal band who doesn't attempt to reinvent the wheel but understands the wheel's functionality & intent very well.
Dead had released five or six demos & E.P.'s prior to the Regurgitate split, none of which I recall hearing before, & would enter Nürnberg's Pinguin Studios with unknown engineer Rainer Deckelmann to record their side of the split album some time in the first half of 1994. Dead had maintained the three-piece lineup that recorded their initial demo tape "Far Beyond Your Imagination" three years earlier & you can hear that in the professional way they lay down their craft here. Their model seems to have been crafted on the early Carcass one with each of the three band members contributing vocals in a triple-threat configuration that sees deeper grunts being complimented by higher register gurgles. Dead's sound is thick, chunky & tight with their simple riffs being backed up by a unified delivery that leaves each song sounding not only very heavy but also quite catchy. In a stylistic sense, I feel that they have a foot in both the goregrind & classic death metal camps which is an attractive option for me personally as it allows me to take them a little more seriously than most bands that are connected with the goregrind movement.
The tracklisting is a touch top-heavy with the album opening with the best material, my favourites being the blasting title track & the equally high-quality demo track "Far Beyond Your Imagination" which had been re-recorded for this exercise. I particularly enjoy the sections where Dead slow things down a bit with the excellent production job giving the band's doomier side the weight it needs to draw a physical reaction from the listener. The blasting Carcass-inspired grind sections are also really exciting & are executed with a suitable level of precision. All of this material is pretty fun actually although I have to question the decision to include a silly cover version of Mentors' "Woman of Sodom" to close out the record because it does leave me a bad taste in my mouth. I know its lyrical themes fit in with Dead's sexually provocative image but its general silliness tends to detract from an otherwise pretty good release.
While "For Lovers of the New Bizarre" may not be essential listening, I've found myself getting into it quite a bit this week. I'm not sure it'll be enough to see me reaching for the rest of Dead's back catalogue but it was an admirable effort nonetheless. I've never been the biggest goregrind fan to be honest but this death metal-infused version seems entirely more palatable & is well worth exploring.
For fans of Blood, Pungent Stench & Fornicator.
3.5/5
This month's list is a fucking belter. I loved pretty much all of it. There's so much great progressive stuff out there right now.
This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement:
This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement:
This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement:
This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement:
I've passed this nomination uncontested Sonny.
This nomination has been added to the Hall of Judgement:
I've passed this nomination uncontested Andi.
I've passed "B-Sides and Other Things I Forgot" uncontested while the other two releases have been posted in the Hall of Judgement this morning Andi:
Monolithe - "Black Hole District" [Death doom metal from Paris, France]
I missed 2022's "Kosmodrom" album but these guys are generally always worth checking out so I'll likely be partaking in this one at some point.
Impending Doom - "Live From Exile" [Deathcore from California, USA]
Cremator - "Evil Brew" demo (1987)
The debut release from this obscure Perth thrash metal group that I've never gotten on with. They take a silly approach to their thrash which is more about drinking beer & having fun than anything too serious. The vocals are probably my main concern here with guitarist Bevan Wilkerson often resorting to high-pitched squeals that sound uncannily like Destruction front man Schmier. The rhythm guitar sound is stupidly messy while the lead tone sounds outrageously light-weight & downright strange. I do still find myself liking "United" though which is the most intense & thrashtastic song on offer but the rest does very little for me. Interestingly, drummer Russell Hopkinson was a former member of Melbourne hardcore punk outfit Vicious Circle & also went on to play for popular Aussie alternative rock bands You Am I & Nursery Crimes.
For fans of Anthrax, S.O.D. & Destruction.
2.5/5
I am familiar with the Walknut and Satyricon tracks and it was fantastic to hear them again.
I absolutely love "Walk the Path of Sorrow" & my recent revisit of "Dark Medieval Times" has only further fueled those flames. It's the only genuine classic on that record in my opinion. I could have picked a number of tracks from "Graveforests & Their Shadows" actually but the extra aggression in the shorter closing track gave it a slight edge over the other more solid inclusions on that album.
Uncreation - "Disincarnate" E.P. (1994)
An obscure Spanish demo from the early days of brutal death metal movement. This isn't nearly as blasting as most BDM releases, instead choosing to stick mainly to the chunky mid-range slam riffs. When the band do get their ultra-fast blasts on though, the drum skills of Joaquin can leave a lot to be desired. I do really dig this sound though so there's still plenty to enjoy here.
For fans of Pyrexia, Suffocation & Internal Bleeding.
3.5/5
Morbid Angel/Slaughter Lord - "Split" E.P. (1987)
An underground bootleg 7" single release that includes Morbid Angel's "Invocation" introduction followed by an unacceptably poorly recorded live version of a rare Morbid Angel track called "Funerals" which I'd love to hear in a more suitable setting because what I can make out sounds brilliant with Trey going suitably nuts on lead guitar. The two Slaughter Lord tracks are pulled straight off of their 1987 "Taste of Blood" demo & are both good-to=great but I can't see a reason to invest in this one. You're better off chasing down the Slaughter Lord "Thrash Till Death" compilation on Spotify & giving the Morbid Angel section a miss altogether.
For fans of Necrovore, Poison (GER) & Immolation.
3/5
Burying Place - "The Last Disaster of Humanity" demo (1993)
A pretty dodgy Lithuanian death metal demo that I picked up through my early-to-mid 1990's tape trading period. I believe I was looking for more brutal stuff & this one popped up in the discussion but it's really not a BDM release. It sits in more traditional death metal space but has a wacky, psychotic element to it that I can't get into. The production job is terrible too.
For fans of Deicide, Infestdead & Vital Remains.
2.5/5
Bongripper's 2010 "Satan Worshipping Doom" album seems to be highly regarded in this space but I haven't quite gotten on with it in the past to tell you the truth. I definitely prefer instrumental post-sludge releases like Year of No Light's "Ausserwelt", Russian Circles' "Memorial" & Omega Massif's "Geisterstadt".
I still really enjoy Snailking but this feels like such a complete package that it's hard not to say it vies for that top album spot.
I'm across everything that Ufomammut did up until 2012's "Oro: Opus Primum" album & "Eve" is easily my favourite of their solo releases. I'd still position the Lento collaboration slightly ahead of it though as it's utterly sublime.