Daniel's Forum Replies

With the exception of the 2000 double re-recording album "Blast From The Past", I can pretty much cut & paste my feelings on Gamma Ray's other "classic" releases here as my feelings are very much the same. "Power Plant" is well written, executed & produced & includes some brilliant examples of "Painkiller"-era Judas priest worship that I really enjoy but they're rarely extended to an entire song & are well & truly cancelled out by overdoing the schlocky melodic cheese in an attempt to out-epic & out-anthem the competition. The guitar solos are outstanding & are generally the highlight of the album while Kai Hansen's Rob Halford-esque vocal delivery is also impressive but I just can't see past my usual issues with the signature German power metal model here. In relation to the Gamma Ray back catalogue, the weaker tracks on "Power Plant" aren't as bad as they were on 1997's "Somewhere Out In Space" which gives it a slight edge however it's worth noting that there aren't as many highlight tracks either. "Land Of The Free" is probably the stronger of the three however it's pretty clear that Gamma Ray simply aren't my cup of tea. Still,,, I'd definitely take them over Helloween.

For fans of Helloween, Blind Guardian & Judas Priest.

3/5

These are my personal Alice In Chains preferences:

01. Dirt 5/5

02. Black Gives Way To Blue 4.5/5

03. Facelift 4/5

04. MTV Unplugged 4/5

05. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here 4/5

06. Jar Of Flies E.P. 4/5

07. Alice In Chains 3.5/5

08. Sap E.P. 3.5/5

I enjoy all of them to be honest. I haven't heard "Live" or "Rainier Fog" as yet but I'm sure I will at some point.

I was referring to my own concerns about qualification Andi as there are definitely a few releases that I'd have included if the lines were less blurred in regards to genrification.

I picked up both of these albums on cassette at around the same time in late 1988 & played the shit out of them at a very young age so I've possibly got a stronger emotional attachment to them than most people would. I haven't listened to "State Of Euphoria" is decades now though which is probably saying something to me in regards to which release should win this debate. "So Far, So Good... So What!" certainly has a few duds on it but none of them are horrible. They're more disappointing or flat than anything else. The rest of the tracklisting is nothing short of spectacular though & showcases a level of sophistication & technical proficiency that the thrash world was yet to experience from anyone else. I regard "So Far, So Good... So What!" as Megadeth's third best album behind the records either side of it whereas I wouldn't place "State Of Euphoria" in quite so high a position in Anthrax's back catalogue. Therefore I'm gonna have to go with Megadeth here even though I've always regarded "State Of Euphoria" as being unfairly underrated.

Alright. I'll bite. Here's my expanded list:

01. Iron Maiden – “Somewhere In Time” (1986)

02. Iron Maiden – “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son” (1988)

03. Iron Maiden – “Powerslave” (1984)

04. Judas Priest – “Painkiller” (1990)

05. Ozzy Osbourne – “Speak Of The Devil” (1982)

06. Black Sabbath – “Paranoid” (1970)

07. W.A.S.P. – “The Crimson Idol” (1992)

08. Iron Maiden – “Live After Death” (1985)

09. Crimson Glory – “Crimson Glory” (1986)

10. Black Sabbath – “Live Evil” (1982)

11. Iron Maiden - "Rock In Rio" (2002)

12. Black Sabbath - "Sabotage" (1975)

13. Iron Maiden - "The Number Of The Beast" (1982)

14. Queensryche - "Operation: Mindcrime" (1988)

15. Iced Earth - "Alive In Athens" (1999)

16. Manowar - "Into Glory Ride" (1983)

17. Iron Maiden - "Piece Of Mind" (1983)

18. Medieval Steel - "Medieval Steel" E.P. (1984)

19. Unleash The Archers - "Apex" (2017)

20. Motorhead - "No Sleep Till Hammersmith" (1981)

21. Dio - "Holy Diver" (1983)

22. Black Sabbath - "The End: 4 February 2017 Birmingham" (2017)

23. Queensryche - "Operation:LIVEcrime" (2001)

24. Judas Priest - "Defenders Of The Faith" (1984)

25. Iron Maiden - "Maiden Japan" E.P. (1981)

Here's my top ten for The Revolution:

01. Botch – “We Are The Romans” (1999)

02. Inside The Beehive – “Drink Bleach; Live Forever” E.P. (2011)

03. Gaza – “I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die” (2006)

04. Converge – “All We Love We Leave Behind” (2012)

05. War From A Harlots Mouth - "MMX" (2010)

06. Converge – “Axe To Fall” (2009)

07. Botch – “An Anthology Of Dead Ends” E.P. (2002)

08. The Dillinger Escape Plan – “One Of Us Is The Killer” (2013)

09. Converge – “You Fail Me” (2004)

10. Serpent Column – “Endless Detainment” E.P. (2020)

Here's my top ten for The Infinite which seems to be fairly post-metal heavy. It's also worth noting that I did choose to omit a few due to concerns around qualification:

01. Boris – “Boris At Last -Feedbacker-“ (2003)

02. Rosetta – “The Galilean Satellites” (2005)

03. Neurosis – “Souls At Zero” (1992)

04. Isis – “Panopticon” (2004)

05. Oranssi Pazuzu – “Mestarin kynsi” (2020)

06. Leprous – “Live At Rockefeller Music Hall” (2016)

07. Lucid Planet – “Lucid Planet II” (2020)

08. Mastodon – “Leviathan” (2004)

09. Neurosis – “Times Of Grace” (1999)

10. Neurosis – “A Sun That Never Sets” (2001)

Here's my top ten for The Guardians:

01. Iron Maiden – “Somewhere In Time” (1986)

02. Iron Maiden – “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son” (1988)

03. Iron Maiden – “Powerslave” (1984)

04. Judas Priest – “Painkiller” (1990)

05. Ozzy Osbourne – “Speak Of The Devil” (1982)

06. Black Sabbath – “Paranoid” (1970)

07. W.A.S.P. – “The Crimson Idol” (1992)

08. Iron Maiden – “Live After Death” (1985)

09. Crimson Glory – “Crimson Glory” (1986)

10. Black Sabbath – “Live Evil” (1982)

Here's an old demo tape from 1996 from my brutal death metal band Neuropath.

My review from earlier this year:

Massachusetts’ finest mathcore exponents Converge & I have had a fairly fruitful relationship over the last decade or so. I first encountered them through their 1996 sophomore album “Petitioning The Empty Sky” shortly after release & whilst I had a bit of time for it, there would be a gap of more than a decade before our paths would cross again following my extended hiatus from the metal scene. Upon returning to the passion of my youth in 2009, I quickly caught on to the buzz surrounding the band’s “Jane Doe” LP which inevitably led to me immersing myself in the rest of Converge’s back catalogue. This included the follow-up to “Jane Doe” in 2004’s “You Fail Me” which saw the band initiating a new business relationship with punk rock label Epitaph Record. Epitaph was owned & run by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz & had built a strong reputation as a breeding ground for commercially successful punk bands like NOFX, Pennywise, The Offspring, Rancid & Bad Religion for over two decades by this stage so it was a move that opened up opportunities for a hardcore-based band like Converge. “You Fail Me” would also be the band’s first album as a four-piece following the departure of guitarist Aaron Dalbec who was asked to leave after the band & their management became concerned with Aaron’s increasing focus on his hardcore punk side project Bane.

Epitaph would recruit experienced producer Alan Douches to produce “You Fail Me” in partnership with Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou & the result seems to have received mixed responses from what I’ve read online over the years. In fact, Ballou has openly stated that he felt the original mix was lacking something & put that down to engineer Matt Ellard’s lack of comfort & familiarity with the mixing desk he was asked to use & also having to battle through consistent power failures throughout the process. I’m not sure if the Spotify version I’ve been listening to this week is the one that was later remixed by Ballou & remastered by Douches for the 2016 “redux” edition or not but I certainly don’t have any problems with how it sounds. On the contrary, it’s a perfect representation of where Converge were at at this particular moment in time. The separation between the instruments is spot on & each band member receives a clarity & brightness that hasn’t always been afforded to metalcore bands over the years. There’s enough crunch to crush the listener under the weight of the heavier moments but enough subtlety to ensure that the nuances of Converge’s newly stripped back sound are also highlighted. The rhythm section sound particularly impressive in my opinion so there’s very little to complain about in this regard.

It’s interesting to see how Converge have developed their sound in the three years since Jane Doe & I’d be keen to hear how much the band members feel the new label & line-up have contributed to that. This is an extremely professionally put together package & it shows a newly found maturity in the band’s song-writing skills with a number of fresh ideas being presented with universally successful results. The four-piece lineup seems to have had some sort of impact on the direction of this material as it’s noticeably less dense & more stripped back than its gargantuan older brother “Jane Doe” & there’s also a fair bit more melody on display. Short opener “First Light” is a prime example of Converge’s exciting new approach with its atmospheric unaccompanied guitar work openly paying homage to Neil Young’s “Dead Man” soundtrack; a beautifully atmospheric record whose wonders I’ve basked in repeatedly for more than two decades now. The next track “Last Light” would also hint at the themes presented in the opener to great effect. Then we also get lengthy acoustic track “In Her Shadow” in the middle of the album; an experiment that has inevitably caused great divide amongst long-time fans. Personally, I think it works to break the record up nicely with its post-rock feel even hinting at psychedelia at times. But never fear all you metalcore fans, there’s more than enough heavy stuff included to satisfy your crazed thirst for rabid mosh-pits. My personal favourite is the gigantic title track which sees the band going for a sludgier approach driven by Nate Newton’s huge bass sound. Its use of repetition to build tension works brilliantly & I think it’s one of the best moments in Converge’s career overall. But “You Fail Me” also sees Converge returning to their hardcore punk roots more regularly than they did on “Jane Doe” & unsurprisingly those moments are the ones that appeal to me the least on the album (see “Eagles Become Vultures” for example). But, impressively, there are no genuinely weak tracks included here & it’s hard to argue with the band’s status at the top of the mathcore/metalcore tree.

Converge were a class act at this stage in their careers & everything is presented with purpose & precision & (even though metalcore isn’t my subgenre of choice) I find it hard not to really dig everything this band touches. The consistency in this material is almost intimidating to be honest. A lot of these tracks blur the lines between mathcore & traditional metalcore with the technicality that was so obvious on “Jane Doe” being more subtly utilized but no less impactful here; another a sign of the band’s new-found maturity. It sounds like Converge are more focused on song-writing & artistic expression rather than simply pulverizing the listener into submission or amazing their audience with their undoubted techniques. There’s an increased level of precision about everything they do & it makes the techier arrangements sound so fluent that it would probably be pretty easy for the more complex arrangements to fly straight over the untrained listener’s heads. This band is so talented & virtuosic by this stage that it’s almost embarrassing. Drummer Ben Koller is the clear highlight for me personally though & I regularly find myself having to pick my jaw up off the ground after those high-speed snare rolls he specializes in. What a band!

Front man Jacob Bannon’s vocal performance is a little different to what it was previously. The lyrical content is all about human failure & he uses a variety of techniques to get his point across. Personally, I’ve always found him to be the least appealing aspect of the band & that doesn’t change here. It’s mainly his more aggressive moments that I struggle with. His trademark shrieks of raw vitriol often sound like he’s spitting his lyrics out through a mouth-full of phlegm & he doesn’t possess the strength & power of many of his contemporaries. In fact, I often wonder if it’s Bannon’s contributions that leave me seeing my scoring of Converge albums being limited to the three & a half’s & four’s but I usually end up deciding that it’s more of an overall stylistic thing as no matter how good Converge are at their chosen craft, I’m not too sure they’ll ever manage to get me reaching for the higher scores.

Overall, “You Fail Me” showcases an extremely talented group of musicians flexing their creative muscles & continually pushing themselves artistically, musically & technically. It’s a more accessible record than “Jane Doe” was but its impact is felt in different & more subtle ways. I admire this album as a musician & a lover of music & it may just have been Converge’s best release to the time in my opinion.

For fans of: Botch, Drowningman, The Dillinger Escape Plan.

4/5

I've always really dug this under-appreciated gem from my tape trading days which combines the raw & intense thrash metal of early Kreator & Sodom with the primitive & under-produced brutality of Sarcofago & Vulcano & then throws in a bit of exciting mid-80's Slayer for good measure. It's certainly not the most accomplished of releases but it possesses that underground proto-death metal atmosphere in spades & is particularly vicious & evil for the time. A prime example of what made the early extreme metal scene so great.

4/5

P.S. How funny is their band name!? When is death ever NOT necro?

Razor - "Violent Restitution" (1988)

Ever given this one a spin Vinny? I think you'll dig it.

One of my favourite Canadian thrash songs of the 1980's. For fans of Slayer, Sacrifice & Exodus.

Razor - "Violent Restitution" (1988)

Razor's fifth & last 1980's album is also their finest work. I have time for all four of their previous records (Note: I don't like 1984's speed metal-driven "Armed & Dangerous" E.P. much) but none of them ever saw them managing to breach the also-ran category for me personally. This all changed when the Canadian thrash icons returned with this release which saw them upping the ante significantly as far as energy & production goes. All fourteen tracks are relentless in their velocity & aggression with nothing coming close to resembling a mid-tempo chugger. There's a significant hardcore punk influence to a lot of this stuff & even though Razor had fully embraced the thrash metal genre by this stage it's never too hard to identify their speed metal roots if you look hard enough (see the Venom inspired "Discipline" for example). The consistency of the song-writing is excellent with no weak tracks on offer & I really enjoy the snarly vocals. This is a high quality thrashfest that should be essential listening for all members of The Pit.

For fans of Slayer, Sacrifice & Exodus.

4/5

I reviewed this one in February 2014 & after giving the album a couple of spins over the last couple of days I think my review still rings true. This is what I said seven years ago:

I recently read a pre-release interview where Jerry Cantrell said that they'd created a "unique record that's completely different from anything we ever did". Well after giving the record a few spins that comment seems like a bit of an exaggeration to be honest. From a production point of view "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" sounds very similar to "Black Gives Way To Blue" (4.5/5). In fact these songs could easily be out-takes from the same sessions.

The release of BGWTB in 2009 saw a return to the more metal sound of AIC's first couple of albums but with a distinctly clean & modern production that made it sound a little more accessible. The overall heaviness of the riffs prevented it from ever treading too close to AOR territory though. I feel they've toed a bit closer to that line at times with TDPDH. It's definitely more of a traditional grunge record & champions a lighter feel to previous albums which is not necessarily a bad thing as long as the songs stand up. And there are certainly some fantastic songs here (see "Voices", ""Lab Monkey", "Choke" or album highlight "Phantom Limb" for example) but probably nothing to rival the highlights from the previous record. The album as a whole doesn't make as immediate an impact & although the songs are fairly straight forward I found that they took more time for me get into. Given repeat listens I was singing along to quite a few of these choruses though (especially the first four tracks). They haven't held back on indulging in some long run times on some of these tracks with most songs breaching the five minute mark. There are definitely a couple of flat songs spread across the tracklisting (see "Low Ceiling" & "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" for example) & given the overall length of TDPDH they could probably have dropped a couple of tracks without too much trouble.

Vocalist William DuVall seems to be a little more prominent on this record than he was on BGWTB when he was still the new guy on the block & spent most of his time sharing the mike duties with Jerry. He's definitely got a good voice & to be honest he probably contributes to the lighter feel of the album as he's a bit more clean cut sounding than Layne Staley was.

Overall I think "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" is a strong inclusion in Alice In Chains' discography. Alice In Chains are such a class act & everything they do is worth listening to but there's enough top quality material here to leave me wondering how it's been so universally underrated. I guess it could simply be a comparative thing because it's not an instant classic like a couple of their other albums.

4/5

Here's the lucky nominators for the August feature releases:

THE FALLEN: Andi, Ben, Daniel, Sonny

THE GATEWAY: Daniel, Saxy

THE GUARDIANS: Vinny, Xephyr, Andi

THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben

THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, Saxy

THE NORTH: Vinny, Xephyr, Sonny, Ben 

THE PIT: Vinny, Ben, Daniel, Sonny

THE REVOLUTION: Daniel, Andi 

THE SPHERE: Daniel

Yes I'm aware of the fact that "Anarchy In The UK" has been played regularly in a live environment Andi but that doesn't make a track a "fan favourite". That just makes it a good track to get people singing along to at the end of the night due to its simplicity & the fact that everyone knows all the words from the original. That's why it's been played as an encore. Not because it's one of people's favourite Megadeth tracks.

I agree that those three tracks are subpar Andi & I don't have much time for any of them to be honest. I think it's a bit harsh to place them in this thread though as I don't think I'd call any of them genuine stinkers. What gave you the impression that "Anarchy In The UK" is one of Megadeth's most popular songs? It's always seemed to be comfortably the least popular track from the album in my experience.

I've always liked Crowbar, particularly the vocals actually. The only thing that I find disappointing is that they've been cursed by the production gods for most of their career.

While I quite like "Breaking The Law", I'd have to argue against it being labelled as "the best classic of the album". It's certainly the most popular song from an MTV point of view & enabled Judas Priest to finally crack the US market but that's mainly due to it's poppy hooks, simple arrangement & general accessibility which enabled it to crossover into commercial radio. The guitar melody at the start sounds like it could have been pulled straight off of Martha & the Muffins’ “Echo Beach” & it really does rely entirely on the chorus hook to draw the audience in (which it obviously does very well). I guess the point I'm making is that it's not one of the real gems from "British Steel" for me personally. I'd place at least four tracks comfortably ahead of it. The outro is really exciting though & it goes off in a live environment. 

I completely agree Andi. I've always despised these two tracks. Thankfully the rest of the tracklisting is strong enough to maintain my interest (particularly "Metal Gods" & "The Rage" which sit amongst my favourite heavy metal tunes ever) but these two are the main reason that I don't regard "British Steel" as one of Judas Priest's best records.

Underworld - "Jumbo" single (1999)

Another old CD single I pulled out from my garage for a few spins. This time it's a three track affair featuring the radio edit of the title track along with remixes from Bob Rives/Francois K & Jedi. As usual it's not the progressive house of the original version that really floats my boat as it's a little too melodic for my taste. I prefer the belter of a techno remix from Bob Rives & Francois K which was a regular feature in my club sets in the early 2000's. The broken-beat Jedi mix is also pretty decent & got a little play time from me as well from memory. You really can't go wrong with 90's Underworld though in all honesty.

Now you're just making shit up at random Andi. I have no idea what you're referring to regarding Celldweller & never said anything about any rules regarding singles or releases that aren't already on the site. None of that's the case.

And I'm still up to following these two new rules (studio material only and single-clan only).

I think you misunderstood me Andi. I never said anything about "single-clan only". All I'm saying is that if a track doesn't come from a release that's a) already in The Sphere or b) would qualify for inclusion in The Sphere if was added to the site, then don't nominate it for inclusion in The Sphere playlist. You can feel free to do what you'd like with your Hall submissions as that's completely unrelated to this topic.

Also, the playlists should remain strictly one track per band as they're intended to be a compilation.

Andi, the only one of those you mentioned that I questioned was the Children Of Bodom one which is clearly a divisive selection for The Guardians given the vocal style. It obviously sits more comfortably under The Horde however the release it's drawn from is technically a member of The Guardians & until such time as that is no longer the case I felt that it's not my position to deny it's inclusion.

The Isis one is interesting as we've had people submitting the same sort of tracks by post-sludge artists in both The Fallen & The Infinite. I've never felt completely comfortable with that but we've never come to an agreement on what's appropriate so I've just chosen to go with it. You may have noticed that you can only select Atmospheric Sludge Metal as a Release's subgenre if it's got Post-Metal as it's primary genre i.e. you can't choose it as a subgenre of Sludge Metal. That's because Ben & I had to make a call on which direction we'd take given that a subgenre can't be a part of two main genres in our database. What does everyone think about that situation? If you had to choose one clan or the other for post-sludge releases, which way would you go? I'm inclined to want to limit post-sludge Playlist submissions to the one clan to be honest so I'm keen to hear what everyone thinks.

Back on the playlist topic again gents, I'd just like to provide a little bit of feedback on some recent submissions.

Firstly, can I please ask that you stick to studio material rather than live material? I made the decision not to include live tracks pretty early on in the piece after noticing that these tracks disrupt the flow of the lists. I also received feedback from a couple of people who said that they don't really enjoy live recordings all that much in comparison to studio work so I decided to draw the line there.

And secondly, can you please make sure that your selected tracks are a part of the associated clan? I've had a couple of recent submissions that weren't & used my judgement as to whether to include them or not but in general I think we should be focusing entirely on the clan.

A great way to open the 1993 debut album from these second tier Florida death metallers. For fans of Disincarnate, Monstrosity & Malevolent Creation.

Brutality - "Screams Of Anguish" (1993)

I picked up Tampa Bay death metal outfit Brutality's debut album "Screams Of Anguish" on CD shortly after it was released & really enjoyed it at the time. Brutality are often referred to as one of death metal's more underrated bands however I'm not sure that's entirely accurate as they've always been highly regarded as far as I've seen & don't ever truly threaten the tier one exponents of the genre. What you can expect here is a well composed & executed example of meat-&-potatoes Florida death metal which ticks all of the boxes without ever pushing out into fresh territory.

Scott Reigel's aggressive vocal delivery often reminds me of Deicide's Glen Benton while the more than competent lead guitar work has an element of hired gun James Murphy about its use of melody & harmony which can't be a bad thing. I really enjoy the regular inclusion of slower doomy sections which are always well integrated, despite usually being surrounded by faster blast beat parts. The clean interlude "Sympathy" has always sounded a little out of place to me & would probably sound more appropriate on a European black metal release but the quality of the eight death metal pieces is very consistent. Opener "These Walls Shall Be Your Grave" is the clear standout with its exciting use of short & flashy lead guitar flourishes reminding me a lot of fellow Floridians Nocturnus & I'm surprised they haven't explored that technique further given how successful its been on this track.

Overall, this is a high quality death metal release that has Florida written all over it. It doesn't try to reinvent the wheel & instead opts to beat the wheel into submission which shouldn't surprise anyone given the band's not-so-subtle moniker.

For fans of Disincarnate, Monstrosity & Malevolent Creation.

4/5

Reaching out to a few labels who have a predominantly underground roster and seeing how MA and they could become mutual partners for the furthering of their band's music through our features and/or the Spotify playlists (I don't know how that would work though - I am a software salesman, not a partnerships manager)

I have bands & labels contact me in regards to a mutually beneficial arrangement all the time but I've found that I just can't trust anyone in this industry. What generally happens is that I promise to bring a band or label free advertisement in exchange for them advertising our site through their own social media platforms & bringing long-term contributing members from their bands/fanbase to the site. This is all agreed to, I'll see one or two new members register (usually the person themselves) & make one or two posts/ratings, I'll engage some of you to do some unbiased reviews without telling you why & then as soon as soon as these reviews are posted the bands/labels drop off the face of the earth. I've even had some of these people contact me again months later to ask me to do the same thing for their next release & I've subsequently told them to go fuck themselves. I don't think it helps that I'm determined to maintain the integrity of the site so I won't bring them positive ratings simply to push our cause but these people have proven to have absolutely no respect.

• I can see Twitter is in use already from a marketing perspective, ever thought of extending this out to Instagram etc just to maximise the opportunity for growth ( I hate most social media platforms so this leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to even suggest it but at the end of the day they do work - algorhythms permitting of course).

Quoted Vinny

I've actually been using Instagram to promote the site for years now & interestingly it's proven to be by far the least effective of the three major social media platforms. It takes a lot of time to prepare posts given that I can't do it from my laptop & it doesn't even allow me to include clickable links within my posts so I've recently decided not to bother with it. Twitter really should be the best medium for advertisement of websites & that seems to be the common consensus in the market however I've found that boosted Facebook posts are the best way to bring people to the site in recent times. It all costs money though.

Hhhmmmm..... might not be as good an idea as I first thought. Carry on.

What does everyone think of us trialing an idea whereby each of us selects at least one track that's drawn from our home city's respective local metal scenes for each of the monthly Spotify playlists for our clans (i.e. not the clans we're not a part of)? I really like the idea of each member helping to promote their local scenes & think it might encourage us all to dig a little deeper too. As an added bonus, I figure that if we all then communicate these inclusions to the associated bands then they might voluntarily help us to promote the Metal Academy brand too while also giving each of you a little bit of healthy interaction with the scene. It's just an idea at this stage so I'm keen to gauge your interest. Thoughts?

Orbital - "Halcyon" CD single (1992)

I pulled this old CD single out of a box in my garage for a few spins while driving around town yesterday & really enjoyed it. The epic & incredibly recognisable title track is obviously one of the more iconic electronic dance music tracks ever recorded & will always be the go-to selection for the last track of the night for club DJs all over the world however it's trancy & melodic atmosphere isn't really my thing. The other four tracks are much techier with the deep tribal feel of "The Naked and the Dub" being the clear highlight & a regular feature in my early 2000's DJ sets. I also really like the more dancefloor friendly "Sunday" which got an occasional play from me too.

For fans of Underworld, Leftfield & Astralasia.

Here's my top ten (baring in mind that I don't believe in the one release per band philosophy):

1. Pig Destroyer – “Natasha” E.P. (2008)

2. Sunn O))) – “Black One” (2005)

3. Boris – “Boris At Last -Feedbacker-“ (2003)

4. Rosetta – “The Galilean Satellites” (2005)

5. Neurosis – “Souls At Zero” (1992)

6. diSEMBOWELMENT – “Transcendence Into The Peripheral” (1993)

7. Isis – “The Mosquito Control” E.P. (1998)

8. Isis – “Panopticon” (2004)

9. Celtic Frost – “Monotheist” (2006)

10. Warning – “Watching From A Distance” (2006)

Firstly, I'd like to put forwards a fairly unpopular opinion in that I think Cliff was always the influence that saw Metallica pushing outside of the thrash metal spectrum so I don't see any reason why he would have kept them from experimenting. On the contrary, I think he would likely have helped in the expansion process & seen them achieving it much more successfully given his unquestionable taste.

Secondly, I think that the commercial success that Metallica experienced with "The Black Album" saw James & Lars losing their identity. They lost their focus & got caught up between their own artistic wants & needs & the pressure to match their past successes. Substance abuse certainly didn't help either. "The Black Album" was the perfect example of a band getting that balance right & I think the only reason that this was possible was because the band had both a point to prove & a genuine hunger for success. Once they achieved that success I think they suffered from a lack of any real understanding of what the next step was. They'd already achieved everything from a commercial point of view & (despite what the underground extreme metal scene may think) the world were telling them that they had creatively too. The "Load" & "Reload" fiascos were the direct result of this &, although I genuinely hate those records, at least they were pushing into new territory with the band being their own masters. 

"St. Anger" is very much the opposite of this as it sees Metallica consciously trying to appease the metal fans they'd lost with their previous couple of releases but at the same time attempting to conform to the current market tastes by heading in a more alternative metal style & dropping the guitar solos altogether. Such an obvious showcase of a band that's given up the ghost & are trying to copy the bands that they'd influenced is the ultimate sell-out in my opinion. But then, in trying to make up for that mistake by consciously (& poorly) plagiarizing their past glories with "Death Magnetic", Metallica showed a vulnerability & a weakness that only further compounded the issue & provided further proof that the band had completely lost touch with both their fanbase & reality. "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct" was probably the band's best record since "The Black Album" but it was so bloated, over-produced & self-indulgent that it did nothing to pull the band out of their creative hole, particularly given that the best material was once again centered around self-plagiarism. At least the band tried something different with "Lulu". As bad as it was, they certainly showed that they didn't give a fuck what anyone thought with that release.

What a horrible example of the cheesy power metal ballad this is! I could just as easily have included "The Guardians Of Mankind" or "The Winged Horse" from this album actually as I find both very hard to endure but this track takes the cake when it comes to musical inadequacy in my opinion.

Powerful German power metal for fans of Helloween, Blind Guardian & Judas Priest.

Gamma Ray - "Somewhere Out In Space" (1997)

This was the first time that I've tried German power metal icons Gamma Ray's classic fifth album "Somewhere Out In Space" as my earliest encounter with them was through 1995's unanimously praised "Land Of The Free" record back in the mid-90's & it did very little for me. I did quite like the double re-recording album we featured recently in 2000's "Blast From The Past" though so I thought it might be time to see what Gamma Ray's other essential releases are like.

Well unfortunately "Somewhere Out In Space" is a classic example of why I find European power metal to be a struggle most of the time. There are certainly some quality tracks included here along with some more than decent interludes however these highlights are scattered amongst other material that places a strong reliance on cheesy & consciously anthemic vocal hooks over a simple speed metal backbone. This sort of stuff has never sat very well with me as I find it very hard to connect with & songs like "The Guardians Of Mankind", "The Winged Horse" & the God-awful ballad "Pray" really do make me want to sever my ears most of the time. 

Overall, "Somewhere Out In Space" isn't awful but I find it to be heavily overrated. The musicianship is always very good & the performances are extremely tight so Gamma Ray definitely have a strong pedigree in metal music but unfortunately this isn't enough to make up for the dairy-rich melodic content that permeates half of the tracklisting. That assessment is pretty much a carbon copy of my feelings on "Land Of The Free" to be honest although I'd probably take that album over this one if pushed. I think I'll stick with "Blast From The Past" for the moment.

For fans of Helloween, Blind Guardian & Judas Priest.

3/5

Ben, please add French progressive metal outfit Altesia.

Yeah, I'd suggest that the Fear, & Loathing In Las Vegas track is metal too Andi & it's definitely Melodic Metalcore-based so I feel like we've got it right to have Trancecore as a subgenre of Melodic Metalcore if these four tracks are a true reflection of the Trancecore sound.

Ben, Xephyr, Sonny & Saxy, what are your thoughts on these four Trancecore tracks? Metal or not?

A fantastic instrumental interlude taken from my favourite album from Swedish progressive metal/rock outfit Pain Of Salvation. For fans of Riverside, Leprous & Dream Theater.

Pain of Salvation - "The Perfect Element I" (2000)

I've actually had this Swedish progressive metal/rock outfit's third album in my playlist for three or four months now since finding that my opinion on Pain Of Salvation's 2002 follow-up "Remedy Lane" had grown over time when I nominated it as our February 'The Infinite' feature release. "The Perfect Element I" was always my favourite Pain Of Salvation record though & that hasn't changed as this is one highly professional release that may not possess as many obvious highlights as its younger sibling but more than makes up for it in class & consistency. As with "Remedy Lane", you'll find that the production isn't the heaviest & is much more in line with a progressive rock model but this isn't an issue as the execution is outstanding. I love the guitar solos which are a definite highlight. The vocal hooks aren't strong enough to be considering my higher scores but this album should be essential listening for fans of Riverside, Leprous & Dream Theater.

Xephyr & saxy, I recommend you give this one a spin if you haven't already.

4/5

Thanks for raising that concern Tymell. I'd suggest that a simple private message to Ben would be the smoothest & fastest way to report incorrect data as he owns the database administration. Alternatively, you could raise a new thread in the SITE SUGGESTIONS forum.

In regards to your request around Riot's "Rock City" Andi, I have to ask what actual evidence you have of it being released in 1978? I'm not seeing any above. Did you read that this might be the case somewhere? If so, what is the source of your theory? If we're going to change a readily accepted release date then we'll want to be sure that everyone else is wrong.

Welcome to the Academy. It's great to have you here. Do you & Vinny know each other from another site? I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you the guided tour as there's a lot enjoy here. Have fun with it & feel free to contribute as much as you feel comfortable with.

A Viking metal-inspired call to arms for fans of  Moonsorrow, Agalloch & early 90's Bathory,.

Primordial - "The Gathering Wilderness" (2005)

I've had this one on my playlist ever since Ben reminded me of how much I enjoy it through his March playlist submission of the opening track "The Golden Spiral" which is an all-time favourite of mine. Much like its classic follow-up "To The Nameless Dead", Primordial's sound on this album is extremely hard to categorize whilst still seemingly so perfectly defined & developed. They simply don't sound like anyone else but do their thing so well & so comprehensively that I find myself easily falling into admiration for their artistic integrity, even during the weaker material. And let's be clear, there are no weak tracks here as such. "The Song Of The Tomb" isn't as strong as the other songs but it's far from a disappointment. The peaks however arrive at opposite ends of the tracklisting with the afore mentioned opener being the perfect realization of Primordial's craft & the emotion-charged final chapter "Cities Carved In Stone" being a fantastic way to close out proceedings. The impassioned vocal performance of A.A. Nemtheanga is always engaging & reminds me a lot of Anathema's Vincent Cavanagh at times. Despite his technical imperfections, he's become a real drawcard for Primordial over the years.

As I said earlier, it's pretty much impossible to categorize Primordial's sound as they don't really fit into the existing metal genrification model. They generally get lumped into the folk metal bucket however that tag has never sat all that comfortably with me as this album doesn't include many folk style melodies or turn to traditional folk instrumentation. Even so, there's something noticeably organic about Primordial's approach & their themes seem to be so intertwined with their homeland that I eventually give in to a Celtic metal tag as much out of desperation as anything else. However that tag alone isn't enough to fully describe Primordial's sound as there's a majestic black metal pedigree that shines through in everything they do (particularly in the sweeping melodic riffage that remind me a lot of Winterfylleth) & this often leaves me wondering whether it's appropriate to label a release as black metal when the vocals are all clean. I see no reason why not so the Pagan black metal tag seems more than appropriate as a second primary subgenre. The Viking-era Bathory influence that's so evident on tracks like "The Golden Spiral" also sees me asking myself this question: Is it apprropriate to tag a release as Viking metal when it doesn't have Viking themes & isn't from Scandinavia? It's something that needs to be discussed at some point & I'm not sure I've got an answer at this stage but it's more of an influence on Primordial's sound than it is a primary subgenre so it can wait till a later date. The Iron Maiden influence in the guitar harmonies is also worth mentioning.

There's very little doubt that "The Gathering Wilderness" is the entree to "To The Nameless Dead"s main course but it's still a classy release that won't disappoint those of you who are looking for a more mature & emotionally engaging form of folk metal. In fact, I rate as second for the genre as a whole behind it's younger sibling.

For fans of Viking-era Bathory, Moonsorrow & Agalloch.

4/5

I agree with you Sonny. This is what I wrote about "V- Halmstad" in my feature release response:

"It really asks questions of your average depressive black metal fan as it goes against the grain in many ways. Firstly, the production is crystal clear which is directly opposed to the lo-fi approach that most of Shining's peers take when attempting to create atmosphere & I think it works beautifully here. Perhaps it's due to the fact that it highlights the exceptional level of musicianship for a black metal outfit & a much more diverse & progressive musical palate. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it's debatable as to whether "V - Halmstad" is even black metal in the traditional sense of the term. Despite the fact that Shining utilize traditional black metal tools fairly consistently throughout the album, the production, musicianship, experimentation in style & unusual vocal techniques never allow them to sound like a black metal band in the purest sense. (I feel similarly about Primordial's classic releases actually.) Post-black metal is perhaps a more accurate tag for "V - Halmstad" than anything else but it still doesn't fit all that comfortably."

I just gave all three tracks an initial listen & I think I'm with Andi on this one. I'd suggest that there's enough metal in all three of those tracks to warrant inclusion under a metal-based subgenre. Sure there are some electronic components in each of them but they're layered over the top of a melodic metalcore backbone while the hardcore punk component isn't dominant over the metal one so a Metalcore-based label is more suitable in my opinion. If these three tracks are a good representation of the subgenre (Are they Andi?) then the question for me would more about whether this sound requires its own subgenre or is better off being thrown in with Melodic Metalcore or Trance Metal. On the evidence of these tracks I'd be suggesting Melodic Metalcore would be more suitable as they're all metalcore based.

So Ben & I have now discussed the Nintendocore situation & have decided to remove the subgenre from the Metal Academy database based on the above feedback. All Nintendocore releases will be marked as an alternative subgenre or set to Non-metal. If you feel that any subsequent retagging is incorrect then please feel free to submit the release in question to the Hall or to vote on its release page (if you're a member of The Revolution clan). Ben is just having a small database bug rectified & will then make the required changes so you can expect to see it take place in the next month or so. Thanks a lot to everyone who contributed to us making a well-informed decision on that.

Let's move on to the Trancecore subgenre, shall we? Here's three prominent tracks from some of the more widely known Trancecore releases. I'd like to ask as many of you as possible to participate in voting on whether you feel that each of them qualifies as metal or not.

Crusty Californian sludge metal for fans of Eyehategod, Acid Bath & Corrupted.