Daniel's Forum Replies

How about this beauty from Chicago-based hard rock/heavy metal/proto-doom exponents Sorcery's 1978 debut album "Sinister Soldiers":

A terribly misguided commercially focused ballad from Devin Townsend Project's 2009 alternative metal album "Addicted".

This track was comfortably the highlight of Devin Townsend Project's alternative metal focused 2009 "Addicted" album in my opinion. The chorus hook is nothing short of spectacular & the way to song-writing builds up to a spine-tingling wall-of-sound crescendo pretty much blew my mind.

I've given this one a few bashes this morning & found that I quite liked it but wouldn't class it as essential listening. Sure it incorporates some new elements like the electronic component & the addition of former The Gathering front woman Anneke van Giersbergen but the end result still sounds like Devin with his trademark wall of melodic sound. Unsurprisingly, all of the various ingredients have been beautifully integrated. In fact, Devin really should send the album to Megadeth band leader Dave Mustaine so that he can see how albums like "Risk" & "The World Needs A Hero" should have sounded as the boys seem to have had similar ideas but produced vastly different results with a wide disparity in regards to quality.

Anneke has sat amongst my favourite female metal vocalists (if not THE favourite) for a very long time now so I welcomed the collaboration. She certainly sounds great here too but I do prefer to hear her voice being highlighted a little more than it is amidst Devin's huge soundscapes. The production is obviously outstanding though & this gives some of the middling tracks the grunt required to see them getting over the line. The guitar tone is heavy as shit while Ryan Van Poederooyen puts in a stellar performance behind the drum kit.

It's interesting that many fans seem to regard this album as an industrial metal record. Sure there are some electronic elements at play here but there's not a consistently industrial/mechanical atmosphere. "Addicted" is far more uplifting that that & I'm actually fine with the alternative metal tag as a lot of this material looks to remove some of the boundaries that separate metal from your more accessible styles whilst always maintaining a predominantly metal aesthetic. Despite the general consensus, when you examine the tracklisting as a whole you'll find that "Addicted" isn't really much poppier than Devin has dished out before either & I do think that saying it incorporates "dance music" is a stretch too as the electronics are used purely for colour & there aren't too many artificial dance beats included here.

Overall, I think "Addicted" had the potential to be a really great album given the quality of the production, performances & most of the hooks but there's a major flaw that prevents me from scoring it as highly as I'd like to. Unfortunately the tracklisting is let down by a couple of weak commercially focused tracks (i.e. "Bend It Like Bender!" & particularly the soppy ballad "Ih-Ah!") which combine to bring my score down by a half-star. Otherwise there's plenty of meat for Devin's fanatical audience to dig their teeth into here with the clear album highlight "Supercrush!" sitting amongst the best work of Devin's entire career.

3.5/5

Juan Atkins - "20 Years 1985-2005" (2005)

A double best-of compilation album from Detroit's true godfather of techno featuring work from many of his various aliases (Cybotron, Model 500, Infiniti, 3MB, Visions). You can expect a fair bit of electro in the earlier material as he developed his sound. Quite a few big dancefloor tracks for me when I was DJing included here too. For fans of Drexciya, Derrick May & Kevin Saunderson. 

I thought I'd better get a few of the less popular The North subgenres into this playlist (i.e. Celtic metal, medieval folk metal, black 'n' roll, etc.) as they'd been completely omitted in recent times. intentionally chose some pretty short tracks though.

Stunningly complex progressive death metal from Quebec, Canada. For fans of Atheist, "Dimension Hatross"-era Voivod & the more progressive Death releases.

So look... if you love highly technical, complex & precise yet still extreme metal then "Feeding The Abscess" should be a no-brainer as it's a beautifully composed, produced & executed record that almost defies genrification.  If that doesn't sound like your bag then I'd advise you to steer well clear of it. Martyr are super talented & pull off some amazing rhythmic stunts but you really do have to be onboard with that idea or you'll likely struggle due to the reliance on showmanship over song-writing. Looking back now, Martyr do seem like a bit of a supergroup in that axe-slinging front man Daniel Mongrain was formally of Cryptopsy & Gorguts & is currently with Voivod while drummer Patrice Hamelin is the current drummer in Gorguts & none of that is surprising when you hear "Feeding The Abscess" for the first time. These dudes fucking know their way around their instruments & the precision on display is nothing short of phenomenal.

I really do think the technical death metal tag is a little limiting here because Martyr's sound never feels constrained by the death metal genre. Sure there are blast beats, some grindy death metal riffs here & there & the occasional death grunt but the majority of the album is much more progressive than that & Daniel Mongrain's vocals generally sit much closer to thrash than they do to death metal. In fact, they're really the limiting factor with this release as Daniel's monotonous tone & phrasing sees Martyr failing to reach the top tier despite the band's clear credentials. This is an outstanding record from an instrumental point of view & I can't help but think that the band would have been better served by employing a) a higher register clean vocalist that adds a layer of melody & memorability to the equation or b) a full-on death grunter who can accentuate the brutality in Martyr's sound. What they've gone for here seems to have taken an each-way bet that hasn't quite satisfied either preference.

The production is spectacular, mind you, & if you're a fan of progressive metal in general then you'll likely get a fair bit of enjoyment out of the no-holds-barred approach "Feeding The Abscess" takes with regards to composition. There are very few rules being adhered to here & the level of musicianship required to achieve the final result is nothing short of mind-blowing. I particularly enjoy the drumming & lead guitar work, both of which are accentuated by the outstanding production. Just listen to the depth in those kick drums for example.

Overall, "Feeding The Abscess" is a great choice for a feature album & with some more interesting vocals it may just have gone on to be known as a classic release. I'm just not sure The Horde was the right place for it to be honest because it's more of a progressive metal record than it is a death metal one in my opinion.  The Voivod cover version that closes the album could have been a little more adventurous too because it really is just a straight reenactment & doesn't offer any point of difference which leaves it standing out a little bit from the rest of the tracklisting.

For fans of Atheist, "Dimension Hatross"-era Voivod & Death's more progressive releases.

4/5

Awesome! I'm so glad to see we have another contributing member of The Revolution! 

Polish black metal for fans of Necromantia, Mayhem & early Samael.

I gave "Henbane" a few spins over the last couple of mornings & quite enjoyed it. It's certainly got that authentic 80's vibe about it as well as an occult atmosphere that's similar to the old Hammer Films from the 1970's which separates it from most of the modern black metal community. The over the top vocal performance sits somewhere between Attila Csihar (Mayhem) & Kvarforth (Shining) to my ears & there's a strong doom metal element running through most of the tracklisting which I'm not surprised appeals to the likes of Sonny. The dirty bass guitar is both very prominent in the mix & also drives some of this material to an extent. 

If I had to describe Cultes des Ghoules sound here I'd go with Necromantia & Mayhem meets Hellhammer & early Samael. It's not a perfect record by any means. Many of the slower sections are obviously rewrites of the bridge section from Mayhem's "Freezing Moon" but that doesn't make them any less effective for me personally. The vocal performance does go a little too far at times too as there are moments where front man Mark of The Devil crosses the border into silliness but I have similar issues with Kvarforth to be honest. Some of the instrumentation is pretty sloppily performed from a timing perspective but that kinda adds to the authenticity to be fair. I'm not sure I agree with the calls about a early 90's death metal guitar tone. I don't think it's thick enough for that & would instead suggest that it's more in line with some of the more underground 80's black metal releases.

Overall I found "Henbane" to be an interesting listen that I couldn't quite connect with strongly enough to command regular return visits in the future. The tracklisting is very consistent as I enjoyed all five tracks but none of them left me feeling like I'd just experienced anything particularly classic even though I very much dug the dark atmosphere.

For fans of Necromantia, Mayhem & early Samael.

3.5/5

A stunning example of Swedish progressive metal for fans of Dream Theater, Leprous & Katatonia.

So this one has really surprised me in a very positive way. With all of the talk about “progressive power metal” that seems to float around Evergrey, I was definitely expecting something a little different to what I got as there’s absolutely no power metal to be found here. “Escape Of The Phoenix” isn’t particularly technical for a progressive metal record either but the aesthetics, attention to detail & production values certainly tie it to the subgenre. What you get here is chunky (& at times djenty) riffage that reminds me of some of the heavier Dream Theater material while the outstanding melodic vocals of Tom S. Englund place Evergrey alongside contemporaries like Leprous & Katatonia. I absolutely love this guy’s tone & when he hits on a great hook I’m immediately transported to melodic metal heaven. The guitar solos of are also outstanding as they offer the perfect balance of melody & technical proficiency. You’re never left feeling that they’re overly showy as they seem to be equally influenced by Dream Theater’s John Petrucci & Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour & are beautifully crafted to accentuate & complement the song-writing.

“Escape Of The Phoenix” gets off to an amazing start with the opening two cuts competing with the absolute elite of the progressive metal subgenre & by half way through the album I was left feeling that I may be being treated to a genuine underground classic. Unfortunately a couple of tracks in the second half of the album pull the overall quality back a bit & I’m left falling just short of the higher ratings. In truth, it really does come down to one disappointing track as the obviously more commercially focused tambourine-driven chorus of “Eternal Nocturnal” sees it falling well short of the heights of the rest of the album. The closer “Run” is also a little weaker than the rest of the material but is still pretty enjoyable. When it comes down to it though, that chorus of “Eternal Nocturnal” has cost Evergrey a 4.5 star ratings from me here because there are easily enough highlights to warrant it & there's easily enough runtime to have cut that track altogether. Still… this is a very high quality progressive metal record that should appeal to anyone interested in the subgenre.

For fans of Dream Theater, Leprous & Katatonia.

4/5

Ben, you should definitely check this one out.

Personally my musical taste leads me towards a path whereby the devil has eviscerated the priest & is raping his decapitated stump with his own gizzards to the sound of never-ending gravity blasts but each to their own.

It’s also be cool if there was a way that you could see that you have private messages waiting for you from within the site. Currently the only way you’d know is by an external email & even when you’re in the message section you’d have to go into the individual conversations to see if there’s anything new there. Perhaps a number could show on your profile name it the top of the main page & any conversations with new messages could be bolded in a similar way to my forum thread suggestion?

I think we need a bigger window for typing private messages. With the way it currently is I find that I have to keep arrowing up with the cursor to review what I’ve already written which is really annoying after a while.

It’d also be cool if threads with posts you’re yet to read showed up in bold so that you can easily see what you need to catch up on. I used to enjoy that feature on the Terrorizer forums.

I admire your commitment to the cause Andi. I do think this approach is gonna be pretty difficult to manage though given that it's certainly not just death metal bands that focus on death as their primary subject matter. Doom metal & its array of spin-off subgenres are a prime example with your beloved death doom metal & gothic metal subgenres being predominantly built around loss & mourning. Or is it just the violent intent to kill that's so predominant in death, black & thrash metal that's your major concern here? Whatever the answer is, you can be sure that the Metal Academy team will help to support you by throwing an indescribable wealth of awesome bands with a more positive outlook at you at the expense of the darker ones.

Blazing English power metal.

Look, I don't think anyone would have been under any misguided illusions that "Inhuman Rampage" would be something that would appeal to my particular taste however I gave it three full spins to see if I could grasp its charms. Unfortunately I've been left none the wiser though & found the whole process to be fairly unpleasant. That's not to say that DragonForce aren't good at what they do mind you. In fact, there's very little doubt that they sit amongst the absolute cream of the crop when it comes to musicianship & production. The performances here are nothing short of dazzling from all parties involved & the speed & precision on display is staggering at times. But that's about all there is here really. Over the 55 minute duration DragonForce basically play you the same thing for the vast majority of the run time with only the God-awful closing ballad "Trail Of Broken Hearts" seeing them changing their formula up a bit. 

The other issue I have with "Inhuman Rampage" is the trademark cheese factor that DragonForce seem to revel in. I can't tolerate that sort of thing at the best of times but when you give me a record that focuses all of its attention on schmaltzy neoclassical guitar harmonies & uplifting & triumphant fairy-floss choruses then I struggle not to simply check out. Sure the guitar solos are spectacular, the blasting double-kick-driven drumming sounds like a machine-gun & the harmonizing is as perfect as you'll find but there's very little actual grit to this music as it's been so heavily over-produced that it's reached the point of sounding inhuman & mechanical. It's really pretty hard to hear the actual musicians behind all of the studio trickery a lot of the time & I feel that the album title "Inhuman Rampage" seems quite fitting to be honest.

I have to admit that I did quite enjoy the second track "Revolution Deathsquad" which sees DragonForce managing to hit a more mature yet still memorable chorus hook before reaching another level of technical proficiency altogether during an extended instrumental section that would dazzle even the most die-hard of progressive metal fans but the rest of the tracklisting doesn't do much for me to be honest. The speed metal inspired riffage is really very aggressive the majority of the time & it's just such a shame that DragonForce feel the need to continually smother vasoline over the lens to make for a more easily palatable commercial product. In fact, tracks like "Operation Ground & Pound" & particularly "Trail Of Broken Hearts" leave me struggling against my gag reflex & it's only the sheer talent & enthusiasm of this band that keeps my rating from dipping to more subterranean levels that I rarely visit these days.

2.5/5

Sonny, that Spelljammer track is an absolute ripper. It's really floating my boat right now.

God - "The Anatomy Of Addiction" (1994)

Chris van Etten, I think this one'll be right up your alley mate.

Tension-filled & slow-building industrial metal from London, England. For fans of Godflesh, Swans & Naked City.

Wow! I had no idea what I was in for with this monster of a record. The scope & breadth of the "industrial metal" subgenre tag is simply not wide enough to encompass all of the elements at play here. I wasn't aware of it until now but God was essentially a supergroup project of sorts with approximately ten experienced musicians contributing to an epic 79 minutes of unapologetically experimental & highly challenging music made specifically for open-minded music fans with a taste for the cerebral & psychedelic. Most of the individual names were completely foreign to me but I can certainly hear the experience & talent in what they've delivered.

Many reviewers will probably suggest that "The Anatomy Of Addiction" is overly repetitive but I think that's just an indication that a lot of people don't have the patience required for this sort of art which aims directly for your cerebral cortex a lot of the time. Upon first listen you'll be left in no doubt whatsoever of the presence of Godflesh/Jesu mastermind Justin Broadrick as there are tracks here that sound exactly like classic Godflesh with some additional elements thrown into the mix. However possibly even more of the tracklisting is closer to the sound of Swans' more expansive experimental rock excursions with long, slowly-building & repetitive tracks that are full of tension & atmosphere. The jazz component is noteworthy with the more insane saxophone use reminding me of Naked City & the more laidback moments hinting at the influence of Miles Davis' late 60's/early 70's jazz fusion period. You'll also detect a significant dose of dub in the way that some of these pieces are structured, especially in the use of the bass guitar as a musical protagonist on some of the more extended & expansive tracks with the guitar & saxophone being used more for colour & texture than melody. There's a tribal percussion element at play too which really adds to the atmosphere without ever pushing things into ambient territory. Honestly, the vocals of Kevin Martin might as well by Justin Broadrick because they sound so similar that you'd be forgiven for thinking it was indeed him. Kevin's broken & repetitive phrasing & lyrical style is basically identical to Justin's trademark bark & it leaves me with a welcome feeling of familiarity a lot of the time.

This is truly intriguing & interesting stuff & I never find myself getting bored despite the excessive length of the album. There are no weak tracks with God exuding an air of class & consistency about everything they touch. The few highlight tracks are nothing short of magnificent & leave me disappointed that I can't rate the album a little higher than I have. I guess I just can't quite see "The Anatomy Of Addiction" becoming an all-time favourite despite the fact that I have difficulty in faulting it. I think that's because I find a good portion of the tracklisting to leave me thoroughly impressed with the ambition & execution but not quite drooling uncontrollably due to the lack of a knockout punch. Nonetheless, I can't recommend the album enough to people that are interested in a more cerebral & internally focused brand of experimental rock/metal music. That certainly won't be everyone & if you find that you don't get it then you'll likely be in good company. Those that do have the patience for a record like this one will being thoroughly rewarded for the effort though. And another thing... don't even think about giving it a one-off spin because it needs a little more time than that.

For fans of Godflesh, Swans & Naked City.

4/5

I still think these playlists should start with a quick brutal introduction then a few melodic songs, so it would be a good starting point for anyone new to death metal or metal in general to begin with the more melodic stuff before digging deeper into death metal's gory brutality. However, switching back and forth between brutality and melody might catch them off-guard. If it was up to me, the Cryptic Shift song probably should've been track #2 before the Scar Symmetry one, then after that, the Septic Flesh song should've been track #4 before the Dark Tranquillity one. Despite its original odd position, this playlist would be a great journey for Horde members from melodic to brutal and I approve of that track listing. They'll like it!

Well to be fair mate, it's my experience that a good half of the death metal fanbase finds melodeath to be fairly easy-listening &, no offence intended to fans of melodeath, but if you lump all of those tracks together at the start like I did a couple of times early on then you risk boring people before they've ever gotten into the meat of the playlist. I actually had a couple of people tell me that I should mix the playlists up more after originally starting all melodic & I have to admit that I agree with them as I find the playlists more enjoyable since making the change. It's also worth noting that these playlists are made for death metal & grindcore fans, not for converting people who might be scared off by the brutality of over 80% of the subgenres The Horde entails.

In general these days I try to start our playlists with three reasonably intense tracks that cover the most popular subgenres of the associated clan (for The Horde that's your conventional, melodic & technical varieties of death metal) so that the listener gets a good understanding of what they can expect & we grab their attention right from the start while also giving a hint at the variety that might be in store for them. Then I drop things down a bit & go with a more structured approach after that. It seems to work for the most part but please bare in mind that I can't possibly listen to 18 hours of playlists every month so you shouldn't expect perfection & obviously won't agree with every choice I make.

In all due respect Andi, how does that place you in a good position to provide an informed rating on a playlist like the April ones for The Sphere or The Horde where you've only commented on a small percentage of the overall tracklisting? I would've thought you'd need to at least have heard the whole tracklisting before commenting on its overall quality. I mean the true value of these playlists is that they help us all experience new music that we've never listened to before in order to open us up to new styles & sounds within the clans & 90% of your comments are on tracks that you're already familiar with so I'm not sure you're getting the true value out of them. Am I wrong here?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's interested to know this Andi but am I to understand that you have listened to a full SIX two-hour playlists within the first two days of the month? Do you listen to them in full? What makes a track qualify for comment exactly?

This month's criteria for The Sphere playlist submissions is as follows: 30 min each clan member, no track limits, one track for non-clan members

This month's criteria for The Revolution playlist submissions is as follows: 30 min each clan member, no track limits, one track for non-clan members

This month's criteria for The Pit playlist submissions is as follows: 24 min each clan member, no track limits

This month's criteria for The North playlist submissions is as follows: 24 min each clan member, no track limits

This month's criteria for The Infinite playlist submissions is as follows: 30 min each clan member, no track limits

This month's criteria for The Horde playlist submissions is as follows: 30 min each clan member, no track limits

This month's criteria for The Guardians playlist submissions is as follows: 30 min each clan member, no track limits

This month's criteria for The Gateway playlist submissions is: 30 min each clan member, no track limits, one track for non-clan members

This month's criteria for The Fallen playlist submissions is: 24 min each clan member, no track limits

Interestingly, I have no issue accessing the two tracks that people are struggling with. I assume it's due to the censorship regulations of some countries in the the case of Holocausto who have been linked to Nazi themes, mainly due to their album cover & sheer naivety. The Immolation could be due to the anti-Christian themes I suppose.

Here's the arrangement for next month's feature releases:

THE FALLEN: Ben, Daniel, Sonny, Andi

THE GATEWAY: saxy, Daniel

THE GUARDIANS: Vinny, Xephyr, Andi

THE HORDE: Daniel, Vinny, Ben

THE INFINITE: Andi, Xephyr, saxy

THE NORTH: Xephyr, Sonny, Ben, Vinny

THE PIT: Ben, Daniel, Sonny, Vinny

THE REVOLUTION: Andi, Daniel

THE SPHERE: Daniel

Here's the arrangement for next month's playlist suggestions:

THE FALLEN: 24 min each clan member, no track limits

THE GATEWAY: 30 min each clan member, no track limits, one track for non-clan members

THE GUARDIANS: 30 min each clan member, no track limits

THE HORDE: 30 min each clan member, no track limits

THE INFINITE: 30 min each clan member, no track limits

THE NORTH: 24 min each clan member, no track limits

THE PIT: 24 min each clan member, no track limits

THE REVOLUTION: 30 min each clan member, no track limits, one track for non-clan members

THE SPHERE: 30 min each clan member, no track limits, one track for non-clan members

Superb melodic black metal from France.

Yeah I've given "Le tyran et l'esthète" four full spins over the last couple of days & I really dig it. I'm not generally too keen on any release that commands a subgenre tag with the word "melodic" in front of it & there is some stuff here that's a little too melodically inclined for my taste to be fair but Les Chants de Nihil always manage to keep me interested through sheer chaotic violence. I mean this is blasting as fuck for a record that's being labelled as melodic but the band have somehow managed to find a beautiful balance between melody & brutality that means that the tag still seems to fit. The black metal vocals have real anger & spite in them & they suit the music well while the drumming is spectacular & represents the clear highlight of the album. In fact, bands like these guys & Deathspell Omega leave me wondering how the French manage to produce such consistent talent in this regard.

I'm not much of a fan of the chanting vocals to be honest but that won't surprise people that know me well. They're inevitably the weakest moments on the album to my ears. The tracklisting also could have been a little more consistent too but there are no genuinely weak tracks & the couple of clear highlight tracks are particularly impressive. I mean find me a better modern black metal track than "Danse des mort-nés" & you'll be doing well. It harnesses all of the things that made the Norwegians so great in black metal's heyday. 

This is some high quality black metal right here & Ben will definitely love it. Thanks a lot for the tip Sonny.

4/5

Next level brutal death metal that defined the subgenre. For fans of Dying Fetus, Hate Eternal & Pyrexia.

Suffocation - "Human Waste" E.P. (1991)

Every devoted metalhead has those bands that give them enormous pride in the fact that they've been with them since their earliest demo recordings & Suffocation is one of those artists for me. In fact, they're arguably the band that most accurately reflects my taste in metal music & that was evident from the first second that I heard this debut E.P. which not only defined a brand new & significantly more extreme version of the death metal sound but also showcased a band that was already at the peak of their powers from a technical & compositional point of view. The riff structures are slightly more thrashy than we'd come to expect from the band in the future however this record is still full to the brim with those ridiculously challenging & chunky palm-muted melodic runs & high-octane, grind-inspired blast-beat barrages that would become synonymous with the Suffocation brand. To my ears they'd already struck on the perfect balance between aggression, progression & memorability.

The production is perhaps not as effective as it would be on their more widely celebrated "Effigy Of The Forgotten" & "Pierced From Within" records & most of these tracks were re-recorded at one point or another however the class, energy & controlled violence that oozes from this record like the dripping blood on the imposing cover artwork has no less of a physical effect on me. In fact, I'd even argue that the tracklisting is just as consistent as that of Suffocation's more highly regarded follow-up from later on the same year so it's always baffled me that it isn't placed on a similar pedestal given how ground-breaking it was at the time. Brutal death metal was born & boy did it get off to a great start!

For fans of Dying Fetus, Hate Eternal & Pyrexia.

4.5/5

Suffocation - "Human Waste" E.P. (1991)

Vinny, I notice you haven't rated this one. I regard it as absolutely essential for all death metal fans.

Some very solid US heavy metal from Wichita, USA. For fans of Brocas Helm, Omen & Eternal Champion.

So I've only just gotten around to revisiting Manilla Road's  "Mystification" album a good six months after I allocated this feature release with that very intention but it was definitely worth another look. Manilla Road & I have had a hit-&-miss relationship over the years. I quite liked their progressive rock-driven 1980 debut album "Invasion" but found the follow-up "Metal" to be disappointing. Strangely, their third album "Crystal Logic" (which is generally regarded as their best work & an unmitigated classic) did even less for me but 1985's "Open The Gates" saw my interest being restored with several incredible pieces appearing across a generally inconsistent tracklisting. So I guess it's fair to say that I approached "Mystification" fairly tentatively which may be why I didn't get to it until now. 

"Mystification" may still sound very much like a Manilla Road album but it's also a very different beast to the other material I've heard from the band to date. For starters, this is the first time that I've had absolutely no question about a Manilla Road album's US power metal status. It's a noticeably thrashier affair than their early 80's records were with only a couple of tunes that fit comfortably under the heavy metal banner. The rest offer significantly more velocity & aggression than you'd usually expect from a classic metal band however Mark Shelton's higher register vocal performance generally keeps Manilla Road from completely crossing over into speed/thrash metal territory as he possesses a theatricality that definitely ties them to power metal. The short & high energy "Up From the Crypt" is probably the only exception with its slightly more grunty delivery & it's clear that bands like Slayer have had a significant impact on Mark & his band by this stage. Just check out that start of "Masque of the Red Death" if you don't believe me.

The performances are really quite brilliant, particularly Mark's lead guitar work & the exciting drumming of Randy Foxe who plays like a man possessed for the most part with his drum-rolls being a clear highlight. Unsurprisingly, I do struggle to connect with Mark's "epic" vocal delivery a little though & that's always been a bit of a stumbling block for me to tell you the truth. I'm always left wishing that he'd spend more time shredding away on his axe with that unpolished yet infectious technique of his rather than posing some dark & mystical question to me vocally. Some of his earlier works included more lower register grunt work than "Mystification" does & I think that's a shame as I do like that style a little better. Mark's guitar solos always sound like he's improvised the whole thing on the spot &, despite his clear command of his instrument, they're more to do with atmosphere than they are to do with chops which is something I have a lot of appreciation for. In fact, you could say similar things of the production job which gives Manilla Road that mid-80's underground authenticity that a lot of modern bands lack & that's always been a strength for the band.

Overall, this is clearly the most consistent Manilla Road record I've heard to date as there are no weak tracks included. But in saying that, I don't think we get the enormous highlights that a record like "Open The Gates" offered. I think perhaps the additional thrashiness of "Mystification" has seen Manilla Road losing a little bit of the psychedelia that I loved so much about their better earlier works. For that reason, "Open The Gates" still maintains the title of my favourite Manilla Road release however "Mystification" is another interesting album from a band that I generally maintain an appreciation for but are unlikely to ever quite connect with on the same level as the rest of the underground seem to.

For fans of Brocas Helm, Omen & Eternal Champion.

3.5/5

A monster heavy metal anthem for fans of Twisted Sister, 80's Judas Priest & "Shout At The Devil"-era Motley Crue.

W.A.S.P. - "The Headless Children" (1989)

These days everyone seems to talk about WASP's self-titled debut but I come from an alternate direction as I feel that they got better after that with their peak being 1992's classic concept album "The Crimson Idol" (I know, I know.. a real shock that I don't favour their glammier stuff). Their 1989 fourth album "The Headless Children" sees Blackie & co. finally dropping most of the glam metal schmaltz in favour of more mature subject matter but I wouldn't say they reinvented themselves musically. This is still a WASP record from start to finish with a couple of hard rock focused numbers mixed in with their now signature anthemic heavy metal sound & Blackie's powerful pipes & well-defined hooks dominating proceedings. Admittedly those rockier tracks represent the weaker moments on the album but there's really only the ballad "Forever Free" that I don't find much appeal in. The rest of the tracklisting is very consistent with closer "Rebel in the F.D.G." & "Thunderhead" representing the album highlights & some of the best material of WASP's career. All heavy metal fans should find value in this record. It's not a game-changer by any means but it's got all the balls & excitement that you'd expect from a WASP record & I place it a comfortable second for their back catalogue overall.

For fans of Twisted Sister, 80's Judas Priest & "Shout At The Devil"-era Motley Crue.

4/5

That's a great story Joseph & welcome to the Academy. I'm impressed by the quality of your ratings for someone that's so fresh to a lot of the material actually & I think you'll really appreciate the site's ability to help you to find great new music that's well aligned with your personal tastes. Have fun with our various features & I hope to see you around. :)