Daniel's Forum Replies

Ben, you absolutely must have this release in your life.

Superb Aussie industrial metal for fans of Fear Factory, Meshuggah & Strapping Young Lad.

OH MY FUCKING GOD!!! I usually find video game soundtracks to sound jerky & incomplete with the composer jumping around stylistically across short pieces that never have the time to fully develop (I'm looking at you "Silent Hill" series). Most aren't nearly as appealing for people that aren't into video games (which I'm definitely not). This release, on the other hand, is utterly incredible in every way & stands up as a musical masterpiece in its own right. It pretty much takes my three favourite genres of music (i.e. metal, industrial techno & dark ambient) & combines them like they've never been separated but somehow manages to eclipse all of the individual components in the most emphatic way. From a purely metal point of view, I'd suggest that Fear Factory, Meshuggah & Strapping Young Lad would be the closest living relatives but it has truly shocked me to find that I like this significantly better than anything those artists have done. The darkness on offer is simply sublime, the post-apocalyptic atmosphere is amongst the most defined I've ever experienced & the energy & consistency is unheard of across a two hour release. This is quite frankly one of my all-time favourite releases right here & the fact that it comes from a fellow Aussie makes it even more appealing. The lack of vocals is the only reason I can think of for Mick Gordon not being the president of the world right now. What a find!

5/5

I'll be finishing off the December feature releases, checking out the January ones, putting together the January playlists & filling in some remaining rating gaps I have in late 80's extreme metal.

Aaaaaaannnnndddddd.... I'll just leave this one here.

The new single from LA speed metallers Agent Steel entitled "Sonata Cósmica".

The new noise/post-metal collaboration between Japan's Boris & Merzbow.

The new single "Hollywood" from the upcoming Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou collaboration E.P. "The Helm Of Sorrow" which is due for release on 15th January.

The opening track from Cult Of Luna's upcoming "The Raging River" album which is due for release on 5th February.

The new single from Buffalo-based metalcore outfit Every Time I Die.

There's very little doubt that I enjoy the danger in metal & I love the fact that I listen to a style of music that most people find too extreme. The more extreme it becomes, the more I want to like it. It just gives me a rush as I'm generally a happy, calm & relaxed kind of person & the aggression & darkness makes me feel empowered. I also despise things like religion & injustice & metal's fight against those things is an added attraction. As much as I love other styles of music, I can't get enough of music that gives me the experience of a genuinely dark, cryptic or evil atmosphere. If you listen to my techno sets from the 2000's you'll find that my style was built around a similar base only with a significantly druggy element added for good measure.

I think I just like to be challenged by my music. I've never been a fan of popular music. I need something that takes me outside of my comfort zone in a cerebral way. It's not just metal either. I've gone through obsessive phases with a whole bunch of different styles from ambient to trip hop to jazz fusion to progressive rock to techno. But metal is the style I come back to the most often & I feel its appeal is largely due to its general extremity & the unspoken comradery I feel with other obsessive fans around the world. It's this element more than any other that keeps me focused on metal when I get just as much enjoyment out of electronic dance music or ambient music. I mean you just don't get the same level of interaction on a jazz website & connecting with other people adds an additional element to my enjoyment of music.

The new track from Arizona progressive thrash metal legends Vektor.

Yeah I've always thought "Louder Than Love" was awesome. It's highlights ("Hands All Over", "Loud Love", "Gun", etc.) are sensationally bad-ass & heavy as fuck. It's definitely got some of Soundgarden's best material. I don't think the overall album is as as consistent as the two albums that followed it though, particularly "Badmotorfinger" which is my personal favourite.

Violent metalcore from San Jose, USA. For fans of Hatebreed, Knocked Loose & Bury Your Dead.

This release initially made me feel significant discomfort as it simply resides a long way outside of my comfort zone stylistically but repeat listens saw me becoming more at ease with Sunami's direction & I ended up quite liking it. Sunami combine some violent beatdown hardcore with the consistent use of heavily palm-muted, down-tuned & mid-paced slam death metal riffs & it works a treat if you're simply after some peak-time moshpit material with which to expend some energy & aggression. The vocals aren't amazing but they're suitably violent & remind me of a more agro Mike Muir (Suicidal Tendencies) while the production is a touch stale despite being reasonably heavy. The short track lengths & overall duration of the release is a definite positive for someone like myself though & "Sunami" is definitely worth a listen for fans of Hatebreed, Knocked Loose & Bury Your Dead.

3.5/5

Deathspell Omega - "Veritas Diaboli Manet in Aeternum: Chaining the Katechon" E.P. (2008)

I noticed you haven't rated this release Ben. I'm sure it'll be right up your alley.

Elite level dissonant black metal from France. For fans of Blut aus Nord, Ulcerate & Gorguts.

Another utterly magnificent Deathspell Omega release here in my opinion. I just fucking love this band. In fact, I think they've been the best black metal band in the world since the turn of the century. The way they invariably manage to make such abstract dissonance sound so unnervingly evil is beyond comprehension & the drumming & vocal performances just smash me. I have no problem with the chaotic structure as that's really a part of the appeal with a band like Deathspell Omega & the lengthy track duration is only an issue if you're not engaged throughout which I unquestionably am. I spend the vast majority of "Chaining The Katechon" being amazed at the next-level artistry on display & find it just edging out "Paracletus" for second place behind "Kenose" as far as Deathspell Omega's back catalogue goes.

4.5/5

So we're a couple of years down the track with the Metal Academy website now. I'm interested to hear what you think of the clan setup now after you've had a bit of time to get used to it. Did we get it right? Are there clans whose configuration frustrates you? If so, how would YOU have done them differently? Did we get the number right? Which ones did we absolutely nail?

I have to admit that I'm very surprised that no one mentioned the clan that I've had the most concern about in recent times & that's The North. It certainly seemed like the right call at the time but I've struggled with the fact that we have folk metal lumped in with black metal for some time now & it's one of the primary reasons that I elected to remove myself from The North. This was particularly evident when creating the initial playlists because the subgenres of folk metal (i.e. Celtic metal & medieval folk metal) have absolutely nothing to do with black metal & neither does a portion of folk metal as a whole so their playlist inclusions sound drastically out of place most of the time. I feel like we would have been better off separating folk metal & Viking metal into it's own clan even though it may have struggled for numbers. What does everyone think about this? Do you think it's fine as it is? What would you have done differently? Is there any other subgenres that would have fit nicely with folk metal & Viking metal?

The other main area of annoyance for me is with niche subgenres like trance metal, Nintendocore & trancecore which I feel really don't have all that much to do with the rest of The Revolution subgenres & (in the case of Nintendocore & trancecore) are borderline metal at all. Given my experiences since putting together the clans, I may have pushed for alternative solution for those although I can't really think of a better solution at the moment.

I know a lot of death metal fans struggle with the grindcore part of The Horde but to my ears it makes perfect sense. Any thoughts on that?

Can I please ask a favour? Can everyone please follow the Metal Academy Spotify account (if you haven't already)? I understand that the more numbers we get the more people are likely to actually give our playlists a crack.

A direct quote from my review of some months ago - "In fact, I hear very little black metal on here other than in the vocals. " So I absolutely agree with you on this one Daniel. The question then is, does only having a vocal relationship with black metal constitute a strong enough case for inclusion in the North. When I refer to them as a black metal band, I do so in the same way I would refer to Enslaved, as a band that has developed from black metal beginnings that still retain a vestigial link back to their origins. In both band's cases I think it is also fair to say that even in the early days they were already stretching beyond the genre's confines.

Something I did refer to in my review that I would like an opinion on is that I believe this album exhibits a huge influence from UK space rock pioneers Hawkwind. I don't know how familiar you are with them, but listen to Choose Your Masques from 1982 and then Uusi Teknokratica and tell me there's no relationship. Also the driving rhythms overlaid by electronics is classic Hawkwind.

Glad you agree with me about the black metal component. Having cleared that up though, I think the vocals alone are justification for a black metal primary here simply because they're on the more extreme end of the black metal spectrum i.e. they're so blatantly black metal.

I'm familiar with Hawkwind but have spent a lot more time with their early 70's releases than their later material. I think the reference is justified as an influence though. Well spotted.

Yeah that song really shouldn't be something I'd enjoy & in truth I thought it was complete balls on first listen but I can't deny that it got under my skin eventually. How dare it be so damn catchy??

I understand why you would want to tag this as post-metal, but personally when I think of post-metal I think of somewhat passive music and this is anything but passive.

Interesting. I actually don't think of post-metal as passive necessarily. Sure, there are some examples that fit that label but to me post-metal is more about the use of texture & repetition over the more traditional riff-based metal approach & the subtle building of tension over time, often with remarkably huge results. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one because I think this is a fine example of post-metal.

I'm also interested to know, do you hear any black metal in this album other than the vocals?

My revised list:

25. My Dying Bride - "Turn Loose The Swans" (1993)       

24. Leprous - "Live at Rockefeller Music Hall" (2016) 

23. Morbid Angel - "Blessed Are The Sick" (1991)    

22. Oranssi Pazuzu - "Mestarin kynsi" (2020)   

21. Metallica - "Master Of Puppets" (1986)       

20. Darkthrone - "Transilvanian Hunger" (1994)       

19. Carcass - "Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious" (1991)       

18. ISIS - "Panopticon" (2004)       

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. Death - "Human" (1991)       

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

02. Burzum - "Filosofem" (1996)       

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

Blackened post-metal from Finland for fans of A Forest Of Stars, Hail Spirit Noir & Sólstafir.

What a wonderful fucking experience that was!! I'm utterly floored by "Mestarin Kynsi" & have no hesitation in claiming it as my album of the year. Here's my full (& uncharacteristically gushing) review:

https://metal.academy/reviews/19505/19422

5/5

You can get the entire release on YouTube. Just not all of the individual tracks.

I can't find it on YouTube but the bonus track from Gamma Ray's "Blast From The Past" double album (entitled "The Silence") is a prime example of everything I dislike about European power metal. Simply awful stuff!

That's a great message. How are you catering for that while listening to music in your home office if you don't mind me asking? I'm asking for.... a friend.... who is still addicted to loud music despite knowing he's done himself irreparable damage & is not doing himself any good for later life. (That's my story & I'm sticking with it.)

Yep. That certainly hit the spot. This release was always gonna be right up my alley & it hasn't failed to deliver either. Here's my review:

https://metal.academy/reviews/19495/1235

4.5/5

Surprisingly, despite my general aversion to the European brand of power metal, I quite enjoyed this lengthy release. The speed metal focused material definitely appeals to me a lot less that the more moderately paced classic heavy metal material & the signature European power metal cheese does create its obstacles but I really dig the Judas Priest worship in the vocals, solos & metal-as-fuck riffage along with the glossy production & stunning musicianship & execution. Fans of Helloween, Blind Guardian & Judas Priest will likely find a lot to enjoy here. I've gone with a very respectable 3.5/5 rating.

Here's my full review:

https://metal.academy/reviews/19491/2216

I'd suggest that The Horde, The North & The Fallen are where my strongest affiliations lie as far as cover artwork goes. Yes... that's right.... I'm a miserable old bastard.

The stunning opening track from the latest album from these Californian alternative metal heavy-weights.

I clearly have different ears to everyone else as I absolutely loved "Ohms". It's a very high quality example of the modern alternative metal sound & I'm not surprised by the positive response it's received from both the critics & the public. I think it's some of Deftones' best work & the fact that I've opted for a very impressive 4.5/5 rating has surprised me as much as anyone.

Here's my full review:

https://metal.academy/reviews/19453/23685

An utterly sublime remake of a classic doom/death anthem from 1992.

My feelings on this release have certainly improved over time. I still harbor the same concerns as I did previously (repetitive clean vocal phrasing, some generic riffs here & there, notable omission of violin) but can't deny the quality on display so I've bumped my scoring up from a 3.5/5 to a 4/5. I still can't see how "The Dreadful Hours" could possibly be held in as high a regard as classic releases like "Turn Loose the Swans" or "The Angel & The Dark River" though. It sounds more like an attempt to replicate those releases but doesn't quite get there in my opinion. Here's my full review:

https://metal.academy/reviews/19442/966

Nothing Sacred - "Let Us Prey" (1988)

The debut full-length from a very influential band from the early Australian metal scene. These guys had a bit of a legendary status within the local scene when I first got into underground metal in the 1980's. Strangely they seemed to be linked to thrash metal more often than not but I've never been onboard with that sentiment. Sure, there are a few genuine thrash tunes here (including a cover version of S.O.D.'s "Freddy Kruger") but the majority of this material draws its influence from your more traditional heavy metal bands like Judas Priest, Motorhead & particularly Paul Dianno era Iron Maiden which was clearly the major source of inspiration. In fact, you could be forgiven for mistaking "Let Us Prey" for a long lost NWOBHM record from a second tier British band if you didn't know any better. The song-writing quality is generally very consistent with only closer "Damaged" failing to deliver but unfortunately the rough & ready production job is the big reason that Nothing Sacred didn't take off in a big way in my opinion (at least locally). The vocals are really loud which highlights their inadequacies while the guitars are thin & soft & there's a layer of hiss over everything. It's a real shame because you can easily hear the competence in the band's composition & arrangements. Who knows what they could have been with a big name producer? Nonetheless, I find "Let Us Prey" to offer me a reasonable level of nostalgic value & it's unlikely to disappoint fans of your more underground NWOBHM acts.

3.5/5

An early Aussie thrash metal anthem from my teenage tape trading days.

Just a bit of feedback to everyone who has been submitting tracks for inclusion in the playlists, please make sure that your track submissions are available on Spotify before posting them. I've been unable to include a fair few track suggestions  due to them not being available on Spotify in recent months but haven't had the time to chase people for replacements.

Well split releases are certainly an issue with the Metal Academy database as we don't have a way of handling them the way we'd really like to & I feel that this is to the detriment of the bands & labels in question. Personally, I like the concept of split releases but would definitely prefer to see a proper collaboration (like the Motorhead/Girlschool E.P.) rather than two distinct releases that have been stuffed together (see the Converge/Agoraphobic Nosebleed release for example). I think they work best when it's multiple unknown bands from similar subgenres who feed off each other's fan bases. They serve a real purpose there. Otherwise, I'd prefer to see separate releases, particularly as they tend to annoy me with my ratings being skewed one way or the other by one of the releases (see the Sepultura/Overdose split).

I've just posted my review here:

https://metal.academy/reviews/19421/1501

It's a very solid debut that promises plenty for the future & should be essential listening for thrash fans but I'm not sure I regard it as a genuine classic personally. I've gone with a 4/5 rating on this occasion.

I was in the same boat actually & I have to admit that I've cheated a bit by reviewing this one over the past week. Will post it shortly.

No I'm afraid I haven't as I was spending most of my time preparing for the Metal Academy podcast recordings by revisiting the earlier metal releases at that stage from memory. Really looking forward to this one.

To be honest my selection criteria has changed consistently since we first kicked off the feature releases Sonny. To begin with I just wanted to see as many people making comments as possible so as to build up our active content so you would have seen a fair few releases that most metalheads would know in order to encourage that. I was also making a conscious effort to choose releases from right across the spectrum of subgenres included in each clan. Over time I realised that a) some of the releases from the more niche subgenres weren't drawing a lot of attention & b) that our regularly contributing members seemed to want some more underground releases to investigate so I adjusted my approach accordingly. For last month I restructured things again to make sure that people wanting modern material were catered for so moving forwards you'll get a mixture of new releases, old classics, forgotten gems & releases that I simply thought might make for interesting discussion (e.g. the Neptunian Maximalism record). There's not really a set criteria for selection other than to make sure that people get a wide cross-section of high quality metal (that they may or may not have previous experience with) to discuss. The time it takes me is really pretty minimal when compared to the time it takes me to select & program 18 hours of Spotify playlists every month but what can I say... it's a labour of love & I enjoy every minute of it!

P.S. I'm really enjoying the feature releases part of the site & (like last month) will be making a conscious effort to contribute to the discussions on all nine monthly feature releases moving forwards. Feel free to join me guys.