Daniel's Forum Threads
Svartsyn - "Vortex of The Destroyer" (2025)
Hands down one of the best black metal releases of 2025 for me so far. I hit it off with this one from the very first time I heard it. Review in pipeline.
Necrotomy - "Cranial Dismemberment" demo (1990)
This Melbourne four-piece was the first death metal band I ever saw play live & I still really enjoy their fun blend of goregrind & traditional death metal today. The 1980's Carcass influence is massive for these guys but they pull it all off beautifully, particularly during the blast beat sections which are surprisingly tight for this sort of release. Interestingly, vocalist/bassist Mark Schilby also spent some time playing guitar for Abramelin while lead guitarist Dean Ruprich played bass on diSEMBOWELMENT's "Mourning September" demo.
For fans of Carcass, Decrepit Artery & Mortician.
3.5/5
Cathedral - "Statik Majik" E.P. (1994)
I'd struggled my way through the previous couple of releases from these English stoner doom legends & still managed to call myself a fan, even though their subsequent efforts came nowhere near their classic debut album & earlier demo tape. But that would change with 1994's "Statik Majik" E.P. which certainly has its moments but goes a little too far over the top with the stupidity & grooviness for my taste, particularly on the first two tracks which I genuinely dislike.
For fans of Electric Wizard, Trouble & With The Dead.
3/5
Thrust - "Mindless" (1990)
The sole full-length from this melodic hardcore/skate punk outfit from my adopted stomping ground of the Gold Coast. It's very well produced & executed & has a bit of a heavy metal edge to it at times too.
For fans of The Ramones, Bad Religion & Motorhead.
King Tubby - "Herb Dub-Collie Dub" (1976)
A collection of instrumental dub remixes of tracks by The Skatalites. I quite like it too, particularly the more minimal, stripped back material which is druggy as fuck.
For fans of Augustus Pablo, Scientist & Prince Jammy.
3.5/5
Bobby Bland - "Two Steps from the Blues" (1961)
The highly regarded debut album from this soulful Texan rhythm & blues singer that I find to be a little too inconsistent & (perhap unsurprisingly) bland for my liking.
For fans of Syl Johnson, Freddie King & Little Milton.
3/5
Abigor - "Verwüstung/Invoke the Dark Age" (1994)
The debut album from this popular Austrian black metal outfit isn't a bad first up effort but it's also not anything particularly special. It's all pretty standard stuff for a European act of the time although there are signs of the experimentation Abigor would undertake in future years, particularly in a melodic sense as there's a clear melodic black metal influence to the way the tremolo-picked guitar lines interact with each other. The vocals aren't all that great but I find that the band sound at their best when they get their blast beats on & focus on laying waste to the listener's ear drums. Abigor would improve their game noticeably before their next couple of releases which would surface just a year later.
For fans of Amestigon, Dødheimsgard & early Emperor.
3.5/5
Electric Six - Fire (2003)
Whenever the weight of the world gets too much then I find myself turning to the sheer infectious stupidity of Fire to lift my spirits. It has worked its magic again today.
The Byrds - "Fifth Dimension" (1966)
I quite enjoy the third album from this Los Angeles outfit who had previously played in the poppy folk rock space but this time appear with a brand-new sound that may well represent the first psychedelic rock release ever to see the light of day. There are a few duds spread across the eleven tracks on offer but they're comfortably outweighed by the stronger material with the incredible "I Come and Stand at Every Door" being the clear highlight for me personally.
For fans of Dusty Springfield, Jefferson Airplane & Love.
3.5/5
Sparks - "№ 1 in Heaven" (1979)
The eighth full-length from this Los Angeles pop act sees them championing a sound that combines electro, disco & pop for a result that comes across as very European. In fact, I'd suggest that it possesses a bit of a Eurovision Song Contest vibe which can't be a good thing as a lot of the album is simply too cheesy for my lactose-intolerant ears to cope with.
For fans of Kraftwerk, Gina X Performance & Explorer.
2.5/5
Brutal Truth - "Need to Control" (1994) (
I picked up the 1992 "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" debut album from this popular New York deathgrind outfit upon release & really got into its superbly brutal & relentlessly savage attack on the senses so when I heard that Brutal Truth had released a follow-up I was straight down to the local record store to pick myself up a copy. "Need to Control" saw the four-piece act changing the ratio of death metal to grindcore a little bit with the death metal backed off a touch & the grindcore playing a stronger role. There's also a little more experimentation & variation than we heard on the debut with the slower, sludgier material being the strongest inclusions on the album. Guitarist Brent McCarty & bassist Dan Lilker (Anthrax/Exit-13/Holy Moses/Nuclear Assault/S.O.D./The Ravenous/Venomous Concept) combine beautifully with the riffs sounding tight & thick, buoyed by a very strong production job from Colin Richardson. The contribution of front man Kevin Sharp (Lock Up/Venomous Concept/Damaged/Winter) is outstanding too, particularly his more gutteral death metal moments. Incredible fast drummer Scott Lewis (Exit-13/Winter) had left the band after Brutal Truth's first record due to a reluctance to tour &, while his replacement Richard Hoak does an excellent job with the more hardcore based beats, his ability to play blast beats is extremely poor with each blast section sounding like a typewriter being thrown down a hill & it's this flaw that limits the success of "Need to Control" more than any other. He simply can't keep his kick drum in time with his arms which is further highlighted by the clickiness of the drum sound! Still... the consistency of the material is very good with no weak tracks included. Perhaps there aren't as many obvious classics as there were on "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" & I have to admit that the stronger death metal component of their first outing was always gonna be a little more appealing to me personally but I don't think that "Need to Control" is all that far behind its elder sibling these days, perhaps due to my having developed a much stronger taste for hardcore over the many years since. Both records should be essential listening for fans of the deathgrind hybrid & are all that needs exploring as far as Brutal Truth's back catalogue goes.
For fans of Napalm Death, Terrorizer & Pig Destroyer.
4/5
Here's my updated Top Ten Deathgrind Releases of All Time list:
01. Napalm Death - "Utopia Banished" (1992)
02. Cattle Decapitation - "Monolith of Inhumanity" (2012)
03. Brutal Truth - "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" (1992)
04. Full of Hell - "Weeping Choirs" (2019)
05. Brutal Truth - "Need to Control" (1994)
06. Exhumed - "Dissecting the Caseated Omentum" demo (1992)
07. Lock Up - "Necropolis Transparent" (2011)
08. Cephalic Carnage - "Misled by Certainty" (2010)
09. Damaged - "Passive Backseat Demon Engines" E.P. (1995)
10. Napalm Death - "Harmony Corruption" (1990)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/223
Drudkh - 'Shadow Play' (2025)
Drudkh tailed off for me not long after Microcosmos. A Handful of Stars was a poor follow up to 2009’s triumph of a release and I progressively lost interest in the band. In writing this review, I looked back at some of my ratings for what has come after 2010 and found that on the few I had rated, I had little if any memory of what they sounded like (ratings on relevant releases have therefore been deleted from MA). Whereas I would have once looked forward to a Drudkh album, I found news of Shadow Play arriving landing with a less than muted applause. For me it almost feels like Drudkh have said everything I wanted to hear on their first few records. Those first four albums were the band’s golden run in my book and although they most certainly do have albums outside of that window of releases that I enjoy, I sensed that Shadow Play was not going to see me reaching for the higher end of the scoring range.
My fears were confounded by the frankly boring album opener ‘Scattering the Ashes’, a seven-minute plus track that is frankly one of the dullest pieces of music the Ukranians have ever written. I get the sound of the footfalls in the snow are of someone carrying an urn, however the track itself goes nowhere in between the footfalls that bookend the instrumental. Not a positive start then. Hold on though, both ‘April’ and ‘The Exile’ immediately get me interested in the album again with their driving rhythms and charging pace. The riffs seem to wrap effortlessly around one another, seemingly at home regardless of the tempo being deployed at the time. The rich melody that Drudkh are famous for is certainly still at the forefront of their music. The sound of the guitar alongside Roman’s grim vocals are familiar and welcome sounds. There’s a jangle to a Drudkh tremolo that sometimes sounds like a 60’s psychedelic rock jam. As we get onto the halfway point of the album, things are looking up.
I would go as far as to say that the previous two tracks are a couple of the best songs Drudkh have pulled together in a long time. Solid and memorable, urgent and pressing, as well as sounding like they are performed with passion and guile. ‘Fallen Blossom’ introduces a more aggressive sound, not dissimilar to the overall sound of album The Swan Road. Whilst the melody is still obvious, there is a harsher, colder edge to it on here. Even when the track seems to settle down into a rhythm, it still feels oppositional. The keys do little to soothe this abrasive edge, seeming to support its threat and intent with menacing atmospheres. The track builds into a tumultuous mass of tremolos and percussion, never taking its foot off the gas for the final third of the song. A more melodic opening greets us on ‘The Eve’, even if we are still seeing no signs of the pace letting up in the first instance. At this point I did start to wonder if some variety was missing here, but just as the demons started to have me doubting Drudkh, there’s a swell of accessible, more leniently paced melodies that is cleverly given space to breath and develop before becoming consumed again in the more raging torrents of the track. There is great use of pacing here, even though I missed this on my first few listens, it seems so obvious as I listen through on my review write-up.
Album closer, ‘The Thirst’ sounds like there may be some folk instruments at play in the raging mix that starts the track. I cannot see anything listed other than guitars and keyboards, so it may just be clever use of the keys, but I hear some light droning warbling in the background that seems to be a different pitch to the tremolo that I would normally attribute such sound too. In the end though, Shadow Play is not an album that needs much in the way of expansion. It says what it needs to say very well without much in the way of thrills being needed. It is one of the most consistent Drudkh albums that I have heard in a while and it really is only let down by that lifeless opening track which thankfully soon becomes a distant memory as the real quality of the album soon starts to take over.
4.5/5
Frank Zappa - "Hot Rats" (1969)
Frank Zappa's debut solo album & I have had a rocky relationship over the years & that's still largely the case today. I'm not a fan of half of the six songs on offer however the record is saved by the fact that the other three are much lengthier & more substantial than the shorter pieces. The sound of "Hot Rats" sees Frank combining jazz & rock for a result that straddles both jazz fusion & jazz rock very nicely but the dial is certainly directed further towards the jazz side of the equation than it is the rock one in my opinion. Zappa's guitar improvisation is my personal highlight so I tend to go for the more expansive arrangements where he gets to really open up. It's not a bad listen but I can't say that it fares all that well alongside other jazz fusion records of the time, at least not for me personally.
For fans of Soft Machine, Mahavishnu Orchestra & Allan Holdsworth.
3.5/5
Throbbing Gristle - "At the Factory, Manchester" (1979)
This live album is highly regarded in terms of the early industrial scene & you can easily see why too as it presents one of the coldest & most barren visions of the world you're likely to find. There are some fabulous highlights included here but there's also a bit of inconsistency as the line that Throbbing Gristle tip toe along between pure noise & genius is a difficult one to get exactly right. Still,,, the wins easily outweigh the losses so I find myself coming out of the experience (& it IS an experience) feeling largely fulfilled.
For fans of Psychic TV, Cabaret Voltaire & Nurse With Wound.
3.5/5
Eric B. & Rakim - "Follow the Leader" (1988)
The follow-up album to 1987's highly praised "Paid In Full" debut album is a very strong example of the early hip hop sound. Rakim's rapping is excellent & is the main driver behind the duo's success. The opening title track is one of the greatest tracks in hip hop history in my opinion. The overall consistency in the tracklisting means that there's a only a bee's dick between "Follow the Leader" & Public Enemy's classic "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" sophomore album that was released just a month earlier which should give you an indication of the overall quality of offer here.
For fans of Boogie Down Productions, EPMD & Big Daddy Kane.
4/5