Daniel's Forum Threads
Germs - "(GI)" (1979)
One of the earlier hardcore punk full-lengths & the sole album from this Los Angeles outfit. It's gone on to become somewhat of an underground classic over the years but I've struggled with it a little bit, mainly due to the fact that the weaker inclusions tend to taint the majority of the tracklisting which is generally pretty enjoyable without ever seeing me fully engaged. There's nothing you haven't heard a thousand times before here either.
For fans of Minor Threat, Reagan Youth & Adolescents
3/5
Nithing - "Agonal Hymns" (2023)
The debut solo effort from Iniquitous Deeds/Vitriol drummer Matt Kilner is a strange, noisy, yet relentlessly brutal blastathon that doesn't sound much like anything you've heard before. Kilner employs unusual guitar effects in order to try to differentiate himself from the pack & it works for the most part. The clear weakness is his vocals though as there's been no attempt to enunciate words with the delivery not even sounding like their human, instead sitting somewhere between a pitch-shifted pig & water going down a sink. Still... repeat listens saw me finding the instrumentation to be intense enough to keep me interested without focus on the vocals, despite some sections descending into a sludgy pit of noise.
For fans of Trichomoniasis, Putridity & Iniquitous Deeds.
3.5/5
Limp Bizkit - "Chocolate Starfish & the Hot Dog Flavored Water" (2000)
If there's one thing that most of our regulars would know about me by now, it's that I call 'em purely as I see 'em & I don't give a fuck what the general consensus is. I like to make up my own mind about things & won't be swayed by what the cool crowd thinks. With that in mind, this week I decided that I really should have an informed opinion on one of the most successful yet heavily divisive metal acts on the global scene in Florida's Limp Bizkit. I'd never heard a full record by them before as I'd always assumed that they'd be none of my business up until now but, you know what, this shit ain't half bad. These dudes certainly know how to write a catchy hook, how to play their instruments & how to create a throbbing mosh pit anthem.
I was surprised at how many of the fifteen tracks I knew as there was clearly a whole slew of hits taken from this record but it wasn't always the well-known stuff that I found the most appeal in. Another thing that I perhaps wasn't prepared for was just how good a rhythm section Limp Bizkit had at the time, particularly the bass guitar which really drives a lot of this material. I don't think there's any doubt that front man Fred Durst's personality is what turns off most metalheads & I can see why as his message can often be summarized as meathead fodder but his macho posturizing can't disguise the obvious Eminem influence in his whiny rapping which I would suggest comes across as nothing more than tolerable. In fact, the rap component in Limp Bizkit's sound is really significant (perhaps more so than most nu metal bands) & that's usually the element of the subgenre that I struggle with the most but I've somehow managed to overlook it here, despite Durst being one of the more overt exponents of the craft. And once I managed to look past his immature personality to the groove-laden music behind him, I discovered that Limp Bizkit had more creativity in their kit bag than I'd ever given them credit for.
All of the hits are pretty enjoyable to tell you the truth with "My Way" being my pick of the bunch but it's the strength of some of the album tracks that surprised me the most with "The One", "Getcha Groove On", "Boiler" & particularly the outstanding album highlight "Hold On" really getting under my skin. Unfortunately, the album is book-ended by some much weaker material though with opener "Hot Dog" falling victim to Durst's idiocy, the Urban Assault Vehicle version of "Rollin'" being a total mess & the almost ten minute "Outro" track being absolutely pointless & a complete waste of your time. The remainder of "Chocolate Starfish & the Hot Dog Flavored Water" is well worth hearing though & provides further proof that you shouldn't believe everything you read. Perhaps I won't go running out to indulge in the remainder of Limp Bizkit's back catalogue any time soon but I can honestly say that this record isn't any worse than the majority of the subgenre, even if it doesn't compete with Linkin Park or Korn's best work.
For fans of Korn, System of a Down & P.O.D.
3.5/5
Here's my updated Top Ten Nu Metal Releases of All Time list:
01. Linkin Park - "Meteora" (2003)
02. Korn - "Korn" (1994)
03. Slipknot - "Iowa" (2001)
04. Linkin Park - "Hybrid Theory" (2000)
05. Deftones - "Adrenaline" (1995)
06. Korn - "Follow the Leader" (1998)
07. Sevendust - "Animosity" (2001)
08. Dir en Grey - "Uroboros" (2008)
09. Limp Bizkit - "Chocolate Starfish & the Hot Dog Flavored Water" (2000)
10. Slipknot - "Slipknot" (1999)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/313
Earth Crisis - Destroy the Machines (1995)
I am not super familiar with a lot of metalcore, outside of a few big names like Converge and Trivium and I have only very recently tried to explore it further. I find a lot of it to be very samey, with little to differentiate a lot of the bands, but Earth Crisis certainly are not one of them. Destroy the Machines sounds very much to me like a straight edge band that has discovered Sepultura's Chaos AD and thought "We'll have some of that". I like quite a few straight edge bands, even though they can be annoyingly preachy, and Chaos AD is a great record, so that combination works really well for me.
Vocals can often be a personal bugbear with metalcore acts, but Karl Buechner has a raggedness to his voice that makes it sound less shouty and forced than most and that is definitely a plus. A lot of more modern metalcore feels like it has moved away from the punk side of the equation, but Earth Crisis are most definitely authentic when it comes to their punk credentials, which gives the album a looseness that allows it to breathe rather than the constipated tightness of more recent metalcore orthodoxy. The riffs are great, even pretty groovy at times, yet still contain a lethal agressiveness that lets everyone know exactly just how pissed off these guys are. If more metalcore sounded like this then I would most definitely be a bigger fan.
4.5/5
Demolition Hammer - Tortured Existence (1990)
Demolition Hammer's debut is a brutal thrash classic, with a death metal production job (courtesy of Scott Burns at Morrisounds) that gives it as solid a punch as an eponymous demolition hammer indeed would pack. Despite the production, this definitely is a thrash record, with chugging riffs, scorching solos and a rough and aggressive thrash vocalist, not a guttural-voiced death metal growler. Also on the vocal front, a dead giveaway is the USHC-informed backing gang vocals often deployed by Anthrax that are regularly wheeled out here. These are not criticisms though, this is a great example of a thrash band pushing right up to the dividing line and turning in a heavy-duty thrash record that showed that, even as late as 1990, there was still life in the old dog yet.
4.5/5
Listening to these older thrashers that haven't been remastered on Spotify, does show a stark difference between older and more recent production methods with the uncompromising nature of modern, highly compressed releases being in stark contrast to the warmer sound of older stuff. I think I like the old way better as it lets you take more in than the wall of sound you are often faced with nowadays.
The addition of several of my judgement submissions into the Hall has ended up creating a wild coincidence involving 3 different cover arts:
As you can see, the Sonic Violence cover art consists of a drawing of an Iron Giant-like silver robot dude, and the Cryptopsy cover art consists of a futuristic post-apocalyptic dystopian wasteland. The Conflиct cover art looks like it has combined those other two artworks and made it better, by making the silver robot dude more realistic and adding him to a more detailed dystopian wasteland. Now that I think about it, I can kind of say the same about the music itself! In that Conflиct album, they take the electro-industrial of Sonic Violence and some of the death metal of Cryptopsy, then add in some melodic groove for a much better stylistic mix. At least that's what I'm hearing...
Checked this out as it is one of Andi's two 0.5 star rated releases. In truth I don't really know what to make of an album like this. I am probably very wrong, but this doesn't seem like a very serious release and its heavy reliance on samples, despite the whole album only being 25 minutes long, seems like a low-effort affair. Cybergrind really ain't my thing and even though this is far from the worst example I have heard, my in-built aversion to too much chaos is stretched beyond its limit here. Strangely, I think that some of the "riffs" if replicated by a capable grindcore band with some real vocals attached would be pretty good. So I would say the guy can write grindcore riffs, but can't execute them very well... and there is just too much going on for my brain to deal with.
2/5
As everyone here knows I am not the biggest fan of power metal, but if pressed I would definitely say that I much prefer the US version as it feels grittier and more hard-edged than the often bloated beast that is the european version. Likewise, Manilla Road isn't a band I have a great deal of history with, but I really like The Deluge. This doesn't sound a million miles away from classic Iron Maiden to my ears and that ain't a bad thing in my book. Galloping, uptempo riffs and a surfeit of fretboard-searing solos make for a dynamic and thrilling listen with no time to think of anything but banging that damn head!! The only reservation I have is that the vocalist is a little nasal-sounding for my taste, but its no big deal and doesn't detract from an otherwise excellent slab of metal splendour.
Hvile I Kaos - Lower Order Manifestations (2025)
The cello is my favourite classical instrument. Capable of creating such slow, haunitng and melancholic sounds as well urgent and oppressive timbres as well, I find a versatile and always pleasing instrument. Hvile I Kaos deploy the cello alongside guitar, frame drum and bass to create 'dark chamber music'. This has been on a few nights as I have laid in bed with the lights out ready to get into a peaceful slumber. Full of mystique and dark terrors, the descripton from the Bandcamp page sums it up perfectly:
Quoted Vinny
Nice tip Vinny. I have listened to this a couple of times. I'm not sure I would find it conducive to a peaceful slumber - but it's great stuff. I gave it a 4/5 as well, probably just over 4, not quite reaching 4.5 status (maybe on more listenings)
Now Playing
Alessandro Stefano - "Alessandro "Asso" Stefana" (2024)
One of my favourites and probably most played from last year. Ambient Americana from Italian multi-instrumentalist that repurposes the voice of Appalachian folk musician, Roscoe Holcomb. Produced by PJ Harvey and on Mike Patton's Ipecac imprint. The first 5 tracks are laid back, soothing americana invoking images of the desert and lonesome highways, then Holcomb's haunting voice from the past come in for 3 tracks before ending with the longest and most ambient tracks on the album. It's when Holcomb's vice comes in from nowhere on track 6 that really make this album for me, and is a surprise on each listen.
4.5/5
Red Moon Architect - October Decay
https://redmoonarchitect.bandcamp.com/album/october-decay
My adventures into the world of Doom metal in the past several months have been fairly underwhelming in the first half of 2025. But I was very surprised when this record from a Finnish Death Doom/Funeral Doom band came across my recommended feed. And more so impressed by what was found inside! This is a wonderful sounding piece of heavy, oppressive doom metal. It isn't a record that wastes time, which is impressive considering the song lengths. The structure of the album deserves high praise, a record that starts off much more melodic and sweet, becomes more dense and brooding through its six songs. It uses the funeral doom tag as a point of growth and it works better for it.
FFO: Shape of Despair, early Swallow the Sun?
4/5
Nasty Savage - "Abstract Reality" E.P. (1988)
I never really got on with the early releases from this Florida outfit with both their 1985 self-titled & 1987 "Indulgence" albums falling pretty flat with me. It wasn't until this short twenty-minute, four-song E.P. that they started to tweak my interest although I wouldn't say that it left me thoroughly convinced either. It saw Nasty Savage further embracing the new thrash metal sound they'd adopted for "Indulgence" & making a reasonable fist of it too. The highlights are definitely seen when they don't overcomplicate things with the more technical "Eromantic Vertigo" proving to be a step too far. "Unchained Angel" sees them returning to their more traditional heavy metal & US power metal roots which certainly isn't my preference either. Thankfully, the conventional thrash metal of the two songs that bookend this release are solid enough to carry the weaker middle section in the middle & leave me with a generally positive feeling at the completion of the release. The Mercyful Fate-inspired guitar solos of Ben Meyer & David Austin are particularly impressive &, despite not thinking front man Nasty Ronnie's vocal delivery was anything to write home about, the experience would see me following Nasty Savage throughout the remainder of their career.
For fans of Hallows Eve, Destructor & Exorcist.
3.5/5
Mortician - "Chainsaw Dismemberment" (1999)
The initial works of New York deathgrinders Mortician were an early influence on me as a musician with 1992's "Mortal Massacre" E.P. playing a not insignificant role in my quest for ever more brutal examples of the death metal genre during the early part of the that decade. Their 1997 debut album "Hacked Up for Barbecue" was a belter though & saw my interest in the band growing further but my self-imposed exodus from the metal scene saw me missing out on 1999's "Chainsaw Dismemberment" sophomore album until my 2009 return to metal. It's not a bad record either, championing the drum machine-led combination of ugly graveyard-style death metal & blasting grindcore riffs very well. The twenty-eight song tracklisting is pretty consistent for the most part with only the lacklustre "Decayed" failing to interest me. Unfortunately, there aren't enough genuine highlights here to warrant any claims of essential listening although "Drowned in Your Blood" (the clear album high point in my opinion), "Stab", "The Crazies", "Dark Sanity" & "Rats" are all being very strong examples of the Mortician sound. Our more experienced members of The Horde should be able to pick up the clear influence of early Carcass while the album often reminds me of Australia's Blood Duster too. "Chainsaw Dismemberment" won't change your life but it is worth a few listens.
For fans of Fluids, Torsofuck & Impetigo.
3.5/5
Tubeway Army - "Replicas" (1979)
The debut album from a London act fronted by the legendary Gary Numan who would release his first solo album later the same year. I would describe the sound of "Replicas" as new wave-infused synthpop with Numan dominating through a charismatic performance behind the microphone. The influences of David Bowie, Kraftwerk & the "Blade Runner" soundtrack are all obvious. The highlights are absolutely sublime (see "Are 'Friends' Electric?" & "Down in the Park" in particular) but the tracklisting is very inconsistent & fades noticeably at the end. Despite that, I do feel that the best material is strong enough to carry this record.
For fans of Gary Numan, Ultravox & The Human League.
3.5/5
I only did my Top 10 a few days ago, but after repeated listens of wolvserpent's 2013 album, I think this may be even better than the one I included on my list.
Wolvserpent - Perigaea Antahkarana (2013)
Way back in 2007 or so (damn, that’s nearly 20 years ago), I was lurking on a doom metal forum associated with Southern Lord mainly for discussions and announcements for new albums. There were a number of musicians on the site who discussed their new projects. One such person was Blake Green who announced his first release as a duo with Brittany McConnel under the name of Pussygutt – a doom-laden drone metal band. In 2010, the multi-instrumentalist duo changed their name to Wolvserpent, Perigaea Antahkarana is their second full-length album.
Bookended with nature recordings of wind, a fire crackling and cawing crows, this is no one-paced drone metal release. Yes, we have big repetitive droning guitar riffs, pounding drums and droning violin and synth layers. But we also have: massive doom/stoner riffs, post-rock style ethereal violin build ups akin to Godspeed You! Black Emperor leading into an atmospheric back metal sound; guttural funeral doom style vocals from Blake and ethereal dark folk style chanting from Brittany. Layers of sound that provide a truly immersive experience. I’m no musician, but I would imagine pulling together diverse influences into a truly cohesive work is no easy task, but the duo do this seamlessly.
I see lots of reviews describing the sound as dark and its association with winter, but to me this is both lush and bleak, light and dark, and this was the perfect album for this glorious summers day.
A drone metal album? I guess, but this contains a whole lot more. Wonderful
4.5/5
Deafheaven - "Lonely People with Power" (2025)
The new Deafheaven album is once again a very solid piece of work from a high-class metal outfit. I can't say that I can see why people are going so nuts for it though as I'd suggest it's still arguably the least impressive Deafheaven full-length to date (although I admittedly haven't heard 2021's divisive "Infinite Granite" record as yet). The brilliantly powerful & high-precision drumming is the clear highlight here while those screaming black metal vocals & shimmering production job are pretty fucking awesome too. I just can't quite get onboard with claiming some of the more commercially structured material as extreme metal classics like others seem to be able to but a track like the rip-roaring "Revelator" certainly show the potential to go there. There's no doubt at all that Deafheaven are the best blackgaze band in the world in my opinion & this record sees them returning to their signature post-blackgaze sound & flexing their creative muscles. I doubt any fans will be disappointed but it's not an album of the year candidate for me personally.
For fans of Ghost Bath, Oathbreaker & Alcest.
4/5
Here's my updated Top Ten Blackgaze Releases of All Time list:
01. Deafheaven - "Sunbather" (2013)
02. Deafheaven - "10 Years Gone" (2020)
03. Woods of Desolation - "Torn Beyond Reason" (2011)
04. Deafheaven - "Roads to Judah" (2011)
05. Deafheaven - "New Bermuda" (2015)
06. Alcest - "Kodama" (2016)
07. Deafheaven - "Ordinary Corrupt Human Love" (2018)
08. Deafheaven - "Lonely People with Power" (2025)
09. Lantlôs - ".neon" (2010)
10. Alcest - "Écailles de lune" (2010)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/204
Soft Machine - "Third" (1970)
After quite liking 1968's "The Soft Machine" debut album from this Canterbury scene icon recently, I thought I'd better check out their most highly regarded release in 1970's "Third". It sees them fully embracing their jazz side in a double album format that includes four lengthy full-side pieces, each breaching the eighteen-minute mark. Of the four tracks, I'd suggest that only one (the disappointing "Moon in June") is actually prog rock based with the other three all sitting far more comfortably under a jazz fusion tag. The musicianship is astounding, as is the scope of the compositional work for the time, although there has been a lot of splicing between different performances which makes the producer seem like another band member with a release like this one. Surprisingly, I think I prefer the psychedelic rock sound of the debut over "Third" but there's not a lot between them & I've experienced a similar level of enjoyment with their third full-length.
For fans of Gong, Caravan & Henry Cow.
3.5/5
Lustmørd - "Lustmørd" (1981)
The first album from the Welsh dark ambient legend is more of a combination of his industrial roots with his earliest dark ambient ideas. It's generally not well regarded & you can see why because the tracklisting is extremely inconsistent although there are a couple of real gems here, especially the wonderful early dark ambient classic "Slabstone" which I've always loved. I wouldn't suggest that this is a release to hunt down though as Brian has done so much better over the years.
For fans of Nurse With Wound, Big City Orchestra & Psychic TV.
3/5
Poppy - "I Disagree" (2020)
My only prior experience with Boston electropop artist Poppy was through her 2021 "EAT" E.P. which I didn't mind so I thought I'd see what her other metal material was like. I feel similarly about "I Disagree" (her fifth full-length apparently) although I'd probably take the E.P. over this one if pushed. It starts off very poorly with the first two tracks doing very little for me but things start to get interesting after that & I ended up finding appeal in around 70% of the tracklisting after a few listens. "I Disagree" sees Poppy combining her electropop sound with alternative metal in what is a stunningly well producing album. You can easily pick up her heavier influences with names like Devin Townsend, Marilyn Manson & Dream Theater all popping up at times but I honestly think her gorgeous vocal tone is the best part of this record & often more on the poppier parts more than the metal ones. Look... I was obviously not the target market for this sort of record but I still think it was worth a few listens, despite not being worthy of all the attention it received a few years ago.
For fans of Bring Me the Horizon, Motionless in White & Spiritbox.
3.5/5
Ultramagnetic MC's - "Critical Beatdown" (1988)
The debut album from Ultramagentic MC's is a fairly enjoyable affair that perhaps suffers a little from being released in the same year as classic records from Public Enemy & Eric B. & Rakim as it's difficult not to draw comparisons with "Critical Beatdown" sitting on a slightly lower rung. The main reason for that is that the tracklisting doesn't really get going until track seven with all of the best material coming towards the back end of the album. Kool Keith is clearly the better of the MC's with producer Ced Gee being noticeably (& perhaps unsurprisingly) less cool. This is not a bad listen overall however, unlike the two classics I mentioned earlier, I can't see myself feeling like returning to it all that regularly. I'm much more likely to include the best material (like the brilliant "When I Burn") in my custom Spotify playlists.
For fans of Kool Keith, Boogie Down Productions & EPMD.
3.5/5
Ulver - "Kveldssanger" (1996)
The second album from Norwegian atmospheric/pagan black metallers Ulver saw them taking the metal world by surprise by releasing a record that was entirely made up of traditional Norwegian folk music. It was certainly enjoyable enough stuff but it wasn't necessarily what the band's existing fanbase were looking for. Despite quite enjoying them, I have to admit that I've never been as big a fan of Ulver's metal albums as most metalheads seem to be so I wasn't all that fussed & managed to enjoy "Kveldssanger" for what it is. It would go on to become the driver for the entire dark folk movement really with artists like Tenhi, Empyrium & Vàli using this release as the catlyst for their own music. Ulver's next record "Nattens madrigal: Aatte hymne til ulven i manden" is my Ulver record of choice these days (at least of those that I've heard) & "Kveldssanger" is probably the weaker of their first three but it's still definitely worth a listen for the open-minded extreme metallers out there.
For fans of Vàli, Wardruna & Sylvaine.
3.5/5
Oval - "94 Diskont" (1995)
These Germans were pretty much responsible for putting the niche electronic subgenre of glitch on the global music map with this, their third full-length album. I have to admit that, despite enjoying other glitch releases over the years, I've struggled with "94 Diskont" this week & it's been more about the format of this music than the quality that the record contains. You see, all five tracks included are well produced but they sound very much like the subgenre title in that they could well be a computer glitch that's been allowed to play out for an extended period & I simply can't find enough conventional melodic or structural reference points to find actual enjoyment in it.
For fans of Fennesz, Tim Hecker & Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto.
3/5
Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I (2012)
Just been giving this beauty another spin and it still holds up very well to my original assessment:
There are huge swathes of progressive metal that just leave me cold. The Dream Theaters of this world trying to impress everyone with excessive flashiness, bloated songwriting or technical frigidity inspire nothing in me other than a shrug of indifference. This is why I admired Opeth so much - they were technically superb but never forgot that the song was king and everything they did worked to that end. On the evidence of Portal of I, Ne Obliviscaris seem to be a band with the same philosophy and with this album have ticked many of the boxes that appeal to me. I'm especially on board with the marriage between prog and black metal, in a similar way that Oranssi Pazuzu's fusion between black metal and psychedelic rock is so successful, Ne Obliviscaris seem to understand exactly how to alloy black metal with progressive metal in way that makes the whole more than the separate elements (something Opeth also achieved with death metal). While the entire album is exceedingly good Forget Not, for me, is a song on a whole different level and is well up my list of greatest tracks of all-time.
4.5/5
Fripp & Eno - "Evening Star" (1975)
The second collaboration album from King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp & ambient music godfather Brian Eno is arguably their finest, just managing to top 1973's excellent "(No Pussyfooting)" debut off the back of the wonderful ambient post-rock title track which is likely the best thing the duo ever recorded. There's a little more variety to be found this time with ambient & drone once again holding equal footing. The short tape music piece "Evensong" is a bit of a fail but the rest of the record is a very rewarding & highly creative listen.
For fans of Cluster, Jon Hassell & Harold Budd.
4/5
Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops (1994)
Acid Bath have a massive reputation in the development of sludge metal, despite having released only two albums in their relatively short lifespan. This is due to their willingness to incorporate a breadth of genres within their sound, whilst not compromising on the abrasiveness that is an essential element of the NOLA variant of sludge. Stoner metal, Nirvana-like grunginess, alternative metal, death metal and psych-doom all infiltrate the tracklisting, giving the album's 70 minute runtime a nice sense of variation. It is still the uneasy feeling that all is not right that permeates "When the Kite String Pops", though, like a travelogue through the seedy underbelly of a drug-ravaged city area populated by all manner of human wretchedness, with a psychotic paranoid as your guide.
I must confess that, in common with quite a few sludge acts, I initially found Acid bath a tough listen, but over the years I have found myself enjoying them more and more and I now hold "When the Kite String Pops" in very high regard indeed and would now hold it up as one of the more impressively ambitious examples of the genre.
4.5/5