Saxy S's Forum Replies

P.S. Vinny don't forget BandCamp

https://martyrcanada.bandcamp.com/album/feeding-the-abscess

First and foremost, this album sounds incredible! If there is one thing that I miss the most in mainstream accessible rock and metal music, it's the bass independence from the rhythm guitars that give songs so much additional weight without having to blow out the mix. The bass lines on this album are kickass! Regardless of their importance or how they are implemented, these riffs hit like a tonne of bricks straight to the cranium and they would make for some insane mosh pits.

As for the music itself? I can't deny this is some top quality technical music. I'm a little hesitant to call it tech death because of it's very obvious tech thrash influences, but regardless, these tunes are crafted together surprisingly well. My brief dabbling's into tech death have been typically met with a resounding whirlwind of noise, but not a lot of substance to back it up. Martyr backs up the substance in a big way with some effortless transitions between alternating themes changing tempos, time signatures and even styles. And they are all delivered with pin point precision. "Feast of Vermin", "Nameless, Faceless, Neverborn" and "Felony" are among the album highlights. If you are one of those people that love the technical side of Between the Buried and Me, but can do without the metalcore interludes, this album will be just for you!

That being said, without those interludes, an album such as this could be incredibly daunting if not approached correctly. And by having shorter song structures altogether, you quickly realize that this album is not wasting anytime, working to their benefit and never turning into a show-off wank fest. What holds this album back for me at least is in most of the grooves that feel redundant after a while. There is some quality later on in the record, but listening to it from top to bottom can get a little one dimensional at times. Regardless, If this is a true display of technical death metal, then I will compare it to other acts in the same vein, and I would much rather listen to this than Nile or Dying Fetus any day!

8/10

I struggled with this one. For one, the sound of this album is super muddy and gross and almost left me reminded of the most recent Paysage D'Hiver album Im Wald. The obvious difference between these two albums is that Cultes des Ghoules are not using lo-fi production to exemplify the coldness that is on display. And I cannot deny that I think it sounds wonderful! The heaviness of the bass to go along with that guitar riffing is really good. The percussion is strong throughout the record and only feels overbearing when it has to be. And while I personally might not be the biggest fan of the shredded vocals, they do have some excellent passages that match the atmosphere that is being presented.

However, like with Paysage D'Hiver, too much of this album feels like it meanders its way to a conclusion. So much so that I can't recall any of the five tracks on this album having a distinct cap. Songs like "The Passion of a Sorceress" and "Vintage Black Magic" could have both been heavily trimmed down and even then, some dynamic growth would have helped (perhaps this wouldn't have made sense contextually, but we'll talk about that in a bit). Only the opener "Idylls of the Chosen Damned" and "Festival of Devotion", the shortest song on the album, made me feel like Cultes des Ghoules were putting their best effort into creating something that was perhaps not melodically innovative, but at the very least something that I would remember beyond basic themes of "ritualistic" or "hellish". The closer "The Devil Intimate" tried to be a little more progressive, which I respect, but the execution was lousy.

And part of the reason is the themes of this album. Many religious cults (or perhaps, occults) are very monochromatic in structure, and so it only makes sense as to why this album feels so formless at times. The reason why so many Gregorian chants were modulated with the rise of polyphony was so that they could be sung in church and people would know how to sing it. I'm not calling this a bad thing for Cultes des Ghoules since it fits with themes, but it doesn't stick in my mind very much as mentioned previously. I only remember atmosphere rather than hooks/grooves/melodies/etc. 

This record fall into the category of mood album for me. In the right circumstances, Henbane by Cultes des Ghoules can be a splendid album. Beyond that, I wouldn't be able to tell you much else about it! Perhaps this style of black metal is outside of my jurisdiction, but if you're looking for a classic meets modern approach to occult-ish black metal, it will serve its purpose.

6/10

Not gonna lie here, I never cared for the debut record from Within Temptation. It's the only album of theirs that incorporates a heavy doom metal sound before venturing into something that resembles more traditional symphonic metal. The word that I would to describe this album is "weak" because almost everything about it is lacking in force. The guitars sound gutted, there is practically little to no dominant bass throughout the entire album, the snare drum is weak, the symphonic elements are painfully lacking, and the harsh vocals from Robert Westerholt left a lot to be desired. The only true saving grace for Within Temptation was there vocalist Sharon den Adel who significantly helped make this album somewhat memorable in front of the terrible mixing. When this group became more focused in their symphonic elements, the mixing considerably improved. It's no surprise as to why this was the bands only venture in this style of metal.

4/10

Whenever Devin Townsend adds his stamp of approval to an project/album, there needs to be some guidelines set in place by the audience. The most important of those is that you can leave any expectations of what you think this album will sound like at the door when you walk in. When I heard Addicted for the first time and I saw the Alternative Metal tag associated with it, I had to question what the hell did that actually mean? We were talking about the same Devin Townsend right? How is he, one of metal's most eclectic composers possibly ever, make an accessible metal album?

As soon as the opener "ADDICTED!" begins, it becomes clear that Devin Townsend hasn't really done that much different from earlier projects. Besides cleaning up much of the production, incorporating his harsh screams and raspy sung vocals far less frequently than ever before, and calling upon Anneke van Giersbergen for alternate vocals, and if I do say so myself, the tunes that heavily feature Anneke make up this albums best moments. And that's mostly because they are the cleanest to compliment her cleaner vocal timbre. Devin's harsh vocals are well hidden in the mix as usual, so I was pleasantly surprised by the flip on "IH-AH!" and later into "THE WAY HOME!" and "NUMBERED!". The later of those two serving as a well performed balance of the styles, something I wish the album did more of, let alone wait until so late in the track list.

As it stands, I do like the idea of an album such as Addicted, I just wish it was incorporated better. Of all of the groups that Devin Townsend has associated with, the DTP is the one that I have always liked the least; it has always felt the most safe and comfortable. In comparison to other Townsend projects, this is a dud for sure, but in a vacuum, I can see this clicking as a real "Gateway" into progressive metal and beyond.

6/10

I guess now is the time I have to make a confession to all of you: I used to be a Guitar Hero nerd. Well, I take that back: I still am a nerd for Guitar Hero even many years after that video game suffered a much deserved death due to oversaturation. There are still many content creators that play this game years later, albeit at a far less competitive state than during the games hay-day. And that hay-day was Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Considered to be the hardest game in the franchise and featuring one of the hardest charts for any song ever included in a Guitar Hero game: "Through the Fire and Flames".

With all of that being said, it should be no surprise to anyone here that I have listened to Inhuman Rampage a stupid number of times over the years. I know all of these songs and their guitar parts like the back of my hand, even if I'm really bad at playing them on a piece of plastic shaped to look like a guitar. And what I've noticed on this album (as well as every other DrangonForce album for that matter) is how same-y it all sounds. After the first two songs on this album: "Through the Fire and Flames" and "Revolution Deathsquad", you can already start to hear the same riffs being copied on "Storming the Burning Fields"! It's honestly remarkable that the band managed to make this album an hour long, and no one told them to cut it down maybe a little bit. Not every song needs to be a seven minute power metal epic.

One thing I never fully realized until listening to this album in full was how much better the Guitar Hero remastered versions of these songs are. Because for a power metal album such as this in which the ridiculous nature of the guitar leads is so important, the leads are so buried in the mix behind the percussion and vocals. I found the main synth leads to be quite annoying most notably on "Body Breakdown". And like with a lot of DrangonForce's best songs, ZP Theart's vocals can be good at times when they are an original idea, and the vocal layering gives the choruses of these songs some strong bombast and keep them memorable. That being said, because of the crazy guitar solo wankery, the vocals are quite limited throughout.

And it is even worth it to talk about the lyrics on this thing? EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE AND WE ARE GOING TO WALK THROUGH IT AND BECOME CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD! I guess as someone who has unwillingly listened to this album as much as I have, my opinion is quite harsh. But when you really think about it, this is power metal in its purest form: no progressive or symphonic elements turning it into a truly epic album. So if you like that kind of thing, then Inhuman Rampage will be just up your alley. Otherwise, "Through the Fire and Flames" is a decent song (if not an overplayed meme), and "Operation Ground and Pound" has a solid hook and great key change at the end. Beyond that, you don't need to hear the rest of it.

5/10

I would be lying if I didn't admit to being a little bit intrigued by this record; a death doom album with heavy emphasis on the "death" aspect. As many of you know, my background in this genre is heavily catered towards the atmospheric side, and I have been desperately looking for the Yang to my Ying (Swallow the Sun, My Dying Bride, etc.).

The first thing I thought of when I heard this record was how much it reminded me of Ulcerate. But whereas Ulcerate used this sound to create something that was... ethereal and dripping in post-metal, this record is a straight up death metal assault that is unforgiving with its intensity. There will be no soaring melodic guitar passages here. Everything is tuned down and the closest thing we get to a melodic lead is a mid range guitar solo, such as the one on "Quintessence Maligned". The way in which the ensemble is able to effortlessly transition back and forth between high octane death metal riffing/blast beats to painfully slow doom metal passages is super impressive. The transitions almost never feel rushed and the attention to detail on both is impeccable.

The sound of this album is pretty great. Being a death metal album, there is a certain unpolished level that persists throughout and it does make this quite interesting. The riffing, as mentioned before, is very low and is quite tepid about traversing anything higher than twelfth fret. I found that the bass is surprisingly dense and the kick drums are produced like ass; that is to say, they do not pierce over the rest of the mix. If I had to critique this in any way, it would be the lack of attention to the guitars when doing a "solo". They typically feel drowned by the rhythm guitars, which was a little disappointing.

But overall, add me to the list of people on MA pleasantly surprised by this. I understand that this isn't my forte, but I recognize talent when I hear it, and Dead Congregation are really good at creating claustrophobic, hellacious atmosphere.

8/10

An Abstract Illusion - Illuminate The Path

Progressive death metal with heavy emphasis on "progressive". This is essentially what I would dubiously call "deathgaze" with it's use of atmospheric bridges to connect the brilliant world that has been crafted together. The buildup's are justified and the extended runtimes do not feel overindulgent. FFO (if you could even compare this to anything else): Be'lakor, Wilderun, Ne Obliviscaris, Windir

https://anabstractillusion.bandcamp.com/album/illuminate-the-path

An Abstract Illusion - Illuminate The Path

Progressive death metal with heavy emphasis on "progressive". This is essentially what I would dubiously call "deathgaze" with it's use of atmospheric bridges to connect the brilliant world that has been crafted together. The buildup's are justified and the extended runtimes do not feel overindulgent. FFO (if you could even compare this to anything else): Be'lakor, Wilderun, Ne Obliviscaris, Windir

https://anabstractillusion.bandcamp.com/album/illuminate-the-path

A tough record to revisit.

I do respect Animals as Leaders for being extremely competent musicians and being able to incorporate it through overtly technical/progressive songwriting. I just wish that there had been more of a purpose for most of it. As Sonny mentioned, the wankery on display is less so for creating a captivating experience for the performer/listener, but rather a showcase in technical proficiency without any of the soul that is required for progressive metal to work. Still, not a bad record, but one that needed to be developed upon (and eventually was) for this style of progressive djent to have any staying power. 

6/10 

Twenty years of Blackwater Park

The Leper Affinity

It should go without saying at this point that I am a huge mark for the band Agalloch and their blend of folk and post-metal. So it should be taken as the highest of praise when I say that this album is what I imagine Agalloch would sound like if they were a traditional doom band.

Now The Mantle was still a few years away at the time. Hell, Pale Folklore was still a year away at the time, but it wouldn't surprise me if Agalloch listened to this album as inspiration. It is a joy to hear Solstice harken to traditional English folk tunes to go along with a sound that is not that far removed from a band as recent as Spirit Adrift. The justification for long songs through expansive growth and swelling through "The Sleeping Tyrant" and "Hammer of Damnation" is remarkable. The mixing is superb and the melodic phrases in both the guitars and vocals are very well put together and interwoven.

9/10

The only version of this album that I could find was the thirty year anniversary remastered edition, so I might not be getting the full understanding/appreciation for this album as others here might.

Following the rise of D-beat in the UK, it was only a matter of time before that sound was developed. Sacrilege represents that simplistic songwriting alongside some of the heavier thrashing riffage coming out of the US through Slayer, Exodus and boPossessed. And if that sounds like something that sparks your fancy, I can admit that Behind the Realms of Madness is a great bonding of the two, in addition to serving as a true gateway between hardcore punk and thrash metal at the time.

However, when I went on my deep dive into the roots of 80s hardcore punk a few years ago, I have to admit that D-beat was my least favourite of the subgenres that I found. While the aggression was at an all time high, the songwriting took a significant backseat. And unfortunately, this album suffers a lot in the same way. These songs are very long and have no growth to warrant their runtimes; an issue that Discharge understood with See Nothing Hear Nothing Say Nothing three years prior. Not to mention the fact that you would be hard pressed to hear anything that resembles a bass line on this album. And the reverb effect in the vocals actively diminish the DIY sound that is so synonymous with early punk in general.

This album made me feel empty. This is the kind of album I expect visual arts students to play after lecturing me about "post-modernism"; about how uninspired hook driven music like Black Flag, Bad Brains and Minor Threat were. This album might have life, character and passion, but I cannot remember a single goddamned thing about it. It's great for the mosh pit, but worthless beyond that space.

5/10

Consistent almost to a fault. Even as Trivium continue to evolve with each subsequent album, they still can't figure out how to mix the bass properly. If they could ever figure that out, they might just have a truly transcendent album on their hands. As it is, In Waves is the bands most commercially and critically successful album, and it has some of metal's most iconic riffs of the 2010s. But it isn't their best. For me, I still prefer The Crusade. 

7/10

Tobias Sammett creating the concept album/rock opera project Avantasia was a blessing for heavy metal. While Arjen Lucassen was creating more progressive concept albums with the group Ayreon, Avantasia was more traditional power/symphonic metal, making far easier to digest and more accessible. And despite this album serving as a warmup for what would come over the next two decades, it quickly became a classic. I personally don't agree, as later projects called upon far more noticeable guest features, and the songwriting became more fluent. As it stands, I would never put The Metal Opera above Into The Electric Castle, but if you want sweeping symphonic metal with epic tales of folklore...well you could listen to almost any power/symphonic metal album. But Avantasia were destined for greatness and The Metal Opera proves that.

7/10

The reason I chose this to be a featured release was to prove how timely so much of nu-metal was, and how you had to be there to appreciate its idiocy. I realize in hindsight how dumb a lot of nu-metal was during the mid 2000s, but Meteora stands out in a sea of machismo and Monster Energy drinks. It easily surpasses Hybrid Theory in both the sound and the maturity and has stood the test of time for someone who was there when it all went down.

And with all of that said, I understand why some people might not like this album as much as me. This may piss some people off with its very amateurish songwriting and whiny lyricism. And I get that. But as someone who was the target audience for this during the early 2000s, and how much of my favour with nu-metal has drastically faded over the years, Meteora still persists. I don't know if you'll find a better display of this genre than on this album.

9/10

Be sure to remind me when it's my month or I'll forget!!

This is a great idea letting clan members help in the decision making of featured records for the month. I am all for helping out with both The Gateway & Infinite clan events, but I am a lot less educated when it comes to Guardian records. I know that clan is in good hands with Xephyr, Andi and Vinny choosing and I will continue to participate in discussion when I can. I feel like it would be best if I sat out on that one.

Body, The - I've Seen All I Need To See (3.5/5)

Deftones - Koi no yokan (3.5/5)

Riot - ThunderSteel (2.5/5)

Asphyx - Necroceros (3/5)

Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane (3.5/5)

Moonsorrow - V: Hävitetty (4/5)

Hexecutor - Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge (3/5)

I can see where the counterpoint comes from with this album being a metal album. My personal opinion came from this sounding far too similar to the darkwave and death industrial that I hear from Lingua Ignota.

The drone tag is deserved, but the "metal" tag is ambiguous. If there is enough debate, then I don't think it should lose its tag.

Click Track Click Track Click Track CLICK TRACK!!!

I wanted to like this more. The Death Doom hybrid on display is drastically different from the far more ethereal and atmospheric stuff that I am accustomed to. But the poor death vocal timbre from a guy in his fifties and a truly awful percussion mix that desperately needs a click track make this album far more of a chore than I would have liked. 

6/10

I really enjoyed Aathma in 2017 and was one of that years best albums. Tried Spiritual Migration a couple of years ago and was a little bit turned off by the heavier focus on technical rather than progressive. I ought to give this a couple spins as well.

Thrash metal with black metal tinges and a very progressive/technical approach to songwriting. Give these guys credit for at least breaking the mold and daring to create something that wasn't copied directly out of the 1980s Thrash Metal For Dummies book. However, my very short tolerance for technical thrash metal is tested on this album. The longer song structures do not coalesce very well and they simply feel like separate themes held together with duct tape. And that vocalist is just not my cup of tea. The shouts sound like whispers, which is quite a problem when thrash metal is supposed to invoke anger and aggression. I'd rather have them be in your face like Vektor or Revocation. 

But at least it sounds nice. The mixing is fluent between the thrash and black metal tendencies and would absolutely work better if the compositions were not so slapdash. For such a new group, I would still recommend just for the exposure, and hopefully we can find groups that manage this sound better in the future, if not Hexecutor themselves. 

6/10

Moonsorrow are a consistently maturing band ever since their debut and Hävitetty is the groups more daring and experimental album in the entire discography. It's only two tracks, but they both eclipse twenty-five minutes. I found it to be quite enjoyable, but it certainly feels like a project that was only meant as an experiment rather than a complete turn in character. There are some really good ideas on display, but some of them do tread water after a while. Meanwhile the folk elements are sparse, and when they do show up, they are kept separated from the metal portions. But this is the kind of black metal that I really enjoy, and given the length of songs on display, I can see them just making the cusp of a true "epic".

8/10

Yes! Finally a year in which I can honestly say I stayed in touch with the hottest metal from the year! 

I haven't listened to this record in quite some time and part of the reason why is because Koi No Yokan was the album that had me question its strengths. Following in the footsteps of two of The Deftones most underrated albums (Saturday Night Wrist and Diamond Eyes), this album feels very safe and comfortable for The Deftones. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination; Deftones are too strong of songwriters to create anything genuinely bad, but really lacking in progress.

And I say that knowing this album has some great tunes on it. I thoroughly enjoy "Swerve City", "Leathers" and "Entombed", but the second half of this record tries to get more progressive and can't stick the landing. Whether it be longer songs that don't flow together ("Tempest" and "Rosemary") or the shorter songs that just don't evolve ("Graphic Nature"). The band still has some great hooks like "Rosemary" and "Swerve City", but every Deftones album since Diamond Eyes has focused more on texture than hooks. And even though Gore had it fair share of production issues to boot, it still felt like a Deftones album. Ohms falters because of how same-y it sounds.

Koi No Yokan does not have the same personality as its predecessors, but still contains the quality that one would come to expect from this group. I see why critics flocked to this album at its release time, but as a longtime Deftones fan, I've heard these sounds done before, and better.

7/10

P.S. This is fourth Deftones album featured in The Gateway in just fourteen months. And while I certainly see no problem with highlighting one of Alternative Metal's best groups, it does feel a little disproportionate, especially when there is a shoegaze/post-metal/alternative metal revival going on with groups like Loathe and Hum.

To be completely honest, my impression of Alternative Metal in 2021 is the sound that exemplified the crossover appeal of nu-metal and similar sounding groups from the late 90s and early 2000s. Now Pain of Salvation are not directly linked to nu-metal in any way, but they do have a very accessible sound to them, one that would not sound out of place alongside Tool and the Deftones during said timeframe. I mean the compositions are far complex and more comparable to Dream Theater, but sonically, I just cannot separate those groups. Also, as Sonny said, it also has plenty of crossover appeal with its comparisons to cheesy hard rock bands like Journey and Kansas. 

Pain of Salvation's blend of mainstream accessible alternative metal sounds with progressive, irregular time signatures and song structures is a formula that typically works well in luring me in. The influences that can be heard in the music of Tool and Leprous is unmistakable and Pain of Salvation know how to craft a good hook, build upon it and have it still mean something at the end of the track, even if that track is extended. Some of Djent's humble beginnings can be found on display here, but overall, this was a sound that I feel like would have served better if I heard it during its time. And having gone back to this, as well as The Perfect Element 1, after hearing Road Salt One and In the Passing Light of Day, shows me that this band hasn't developed all that much in the years since. Not a bad record at all, and strongly recommended for fans of alternative progressive metal.

7/10

I did not like this. Having never gotten into the US strain of Power Metal as it is, I found this very repetitive and devoid of character. It reminds me of a hybrid of European and American Power Metal, but without anything that forces Riot to stand out in comparison to their contemporaries. The best songs on this record are reworkings of other songs and with this being the bands first album in five years, and first in a power metal vein, this is trend-hopping of the worst kind.

5/10

Fen - Winter

The first major snowfall of 2021 has covered my little piece of the world in a cloak of white. And so, the first of two traditions has taken place. Fen's Winter is a marvel of the atmospheric black metal variety and a drastic change from the type of black metal that I typically listen to and enjoy. This maintains much of the classic chills of a Darkthrone, Paysage D'Hiver, or Ulver record, with an obvious shoegaze flare. Daniel, Ben, Sonny, don't be alarmed by the length; it's worth the adventure.

Can we add the new Despondent Moon album Enshrouded in Eternal Moonlight

It's pretty amazing that a band like Converge can release Jane Doe in September of 2001 and be heralded as the GOAT of mathcore, yet Botch can come along just over a year later with this EP and invoke the same critical reception.

As I have mentioned many times before, mathcore is not my specialty. Something about the irrationality of it all and how none of it sticks together just leaves me feeling empty after hearing it. But some groups can make it work: Converge from Axe to Fall and beyond, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Rolo Tomassi and Botch would probably fall into that category. The guitars are given prominent roles as a melodic instrument throughout as Dave Verellen's vocals are allowed to be as punishing and relentless as possible. The compositions are fluent as well; "Japam" and "Vietmam" are structured well and do not fee like an amalgamation of four/five ideas lumped together without a through line. 

I will say that the cathartic release that I felt following the buildup from "Afghamistam" into the first half of "Miciragua" was impressive, but the song "Afghamistam" on its own doesn't feel like it belongs here. It's a decent cut and a great way to show off the groups capability to play slow and atmospheric, but the runtime is a detriment and is not as developed as the albums heavier moments.

I feel like this EP is much more in the realm of mathcore that I can appreciate for its songwriting prowess alone. The production does help also, but it is the overall connectivity that makes these tunes resonate as actual pieces of music that I can listen to and enjoy rather than as a mosh pit anthem. An Anthology of Dead Ends is hardly my favourite in this niche subsect of mathcore, but there was an effort put forward and it did pay off.

7/10

This is a relentless dose of blackened metalcore that is ferocious, visceral and punishing as anything I've heard in a metal/mathcore idiom in a very long time. The short runtime works to its benefit as tunes don't overstay their welcome. The production does fall a little flat, especially in the percussion. But as I have said on many occasions, most mathcore focuses on the moshpit and getting the people worked up and ready to form a wall of death or circle pit. As part of an album, you don't have that luxury. This is music for the live venue, and until we can get back there again, this kind of music will not resonate as well as some other reviewers might think. Still, it did have some solid moments and it does resonate better than other albums in this regard in 2020. So...yeah, good stuff, but not really in my jurisdiciton.

6/10

4. St. Anger is not that bad? Not great, but... 

For as hilariously embarrassing as St. Anger is, at least it had potential. Death Magnetic meanwhile was both disappointing and empty. St. Anger saw these heavy metal giants tackle nu-metal, and fail. But instead of refining it or doing something completely different, the group decided to make a paint by numbers thrash metal album, produced by Rick Rubin (who also produced Reign in Blood) that was not just an absolute disaster from a sonic point of view, but it was the album that is most devoid of identity than any previous Metallica album.

5. The standard gory death metal is overrated, melodic death metal deserves more attention.

I don't think old school classic death metal is overrated, I just think it's garbage!

I like these spicy hot takes! Here's some of mine:

• Slayer's Reign in Blood is shit. I never cared for Slayer, and even though Seasons in the Abyss is a classic in every sense of the word, most people excuse this album's awful production as part of the charm. It's not.
• Anthrax were (and still are) the best of the big four. But since were on the topic...
• Testament are the best thrash band that came out of the eighties, with the best overall discography of any of the big four, and should have been apart of the big four instead of that meandering solo shit show that is Dave Mustaine's Megadeth.
• Pantera fans are the worst fans in all of metal. Their idolization of this band as a deity who are incapable of critique is honestly terrifying and my favour with the band has deteriorated greatly because of it since the passing of Dimebag.
• Emperor's best album was Prometheus
• Ænima is still Tool's worst album. Even after having Fear Inoculum for over a year.
• Opeth's progressive rock pivot of the 2010s is not as bad as you initially thought.

That's all I got for now. If this thread keeps up and I see some more spicy hot takes, I may update.

As per RYM: "Sludge metal is a subgenre of Metal that combines the slow, dark instrumentals and atmosphere of Doom Metal with the aggressive, harsh screams and shouts credited to Hardcore Punk." They then go on to claim that Atmospheric Sludge is simply that, but "performed with an emphasis on atmospheric and textured riffs". 

Suffice to say that The Galilean Satellites does not sound like The Melvins, Baroness, High on Fire, or the early Mastodon albums. However, the slower tempos displayed on this record are not that dissimilar to the stylings of Doom metal, and the hectic cacophony of sound from the guitars, bass, percussion, vocals and other instruments is both clean, and also rough, the later of those being synonymous with hardcore punk and later on, thrash metal. So I at least understand where the term "atmospheric sludge metal" comes from.

But I do agree with Daniel in the sense that the term is very ambiguous as to its meaning. At the very least, RYM lists atmospheric sludge metal as a subgenre of post-metal as opposed to sludge/doom. Most releases that receive this tag are always pegged with post-metal anyway; Neurosis, ISIS, Cult of Luna, The Ocean. I think that the term is loosely used to differentiate between different kinds of post-metal, because atmospheric black metal/blackgaze also exist. Post-metal is a tag that can be used to describe anything and like with progressive metal, I find it unbelievable that any album can have a "progressive" genre tag, but not be associated with anything else; progression of what? Take a look at Death Doom metal as well!

While we may agree that "atmospheric sludge metal" is a derivative title that refers almost exclusively to post-metal, I'm not sure its removal from the Fallen clan is warranted. In the same way that Deafheaven's Sunbather or Oranssi Pazuzu's Mestarin Kynsi should not be removed from the North.

I see that Andi created a Judgement post about this album so I will talk about that at another time. But for me, The Galilean Satellites is a wonderful display of pacing in a post-metal album. The compositions are incredibly simplistic but grow beyond their motifs through spacing, dynamics and time. Songs like "Europa", "Absent" and "Au Pays Natal" make me feel this huge bundle of energy that slowly grows, and the explosive release at the final chords is wonderful. Even the second disc of ambient/drone stylings is quite impressive. But what really bothers me is the duality of it all. I cannot stand the idea of playing two records simultaneously as if they are inseparable. Trust me, I've tried it; it doesn't work! As it stands, I think The Galilean Satellites would be among the greats in the subgenre if it was only one disc of all post-metal or drone tunes. Together, it can become overwhelming, regardless of how you listen to the album.

7/10

It appears to me that the general consensus surrounding this album is far more conflicted than I would have anticipated. Most people really enjoy Here In After, but many reviews, including here on this website, pull this record back because of its polish from a production standpoint. That's one of the biggest issues I have with death metal as a sound, as well as it ferocious fanbase; death metal could have been making huge strides in production during the five year span between Dawn of Possession and this, but the fanbase will not allow it. Only the melo death groups from Scandinavia like At The Gates and Dark Tranquility were willing to take the clean dive. And those groups almost never receive the same recognition and acclaim as Immolation, Gorguts, or Morbid Angel.

As a result, I have always been a "basic" death metal fan who prefers melo death, and the technical stuff I do like is from a band such as Atheist and my favourite Death album is The Sound of Perseverance. But let me say... I really enjoyed Here in After! The cleaner sound give the bass some explosive punch that make the tempo changes hit with authority instead of sounding like sloppy mixtapes. Hooks are sparse, after all this is a death metal album, but the stuff that we do get is pronounced and the songs themselves have recurring themes and motifs that are reinterpreted throughout the song structures. And the structures are hectic, modulating through numerous time signatures and tempo changes as is common in this style of music. And they are weaved together remarkably well.

If I had to nitpick, some of the percussion does not maintain a consistent level of proficiency throughout the record. "Nailed To Gold" opens the album very sloppy and had me initially dreading the rest of the record. "Away From God" is also a fairly weak cut overall. But songs like "Burn With Jesus", "I Feel Nothing" and the awesome closer "Christ's Cage" are some of the best sounding tech death I've heard in a long time. In some regards, Here In After reminded me a lot of Ulcerate's Stare Into Death And Be Still from last year. The cleaner production makes it sound like a breath of fresh air and it still holds up to this day.

8/10

In my defense Daniel, I have always been a staunch defended of Overkill beyond their debut album. That album was sloppy; from a production standpoint, to the compositions, and pretty much the entire performance of those compositions. Overkill learned their lesson and made a big change from that record to Taking Over and later on to The Years of Decay and Horrorscope. This album is solid hook driven thrash metal that is varied in stylings, making it super easy to digest. I still stand that The Years of Decay is a better album, but during the early 1990s when the big four were "selling out", this would have certainly scratched that itch.

8/10

Which one of you had me ending 2020 with a review of a beatdown album on your bingo cards? I think it is safe to say that this was not a comfortable experience for me, but I appreciated the effort. I got a lot of vibes from that new Gulch album, Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress while listening to this: very brief, but relentless hardcore that will absolutely slap in a live setting. But since I am a notorious melodic hardcore snob, not much about this record sticks in my head. I think my biggest problem with beatdown music is that there is not much substance involved in it, rather just an excuse to strain your neck from headbanging, and throwing down in a mosh pit. But I will admit that these breakdowns are hard as hell and far better than Gulch's last album. So if you're into this kind of thing, it can be a joyous ruckus. It just isn't for me that's all.

6/10

Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods

Don't know how many Riverside fans there are in here, but the leader of that group (Mariusz Duda), has a progressive folk album that was released back in November.

https://kscopemusic.bandcamp.com/album/through-shaded-woods-deluxe-edition

As an Oranssi Pazuzu noob going into the bands most recent record, I can wholeheartedly agree with the assessment that in terms of what defines a metal as "black metal", this is one of the farthest from the genres roots. But I would argue that the harmonic and melodic passages from the guitars do have much in common, even if these tropes are used in unique ways. The shrieking vocals are also very inline with what one would expect from this genre. Whether or not one agrees that this is enough to quantify its classification as a black metal record is in the eye of the beholder.

I see a lot of similarities between Mestarin kynsi and Written in Waters by Ved Buens Ende..... It is music that has clear influences in black metal, but is so far removed from what that genre entails that classification is seemingly impossible. Whether that constitutes this record as progressive or avant-garde is irrelevant (personally, I believe these two tags are interchangeable). I respect this record for pushing boundaries as far as it did, and you know what? It even produced a great song in the process (Oikeamielisten sali). But like with most "alien" progressive records, the production takes the reigns in creating a claustrophobic atmosphere a fair bit too often for my liking, instead of off the floor dissonance or obscurity. 

7/10

Numinal Shroud - Through the False Narrows

New Canadian atmospheric black metal with some very cool tinges of both doom and death metal interspersed throughout the record. The barebones production is commendable, but does hurt some passages as they do not feel flushed out. Still, a very strong debut release and cannot wait to hear more. FFO: Fen, Falls of Rauros

https://hypnoticdirgerecords.bandcamp.com/album/through-the-false-narrows

7/10

I have never cared for Deathspell Omega in the past and have never believed that Paracletus deserves all of the acclaim that it has received in the past ten years. I'm sure this is in large part to Deathspell Omega just never really being my cup of black metal tea. It's very technical in the ways of death metal and the continuous tempo/theme/groove changes on a whim are downright infuriating.

But I decided to give them another chance with the Chaining the Katechon EP from 2008. And this might be the least enjoyable Deathspell Omega project I've heard to date. If I thought that the songs on Paracletus and The Furnaces of Palingenisa were poorly thought out, imagine my frustration when I find out this EP was a single, twenty-two minute song! This band's music is hard enough to focus on when its shorter, bite sized songs. But putting putting it all together like this was a bad idea from the start. There are enough unique passages of melodies and grooves to make a full album out of. But when it's all put together like this, it sounds pretentious.

I am certainly one for controversial takes, but I have never like bashing albums/artists that have been heralded as the greatest. I can make an exception for Deathspell Omega. This is the kind of progressive/avant-garde stylings that I cannot stand with its lack of focus. And this lack of focus does make its way into the sound of the album as well; drawing a lot of dissonance, but not doing anything with it.

4/10

As I come off my review of Incantation's Diabolical Conquest, we now find ourselves back in the more traditional form of death doom metal with My Dying Bride. And truth be told, I've never really cared all that much for My Dying Bride. There music has been tolerable and I don't mind at all if it comes up in a playlist or if it gets recommended to me, but something about them just doesn't stick with me.

And with The Dreadful Hours, I think I finally figured out what that Achilles heel was: the synths. I've heard a lot of synths used on metal albums in power metal and gothic doom over the last year, and the albums that does resonate with me are the ones with the inauthentic synthesizers. I know they are called "synths" for a reason, but the strings and choral arrangements don't match with... anything.

Which is a damn shame because the basic fundamental "doom metal" portions are really good. Take for example "My Hope, The Destroyer" as well as  "Le Figlie Della Tempesta". The rhythm and guitar work is solid, and truly spectacular during the dual melodic harmonies. These passages also allow for some adequate bass lines to be pronounced in the mix. It's very simplistic, but I can let it slide given the stylings we are dealing with.

But those synths...they take me out of the experience. One minute this album can be transcendent and I can be soaring amongst the clouds, forgetting everything quibble in the world. But as soon as those choirs hit, I'm immediately brought back to reality. I mean the craftsmanship on display is commendable and is worth hearing just for that, but for me, when I think of early 2000s gothic metal, with complimentary synths, I am going to have to stick with Green Carnation.

7/10

I have listened to my fair share of death doom metal from The Ruins of Beverast, Officium Triste and Swallow The Sun that I feel like I can speak to this album a little bit. I like its melodic focus, but outside of low guttural howls, it does not fully represent the death metal sound. Incantation were looking to form a sound that combined death and doom metal together into something truly spectacular and genre defying. But what we ended up getting was a good album that I wish I like a lot more than I do.

For starters, Incantation have a huge distinction of actually using destructive blast beats and tremolo picking reserved for the bottom two strings of the guitar, in addition to doom style riffage and utterly slow tempos. On the surface, I would have hoped that Diabolical Conquest would have made these two ideas work in harmony with a fluent blending of styles. Instead, what we ended up getting was an album that is one part death metal, one part doom, and the rest is sudden transitions between the two with very little interweaving or connectivity.

And as someone who isn't a big fan of the traditional form of death metal, I can admit to liking some of these passages here. The best moments come on "Disciples of Blasphemous Reprisal" and "Ethereal Misery", while "Shadows of the Ancient Empire" have some solid ideas as well. The doom passages are strong; lacking much of the ethereal strings/synths that much of my listening in this repertoire, but still cool framing devices. But it's the rapid swapping of tempos between ideas and phrases that are more in line with the technical side of death metal that I have never been a fan of.

Maybe I'm spoiled because of a lot of exposure to atmospheric black metal like Saor that makes transitions between slow, ethereal passages and relentless black metal with elegance and grace that make me a little more lukewarm on Diabolical Conquest than I would have liked. Nevertheless, the music within is very good and the band show a profound level of proficiency in their performance. The two ideas on their own are very good, but they are being tied together very loosely and I do have to mark it down because of it.

7/10

Because of the extended workload that comes with the month of December for any music critic, I will not be able to complete full album reviews for this months featured clan albums. Even though I really want to with Testament. They were/still are a band that went underappreciated by so many, even though I would argue that their discography stands out above those of even the big four; they are my favourite eighties thrash band.

The debut record is one that is a benefactor of being released later in the 1980s, so that it did not have to feel the full brunt that came along with records like Kil Em AllI and Show No Mercy of being too slapdash and dirty (and especially one particular Overkill debut album that was talked about a couple months ago). It is remarkably clean, the riffs are humungous, Chuck Billy's vocals are among the best in all of thrash metal, and it hits like an eighteen wheeler. It does have some faults, mostly within the performance execution. I hold The Legacy up as being the best thrash debut of the 1980s, and yet, they would only be scratching the surface in regards to their ceiling. 

8/10

Well, I don't think that any of us could have described Ohms any better than Xephyr ladies and gentlemen. It's over; time to go home!

As I somewhat mentioned in my review back when this album came out, it is an improvement from Gore, the sound is more natural and it fits in the same vein as so many longtime Deftones such as myself will appreciate. However, if you've come to this album expecting a new, fresh sound from the Deftones, one that will not follow in the shadows of the behemoth that is White Pony in front of it, you've come to the wrong place. Only for longtime fans at this point.

6/10

My rating system is quite simple actually. There tends to be a lot of overlap between close ratings, so it is my final judgement in the end based on how much I see myself return to a project that determines its final score.

5: Perfect record. Can be heard at any time in full without question. Reserved only for an elite few records

4.5: A near flawless record with a few quibbles, but even they don't deter the albums quality.

4: A great album with a few quibbles, but these issues are prominent enough to hold it back from the elite.

3.5: Either a solidly consistent record with no real standout moments, or a good album in which quality alternates between great to just okay

3: A good album in which quality alternates between good to just okay or flat out bad. 

2.5: Literally middle of the road. An album that might sound good or have a cool concept, but is as quickly forgotten about as when it entered my ears.

2: A record in which the artist might show some promise, but is severely misguided in its delivery.

1.5: A record in which the artist might show some promise/potential, but is delivered in horrendous fashion.

1: A record in which the artist cannot be bothered to create something of quality. In a word: worthless.

0.5: Where the artist in question are actively attempting to insult my intelligence and I start to question whether or not they just learned what music was. Reserved for special, dubious occasions.