Sonny's Forum Replies
Vinny, Karl, don't forget that the North playlist has gone back to being a monthly affair, so suggestions by the 15th please.
Invictus - Nocturnal Visions (2026)
Invictus are a death metal three-piece who formed in 2015 in Nagano in Japan. They play in an old-school style that plays very much to my death metal preferences, so it is unfortunate that I haven't come across these guys until now. They don't appear to rush their releases, with this being only their second full-length, following 2020's debut, "The Catacombs of Fear", and it shows because this sounds like well-written and well-rehearsed material that the individual musicians are apparently exceedingly comfortable with.
Musically there is a reach back through time to the late Eighties and early Nineties scene with influences from the likes of Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Autopsy and early Death all shining through. The riffing is fluent and hard-hitting with some vestigial thrash metal elements underpinning the album's potency and inexorably driving the tracks forward. Like all the best old-school protagonists Invictus are also unafraid to drop the tempo into a doomier territory from time to time. The production is very dense, feeling like it is smothering and squeezing the listener and which possibly helps to make the album sound even more brutal than it really is. I say this because although it does sound damn brutal, it is actually also quite melodic (for want of a better word) and has some killer hooks in its riffs. However the foetid production always seems to subvert those hooks and presents such an atmosphere of filth and violence that this melodicism goes to work on a much more subliminal level, so you suddenly find yourself tapping your toes and nodding your head almost unwittingly.
This is quite a short album, by modern standards, with eight tracks and a brief intro clocking in at a touch over 35 minutes. With the final track taking up 8 of those minutes, the others are mainly in the sub-4 minute region, yet seem to have far more going on in them than such brief run times would suggest, a testament to the three guys songwriting prowess. The riffs are obviously the big draw here and there aren't many guitar solos but when there are they are pretty manic - check out guitarist and vocalist Takehitopsy Seki's frenzied shredding towards the end of "Altar of Devoted Slaughter" for proof. The rhythm section of bassist Toshihiro Seki and drummer Haruki Tokutake are both impressive here and their work is the foundation of all the brutality and filthiness that bursts out of the speakers and these two guys are definitely more than just supporting players to Takehitopsy's six-string antics.
I enjoyed this one immensely as it plays to all that I have grown to love about old-school death metal, the stampeding riffs, the foetid atmospherics, the chunky bottom end dynamics and the grizzled growls of subterranean demon vocals. One of my favourite OSDM albums of recent times that I will definitely return to time and again.
4.5/5
I probably sound like a broken record when discussing releases from The Revolution, but unfortunately there is just too much musical carnage going on here to allow my mind to get a grasp on anything. I already struggle enough with the busy nature of an awful lot of metalcore, but throw in the, seemingly unrelated, piano tinkling and the angelic female vocals into the mix alongside the interminably spasmodic chugging, the unrelenting triggered drumming and the two guys seemingly shouting at me as if to scold me for some unknown fault of mine, then my head is spinning in confusion and bemusement. This is just too much of a trial for me to get anything out of it and sometimes you just have to say "I guess this one just isn't for me, sorry." The gentle, movie soundtrack-like "Ocean of Emptiness" was actually a lovely little oasis of calm for me in the midst of all this chaos and was by far my favourite part of the album, although the following track "The Well" also offered a brief glimpse of something I could get a grip of with quite a chunky main riff and seemingly a little more direction than the rest of the album. But, that said, I am seriously going to need a couple of hours of funeral doom or drone metal to realign my head after this one. Sorry Andi, but I tried, I really did.
1/5
Hi Ben, could you please add the latest album, "Nocturnal Visions", from Japan's Invictus? Thanks muchly.
Here is my review:
Wretch were formed by former Gates of Slumber main man, guitarist and vocalist Karl Simon, after the demise of GoS in 2013 and this self-titled album was their only full-length release during their eight-year existence. The album also features former GoS drummer Chris Gordon, so it would be reasonable to expect the two bands to sound very similar. Well, kinda, but on "Wretch" Simon forewent all the classic metal sword and sorcery imagery so often indulged by his former incarnation and focussed more on personal and emotional issues, largely in rection to the death from a heroin overdose of his best friend and former Gates of Slumber bassist Jason McCash in 2014, as encapsulated in lines from opener "Running Out of Days": "Final day, Sad song, Sung again, The needle stole away my friend".
The album is really quite short, its seven tracks only spanning 32 minutes with two of those being instrumentals and another is a Judas Priest cover of a track from their Rocka Rolla album ("Winter"). Musically "Wretch" is authentic, Sabbath-inspired trad doom as plied by the likes of Saint Vitus or The Obsessed. In fact, in truth, Simon sounds incredibly similar to Scott Weinrich, both in his vocals and guitar playing, with the same kind of "tight but loose", bluesy guitar style and "cigs and whiskey" vocals favoured by Wino himself. Despite its brevity this is not an inconsequential album and has a deep and resonant feeling, both in guitar tone and with the grizzled vocals. A big feature are the blues-infused guitar solos that Simon unleashes at every available opportunity, which have a stoned-out, jamming quality (check out the instrumental "Blood Finger") but which retain coherence thanks to the excellent foundational work of drummer Gordon and bassist Bryce Clarke who hold things together whilst Simon heads off on his six-stringed flights of fancy.
The production is very good indeed with a crispness to the riffing and sound overall that doesn't negate the "smoky cellar" vibe that all the very best trad doom metal tries to reproduce, yet which allows every note to be heard perfectly, with a distinct lack of muddiness that can often bedevil many doom releases. Inevitably, I guess, my favourites are the slower, more down-and-doomy tracks such as the lengthy "Icebound" and "Drown", but there are very few missteps here with even the clean-sounding short instrumental "Grey Cast Mourning" acting as a nice contrast, sandwiched as it is between the album's two doomiest tracks.
Wretch split in 2021 with their only further release being a 3-track EP (two of which were GoS covers) and since then Simon has reformed Gates of Slumber who put out a new album in 2024 (which I have to shamefacedly admit I haven't heard yet). I would have liked to have heard a bit more from Wretch as this, despite its brevity, shows much potential for a top-knotch contemporary traditional doom metal outfit to show some of the less impressive contenders exactly how to do it.
4/5
Thanks for the votes of confidence guys.
I am in agreement as regards "Tempelschlaf". It is perfectly fine for what it is, but it doesn't feel like classic Ruins of Beverast and I would take earlier albums such as "Exuvia" or "Rain Upon the Impure" over it every time.
Iron Maiden 'Killers' is 45 years old. Gulp!
This is the point at which I put my fingers in my ears and go la-la-la!!!
I can't possibly be that old...
Wow, thanks Vinny, I was pretty happy with it myself. For most of the picks I made for the playlist, I tried to stick with some fairly obscure acts that haven't featured before. I was a little unsure how they would go down, so thanks for the feedback and I am glad you enjoyed it.
I enjoyed this much more when it came out than the similarly titled previous album from Gates of Slumber ("The Wretch"). It is long overdue a revist, though, so I am glad to see it pop up as a feature release. Hopefully I will even get round to a review at some point.
I haven't heard of this before but it sounds like it is right up my street, so I am looking forward to checking it out.
February 2026
1. Burzum - "Feeble Screams from Forests Unknown" (from "Burzum", 1992) [submitted by Karl]
2. Immortal - "The Call of the Wintermoon" (from "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism", 1992) [submitted by Sonny]
3. Aara - "Zurück zur roten Fluh" (from "Eiger", 2024) [submitted by Vinny]
4. 1349 - "Sculptor of Flesh" (from "Hellfire", 2005) [submitted by Sonny]
5. Thornium - "Emperor of the Carpathians" (from "Dominions of the Eclipse", 1995) [submitted by Karl]
6. No Hand Path - "Βάπτισμα (Baptism)" (from "Μυστικισμός Της Ενηλικίωσης", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]
7. No Point in Living - "Impatience" (from "The Cold Night", 2017}
8. Les Chants de Nihil - "Danse des mort-nés" (from "Le tyran et l'esthète", 2021)
9. Gehenna - "Angelwings and Ravenclaws" (from "First Spell EP", 1994) [submitted by Sonny]
10. Blut Aus Nord - "The Fall Opens the Sky" (from "Ethereal Horizons", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]
11. Malacath - "Eternal Roar of the Thunder and Rain" (from "Eternal Roar of the Thunder and Rain", 2025) [submitted by Karl]
12. Endalok - "Holdgerving andskotans" (from "Úr draumheimi viðurstyggðar", 2017) [submitted by Sonny]
13. Craven Idol - "Iron Age Devastation" (from "Forked Tongues", 2021)
14. Al- Namrood - "Xenophobia" (from "Enkar", 2017}
15. Volahn - "Reencarnación triunfante" (from "Popol Vuh", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]
16. Ildjarn-Nidhogg - "I anmarsj gjennom grangrunn" (from "Svartfråd", 1996) [submitted by Karl]
17. Fuath - "Possessed by Starlight" (from "III", 2026) [submitted by Sonny]
18. Alcest- "Percées de lumière" (from "Écailles de lune", 2020)
February 2026
1. Bolt Thrower - "Intro...Unleashed upon Mankind" (from "War Master", 1991) [submitted by Karl]I
2. Vastum - “Amniosis” (from “Hole Below”, 2015) [submitted by Vinny]
3. Morbid Angel - "Inquisition/Burn with Me" (from "Domination", 1995) [submitted by Karl]
4. Altars - "Opening the Passage" (from "Ascetic Reflection", 2022) [submitted by Sonny]
5. Wombbath - “Underneath the Rotten Soil” (from “Downfall Rising”, 2015) [submitted by Vinny]
6. Nefas - "Immolation for the Abyss" (from "Transfiguration to the Ancient's Form", 2000) [submitted by Karl]
7. Immortal Bird - “Neoplastic” (from “Empress/Abscess”, 2015) [submitted by Vinny]
8. Severe Torture - "Blood" (from "Feasting on Blood", 2000) [submitted by Karl]
9. Knoll - "Gild of Blotted Lucre" (from "Metempiric", 2022)
10. Putridity - "Adipocere Retribution" (from "Morbid Ataraxia", 2025) [submitted by Karl]
11. Sulphur Aeon - “Devotion to the Cosmic Chaos” (from “Gateway to the Antisphere”, 2015) [submitted by Vinny]
12. Incantation - "United in Repungence" (from "Diabolical Conquest", 1998) [submitted by Sonny]
13. Inverted - "Journey into Shadowland" (from "The Shadowland", 1996) [submitted by Karl]
14. Blasphemic Cruelty - “Imperium of the Lawless One” (from “Crucible of the Infernum”, 2015) [submitted by Vinny]
15. Broken Torso - "The Ultimate Abhorrence" (from "The Ultimate Abhorrence", 2000) [submitted by Karl]
16. Macabre - "Hitchhiker" (from "Dahmer", 2000)
17. 7 H.Target - "The World Is Mine" (from "Fast-Slow Demolition", 2012)
18. Embalmer - "Morbid Confessions" (from "Rotting Remains EP", 1993)
19. Angelcorpse - "Wartorn" (from "Exterminate", 1998)
20. Ceremony of Silence - "Serpent Slayer" (from "Hálios", 2024) [submitted by Sonny]
21. Ancient Necropsy - “Forces of Evil” (from “Sepulchral Profanation”, 2015) [submitted by Vinny]
22. Tenebro - "L'angelo caduto tra le luci del teatro" (from "Una lama d'argento", 2025) [submitted by Karl]
23. Acid Death - “Mental Slime” (from “Hall of Mirrors”, 2015) [submitted by Vinny]
24. Karmacipher - "None" (from "Introspectrum", 2020)
25. Moonloop - "A Life Divided" (from "Deeply From the Earth", 2012) [submitted by Sonny]
26. Be'lakor - "Valence" (from "Coherence", 2021)
27. Appalling Spawn - "Manthra of Hope" (from "Freedom, Hope & Fury", 1998) [submitted by Karl]
February 2026
1. Cult of Luna – “Blood Upon Stone”, (from “The Long Road North”, 2022) [submitted by dk]
2. Celtic Frost - "Ground" (from "Monotheist", 2006)
3. Phobocosm - "Beyond the Threshold of Flesh" (from "Gateway", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]
4. Fall of the Idols - "At the Birth of the Human Shadow" (from "The Séance", 2008) [submitted by Sonny]
5. Evangelist - "Deadspeak" (from "Doominicanes", 2013)
6. Ruins of Beverast – “Cathedral of Bleeding Statues”, (from “Tempelschlaf, 2026) [submitted by dk]
7. Amenra - "Nowena | 9.10" (from "Mass V", 2012) [submitted by Vinny]
8. Doomster Reich - "Gimme Skelter" (from "Drug Magick", 2017) [submitted by Sonny]
9. Flesh of the Stars - "Welcome the Night" (from "Hosanna", 2016) [submitted by Sonny]
10. Ramesses – “Iron Crow”, (from “Take the Curse”, 2010) [submitted by dk]
11. Bell Witch - "I Wait" (from "Longing", 2012) [submitted by Vinny]
12. The Atlas Moth - "Horse Thieves" (from "An Ache for the Distance", 2011) [submitted by Vinny]
13. Earthbound Machine - "Rallies in Rage" (from "Destined for the Grave", 2019) [submitted by Sonny]
14. Church of Lies - "Hiding from Devils" (from "No Gods... No Manners", 2015)
15. Batillus – “…And the World is As Night to Them”, (from “Furnace”, 2011) [submitted by dk]
An interesting analysis Ben. I completely concur on "Obscura" as it is beyond my fathoming I have had to come to accept. Also "Annihilation of the Wicked" is definitely a top 10 death metal album for me and I agree that Cryptopsy are overrated. That Autopsy sound, though, is the best thing in death metal as far as I am concerned.
Thanks Vinny. A couple of names there that are new to me that I am looking forward to checking out.
I have actually fallen behind a bit with the chilean thrash scene over the last twelve months as I have moved focus away from new releases, so this is a new one on me. I will definitely have to check it out soon though.
Here are my picks for March, Vinny:
Testament - "Infanticide A.I." (from "Para Bellum", 2025)
Violator - "Cult of Death" (from "Unholy Retribution", 2025)
Enforced - "Avarice" (from "War Remains", 2023)
Morbid Saint - "Assassin" (from "Spectrum of Death", 1990)
Celtic Frost - "Suicidal Winds" (from "Emperor's Return EP", 1985)
Kreator - "Psychotic Imperator" (from "Krushers of the World", 2026)
Dark Angel - "Merciless Death" (from "Darkness Descends", 1986)
Metallica - "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (from "Ride the Lightning", 1984)
Trastorned - "Reborn Through Hate" (from "Into the Void", 2023)
Just a touch over 40 minutes I think.
OK, I’ll bite. Is the other one Warning’s “Watching From A Distance”?
👍
Dvvell - Quiescent (2022)
I chose this as Fallen feature of the month for November 2022 and was pleased to see that it got an overwhelmingly positive response from the Academy. As I have hinted at elsewhere, I have been dissecting a number of my favourite albums recently to see if they still cut the mustard and "Quiescent is one of only two I have at 100% after re-assessment (can you guess the other??) I have given it a couple of relistens today with the intention of finding some reason to drop a point or two here and there but, in truth, I really couldn't find any fault with it, so I guess that at the moment it stands as my second best album of all time. Maybe not my second most-loved as I don't have the depth of history with it that I do with others, but as for hitting my taste profile, it is second best.
Vinny, Karl - I am upping the time allocation for Horde suggestions to 40 minutes each from the next playlist.
Inter Arma - Sulphur English (2019)
It had been a while since I had listened to this and I had forgotten just how much of a beast of an album it is. I had it on rotation all day today and could still listen to it again. My old, rather brief, review from time of release still holds up:
A titanic behemoth of an album. Exceptionally mature atmo-sludge / death doom that really does feel like it has pushed the genres forward. Underlying most of the tracks, particularly the duo of Citadel and Howling Lands, is a ritualistic rhythm that feels particularly primal and earthy. Most of the songs mete out a fair amount of punishment, as you should expect from any death doom album worth it's salt, it is, however, anything but relentless, as in Stillness which begins as a gentle acoustic composition, building ominously to a howling guitar that doesn't sound a million miles from Dave Gilmour on Comfortably Numb and Blood on the Lupines, an almost dreamlike tale of a wanderer's ill-fated path to a cursed village and the warning he receives there.
None of the tracks are as monolithic as is usual for this kind of extreme doom, with a progressive edge to most of the songs that weaves them through with a little more colour than you may expect. Don't misunderstand, this album also crushes like you wouldn't believe, check out Citadel, The Atavist's Meridian or the title track and tell me this doesn't slay like it should! Any fan of extreme doom metal should grab this future classic immediately.
A definite and confirmed 5/5 for me.
Continuing this for 2026:
Inspired by several members' allusions to their own spreadsheet lists, particularly Ben and Daniel, since new year I have been transferring all my ratings into spreadsheet form. I am about halfway through my 6500 or so RYM ratings and it has only now hit me exactly how much I listen to that I either actively dislike or which I find mediocre at best. So another new year resolution is to try to actively seek out better music to listen to and stop wasting my time on crap.
In addition to this, it has become apparent to me that some of my higher ratings, particularly ones I have had for a long time, are as much based on nostalgia, memories and emotion as much as on actual quality and I have forgiven flaws in some of these older albums that I wouldn't have to releases with lesser personal relevance. In the interests of fairness then, I intend to re-evaluate a lot of my long-standing higher ratings, based purely on musical quality and not emotional redolence, over the coming months, so expect to see a shift in the scores of some of my significant ratings soon.
Kreator - Krushers of the World (Released 13/01/26)
Since the turn of the century Kreator have taken to releasing a new album every four or five years and here we are at the beginning of 2026, with the world turning to shit, and the Teutonic Titans delivering full-length number 16. With Mille and Ventor both turning 60 this year, it would be overly optimistic to expect that they will ever reproduce the bile and venom that they unleashed with their classic period which spanned from "Pleasure to Kill" to "Coma of Souls". Indeed, they haven't really issued anything essential since 2005's "Enemy of God". This does not, however, mean that a new Kreator album deserves to be ignored. No, far from it because, although "Krushers of the World" is inconsistent and patchy, occasionally a brief glimpse of former brilliance does shine through.
There are riffs a-plenty and there is a decent energy to the album, but on the whole this latest is a little too groove-laden for my particular taste with choruses that often seem to have been written with optimum catchiness in mind and, as such, it lacks the biting venom of the band's best work. Some of the best moments come from the guitar solos which are deployed more sparingly than I would like, but when they are used, such as during "Barbarian and "Combatants"," they elevate the tracks with a level of intensity that the riffs and vocals don't quite encapsulate. For my money, the clear highlight of the album is "Psychotic Imperator". It sounds the closest to classic-era Kreator with an added choral section and a searing guitar solo that elevate it to head and shoulders above the rest of the album.
I guess that "Krushers of the World" delivers pretty much what you would expect from a Kreator album at this stage of their career, being cast into shadow by the monumental magnificence of their best and trying a little too hard to capture listeners with sometimes overtly catchy choruses. I am sure there are many who couldn't wait to tear this apart and I have no wish to join them as nothing here is actually poor but, apart from the aforementioned "Psychotic Imperator" I can't hear too much that will keep me returning to this either.
3.5/5
I am unaware as to why Asgard lasted for only one album. The ability was there on the debut, albeit not terribly well showcased overall and I sense if the talent could have been grown over subsequent albums then we might have heard the name Asgard more over the years.
3.5/5
From what I can gather they were signed by Noise records, who were a big deal in Europe in the mid 80s, being the home of Celtic Frost, Kreator, Running Wild, Helloween et al, who released this record, but poor sales saw them get quickly dropped by the label. They put out a self-released demo the following year, but it looks like they couldn't garner any interest and failed to get signed by another label so called it a day.
The record industry was set up very differently in those days and I guess without decent label backing it was almost impossible to break out.
Continuing this for 2026:
Inspired by several members' allusions to their own spreadsheet lists, particularly Ben and Daniel, since new year I have been transferring all my ratings into spreadsheet form. I am about halfway through my 6500 or so RYM ratings and it has only now hit me exactly how much I listen to that I either actively dislike or which I find mediocre at best. So another new year resolution is to try to actively seek out better music to listen to and stop wasting my time on crap.
Ten years or so ago, I had a couple of subscriptions on Bandcamp to specialist stoner labels and I had forgotten exactly how much sub-standard stoner rock shit I had been listening to at that time. I think stoner rock may actually be one of the laziest sub-genres in all of music (I know that is the desired aesthetic, but a lot of the music is so derivative and tedious that it galls me now how much time I wasted on it - and that is from a fan of well done stoner music). It isn't as easy as just smoking a couple of joints and listening to some obscure early 70's albums before plugging your guitars in guys.
Thanks guys.
There’s some definite gothic metal touches in the new Ruins of Beverast.
Absolutely.
Don't forget, suggestions for February by the 15th please guys.
Thanks, Vinny.
@dk, suggestions by the 15th if you want them included on the February playlist, please David.
I reviewed this only two or three months ago and I think my review still holds, so here it is:
Derby's Abduction are one of those black metal bands who seemingly beaver away with no fanfare or support from the music industry at large, making me wonder how they keep at it. It isn't like the UK has exactly ever been overflowing with good black metal acts now is it? Anyway, Abduction is the brainchild of guitarist and vocalist Phil Illsley, aka A|V, with guest musicians providing drums, bass and additional guitars. I was well behind the band around the time of the 2018 album, "A Crown of Curses" which I have on cassette from the now defunct Death Kvlt Productions label, but I have lost touch with their progress over the last few years.
So here we are in 2025 and album number five. This is a well-produced and written slab of vicious and savage-sounding black metal that makes no pretence to the folky or celtic atmospherics which are often a staple of UK black metal, but which goes for the jugular in full-on attack mode. That doesn't mean the thin and tremolo-heavy sound of true raw black metal, the production is too thick and muscular for that, but it takes a more bludgeoning approach, in the vein of death metal. Even though this is still unambiguously black metal with pummelling blast beats and tremolo riffing, there is a fullness of sound that puts more meat on the genre's usually skeletal bones. The band sound very tight and the playing is excellent throughout.
A|V has an excellent vocal delivery with a howling savagery and angst-ridden desperation borne of emotional frustration that screams in the face of an uncaring universe. His lyrics are poetic and dense and I haven't had much time to sit down with them so far, but I am sure they are much deeper in meaning than I have as yet been able to ascertain. The killer riffs are powerful and are driven by a phenomenal powerhouse of a rhythm section as drummer Ed Gorrod and bassist Gavin Archer blast a path with the force of a high explosive drone strike. The tracks all flow nicely with decent variation of pacing, despite the overarching aggressive feel of the album. and the songwriting seems of as high a standard as the musicianship.
All told, this is a very good slab of UKBM and with, in my opinion, the recent decline of previous UK heavyweights such as Winterfylleth and Saor there is no reason why Abduction should not sweep in and claim the mantle of the premier UK black metal act.
4/5
For the record, it doesn't cost much at all to purchase legitimate non-AI artwork online. Artists are all competing for the opportunity to advertise their work on an album cover & will virtually give their work away. The Neuropath CD cover only cost the label around $100-$150 USD & the other one we were considering was under $100 USD. I'm assuming that the reason for using AI is to achieve total creative control over the image.
So, if it is reasonably cheap to buy decent artwork, why do so many bands go with such boring, non-descript efforts, such as the example in my post? Is this an actual aesthetic and if so, what are they trying to illustrate or communicate, because I don't really get it?
Also, coming tomorrow, January 9th is the brand new album from Ruins of Beverast, the first for 5 years, entitled Tempelschlaf.
A couple of tracks are up for preview on Bandcamp:
Here is my review of the aforementioned Fuath album:
Fuath was originally conceived as a one-off project by Saor's Andy Marshall when he released "I" back in 2016 as an outlet for an album of atmospheric black metal compositions that were more traditionally frostbitten and aggressive than the sweeping, celtic-themed, cinematic paeons to his Scottish homeland that was the usual output of Saor. He obviously felt he had more to say within that sub-sub-genre though because here at the dawning of 2026 the project is onto its third album, predictably entitled "III".
The first Fuath album was a raw-sounding sort of affair compared to his Saor material, with a fairly sparse and frosty production job, but the second had a much fuller sound and some symphonic touched which gave it a more epic feel, but at the cost of the icy edge feeling somewhat blunted. "III" sits nicely somewhere between the two with a frostier feel than the previous album, but with a sweeping, wintry majesty that reaches beyond the scope of "I", like an icier version of Saor.
With only four lengthy tracks featuring in its 43 minutes runtime, it is an album that is inevitably built on a certain degree of repetition. Marshall is such a great writer of black metal riffs and expansive, atmospheric flourishes, though, that the tracks never become boring, but fill the mind's eye with epic wintry scenes that leave the listener feeling awed and inspired, like a musical David Lean. For me, this has always been Marshall's strength, his ability to successfully convey his own obvious love of, and respect for, the natural world through his music to even the most jaded listener. That the man is also an eminently gifted musician as well as songwriter is proved by the fact that he plays all the instruments himself, including real, rather than programmed, drums.
This is probably my favourite of the three Fuath albums as it is a perfect blend of raw and frosty black metal and cinematic imagery, making deft use of synths to round out the sound with a little more subtlety than was employed on "II", yet when at its rawest it is a match even for the likes of Paysage d'Hiver (try "The Sluagh" for proof). Andy Marshall has, over the course of six Saor and three Fuath albums, earned the right to similar acclaim afforded to US atmo-black giants like Panopticon and Wolves in the Throne Room. Whilst Fuath has yet to provide an album quite as breathtaking as Saor's "Aura" or "Forgotten Paths", "III" has left me with the certainty that this is merely a matter of time.
4.5/5
Initially I was very much against AI generated art and, to a certain extent, still am. Yet I have just been on a bit of a cover rating spree and as far as cover art goes (as opposed to art for art's sake) I am changing my mind a bit. I think I would rather look at a decent AI-generated cover image than a large amount of the, frankly, appallingly low-effort attempts I have been seeing. When a music artist presumably puts so much effort into their art I find it amazing that they are satisfied with the shitty efforts that are promoting their hard work. As such, I guess AI is a cost-effective option for bands who may not have the funds to purchase decent human produced cover art and I would rather see an engaging AI image than a photograph of the inside of someone's shed such as:
The 20+ votes chart now has 105 entries, a 36% increase since June.
The Top 20 at the beginning of 2026 is:
1. [1] Judas Priest - "Painkiller"
2. [3] Candlemass - "Nightfall"
3. [2] Candlemass - "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus"
4. [-] Immolation - "Close to a World Below"
5. [4]Metallica - "Master of Puppets"
6. [6] Metallica - "Ride the Lightning"
7. [7] Slayer - "Reign in Blood"
8. [8] Black Sabbath - "Master of Reality"
9. [-] Blind Guardian - "Imaginations From the Other Side"
10. [5] Iron Maiden - "Powerslave"
11. [9] Death - "Symbolic"
12. [10] Neurosis - "Through Silver in Blood"
13. [11] Darkthrone - "A Blaze in the Northern Sky"
14. [12] Iron Maiden - "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son"
15. [18] Acid Bath - "When the Kite String Pops"
16. [14] Black Sabbath - "Paranoid"
17. [16] Cryptopsy - "None So Vile"
18. [17] Bathory - "Hammerheart"
19. [19] Slayer - "Seasons in the Abyss"
20. [-] Rainbow - "Rising"
Leaving the top 20 were:
Bathory - "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" [from #13 to #22]
Burzum - "Filosofem" [from #15 to #21]
Alice in Chains - "Dirt" [from #20 to #23]
Hi Ben, I am sure you would soon anyway, but can you add the latest album from Fuath, please.
My only remaining question is - is Vecna Groot's evil twin and if so could he be regrown from a sapling?
Andy Marshall of Saor fame has released the third album under his Fuath alter-ego today. Just ordered a vinyl copy from Bandcamp and am checking it out as I type. Fuath are less focussed on the epic paeons to Andy's homeland Scotland than Saor and play in a more Pagan / Melodic black metal style than Saor's atmospheric black metal, whilst still retaining some of the latter's grandeur. It's all good so far anyway.
Edit: Just as a point of interest, I have listened to it back-to-back on Spotify and Bandcamp and the BC version sounds much better.
An initial listen reveals this to be very much an early-80's release where the fist-pumping heavy metal of the NWOBHM is being mutated in a couple of directions, ie the US version of power metal which retains some of the NWOBHM's melodicism and the more direct and energetic speed metal that played out as a precursor to the thrash behemoth, this sitting somewhere between the two. Not the best production, but not especially awful for underground acts of the time either and a bit patchy, but I am enjoying it so far.
I don't think the band as such are overrated, but I don't think I would place their debut "Stormcrowfleet" on as high a pedestal as most other Skepticism fans, with this rather being my go-to album as far as they are concerned. Anyway, here is my long-standing review which I still stand by:
Skepticism were formed in 1991, releasing a death metal 7" in 1992, before a change in sound resulted in them, along with fellow Finns Thergothon, being credited with the development of funeral doom metal. In 1995 they released their debut, the seminal and oft-praised Stormcrowfleet album.
This, their follow-up to that genre-defining release, consists of half a dozen tracks of exceedingly slow and oppressive-feeling doom metal. The tracks range in length from six to ten minutes, but the all-enveloping, smothering nature of the music makes them seem longer (in a good way). The sound is seriously downtuned, with slow, deep, drum beats, as if some unnamed titan's heart can be heard beating in the bowels of the earth. The vocals are barely distinguishable as such, sounding like the grating of a huge block of stone as it seals the entrance to a subterranean tomb, blocking out all light with it's bulk. The keyboards and guitar are more subdued than is usual but I don't feel that this album is particularly melancholy or depressing, rather it projects more of an ancient martial atmosphere that may feasibly have accomanied the passing of a company of war elephants as they leave on a march to conquest.
There are quite a number of similarities between this and the aforementioned Thergothon's Stream From the Heavens and both albums can justifiably be held up as the standard against which all other funeral doom releases are judged, epitomising all that this style of extreme doom is about. They both are able to project epicness and true heft with, what is essentially, a stripped-down style of metal.
As an interesting aside, the band released an EP, Ethere, around the same time that has alternate versions of a couple of the tracks from Lead and Aether, The March and the Stream and Aether which seem starker and less oppressive than their album counterparts. Both versions are great in different ways and make the EP a very worthy companion piece to the full-length.
5/5
After my mainly positive experience with "In Waves" a while ago I will try to give this short EP a fair shake this month and hopefully work up a comment or two.
I have never made any secret of my aversion to European Power Metal, but BG are one of the better exponents of the genre and I remember being fairly well-disposed to this upon its release, so I will endeavour to fit it in this month and hopefully provide a review at some point.
Thanks Vinny, I really appreciate the feedback. I feel obliged (as with all the playlists that I compile) to include some sub-genres that I am not the biggest fan of. With the North this is often the symphonic, black 'n' roll and folk metal entries, although I have found stuff to enjoy in each of those too. I also think it adds some variety and acts as a nice illustration of the breadth of material within the North.
I will also try to supply more commentary on each playlist going forward.
Yeah we watched it last night and I know exactly the bit you are referring to. The ending was definitely over extended though, a bit like the end of The Return of the King where you are thinking "Just get it over with now".
When I listen to Bolt Thrower I tend to stick with what I own, so "Realm of Chaos" and "War Master" mostly, but I really like the band and don't think they have made a bad album, so I will definitely try to get to this one sometime this month.
I'm across Abduction's last couple of albums & quite liked them too. Anyone know if their earlier material is worth exploring?
I bought their second album, "A Crown of Curses" on cassette when it came out and found it to be surprisingly good for a low-key UK black metal act.
As I alluded to in the January playlist thread, I am going to start issuing the North playlist on a monthly basis once more. Unless you tell me otherwise, Vinny, I will use your additionals from last month for the February playlist. Karl, if you wish to nominate anything please post it by the 15th of January.
I don't think I know this record, Vinny, so I am looking forward to acquainting myself with it.
Happy new year by the way.
January 2026
1. Archgoat - "Rats Pray God" (from "Worship the Eternal Darkness", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
2. Watain - "Ecstasies in Night Infinite" (from "The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain", 2022) [submitted by Vinny]
3. Thou Art Lord - "The Era of Satan Rising" (from "Eosforos", 1994) [submitted by Karl]
4. Stworz - "U Śmierci na komornem" (from "U Śmierci na komornem", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]
5. Mayhem - "Despair" (from "Liturgy of Death", 2026) [submitted by Sonny]
6. Lord Belial - "Ipse Venit" (from "Unholy Trinity", 2025) [submitted by Karl]
7. Odium - "The Brightness of the Weeping Kingdom" (from "The Sad Realm of the Stars", 1998)
8. Martwa Aura - "Lament Drugi" (from "Lament", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]
9. Atomic Goatcrime - "Cycle of Wrath" (from "Thermonuclear Humanicide", 2025) [submitted by Karl]
10. Blasphamagoatachrist - "Cyanide Sacrament" (from "Bestial Abominator", 2025) [submitted by Karl]
11. Nexion - "Gandra" (from "Sundrung", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]
12. Enslaved - "Lightening" (from "Axioma Ethica Odini", 2010) [submitted by Sonny]
13. Apati - "Sömnlösa nätter" (from "Eufori", 2009)
14. Menhir - "Die Kelten" (from "Thuringia", 1999) [submitted by Karl]
15. Malakhim - "Solar Crucifixion" (from "And in Our Hearts the Devil Sings", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]
16. Vreid - "Fangegard" (from "I krig", 2007)
17. Naked Whipper - "Bloodstained White Icon" (from "Chapel Defilement", 2025) [submitted by Karl]
18. Imperial Crystalline Entombment - "White Behemoths of Woe" (from "Abominable Astral Summoning", 2025) [submitted by Karl]
19. Finsterforst - "Urquell" (from "...zum Tode hin", 2009)
20. Blut aus Nord - "Seclusion" (from "Ethereal Horizons", 2025) [submitted by Sonny]
21. Soulless - "As If Our Time Runs No Longer" (from "The Supreme Resurgence", 2023)