Sonny's Forum Replies
Thanks guys. I really appreciate you getting your picks in early.
Suggestions for April in by the 15th please guys.
My suggestion for April, Andi, is Plasmatics "Doom Song" from their "Metal Priestess" EP which is under "New Hope for the Wretched / Metal Priestess" on Spotify.
My review from the time of release:
Saturnalia Temple have been a favourite of mine for some time now. Their psych-drenched doom metal is as uncompromising as it is trippy and it is early days yet, but this may well be their best album so far. Recorded completely on analogue equipment, Gravity is a throwback to the heady days of late '60s / early '70s psych rock.
First track proper, after a short intro, is the eponymous Saturnalia Temple which, if you didn't know better, you would swear was a psych-doom song from about 1968. I can't really explain why, but I get a kind of doom Velvet Underground vibe from this track. Next is the nine minutes of organ-soaked fuzzy doom, Gravity, with it's cracked and croaky vocals, which suggests that man is pulled down by his failings like a huge mass exerting it's pull on his soul and, despite the warmness of the guitar sound, it feels like an ominous and threatening track. The repetitive, ascerbic Elyzian Fields with it's black metal-style vocals is a kinetic ending to side one.
Between Two Worlds begins side two and, after a chaotic intro, kicks into gear and hurtles along like a long lost Hawkwind track from their Space Ritual days with echoing vocals Bob Calvert would be proud of. The distorted hyper-fuzzy oscillations and cavernous, disembodied clean vocals of Bitter Taste are a little disorientating, particularly on headphones and could well be some kind of sonic experiment on the human brain! Oannes also features the same vocal style and a similarly repetitively hypnotic guitar sound as Bitter Taste, albeit with a warmer, more bassy tone and Alpha Drakonis is basically an ambient outro to end the album as it started.
Once more Saturnalia Temple prove they are one of a kind and are not content to plough the same doom metal furrow as the majority of their contemporaries. Gravity has a cataclysmically reverberating bottom end and properly disconcerting vocals to give the listener the impression of having heard something genuinely either profound or blasphemous. More successfuly evokes the imagery and atmosphere of HP Lovecraft than any number of albums that deliberately set out to. Original, unsettling and ultimately, an extremely satisfying doom metal record.
4.5/5
Any choices you wish to submit are fine by me Karl. Vinny has got the latest releases covered pretty well, so all in all we should have good coverage of all death metal eras.
Old school rules Karl baby!
It certainly does!!
I have been interested in this sort of genre popularity data for a while. Obviously the number of total metal releases has greatly increased over the years so I think the best indicator of genre trends would be when compared as a percentage of total metal releases, thus better reflecting what metalheads are listening to. Earlier years, such as the very early '80s would be almost 100% heavy metal which would then decline as each new genre assumes its presence and increases. This would also show if a particular genre enjoys a renaissance or resurgence within the overallcmetal community.
Any choices you wish to submit are fine by me Karl. Vinny has got the latest releases covered pretty well, so all in all we should have good coverage of all death metal eras.
April will see another Horde playlist, so suggestions by the 15th March please guys. As I said in the Fallen thread, if you could get them in to me earlier I would be enormously grateful.
An initial listen to Swallowed's "Lunarterial" left me somewhat dumbfounded and confused I must admit. From Vinny's effusive description of the album in the feature thread's introduction this was apparently right up my street, yet I really wasn't feeling it. The disconnection was so pronounced that I really doubted my own ears and my interpretation of what I had heard. Determined to get to the bottom of this, I persisted and have now clocked up four or five listens over the last few days, both through intently concentrated listenings and as background whilst doing other tasks. Whilst my initial reticence has been alleviated somewhat, the truth is, I am still not completely sure how I feel about this, or even if I will ever be able to make a definitive judgement on my appreciation of it. I think this is one of those albums where there are moments that make me think "OK, right. Now here we go" when things click and fall into place and show glimpses of the album I envisioned getting at the beginning, but on the flipside there are also parts of seeming random chaos that literally make me want to turn it right down in order to lessen the discomfort I am feeling.
Anyway, this is an album that draws on a number of extreme metal influences, old-school death metal, death doom, disso-death, war metal and even drone metal, all combining to produce an, undoubtedly intentional, disconcerting feeling that all is not well or right with the world. To this end, at least with me, this was inordinately successful, although the effect was to alienate me from what I was hearing rather than drawing me into its aural maelstrom. The transitions from doomy oppressiveness to outright blackened violence overlayed with jagged shards of dissonance just overwhelm me I am afraid. At times the band sound a lot like Mayhem at their most experimental, a phase of the norwegian black metal legends that I have never been a big fan of. In an inversion of Vinny's view it seems, my favourite track is actually the 25-minute closer, "Libations" which appeals to the doom and drone fan in me and within the drone-y confines of which the band's tendencies towards dissonance makes more sense to me and if it had been released as a stand alone EP I may even have toyed with the idea of purchasing it.
I would claim to be a fan of extreme metal, but I guess an album that really pushes deeply into unconventionalism such as this, makes me question whether that is truly the case. Things still have to make sense to me and for many stretches "Lunarterial" really doesn't. "Libations" aside, which is actually really growing on me, I can't in all honesty say that I would return to this in the future.
3/5
These fellas have so far escaped my chilean thrash net, so I am looking forward to giving this a few spins this month.
I don't think I have come across these guys before, but I am always up for a bit of canadian black metal, so I will endeavour to give this some ear time this month and try to jot a few words down.
Hey guys, I have rather a lot on my plate at the moment, so the sooner you can get your suggestions for April into me the better as it means I can work on the playlist when time allows. Of course I will still accept your suggestions up to the 15th as per usual if any earlier isn't possible, but any time advantage I could get would be appreciated.
March 2026
1. Lamentari - "Dies Irae" (from "Missa pro defunctis", 2020)
2. Sorhin - "Misantropi och död" (from "Apokalypsens ängel", 2000) [submitted by Karl]
3. Immortal - "Wrath From Above" (from "Damned in Black", 2000) [submitted by Vinny]
4. Craft - "Kill Everything" (from "Total Soul Rape", 2000) [submitted by Vinny]
5. Morrigan Wargoddess - "Morrigan, Warrior Queen" (from "The Legacy of a Warrior Queen", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
6. Graveland - "Raise the Swords" (from "Following the Voice of Blood", 1997) [submitted by Karl]
7. Givre - "Louise du Néant (1639-1694)" ( from "Le Cloître", 2024) [submitted by Vinny]
8. Black Witchery - "Ascension of the Obscure Moon" (from "Inferno of Sacred Destruction", 2010) [submitted by Sonny]
9. Left Alone... - "Coldly as Embers Rise" (from "Empty Moment", 2016) [submitted by Sonny]
10. Ancestral Shadows - "Stronghold of the Black Abyss" (from "Wolven Mysteries of Ancient Lore", 2019) [submitted by Karl]
11. Judas Iscariot - "Benevolent Whore, Dethroned for Eternity" (from "Dethroned, Conquered and Forgotten", 2000) [submitted by Vinny]
12. Kriegsmaschine - "None Shall See Redemption" (from "Enemy of Man", 2014) [submitted by Sonny]
13. Ragnarok - "My Hate Is His Spirit" (from "Arising Realm", 1997) [submitted by Karl]
14. Tsjuder - "Daemon's Journey" (from "Kill for Satan", 2000) [submitted by Vinny]
15. Mithotyn - "King of the Distant Forest" (from "King of the Distant Forest", 1998)
16. Blaze of Sorrow - "Ascensione" (from "Eterno Tramonto", 2011) [submitted by Vinny]
17. Lifvsleda - "Fjättrad" (from "Det besegrade lifvet", 2020) [submitted by Karl]
18. Bestial Warlust - "Within the Storm" (from "Blood & Valour", 1995) [submitted by Sonny]
19. Évval - "Alone in November" (from "A Train in Desolation", 2016)
March 2026
1. Zoroaster - "Trident" (from "Matador", 2010) [submitted by Vinny]
2. Benthic Realm - "Untethered" (from "We Will Not Bow", 2018)
3. Coffins – “Drown in Revelation” (from “Noothgrush / Coffins” Spit EP, 2013) [submitted by dk]
4. Ufomammut - "III" (from "Eve", 2010) [submitted by Vinny]
5. Ilsa – “Cult of the Throne” (from “Coffins / Ilsa Split E.P., 2016) [submitted by dk]
6. Karyn Crisis' Gospel of the Witches - "Great Mothers" (from "Covenant", 2019) [submitted by Sonny]
7. Froglord - "They Came From Saturn - Lower & Slower" (from "They Came From Saturn - (Lower & Slower)", 2026) [submitted by Vinny]
8. Encoffination - "Nefarious Yet Elegant are the Bowels of Hell" (from "Ritual Ascension Beyond Flesh", 2010) [submitted by Vinny]
9. Toothbrushes – “Thoth” (from “Noothgrush / Coffins” Spit EP, 2013) [submitted by dk]
10. Black Moth - "Blackbirds Fall" (from "The Killing Jar", 2012)
11. Agrimonia - "The Battle Fought" (from "Rites of Separation", 2013) [submitted by Vinny]
12. Warcoe - "The Wanderer" (from "Upon Tall Thrones", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]
13. Witchfinder General - "Invisible Hate" (from "Death Penalty", 1982) [submitted by Sonny]
14. Ether Coven - "This House Is a Tomb of Memories" (from "Everything Is Temporary Except Suffering", 2020)
15. Cardinal Wyrm - "The Resonant Dead" (from "Cast Away Souls", 2016) [submitted by Sonny]
16. Doomsday Profit - "Spirits" (from "Doomsday Profit", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]
17. Indesinence – “Vanished Is the Haze” (from “Vessels of Light and Decay”, 2012) [submitted by dk]
18. Ea - "Laeleia" - (from "Ea taesse", 2006)
I completely agree, but the death metal lyrics that deal with sexual violence I also find very uncomfortable. However the delivery of death metal vocalists make the lyrics less obvious to the casual listener I suppose.
I was listening to Venom's "Black Metal" yesterday and the song "Teachers Pet" also illustrates just how cringey even more conventional metal and rock lyricists could be at times.
This is one of the very few rap albums I own, alongside the two you mentioned, NWA's "Straight Outta Compton" and Ice T's "Original Gangster" and I agree with pretty much all you say here, Daniel. I think there is a worthwhile debate about the misogynistic lyrics when compared to the violent imagery in a lot of death metal that seems more tolerated. Is it because no one can really take the death metal lyrics seriously, making them feel less blatantly offensive, whereas the rap lyrics feel more real somehow?
Here's my review, I am particularly interested to hear Sonny's take on this one as I suspect it might push him a little out of his confort zone as he continues to stretch his legs in The Horde.
I have given this a go this afternoon and I have to confess that I have struggled with it during this initial listen-through. It feels a little bit too dissonant for my particular tastes, but I am loathe to judge it so quickly and feel that at least another couple of plays will be required for me to really make up my mind, especially on something that does sit outside my comfort zone where perseverance is often rewarded. I will return to it over the next few days and try to formulate some coherent thoughts on my experience with it.
My 1981 top 12 list is now ready to go:
https://metal.academy/lists/single/342
1. Motörhead - "No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith"
2. Iron Maiden - "Killers"
3. Plasmatics - "Metal Priestess EP"
4. Black Sabbath - "Mob Rules"
5. Taipan - "Taipan EP"
6. Venom - "Welcome To Hell"
7. Saxon - "Denim and Leather"
8. More - "Warhead"
9. Cirith Ungol - "Frost and Fire"
10. Holocaust - "The Nightcomers"
11. Riot - "Fire Down Under"
12. Saracen - "Heroes, Saints & Fools"
I have just noticed that there appears to be some discrepancy in release dates for the Taipan EP with RYM quoting 1981 but Metal Archives and here at the Academy the date is 1982. I think I will trust to the metal specialists and stick with '82 which sees it leaving this list which now looks like this:
1. Motörhead - "No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith"
2. Iron Maiden - "Killers"
3. Plasmatics - "Metal Priestess EP"
4. Black Sabbath - "Mob Rules"
5. Venom - "Welcome To Hell"
6. Saxon - "Denim and Leather"
7. More - "Warhead"
8. Cirith Ungol - "Frost and Fire"
9. Holocaust - "The Nightcomers"
10. Riot - "Fire Down Under"
11. Saracen - "Heroes, Saints & Fools"
12. Raven - "Rock Until You Drop"
Could you add french death metallers Bliss of Flesh please Ben.
Hi again Ben. Please add UK black metal solo act Blencathra.
RYM: https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/blencathra
Bandcamp: https://blencathra.bandcamp.com/
Could you add US stoner / heavy metal band Blackwülf please Ben.
RYM: https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/blackwulf
Bandcamp: https://blackwulfusa.bandcamp.com/album/sinister-sides
Hi Ben, could you add Luxembourg black metal band Black Candle please.
Rym: https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/black-candle-2
Bandcamp: https://blackcandle666.bandcamp.com/
Hi Ben, could you please add Ukrainian black metallers Balance Interruption. RYM link:
https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/balance-interruption
Also US atmospheric black metallers Barrowlands:
My 1981 top 12 list is now ready to go:
https://metal.academy/lists/single/342
1. Motörhead - "No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith"
2. Iron Maiden - "Killers"
3. Plasmatics - "Metal Priestess EP"
4. Black Sabbath - "Mob Rules"
5. Taipan - "Taipan EP"
6. Venom - "Welcome To Hell"
7. Saxon - "Denim and Leather"
8. More - "Warhead"
9. Cirith Ungol - "Frost and Fire"
10. Holocaust - "The Nightcomers"
11. Riot - "Fire Down Under"
12. Saracen - "Heroes, Saints & Fools"
I was a fan of Fossilization's debut album, "Leprous Daylight", albeit with a couple of reservations, so I will definitely check this out soon to see if they have ironed the wrinkles out and turned in the top-knotch OSDM album that I am sure they have got in them.
It seems I have looked at the wrong list for my expanded genre affiliations. The extras are from my hard rock and metal list on RYM. My full-spectrum #1 for 1980 is actually Dead Kennedys' "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables" with Joy Division's "Closer" at #6 and Roky Erikson at #8.
Now that I have my ratings in spreadsheet form, I am going back through time and compiling lists for my top dozen albums for each year, starting with 1980.
https://metal.academy/lists/single/295
1. Angel Witch - "Angel Witch"
2. Diamond Head - "Lightning To the Nations"
3. Iron Maiden - "Iron Maiden"
4. Ozzy Osbourne - "Blizzard of Ozz"
5. Witchfynde - "Give 'Em Hell"
6. Black Sabbath - "Heaven and Hell"
7. Motörhead - "Ace of Spades"
8. Saxon - "Strong Arm of the Law"
9. Saxon - "Wheels of Steel"
10. Budgie - "Power Supply"
11. Trust - "Repression"
12. A-II-Z - "The Witch of Berkeley"
If I was including releases not eligible on MA then "Roky Erickson and the Aliens (5 Symbols)" would be at #6, Hawkwind's "Levitation" at #10 and Rush's "Permanent Waves" at #11.
Edit: I misread my score for "Give 'Em Hell" which has now moved up a couple of places to #5.
I noticed that you like a fair bit of gothic metal so I would be interested in your take on the latest Ruins of Beverast album, "Tempelschlaf", particularly as you don't appear to have rated any of their stuff so far, so you may not be influenced overly by their earlier material. It is much more gothic-influenced than the project's previous black / doom fare and I haven't totally made up my mind about it yet.
Great to hear from you again Zach and even better to hear that you are doing much better and are happier and more comfortable. Best wishes to your missus and wishing her a quick and full recovery. I for one am very much looking forward to you rejoining us here at the Academy.
Hi Sonny, Here are mine for March. Got nothing new at the moment, so went back 10 years or so.
That is perfectly fine, David. The playlists are meant to cover the entire breadth and depth of the Fallen, so older releases are definitely encouraged.
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.