Sonny's Forum Replies

I agree with all that. What a combination of internet, Covid and corporate marketing has done is consign the concept of definable sub-cultures to the dustbin of history, the Baggies of the 90s being the last really definitive movement (in the UK that is). That said, anyone who thinks these subcultures were primarily about what you wore, understandably, has no idea what they were about. To those inhabiting those spaces it was more than a fashion choice, it was a way of life that informed everything you did, who you hung around with and provided a sense of community, belonging and especially freedom, particularly within poorer communities. 

It still makes me laugh to see middle-class twats paying £100 for a pair of ripped jeans. I regularly wore ripped jeans back in the day, but only because I couldn't afford new ones. This was back when you used band patches to actually cover holes in denim jackets and  jeans eaten away by battery acid, not merely to profess your fandom. What we would have given for a new pair of Levis back then!I

Today the cult of the individual is king, which is weird because it seems to me like everybody looks the same!

Could it be that metal fans don't only listen to metal anymore? With a lot of metal music itself playing around with outside genres, and a few popular genres being more accessible in general, perhaps the average metal fan isn't as "metal or nothing" as they used to be?

I know that I listen to quite a lot of stuff that wouldn't be found on this site. My passion will always be metal, but I have much broader tastes than I once did. This could explain why you don't see as many obvious "metalheads" anymore. We're all just a little bit more cultured.

I also think that podcasts have likely taken over much of the space that used to be reserved for music. I would spend as much time listening to podcases as I do music. Not sure about the rest of you?

I know I am an old man now and as such am becoming less and less relevant in the world (just how it is kids - it will happen to you too), but, speaking for myself, I have been listening to less non-metal music than I used to. With the sheer variety in metal nowadays it is possible to get most of the music fixes I need within the metal world. I also still buy physical media, so not all my listening is tracked by Spotify and, to be honest, if it wasn't for the Academy playlists I probably wouldn't even have an account there - certainly not a subscription.

I never listen to podcasts because most of them are by people whose views are  uninformed, sacrifice complexity and nuance and prioritise clicks over objectivity.

To get back to the original point, though, I don't think the visibility of metalheads was ever cited as the issue, it was based on listening habits. I haven't looked like a metalhead for years - shaved my hair off when hair loss started to make long hair look ridiculous, don't have tattoos (in fact I hate them) and rarely wear band shirts (only gifts), or any logos for that matter, any more - I'm not payiing for the privelege of being someone's fucking billboard! Yet I see many people who look like old-school metalheads with long hair and beards who have never heard a metal album in their lives and listen to shit like the aforementioned Coldplay and go to Glastonbury every year. Certainly here in the UK, I don't think there are really any clearly identifiable music-based "cultures" any more. I grew up a "rocker" and that set you apart from the mods, punks, skins, disco-heads and northern soul fans. But those distinctive and instantly recognisable sub-cultures no longer exist and popular culture feels like it has become very bland, homogenous and corporate.

Sorry - old man shouting at the clouds rant over... (at least until next time).

To be honest, I am not sure what constitutes a "listen" on Spotify. If you listen to one track or even part of a track does that count as a "listen" or must it be something a bit more substantial? As David says, Spotify's own playlists probably generate an awful lot of "listens" for those bands featured on them and I have heard talk of labels actively paying Spotify to push their artists on those playlists, so it is hardly a level playing field. If only more people would listen to the Academy playlists we could boost the profile of metal on the platform!

Anyway, fuck em, as long as there are bands out there playing and releasing metal then they can keep all the fashionistas and trend-followers who jump on any bandwagon that is currently popular. 

This month's suggestions have made me realise how little I have dug beneath the surface of the Horde as I have only heard of about three of the bands amongst Vinny and Karl's suggestions. Makes me wonder if I am really the man for this job!!

Cheers, Vinny. I will add it now.

Allright!

Night in Gales — "Towards a Twilight Kiss" (from "Towards the Twilight", 1997)

I can't find a track called "Towards a Twilight Kiss" Karl. Are you sure you have the correct title?

That was a good year for black metal. Here's my ten:

1. Darkthrone - "Transilvanian Hunger"

2. Emperor - "In the Nightside Eclipse"

3. Mayhem - "De mysteriis dom Sathanas"

4. Enslaved - "Vikingligr Veldi"

5. Cianide - "A Descent into Hell"

6. Burzum - "Hvis lyset tar oss"

7.  Bestial Warlust - "Vengeance War 'Till Death"

8. Fimbulwinter - "Servants of Sorcery"

9. Thergothon - "Stream from the Heavens"

10. Gorement - "The Ending Quest"

Pretty much everyrhing is becoming beyond the financial reach of the average family and we are being taken for a ride. I was talking to a Spurs fan recently and he said that for a seat right at the back of the top tier it now costs £75 each. Iron Maiden tickets are priced £87 - £110 for a show in Glasgow. I saw them several times early on, the last time being the Somewhere in Time tour when I paid £6 for a ticket which, allowing for inflation, would still be less than £20 today. Even a ticket for Chester Zoo is £39 for an adult and £27 for a kid - £132 for a family of four!! They are taking the piss and anything but the essentials is becoming unaffordable for the average Joe.

December playlist is built, with the above suggestions from Andi and Karl included.

Shit, sorry Vinny. Things have been a bit hectic recently and I forgot all about it, so didn't post any noms. I will redouble my efforts for the next one.

It really depends on which state you were brought up in as to which footy code you were most exposed to Sonny. Traditionally, New South Wales & Queensland were stronger in rugby league & rugby union while the rest of the country were stronger in AFL. That’s become a bit muddier over time with Melbourne winning NRL premierships & Sydney & Brisbane winning the AFL competition but I still can’t understand the appeal of AFL. It just seems so messy & lacking in structure to me. Gimme the brutality of rugby league any day of the week.

That sounds a lot like rugby in England. If you grew up in the north of England, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire, then you were most likely into league, whereas the south was union. Like Aussie rules that has become blurred over time mostly due to union finally turning professional and some high profile league players switching code because of the higher profile of union, especially at international level with the Six Nations tournament. I played union at school, but actually prefer league and its quicker pace.

I am a Liverpool FC fan and had a season ticket on the Kop throughout the 90s and 2000s. I had to give it up after the 2009 season as I just couldn't afford it anymore. I don't really watch much football now though as it just isn't the same watching it on TV. I do still miss that matchday buzz though. 

My favourite sport over the last decade or so has been biathlon and I feel an affinity for the Norwegians mostly seeing as the UK has no representation. Unfortunately it has switched from being free to watch on Eurosport and gone to some channel that wants like £25 a month to watch, so I will probably end up watching it with slovakian commentary on YouTube.

Other than that I love track and field (my wife used to be a national-level 100m hurdler back in the 1970s) and watch a fair bit of the NFL with my team being the Washington Commanders. So in both the Premier League and the NFL my teams are following up a great season with a pile of shit this time around. Add to that the fact that my favourite biathletes, Johannes and Tarje Boe both retired at the end of last sesason and this winter's sport is looking a bit grim.

Do you not follow Aussie rules football Daniel because that shit looks insane?!

Pentagram - "Pentagram" (1985)

Firstly, unless you own the original 1985 vinyl, then you haven't heard "Pentagram" as it was originally released because this version has never been re-issued. The version most people (myself included) know is the 1993 Peaceville reissue which has a resequenced track listing which matches that of the 1982 " All Your Sins" demo from when the band were still called Death Row and which featured new artwork and a title change to "Relentless". As I am sure most doomheads know, Pentagram had originally formed in 1971 and gone through many lineup changes and tribulations that saw them issuing very little by way of official product with a 1972 seven-inch of "Be Forewarned" probably being the most significant. This meant that despite being around for so long, Pentagram's debut was pre-empted by the likes of Trouble and Saint Vitus who were already leaning further into doominess than the genre's godfathers Black Sabbath, so for many "Pentagram" could be seen as a backward step.

Pentagram's sound paid massive homage to Sabbath, who must have been a huge influence on sole remaining founding member Bobby Liebling back in the early 70's, which meant that they didn't lean as heavily into the slow, dirgelike pacing of Saint Vitus' debut, but more akin to that of the NWOBHM, particularly the likes of Witchfinder General. However I am not convinced that ultra-slow pacing is the be all and end all of traditional doom metal, with the riffs and guitar tone playing as much a part in creating the aesthetics of doom and here there can be no doubt of Pentagram's success with the shitty production lending a decidedly grimy filthiness to the riffs that feed fittingly into the album's occult aesthetic. A track such as "All Your Sins" could almost be a demo of an unused track from "Master of Reality" - and I mean that in the best possible way. The quickest tracks are where the band depart most from the accepted doom aesthetic with "Sign of the Wolf (Pentagram)" or "Relentless" kicking out riffs more reminiscent of "Stained Class"-era Judas Priest than "Master of Reality" or "Saint Vitus" and closer "20 Buck Spin" is essentially straight-up hard rock or heavy psych at best. Now this isn't an issue for me per se, being a big fan of late-70's Priest and early 70's heavy psych, but I must admit that the doomier stuff such as "The Ghoul" and "All Your Sins" are where it scores highest with me.

"Pentagram" must really be viewed as a band with a lengthy history finally getting to release their material in full-length form and can possibly be viewed as them 'clearing the decks' so that they could move forward now that they had a record deal. It must be put into context that, despite the emergence of bands like Saint Vitus and Trouble, "Pentagram" was released into a musical environment dominated by the aggressive high energy assault of thrash or the sleazy decadence of glam metal and didn't gain a huge following first time around, recognition not coming until the Peaceville re-release in the early Nineties. Personally, as an old 70s vintage metalhead, I think there are some good tracks here and, despite it's 1980s release date, it gives a perspective on the metal underground from the 70's that not everyone is necessarily au fait with, so it should at least be given some acknowledgement and respect within doom circles as well as the wider context of metal history.

4/5

Just put in a pre-order for the "Watching From A Distance" 4x LP boxset 20th Anniversary edition. It's a bit pricey, but some things are worth it!

OK Zach. Here's half a dozen of my favourite more traditional doom metal tracks off the top of my head. I don't think you have rated any of these albums to date. See how you go on with these and I will have a think about some other doomy sub-genres.

Warning - "Footprints" from "Watching From A Distance"

Reverend Bizarre - "Doom Over the World" from "II: Crush the Insects"

Solstice - "Cromlech" from "New Dark Age"

Windhand - "Woodbine" from "Soma"

Spiritus Mortis - "When the Wind Howled With a Human Voice" from "The God Behind the God"

Triptykon - "Goetia" from "Eparistera Daimones"

Yes it is, and send whatever you want that I haven’t got. 

Sure thing. I will give it a think. Nice to hear from you again by the way.

Do you want well-known stuff or more obscure tracks?

PS - Is that Zach? Have you changed your name from Zero Symbolic to (a more floridian) Gator?

It was this album's turn in my feature release rotation this morning and impressions after a single playthrough were very positive. Hoping to get a full review issued at some point after a few more spins. Loving this guys vocals.

It looks like you double-rated this release Sonny. I didn't mind it when I checked it out in September 2022 but I have to admit that those vocals were an obstacle to me fully committing.

I don't know how that happened, I certainly didn't do it on purpose. I have deleted my rating and it seems ok now.

This afternoon we watched the new Netflix three-parter "Des" starring ex-Dr. Who, David Tennant, as notorious UK serial killer Denis Nilsen. Compelling stuff which begins with his arrest and covers Nilsen's manipulation of the police unvestigation rather than concentrating on showing his crimes. Great performance from Tennant and definitely worth a watch if you are into criminal psychology shows (as my wife certainly is).

I have finally got round to checking out Ashenspire and their 2022 album, Hostile Architecture after it romped to one of the easiest ever wins in a series of yearly metal games I host on RYM's Polls/Games forum. All I can say is - WOW!! It is amazing when, even at my age, you can hear an album that completely collapses your musical world and opens it up to previously unheard marvels. I am not even sure I can do the album any justice, but Ashenspire sound like a metallic Velvet Underground if VA were pumped up on steroids instead of zoned out on smack, were infinitely more pissed-off and many times more technically gifted. Also, why do vocals sound angrier and more menacing when delivered in a Glasgow accent? This, alongside Ulcerate's truly awesome Cutting the Throat of God make 2025 a sterling year of metal discovery for me, with two genuine new favourite albums to make life feel a little less shit.

Yeah, my wife watched all the Downton Abbeys recently as well. I am not a period piece fan either, especially as Downton Abbey just seems like a modern update of Upstairs Downstairs from the 1970s. Luckily, she is cool with me putting my laptop and headphones on while she watches stuff I don't care for. 

A more interesting period piece I rewatched this week, as it is that time of year, was Gunpowder about the Catholic plot to blow up the Parliament of James I and assassinate the king. Although Jon Snow isn't particularly convincing as notoriously fanatical and  ruthless conspiracy leader Robert Catesby, it is still a decent show and is even particularly brutal in places.

It is great when a record that only seemingly means something to oneself strikes a chord with another human being, especially if it is in a less tangible way that possibly transcends the mere music itself. I completely get what you are saying, Vinny, about this record in particular, but also funeral doom in general, being a therapeutic experience because I have thought this for a very long time. I find great comfort in funeral doom that I don't really get from any genre and the calming effect it induces soothes my often frazzled nerves supremely well. I am sure this woulddn't be the case for everyone, but for those of a certain mental setup this album should be available on the NHS!

Keep it slow, keep it low and grind away that stress....

Here's wishing you a speedy recovery, Vinny.

Great stuff Vinny. Glad you like it. 

Thanks, David. Having listened to the track I am perfectly happy to include it as it sounds like an awful lot of sludge I have heard over the years.

Thanks, guys. I completely understand the antipathy towards Dawn of Winter, but I have a soft spot for trad doom outfits who have no chance of popularity. I am fairly immune to questionable vocals with this particular sub-genre where an awfully high percentage of vocalists are functional at best.

The thing is, all three of us contributing members to the Fallen playlist have quite similar preferences within the clan's remit, tending mostly towards the more extreme end, so I try to cover the sub-genres that we are less popular amongst the three of us, which I may not always be totally au fait with - gothic metal being one particular sub-genre I try to cover without being much of a devotee. This may well result in some questionable picks. Trad doom was my gateway into doom metal, bands like Saint Vitus, Reverend Bizarre and the likes, so it will always be a sub-genre I will support, however, despite being a one-time massive fan of stoner metal, I have become a bit bored of the more meandering style over recent times.

I am glad the playlist is still getting some listens anyway, and it is nice to get some feedback, so thanks for the continued support fellas.

Just as an example of how many fuckers will try to rip you off nowadays, I have been trying to get a reasonably-priced copy of this for ages now and saw one on Discogs for 23 Euros, so dipped in for a look and the guy selling it wants to charge 100 Euros for shipping - from Norway to the UK. Alongside tales of scalpers buying up tickets for the forthcoming Iron Maiden tour (and many others), so they can sell them back to real fans at extortionate prices it makes my damn blood boil.

Sorry David, I have been unable to find the Harvey Milk song or album on Spotify. Do you want to nominate an alternative?

Thanks Vinny. 

Selections by the 15th please David.

I am more than happy to provide a review if I can think of something to say about the features, Vinny and I have quite a few thoughts on this one - nice pick by the way.

It seems like the Old School are mounting a fightback in 2025 with new albums from Coroner, Sodom, Dark Angel, Destruction, Onslaught, Hirax, Sacrifice and Testament all hitting the shelves of metal emporiums the world over. I would be lying if I said I was feverish with anticipation over any of the above, but in the past all have made thrash albums I love to a greater or lesser degree, so at least deserve a hearing. Now, I do like Testament, Chuck Billy is one of my favourite thrash metal vocalists, but somehow, much like fellow Californians Exodus, outside of their debut album they just don't excite me as much as they should, their songwriting not always flipping my switches.

Initial impressions of Para Bellum, however, are good, especially as Chuck's excoriating bellow is still as potent as ever, despite being the same age as me, old bastard (me, not Chuck)! Kicking off in thrashtastically invigorating style, the opening dual salvo of "For the Love of Pain" and "Infanticide A.I." hit pretty hard with some high-energy riffing, scintillating leadwork from Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick and defiant roars from Chuck. They follow this up with the medium-paced chug of "Shadow People", allowing for a change of pacing and lyrical content. Whereas the opening brace are lyrically centre around the modern concern that the power-hungry few are trying to exert control over the wider population's lives, "Shadow People" takes on the old metal staple of demonic forces and black magic.

"Meant To Be" kicks off in 80's power ballad style as Testament attempt their own version of "Fade To Black", with the track building in intensity and heaviness, although the stadium-friendly, Zippo-waving chorus is a bit cheesy-sounding for my taste, the lead work is pretty decent. Whilst it misses the mark a bit, I do applaud the band trying to mix things up and provida a little bit of the epic amongst the machine-gun firestorm around it, which certainly continues apace with the next couple of tracks, "High Noon" and "Witch Hunt", both of which attempt to tear your head from your shoulders with chainsaw riffs and by sheer weight of aggression. I think new drummer, ex-Seven Spires skinsman Chris Dovas is probably worth a mention at this point. Following previous two drumstool occupants Gene Hoglan and Dave Lombardo gives Dovas some pretty big boots to fill, but his drumming is precise and powerful and provides the riffs with added impetus and velocity.

Unfortunately this point now sees the album hit a flat spot as we hit filler territory. "Nature of the Beast" is the blandest and most uninspiring track on the album for my money and I feel its presence also has a negative effect on the next track "Room 117", which isn't strong enough to lift the album, despite a decent chugging riff and a nice mid-track solo, with it feeling like it too is dragged down by the banality of its predecessor. "Havana Syndrome" encounters more of the same, with the vicious main riff being let down by a rather unimpressive chorus. The album concludes with the title track and here we hear the band back at full tilt and sounding so much better as a result as they declare war on your eardrums once more with a war-drenched slab of epic thrash glory.

There is a killer 41 minute album in here. I would have liked them to have stripped out the two filler tracks, "Nature of the Beast" and "Havana Syndrome", which would have left us with a leaner, meaner fighting machine of an album. I also know that "Meant To Be" is a misfire, but like I said, I kind of admire the intent behind it, so am inclined to want it to remain. All-in-all I am glad to have heard Para Bellum and would have no issue picking up a copy if I could get it for under a tenner.

3.5/5

December sees the Horde take its turn in the playlist rotation. Suggestions by the 15th please Vinny, Karl. I am not currently taking non-clan member suggestions for any of the playlists I curate.

November 2025

1. Mayhem - "Buried by Time and Dust" (from "De mysteriis dom sathanas", 1994) [submitted by Sonny]

2. Sargeist - "Ordained and Adorned" (from "Flame within Flame", 2025) [submitted by Karl]

3. Destruction Ritual - "Washed Away Sins" (from "Providence", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]

4. Kadotettu - "Kuolema ylivuotinen" (from "Ihmisyyden viimeiset askeleet", 2016)

5. Der Weg Einer Freiheit - "Eos" (from "Innern", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]

6. Throne of Ahaz - "An Arctic Star of Blackness" from "Nifelheim", 1995 [submitted by Karl]

7. Abduction - "Vomiting at Baalbek" (from "Existentialismus", 2025) [submitted by Sonny]

8. Arkona - "Only True Belief" from "An Eternal Curse of the Pagan Godz", 1994 [submitted by Karl]

9. Profane Order - "Black Vomit Desecration" (from "Slave Morality", 2019)

10. Medieval Demon - "Raging Lord of the Deeps" (from "All Powers of Darkness", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]

11. Finsterforst - "Zerfall" (from "Zerfall", 2019)

12. Polemicist - "The Infidel" (from "Medieval Rites", 2025) [submitted by Karl]

13. Bekhira - "Gas the Christ" (from "Demo '96", 1996) [submitted by Karl]

14. Autrest - "Ruins of the Lost" (from "Burning Embers, Forgotten Wolves", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]

15. Together to the Stars - "Gravity Eater" (from "The Fragile Silence", 2024) [submitted by Sonny]

16. Bethlehem - "Verheißung - Du Krone des Todeskultes" (from "Dictius te necare", 1996)

15. Spiter - "Transylvanian Night" (from "Bathe the Babe in Bats' Blood", 2022)

16. Swordmaster - "Wraths of Time" (from "Wraths of Time", 1995)

17. Helheim - "Dualitet og ulver" (from "Heiðindómr ok mótgang", 2011)

18. Panopticon - "The Echoes of a Disharmonic Evensong" (from "Roads to the North", 2014)

November 2025

1. Cosmic Reaper - "Parasite" (from "Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]

2. Void Moon - "The Mourning Son" (from "On the Blackest of Nights", 2012) [submitted by Sonny]

3. Bala – “Agitar” (from “Maleza”, 2021) [submitted by dk]

4. Paradise Lost - "Salvation" (from "Ascension", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]

5. Krux - "Prince Azaar and the Invisible Pagoda" (from "III - He Who Sleeps Amongst the Stars", 2011) [submitted by Sonny]

6. Dvvel – “Son” (from “Quiescent”, 2022) [submitted by dk]

7. Virgin Black - "And the Kiss of God's Mouth, Part 2" (from "Elegant... and Dying", 2003)

8. Faetooth - "Hole" (from "Labyrinthine", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]

9. Mortiferum - "Incubus of Bloodstained Visions" (from "Preserved in Torment", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]

10. Goya - "In the Dawn of November" (from "In the Dawn of November", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]

11. Conjurer “In Your Wake” (from “Pathos”, 2022) [submitted by dk]

12. Dawn of Winter - "Ritual Magic" (from "In the Valley of Tears", 1998) [submitted by Sonny]

13. Blood Vulture - "Entwined" (from "Die Close", 2025) [submitted by Vinny]

14. Amenra –“Ogentroost” (from “De doorn”, 2021) [submitted by dk]

15. Indian - "Ration" (from "The Unquiet Sky", 2005)

16. The Fall of Every Season - "From Below" (from "From Below", 2007)

i have been looking at the new cover at the top of the homepage for the last few days, thinking what a horrible cover it is and it only occured to me today that it is A BRAND NEW EVOKEN ALBUM!! 

...and it is pretty damn good too (unlike the cover that still sucks).

Yeah, it's not the best. I'm very much looking forward to checking out the album though!

The music is great though. Quite 'progressive' in that the tracks keep moving forward and rarely repeat riffs, phrases or motifs, whilst still sitting recognisably within the funeral/death doom sphere.

i have been looking at the new cover at the top of the homepage for the last few days, thinking what a horrible cover it is and it only occured to me today that it is A BRAND NEW EVOKEN ALBUM!! 

...and it is pretty damn good too (unlike the cover that still sucks).

Here is a transscript of an actual conversation I was a party to between two of my internal organs:

Brain: Wow, Heart, I bet you're loving this album aren't you?

Heart: I don't know. Not really. It hasn't made me skip a beat or anything.

Brain: Yeah, but these super-distorted, oozing sludgy riffs are just the sort of shit we adore though aren't they?

Heart: I know, I know, but, well, something really isn't connecting here and it just makes me feel kind of empty.

Brain: Oh, come on. You're just being difficult now.

Heart: I'm really not. It just sounds like someone took Dopethrone, ran it through a distortion pedal and added a load of Sonic Youth noise to it.

Brain: Exactly! Great innit?

Heart: No, its just making feel a bit worn out and tired.

Brain: Oh fuck off then!!

I am a bit conflicted by this to say the least. I know I should love it, but it isn't reaching me for some reason. I suspect that the fault is mine and not theirs. I think it best I return to this at a later date.

Hello, can anyone post in this thread?

Hey, Miles. Everyone can post in any thread on the site, even ones for clans of which they are not a member. Any posts you wish to make will be very welcome.

Just watched the three-part Netflix documentary "Katrina: Come Hell and High Water" about the 2005 hurricane that hit New Orleans and the systemic and continuing failures of organizations to respond to the crisis. Should be seen as a wake up call to anyone who still thinks that governments will come to save them when the shit hits the fan.

Spike Lee was involved in this one as well as his excellent 2006 series "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" which is also excellent. In this day and age of unashamed worldwide governmental corruption and self-serving negligence, I think we tend to forget just how fucking useless W was as president of the US.

Well, I always said that I would rather have root canal surgery than listen to St. Anger again, but I have changed my mind. I had just such a procedure this afternoon and it sucked every bit as bad as St. Anger, except that the Metallica dud didn't cost me 600 quid, which makes it the winner in the battle of "Shittest things I have ever endured that last an hour and fifteen minutes!"

Hi Ben, could you add french melodic black metallers Les Bâtards du Roi, please.

Hi Ben, could you add US deathcore / prog metallers Ænimus please. In truth I only ask because I want to rate the cover of their 2019 Dreamcatcher album!

Hi Sonny. The band and album are already on the site.

https://metal.academy/releases/42235

In fact, you already rated the album cover 4.5 stars.

Cheers,

Ben.

You know what Ben, I really made an effort to look for it on the site, but couldn't see it anywhere. Must be because of the way the name is written.

Hi Ben. Will you add L.A. Psych doom band Black Prism please.

Hi Ben, could you add US deathcore / prog metallers Ænimus please. In truth I only ask because I want to rate the cover of their 2019 Dreamcatcher album!

I should probably get more organised in this respect too. I keep making mental notes to check out bands or releases from the playlists and then I just forget who or what, so probably end up missing out on a ton of good stuff.

I watch very few TV series outside of scandi-noir crime shows like The Killing, The Bridge, Wallander and Beck, or "historical" stuff like Vikings and The Last Kingdom, but we recently started watching Stranger Things and really got into it. We are now waiting expectantly for the final series which I believe is due in November.

My wife watches many more series than I do (I tend to sit with my laptop and headphones on listening to music and typing the shit I subject you all to on here while she watches them) and she has been singing the praises of The Handmaids Tale after watching it recently. 

I just finished this Netflix sci-fi series & it was right up my alley. Cerebral space/aliens type stuff with plenty of twists & turns. I think you'll really dig this one Ben. I believe the second series is currently being filmed for a mid-2026 release too so I'm looking forward to that.

If you enjoyed the TV series I would heartily recommend the three books upon which it is based. The series was good, but the novels are better.

Arkhaaik - Uihtis (2025)

Arkhaaik are a Zurich-based three-piece who, as their name, a stylised version of "archaic" suggests, are interested in exploring pre-history, in particular the culture and practices of Bronze Age Europe. Their debut album, 2019's "*dʰg̑ʰm̥tós", was an exploration of the religion and deities of this culture, with the somewhat questionable claim to being sung in the long dead Indo-European language of the time. This 2025 follow-up takes as its theme The Hunt in both a literal and an analagous religious context.

Musically, this takes the form of blackened, old-school, cavernous death metal with death-doom tendencies, which often utilises pounding rhythms and horn-like effects to give the album a paganistic and sometimes ritualistic vibe. The tracks are fairly lengthy affairs, with the almost fifty minutes of "Uihtis" containg only four, varying from ten to fifteen minutes in duration. This affords the band plenty of leisure to build the atmospheres and vibe of arcane hunting ritual that they are striving for. Whilst metal is rightly most often judged on the quality of its riffs, and the album contains some very nice death metal riffs to be sure, I think the strength of "Uihtis" lies in its percussion and the tribalistic patterns and atmospherics that it conjures up. To this end I think drummer Vâlant deserves huge praise as his work is crucial to the album's success. The vocals also contribute massively with the bellowing roars and growls being supplemented by the whoops and howls of the (presumably successful) hunters alongside some nice native-like chants.

Despite all this aesthetical window-dressing and conceptual exposition, I guess what most metalheads want to know is, "Does it fucking slay"? I would reply with a resounding, "Oh yes, you fucking bet". I don't think it leans as heavily into the death doom side of the equation as the debut did, this being more in the vein of blackened Autopsy-style OSDM than true death doom, but with some pretty fucking brutal blasting sections and those hulking, tribalistic throbs this could indeed slay a woolly mammoth by sheer bludgeoning weight alone.

In conclusion I would say that if you are someone who loves old-school, cavernous death metal and would like to hear it used in a slightly different context then this is definitely a release you should wrap your ears around.

4/5

I recently got back in the BC thang after a hiatus.  Daniel has covered most of what I was going to say, however I like it stillas a platform for all music and have made some good idscoveries over the years by browsing other users collections.  My collection can be located below.

https://bandcamp.com/stiffncold

Quoted Vinny

Yeah, I have had a bit of a hiatus from BC for a while too and have only just got back into using it. It isn't just the "ethical" side of it, I do actually like it as a music platform. The only real bugbear is that browsing your collection if it is of any size, particularly on a tablet, can be awfully time consuming. Of course there is always the search function, but sometimes I like to just spool through and pick something out on a whim.

This weekend I have bought:

Raphael Weinroth-Browne - "Lifeblood" CD

Abduction - "Existentialismus" vinyl LP

Arkhaaik - "Uihtis" CD (postage from Germany made the vinyl LP £45, so I ended up going for the cheaper alternative because I ain't made of money).

Been listening to this again this morning whilst plodding through the soggy local woodlands with Koko and it still holds up pretty well, although I am going to trim back my original 4.5 star rating to a little less exhuberant 4.0. I don't think this is because of any real shift in my appreciation of the album, but more part of a recalibration of my perceptions over recent months.

Anyway, here is my original review written at the time of the album's release which I still generally agree with:

For anyone who is interested, Paysage d'Hiver's second official album continues the story of The Wanderer, who this time around meets beings from another dimension who he sees as ghosts. The kicker is that the extra-dimensional beings are us in our world and we are only able to contact The Wanderer through the Rites of Winter such as those practiced by a traditional mask cult from the Lötschental valley in Switzerland which, presumably, Wintherr is familiar with. One such mask is depicted on the album's cover and is indeed a fearsome-looking item. (I swear you learn all kinds of weird shit when you listen to black metal!)

This time around Wintherr has trimmed the length of the tracks, the longest, excepting the ambient closer, is under seven minutes, which is unheard of with this project. The style is much nearer to conventional black metal than the icily frigid soundscapes Wintherr usually conjures up. I would even go as far to suggest that at times it doesn't sound hugely dissimilar to early Darkthrone. I have a feeling this may upset some of the newly acquired fans that Im Wald garnered the project, but somehow I get the feeling that will bother Wintherr not one jot.

Despite the abbreviated track lengths this is still quite a formidable album, it's eleven tracks clock in at 70 minutes - a snip compared to Im Wald's two hours I'll grant but still a daunting duration for some not used to lengthy black metal excursions. Again, despite the shorter tracks, the album doesn't offer a massive amount of variety and heavily relies on repetition for it's effect so, once more, if you're not familiar with the style it may underwhelm and disappoint. For those of us more used to this style of black metal though, there is plenty to get your teeth into. The vocals are Wintherr's usual washed out shrieks that tear through the ether like a banshee wail and would freeze the blood were you to hear them during a nighttime forest hike! As mentioned previously the tracks really only serve as parts of a whole and it is the cumulative effect of the tracks' repetition and their more visceral savagery that is the album's real aim I would venture.

Overall, Geister is a brave move by Wintherr, released on the back of such a critically acclaimed album as Im Wald and yet deliberately moving away from what made that album so successful. While I must admit it doesn't scream "Masterpiece" in the same way as Im Wald, this is still a great black metal album and the day that a black metal artist like Wintherr starts doing what he feels is expected of hm then that is the day that black metal is truly lost. Luckily that day still seems a long way off.

4/5

Potentially but only if the release has paid for itself already. Most deals will require the labels costs to be paid for before the band starts earning any royalties at all & you'd be surprised by how few actual sales there are for lesser-known releases in the modern day.

That certainly helps to explain the high cost of vinyl nowadays. I was looking at the rate of inflation here in the UK since 1976 when I really started buying LPs and I was paying £1.25 to £1.99 for an album. This is the equivalent of £9.40 to £14.95, but most are now priced £25 - £35, although you can see some for less on Bandcamp. HMV record chain are a minimum £35 usually, or they may have a 2 for £50 offer on occasionally. That is more than twice as expensive, even allowing for inflation.

As far  as live shows go, in 1977 I paid £4.50 to see Pink Floyd on their Animals tour and in '79 it was £2.50 for Sabbath in our local venue in town. That would be £33 for a Floyd ticket today and the Sabbath tickets would be £16. It isn't like these were small bands at the time either - these guys were at the top. Zeppelin at the Knebworth festival, after four years since last playing in the UK, was £7.50 - the equivalent of 48 quid today for six bands with a three-hour Zeppelin set at the end of it!

Music fans are getting fucked nowadays and make no mistake.