Sonny's Forum Replies

High on Fire - Cometh the Storm (2024)

High on Fire are a band I have derived a deal of enjoyment from, yet I haven't given them nearly as much attention as my taste dictates they deserve, not really checking out much since 2007's Death Is This Communion. I don't really have an explanation for this, it's just the way it's been. Anyway, Cometh the Storm is another really solid offering from the Matt Pike-led threesome and is yet another that is right up my street.

The basic sound here is sludgy stoner metal and within that framework there is a fair bit of variety, but with the riffs constantly being king. The production is of very high quality, so those fuzzed-up riffs are given some extra clout with a beefy sound job that still allows plenty of clarity and depth. The variation within the songwriting is illustrated very early on where the relentless chugging of Burning Down with it's myriad stoned-out solos leads into the almost thrashy Trismegistus that, with Matt Pike's grizzled and throaty, but quite shrill, bellows, makes the track sound a bit like Motorhead (a comparison that is even more obvious on The Beating). This then gives way to the psychedelically-loaded stoned-out grooves of the brooding title track and the unexpected, yet perfectly suited, Turkish folk music of Karanlık yol. Each is handled impressively as High on Fire demonstrate exactly how accomplished a band they now are with none of the tracks sounding out of place or mishandled. A quick word for ex-Melvins drummer Coady Willis who has come in to replace founding member Des Kensel and has dropped straight into the HoF groove with the band not missing a step despite the change and with Willis' busy and precise performance being the foundation on which the album is built.

Ultimately, this is top drawer stoner metal, skillfully performed, with great production values and a tough sludgy edge that draws upon the stoned-out psychedelics of past times and drapes them over a solid and harder than you may expect metallic core that is able to appeal to both stoners and moshpit denizens alike. I can't really define why, but this is just one of those albums that feels so authentically and unapologetically metal that it is impossible to do it down in any way.

4/5

OK, so how does "Doom and Sludge Metal Darkness" sound? The other two don't seem quite right the other way round.

Alternatively: 

Doom Metal Domination

Doom Metal Dominion

Doomination: Doom & Sludge Metal

Doom Metal Apocalypse

Awesome! Have a think about how you might like to adjust the title of The Fallen then Sonny. I think we've been missing a trick here in a big way. Apparently including the more popular band names in the description helps too. Interestingly the list still comes up when I search on "Metal Academy" too, despite it no longer being listed in the playlist title.

I'm not really very good at this sort of thing, but how about "Metal Darkness: Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal"?

Or "Reflections from the Abyss: Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal"?

Or, maybe to attract a group with a specific interest: "Cthulhu Awakes: Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal".

I tried the same searches and pretty much got the same result, Daniel:

Death metal grindcore - 1

Death metal - 6

Grindcore - 3

Apocalypse - 1

I'm thinking that a good way to move forwards with the monthly playlist name change concept might be for me to develop a new tenth playlist that I can use as a test case in order to see if I can draw a wider audience to it. That way I can avoid fucking around with our established playlists. I've started to program one already but will take my time with it because it's important that it's of a very high quality & is programmed in a way that will attract an audience if it's going to make for a valid test case i.e. people need to be wowed by it if they're going to commit to subscribing to it & I'm not sure I've given that idea enough care in the past. I also need to do more research on how to name it well because most experts seem to say that changing the name of your playlist is a bad idea as it confuses your audience.

Some more tips from the web are that a) it's best practice to start your playlist with the five strongest tracks as a majority of people only give a playlist a maximum of five songs to win them over & b) you'll draw more hits if you include some classic songs in each playlist in order to draw in the less educated market segment. It's also worth including some of the more popular bands that reflect the overarching sound of your list in the playlist description in order to jag some additional search results.

OK, excuse me, Daniel, but I am getting a little bit confused now. Are we changing the focus away from programming the playlists to reflect the members' listening habits over the previous month to something that is more likely to attract new listeners? If the majority of any given playlist comes from other members' suggestions then the playlist compiler has to play the hand he is dealt, thus making the tips you suggest very difficult to follow. For The Fallen, for example, youself, Vinny and I tend very often towards the more extreme end of the Fallen scope, so producing a list to reflect these new guidelines would be quite challenging, given the tastes of the contributing members. I don't really know how to proceed now, I must be honest.

Once more I have to agree, Daniel. There are certainly death doom passages, but not really enough to justify a primary - a secondary tag absolutely, but not a primary. I must admit that when I first listened to it, I was surprised that Ben had nominated it for The Fallen as it didn't exactly scratch that Fallen itch for me, very good record that it is, though. I also recognise that my review focusses on the death doom aspect, but given my well-publicised preferences, I guess that isn't much of a surprise to long-time Academy members!

Absolutely, Daniel. I think Cathedral play very little doom metal outside the debut and Endtyme and are much more of a stoner metal band.

Morgul Blade - Heavy Metal Wraiths (2024)

I was quite interested by Morgul Blade's debut album, 2021's Fell Sorcery Abounds, with it's combination of traditional heavy metal with black metal vocals, but ultimately it sounded better in theory than in practice. It wasn't bad, but it didn't grab me as much as I had hoped it would. Anyway, here we are, two and a half years and a couple of personnel changes later with the Philadelphians' sophomore, Heavy Metal Wraiths. Guitarist Jason Hiller has been replaced by Heavy Temple's Elyse Mitchell (aka Elyse NightHawk) and bassist Dan JD has been superceded by Wild Beyond's Jim Viola. The personnel changes seem to have made a big difference, with the band sounding much tighter than on the debut which I felt got a little bit sloppy at times. The production is excellent with all the elements of the band being perfectly audible and the overall sound being thick and crunchy, from steel-coated riffs to crisp drum fills and thundering bass lines. I must make a particular mention of drummer Will Spectre at this point, who sounds amazing throughout with his energetic and entertaining fills supplementing his sterling work as timekeeper.

Musically they have their feet well and truly planted in the 80s with an arterial line of ascension leading straight back to the stalwarts of early USPM and european trad metal, deploying galloping riffs, melodious leadwork and a tireless rhythm section. Then, of course, there are Klauf's black metallized vocals that instill the tracks with a snarlingly vicious edge and which solves one of the major hurdles I have to overcome with any number of traditional and USPM-derived bands and that is the overt histrionics of some of the frontmen. Musically I like a lot of power metal, but I find the majority of the singers intolerable, so Morgul Blade are tailor-made for me. I guess there are those that will counter this by arguing that the vocals are restrictive compared to those employed by the more theatrical exponents of the art and I can understand that argument, but for me personally, lacking in range though they are, Klauf's blackened snarls just resonate with me so much more than some elaborate glorified air siren that dominates proceedings with attention-seeking wailings. Interestingly, they throw in a couple of curveballs with the short interludes "Widow's Lament" and "A Welcoming Hearth". The former is a clean-sung celtic folk song that I found worked really well in context here and it, along with the opening bars of "Spider God", very much reminded me of Solstice's New Dark Age album where "Blackthorne/The Keep" segues into "Cromlech", a transition I absolutely love. The other interlude, "A Welcoming Hearth", takes the form of a short electric piano and synth-driven electronic piece, which is less out of place than it sounds, following the synth-heavy ending of preceeding track "Razor Sharp".

Funnily enough I found the opening couple of tracks to be the least engaging and it wasn't until the title track, the album's third, that things really kicked into high gear. It, along with "Razor Sharp" and "Neither Cross Nor Crown" all really hit the spot with me and illustrated best how far the band had come since the debut. Ultimately, Heavy Metal Wraiths is an album of good, old-fashioned metal with hook-laden riffs that will be playing around in your head long after the album has ended and has a vitality that stems from songwriters that understand what makes heavy metal great for those who love it.

As an afterthought - and I don't know if it has any relevance - but the artwork shows four hooded, Nazgul-type beings whereas the debut only had a lone hooded figure and I wonder if this is a reflection of a new dynamic within the band, whereby Klauf viewed the earlier material as his own and sees this later release as more of a band effort. It certainly feels that way and is better for it.

4/5

Hi Ben, I have just been looking at the Emperor live releases and note that for 2009 you have the "Live at Wacken Open Air 2006 - a Night of Emperial Wrath" album and the "Thus Spake the Nightspirit - Live Inferno" EP. There was also an album called "Live Inferno" released which was on 2x CDs with a live set from the Inferno Festival on disc 1 and the Live at Wacken Open Air 2006 set on disc 2. I have a copy and can confirm it is a genuine and official release. Could it be added please?

For June Vinny:

Acid Reign - "Motherly Love" (from "Moshkinstein", 1988)
Demoniac - "The Trap" (from "So It Goes", 2020)
Pentagram (CHL) - "Devourer of Life" (from "Eternal Life of Madness", 2024)
Tankard - "Traitor" (from "Chemical Invasion", 1987)

For June Ben:

Above Aurora - "Inner Whispers" (from "Myriad Woes", 2024)
Antichrist Siege Machine - "Lysergic War Psychosis" (from "Vengeance of Eternal Fire", 2024)
Melechesh - "Incendium Between Mirage and Time" (from "Sphynx", 2003)

For June, Daniel:

Akercocke - "Shelter From the Sand" (from, "Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone", 2005)
Benighted - " Le vice des entrailles" (from "Ekbom", 2024)
Coffins - "Chain" (from "Sinister Oath", 2024)
Deicide - "Bury the Cross... With Your Christ" (from "Banished by Sin", 2024)
Discordance Axis - "Jigsaw" (from "The Inalienable Dreamless", 2000)
Devourment - "Shroud of Encryption" (from "1.3.8.",  2000)
Hour of Penance - "The Morality of Warfare" (from "Devotion", 2024)
Suffocation - "Catatonia" (from "Human Waste EP", 1991)
Venenum - "Merging Nebular Drapes" (from "Trance of Death", 2017)

I'm not sure if the Akercocke track is death metal enough, as it has black and progressive metal tendencies too. It is my favourite Akercocke track, but if you deem it to not be sufficiently death metal to make the playlist then that is fine.

I had actually forgotten that I had started this thread, so here we go again...

Pentagram (CHL) - Demo #2 (1987)

Pentagram Chile's second demo was recorded in September 1987, comprises three tracks, The Malefice, Profaner and Temple of Perdition for a total runtime of sixteen minutes. Like the first demo, the sound here is pretty good with the "cavernous" sound that would become so crucial to a certain style of death metal in the nineties being present by default and adding a grimy "evilness" to the Pentagram sound. It also possesses a weighty bottom end, the bass anchoring the tracks with a really meaty presence in a way that is still a feature of chilean thrash to this day.

This isn't massively different to Demo #1, but there has obviously been some technical improvements to the playing and a degree of progression in their songwriting. The aggression they brought to the first demo was still present with hats definitely still tipped towards Slayer and Possessed, but there is a bit of complexity creeping in, with Profaner in particular going through any number of tempo changes in order to mix things up a bit.

Unfortunately, despite releasing two absolute killer demos in '87, the band couldn't generate any interest from labels either inside or outside Chile and so, in 1988 they split-up with Anton Reisenegger going on to form power / thrash outfit Fallout.

Another high-octane playlist this month, Vinny that was a perfect accompaniment to a hot and sweaty morning of concrete and brick-laying. Particular standouts that I was previously unfamiliar with were Messerschmitt, Thanatos and Electrocutioner. But wait... is The Pit declaring war on The North with that Lich King track?!

As often is the case, some of the groove tracks left me somewhat indifferent, LoG and Gangrena Gasosa, for example. Overall, though, this was a damn great listen and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

I certainly wouldn't disagree with this. I think Iron Man encapsulates the kind of sound early Pentagram, Bedemon, Saint Vitus and The Obsessed were going for.

Is there a possibility that the title Metal Academy Radio is maybe no longer the best. Perhaps "radio" doesn't resonate with people, especially younger people, than it once did. How about Metal Academy Monthly? Also, do you want uniformity across the clans, title-wise, ot tailor the title to the clan. For example, The Horde, Pit and Revolution could reasonably be titled something along the lines of, Metal Academy Monthly: The Thrash and Groove Metal Workout, whereas the same wouldn't really work for The Fallen or The Infinite. Just throwing a couple more ideas out there.

I get what you are saying here Daniel and I would definitely agree that the main riff is a heavy metal riff, but the rest of the track contains an overwhelming amount of blues and rock to call it an actual heavy metal track. I wouldn't deny that it is a very early example of a heavy metal riff used in a song, but would be reluctant to make any bigger claim for it than that.

Hard rock with a side dish of heavy psych for me, Daniel.

I feel like you're on the right track there Sonny. I'll spend a bit more time thinking about this topic on the weekend but would appreciate it if everyone kept throwing out ideas. We obviously won't be able to list every major genre that's included in the playlist title for a clan like The Fallen but do you think it's too limiting to say Doom Metal for that one, Heavy Metal for The Guardians, Black Metal for The North or Thrash Metal for The Pit?

It is a bit limiting to be sure, but I can't see a way around it if you want a snappy title, plus the 100 character limit is a problem too. Once you have caught the searcher's attention, you can list the other genres for each clan in the description, so assuming the title is as I posted above, in the description we explain that The Fallen clan encompasses  Doom, Sludge, Stoner, Drone and Gothic Metal. Obviously if we thought doom wasn't the biggest draw, we could call it "Metal Academy Radio - Sludge Metal Study Hour" (or maybe "time" would be better than "hour"). If we then  decide which genre is most likely to be searched for each clan, we could name them accordingly. Personally, I think Black Metal for the North, Death Metal for the Horde, Thrash Metal for the Pit, Progressive Metal for the Infinite, Alternative Metal for the Gateway, Industrial Metal for the Sphere and Metalcore for the Revolution would work fine, or if you wanted to cover more bases an example would be "Metal Academy Radio - The Horde: Death Metal and Grindcore Study Session" (61 characters without spaces, I think). I think it would be a struggle to list more than a couple of main genres without making it too clunky.

I believe the tracks on this EP were recorded during the Necroticism sessions, that much seems quite apparent anyway. The opening title track is the only previously unreleased track and I must admit that I am quite taken with it, it still hangs on to some of the earlier grind influence and although it was clearly recorded later, it sounds similar to "Swarming Vulgar Mass of Infected Virulency" and easily could have been on Symphonies of Sickness, my personal favourite Carcass album. Second of the four tracks on offer here is Incarnated Solvent Abuse, lifted straight from Necroticism and is a worthy addition, it being one of the band's most recognisable and well-loved tracks, it's melodic chug always able to get the old head nodding.

The other two tracks are both re-recordings and are worthwhile additions here, if only as an illustration as to how good early Carcass' songs were when the production is polished up. First of the two is Pyosified (Still Rotten to the Gore), originally on Reek of Putrefaction which here is like a polished diamond compared to the original Reek version with it's demo-quality production values drowning most of the guitar work. Here the main riff is freed from the chains of poor production to reveal it's full galloping glory and allow a reappraisal of just how great a riff it is. The second re-recording is "Hepatic Tissue Fermentation II" the original of which I am unfamiliar with, it initially appearing on the 1989 Pathological Compilation, the first release from Pathological Records, alongside tracks from the likes of Napalm Death, Godflesh and Coil. At six-and-a-half minutes it's an epic early Carcass track and here it sounds very impressive, combining the later pure death metal sound with their earlier grind tendencies with significant pacing variation, to produce a track that would sound very much at home of Symphonies of Sickness.

These tracks are all now available on later-released comps, but at the time I am sure this would have been a very interesting insight into the Carcass story and would signal the end of one era of the band, prior to their embarkation upon the melodic death metal journey they undertook from the following year's Heartwork onwards.

4/5

This is an album I've always meant to get round to, but have never managed to.

Yeah, a typical example of early metal, still with plenty of rock influence. I get the stoner classification, but I must admit that I'm not completely convinced by it. That riff that they repeat at the end, most definitely stoner and if the whole track had sounded like that, then yes. I did enjoy it, though.

The second earliest genuine doom metal track I came across in my investigations is nowhere near as obvious & was actually recorded before the release (but after the recording) of "Black Sabbath" in early 1970. It comes from former Blue Cheer guitarist Randy Holden whose debut solo album "Population II" is a pretty decent heavy psych record to tell you the truth. The album includes this metal monster "Fruit & Icebergs" that I'd suggest showcases a clear infusion of his heavy psych sound into genuine doom metal, thus creating an excellent early example of the traditional doom metal subgenre.

What do you guys think of it? Doom metal enough for ya?

I've got to admit, Daniel, it does sound very much like the early Pentagram and Bedemon demos and I don't think it would raise too many eyebrows if it was on Child of Darkness or First Daze Here, so yes, I think there is some credence to the claim.

I hadn't heard of Civerous before Ben suggested their latest album, Maze Envy, for the Fallen feature, but a brief overview had me suitably intrigued. Chiefly, the Los Angelinos play an old-school death metal and death doom hybrid which can trace it's lineage back to the likes of Autopsy, but they also like to throw in some progressive tendencies that updates their sound into a more modern beast. And beast it is, the death and death doom components being pretty brutal-sounding with thick, towering riffing sounding at turns both threateningly ominous and bestially viscious. Yet this maelstrom of menacing violence isn't all there is to Maze Envy, there are also moments of beauty and calm reflection, such as that provided by the post-rock guitar work of interlude track, Endless Symmetry, the intro to Levitation Tomb and the sombre middle section of the progressive title track. Elsewhere the closer, Geryon (The Plummet), has a rich gothic atmosphere, reminiscent of My Dying Bride, complete with violin and keyboards, whilst the opening intro track is all dissonant violin work that feels like part of an avant-garde modern classical piece.

But, all that aside, Maze Envy ultimately lives and dies on it's deathly doom metal credentials. Luckily for all of us, these credentials are impeccable and Civerous know what they are about when it comes to old-school death and death doom metal. Think Coffins, but with more outside influences and atmosphere construction, their layering of fairly thin-sounding keyboards over the doomier passages being a big part of the latter. When they let loose, however, their delivery is devastating. Labyrinth Charm for example, is a brutal, ballistic, full-on charge that features a couple of killer guitar solos and Levitation Tomb is a throbbing chug that sounds like a battalion of battle trolls drumming fear into the hearts of their  enemies.

On the downside, one slight criticism I have is that the whole album seems to be a victim of the loudness wars, making it sound like it has been fed steroids to pump it up to unnecessary sound levels, a move that the band hardly need as the music itself is sufficiently aurally arresting without resorting to additional production techniques. On the whole, though, this is a great example of the evolution of the old Autopsy sound into a very modern version of progressive death doom metal, featuring technical skill and imperious songwriting technique, resulting in an album worthy of the attention of any death doom fanatic looking for something that stands out from the crowd.

4/5

Or... "Metal Academy Radio - Doom Metal Study Hour" (I know it's two hours, but that doesn't have the same ring to it).

So, the first question must be, what is our playlists well-defined niche if the clans aren't likely to be a recognisable draw?

I've never been into marketing and I don't really have the kind of mindset that is good with slogans or buzzwords, I'm much too literal for that, so I'm not really sure how much help I'm going to be, but I'll do what I can.

How about "Metal Academy Radio - Doom and Stoner Metal to Get Wrecked To"

Or "Metal Academy Radio - For Hard Drinking Doom Metal Connoisseurs"

Yeah, I'm kinda with you on this Vinny. The clan aspect should definitely remain a focus in the title. 

"Metal Academy Radio - A Doom Metal Curriculum"??

How about titling them something like:

Metal Academy Radio's The Fallen Playlist: The Month in Doom, Sludge, Drone and Gothic Metal.

To my dismay, a quick google search has already thrown up a ton of AI metal generators and plenty of people willing to embrace it. I can't even begin to express how depressed that makes me. 

In my opinion, if you are actively listening to metal music (artwork I get is different) generated by AI then you are killing metal.  It's smash and grab, attention seeking, cop out media in its worst form and embodies everything I hate about how "anyone" can produce "art" nowadays by doing next to nothing.  Everyone can have a platform to voice their opinion like it means anything by sharing words they read somewhere else in a different order etc......stops old man rant in due course.

AI has its place, I do not dispute that.  In terms of its positive contributions to the world of medicine etc, it is a much welcomed thing.  I feel that without proper regulation it risks abuse and I am not convinced that anyone has any real grip and control of it in that regard.  I see from their home page that Metal Archives will no longer accept submissions that prove to be AI generated which I fully support.

I am completely with you there, Vinny. In scientific endeavours I am sure AI has a role to play, but I don't think AI has any place at all in art, which, at it's best, is essentially an expression of the artist's humanity.

Could we get to a point with AI generated art though, where it could fake it sufficiently well to fool most people. I'm sure we all like to think we could see through it, but will that always be the case?

I haven't seen the Metal Archives homepage yet, but this suggests that there are already AI-generated metal releases. Is that so, and if it is, do we know what any of them are? I originally posited this as a hypothetical question, I didn't think it was already happening.

Do you really think the big corporations will use AI for the reproduction of art in a "respectable and respectful manner" or will they try to exploit it for corporate gain, Andi? I suggest their track record indicates the latter. Surely art, in whatever form it takes, is an expression of the human condition and is completely dependent on the lived experience of the person behind it. If a machine can replicate that at the press if a button, does it not devalue that piece of art? Or are we quite happy to be mere consumers, in the vein of The Matrrix and art have no deeper meaning than a transitory sensitory experience with no emotional currency? 

Hour of Penance - Devotion (2024)

My only previous dalliance with Italy's Hour of Penance was their previous album, 2019's Misotheism, an album about which I can remember very little, but which I see I scored as a 3/5, so evidently I wasn't greatly impressed at the time. However I have come a long way in my appreciation of death metal in the intervening five years and I went into Devotion with a clean slate. My initial impression is that the technical death metal tag is a little bit misleading as it doesn't exhibit too much of the chop-and-change, staccato style I assosciate with a lot of tech-death. Although I understand that style is incredibly well thought-of, it actually does very little for me (except in rare cases) so Devotion's technically very sound, but fairly conventionally-structured style of death metal is much more palatable to me.

The production is excellent and the sound is crunchy and thick, investing the riffs with a huge amount of heft that is perfectly suited to their brutality. Giacomo Torti's skinswork deserves praise, being precise, powerful and tireless in it's thunderous supporting role, driving the riffs along at pace and displaying mastery of the kit without resorting to excessive showiness. This lack of showiness seems to be the band's whole ethos, illustrated admirably by the tightly-played and effective guitar solos which display impressive technical skill without resorting to any kind of showboating and imbue the tracks with a keen cutting edge. There is very little let-up in the album's pacing, with most of the ten tracks fair hurtling along, yet always in a controlled manner with the band never letting their need for speed get the better of them. Paolo Pieri's bellowing roars are the focal point for the band's rage, sounding supremely aggressive and imtimidating for the entire runtime, he sounds like a man barely able to contain his fury at the world.

The thing is, though, impressive though the individual tracks and the musicianship is, they do tend to blur into one a little bit, with only the occasional hymnal motif providing anything like a variation to the blistering brutality. I found plenty to enjoy here, but if I were being hyper-critical, I would say that, as a whole and under repeated listens, the album starts to sound a bit sterile and doesn't really impart too much atmosphere or emotion other than an unchanging inherent violence. I know, it's f---ing death metal, what do you want, right? Well I think I prefer it a bit sloppier but more engaging to be honest.

3.5/5

I loved the Antichrist Siege Machine track, which is unsurprising as the album it is from is currently my #2 album of 2024. Other notables were Darkestrah with the grandiose pomp and circumstance of "Destroyer of Obstacles" really tickling my fancy this morning, Sacrificial Vein's blatant DsO-worship and Tsjuder's uncompromising old-school onslaught also standing out. To be honest, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole playlist, except for the Labyrinthus Stellarum track, which is in large part due to a deep-seated loathing of synthesised vocals of the type used here, but even without that it was largely unremarkable to my ears. The closing Trhä track I also found to be quite emotional for some reason, it's wistful and reflective atmosphere chiming with my own emotional state today.
Once more a stellar effort Ben, thanks a lot.

Darkthrone - It Beckons Us All.... (2024)

I can't believe that eighteen months have already passed since an ice skating Fenriz heralded the arrival of "Astral Fortress", but here we are and, in what is becoming quite the regular occurance, Darkthrone are back again with a new album, entitled "It Beckons Us All". It very much continues the direction of travel of their last few albums, even going back to 2016's "Arctic Thunder", when they started introducing a doominess into their crusty heavy metal sound. Along with Eternal Hails and Astral Fortress this now forms another unholy trilogy for the duo where this crusty trad doom sound has been fully realised into, what I like to call, necro-doom. Obviously nowhere near as influential or seminal as the original unholy trilogy, I think that it is significant that Darkthrone can still deliver the goods more than three decades on, having carved out a niche for themselves in the metal world, where they are pretty much unrivalled at what they do, never becoming dragged in by whatever is trending in the wider world of metal, consistently delivering quality material and with a knack for writing killer riffs which very few can aspire to.

After a few brief seconds of a 1950's sci-fi movie-style synth intro, opening track, Howling Primitive Colonies, kicks off with a marvellously infectious and memorable riff and sets the tone for the album as a whole, taking the early Nineties' trad doom sound of lesser known lights like Penance or Revelation and performing the equivalent of burying it for thirty years so it acquires a rotted, musty odour, by using black metal production techniques and Nocturno Culto's croaky, blackened vocal style that gives it all a real necro sheen. If you have heard any of their new albums since 2016, then you will have an idea what "It Beckons Us All" sounds like, but it is here where that crusty trad doom sound reaches it's peak with some of their most memorable riffs in years. That opener has three killer riffs as it switches from the brilliant introductory riff into a more sustainable and doomier, verse-carrying one which ultimately drops into an uptempo, gallop designed for maximum neck-wrenching action. Howling Primitive Colonies is a really strong opener and is one of the best tracks Darkthrone have written in this latest cycle of their existence, setting the album up in glorious style. Second track Eon 3 is obviously an extension of Astral Fortress' closer Eon 2, sharing themes with the earlier track and serving to tie the two albums even closer together.

The quality never dips either and, as much as I enjoyed Astral Fortress, I think It Beckons Us All... has seen this era of the band hit it's peak and may well be my favourite Darkthrone album since 1995's Panzerfaust. The riffs really are some of the best since the band's heyday of the early nineties and the production has cranked up that crunchy doom sound to a perfect pitch, sounding loads better than AF did. Black Dawn Affiliation, for example, sounds amazing, the crusty crunch of it's main riff providing a driving wall of sound upon which Nocturno Culto's vocals necrotic vocals inscribe the lyrics with Fenriz' drumwork perfectly placed within the mix to reinforce the track's momentum without stealing the thunder from the riffing. And those riffs just keep coming - "The Bird People of Nordland", the doomy "The Heavy Hand" and the longest track and closer, "The Lone Pines of the Lost Planet", all contain memorable and iconic riffs. Songwriting-wise, I think this is some of the tightest the duo have produced in some time, their occasional tendency to let things run away with them being kept under control in the main, allowing the tracks to flow really well and resolve themselves satisfactorily. Even the proggy twists and turns of "The Lone Pines of the Lost Planet" seem vital to the overall narrative and never come across as self-indulgent or padded.

For someone like myself who is already a massive Darkthrone fan, it's always an event and a joy when Fenriz and Nocturno have new material out, but this time around the duo have outdone themselves and totally exceeded my expectations. Two of my greatest musical loves are Darkthrone and doom metal, making It Beckons Us All... sheer nirvana and it will undoubtedly be sat very near the top of the tree when I start making my 2024 best albums list.

4.5/5

Could you add Above Aurora's new album, "Myriad Woes" please, Ben?

Truth be told, I was aware of Aura Noir for quite some time, I bought their Deep Dreams of Hell comp not long after it's release in 2005, but they never really grabbed my attention that much. Then sometime during the last year, on a whim, I went back and checked out their debut album, Black Thrash Attack and my opinion was completely turned on it's head as it blew me away with it's viscerally aggressive delivery.

Released when thrash metal had seen better days, Black Thrash Attack deserves praise for rediscovering the aggression of top-drawer thrash at a time when tech-thrash was the only real game in town.

Anyway, here's my review:

Aura Noir are one of those bands that everyone knows, but very few talk about. Formed by Aggressor and Apollyon, who were both active in the Norwegian black metal underground, they were later joined by Mayhem guitarist Rune Eriksen (aka Blasphemer), prior to the recording of this debut full-length, Black Thrash Attack. By 1996 thrash metal was a shambling corpse that hadn't even recognised it's own demise. It's champions were fallen - Metallica had decided the way forward was trying to add an increasingly lengthening string of zeroes to their bank accounts, Kreator were embracing mediocrity and even Slayer were flailing around to such an extent that recording an album of hardcore punk covers seemed like a good move to them. Into this turgid scene, Black Thrash Attack was thrust like an adrenaline shot to the heart of thrash metal's inert body, causing it to rear upwards with an almighty gasp as life entered it once more. Taking the sound of the burgeoning black metal scene and regressing it to it's earliest days as an offshoot of thrash, Aura Noir injected vitality and good old-fashioned excitement into the once proud beast, producing possibly the best thrash album, at that point in time, since Rust In Peace.

Black Thrash Attack takes the riffs of European legends like Kreator, Bathory and Celtic Frost and marries them to raw and rabid blasphemous black metal to produce a vicious and visceral version of blackened thrash that sounds like the missing link between first- and second-wave black metal, with Darkthrone's early rawness being a particular touchstone. The riffs are all thrash, but the vocals, aesthetic and production values are raw and savage black metal through and through.

Aggressor and Apollyon alternate songwriting duties, with Aggressor being responsible for writing the odd-numbered tracks and Apollyon the even. Somewhat symetrically, they each perform vocals, bass and drums to the other's tracks. This approach offers up the risk of an uneven sound to the album, but I think that if you didn't know about it, it wouldn't be that obvious. Between this and it's predecessor the duo had added future Mayhem guitarist Blasphemer to expand the lineup to a trio, which was an inspired move and certainly adds meat to the bones of the band's sound, his impressive riffing being one of the albums real strengths. Despite the crusty rawness of the production, the playing is terrific and is inordinately precise with the drumming in particular surprising me at how accomplished it sounds for multi-instrumentalists, with Aggressor especially impressing in that regard. Sure it's not Dave Lombardo or even Fenriz, but it is still energetic and exact, with some sublime blasting from time to time.

Let's face it, this isn't sophisticated music and probably won't impress the more cerebrally demanding metalhead, but for those of us who thrive on guts and aggression and who value adrenaline-fuelled headbanging over chin-stroking reflection then Aura Noir turned in a classic with their debut full-length. This is dirty, nasty and aggressive and pushes all the right buttons, breathing new life into the rotting corpse of late nineties' thrash metal.

4.5/5

This one has completely passed me by somehow, but a quick glance at it's RYM page has caught my interest and I will be interested to hear how it pans out.

I've just pinned the Past Playlist Tracklistings threads for each clan forum. Don't know why I didn't do that earlier. Thanks for the suggestion Sonny.

Cheers, Ben.

Hey Daniel, we have had the Melvins track before (last year), so do you want to stick with it or change it?

Did you see my request asking if it is possible to pin the "previous playlist threads" to the top of the clan threads lists next to the "addition request threads", as I didn't get a reply?

May 2024

1. Buzzov•en - "Crawl Away" (from "…At A Loss", 1998) [submitted by Vinny]
2. Solstice - "Only the Strong" (from "Lamentations", 1994)
3. Hamferð - "Hvølja" (from "Men guðs hond er sterk", 2024) [submitted by Sonny]
4. Oromet – “Diluvium” (from “Oromet”, 2023) [submitted by Daniel]
5. Om - "Unitive Knowledge of the Godhead" (from "Pilgrimage", 2007) [submitted by Vinny]
6. Church of Misery - "I, Motherfucker (Ted Bundy) " (from "The Second Coming, 2004) [submitted by Sonny]
7. The Vision Bleak - "Chapter VIII: The Undying One" (from "Weird Tales", 2024)
8. Plaguewielder - "At Night They Roam" (from "Covenant Death", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
9. Acid Mammoth - "Atomic Shaman" (from "Supersonic Megafauna Collision", 2024)
10. Grey Skies Fallen - "No Place for Sorrow" (from "Molded by Broken Hands", 2024)
11. My Dying Bride - "A Starving Heart" (from "A Mortal Binding", 2024)
12. Altar of Betelgeuze - "Echoes" (from "Echoes", 2024) [submitted by Sonny]
13. Nightfell - "The Swallowing of Flies" (from "A Sanity Deranged", 2019) [submitted by Vinny]
14. Solitude Aeturnus – “Mirror of Sorrow” (from “Into The Depths Of Sorrow”, 1991) [submitted by Daniel]
15. Hell - "Gog" (from "Hell II", 2010)

Above Aurora - Myriad Woes (2024)

Above Aurora are a duo hailing from Poznan in Poland, comprising drummer "O" (Oktawiusz Marusiak) and vocalist, guitarist and bassist, "V" whose only other known alias is "KW". Forming in 2015, "Myriad Woes" is the duo's third full-length, although my own experience with the pair only encompasses their 2016 debut, Onwards Desolation, with it's blend of black and doom metal very much appealing to me.

Myriad Woes kicks off with it's longest track, the haunting "Inner Whispers" which is, essentially, an instrumental, although it utilises several voice samples of people discussing serious mental health-related issues. It takes a number of twists and turns throughout it's eleven minutes from an introspectively ominous opening post-rock build-up, laced through with mounting doom-laden tension which ultimately resolves into a blasting black metal explosion of violence. It is an incredibly thoughtfully constructed track which makes for one hell of an impactful opener and leaves the listener with decidedly disturbed emotions (well it did for me anyway). Second track, Spark, is a much shorter, more straightforward affair, with a mid-tempo doomy riff dominating and V's hoarse bark providing vocal accompaniment, before kicking into high gear for the run in. It's a decent track, and after the emotional wringer of Inner Whispers it allows the listener to get back on an even keel emotionally, although following such a titanic track it feels a little slight and almost a bit disappointing, to my ears.

Elsewhere, Above Aurora like to draw on a couple of different influences with the "bounce" of sections of "Horns of Dread" giving it a vaguely post-punk feel at times and the occasionally jangling guitar work sounding somewhat goth-influenced. I think it is also fair to point out that the doom metal component is not as overt as previously, meaning Myriad Woes isn't a genuine black doom hybrid, but rather the doominess manifests as an ominousness of atmosphere and adds heft to the black metal riffs which beefs up the overall sound. So, if pushed, I would summarise it as a mid-tempo black metal album with a particularly dark and oppressive atmosphere, laced with the occasional haunting melody that also gives vent to aggressive outbursts of blastbeat-driven violence. It is actually quite a brief album, it's five tracks amass a mere thirty-three minutes runtime, but it is so proficiently put together that no moments are wasted or superfluous and come album's end the sensation, certainly that I experienced, is one of having listened to a very substantial release that has delved into the darker recesses of the human psyche and laid them bare. Above Aurora have illustrated here that it is possible to put together a thoughtful and affecting black metal album that can still utilise melodic passages and doesn't have to rely on dissonance and avant-garde stylings to create unease in the listener, but rather achieve it through skillful songwriting and atmosphere creation. I am very much impressed at Above Aurora's development since the 2016 debut and will endeavour to keep an eye on them going forward.

4.5/5

Ben / Daniel, do you think it would be possible to pin the "past playlists" threads to the top of each clan's forum thread lists along with the band addition request threads, in order to make it a bit easier to check if playlist suggestions have been used previously. I know it's not a massive issue, but it would streamline the process a little and I am particularly bad at picking out the past playlists threads in the lists.

US doom metallers Pallbearer have their brand new fifth album "Mind Burns Alive" hitting the shelves on 17th May & I know Sonny will be all over this one. I quite liked their 2012 debut album "Sorrow & Extinction" but can't say that I've investigated anything they've done since. Perhaps now is the time.

I was a huge fan of their debut too, but they have been progressively watering their sound down with more shoegazey elements, to the point where I kind of lost patience with them. The preview of this latest album represented the nadir for me and left me questioning whether I will even be listening to it at all. I suppose I will at some point, but it will be well down my list of priorities.

What is the policy currently on submitting tracks that have been submitted previously, Daniel? With me only relatively recently getting fully into death metal I keep coming across tracks I would like to submit only to find they were done previously, albeit a fair while ago.

Ah OK, I get you, Daniel. I must admit my focus has been elsewhere this month, but I will do my best. I will probably wait until quite late on to submit my suggestions if that's OK with you.

OK Daniel. Is there any particular reason why?

Antichrist Siege Machine - Vengeance of Eternal Fire (2024)

Antichrist Siege Machine are relative newcomers to the war metal scene, their debut EP hitting the stands in 2017, but they have taken the genre by the scruff of the neck and laid down some pretty brutal stuff in the seven years since. With latest album, Vengeance of Eternal Fire, ASM have really hit their groove with a release that delivers an all-out aural battery without the muddy production values that robbed so many of their predecessor's releases of any clarity. Yes, I know that muddy, chaotic sound was part of the appeal of early war metal releases from the Blasphemies of this world and I love that archetypal sound too, but here, thirty-five years on from those earliest canoniacal war metal classics, the genre has moved on from that and the best modern war metal acts don't need to hide behind poor production because they have the chops to produce brutal and blasphemous sounds whilst allowing the listener to actually hear everything they are doing.

Of course the basis of war metal is an unholy alliance of death and black metal, with varying proportions of each within the mix. ASM tend towards the more death metal end of the war metal spectrum, dropping occasionally into quite "groovy" slower death metal riffing, just enough to break things up and provide a little variety, but not so much that it distracts from the overarching blitzkrieg that comprises the vast majority of Vengeance of Eternal Fire and shouldn't be seen as any kind of treasonous act against war metal orthodoxy. The drums sit fairly prominently in the mix, so the blastbeats are given plenty of focus, almost as much as the blistering riffs. Interestingly drummer Scott "S.B." Bartley is also the vocalist, so it must be quite a feat when playing live for him to sing whilst launching salvo after salvo of blastbeats. His vocals actually seem to sit lower in the mix than his drumming, thus giving them a distant, buried feel, despite their bellicose viciousness. The high production values allow the listener to distinguish the riffs far easier than on old-school war metal releases and to appreciate the finer details which may have been lost in the past.

I must say, as much as I love OSWM, I do like the fact that a band like ASM employ a cleaner production style, which does make appreciation of the nuances of war metal much easier - and I say this with no ironic intent because it is obvious that, despite the inherent (almost) continuous blasting and breakneck riffing, that these guys really have great command of their instruments and their overall sound is tight, aggressive and technically solid. At the end of the day, they write killer riffs, have a powerful delivery and are extremely capable of capturing the witheringly blasphemous intent of true war metal. For me this is the band's best release to date and call me heretic if you must, but I think this is capable of standing against the very best that war metal has to offer. To (mis)quote the intro to the Fallout 4 video game "war metal... war metal never changes". Except when it does!

4.5/5

There is a packed slate of releases for the coming Friday with albums from Darkthrone, Deicide and Pestilence being joined by releases from lesser known, but still great, acts like Inter Arma, Pentagram Chile, Ard, Morgul Blade and Fluisteraars.

I am falling behind a bit on my new music listening, so I've only just got to ten releases for last month.

Anyway, here's my top 10 for March (so far):

1. Critical Defiance - The Search Won't Fall [Thrash Metal]
2. Altar of Betelgeuze - Echoes [Doom Metal]
3. Coffins - Sinister Oath [Death Metal]
4. Saturnalia Temple - Paradigm Call [Traditional Doom Metal]
5. Hamferð - Men guðs hond er sterk [Doom Metal]
6. Above Aurora - Myriad Woes (Black / Doom Metal)
7. Grey Skies Fallen - Molded by Broken Hands [Epic Doom]
8. Skeletal Remains - Fragments of the Ageless [Death Metal]
9. Exhorder - Defectum Omnium [Groove Metal]
10. Etoile Filante - Mare tranquillitatis [Atmospheric Black Metal]

I also investigated NWOBHM legends Angel Witch's 1978 demo tape & found it to be a total metalfest, perhaps the most extreme release I've found in this exercise to date actually with all seven songs qualifying as genuine metal. It was also pushing the whole Satanic imagery thing earlier than anything else I've encountered to date. It includes early versions of "Sorceress" & "Devil's Tower" which both appeared on their seminal debut album two years later.

Is that the one that kicks off with Baphomet, Daniel? If so, then yes, that is an absolute classic metal demo in my opinion. They officially released that demo in 2017 to help raise funds for the victims of the Grenfell tower block fire disaster - AW always were a class act.