Sonny's Forum Replies
Edge of Sanity - Crimson (1996)
Edge of Sanity are completely new to me and I have only come to Crimson via a project I am running on RYM. My time is a bit limited at the minute, so I have only given it a solitary listen yet, but this has very definitely grabbed my attention. Although I am a massive fan of progressive rock, there are only a few prog metal albums I rate very highly. Often the metallic version of prog leaves me cold, but this was great. At times it's death metal chugging has me desperately yearning for a good headbanging session (neck injuries notwithstanding), whilst at others it's touch is far more subtle and emotionally engaging. There are even sections of the sole forty minute track that take me back to my old gothic rock worshipping times, with the vocalist doing a more than credible Andrew Eldritch impression. Musically interesting, without resorting to excessive technicality or avant-garde pretensions and whilst still engaging the primal headbanger in me, this is scintillating stuff and although I don't have time for replays just yet, this is absolutely a release I will be returning to and hopefully will be able to deliver a full review for.
I'm going to assign a provisional 4/5, but suspect this may increase when I give it the time it so obviously deserves.
Converge - When Forever Comes Crashing (1998)
My only previous experience of Converge is their 2021 collaboration with Chelsea Wolfe, Bloodmoon: I, an album I enjoyed very much. As you all know by now, I am not much of a fan of metalcore and, in all honesty, When Forever Comes Crashing has done very little to change that. There were times, especially when the band would drop into a groovy, chugging riff, that I was thinking "OK, now here we go", but soon the ascerbic dissonance reasserts itself and the album loses me again. I understand that Converge are a big deal in the metalcore scene and especially, considering the early release date, that they were a seminal band in the development of that genre, but they also manifest those aspects of the genre that are the basis for my reticence towards it, which is the seemingly spasmodic guitar work, screamy vocals and general aura of chaotic dissonance. Ultimately I respect what the band were doing and they do sound proficient but, unfortunately, the genre they were pioneering does very little for me and when they do appeal, it is when they drop into those chugging riffs they occasionally unleash. This is a release that ultimately I can respect, but not enjoy that much.
3/5
I think that very occasionally it's a case of right time, right place. I've had a bit of a bummer of a week this week so, for some reason, Blazon Stone was exactly what I wanted (or needed) to hear today - without even knowing it!!
I love it when I'm checking out an album I am expecting to dislike and I find myself really enjoying it - it's almost as satisfying as finding a stone cold classic.
Running Wild - Blazon Stone (1991)
My only previous experience of Running Wild was their 1987 album "Under Jolly Roger" which I didn't care for much at all. I am pleasantly surprised, however, at just how much I am enjoying Blazon Stone. It doesn't at all pander to the worst excesses of power metal and contains some terrific riffs without too much by way of vocal overkill or suffocating layers of keyboards and ends up being a very enjoyable, high octane heavy metal album. Ahoy there my hearties, permission to come aboard!!
4/5
Hi Ben, could you please add russian atmo-black duo Frozenwoods.
Ocean of Grief - Pale Existence (2023)
Ocean of Grief are a Greek six-piece who play a melodic style of death doom that aims for a sombre, melancholy mood rather than attempting to crush the air from the listener's lungs or infecting them with the charnel odours of some deep, dark abyss. Pale Existence is the band's second full-length following 2018's debut, Nightfall's Lament, of which I was quite a fan. Pale Existence also marks the swansong of vocalist Charalabos Oikonomopoulos who has since been replaced by Shattered Hope's Nick Vlachakis.
What leaps out at you the most about Ocean of Grief is their melodic and soaring, yet mournful-sounding guitar lines that have a clear and clean air about them which contrast exceedingly well with the gruff growling vocals and the heavier riffs. The band concentrate on generating atmosphere and strive for a more nuanced approach than sheer weight to achieve their aims, which to a certain extent they achieve quite admirably. I won't pretend that this is my preferred style of death doom because I love that crushing, sulphurous style perpetuated by the likes of early Autopsy or Coffins, but Ocean of Grief's version of a lighter, more melancholy style holds an appeal for me over some of the more theatrical-leaning death doom practitioners who smother thair attempts at projecting mourning and melancholy in keyboards and overwrought vocal shenanigans. Less seems to be more where these Greeks are concerned.
Of course, the issue with a lot of metal that concentrates on atmosphere and of which Oceans of Grief are also guilty is that the riffs aren't especially memorable, although some are very good indeed, but I didn't really find any of them worming their way into my hindbrain and sticking with me long after the album has ceased playing. Imprisoned Between Worlds is my favourite here and is probably the track that comes closest to staying with me, helped of course by the fact that it is the heaviest of the album's seven tracks. For me this is an album that is a very strong example of a style that I quite enjoy, but don't really love, so it scores well, even though it doesn't especially set my world afire. I know that sounds like damning with faint praise a little, but it is definitely worth your time and someone more inclined to it's melodic nature may rate it very highly indeed.
4/5
Be aware Andi that Dissection main man Jon Nödtveidt was a self-proclaimed and active satanist who was convicted of accessory to murder. He commited suicide by gunshot wound and his body was found with an open satanic grimoire next to it.
Also, whilst he denounces acts of violence and was never involved in murder or church burning, Ihsahn is also a self-proclaimed satanist.
Hi Ben, could you add this year's Leechfeast / Nightfucker split release please.
Let's stick with what unites us and not what divides us, so saying I agree Vinny, the Mānbryne track was a standout and their album is near the top of my list of things to check out soon. As you've already listened to it, is it any good?
I've always wondered how people can cite Filosofem as one of the best black metal albums ever when twenty five minutes of it is boring as fuck.
I'm almost as big a fan of ambient & electronic music as I am of black metal so I really connected with "Rundgang um die transzendentale Säule der Singularität". In fact, it played as a strong role in me awarding "Filosofem" a perfect score as any of the other material.
Why is it do you think that ambient and electronic music has become so intrinsically linked to black metal? I just can't see the connection myself as the two are often diametrically opposed. I don't dislike ambient music, but it does little for me outside of when I want to listen to some soothing sounds to unwind, but that is definitely not why I listen to black metal! Even the biggest fan of Filosofem must admit that the ambient track is at odds with the rest of the album. That said, a lot of the ambient stuff seems to come from one-man outfits rather than full BM bands, so maybe it's an easy way to pad out an album's worth of material when using a home studio.
Sure, sometimes a brief ambient break can be quite effective for a bit of textural variation, but this has become such an overused trope within BM that it's effectiveness has been diluted immensely. Is the use of ambient tracks as a vehicle of variation really any different to those bands that use folk or indiginous music in a similar way?
I get it that I am perhaps in a minority of one in this, but when I listen to a black metal album I want to hear black metal, not electronic music.
I like the new WitTR track, in fact I was going to suggest it for next month's playlist. Wayfarer are a new one on me and were great. Checked out the album and enjoyed it a lot - I like a bit of gothic country, so their splicing of it with atmospheric black metal appealed to me immensely. Trna's style of atmo-black is right up my street, if their track here is anything to go by, and was one of my favourites on the list. Archgoat were great as always and the Darkwoods My Betrothed also got my blood pumping. Other big winners for me were Draugur and Mānbryne and a bit of Bathory never goes astray does it?
Jute Gyte just wasn't for me and feels more like a musical theory lesson than a piece of entertainment with the listeners stroking their chins and nodding seriously as they listen along. The Branikald ambient piece didn't do anything for me either, me being one of those who fails to see the link between ambient electronica and black metal, other than the odd short track acting as a breather between intense black metal blasting. In fact, I've always wondered how people can cite Filosofem as one of the best black metal albums ever when twenty five minutes of it is boring as fuck.
Anyway, another sterling list Ben, well done and thanks.
Hey Ben, have you any suggestions for next month's playlist?
Warning (GBR) - The Strength to Dream (1999)
With my perpetual touting of "Watching From A Distance" as the greatest album of all-time (and don't bother debating me on this, your piteous cries of protest will fall on deaf ears), I suppose it's time to write a few lines about Warning's "other" album, their debut from 1999, The Strength to Dream. It is obvious that this is nowhere near as well-regarded as their classic and chances are that the majority of doomsters haven't even listened to it. This is not exactly without reason, as it is nowhere near as accomplished as the sophomore and is more of an example of a band learning their trade and honing both their technical and songwriting skills than it is a band emerging fully-formed and proficient.
One of the distinctive features of Watching From A Distance is the emotional and heartfelt vocal performance of Patrick Walker and that is a major factor in it being considered (certainly by me anyway) to be one of the most affecting metal albums ever committed to record. Yet here, a mere seven years earlier, Patrick's singing is, to put it kindly, not the best. The performance is weak and he really seems to be struggling to stay in tune at times. The difference between these two performances is striking and is testament to how hard Patrick must have worked on his singing between the two releases. Secondly, the production isn't particulary good for a doom metal release, being little better than decent demo quality, robbing the riffs of a lot of their depth and heft, leaving it lacking the crushing and smothering weight that great doom metal thrives on.
It's not all bad news though, drummer Stuart Springthorpe still sounds exceedingly authoritative throughout the album, with his fill-heavy style working just as well here as on the later release and there are some pretty decent Reverend Bizarre-like riffs, especially on my favourite track, How Can It Happen, which is a track I would really like to have heard re-recorded or maybe even played live, because I rate it very highly as a straight-up doom anthem. In fact, I think the whole album would sound massively different with the technical improvements and production of the later album, because this is actually a solid set of songs.
I think Strength To Dream would always have struggled to escape the shadow of it's more illustrious younger sibling, but the glaring deficiencies in both production and PW's vocal performance exacerbate the situation, leaving it gaining a reputation, with more than a little justification, as nothing more than a warm-up for the main event of Warning's career. It's worth a listen because you can hear the germ of what would later be a classic album, but it is also an object lesson in patience and illustrates that sometimes a band needs to work on perfecting their craft before committing to releasing their best material.
3.5/5
My suggestions for December, Daniel:
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - "Cloved in Twain" (from "Honky Reduction", 1998)
Dehumanized - "Drawn by Blood" (from "Prophecies Foretold", 1998)
Immolation - "No Jesus, No Beast" (from "Failures for Gods", 1999)
Morbid Angel - "Invocation of the Continual One" (from "Formulas Fatal to the Flesh", 1998)
Nasum - "No Sign of Improvement" from "Inhale/Exhale", 1998)
Runemagick - "The Supreme Force" (from "The Supreme Force of Eternity", 1998)
Hey Vinny, my suggestions for December are:
Flotsam and Jetsam - "Doomsday for the Deceiver" (from "Doomsday for the Deceiver", 1986)
Megadeth - "Good Mourning/Black Friday" (from "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?", 1986)
Slaughtbbath - "Tyranny From Sodom" (from "Contempt, War and Damnation", 2017)
Slaughter Lord - "Slaughter Lord" (from "Thrash 'Til Death", 1998)
Trastorned - "Witch Hunt" (from "Into the Void", 2023)
My nominations for December are:
Ebony Pendant - "Raven Swarm" (from "Ebony Pendant", 2023)
Emperor - "Beyond the Great Vast Forest" (from "In the Nightside Eclipse", 1994)
Fork of Horripilation - "Chuva é Cantoria na Aldeia dos Mortos" (from "Folguedo Noturno", 2023)
Slaughtbbath - "The Sands of Despair" (from "Contempt, War and Damnation", 2017)
The only real change that may be worth considering in future is the addition of epic doom metal as a sub-genre as I am coming to the opinion that it has sufficiently divergent attributes to differentiate it from conventional doom.
Ben & I are still a bit on the fence about epic doom metal to be honest. We're certainly open to it if there's a majority who think it's necessary as it isn't a hard one to implement but can't think of an epic doom metal release that doesn't sit just as comfortably under a conventional doom metal tag. We're certainly not experts on the subgenre so could be wrong but most of the time it seems to be just the vocal style that makes these releases worthy of the "epic" prefix, is it not? I know the heavy metal influence is important but we find that in other doom metal bands too & they don't seem to be tagged as epic doom unless the vocal style is operatic/theatrical (see the early Trouble, Witchfinder General & Pentagram albums for example). Perhaps you could give us some examples of epic doom metal releases that you feel need to be separated from conventional doom metal to help justify this addition Sonny?
I'm not particularly bothered about it to be honest, Daniel, but yes the vocal style and obvious heavy metal influence are two features, although more accurately, to be termed epic doom I think power metal or USPM influences are required, rather than just heavy metal, hence the dividing line between epic doom and Pentagram / Trouble trad doom. I would also probably cite an increased inclusion of guitar solos as an indicator. I look at the black metal sub-genres and see pagan black metal and dsbm and other than lyrical content, I'm not sure either of these differ much from either conventional or atmospheric black metal, so personally I believe epic doom has at least as many, if not more, differentiators from conventional doom as either of those black metal genres do from conventional bm.
Smoulder's "Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring", Solstice's "White Horse Hill" and Khemmis' "Deceiver" are pretty good examples.
I guess ultimately it comes down to how much you want to differentiate sub-genres. as I said, I am no genre pedant and don't really care either way, I don't have sufficient technical knowledge to comment authoritatively on any technical differences between sub-genres, I just thought I would throw it out there and let those who are better informed decide if that was a way to go or not.
We removed the Atmospheric Sludge Metal subgenre from the site altogether Sonny. Nothing else has changed. I’m just interested to know if there’s anything else worth considering at this point or if everyone is comfortable with the current configuration.
Yes, I think it works pretty well. The only real change that may be worth considering in future is the addition of epic doom metal as a sub-genre as I am coming to the opinion that it has sufficiently divergent attributes to differentiate it from conventional doom.
I may have missed something, but what has changed, Daniel?
Glad to hear it's going well, Daniel. Like they say, "when one door closes, another door opens!"
I spoke to Ben about it this afternoon & we're comfortable for you to follow whatever direction you'd like on this topic as long as you're consistent Sonny.
OK, similar to the Nile track last month, I will include them, but I would rather submissions from albums not in the actual clan in question were a rare occurrence rather than a regular thing if that's all right.
As there is a bit of a difference in opinion between the two of you on this subject, is there any chance of a definitive directive, or shall I just include or exclude suggestions as I see fit at the risk of upsetting the submitter of any questionable tracks.
By the way, if anyone feels that I have included tracks that don't belong on a Fallen playlist, please speak up, so that I know what people expect to hear.
Yeah, I've got to agree Daniel. I only listened to it myself for the first time earlier this year and I think it is a top tier metal live album, perfectly capturing the band's best era.
It's an interesting question Sonny. Personally, I see no problem with selecting one-off tracks that I feel fall comfortably into different clans than the album they're drawn from. In this case I feel that our The Fallen members are the most likely to enjoy them so it makes sense to me. I mean, what's the point of including them in a The Guardians playlist when they'll sound a bit out of place & are better suited to another clan? If you disagree that these tracks are traditional doom metal & stoner metal respectively then you're free to omit them. I've always left it up to the playlist owners to make the final call uncontested on these things.
For the record though, I firmly believe that the "Black Sabbath" album is better suited to The Fallen than The Guardians anyway. There's currently a Hall of Judgement poll running for it.
OK fair enough. I just thought it was a point worth making.
Here are my submissions for the December playlist Sonny:
Black Sabbath - "Black Sabbath" (from "Black Sabbath", 1970)
Plateau Sigma - "Maira & the Archangel" (from "White Wings of Nightmares", 2013)
Sir Lord Baltimore - "Kingdom Come" (from "Kingdom Come", 1970)
As neither Sabbath's debut nor Kingdom Come are actually in The Fallen, do you think they are suitable for inclusion in a playlist designed to showcase that clan's output, Daniel. If so, then fine, but I myself have doubts about that being the way forward for the playlist.
November 2023
1. Orodruin - "Forsaken" (from "Ruins of Eternity", 2019)
2. Corrosion of Conformity - "Wolf Named Crow" (from "No Cross No Crown", 2018)
3. Orphans of Dusk - "Wasted Hero" (from "Spleen", 2023)
4. Nile - "Ruins" (from "In Their Darkened Shrines", 2002)
5. Boris - "Hama" (from "Amplifier Worship", 1998)
6. Hail the Void - "Goldwater" (from "Memento mori", 2023)
7. Godthrymm - "We Are the Dead" (from "Reflections", 2020)
8. Stoned Jesus - "Stormy Monday" (from "Seven Thunders Roar", 2012)
9. October Noir - "Burn" (from "Thirteen", 2019)
10. Solstice - "The Sleeping Tyrant" (from "New Dark Age", 1998)
11. 16 - " Tocohara" (from "Drop Out", 1996)
12. Iron Void - "Living on the Earth" (from "IV", 2023)
13. Solitude Aeternus - "Only This (And Nothing More)" (from "Downfall", 1996)
14. Kowloon Walled City - "The Pressure Keeps Me Alive" (from "Container Ships", 2012)
15. Winter - "Eternal Frost" (from "Into Darkness", 1990)
16. The Obsessed - "Red Disaster" (from "The Obsessed", 1990)
17. Bong - "Trees, Grass and Stones" (from "Mana-Yood-Sushai", 2012)
Good luck for tomorrow, Daniel.
Do you know if there are any plans for the Neuropath album to get a vinyl release?
Thanks Vinny. Nice one!
I can still see a list called "A Top 100 Metal Albums List" created by you Rexorcist. Is that not it? Did you perhaps recreate it?
Yes, I can see it too, Rex.
Great news Xephyr. Welcome back!!
It wasn't quite cut and dried for me, as I got into metal in the mid-seventies when it was still a very fluid thing. I had always been a rock fan, growing up on The Beatles and Stones, but seeing Alice Cooper with his python on Top of the Pops playing School's Out as a ten-year-old in '72 triggered something in me that I was never able to shake. Got into Queen, then Pink Floyd were the first band I saw live and Zeppelin records became regulars.
But it was hearing Sabbath's Paranoid LP at a school friend's house that was the final piece falling into place. The first Sabbath album I bought was Technical Ecstacy, which is why I rate it much higher than most and I still maintain Gypsy and Dirty Woman, along with You Won't Change Me are quality tracks, the solo on Dirty Women being one of Iommi's best and it still sets the hairs on the back of my neck on end to this day.
I was also massively into Hawkwind by this stage and my next big find was Motörhead, featuring the irreppresible singer of Silver Machine - Lemmy. I gobbled up the debut, which I know is controversial as to it's metal credentials and saw them live in a the local venue sometime in early '78 where, as a sixteen-year-old in a hall full of bikers and speed fiends, it felt like something truly dangerous and rebellious. They also played insanely loudly! Overkill came the following year with it's absolutely iconic title track and cemented a lifelong devotion to Lemmy and the boys.
Next up was Judas Priest and again a school mate played Stained Class for me, which resulted in me heading straight down to Woolies and buying Sad Wings of Destiny which I absolutely hammered. Tyrant, Genocide, Victim of Changes, The Ripper - killers all. Another visit to the local hall to catch Rob & co for the '78 Stained Class tour was another memorable night.
I guess the next actual metal "biggie" would have to have been Maiden's debut. I used to get Sounds which was a weekly UK music paper and they were all abuzz with this band of cockneys blowing the bollocks off every other band. Running Free was getting a bit of play on late night radio and sounded pretty cool, so off we went to see what all the fuss was about when they played in Stoke. They were awesome, full of energy and fire, playing five encores no less. We hung about outside the venue after and even got to meet them. They were exceedingly cool, signing an empty Park Drive cigarette packet for me (which I have since lost). Obviously Iron Maiden was pretty soon added to my record collection.
I guess the other big metal album for me after Maiden was the Angel Witch debut. I had seen them supporting Motörhead a couple of times and loved them, so was stoked when they finally got their album out - which is still a firm favourite of mine.
It was a long tiime ago and my memory ain't what it used to be, but I don't think I missed any, so I guess my 5 would be Technical Ecstacy, Sad Wings of Destiny, Motörhead, Iron Maiden and Angel Witch, all five of which I still have those original albums after 40-odd years. Ironically they all belong to an Academy clan of which I am not a member!
Hi Ben, could you please add US stoner doom trio Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships.
Meshuggah - Chaosphere (1998)
I had never knowingly listened to Meshuggah before hearing their track, Paralyzing Innocence, on this month's Pit playlist, but was sufficiently intrigued by that track to check out their 1998 album, Chaosphere. It seems that I had misconstrued Meshuggah, as they are neither as willfully challenging or disjointed as I expected. In fact the sound here seems to be of a kind of technical groove metal with industrial undertones that sounds to me like a technically advanced spin on a hybrid of Fear Factory and Machine Head. I'm not going to claim that it's changed my life and is exactly what I have been looking for, but I can hear why the band are so well-regarded and I can definitely respect what they are trying to achieve. I would have no problem throwing this on occasionally as a change from my usual listening habits and if I fancy something a bit more technical but that isn't so much so that I find it alienating. I'm pleasantly surprised to discover that a band I thought would have nothing at all for me actually gave me a pretty enjoyable experience.
3.5/5
Great work again this month, Vinny. A really killer playlist - I enjoyed it immensely. In fact I've already listened to it twice!
Of the bands I know little to nothing of, Slaughter Messiah were tops, followed closely by Graveripper, Lucifuge, Kill The Pharoah, Assault and Besieged. Also, I finally got to listen to Meshuggah for the first time and was pleasantly surprised by what I heard - I didn't expect to enjoy them at all, but “Paralyzing Ignorance” was pretty damn good.
There wasn't a single track I disliked, a couple were just OK (Cosmic Jaguar, Draghoria) but this was generally a high quality list, despite having very few big names on it. Great stuff!!
Do you mind adding Canadian black metallers Bludgeon Oath please, Ben?
Sorta Magora - Nič (2019)
Sorta Magora is yet another project from our prolific old friend, Belgian multi-instrumentalist Déhà who, aside from the many releases he has put out under his own name, also issues material as Imber Luminis, Slow, Aurora Borealis, Yhdarl and Clouds to name but a few of the many aliases, side projects and bands he is involved with. Sorta Magora sees him team up with Slovakian vocalist Veronika Madžová, aka Dryáda, who contributed vocals to Imber Luminis' 2019 Same Old Silences album. To date, Nič, also released in 2019, is the only material released under the project's own banner.
The album takes the form of a single, forty-minute track that melds together those most comfortable of bedfellows, funeral doom and atmospheric black metal. I think these two styles of extreme metal are perfect complements to each other at the best of times, and here Déhà expertly weaves them together into a cohesive and encompassing piece that is overflowing with atmosphere and mood. Now, I have never been the biggest fan of ambient music, for some reason it usually, bar a few rare instances, fails to connect with me. Yet, whilst listening to Nič, I suddenly made that connection, despite the fact that this isn't an ambient release. The genius of it is that it uses the dual-barrelled extreme metal approach to achieve a very similar effect to the best that ambient music can offer. Within this single piece of music you can be bouyed-up by a heaving swell of sound, only to later be dragged down by the irresistible tug of murky undercurrents and smothered by a cloying tsunami of crushing, doom-laden chords. Of course, these changes don't occur quickly or jarringly, but are generally glacial in their transition from one to the other, as if luxuriating and revelling in their sheer physical presence and shedding or gaining energy in a deliberate and organic manner.
The swelling tsunami of instrumentation is complimented and contrasted effectively by Dryáda's furious howls of anguish that pour forth in an almost cathartic litany of distress. Déhà himself also contributes vocals, his being a deeper, more nether-demon sounding performance. The lyrics, written by Dryáda in her native Slovak, are dour and grim, heralding the final days of a dying world and the protagonist's longing for that ultimate darkness. This is a release whose music is shorn of hope and is relentlessly bleak, the music intended to be as overwhelming and irresistibly bleak as the final unavoidable fate of a world devoid even of light, let alone life and is a prime example of blackened funeral doom that deserves much more attention than it has so far received.
4.5/5
Another new list added. This one is for Felipe Machado Franco whose distinctive art adorns many power metal album covers:
It's from their 2019 album, Thirteen.
Cheers.
How about October Noir - Burn?
Can you provide the album and year for any suggestions please Morpheus.
I'll say no this month Sonny. Will be back next month for sure.
OK. Thanks, Ben.
Austin Lunn (aka Panopticon) has released a single from his upcoming album, The Rime Of Memory, due out at the end of November. Sixteen minutes of atmospheric black metal wonder called Cedar Skeletons, Lunn shows that he is still producing great quality, nature-themed black metal that puts most of the competition in the shade.
Ben, will you be contributing any suggestions for November's playlist?
Naked City - Leng Tch'e (1992)
Naked City's Leng Tch'e has a reputation for being one of the most disturbing and affecting metal releases of all time. Comprising a single 30+ minute drone metal track and taking it's title from the torturous chinese method of execution whereby the condemned slowly has parts of their body sliced off and with a cover consisting of a photo of a victim undergoing said execution method, I was certainly expecting a tough listen as I approached this for the first time.
The first half of the track is indeed a great slab of drone metal with massive chords drenched in feedback, sparse, yet ominous percussion and a generally disturbing atmosphere prevailing, setting us up for the reputedly horrifying second half which features the tortured screams of japanese vocalist Yamatsuka Eye and the wailing freeform saxophone of John Zorn. So when this supposedly blood-curdling, spine-tingling tsunami actually hit, I was completely blindesided by just how much of a disappointment it was. The actual howling and screaming of Yamatsuka Eye is less disturbing and more irritating, sounding like a hysterical B-movie scream queen, which completely destroyed all the good work done on the build-up until then. In fact, when Zorn's manic sax playing joins the fray, I couldn't help but think that it would have been much more effective to let the sax alone express the horror of the situation.
I honestly cannot see where Leng Tch'e has gained such a notorious reputation. I have heard much more disturbing vocalisations in extreme doom and drone from the likes of Khanate and Thorr's Hammer, even Burning Witch's Edgy 59 is more disturbing than what we have here. And you know what, that is a crying shame because without those annoying screams this would actually be fucking brilliant, but for me they make it almost unlistenable and not in a good way, whereas without them this would have edged very close to a 5/5 for me.
3/5 (despite how much I hate the screaming)
Another update to my Top 20 Drone Metal releases:
1. Hell - Hell III (2012)
2. Earth - Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version (1993)
3. Bismuth - The Slow Dying of the Great Barrier Reef (2018)
4. Khanate - To Be Cruel (2023)
5. Trees - Light's Bane (2008)
6. Boris - Boris at Last -Feedbacker- (2003)
7. Bong - Mana-Yood-Sushai (2012)
8. Monarch! - Omens (2012)
9. Neptunian Maximalism - Éons (2020)
10. Wolvserpent - Aporia:Kāla:Ananta (2016)
11. Khanate - Khanate (2001)
12. FVNERALS - Let the Earth Be Silent (2023)
13. Sunn O))) - Life Metal (2019)
14. Crawl - Damned (2023)
15. Big Brave - Vital (2021)
16. Sunn O))) - Black One (2005)
17. Nadja - Radiance of Shadows (2007)
18. Father Sky Mother Earth - Across the River of Time (2017)
19. Endless Floods - Circle the Gold (2019)
20. A Storm of Light / Nadja - Primitive North (2009)
Sunn O)))'s "Monoliths & Dimensions" and The Body's "No One Deserves Happiness" fall out to make way for Bong and FVNERALS.
Bong - Mana-Yood-Sushai (2012)
I have only really been interested in drone metal for about a decade now and only started exploring it in earnest two or three years ago, but it has become one of my favourite genres and a lot of my highest scores of recent times have gone to drone metal releases. I guess that because I am quite an anxious person by nature, I find the monolithic droning of this style of metal to be inherently calming. Bong are a new name to me, despite them having been around for close to twenty years now and hailing from these British Isles I call home. They are prolific releasers of material with nine studio albums, a plethora of splits and EPs and thirty-plus live albums.
Mana-Yood-Sushai is the four-piece's third album, released in 2012, and is a sublime mix of drone metal and psychedelia that gives it a heavy eastern, mystical flavour, a sound I really love to hear brought into the sphere of metal. The album consists of only two tracks with the 27 minutes of the first track, Dreams of Mana-Yood-Sushai, being the one that really hooked me in. One of the members of Bong is sitar player, Benjamin Freeth, and his jangling strings combine perfectly with the droning chords of guitarist Mike Vest on Dreams... that seems to conjures up vistas of setting suns over mystical eastern temples that I found to be an inordinately meditative and restful piece. The track also features bassist/vocalist Dave Terry with some really nice throat singing that further enhances the eastern flavour with it's ritualistic chanting style favoured by eastern mystics.
Second track, Trees, Grass and Stone, is just shy of twenty minutes in length and is an instrumental, making it a bit more jam-like than the opener with the percussion of drummer Mike Smith driving the track and taking a more prominent role. It is also a heavier-sounding track than Dreams... the droning chords carrying increased weight and settling over the listener like a heavy blanket. As is true of an awful lot of drone metal, it is most effective when listened to at higher volumes, at the point when the experience can become almost physical and it's simple structure can fully infiltrate the listener's senses and become a transcendental sensation.
So once more a new drone metal discovery has me reaching for my higher scores and takes it's place in my list of metal favourites.
4.5/5
Jag Panzer - The Fourth Judgement (1997)
I enjoyed Jag Panzer's debut, Ample Destruction, but it's follow-up, Dissident Alliance, seems to have been universally panned, so I went into The Fourth Judgement unsure what to expect. What I got was a fairly mundane USPM album. There are some decent riffs on here, hell a couple are even genuinely killer and the solos aren't too shoddy either, but everything else screams mediocrity. I don't like the vocals much. Sure, there are plenty of power metal singers I dislike more, but Harry Conklin's style, whilst not grating as much as some, does very little for me either. The production robs the rhythm section of any authority and contributes heavily to the mundanity of the release as a whole.
The Fourth Judgement is a release that feels like it lacks any passion, aggression or exhilharation that is the cornerstone of heavy and power metal. There isn't even very much pomp and circumstance, that I'm not personally a big fan of, but which would at least lend it some fist-pumping energy. A damp squib for me overall, to be honest, but the guitar work, particularly a few of the riffs, is good enough to allow me to bump it up to a more respectable score.
3/5
Nice list again Ben. Of the stuff I was unfamiliar with, Tsjuder and Profane Order chimed with me the most. I haven't ever listened to Rebel Extravaganza before and enjoyed the track from it a fair bit. I also enjoyed the Gespenst and Ifernach tracks.
I'm not sure about the last track by Bríi, I think I will have to check out a bit more from them, but it did pique my interest. Of the stuff I know, Ancient, Deathspell and Altar of Plagues were big yesses. Marduk sounded just how I expected them to and Trhä and Mgla didn't really set my world on fire.
All in all though, an enjoyable couple of hours whilst decorating the living room. How about a new tagline, "The Metal Academy Playlist - makes household chores almost bearable!"
That's great news Daniel. Glad to hear that things are moving forward for you.
Thanks, Ben. I am really enjoying putting them together. Hopefully they will serve nicely as a reference source for cover artists. Next I am working on one for Felipe Machado Franco who does a lot of power metal covers for the likes of Rhapsody of Fire, Blind Guardian and Iced Earth.
I have added a new list. This one is for Adam Burke, aka Nightjar Illustration. You may have seen his covers on Vektor's "Terminal Redux" or Temple of Void's "The World That Was". He has a very distinctive and recognizable style.