Sonny's Forum Replies

Convocation - No Dawn for the Caliginous Night (2023)

Finnish duo Convocation inhabit that sector of the metal Venn diagram where the arcs of funeral and death doom overlap, which also happens to be one of my favourite shades of metal. For latest album, No Dawn for the Caliginous Night, they lean more towards the funeral doom side of things, ultimately taking a leaf out of the mighty Esoteric's book. One danger of funeral doom that these Finns avoid is in overcooking things and allowing tracks to drag along without much variation, producing arse-numbingly long albums in the process. Convocation rarely go beyond the 12 minute mark for individual tracks and their longest album is fifty minutes, this one clocking in at forty-eight. They also like to bring in some textural and tonal variation, whilst still maintaining the slow, funereal pacing from whence the genre derives it's name.

The production is excellent, allowing the heaving chords to provide a huge wall-of-sound which towers over and threatens to smother the listener with sheer sonic immensity and even though there is an undoubted crushing power to the tracks, there is much more to them than just that, with string accompaniment and vocal and guitar melodies providing a striking countepoint to the fundamrntal heaviness of the instrumentation. Opener, Graveless yet Dead, features Shape of Despair's Natalie Koskinen as second vocalist, whose soaring, angelic vocals provide perfect contrast to Marko Neuman's bellowing roars as he rails against his fate as a cursed, undying soul, fated to forever wander the Earth. The album features another couple of guest vocalists, Corpsessed's Niko Matilainen on second track, Atychiphobia, and Dying Fetus / Misery Index singer Jason Netherton guesting on closer, Procession (which also sees Ferum's Samantha Alessi providing a spoken narration).

The eye of the album's storm is the instrumental track Between Aether and Land which sits at the heart of the album and which has a less dense feel to it, being woven through with a nice melodic thread that makes it sound less despairing and hopeless than the opening twenty minutes, allowing a shaft of light or a glimpse of open countryside to infiltrate the ominous and despairing atmosphere of the remainder of the album. Naturally this is short-lived and Lepers and Derelicts hits with the full crushing force of a tsunami of hopelessness, sucking all air and positivity out of proceedings and feeling all the more forceful for it's contrast with the preceeding track, Marko Neuman's howling roars sounding increasingly desolate as he bellows the protagonists hatred of his own existence as a torturous demon, bedevilling mankind. On closer, Procession, Convocation really reveal their hand with a track that has a massive epic quality to it, with superb compositional and atmospheric flourishes, from guest Antti Poutanen's cello accompaniment to Samantha Alessi's narration and the melodic guitar work that threads it's way through those hefty, intimidatingly massive chords. Ultimately the track (and by extension, the album) sheds it's horrors and ends with a much more serene feeling as cello and picked guitar along with the closing narration seem to offer the consolation that eventually all horrors must pass.

With No Dawn.. Convocation have truly cemented their place as one of my absolute favourite funeral / death doom bands and I would claim this as a classic of the genre, making them fit to take up their place alongside genre greats like Esoteric and Evoken.

5/5

Another top list this month, Ben. I don't know if it's because the winter is here and the music suits the mood so well, but the last couple have been very good indeed. In fact there wasn't a single track I could say I disliked. Sure there were a couple that were a bit more melodic than I prefer, but they were still fine in their own way. I'm with Vinny in thinking that Faidra track was a particular highlight. Deiphage, Ebony Pendant, Fork Of Horripilation, Glemsel and Auriferous Flame were fantastic too. And let's face it, any playlist with Mayhem, Emperor and Darkthrone is going to kick ass anyway. Nice work Ben and everybody who submitted their selections.

Hands of Orlac - Hebetudo Mentis (2023)

I was quite the fan of Hands of Orlac's debut album, even scoring myself a vinyl copy. Their split album with The Wandering Midget was pretty good too. However, I was intially a bit reticent about their new release. The production sounds washed-out and it robs it of any heft or weight to a degree, with Ginevra's vocals particularly sounding quite weak. The early tracks are a bit lukewarm songwriting-wise too, lacking any speacial kind of hook or particularly interesting idea and ultimately failing to grab my attention.

Things take an upward turn after the short instrumental title track at the midpoint, however, with Malenka sounding much more like the sort of thing I have come to expect from the Italians. Frostbite is a much more interesting track too, with the flute adding some nice variation and giving it more of a paganistic, Blood Ceremony vibe. The lengthy closer Ex Officio Domini (The Executioner of Rome) weighs in at just under fifteen minutes length and is a bit of a proggy, psychedelic doom epic where we get to hear some nice soloing at last.

Overall a step down from their earlier material for me, let down by weak production and two or three formulaic and uninteresting tracks early on. I am glad I persevered though, because the last three tracks are very good and make the album overall a worthwhile listen.

3/5

Benthic Realm - Vessel (2023)

I have been a fan of Krista Van Guilder's turns in bands like Warhorse and Second Grave for some time now and was very contented with the direction of latest band Benthic Realm as indicated by their first couple of EPs released in 2017/18. However things had gone quiet on the BR front while the world battled the Covid-19 pandemic, but now they are back with their debut full-length, five years after their last EP hit the shelves. Well, the band have certainly not been sitting back and I've got to say up front, this is possibly my favourite release from bands Krista has been involved in. The guitar sound is perfect for this style of doom metal, with a powerful, booming tone that imparts a huge amount of heft to the riffs. The bass and drums provide a rock solid foundation upon which these booming riffs are built, providing a dense, all-enveloping quality to the sound. Then over all this soars the heavenly vocals of Krista herself. These aren't the ephemeral, airy vocals associated with a lot of female singers in the doom metal scene, but powerful and authoritative with a gorgeous tone that perfectly complements the weight of the riffs with a strength of their own, providing both melody and power in equal measure.

The songwriting is very good also, being instantly relatable to any doom metal veteran fan, whilst still retaining a vibrancy and identity very much of their own. No, Benthic Realm don't throw away the doom metal rulebook, but they are so proficient as songwriters and performers that Vessel sounds anything but tired and derivative, feeling like a shot in the arm to a scene that often retreads old ground with solid, but indistinguishable releases. If you only listen to one female-fronted doom metal album this year then you could do much worse than grab a copy of Vessel.

4/5

Thanks Ben. I must check out that Convocation album myself, as I am a big fan of their previous two.

Ben, do you have any suggestions for January's playlist?

Much appreciated Sonny. Feeling very honored that you would invest your hard-earned money in our little release. Wait till you see the band photos on the inside cover. :)

I must admit, the booklet is one of the big reasons I wanted to get hold of a physical copy. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Hi Ben, could you add Benthic Realm's latest album, Vessel, please.

Sod it, I've gone ahead and ordered a copy from Bandcamp, anyway.

I'm gonna call it a Xmas present to myself!

Ben / Daniel, are there any plans to run these again for 2023?

Hi Ben, could you add norwegian doom bands Helldiver and Superlynx, please.

Hi Ben, could you please add the latest album from Italy's Hands of Orlac, "Hebetudo Mentis". Also their 2017 split with The Wandering Midget. Thanks.

That is indeed a very positive review, Daniel. It must make you feel very proud to be spoken of in such glowing terms.

I have looked into getting a CD copy, but Bandcamp want 150% of the media cost for postage alone, so they want £20 for a CD that costs £8. Discogs is even worse, one guy wants £16 shipping! I'll have to settle for the digital version for now and see if any UK distros pick it up later.

Nice one Xephyr. Got my vinyl copy delivered this morning. Only had chance to check out the first LP so far, but I am enjoying it immensely. Sounds a lot like ...And Again Into the Light, but the even longer track lengths seem to allow for a more narrative kind of song structure.

Hi Ben, could you add Lithuanian death doom crew Sullen Guest please.

My suggestions for the next playlist:
Lord Vigo - Eternal Saviour (off Blackbourne Souls)
Ningen-Isu - 鬼  (off 修羅囃子)

The Ningen-Isu album is in The Guardians and not The Fallen, so I cannot accept that suggestion, Morpheus, but the Lord Vigo has been added.

The first half of this month's playlist was as good as anything you've put together, Vinny. Iced Earth, Coroner, Possessed, Mystik, Motorhead, Nihilist, Mystic Storm and Hellish, along with my own picks made for an imperious first hour. The more groove / crossover focus of the second half found my attention wandering a little with Upon A Burning Body and Scatterbrain's impersonation of The Offspring being the lowlights for me. Things picked up nicely towards the end however, from Virus onwards, closing with an absolute killer cut from Vektor. Thanks a lot, Vinny, especially for that first hour!

Hey Vinny, my suggestions for January are:

Machine Head - "In the Presence of My Enemies" (from "Through the Ashes of Empires", 2003)

Mekong Delta - "The Final Deluge" (from "The Music of Erich Zann", 1988)

Necrodeath - "Necrosadist" (from "Into the Macabre", 1987)

Power Trip - "Firing Squad" (from "Nightmare Logic", 2017)

Ratos de Porão - "Amazônia Nunca Mais" (from "Brasil", 1989)

Toxic Wine - "Opresión masiva" (from "No hay lugar para los débiles", 2016)

Hey Daniel, my suggestions for January are:

Behemoth - "Xul" (from "Demigod", 2004)

Death - "Bite the Pain" (from "The Sound of Perseverance", 1998)

Edge of Sanity - "Blood-Colored" (from "Purgatory Afterglow", 1994)

Napalm Death - "Out of Sight Out of Mind" (from "Order of the Leech", 2002)

Tiamat - "Sumerian Cry (Part III)" (from "The Astral Sleep", 1991)

Hi Ben, my suggestions for January are:

Enslaved - "Heimdallr" (from "Vikingligr veldi", 1994)

Skogen - "Under Fullmånens Sken" (from "Vittra", 2015)

Stilla - "Skuggflock" (from "Skuggflock", 2016)

I've been meaning to check this out for ages after being blown away by their previous album, Death, so thanks for nominating it Daniel. Maybe I'll get off my arse and give it a review now!

Nice choice Ben. My go-to album for Isole is their next one, Silent Ruins, but Bliss of Solitude runs it a close second. I haven't listened to it for a while, so I'll try and muster up some listening time and hopefully a review.

December 2023

1. Cough - "Killing Fields" (from "Sigillum Luciferi", 2006) [submitted by Sonny]

2. Candlemass - "Dark Are the Veils of Death" (from "Nightfall", 1987) [submitted by Vinny]

3. Sir Lord Baltimore - "Kingdom Come" (from "Kingdom Come", 1970) [submitted by Daniel]

4. EverEve - "A New Winter" (from "Seasons, 1997)

5. Mother of Graves - "Of Solitude and Stone" (from "Where the Shadows Adorn", 2022) [submitted by Ben]

6. Hamferð - "Sinnisloysi" (from "Evst", 2013] [submitted by Sonny]

7. Remembrance - "Stone Mirrors" (from "Fall, Obsidian Night", 2010)

8. Dymna Lotva - "Папялішча (Ashes)" (from "Зямля пад чорнымі крыламі: Кроў (The Land Under the Black Wings: Blood), 2023)

9. Margarita Witch Cult - "The Witchfinder Comes" (from "Margarita Witch Cult", 2023)

10. Sadhak - "The Perfection of Wisdom" (from "Sadhak" EP, 2013) [submitted by Sonny]

11. KEN mode - "A Reluctance of Being" (from "VOID", 2023) [submitted by Vinny]

12. Plateau Sigma - "Maira & the Archangel" (from "White Wings of Nightmares", 2013) [submitted by Daniel]

13. Black Sabbath - "Black Sabbath" (from "Black Sabbath", 1970) [submitted by Daniel]

14. Melvins - "Night Goat" (from "Houdini", 1993)

15. Warning - "How Can It Happen?" (from "The Strength To Dream", 1999)

16. Dream Unending - "If Not Now When" (from "Starpath" split with Worm, 2023) [submitted by Ben]

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?