Sonny's Forum Replies

I am familiar with Acid Bath's Paegan Terrorism Tactics (although I am not as big a fan as some) but I have never listened to When the Kite String Pops, so I will take Daniel's advice and go with that.

Over to you, Vinny.

June 2023

1. Obelyskkh - "Aquaveil" (from "The Ultimate Grace of God", 2023)

2. Condenados - "Tierra de cementerio" (from "El camino de la serpiente", 2023)

3. Ningen Isu - "りんごの泪" (from "人間失格 (Ningen shikkaku)", 1990) [submitted by Morpheus]

4. Gore - "USA Is Calling" (from "Hart Gore", 1986)

5. Lake of Tears - "Come Night I Reign" (from "Forever Autumn", 1999) [submitted by Daniel]

6. Konvent - "Sand Is King" (from "Call Down the Sun", 2022) [submitted by Vinny]

7. Evoken - "The Mournful Refusal" (from "Antithesis of Light", 2005) [submitted by Ben]

8. Theatre of Tragedy - "Aoede" (from "Aegis", 1998) [submitted by Daniel]

9. The River - "Broken Window" (from "Drawing Down the Sun", 2006) [submitted by Sonny]

10. Tiamat - "Alteration x 10" (from "A Deeper Kind Of Slumber", 1997) [submitted by Daniel]

11. Encoffination - "The Keys of Hell and Death" (from "We Proclaim Your Death O' Lord", 2019)

12. Coffinworm - "Of Eating Disorders & Restraining Orders" (from "IV.I.XIII", 2014) [submitted by Daniel]

13. Hell - "Victus" (from "Hell", 2017) [submitted by Vinny]

14. Dolorian - "Raja Naga – Rising" (from, Voidwards, 2006) [submitted by Ben]

15. Leechfeast - "Bells of Fire" (from, "Leechfeast / Nightfucker Split EP", 2023) [submitted by Sonny]

Hi Ben, could you please add Austrian crusty speed metallers Ewig Frost.

Could you add Cincinnati funeral doom outfit Opium Doom Cult please Ben.

Hi Ben, my suggestions for June:

Árstíðir Lifsins - "Ek sá halr at Hóars veðri hǫsvan serk Hrísgrísnis bar" from "Saga á tveim tungum II: Eigi fjǫll né firðir" (2020)

Emperor - "Thus Spake the Nightspirit" from "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" (1997)

Hi Sonny... you've selected the Árstíðir Lifsins track previously. I'd include it again, but it is a near 18 minute epic, so I've selected another popular track off the album. If you'd prefer to replace with something else, let me know. Cheers.

Ah, OK, that's fine. Sorry. 

Atheist - Unquestionable Presence (1991)

As I have iterated before on many occasions, I am not a fan of technical death metal (or tech-thrash either for that matter) but my experiences with Atheist have been nothing but incredibly positive. The reason for this, I think, is that these guys don't make the technicalities of their music the be all and end all, but rather they make the jazz elements and their technical expertise work to enhance the high quality death metal that they produce. I mean, these guys produce absolute killer riffs, some of which still contain a deal of thrashiness, such as the main riff on the title track, or on The Formative Years, and that is what I want to hear when I listen to a death metal album - riffs, riffs and more riffs... oh and a certain degree of brutality, another aspect of their sound that is well and truly taken care of. So with that aspect of their songwriting sorted they then give themselves license to enhance and elaborate upon their ideas with jazz-influenced sections, multifarious time changes and displays of technical skill a great deal of their contemporaries could only marvel at, I suspect.

The drumming and basswork are superb and sound fantastic, Tony Choy's bass playing in particular is impressive as he weaves his basslines in and out of the sound, at times in step with drummer Steve Flynn like conjoined twins, such as during the technical sections of An Incarnation's Dream where the two combine to weave musical magic. Kelly Shaefer has a pretty mean death growl, not so deep and rumbling as some, but with a nice vicious snarl to it. Shaefer and Rand Burkey also turn in some mean solos that howl and squeal nicely but, man, I just can't get over them riffs.

At a mere 33 minutes this may appear to be quite a slight album, but Atheist just pack so much into it that it is more than enough to sate the appetite. In fact I would argue that knowing when to stop is also a lost art amongst too many modern metal acts who insist on issuing bloated hour-plus efforts that can oftimes test the patience and I, for one, would much rather have half an hour of this level of quality. So, first and foremost, Unquestionable Presence is a top-drawer death metal album with enough brutal-sounding riffs to stop a charging rhino, but Atheist held ambition enough not to be satisfied with "just" that, they further employed their technical prowess and songwriting skill to push the boundaries of what death metal could be and can justifiably be considered one of the seminal bands (along with Chuck Schuldiner's Death) of the technical death movement. I'm just not sure if the later acolytes of Atheist always concentrated on writing brilliant death metal songs first and foremost like the massively impressive Floridians did, so for me, this is one of the absolute premier tech-death albums and, despite my reticence regarding tech-death generally, I could listen to this all day long.

5/5

Rippikoulu - "Musta seremonia" demo (1993)

I hadn't revisited this cult classic of a mid-90's demo tape in many years but Ben recently asked me for my opinion on it & I noticed that I hadn't rated it on Metal Academy yet so I felt it was about time I gave it another sitting. The six tracks included run for just over half an hour which is a good length for this kind of release &, while the production may be really raw, it  loses none of it's effectiveness. In fact, I feel that the crushing down-tuned riffage & depressive atmospherics are only enhanced by it which is the sign of a true underground gem. I really love the deep death growls too as they're wonderfully monstrous but don't sound generic in the slightest.

Musically, Rippikoulu's sound is a tale of two cities. On the one hand you have the dark, suffocating doom/death of bands like Spectral Voice, Winter & diSEMBOWELMENT, only it's been combined with the grimy, mid-paced, tremolo-picked conventional death metal of early Bolt Thrower & the outcome is nothing short of splendid. Perhaps the lack of production can make a lot of the material sound a touch samey but it's only a short release & the couple of more atmospheric highlights that close out the demo certainly stand out, particularly the spectacular "Pimeys yllä Jumalan maan" which about as good as doom/death gets. If I'm being picky I'd say that the faster parts are a little less effective than the doomier sections but this is a quality effort from a band that clearly showed a lot of unfulfilled potential.

4/5

A five-star rating from me for this one, Daniel. I have a copy of the 2010 re-issue on CD and it gets plenty of spin-time in the Sonny household.

Khanate - To Be Cruel (2023)

Released 19th May 2023 on Sacred Bones

To Be Cruel is only Khanate's fourth album in the 23 years since their formation and it has been fourteen years since previous release, Clean Hands Go Foul. To be fair, the band had originally split in 2006 with little prospect of reforming, it appeared, and the main man behind Khanate is none other than Stephen O'Malley, so he has been otherwise occupied with Sunn O))) and his zillion other projects for the last two or three decades. The other members of Khanate are drummer Tim Wyskida and bassist James Plotkin who, along with Runhild Gammelsæter were both members of legendary, one album only, drone metal outfit Khlyst and vocalist Alan Dubin who, along with Plotkin was in New Jersey grindcore/industrial legends O.L.D. and is more recently the voice behind drone/noise outfit Gnaw. So with a pedigree like that, don't go into To Be Cruel with expectations of hearing anything even remotely melodic.

The album consists of three tracks, all clocking in at around the twenty-minute mark and a degree of patience will serve you well as you tackle the ensuing hour and one minute of hulking insanity. In fact, even with the patience of the Dalai Lama, the majority probably wouldn't get very far with To Be Cruel because this is not music for everyone. It is grindingly slow, exceedingly sparse, hulkingly menacing and lacking any kind of melody or hooks for the uninitiated to hang on to. O'Malley's massive, hulking guitar chords, bolstered by Plotkin's glacially-paced, seismic bass and Wyskida's sparse drum hits and crashing percussion set the scene with an atmosphere of terrifying menace, like a slow-motion, one-take camera shot of a walkthrough of a serial killer's homestead, as dread builds against the appearance of the killer himself. And when he appears, in the guise of Alan Dubin's genuinely disturbing vocals, you know you have experienced true fear. Dubin's vocal performance sounds truly unhinged and if you thought Edgy from Burning Witch sounded scarily deranged, then Dubin is about to take you even further away from any grasp on sanity, whether he is screaming at the top of his lungs in frustrated defiance or cajoling with gentle whispers, you feel you are in the presence of a mind that is warped beyond any recognition of reality. The excessive distortion, those percussive crashes and Dubin's howling of frustrated agony all combine to produce one of the grimiest and scariest sounds on a drone album. Mental pictures of delapidated barns full of rusted scythes and rotting pig carcasses insert themselves in your brain unheeded as you seem to be subjected to the workings of Leatherface's inner monologue.

I am a massive fan of Khanate's debut album, but they may even have bettered it this time around. I don't know if working on it during the pandemic in '20/'21 added an extra aura of despair and hopelessness to the recording process, but whatever mysterious alchemical formula they happened upon seems to have been a lightning in a bottle event that has very possibly produced the last word in extreme doom metal albums. Do not listen to To Be Cruel in the dark if you wish to preserve your sanity. Makes Texas Chainsaw seem like a Disney movie and Lovecraft like a bedtime story.

5/5

Labyrinthus Stellarum - "Tales of the Void" (2023)

Labyrinthus Stellarum are a Ukrainian three-piece from Odessa in Ukraine, who must be commended for even being able to get an album out considering the challenges they must currently be facing. They were founded by vocalist and keyboard player, Alexander Andronati along with guitarists Alexander Kostetskyi and Misha Andronati (who is a mere fifteen years old) and Tales of the Void is their debut release. I was tempted to check Labyrinthus Stellarum out after being quite struck by their track Void Dwellers which is actually the opener from Tales of the Void when it was featured in May's Academy playlist for the North.

The trio play a combination of atmospheric black metal and dungeon synth with a space theme which, admittedly, isn't the most original theme for an atmo-black outfit, but it is carried off with such beautiful arrangements that lack of originality is never an issue that leaps to mind. They don't just intersperse their black metal with some synth-laden interludes, although that does occur, they are also unafraid to incorporate the synths into the black metal sections which seems to produce a really nice, mellowing effect and actually makes Tales of the Void an incredibly relaxing album to listen to. They may have taken influence from the likes of Darkspace, particularly thematically, but their style of black metal is more laid back than Wroth's often desperate-sounding earnestness. I know I have probably made the album sound more blackgaze-y than it is, but I think fans of Deafheaven and Alcest may enjoy what these Ukrainians are delivering. The actual black metal content of Tales of the Void sounds to me more similar to Saor than to Paysage d'Hiver and when that is combined with the gently soaring synth work then it assumes a quite epic visage that is well-suited to nature-themed BM. I don't think it encapsulates the atmosphere of space as well as the top cosmic BM practitioners like Mare Cognitum and Darkspace as it feels a little too warm and earthy and doesn't really evoke the frigidity of cosmic majesty as effectively as the true masters. The synths do sometimes offer a weird, space-y dimension, such as those present on the track Cosmic Winds, but again, for me, they just as often evoke earthbound phenomena like rain or waterfalls. Of course this is my interpretation of what I am hearing and others may disagree, but I feel cosmic BM should be a little more frigid-sounding than this.

That said, this is still an exceedingly promising debut from what appears to be a young and inexperienced trio of musicians. The tracks are very well put together, the guitars are layered to wonderful effect and the synths add a nice additional dimension. Alexander Andronati has a decent shrieking vocal delivery, although his voice is buried in the mix occasionally, especially when the synths are present as they do tend to dominate. I can see this appealing to those who may not be regular black metal fans, as well as the more seasoned atmo-black veterans. No doubt the trve will take against it, but they do with anything that even hints at any production values, so there's nothing new there. A band well worth keeping an eye on as they do seem to have cracked one of the key elements of any type of music, which is the songwriting.

Favourite track: "Cosmic Winds"

3.5/5

Epheles - "L'ombre de la croix" (2001)

Epheles were formed in 1997 by french brothers Malphas and Nephtys (possibly not their real names!) L'ombre de la croix is a four track mini album that marked the band's debut release, being released in May of 2001. It does suffer from some production issues and sounds like a reasonable quality demo, but as this is black metal we are talking about that is by no means an insurmountable hurdle. This is viciously feral-sounding black metal that is also incredibly atmospheric, despite some of the atmosphere being lost in the production. Along with the blasting and Nephtys' keening, shrieking vocals there is a liberal use of keyboard layering, ambient sections and slower riffing parts which makes the tracks feel quite narrative. Opener Winds of Despair, for example, tells the tale of the narrator's bleak existence since the death of his beloved, with lyrics that My Dying Bride would be proud of and sorrowful ambient parts that are usurped by rabid, raving shrieks and intense blasting as if his sorrow is unable to be contained.

Epheles songwriting is actually quite strong, especially the first couple of tracks which are the longest at nine and fourteen minutes and displays a strong sense of atmosphere and variety, whilst maintaining the fundamental essence of evilness that is the basis of black metal. Look, if you like your metal to be crystal clear and well-produced then you are best looking elsewhere, but if you thrive on the lo-fi gloriousness that really good black metal can possess then I think you may be pleasantly surprised by L'ombre de la croix.

4/5

P.S. They actually have a brand new album out which I will have to check out soon.

Blasted the playlist whilst out on an extended morning dog walk and enjoyed it immensely... well at least three quarters of it. I must admit that, much like last month as it seemed to end with more brutal death metal, it kind of lost me a bit. The Drumcorps track intrigued me as it almost sounded like a kind of cyber-sludge - I don't think I could listen to a whole album of it, but as a single track on a playlist it stood out as an interesting anachronism. I will also have to check Misery Index out - a band whose name I have seen around for what seems like ever, but never listened to before.

I'm thinking I've got a bit of an easy gig with the Fallen playlist as 15 or 16 tracks usually covers the two hours but Daniel (and Vinny on the Pit playlist) have to come up with twice that number of tracks to fill two hours - well done lads for your admirable perseverance.

Death - "Human" (1991)

If the only thing I took away from my deep dive into the early years of death metal was my re-evaluation of Death and elevation of Chuck Schuldiner to the level of metal god, then it would have been a worthwhile exercise. Being a death metal numpty at the outset I had, even here on the forum pages of Metal Academy no less, expressed scepticism that Death were all that. Approaching the band's releases chronologically and in temporal context revealed that yes, indeed, they were all that and Chuck Schuldiner may well have been the most evolutionary of all metal songwriters. A question that begs some contemplation is where would metal be now if Chuck had lived a longer life, what the hell would he be playing nowadays and is there anything even remotely like it in existence? I think it is fair to say that he was indeed the very rare case of a true musical visionary.

Where Death excelled is that although they constantly changed, literally from album to album, they didn't throw the baby out with the bathwater and always gave their existing fanbase a way into their new material by a process of evolution of their sound rather than a complete overhaul. There may never be a better example of a metal songwriter's evolution than Death's seven albums. It is almost as if with each release it is possible to trace the individual steps of Death's metamorphosis.

For Death's fourth album, Human, out went the rhythm section of bassist Terry Butler and the much-maligned drummer Bill Andrews (after a legal battle over the pair's use of the Death name on a European tour) and surprisingly, considering how big an impact he had on Spritual Healing, out too went guitarist James Murphy. Previously Chuck had written material with other members, but for Human he wrote all the tracks in isolation and, possibly realising he needed band members with the chops to do his new material justice, in came exceedingly capable musicians in Sadus bassist, Steve Di Giorgio, and Cynic members, drummer Sean Reinert and guitarist Paul Masvidal. This was an inspired move, as there is a greater emphasis on technicality on Human that is pulled off brilliantly by the four members.

The sound on Human has a greater clarity than previous Death albums and allows the multifarious riffs and more complex rhythms distinction in the mix that may have been lacking in the earlier albums' muddier production. Both Reinert and Di Giorgio's amazing contributions can be heard distinctly and their technical prowess in both maintaining the rhythms and adding interesting work of their own to the shifting soundscapes is obvious for all to hear. Paul Masvidal's lead work is excellent and he takes a jazzier kind of approach to his soloing than Murphy's more traditional heavy metal approach, and this increasing technicality and diversity seems to be one of the major reasons for his recruitment into Death's lineup. The solo halfway through Secret Face, for example, brings a spanish, almost flamenco-like flavour to the track which, especially in 1991, seems like an impossibility in death metal, but is pulled off here with aplomb.

Chuck Schuldiner had always written great riffs, but on Human they became more complex, seemingly evolving and mutating as each track progresses, like some kind of virus. Despite this increasing complexity and technicality Human still has some incredibly powerful death metal riffing - the main riff of Lack of Comprehension is an absolute killer that is as muscular as anything you could have heard at the time. Human is comprised of truly memorable tracks that stick in the mind well after the silver disc stops spinning and this is a huge plus for me as I often find a lot of technical metal is so focussed on it's own complexities that listenability is sacrificed at the altar of technicality for technicality's sake. Just when you think you have the measure of Human, though, they toss in instrumental Cosmic Sea, which is an insane piece of work that comes at you with pretty much everything Chuck could muster, atmospheric keyboards, soaring solos, weird, otherworldly dissonance and another brutally heavy riff all combine for one of the most interesting metal instrumental tracks you may ever hear. Then on top of Human's sublime instrumentation there are the vocals. Chuck Schuldiner is a seminal death metal vocalist and I think the main thing that makes his vocals so great is that they sound equally as horrified as they are horrifying, as if even he himself cannot bear the evil tidings he brings.

At 33 minutes the album is Death's shortest, but there is just so much to digest within it's slight runtime that it is hard to believe only half-an-hour has passed come album's end. This is as rigorous a workout as you could reasonably have expected back in 1991 and most bands would fail to get even close to producing a half hour of metal as genuinely awe-inspiring as Human.

5/5

I'm going to throw Blut Aus Nord into this conversation. Sure, they have a couple of albums that weren't that well received in the late 2000s, but the vast majority of their 14 full length albums are superb. They're also quite experimental with their sound, making their consistency extra impressive.

Good shout Ben. 

A couple other bands fitting this category that come to my mind include Annihilator and Kamelot

You're on your own with the Annihilator call Andi. I'd actually go the complete other direction with them to be honest.

Yeah, I'm With Daniel on this one Andi. Personally I find Annihilator unlistenable.

Enslaved are a great band and one of my personal favourites. To produce such a consistently strong run of releases over such a long period of time without putting hardly a foot wrong is an impressive feat.

Maybe controversially I would suggest Opeth as I really like their prog rock stuff as well as the metal they are better known for. Another impressive band, I think, is Monolithe who have also been ridiculously consistent over their nine albums and have evolved from a death doom outfit into a more prog metal, albeit still death doom-based, band.

They haven't changed a huge amount over the years, but Esoteric have been exceptionally consistent (if you are a funeral doom freak anyway).

So for once I have listened to and reviewed all nine of this month's clan features and here is my ranking of those nine releases in descending order:

THE INFINITE: Amorphis - "Under the Red Cloud" (2015) 4.5/5

THE FALLEN: Black Cobra - "Invernal" (2011) 4/5

THE HORDE: Nails - Abandon All Life (2013) 4/5

THE SPHERE: Fear Factory - "Soul of a New Machine" (1992) 3.5/5

THE REVOLUTION: Gaza - "He Is Never Coming Back" (2009) 3.5/5

THE PIT: Agent Steel - "Mad Locust Rising" (1986) 3/5

THE NORTH - Hoplites - "Τρωθησομένη" (2023) 3/5

THE GUARDIANS: Persuader - "When Eden Burns" (2006) 3/5

THE GATEWAY: Klone - "Meanwhile" (2023) 2.5/5

I didn't truly dislike any of this month's features, although most of them did have niggling issues that prevented better scores from me.

Anyway, Andy takes the "Feature of the Month" award from me for May (who'd a thunk it?) Thanks Andy...

A nasty little burst of abrasive and aggressive grindcore that will give your ear'oles a good pummelling with most of it's ten tracks. It isn't exactly relentless, however as the two longest tracks are delivered at a more considered pace, but it is generally speaking an exercise in nothing less than aural violence. There is blasting aplenty and drummer Taylor Young is given a pretty intense workout, but luckily he seems more than up to the task. The guitar tone is brilliant, aided I believe by Kurt Ballou of Converge who was producer on "Abandon All Life", and maintains a terrific clarity despite it's thick crunchy sound.

The two slower tracks, that is " Wide Open Wound" and closer "Suum Cuique" are, unsurprisingly I suppose, the ones that appeal to me most, as they deliver more on the atmosphere front with looming, menacing riffs rather than just trying to blow your balls off! I guess grindcore records have to be taken as an overall package and the adrenaline-fuelling effect of the majority of the genre's output is the main thing as most of the songs display only minor differences in a lot of cases, and that is the case with some of the faster material here, but those slower tracks do give the listener a foothold into the tracklisting and "Suum Cuique" is actually a very effective, slower and brooding end to the record.

Where it loses marks for me, in what has become a bit of a theme with this month's features, is the vocal department. I prefer grindcore with a vocalist whose vocals are a bit more OSDM sounding like Barney Greenway or Terrorizer's Oscar Garcia and although Todd Jones doesn't actually hit "shouty toddler" level, he still sounds a bit metalcore-ish for my taste. The vocals aren't bad enough to be a deal breaker, though, and on the whole I did enjoy this a lot, it's variation in pacing and generally excellent instrumentation being huge plusses.

4/5

OK, so this four-track EP is really only about two tracks, the first being an intro to the title track and the third being a fairly faithful cover of Judas Priest's The Ripper which reveals nothing other than that maybe Priest should have recruited John Cyriis insted of Ripper Owens when Rob Halford jumped ship.

So the two tracks in question, the title track and closer Let It Be Done / The Day at Guyana, are fairly decent thrashers that tick a lot of the boxes instrumentally but, a lot like this month's Fallen feature, suffer for me in the vocal department. Basically I don't like Cyriis' screeching vocals very much at all which, considering that I have no issue with either King Diamond or Cirith Ungol's Tim Baker, is damning indeed! I think Let It Be Done is by far the stronger of the two tracks (where the singing does least damage) and the closing Day at Guyana riff is a killer that seems wasted as a mere fade-out for the track. The title track is OK, but I wouldn't go overboard for it, although if Tom Araya was singing on it instead of Cyriis then it may have been a thrash classic.

I guess I would have to say that this slight EP has had very little impact on me and I don't really feel that I missed out on anything by it slipping past me first time around.

Thrash - yes. Speed - no.

3/5

Invernal is composed of thick, dense riffs that are common in sludge metal but which also possess a thrashiness and complexity that is much less common in the genre. This makes the album sound more kinetic than the vast majority of sludge, which by it's very nature is a slothful style of metal, but there is more than enough doominess present, despite the uptempo pacing, to justify it sitting under the Fallen's umbrella. Instrumentally this is a really fine album, the complexity of the busy riffing on a track like Somnae tenebrae is exceedingly interesting and doesn't fall into the trap of excessive "jerkiness" that I feel with a lot of technical metal and all the tracks flow along really nicely. When the band do turn in a slower-paced riff like the early riff in Corrosion Fields then they build a nice, ominous atmosphere and they aren't afraid to occasionally insert a gentle post-metal section, such as during Abyss, to break things up a little and build anticipation for their next aural assault. The production is great and very clean-sounding, which isn't always a plus for a sludge metal album, but doesn't hurt the sound here and the riffs, although they aren't as muddy as those on many other sludge releases, have a depth and "crunch" that should satisfy all but the most demanding of sludge metal fundamentalists. It is fairly unbelievable to me that this has no bass at all, because the guitar sound has such amazing depth to it that you don't even notice the four-string's absence. The drumming is excellent, but is occasionally drowned out a little, particularly on faster sections like during the middle of Erebus Dawn, however, Rafael Martinez is a busy little bee and he turns in a performance to rival even Animal from the Muppets!

The "but" is coming now I am afraid, and it is the vocals that are the subject of it. Like Vinny I think the vocals are the weak point. I actually don't mind them per se, they are not as grating or ascerbic as some sludge vocals and they don't have the shouty, "spoilt toddler" quality that turns me off to other releases so often, but they just don't sit comfortably here with the instrumental work. I have seen elsewhere that there is little variety to be found on Invernal, which I would ascribe to the singing as it does seem to sound the same on nearly every track and the accusation of lack of variety can't really be laid at the door of the instrumentalists. Invernal would definitely benefit from a more aggressive-sounding and harsher singer I feel.

In summation, this is a really excellent album musically and the two guys have done a great job of sounding like twice that many, but they really should look at drafting in another singer to push them into the top echelon of sludge metal marvellousness.

4/5

It's an understatement to say that I am not the world's biggest European Power Metal fan, but I can get along with it in small doses and whenever I am confronted by an album of EUPM, I hold out some hope that this will be the one to change my mind on the genre as a whole. Spoiler alert: this is not that album, but I didn't find listening to it to be a terrible chore either. Instrumentally When Eden Burns had a fair bit to enjoy with the odd killer, thrashy riff and some nice soloing on display. However, my primary and perennial issue with EUPM is in the vocal department where OTT delivery seems to be a requirement, as does the Queen-like layered backing vocals, all of which do sweet FA for me I'm afraid. Sure, I like vocalists who have range - I really dig such metal stalwarts as Dickinson, Halford and even Joey Belladonna - but there is just something about the lead vocals in EUPM that rubs me up the wrong way. The earnestness with which the lyrics are delivered is often just too much for me to take seriously and ultimately I find this area to be where the cheesy odour that pervades EUPM smells strongest. To be sure, Persuader vocalist Jens Carlsson is far from the most egregious example of OTT vocalists, but it's still a part of Persuader's sound, as are those irritating, choral backing vocals. Thankfully Persuader don't feel the need to double-down on the excess by drenching their sound with layer upon layer of keyboards and this is a wise move, because when they are at their best, ie when they are at their most thrashy they have quite a visceral sound, not unlike early Iced Earth.

I can't claim any great urge to revisit When Eden Burns after this and I know it may feel like I am damning with faint praise, but it is one of the least annoying euro-pm albums I have heard.

3/5

Hi Ben, could you please add Moon Curse from Milwaukee. Ta.

Could you please add California's Worship of Keres, Ben. They only released a couple of EPs back in 2016/2017, but I quite like their female-voiced stoner doom sound.

Could you add Poland's Above Aurora please Ben?

Klone are yet another band I have been blissfully unaware of until now. Meanwhile is the latest of the band's eight albums and is quite a nice album of progressive alternative metal. The band are very accomplished musicians, obviously, and their sound is highly polished, as is their songwriting, for me a little too polished. At first this sounded great, but as the album proceeded it felt so controlled that it came over like it was lacking in character and more than once I wished that the band would just let rip and let themselves go. Although it sounds quite proggy it doesn't really contain any extended instrumental sections, in the vein of a band like Riverside, which would make the whole a lot more interesting. As it is, it just sounds like an exceedingly professional collection of songs that pass by without me being able to make any emotional connection with, other than in a chin-stroking admiration for their musical adroitness, but that isn't enough for me to return to a record. Although I do genuinely admire the band's skill, I am unable to engage with Meanwhile on an emotional level, so no, it isn't really for me I'm afraid.

2.5/5

For June could you add:

Ningen Isu - りんごの泪 (it's on two different albums, but it doesn't matter which one you pick)

Added. Thanks Morpheus.

Suffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten (1991)

I have a strong aversion to brutal death metal that stretches back to when I returned to metalhood around the turn of the millenium and I was still reading metal mags. Every cover disc from Terrorizer or Zero Tolerance seemed to be made up of about 60% crappy brutal death metal bands, so I gained a disdain for the genre as it all sounded basically the same. Suffocation is a name that I have come across many, many times over the years, but my distaste for the more brutal flavour of death metal meant that I had never investigated them further, at least until now. I had, of course, listened to a fair bit of Cannibal Corpse's discography and didn't mind them too much, especially in small doses, so there was hope yet that Suffocation might do it for me.

It's pretty obvious from the very off that Effigy of the Forgotten is superior to 99.9% of the shit that "adorned" those metal mag cover discs as, despite Suffocation's brutality, there are a whole heap of subtleties and nuances contained within it's nine tracks. Now I am not going to insult anyone's intelligence by making out that I know what makes a great death metal album (brutal or not), but I will say that these seemingly insignificant subtleties make all the difference to a borderline "fan" like myself.

Suffocation certainly seem to be aptly named because, initially at least, their sound is so dense that it feels claustrophobic and asphyxiating, leaving the listener gasping for air come albums end. Repeated listens, however, reveal that the band don't just seem to be about blasting you away with sheer bravado and brutality, although they certainly don't lack in that department either, but the ever-shifting riffs, searing, laser-focussed soloing and the technically superb-sounding, but totally badass, maniac behind the drum kit all combine to produce a ridiculously tight sound that contains far more than at first appears and rewards the listener the more invested in it they become. Hell, there are even times when the riffs turn downright "groovy" although those sections are short-lived, so don't let me mislead you that this is anything other than the unmitigated assault on your senses that it is. The vocals are one of the possible sticking points for me as sometimes this style feels far more forced and "put on" than, say, Chris Reifert or Dave Vincent. I don't hate Frank Mullen's growls altogether, but I feel they are one of the weaker aspects of Effigy of the Forgotten although they are much better than some of the "stuck pig" style of vocals that seem to have become popular in more modern brutal DM.

In summation, I would probably have to say that this is as good as it gets for me with brutal death metal as it isn't a genre I think I will ever come to truly love, but this is an album I could listen to again and whilst it doesn't tick all my boxes, there is more than enough here for me to get my teeth into without being overwhelmed by a band seeking brutality for brutality's sake.

4/5

Ben, do you have any suggestions for June as I would like to get the playlist boxed off a little earlier than usual this month?

Immolation - Dawn of Possession (1991)

The only Immolation album I was familiar with prior to checking out this, Immolation's debut, was their classic 2000 album, Close to a World Below, to which I awarded a five star rating, so it has been interesting to check out how the debut stacks up to that behemoth. Back in 1991, when Dawn of Possession was released, death metal was solidifying it's identity and had finally severed it's ties with the thrash metal scene that had spawned it. So too had Immolation, as they had left the thrash-based death metal of their early incarnation, Rigor Mortis, behind (none of the founding members of Rigor Mortis remained in the band at this point) and had evolved their sound into true death metal.

The riffs come thick and fast and seem to be constantly changing, but not in a choppy, distracting manner that some of the more technical death metal bands employ, but rather in a way that maintains the impetus of the tracks whilst still injecting a feeling of controlled chaos, which is often reinforced by the intense and savage soloing. The drumming is well worthy of note as Craig Smilowski turns in a superb performance behind the kit, deploying every trick in the book whilst not missing a beat and the positioning of the drums in the mix is perfect, allowing every beat to be heard without overwhelming the other performers. Last and not least come Ross Dolan's vocals which feel quite unique, the raspiness of his gutteral delivery seems unlike most other death metal growler's to my ears and he manages to create a brooding sense of menace in his exhortations to devilish forces and his celebrations of evil-doing.

I suppose Dawn of Possession could be cited as an early evolution towards the use of dissonance in death metal, but I never found it grating as I often do with modern disso-death, but rather it engenders a feeling of brutality and chaos and never allows the listener to get into a comfort zone where the tracks wash over them, as you have to constantly stay on your toes with this one. Not quite the classic that Close to a World Below is, but a damn fine debut nevertheless that any OSDM freak should love and goes some way to cementing Immolation as one of my favourite death metal bands along with Autopsy and Incantation.

4.5/5

Anthrax - Among the Living (1987)

You know, it really chafes me that Anthrax get so much shit and people scorn their inclusion in the so-called "Big Four". I'm sure this was originally because of some west coast / east coast thing. With three great albums, Among the Living, Spreading the Disease and Persistence of Time surely they did as much as the others to justify inclusion? Certainly no less than Megadeth I would suggest. They also had quite a unique sound within the B4, with Scott Ian's choppy riffs and Joey Belladonna's more USPM-like vocals. Sure, they went off a bit of a cliff in the end, but, to one degree or another, all four bands did. Anyway, this is one of my all-time favourite thrash albums and I would sit it proudly next to Reign in Blood and Master of Puppets without any qualms whatsoever, fuck whatever anyone else thinks.

Black Widow's Sacrifice from 1970? Latterly, Blood Ceremony have quite a few tracks that would suit the descriptor I would suggest. There are probably loads of examples, slower songs that conjure an atmosphere of dread aren't restricted to metal by any means. Early-70's underground  heavy psych is almost certainly full of such tracks.

By sheer coincidence two of this month's feature releases are from a couple of the first new bands I got into after returning to the bosom of metal brotherhood following a hiatus for most of the Nineties. One was Fear Factory and the other was Amorphis. I heard Black Winter Day somewhere (probably on a Metal Hammer cover disc) and was impressed by it's combination of death metal sensibilities and folky atmosphere. I obtained copies of Thousand Lakes, Elegy and Tuonela and they were all on regular rotation back in Sonnyville. 2001's Am Universum was a bit of a damp squib for me, however and eventually my love for Amorphis waned as I dived further down the extreme metal rabbit hole and I haven't listened to them a whole lot since the mid-2000s other than the odd track from Thousand Lakes, so this review will be a bit like catching up with an old friend and finding out what they have been up to since last we met.

Well, it would be wrong to say they haven't changed a bit, but I would have to admit that they have aged very well. I thought that by 2015 they would have become more technical and progressive than they actually were and I suspected that they wouldn't appeal to me that much, but I actually found Under the Red Cloud to be a very enjoyable and accessible slab of metal. Melodic death and folk metal are combined in an alchemical formula that shouldn't appeal to me in the slightest, but in the Finns' capable hands become an exceedingly palatable cocktail. I don't think I can praise the songwriting highly enough, for them to be able to combine genres I normally run a mile from into such an addictive release is testament to their songwriting skill. The folk metal element is quite prominent, but even so it never even hints at the cheesiness that so dogs the genre in other, less skilled hands, but makes complete sense in the context of this album and it is hard to imagine how it could exist without it. There are a couple of tracks where this element really transforms the melodic death metal skeleton of the tracks into something special, the oriental-flavoured Death of A King and Enemy At the Gates with it's exotic Middle-Eastern atmospherics and brilliant keyboard work. One track that made me smile was Tree of Ages, not because of any inherent cheesiness, but because the irish whistle featured sounds a lot like that featured in Aussie punk's The Rumjack's An Irish Pub Song - a track I love for it's vitality and catchy Irish theme. Amorphis have always been skilled performers and their performances on Under the Red Cloud are terrific, Tomi Joutsen's superb death growl / clean dual vocal attack, Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari's riffing and excellent leads, the layering of Santeri Kallio's keyboards and the faultless rhythms laid down by drummer Jan Rechberger and bassist Niclas Etelävuori underpinning everything the band does, are all absolutely top-notch.

There are several guest musicians featured on Under the Red Cloud, all of whom's contributions add a sheen that raises the album above the crowd, not least the much-lamented Aleah Stanbridge who contributes female vocals to three tracks, most noticeably official album closer, White Night. The Österäng Symphonic Orchestra are also featured and I don't think their contributions can be underestimated either, lending the album a sumptuousness that lifts it above the mundane.

All-in-all I loved Under the Red Cloud and it just seems to get better with each subsequent listen. I'm really glad Andi nominated it for this month's feature (thanks Andi) as it has allowed me to catch up with an old friend and to realise that I have actually missed them over the intervening years. I'll have to backtrack over their discography now and see what other marvels they have produced over the last twenty years or so.

4.5/5

Fear Factory were one of the first new bands I got into when I returned to metal fandom in the late 90s, playing the hell out of Demanufacture and Obsolete, then a bit later, Digimortal, yet for some reason I never got round to the band's debut. Coming to it so late and with the benefit of a huge chunk of hindsight, it is plain to hear that Soul of A New Machine is the product of a band that is in transition from an established genre to a brave new world as they explore interesting new directions for their sound. With this in mind, I would have to agree with those who say that Soul of A New Machine is more important historically than it is enjoyable, with the lack of any truly memorable tracks being the main case for the prosecution. That isn't to say that this is a bad record, because it isn't, but it does have the feel of a transitional piece with the band casting around for a solid indentity. I do hear what Daniel is saying about the groove metal element because one comparison that sprang to mind for me, particularly during the early tracks, was Sepultura's Chaos A.D. which was released a year later, although I would agree that it is only a secondary tag at best. Of course one of the main features of the album and the one for which Fear Factory would become synonomous is the industrial sound of the chugging riffs and the hard-hitting and machine-like drumming of Raymond Herrera. This is a sound that would be incredibly influential, for better or worse, on a new generation of bands like Marilyn Manson, Slipknot and Rammstein. There are still some tracks that are more rooted in death metal or even grind, but these seem to be some sort of vestigial anachronisms left over from the earliest incarnation of the band, like some kind of musical appendix.

One aspect of Fear Factory's earlier output which cannot be overstated is the importance of Burton C. Bell's dual harsh / clean vocals. Bell is an accomplished death metal growler, but his clean vocals are so well-suited to the material with a soaring, disembodied feel that seems to contain the soul of the narrator when confronted by the solid, dehumanising reality of the more tactile industrial atmospheres and the effectiveness of this contrast between human and machine perspectives is what sets FF apart from other industrial metal proponents. There are a few samples scatttered throughout and I suppose if you are going to use movie samples then you can't really go wrong with Blade Runner and Full Metal Jacket can you, although they are a bit predictable?

Decent enough though this debut is, for me it will always be merely the stepping stone to the classic that is Demanufacture, but it is still interesting enough in it's own right as it does illustrate exceedingly well how a seminal band transitions from a trend follower to a trend setter. They would seriously up the ante songwriting-wise on subsequent releases and lack of memorability would no longer be an issue for them, as they sorted out where they wanted their sound to go and then were able to concentrate on songwriting as they were no longer exploring what works and what doesn't. Interesting rather than indispensible.

3.5/5

That seems to echo my understanding of sludge very closely, Daniel. I have always considered the thick guitar tone to be just as important as the angry, anguished vocal delivery and the sludge guitar tone is definitely different to that used in doom. Following your definition, Hart Gore is most definitely sludge metal in my book and I hadn't really cottoned on to how much the feedback / noise aspect defines the genre until listening to an instrumental album.

I've been getting a bit lackadaisical of late with feature releases and have only been listening to those from my chosen clans, so I have vowed to start listening to them all, even if I don't review all of them and first up is this month's Revolution representative, Gaza's second album He Is Never Coming Back. I did check out their debut, I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die, when it was a feature release a couple of years back and I fucking hated it. Consequently, this didn't fill me with a huge amount of enthusiasm for the sophomore and I can't lie, I nearly always struggle with The Revolution and it's metal/mathcore content. That said, I did get much more out of this than I expected to. I still struggle with the vocals as they (in common with so many whatever-core releases) often sound like a toddler having a temper tantrum in Tesco's (a steroid-fuelled, 220lb toddler admittedly, but still!) I did enjoy a large proportion of the musical content however, maybe because the sludge component is more prevalent here than on the debut, or maybe because it feels a bit more accomplished than the earlier release. Whichever way, I wouldn't go out of my way to obtain a copy, but if it was on I wouldn't switch it off either and I think I would enjoy it a whole lot more with a less shout-y vocalist (but I guess that is what The Revolution is all about). A couple of tracks grabbed my attention - the main riff of The Meat of a Leg Joint is brilliant and the epic-sounding, although short, instrumental piece that follows it, The Astronomer, is a gorgeous and portentious-sounding piece. The lengthy, unnamed closer, or hidden track if you will, appeals to my Fallen sensibilities with it's serene and measured build-up and is reminiscent of the likes of Neurosis, proving that Gaza don't have to be super-intense all the time, which is no bad thing (and it has no vocals). Overall, He Is Never Coming Back had some really good moments and I like the overarching structure with the instrumental interludes breaking up the super-intensity of the main tracks, so this is probably as good as it gets for me and The Revolution and as such I would probably have to call it a success.

On a side note, does anyone know if this is this a concept album with the connecting instrumental tracks having intellectual/scientific occupation names?

3.5/5

Hi Vinny, my suggestions for June are:

Exciter - "I Am the Beast" (from "Long Live the Loud", 1985)
Lååz Rockit - "Take No Prisoners" (from "City's Gonna Burn", 1984)
Parkcrest - "The End of Times" (from "Hallucinative Minds", 2017)
Enforced - "Hanged by My Hand" (from "War Remains", 2023)
Whiplash - "Last Man Alive"(from "Power and Pain", 1986)
Necrodeath - "At the Mountains of Madness" (from "Into the Macabre", 1987)
Holy Moses - "Cult of the Machine" (from "Invisible Queen", 2023)

Gore - Hart Gore (1986)

Now here's an interesting release that may raise a question or two, first of which is "what actually constitutes sludge metal?" If sludge metal is defined by it's hardcore-derived vocal style then where does that leave an album like Hart Gore as it is a completely instrumental release. If it's a thick, doomy, stonerised guitar tone instead that distinguishes sludge, then it's two thumbs up over here for the Gore guys. I don't know the answer to the question, but what we have here, I would suggest, is something that sounds suspiciously like early sludge metal, but without any singing. Thick, syrupy riffs abound, reinforced by a powerful drum sound and occasional use of feedback, but where you would expect an album of instrumentals to have a ton of guitar leads, this has very few and really does sound like a sludge album without the vocal track. It is dual-tagged on RYM with noise rock and I can kind of hear that as it does sound quite rock-y in places. Without any meaningful leads it does sort of pale a bit before the end, but it is only just over half an hour long as so doesn't require a huge commitment on the part of the listener. I enjoyed it, I must admit, as it's something a bit different and if the truth be told sometimes the vocals in sludge metal piss me off, so that is never an issue here - and I really loved that drum sound. This pre-dates any of the Melvins EPs or albums, so I guess sludge wasn't even really a thing back then, so if ultimately this isn't a sludge album because of the lack of vocals then I would posit that it must be a stoner rock/metal album. Either way, you should probably check it out because it is an interesting release in the history of sludge metal and it sounds ahead of it's time.

3.5/5

The highlights for me this month have been Smoulder, Chelsea Wolfe and Fistula.  I keep meaning to explore more of Monolord's discography beyond No Comfort and Vænir looks he likely candidate if I am honest.  Went all skip button on STAKE, Hanging Garden, The Wounded King and Goya (I mean not bad stuff but a tad too similar to Electric Wizard really).  Passed a wet bank holiday Monday nicely though Sonny, keep up the good work.

Thanks Vinny. For me, Vaenir is Monolord's best and I would heartily recommend it if you like any of their other stuff.

Parkcrest - Hallucinative Minds (2017)

Parkcrest's 2020 album, ...And That Blue Will Turn to Red, is one of my favourite modern day thrash albums and is one of the few good enough to stand up to the output of thrash metal's 80's heyday. That classic is the follow-up to this, the Chileans' 2017 debut, Hallucinative Minds. In the three years between the two releases, it is evident what huge strides the band made in both content and execution as the debut is very much an album by a band that still seemed to be developing their identity. This is rawer and more aggressive-sounding than the sophomore, presenting Parkcrest as little more than Slayer wannabes. Songwriting-wise the two are miles apart, the more complex and shifting tones of the latter release's tracks are a huge improvement on the straightforward and somewhat unadventurous efforts here on the debut.

The actual execution is pretty good and it is obvious that these guys knew their way around their instruments at this point. The rhythm section comprises that dual component of busy and powerful drumming coupled with prominent, growling basslines, that are a particular feature of the modern chilean scene and these supply an interesting backdrop over which the rest of the tracks are built. However, the riffs, whilst solid, are derivative and the guitar soloing (in the main) is from the Hanneman / King short, sharp burst school. This does not, of course, make for a poor album, it is actually pretty damn solid and when they do take a few tentative steps towards progressing their sound, as on standout Dark Magicians, they are very good, but this does pale next to it's successor in every way. I woud say that Hallucinative Minds is Parkcrest's Kill 'em All, compared to ...And That Blue Will Turn to Red's Ride the Lightning. I hope their next album is their Master of Puppets then we will all be in for a treat!

3.5/5

I think this is actually the May playlist Ben! Whichever month it may or may not be, it was a sterling effort. It had an especially strong atmospheric black representation this month I thought, with Ulver, Burzum, Dark Space, Imperial Dekadenz and the new Aara being especially awesome. In fact, the only track that didn't really do it for me was the Abigail Williams track. Labyrinthus Stellarum and Totalselfhatred are two takeaways I need to explore further. Nicely done Ben and thanks for the effort to put together such a great list - it made my Sunday afternoon!

Metal Archives only list Nails on the basis of You Will Never Be One of Us, not this record also - wtf?

Quoted UnhinderedbyTalent

This is nothing unusual for Metal Archives which is inherently flawed in its approach. How bands like Converge, System Of A Down, Bring Me The Horizon & The Contortionist are deemed to be not metal enough to qualify for the site but Deep Purple, Scorpions & Rush are is anyone's guess. Even Meshuggah were only "accepted into the Metal Archives based on their material up to and including Contradictions Collapse."

Metal Archives are the very definition of gatekeepers. It is ludicrous that albums like Toxicity, Jane Doe, The Battle of Los Angeles and Mutter can't be listed, or (love them or hate them) bands like Slipknot and Korn, but 70's rock bands who don't play metal at all can. I think they harm their own credibility with this approach, especially their "It's our website, fuck off if you don't like it" attitude.

On a side note, RYM has this release dual-tagged as Black Metal & Dissonant Death Metal. For the record, there's absolutely zero death metal on offer here. It's yet another case of the inadequacies of the RYM genre-tagging model as people are simply voting up Dissonant Death Metal to cover the dissonance in the black metal.

For what it's worth, I thought the previous album sounded a lot more like blackened death metain a number of places and lazy voting may be one of the reasons for death metal being upvoted on this, i.e. the last album had some death metal on it, so this must have too.

Really fantastic playlist this month Vinny, I enjoyed it immensely. The Machine head, 4arm and Gojira tracks in the middle were a bit of  a flat spot for me personally, but other than that I loved it. Some brilliant classic tracks with a nice mix of lesser known stuff. New (to me) standouts were Power Trip and Toxic Wine. Nice work once more, my  friend.

OK, so a one-man black metal project, releasing their second album of the year only three months after the first, does not bode well too often I would suggest. Despite all the initial outward impressions of Hoplites promising Hellenic Black Metal, the project is actually from Ningbo in Zhejiang province, China and so has caught me on the back foot from the off. In order to get a better feel for Τρωθησομένη, I first went and listened to Hoplites' earlier release from the start of the year, Ψευδομένη. This is an album of full-blooded, blasting, dissonant black metal with a heavy death metal influence. Liu Zhenyang chucks everything at it, presenting a bit of a wall-of-sound with a drum machine that, even though it's a machine, sounds like it's about to have an aneurysm, so much blasting is it asked to do. Of course, I'm not keen on such obvious use of drum machines, so that is a minus point I'm afraid. The whole album feels constipated and restricted, despite the dissonant elements being to the fore and he doesn't allow the tracks any time to breathe, so the listener is just battered relentlessly with no time to take stock of things, which I think is something you need to be able to do with a technical/dissonant album of metal like this otherwise it just feels like a beating.

So to Τρωθησομένη, the album in question. Well, this time around the album doesn't feel like quite so much of a pummelling, even though it is in a very similar vein. I feel the drum machine takes a bit more of a back seat, sounding a bit more pushed down in the mix, allowing the riffs more ear time, especially as the dissonant leadwork seems to be less persistent, a lot of the dissonance being derived from the constantly-shifting rhythms - aided by a more prominent bass sound. The riffs are, may I say, a bit more accessible, even verging on thrash riffs on a number of occasions and the whole affair feels less intense than on the previous album. That said, it still doesn't do a whole lot for me and I continue to struggle with the dissonant elements in the same way as I do with excess technicality - it just doesn't rev my engine to be honest. I can hear what is being striven for here, but it isn't my cup of tea and I don't have enough knowledge of the genre to judge exactly how successful Hoplites has been in his endeavour.

3/5

Hi Ben, my suggestions for June:

Árstíðir Lifsins - "Ek sá halr at Hóars veðri hǫsvan serk Hrísgrísnis bar" from "Saga á tveim tungum II: Eigi fjǫll né firðir" (2020)

Emperor - "Thus Spake the Nightspirit" from "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" (1997)

You can't go far wrong with Chilean thrash, so I'll take the Parkcrest debut.

I will take the Epheles EP.

I will take Rituals of the Oak.

May 2023

1. Lord Mountain - "The Sacrifice" from "The Oath" (2023)
2. Smoulder - " Dragonslayer's Doom" from "Violent Creed of Vengeance" (2023)
3. Saturnus - "I Love Thee" from "Paradise Belongs to You" (1997) [submitted by Daniel]
4. Spectrum Mortis - "U-Anne-Dugga" from "Bit Meseri - The Incantation" (2022) [submitted by Vinny]
5. STAKE - "Photonic" from "The Hutch" (2013) [submitted by Ben]
6. Hanging Garden - "The Garden" from "The Garden" (2023)
7. Monolord - "Died a Million Times" from "Vaenir" (2015) [submitted by Sonny]
8. Fistula - "Morbid Incel" from "The Process of Opting Out" (2020)
9. Chelsea Wolfe - "Dragged Out" from "Abyss" (2015) [submitted by Daniel]
10. The Wounded Kings - "Vulture" from "Vision In Bone" (2016)
11. Boris - "Huge" from "Amplifier Worship" (1998) [submitted by Daniel]
12. The Howling Void - "Lord of the Black Gulf" from "Shadows Over the Cosmos" (2010) [submitted by Ben]
13. Goya - "No Place in the Sky" from "Obelisk" (2015) [submitted by Sonny]
14. Neurosis - "The Tide" from "A Sun That Never Sets" (2001) [submitted by Vinny]
15. Full of Hell & Primitive Man - "Rubble Home" from "Suffocating Hallucination" (2023)

Excellent idea, Morpheus! Having a similar feature to RYM so you can only see suggestive album covers when you're logged in and have certain filters off, with the ability to turn those filters on to hide specific topics, might get more people on to the site with no fear of anything they may be sensitive to, and therefore might boost the website's popularity. It might certainly help me a bit, as I'm still living with my sometimes suspicious parents. I know Cannibal Corpse and other standard/brutal death metal bands would get the hidden album cover treatment for their violence and gore. Same with the first few Type O Negative albums (pair of naked women about to kiss, close-up of the frontman's a****le, etc.), which is a good reason I stopped listening to that band besides my break from gothic/doom metal. So what do you think of Morpheus' idea, all?

Not a fan.  I simply skip over/hit the back button on anything I see I don't like (I find most of the depiction of women on metal album covers unpleasant but simply ignore them).  Do you really think Andi that the reason why MA isn't crawling with users is because there are some album covers that are offensive?  Creating a cottage industry out of album cover content (which I imagine can soon become a laborious task for admins) is precisely the wrong thing to do on a site that needs more members, surely a more open and transparent site is what would attract people. 

Let's stop believing that everyone else out there lives by our values, needs and wants - there are some out there who would actively seek such artwork as described on this thread (for whatever reason).  I am not saying it is wrong to be offended by violence, fascism, sexism, gore etc just that I believe that it is my own responsibility to decide if I want to look at it or not.

In all seriousness, I am with Vinny on this one - anything that smells of censorship raises suspicion in me. Filters of this kind just remove the need for any kind of personal responsibility for what we see and look at. Life isn't always pretty and neither are metal album covers. Metal is often a genre that likes to go for the "shock" factor and those of a sensitive nature need to bear that in mind.

Like Vinny, some of the depictions of women in particular on some metal covers I find particularly unpleasant, but I don't expect Ben to have to look at them all in order to keep the site's content comprehensive then have myself pretend that they don't exist by filtering them out.

Well, the weather's getting better here in the UK, so I can spend more times outdoors and the monthly playlists are excellent company whilst working in the garden or whatever. As a result I managed to squeeze this month's Horde playlist in and got a lot from it. I didn't have the actual tracklist in front of me while listening, so I'm not too sure who played what, but it was an enjoyable listen nonetheless. Yes, there were some tracks that weren't up my alley, the cybergrind of Whourkr (I think it was) is something I don't think I will ever come round to. Similarly some of the slam death towards the back end of the playlist wasn't really for me. Other than that, though, there was plenty of great stuff, the first ten tracks were a brilliant start and one in particular I checked out later was the Benediction track, a band I have heard a lot about, but not listened to much, but will definitely do so going forward. So nice work Daniel and hopefully I will try to check out the Horde playlist every month.