Sonny's Forum Replies
1. Deep Purple - "Bloodsucker"
2. Uriah Heep "Look At Yourself"
3. Diamond Head "Am I Evil?"
4. Motorhead "English Rose"
5. Blitzkrieg "Blitzkrieg"
6. Iron Maiden "Wrathchild"
7. Black Sabbath "Children of the Grave"
8. Venom "Countess Bathory"
Removing Rainbow for no other reason than when I saw Rainbow with Dio back in 1979, sulky-faced Ritchie Blackmore decided that the crowd hadn't worshipped him adequately and refused to play an encore, so fuck him (oh yes I can carry a grudge for a long time). Replacing with Blitzkrieg's brilliant eponymous track, one of the most vital and energetic tracks of the NWOBHM era.
1. Ash - "Midnight Witch"
2. Black Sabbath "Snowblind"
3. Burning Witch "Sacred Predictions"
4. Sleep "Dragonaut"
5. Eyehategod "New Orleans is the New Vietnam"
6. Electric Wizard "Funeralopolis"
7. Year of the Cobra "Lion and the Unicorn"
8. Buzzo*en "Hollow"
Nice enough though "Rip Van Winkle" is, particularly the guitar leads I am going to drop it for Year of the Cobra's "Lion and the Unicorn", the opener from their "...In the Shadows Below" album. YotC are husband and wife duo who don't use guitars. As a bassist yourself, Zero, I thought you might appreciate Amy's stoned-out psych-heavy basslines.
OK Sonny explain it to me, what is the thing with "Am I Evil"? I've never really gotten on with that tune or with Diamond Head.
Really? Lightning to the Nations is one of the best albums of the entire NWOBHM era and Am I Evil? has one of the greatest intros outside of Hell Awaits as well as being one of the tracks that encapsulates the metal spirit for me.
I know I am the only one, but I fucking love "War".That said Holy Moses are pretty damn great too, so I will give this a spin later.
I agree Daniel that Angel Witch the track is a little bit hokey. I've drunkenly sung along to it a thousand times and live it always got the crowd going, but of all AW's debut it has aged least well.
1. Deep Purple - "Bloodsucker"
2. Uriah Heep "Look At Yourself"
3. Diamond Head "Am I Evil?"
4. Motorhead "English Rose"
5. Rainbow "Run with the Wolf"
6. Iron Maiden "Wrathchild"
7. Black Sabbath "Children of the Grave"
8. Venom "Countess Bathory"
Removed Rocka Rolla. It is perfectly fine, but has never been one of JP's anthemic numbers. My replacement is "Am I Evil?" Why? Because it's " I Am Evil? " of course.
Truth be told I am also not a huge Uncle Acid fan, I like them well enough but they wouldn't be absolute favorites. Their inclusion here is partly for being right on theme, and mostly because my wife loves that song. Gotta check out some Burning Witch when I get home if they are as nasty and trippy as you imply here.
I don't know about trippy, but nasty, most definitely and liable to induce a bad trip in any unsuspecting acid head.
Great set Zero. Another one where I don't really want to change anything.
1. Sargeist "Black Fucking Murder"
2. Burzum "War"
3. Nargaroth "Possessed by Black Fucking Metal"
4. Satyricon "Mother North"
5. Immortal "Blashyrkh-Mighty Ravendark"
6. Darkthrone "In the Shadow of the Horns"
7. Mayhem "Freezing Moon"
8. Bathory "One Rode to Asa Bay"
But, CF are probably the weakest of a great bunch and I will replace them with Sargeist's BFM which just about sums up the cold hatred and pure evil of the best scandi-BM.
Daniel, you must check out Mexico's Stenched and their "Purulence Gushing From the Coffin" album before the closing date. I came upon it by accident and it is utterly filthy and rotten sounding OSDM that has got me proper fired up. Fuck all this fancy bollocks, this is the shit.
What a great playlist, Zero, I almost don't want to change it as I had seen all of these bands live back in the day and it would be a great playlist for a bit of reminscence.
1. Uriah Heep "Look At Yourself"
2. Judas Priest "Rocka Rolla"
3. Motorhead "English Rose"
4. Rainbow "Run with the Wolf"
5. Angel Witch "Angel Witch"
6. Iron Maiden "Wrathchild"
7. Black Sabbath "Children of the Grave"
8. Venom "Countess Bathory"
However, I have heard Doctor Doctor roughly one billion times and it isn't a patch on Rock Bottom or Lights Out, so has to go. I am replacing it with a well-known, but lesser-acknowledged band and my favourite track of theirs, Uriah Heep and the title track from their 1971 album.
Also, the British aren't coming - we have always been here!!
1. Black Sabbath "Snowblind"
2. Burning Witch "Sacred Predictions"
3. Sleep "Dragonaut"
4. Eyehategod "New Orleans is the New Vietnam"
5. Weedeater "Long Gone"
6. Electric Wizard "Funeralopolis"
7. Witch "Rip Van Winkle"
8. Buzzo*en "Hollow"
I am not a big fan of Uncle Acid, so I will drop them first and replace them with one of the ultimate "bad trip" bands, Burning Witch. Even the very thought of dropping acid whilst listening to Crippled Lucifer makes me feel like I am gonna have a panic attack, over thirty years since I last did psychedelics!
1. Cannibal Corpse "A Skull Full of Maggots"
2. Neuropath "Incantations of Decrepit Nihilism"
3. Morbid Angel "Where the Slime Live"
4. Mortification "Terminate Damnation"
5. Cryptopsy "Phobophile"
6. Atrocity "Hold Out (to the End)"
7. Death "The Philosopher"
8. Carcass - "Ruptured in Purulence"
Carcass were by far at their best when they hit the midpoint between grindcore and death metal that was Symphinies of Sickness. I have never been a fan of Heartwork and their later stuff. It may have been a fine album by somebody else, but this is Carcass here. "Ruptured in Purulence" is one of the filthiest-sounding tracks they produced and is much more my particular cup of poison.
Is this to stay within the Horde remit, Zero, or basically anything metal?
Just finished reviewing Mayhemic's Toba and yes, that is the thrash metal album of the year for me. I have given the Hemotoxin a couple of listens but I don't yet think of it as highly as even the Critical Defiance album. Maybe that will change, but so far I'm not that impressed.
Mayhemic - Toba (2024)
Mayhemic guitarist and vocalist Noctumbra may be better known by his real name, Javier Salgado, ex-mainman of Parkcrest, guitarist with Hellish and one of the leading lights in the chilean thrash metal scene. Unsurprisingly then, Mayhemic encapsulate the archetypical chilean thrash sound, which is typified by white-hot, hyperkinetic riffs and an influence from black and death metal. Toba marks the band's debut full-length after an EP in 2019 and a split album with Hellish in 2020. The band have undergone a number of lineup changes since they formed in 2018, with Noctumbra himself switching from drums to guitar in 2022 and only he and guitarist Doom (Nacho Pérez) remaining from the band's previous releases.
I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that chilean thrash metal is well and truly in the vanguard as the standard-bearers of the modern thrash scene. As the genre enters its fifth decade the sounds coming out of Santiago and Valparaíso are the most vital and energising thrash metal has known since its heyday ended in the mid-nineties. Salgado himself, and by extension his bands, are prime examples of just how the chileans have been able to inject new life and energy into the mouldering corpse of thrash metal. Toba is just the latest in a string of releases that have redefined what thrash metal means in the 21st century. The members of most of these Santiago thrash bands are almost invariably members of several others, so are constantly either recording or playing live, honing their skills with every performance to a point where these guys are absolutely razor-sharp technically, wrangling every ounce of energy and vitality out of their instruments and laying it down for us all to marvel at.
Toba is a relatively short album by modern standards, only running for thirty-six minutes, yet it doesn't feel particularly short due to the sheer effusive energy it radiates throughout its runtime. In the main, Toba's eight tracks are high velocity affairs chock-full of lightning fast and precise riffs that slash at the listener like a flurry of rapier cuts. They may like to rein back on the tempo and drop into a mid-tempo, groovier riff, with most songs involving several such tempo changes, but the main impression Toba leaves is that this is absolutely blistering stuff. The riffs are well-written and are pretty damn memorable, not merely blurs as they flash from speaker to ear and are designed to wreak maximum neck-wrenching damage. There is a certain infectious ebullience about Mayhemic and, for me, that is most aptly illustrated by the frantic and searing guitar solos which howl with an effusive elation at being unleashed upon the unsuspecting listener. These are not just the standard Hannemann / King short, sharp shocks that became pretty much the standard for the more extreme styles of thrash metal, but are wild expressions of metal's irrepressible ability to excite and thrill, each sounding exuberant and unique.
Noctumbra and Doom share vocal duties. with Noctumbra leading on tracks 1, 3 and 8, Doom on 2,4 and 6 and both contributing on Olduvai's Lullaby. Both are ragged and aggressive bellowers with Noctumbra having a slightly shriller, black-metal influenced shriek and Doom having a similar, but lower-pitched style. In truth there isn't a huge amount of difference between them and I wouldn't really say one is better than the other as both suit the material equally well. Drummer Leviathan (Javier ''Crow'' Buzeta), who has since left the band, is beastly behing his kit, unleashing salvo after salvo of thrashbeats and busy fills, driving the tracks along with precision and powerful kit work. He is ably supported in the rhythm section by bassist Magelis (Ítalo Sánchez). A feature of many chilean thrash releases is a very prominent bass presence, but here the bass takes up a more traditional position in the mix. It is nevertheless perfectly audible, but not as noticeably intrusive as it sometimes is within the chilean scene.
With Toba Mayhemic may not have produced the kind of original and unique thrash release compatriots like the superb Demomiac and even Salgado's previous crew Parkcrest managed, but with a blackened snarl, shredding strings and a withering and pummelling rhythm section, they have captured the essence of what makes metal so damn thrilling and attractive in the first place.
4.5/5
^^^^ Sonny, please report directly to this release as I feel that you'll love it.
Oh yes indeed. Is this all these guys ever did?
Vinny, as it is just me and you now suggesting tracks for the Fallen playlist you may now submit up to 50 minutes worth (I will reserve some time for less popular sub-genres that you and I don't cover with our submissions).
Submissions by 15th April for May's playlist please.
Vinny, Karl, Xephyr, as Daniel has stepped back from the playlists and features you may now submit up to 30 minutes of suggestions.
Please submit your suggestions by 15th March for inclusion in the April playlist.
Vinny & Karl, as Daniel has stepped back from the playlists and features, you may now both submit up to 40 minutes worth of suggestions for the playlist.
Please submit them by 15th February for inclusion on the March playlist.
Daniel, if you still want to submit some then that is fine by me, your knowledge of the clan far exceeds my own and your picks better informed as a result, so are always welcome.
I guess a few dystopian novels such as 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, Slaughterhouse 5 and I, Robot have been quite influential on metal themes too.
I believe the book that’s had the most influence on metal lyrics & themes is by this dude called God. It’s an old one. I forget the name but I think it starts with a “b”. Some bad ass atrocities transpire in it too by all reports. Metal as fuck!
Or another by Anton LaVey if we are talking about black metal!
HP Lovecraft is a staple in certain areas of the metal world, but he is more of a short stories guy than novels. At the Mountains of Madness is one of his longer stories which I often think of when listening to funeral doom.
The In Her Name series of books by Michael R. Hicks are also very "metal" in subject matter.
Not sure what you mean Rex. Do you mean novels related to actual metal music or novels that cover the themes and spirit that metal thrives on, such as fantasy for power and heavy metal, horror for death metal and the occult for black metal?
If it's the latter then I have always thought of William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer as thematically quite metal. Any of Michael Moorcock's Elric series are definitely metal fodder - Cirith Ungol often use Elric cover paintings as their album covers.
Here is my review:
Knowing nothing of Code, I did my due diligence and it turns out that they are from the UK, or at least founding member (and only remaining member of the lineup that recorded Nouveau Gloaming), Aort, is. He began the band as a solo project called Seaonal Code in 1998, recording a number of demos before shortening the name to Code and expanding the lineup by bringing in fellow Brit Kvohst as vocalist and recording a further demo in 2002. Further expansion to a five-piece with the addition of US guitarist, Vyttra and a norwegian rhythm section of bassist Viper and drummer AiwarikiaR, saw the release of this, their debut, in 2005.
An initial, cursory listen-through reveals something a little unusual with Nouveau Gloaming, which is the liberal use of clean vocals on what is, essentially, a black metal album. Not exclusively, to be sure, but enough to make the listener sit up and take notice. Kicking off with opener, "The Cotton Optic", things begin fairly conventionally with a very tightly-performed slice of conventional black metal which has a memorable, medium-paced riff that wouldn't sound out of place on a Satyricon album. Very soon, though, things take a different turn with second track "Brass Dogs" being the first to feature the aforementioned clean vocals. It starts and ends with a crackling sound and those clean vocals, recorded very thinly, as if playing on an old record player through cheap speakers. A fairly ominous and slow-tempo tremolo riff joins in along with sluggish drum beats to provide accompaniment to the, obviously deliberately, oddly-produced and slightly disorientating vocals. This is quite a stange track and it does have a kind of disconcerting effect on the listener, which, after the fairly conventional and accessible opener made me wonder where Code would be taking us next.
"An Enigma In Brine" has a post-black feeling to it, with the tremolo riffs forming a wall of sound, alternating clean and harsh vocals and a slow tempo, with lumbering drumbeats, eventually building in tempo and intensity. This is followed by "A Cloud-Formed Teardrop Asylum" which begins with a liturgical chant vibe and those increasingly familiar clean vocals before turning in a progressive black direction that feels a little like the kind of track latter-day Enslaved would be very comfortable with, sounding both epic and poignant, although I felt it ended a little too abruptly.
I think by now you get the picture that this is not exactly your typical black metal album, but something far broader in scope, with a diversity of structure and texture from track to track. It must be said, however, that the album as a whole, despite the individual tracks' diversity does have a coherent and cohesive tone and atmosphere, with a general feeling of discomfort and unease generated by the feeling that something is somehow amiss. I see that the band later went in a more progressive direction and that is certainly hinted at here in their earliest work as even this early on they seem to be seeking to breach the boundaries and constrictions of their chosen genre. Technically the band sound consumately accomplished to my untrained ear and their songwriting is forward-looking and ambitious, building a fairly unique atmosphere with their musical abilities rather than relying on production techniques to do the heavy-lifting atmosphere-wise as some are wont to do. The production is exceedingly clear and allows each member ample exposure in the mix.
I must admit I am very pleasantly surprised by Nouveau Gloaming as I was unaware of the UK having been the home of such a unique black metal release. It is both accessible and thoughtful, whilst still generating the kind of uneasy air that great black metal is so consummately suited for and is one of the UK's more interesting black metal efforts.
4/5
OK, so after some further consideration I have decided to follow Vinny's lead with the Pit and move to issuing a new playlist every three months, thus allowing me to produce one a month, rather than trying to cram more in than I may be able to handle. I intend to stagger the three playlists for the clans I am responsible for, so here are the main points and schedules:
1. I will release new playlists for all three clans, The Fallen, The Horde and The North on 1st February
2. The next new playlist for the Horde will be released on 1st March and I would like any suggestions for this playlist in by 15th February please.
3. So the release schedule for the Horde for the rest of 2025 will be:
1st March 2025 with suggestions in by 15th February
1st June with suggestions in by 15th May
1st September with suggestions in by 15th August
1st December with suggestions in by 15th November
Let us see how this pans out and then take it from there. Sorry for the change of mind, but I think this is for the best.
OK, so after some further consideration I have decided to follow Vinny's lead with the Pit and move to issuing a new playlist every three months, thus allowing me to produce one a month, rather than trying to cram more in than I may be able to handle. I intend to stagger the three playlists for the clans I am responsible for, so here are the main points and schedules:
1. I will release new playlists for all three clans, The Fallen, The Horde and The North on 1st February
2. The next new playlist for the North will be released on 1st April and I would like any suggestions for this playlist in by 15th March please.
3. So the release schedule for the North for the rest of 2025 will be:
1st April 2025 with suggestions in by 15th March
1st July with suggestions in by 15th June
1st October with suggestions in by 15th September
Let us see how this pans out and then take it from there. Sorry for the change of mind, but I think this is for the best.
OK, so after some further consideration I have decided to follow Vinny's lead with the Pit and move to issuing a new playlist every three months, thus allowing me to produce one a month, rather than trying to cram more in than I may be able to handle. I intend to stagger the three playlists for the clans I am responsible for, so here are the main points and schedules:
1. I will release new playlists for all three clans, The Fallen, The Horde and The North on 1st February
2. The next new playlist for the Fallen will be released on 1st May and I would like any suggestions for this playlist in by 15th April please.
3. So the release schedule for the Fallen for the rest of 2025 will be:
1st May 2025 with suggestions in by 15th April
1st August with suggestions in by 15th July
1st November with suggestions in by 15th October
Let us see how this pans out and then take it from there. Sorry for the change of mind, but I think this is for the best.
I don't think that rotating all nine clans will appeal to some, certainly not Andi, but I do think there is a lot to be said for rotating the three clans I am going to be running, giving a new playlist every three months for each clan and I think I may go with that. I will still try to get all three out for 1st February, then rotate them on a monthly basis thereafter. I will think on it and then repost the details in the specific clan list suggestions threads.
Any contributions you may make would be very welcome, Daniel.
With Daniel stepping back from aspects of the site and Ben no longer having time to compile the playlist for the North, rather than do away with them I have volunteered to take on responsibility for compiling and updating the playlists for the North and Horde, as well as continuing with the Fallen.
I wouldn't be able to produce three playlists every month, so I am proposing to change the frequency to every other month. I should be able to get new ones out on 1st February due to work already done on them, but following that, new playlists would be released on the 1st of April, June, August, October and December.
I would still like any sugfestions to be submitted by the 15th of the month following a new playlist being released, so by the 15th of February for inclusion on April's playlist.
I know it is a significant change to the scheduling, but necessary I believe in order to keep the concept alive. Let me know either here or via PM if this is a problem, or if you have any other comments regarding the changes.
With Daniel stepping back from aspects of the site and Ben no longer having time to compile the playlist for the North, rather than do away with them I have volunteered to take on responsibility for compiling and updating the playlists for the North and Horde, as well as continuing with the Fallen.
I wouldn't be able to produce three playlists every month, so I am proposing to change the frequency to every other month. I should be able to get new ones out on 1st February due to work already done on them, but following that, new playlists would be released on the 1st of April, June, August, October and December.
I would still like any sugfestions to be submitted by the 15th of the month following a new playlist being released, so by the 15th of February for inclusion on April's playlist.
I know it is a significant change to the scheduling, but necessary I believe in order to keep the concept alive. Let me know either here or via PM if this is a problem, or if you have any other comments regarding the changes.
The Horde is my fourth clan and I do not have the breadth of knowledge of death metal in it's multiple forms as Daniel and, indeed, most other Horde members have, but with the help and contributions of the usual suggestion submitters, I will endeavour to put out the best playlists I can.
With Daniel stepping back from aspects of the site and Ben no longer having time to compile the playlist for the North, rather than do away with them I have volunteered to take on responsibility for compiling and updating the playlists for the North and Horde, as well as continuing with the Fallen.
I wouldn't be able to produce three playlists every month, so I am proposing to change the frequency to every other month. I should be able to get new ones out on 1st February due to work already done on them, but following that, new playlists would be released on the 1st of April, June, August, October and December.
I would still like any sugfestions to be submitted by the 15th of the month following a new playlist being released, so by the 15th of February for inclusion on April's playlist.
I know it is a significant change to the scheduling, but necessary I believe in order to keep the concept alive. Let me know either here or via PM if this is a problem, or if you have any other comments regarding the changes.
In no particular order:
Motorhead - Overkill
Slayer - Raining Blood
Darkthrone - In the Shadow of the Horns
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Diamond Head - Am I Evil?
Iron Maiden - Phantom of the Opera
Autopsy - In the Grip of Winter
Daevar - Amber Eyes (2024)
Daevar are a german trio playing a version of stoner doom metal with female vocals that will be instantly familiar to any fans of Richmond's Windhand. Amber Eyes is their sophomore full-length, following hot on the heels of 2023's Delirious Rites debut. Thick and syrupy, heavily distorted, downtuned riffs are the order of the day here, crawling from speaker to ear like lumbering behemoths with such weight and heft that it feels like you can lose yourself in them and let them just carry you along. Vocalist and bassist Pardis Latifi has a very pleasant voice and croons and cajoles, mesmerising the listener into a hypnotic, dream-like state. In other words, this is the very essence of stoner doom and it is executed impressively. Pardis's elephantine bass lines and drummer Moritz Ermen Bausch's thunderous, but spare, drumming slowly heaves the tracks forward and provide the thick foundations required by the ponderous weight of the uber-distorted riffs. Guitar solos are quite sparingly used and are efficient in their execution, not becoming excessively noodling or swamped in psychedelic explorations.
The songwriting is very good and the tracks are quite catchy, particularly the title track and opener Lilith's Lullaby and these are the sort of songs that may find you humming them to yourself long after you have stopped listening to the album itself. Stoner doom can sometimes become self-indulgent, but Daevar's songwriting is fairly economical and none of the tracks are extended unnecessarily and never seem to drag, quite the opposite in fact. As I said at the beginning, they are very reminiscent of Windhand and some may say too similar, but if you are going to ape anyone's style then it may as well be the best in your given field and it isn't like blatant Band X-worship is rare in the metal world, is it? I enjoyed this far more than I expected to going in and with us entering the seventh year without a new Windhand album, then Daevar provide me with a nice warm and fuzzy hit of that particular doom metal drug I have been craving for so long.
4/5
Severoth - By the Way of Light (2024)
Severoth is the atmospheric black metal solo project of Ukraine's Illia Rafalskyi, also known as Galdur (dungeon synth) and Morok (conventional black metal). I only caught up with this project with the release of previous album, Vsesvit, back in 2020, very much enjoying it's sweeping soundscapes that struck me as similar to Andy Marshall's Saor, a project I have an enormous amount of time for. By the Way of Light continues in similar vein, the shortest of it's five tracks being just shy of nine minutes in length, so ample time is allowed for the epic and expansive atmospherics of the tracks to take root and fill the imagination with images of wild and wind-blown, remote panoramas where nature is given full reign.
Instrumentally, the album consists of thin, repetitive tremolo riffs and programmed drums, overlaid with lush synths which provide added depth via their sonic layering. Skirling lead work suggests the accompaniment of folk instrumentation, such as pipes for a sweeping, folk-centric atmosphere which fans of Saor will certainly recognise immediately. The vocals are ragged howling shrieks, pushed down in the mix slightly suggesting distance both metaphorical and real, apart from a couple of clean sung sections, one in the second half of opening track, "Sunrise Will Come", and another during "To the Stars!" which are more to the fore and in an epic folk style.
It is impossible to listen to the album and read the lyrics and ignore the context in which they have been written. As a resident of Dnipro in Ukraine, Illia is obviously seriously affected by the war and the album, in particular the first two tracks, reflects the mindset of Ukrainians caught up in the horrors. "Sunrise Will Come" with lyrics such as "Sunrise will come, and with it’s own light reveals to us, this new brave world" is certainly a reference to the fact that the current situation cannot last forever and a belief that things will end well. "Sons of Steel Will", the album's most aggressive-sounding track, meanwhile pronounces, "In blaze of the battle, by heat of the bloodshed, We are Sons Of Steel Will" paying tribute to the Ukrainians' indomitability.
In truth, there isn't a whole deal you haven't heard many times before, but it is artfully put together and very competently performed with a steely heart that says, even in the depths of horror, hope and beauty can be found. I found it to actually be a very uplifting album, it's sonic depictions of wide-open natural expanses allowing the listener to metaphorically fill their lungs with the glory of nature in the midst of their busy everyday lives, which is a gift that none but the best can pull off this effectively. If a whole people can be inspired to this in the midst of war, then surely we can in the context of our (thankfully) humdrum lives. This is probably an album for the more romantically-inclined black metal listener rather than the trve kvlt hordes, but if you have any kind of empathy or love of the human spirit in your heart then give it a listen.
4/5
Oh, man, I am so sorry to hear of your health issues Daniel. I fully sympathise as I have suffered with tinnitus for over thirty years, not just from listening to metal at high volume, but also from working in a steel rolling mill in the 80s when health and safety was less of a thing. I find I am often unable to tell what people are saying if I am not facing them directly, which is frustrating, so I understand your decision to protect your hearing.
I agree with Andi that I would love to keep the playlists and features going as they contribute a lot to what makes the site great, at least for me anyway. As a suggestion, how about changing the frequency of the playlists to every quarter, ie four a year, rather than doing away with them altogether. That way, if Vinny is willing to keep going with the Pit then I don't mind taking over the programming for the North and Horde playlists in addition to carrying on with the Fallen. As for the features, again we could change the frequency to every other month.
I think I speak for us all when I say that we apppreciate the amount of time and effort you have put in to making the site what it is, Daniel, and it is a sad day both on a personal level for you as a friend and for the site itself which will be much reduced by your absence. I sincerely wish you all the best going forward with whatever you do in the future.
I might give this a try as I have enjoyed one or two deathcore bands I have heard recently.
Pallbearer - Mind Burns Alive (2024)
I feel I need to recalibrate my approach to Pallbearer. Since their imperious debut, Sorrow and Extinction, they have moved further away from that album's massively crushing and melancholy doom metal in a more gentle, doomgaze-y direction that has found me becoming increasingly disappointed with the results. Mind Burns Alive continues that direction of travel and it is now apparent that the days of Sorrow and Extinction are well in the band's rearview mirror.
Firstly, the production has a light touch, without doom metal's usual focus on the bottom end and with a clear, clean sound that enhances the gentler material, but which, lightens the doom riffs when they hit, preventing them from attaining the overwhelming crushing weight which is most often the point of focus for doom acts. Songwriting-wise, it seems that Pallbearer are steering in a more post-metal direction, achieved by incorporating influences from 1990's and early 2000's alternative rock. A track such as "Signals", for example, has a very alt-rock intro, bringing to mind bands like Radiohead or REM and even when the doom riff kicks in, it feels as much like the heavier alternative or noise rock bands of the turn of the century as it does doom metal. It must be said though that Brett Campbell has the perfect voice for this style, his reedy and nasal delivery is very much suited to that particular alternative rock sound and feels just as much at home with the gentler material as it does the heavier.
I have a feeling that Pallbearer may be taking a leaf out of Patrick Walker's book and taking an emotionally redolent version of doom metal such as Walker perfected on Watching From A Distance and moving in a shoegazey, alternative direction, similar to 40 Watt Sun. As I said at the beginning, I think a reappraisal of Pallbearer is required at this point because, after multiple listens, by which time any lingering preconceptions have been shorn away, Mind Burns Alive is revealing itself to actually be an interesting album and may now even sit as my second-favourite by the band after the mighty debut. The previous few albums, certainly those after Foundations of Burden, have felt incomplete, like a band casting around for a signature sound without exactly knowing where they are heading, but I think Mind Burns Alive has seen Pallbearer arrive where they truly want to be and feels more complete and coherent as a result. Their's is now an emotionally-charged version of doom that builds from gentle, often non-metal, beginnings up to a crescendo whereby the heavy doom riffs act as a kind of catharsis for the fear or sorrow openly displayed during each track's earlier sections. The band are obviously very technically sound, but use this ability to build atmosphere and poignancy within their music, rather than to showcase their technical chops. The guitar solos, for example, sound mournful and full of yearning, used to elicit an emotional reaction rather than wow the listener with the musician's dexterity.
Did I even mention the saxophone solo that jumps out at you during "Endless Place" yet? I'm not completely convinced said solo was entirely necessary, but it does help to illustrate that Mind Burns Alive is actually a lot better and more interesting than I originally gave it credit for. To properly appreciate it, however, I have had to shift my perspective on not only this, but the band as a whole. I wouldn't say this is a perfect album by any stretch, certainly not for my particular taste profile, but it finally sees Pallbearer getting comfortable with a particular sound that plays to their strengths and which is even capable of swaying the opinion of a cynical old bastard like me to their way of thinking. In all honesty, I had been getting a little bit bored of certain sections of the doom metal scene's predictability over recent months, so it is great to hear something that has defied and redefined my expectations.
4/5
Yeah, I don't mind them too much and still like the debut album, The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, along with my personal favourite Middian and Nymphetamine is OK. I don't really think they have been classed as black metal for many a year now, gothic metal being the most usual tagging for them.
Hi Ben, can you add Cryptal Echoes and their s/t EP from 2024. It only has 15 ratings on RYM and it looks (and sounds) like a demo, but it is an official release with a CD version available on Morbid Chapel Records. Thanks in advance.
Cryptal Echoes - S/T EP (2024)
Cryptal Echoes are a young death doom band from Klagenfurt in Austria and this self-titled, almost thirty-minute, EP is their first release since forming in 2021. At the time of the EP's recording they were a four-piece band, but a couple of lineup changes have since seen them reduced to a trio. They worship at the altar of the old-school death metal gods, with a thoroughly filthy and cavernous sound, which is exacerbated by a very raw, little better than demo-quality, production job. Heavily distorted, lumbering riffs accompanied by deep-throated growls and bellows for vocals are very much the order of the day for the band, punctuated by more uptempo bursts of deathly aggression. This is very much death doom rooted in the genre's early-nineties beginnings with no concession to the progressive tendencies or external genre incorporation of more modern death doom bands, delivering a pure and unfiltered, genuinely old-school death doom experience.
When the band let loose and increase the tempo into out-and-out death metal territory, the raw production values and heavy guitar distortion see things getting a little bit messy and start to blur into one deathly rumble, with the snare drum being the main discernible instrument still propelling the tracks along. I don't necessarily have a problem with this, having listened to a lot of lo-fi stuff over the years, but it could well be a deal-breaker for those raised on modern, crystal clear production jobs. The riffs are decent, although if you are familiar with a lot of early 90's death metal then you won't find them at all original, although that is never the aim here. Cryptal Echoes know exactly what they want to do and that is recreate the original death doom sound as faithfully as possible, a feat they pulled off very convincingly.
Of the six tracks on the EP, four hover around the six minute mark and these are where the meat of the album lie. There is a bit of a departure with tracks four and five, with the sub-two-minute "Spiritual Torture" verging on grindcore and short instrumental, "Dreaded Chasm" being a gently noodling breather prior to closing track, the lumbering and hulking "Desolate Return" with which the band finish in great style. This is my favourite of the six, it feeling the classiest and most developed track with the release's coolest riffs left until last.
This is probably one for hardcore death doom fanatics with a penchant for the old-school, but if that is you then you may well find enough raw meat to sink your teeth into with this.
3.5/5
My first new album of 2025 gets the year off to a pretty good start:
Barshasketh - Antinomian Asceticism (2025)
Barshasketh originated in New Zealand in 2007 and was comprised of multi-instrumentalist, Krigeist (Bròn, Belliciste, Sluagh) and drummer Maldoror. Sometime after the release of their debut album, Defying the Bonds of Cosmic Thraldom, Krigeist relocated to Edinburgh in Scotland, recruiting Cnoc an Tursa drummer, Bryan Hamilton, into the ranks and adding a second guitarist in Haar's Guillaume Martin. The lineup is nowadays a four-piece, Hamilton having moved on with current drummer, Finland's Mika Kallio, of Seal of Beleth, also contributing vocals and keyboards and Falloch's Ben Brown on bass. I was quite the fan of the band's previous, self-titled, album released in 2019 with it's no-nonsense approach and resistance to any genre hybridisation that has plagued black metal in recent times, so was looking forward to a new release. Thankfully Barshasketh have delivered and may have produced their best release to date.
The first point of particular note is the more muscular production job which has boosted the bottom end and thickened the band's sound when compared to previous releases. I like how it adds power and heft to the tracks, although there may be some backlash from fans against the loss of the more typically thin and trebley sound of yore. Not to fear, the tremolo riffing is all still present and correct, but the rhythm section has definitely benefitted from the meatier production job and truly provide the roaring velocity behind the individual tracks.
Songwriting-wise, Antinomian Asceticism is quite a busy affair, with multiple tempo changes that sees the band switching into crawling doom metal mode on several occasions in amongst the swarming savagery of the tremolo riffs and withering salvos of blastbeats. Many of the riffs are fairly memorable and even, dare I say, melodic at times, but this is offset by a penchant for quite dissonant guitar leads that introduce some jaggedness into proceedings and prevents the tracks from becoming too catchy. This dichotomy at the heart of Antinomian Asceticism is further bolstered by the vocal performances. The main vocals are a harsh, gurgling shriek which are occasionally accompanied by solemn, chant-like cleans, providing a contrast to the aggressive harshness of the lead vocals and imparting emotional tension between peaceful, ritualistic reverence on one hand and chaotic aggression on the other.
Whilst still flying under the radar to some extent, Bashasketh are undoubtedly proving themselves to be a very tight unit. They are technically proficient, as well as being efficient songwriters with a consummate skill for producing high quality, uncompromising black metal, yet which embraces a modern sound that marks them out as more than mere 1990's copyists. Hopefully this new album will see the band emerging from out of the shadow of lesser lights and gaining the respect that their quality deserves.
4/5
This 1997 album appears to be the only release from the Aussie hardcore punk / metalcore outfit, which is a great shame because this was a genuine surprise and I enjoyed it massively. I don't know what "real" metalcore fans think of it because, to my ears, this sounds first and foremost like a punk album with a metallic guitar sound, which is no problem to me at all. I'm not a large consumer of metalcore, but one of my bugbears with it being that so many of the modern bands sound alike and I have real trouble telling both the bands and their songs apart. But because of the marked punk component, this has a lot more character than some of the more modern metalcore bands I have listened to. In fact I am not even sure that some of the punk component even counts as hardcore, sounding catchy and melodic, more like second wave UK punk acts like Angelic Upstarts or Anti-Nowhere League, although elsewhere they do have a Minor Threat vibe going on. One of my favourite punk albums is Suicidal Tendencies' debut (their best by a country mile) and I found that springing to mind several times whilst listening to this. I must admit I didn't even realise that Callous were a christian-themed band until reading Daniel's review but, to be honest, I don't care one way or the other because I am more interested in the abrasive timbre of the vocal performance than the actual lyrics themselves and it still sounds pissed off and angry, no matter the lyrical content. In fact, let's face it, some of the straight-edge punks could be even more preachy than any christian act are ever likely to be.
I think that ultimately "In the Memory Of..." appeals to me so much because it has a strong individuality and character due to it having such a prominent early punk influence - a trait which is often just vestigial in more modern metalcore, leaving it often sounding very samey with everyone wanting to be Converge. Sadly it seems that most genres tend towards conformity at some point - and even punk itself fell into that trap with the endless stream of cookie-cutter skate / pop punk acts that proliferated in the wake of Green Day and Bad Religion's early success. If I am going to explore metalcore further with any chance of satisfaction, then I guess these earlier days of the genre are the best place for me to start.
4/5
I think that had I heard this at the time of its release then I would have enjoyed it far more than I do now. To me it sounds a lot like the early USPM of Manilla Road and Jag Panzer with some very cool riffs, lead work and interesting song structures. It falls down on a couple of points, the first being that the production is complete shite. As much as I enjoyed the guitar work, they are threatened with being drowned out by the bass for almost the entirety of the album. I don't have a problem with the bass sitting well up in the mix, but if it is drowning out the leads then there is a problem right there. My second issue is a perpetual one wirthin certain realms of metal and that is the constant strained sound of vocalist, Shane Southby, hitting his high notes every other second, especially when he has a perfectly fine "normal" singing voice. I know that is a bit rich coming from someone who enjoys King Diamond, but KD is so OTT that I see it as a reflection of his unique musical persona, whereas here it just irritated me.
Overall I did get something out of it and Taramis were definitely trying to stretch their legs and move beyond the boundaries of traditional heavy metal with more complex song structures, the title track in particular standing out, but that production job is just so obstructive to my enjoyment that I find it hard to embrace Queen of Thieves with any more than a cursory nod.
3/5
Hmmm... the age old question. I thought the general consensus was that vocals alone don't contribute to genre selection. If an album has black metal "music" with clean vocals, it's still black metal. If an album has pop "music" with black metal vocals, it's still just pop. To move away from this logic creates all sorts of bad genre choices, particularly as death and black metal vocals appear across all sorts of subgenres these days.
Yes, that's generally been my stance over the years but this record isn't as straight-forward as that. You see, if you examine it in detail, you'll find that the vocals are the main thing tying this record to metal. The instrumentation is quite diverse & spends a fair bit more time outside of the metal scope so I don't think you could say that this is a straight-up "avant-garde metal" release as such. In fact, if you were to base your genre-tag solely on the instrumentation then this release may not even qualify for the Academy. The vocals are about as black metal as they come though & I don't think you'd find another metal release that's not tagged with at least a "blackened" prefix if they offered something similar. Given that the black metal component is the primary link to metal & it's prominent enough in the sound of the album to command a metal tag, I feel that an avant-garde black metal tag is the best fit for it. Have a listen for yourself though as I'm certainly open to other ideas if they're a better fit.
I initially thought no to a black metal primary, but contuinued re-listens have seen me soften my stance on that point. I think bands like OP who are now operating on the outer boundaries of metal are able to throw a bit of a proverbial spanner in the works of the clan system. Undoubtedly the vocals are the most black metal aspect of the album, but tracks such as "Bioalkemisti", "Voitelu" and "Valotus" contain sufficient of a black metal vibe musically, within a wider black metal context, to be considered a part of the North. That the album as a whole is undoubtedly avant-garde is indisputable and if we use the dictionary definition of avant-garde, ie "the advance group in any field, especially in the visual, literary, or musical arts, whose works are characterized chiefly by unorthodox and experimental methods" and apply that to Muuntautuja, I think it is fair to say that Oranssi Pazuzu are in the vanguard of bands redefining exactly what black metal is or can be and it may be that we need to recalibrate our definitions too. Also ambient and electronic music has been a part of black metal since the earliest days of the second wave. So, yes, absolutely to avant-garde black metal for me.
Do you also hear a bit of an industrial sound here too, Daniel, particularly in the machine-like dehumanisation of tracks like the title track and "Ikikäärme"?
Sounds interesting Vinny.
Great review Sonny & vey much in line with my own feelings. Tech thrash or not tech thrash?
For me, no. The drumming, yes. The riffs and solos aren't technical thrash to my ears, though. The solos are tortured, not technical and the riffs and song structures don't scream tech-thrash to me at all.
Here's my review:
Invocator are a danish four-piece, formed in 1986, although this, their debut album, wasn't recorded and released until 1991. I had never heard of these guys before, so this is my first encounter with them and I must admit I quite like what I am hearing here. Excursion Demise is an album of prime brutal thrash, with the band endeavouring to play the most extreme version of thrash metal that they could. Unfortunately they have been a little hamstrung in that department by the production, which is lacking on bottom end, robbing the riffs of some of the blunt-force trauma they may have possessed otherwise and rendering them more lightweight than they deserve. This lack of riff power, though, forces the drumming more to the fore which, considering just how impressive Per Möller Jensen is behind the kit, is not such a bad thing. His technique is powerful and technical, with an impressive arsenal of percussive weapons up his sleeve. Busy and complex patterns weave together and provide the driving impetus behind the tracks, also bolstering the riffing to some extent.
Guitarist and vocalist, Jacob Hansen, is obviously the main draw here though. His vocal style is a rough, aggressive snarl that is reminiscent of Kreator's Mille Petrozza and well suits the blistering pacing of the majority of the tracks. It is, however, his six-string solos that, along with Möller Jensen's drumming, are the stars of the show. Taking the howling riffs of Hannemann and King and torturing them into ever-more distorted patterns and directions and sprinkling them liberally all over the album's runtime, boosts the violent brutality factor by an exponential factor.
Now I am always one for a good slab of brutal thrash metal and Excursion Demise is indeed a very solid example but, much as I enjoy it whilst it is blasting out of my headphones, there isn't a great deal that sticks with me afterwards, other than an impression of having had my ears sufficiently brutalised for nearly fifty minutes. I am not complaining and I feel that the failing in that respect sits with my lack of technical musical expertise not allowing me to grasp hold of specifics and, consequently, the album's unrelentingly fast-pacing and lack of memorable riffs and hooks only leaves me with a lingering overall impression of it's brutality rather than any specific outstanding moments. Look, this is far from the only album that I view that way and it doesn't prevent me from enjoying it massively whilst it is playing, I just wish I was able to take a bit more away with me afterwards is all.
4/5
I've been a fan of Adorior since their first album back in the late 1990's Sonny. They're always very consistent, even if they're not particularly prolific. I've really enjoyed my couple of casual listens to the new record over the last few months too & it may even be their finest work to date. Hopefully I get the time to review it before the end of January but the list is pretty long at this point.
I just finished reviewing the new Ulcerate album & it's fair to say that I can't see it being beaten for my AOTY.
I was sceptical as to whether the Ulcerate album would appeal to me, but it is a genuine era-defining release and I too was blown away by it. It is also my AOTY and I could see it being the metal release of the decade, ultimately. Unfortunately I was unable to score a vinyl copy and the scalpers on Discogs are asking silly money, so I got my CD copy today instead.
Adorior - Bleed on My Teeth (2024)
Adorior are a death metal five-piece originally from Sutton in England's West Midlands. Formed in 1994, their recorded output is exceedingly sparse with just three full-lengths and a couple of splits to their name. The band have undergone several lineup changes in their three decades of existence, with vocalist Jaded Lungs (real name Melissa Gray) being the only remaining original member. I hadn't heard of the band prior to this, but on the strength of Bleed on My Teeth, it seems that Adorior are one of the UK's best-kept extreme metal secrets.
This is an album of thrashy death metal with blackened tendencies, but that genre description fails to convey the sheer evil-sounding chaos that is about to assault your eardrums when you put needle to record (or more likely press play on your chosen streaming service). The more I listen to Bleed on My Teeth, the more I am convincing myself that it is a war metal album, albeit with a clearer and less messy production than is often assosciated with the genre. A cursory investigation of their earlier albums reveals that they have toned down the black metal influence on this latest and it sounds even more muscular and bludgeoningly brutal as a result.
Vocalist Jaded Lungs is no angel-voiced siren, but a venomous and vituperative bitch-demon spitting blaphemous and violent tirades interspersed with piercing screams in an evilly disturbing vocal performance that would put the vast majority of her male counterparts to shame and alone makes checking this out mandatory for any connoisseur of the most evil-sounding singers in metal. The lyrics are often exceedingly disturbing, conjuring pictures of scenes I would rather not contemplate too deeply and which show a lot of extreme metal lyricists up for the cop-out wimps they are! Fortunately for us, great though Melissa's vocals are, they are far from the only thing worth hearing on Bleed on My Teeth. The deathly riffs are fast and furious in the main, although the band sometimes drop into more melodic thrash metal riffing, such as the recurrent riff of "Ophidian Strike" which act as an effective contrast to the chaotic mayhem seething around them and feel like a consolidation of all this primal chaos into more coherent and focussed moments when maximum headbanging action can be attained. The proliferation of solos provided by lead guitarist Assassinator feed into the album's chaotic nature, with searing dissonance and Slayer-like short, sharp shocks of screaming howls leaping out at the listener in blistering salvos. And that's all before we get to drummer, Molestör, who is an absolute fucking beast behind the kit. Withering blastbeats are followed by impressively proficient fills as the guy never succumbs to either complacency or fatigue, his kinetic stickwork constantly driving things along in technically impressive and aggressively imaginitive ways.
Despite all these components often giving the impression of chaos, Bleed on My Teeth is actually extremely tight and surprisingly complex for what sounds like such a primal recording. The technical chops of all concerned can be in no doubt and that, combined with the tight songwriting, makes me absolutely amazed that Adorior are not more well-known, especially here in their native UK where we aren't exactly overflowing with top-drawer extreme metal outfits. This is a must for any deaththrash maniacs out there and it's great to know that these British Isles can still put out an album that sounds as fucking me(n)tal as this and that with a cover that is too hardcore for Spotify to show to the public at large!
4.5/5
Picked up on an album called Bleed on My Teeth by UK band, Adorior after a friend on RYM had it as his #1 of the year. They have been around for thirty years but have only released three albums. Unholy thrashy death metal with female vocals (singer Melissa Gray is the only remaining original member). Definitely worth checking out. Spotify have censored the cover for some reason - it is fairly blasphemous, but there are much worse metal covers out there.