Sonny's Forum Replies

December 2021

01. Krux - "Black Room" (from "Krux", 2002)

02. Crowbar - "The Lasting Dose" (from "Sonic Excess in Its Purest Form", 2001) [submitted by Daniel]

03. Light Field Reverie - "Dreamwalker" (from "Another World", 2020) [submitted by Ben]

04. Moanaa - "Inflexion" (from "Embers, 2021)

05. Haddock - "Captain Wolfe's Journey" (from "Captain Wolfe's Journey to the Center of the Sea", 2016) [submitted by Sonny]

06. Monolord - "The Siren of Yersinia" (from "Your Time to Shine", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]

07. Grief - "Come to Grief" (from Come to Grief, 1994) [submitted by Sonny]

08. Boris - "Huge" (from "Amplifier Worship", 1998)

09. Void of Silence - "Farthest Shores" (from "The Sky Over", 2018) [submitted by Ben]

10. Adrift For Days - "The Leech" (from "The Lunar Maria", 2010) [submitted by Daniel]

11. Saint Vitus - "Mystic Lady" (from "Hallow's Victim", 1985) [submitted by Daniel]

12. The Flight of Sleipnir - "Thaw" (from "Eventide", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]

13. Ba'al - "Sepia" (from Reverence EP, 2019)

14. Ophis - "Default Empty" (from "Spew Forth Odium", 2021) [submitted by Ben]

15. My Dying Bride - "The Crown Of Sympathy" (from "Turn Loose The Swans", 1993) [submitted by Daniel]

High Ben, please could you add Sweden's Eternal Evil.

Great debut album from a band of young Swedes obviously raised on a diet of Slayer and the giants of Teutonic Thrash that is a throwback to the days when every release didn't have to push the envelope or change the world, but it was enough for an album just to be great for headbanging to.

A bit of a mixed month for me with some highs and lows, including an old favourite, a couple of goodies I hadn't heard before and some I'll never listen to again. Anyway, in order of preference:

1. The Horde: Nile - Annihilation of the Wicked 5/5

2. The Pit: Exumer - Rising from the Sea 4.5/5

3. The Infinite: Persefone - Core 4.5/5

4. The Fallen: Messa - Feast for Water 4/5

5. The North: Sun of the Blind - Skullreader 4/5

6. The Guardians: W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children 2.5/5

7. The Gateway: Spiritbox - Eternal Blue 2/5

8. The Revolution: Trivium - In the Court of the Dragon 1.5/5

9. The Sphere: Dusk soundtrack - sorry still can't bring myself to spend two and a half hours listening to a video game soundtrack!

Exumer are one of the lesser lights of the Teutonic Thrash scene behind Kreator, Sodom and Destruction, releasing a couple of classic albums before originally splitting in 1991 of which Rising from the Sea is my favourite. Their sound is typical of 1980's German thrash and Exumer do a great job of harnessing the requisite aggression and intensity that is the hallmark of the Big Three Teutonic giants. They are obviously  heavily influenced by Slayer, bassist / vocalist Paul Arakari in particular doing a more than passable impression of Tom Araya - Decimation sounding incredibly like Jesus Saves from Reign in Blood for example. There is a kind of polished rawness to the album, it actually sounds better than you imagine it does, this being no demo-quality lo-fi grasp for kvlt kudos, but it has pretty decent production values (although saying that I am most familiar with the 2001 re-release so it may have been polished up from the original version).

This isn't a perfect album and the band certainly have limitations, but they write fantastic riffs have a palpable energy and dynamism and, for me, encapsulate a lot of what was best about 1980's thrash. This is no-bullshit, heads-down, neck-wrenching metal from the days when every album didn't have to make a statement or re-invent the wheel, but it was sufficient for it to be merely a great record for headbanging along to (how I miss them!)
4.5/5

I chose this as a featured release because I am particularly fond of the Italian take on doom metal and more specifically I like that Messa have tried to do something different with one of the more stale doom metal sub-genres, ie female-fronted stoner doom where nearly every new band seems to want to be Windhand so they just recycle the same old tropes and very rarely come up with much new and exciting. Anyway I've posted a review which I will repost here:

Italian metal and specifically doom metal, has a fantastic ability to throw us fans a few curve balls now and again - Paul Chain anyone? Messa are another band that attempts to push the envelope and do something a little different with tried and tested metal tropes, in this case female-fronted doom metal which has been very much in vogue over the last few years and has become a bit tired and stale as a sub-genre as successive acts merely regurgitate what has gone before with little attempt to produce anything new or exciting. So when a release like Feast for Water comes along it is like a genuine breath of fresh air.

Following a short intro, the first track proper is Snakeskin Drape which is the most metal track and is fairly orthodox doom within the context of this album. To be honest, despite it being a decent slab of metal, if the rest of the album sounded like this I certainly wouldn't regard it as highly, as there are bands who do the straight-up female-fronted doom thing much better. I presume the track's placement is to ease the listener into the album and not to scare them off by getting too diverse from the outset. The subsequent track Leah also has a very heavy intro, but from then on things become a little less typical as the song alternates between gentle minimalism and crooned vocals to reverb-laden heavy chords with a more earnest vocal.

Messa prove more than willing to bring in other, more mainstream, influences from outside of the metal sphere, such as during the bluesy Seer, but they aren't merely a bolt-on effect to possibly add more mass appeal, rather they become a synergy between the heavier, metal-based material and the more traditional musical styles resulting in seamless transitions between the contrasting styles. She knows has a kind of smooth jazz feel, led by Alberto's gentle piano keys and Sara crooning vocals, being punctuated by a heavy riff-led chorus before segueing into the intriguing Tulsi which begins with what almost amounts to a blast beat and a soaring guitar solo before settling down into it's main riff. The track eventually returns to the jazzy vibe of She knows and actually ends with a brilliant saxophone solo. White Stains has the most memorable riff and chorus and is one of the album's heavier tracks. Closing track Da Tariki Tariqat is an instrumental affair, heavily flavoured with a middle-eastern vibe that builds in intensity to it's zenith and a final release.

The songwriting is excellent, the technical prowess is flawless and Sara Bianchin's vocals are a treat. Messa really are a bit of one-off and are very Italian in their approach to metal, being unafraid to incorporate other influences and take the music to places more cautious and conservative acts would fear to tread. It may not ultimately be to everyone's taste but I applaud the band for their vision and a genuine attempt to push the envelope of what has become an increasingly stale sub-genre.

8/10

My favourite track from this month's Horde feature release. Brutal but technical death metal with one of the best solos I've heard on a DM album.

I have documented previously how I struggle with large chunks of death metal, especially the exaggerated violence and brutality. Overtly technical death metal doesn't really chime with me either as it's often staccato nature disrupts the flow of the tracks too much to my ears. Consequently I have a pool of favoured bands I tend to turn to for my death metal fix - Autopsy, Bolt Thrower and Vader for example. Near the very top of that list come Nile.

Nile were one of the first bands I got into upon my return to metal after my hiatus during most of the 1990s, via their Black Seeds of Vengeance and In Their Darkened Shrines albums, so I remember anticipating the release of  Annihilation of the Wicked with some relish. Luckily we Nile fans were not disappointed and with AotW Nile unleashed their tour de force. Though it is technically superb, it doesn't flog that technicality to the expense of the flow of the tracks, each of which run like a dream nor does it short-change on the heaviness front, battering the listener relentlessly with wave after wave of brutal riffs and some of the finest solos I have ever heard on a death metal album, such as those heard on Cast Down the Heretic and Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten. The Ancient Egyptian theme is a great motif but doesn't really have any defining impact on the actual music as we are mercifully spared any goofy, faux-authentic egyptian passages, save the odd intro or interjection such as the intro to User-Maat-Re and briefly during Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten. There is plenty of variation in pacing from hulking, almost doom-like passages to brutal headlong charges with the longer tracks making for some seriously epic death metal. Tracks like the title track and Cast Down the Heretic are honestly some of the finest death metal I have ever heard and the quality overall is exquisite, revealing a band that were absolutely on top of their game as both technicians and songwriters. One of my all-time favourite death metal releases and I salute you Daniel for picking this gem for a monthly showcase.

5/5

Hi Ben, I'm not sure if I've requested their inclusions before, but can you add Tar Hag (USA) and Olde (Canada).

As for Death Angel, I still love their debut, but can't get on with any of their other releases at all.

I've always liked "The Ultra-Violence" but I can't deny my feeling that it's a flawed & overrated release, particularly vocally. To my ears "Act III" is the band's peak as it saw them ironing out all of the kinks & producing a well thought-out & mature metal record that may not be all that thrashy but makes up for it with quality song-writing & execution. Death Angel's 2000's material is worth a look but I wouldn't say it's essential while their 1988 sophomore album "Frolic Through the Park" is an absolute abomination.

Flawed it may be but when the band hit the sweet spot, man they thrash like a muthafucker. As for being overrated? I personally don't think an album that contains a song like Voracious Souls can ever be deemed overrated!

To be honest I'm not particularly interested in yearly awards. The Oscars, Grammys or any of the endless stream of entertainment  magazine award lists mean very little to me. I find it more interesting to hear what a particular person thinks were the best / worst albums, songs, gigs or whatever rather than some faceless consensus as it has a more human and therefore interesting perspective, especially here on the Academy where I think the active members have become a bit more familiar. Popularity has never equated to quality in my experience. Is anyone really interested in saying "______ is this year's Official Metal Academy album of the year"? (If so, great, but it doesn't interest me personally). I'd rather the members posted their own unique highs and lows for a more personal review of the year. But that's just my take on it.

Andi, you may well have time enough to listen to 24 hours of old playlists but I for one definitely do not.

I just cannot get on with Death Angel.  To much weird stuff thrown into a band that really can deliver on the thrash front when they put their mind to it.  That Eternal Evil album drops today and this sounds like it will scratch my black/thrash itch for the month of December.  Having said that I just managed to get Nekromantheon's sophomore LP on Todestrieb Records this afternoon so depending on delivery times that might get a bashing throughout the month also.

I am going right off Sabbat though which were one of my favoured UK bands for thrash - those vocals and me just don't get on like we used to.  Kreator, Dark Angel and Testament gave me my hits this month really.

It's weird that you say that about Sabbat as it echoes my own thoughts of recent times. History of a Time to Come was once one of my all-time favourites and I still think it's a great record, but some of it's sheen has faded and most of it is down to Martin Walkyier's vocals. The CD reissue has five live tracks and these are where Walkyier started to annoy me and I can't listen to the original in the same way anymore.

As for Death Angel, I still love their debut, but can't get on with any of their other releases at all.

Girlschool were one of those bands that were embraced by the wide arms of the NWOBHM movement but were really no more than hard rock. I'd like to see their debut album "Demolition" removed from The Guardians & added to Non-Metal.

I completely agree and I'm wondering if now is the time for the Academy to do away with the NWOBHM genre tag altogether as it was only ever a location specific scene within the early years of metal when the definition of what constituted heavy metal was very different to what it is today. I know we don't actually use the acronym as a genre definition ourselves but perhaps it should be disregarded as a metal genre within RYM's genre-tree when considering bands for inclusion in the Metal Academy. It kind of irks that an album like Demolition can get in (even if ultimately as a non-metal entry) but not Machine Head, Secret Treaties or 2112 (it does for me anyway). A band like Demon can get sixteen entries but far more significant and heavier acts like Deep Purple can't get a mention. Shit, even Ted Nugent is ten times more metal than half the NWOBHM. Anyway, it's just a thought.

I've got a feeling someone else was kidding with that Månegarm track as well.

I wasn't actually. I found that atmospheric piece to be by far the most enjoyable thing on an album that I genuinely struggled with.

The dictionary definition of "damning with faint praise" I think!!

Seriously though, why do so many folk metal bands (especially) think we need to hear the crackle of fires, the gallop of horse hooves and the clash of weaponry? If they were any good at their craft the the music would facilitate us mentally envisioning these things as a matter of course - see a band like Saor for example. If I actually wanted to hear all that shit I'd go to a medieval fair at the local manor house (which sometimes I do!)

My comments on each track of my first Fallen monthly playlist:

01. LLNN - "Imperial" (from "Unmaker", 2021)
Thought this was a great track for an intro with it's bombastic "imperial stormtrooper" sound.

02. October Tide - "Grey Dawn" (from "Grey Dawn", 1999) [submitted by Ben]
I'm not sold on October Tide and I think Rain Without End is overrated, but I actually quite liked this one. I'll have to check out the full album.

03. Skepticism - "The March of the Four" (from "Comapnion", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
The most funereal of the tracks from Skepticism's latest and another slab of quality funeral doom.

04. Paradise Lost - "Elusive Cure" (from "Draconian Times", 1995) [submitted by Daniel]
Despite my aversion to gothic metal I enjoyed this one a lot.

05. Tankograd - "Nie Dać Się Zarżnąć" (from "KLĘSKA", 2021) [submitted by Sonny]
Filthy-sounding, yet quite melodic Polish doom metal from a band that deserve a bigger audience.

06. MonumentuM - "Consuming Jerusalem" (from "In Absentia Christi", 1995)
Gothic metal with a bit of a weird occult sound that I thought sounded interesting enough to warrant inclusion.

07. Nadja - "Fruiting Bodies" (from "Luminous Rot", 2021)
I'm a big fan of Nadja and they've got a new album out. Crawling, creeping drone metal that has an unsettling atmosphere.

08. Eyehategod - "Take As Needed for Pain" (from "Take As Needed for Pain", 1993.)
I'm only now getting into Eyehategod as, for some reason, I didn't think they would be my cup of tea, but fuck, they kick ass and this track is brilliant Loos-i-ana sludge.

09. Amenra - "Het Gloren" (from "De Doorn", 2021)
De Doorn is a great atmo-sludge album and i really wanted to use the track Ogentroost, but it was featured in an earlier playlist, so I went with this as an alternative and it's still brilliant.

10. Coffins - "Into the Coffin (Oppression)" (from "Mortuary in Darkness", 2005)
Thick and cloying old-school, Japanese death doom from a band I have a lot of time for.

11. Forest of Shadows - "Eternal Autumn" (from "Where Dreams Turn to Dust EP", 2001) [submitted by Ben]
I am familiar with this ep and unfortunately I'm not a big fan. Sounds a bit like MyDyingBride-lite and doesn't have the requisite gravitas the style dictates, for my money.

12. Un - "Sentiment" (from "Sentiment", 2018) [submitted by Ben]
This album, however, I am a fan of and this track especially. Deathly and ominous funeral doom. Music to crush bones!

13. Elder - "Spires Burn" (from "Spires Burn / Release EP", 2015) [submitted by Daniel]
Heavy and groovy stoner metal that speaks to the younger stoner me from way back when. Really like the "tight but loose" jamming on this.

14. Reverend Bizarre - "Caesar Forever" (from "III: So Long Suckers", 2007) [submitted by Daniel]
One of my favourite tracks from one of my favourite albums by one of my favourite bands. Brilliant straight-up doom from masters of the genre.

15. Warning - "Footsteps" (from "Watching from a Distance", 2008) [submitted by Sonny]
To close out my first Fallen playlist I had to go with this slab of doom metal perfection from my all-time favourite album. The dictionary definition of doom metal.

I was aiming for a list that would shake the heavens and think I got pretty close!

And that was that... and an enjoyable experience it was too. Hope you all get as much out of it as I did.

Another great playlist this month, although there was too much war metal on it !!! (Only kidding).

I've got a feeling someone else was kidding with that Månegarm track as well.

I was familiar already with a fair bit of this month's playlist, but it's always great to hear from Mayhem, Kvist, Immortal, Drudkh etc. Of those I haven't heard before the Schammasch track has certainly piqued my interest. Horna are a band I've been meaning to explore but have never got round to yet, but their track here has convinced me that I need to. Need to look further into Sargeist too as I'm only au fait with their first two albums and I enjoyed this track a lot. Veilburner, Seth and Aorlhac I will have to work at a bit and see if they click a bit more with me later.

Nice work Ben, enjoyed this one.

I haven't listened to many metal albums that I have less of an affinity for or less of a connection to than Eternal Blue. It's like eating a meal made from ingredients I personally find unpallatable - I am unable to tell if it's well-cooked or not because it tastes unpleasant to me no matter what. Spiritbox's brand of metal I also find thusly unpallatable. I am soon going to turn 60, so of course this may be a generational thing and I seriously doubt if I am part of the band's intended demographic, but all these bouncy rhythms and faux-earnest shouting do absolutely zero for me. To me this sounds like Linkin' Park with a female vocalist.

2/5

I'm really glad Ben suggested this as a monthly feature as I'm sure I may never have stumbled across it otherwise. It is absolutely the case that this is a grower rather than being the type of album that grabs you by the throat from the off and I enjoy those sort of albums hugely as they seem to offer something new upon every listen. Anyway here's my review:

To be honest upon first listen at the start of the month I wasn't especially impressed with Skullreader. However, each time I've returned to it it has dug it's claws deeper into me and now I think it has finally "clicked". To be sure it isn't an "immediate" listen and it certainly doesn't grab you like Zhaaral's Darkspace bandmate, Wintherr's Paysage d'Hiver work does (and in truth it isn't really on the same level as Paysage d'Hiver, but then again, not a lot is).

Anyway, back to the release on hand and what Zhaaral has served up is a hybrid of melodic and atmospheric black metal with some occasional, brief post-metal-ly sections. There is a fair predominance of keyboards present, but they aren't at all overbearing or cloying and are very tastefully incorporated into the overall sound. I have seen the album compared to Blut Aus Nord and that is a fitting comparison I feel, especially when compared to the Memoria Vetusta series (although, again, it isn't on the same level of accomplishment). The layers of guitar and synth build an all-enveloping ambience that does allow for some nice mental pictures to flow. Lord of Mind, for example, with it's slower pacing feels like a journey through a huge abandoned alien city.

I initialy disliked the fact that the vocals are buried in the mix, but have actually grown to enjoy that aspect, as the fact that you have to strain a little to hear them properly makes it feel like a voice is reaching out between dimensions or across the veil between life and death to impart some profound insight. This is not merely an album built on atmosphere though, it also has some quite cool riffs, Fire and Thirst for example, which also has some nice Middle-Eastern influenced guitar work and Vanitas whose main riff sounds imperious.

Overall a very good album, albeit one that takes a bit to get into, but one that is worth persevering with. May not ultimately stack up against his more celebrated colleague's back catalogue, or his original band's output, but I would have welcomed hearing further releases from this project to see where they may have led. As it stands however, Sun of the Blind is a one-shot deal so presumably Zharaal has scratched whatever creative itch he may have been feeling within Darkspace, for now at least.

Really enjoyed this playlist - nice one Vinny, there are some real rippers here.

A couple of surprises for me was quite enjoying the Lamb of God and Sepultura tracks despite never being a fan of LoG and believing (rightly I think) that Sepultura's best days are long behind them.

Most of my own choices were pretty safe, but I'm still really loving the Bewitcher track.

There are several albums I will have to check out further but particularly the Eternal Evil, Speedwolf and Allegiance discs.

The Children of Technology, Chimaira and Death Angel tracks I could live without, but everything else hit the spot most satisfactorily!

1987's third album from Geordies Warfare is a bit all over the place to be honest. Punky-sounding speed / thrash with a dreadful production job. There's a few decent tracks hidden under the murk, but it's too inconsistent by far.

3/5

Hi Ben. Please add Finnish doom outfit Fimir and Paraguay's Lucifer's Children.

Back in the day my first wife's younger sister was massively into glam metal, so as family metalhead#1 whenever Twisted Sister or whoever rode into town I got chaperone duty. Anyway it must have been sometime in '85 as WASP were touring The Last Command we rolled up to the local dive to see the LA glamsters. I only really knew about Blackie Lawless from his New York Dolls stint so didn't really know what to expect, but as it turns out they put on a pretty decent show. Unfortunately I have never been able to get to grips with the band's recorded output and that has now been worsened by Andi's comparison to Slade and during every track I now expect Blackie to screech "It's Christmas!!" Add to that the mauling of The Who's The Real Me and I'm out I'm afraid, that's it for WASP and me.

Well Daniel, I think I would have to consider it in the same way as I would an Opeth album. I'm not sure if The Horde would be well served by having this and Blackwater Park or Still Life at the top of it's charts. I think I would prefer to think of it as a progressive metal album that draws heavily from death metal rather than a death metal album with progressive tendencies. But that's just me, as I am a member of neither The Horde nor The Infinite, I don't know if my opinion  counts for much!

Talking of Opeth (well I was anyway) apparently, according to the RYM official metal board this week, they have never been any good and only released two half decent albums, Morningrise and My Arms... WTF is wrong with metal fans nowadays? Sure, everyone's entitled to their opinion but this blatant revisionism just to gain points for kvltness rubs me up the wrong way. I really must stop reading inferior message boards!

I really enjoyed this one and, for me, Core exemplifies all that can be great about progressive metal. The album follows a narrative structure, like the greatest of the seventies' prog releases, which engenders within the listener the impression that the band have regaled them with some profound and enlightening epic tale. The songwriting's complexity however doesn't adversely affect the sheer power and heaviness of the music at all, in fact the contrasts created only enhance it. It is at once technical yet brutal, melodic yet aggressive but it never feels forced and flows naturally between passages that segue beautifully for a fulfilling and enthralling listen. Neither do I feel it is ever overblown, a criticism that is often levelled at progressive music whether metal or otherwise, but is concise in it's execution as the song is always of paramount importance over technical showboating. One thing I didn't expect was that it would be so damn heavy. At times it sounds completely brutal with it's death metal-derived riffing, yet within a heartbeat can take a totally natural turn into a gentle, folky sound akin to seventies prog outfit Renaissance as if it were the most logical compositional leap to make. In a strange way, it feels very heavily influenced by Van Der Graaf Generator and I can imagine an alternative universe where death metal was invented in 1970 by Peter Hammill and this was released as Pawn Hearts!

4/5 (may get boosted to a 4.5, we'll see).

Sorry Vinny, hope I'm not too late. My December suggestions:

Sacrifice - Burned at the Stake (4:44) from Torment in Fire (1986)

Mutilator - Paranoic Command (3:43) from Immortal Force (1987)

Xentrix - Balance of Power (5:14) from Shattered Existence (1989)

Messiah - Akasha Chronicle (3:55) from Choir of Horrors (1991)

Further apologies, I haven't actually checked if all are available on Spotify due to the lateness of my submission. Sorry, again.

The new Apostle of Solitude album Until the Darkness Goes, released last Friday, sees the band back on track after the lacklustre (in my opinion) From Gold to Ash.

Hi Ben, could you please add the new Apostle of Solitude album, Until the Darkness Goes .

OK, not my area of expertise this one but for what it's worth here's mine:

1. Incantation - Diabolical Conquest (1998)

2. Entombed - Left Hand Path (1990)

3. Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness (1989)

4. Baphomet - Dead Shall Inherit (1992)

5. Dead Congregation - Promulgation of the Fall (2014)

6. Disma - Towards the Megalith (2011)

7. Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade (1992)

8. Incantation - Mortal Throne of Nazarene (1994)

9 Benediction - Transcend the Rubicon (1993)

10. Tomb Mold - Planetary Clairvoyance (2019)

Thanks Ben. I can assure you that all selections are equally important to me!

Ben, is there any way to make reviews private whilst compiling them, then making them public when they are finished. I often end up editing them time and time again and find it difficult to write a review in one sitting as time is often limited. I have a private list on RYM where I mainly compile reviews at the minute.

I don't much care for metalcore at all, but Trivium's previous feature release, In Waves, I actually found surprisingly listenable, so I was more than a little sceptical about Daniel's Nickelback jibe (I really don't like Nickelback). After listening to In the Court of the Dragon this evening though, I think he has a point. On several songs, but especially on Like a Sword Over Damocles, the shadow of Chad Kroeger is cast long. In fact, I swear a couple of tracks sound like Slipknot/Nickelback collaborations (no, this is unlikely to be a good thing!).

Anyway that aside, following the unexpectedly positive experience I had with In Waves I found this disappointing. It feels like an album that has been written by market researchers, the songs optimised to sell the maximum number of t-shirts. I don't hate it - it isn't offensive enough to generate that much emotion - but it just ploughs a completely different furrow to what I personally find interesting in metal.

2/5

Well it's only an initial listen-through so far, but it seems that The Infinite continues to impress with the quality of it's monthly features. I'm gonna add Core to the albums by Lucid Planet, Altesia and Ne Obliviscaris that I've enjoyed hugely over recent months. I will endeavour to produce a review at some point after further spins. Great choice Andi.

Black Sabbath - "Mob Rules" (1981)

40 years young today!! I first heard this one through my best mate's older brother when I was in my early high school years back in the late 1980's & it's still my pick of the Dio-fronted Sabbath albums to this day. It's darker & heavier than the widely preferred but slightly more commercially focused "Heaven & Hell" which gives it the edge. Still sounds great all these years later too.

Agreed and Falling Off the Edge of the World is Sabbath's best Dio era track.

A new favorite track for me from 1914's new album, Where Fear and Weapons Meet. Genuinely affecting, especially leading up to Armistice Day, and one of the best anti-war songs ever.

Never fear Sonny. Your entries meant there was no need for me to hunt down War Metal tracks for inclusion. You covered that for me perfectly! 

Yeah, I'm sorry about that Ben, but as our selections are intended to reflect our listening over the previous month and I had only been listening to war metal for my North-related fix, I ended up submitting only tracks from those albums. I will endeavour to be less of a dick in future as, now I've had a taste of compiling a list myself, I realise that it throws up additional challenges.

Suggestions for December:

Mare Cognitum - Occultated Temporal Dimensions (11:23) from Luminiferous Aether (2016)
Antaeus - Inner War (4:28) from Cut Your Flesh and Worship Satan (2000)
Marduk - Beast of Prey (4:07) from Panzer Division Marduk (1999)
Runtime: 19:58

I thought I'd forgotten to post my suggestions, but I've just noticed they are there.

The new album from much underrated Floridian death doomers Worm. If you like foetid-sounding death doom that sounds like it crawled out of some necrotic, ooze-filled swamp then these are your guys.

The closer and best track from the brand new Monolord album is a trad doom epic.

Managed seven of the nine features this month and enjoyed most of them. In order of awesomeness:

The North: Panopticon - Kentucky (2012) 5/5

The Fallen: Reverend Bizarre - III: So Long Suckers (2007) 4.5/5

The Pit: Kreator - Extreme Aggression (1989) 4.5/5

The Infinite: Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I (2012) 4/5

The Guardians: Fates Warning - Night on Brocken (1984)  4/5

The Sphere: Lard - The Last Temptation of Reid (1990) 2.5/5

The Horde: Necrophagist - Epitaph (2004) I'm not going to rate this as I only listened to it once and so that would be unfair.

Well this one came and hit me straight out of left field. I am unable to put Night on Brocken into any kind of context within Fates Warning's discography as this is the first album of their's I have listened to, but I derived a huge amount of enjoyment out of it in it's own right and I think if I had heard it upon it's release back in '84 I would have been a massive fan. Sure, it's quite derivative, drawing heavily on Iron Maiden and particularly Judas Priest for influence, but it is an album so chock full of infectious riffs and sheer exuberance that it would be churlish to dismiss it. Sure the production isn't the most accomplished, but I kind of like the effect, particularly on the rhythm section. What with it's triumphant heavy metal and truly bonkers cover art, I have got to admit to being won over by it's charms and would count this as a great example of early eighties US metal.

4/5

I'm very excited to announce that Vinny will be taking over the programming & management of the monthly Metal Academy Radio "The Pit" Spotify playlist moving forwards (starting with the November list). I think this will be a real win for the site as it was always hard to me to ensure the highest quality standards when programming nine two-hour playlists every month. I'm very excited to see what Vinny will pump out each month too as our tastes are pretty well aligned & he's consistently shown himself to have his finger on the pulse as far as underground releases go.

This is a great move and this collaborative approach, which has already proved popular with the monthly feature releases, is a really exciting direction for the site to take. Good luck to Vinny and Andi and I'm really looking forward to what those guys come up with on the playlists going forward. Speaking for myself, I hugely enjoyed putting November's Fallen playlist together and hope that it ticks the right boxes with everyone. It is a task I have approached very seriously as I feel the playlists are one of the major external faces of the site and I'm sure I speak for all involved in saying I hope we can provide a positive face and help to grow Metal Academy in the future with our efforts. Also many thanks and much respect to Daniel for what I now realise must have been his many hours of dedication in putting together NINE playlists every month solely for the enjoyment of other metalheads.

Just looking at some of the albums in the Anniversaries section and one is by a black metal outfit I've never heard of called Ceremonial Castings who have fourteen albums on here with no ratings and a highest number of ratings on RYM of 64 with some in single figures. Judging by the covers, these are professional releases and all are available on CD, although they are released on Dark Forest which apparently was a label founded by one of the band's members. Seven of the fourteen have average ratings of below 3.00 which isn't a good sign either. Might check them out just to see what none of the fuss is about, but they play symphonic black metal which was never one of my preferred genres of BM so maybe too much of a chore. Some of their covers are very good though.

Kreator have always seemed like the European Slayer to me. Now don't misunderstand, I'm not accusing them of plagiarism or anything, what I mean is the fan's perceptions of the two are very similar. To a degree, both have accumulated enough credibility and respect to almost be above criticism. Even though we all know that both bands did their best work in the 80s and early 90s, even their less well-received works of the later nineties have their advocates and neither band suffered the critical mauling that most other "big name" thrash bands endured for their later work. Personally, I think Kreator's twenty-first century output is superior to Slayer's with Enemy of God and Hordes of Chaos being a couple of my favourite thrash albums.

That said, their run of albums from Pleasure to Kill up to Coma of Souls is thrash metal legend and third in the run was Extreme Aggression. I can't really add any more than has already been said, but this is certainly an aptly-titled album and is obviously the output of a band firing on all barrels as they refined the early aggressiveness of Pleasure to Kill into an even more lethal weapon. A band like Kreator doesn't achieve the level of respect they have by accident, this is a band who have earned every drop and Extreme Aggression is one of the reasons why.

OK, so please don't get mad any of you Necrophagist fans out there, but after the vocals kicked in on opener Stabwound I just burst out laughing. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, but I've been feeling in a strange mood today and as I thought I'd better get through the features, I decided to listen to Epitaph this evening. At the aforementioned point in the album, I just pictured the band playing with extremely frowny faces and thought bubbles saying something like "shit, we are SO intense, man" and the inherent ridiculousness of the human condition must have overwhelmed me. I have no axe to gring with Necrophagist, I've never listened to them before, but they just painted such a vivid picture for me that I couldn't help myself. And before anyone points out the fact, I include myself in the being ridiculously intense about metal camp. How could I not with all the utter bollocks I write about music?!

Anyway, as for the music in question - it really isn't my thing unfortunately. I find overtly technical death metal never really "get's going", it just sounds too stutter-step to me and as such I can't get into it. 

Apologies all round, I don't know what's got into me today at all.

First off I chose this as a feature release not just because it is one of my favourite albums but also because it shows that black metal needn't necessarily be hateful and misanthropic all the time, but can actually be used to relate human stories and illuminate it's listeners about topics of which they know little or nothing. Austin Lunn is also an artist who flies in the face of genre stereotypes. This is a guy who actually cares about people - he used to be a social worker but quit, I believe, due to the frustration of working within an overly bureaucratic system. So when someone tells you all black metal bands are nazi satanists then point them in Panopticon's direction.

I was originally turned on to Panopticon via his 2014 album Roads to the North and was so impressed I dived right into his back catalogue. The preceding albums were not as impressive as Roads... that is until I got to Kentucky, which is the album where the Panopticon sound really began to gel. The introduction of bluegrass music into a black metal environment was a revelation to me. Of course I was more than familiar with the inclusion of european-derived folk elements in black metal and even middle-eastern influences via bands like Melechesh, but this was a whole new take (to me anyway) and as such sounded fresh and exhilharating. I have always quite liked the sound of bluegrass, it has a kind of melancholy to it that is difficult to pinpoint, but that resonates with me somehow (although coming from England's northern midlands I have no endemic cultural attachment to the music) but it wasn't until I heard it welded to atmospheric black metal that it actually began to make sense to me and none more so than on Kentucky's telling of the struggles of early twentieth century American coal miners against their profit-driven bosses. I don't want to get into the politics of the record, but as I worked with many family members of miners who were part of the bitter early 1980's miner's strike here in the UK, let's just say that I have some sympathy for the album's protagonists and the history of labour struggles does hold some interest for me.

Of course what we came here for is the black metal and Kentucky contains three of my all-time favourite black metal tracks in Bodies Under the Falls, Black Soot and Red Blood and Killing the Giants As They Sleep, these tracks owing much to another of my GOAT albums, WitTR's Two Hunters, an album I've waxed lyrical about on more than one occasion! This blend of poetic black metal, folk protest songs and effortless storytelling makes for a unique listening experience that defies the norm in metal music and firmly plants Kentucky on my list of great black metal albums.

Could you also add Indian doomsters Djinn and Miskatonic please Ben.

Hi again Ben. Could you please add the new Monolord and Count Raven albums, both released today.

Altesia - Embryo

It's here and it's fantastic. 

I've given it a couple of spins over the weekend and I agree, Xephyr.