Sonny's Forum Replies

It's amusing that someone with a name like Warslut is also called Keith.

Also "walls of indecipherable noise = cool" is an actual scientific equation!

I'm late I know. As I haven't listened to much thrash this month - only the playlist and a couple of Anthrax albums - I only have a single nomination, which is Anthrax's The Enemy from Spreading the Disease. <Insert *must try harder* here>.

You know what... I'd completely forgotten that we were talking about Viking Metal! 

The conclusion of that discussion then seems to be:

1. Viking Metal is indeed a thing...

2. ...although it is quite a niche thing.

3. It is an often misused thing.

4. We need to utilise The Hall to correct the mis-labellings

Have I got that right?

So to answer your question, a release becomes progressive when it starts reaching beyond the everyday as far as atmosphere & artistic expression go, not merely structural complexity. It's about reaching for the stars in a literal sense as well as a figurative one. Technicality is a great tool for this which is why it's often used in progressive music but it's not essential & there's more required from an artist in order to be regarded as genuinely progressive.

I completely get what you are saying Daniel and I agree with it. Where I struggle with the progressive tag is at what  point does a style of music cease to be progressive. For example, everyone agrees that Dream Theater are a progressive metal act (even me and I don't care for them), but are the hundreds of DT copyists who may be technically proficient enough, still progressive? Or is it a case of progressive metal as merely a covenient label and the actual progressiveness of the work irrelevant? Is an act still progressive if they are basically plagiarising what has gone before, because in a literal sense they are not. If the term is merely a label then it is, in a number of cases, misleading.

A question that has always bothered me is at what point does an extreme metal release become progressive and what exactly does progressive mean when related to extreme metal. Enslaved, for example, have always written more complex music than a large number of their peers, but I think you would be hard pressed to tag albums like Vikingligr Veldi and Eld as progressive even though, for black metal released at the time, some of the tracks were definitely more convoluted than the norm. So at what point did they become progressive (because latter day releases are) and what would be the criteria and definition of the genre? Personally I think progressive when applied to extreme metal is an over-used descriptor - yes it definitely exists, but in genres like black metal that have evolved so much over the years some bands are producing complex and challenging albums that are way more progressive in a literal sense than some of those actually tagged as progressive - compare Orannsi Pazuzu's current output to the aforementioned Enslaved's and see who is breaking more ground, for example. Incidentally, OP are being tagged as avant-garde, but I don't agree with that tag at all. Avant-garde is a tag that is absolutely overused in metal circles.

I dunno guys. I think the word "progressive" is a pretty accurate & universally accepted description of the sound & think it serves its purpose well. I just think we need to separate the extreme metal versions of progressive metal from those that are based on your more accessible sounds. Therefore, I'd simply go with two subgenres to cover each variety:

Progressive Metal (conventional)

Extreme Progressive Metal

Then if you have a release like Death's "Individual Thought Patterns" you can simply layer a Death Metal subgenre over the top of the Extreme Progressive Metal one so that the release comes up in searches on both sounds & resides in two clans. That way you can separate a release like Persefone's "Core" (which Andi & I spoke about recently & doesn't really sit all that comfortably alongside your more traditional death metal releases in our opinion) by it simply having one subgenre tag that will see it residing only within The Infinite but still highlight the fact that it's an extreme metal release.

Thoughts?

That actually makes a lot of sense. So extreme prog metal would still reside in The Infinite? A secondary genre tag would also be required to delineate the extreme prog releases, ie death metal for (earlier) Opeth and black metal for (later) Enslaved? Would those releases then also reside in the respective secondary clans? Just asking so I get it straight. If so it sounds like a very satisfactory solution to an irksome issue. I think Extreme Progressive Metal in particular is an excellent denominator. I say go with it.

Well, let's continue down the theoretical rabbit hole and see where we end up.

If you created all sorts of Progressive subgenres to strip out all the releases that have progressive tendencies (Progressive Death Metal, Progressive Black Metal, Progressive Thrash Metal etc.) what genre would be applied to the likes of Dream Theater, Queensryche, Fates Warning, Symphony X, Circus Maximus, Liquid Tension Experiment etc.

If we don't want an overly thematic or descriptive genre title, we have to come up with something that feels right without drawing unsuspecting metal listeners into choosing it incorrectly. My first thought is Dream Metal. I know it sounds too fluffy for a metal genre, but it really draws attention to the link to Dream Theater. Plus many musicians could only "dream" of being able to perform some of the stuff these bands play.

Anyone got another idea? I'm trying to come up with a word that relates to technical proficiency, or virtuosity or something like that.

Dream Metal sounds like it has a  -gazey connotation to me. How about High Metal (maybe confused with Stoner Metal admittedly), Highbrow Metal, Connoisseur Metal or my favourite Haute-Metal (or even Haute-Metale!)

Viking metal is one of those sub-genres that has so few genuine adherents that it feels almost irrelevant to me. I honestly wonder sometimes whether life is too short to contemplate for any length of time whether an album fits snugly into a micro-genre or not. If the purpose of genre tagging is to guide people to other releases similar to ones they like, do these really niche genres serve much of a purpose at all as they feel way too specific.

As a more general Academy question, which I guess needs to be directed to Ben or Daniel, does downvoting a genre in the genre tags on a release serve any purpose on the site or can the genre tags only be changed via The Hall? I have downvoted Viking Metal on Vredens Tid so it has zero positive and one negative vote, but it still shows folk and viking metal as it's genre tags.

Now we're talking! This is the toughest top ten for me, I have so many albums I'd love to include, but being ruthless and keeping it to ten, here we go:

1. Evoken - Quietus (2001)

2. Esoteric - A Pyrrhic Existence (2019)

3. Ahab - The Call of the Wretched Sea (2006)

4. Tyranny - Tides of Awakening (2005)

5. Bismuth - The Slow Dying of the Great Barrier Reef (2018)

6. Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper (2017)

7. Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale (2008)

8. Skepticism - Lead and Aether (1997)

9. Colosseum - Chapter 2: Numquam (2009)

10. Worship - Last Tape Before Doomsday (1999) - although my version is Last CD Before Doomsday from 2004.

Nice to see some love for Ea on your list Daniel. They seem to be overlooked by many funeral doom devotees. They would certainly have featured on a top twenty list for me, but I just couldn't boot any of the above out of a top ten in favour of their Ea taesse or A etilla albums which would likely be my choices. 

Mt suggestions for October:

Crescent - The Fires of Akhet (8:30) from Carving The Fires of Akhet (2021)
Departure Chandelier - Life Escaping Through the Candle's Smoke (4:21) from Antichrist Rise to Power (2019)
Khandra -  In Harvest Against the Sun (7:02) from All Occupied by Sole Death (2021)
Mayhem - Chainsaw Gutsfuck (3:32) from Deathcrush EP (1987)

Total runtime: 23:25

Excellent choice Ben and I would gladly take any Monolithe release as a feature because they are one of my absolute favourite bands and I own physical copies of pretty much everything the Frenchmen have put out. The band's sound has progressed over the years from the earlier albums' monolithic (pun intended) funeral doom, through a more death doom-orientated middle period to their current progressive doom phase. As time has passed it has found Monolithe becoming more adventurous and slowly developing their sound which has inadvertently (or maybe not) made them relatively more accessible.

Anyway to this month's feature which is most definitely in the "early funeral doom" phase of the band's evolutionary journey. Monolithe II takes the form of a single fifty-minute track, in common with each of the band's first four albums and, the funeral doom newcomer be warned, it relies heavily upon repetition, particular of the opening theme, for the layering and build-up of it's pervading atmosphere. If you are an impatient type of metal head then you are probably best leaving it at that and going back to something more likely to get your blood pumping because this is not an adrenaline rush of an album. Rather, this is a carefully constructed release that cradles and envelops the listener in a sonic womb of slow, thick riffs run through with veins of atmospheric instrumentation that utilises keyboards, gorgeous guitar refrains and even, in a nod to their homeland's folk music, an accordion (provided by guest Manuel Mechling) which, surprisingly, sounds fantastic and fits in perfectly with the vibe the band are attempting to convey. Then, whilst the music cocoons the unwary listener, vocalist Richard Loudin croons into the ear with his deathly growl like some Babylonian god of dreams, one moment comforting, the next discomfitting. This really is the kind of album that you have to let wash over you and consume you, allowing it to enter into both your conscious and subconscious mind and the most rewarding listens are when you are able to give yourself up to it completely, let go and see where it takes you. For me this is genuinely relaxing and soul-cleansing music, in the same way as with certain ambient pieces, this is the kind of album who's atmosphere takes you out of the everyday and transports you to a less mundane place, opening up the mind as it does so.

It must be said that there is very little variation in pacing throughout the entire runtime, nor is this the glacial crawl of real extreme funeral doom, sitting comfortably in a medium-pace range. Neither does it convey a cloying atmosphere of melancholy that is typical of the genre, often feeling quite uplifting, so again this may annoy some funeral doom purists for not being sufficiently funereal. Yet it does posses a few moments where the tone changes and becomes more discordant and when this does happen it can sound quite menacing. Overall I would say this is a beautifully put together album of extreme doom metal that rewards the listener the more they are prepared to invest into it. An immediate release this isn't and I can understand why some wouldn't care fot it, but as far as I am concerned this is doom metal heaven.

"I applaud Månegarm for that but unfortunately "Vredens tid" simply resides too far outside of my wheel house & you'll rarely find a finer example of why I struggle with the concept of returning to The North. I mean if my rating was to count against the clan rating for this record then it would see our whole beloved clans system breaking down. " quoted Daniel.

I think you're being a bit hard on yourself here Daniel. I gather you perveive my review as being positive yet I only scored it a quarter point higher than you and as the album rating system doesn't allow for quarter points we scored it the same essentially. Using the same argument, does my well-publicised dislike of gothic metal mean that I should be excluded from the Fallen or my reticence with groove metal exclude me from the Pit? Should the many folks who just don't get drone metal be disbarred from the Fallen? After all these are all niches within the clans, folk metal included and aren't on their own indicative of what the clans are about. I think it's unreasonable to expect someone to love everything under a specific clan umbrella and, to be honest, would we want them to. Does somebody rating everything 4.5 or 5 really serve a clan any better than someone who doesn't get on with a particular niche genre? Personally I don't think they do. It's all about balance surely. The problem arises when people troll-rate and downrate things without giving them a chance or even  not listening to them at all, an accusation no one would be justified in raising against yourself!

Hey Vinny have you listened to either of Wardruna's Einar Selvik's collaborations with Enslaved's Ivar Bjornson. They are both very good and span several genres, not just nordic folk (although that is the primary focus). Skuggsjá: A Piece for Mind & Mirror was written as a contribution to the 200-year celebration of the founding of the Norwegian constitution.

I think Altarage's Succumb provides the perfect affirmation of why I shouldn't seek membership of The Horde for my fourth clan if or when I am in a position to choose. It is obviously a release that presses all the buttons for true death metal devotees such as Vinny and Daniel and I can hear why that would be, but in truth I just found a large proportion of it to be a cacophonous noise that seems to push at the boundaries of extremity for the sake of it.

I am not unfamiliar with Altarage, this is the third of their four albums that I've tried to get along with but every time I come up short. There are passages and the odd riff that I enjoy and the cavernous, necro side of their sound I appreciate, but it too often seems to descend into over-distorted chaos. Maybe I'm just too much of a pussy when it comes to death metal!

Obviously this really isn't for me at all and as a consequence I don't think The Horde would be either.

I've got to admit that I'm not overly enamoured with the concept.

As for my inclusion in The Pit, I honestly don't think I've listened to more than a handful of albums released in the past 15 years, so I couldn't even tell you how I feel about modern thrash metal. I just know that 80s thrash metal will always be super important to my development, and it will never fail to capture me when I finally get around to revisiting it.

Despite my affinity for The North, like you Ben I could never give up listening to 1980's thrash. That stuff was just so important to me and still to this day a huge proportion of my all-time favourite albums come from that era. The problem with thrash is that it is a very narrow genre and was perfected very early on in it's development and so is a style that wil never really be able to say much new anymore.

Similarly I couldn't envision a life without doom metal either. The thought of no longer being able to lose myself in an Esoteric album would be unbearable.

A great plus with The North is that black metal can lend itself to a number of other genres too. Kanonenfieber's blackened death metal, Ruins of Beverast and Yith's black doom and Nekromantheon's blackened thrash have all produced fantastic albums released this year. 

(The North has definitely got the coolest and most apt logo by the way!)

Perhaps I should just get over it & rejoin as the two more senior subgenres are by far the most dominant & the more informed contributing members we have in each clan the better.

Yes, you absolutely should.

A mix of the good the bad and the ugly for me on this month's playlist:

01. Evile – “Incarcerated” (from “Hell Unleashed”, 2021)
4/5 It is surprising to see how often this album has featured in the playlists as the consensus seems to be that it is very ordinary. This is probably it's best track however.

02. Soulfly – “Seek ‘n’ Strike (from “ॐ”, 2002) [Submitted by Daniel]
2.5/5 I have never been able to take to Soulfly and this is no exception.

03. ZnöWhite – “Do Or Die” (from “All Hail To Thee” E.P., 1984) [Submitted by Daniel]
3/5 I really liked the music but those vocals are fucking horrible.

04. Body Count – “KKK Bitch” (from “Body Count”, 1992)
3.5/5 I like Ice T so muthafuck her dear old dad!

05. Prong – “Beg To Differ” (from “Beg To Differ”, 1990)
3/5 The only other Prong song I know is Cleansing. This is OK but sounds dated.

06. Vulture – “Star-Crossed City” (from “Dealin’ Death”, 2021)
4/5 Really enjoyed this speedy mutha.

07. Artillery – “Turn Up The Rage” (from “X”, 2021)
3.5/5 Pretty good speedy thrash from canadian veterans. Better than I expected.

08. Testament – “The Haunting” (from “The Legacy”, 1987)
5/5 classic bay area shit

09. Metallica – “Harvester Of Sorrow” (from “…And Justice For All”, 1988)
4.5/5 Brilliant. Listening to it now it seems to have elements of doom metal that I never really noticed before.

10. Slayer – “Skeletons Of Society” (from “Seasons In The Abyss”, 1990)
4.5/5 Slayer is as Slayer does.

11. Suicidal Tendencies – “I Feel Your Pain… & I Survive” (from “Join The Army”, 1987)
4/5 I was a huge fan of ST back inthe day. Not so much now but this still sounds terrific.

12. Gojira – “Born For One Thing” (from “Fortitude”, 2021)
4/5 I've never bothered with these guys but this is brilliant. Will check this album out.

13. Pantera – “I’m Broken” (from “Far Beyond Driven”, 1994) [Submitted by Daniel]
2.5/5 Don't know what it is about Pantera that rubs me up the wrong way but something does. I think it may be Anselmo's vocals.

14. Ritual Carnage – “Escape From The Light” (from “Every Nerve Alive”, 2000)
3.5/5 pretty good - another new one on me.

15. Helstar – “Pandemonium” (from “Glory Of Chaos”, 2010)
3.5/5 They obviously got better after 1989's Nosferatu which I really didn't like.

16. Striker – “Crossroads” (from “City Of Gold”, 2013)
3.5/5 More Maiden than Slayer

17. Flotsam & Jetsam – “Blood In The Water” (from “Blood In The Water”, 2021)
3.5/5 Decent - F&J were never really much more than that to me.

18. Anthrax – “Imitation Of Life” (from “Among The Living”, 1987) [Submitted by Sonny92]
5/5 Love this album. Love this song.

19. Vreid – “Shadows Of Aurora” (from “Wild North West”, 2021) [Submitted by Sonny92]
4/5 Anthrax-ish thrash from the unpredictable latest album from the BM stalwarts.

20. Kreator – “Under A Total Blackened Sky” (from “Enemy Of God”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny92]
4/5 Kreator back in the thrash groove after struggling to adapt their sound for a few albums.

21. Hirax – “Flesh & Blood” (from “El Rostro de la Muerte”, 2009) [Submitted by Vinny]
3.5/5 Riotous stuff.

22. Feared – “Your Black Is My White” (from “Svart”, 2017) [Submitted by Vinny]
2/5 No. I didn't like this at all.

23. Cruel Force – “Victim Of Hellfire” (from “The Rise Of Satanic Might”, 2010)
4/5 I like the heads-down charge on this track.

24. Nekrofilth – “Crave The Grave” (from “Devil’s Breath”, 2013)
3/5 I much prefer Zack Rose's other band Crucified Mortals.

25. Cryptic Slaughter – “Wake Up” (from “Money Talks”, 1987)
3.5/5 Lots of HC influence - sounds musically a lot like Suicidal Tendencies S/T debut (which I love).

26. Scythelord – “Wireframe” (from “Earth Boiling Dystopia”, 2021)
3/5 Too much like some kind of HC death metal for my taste.

27. Sadus – “The Wake” (from “Swallowed In Black”, 1990)
4.5/5 I love this album's deaththrash mayhem.

28. Nekromantheon – “Zealot Reign” (from “Visions Of Trismegistos”, 2021)
4.5/5 Kick-ass track from one of the best thrash albums in years

Parting shot on what is perhaps one of my most reflective MA posts.  Even though I know lots of people listen to BM, somehow I have the sub-conscious notion that the genre is mine, personal to me and some safe-place to hide from the world that I am forced to wade through whilst being someone else entirely each day.

I think this is true for many black metal adherents. It is a genre that very much speaks to that which is inside us (conscious or sub-conscious) and as such feels more personal than virtually any other genre of metal. Personally, I know very few people who like black metal in my day-to-day life and so it does feel like a genre that is more exclusively my own. That said, it is great to be able to talk about it with like-minded individuals here at the Metal Academy.

I seem to have inadvertantly developed a knack over the years to avoid a whole slew of bands that others seem to consider as metal 101. Helmet are yet another of those. Now that is a real shame because this is a really good album and I think if I had stumbled across it twenty years ago I may even have proclaimed it a masterpiece. Lots of punky influence go into this alternative metal recipe, but despite the post-hardcore tag I feel a number of the tracks take more influence from some of the 1970's proto-punks like The Dictators, The Stooges, The Heartbreakers and The New York Dolls rather than Black Flag or Minor Threat.

I love the riffs, the guitar sound is bang on point and the vocals are extremely well-judged, but what I dug the most about this was the drumming - John Stanier's performance adds that little bit of X-factor to what is already an impressive album. The flow is also excellently judged, the length is just about perfect and the production job is superb, it absolutely nails the band's sound.

Thanks Saxy for nominating this and finally bringing it into my musical world.
4.5/5

Hands down the track of the month is that Sainte Marie des Loups number.  Not sure how I have missed this trio but I will expanding my knowledge of them over the coming weeks.  The French scene certainly rarely disappoints and this is further testimony to that.  A subtle necroticism to it but also a real attitude to back it up.  Yey, new things!

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion Vinny that the French are currently the World Champions as far as modern black metal goes. They just seem to have so much going on and rarely is it that a French band disappoints (not an easy thing to admit for an Englishman!)

If we are going with 30 minutes each my selections for October are:

The Slow Death - Famine (13:44) from The Siege (2021)

Vouna - Vanish (15:33) from Atropos (2021)

Total runtime: 29:17

Hmm, not too sure about this one. With the feature releases and playlists that's already quite a bit of stuff to listen to in a month so I don't know if I'd want to commit to this in addition. I guess I'd give it a go and see where it leads.

i have been avoiding listening to Jane Doe for 20 years also according to the same list.

Yeah - me too!

Holy fucken shit... Toxicity is 20 years old today!!

Where the fuck did those years go?! Seems like only yesterday (and a week before 9/11 too).

A great piece of disturbing progressive death metal from the UK's Akercocke and one of my favourite tracks of the 2000's.

Just checking out the new Iron Maiden album Senjutsu and it's a 2CD monster. Too early for any definitive opinion but one thing that immediately strikes the listener is how absolutely shit the production is. I can't believe the band are happy with that aspect. Maiden records should sound crisp and defined but this is muddy as hell which might be fine on a doom metal album but does Maiden no favours whatsoever. The biggest metal band in the world should not be hampered by production issues so maybe it's deliberate and is an attempt to cover something up. Further listens may reveal all.

Anyone else got round to this one yet as I'd really like to hear what you think?

OK, I'll bite. DDM primary on Rob Your Mates required:

1. Winter - Into Darkness (1990)

2. Rippikoulu - Musta seremonia (1993)

3. Cianide - A Descent Into Hell (1994)

4. Monolithe - Monolithe III (2012)

5. Epitaphe - I (2019)

6. Ceremonium - Into the Autumn Shade (1995)

7. Coffins - Buried Death (2008)

8. Sempiternal Deathreign - The Spooky Gloom (1989)

9. Convocation - Ashes Coalesce (2020)

10. Atavisma - The Chthonic Rituals (2018)

Sorry, I know it's considered sacreligious not to have MDB, Anathema et al on a death doom list, but I do genuinely struggle with the whole gothic death doom schtick (in case you hadn't noticed)!

I've also not included any albums that are principally considered funeral doom, so no Evoken and the likes.

Another really good playlist this month - I think The North provides me with the most consistently high-quality playlist experience of all the clans.

My thoughts:

01. Blodsrit – “Vanmakt” (from “Helveteshymner”, 2004)
4/5 Not a band I've listened to before, but I will now - proper misanthropic-sounding shit!

02. Nameless Mist – “Unearthed” (from “Nameless Mist”, 2021)
3.5/5 A new band with an old sound. Is the artist male or female bacause from the vocals I can't really tell?

03. Dawn – “Diabolical Beauty” (from “Nær sólen gar niþer for evogher”, 1994)
4.5/5 Great album - great track

04. Dimmu Borgir – “Alt lys er svunnet hen” (from “Stormblåst”, 1996)
4/5 I'm not a fan of DB at all but this track is great.

05. Alcest – “Écailles de lune - Part 2” (from “Écailles de lune”, 2010)
4/5 This is one of, if not the best Alcest track.

06. Mystifier – “Cursed Excruciation / The Sinuous Serpent of Genesis (Leviathan)” (from “Goetia”, 1993)
4.5/5 Awesome blackened OSDM. Why don't I know this band already?!

07. Bathory – “The Lake” (from “Blood On Ice”, 1996)
3.5/5 Not my favourite Bathory album and a bit underwhelming for me.

08. Felled – “Ember Dream” (from “The Intimate Earth”, 2021)
3.5/5 Surprisingly OK folk metal - nice violin work.

09. Blut aus Nord – “Epitome XI” (from 777 – The Desanctification”, 2011)
4/5 I've never listened to the 777 trilogy - obviously that's got to change.

10. Primordial – “Autumn’s Ablaze” (from “A Journey’s End”, 1998)
4/5  Nice!

11. Khold – “Nattpyre” (from “Masterpiss Of Pain”, 2001)
3/5 The weakest track on this month's list - OK at best.

12. Silencer – “Death – Pierce Me” (from “Death - Pierce Me”, 2001)
5/5 I love this album and have come close to suggesting this myself several times. Deranged and desperate sounding DSBM that epitomises the genre - vocalist Nattramn had well-documented genuine mental health issues that manifested in his bizarre vocal performance.

13. Warmoon Lord – “Empowered With Battlespells” (from “Battlespells”, 2021)
3.5/5 Kind of like Emperor played on 45rpm - and I mean that in a good way!

14. Pillorian – “Archaen Divinity” (from “Obsidian Arc”, 2017)
4/5 I'm already a fan of this album, but nice to hear it again.

15. Mare Cognitum – “Pulses in Extraconscious Lucidity” (from “An Extraconscious Lucidity”, 2012)
4.5/5 One of my favourite ABM albums, so it's gonna score well.

16. Sainte Marie des Loups – “Des profondeurs le silence” (from “Funérailles de feu”, 2020)
4/5 Another bunch of savage Frenchmen kicking ass.

17. Agrypnie – “Wir Ertrunkenen” (from “Metamorphosis”, 2021)
4/5 Hard-edged and vicious sounding - I like it.

18. Bestial Warlust – “Blood & Valour” (from “Blood & Valour”, 1995)
4.5/5 Never was a band better named.

I've just posted a review:

I've got to admit to not being the biggest fan of folk metal, outside of the odd Finntroll or Moonsorrow album. I feel it's too often the black metal world's answer to European power metal and has a correspondingly excessive cheese factor for my personal taste. In a perfect world any pre-existing personal bias shouldn't make any difference and each release would be judged objectively but, sadly, I am not that person and it explains my initial reticence as far as Vredens Tid goes, the upshot of which is that I wasn't especially engaged with it over the span of an initial listen. However, my disposition to Månegarm's fourth full-length improved over the course of subsequent listens and by the third or fourth spins I was genuinely beginning to enjoy aspects of it.

I think the primary reason for that is that the actual black metal side of Månegarm's folk metal equation, despite sitting quite firmly on the melodic side of the scale, is really well done and is pretty visceral. I don't think that the black metal savagery hits hard enough first time around, especially for someone like myself who doesn't listen to a whole lot of folk metal, but following subsequent listens when the folky trappings can be mentally stripped away it is apparent that a true black metal heart beats under the surface. This is most obvious in Erik Grawsiö's vocals as he delivers them with real blood-red aggression.

That said, there were aspects of the folkier side of things that I still struggled with. The album started quite strongly and the first two tracks proper after the intro are probably my favourites (although the eight-minute Hemfärd does come close). The violin work on opener Sigrblot in particular grabbed my attention and is the best iteration of the folk metal vibe on the record. On the downside the female vocals provided by Umer Mossige-Norheim didn't really do it for me and I found them a little bland to be honest, in fact they completely ruined the title track which is, in all other respects, a belter. The tendency for most of the tracks to end up sounding like a jig I also found grating after a while. Another annoying tendency in the small number of folk metal albums I've listened to is the "sound affects" tracks (Moonsorrow can be a little annoying in this respect), Preludium in Vredens Tid's case, which just adds nothing in my opinion and merely pads out the run time.

So a bit of a mixed bag for me, aspects both ridiculous and sublime feature during the album's eleven tracks. On the positive side, as far as folk metal is concerned it is one of the better albums I have heard and although I'm not likely to return to it much, tracks like Sigrblot, Vredens tid and Hemfärd may get an independent spin on Spotify as the mood strikes.

3.25/5

Hi Ben, please could you add The Slow Death's new album Siege (it's very good).

Sorry Ben, another request, pleae add funeral doom / atmo-black project Sorta Magora.

Could you also add Vouna's latest, Atropos please Ben.

Hi Ben could you please add Hour of 13's latest album Black Magick Rites.

Nice list Daniel, quite a number of my faves included there although I'm no great fan of Pagan Altar and I think Trouble are a little overrrated - don't get me wrong, they are a good band but many, in my opinion better, bands get overlooked while Trouble are praised excessively.

Anyway, limiting my list to releases with a Trad Doom primary genre tag on Ring Your Mother my top ten looks like this:

1. Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)

2. Reverend Bizarre - In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend  (2002)

3. Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction (2012)

4. Paul Chain Violet Theatre - Detaching From Satan EP (1984)

5. Candlemass - Nightfall (1987)

6. Spiritus Mortis - The God Behind the God (2009)

7. Saint Vitus - Mournful Cries (1988)

8. Seamount - Sacrifice (2010)

9. The Wounded Kings - The Shadow Over Atlantis (2010)

10. Hour of 13 - Hour of 13  (2007)

Personally, I still tend to get quite a bit of use out of the bands pages. What about if the the main menu included the Clans, Forums, Bands, Releases, Charts and Lists, most of which first-time visitors would recognise. Then a separate tab, menu, dropdown or whatever that is titled "Special Features" or "Exclusive Features" which would hold the Gallery, Hall, Featured Releases and Anniversaries, in other words, the features that set Metal Academy apart.

As for the FAQ's, how about an faq button at the top of each of the features home pages that then takes the user to an faq dedicated to that feature.

Hi Ben, could you also add Somme's Prussian Blood ep please?

Vinny and Sonny, I want to make sure that I fully understand what it is when you're suggesting improvements to the navigation. Are you saying that you want to be able to see the icons / field selectors at the bottom of the page as well as the top on the Releases and Bands pages specifically?

No Ben, all I am requesting is that the page numbers when selecting bands or releases are selectable from top or bottom of the page, so I don't need to scroll up and down when navigating through pages. Another thought has just come to me, would it be possible to select the page number by typing it in rather than pressing button after button until you reach the page you want, especially when a large number of pages are returned on a result.

First of all, I had to look up what the hell Incel meant in the first place.

Secondly, from my experience of moderating over at Metal Forum I get really pissed off with the "this is shit for no valid or substantiated reason" scenario whenever it crops up.  The arrogance of other people never ceases to amaze me and this is why I don't frequent FB or Twitter in all honesty, it has encouraged a culture of explanation in a limited number of characters because of count restrictions or the knowledge by the poster that if they don't say something quick nobody will read it.

I agree that MA offers that safe-haven from such nonsense and I think that the comments section is just perfectly hidden away t discourage some of the negative behaviours we have all experienced on the internet at large.  What it also manages to conversely is open up the minds of the regulars to new genres, styles, bands etc so is a rewarding place for those that value it enough to stick around.  Those that choose to troll elsewhere are the ones missing out on the real opportunity to grow their palate.

Hear, hear. Well said Vinny.

I think I suggested a comment box a good while ago Xephyr, when Ben was asking for suggestions, but I have most definitely changed my mind on that issue for exactly the reasons you cite in your post. It just makes it all too easy to shitpost if you can readily insert snidey short comments. I think the Academy is and deserves better than that.

What especially irritated me was the ridiculous "incelcore" comment. Who is the incel? Austin Lunn is married with children. Do they mean the fans like me? I've been married for thirty-odd years. Much more likely is that the sad bastard trolling on the internet is the incel, so look in the mirror dickhead. 

Thanks Ben for the assurance that behaviour like that won't ever be made acceptable here at the Academy.

... and Borgne's new album Temps Morts!

OK, not easy but today it's:

1. Warning - Watching From A Distance (2006)

2. Solstice - New Dark Age (1998)

3. Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)

4. Reverend Bizarre - In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend (2002)

5. Subrosa - More Constant Than the Gods (2013)

6. Windhand - Soma (2013)

7. Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction (2012)

8. Scald - Will of the Gods Is Great Power (1996)

9. Spiritus Mortis - The God Behind the God (2009)

10. Saint Vitus - Mournful Cries (1988)

I've not included any extreme doom such as funeral or death doom, purely conventional doom metal.

Perhaps, Daniel, if the lockdown you're going through feels too long you should put together a funeral doom list - that should make time go quicker!

Sorry Ben, but could you also add the new Crescent album Carving the Fires of Akhet (North/Horde) please.

I hate this fucking track, it is embarrasing and completely out of place on what is otherwise one of the most influential albums of the early 80s.

Hi Ben, could you add Wolves in the Throne Room's new album Primordial Arcana please.

Ben, please add Brazil's Mythological Cold Towers, New Jersey's Green Dragon and UK sludge band Ishmael.

Wow, 30,000 releases. That's a hell of a lot of metal. Total respect for all your hard work Ben. And 5000 releases in 8 months still sounds like a lot to me! My request is similar to Vinny's - on the releases and bands pages could it be possible to have the page tabs at the top as well as the bottom of the page?

I have only had a limited exposure to Nuclear Assault over the years. I did see them support Slayer on the South of Heaven tour in the UK and the main thing I remember about their performance was them taking the piss out of hardcore for about five minutes by making lengthy introductions to songs that only lasted ten seconds or so. Their Handle With Care was also one of the first of those new-fangled CD things that I bought in the early nineties and was one of those albums that was kinda OK, but didn't exactly blow me away.

Game Over was the NY thrashers debut released in 1986 and is a more immediate and vital release than Handle With Care. It obviously has a hardcore/crossover influence with quite short track lengths in the main and an urgent, punkish delivery that conjures up images of frantically flailing bodies hurling themselves into seething mosh pits. Consequently the tracks tend to blur together and the album does have a breakneck runaway train quality to it and I don't say that as a criticism. They occasionaly thrust their tongues firmly into their cheeks as presumably a track like Hang the Pope is not to be taken too seriously, or at worst was designed merely to bait the PMRC (no bad thing that).

The guitar tone is not the best, it's a bit harsh and, in all honesty is a bit hard on the ears. Conversely Dan Lilker's bass manages to underpin the tracks and the ex-Anthrax bass man provides a solid foundation upon which the rest of the band can wreak their nuclear-fuelled destruction.

I must admit I enjoyed this much more than Handle With Care, despite the mediocre production job and it's energetic thrashing is just the thing if you want to work out some aggression. The band's fascination with nuclear annihilation is in full flow on Game Over and the album's best tracks are those Mutually Assured Destruction-themed tracks - Nuclear War being my personal favourite, but Radiation Sickness and After the Holocaust are both very good tracks. Ultimately a pretty good debut that I enjoyed for it's unapologetic aggression from a band that are really only seen as peripheral in the thrash metal history books.

4/5

This is the first Saxon album I've listened to released after 1984 and I went into it with low expectations, expecting nothing more than a rehash of old ideas and a band into it's fifth decade of existence going through the motions because they don't know what else to do. Man, was I wrong because Thunderbolt actually kicks ass as seriously as anything the Yorkshiremen have ever put out. The band haven't stood still in the intervening years since last I encountered them, their sound has evolved in a more power metal-inspired direction and it really suits them. Their knack for writing anthemic songs has been reinforced with steel-edged metal for a heavier and, dare I say, more energetic sound. Sure, they still sound like the old Saxon at times - They Played Rock and Roll is reminiscent in many ways of The Bands Played On, but this is a more "metal-sounding" Saxon to be sure.

Talking of They Played Rock and Roll, I've got to confess to becoming a little bit emotional on hearing it the first time. As I've said before I was a HUGE Motörhead fan and I fondly remember the 1979 Bomber tour with Saxon supporting Lemmy, Eddie and Philthy. I attended that gig at our local venue with a number of fellow metalhead mates, a couple of who are now gone. We all had a fantastic night and the track kind of bought back memories of long-gone simpler times when all we had to worry about was how to get the money for gigs, booze and weed and fuck everything else.

I think the most surprising thing about Thunderbolt is how great Biff Byford's voice still sounds. The guy is seventy years old now and here he sounds better than he ever has. Studio jiggerypokery can only cover so many cracks, so the guy as obviously still got the pipes to deliver an impressive performance. Musically, Paul Quinn and second guitarist Doug Scarratt deliver some amazing riffs and the greatest adrenaline-fuelled solos Saxon have ever delivered are fired off with deadly precision. The production job is superb, with crystal clarity that certainly does the album no harm at all and brings out the best in all the band members.

Tracks such as Thunderbolt, A Wizard's Tale, They Played Rock and Roll and my new favourite Saxon track The Secret of Flight are as good as anything I have heard from the band previously and this is seriously challenging Wheels of Steel as my favourite Saxon album. Respect to such a veteran outfit for not resting on their laurels and still being able to go toe to toe with the younger bucks and not be left wanting. Colour me impressed!

4.5/5