Sonny's Forum Replies

I would say that anyone who listens to Coldplay and Red Hot Chilli Peppers has no right to pass judgement on anyone else's musical tastes, Ben!

Yeah, I should have said "amongst fans nerdy enough to post about music on an internet site" rather than the average man in the street. From my own experience, most of my real life "friends" still listen to the same shit they were listening to back in the eighties. To them Nirvana and Oasis are pushing them out of their comfort zone! Either that or they just latch onto whatever overhyped shit headlined at Glastonbury that year along with the rest of the fucking sheep. If I played them 95% of the stuff I listen to nowadays I swear most of them would freak out, bury their heads in a pillow and hum Bob Dylan songs to themselves whilst trying not to cry.

Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas - Mariner (2016)

I have no idea who Juie Christmas is, or what her work outside of this collaboration may sound like, but one thing is for sure, she has certainly brought an additional dimension to CoL's sound, without nudging it too far from what we have come to expect from the swedish atmo-sludge crew. I went into Mariner expecting it to be Cult of Luna with ethereal female vocals, presuming Julie Christmas to have come from a darkwave or gothic background similar to Chelsea Wolfe, but that isn't what she brings to the table at all. In fact, there is a quite a variation in her vocal styles, ranging from a quite twee-sounding, young girl-like voice to a snarling, sharp-edged sludgy shriek. I must admit that it is the more aggressive latter style which I found most appealing, such as she uses on "The Wreck of S.S. Needle" alongside a clean style that reminded me of SubRosa's Rebecca Vernon. I can see that Julie's vocals may be divisive among CoL fans and I feel that it may take me a few more listens to be completely at home with them myself, but she does help to revitalise a band that was getting maybe a little too comfortable in it's own skin.

Of course, this being Cult of Luna, the instrumentation is impeccable and the songs are multi-textured affairs, but they feel less reliant on the build-and-release trope that has become the main feature of atmospheric sludge in general and CoL in particular over the years. I think this may be down to the flexibility of Julie Christmas's vocals which bring wider textural variety to the vocal aspect of Mariner's sound and makes it less reliant on the building of instrumental tension and the subsequent payoff of it's release that the genre has stereotypically come to rely on. This fundamental aspect of Cult of Luna's sound isn't completely absent of course and is very much still in evidence in a song like "Approaching Transition" which, tellingly, Julie is less involved in and as such sounds more like the CoL we are all used to.

Whilst the album as a whole is a very solid and interesting affair, for me it is at it's best when JC is given free rein and utilises all the vocal tricks in her toolbox, with the closer "Cygnus" and the afrementioned, "The Wreck of S.S. Needle", being the two standouts as her vocals weave in and around the band's searing and soaring instrumentation in a quite sublime dance of musical dexterity and creativity. The songwriting on these two tracks is quite exceptional and feels extremely natural, as if the sounds these two entities have ended up producing are the only feasible outcome of their inevitable collaboration.

I must admit, before listening to Mariner, I thought that Cult of Luna no longer really had the ability to surprise me. Entertain and delight me, for sure, but to make me do a double-take and really sit up and take notice of a newly-heard release, no those days were gone. I was wrong for sure and I can't really explain why it has taken me so long to get around to checking this collaboration out, other than I already thought I knew what to expect. Well bigger fool me, because this is not at all that thing, but rather an invigorating and special slab of atmospheric sludge that stands up to scrutiny against all but the absolute best that the genre has to offer. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks after all.

4.5/5

Pagan Altar - Mythical & Magical (2006)

I am fairly familiar with Pagan Altar's earlier material, specifically the debut which dates from 1982, their Time Lord EP which dates from '78/'79 and also their 2004 album Lords of Hypocrisy. The first two are interesting early examples of the metamorphisis from heavy metal to traditional doom metal that was beginning to take place in the late seventies and early eighties, similar to Bedemon/Pentagram or Witchfinder General material from the same era. I wasn't so much taken with the later album however and found it quite lacklustre and disappointing.

So, my first impressions of 2006's Mythical & Magical are far more positive, I must say. It is a much more interesting release with it's quite wide range of influences, whilst still sounding consistent. The biggest issue for a lot of fans is likely to be Terry Jones' nasal and fairly high-pitched vocal delivery which may not be to everyone's taste, but if you are OK with King Diamond and Cirith Ungol you should be fine. Talking of Cirith Ungol, there are certainly elements employed by the Californian epic metallers to be found here on Mythical & Magical, albeit a little more restrained. Just to be clear though, there is very little to no doom metal present on M&M, other than in the very loosest sense. This is predominantly (epic) trad metal with plenty of seventies hard rock influence. There is even some folk-prog featured with the enjoyable, The Crowman, which wouldn't sound at all out of place on Jethro Tull's fantastic 1977 Songs from the Wood album. Make no mistake though, this is principally a traditional heavy metal album and Pagan Altar's emergence during the early NWOBHM is apparent both in the songwriting and the production of M&M with it's relatively raw and reedy sound.

For me the album is at it's strongest when they go all-in on the more epic side of things and allow Alan Jones to indulge his soaring solos, such as the Comfortably Numb-esque closing solo to The Sorcerer. I would suggest it is Alan's guitar work that raises this album to whatever heights it occupies as it is his riffing and soloing that completely dominates the album's standout moments.

I find it fascinating that Terry and Alan are father and son. I don't know of any other band with such a relationship - I really can't imagine being in a band with my old man and I certainly can't imagine it would have lasted long if I was!

4/5

I haven't checked it out yet, Xephyr. The reason being that, as you say, I'm a massive fan and I blind-ordered the vinyl from Bandcamp and I'm waiting until it comes so I can get the whole vinyl experience, fresh out of the box, so to speak. I am looking forward to it immensely, though.

Edguy - Mandrake (2001)

Not yet feeling I have taken suffcient punishment, I took my second plunge into the world of EUPM this week. Much like with the Hammerfall album, I found myself pleasantly surprised. Edguy, at least on the evidence of this album, are one of the more palatable bands from the genre for me. They don't appear to go all-in on the cheesier aspects of power metal, not smothering everything in layers of keyboards and even their choral harmonising doesn't irritate as badly as most of their contemporaries. The singer, Tobias Sammet (also of Avantasia) is a more than passable Bruce Dickinson impersonator so, again, doesn't irritate me anything like as much as the majority of power metal vocalists. The riffing and soloing are decent, but I wouldn't put them on the same level as the Hammerfall album from earlier in the week, but they score much better on the vocal front. What I would give for an album with Hammerfall's instrumentation and Edguy's vocals!

The real pearls within the oyster's body are the two consecutive tracks, "Nailed to the Wheel" and The "Pharaoh". The former is a thrashy, Iced Earth-like workout that bears more relation to power metal of the US variety than the European and the latter is a "Stargazer" / "Gates of Babylon"-influenced epic, which does feature some synths, but they are only used to imbue the track with a tasteful eastern flavour which isn't in any way overpowering. If the rest of the album exhibited the quality of these two tracks, then I would have no trouble awarding a four-star rating. But, of course, this is power metal and at over an hour this is way too long and a number of the tracks are fairly forgettable and the ballad, Wash Away the Poison, is horrible, so a lower score is inevitable. Still, Mandrake left me open to exploring Edguy further and I may well return to this at some point in the future, with "Nailed to the Wheel" most likely ending up on one of my playlists.

3.5/5

Hammerfall - Renegade (2000)

OK, so I am really living outside my comfort zone this week, today seeing me taking a rare excursion into european power metal territory, which almost invariably ends badly! I don't recall ever having listened to Hammerfall before and I didn't go into this exploration of the Swedes' third album with much optimism, but I actually found myself enjoying this a fair bit. Firstly, the instrumentation is pretty damn good, with some decent Priest / Maiden-esque riffing and nice soloing that doesn't feel overwhelmingly self-indulgent. The drumming and basswork are also very solid, including an Overkill-like intro to the penultimate track, the instrumental "Raise the Hammer", which may or may not be a tribute to "Philthy" Phil Taylor who Lemmy used to refer to as "The Hammer".

Of course my real bugbear with the european variant of power metal is still in evidence, that being the vocals. Both the histrionic lead vocals and the multi-layered harmonised choruses never fail to get my back up. Even though both are present here on Renegade, they are not so egregious that they have me gagging with an involuntary reflux reaction like they would normally. In fact, I would have to say that for euro power metal the vocals are decidedly understated (relatively-speaking, obviously), which works heavily in the album's favour as far as I am concerned. The upshot of all this is that Hammerfall have piqued my curiosity somewhat and have earned a degree of respect which may or may not see me delving further into their back catalogue. Renegade represents the acceptable face of european power metal in Sonny-World!

A somewhat surprising 3.5/5

Good luck, Andi. Hope it all goes well.

Converge - Jane Doe (2001)

No, believe it or not, I hadn't listened to this before today, even though I am well aware how critically-acclaimed it is. Despite metalcore not being one of my "core" genres, I have found Converge to be one of the more palatable bands in the genre, so I can't really say why it has taken me so long to get round to their highest-rated album, sheer bloody mindedness I suppose! Well, I can certainly hear why it is so highly acclaimed as I found it to be quite a striking listen. There is a nice blend of short, aggressive tracks and more expansive, sludge-influenced workouts. The greater depth to the guitar tone and the slower tempo of a couple of tracks, most notably Hell To Pay and Phoenix in Flight, unsurprisingly appeal to my Fallen-obsessed sensibilities more than most metalcore albums do. Then, the absolute nirvana of what is already a singularly great Revolution release, the epic closing title track and it's dabbling with atmospheric sludge renders this so far above the metalcore crowd that it inhabits a different plane of existence. Shit, at this rate I'm going to be swapping one of my clans for The Revolution. (Not really, Andi, before you say anything!) Anyway, credit where credit is due, this is a fantastic metal release with the ability to invigorate even an old curmudgeon like me.

4.5/5

Hi again Ben. Please add Belfast sludge / doom crew War Iron. Thanks muchly.

I like these ideas and will investigate adding them in the next batch of updates. I'm strapped for cash at the moment while the cost of living / interest rates are so high in Australia, so I'm afraid it won't happen quickly.

Just a couple of ideas for the "back burner". The economic situation is a real downer for so many people at the moment, isn't it. Hopefully things may start to turn around as we get further removed from Coronavirus, etc.

Hi Sonny. I experienced something similar with one of my lists a while back, but I don't know what the cause is. I plan to bring all the site's platforms up to the latest versions in the coming months and hope that might stop the issues. If not, I'll get my developer to look into it. I know it's a pain, but lists with under 200 entries seem to be much more stable than those above that mark.

One day I plan to redesign the lists altogether to make it easier to add / remove entries from long lists while still maintaining the order.

No problem, Ben. It's not a big issue, but I thought I would let you know anyway.

Hold the presses!! A new Grand Magus is due on October 18th, their first for five long years. Vinyl pre-order already gone in!

There's a couple of preview tracks up on YouTube, Spotify and Bandcamp:

I wonder if it would be possible, at some point in the future, to implement a "Collection" button on a release, which would enable us to add it to a record of our own personal record collections. I have been updating my collection on Discogs and RYM, at least for The Fallen initially, but I would really like to see it here on Metal Academy, because I think it is aesthetically much more pleasing. For now I have been making a personal list of my Fallen-related physical releases, but this is quite time-consuming and I encountered an issue with the list when I got over 350 entries which saw many of the entries disappear and which has seen me having to split it into two halves.

Anyway, here's a link to the first part of my Fallen Collection list for anyone who is interested to see what a sad geek of a record collector I am:

https://metal.academy/lists/single/286

Also, how about a similar ability to tag something onto a "watchlist" or, more accurately, a "listen-to list" so that we can tag things that may pique our interest but we haven't time to check out just at that moment. I would much rather keep track of both of these things here than on RYM.

I wonder if it would be possible, at some point in the future, to implement a "Collection" button on a release, which would enable us to add it to a record of our own personal record collections. I have been updating my collection on Discogs and RYM, at least for The Fallen initially, but I would really like to see it here on Metal Academy, because I think it is aesthetically much more pleasing. For now I have been making a personal list of my Fallen-related physical releases, but this is quite time-consuming and I encountered an issue with the list when I got over 350 entries which saw many of the entries disappear and which has seen me having to split it into two halves.

Anyway, here's a link to the first part of my Fallen Collection list for anyone who is interested to see what a sad geek of a record collector I am:

https://metal.academy/lists/single/286

Korpiklaani - Spirit of the Forest (2003)

Now, I am not the biggest fan of most folk metal, but I don't have any particular ideoligical opposition to it, it is just that it is so badly done, so often and usually comes off as a bit goofy and corny. But, that said, even a notorious miserablist like myself occasionally needs to hear something uplifting and life-affirming and, when done well, folk metal can provide that for me, particular with it's jaunty naturistic celebrations and  it's use of folk instrumentation, of which I am a big fan. Korpiklaani seem like just one of a few of those bands who strike the right balance for me. I think it is because they take both the folk and metal aspects of their sound seriously and come off as sounding more authentic than a lot of bands within the genre, who often feel too gimmicky. So when I want to hear something with a bit more of a positive, celebratory atmosphere and feel that some good folk metal may do the trick, then I don't usually look far beyond Korpiklaani or Finntroll. Maybe it's something hiding in those finnish forests that influences those two band's take on a genre that can go horribly wrong and enables them to transcend the embarrassing corniness that too often accompanies it.

This was actually Korpiklaani's debut and is a strong one at that, especially for a genre to which I am largely indifferent and is one of only a handful of folk metal albums I can stomach. The songs are mostly shortish affairs and the album varies it's tempo a fair bit, so it never feels too "samey" and if a particular track doesn't strike your fancy then it isn't long before something else takes it's place. It's mostly a jaunty, jigging affair, that makes you think of summer nights under a starry sky, drinking and engaging in generally raucous merry-making around the leaping flames of a camp bonfire with good friends. I have spent quite a few nights in my younger days in just such a way and maybe it's success for me personally is in evoking nostalgic visions of good times.

3.5/5

Tim Lambesis really nails the harsh aggressiveness without resorting to annoyingly excessive shoutiness, his clean vocals are also very good. T

It's a pity that he attempted to hire an undercover police officer to murder his wife a decade ago but I guess nobody's perfect.

Wow, I did not know that. That is reprehensible. What a c@#t. I hope he did time for it.

A new Oranssi Pazuzu album, called Muuntautuja, is due on Oct 11th. There are a couple of preview tracks available now. If these are anything to go by, the band are getting even more trippy in a kind of bad-trip, dystopian, industrial, Neuromancer kind of way.

The better of the two new tracks is called Valotus (needs age verification).

Alternatively, here is the Bandcamp page link:

https://oranssipazuzu.bandcamp.com/album/muuntautuja

As I Lay Dying - An Ocean Between Us (2007)

OK, this is just getting fucking weird now, but this is the second album from The Revolution that has hooked me in this week. In fact, this 2007 offering from a band I had never taken any notice of previously has got me even more stoked than the Converge album I was raving about a couple of days ago. It's the riffs man, the riffs... they contain a significant thrah metal influence and are supremely satisfying, like a good gutpunch. Actually it isn't just the riffs, the lead guitar work is pretty stellar too. Oh, and the vocals are also great, which is unusual for me to say when reviewing a metalcore album as they are usually the most challenging thing about any 'core-related genre for me, but Tim Lambesis really nails the harsh aggressiveness without resorting to annoyingly excessive shoutiness, his clean vocals are also very good. This one has really come out of left field and has gone straight to my #1 Metalcore album ever. I will definitely have to look into As I Lay Dying further if this is any indication of the qulity of the band's catalogue.

I can't hear any reason why not to, so I'm gonna go with a 4.5/5.

Paradise Lost - Paradise Lost (2005)

This is fairly typical of Paradise Lost's 2000's output. In other words it is an album of rather staid gothic metal that doesn't do anything especially interesting or exciting. It isn't terrible by any means, but it does sound awfully commercial to my ears and it fails to grab me in any meaningful way, other than as background. The '00s seem to have been a period of still water for the Yorkshiremen, a period of treading water after the successful emergence and flourishing that the band underwent through the 90s and prior to their 2010s resurgence when they rediscovered their doom-laden inheritance. At least the album does end on a high with the one-two of "Spirit" and "Over the Madness" providing the album's best moments and Nick Holmes' voice still sounds great here, so all was not lost by any means.

3.5/5

I love the throbbing bassline of this dystopian-sounding track.This video also contains the hidden track from Hymns, Jesu makes up the first six minutes.

Godflesh - Hymns (2001)

I'm not really that "up" on Godflesh and have never listened to them much. I remember listening to Songs of Love and Hate and not being overly affected by it. So, as part of a 2000's decade project, I gave their 2001 sixth album a listen. OK, it has a Fear Factory-ish feeling to it, but I am really surprised this doesn't have a nu-metal tag because that is exactly what this sounds like to me. I don't mean the Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park style of poppy nu-metal, but nu-metal all the same, done in a reasonably heavy and less accessible way for sure. I don't say that with any kind of negative connotation, because to my ears this is nu-metal done right and isn't too bad at all. The album sounds best to me when the band sound most like Fear Factory and it ends on a real high with the closer Jesu and it's throbbing bassline is the pick of the bunch for me. Look, it isn't going to trouble my higher ratings because this just doesn't utilise much that hits my musical sweet spots, but neither does it see me looking to turn it off. It is waaaay too long at 75 minutes, a good half an hour could be kicked to the kerb, but it is perfectly listenable and more than suitable as a backdrop while I do something else. I am never going to worship at the Godflesh altar like so many metalheads do, but I don't begrudge them their reputation and success at all.

3.5/5

Converge - No Heroes (2006)

I'm not well-known as having much love for metalcore, but I find Converge to be fairly listenable. So, checking out 2006's No Heroes for the first time I was optimistic going in. Luckily this exceeded my expectations and it has shot itself up to the very top of my Revolution all-time Top 10. There are some brilliant punky metal riffs coupled with a high-velocity delivery. That said, the real clincher for me in the end was the untypical " Grim Heart / Black Rose " which, with it's excellent clean vocals and progressive feel, reminds me of The Mars Volta and it's melancholic, ominous atmosphere was always going to appeal to me. The album as a whole hits pretty hard though and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, so I can definitely see me returning to this one.

4/5 (with a potential for a 4.5)

Hi Ben. Could you add the Lord Vicar / Funeral Circle split EP from 2011, please.

Have you ever checked out 2001's Endtyme, Daniel. I think it is their doomiest album after Forest of Equilibrium and may be more in line with what you are looking for from the band post-debut.

Hi Daniel. A couple for October if you want them:

Acid Mammoth - "Black Rites" (from "Acid Mammoth", 2017)
Amenra - "Razoreater" (from "Mass IIII", 2008)

Let's see,  first four Metallica albums, Sepultura with Schizophrenia through Arise, Drudkh from Autumn Auroa through Blood in Our Wells. 

Ulcerate are still on a golden run on their last four albums.

Maiden for me would also match Ben's opinion and I would also go with that Opeth run too.

I would throw in Judas Priest from Sad Wings of Destiny through Stained Class.

Good shout on Drudkh, Vinny.

Nice call on Gorgoroth's first three, Karl. I am one of the few who also loves Destroyer as well, so that's a four album run!

Hi Ben, could you add Sweden's Church of Void, including their split album "Coalition of the Anathematized" which is a split between Cardinals Folly / Church of Void / Acolytes of Moros. Thanks once more.

Thanks once again for adding my many requests, Ben.

Hi Ben, could you add Sweden's Church of Void, including their split album "Coalition of the Anathematized" which is a split between Cardinals Folly / Church of Void / Acolytes of Moros. Thanks once more.

I'm really sorry to keep issuing so many requests, but could you add Liverpool's Black Magician please Ben?

Hi Ben. Could you please add Black Capricorn's 2022 album "Cult of Blood"?

One more Ben, could you please add US doom/stoner/psych three-piece Blackout.

A couple of early, cynical attempts on the pop charts from Judas Priest - "Take on the World" and "United" really tested my loyalty to the band back in the day and still piss me off even now. I think I hate those two tracks even more than anything Ripper Owens inflicted upon us.

Iron Maiden - "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter" (from "No Prayer for the Dying", 1990)

Absolutely. Although shouldn't that be "Bring Your Dowter to the Slowter" - a serious accent malfunction from Bruce on  that one I think!

One of my NWOBHM favourites and a band I always loved seeing live:

My Top 20 Angel Witch tracks:

1. Angel of Death (Angel Witch)
2. Baphomet (Metal for Muthas)
3. Gorgon (Angel Witch)
4. Don't Turn Your Back (Angel of Light)
5. Atlantis (Angel Witch)
6. Confused (Angel Witch)
7. White Witch (Angel Witch)
8. Free Man (Angel Witch)
9. Angel Witch (Angel Witch)
10. Sorcerers (Angel Witch)

11. Geburah (As Above, So Below)
12. Condemned (Angel of Light)
13. Evil Games (Screamin' n' Bleedin')
14. Death From Andromeda (Angel of Light)
15. Sweet Danger (Angel Witch)
16. Angel of Light (Angel of Light)
17. Flight Nineteen (Sweet Danger / Flight Nineteen)
18. Devil's Tower (Angel Witch)
19. Dead Sea Scrolls (As Above, So Below)
20. Witching Hour (As Above, So Below)

Heavily dominated by their superb debut LP.

What you gonna do when a band issues an album so much better than the rest of their discography?

Another favourite band of mine, Sweden's Grand Magus:

1. Hammer of the North (Hammer of the North)
2. Valhalla Rising (The Hunt)
3. Son of the Last Breath (The Hunt)
4. Mountains Be My Throne (Hammer of the North)
5. Iron Hand (The Hunt)
6. At Midnight They'll Get Wise (Hammer of the North)
7. Starlight Slaughter (The Hunt)
8. I, The Jury (Hammer of the North)
9. Legion (Grand Magus)
10. Sword of the Ocean (The Hunt)

11. The Hunt (The Hunt)
12. Black Sails (Hammer of the North)
13. Storm King (The Hunt)
14. Northern Star (Hammer of the North)
15. Like the Oar Strikes the Water (Iron Will)
16. Silver Moon (The Hunt)
17. Ravens Guide Our Way (Hammer of the North)
18. Draksådd (The Hunt)
19. Spear Thrower (Wolf God)
20. The Naked and the Dead (Triumph and Power)

A band who are incredibly consistent and deserve more acclaim.

Hi Ben. Sorry, a couple more requests for you:

Sweden's Anguish and a band local to me, UK's Space Witch.

Thanks...

Does anyone have any other examples to recommend of the raw second wave sound I may not have heard, because revisiting this and the other early Darkthrone albums has reminded me just how much I really love this shit?!

Have you tried Judas Iscariot on for size Sonny? He had a similar sound to classic Darkthrone.

I don't think I have ever heard him, so will definitely check him out later. Thanks for the rec,  Daniel.

...checked out his Heaven in Flames album and I really enjoyed it in it's own right even though the synths made it more polished-sounding than I was looking for. The penultimate track, "Spill the Blood of the Lamb" was more in line with my expectations and is my favourite here. I'll try his earlier stuff out and see if it is more in the vein of "Spill the Blood of the Lamb". He does have exactly the kind of cracked, evil-sounding voice I love in my black metal, though and his vocals really hit the spot.

Checked out Judas Iscariot's first album, The Cold Earth Slept Below... and even though it is a wildly inconsistent release, it does have exactly the vibe I was looking for. For what it's worth, I think Heaven in Flames is the better album, but the debut does hit that raw black metal spot more effectively.

On a tangentially related topic, which album, in your opinions, towers over a band's discography. Obviously I am referring to bands with a fairly extensive number of studio albums (say six or more). I would suggest Diamond Head's "Lightning to the Nations" stands head and shoulders above the rest of their fairly mediocre discography.

This one's an easy one for me. Slayer's run of "Reign in Blood" into "South of Heaven" into "Seasons in the Abyss" was comfortably the most life-changing run of metal albums in my life thus far.

That's a good call too. You could even throw in Hell Awaits and make it four.

The longest, best run, however, must be Maiden from Killers to Somewhere in Time making five in all, although Sabbath from Paranoid to Sabotage were pretty good as well.

Does anyone have any other examples to recommend of the raw second wave sound I may not have heard, because revisiting this and the other early Darkthrone albums has reminded me just how much I really love this shit?!

Have you tried Judas Iscariot on for size Sonny? He had a similar sound to classic Darkthrone.

I don't think I have ever heard him, so will definitely check him out later. Thanks for the rec,  Daniel.

...checked out his Heaven in Flames album and I really enjoyed it in it's own right even though the synths made it more polished-sounding than I was looking for. The penultimate track, "Spill the Blood of the Lamb" was more in line with my expectations and is my favourite here. I'll try his earlier stuff out and see if it is more in the vein of "Spill the Blood of the Lamb". He does have exactly the kind of cracked, evil-sounding voice I love in my black metal, though and his vocals really hit the spot.

Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger (1994)

If I was asked to name the one album that epitomises black metal for me, then Transilvanian Hunger would be my reply. For this, Darkthrone's fourth full-length and the third instalment in their "unholy trilogy", Fenriz wrote all the music for the album and performed and recorded all the instruments himself on four-track in his home studio setup, suitably named Necrohell Studio by the band. He also wrote the lyrics for the first four tracks, with Varg Vikernes contributing lyrics for tracks five to eight. At this point Darkthrone were a bit up in the air as guitarist Zephyrous had left after the release of Under A Funeral Moon and Fenriz and Nocturno Culto weren't even living in the same town. So Fenriz wrote and recorded the album on his own and then sent it to NC and asked him if he wanted to perform the vocals which, obviously, he did.

The first thing that strikes the listener is the sound of the album. The production is the absolute dictionary definition of the necro sound that so many black metal bands have striven towards. The raw, stripped-back sound has a savage iciness that, for my money, has often been copied, but has never been equalled. The decaying frostiness of the production isn't all there is to Transilvanian Hunger however, because this is not only the finest collection of black metal riffs ever committed to disc, it may well be the greatest album of metal riffs of any colour, full-stop. Fenriz' genius here is in writing riffs that are simple, memorably melodic and, yes, even catchy, but he delivers them in such a way, mainly thanks to the production, that they take on an inherent "evilness" that epitomises early second wave black metal better than anything else I have heard. Another small, but very clever, touch is how there is a degree of tension built by the pauses between tracks which are just a bit too long and discomforting. When it comes down to it, Transilvanian Hunger is quite simple. There is very little by way of tempo variation and the drums and bass don't do anything fancy, no complicated bass runs or drum fills are required because the riffs and to a certain extent the production, are the real focus here. Of course, Nocturno Culto puts in a great turn on vocals and his performance perfectly complements the tone of the instrumentation, exuding evil contempt with every cracked, sneering shriek.

The album was not without controversy upon it's release however. The original version's back cover sporting the legend "True Norwegian Black Metal" also had the expression "Norsk Arisk Black Metal" ("Norwegian Aryan black metal"). The band also issued a very unfortunate press release concerning the album, containing a phrase I have no intention of repeating here. Thankfully, Fenriz quickly repudiated any connection to nazi philosophy and has since distanced himself even further by calling these comments disgusting and pointing out that many of us are assholes when young and say and do things we are later not proud of. The penultimate track, As Flittermice as Satans Spys also ends with the backwards-masked message proclaiming "In the name of God, let the churches burn", which I am sure wouldn't have gone down well in Norway at the time.

All this adds up to an album that can rightfully claim a place as a truly important release in the history of metal and is, for me, the most succinct expression of black metal's second wave, standing like a towering giant over the eviscerated corpses of any and all pretenders.

5/5

Does anyone have any other examples to recommend of the raw second wave sound I may not have heard, because revisiting this and the other early Darkthrone albums has reminded me just how much I really love this shit?!

I am a big fan of "Hope Finally Died..." myself Daniel and have long been trying to obtain an original copy. The only problem is, there are currently a couple for sale on Discogs and they are both going for over £ 250!! Insane.

Hi Ben. Another couple of requests:

Apostle of Solitude / Rituals of the Oak / The Flight of Sleipnir three-way split from 2011 released on Eyes Like Snow.

Also the spanish doom band Vøid and their sole 2014 s/t album.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Hi again, Ben. I'm not sure what your pollicy for this is, but would it be possible to add Chad Davis' (Hour of 13) project The Ritualist and their sole EP, Hell's Doom Eternal. It was released in 2016 as a cassette-only demo called Hell's Doom, but it was given a proper CD release the following year on I Hate records with an additional track and renamed Hell's Doom Eternal. If not then that's fine , but this is the only one in my Fallen collection not now on the Academy database and as a dedicated completist I would appreciate it's addition very much!

Hi Ben. I have been cataloguing my physical collection recently and have noticed a few omissions. Could you add the following bands please (sorry there's so many at once):

Begotten (NY, USA)

Blizaro (USA)

Church of Lies (UK)

Condenados (Chile)

Crone (Australia)

Dea Marica (UK)

Demon Lung (USA)

Doomster Reich (Poland)

Electric Priestess (UK)

Goya (USA),

Kroh (UK)

Of Spire & Throne (UK)

Old Witch (Canada)

Othuum (Germany)

Prophets of Saturn (UK)

Spirit Descent (Germany)

Spirit Division(USA)

Talisman Stone (unknown)

Your wish is my command. All done!

Thanks so much, Ben, for such an impressively speedy and comprehensive response.

Hi Ben. I have been cataloguing my physical collection recently and have noticed a few omissions. Could you add the following bands please (sorry there's so many at once):

Begotten (NY, USA)

Blizaro (USA)

Church of Lies (UK)

Condenados (Chile)

Crone (Australia)

Dea Marica (UK)

Demon Lung (USA)

Doomster Reich (Poland)

Electric Priestess (UK)

Goya (USA),

Kroh (UK)

Of Spire & Throne (UK)

Old Witch (Canada)

Othuum (Germany)

Prophets of Saturn (UK)

Spirit Descent (Germany)

Spirit Division(USA)

Talisman Stone (unknown)

Another couple of suggestions for September if needed, Daniel:

Ponte del Diavolo - "Covenant" (from "Fire Blades From the Tomb", 2024)

Ufomammut - "Crookhead" (from "Hidden", 2024)

I do usually check them out Ben, but it wouldn't be any great hardship to me if you stopped posting them.

Do you mind adding french doomers The Bottle Doom Lazy Band please Ben.