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General Chat

Talk about general goings on in the Metal world.

318 topics in this forum

  1. Top 3 albums/eps of the week. 1 2 3 4 33

    By MacabreEternal,
    • 809 replies
    • 37,100 views

  2. New Purchases/Acquisitions 1 2 3 4 135

    By BlutAusNerd,
    • 3,372 replies
    • 67,097 views

  3. 1001 Metal Albums You Should Hear Before You Die [Metal Forum Edition] 1 2 3 4 7

    By The Batlord,
    • 157 replies
    • 13,762 views

  4. Who are your current top 5 bands? 1 2 3 4 60

    By NTNR,
    • 1,498 replies
    • 35,517 views

  5. Identify this song 1 2 3 4 6

    By thahgr,
    • 133 replies
    • 12,862 views

  6. Upcoming Albums, 2020 Edition 1 2

    By FatherAlabaster,
    • 27 replies
    • 459 views

  7. Top 10 Albums of Any Given Year 1 2 3 4 23

    By NTNR,
    • 569 replies
    • 14,741 views

  8. The most depressing album

    By Abronsius,
    • 13 replies
    • 233 views

  9. Greatest Song to Close an Album 1 2

    By Requiem,
    • 26 replies
    • 723 views

  10. Has metal broken off into unrelated niche genres?

    By the_thrashing,
    • 6 replies
    • 217 views

  11. Greatest Album Openers

    By RelentlessOblivion,
    • 15 replies
    • 720 views

  12. Lords of Chaos Movie (Mayhem Band)

    By jonnybagofdonuts,
    • 15 replies
    • 919 views

  13. Album of the Decade 2010 - 2019

    By MacabreEternal,
    • 2 replies
    • 145 views

  14. Album ratings; and rate the album you last listened to

    By Vampyrique,
    • 0 replies
    • 70 views

  15. Re-imagining albums' tracklistings

    By Vampyrique,
    • 0 replies
    • 64 views

  16. Albums you didn’t like at first but grew to like?

    By H34VYM3T4LD4V3,
    • 11 replies
    • 593 views

  17. When Did You First Get Into Metal? 1 2 3 4 11

    By 916kaden,
    • 269 replies
    • 11,790 views

  18. The Year In Anything Besides New Releases

    By FatherAlabaster,
    • 5 replies
    • 412 views

  19. 2019 Top Ten

    By Thrashman,
    • 17 replies
    • 499 views

  20. The Worst

    By DHR86,
    • 0 replies
    • 134 views

  21. Strange Metal Releases

    By Balor,
    • 2 replies
    • 420 views

  22. Will singing ever make a comeback?

    By the_thrashing,
    • 13 replies
    • 414 views

  23. Most offensive metal song?

    By ThePCfanboy,
    • 17 replies
    • 1,056 views

  24. Albums You Love With Artwork You Hate 1 2

    By Parker,
    • 39 replies
    • 954 views

  25. Upcoming Albums, 2019 Edition 1 2

    By FatherAlabaster,
    • 48 replies
    • 1,585 views

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  • Our picks

    • Sacred Reich "Awakening"

      MacabreEternal posted a blog entry in Album Reviews,

      Whichever tier of thrash metal you consigned Sacred Reich back in the 80's/90's they still had their moments.  "Ignorance" & "Surf Nicaragura" did a great job of establishing the band, whereas "The American Way" just got a little to comfortable and accessible (the title track grates nowadays) for my ears.  A couple more records better left forgotten about and then nothing for twenty three years.  2019 alone has now seen three releases from Phil Rind and co.  A live EP, a split EP with Iron Reagan and now a full length.

      Notable addition to the ranks for the current throng of releases is former Machine Head sticksman, Dave McClean.  Love or hate Machine Head, McClean is a more than capable drummer and his presence here is felt from the off with the opening and title track kicking things off with some real gusto.  'Divide & Conquer' and 'Salvation' muddle along nicely, never quite reaching any quality that would make my balls tingle but comfortable enough.  The looming build to 'Manifest Reality' delivers a real punch when the song starts proper.  Frenzied riffs and drums with shots of lead work to hold the interest.


      There's a problem already though (I know, I am such a fucking mood hoover).  I don't like Phil's vocals.  I never had if I am being honest.  The aggression to them seems a little forced even when they are at their best on tracks like 'Manifest Reality'.  When he tries to sing it just feels weak though ('Salvation') and tracks lose real punch.  Give him a riffy number such as 'Killing Machine' and he is fine with the Reich engine (probably a poor choice of phrase) up in sixth gear.  For every thrashy riff there's a fair share of rock edged, local bar act rhythm aplenty too.

      Let's not poo-poo proceedings though, because overall I actually enjoy "Awakening".  It is stacked full of catchy riffs that are sticky on the old ears.  Whilst not as raw as perhaps the - brilliant - artwork suggests with its black and white, tattoo flash sheet style design it is enjoyable enough.  Yes, 'Death Valley' & 'Something to Believe' have no place here, saved only by Arnett and Radziwill's lead work but 'Revolution' is a fucking 80's thrash heyday throwback to the extent that if you turn the TV on during it you might catch a new episode of Cheers!

      3/5
      • 2

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      • 3 replies
      MacabreEternal

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    • Immortal Bird "Thrive on Neglect"

      MacabreEternal posted a blog entry in Album Reviews,

      I
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      MacabreEternal

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    • Vltimas 'Something Wicked Marches In'

      MacabreEternal posted a blog entry in Album Reviews,

      https://www.metalforum.com/blogs/entry/52-vltimas-something-wicked-marches-in/
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      MacabreEternal

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    • Queensryche "The Verdict"

      MacabreEternal posted a blog entry in Album Reviews,

      https://www.metalforum.com/blogs/entry/50-queensryche-the-verdict/
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      MacabreEternal

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    • Candlemass "The Door to Doom"

      MacabreEternal posted a blog entry in Album Reviews,


      https://www.metalforum.com/blogs/entry/48-candlemass-the-door-to-doom/
      • 1

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      MacabreEternal

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