Church of Australian Metal

[Slammed]

Okay here's my 2021 list.

First and foremost it’s not metal but one of the best releases of 2021 was

Cosmic Psychos – Mountain of Piss
It just doesn’t come much more Aussie than this!

The Metal List

1. Lord - Undercovers Vol 1
I wouldn’t normally rate a covers album very high on any list but this is top notch, done well and was great for those long boring days in lockdown with very few other releases.

2. Desecrator – Summoning
It’s a bit of a bummer that this will be the last Desecrator album. They have proven to be a stalwart of the scene and this album is by no means a lack lustre exit.

3. Hidden Intent – Dead End Destiny
Third full length from Hidden Intent and it’s another great effort. Thrash with a bit of groove thrown in.

4. As Light Decays – System Of Division
First full length release from this WA band and it’s pretty fucking good

5. Effigy Of Madness – As The Page Burns
Another debut album, it’s not the best example of thrash/death out there but it’s pretty good for a first effort.

6. Terrorential – Visions
This album, another debut, has some great riffing and some good songs but it’s not perfect. There is a few songs that just don’t seem as complete as they could be

7. Mereflesh – Baptised In Blood
This was a bit of a surprise for me. I thought it was another one of those small bands who write about evil stuff but don’t actually have anything evil about them, but there is definitely evil there, even if it is only a little bit.

8. Devil Electric – Godless
Female fronted doom from Melbourne. I’ve been following them for a few years now and this is another solid release.

9. Witchskull – A Driftwood Cross
Third album from these Canberra based stoners and they do it pretty well. Lets face it to live that close to our pollies stoned would be the only state to be in.

10. Sumeru – Blood Ordinance
The only reason this is in 10th is because it’s only an EP. These guys play some damn good stoner/doom but it needs to be more than two songs to get up the list


HM’s

Innasanatorium – Odyssey of the Mind
Enforce – Deep Blue
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – LW
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – Butterfly 3000
Militaria – Remains With Pain
Womb To Tomb – Death Abroad

Crappy Pop Release 2021
Nothing Sacred – No Gods
Only kidding, it's not pop, it's shit

 

[CiG]

Damn the only thing in your list I've heard is Mountain of Piss, which is of course a masterpiss.

 

[Slammed]

I did have to hunt around for a few of those. My original list was less than 8 and 2 of those were King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard

 

[Sedentary Triumphator]

Australia
Drowning the Light

 

[challenge_everything]

Australia
Drowning the Light

If that's an Aussie beach, that cover image was probably blue water and glorious sunshine before it was rendered grim

 

[CiG]

Perth band I'm only just now (I think) hearing about.

 

[Slammed]

Think I'd remember a band with such great spelling too

 

[CiG]

Very inbred stuff.

 

[Slammed]

Sound quality was pretty average too, although that could be deliberate.

 

[CiG]

Yeah I'm not really feeling it.

 

[CiG]

Tassie speed metallers have finally dropped an album. Still remember buying their Boozehounds from Hell demo back in 2014 like it was yesterday. 8 fuckin' years later.

 

[Slammed]

I remember listening to this a week or two back when someone told me Tassie doesn't have any metal bands. I haven't heard their demo but I did like the album.

 

[CiG]

That's nuts, so many of my favourite Aussie metal bands are from Tassie. The Wizar'd!

 

[Slammed]

Yeah, this guy is a whinger of the highest degree, can't find anything positive to say about the entire world, always focuses on the bad. No Tassie bands, no Tassie metal scene, No Tassie gigs, at the same time he was talking about seeing Tom Warrior at Dark Mofo.

 

[CiG]

 

[Slammed]

My old mate Mick who spent 11 years in Mortification has resurrected his old band Terraphobia and they release their new album Rise today. Most of the work is done by Mick, including the production, but these days he's also got his son playing second guitar. (Fuck that makes me feel old, kids were miles off both our radars when I used to hit the local and Melbourne scenes with Mick's first band)

 

[SonOfNun]

Never got into Terraphobia though I haven't tried that hard. Song sounded OK. Mick did good work on Erasing the Goblin (probably the best latter era Mortification).

 

[Slammed]

Terraphobia started out more as a heavy metal band than what they've become. It's kind of strange reading the band Bio on their Angelfire (yes Anglefire) website. He says that Terraphobia broke up originally due to fighting with the bass player who wanted to play grunge, but really the original band wasn't that far removed from grunge, they were heavy metal with a slightly darker outlook. Product Of Your Mind was a good EP but it certainly wasn't very heavy, however it was also 29 years ago. It was after Terraphobia broke up that Mick got into the heavier stuff, then he got further into it with Mort.

I haven't listened to the whole album yet but the single above is a step forward from Evilution and Enemy Within. I think his vocals have gotten better, lyric writing maybe not so much, but the whole package in the one song definitely seems like a better effort that Evilution.

 

[CiG]

Some cool news:

 

[Slammed]

Long time between albums. Hope it's a good one!