Daniel's Forum Replies

No nominations from me this month Andi.

Here are my nominations for the December playlist Vinny:

Exodus - "The Last Act Of Defiance" (from "Fabulous Disaster", 1989) [Thrash metal]

Hellish - "The Ancient Entity Of The Darkest Light" (from "The Dance of the Four Elemental Serpents", 2022) [Thrash metal]

Nihilist - "Sentenced To Death" (from "Carnal Leftovers", 2005) [Death/thrash]

Scatterbrain - "Here Comes Trouble" (from "Here Comes Trouble", 1990) [Thrash metal]

Motorhead - "Locomotive" (from "No Remorse", 1984) [Speed metal]

Iced Earth - "The Funeral" (from "Iced Earth", 1990) [Thrash metal/US power metal]

Here are my nominations for December Ben:

Windir - "On The Mountain Of Goats" (from "Likferd", 2003)

Sarcofago - "Satanas (2nd Version)" (from "Die... Hard!!!", 2015)

Darkthrone - "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" (from "Frostland Tapes", 2008)

Here are my December nominations:

Xecutioner - "Find The Arise" (from "1986 Demo" demo, 1986)

Sarcofago - "Satanic Lust (Instrumental)" (from "Die... Hard!!!", 2015)

Darkthrone - "Land of Frost" (from "Land of Frost" demo, 1988)

Nihilist - "Supposed to Rot" (from "Premature Autopsy", 1988)

Napalm Death - "Rise Above" (from "Mentally Murdered" E.P., 1989)

Neuropath - "Incantations of Decrepit Nihilism" (from "Desert of Excruciation" demo, 1995)

Here's my nomination for the December playlist Xephyr:

Mercyful Fate - "Curse Of The Pharaohs" (from "The Beginning", 1987)

No member track nominations included this month Xephyr?

Here's my nomination for the December playlist Saxy:

Living Colour - "Type" (from "Time's Up", 1990)

Here are my submissions for the December playlist Sonny:

Black Sabbath - "Black Sabbath" (from "Black Sabbath", 1970)

Plateau Sigma - "Maira & the Archangel" (from "White Wings of Nightmares", 2013)

Sir Lord Baltimore - "Kingdom Come" (from "Kingdom Come", 1970)

November 2023

01. Sadist – “Perversion Lust Orgasm” (from “Crust”, 1997)

02. Amorphis – “On Rich & Poor” (from “Elegy”, 1996)

03. Adramalech – “The Book Of The Worm” (from “Psychostasia”, 1996) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

04. Edge of Sanity – “Crimson, Pt. 1” (from “Crimson”, 1996) [Submitted by Daniel]

05. Godgory – “In Silence Forever” (from “Sea of Dreams”, 1995)

06. VoidCeremony – “Forlorn Portrait: Ruins of an Ageless Slumber” (from “Threads of Unknowing”, 2023) [Submitted by Daniel]

07. Hypocrisy – “Roswell 47” (from “Abducted”, 1996)

08. Baring Teeth – “An Illusion of Multiple Voices” (from “Ghost Chorus Among Old Ruins”, 2014)

09. Pestilence – “Malleus Maleficarum/Anthropomorphia” (from “Malleus Maleficarum”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

10. Blind Equation – “Fade Away” (from “Death Awaits”, 2023)

11. Immolation – “Burn With Jesus” (from “Here In After”, 1996) [Submitted by Sonny]

12. Vader – “Blood Of Kingu” (from “De Profundis”, 1995) [Submitted by Sonny]

13. Deicide – “They Are The Children Of The Underworld” (from “Once Upon The Cross”, 1995) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Leng Tch’e – “Derisive Conscience” (from “The Process of Elimination”, 2005)

15. Torture Rack – “Forced From The Pit” (from “Primeval Onslaught”, 2023) [Submitted by Sonny]

16. Nile – “I Whisper In The Ear Of The Dead” (from “In Their Darkened Shrines”, 2002) [Submitted by Daniel]

17. Oni – “Creature of Chaos” (from “Incantation Superstition”, 2023) [Submitted by Sonny]

18. Necrophobic – “Nailing The Holy One” (from “Darkside”, 1997) [Submitted by Sonny]

19. Gorerotted – “Dead Drunk” (from “A New Dawn For The Dead”, 2005)

20. Cryptopsy – “Pathological Frolic” (from “Blasphemy Made Flesh”, 1994) [Submitted by Sonny]

21. Birdflesh – “Coffinfucker” (from “Night of the Ultimate Mosh”, 2002)

22. Exumed – “Clawing” (from “Horror”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]

23. Abyssal – “I Am The Alpha & The Omega” (from “Antikatastaseis”, 2015)

24. Altarage – “Cataract” (from “Worst Case Scenario”, 2023) [Submitted by UnhinderedbyTalent]

25. First Days of Humanity – “Chainsaw Dripping With Cum” (from “Atrocities” E.P., 2020)

26. Circle of Dead Children – “Destiny Of The Slug” (from “Human Harvest”, 2003)

27. Last Days Of Humanity – “Garbagebag With Human Waste” (from “Last Days of Humanity/Lymphatic Phlegm” split, 2004)

28. Phyllomedusa – “Covered With Slime As Decoration II” (from “Desiccation in Progress (Version II)”, 2011) [Submitted by Daniel]

29. Napalm Death – “Morbid Deceiver” (from “The Curse” E.P., 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

30. Ozigiri – “Girl At The Grave” (from “おじぎりなら死にましたけど?” E.P., 2020)

31. XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX – “Gore” (from “Gore” E.P., 2016) [Submitted by Daniel]

32. Disgorge – “Womb Full Of Scabs” (from “She Lay Gutted”, 1999)

33. Regurgitation – “Acid Enema” (from “Tales of Necrophilia”, 1999)

34. Coprocephalic – “Concrete Exhumation” (from “Gluttonous Chunks”, 2013)

35. Vulvectomy – “Abdominal Ectopic Pregnancy” (from “Abusing Dismembered Beauties”, 2013)

How about "Helium Head (I Got A Love)"? Metal or not? Subgenre?

I've got blues rock/heavy psych on this one.

Which word? “Hard” or “rock”?

I had to start at 9 AM today so they could prepare for me. It took a full two hours to get here. I’m hoping to do a 7 AM start in future.

Iced Earth - "Iced Earth" (1990)

I picked up the self-titled debut album from Florida US power metallers Iced Earth through tape trading back in the early 1990's & quite enjoyed it but this revisit has seen me bumping my score up a touch. I simply adore the rhythm guitar work of Jon Schaffer who may be the best exponent of his craft to ever pick up a plectrum. It's a total thrash riffathon which easily makes up for the fact that Gene Adam's vocals are a little bit dodgy in compariosn to later singers, sounding much more similar to Teutonic thrash front men like Schmier (Destruction) or Thorsten Bergmann (Living Death). This release is just as much of a thrash metal release as it is a US power metal one with the influences having been drawn equally from "Master of Puppets"-era Metallica & from classic Iron Maiden which works beautifully. "Iced Earth" is an underrated release that should really be essential listening for fans of both genres.

4/5

Here's my updated Top Ten US Power Metal Releases of All Time with Griffin's "Flight of the Griffin" now dropping out of the list:

01. Crimson Glory - "Crimson Glory" (1986)

02. Iced Earth - "Alive in Athens" (1999)

03. Manowar - "Into Glory Ride" (1983)

04. Medieval Steel - "Medieval Steel" E.P. (1984)

05. Crimson Glory - "Transcendence" (1988)

06. Iced Earth - "Iced Earth" (1990)

07. Metal Church - "Blessing In Disguise" (1989)

08. Queenryche - "The Warning" (1984)

09. Riot - "ThunderSteel" (1988)

10. Fates Warning - "The Spectre Within" (1985)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/127

On the other side of the coin, is Blondie's 1980 hit single "Call Me" (which was written by Italian Giorgio Moroder) not built on a suspiciously similar riff to the main one in Black Sabbath's "Children Of The Grave"?

How about "Hell Hound"? Metal or not? Subgenre?

This one is Led Zeppelin-inspired hard rock for mine.

Not at this stage Sonny but I'm sure the label could be convinced if the demand was there.

I start my new job tomorrow which of course means that I’ll be driving for at least three hours of every business day. That’s gonna give me plenty of time for listening to metal but very little for writing reviews so don’t be surprised if there’s a significant decrease in my usual quota guys.

In other news, I’ve negotiated for the Neuropath CD to go up on Spotify which is pretty fucking awesome.

Sanctuary - "Into The Mirror Black" (1990)

I’ve certainly heard bits & pieces of Seattle US power metal outfit Sanctuary over the years but strangely haven’t ever felt like committing to a full release up until now. Perhaps that’s an indication that nothing I’d heard from them previously had impressed me enough to warrant it? That could be the case but I tend to believe it’s just been a mixture of laziness & coincidence. Anyway, I thought I’d start with Sanctuary’s most widely celebrated record in their 1990 sophomore album “Into The Mirror Black” given that Ben gave it a rave review many years ago.

“Into The Mirror Black” is certainly a consistent record as Sanctuary don’t appear to be capable of delivering anything particularly subpar. Theirs is quite a simple version of heavy metal though with the riffs not being terribly complex & the song-writing relying heavily on theatrical front man Warrel Dane to bring it all home for them. His style has always left me in two minds though if I’m being honest. I do really dig those Rob Halford-esque shrieks but then I’m not entirely onboard at other times, particularly when he heads a little too close to King Diamond territory as only the King seems to get away with that stuff in my house.

Sanctuary are certainly well suited to the US power metal tag as they seem to fit the subgenre description to a tee given that their sound is essentially a chunkier, thrashier take on heavy metal with theatrical higher-register vocals, never actually touching on full-blown thrash metal though. I’m just not sure that “Into the Mirror Black” is the best example of the movement if I’m being honest. Despite there not being any weak tracks included, I struggle to identify any songs that nail their hooks well enough to see them reaching transcendent levels of jubilation. Instead, the better material seems to hover in that “very solid” space with the remainder of the album consistently achieving a frustrating “quite good” mark, despite the clear potential Sanctuary offer. I even gave the album a full four listens to give it the chance to dig its teeth in but it couldn’t quite manage to breach my defences. The thrashier & more exciting tracks in the back end of the tracklisting were where I was most successful with “Seasons of Destruction” & “Communion” being my clear picks of the bunch.

At the end of the day, I don’t think “Into The Mirror Black” will disappoint too many people. It’s an admirable US power metal record with high quality production & performances after all. It just doesn’t really compete with Dane & bassist Jim Sheppard’s later band Nevermore in my opinion so I can’t say that I find it to be as essential as many claim it to be. If you go absolutely nuts for bands like Helstar or Metal Church then you’ll no doubt disagree with me but I’m sure you’re all aware by now that I call ‘em like I see ‘em.

3.5/5

I think it's too accurate to be classed as inspiration personally. I'd suggest that (intentionally or subconsciously) it's likely an example of plagiarism.

Here's another one that I find hard to believe can be coincidental:

Both albums were released in 1973 but I'm led to believe that the Vanusa one came first.

How about "I Got A Woman"? Metal or not? Subgenre?

I've got it down as a blues rock/heavy psych hybrid.

Blind Guardian - "Tales From The Twilight World" (1990)

Most of our regulars will likely be aware that German legends Blind Guardian are one of the rare European power metal exponents that I can generally tolerate. In fact, I can confidently say that I've enjoyed everything I've heard from them to date which includes 1992's "Somewhere Far Beyond", 1994's "Imaginations From the Other Side", 1998's "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" & 2003's "Live". It only makes sense that I complete the full set of their essential releases though so I recently decided to add their 1990 "Tales From The Twilight World" third album to the list in the hope of similarly positive experiences. Unfortunately, that hasn't really eventuated though.

"Tales From The Twilight World" is known as Blind Guardian's first true power metal record after their first two studio efforts were directed more towards speed metal. Don't kid yourself though, there's still plenty of speed metal on offer here as the European brand of power metal is pretty much built on the stuff but there's comfortably enough anthemic epicness to warrant the album's power metal claim. And that goes a long way to explaining my struggles with this record too to tell you the truth. Blind Guardian's later material offered significantly more maturity than this album can muster. Instead, their third full-length reminds me a lot of their less appealing German peers in that the performances & musicianship are high class but the hooks are often lacklustre & cheesy, particularly the backing vocals which regularly see me wincing.  It's really only short instrumental "Weird Dreams" & album highlight "Goodbye My Friend" that offer me much in the way of enjoyment here which is disappointing after having experienced a record of the quality of "Imaginations From the Other Side".

"Tales From The Twilight World' is comfortably the weakest Blind Guardian record I've heard to date but I don't even try to deny that I'm not its target audience either. There's no doubt that it'll offer a lot more appeal to people that bow down & worship at the feet of Eurpean bands like Helloween & Gamma Ray but I'm not gonna kid anyone that that's me.

3/5

I didn’t reject any argument for Lucifer’s Friend Morpheus. You said it wasn’t a metal release & I took your word for it as I haven’t heard it. I was also conscious that RYM has a largely negative vote tally for "Lucifer's Friend" which isn't the case for "Budgie" so was looking for some sort of justification. I’m perfectly happy to include it if you think it’s justified.

I was kind of throwing it over to everyone else's judgment as considerable debate amount it and it might be interesting to discuss.

Morpheus, I thought it'd be worth me giving "Lucifer's Friend" a few listens this week in order to see what we're dealing with & would subsequently suggest that it's much more of a hard rock/heavy psych record than a metal one. It's only got about one & a half songs worth of metal in my opinion but it's probably worth noting that I said exactly the same thing about "Deep Purple in Rock" which seems pretty similar in terms of metal content to be honest. In fact, Lucifer's Friend sound a lot like Deep Purple on this album which is a fucking great record too just quietly.

The Half-Life track was released around six months earlier than "Paranoid". You be the judge.

The very roots of our beloved metal genre have an air of plagiarism hanging over them actually with the undeniable classic of a doom riff from the original metal song "Black Sabbath" having been derived as a variation on a section of this classical piece that was written between 1914 & 1917. Check out the part at 4:30 in "Mars, The Bringer Of War" that Geezer Butler played to Tony Iommi back in the day & compare it to Sabbath's title track.

Personally I feel that it's much more appropriate to call that inspiration than anything like plagiarism as the two have such different timbres. Thoughts?

How about the title track from "Kingdom Come"? Metal or not? Subgenre?

An easy one. Pure Sabbath-inspired stoner metal. Sounds very different to the rest of the album.

Mercyful Fate's 1983 progressive metal classic "Satan's Fall" is a really interesting one because you can both pick up Fate's influences but can also see their influence on others pretty clearly.

Let's start with the opening riff & compare it with the opening riff from Led Zeppelin's 1970 classic "Immigrant Song". Fate’s label was pushing them to cover “Immigrant Song” & they apparently did record it at some point but it was later decided not to release it for some reason. You would have to think that given the evidence here that cover version has contributed to what could only be described as plagiarism. 

Then "Satan's Fall" moves into a riff that should sound unnervingly familiar to Slayer fans at 0:42. You probably can’t count how many Slayer riffs have been created from the dark harmonized melodies in this riff alone. In fact, it was probably the darkest & heaviest riff in metal history to that time & there’s also another chuggier riff at 3:24 that oozes of that imposing Slayer sound too. The "Melissa" album was clearly the biggest influence on Slayer’s darker & more progressive second album “Hell Awaits” following their more NWOBHM influenced debut “Show No Mercy”.

They transition into a quite progressive melodic riff at 1:10 that reeks of 90’s Death to my ears. I’m certain this is no coincidence as Chuck Schuldiner was a big fan of the band.

Things break down after that with guitar coming in with an accompanied tremolo picked melodic riff at 1:40 that sounds exactly like something that Emperor or Mayhem might have used in the early 90’s. The only difference is that those bands would have utilized modern blast beats to milk this riff for a longer duration than Fate have here. It was certainly amongst the darkest & most evil moments in metal history to the time though & the King’s contribution during that section highlights what the black metal movement would be all about.

Then finally we see an unaccompanied guitar riff at 2:19 that sounds exactly like it was pulled from an Autopsy record. It’s even got a similarly unusual guitar sound which would now seem to have been a strong influence on the death metal pioneers from the evidence presented to us here. The thrashy onslaught at 8:13 is reminiscent of more extreme bands like Possessed & early Morbid Angel too only Fate proceed to add harmonies & head into a section that was clearly heavily influenced by Iron Maiden. 

There's simply so much to unpack in this song. It's such a fantastic discussion point.

How about "Pumped Up" then? Metal or not? What subgenre?

It's certainly got a lot of rock 'n' roll electricity about it & I'd imagine that some of that intensity has fooled a few punters into thinking it's a metal song in a similar way to Deep Purple's "Speed King". "Pumped Up" is just hard rock on steroids though in my opinion. It sounds very much like the more potent Led Zeppelin moments with the lead guitar work being centred around Jimi Hendrix.

Flower Travellin' Band - Anywhere
I'm somewhat perplexed by Flower Travellin' Band's apparent metal status, they really sound more like generic jam band from what I've heard. Really, if you want to hear something good from Japan at this time you'd probably be better off watching the Stray Cat Rock film series, or uh...Hausu. Yeah, watch Hausu, that'll give you some dreams. Stray Cat Rock is probably better for getting a grasp of what music they liked back then since that was popular, for a year or so. Has a nice wideth of music, unfortunately the only ones I remember were some Deep Purple-esque band and a group that for some reason the lead actress was singing for in the movie.
Anyway, Anywhere isn't terribly interesting musically. I mean the actual cover parts are okay, but for example let's use the song you probably haven't heard of as an example, Louisiana Blues by Muddy Waters. The original is according to a quick Youtube search, 2:55. This cover? 15:46. Basically the actual song, 12 minutes of decent but not great jamming, then the song again. They're not terribly special as covers, so there's not much to actually talk about.

I disagree on this one. I'm a big fan of Flower Travellin' Band's sophomore album "Satori" but hadn't heard "Anywhere" until now. God, I wish I hadn't waited so long because I really fucking connected with it. Flower Travellin' Band are almost impossible to categorize as they simply cover so much territory but do it with so much authenticity & electricity that, if you didn't know any better, you'd imagine that they'd spent a lifetime in each of the genres they cover. They remind me of countrymen Boris in that way & I'm sure there's a lot of inspiration & influence there. "Anywhere" isn't a metal album. If I had to describe it I'd probably label it as a heavy psych/jam band record. The cover version of "Black Sabbath" is certainly metal though & is as doomy as all fuck. It's definitely an earlier example of traditional doom metal.

We’re in disagreement once again here Andi. I don’t think Riot made a genuine metal record until 1981’s “Fire Down Under”.

Even though they're better at hard rock, Deep Purple proved that they can really bring out the fantasy vibes through rock long before symphonic prog or any fantasy genres of rock and metal ever existed.

Have you heard their 1969 "Concerto for Group & Orchestra" live album? It's basically a symphonic prog concerto in my opinion.

It’s the added complexity in the arrangements & song-structures as well as the cold, angry atmosphere. It also helps that it’s a thrash riff masterclass with all four band members at the absolute peak of their powers from a performance & musicianship perspective.

By the way, you can hear Blackmore using sweep-picking at the end of “April” which is pretty astounding given that it was still only 1969.

My Top Ten Metal Release of the 1980's list:

01. Slayer - "Reign In Blood" (1986)

02. Metallica - "...And Justice For All" (1988)

03. Morbid Angel - "Altars of Madness" (1989)

04. Slayer - "South of Heaven" (1988)

05. Metallica - "Master of Puppets" (1986)

06. Sepultura - "Beneath the Remains" (1989)

07. Exodus - "Bonded by Blood" (1985)

08. Faith No More - "The Real Thing" (1989)

09. Iron Maiden - "Somewhere in Time" (1986)

10. Godflesh - "Streetcleaner" (1989)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/262

Psychotic Waltz - "A Social Grace" (1990)

How I’ve managed to overlook San Diego progressive metallers Psychotic Waltz up until now is anyone’s guess because their 1990 debut album is a very impressive effort to say the least. “A Social Grace” harnesses outstanding musicianship & some highly complex arrangements to create over an hour of seriously classy metal music that lacks nothing in the heaviness department either. Fans of 1980’s Fates Warning should immediately get onboard this ship as there are close similarities however I’d suggest that Psychotic Waltz are a touch heavier with their sound further indulging in the chunkier end of the US power scene more consistently.

Front man Buddy Lackey takes a theatrical & operatic approach that often sounds quite a bit like Iron Maiden/Samson legend Bruce Dickinson. He does a pretty reasonable job at navigating Psychotic Waltz’s rhythmic technicalities & ensures that none of the thirteen tracks included could be considered as weak or filler. There’s a noticeable lack of memorable vocal hooks though & it’s this absence that sees the appeal of “A Social Grace’ being capped at around that four-star mark. The instrumentation is often nothing short of dazzling but I can’t say that I can remember much of the song-writing afterwards & that can be the difference between good & great when it comes to progressive music a lot of the time as it clearly is here.

Still… you’ll do well to find a more capable & professional example of early progressive metal than this one. It’s right up there with the best material that had been released to the time in my opinion & I’d probably take it over Fates Warning’s more well known classics like “The Spectre Within” or “Awaken The Guardian” to be honest.

4/5

Sonny & Rex, I reckon you might dig this one.

Check out the similarities between the Diamond Head riff at 1:24 in 1980's "Am I Evil?" & the riff at 0:23 in Mercyful Fate's "Black Masses" from 1983. Plagiarism or coincidence?

This nomination has been posted in the Hall of Judgement:

https://metal.academy/hall/432

https://metal.academy/hall/433

Deep Purple - Deep Purple
Oh, hey, Deep Purple again. Three in a row. And the last album with Rod whatever his last name is. I'll be sad to see him go even if the band has matured. I don't have anything to say about this one, it's basically just a generic lump of rock I have no thoughts or real feelings on.

Personally, I find "Deep Purple" to be another highly creative record that traverses a whole array of different sounds. I'd probably tag it as another psychedelic/progressive rock release with a noticeable blues rock influence & very little in the way of genuine hard rock.

I'm not sure anyone else has heard it Morpheus but if it's been such a divisive release at Metal Archives then let's include it as our next record to investigate.

How about " Lake Isle of Innersfree" then? Metal or not? What subgenre?

It's certainly not metal & I'd also suggest that it's not a pop song of any description. I'm gonna go for chamber folk.

I was more impressed with than album than most people.  Even though they're better at hard rock, Deep Purple proved that they can really bring out the fantasy vibes through rock long before symphonic prog or any fantasy genres of rock and metal ever existed.  It was a very "vibes" album from what I remember.  And yeah, the prog wasn't always the MOST creative as it had been done more well before, but I kinda believe that the first two real prog bands were Moody Blues and Deep Purple, and this was one of those albums that helped cement it before King Crimson came into the picture (and coined the term).

That one will be coincidence as the guitarists are just playing the same hammer/pull-off & descending down the string a fret at a time. It’s a pretty easy thing to come up with really so I wouldn’t think there’s a much of a connection. Good pickup though.

Deep Purple - The Book of Taliesyn

A much more proggy album from the same lineup as the last album. Feels a lot more interesting to see Deep Purple doing this rather than the bizarre selection of covers from last time. That said, this album doesn't really feel much like a Deep Purple album a good deal of the time. It's just really that Hammond organ giving that distinct Deep Purple flavor and even then it isn't always the tone setter it should be.
The whole epic fantasy premise the cover promises doesn't quite land. The opening track, which I've linked, does, doing a very nice energetic and dynamic song that the rest of the album just fails to live up to. A lot of this just feels like some generic rock music you'd use in a movie or a game because you couldn't get a real song. It's not outright awful, but I can't really remember most of it after the album finishes playing. Except Kentucky Woman. I hate Kentucky Woman, but that's less because it's necessarily bad but more because I remember when people overplayed the absolute hell out of that song, other covers don't give me that same viscera hatred.

I just gave this album a couple of spins. I agree with you that it's more progressive than "Shades of Deep Purple". Despite what people may say, there's still no hard rock or heavy psych here though. I'd go with a dual tagging of psychedelic rock & progressive rock.

Deep Purple - "Shades of Deep Purple" (1968)

Despite being included on Metal Archives & receiving a dual Hard Rock/Heavy Psych primary tag on RYM, Deep Purple's debut album shouldn't really qualify as anything more than your standard psychedelic rock model. There's only really one track that I'd suggest is heavy psych ("Mandrake Root") while there's bugger all hard rock to speak of. It's not a bad record though. I don't mind it.

Rory Gallagher - "Wheels Within Wheels" (2003)

So Mike Portnoy is officially back in Dream Theater.

*drops bomb & runs away so as to avoid all the prog frothing that will inevitably take place following this long-awaited news*

What do we think about "Lady of Fire"? Metal or not? What specific subgenre?

It's basically Jimi Hendrix style psychedelic rock that's been pumped up to eleven with some psychotic lead guitar work. I'll go with heavy psych on this one. Does anyone else hear the chorus of Deep Purple's "Woman From Tokyo" in the guitar melody that comes in directly after the chorus?

Mercyful Fate - "The Beginning" (1987)

I know I'll likely be in the extreme minority here when I tell you that the first release I purchased from legendary Danish heavy metal icons Mercyful Fate was this 1987 compilation back in the early 1990's. It brings together the band's very strong 1982 self-titled debut E.P. with three alternative versions of tracks taken from their 1983 "Melissa" album that were recorded for the BBC's "The Friday Rock Show" & the B-side from the "Black Funeral" single. It also succeeds in its intent due to the very high quality of everything the band attempt.

I've always rated the self-titled E.P. very highly. In fact, I place it a cut above Mercyful Fate's widely celebrated sophomore album "Don't Break The Oath" these days which is saying something. "Melissa" is my favourite Fate record too so I really couldn't go wrong with this material. The BBC recordings are well produced with the versions of "Curse Of The Pharaoh" & "Satan's Fall" being particularly strong. The B-side "Black Masses" suffers a little in the production department but still possesses that classic Mercyful Fate aura which gives it enough appeal to make it interesting too. The highlight is undoubtedly "A Corpse Without Soul" from the E.P. though as it's one of the great heavy metal anthems from the early 80's.

All of the qualities you look for in a Mercyful Fate record are here in spades. The soaring vocals, the dark atmosphere, the searing solos... You can't really go wrong with "The Beginning" & it should be regarded as essential listening if you're a devotee of those first couple of Fate releases.

4/5

Anthem - "Bound to Break" (1987)

I’ve been very much looking forward to investigating some more of Tokyo heavy metal four-piece Anthem’s more widely celebrated releases after thoroughly enjoying my initial experiences with their highly regarded 1989 fifth album “Hunting Time” recently so I decided to give their 1987 third full-length “Bound To Break” a crack this week. It features a slightly different lineup with Eizo Sakamoto handling the microphone duties before Yukio Morikawa had entered the fold & Sakamoto proves himself to be a talented & powerful singer with his masculine tone being a highlight of the record. As with “Hunting Time”, English producer Chris Tsangarides has produced a particularly metal sounding album here too. It feels a lot like Judas Priest’s “Defenders of the Faith” in that way. The quality of the song-writing isn’t quite as strong as “Hunting Time” though with most of the tracklisting sitting a step down from the best material on that record, despite the fact that there are no weak tracks to speak of. The best moments appear during the one-two punch of faster power metal number “Empty Eyes” & chunky heavy metal anthem “Show Must Go On!” while the progressive electronic interlude “Limited Lights” is also a welcome addition.

Anthem were clearly a force to be reckoned with back in the 1980’s & are probably the best Japanese heavy metal band I’ve heard to date but “Bound To Break” doesn’t feel as essential as “Hunting Time”. It’s not that different in its approach but it doesn’t deliver the knockout blows through powerful chorus hooks as regularly which leaves it sitting as a nice-to-have rather than a buy-or-die.

3.5/5

I didn’t reject any argument for Lucifer’s Friend Morpheus. You said it wasn’t a metal release & I took your word for it as I haven’t heard it. I was also conscious that RYM has a largely negative vote tally for "Lucifer's Friend" which isn't the case for "Budgie" so was looking for some sort of justification. I’m perfectly happy to include it if you think it’s justified.

I'd actually suggest that there's a clear differentiator from your typical heavy metal record & it comes in the form of the overblown, keyboard-heavy production job which certainly gives "Bark At The Moon" a unique character but also dates it pretty badly. I find that element to be the clear takeaway from the album as it almost smothers the song-writing at times. I'm with you on the quality gap between Ozzy-era Black Sabbath & Ozzy's solo work though. Despite being a diehard Randy Rhoads disciple, I've never regarded albums like "Blizzard of Ozz", "Diary of a Madman", "Bark At The Moon" or "No Rest For The Wicked" as essential releases for your average metalhead, even though some of them may be essentials for metal guitarists like myself. Ozzy's live releases are another story though as I rate "Speak Of The Devil" & "Tribute" very highly, particularly the former which is a bit of an all-timer for me.