Latest Reviews

‘Still the Orchestra Plays’ is a 2010 compilation album by legendary cult metal band Savatage. After years of inactivity, this CD package just randomly popped up from nowhere and probably left most fans wondering if it was a sign that anything new was coming. Sadly, that was not the case, as it would be another three years until the band would once more pop up out of the blue with a re-released narrated version of their rock opera, ‘Streets’.

But back to this one, and yeah, as you’d expect, this is a fantastic compilation! Two discs full of absolutely top quality music. Sure, there’s a few omissions that I feel should have been included, but overall, it’s a nice career retrospective, perfect for newcomers to the band, or long-time fans who need a reminder of how brilliant these guys are.

From ‘Power of the Night’, ‘Hall of the Mountain King’, ‘Gutter Ballet’ and ‘Edge of Thorns’, to the likes of ‘Morphine Child’, ‘The Wake of Magellan’, ‘Chance’ and ‘One Child’, there’s no shortage of Savatage classics here. And three newly-recorded acoustic versions of previous hits are a welcome sign that the band were still trying to somewhat maintain active.

This CD package comes with a bonus DVD, which has the classic ‘Japan Live ‘94’ concert on it. Originally released on VHS, it was nice to finally be able to own a copy of this. Granted, the sound and picture are quite dated, but the performances are excellent, and it’s just great to be able to see a full concert video of the band.

Overall, this is, quite simply, a fantastic compilation. It’s definitely a great starting point for newcomers, but also has plenty of value for fans too. A worthy addition to any rock or metal collection!

Hail to the Queen! Her Majesty Doro Pesch! If anybody else was singing for this album it would be another mediocre throwaway, but Ms. Pesch puts the team on her back and drags them kicking and screaming to the top of the mountain. The music isn't terrible by any means, it's straight forward classic metal like what you would find on a Dio or Scorpions album, it's just that Doro's voice carries so much power and charisma that's it the clear star of the show. Good timing, fist pumping, classic heavy metal with an absolute dyno on the mic. Doro is just a pure joy to listen to and by all accounts a fantastic human being off the stage as well. 

When you think of a progressive concept album you probably don't think of the guy who wrote "Fuck Like A Beast" as a primary candidate for making a good one, but in 1992 he did, and it is good, real fucking good. I'm not in the camp that would call this the best WASP album, that honor goes to the Last Command, but I generally enjoy all of the WASP catalogue. They were just a nastier take on the Motely Crue formula that really worked for me. Blackie considers this his best work. Chainsaw Charlie kicks all kinds of ass. As with most concept albums you kind of need to listen to it from beginning to end and judge it by the complete product rather than by single tracks. Luckily, unlike so many concept albums, doing that is a joy rather than a chore. Fun Trivia Fact: this album doesn't have the WASP line up on it, Blackie wanted to release it as his solo debut, but the record company wouldn't go for it.

I absolutely love Slough Feg "Traveler" album. I also love Manilla Road, and that whole early 80s classic metal sound. This is more of that so it's fine, but it's mixed a bit murkier than Traveler and lacks the same excitement. There is more folky stuff in here than I remember being on Traveler too, and that's a negative for me. I don't really care for folk metal. You probably see where this is going, but long story short, just listen to Traveler instead, it's a more focused and better sounding album than this. 

The title track is great, and the rest of the album is just disappointing. It's fine power metal but I don't really like power metal and nothing else on the album remotely approaches the quality of the title track. I tried to think of something else to say, but it really is that much of an open and shut case for me. 

I was a surprised by how much I enjoyed this album. I listened to a Riot album for a different clan list, and while I applauded the bands enthusiasm it failed to land for me. Here they got it just right. This album plays out like a NWOBHM album like Judas Priest, except that it's an American band. Many bands of course, have taken a stab at the Judas Priest Formula, and I think Riot got pretty close to doing it justice here. Priest is still the better band, but I enjoyed every track on this album quite a bit, and I think I will come back to it time and time again in the future, I can't wait to have my wife weigh in on it later today! Well done RIOT!

Look man, I just hate Queensryche. I'm here to complete the clan challenges on the website, and I did listen to it, but I hated it as much as everything else they do. Given how beloved they are, and how much I despise them, I would have rather not written a review, but the site calls for it. I am not the man to get your Queensryche review from. I find them bland, boring, and up their own backside as far as social commentary and concepts. Something about them just irks me to no end. 

This is some utterly forgettable music that sounds like any given late 80s to early 90s mainstream rock. Think of the Scorpions, then take away anything interesting and you'll be in the ballpark of this. It's not offensive to the ears, but it's utterly unremarkable. As I was listening to the album on spotify it ended and went into a different but similar band, and I probably heard 3 of that bands songs before I realized it wasn't this album anymore. 

Well, it's Motorhead so I like it. If you listen to Motorhead at all they are pretty consistent in what they offer up: old school rock and roll sped up to punk/thrash levels and vocals delivered by the whiskey and tobacco soaked pipes of the great Lemmy Kilmister. For me it's a 4 start formula on average and then it comes up to 5 on some albums. This is a 4. I would recommend the title track,  and "Doctor Rock" be thrown into your permanent mix, then visit the other songs for flavor.  

Well, it is quite possibly the biggest mainstream metal release of all time, so that alone earns high marks for me. Yes all of the thrashy goodness from the earlier albums is gone. It has been exchanged for straightforward metal that verges on rock and roll, but the guitar tones and some of the subject mater are still aggressive enough for me to call it a metal album. It's incredibly catchy, full of memorable riffs and vocal passages. The production on it is top notch-it objectively sounds incredible and huge. As far as writing a review it's another case of "what can I say that hasn't been said?" Even if you are not a metalhead you probably already know about half of these songs as they are staples of rock radio. It's a great entry point for the genre, it's good music with great mass-appeal.

I'm being generous with the 2 stars. If you must listen to Metal Church stick to the self titled album. This is not the worst music I've ever heard or anything, but it is a lighter and more power metal influenced endeavor than the other album, and even that album isn't a favorite for me. I just have no reason to visit this and you probably don't either.

Released in 1996, ‘Black Moon Pyramid’ is the fifth studio album by German hard rock guitarist/band Axel Rudi Pell. It follows on from the incredibly strong ‘Between the Walls’, which marked a creative shift in the band, as the quality of writing, production and overall performances took a huge step up.

However, in all honesty, perhaps they took a slight step back with this one. It’s a solid album, don’t get me wrong, and continues in exactly the same vein as its predecessor, but there’s just nothing overly remarkable I can think of to comment on.

‘Fool Fool’, ‘Getting’ Dangerous’, ‘Hole in the Sky’, ‘Touch the Rainbow’, ‘Aquarius Dance’ and the title track itself are all good songs, displaying furious guitar virtuosity and Jeff Scott Soto’s powerful vocals that demand attention. But that’s about all I can think of worth mentioning. ‘Black Moon Pyramid’ has been on my playlist for quite a white now, and I just couldn’t figure out what to say about it. It’s a solid, hard rock record, simple as that.

Pretty good.... just there though, not an album that stands out like other Mercyful Fate works such as their breakthrough album Melissa. nor as interesting as some Kind Diamond pieces, but it is a pretty good, just kind of there, I wasn't mad about listening too it just its not  one I would probably seek out again and again. If the songs from this album came up in a random playlist I would probably let them play but I wouldn't seek them out as they didn't stand out enough on their own for the most part.

Flawless Album.  Dave is an excellent writer at times and this is some of his best work all put together on one album.  Even the ' sillier' tracks such as Psychotron are a lot fun, and get stuck in your head. Whether you are playing this album start to finish or just picking individual singles you can't go wrong with the pieces from this album to listen to as you will have a lot of fun with it. Even with some of the more bleak subjects such as in countdown to extinction and sweating bullets. Put this on an enjoy the metal! this album is always worth a listen.

I found this album to be a little better than average. As someone who enjoys Manilla road, its not their finest work ( that of course goes to Crystal Logic) but it was a serviceable work.   Nothing on it particularly stood out. I put the album on an sat back and listened while playing a game and no tracks on it made me stop and go OH WHATS THIS SONG they all kind of blended together, in a nice way, but not in a way that any of them were special. Its an album to throw on and play in the background that's enjoyable but there are no particular hits in my opinion on this one and that's fine enjoy it for what it is,  a deluge of sound.

This is an album where is is difficult for me to find words that have not already been said by countless reviewers I have already seen before as this is an iconic album,  by an iconic band, this is perfect heavy metal. Only an absolute maniac would deny its awesomeness. Turn it on, turn it up loud, as albums like this don't come around very often and enjoy yourself. Aside from the Title track being many persons favorite Judas Priest song ( its definitely one of mine )  you will also  get to enjoy Hell Patrol,  A  Touch of Evil, and  Metal Meltdown, to name a few of the highlights.

Albums like this are why we love heavy metal. Every part of the music; The tones, the vocals, the lyricism, the production, are top notch here. I feel this is an album of music that can appeal to anyone, not just heavy metal fans specifically because it is that good of an album. Every song is not just good, but excellent, there is no wasted space, no "filler' tracks in my opinion.  I would proudly recommend this to anyone as an example of how good the genre can be at its best, needless to say, if you have not heard it I would put it on right now.

When an iconic singer departs from an iconic band such as Bruce Dickenson from Iron Maiden, or Robert Halford from Judas Priest, there is an expectation that the music they release as a solo artist will at least be on par with what they release with that band. This is WAAAAAY below Judas Priest standards. Therefore there is no reason to listen to this when Judas Priest albums exist. Every song on this felt like an inferior version of a Judas Priest song that already existed, either sonically, ( see the perpetual high tones of the first track making me think about how annoying they were compared to how I enjoy them in Painkiller) or lyrically, Locked and Loaded being a much worse Turbo Lover ... skip this album.

Listen to the track Mr. Scary. So that you can appreciate the choice of guitar tones and technical ability of the guitar players in this band really are. The trouble is that the singer, while good in literal sense,  lacks any distinguishing or characterizing features in his voice.  So, He's good, but he could be any singer, in any band, and the lyricism is unfortunately awful. That being said, I have heard Dokken songs that I really like and I  think there are more to be found, just...not on this album. Its fine, but nothing special.

Excellent stuff, this isn't a 5 for me, but it does have a  few great songs, such as All the Fools Sailed Away ( maybe his best )  the title track, Dream Evil, and  Sunset Superman among them. Once again my wife includes Dio among her top artists and so this album has seen very  heavy rotation in my home over the years and I can highly recommend it to others. While not every track is a star, it has enough heavy hitters on it to make it a definite listen.

I would say that my wife is a very big fan of Glen Danzig's solo albums and of all eras of the Misfits, and therefore all of  these albums have seen very heavy rotations in my home. I would say any Danzig album, and this is no exception, are going to be very solid, evil music, that rides the hard rock/heavy metal line. i would also add that despite a gruff reputation I saw him live on one of his solo tours a few years back, he gave an excellent performance, there was no drama from the night ( except the middle aged women trying to throw themselves over the barricade at him onto the stage) and it was a great time. The formula for this album ( and any other Danzig solo album if you're looking for a comparison) is equal parts Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and the Doors

Following on from two fairly lacklustre albums, 1994’s ‘Dreamspace’, the third studio album by Finnish power metal band Stratovarius, starts to show some early signs of the Stratovarius we’d all go on to know and love.

As before, the music is a fairly upbeat, energetic power metal, but the band are starting to incorporate some progressive elements in their song-writing, with keyboards in particular, becoming more prominent. Band leader Timo Tollki is a fantastic guitarist, and his neoclassical style of shredding is brilliant. However, while I give him credit for handling vocal duties whilst playing guitar, his singing can be a bit boring and uninspired at times.

Unlike the previous two releases, this one actually has a number of memorable songs, including ‘Abyss’, ‘Reign of Terror’, ‘Hold On to Your Dream’, ‘Chasing Shadows’, ‘Wings of Tomorrow’ and the title track itself.

Sure, some of the slower songs tend to drag, and particular mention must go to ‘Thin Ice’, which is absolutely awful, but the aforementioned tracks are all fantastic, and while ‘Dreamspace’ isn’t likely to be anyone’s favourite Stratovarius album, it’s a very confident release, and a sure-fire sign that the band are constantly improving.

Even at first glance, Gloomy Reflections seems odd for a band attached to the NWOTHM movement. One half is from longtime The Wizar'd guitarist and the other is an apparent mainstay of the Tasmania punk scene and dungeon synth artist. Why are these two people getting together to make...heavy metal/progressive rock?
As could be expected, these guys have an odd sound. While the music is clearly using modern production techniques and things you can only do with modern amps, it's still trying to involve a sense of a '70s heavy metal that could have existed, but didn't. The guitar tone is akin to a '70s borderline metal band than the more familiar sound of Black Sabbath or Judas Priest.
The keyboards/synths are more odd, and on the surface steal the show. It sounds like it's supposed to be old-fashioned even if any time spent around synths will reveal that they're pretty modern. They're just doing some sort of effect over what are probably more mundane sounds to make them fit more in the mystical old metal sound they're going for. But it's effective, it feels far more fitting as the soundtrack to a fantasy adventure than a lot of its contemporaries.
Of special note are the vocals and the lyrics. I'm really not sure what to compare him to. It's not that he's unique, just that he isn't very typically metal. A very generic rock voice trying something serious and grand. But he's not that special in of himself, what's special is the way his singing makes the lyrics feel more than the meaningless low fantasy fluff a lot of bands have. Take The Clock Tower, taken in isolation, the lyrics aren't that impressive. Taken with the vocals, they work; They aren't just meaninglessly sung, they have weight to them.
In short, this is an off-the-wall album from a pair of very clever musicians who really know how to layer instruments and vocals together to make something special. I hope to see more from them.

I first encountered Angel Witch over 45 years ago, supporting Motörhead on one of their '78 or '79 tours, if I remember rightly. In those early days they were a trio consisting of mainman Kevin Heybourne alongside bassist Kevin Riddles and drummer Dave Hogg, playing what would become one of the most recognizable sounds of the NWOBHM. After providing the best track on the legendary Metal for Muthas comp, they released their 1980 eponymous debut, one of my absolute favourite albums from the NWOBHM era. Unfortunately the rest of the 80s weren't kind to AW, constant personnel upheavals and a couple of lacklustre albums resulted in the band disappearing from view. Fast forward to 2012 and The 'Witch were back, releasing a new album, their first new material in quarter of a century, "As Above, So Below" which was somewhat of a return to form and a shot in the arm for any long-standing fan of the band, such as yours truly, desperate to see them succeed.

So, 2019 came around and AW finally turned in their best and heaviest album since that seminal debut. It was more focussed than "As Above, So Below" and with a production job that would have absolutely killed forty years ago. This was hi-octane heavy metal and any band of young bucks flying the flag of the traditional heavy metal sound would have been proud to have put out an album as exhilharating as this, never mind a band now well into their fifth decade. Kicking of with an anthemic fist-pumper in "Don't Turn Your Back", you can just feel the years roll away, both from the band and from the listener with a track that would have felt well at home in the band's set of almost forty years ago. The tracks on Angel of Light are generally longer than their previous material, clocking in at between five and seven minutes which allows them more space to grow than their earlier material, whilst still delivering with catchy melodies and an inate understanding of how to make traditional heavy metal sound just as heavy as some of its more extreme offspring. Angel of Light harks back to those early days of the NWOBHM for sure, yet it has a modern sound and sensibility that makes it more than just a band trading on lost glories or trying to recapture their wasted youth, lending it a relevance and vitality than many of the band's peers are incapable of summoning these many years on. There is a greater fullness to the sound of this four-piece than the original trio that recorded the debut could muster with tracks like "The Night Is Calling" or "Condemned" drawing on a marked Sabbath influence soundwise. This is also aided by a deepening of Kev's voice as the years have passed and distinctive though it still is, it is only on the more strained sections where it sounds as thin and reedy as it used to. He also shows a greater propensity for soloing than he did in the earlier days and delivers some nicely controlled and mature-sounding leads.

Overall I have to acclaim "Angel of Light" as a real success and easily the best Angel Witch have laid down since the debut, striking right to the heart of what makes traditional heavy metal so great and awakening a love in me for that sound that I had believed to be long crushed by the intensity of extreme metal. This can easily stand alongside releases from the much-lauded new bucks of traditional metal such as Smoulder or Traveler and outshines most of them in my book. The band's debut will always hold a special place for me as it was a big release within my earliest metal experiences, but the additional power this latest iteration summon when coupled with KH's knack for writing hook-filled heavy metal melodies and the more expansive songwriting finally makes this an album worthy of the band that knocked out that classic of the NWOBHM oh so very long ago.

On paper at least, I would have normally avoided Lord Agheros. That album cover screamed gothic metal at me, and so when I discovered no gothic metal on the record, I was immediately caught off-guard. Indeed, opening track, ‘Lament of the Lost’ had me thinking of Wardruna, which was a completely unexpected reference point. Whilst The Fallen is most certainly the correct clan for Anhedonia, there is a lot of different elements musically to digest. Whether it is symphonic, choral, melodic black metal or outright atmospherics, Anhedonia provides lots of angles for the listener to run at it from. It should be noted that some parts of the album sound truly beautiful, being rich in depth.

When they get the arrangement correct, Lord Agheros are quite the accomplished songwriters. However, there are some occasions whereby contrast the compositional aspects of some tracks are clumsy and cumbersome. In the early part of the album, transitions seem to struggle to land all that well. As a result, songs sound like they jerk and jolt around. As the record progresses, this problem does seem to fade in frequency and the second half of the album suffers a lot less from this.

Overall, though, as much as I cannot deny the unexpected allure of this record, it is still dogged by the impression that some sections of the record are a triumph of design over content. I suspect there is some conceptual narrative to proceedings, and this may go some of the way to explaining the sense of some parts being forced to fit together. Credit where credit is due on the ethereal beauty that is inherent behind these issues, they are truly an unexpected bonus. However, they are too few and far between for me when taken into consideration with the whole album offering.

‘Time Requiem’ is the 2002 self-titled debut album by Swedish progressive power metal band, Time Requiem. Formed by keyboard player Richard Andersson, the band plays a style very typical of progressive metal, with a strong neoclassical influence, and an emphasis on powerful vocals and fantasy-themed lyrics.

The most prominent aspect of Time Requiem’s music is shredding, and it comes in boatloads! Andersson and guitarist Magnus Nordh are absolute beasts on their instruments, furiously ripping up the chromatic scale at every opportunity. It makes for some lavishly flavoured riffs and colourful solos, but sadly it does get a little repetitive after a while.

Most of the songs are very strong and well-written, but also rely on similar tropes. At times, they sound very reminiscent of other bands, such as Symphony X, Dream Theater and Stratovarius. But if you can accept a group wearing its influences on its sleeves, then you might just enjoy tracks such as ‘Watching the Tower of Skies’, ‘Time Requiem’, ‘Milagros Charm’, ‘Visions of New Dawn’, ‘The Aphorism’ and the absolutely psychotic instrumental, ‘Brutal Mentor’.

‘Time Requiem’ can be challenging to sit through in one go, especially if you’re not keen on the sheer technicality of the music, but perseverance and repeated listens can be rewarding. Over time, the album grew on me, and while the band offers nothing new or unique, this is a very solid debut, and I’m excited to hear where things will go with future releases.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mechina has broken the monotone with new and returning changes! Their new album Bellum Interruptum has not reached the glory of the second half of the 2010s, but it's coming close to that peak...

First of all, we finally have more of the growls than just one or two tracks, and they come from the fierce Dave Lowmiller of A Dark Halo. He ended up replacing longtime clean/harsh vocalist David Holch who left the band after 20 years, following his few-year fadeout. Lowmiller has his own fantastic vocals going on. And we have other guests returning including harsh vocalist Anna Hel, clean vocalist "Treasur'" Necole Wright, and guitar soloist Dean Paul Arnold, plus one special guest in the finale.

"Cruelty is the Point" throws back to the Venator era nicely with the serene vocals of Mel Rose. Also I didn't notice this initially but I realized the first minute of its opening track sounds practically similar to that of the RichaadEB/Cristina Vee cover of "Bad Apple!!" When that first verse hits, I almost feel like singing "Ever on and on, I continue circling, with nothing but my hate and the carousel of agony..." "The Plague Pit" is my favorite track of the first third of the album, a powerful djenty banger reminiscent of a futuristic Arch Enemy with the crushing growls of Anna Hel. A true sci-fi war anthem! "The Wasteful Energy of Words" is a duet between Mel Rose and Dave Lowmiller, having h*ll of a lot of momentum.

The title track is my favorite track of this entire album, one of the best Mechina tracks I've heard in ages, a 10-minute epic that includes a spine-chillingly beautiful two-minute bridge in the middle. The incredible "On the Wings of Vecterra" comes close to surpassing the previous track, and the female vocals here are mostly from "Treasur'" Necole Wright who previously guest appeared in Venator's "Totemic", plus some wild shredding soloing by Dean Paul Arnold. "Invictus Thales" makes me think of Xenon's "Thales" along with "Invictus" by Neurotech in the title, but the song itself is different from those two, adding in some more of Dave Lowmiller's growls in duet with Mel Rose's cleans.

I'm glad they kept in the awesome pre-release single "When Honor Meant Something", and they remastered it too, making it much clearer than the single version and even adding in some narration at the end. "The Collapse Promised to All" is the shortest track of the album and actually the best one of the final third, with more of those cleans and growls. "The Overwhelming Harmony of Collective Suffering" is an earth-shattering finale, and the special final guest is Ricky Lewis with his higher-range growls.

The story of Mechina continues, both in the concept and the band's journey. I would put Bellum Interruptum at the top of the 4-star tier, with an 84% percentage rating. It has lots of changes, and there's more to hope for in the next album if Joe Tiberi and co. can keep it all up. This might just be a new era for Mechina and epic cyber metal....

Favorites: "The Plague Pit", "Bellum Interruptum", "On the Wings of Vecterra", "When Honor Meant Something", "The Collapse Promised to All"

Sweden's Mercy are best known for being fronted by a pre-Candlemass Messiah Marcolin, especially as they struggled after he left, eventually splitting up in 1988. This, however, is a bit unfair on the rest of the guys because Witchburner is actually a very cool early doom metal record. It still retained a significant amount of heavy metal DNA, much like most mid-80's doom acts, except maybe Saint Vitus. It kicks off very strongly with the head-turningly-titled "I'm Your Pervert Priest" which possesses a crawling and portentously doomy riff which is topped off by Messiah's instantly recognisable vocals and marks the first time that a genuinely gifted and expressive vocalist was featured on a doom metal track, providing ample proof why Leif Edling wanted Messiah to join Candlemass after Johan Langquist refused to commit beyond the recording of "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus". What may surprise Candlemass fans is that Messiah was only seventeen at the time of recording and also played drums on "Witchburner"putting in a decent shift behind the kit, being basic, but effective. Lyrically, the track is obviously mocking of established religion, a theme that became well-established within metal circles, here given a sardonic and humorous slant rather than the out-and-out vitriolic attacks that became de rigeur within metal lyricist circles.

At this time Mercy had been reduced to a trio with three of the five that recorded the S/T debut having departed before the recording of "Witchburner" and remaining members Messiah and guitarist Andrija Veljaca being joined by second guitarist Jörgen Horst who also handled bass duties on the new record. The guitar sound on Witchburner is based on the "Tony Iommi" sound, but has a bit more of the grittiness of Saint Vitus' filthier intonation than heard on albums like Trouble's S/T or any of Sabbath's material. Where it does have more in common with these is in the songwriting, the slow, doomy material still being countered by a fair bit of traditional metal riffing, although that filthier, distortion-heavy guitar sound makes the faster riffs sound great. This was actually Mercy's sophomore full-length and I find it inconceivable that they hadn't received any exposure to the more doomy acts emerging, particularly from the US, between the recording of their 1984 debut and this because the two are worlds apart. The S/T takes its cues from the NWOBHM with the band coming off like a swedish version of Saxon for the most part, but "Witchburner" was much darker-sounding and had shed all the hard rock influences of the earlier record, becoming a much heavier album as a result.

The riffs are pretty memorable and Messiah's enunciation is excellent as usual, making "Witchburner" one of those albums that sticks around in the old grey matter and that people may find you singing along with later. The two guitarists are also impressive with some terrific soloing, the incendiary and blistering fretwork of the solo at the midpoint of Pain of Golgata, is just one example of a solo that would be salivated over had it come from KK Downing or his like and here provides a searing contrast to the plodding dirge of the main riff.

Whilst the three tracks of side one are undoubtedly the doomier and for me personally the better, the second side also has it's moments and is interesting for different reasons. The opener on side two, "Welcome to My Graveyard" is virtually speed metal and with that filthy guitar sound it actually sounds really good, so if you have always wondered what Messiah would sound like singing in a speed metal crew then here is your chance to find out. After that, "Judgement Day" has a bouncy "Children of the Grave" riff and may be the "catchiest" track on the album - all together now, "No one gets away... on Judgement Day". The penultimate track "Voodoo Kills" is for my money the weakest here being a little all over the place and not terribly well put together, but it is still listenable enough all the same. Closing out with the eight-minute title track, the ponderous ominousness of side one makes a welcome return and we are thrust into the doom-laden world of seventeenth century religious zealotry and witch huntings which was destined to become pretty standard doom metal lyrical fare.

All-in-all I think this is actually a very good example of early traditional doom metal which deserves far more attention than it has received. I would take this over Trouble's "Psalm 9", for example, which may or may not be a hot take, but is my heartfelt opinion as I think this sits much nearer to the Saint Vitus debut than to Trouble's and I would hold SV's self-titled up as the flagbearer for early trad doom. Sure this does step into trad metal and even speed metal territory occasionally, but the doominess of the three tracks on side one and the closing title track are ample proof that these Swedes were committed to playing and exploring doom metal further. It is a shame that we never really heard much more from Mercy, but as I said they struggled after Messiah left and their later output doesn't live up to this earlier promise with 1989's King Doom being a major disappointment. So, as it stands, "Witchburner" is an interesting development in the european take on doom metal and allows us to glimpse the early career of one of doom metal's iconic vocalists, making it a worthwhile listen which should be of interest to any serious student of doom metal and its history.

Witchfinder General were formed at the onset of the NWOBHM in Stourbridge on the outskirts of England's "Second City", Birmingham. What set them apart from most of the new movement was that they took inspiration, unsurprisingly given where they hailed from, of Black Sabbath rather than the Judas Priests, Motorheads and Budgies of their contemporaries. They released a 7" single in 1981 that saw "Burning a Sinner" backed by "Satan's Children" which failed to make much of a splash and which is now incredibly rare. The following year saw the release of the three-track "Soviet Invasion" EP, which did see the band finally gaining a little traction. It contained a faux live version of "R.I.P.", recorded in the studio with crowd noise added later, at the behest of the label's head honcho, Paul Birch. This would be the track which also closed out "Death Penalty", albeit in a re-recorded and superior form.

Finally, in the autumn of 1982, Witchfinder General released their debut full-length to a mostly positive response from the UK's metalheads and the rest, as they say, is history. Grabbing the attention of every male teenage metal fan in record stores by featuring a famous Page 3 model in a churchyard and in a decided state of undress on the cover, the band then had to deliver within said album's grooves to match the hype thus generated. Fortunately, they did so and their brand of simplistic and youthful Sabbath worship saw them gain a dedicated following within the wider UK metal movement. It is actually a very slight album, its seven tracks barely managing to scrape past a thirty-minute runtime, but each minute is well spent and such is the quality that it is impossible to feel short-changed. The short runtime actually gives the material an immediacy and vitality that some later, more bloated releases just couldn't replicate.

As an aside, the band that recorded "Death Penalty" is actually a three-piece, with bassist Kevin "Toss" McCready having left after the "Soviet Invasion" recording sessions, to apparently be replaced by a guy called Woolfy Trope. In fact, the band hadn't replaced McCready by the time they went into the studio to record the album so the bass parts were supplied by guitarist Phil Cope, and the wholly fictitious Woolfy Trope was credited, with a roadie standing in as "Woolfy" for publicity photos.

I think it is actually a stretch to tag "Death Penalty" as a genuine doom metal album, it was very much a product of its time, with Sabbathian riffs run through a NWOBHM filter resulting in a version of doomy, downtuned heavy metal which does nevertheless provide something of a bridge between Sabbath's 70s psych influences and the grittier 80s UK metal scene with a DIY sensibility resulting from the influence of late 70s punk rock on the UK metal community. To this end I think it is fair to say that "Death Penalty" isn't exactly a lesson in complex songwriting or technical adroitness, but it is chock full of cool and memorable riffs and has a singular personality with a street-level perspective that sets it apart from the crowd. Most of the tracks are mid-paced affairs, with only the title track and, to a lesser extent, "Burning A Sinner" slowing to doom metal pacing, but the downtuned riffs pioneered by Tony Iommi are most definitely present and it is a truth that the earliest traditional doom metal bands very often switched it up to classic heavy metal velocity. Phil's soloing is also a product of intense study of Tony Iommi's technique, sometimes piling note upon note in a fretboard firestorm, as per the opening of "No Stayer" or soaring sky high like the solo at the end of the title track. Drummer Graham Ditchfield channels Bill Ward's blunt style, but I think it is also evident that he doesn't have the technical skill level that the often under-estimated Sabbath drummer possessed, although it still works very well in the context of this album. Then there is Stourbridge's answer to Ozzy in Zeeb Parkes who, like Ozzy, isn't technically a great singer, but who imbues his vocals with such personality that it is easy to forgive him his shortcomings and just go along for the ride. The production is a bit muzzy with a fair degree of echo, as opposed to Sabbath's much more professionally produced efforts where, presumably, much more money was thrown at them, but I think this actually works in Witchfinder General's favour, giving them more of an underground vibe.

Despite the band name and the imagery of the album cover, they aren't so much a horror / satanically-themed band, often with much more prosaic and down-to-earth lyrical themes such as drug-taking, drinking and fucking taking their place alongside the witch hunting of "Witchfinder General" or "Burning A Sinner". As a very young man from a strong working class background at the time of this album's release, these lyrics espousing a love of hokey horror movies, getting hammered and trying to get off at weekends absolutely captured the essence of life for me at the time. I know I may have a severe case of rose-tinted spectacles when it comes to "Death Penalty" and others may well scratch their heads in bemusement at my fanatical advocacy for it, but simple fact is that this is an album I still spin regularly to this day, forty-plus years later and every time I enjoy it immensely, so what more could I possibly want from a record?

Over the years Astral Doors has seemingly managed to obtain a small fanbase of people who find their style of power metal tinged heavy metal appealing. I mean, I assume so. I've never seen much praise for them. For my two cents, I've only ever listened to Jerusalem, and that felt like enough for me for a while.
Requiem of Time fits neatly into a modernized style of '80s heavy metal/hard rock. Modern recording techniques, but still classic songwriting. Dio is the most obvious comparison; Vocalist Nils Patrik Johansson is imitating him hard but is just a bit off in a way I can tell, but can't put down in words. The comparison doesn't just end there though, as the songwriting often borders a cover version of a song Dio played at some point in his career.
It's a shame because I think that this album at least shows some good energy. Sadly, this just isn't enough for how meh the album is otherwise.

Of all their albums "Master of Reality" is the Black Sabbath album that has grown most in stature over the years in my mind. I got into the band around 1976 via "Paranoid" and that was my go-to Sabbath album for many years, alongside "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Sabotage" and the debut, with "Master of Reality" and "Volume 4" taking up supporting roles. The track which kept drawing me back to "MoR" over the years, though, was the masterful closer "Into the Void" which still stands as my favourite Sabbath track of all and is one of their more doomy offerings, it signposting me down the road of future doom metal appreciation. As time has passed and I have become more and more of a doomhead, I have acquired greater appreciation of the doomier material of "Master of Reality" and it now stands as my ultimate Sabs release, despite stiff competition.

Tony Iommi's guitar tone on this third album is perfect, its deep and resonant fuzziness pitches perfectly what would become the signature sound of future acts like Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Electric Wizard, bolstered and boosted by the brilliant and often busy basswork of Geezer Butler, an aspect of Sabbath's sound that is not always given the credit it deserves. Bill Ward's jazz-influenced drumming style takes a more blunt and bludgeoning approach here than maybe it does on some Sabbath albums, although the way his runs switch from side to side on "Children of the Grave" (best experienced through headphones) is a brilliant bit of production work and adds a little something extra to an already brilliant track. Then, of course, there is the irrepressible Ozzy Osbourne whose influence on doom metal vocalists mustn't be underestimated as he showed that you don't need to be an especially technically gifted singer to be effective, as long as you are committed and have a degree of charisma. With rock music being newly dominated at the time by the Robert Plants and Ian Gillans of the world and their ridiculous vocal range, Ozzy stood tall and proclaimed himself their equal, on sheer strength of personality alone.

Then there are the riffs. I have said it before and I will say it again, Tony Iommi can write better riffs in his sleep than all but a select few metal songwriters can ever hope to come up with, having penned some of the most iconic riffs in the history of metal. From the crawling, weed smoke-drenched, oozing of Sweet Leaf, via the choppy, romping "Children of the Grave" and the plodding grooviness of "Lord of this World", to the ponderous lumbering of the opening to Into the Void, where Geezer follows Tony's riff for added gravitas, this is metal riff heaven, with these riffs sowing the seeds of inspiration for so many aspiring doom metal riff writers of years to come. Sure, the stoner element may be fairly prevalent here, but it is difficult to imagine a "Born Too Late", "Dopethrone" or "Forest of Equilibrium" existing as we know them without this album.

"Master of Reality" isn't all just about thundering, fuzz-drenched riffing however, with the album including several moments of quieter reflection, whether it be the soothing acoustic guitar of "Orchid" or the gentle reflectiveness and soul-searching of the psychedelic-sounding and melancholic "Solitude", which thematically, if not musically, also unwittingly helps set the aesthetic for doom metal's future melancholy side. Then there is the track which always baffled me after the dark lyricism and hints at satanic influence of the band's earlier material, the pro-religious "After Forever", which is a bit of a curveball lyrically and stylistically, having a much more upbeat riff and feeling than the rest of the album. The track has grown on me somewhat over the years, but if the album had to lose one, then this would be my choice.

So there we have it, for my money "Master of Reality" is one of the great metal albums, being an influence for both stoner and doom metal and perfecting a guitar sound that still stands tall to this day, over fifty years later, as a signature sound in the metal world.

Released in 1980, ‘On Through the Night’ is the debut album by legendary British metal band, Def Leppard. It thrust the Sheffield rockers into the upper echelon of what was known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and along with bands such as Iron Maiden and Saxon, helped revitalise the stagnating metal genre and carry it into the 80’s, where it would reach all new heights of success and popularity.

This however, is a very different band to the one that would become worldwide megastars just a few years later. Switching stadium anthems for a more traditional heavy metal sound, the writing here is raw, but the energy and passion amongst the members is very palpable. From one intense hard rocker to the next, this album doesn’t let up with its blistering, nonstop guitar riffs and early precursors to what will become the bands trademark sing-along choruses.

Highlights include some early Def Lep classics, such as ‘Rock Brigade’, ‘Rocks Off’, ‘Hello America’, ‘It Could Be You’, ‘Sorrow is a Woman’ and ‘Answer to the Master’, each one giving us a taste of what this band is truly capable of. With a great production and its iconic cover art, there’s no doubting this is a solid debut album, and while it may not be the bands best or most famous work, it’s still a worthy addition to any rock or metal collection.

From 2013 to 2016, Neurotech decided to do it like Mechina and make an epic symphonic cyber metal journey to be released on a special holiday, except each "journey" is a symphony on Christmas day. Blending classical with cyber/industrial metal is what those two bands have done before, and Neurotech packs it all for something stunning.

What can you expect from these Symphonies? Generally what classical symphonies from a couple centuries ago would sound like in the modern future. These compositions are all the 4 longest tracks Wulf has done to date, ranging from over 13 to nearly 19 minutes. And in each one, you get to move through this emotional whirlwind of different styles and sections, in a cinematic adventure of adventures!

The first symphony "The Elysian Symphony" is so beautiful, you just gotta hear it to believe it. "The Halcyon Symphony" can take your soul through a galactic adventure. Wulf knows how to master the art of symphonies as greatly as Hans Zimmer, and possibly also Mozart and Bach, while blending the orchestral arrangements with his usual cyber metal. It's impressive how well your creativity can take you when composing such a piece. This should really be more popular, seriously! The speaker frequency would be greatly enhanced with its intricacy and drama. F***ing outstanding!

"The Ophidian Symphony" is the longest of them all, at nearly 19 minutes, with many different acts woven together for one of the best epics done by Neurotech or any other artist. The final and brand-new symphony "The Veneration Symphony" fits quite well for a sci-fi film soundtrack of when you're playing a video game. Multitaskers can have all the glory by listening and watching/playing.

Symphonies is for any symphonic/cyber metal fan and those who want a cooler, more epic soundtrack to films. With not many people finding the skillful talent within Wulf, the world's not ready for that much greatness, but they should be!

Favorites: "The Halcyon Symphony", "The Ophidian Symphony"

Released in 2006, ‘One Cold Winter’s Night’ is a live album by progressive power metal band Kamelot, recorded earlier in the year whilst touring in support of their absolute masterpiece, ‘The Black Halo’.

Coming off of the success of their most highly revered and ambitious release, it should come as no surprise that everyone in the band is in peak form here. The playing is absolutely fantastic by everyone, and you can really sense how energised and passionate the band members are. Praise in particular to vocalist Roy Khan, who is just blasting each song as heard on their studio counterpart note-for-note.

The set list, as you’d expect, is stellar, featuring pretty much every major fan favourite, with plenty of focus given to material from ‘The Black Halo’, ‘Karma’ and ‘Epica’. Oh, and speaking of Epica, there’s a guest appearance by Simone Simons, giving us a spine-tingling duet with Khan for ‘The Haunting’.

With a crystal-clear sound, excellent set-list and unforgettable performances, this really is a remarkable live album, which truly belongs in every Kamelot fans collection.

After a slow and steady upwards trajectory over the course of three releases, it seems that with 2002’s ‘Century Child’, their fourth studio album, Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish have refined their sound, and taken a huge step up in both critical and commercial success.

Treading the thin line between power metal and symphonic metal, the band have really hit their stride with this album, sounding more inspired and more confident than ever. With a strong emphasis on the symphonic and operatic elements, as well as additional male vocals to compliment Tarja Turunen’s voice, ‘Century Child’ has a much more well-rounded sound than its predecessors.

With great instrumental performances and an excellent production that really gives the music a rich, vibrant sound, there really aren’t many faults with this release, other than a couple of filler tracks, it’s all pretty stellar.

And with some absolute bangers such as ‘Dead to the World’, ‘End of All Hope’, ‘Bless the Child’, ‘Slaying the Dreamer’, the underrated ‘Feel For You’ and the obligatory symphonic metal band cover of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Century Child’ displays a band who have really established themselves as one of the top bands of their genre, and is an album that belongs in every metal fans collection.

Vendel answers the question nobody ever asked before, what if Judas Priest was a doom metal band? A simplification, but close enough to understand what these guys are about. Another simplification would be to call them another one of these epic heavy/doom metal bands that take epic metal and it with doom metal that seem to be a thing now.
If this sounds odd, it's because it is. I understand there's probably a virtue to this, but Priest generally works when they have energy to them, something that is unusual for a doom metal album. So this is sliding between two different styles and never quite working out right for them. They try, but fail through no fault except combining two styles that are exceedingly difficult to blend together.
Their attempts at the two styles are not created equal, however. While not setting the world on fire, the more traditional side of the album has a stronger idea of what does and does not make that genre work. In particular, they are quite skilled at galloping guitar sections. The doom sections tend to feel like they're just rehashes of other, better works, and as stated. Which unfortunately, combined with other issues tend to drag the album down.
One odd thing I noticed is that a lot of the guitar solos seem to be trying to invoke the guitar solos in the soundtracks to The Incredible Machine games. Even outside of me feeling it has similarities, it's a lot more showy than what the album is going for and seems out of place even discounting that.
While I don't dislike the album, I can't say there's really a reason to listen to it even if there is dearth of great bands doing whatever it is these guys are trying to do. It's not objectionable, but unless the idea appeals, it's just not that interesting.

Released in 1999, ‘Demons & Wizards’ is a power metal collaboration between Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth, and Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian. Any band featuring two such prominent names within the power metal community could be amazing, and this SHOULD be amazing, but sadly, it fails to live up to its full potential, leaving us with something that sounds exactly as you’d expect; Iced Earth music with Blind Guardian vocals.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the problem is that this is just so damn average. There’s plenty of high-energy metal thrashing, galloping guitar riffs, epic orchestrations and Gregorian chants (like, who asked for these?), but amongst all of that, there’s only a number of truly memorable songs.

There’s no doubting that tracks like ‘Heaven Denies’, ‘Poor Man’s Crusade’, ‘My Last Sunrise’, and ‘Fiddler On the Green’ have all the makings of power metal classics. But the rest, well, they’re all pretty forgettable. And it’s a huge shame, because this had the potential to be an absolutely classic album, but sadly, for whatever reason, it’s not.

Blast from the Past is a compilation of re-recordings and remasterings the band put together, taking from all of their previous releases. I’m only going to review the re-recordings, as a remaster really doesn’t warrant its own release.

First off, almost every song here is Power Metal majesty, and none are less than great. Gamma Ray have some really great choruses that have been amplified by the slight changes in the re-imagined tracks. The improvements in production do nothing but favors, and there are slightly denser elements to many of the tracks, like sprinklings of extra keys. There was only one track I didn’t feel benefited here, that being “Last Before the Storm” – probably my favorite Gamma Ray song, and the original was simply so good that the slight changes they made felt… I guess, just different rather than better. The original is just too good (it’s still my favorite song here though).

On its own, it’s a collection of fantastic Power Metal. On principal though, I will say most of these songs didn’t really need re-recordings, especially since the band had only been releasing music for 10 years and had not changed AT ALL in their general sound and delivery. To its credit, yeah, I’ll reach for these songs instead of the originals; the better production if nothing else dictates that. But… far from necessary.

I’m not the biggest fan of Groove Metal, so Nevermore trading most of their Thrash energy for more rhythmic and mid-temo riffing was a move that shouldn’t sit right with me. Well, I still don’t think it’s as good as the previous albums, but this is monumental for a Groove album. The band’s ability to combine hybrid riffs that combine Groove, Thrash, and classic Heavy/US Power Metal with a more modern atmosphere and dark mood make them super unique, and this album definitely has that identity in spades far stronger than anything preceding it.

Most people probably point to Narcosynthesis, the enigmatic opening track, as the highlight of the album (or the band’s whole career, even), but it was the second track, We Disintegrate, that really gripped me. Of course we get the fantastic core musicianship Nevermore always delivers, but there’s also an AMAZING chorus?? I had never heard Warrel use his voice like that, and it got totally stuck in my head. That was kind of a recurring theme here; I think Warrel learned how to better craft hooks, and use his voice melodically on this album. I’ve always liked him as a vocalist, but catchy choruses were absolutely not his main draw. Here, he hones that tool and utilizes it well, another favorite of mine being the monolithic pre-chorus “And I still Believe in Nothing…”

The guitar solos are another highlight, and along with the melodic guitar leads, add a fantastic touch of spice to the more basic musical foundation. Rhythmic chugs aren’t nearly as bad if you’ve got a stunning guitar lead shimmering over them. My only criticism there is sometimes they’re pushed way too low in the mix – I want to hear the melodies, not the 0-0-0-1-2-0! Gimme the good stuff!

As I’ve hinted at, the slower, more rhythmic musicianship and songwriting style here isn’t as much to my taste as their Thrashier material, but the band is so skilled that they pull it off better than most bands who revolve their entire career around Groove. Nevermore is simply too talented to play off of the weaker tropes of Groove Metal, and therefore deliver one of the best albums in the genre.

Like so many Metal bands that faced immense success in the 80’s, Iron Maiden fell victim to turmoil, stumbling and inconsistency in the 90’s. Lineup changes mixed with stylistic experimentation and lack of direction lead to one of the most legendary and beloved Metal bands falling to their knees, failing to keep up with trends while also failing to appease their own fanbase. It’s a story shared by many of the best bands from their era.

At the turn of the century, something changed in Metal. It seemed like older bands realized they don’t need to pretend anymore; they don’t need to chase trends or change styles to appease new crowds. They just need to be themselves and do what they do best. And Maiden were one of the very first bands to realize this, wasting no time in getting Bruce back, returning to their classic 80’s style, and dropping one of the very finest Heavy Metal albums in the first year of the new century.

Brave New World is an exceedingly epic affair with 3 tracks well over the 8-minute mark. And yet, it never overstays its welcome, never feels overlong. How do they manage this? Quite plainly, every minute of every song here is full of carefully crated instrumentation, with wonderful guitar lines weaving between rich and interesting rhythm lines, the only breaks in dense instrumentation being when Bruce’s voice is given center stage to belt out fantastic choruses. Most of the songs here have multiple passages, taking elements from their more Progressive era, but the instrumentation itself is not overly complex or technical; rather, the songs are progressive in that they take you on journeys through different scenes and landscapes, again maintaining a constant interest factor despite the long track lengths.

I have to give some credit to the previous effort, Virtual XI. Of course I have already claimed I find it to be quite an underrated piece on its own, but I think this album puts it into even greater context. Virtual XI was the band’s return to their pure Prog-tinged Heavy Metal after the inconsistency of the other 90’s records. For some reason, Iron Maiden seemed like they forgot how to properly write long songs or something on Virtual XI, but it was very clearly the first step in getting back to who they really were. Brave New World here was them re-finding themselves fully, in all their glory. And of course, a part of that success is the return of Bruce, who is just an absolute powerhouse of a vocalist, both in ability and in his skill of crafting fantastic vocal melodies. A magnificent return to form for the band.

Much like Rhapsody’s preceding album, Dawn of Victory is an over-the-top epic filled with dense compositions and fantastical tales. Again we are transported to the adventures of Algalord and The Emerald Sword Saga. The concept story itself isn’t anything too special and can be a bit hard to follow at times, but it’s still a fun little treat for those interested and helps the immersion of being transported to these magical lands.

One thing that has to be addressed immediately – this album is cheesier than a stuffed crust everything pizza, and it’s just about as jam-packed with ingredients. Now, I’m a fine enjoyer of cheese when it comes to certain genres (Power Metal can get away with more than most) but this album is definitely pushing my limits. I pretty much had to learn to love it, but certain tracks like The Village of Dwarves fall into silly and even cringe territory. Your mileage may very depending on how much you love or hate cheese.

That ASIDE though… it’s a near-perfect Symphonic Power Metal album. It’s got everything you could want in the genre; soaring vocals, complexly melodic Neoclassical guitar leads, pummeling drums full of energy… it hits all the right notes, and it hits them well. The symphonic elements are perfectly integrated, with many different instruments playing their own parts, sprinkling melodies and themes, or providing a foundation with sustained strings. The medieval nature of this album just gives it more character, and the Symphonic elements walk a fine line between Classical and Folk, acing that medieval-fantasy aesthetic with traditional instrumentation as well as more Cinematic Classical styles.

All in all, due to the nature of this album, it’s kind of a love or hate it type release, but the immense talent in the performers and dense complexity of the compositions ensures pure quality so long as you aren’t lactose intolerant. Despite being so anthemic, it is more of a grower due to the sheer amount of layers in instrumentation to each song, and is definitely more easily appreciated through focused listens with headphones. A magnificent release, though it definitely could have improved with a bit more seriousness and maybe some emotional value. I sometimes find myself feeling like it’s just “too damn happy” while listening, but more often than not, I’m successfully transferred to a magical land of war and fantasy.

For guitar hero shred-style Neoclassical Metal, impressive musicianship is a given. For that reason, it doesn’t really matter how good the guitarist is if they are able to play this genre on a technical level, cause they’re all in the top 1%. What matters is songwriting ability, the rest of the band, vocals if any, etc. What sets it apart from other shredders? Why does it deserve my 5 cents?

In Warmen’s case… well, there isn’t anything, at least for this debut album. The album is stuffed with “good enough” Neoclassical Metal with nothing separating it from contemporaries in the genre. Yeah, the musicianship is good, but again, I need a bit more than that. It’s a mostly instrumental affair, with vocals appearing on only two tracks. The vocals are good, but nothing mind blowing in terms of ability, choruses, etc. And the instrumental tracks are, again, fine stuff, quite good, but not offering anything memorable. The only unique track would be Devil’s Mistress, which chooses the very odd avenue of having the guitars take a backseat. I mean, half the time they’re barely even noticeable, being lead by drums and synths really. It also has a great chorus, but the verses are breaks are boring.

Overall, the band doesn’t have much identity at this point. But that could change!

An exemplary specimen of fully realized Southern Metal, embodying all the influences of the genre strongly. The eclectic nature of this album is its strongest suit, touching upon many different styles yet always within the singular umbrella of Southern Metal and keeping that sludgy, worn-out cowboy aesthetic integral to the genre.

The guitar playing stands out most, and the majority of the songs are entirely led by layered guitarwork, with rhythm and vocals playing second fiddle. There’s a good variety in guitar playing styles as well, with Southern Rock leads, Groove chugs, Heavy Metal riffs and nice acoustic finger plucking for the more somber cowboy numbers.

The huge problem with this album is the mood and actual melodies. The mood of this album can generally be described as “I’m a tough guy, watch out for me” and the melodies to these songs don’t evoke anything at all, they’re just stock riffs. The whole album gives me the sense that I would not enjoy spending time with people who write or enjoy this kind of music. The vocals have a really annoying southern drawl yarl to them as well, only adding insult to injury with the embarrassingly juvenile lyricism. The rhythm section never does anything interesting either, which is a big negative for me.

The tracks that evade those issues are best. “Rust” actually has some atmosphere to it, being a more somber, mostly acoustic track with some electric guitars adding very good underlying harmonies.

I can see it as a fun album with some tasty guitarwork, but it’s painfully shallow.

‘The Forgotten Tales’ is a 1996 compilation album by German power metal band Blind Guardian. Rather than a retrospective look over their five-album career (at that point), this gathers up all the loose ends, in particular, singles b-sides and bonus tracks from various different releases, but of course, there’s a number of new recordings too. Varying from covers, acoustic renditions and live recordings, it’s quite a mixed bag, but it’s very definitely Blind Guardian through and through.

The covers in particular, are all pretty fantastic. Paying homage to the likes of the Beach Boys, Mike Oldfield, Queen, Little Richard and Uriah Heep, these are unlikely artists to cover, but the Germans have stamped their sound all over them, and truly made these songs their own.

There are also live and orchestral versions of some Blind Guardian classics, and again, these work wonderfully. Especially considering the themes of the music, they really add a new depth to the bands writing and ability to tell stories.

Overall, this might be a bit hit-or-miss for casual listeners, but for die-hard Blind Guardian fans this is an absolute treat. Tracks like ‘Surfin’ USA’, ‘Mr. Sandman’, ‘Barbara Ann’ and ‘To France’, as well as new renditions of ‘Bright Eyes’, ‘Mordred’s Song’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ are all excellent reasons to get this album. And while the band would delve into more ambitious, progressive territory after this release, this works as a great bookend at that point of their career.

So there I was, having a perfectly mediocre time, listening to some generic power metal, with an incredibly high pitched lead singer who, only mildly annoyed me, and then I heard the track, "Lonely" and I had to knock of the extra 0.5 of  a star taking this from a 2.5 to a 2 rating for this track alone, it was that bad. Sir leave that woman alone. We get it, you were friend-zoned and her current guy isn't good enough for her but like,  stop simping. The rest of the album is as previously stated. Mediocre, generic, mildly annoying. But , if you play it at a reasonable volume in the background while doing other things it makes for an alright album.

2 songs in. Bruce Dickson came on my window and then ripped off the Phantom of the Opera organ riff and my wife told me she was going to physically fight someone or something if she had to listen to any more of it because it felt like ants under her skin listening to it. I could not Defend it and had to put in head phones so she could enjoy the silence. The songs do not improve after that I am afraid and I had to suffer the overreaching ;lyricism alone. I am a Bruce Dickenson and Iron Maiden  enjoyer and I did noy Enjoy this. Remember he LEFT Iron Maiden to make THIS....   A crime. 

I'm giving a single star for the bass player on this. The rest of the album here is generic and bad in my opinion and sound like  a grab bag of discarded 80's lyrics and riffs while also having Bon Jovi knock off over tones. If you enjoy Bon  Jovi... Actually just go listen to Bon Jovi I won't recommend this for you either.

Released in 2000, ‘Wishmaster’ is the third album by Finnish symphonic metal band, Nightwish. It comes two years after its predecessor, ‘Oceanborn’, and pretty much continues in the same vein. At this point the band was just beginning to break into the mainstream, and it’s easy to see that the strength and quality of their writing was garnering them a bigger and better reputation with metal fans.

The musicianship on this album is fantastic, with particular praise going to keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and guitarist Emppu Vuorinen. The chemistry between these two is exceptional, with plenty of intense guitar riffs and a flurry of complex keyboard melodies blending together with ease. And amidst it all, singer Tarja Turenen’s operatic vocals suit the style of music perfectly.

‘The Kinslayer’, ‘She is My Sin’ and the title track, ‘Wishmaster’, are all absolutely fantastic songs, and could easily rate as some of my Nightwish favourites, and the rest of the album is filled out nicely with the likes of ‘Crownless’, ‘Fantasmic’ and ‘Wanderlust’. Other than one or two fillers, the album flows effortlessly.

Overall, this is a strong follow-up to ‘Oceanborn’, and a step in the right direction for the band, and although it may not be Nightwish’s best album, there’s some very strong tracks that make this an album worth owning.