Daniel's Reviews

With Helloween’s self-titled EP having made a considerable impact on the market in the first half of 1985, the door was ajar for other German speed metal acts to stake their claim & in doing so, help to build a unique & identifiable scene with somewhat of a trademark sound. Amongst the leaders of the charge were Hamburg's Iron Angel; a five-piece outfit that was formed back in 1980 when its members were still at school. Interestingly (& not overly surprisingly), Iron Angel originally went by the name of Metal Gods (a moniker that was borrowed from the classic Judas Priest track of the same name) & it wasn’t until 1983 that they changed their moniker after being inspired by a novel about a spirit hunter (presumably named “Iron Angel”). The band began their careers in recorded music by releasing two considerably lo-fi demo tapes before signing a recording contract with German metal label Steamhammer, who had previously released records like Brocas Helm’s “Into Battle” & Destruction’s “Sentence Of Death”. The resulting debut album, with the particularly metal title of “Hellish Crossfire”, would be recorded in Berlin in May 1985 & would include a large percentage of re-recorded material from the earlier demos.

The production was handled by Horst Muller who was responsible for producing Celtic Frost’s “Morbid Tales” EP as well as contributing to the recording & engineering of Destruction’s “Sentence Of Death” EP, Hellhammer’s “Apocalyptic Raids” EP & Running Wild’s “Gates To Purgatory” & “Branded & Exiled” albums, so you would imagine that Horst had a reasonable idea of what was required to produce a savage metal record. And he’s done a pretty good job at it here too with “Hellish Crossfire” being driven by an intense rhythm guitar sound that gives the whole affair a fairly brutal & underground feel; despite being a little low in the mix compared to the pounding drum kit. The guitar solos aren’t exactly top draw stuff though with very little virtuosity or melodic ambition on display.

The cheesy fantasy cover artwork is not really a terribly good reflection of the music that dominates the media inside. It certainly looks quite colourful & appealing & would likely be a good match for one of the more melodic European power metal releases, but I can’t say that it’s a very good match for the evil Satanic lyrical themes & raspy vocal approach of Iron Angel. In fact, this record is often linked to early black metal which would seem a particularly large stretch to my ears but it’s given even less justification by the pastel coloured imagery on this cover.

In my opinion, what we actually have here is a potent brand of speed metal that’s more than a little rough around the edges but makes up for any technical deficiencies with raw enthusiasm & unrelenting velocity. There are no complex song or riff structures or big tempo changes to found here but I don’t think the album ever becomes too samey because the songs still have their own identity despite being mainly focused on a pedal-to-the-metal approach. I think it’s fair to say that Iron Angel sit right in the sweet spot between Germany’s heavy/power bands like Running Wild, Accept, Helloween & Grave Digger & more aggressive thrash metal outfits like Slayer, Sodom & Destruction. There are definitely some sections that I would label as genuine thrash metal however this rarely equates to full songs with the sound of classic metal bands like Judas Priest & Accept never being too far away. I think Agent Steel are a lot closer to thrash than Iron Angel were & I think this has a lot to do with the simplicity of Iron Angel’s riffs which rely more on the vocals for the hooks than the thrash metal model which is a little more riff based. The same tools are certainly utilized on occasion though & there are several moments when I feel they sound like sped up versions of Venom or Hellhammer given the similarly simple approach those bands took. Kreator front man Mille Petrozza has been quoted as saying that Iron Angel were Germany’s worst thrash metal band but their best speed metal one so make of that what you will.

Front man Dirk Schroder takes a particularly raspy approach to his vocals & many people claim that his delivery was a bit of a career limiter for Iron Angel. I’m not sure I agree as I never find him too hard to stomach. I’d probably describe him as a combination of Accept’s Udo Dirkschneider, Helloween’s Kai Hansen & occasionally Mercyful Fate’s King Diamond but he never feels like he’s losing control & can easily handle the higher registers despite his aggressive style. Don’t expect his lyrics to be too sophisticated though as there a number of typical old-school European metal gems like “Wife Of The Devil” with its chorus of “She’s the devil’s wife. He f**ks her all night long.” Very deep, I know.

Iron Angel have split up & reformed a number of times over the years & are currently still active but subsequent releases saw them derailing their careers by taking on a more commercially accessible approach that was more in line with Accept’s more marketable ventures & it didn’t work out the way the band would have hoped. “Hellish Crossfire” isn’t a bad way to have your legacy remembered though as it’s a very entertaining & energetic listen that should appeal to fans of Judas Priest, Accept & Venom’s more speed metal oriented material as well as a few of you Teutonic thrashers out there. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that was comfortably the best example of the German speed metal sound to have been released to the time.

LA speed metal outfit Agent Steel first formed around former Abbatoir vocalist John Cyriis & drummer Chuck Profus back in 1984 & released a couple of crude demos that year before signing a recording contract with Combat Records. Combat was a New York metal label that had previously released a couple of reasonably well-known underground records in Savatage’s “The Dungeons Are Calling” E.P. & Helstar’s “Burning Star” debut but they were about to hit the big time with a string of popular releases from artists such as Megadeth, Possessed & Abbatoir in the coming months.

Agent Steel’s debut album “Skeptics Apocalypse” was recorded in Los Angeles with little-known producer Jay Jones & it hit the shelves in June 1985. The tracklisting actually includes a couple of tracks that can be traced back to Cyriis & Profus’ earlier band Sceptre with “Taken By Force” having been previously included on Metal Blade’s “Metal Massacre IV” compilation under their previous moniker. It’s interesting that those two tracks are actually the only songs that I’d label as genuine speed metal on the album with the rest falling into either the thrash metal camp or a more traditional heavy metal one so it’s likely that Agent Steel were already moving away from that sound even at this early stage & it also highlights what a loose subgenre tag the “speed metal” one is to be honest. I mean there are certainly records that pretty obviously fall into the speed metal bucket however a good portion of them could just as easily be labelled as thrash or heavy metal. I tend to find that the “speed metal” tag is often used to label releases that don’t obviously fit into either camp (like Anthrax’s “Fistful Of Metal” for example) & that’s what we see here because there’s unquestionably more genuine thrash & heavy metal included here than there is speed metal but I have to admit that I’m more comfortable calling it speed metal simply because I don’t feel that thrash or heavy metal fans would necessarily be happy with either of those two tags. It’s just a nice middle ground catch-all really.

The production job suits Agent Steel’s sound quite nicely in that it offers a nice combination of rawness & clarity & has a distinctly underground mid-80’s metal vibe to it. It’s interesting that the sound does change dramatically between the A & B Sides though with the guitars on the B side sounding noticeably thinner when played back to back with the A side so it’s clear that “Skeptics Apocalypse” hasn’t been well mastered.

Instrumentally, the main characteristics of the Agent Steel sound are the almost exclusive use of fast tempos & flat-out drumming as well as the attention to melody in the riffs & harmonies which is possibly one of the differentiating elements from your more classic thrash metal sound. The constant commitment to velocity can make the album sound a little one-dimensional to some listeners but there’s a melodic sensibility to the song-writing that often draws more inspiration from the NWOBHM than it does the likes of Metallica or Slayer. In fact, just like the Helloween E.P. from the same year, there are some tracks included that sound noticeably like Iron Maiden on speed with the extensive use of fast harmonized guitar lines; although they’re nowhere near as obvious or cheesy as Helloween employed it has to be said. “144,000 Gone” & “Back To Reign” are good examples of that.

The A side is completely dominated by three legitimate thrash outings & these songs absolutely go for broke. I have to admit that Agent Steel really tear shreds off me when they thrash out & there’s a tonne of “Show No Mercy” era Slayer about songs like “Evil Eye/Evil Mind”, “Bleed For The Godz”, “Children Of The Sun” & “Taken By Force”. In fact, “Agents of Steel” sounds decidedly like classic Exodus & “Evil Eye/Evil Mind” brings to mind early Kreator during it’s more intense moments so I find it pretty hard to understand people arguing against the thrash metal component of “Skeptics Apocalypse” as it seems blatantly obvious to me. The more traditional heavy metal side of Agent Steel’s sound obviously draws most regularly from the Maiden playbook but there’s also plenty of Mercyful Fate about their approach & a little Judas Priest here & there too. The shredding style of the dual guitar solos is where this is most obvious & it also brings to mind Slayer’s Kerry King & Jeff Hannemann combination in its over-the-top & almost chaotic approach at times too.

But it’s front man John Cyriis that is the clear focal point of the Agent Steel sound with his higher register delivery being another clear differentiator from most thrash metal outfits. And boy can he get up there! There are some ear-piercing screams employed across the tracklisting at times & John has the ability to take a reasonably decent chorus & make it into something special when he gets it right. But he doesn’t ALWAYS get it right though. “Children Of The Sun” is a fine example of this with John repeatedly straying out of key while his King Diamond imitation work on “Taken By Force” is also pretty polarizing too. At his peak John works in a similar space to the Bruce Dickinson’s & Geoff Tate’s only with a little less polish about him & it’s Cyriis’ contribution along with those fast-paced & melodic guitar harmonies that most draws people to incorrectly suggest that there’s a strong power metal component to the Agent Steel sound. Blue collar US power metal? Yes, certainly but not the European variety. John’s lyrics are worth mentioning too. Mainly for their strong concentration on science fiction, UFO & conspiracy theories which would only become greater with future releases. He clearly had an interest in these topics & this can also be seen in the cover artwork & album title.

Given that “Skeptics Apocalypse” represents a clear middle ground between heavy metal & thrash I’d suggest that fans of early Anthrax, Metal Church, Laaz Rockit & Omen should find this a really enjoyable listen. It’s a very consistent & unapologetic speed metal record that leaves me feeling thoroughly satisfied after every listen. It’s perhaps not quite as strong as the Exciter's "Long Live The Loud" which was released at around the same time but it’s certainly not very far behind & I regard it as the best US speed metal release to the time.

Up until 1985, the global speed metal battalion had unquestionably been fronted by Canadian trio Exciter with their first couple of albums being the most popular releases for the subgenre over the two year period since they virtually created the sound. 1984’s “Violence & Force” album had been a commercial disappointment for the band though after they'd gotten off to a rollicking start with 1983’s well respected “Heavy Metal Maniac” record. The band had parted ways with Mike Varney’s Shrapnel Records & signed with UK label Megaforce Records but despite this positive change fans failed to connect as strongly with Exciter’s sophomore effort. Personally, I didn’t think there was a lot between the two albums but the cleaner production job on “Violence & Force” probably didn’t suit Exciter as nicely.

Well Exciter’s UK distributor Music For Nations would step up to become the primary label behind 1985’s “Long Live The Loud” record with the band flying to London to record at Britannia Row Studios in February 1985. And the label would also provide Exciter with a name producer in Englishman Guy Bidmead who had made a name for himself engineering more accessible & classic mid-70’s albums like the artsy rock of Brian Eno’s “Another Green World”, the symphonic prog rock of Camel’s “Moonmadness” & the roots reggae of Bunny Wailer’s “Blackheart Man” & Bob Marley & the Wailers “Exodus”. Not exactly a metal heritage there but it’s certainly an impressive resume nonetheless. And Guy clearly possessed a good understanding of Exciter’s sound because the resulting production is not only well suited to the dirtier, grimier style of high velocity metal that Exciter had built their reputation on but also possesses good clarity & definition for all of the instruments. It’s interesting that bass player Allan Johnson’s sound is as close to Lemmy Killmeister’s jangly steam train as we’ve heard from him to date & when you combine this with a performance that seems to have been cut from exactly the same mould as Motorhead’s classic material it gives the listener the distinct feeling that this is almost a tribute album. I mean Motorhead have always been a huge influence on Exciter along with Black Sabbath & Judas Priest but perhaps never quite so obviously as we hear on “Long Live The Loud”. The Sabbath influence is still quite noticeable though. Especially on the ten-minute epic closing track “Wake Up Screaming” which doesn’t try to hide its source of inspiration. The Priest influence is possibly a little more subtle this time as its overwhelmed by the fast-paced Motorhead one.

That’s not to say that this is a total speed-fest however, because just like the first two Exciter records, “Long Live The Loud” includes just as much traditional heavy metal as it does speed metal. The slower paced tracks are a key ingredient in what makes Exciter albums maintain my interest. There’s nothing terribly sophisticated about the faster numbers. They’re just fun drinking anthems. So it’s important to break them up with a variety of alternate material like the more than decent “Born To Die” which was clearly a take on Brian Johnson-era AC/DC. It’s worth noting that many people seem to suggest that there’s a strong power metal component to “Long Live The Loud” with references to Manowar being a common observation but this isn’t accurate at all. I feel that those people are simply being swayed by the Manowar plagiarism that adorns the cover & the epic nature of the intro track. There’s really no other reference to power metal included here.

The musicianship on display maintains the improvement we noticed on “Violence & Force” with Dan Beehler’s rock-solid drumming once again seeming to have found its niche. It’s worth mentioning that Dan’s vocals have never sounded quite this incisive either. As was the case on the earlier Exciter albums, his shrieking high-pitched delivery flirts with the concept of going completely out of control but never quite takes the final leap but I think this is his best performance to date. He seems more comfortable in his own skin.

When you examine the tracklisting holistically there are no real blemishes to mention here. Both “Heavy Metal Maniac” & “Violence & Force” included a couple of obvious filler tracks but this time Exciter have managed to overcome that issue & it results in their most consistent release to date. In fact, I’d even suggest that this might have been the most consistent speed metal release that was available on the market at the time & I consider it to be a step up for the band despite the tracklisting often appearing to be a succession of tributes to Exciter’s influences. But this has always been a characteristic of their sound & I’ve long since accepted it now. These days I just look to bang my head to their records with a knowing grin on my face & try not to overthink things. After all, speed metal isn’t intended for in-depth analysis. It’s meant for short-term enjoyment in the spirit of youthful silliness & reminds one of a simpler time when all we needed to worry about was looking cool & having a laugh.

Florida five-piece Nasty Savage first formed in Brandon in 1983 & rose to a reasonable level of popularity off the back of the over-the-top stage antics of their unusual & charismatic front man “Nasty” Ronnie Galetti. Ronnie apparently used to smash television sets over his head on stage which sounds like fun for the whole family really & I can’t imagine why metalheads have a reputation for being yobbos, can you? Anyway… Nasty Savage released two well-received demo tapes before being signed to Metal Blade Records who were picking up almost every promising young metal band in America at the time. In fact, the enormous impact of Metal Blade head Brian Slagel’s involvement in the development of the US metal scene begs the question of whether American metal would ever have developed at all if not for Brian. He really had his finger on the pulse at the time & another indication of that can be seen in the details around the recording of Nasty Savage’s self-titled debut album which would be laid down at the now infamous Morrisound Studios with Tom Morris behind the mixing desk. Savatage had already spent some time there for the recording of “Sirens” & “The Dungeons Are Calling” but Morrisound would later go on to become internationally renowned as the home of the Florida death metal scene in just a few years time.

Despite what online reviews might tell you, the resulting production job isn’t all that strong with the guitar sound being noticeably thin which does admittedly add a little bit of underground street cred to the atmosphere. In fact, it’s hard to deny that this is a particularly metal sounding record & I think that this has definitely contributed to some people incorrectly claiming it as legitimate thrash metal.

The cover artwork is an awfully low budget affair that simply depicts the Nasty Savage logo in a bubbly font that feels very much like it was a sketch from the back of a teenagers school book. But this is hardly unusual for the time… especially not for a Metal Blade release… so it’s pretty easy to look past it.

Musically, Nasty Savage seem to carefully toe the line between classic heavy metal & thrash metal in much the same way that Metal Church, Omen & Laaz Rockit were doing & you won’t hear any NWOBHM style hard rock moments here. This is an unashamedly metal release put together by a group of musicians who were clearly more ambitious than they were talented. The instrumentalists do a good job at stretching their technical skills further than they perhaps should but never seem to lose a grip altogether. The highly celebrated guitar solos are possibly the only area where they obviously fall short of the mark as the twin guitar attack clearly aren’t capable of anything too flashy but that doesn’t seem to have stopped people from heaping praise on them online if my recent investigations are anything to go by. I mean some of these solos are just dreadful but the overall atmosphere of the music seems to not only enable the band to get away with it but also to somehow promote an endearing quality that leaves them offering more appeal than they ever had any right to.

The main musical influence here is clearly Mercyful Fate in my opinion as there’s more than a little Fate about the way the songs are structured but you’ll no doubt pick up elements of the classic English bands like Maiden, Priest & Sabbath too while always maintaining a sneaking little niggle in the back of your mind that hears hints of the young San Francisco thrash metal scene. You’re unlikely to hear any light-speed tempos here mind you but some of the mid-paced riffage certainly offers similarities to early thrash exponents like Slayer, Exodus & Anthrax & even a little bit of later Death Angel.

But the real talking point of the Nasty Savage sound sits directly with Ronnie. His vocal style is about as polarizing as you’ll find & Ronnie puts in an almost hyperactive display here. He never sits still for long with unwanted surprises seemingly appearing with little to no warning & he reminds me a lot of Exodus’ Paul Baloff in that respect. His higher register screams seem to pretty obviously reference Mercyful Fate’s King Diamond. In fact, I can hear a hell of lot of Ronnie's phrasing in the delivery of Atheist front man Kelly Shaefer & I tend to think that this is no coincidence given the potential for Ronnie to have had an influence on an early Atheist with Nasty Savage being arguably the most extreme band to come out of Florida during Kelly's formative years. To be completely honest, I don’t have a problem with Ronnie’s vocals really. I think I’ve heard enough obscure vocal techniques employed in metal music over the years to be able to see the merit in them. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the song-writing here. It’s incredibly inconsistent & at times the lyrics can be ridiculously obvious. I’m looking at you “Metal Knights” & “The Morgue”.

I really want to like this album & I think that’s primarily due to that metal-as-fuck atmosphere I spoke of earlier but it doesn’t really come close to delivering on its potential in my opinion & I subsequently rank it as one of the weaker US heavy metal releases of the time.

Florida hadn’t exactly been a haven for the classic metal sound up until 1985 but Tampa-based four-piece Savatage had managed to build themselves a solid underground following through a couple of releases that had made a noticeable impact on the local scene. I can't say that I would have bought into the hype around the band’s first two releases though as neither Savatage’s 1983 debut album “Sirens” nor the 1984 follow-up E.P. “The Dungeons Are Calling” left me with warm & fuzzies. I mean I did think that the E.P. was an improvement over the album but both were recorded during the same session so it’s not really very surprising to find them to sound quite similar.

But the underground success of “The Dungeons Are Calling” had seen Savatage receiving a little bit of attention from interested industry parties & this saw them signing a brand new recording contract with Atlantic Records for the band’s second full-length “Power Of The Night” which was released in May 1985. Of course this meant that Savatage received an increased budget for the recording sessions too & the extra coin enabled them to employ a familiar name to produce the record in Max Norman. Max was known for his contribution to Armored Saint’s “Delirious Nomad” record & also his work on all of Ozzy Osbourne’s solo releases to date so he was well respected in metal circles by this stage. But if internet reviews are anything to go by, then you can be forgiven for becoming confused by the mixed response to the result Max was able to draw out of Savatage for “Power Of The Night” with some people claiming that he’d sucked the life out of the band with a thin mix & others applauding the cleaner & glossier production job. I didn’t have much time for the dry sound of the first couple of Savatage releases to be honest but are very pleased to advise that the crisp clarity & overall professionalism of “Power Of The Night” suits me much better. I mean there’s very little doubt that it gives the album a more accessible & commercially marketable feel but that’s not necessarily such a bad thing. It certainly means that the atmosphere is substantially less dark than “The Dungeons Are Calling” though; even if the band aren’t attempting anything radically different from a stylistic point of view.

Musically, most of this material isn’t all that far removed from the band’s previous output but there are some keys differences that see some fans struggling with it to an extent. The first is that Max seems to have had an impact on the arrangements which are a little more open & accessible. Everything’s done a little more tastefully if you know what I mean. Particularly the keyboards which are used in a more subtle manner that’s devoid of cheese. Plus there has clearly been a conscious effort made to include a few more commercially focused songs with two in particular being anything BUT metal.

Secondly, the lyrics are nothing short of dreadful a lot of the time with a strong emphasis being placed on sex. In fact, the album was originally released with a parental advisory sticker to warn the public of the potentially shocking glam metal style sexual innuendo that was contained within but it’s since come out that this was as much a marketing ploy as anything else as those stickers tended to be a selling point more than a detractor at the time. The fantasy approach of the past has been cast aside in favour of real life issues when the band could keep it in their pants for long enough too.

The third difference from past material is the greatly improved vocal performance of front man Jon Oliva who shows off a lot more skill & control here. He was one of my major stumbling blocks with the earlier Savatage releases but I think it’s fair to say that this is no longer the case & he’s more of a drawcard here. I’d be interested to know just how much of a role Max Norman played in that actually because there’s been a remarkable step up in professionalism. Chris Oliva’s guitar solos were the highlight of early Savatage releases & are once again quite stunning here. He’s a very talented musician in his own right & I’m a big fan. I think Max Norman has done a good job of harnessing his prowess here too as he’s managed to get just the right balance of melody & virtuosity. Unfortunately for bassist Keith Collins, this would be his last Savatage release as the Oliva’s weren’t happy with his contribution. So much so that re-releases of “Power Of The Night” saw Chris re-recording some of Keith's dodgier moments.

From a song-writing perspective, I’m very pleased to be able to say that I find “Power Of The Night” to be an improvement on either of the band’s previous works. In fact, I have to admit that I quite like six of the ten songs included. But unfortunately the other four include let me down so badly that I can’t find it in me to recover. Especially closing ballad “In The Dream” which is as bad an example of soppy glam metal cheese as you’re likely to find. So overall I find “Power Of The Night” to be the strongest of the first three Savatage releases but it’s still not my bag & I can’t see how things are going to improve much for me with future releases either.

I doubt there’s a single member of "Metal Academy" that isn’t acutely aware of the impact that Texas-based groove metal outfit Pantera had on the global metal scene during the early-to-mid 90’s. But I’d guess that relatively few are aware of the fact that Pantera first formed way back in 1981 when the Abbott brothers were only in their mid-teens. And also that they released a full four studio albums before their big break came off the back of a drastic change in musical direction with the classic “Cowboys From Hell” album in 1989.

Brothers Dimebag Darrell & Vinny Paul came from a musical family with their father Jerry Abbott being a successful country musician & producer so you would imagine that they had somewhat of an advantage over their school mates when it came to opportunity & this became glaringly obvious when Jerry decided to produce a full-length album with them; a record by the name of “Metal Magic”, that would go on to be released in 1983 under their own label  of the same name. Well it’s fair to say that it was a fairly uneventful start to their career in recorded music because the production was poor & the musical ideas on offer were very primitive so “Metal Magic” has been absolutely slammed by Pantera fans over the years with the band unsurprisingly looking to distance themselves from it completely. On “Metal Magic” we saw the band taking a predominantly glam metal focused direction with relatively little genuine metal on offer & it all sounded very much like a mixture of KISS, Van Halen & Judas Priest to my ears. Darrell’s skills on his chosen instrument were already very clear for everyone to see though & it’s hard to deny that my interest is always maintained by listening to him successfully trying to emulate Eddie Van Halen & Randy Rhoads.

Pantera would then follow up their first-up effort with 1984’s “Projects In The Jungle” record which saw them taking a u-turn towards a much more appealing heavy metal sound with a little bit of more commercial AOR thrown in for good measure. The production & song-writing were greatly improved & the glammy elements of the past had been cast aside for a fresh new approach that sounded a lot like a combination of Queensryche & Def Leppard. I have to say that “Projects In The Jungle has become somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me over the years & I can’t for the life of me understand why it’s been so poorly received.

But this brings us to 1985’s “I Am The Night” album, which was the earliest Pantera record that I had much to do with until only fairly recently. It sports yet another awfully cheap looking cover which was becoming somewhat of a trademark for the band by this stage. The production is pretty good though; if not quite as heavy as the one on “Projects In The Jungle” was. It’s guitar heavy though which can only be a good thing given the sheer talent of their still teenage axeman.

For those not already aware, the classic Pantera lineup was yet to be determined as front man Phil Anselmo wouldn’t join the band until Pantera’s fourth record “Power Metal” in 1988. The first three records feature a gentleman by the name of Terry Glaze whose performances changed fairly drastically from album to album. So much so that you might not even know it was the same guy if you didn’t look at the cover notes. On “I Am The Night” he sounds a lot like Vince Neil from Motley Crue & this could be intentional because the band’s overall sound has once again partially redirected itself towards commercially accessible glam metal. Strangely though, the more metal numbers on offer are probably Pantera’s heaviest & most aggressive to date so “I Am The Night” really does combine all of the influences that were showcased on the first two albums & overall it sits somewhere between the more glammy commercial Motley Crue sound & the more metal Judas Priest one.

Sadly though, the quality of song-writing I enjoyed on “Projects In the Jungle” hasn’t continued on to the follow-up with only a few songs offering all that much enjoyment for me despite my clear enthusiasm for Darrell’s ever-improving shred credentials. Plus, it certainly doesn’t help that the closing AOR ballad “Forever Tonight” is by far the worst song of their career to date. It’s simply an abomination! Overall, this is the sort of album that you can easily do without ever experiencing no matter how much you may love Pantera’s golden era. But at the same time (just like its two older siblings) its nowhere near the musical abomination it’s made out to be by groove & thrash metal fans that have made the pilgrimage. I’ve heard loads of records that were no worse than “I Am The Night” & seen most of them given a much less severe critical reception over the years. I'm just not sure it makes all that much difference in this instance & I won't be recommending that you bother with "I Am The Night" unless you curiosity is keeping you up at night.

The debut studio album from Los Angeles heavy/speed metal outfit Savage Grace, entitled “Master Of Disguise”, was released In September 1985 & it features some cover artwork that’s much more in line with the LA glam metal movement than it is with metal. The photograph on the front cover depicts an LA police officer sporting a big porn star moustache, arresting an attractive woman who is dressed in only some skimpy underwear briefs with her naked breasts bared for the whole world to see. It all seems so misogynistic & degrading to me & I struggle with it a fair bit to be honest. But it’s also not a good representation of the music you can expect to hear on the album as Savage Grace don't hold back on the pure molten metal here.

The production is nice & raw & reeks of the NWOBHM which gives the record a level of excitement & energy that it might not have had with a more polished sound. The musicianship on display is excellent. Particularly the contribution from the rhythm section with drummer Dan Finch pounding away at extremely high tempos for most of the album & B. East’s bubbling basslines representing the driving force behind Savage Grace’s speed metal-infused heavy metal sound. Actually, despite the fact that “Master Of Disguise” is more commonly thought of as combination of traditional heavy metal & speed metal, I’d suggest that there’s a stronger case for it simply being tagged as speed metal given its general commitment to ferocious velocity. I mean it’s probably got a higher percentage of genuine speed metal tunes than the Exciter records do & they’ve always been considered to sit comfortably into the speed metal camp.

Front man Mike Smith certainly has a set of lungs on him with his voice sitting somewhere in the Bruce Dickinson & Ronnie James Dio camp but also sporting a less polished edge that isn’t as off-kilter as the delivery of someone like John Gallagher from Raven. But there’s a rawness to Mike’s delivery that makes it less accessible than the Halfords & Dios. Lizzy Borden offered something similar to be honest. And now that I’ve mentioned Raven, there’s a LOT of their sound in Savage Grace’s music actually. To my ears their sound is very much a combination of the traditional NWOBHM style of Iron Maiden & the chaotic speed metal approach of aggressive Raven albums like “Wiped Out”. Judas Priest also makes a brief appearance with a classic “er” song in “Betrayer” but Priest weren’t anywhere near as important to the band’s sound as those classic Maiden guitar harmonies were.

The tracklisting is very consistent with only the one blemish in the pretty flat closing number “No One Left To Blame” which is a bit of a shame as it leaves you feeling like things have petered out a bit in the back end. Especially given that the second last track “Sons Of Iniquity” isn’t one of the stronger ones either. But it isn’t enough to kill the buzz that’s been built up over the rest of the album, & I find myself getting a lot of enjoyment out of “Master Of Disguise”. It’s probably just lacking those couple of genuinely classic songs to make it a more special record. As it is, we get a lot of strong material without any real standouts but there’s undeniable appeal for fans of other blue-collar US power metal bands like Brocas Helm.

After making a big impact on the underground metal scene at their first attempt through their 1984 debut full-length "Battle Cry", Omen (& their label Metal Blade Records) were very keen to capitalize on the buzz that had built up around the band by releasing a follow-up in quick time. And the result was 1985’s “Warning Of Danger” album which represents the focal point of this review.

Importantly, Omen had maintained the four-piece line-up that was so successful on their debut & had unsurprisingly elected (or been forced) to stick with the same production team in Metal Blade Records head Brian Slagel & house engineer Bill Metoyer. The “Battle Cry” album had sported a fairly raw production job it has to be said. However it worked really well in complimenting the rough-edged intensity that Omen’s early works were built on & these days it’s hard to see how that album could have been so effective with a more polished & glossy sound. Well fear not. Things wouldn’t change much for its successor. In fact, I’d suggest that the production job on “Warning Of Danger” is just as raw, only this time the outcome is not all positive with the vocals & drums being mixed too loud & the rhythm guitar sound lacking volume, definition & oomph. Front man JD Kimball’s voice in particular sounds more than a little boomy too but thankfully you should be able to get used to these production qwirks after a couple of listens. It’s just interesting that the Metal Blade house production team hadn’t yet figured out how to consistently present their bands in a more professional & aesthetically appealing fashion despite a fair bit of experience.

Musically, Omen have come a long way from the debut with the level of musicality on display of a much higher level than you’d likely expect if you’d only just sampled “Battle Cry” for the first time. It’s clear that the band hadn’t wasted their time between recording sessions with the drumming & lead guitar work in particular being noticeably more refined & mature. There are also some smatterings of a more progressive approach becoming evident in tracks like the very Iron Maiden-ish instrumental piece “VBP”. (Don’t ask me what it stands for as I’ve got no idea.) This is a less riffy Omen than we’ve heard previously with more emphasis being placed on the song-writing.

“Battle Cry” had been very much a mixture of Paul Dianno-era Iron Maiden & Slayer’s “Show No Mercy” album but “Warning Of Danger” sees Omen dropping a lot of the thrashier stuff in favour of a few more power metal oriented numbers. J.D. Kimball’s vocal delivery is a touch less aggressive & gruff as he pushes for a more epic feel & despite my Slayer fanboyisms, I have to admit that it works most of the time. There are still plenty of obvious examples of Maiden worship scattered across the record but that’s not necessarily such a bad thing as it’s clear that Omen have been positively influenced by the ever improving levels of technical proficiency offered by their idols.

When you analyse the album on a track by track basis, you’ll find that there are just as many highlight tracks included on “Warning Of Danger” as there were on “Battle Cry” with the wonderful “Make Me Your King” being as good as anything Omen have delivered to date. But where the album falls behind it’s older brother is in its overall consistency with a couple more filler tracks included this time. It’s a real shame that the album closes out with what I regard as the clear weak point in “Hell’s Gate” too as it definitely lacks the energy & urgency of Omen’s best work & also happens to be the longest track on the tracklisting which compounds the error further. Surprisingly a lot of people rate this song very highly though so perhaps it’s a personal thing.

I do miss the more intense feel of the debut but can’t deny that I find myself raising an enthusiastic metal claw to the sky quite regularly here so it’s clear that “Warning Of Danger” is another strong effort from Omen. Fans of the blue-collar US power metal sound will find it to be right up their alley & when taken on its own merits this album holds its own pretty well against its more celebrated older sibling.

US technical death metallers Woe Of Tyrants show some really fantastic musicianship on this release but have a lot to learn about song-writing. 2010 spawned a lot of overly technical death metal that missed the point of what the genre is all about and this is fine example of that. The neo-classical guitar solos (although brilliantly performed) are particularly inappropriate. The production tends to be a little dry even though all of the instruments are nicely audible. Various genres get a look in here with melodic death metal, power metal & thrash metal all getting the once over. But most of it goes straight over my head as there's not enough meat to dig my teeth into. I'm sure Woe Of Tyrants could make an excellent death metal album if they get over the "technicality for technicalities sake" attitude and concentrated on making catchy riffs & writing structured songs.

After a break of 21 years, German thrashers Wicca finally released their second full-length release. However I can't say it was worth the wait because there is absolutely nothing new on offer here. The whole album could've been released in 1987 really. Wicca's sound is along the lines of Exodus & Vio-lence. The vocals in particular remind me of Sean Killian (Vio-lence) which I know will impress my brother (Not!). The music is not that bad but it was done much better by the bands that influenced this album 20 years ago & tends to bore me.

Some fairly annoying symphonic metal with flashy guitar/keyboard solos. The rhythm guitar sound is pretty ordinary. I'm not really feeling the symphonic metal stuff. I understand what they are trying to do but the end product comes out to be about as heavy as Jerry Seinfeld.

WASP's self-titled debut & it’s accompanying non-album single “Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)” had caused a fair bit of controversy back in 1984, which had led to the band receiving far more attention than the concerned authorities had probably bargained for. The general public had found WASP’s glam-focused image & simple yet anthemic hook-driven style of heavy metal to be very exciting & there was a general buzz building up around the band after some successful touring schedules that saw them infiltrating a new market & vastly increasing their fan base. I quite liked the WASP debut although I think it’s fair to say that it pushed me outside of my comfort zone a fair bit so it remained to be seen whether the band could retain that appeal over a longer period. 

It had been made pretty clear that Blackie & co were nothing if not ambitious by this stage & with so many examples of LA bands whose careers had taken off after just the one hit single to use as inspiration, WASP decided that it would be prudent to engage a proven performer to assist them in the development of their sophomore album; 1985’s “The Last Command”. To be more precise, they wanted a producer that knew what it took to manufacture a hit record. And the producer in question would be a gentleman by the name of Spencer Proffer whose work on LA glam metal stars Quiet Riot’s third album “Mental Health” had seen them propelled onto the global stage off the back of the hit single “Cum On Feel The Noise”. In fact, “Mental Health” would go on to become the first metal record to hit number one on the US Billboard charts & this was exactly where Blackie saw WASP’s destiny.

Unfortunately he wouldn’t see “The Last Command” reaping the sort of rewards that Quiet Riot were enjoying, but it would certainly see the band reaching a new level of popularity by selling over a million copies & peaking at number 47 on the charts following the popularity of the video clip for the hit single taken “Blind In Texas”. In fact, it was actually that video that initiated my first encounter with WASP at just ten years of age when I stumbled across it on early morning TV. I can still remember finding Blackie’s vocals to be a major drawcard & fantasizing about the rock star lifestyle that the band must have led given the sex, drugs & rock ‘n’ roll lyrical themes of “Blind In Texas” & WASP’s image in general. This is interesting because original WASP drummer Tony Richards was fired from the band shortly after the release of the WASP debut & he’s since gone on to report that this was largely due to his indulgent lifestyle. He claims that Blackie’s image is all for show & that he’d had trouble coping with Tony’s partying antics which is a little disappointing if I’m honest. You want to believe that these rock stars are everything they claim to be but so often it’s found to be nothing more than a marketing ploy.

Blackie turned to former Steppenwolf & Keel drummer Steve Riley as a replacement but it wouldn’t make a noticeable difference to the resulting album as Steve takes a largely similar approach to Tony with the exception of a few more rolls & fills here & there. He keeps things very basic & pretty much sticks to the same formula on every track. Lawless handled the vast majority of the song-writing for “The Last Command” with some minor input from Riley, Proffer & guitarist Chris Holmes & we’re really starting to see that Riley’s statements about WASP being more of a Lawless solo project with the band leader behaving like a dictator of sorts are likely pretty close to the truth.  

Proffer’s production sees WASP sounding slightly more accessible than the raw & exciting debut album. He’s sanded off some of the rough edges but given the bass & guitars more definition at the same time. They still play second fiddle to the drums & vocals though which is a trademark ploy when trying to achieve commercial radio success. He even brought in Carlos Cavazo & Chuck Wright from Quiet Riot to perform some backing vocals here which is again likely to be simply to draw attention towards WASP by capitalizing on the success of Quiet Riot. The result is a more focused & polished record & a slightly more melodic one too. It’s arguably the most stereotypically 80’s sounding WASP album & there’s a simple formula applied to almost every chorus with those big anthemic backing vocals tending to make everything sound so easy listening & more than a little samey at times but offering a tonne of appeal to the singalong arena-style audiences. It certainly showcases a slightly more restrained sounding WASP though as they rarely lay it all out there like they did previously & this makes for a less fun record. We even see Proffer employing the occasional use of some pretty dated sounding synthesizers here & there.

But on the positive side of things, there’s very little material that sounds like glam metal here. This is without question a heavy metal record even though there’s a hard rock attitude to a lot of the material with the hit single “Blind In Texas” unsurprisingly being the most rock oriented track. The guitar solos are noticeably improved from the debut with Chris Holmes & Randy Piper providing some very tasty legato runs throughout the album while the lyrics take a very familiar approach with the main themes being centered around sex, drugs & rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, revenge & living on the streets. 

Now I know I might have sounded a little negative with some of these observations but that’s not really the case. I’ve simply been drawing your attention to some of the characteristics of the album & when taken as a whole they come together to achieve a result that’s of a very similar quality to the more widely celebrated debut. This is a more consistent record than “W.A.S.P.” was for mine. There’s certainly not as much filler but I’d also suggest that the highlights don’t quite reach the same heights & there aren’t quite as many of them either. They’ve unquestionably traded in some of their attitude for a chance at commercial success but I don’t think this move has been without some success. Fans of a band like Judas Priest have already seen their idols going through a similar process during the early 80’s thus far & there are a lot of similarities about what WASP have done here. In fact, people quite often claim that the main riff from “Jack Action” is a rip-off of Priest’s “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” but it sounds a lot more like their 1978 cover version of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Green Manalishi” to my ears & that may well have been the creative source of the fan from “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” anyway.

Fans of Priest, Twisted Sister & Dokken should find plenty to enjoy here & if pushed I’d actually suggest that I favour “The Last Command” just slightly over the debut predominantly due to the greater consistency, the improved lead guitar performance & the more polished production.

1984’s highly successful & heavily influential “Rising Force” album had been somewhat of a solo project for Yngwie. Not only did he handle all of the guitar duties on the record but he doubled up with the bass work as well. Singer Jeff Scott Soto only contributed to two of the 8 tracks on the tracklisting with the rest being instrumental platforms for Yngwie to showcase his astounding technique & talent. Well 1985’s  follow-up record “Marching Out” was released 18 months later in September 1985 & it sees Rising Force developing more of a band dynamic with drummer Barriemore Barlow being replaced with Anders Johansson (the brother of Yngwie’s keyboardist Jens Johansson) & Yngwie handing off the bass duties to new recruit Marcel Jacob. This results in a more focused release with a stronger reliance on quality song-writing & a bit less of the genre-hopping we heard on the debut.

As with the recording of the debut, we see future Primus bassist Les Claypool sitting behind the mixing desk but I can’t say that he’s done a terribly amazing job to be honest. The drums are far too loud in the mix & the rhythm guitars sound quite muffled for a supposed guitar shred release. But I won’t dwell on that too much because I can look past it & there are a number of subtle differentiators from the debut in terms of in style & technique that are worth discussing.

Firstly, the most obvious difference is that this is a predominantly song-based record with eight of the ten tracks containing vocals on this occasion. The two instrumentals are also the shortest tracks on the tracklisting too so this isn’t just an avenue for Yngwie to show off his ridiculous technical ability any more. It’s an actual band & not just a support act. I do miss the jazz/fusion influenced moments that Yngwie indulged in on “Rising Force” as there’s none of that on offer here, but on the positive side, there’s also not as much of the cheesy neoclassical work in the composition. Sure Yngwie inevitably utilizes classical themes in his solos, but there’s not too much of it in the rest of the song-writing which suits me better if I’m honest. Even today I struggle to comprehend the sheer talent that Yngwie showcases in his solos though. He’s got a wonderful technique & a well-defined & easily recognizable tone however it’s easy to see why he’d go on to be labelled as somewhat of a one-trick pony in years to come because he’s already starting to repeat himself here with several of his trademark licks being repeated across multiple tracks.

But for me, the biggest plus for the “Marching Out” record was front man Jeff Scott Soto’s performance behind the microphone because he delivers a vastly improved effort here over the debut where the vocal songs couldn’t overcome the substantial cheese factor. This time we hear him going for broke with his higher register screams soaring into the stratosphere. I like the use of harmonies too & there are several tracks that have become definite guilty pleasures for me over the course of my 30 year relationship with the album. Even the divisive “I Am A Viking” is one of my favourite tracks on the album. And you heard it here first…. Yngwie invented viking metal. He’s taken the Manowar blueprint & made it more melodic & less theatrical! It’s so cheesy but those familiar with it can inevitably sing along to every word which is a very good sign.

Whereas I suggested that the “Rising Force” record was the true origin of the neoclassical metal subgenre, I actually don’t think I can class “Marching Out” in the same way. I don’t think the neoclassical element is a strong enough factor in the majority of these songs to be resorting to that tag. The more traditional heavy metal one seems more appropriate this time with a stronger metal component & the neoclassical elements being used more as tools rather than the platform through which the song-writing is built on. There’s also a fair bit of power metal about this album & it’s not hard to imagine that it might have been an influence on the early European exponents of that particular subgenre.

It’s interesting that I always regarded the “Rising Force” record as Yngwie’s career highlight when I was younger but now I feel that perhaps I was blinded by the quality of his next-level musicianship which was more obviously showcased through the instrumental format because “Marching Out” seems to take a clear step up in terms of song-writing & maturity. There’s no doubt that there are still a few weaker numbers included but the greater quantity of highlights sees “Marching Out” easily managing to cater for them. It’s a really solid outing actually & I regard it as my second favourite Yngwie record behind 1988's "Odyssey" these days. It was certainly the strongest example of the traditional Swedish heavy metal sound we'd heard to the time.

This is the first album this Canadian duo put out under their Gris moniker after having released their debut album “Neurasthénie” under the name of Niflheim the previous year. The twelve years since its release have seen “Il était une forêt...” go on to become one of the most celebrated records in the niche market that is the depressive black metal subgenre too with most devotees gushing about the unique performances & the wealth of emotions it draws from the listener but the tools being utilized here will not be to everyone’s taste for a number of reasons. 

 “Il était une forêt...” is made up of six lengthy tracks that incorporate not only a substantial amount of keyboards but also a number of additional instruments that you wouldn’t usually expect to find on a black metal record with the ten minute instrumental closer “La dryade” focusing entirely on folk orchestration. Some of it works & some doesn’t in my opinion but the instrumentation is all well composed throughout & this certainly helps to create a point of difference for Gris even if it can detract from the overall darkness the record is attempting to push. Some of the lead guitar & keyboard melodies can be pretty positive too actually & appear to be aiming at more of an ethereal sound than one of brutality & self-harm. 

Stylistically, “Il était une forêt...” sits somewhere between the depressive & atmospheric black metal categories with a strong “Filosofem”-era Burzum influence being obvious throughout. The vocal performance is particularly tortured & miserable & it’s this aspect that has the record leaning harder towards the depressive side of the equation overall. Icare’s shrieking can be a little off-putting as he truly sounds suicidal at times so this is not the most easy-listening metal record you’ll find. That will be a big problem for those that can’t buy into his style because there’s very little doubt that his vocals are over-used here & the times when he’s not invading your ear space tend to be quite rare. But as I mentioned earlier, the instrumentation doesn’t always take a similarly depressive route. In fact, we often see it taking a more epic & melodic direction that counteracts the disconsolate vocals with a more uplifting atmosphere. I find this to be a bit strange to be honest. I mean I generally find the music to be pretty enjoyable but the contrasting lighter moments actually seem like a bit of a contradiction of the very ethos of the depressive black metal concept to me & it does make the overly melodramatic approach Gris take seem more than a little contrived at times. I guess I just find “Il était une forêt...” to sound a bit too melodic to be taken as a genuinely despairing piece of work. To be honest though, I think I have issues with the idea of a black metal vocalist wallowing in self-pity anyway. To me black metal has always been a vessel for empowerment & I like to see my front men possessing an undeniable confidence & strength.  

Despite all of this, I do find myself enjoying “Il était une forêt...” for the most part & fans of artists like Xasthur & Strid will definitely find fulfillment in it. I just can’t justify it being place on a pedestal like most fans of the subgenre seem to do. 

I decided to check out Vomitor after reading the 9/10 Album Of The Month review in Terrorizer magazine. I'm also Australian & was curious to see what type of band was flying our flag so strongly on the global metal market. What I got was not really what I expected. "Devil's Poison" shows Vomitor putting every effort in to sound like an early 80s underground death/thrash demo. I was a tape trader in the 80s so I am very familiar with this sound. "Devils Poison" reminds me very much of some of the early Brazilian underground death metal like Sepultura's "Bestial Devastation" & some of the early Sarcofago EPs as well as early thrash metal like Slayer's "Show No Mercy". However the production on show here is probably worse than any of those releases. The guitar sound is very thin indeed & the vocals are far too far back in the mix. The delay applied to the vocals is also way over the top & is pretty pointless in my opinion as it stops the listener from being able to pick up any of the lyrics. In fact, I'm sometimes left wondering if I'm hearing any vocals at all. The musicianship is absolutely atrocious! I've never heard a proper release where the band goes out of time as badly as Vomitor have here. It really sounds more like a rehearsal tape than an album but I figure this was probably intentional. I'm sure the band had fun making this album but I simply can't understand the praise it is receiving in the press. I don't think "Devil's Poison" would've made any major impact if it was released in 1984. Finally..... who really wants to be known as Vomitor?

Very simple & unsophisticated black metal without much appeal. Some obvious old school thrash influences.

Some fairly generic old school death metal similar to early Incantation. This release is ruined by an abysmal production & some average musicianship. People can tell themselves as much as they like that the band intended this album to sound this way but they are kidding themselves. There is no high end & the drums are hardly audible. I've heard better sounding rehearsal tapes. The slower sections are certainly more effective than the fast ones which simply sound like fuzz most of the time. There are some effective doomy sections though.

It's quite refreshing to hear a black metal band incorporating other influences as well as Twilight have done here. The sludgier elements don't seem out of place or take away from the darkness of the sound. "Monument To Time End" provides me with great hope for the next Twilight release because although all of the ideas here didn't hit the nail on the head, the ones that did were spot on. I was blown away by the quality of tracks like "The Cryptic Ascension", "Fall Behind Eternity" & "Red Fields" which display depth & maturity as well as brutality. I'm a big fan of N Imperial's vocals which are as searing & aggressive as any on the planet. Unfortunately I found the faster tracks like "8,000 Years" & "Convulsions In Wells Of Fever" to be very sloppy, generic & ineffective. The vocals are also far too low in the mix on these tracks. I'm willing to bet that these tracks are the older ones & the brilliant opening tracks are the newer ones which incorporate newer influences. I'll be very interested to see what Twilight offer us in the future.

After reading some extremely mixed reviews of "Archetype Of Chaos" I had very few expectations on my first listen but goddamn I was pleasantly surprised. This is death metal of the absolute highest quality & I have no idea where the negative reviews come from. I can only assume it's a matter of taste or a backlash against the groovier riffs which are still crushingly heavy & beautifully executed. Trauma's sound is simply fantastic. The production is nothing short of outstanding & the performance tight as hell. The drum sound in particular is perfect for this style of music & drummer Arkadiusz "Mały" Sinica is an amazing talent. Although he can blast away with the best of them he doesn't rely on a constant barrage to keep the listener entertained. There are so many great changeups & drum rolls throughout the album. Vocalist Artur "Chudy" Chudewniak has a really deep but aggressive style that I really get into & Jarosław "Mister" Misterkiewicz's searing guitar solos are both melodic & entertaining. The Polish death metal sound of bands like Vader is evident. As are the Morbid Angel & Meshuggah influences but overall Trauma sound fresh & energetic. There's a great deal of energy in all the tracks & also a tonne of cool little production ideas like the melodic guitar parts in the back of the mix during otherwise intense sections. It's clear that Trauma have learnt a lot over the course of recording six previous albums. The middle trio of tracks ("War Machine", "The Slime" & "The Truth Murder") are particularly effective & I am left wondering why I've never heard of these guys when they formed way back in 1992. It's these kind of releases that keep me interested in the death metal scene after all these years. If you like extreme metal of any sort this album will kick your arse.

This CD is fucking awesome! Death metal in it's purest form with all the brutality & aggression you could want. The production is excellent here with even the most blasting sections are audible. The musicianship is also very good. Jonny Burgan's vocal aggression is downright scary & the shredding guitar solos really get me going. Intense blasting drums are in abundance & the mid-tempo stuff is absolutely on the money. If you're a death metal fan then you will definitely need this release because metal doesn't come much more muscular.

Some fairly basic black metal along the lines of Darkthrone. There's a little bit of atmosphere but not enough to maintain much interest. There's also plenty of riffs taken straight out of "My First Black Metal Riff" & "Black Metal For Dummies" but there is some authenticity to their sound at times (usually through the half time sections). "Into The Cryosphere" is lacking a bit of class.

Very noisy early-Napalm Death influenced UK grindcore. Most of the riffs are indecipherable. Vocals are simply screamed repeatedly over the top of pure chaos. I find this very difficult to get into. It's hard to say any more than that as I have absolutely no idea of what is going on most of the time.

A decent mixture of progressive rock & gothic metal which is let down by a muddy production. It features both clean vocals (which remind me of Burton C Bell of Fear Factory at times) and some unnecessary death growls. There are some really nice tracks here with catchy vocal hooks & big anthemic choruses however there are also a few really weak tracks (such as "Soft Whispers Of The Chemical Sun") which take away from the overall feel. I'd check out the next album as they show some promise.

Not a bad technical death metal album from these Swedes. They're some seriously talented musicians with the guitar solos being particularly inventive. However I feel that Soreption fall into the trap of overdoing the technicality to the detriment of the songs at times. I'll be interested to see what they can do with an increased level of production in future as they show some promise.

Dutch band Severe Torture have released a really impressive album of intense, energetic death metal which sits somewhere between the classic 90's Florida sound of bands like Morbid Angel & Death & the blasting brutality of Cannibal Corpse & Suffocation. Don't let the band name or album cover fool you as there is a lot more on offer here than your average splatter/gore merchants are capable of. The production is excellent & all of the performances are well executed. The thing that sets Severe Torture apart from the rest of the field is their ability to include plenty of melody without losing any of the modern brutality. They don't go overboard with the technicality like most of the modern death metal scene seem to do & consequently there is more reliance on the strength of the riffs which is very refreshing. The guitar leads are certainly reminiscent of 1990s Death. There is also plenty of variety in tempo to keep the listener interested. This is nothing dramatically new or original but that's not necessarily a problem when the death metal is of such a high quality. "Slaughtered" should appeal to anyone with an interest in modern death metal.

Septycal Gorge's second full-length "Erase The Insignificant" is pretty much exactly what you would expect from a modern Italian brutal death metal band. It's ultra-brutal, ultra-technical & not very high on originality. In fact, it's pretty much an exact replica of the faster early Suffocation material. Having said that, this is not necessarily a bad thing in a genre where brutality & technique is far more important than innovation. The production could've done with a bit of work. The kick drum is seriously over-clicky & the snare sounds like an upside-down ice-cream container. The guitars come off a little muddy too but overall you can hear all of the riffs which is pretty amazing given the incredible technicality of the arrangements. There are no guitar solos on show here. Just pounding, slamming death metal of the most extreme nature. The vocals are super-deep & remind me of "Tomb Of The Mutilated"-era Chris Barnes (Cannibal Corpse). Not a bad effort but could do with some more originality & a bit better production next time.

Psycroptic's debut album "The Isle Of Disenchantment" was a promising start & a pretty enjoyable listen but they really upped the ante with the follow-up. All of my criticisms of the previous album had been improved upon & the result is a far more polished & engaging package. A stronger Coroner influence in the riffs is enhanced by a much thicker guitar sound than the debuts which was substantially weaker. The vocal performance is more varied & convincing too. Dave Haley's drumming was the highlight of the debut but it's even more impressive on this occasion. He effortlessly switches between ferocity & subtlety & is comfortably the main focal point of the band. 

 Overall this is a much more brutal record than "The Isle Of Disenchantment" but it's also much more complex & technical. The balance they've achieved is quite impressive. There are no weak tracks which makes for a very consistent listening experience. Opener "The Colour Of Sleep" is probably my favourite song but it can be difficult to differentiate between tracks given that there is so much going on & very little repetition. That's certainly not a criticism though as my interest rarely wanes. There's always something interesting going on & at any moment you know that you are only moments away from another exciting Dave Haley blast beat barrage. This is comfortably the best thing I've heard from Psycroptic.

While I generally liked the last couple of albums from these Tasmanian tech deathsters, they never quite captured me completely. The talent was clearly there but they tended to sound a bit samey & the vocals weren't terribly wonderful. Their debut album "The Isle Of Disenchantment" sounds a bit different from those records. The inclusion of original vocalist Matthew 'Chalky' Chalk is positive as he's certainly more varied in his delivery than current vocalist Jason Peppiatt although there's still plenty of room for improvement. The guitar sound is a bit raw & could definitely have been a bit thicker. It's nice that the bass lines are so clear & easily heard though. I quite like the drum sounds too. The cymbals in particular sound quite fresh & vibrant. In fact, Dave Haley's drumming performance is the clear highlight of the album. He adds plenty of great fills & cymbal work which make for a much more interesting listen. Psycroptic don't overdo the technicality in the riffs themselves. It's the song structures that are quite technical as there is very little repetition going on.   

The album gets off to a great start as opening track "Carnival Of Vulgarity" is real stormer & is easily the pick of the bunch. I also really like "Condemned By Discontent". Other than that, most tracks promise a lot but don't quite give you that payoff. "Netherworld Reality" is probably the weakest moment but there's a pretty obvious rip-off of Deicide's "Sacrificial Suicide" going on at the start of the title track too. The band is at their best when they just go for it in my opinion. There's more consistency in their more brutal moments than their fiddly ones. Overall this is another Psycroptic record that is quite enjoyable without really demanding your attention.

French outfit Remembrance's third full-length release "Fall, Obsidian Night" is everything you want from a funeral doom album. It's a seriously deep, emotive & captivating piece of metal music. Matthieu's death vocals are deep & brooding. The drums are slow & hypnotic. The melodies are devastating & the riffs are crushing. This is the type of album that reveals more of itself with each listen & envelopes the listener once they allow themselves to become involved. Opening track "Ageless Fever" is particularly engaging & is the highlight of the album in my opinion. However "Fall, Obsidian Night" is not perfect. There are small sections that don't entirely work such as the acoustic guitar overlay towards the end of "Winter Tides". Closer "Obsidian" is probably the weakest point of the album which was a little bit of a let-down. I'd also like to see the band work on better ways to end their tracks as some of them just seem to... well... end. Regardless, all fans of funeral doom will love this CD & I expect the next Remembrance release to be a cranker.

The first thing presented to the listener when confronted by this sixth album from Italian death metallers Sadist is the extraordinary front cover. Who the hell thought an evil snowman was a good idea? I cannot comprehend this but let's see if I can let the music do the talking. I have not heard anything from Sadist for a number of years now but I am not really surprised by the musical direction they have taken with "Season In Silence". As usual their sound is based around techniciality with the musical prowess fairly obvious right from the start. I have always felt that Sadist lacked a bit of balls & that is again the case here. I feel that this release will probably appeal more to the progressive fans more than the death metal fans for that reason. Everything is very well put together with a very strong Atheist & Dream Theater influence throughout. Not a bad release but tends to drift past fairly uneventfully without the drive necessary to really get me going.

This release features a  well-produced combination of Dream Theater style progressive metal & death metal. The song-writing & musicianship is excellent. The shredding guitar solos are a definite highlight. However I find that the Dream Theater influence is far too obvious at times (particularly in “The Past Within” which displays some sections that are direct rip-offs) & the bands sound is a bit too light for my taste. Not technical enough to dazzle me with technique & not heavy enough to kick my arse. Not bad though.

This is a very rough attempt at atmospheric black metal with acoustic interludes. The acoustic guitar stuff is well performed & sounds quite nice but the black metal sections are very amateurish indeed. The production is no better than a rehearsal tape & the drum machines sound overly mechanical (especially on the opening track "Dryad (I Make My Home)"). There is no real flow between the clean & intense parts. They're just pasted together. A very average release.

More fart than art.

This debut EP from Melbourne-based melodic death metallers Orpheus Omega sounds very much like "Slaughter Of The Soul"-era At The Gates. So much so that it's pretty close to plagiarism. They even use a sneaky "Let's go!" as the opening track kicks into gear. Admittedly they do it pretty well though. The riffs are nice & chunky & the production is very good too. The main point of difference here is the extensive use of keyboards. Unfortunately this element takes an otherwise pretty heavy melodic death metal sound & adds just enough cheese to taint the overall atmosphere for me. I appreciate that they tried something a bit different but it's not really to my taste.

Comprised of a single track cut into three parts, "A Collapse Of Faith" is a fairly uneventful example of the folk/black metal movement. These guys have obviously spent a fair bit of time listening to albums like Ulver's "Bergtatt", Katatonia's "Dance Of December Souls" & Opeth's "Morningrise" & present their ideas in similar ways but the outcome is not nearly as interesting. The riffs are just not as memorable & the atmosphere fails to capture me on an emotional level. Everything is just a bit too friendly for my liking & I find my interest waning fairly quickly. The production is OK although the kickdrum is almost non-existant. I actually find the classical/folk sections to be the most entertaining parts of the album. I am sure this will appeal to a lot of people but unfortunately I find it overly melancholic & a bit dull. Gimme more evil!

This album starts out fairly promisingly but I soon found myself becoming distracted. I think a lot of this is due to the fact that I struggle with the authenticity of their black metal sound. This was a problem that I had with a lot of the US black metal bands back in the 1990s but many seem to have overcome this now. Order Of Ennead just don't seem to create much of a dark atmosphere. One of the reasons for this would be John Li's guitar solos. John is a very good lead guitarist  but I don't think his Yngwie Malmsteen-meets-Eric Johnson style guitar solos really do the atmosphere much good. They are just too melodic & are not aggressive enough. Steve Asheim sounds like he is trying to break the world record for the clickiest kick drums too. This is not a bad record by any stretch but I don't find much here that is likely to draw me back in for repeat listens.

This CD is a blast from the past. It's pure 1980s thrash metal of the European variety. Kreator's "Extreme Aggression" & early Coroner immediately spring to mind. I find this more interesting than most of the bigger US thrash releases I've heard in recent years as I've always enjoyed the more intense Euro thrash sound more than the US stuff. Although it's a pretty fun listen, you probably won't come back for too many repeat listens. It's more likely that it'll entice you to bust out your old favourites instead as this is just not quite on the same level. *Goes to cupboard to pull out "Flag Of Hate".*

French black metallers Nyseius show quite a bit of promise on this release but really fail to fully deliver due to a lack of originality. Considering the amount of experimentation I've heard out of the French black metal scene over the past decade or so it's surprising just how generic this EP(?) is. The first & last tracks are ambient mood pieces which are pretty effective but nothing to write home about. The other four tracks are strictly in the classic 1990s Norwegian black metal sound. There is a nice dark & aggressive atmosphere throughout but there's nothing you haven't heard many times before. The musicianship is OK without being anything special & the vocals are mixed in a way that they occasionally mask the guitars behind them. I'm not a huge fan of the drumming. I've always liked this style of black metal & therefore I don't mind this release but I can't see myself listening to it regularly as there is much better examples of this style of black metal.

A very good black/death metal hybrid with some excellent musicianship on display. Martriden's sound is based more on the black metal model with death metal riffs used within the black metal context & plenty of melodic content. The drumming is very interesting & well done & the vocals follow a typically aggressive black metal style. There is definitely a progressive metal influence which is especially obvious in the 10 minute instrumental epic "Death & Transfiguration" which closes the album. The production is very good & allows Martriden's complexities to flourish. This album should appeal to a wide cross-section of the metal community.

A really professional & powerful album of post metal sludgy stuff. Great crushing riffs. The drumming is outstanding & definitely pushes each track to greater energy levels. Vocalist Reno's gruffness really suits the Kruger sound & the performance is tight as hell. Very good stuff!