MartinDavey87's Reviews

Two years after the release of the first album, and Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie is back with his Mullmuzzler project for round two! And much like their first outing, this is really nothing more than a watered down version of LaBrie's main band. There's a few memorable songs, but there really isn't a lot here to get overly excited about.

The musicianship is pretty good, although as before, there isn't enough evidence that makes this band feel like a cohesive unit. There's some nice guitar riffing and some interesting keyboard lines, but it's hard to really envision these guys getting together in a room and rocking out to these tracks with nothing more than slightly perturbed looks on their faces.

It's not all gloom and doom though, as some of the songs are actually really good, such as 'Confronting the Devil', 'Stranger', 'Save Me' and 'Tell Me'. Sadly, there's a lot of rather forgettable stuff here too! Ideally, they should have just taken the best material from both 'Keep It To Yourself' and 'Mullmuzzler 2' and released it on one disc, and you'd have a pretty solid prog metal album right there!

Overall, it's a good record, worth getting if you're a big Dream Theater fan, but there's definitely better side projects and solo albums out there.

Iron Maiden were on a roll. 1982’s ‘The Number of the Beast’ and 1983’s ‘Piece of Mind’ had shot the band to the top of the metal world, and if there was finally any doubters left that didn’t think the band belonged, then 1984’s ‘Powerslave’, the Brits’ fifth studio release, really established them as one of the top metal acts around. What followed was the “World Slavery Tour”, which saw Maiden embark on a trek around the globe with an elaborate stage show that encapsulated the energy and imagery of their music.

So what’s next? How about a live album to commemorate the tour? Which brings us to the first of many live albums the band would put out; ‘Live After Death’.

Split over two discs, the first recorded in California, USA while the second in London, England, ‘Live After Death’ highlights the energy and enthusiasm of the band in their early days. Featuring all the major hits from their first five albums, including ‘Aces High’, ‘Run to the Hills’, ‘The Trooper’, ‘The Number of the Beast’ and ‘Phantom of the Opera’, the performances and production are all of a high standard, however, the audience can be a little hard to hear at times, which kind of ruins the experience, but as a whole, this is a good live release.

Though, with that said, I’ve always preferred studio albums to live ones, and as it is, ‘Live After Death’ does seem a little outdated today, considering the wealth of live albums the band would go on to produce. Still, it has its moments and isn’t bad by any means, there just isn’t really anything to entice me to choose this over any of Iron Maiden’s studio efforts instead.

They did it in 2000 with ‘Live Scenes from New York’, and again in 2004 with ‘Live at Budokan’, and come 2006, Dream Theater are at it once more, trying to outdo themselves with ‘Score: 20th Anniversary World Tour’, another three-disc live album that shows the kings of progressive metal at their very best.

“So what makes ‘Score’ any different?” you ask... allow me to explain.

‘Live Scenes...’ was focused around the ‘Scenes from a Memory’ album and a multitude of big, prog epics, while ‘Budokan’ had an abundance of heavier, more energetic and varied material. Interestingly, with the exception of a few songs, both albums had different sets, and this continues with ‘Score’. Based around the ‘Octavarium’ album and a retrospective look back at the bands career in chronological order, there is, once again, a varied set here which is different than previously.

With a fantastic production (this almost sounds like a studio release, at times), and superb performances (c’mon, it’s Dream Theater), ‘Score’ is over two hours of prog greatness. With such epics as ‘Octavarium’, ‘Metropolis’ and ‘Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence’ in its entirety, as well as often overlooked tracks such as ‘Afterlife’, ‘Innocence Faded’ and ‘Vacant’, there’s a well-rounded set here. And ‘Another Won’ and ‘Raise the Knife’, both previously unreleased on studio albums, are welcome and popular additions. There’s the “Octavarium Ochestra” in there too, which has fans raving. Though to be honest, I find their contributions a bit lacking, especially when Jordan Rudess could perform most of this on his keyboard by himself.

Overall however, ‘Score’ is another live success for Dream Theater. While ‘Live at Budokan’ remains my favourite, this, along with ‘Live Scenes from New York’ completes the perfect live album trilogy, and is a highly recommended addition to any prog collection.

2013’s ‘Covertá’ is the second EP, and third overall release, by American groove metal band Adrenaline Mob, and features eight tracks, all of which are covers by various well-known classic rock and metal groups. There’s always a number of ways to view these types of releases; are you a fan of the original compositions? Are you a fan of the covers? Is the selection of songs any good? Do they hold up well on their own?

To be honest... the answer is mostly no to all of these.

I mean, there’s some heavy hitters such as Van Halen, Dio, Rainbow, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and The Doors... but none of the covers are really all that good, and mostly sound uninspired and bland. Which is a shame considering the absolutely monumental amount of talent involved. No doubt the musicianship is incredible, and the sound and production makes all these tracks a lot heavier and polished than their originals, but in this case, that’s not enough to win me over.

In fact, the only two covers I find remotely interesting are Black Sabbath’s ‘The Mob Rules’, (which was already covered on their debut EP), and Rainbow’s ‘Kill the King’. But realistically, I either prefer the original recordings, or covers by other bands.

Overall, after a fantastic debut album, this is a fairly disappointing EP. Of course, these types of things aren’t really meant to be taken too seriously, and are just filling time between studio albums, which is why this is probably best saved for fans of the musicians involved.

Yikes! What is this?s ! Did I pick up the right album? This isn't the same Pagan's Mind who had that awesome video for 'Through Osiris' Eyes' is it? This isn't the same band who released 'God's Equation" surely?

Oh God... it is.

I was so excited when I finally came around to getting a Pagan's Mind album. I'd heard a few of their songs beforehand and was instantly won over. They have a good reputation amongst the progressive and power metal scenes, and I thought for sure this is a band I would really dig. Sadly for me, my first official venture into the music of Pagan's Mind would come through their debut album, and boy, this album sucks!

It's not that the music is terrible, it's just so uninspired. The riffs are so devoid of any life or emotion. The keyboards seem tacked in to make the music feel more spacey, whilst not really adding anything at all. And the vocals... what happened?! Nils K. Rue is one of my favourite vocalists, but this is horrendous. Whiny, screechy, and again, very uninspired (a recurring theme here), the vocals on this record are just awful. They're very irritating and I don't think there is a single instance where the vocal melody actually suits the music. Or vice versa. As a whole this album is just... "there".

So why the two-star rating then? Because thankfully there is one saving grace to 'Infinity Divine', and that's the closing song, 'A New Beginning'. Sure, the vocals kind of ruin that song too, but damn it if that intro doesn't get heads banging nothing will.

I'm clutching at straws here, but I'll take what I can. Shoddy debut, but better things are coming.

Eternity X are a band I have highly ridiculed and mocked in the past. Most notably for the fact that their previous albums, 'Zodiac' and 'Mind Games' take themselves way too seriously, which itself, wouldn't really be much of a problem, if the music wasn't so boring and uninspiring. Oddly however, while 'The Edge' isn't really any different stylistically or lyrically (other than a stronger presence of keyboards), it's an album I thoroughly enjoy.

Must be the keyboards, right?

Main songwriter and all-round focal point of the band, Keith Sudano, has clearly put his heart and soul into this record. The music is well composed, with plenty of ambitious tracks and intricate passages, as well as some very personal and emotional lyrics. The musicianship is tight, with the usual progressive metal traits all here in full force, such as long track durations, interesting guitar riffs, crazy time signatures and a vast use of different sounds. There's plenty of instrumental acrobatics allowing for everyone to shine ('The Edge Part 3' is an interesting example of this) and there's a strong symphonic element to the music too.

Some of the highlights from this album include 'Imaginarium', 'The Edge of Madness', 'The Confession', 'Baptized by Fire', and parts two, three and the "Legacy Reprise" section of 'The Edge'. The album is consistently strong from start to finish.

'The Edge' is an ambitious release that will certainly take some time to get into, but will be worth the effort. It's funny that I like it as much as I do, since it's nothing overly different than what had come before, but there's just something here that resonates with me. It's a shame that Eternity X would go on to disband and Keith Sudano would take a leave of absence from music, because for all the flack I've given this band for their previous releases, this really is a brilliant album, and could have led to great things if they'd continued down this path.

They outlived the comedy covers band gimmick, and made it past the novelty of being a wrestler-fronted originals band. Now, after a five-year gap since their last album, Fozzy are back once again with a rip-roaring slice of metal goodness! Showing that they are a legit band with legit artistic credentials, 'Chasing the Grail' is a great record that boasts some of the bands best material.

With twelve tracks, clocking in at just over an hour, 'Chasing the Grail' may seem a little long-winded at times, but is brimming with enough variety in styles to stop it from seeming repetitive. Full of guitarist Rich Ward's tastiest riffs and Frank Fontsere's most solid drumming, the band have really bonded and grown over the five years since their previous album, which included various festivals and tours. Chris Jericho's vocals (which sound similar to Ozzy Osbourne) are stronger than before, showing a man who is still willing to learn and develop, and with all the charisma and showmanship of a multi-time world champion wrestler, you know that this is a band who more than delivers when taking these songs to the stage.

Featuring some of Fozzy's strongest work, there's anthemic rockers such as 'Martyr No More', 'Let the Madness Begin', 'God Pounds His Nails' and 'Watch Me Shine', there's the softer, more heartfelt moments in songs like 'New Day's Dawn' and 'Broken Soul', and then there's the bands all-out foray into progressive territory with the 14-minute epic, 'Wormwood'. It's a diverse album which shows a band who are constantly evolving.

Overall, a fantastic and very underrated album, 'Chasing the Grail', as is always the case with this band, is often overlooked due to the group's name or the gimmick of being "Chris Jericho's band". But those willing to dig deeper and give them a chance will find that this is a solid rock record that can hold its own with heavyweights of the genre.

"Now let the madness begin!"

Body Count’s discography has always been a story of up’s and down’s, a great album followed by a disappointing one, followed by a... you get the idea. And after 2006’s uninspired ‘Murder 4 Hire’, the band went on hiatus. With frontman rapper Ice-T keeping busy with his solo music and acting career, it would be eight years until the crossover thrash, rap rock pioneers would return, and the trend continues, because 2014’s ‘Manslaughter’ is a fantastic return to form for the band.

Featuring some of their most polished and well-written tracks, ‘Manslaughter’ shows that age hasn’t slowed these guys down, and in fact, they sound more energetic and enraged than ever before. The production is amazing, really emphasizing the bands precision playing and incredibly tight guitar riffs, making this by far the heaviest Body Count have ever sounded, and the lyrics and rapping are probably more consistent than they’ve ever been, fitting wonderfully with the music, and still rapping about themes that are as relevant and relatable today as they’ve ever been.

With the likes of ‘Talk Shit, Get Shot’, ‘Pray for Death’, ‘Pop Bubble’, ‘Back to Rehab’, ’99 Problems BC’, ‘Bitch in the Pit’ and an updated cover of Suicidal Tendencies ‘Institutionalized’, this is some of the strongest material Body Count have put out. And while they’ve often been considered a band that courts controversy and is hard to take seriously, the truth is that ‘Manslaughter’ is a very coherent and well put together album.

‘Made in Germany’ is a compilation by German industrial metal giants, Rammstein. Released in 2011 (the clue’s in the title), it features sixteen of the bands biggest and most powerful tracks, and is a well-rounded retrospective for the sextet at that point in their career. However, as is always the case with these types of collections, the quality of the track list is subjective, and in my opinion, there’s an abundance of missing material!

But that comes down to my own personal tastes, and while there’s a few songs I’d have taken out and replaced with others, as a whole, this is a solid album which represents the band well. Full of bombastic and over-the-top hits such as ‘Du Hast’, ‘Sonne’, ‘Ich Will’, ‘Pussy’, ‘Amerika’, ‘Engel’, ‘Links 2 3 4’, ‘Mein Herz Brennt’ and album-exclusive track, ‘Mein Land’, there are so many awesome songs here that ‘Made in Germany’ still packs one hell of a punch, and will satisfy fans of the group or will make a fantastic entry point for newcomers.

However, while the track listing is fantastic, let’s look at some of the cons of this album. There’s a few fairly subtle edits that take away from the songs. While there’s nothing too severe, one notable exception that irks me is the awesome intro to ‘Du Riechst So Gut’ being cut in half. Not cool. There’s the obvious omissions, which comes down to personal taste again, but where the hell is ‘Feuer Frei’ or ‘Ich Tu Dir Weh’? But the biggest letdown is a bonus disc full of remixes. Sure, these things are normally more of a novelty, but for the most part, none of these remixes are really all that great, barring two; ‘Sonne’ remixed by Clawfinger is pretty good, and amazingly, a Scooter, rave-inspired mix of ‘Pussy’ is incredible, and saves that disc from becoming completely pointless.

Never mind all of that though, as the pros easily outweigh the cons, making ‘Made in Germany’ a fantastic album! While it will no doubt feel dated over time, as most compilations do, it does still hold up well, and the quality of the material on offer is of a high standard. Definitely worth a spin or two!

The band’s debut 'Eternity', despite being nothing more than standard 90's power metal, had some pretty cool moments in there. Unfortunately their follow-up album, 'Dominion', is more-or-less the same thing, only with all-round weaker and less memorable songs.

However, with that said, there are two highlights for me, which is 'Song of Roland' and 'We Are Not Separate'. At this point both of these songs are stronger than anything else Kamelot recorded on this album or its predecessor. Sadly they're just not enough to save the whole album from being anything more than "good".

An all-round good power metal album, not really for anyone other than Kamelot diehards though. The best is yet to come.

Sevendust have always been one of those bands that you just have to respect for their sheer tenacity and persistence. Their self-titled debut, released in 1997, came at a time when metal was pretty much dead to mainstream audiences. All the big names had been relegated to smaller venues and arenas, while bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit were helping build up the nu metal subgenre that was still a couple of years from truly exploding worldwide.

With that said, Sevendust's debut album tends to just quietly sit there in the background. It wasn't groundbreaking, or genre-defining, nor does it really make much noise or impact. It's just there. Mixing elements of nu metal, groove metal, hardcore music and some (sort of) rapping, it's a bit of a mess and not overly exciting.

The band will go on to write better things, but for the most part the riffs here just tend to plod along with about as much enthusiasm as a cow in McDonalds. Lajon Witherspoon's vocals are mostly flat and tend to fit in with the music awkwardly. There's just not a lot here that resonates with me.

If I had to pick out any highlights though, the songs 'Black' (easily the best of the album), 'Terminator' and 'Speak' are all alright. They're not really all that memorable though, and other than popping up on any compilations, I'm not likely to go back to them very often.

Overall, 'Sevendust' is a pretty disappointing album by a band who will go on to garner a small cult following. The foundations are certainly there, with the band laying down a blueprint for where they're going, but otherwise, this is a fairly unremarkable debut.

2004 saw the metal community rejoice, as thrash metal pioneers and all-round icons of the genre, Megadeth, returned from a forced retirement two years prior.

However, this wasn’t the Megadeth of old. With the band splitting up in 2002 due to an injury suffered by leader, vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine, the following two years in which Mustaine healed up would see himself and long-standing bassist David Ellefson fall out over legal disputes. As a result, while Mustaine was ready to return to the music world, with no band line-up in sight, he set out to record a solo album, which very quickly became another Megadeth project when it became apparent that his own name-value was nowhere near that of his bands.

While ‘The System Has Failed’ is a Megadeth album, it is essentially a Dave Mustaine solo release, with a load of session musicians. Albeit, one of which was returning guitarist Chris Poland, who had appeared on the bands first two releases back in the early 80’s.The two-year hiatus did Mustaine a lot of good though, as this is a return to form after a rather strenuous start to the new century. 1999’s ‘Risk’ saw them go pop rock to critical disdain (I love that album, for the record), and 2001’s ‘The World Needs a Hero’ was a rather stoic, rigid affair, that felt like the band weren’t really making too much effort at all.

But with ‘The System Has Failed’, Megadeth are truly back to their thrash metal roots with heavy, intense and driving guitar riffs, angry, spite-filled lyrics that lash out at politicians and war, and Mustaine’s vocals being more ferocious and venomous than ever. The production gives the songs a thick sound, with a thumping bass line and solid drumming, and the technical prowess of the musicians, along with the melodic approach to the songwriting, gives the album a fresh sound, not heard since 1990’s ‘Rust in Peace’.

Overall, while there are one or two filler tracks, this is a solid album, with songs like ‘Kick the Chair’, ‘Blackmail the Universe’, ‘Die Dead Enough’, ‘Back in the Day’, ‘The Scorpion’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’ showing that Megadeth are back with a vengeance, and more than ready to reclaim their spot as one of metals most beloved bands, and although this won’t ever be considered their best album, it’s a welcome return to form.

'Remains Alive' by Fozzy was recorded live in Brisbane, Australia in 2005, shortly after the release of their third album, and their first as a "proper band". Having ditched the comedy covers gimmick, the group, fronted by wrestling superstar Chris Jericho, were touring to promote their 'All That Remains' album. Their first featuring only original compositions.

While the band are still relatively young here, it's apparent that they already have a penchant for live performances. Chris Jericho, thanks to years and years as a WWE performer, is a natural frontman. Confident on the mic and more than capable at engaging an audience, the few times he struggles vocally, he more than makes up for in charisma and stage presence.

Of course, being partnered up with members of rap metal pioneers Stuck Mojo means that this is definitely a band that was destined to excel when playing live. Guitarist Rich Ward and the rest of the guys are incredible performers, as well as incredible players. Ward has long been praised for his unmatched guitar tone, but at times things do sound a bit "sludgy" here.

Since this was recorded in the bands early days, the set does suffer a little. While all the songs here are bangers, Fozzy would go on to really adapt a feel in their music that was tailor-made for live settings. Having seen Fozzy a number of times, I can assure you their later material are live anthems, perfectly written to give audiences ample opportunities to get more involved with the music.

With that said, this isn't a bad album though, and like Stuck Mojo's 'HVY1' live release, the true joy of this recording is the energy and the banter between the songs. Jericho is a natural showman, and sometimes it's just fun to hear him talk and entertain. And all the bands early hits, including 'To Kill a Stranger', 'Crucify Yourself', 'Enemy', 'With the Fire' and 'Nameless Faceless' are played with pure enthusiasm and enjoyment. While this is certainly best saved for the absolute die-hard Fozzy fanatics, there's still some noteworthy things to listen to here, especially if you're a performing musician yourself.

Fozzy Fozzy Fozzy! Oi Oi! Oi!

Now, I love Dream Theater, and I love Iron Maiden, but this is just all kinds of silly.

'The Number of the Beast' has never been one of my favourite Maiden albums. Sure, it was the record where they truly started to ascend to the top of the metal world, but in my opinion it's vastly inferior to the likes of 'Powerslave' and 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son', and much of their later output.

So when Dream Theater, one of my all-time favourite groups, decided to do a live cover of the entire album, I was far from enthusiastic, but willing to give the progressive metal icons a chance to make something worthy out of it.

They failed.

Dream Theater's 'The Number of the Beast' just doesn't work. While the band had previously attempted something similar with Metallica's 'Master of Puppets', that live recording had something to it that, while still nothing more than a fun release not meant to be taken seriously, still made it a worthwhile listen. Especially if you're a fan of both bands.

But 'Number...' just doesn't click. Maybe it's James LaBrie's vocals, or John Myung not quite having the energy of Steve Harris, or maybe a guitar/keyboard hybrid just doesn't suit Maiden's sound. Either way, Dream Theater are more than competent as musicians, but this release is a bit of a blunder.

Even as a novelty item, this album is a bit of a stretch. I barely ever listen to the original version, so I'm certainly not going to feel inclined to listen to a cover of it, which is why this is best left for the absolute most die-hard fans of either band. And even then, it's not a release to be taken seriously.

'When Dream and Day Unite', an album that has long been disregarded by casual fans of the band, and even most die-hard fans, is Dream Theater's 1989 debut which was released by Mechanic Records and is since no longer owned property of the band. Which, to the disfavour of many fans, means there would never be a modern re-recording or re-mastered version. So what do the band do? A live version instead!

Now, I love Dream Theater, and I actually really like their debut album as it is. The production gives it a majestic vibe akin to 1980's Rush, and original vocalist Charlie Dominici's voice fits the music well. However, while this 2004 live recording sounds good, with its beefier production and subtle rearrangements, there is still one detriment to this being a live recording as opposed to a studio one, and that's James LaBrie.

LaBrie is a fantastic vocalist, no doubt about that, and all his studio work is flawless, but he can sometimes be fairly hard to tolerate live, especially with these songs, in which a lot of the times his voice doesn't quite seem as suited to the music as his predecessors. He struggles to hit a lot of the right notes, and his pronunciation has always made it a challenge to make out what he's singing. More often than not, it just sounds as if he's content to wail away with whichever high-pitched screech he can hit.

Overall, I think, while the production is an improvement, even as a live recording, I prefer the original studio version of 'When Dream and Day Unite'. But with that said, there is a little something that make this album worth picking up anyway; bonus tracks 'Metropolis Pt.1' and 'To Live Forever', which feature guest appearances by the aforementioned Charlie Dominici and one-time keyboardist Derek Sherinian.

'Metropolis' in particular is fantastic! Dominici's powerful voice (not diminished through years of performing and a bout of violent food poisoning ala James LaBrie) completely blows his successor away. And a brief keyboard/guitar duel between Sherinian, Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci shows why Sherinian is often unfairly unappreciated for his brief tenure with the band.

Overall this is a great release of a great band playing a great album. There's moments that make me cringe and there's moments that make me wonder why this was released under the band's "Official Bootleg" series and not marketed more commercially. I've always been a sucker for studio recordings though, which is why I won't go back to this one very often, but overall it's a worthy addition to the Dream Theater collection.

Highly revered by fans and often regarded as the bands finest work, 1993’s ‘Edge of Thorns’ is a pivotal album in Savatage’s discography. It’s the first album to feature new vocalist Zak Stevens, with Jon Oliva stepping away from the mic to focus on keyboards and songwriting, and most notably, it’s the final album to feature guitar hero and founder Criss Oliva, who was tragically killed by a drunk driver six months after the release of this album.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time for the band either. Already fighting an uphill battle against changing musical trends, the band were managing to continually improve with each release, and while following 1989’s ‘Gutter Ballet’ and ‘1991’s ‘Streets: A Rock Opera’ itself would seem a daunting task, the band rise to the challenge with this, one of their most polished and well-rounded releases to date.

With its great production and overflowing with fantastic musicianship, ‘Edge of Thorns’ sees the band step away slightly from the more classical leanings of their previous few releases, and focus more on a metal-tinted hard rock edge. Which is fine, as it’s still a solid album full of memorable tracks. The likes of ‘Edge of Thorns’, ‘He Carves His Stones’, ‘Follow Me’, ‘Damien’, ‘Lights Out’ and bonus track ‘Forever After’ makes this one of Savatage’s strongest releases.

While the band would go on to new creative heights, this was probably their commercial peak. With metal in the mainstream being completely dead by this point, any momentum the band had garnered up until now would slowly squander over the next few years, and while the 90’s would see the band release some of their best and most ambitious works, at this point they would firmly enter the realm of being a cult band. ‘Edge of Thorns’, really is the end of one era and the start of another.

American power metal band Iced Earth had managed to carve a bit of a niche for themselves at this point in their career. Having established themselves as one of the more notable and prominent bands of the subgenre, it’s surprising that their discography has been drastically hit-or-miss. Unable to truly capture any momentum over a string of consecutive releases, one album could be amazing, while the next could be pretty average. There really was no predicting how each release could be received, and 2001’s ‘Horror Show’ follows on with that trend.

After a bit of a lull had been rectified with 1998’s critically acclaimed ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’, the band followed this up with, uh, a pretty mundane themed release focusing on horror characters and stories. While one or two tracks could be acceptable, an entire album seems a bit uninspiring and not overwhelmingly promising.

And so here we have it, another pretty average release. Iced Earth’s sound by this point is what it is, and while they aren’t looking to branch out and explore new styles, the quality of songwriting could still benefit from a bit more focus and enthusiasm. This feels slightly by-the-numbers. An abundance of the usual speed metal trappings and powerful, operatic vocals, this is undeniably Iced Earth, but the songs just don’t have the same exuberance and determination that the band have shown with past releases.

Still, it’s not all terrible, as there are a couple of decent tracks on here. ‘Wolf’, ‘Damien’ and ‘Jack’ are alright, though mostly forgettable compared to the bands stronger material. Admittedly however, a cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘Transylvania’ is actually fantastic and the true highlight of this album. The band truly stamp their identity all over this instrumental track, and, most notably for me, it’s the song that served as my introduction to the band (how ironic that it was a cover, a fact I didn’t find out until years later).

Overall, ‘Horror Show’ isn’t by any stretch a terrible album, it’s just not overly memorable, and considering that Iced Earth have shown the ability to put out some incredibly strong releases, it just fails to truly stand out in any way other than being “that horror album”.

The third instalment of Dream Theater’s official bootleg demo series covers my favourite album of all time, or at the very least, one of them; 1992’s ‘Images and Words’. Like before, this is something that would be best reserved for the die-hard fans, and normally something that I’d not pay too much attention to myself, since I’d rather listen to the actual studio release. But since these are demos for the greatest album in history, my interest is slightly more piqued than usually.

Similar to previous demo releases, this album is split into four parts. First there are instrumental demos, recorded by the band on a four-track Tascam tape recorder, followed by vocalist audition demos. These could be of interest to long-time fans, as it features three different vocalists who all tried out for the band. A highlight here is a very raw version of ‘A Change of Seasons’ which features different lyrics, vocal phrasing and musical arrangements.

Then there’s ‘The Atco Demos’ and finally, pre-production demos, and this is where the songs really take shape. There’s not many differences compared to the finished product, besides a more polished sound, but I guess it’s kind of cool to hear the bands versions of these songs before they were properly recorded.

Of course, at the end of the day, who’d honestly choose to listen to these demos of varied quality, when you could simply listen to the actual album itself? I’ll tell you who... nobody (and possibly a bunch of nerds trying to be cool or something). However, as is always the case with these official bootlegs, they’re only really for the most dedicated of fans, especially as, if you’re like me, you’re only likely to listen to it a couple of times before leaving it to collect dust in your mum’s attic.

Sonata Arctica's debut, 'Ecliptica', was originally released in 1999, and came at just the right time to establish them as one of the top names amongst a new generation of power metal bands that implemented both progressive and symphonic elements. With its energetic guitar riffs, majestic keyboard melodies and impressive vocal performances, it was an incredible album that still holds up to this day.

So why did they decide to re-record it fifteen years later?

2014's 'Ecliptica - Revisited' hasn't really added anything new, and really doesn't serve any purpose. Other than some very slight alterations to the arrangements, the only real difference is that the songs have been detuned or the vocals have been changed to suit vocalist Tony Kakko's aging voice.

The songs are still good, don't get me wrong, but the original 'Ecliptica' had a youthful enthusiasm that this updated version lacks, and this also heralds the third studio recording of the track 'Replica', which we really didn't need. The original version remains not only one of my favourite Sonata Arctica songs, but one of my favourite songs period, and after a 2006 re-recording, we could have done without a 2014 update.

Still, I'll give this release credit for one thing, and that's an absolutely banging cover of the Genesis classic, 'I Can't Dance', which, in my probably controversial opinion, far surpasses the original. And I love Genesis! But this cover of it is just fantastic and is done with such zest and gusto that it's impossible not to enjoy it.

In conclusion, all things considered, 'Ecliptica - Revisited' isn't an awful release, it just isn't necessary and does nothing to improve upon the 1999 original, so stick with that instead.

Remember the 90's? The fashion? The music? Everything seemed so bright and colourful and life was so fun and vibrant. There was none of this post-9/11 gloom and doom, and whilst most metal and rock bands had been driven underground by Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, there were still a few young upstarts making their ways into the mainstream and finding their niches.

One of these bands was rap-rockers H-Blockx, who burst out of Germany with their 1994 debut 'Time To Move', an album that boosted three hit singles and five promo videos. While bands like Stuck Mojo and Rage Against the Machine were carving out their legacy's with their more political-driven rap metal, H-Blockx fitted in perfectly with the 90's rock scene, their music and image oozing energy, enthusiasm and fun!

In other words, this album reeks of the 90's! And that, young grasshoppers, is not a bad thing.

Henning Wehland and Dave Gappa make a perfect duo, sharing both singing and rapping duties effectively, whilst guitarist Tim Tenambergen gets more out of a few simple riffs than what many modern shredders do with a million different notes. Above all else though, this band is just fun! There's a youthful innocence to their music that takes me right back to the first half of the 90's. 'Move', 'Little Girl', 'Risin' High', 'Go Freaky' and 'The Real Love' are all perfect reasons to give this record a chance.

Sadly however, this is an album that people generally tend to "remember", but not really care much about. Which is a shame, 'cause this is a very underrated album by a very underrated band.

It's been eight years since Crimson Glory's last release, 1991's 'Strange and Beautiful'. The band had made quite a name for themselves at the start of their career, but all their momentum was cut off by "the 90's". Music trends shifted and Crimson Glory, like so many others, failed to remain relevant. However, the band never faltered and eventually returned with 1999's 'Astronomica'.

While 'Strange and Beautiful' wasn't a terrible album, it didn't quite achieve the success of its predecessors, mostly due to the dying metal scene at the time, and the fact that the band tried being more experimental with their approach to songwriting. Thankfully, the boys are back on top form here, with 'Astronomica' going back to a full-on metal assault. Stylistically similar to 'Transcendence', the only major difference here, besides having a different vocalist, is a more beefed up production, which makes the Glory sound heavier than they ever had before.

The album has been scrutinized for its faults however. Most notable is that the drumming is all machine-programmed, a 20-minute police radio broadcast which closes the album off, but wastes a hell of a lot of time in doing so, and then there's vocalist Wade Black! Former vocalist Midnight left some impossible shoes to fill, and it's understandable why most fans weren't keen on Black's efforts, but for what it's worth, I think he does a good job and his voice suits the heavier sound of the band.

If you haven't completely given up with Crimson Glory by now, then you'll find some nice little gems on this album. Songs such as 'War of the Worlds', 'New World Machine', 'Cyber Christ', 'Cydonia' and the title track itself, can all hold their own with the bands previous material, and while it's fair to say this will never be their best release, it's still a worthy addition to any metal collection.

‘Far Beyond Driven’ is the seventh studio album by groove metal band Pantera, and the third since their unofficial rebirth, having shed their 80’s glam days. It’s weird to me, however, that while the band were one of the most influential metal groups of the 90’s, and this release reached the number one spot on the Billboard charts, it’s really a fairly average release, and is brimming with subpar material.

The most notable difference with ‘Far Beyond Driven’ over its predecessors is the absolute brutality of the record. It’s by far heavier than anything the Texans had put out prior. But sadly this comes at a great cost, as most of the songs are incredibly lacklustre. While the album starts off promisingly enough, it very quickly becomes a rather repetitive affair, with most songs sounding like a bunch of riffs incoherently thrown together.

The production itself leaves much to be desired, with particular mention going to the drums, which at times sound programmed in. Phil Anselmo’s choice of screaming and shouting over singing has certainly upped the aggression of the album, but does nothing for me. The only real highlight is guitarist Dimebag Darrell, whos influential guitar playing has garnered endless acclaim, however, even here, it feels slightly by the numbers.

‘Strength Beyond Strength’, ‘Five Minutes Alone’ and ‘I’m Broken’ are all decent enough tracks, and a cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Planet Caravan’ actually works really well for the band (I’m not a fan of the original, but this one is pretty good). But overall however, none of these songs are all that memorable to me, and certainly don’t hold up well to the bands previous two releases.

It’s not the worst album I own, but for all the praise it received, it certainly doesn’t live up to the hype. Oh, and the song ‘Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills’ is an absolute abomination.

Despite a number of albums prior to this that have gained legendary status, 'Powerslave', Iron Maiden's fifth studio recording, is where I feel the band really hit their stride as one of metals most iconic bands.

With a previous four releases over which to bond and mature as a band, 'Powerslave' is a complete bombardment of Iron Maiden having perfected their sound. The dual-guitar harmonies are spot-on and utilized to their fullest, and vocalist Bruce Dickinson's singing hits its peak here, with every line complimenting the music perfectly.

While I didn't dislike any of the bands previous releases, I never held them in such high regard as the rest of the metal community does, feeling that each album was just a steady improvement upon the one that came before it. However, here is where the songwriting really takes a solid step up, as every song is well executed and well played. The riffs and harmonies are very catchy and easy-to-listen to, and the guitar solos all seem to suit their respective songs much better.

Tracks like 'Aces High', '2 Minutes to Midnight', 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' and even instrumental 'Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)' are more than just Iron Maiden staples, they're essential listening for all metal fans. On top of all that, the artwork is pretty damn awesome as well!

A key album in any rock or metal collection, THIS is Iron Maiden.

"If I can be serious for a moment..."

After two albums consisting mostly of covers, Fozzy masterminds Rich Ward and Chris Jericho decided that for the band to continue and prosper, it was time to drop the comedy gimmicks and become a real band. Gone were the stage names, the wacky costumes, pig mascots (Arthur was actually a human being suffering from Swinus) and the "we were stuck in Japan for 20 years" shenanigans, and with 'All That Remains', a fresh and invigorated band arose.

Featuring ten original compositions (two of which are re-recorded tracks from Rich Wards Sick Speed project), Fozzy's sound is simple, hard rocking anthems. Nothing overly ambitious or challenging, but catchy radio rock that get heads banging. Sadly, having WWE superstar Chris Jericho as frontman meant that Fozzy were still a novelty act (though it's likely they'd never have had the success they've had without such novelty in the first place) which, coupled with the bands unusual choice of name, meant that they were a band people still refused to take seriously.

Their loss.

With tracks such as 'Nameless Faceless', 'The Test', 'It's a Lie' and one of the groups most memorable hits, 'Enemy', this album showed that, despite everything they have going against them, Fozzy is a band not to be taken lightly. Guest appearances by heavy hitters such as Marty Friedman and Zakk Wylde give 'All That Remains' some much-needed credibility, and with an energetic live show and a relentless touring schedule that saw them hit the Download Festival the year of this records release, it's a sure sign that while 'All That Remains' will never be Fozzy's best album, it's definitely an early sign of greatness that firmly establishes them as the real deal.

'Between the Walls' is the fourth album by German hard rock guitarist/band Axel Rudi Pell. Not only is it the first release to feature the same vocalist as its predecessor (I guess third time really is the charm) but it's a turning point in the groups discography, in which the standard of their music vastly improves upon their earlier days, and a string of high quality releases followed.

It's 1994 and the music world, in particular on the rock side of things, is a bit of a mess. Metal is "dead", although all these 90's groove bands like Pantera, Machine Head and Biohazard are slowly making headway, grunge has already peaked, and hard rock is, well... still living in the 80's. But that's not going to stop Mr. Pell and his motley crew! Having ditched the sleazy sex, women and nightly thrills 80's vibes of their earlier albums, the band have taken a more fantasy-themed style, incorporating more melodic elements similar to bands like Deep Purple and Rainbow.

Vocalist Jeff Scott Soto has proven himself a perfect fit with the band, with his incredible voice being a perfect match for the more serious (albeit, still pretty cheesy) lyrics. And Pell's guitar playing, usually impressive though excessively indulgent with the solos, has really started to become more coherent as well. The solo's are still a vast flurry of notes, but there's just more substance there now, as opposed to endless scales up and down the neck. And as expected, there's riffs aplenty here. With tight rhythm work and brimming with massive power chords, this is definitely something for the old school rocker in us all.

While this album is still very much a typical hard rock record, and probably would have fared better had it been released in 1984, it's still got some good, quality music that holds up well today. Songs like 'Talk of the Guns', 'Casbah', 'Cry of the Gypsy', 'Warrior', 'Outlaw', 'Innocent Child' and the title track itself all go to make 'Between the Walls' an essential hard rock album, and one of Axel Rudi Pell's finest.

I'm not going to deny, I'd never heard of Coldseed before seeing this in a secondhand shop for £1. The name of the band, plus the image on the front cover, did make it look like some European symphonic metal band (you know the type), which seemed even more evident when I saw that their drummer was Thomen Stauch, formerly of Blind Guardian.

But I was wrong. Very wrong.

(I was right about them being European, however).

Instead, Coldseed is actually more akin to groove metal or hardcore music. There are keyboards, but used sparingly and more as an addition to the guitar riffs than as a central songwriting tool. And the vocals (provided by Soilwork main man Björn Strid), are more aggressive than I expected. It's hard and heavy, with plenty of fat riffs, but overall a lot of the songs just tend to plod along uneventfully.

Songs such as 'My Affliction', 'Reflection', and 'Strike the Nerve' are alright, and though none of them are going to change the world, they're still worth a listen. And then there's 'Nothing But a Loser', a groove-laden beast of a tune, which is easily the best and catchiest song this album has to offer.

Along with the aforementioned musicians, Coldseed features Oliver Holtzwarth, formerly of Rhapsody of Fire, and also other members who have been former live musicians for Blind Guardian. All things considered, the name of the band, the front cover of the album, the promo pictures, and definitely the players involved, it really is quite surprising that this isn't a power metal project.

Overall, 'Completion Makes the Tragedy' is an okay album, though. It's not anything amazing that I'll go back to very often, but a few of the songs are strong enough to warrant giving this "supergroup" a chance, and if you stumble across it as cheap as I did, you certainly won't feel ripped off.

Nobuo Uematsu and his dastardly clan of Black Mages are back with 'The Skies Above', a sequel to their self-titled debut which features progressive metal versions of music composed for the Final Fantasy video games (composed, I should add, by Uematsu himself).

Random nugget for you, but I've never played any of the Final Fantasy games.

Now, I'm not usually a big fan of instrumental albums. While I do enjoy the music, I find it tedious sitting through so much of it in one go, so it's surprising to me that 'The Black Mages', the bands first outing, is a personal favourite of mine, and was awarded as such, with five stars.

'The Black Mages' was heavily keyboard-driven, full of energy and overall a lot of fun. 'The Skies Above' just seems the complete opposite. The songs seem more guitar-oriented, and the fun and enthusiasm of the first seems to have been replaced by super seriousness. It's not bad, but this album just lacks that joyful energy.

There's two songs with vocals this time around. 'Otherworld' and 'The Skies Above'. Both are good songs, and the vocals do break up the monotony a little. On the instrumental side of things, tracks like 'Hunter's Chance', 'The Man With the Machine Gun' and 'Battle With the Four Fiends' are notable tracks that make this album a worthy purchase, but sadly none of them live up to what's come before.

'The Skies Above' is a bit of a mixed bag. There's some good songs and some bad ones. There's a lot of styles covered which keeps things somewhat interesting, and the musicianship is of a high standard, though sometimes wasted on uninteresting arrangements. Overall, it's a good album, but if it's your introduction to the band then you're better off going with their self-titled debut.

It's 1998, and with nu metal slowly getting its footing and revitalizing what was, at that point, a dying metal scene, there's no denying that amongst the rap metal hybrid acts such as Limp Bizkit and Rage Against the Machine, and the teenage angst ridden beats of Papa Roach and Korn, there was one band who had a unique sound of their own, and that band was Spineshank.

Just kidding.

System of a Down's self-titled debut album is literally all over the place, from calm to erratic in a heartbeat. It's raw and aggressive, yet at times can be soothing and melodic, whilst maintaining a take-no-prisoners "fuck the world" attitude. It's dirty, gritty, and full of rage and spite. Certainly not a record for the weak-hearted.

Vocalist Serj Tankian has expertly managed to blend all kinds of singing, from melodic clean vocals to shouting, a wide range of eccentric falsetto, something considerably theatrical, and what can only be described as "vocal effects", it could be seen as an acquired taste, but it's certainly unique! And his vocals are perfectly backed by Daron Malakian's guitars. Punchy, heavy and relentless. Frantically shifting from crunchy riffs to odd, out-of-tune bends and licks. It's a recognizable style that very few have been able to replicate.

Highlights to look out for include 'Suite-Pee', 'Know', 'Ddevil' (nope, that wasn't a typo!), 'Peephole' and of course the classic, 'Sugar'.

As a whole, this is a cracking debut. It shows a band with incredible chemistry and potential (which they would certainly live up to), and the only real problem with it today is that it seems a bit dated and overshadowed by what the band would go on to release later in their careers.

‘Streets: A Rock Opera’, released in 1991, is the sixth studio album by American metal band Savatage. It sees the band further develop their unique style which incorporates huge influences from musicals and classical music, and features a concept based on the rise and fall of fictional musician D.T. Jesus. Coming at a time when metal was becoming stale to mainstream fans, it was no doubt a risky move by the band to continue this route, but the end result is one of their most highly revered and well-received albums.

Riding a wave of momentum from their previous albums, ‘Hall of the Mountain King’ and its successor, ‘Gutter Ballet’, and once again continuing their working relationship with producer Paul O’Neill (who wrote the original story for the album), the band have hit their stride here, finding their niche and sounding more confident than ever before.

Wonderfully produced, the sound of the album evokes many moods throughout its diverse track list. From heavy rockers, to melodic tearjerkers, the production perfectly captures the essence and mood of each song. At times haunting and eerie, melancholic and depressing, or uplifting, head banging metal anthems, O’Neill has done a tremendous job of capturing the right vibe which suits the style of the band, and gives each member ample space to shine.

With songs such as ‘Jesus Saves’, ‘Somewhere in Time/Believe’, ‘Tonight He Grins Again/Strange Reality’, ‘Ghost in the Ruins’, ‘You’re Alive/Sammy and Tex’ and ‘Agony and Ecstasy/Heal My Soul’, there’s no shortage of Savatage highlights here. Along with Jon Oliva’s hauntingly passionate vocals and Criss Olivas classically-inspired guitar acrobatics, this is a pivotal album for the band, which would see them continue to ignore musical trends in favour of their own musical and artistic integrity, making ‘Streets: A Rock Opera’, a worthwhile addition to the collection of all rock and metal fans.

The follow-up to the highly successful 'Parallels', 'Inside Out' is almost identical in sound and style to its predecessor, so much so that it is often regarded as "Parallels Part 2", though I find it is an unfair assumption as this album does contain material of some merit, even going as far as to say it's some of the bands tightest and most consistent songwriting.

Musically, this album follows on where 'Parallels' left off, which a strong emphasis on duel-guitar melodies that allow both players to shine, Mark Zonder's incredible drumming that adds so much flavor to the music, without dominating or taking too much spotlight, and Ray Alder's vocals which truly peaked here, especially in terms of range and capability.

The production is neat and tidy, with no musician being given preference. It does a good job of being a metal album, while also emphasizing the melody of the band.

With songs like 'Outside Looking In', 'Monument', 'Pale Fire', 'The Strand' and 'Face the Fear', it's clear that 'Inside Out' is an underrated classic, which is often overshadowed by the strengths of what came before. It's got some of the bands strongest material and is definitely a worthy addition to the collections of metal and prog fans.

'The Game' was my introduction to Austrian symphonic/progressive metal band Dreams of Sanity, having snapped it up quickly after hearing some of their music online and loving it. Sadly, this, their third studio album, was also their last, as the group split up shortly after its 2000 release. Especially unfortunate as this is undoubtedly their strongest outing.

Falling under the subgenre of progressive, power, gothic or symphonic metal (pick one), Dreams of Sanity have that perfect blend of heavy, grooving guitar riffs with plenty of melodic keyboards and string sounds. The songs have complex structures with plenty of excellent interplay between all involved, but without the mindless shredding and endless soloing that the genre is sometimes (in)famous for.

The production is absolutely spot on here. While the band's debut 'Kömödia' was fairly average, it's follow-up, 'Masquerade' was a massive leap forward, and so building upon that, with 'The Game' the Austrian's have really nailed the rich, vibrant and clear sound that gives every instrument clarity and warmth.

With songs such as 'The Beginning That Lies', 'The Creature That You Came to See', 'And So (I Walk On)', 'We.II.Sea', 'The Empress', and... ah, you know what? Bugger it, they're all brilliant! Dreams of Sanity really hit their stride with this release, and it's an absolute travesty that the band fell apart shortly after. Still, I'm glad I stumbled across these guys, because this is an incredible album by a hugely underrated band.

Here is a band who has a ton of potential but somehow just can't quite manage to channel it properly to create anything truly memorable. Whilst there are some good tunes coming from the German group Ivory Tower, most of the time this, their self-titled debut album, seems to just fall flat on its face.

I'm trying not to be too critical as there are some good tracks here, but sadly most of the time you just feel that you've already heard the same songs played a thousand times better by another band. On a positive note though, 'Alive' is a pretty awesome, upbeat song, and 'She' has a nice steady beat to inspire some serious headbanging, and to compliment the heavier tracks we have the beautiful piano ballad 'Spring'.

But apart from these three songs, the others all have hit-or-miss moments, and instead of finding something new with each listen, you just feel more frustration at having to listen through a whole heap of uninspired boredom to get to the good stuff.

Overall this isn't a terrible album, but it's not something I can see myself coming back to very often. The musicianship is fine and the vocals aren't bad, although sometimes the lyrics can be pretty lame, but ultimately the problem with this album is that it just tends to be boring most of the time.

I've never been too keen on these guitar instrumental types. You know the ones... Joe Satriani... Steve Vai... yeah, those types. While I "like" them, and appreciate and respect their talent, I've always found "shred" albums tend to get fairly mundane fairly quickly. But this isn't just another guitarist, no sir, this is John freakin' Petrucci of Dream Theater dammit! And this is an album I just had to have!

As a die-hard Dream Theater fan and a guitarist myself (my aspirations to be this good withered away a long time ago), I was super excited to hear this. John Petrucci has long been one of my all-time heroes, and it was about time we got to see him strike out on his own.

However, while there are some fantastic tracks here, 'Suspended Animation', like all the others, quickly becomes just another one of those guitar albums.

I mean, the positives are that the songs are well-written and performed perfectly. We all knew Petrucci's technique was impeccable and this album does nothing but prove what everyone already knew. 'Jaws of Life' and 'Glasgow Kiss' are probably the two tracks most people are familiar with, and damn right, they are good songs! But the absolute star of the show is 'Tunnel Vision', which is an incredibly underrated song and easily the best off the album.

Sadly, after that, the rest of the songs are fairly average. Good exercises in technique and everything you'd come to expect, just not overly memorable. This is why 'Suspended Animation' is nothing more than a good album. Other than the first three tracks, the rest mostly serve as material for guitar nerds to study and learn, or for Petrucci to show off how Godlike he is.

Mostly the latter.

And I'm jealous.

After 1982's 'The Number of the Beast' cemented Iron Maiden's prominence in the metal world, the band were quickly back in the studio to build upon their momentum with 'Piece of Mind', an album that many fans hold in high regard, but one that I merely consider the final step in the transitional period that would see Iron Maiden truly reach their prime years.

Continuing Iron Maiden's run of what many consider their "golden era" of albums (the inclusion of new drummer Nicko McBrain would cement what would be viewed as the classic lineup), 'Piece of Mind' is revered by fans as one of the bands finest releases. Though, much like its predecessor, I feel there's too much filler material for me to share that opinion.

As with previous outings, there are a few instantly recognizable classics, such as 'Where Eagles Dare', 'Flight of Icarus', 'To Tame a Land', and one of the groups most memorable hits 'The Trooper' (which I often find to be fairly overrated, to be honest), but other than these songs, I feel the rest are fairly bland and uninspiring. Not that they're terrible, but tracks like 'Quest for Fire' and 'Sun and Steel' just don't really do anything for me.

The verdict has long been out that this is a classic Maiden album however, and in fairness, if you're a fan of the band then it's got enough "classic" material and status going for it that it warrants being in your collection, but overall I just find this to be the final album before the band really hit their stride and go through a string of excellent releases.

It's decent enough, but from here on out is where things really start to get good.

Seven years since their last studio album, Stuck Mojo are back! But fans who were excited to have their beloved rap metal pioneers return were met with something different than what they'd come to love in the 90's. And we all know that in the world of metal, this could be a huge problem...

Having parted ways with original vocalist, the much-loved hardcore-influenced Bonz, Stuck Mojo were now fronted by the man known as Lord Nelson. The major impact this had on the groups sound is unmistakeable. Whereas Bonz was versatile in his ability to rap, growl and shout, whilst emitting boundless energy and emotion in his performance, Nelson was, by-and-large, a legit rapper. Not one to shout, or jump around stage like a lunatic, Lord Nelson comes from a hip hop background where most of his vocals are spoken word. I like it. Sure, it's nowhere near as exciting to listen to as Bonz, but it still works well with the bands new style.

Speaking of which...

Seven years is a long time to pass when you're a musician, and no doubt influenced by the sound he'd developed with his band Fozzy, as well as his solo Duke project, it's no surprise that band leader and songwriter, guitarist Rich Ward has evolved his own playing style from the endless barrage of brutal metal riffs fans were use to, to a more varied style of hard rock which had a wider pallet of influences to draw inspiration from.

As a result, 'Southern Born Killers' is a more modern, more "complete" sounding band. With a proper rapper on board and more emphasis on song-writing techniques. Tracks like 'I'm American', 'Metal is Dead' and 'Open Season' are all classic Mojo, while songs like 'Yoko' and 'The Sky is Falling' take the band into almost progressive territory, with longer song durations, complex arrangements and the use of keyboards and samples. Not all fans liked it, but I find it interesting to see artists experiment with new ideas.

Looking at the big picture of Stuck Mojo's discography, nothing can really top those classic years with Bonz in the 90's, but Lord Nelson does a good job on this incredible album. It's different than anything they'd done previously, but that doesn't make it bad. In fact, this is probably closer to the definition of "rap metal" than anything they'd done before.

"Welcome to the south, bitches".

‘Still, Alive... And Well?’ is a “compilation” released by Megadeth in 2002. It features a selection of six live tracks and six studio recordings, and is a completely pointless and irrelevant album to own. There’s no reason at all for this to exist save but one... in 2002 Dave Mustaine suffered an injury that forced him to retire and disband Megadeth (don’t worry... they’d be back a couple of years later). However, contractual obligations meant he still owed Sanctuary Records one more release.

Which brings us to this little nugget of joy...

‘Still, Alive...’ starts off with six live cuts from Megadeth’s final two shows (pre-retirement, anyway). The choice of songs is a bit odd, and none of them flow. The sound is also pretty bad, especially with regards to the fact that Dave’s guitar seems louder than anything else. The liner notes sees MegaDave claiming to be honoured to share these songs with us... but we can all read through his lies. This album is a quick fix to a legal problem. Aw well...

The second half of the album contains six songs from the bands previous studio release, ‘The World Needs a Hero’. The likes of ‘Moto Psycho’, ‘The World Needs a Hero’ and ‘Dread and the Fugitive Mind’ are all good songs, but aren’t enough to save this supposed compilation. And the fact it’s six tracks all from the same album is a bit of a slap in the face. Whatever...

Not worth the price for the live songs, and the addition of the studio recordings makes this a bit of a mockery to fans that paid for it. Overall, ‘Still, Alive... And Well’ is barely passable as something for die-hard fans, and otherwise is something to completely ignore and forget it ever existed.

2009’s ‘Liebe ist Fur Alle Da’ is the sixth studio album by German industrial rockers Rammstein. It comes four years after the fairly disappointing and disjointed ‘Rosenrot’, and not only does it completely make up for that last blunder, but it firmly establishes the band, not only as the absolute kings of industrial metal, but as one of the more prominent bands of the entire metal genre.

The most notable difference between ‘Liebe...’ and the previous two releases, ‘Rosenrot’ and 2004’s ‘Reise Reise’, is the production, in which here, Rammstein are a lot heavier, with a more clear and precise sound. The last two albums seemed a bit “muddy” in places, whereas in ‘Liebe...’ there is a better clarity and focus, taking the band right back to the sound of their 2001 masterpiece, ‘Mutter’.

As always, there’re some monstrously crushing guitar riffs which are interspersed brilliantly with keyboards, giving the music plenty of variety, at times either heavy or soft, with dance and electronic influences. Vocalist Till Lindemann pushes his voice harder than ever, from gentle singing to booming roars. But it all works to give the group their own distinctive sound.

With some of Rammstein’s heaviest, most intense or most interesting tracks, such as ‘Ich Tu Dir Weh’, ‘Rammlied’, ‘Pussy’, ‘Haifisch’, ‘Waidmann’s Heil’ and the title track, it’s clear that the German’s are still at the top of their game, and with the usual controversial lyrics, imagery, music videos and live theatrics, ‘Liebe ist Fur Alle Da’ is a sure stamp that Rammstein belong in the upper echelon of metal bands.

Three albums into their career and Blind Guardian have still yet to find that certain something that would make them unique amongst all the other power metal bands. Although there are certain hints of it creeping in, it isn't enough to make 'Tales from the Twilight World' truly stand out.

The use of acoustic guitars, more intricate vocal melodies and Tolkien-inspired lyrical themes are all signs of where the band are going musically, but sadly it fails to distinguish anything of this album from its predecessors. Songs such as 'Lord of the Rings', 'Welcome to Dying' and 'Tommyknockers' are some of the more memorable moments, but they're lost amidst an album of mediocre speed metal tracks ('Lord of the Rings' is damn catchy, though).

Much like their previous albums, 'Tales from the Twilight World' may be held in higher regard by enthusiasts of the genre, and whilst I absolutely love Blind Guardian's later material, to me, this is just another generic power metal affair.

Fresh off of an outstanding album, 1998’s ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’, which sees Iced Earth fight back from a string of disappointing releases, the band give us this short EP, which was originally intended as a promotional tool for radios, but ended up getting an official release for fans to get their mitts on.

While its chillingly emotional verses and catchy chorus makes ‘Melancholy’ an understandable choice for a single, in my opinion there’s much better songs on the ‘Something Wicked...’ album that could have been used. It’s a good song, don’t get me wrong, and it nicely shows the new direction Iced Earth were headed in with their sound. But it just pales in comparison to some of the other potential tracks.

Still, along with ‘Watching Over You’ (another strong number from the same album), there’s three covers, all of which I find pretty disappointing. I’m either not a fan of the band being covered, vocalist Matt Barlow’s voice doesn’t quite suit the song, or I just flat-out don’t really care.

Overall, as is always the case with EP’s, I find them pretty hit-or-miss, and serve more as little collectable items for fans than as serious releases. ‘The Melancholy EP’ is no different. It’s alright for what it is, but not anything worth checking out unless you’re a huge fan of the band.

After the all-out metal assault that was 2003's 'Train of Thought', Dream Theater continue to develop their "metal" sound, while at the same time paying homage to their progressive roots. And so it is, that 'Octavarium' is seen from two perspectives. There’re the fans who see it as Dream Theater's 70's-era prog rock album, and there's the ones who think it's just a smorgasbord of stolen ideas.

Admittedly, there are songs that sound similar to artists such as Muse, Linkin Park, U2 and the very Pink Floyd-sounding title track. But does that really make them bad? Does a band consisting of some of the finest musicians in the world really need to resort to plagiarism? And when did it become such a sin to wear your influences on your sleeve? Stolen ideas or not, I like the songs, and that's all that truly matters to me.

The main focal point of the record is the 24-minute title track, 'Octavarium'. A song that builds from a hauntingly ambient intro to one of the most climatic finishes in a Dream Theater track, it perfectly appeals to fans of both old progressive rock and modern metal alike, and will easily go down as one of the bands most memorable pieces.

The rest of the album features a mixture of heavy, rocking songs and soft, radio-friendly ballads. 'These Walls' and 'Never Enough' take the group into more alternative rock-inspired territory, whilst others such as 'The Root of All Evil' and 'Panic Attack' continue in the same vein Dream Theater have been on since 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence'. And while the musicianship is incredible, as expected with Dream Theater, it's keyboard player Jordan Rudess who really gets to shine on this album, with many of the songs being heavily synth-driven.

Riddled with Easter eggs and hidden references to the number eight, Dream Theater's 'Octavarium' sees the band continue to challenge themselves by trying new things and taking inspiration from different sources. It's a throwback to 70's and 80's progressive rock, whilst maintaining the bands own signature take on the metal subgenre they helped pioneer, thus making it a worthy addition to fans of both genres.