MartinDavey87's Reviews
Full of energy and pulse-pounding riffs, this is Metallica's debut album with which they changed the heavy metal world back in 1983. Although the songs are a lot more immature than Metallica's later material, in both lyrical and musical content, the songs are still great if you're after a straight forward headbanging album from start to finish, with many of these songs still being a major spotlight of any Metallica live set today.
Although some tracks are weaker than others, the album as a whole runs smoothly without giving the listener a chance to catch their breath. Metallica classics such as ‘Seek and Destroy’, ‘The Four Horsemen’, ‘Hit the Lights’ and ‘Whiplash’ make this essential for all metal fans.
It won’t be your favourite Metallica album, but your metal collection won’t be complete without it.
Genres: Thrash Metal
Format: Album
Year: 1983
Iced Earth’s quest to become one of the most popular bands in the power metal genre began back in 1990 with the release of their self-titled debut album, which combined elements of the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) and thrash metal to produce songs which are crammed with intense, galloping riffs, interesting harmonies, and epic vocals.
Power metal has long been the ginger-haired stepchild of metal, but anyone expecting a complete cheese-fest is solely mistaken. Are the lyrics a bit daft at times? Absolutely! But the music here is top-notch. The songwriting, most of which is handled by guitarist and band leader Jon Schaffer, is very well-structured and mature, and although the band would go on to release much better records in the future, their debut still contains some of their best work, such as ‘Iced Earth’, ‘Written on the Walls’, ‘Colors’, ‘Funeral’ and the awesome ‘When the Night Falls’.
The production is far from perfect, but that actually benefits the record greatly, as it gives the music the exact sound these riffs need. If anything, the only real detriment to the album is vocalist Gene Adam. At times his voice powerfully suits the music, at other times, it comes across as quite forced, annoying, and almost embarrassing.
Other than that, this is a pretty stellar release, and a key moment in power metal history. Worth checking out for fans of all subgenres.
Genres: Power Metal Thrash Metal
Format: Album
Year: 1990
Rising from the ashes of power metal band 'Twilight', Danish prog metallers Beyond Twilight's first release 'The Devil's Hall of Fame' is a very twisted journey into the depths of the human mind, and certainly not a record for the weak-hearted.
Having a concept album for a debut can be a big risk for any band, but Beyond Twilight pull it off here, with incredible compositions and production that sound as though they are coming from a band with years and years of experience together. It's exciting to listen to this and imagine what else this group can come up with.
Keyboardist Finn Zierler's layer-upon-layer of dark and gloomy melodies fits perfectly with Anders Kragh's haunting and exciting guitar riffs, all perfectly played in minor keys to bring the best depressions out of anyone. And this chilling and epic tale is told wonderfully by a man who has one of the most "metal voices" out there, Jorn Lande. Highlights of this incredible first- time outing include the dark 'Godless and Wicked', the psychotic and twisted 'The Devil's Waltz' and 'Crying', a song as beautiful as it is chilling.
An interesting and very exciting debut, this certainly isn't the album you'd choose to help lift your spirits, but for some incredibly dark and gothic prog metal, this is a fantastic debut from a band who shows limitless potential.
Genres: Progressive Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2001
With this debut album, the world is introduced to Stuck Mojo, one of the most beloved and influential cult metal bands from the 90's. They weren't the first band to mix metal and hip-hop, but they were the band that really took it to the next level. They showed how, when done properly, it didn't need to be referred to as a mixture of styles, but a whole new musical force in its own right.
The main core of the band is centred around guitarist Rich Ward and vocalist Bonz, both with their own unique styles that helped Stuck Mojo stand out amongst the mid-90's metal scene. Ward's guitar work focuses mainly on power and groove, with an unmatched tone and riffs-galore, the music on this album will suit any fan of bands such as Pantera and Disturbed, and sets Mojo apart from later "rap metal" acts such as Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock.
Bonz has an amazing style of rapping that takes influence from hip-hop, punk and hardcore music, which fits perfectly with the metal riffs contributed by Ward. His ferocity and lyrics are unique in their aggression, with shouting and rapping blending perfectly without having to resort to growling and unintelligible metal grunts.
With some killer tracks such as 'Not Promised Tomorrow', '2 Minutes of Death', 'F.O.D.' and 'Uncle Sam Sham', this album is a relentless assault of metal and hip-hop done effectively. Full of Mojo classics that remain staples in live sets, 'Snappin' Necks' is an album that rarely gets recognized or remembered these days, which makes it an absolute underrated classic.
Genres: Alternative Metal
Format: Album
Year: 1995
"Duh duh duh-duh-duh... Duh duh duh-duh... Oh wah-ah-ah-ah!!!"
Released in 2000, Disturbed's debut album came at just the right time as nu metal was creeping into the mainstream and making itself one of the biggest genres in the world (albeit, only briefly). With countless bands coming out of the woodwork and jumping on the bandwagon, only a few of them were able to transcend the sub-genre from which they came and become credible bands.
Disturbed are one of those bands.
You probably wouldn't have thought it back in the day, mind you. Musically this album fits right in with the nu metal fad. Heavy, groove-laden tracks, angst-ridden lyrics, de-tuned guitars with no solos in sight... So what set Disturbed apart from the rest?
With their hit single, 'Down With the Sickness' and it's legendary opening of "oh-wah-ah-ah-ah" that would go on to spawn countless internet memes, puns and pop-culture references, it was vocalist David Draiman's unique style that instantly gave the band their own identity. And it's stood the test of time, because Disturbed would go on to "oh-wah-ah-ah" their way to being one of metals most beloved bands.
Unfortunately, none of that was really all too evident in their debut release, as 'The Sickness', despite a few standout tracks, really suffers from the same mediocrity that a lot of groups suffered from back then. Sure, there's a few hits in here, 'Voices' is an absolute classic, and 'The Game', 'Fear', 'Meaning of Life' and the aforementioned 'Down With the Sickness' are all valid reasons for owning this record and really highlight the significance of Draiman's vocals. But then sadly, a lot of the other tracks just seem to be there to fill time, with special mention going to 'Conflict'... a song in which the word "enemy" (pronounced "en-na-may") is sung a staggering 52 times! Please, no more!
Overall 'The Sickness' is not a terrible record, it's just not really all that memorable either. Well produced and accompanied by a couple of hit singles, it did what it was meant to do and helped put Disturbed on the map.
"Oh wah-ah-ah-ah".
Genres: Alternative Metal
Format: Album
Year: 2000