Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies
Majestic hard rock/heavy metal with lyrics battling against the corruption of race:
Having just revisited this Queensryche album, I honestly still hear metal in some other songs besides those two highlights. It's also not progressive enough to deserve The Infinite clan, as only two songs "Best I Can" and "Della Brown" are highly progressive and they have much more in common with the prog-rock of Rush than the prog-metal of Dream Theater. So with Empire being a hard rock/heavy metal album to my ears with only two progressive songs, I'll vote for having it removed from The Infinite but vote against having it removed from The Guardians. Stay tuned for my revisit/review for their next album Promised Land and its possible subsequent judgement submission...
Here's how I would genre-tag the 8 tracks in the album:
1. War Pigs - Hard rock/heavy metal/doom metal/progressive rock
2. Paranoid - Heavy metal
3. Planet Caravan - Psychedelia
4. Iron Man - Heavy metal
5. Electric Funeral - Stoner metal/hard rock/heavy metal/progressive rock
6. Hand of Doom - Hard rock/heavy metal/progressive rock/psychedelic rock
7. Rat Salad - Blues rock/hard rock/heavy metal
8. Fairies Wear Boots - Blues rock/hard rock
Primary genres: Heavy metal, hard rock
Secondary genres: Progressive rock, blues rock
You guys have fun with this project, but I'm gonna head out of this thread. As much fun as I had exploring the earlier metal releases, I want to get my mind back into the present. There are a few newer releases from other bands of different genres that I plan to review. Will I continue my time in this Roots project someday? I don't know. But I'm done here for now.
What about "Fairies Wear Boots" then? Metal or not? What subgenre?
This one isn't that straight forward to be honest. I can see the argument for a metal tag but personally I think it sits more comfortably under heavy psych.
Blues/hard rock.
Interesting. When I was still listening to Queensryche, I thought of Empire as a continuation of the more commercial heavy metal direction from Operation: Mindcrime, though with less progressive focus, and only a few lighter songs for the radio (*cough* "Silent Lucidity" *cough*). Promised Land would further deviate from their metal roots before the band dropped most of it in Hear in the Now Frontier, as far as I can remember. I'm gonna have to revisit and review Empire and Promised Land to make my memories with those albums clearer and determine which of them are metal. It's not explicitly part of my side of the Roots of Metal project because the band started in the 80s, but it's a nice continuation to the concept.
Too much Thin Lizzy-infused hard rock for its own good, making this sh*t sound more miserable than epic:
Swedish power-ish heavy metal that fans of Dio, Dream Evil, and Rainbow might find irresistible:
Yes I have, Daniel.
A 14-minute experimental epic with lots to explore in the vocals and instruments, often going soft and ambient then heavy and chaotic:
A Led Zeppelin-inspired blues/hard rock/heavy metal instrumental.
If you're still into the doom/gothic metal zone, Rex, here's another album to check out on its anniversary:
And a few Infinite classics having their anniversaries today as well:
I really feel the need to check out that Kayo Dot album. It's quite tough to find nowadays, but I wanna hear the official beginning of Toby Driver's current project out of the ashes of his former band Maudlin of the Well.
With Rex pointing out the 25th anniversary of Rhapsody (of Fire)'s second album Symphony of Enchanted Lands, I thought it would be a good time to mention a few power metal albums have their anniversaries today. So for Rex and any other heavy/power metal fans here, wish these albums a happy birthday:
Also on that day is the 20th anniversary of a former favorite doomy gothic metal album of mine:
"Hand of Doom" has a mid-tempo hard rock/heavy metal groove. Though it sometimes gets a bit progressive, and they speed up from there in the midsection, having a bit of a superior Alice Cooper Band-like psychedelic vibe.
Slow stoner rock atmosphere within a hard rock/heavy metal frame, with a somewhat progressive section midway through.
A playlist I've made compiling the best highlights of my side of the Roots of Metal project: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3iBbKInKjUBgKlMbZkIG41
Welcome back, my heroic speedy power metal warriors!
A Zelda-inspired power metal tune that's perhaps their best single yet!
Anyway... today's track is "Iron Man". It's the doomiest track we've looked at since "Black Sabbath"in my opinion. I'm going against the general consensus by choosing traditional doom metal on this one.
I find this track to be a mid-tempo heavy metal hit (that I don't like as much other people do) that speeds up in some places. If you're up for some doomy stoner-ish atmosphere, you'll find it in the next track that we will talk about tomorrow...
Here's my top 10 of 1989:
1. Voivod - Nothingface
2. Watchtower - Control and Resistance
3. Annihilator - Alice in Hell
4. Godflesh - Streetcleaner
5. Sabbat - Dreamweaver
6. Pestilence - Consuming Impulse
7. Ministry - The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste
8. Dark Angel - Leave Scars
9. Helstar - Nosferatu
10. Coroner - No More Color
A perfect highlight of bombastic hip-hop-ish industrial metal:
A true accessible yet total rocker suitable for Code Orange's new direction, with the one and only Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins guest appearing:
Just psychedelia, nothing else.
Some more of this band's blend of Maori influences and nu-ish groove metal in their ultimate moshing highlight:
Sail through the seas of Alien Weaponry's Maori-styled groove/alt-metal with this excellent boat-rower:
So that marks the end of my journey through Scorpions' hard rock/heavy metal era that covers the second half of the 70s and the first half of the 80s. Of all the albums from that era, only Love at First Sting is more of a hard rock/pop rock album with barely any metal. Not only that, Love at First Sting is also one of only two albums in my side of the Roots of Metal project that I don't consider metal, the other being Judas Priest's Rocka Rolla. And now I'll just wait for Ben to add to the site the Rainbow and Scorpions albums that are not in the site but I consider metal, so I can copy and paste my reviews for the albums in the thread to their respective release pages. After that and my track-to-track genre analysis for Black Sabbath's Paranoid in Daniel's thread, I'll just stop my project. As much fun as I had exploring the 70s, I want to get my mind back into the present. There are a couple new releases from other bands of different genres that I plan to review. Will I continue this Roots project one day? I don't know. But that's it for this thread....
I'm sorry, world, but the ballad that many of you know and love I think is just far too unnecessary and unfitting for this band:
The last bit of Scorpions' remaining speedy heavy metal for me to enjoy:
The last Scorpions album metal enough for this site, and they had just started making their move to the hard rock/pop rock era that would sadly become more popular than their metallic past. Here are my thoughts:
That is the problem with several rock/metal bands starting off in the 70s. All their glory in that decade starts fading away in the 80s, and most of those bands have no chance in bringing it back. Scorpions is one of those bands with Love at First Sting. While similar to Blackout in terms of formula, almost all the heavy greatness of that album has been replaced with cheesy glam for the sake of commercial success. There's good music and some more killer riffing/soloing, but except a lot of highs and lows... Only a couple songs in the album have a metal sound in their speedy riffing and soloing, but most other songs rock much more like a glam/hard rock hurricane, and the album ends with one of the band's most popular ballads that I think it's just unnecessary and unfitting, and it's the unfortunate sign of their softer era to come. I wouldn't say Love at First Sting is completely bad, but when the band starts losing their metal steam and heading off in a more commercial path, there's not much that can appeal to a metalhead like me. The heavier side of Scorpions has pretty much faded away. That stings....
3/5
Metal enough in my opinion: no
Pure heavy metal with a pop-ish tone.
A 7-minute epic of the ultimate heavy metal engravement in Scorpions' legacy stone:
Scorpions' true heavy metal offering before they began losing much of their heaviness in subsequent albums. Here are my thoughts:
This album is probably the center of the band's direction in their tenure. The 5 albums before Blackout are filled with twisted hard rock/heavy metal anthems, with only a few commercial-sounding songs and several ballads throughout. In the albums after Blackout, it's almost just commercial hard rock/pop rock with barely any metal. Blackout marked that true balance between those eras. They were able to write catchy hooks strong enough to fit well with the metal that shows the last of its dominance here. Many songs have metallic riffing that's hard to ignore, performed by guitarists Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs. I'm starting to realize that Jab is one of the finest guitarists in classic hard rock/heavy metal, in the same level as the band's previous lead guitarist Uli Jon Roth. A shredding man of steel! Vocalist Klaus Meine performs some of his finest vocal work to date. He's awesome at his singing there, and even sing-screaming! I think his vocal cord surgery really enhanced his range. The rhythm section of bassist Francis Buchholz and drummer Herman Rarebell works well with all that soloing and singing insanity. Of course, the album is not without a ballad or two, but other than that, pure rock/metal anthems galore, including a 7-minute epic of the the ultimate heavy metal engravement in Scorpions' legacy stone. Don't back out from the Blackout!
4.5/5
Metal enough in my opinion: yes
Another popular Scorpions track, and actually one in which I understand the appeal of its melodic metallic sound and enjoy it much more than when I first reviewed it in this month's Guardians playlist two weeks ago, thanks to how well my side of the Roots of Metal project is going:
Seriously, the sharp riffing and upbeat tempo just scream metal to my ears! Of course, Scorpions is still the hard rock band they've been known for. Here are my thoughts:
The classic lineup of vocalist Klaus Meine, rhythm guitarist Rudolf Schenker, lead guitarist Matthias Jabs, bassist Francis Buchholz, and drummer Herman Rarebell are back at it again! Animal Magnetism shows the German hard rock/metal masters continuing their formula that would later propel them into global fame. The band can certainly blend rock melody with metallic fury with their respective instruments, whether playing fast, slow, or mid-tempo. Hearing albums like this decades after they come out has made me realize the appeal of their pathway to success. Animal Magnetism isn't as successful as the albums that followed it, but it was the spark they needed to make those albums happen. The elements they have for that are right here, so get ready to feel the sting!
4.5/5
Metal enough in my opinion: yes
It boggles my mind how in the world this dull disappointing ballad became one of the band's most popular non-single songs:
I haven't even reached Blackout yet, and already I find Scorpions at their most metallic with this awesome speed metal assault leaning into thrash:
OK, so continuing my Scorpions journey of which albums are metal or not...
Lovedrive continues the band's hard rock/metal sound (and controversial album covers) with their first album with current guitarist Matthias Jabs. Here are my thoughts:
Lovedrive would've surpassed Taken by Force if Uli Jon Roth was still their guitarist instead of Matthias Jabs who's been with the band ever since. Roth was a talented member of Scorpions (except for his horrid vocal contributions). His metallic noise had really blown the roof off in the albums that he was in. But that's not to say Jabs is super bad at all, he's really good too. Lovedrive is another solid album by the band in which hard rock/metal anthems are in great balance with radio-friendly ballads. In fact, two of the tracks here are the heaviest I've heard from Scorpions, with one of them being an awesome speed metal assault leaning into thrash. Though a couple more tracks are a bit disappointing, such as an overrated dull ballad and a rock instrumental that feels empty without any vocals. In some songs, you can hear Jabs jamming along in the soloing with former member Michael Schenker (Rudolf's brother). And the vocals of Klaus Meine are still top-notch. You can find it all throughout this solid 70s rock/metal cruise in Lovedrive, despite those questionable moments leaving me scratching my head....
4/5
Metal enough in my opinion: yes
I say "War Pigs" is a mid-tempo hard rock/heavy metal track with a doomy intro, along with a progressively advanced structure though nowhere near as much as the more progressive bands today.
Lately I've been discovering a few more bands from the Pit clan. From the earlier underground thrash with progressive tendencies...
...to the later modern thrash mixed with melodeath...
...and this young New Zealand band mixing Maori influences with groove/alt-metal:
Ladies and djentlemen, meet the UK masters of djenty progressive metal, Tesseract:
Ben, please add these new releases:
Atreyu - The Moment You Find Your Flame
Beartooth - The Surface
Ben, please add the new October Tide album The Cancer Pledge.
"Hard Lovin' Man" is another song that I initially thought was hard rock, but listening to it again, I can definitely hear metal in the riffing/soloing momentum. So another hard rock/heavy metal track there!
Now here's how I would genre-tag the 7 tracks in the album:
1. Speed King - Hard rock/heavy metal/proto-speed metal
2. Bloodsucker - Hard rock/heavy metal
3. Child in Time - Progressive rock/psychedelic rock/hard rock
4. Flight of the Rat - Hard rock/heavy metal/proto-speed metal
5. Into the Fire - Hard rock/heavy metal/proto-doom metal
6. Living Wreck - Hard rock
7. Hard Lovin' Man - Hard rock/heavy metal
Primary genres: Hard rock, heavy metal
Secondary genres: Proto-speed metal
I ended up being offered that new job & accepted it. I start on Tuesday 31st October. I'll have plenty of metal time on the drive there & back every day.
Nice!
1. Gateway playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 16)
2. Guardians playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 23)
3. Infinite playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 7)
4. Revolution playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 12)
5. Sphere playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 25)
For the clans I've made the monthly playlists for (The Guardians and The Sphere), I've listened to the entire playlists! I'm grateful to Saxy and Daniel for their playlist works. I really dig the tracks I've reviewed in the Gateway, Infinite, and Revolution playlists made by Saxy, and I'm glad all the two other playlists I've made have paid off. I recommend them to any fan of the clans' respective genres and anyone who isn't into those genres but wants to get into a great start in enjoying them. Thanks, Daniel, for accepting these playlists, and good work all!
THE GATEWAY: Alter Bridge - "Fortress" (2013) 5/5
THE INFINITE: Opeth - "In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall" (2010) 4.5/5
THE REVOLUTION: Polaris - "Fatalism" (2023) 4.5/5
THE SPHERE: Godflesh - "The Earache Peel Sessions" (2014) 5/5
Having listened to and reviewed this month's feature releases for all my clans, they all came out fantastic. My Infinite and Revolution nominations are amazing albums that I would recommend to fans of their respective genres. The Alter Bridge and Godflesh albums are perfect gems (thanks Saxy and Daniel!). Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...
Sure seems like Deep Purple in Rock might be metal enough for The Guardians based on our votes, but let's check out the final two songs before coming to a conclusion.
"Into The Fire" has a more Sabbath-like direction, slower marching hard rock/heavy metal, coming close to proto-doom metal. This may seem like I'm stretching the truth, but that's how I hear it. My genre verdict for "Into The Fire": Hard rock/heavy metal/proto-doom metal
Thanks, Daniel, but I've just cancelled my second task because I've realized that Rainbow's Rising is not as power metal as I thought, which I thought it was, because of the melodicism and the fantasy lyrics, but only "A Light in the Black" comes close to an important aspect of power metal, which is the speed.
Hmm... Only "A Light in the Black" comes close to the speed of power metal. I was thinking so much of the melodicism and fantasy lyrics. It's clear that this judgement submission isn't gonna win, so please cancel it.
Hi, Ben. As part of my side of the "Roots of Metal" project, there are a few albums that are often considered more hard rock than heavy metal, but they're a highly essential part of heavy metal's development and should be worth some discussion in this site. So can you please add the following:
Judas Priest - Rocka Rolla
Rainbow - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
Scorpions - In Trance
Scorpions - Virgin Killer (PLEASE use the replacement album cover with all the band members in it, not the original, for the sake of decency and legality)
Hi, Ben. I've concluded that of all these albums I've listened to and reviewed, only Judas Priest's Rocka Rolla is bluesy hard rock with barely any metal at all. The Rainbow and Scorpions albums I truly consider metal and I would like them added to the site please. Thanks!
PS: It's cool if you still want to use the original Virgin Killer album cover for its release page, but the replacement cover I'll use when discussing the album in forums.