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Compilations
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New Comments
The following are the newest comments about discs in the Brutal Metal
database. Click on the album name to go to the page for that CD and
add comments of your own!
| CD:
Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: December 17, 2024 at 10:30 |
| very good debut for CRIMSON GLORY back in 86 with Midnight s voice being the main attraction along with excellent musicianship and remarkable songwriting!their image,artwork and lyrics created a certain vibe and somehow CRIMSON GLORY became a unique ,cult act!"lost reflection " and "heart of steel" are the standout songs!
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| CD:
Anthrax - Return of the Killer As - The Best of Anthrax |
| From: CC |
Date: December 12, 2024 at 6:10 |
| A bit of a weird collection this one, considering it's title. When their previous record lable released the Moshers compilation, Anthrax had long since departed and changed singers, and Moshers concentrated on the Belladonna years. This was basically Anthrax's answer to the fact Bush material was not on it, and they had more control on this release. That said, the choice of "killer A's" is a bit weird. Excluding more successful songs like Black Lodge and Nothing, and including songs that failed to chart in their place. Nearly 50% is Bush era songs from the three albums with him on, which leaves a lot of classic Thrax songs off. The big selling point though is Ball of confusion which features Bush and the brief at the time, returns of Belladonna and Lilker. Overall would have been better as a two disc set. One with Belladonna and one with Bush. Also, on some versions Metal thrashing mad is the final cut.
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| CD:
Gamma Ray - Land of the Free |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: December 8, 2024 at 1:41 |
| pretty good album for GAMMA RAY in the mid 90 s keep on in the same sound & style with excellent musicianship and remarkable songwriting!"salvation s calling","rebellion in dreamland" and "gods of deliverance" are the standout songs!recommended
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| CD:
Symphony X - The Odyssey |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: December 6, 2024 at 10:43 |
| Power-prog is not my favorite subgenre, but somehow, despite exemplifying that style in all its excess and nerdiness, I like Symphony X. They're among the very best at this style. Michael Romeo's riffs never forget to be heavy, and Russell Allen has one of the best voices for this type of music (or any other he tries, for that matter). I got this as a promo when it came out, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it right away. (Incidentally, in the same envelope I got Kamelot's Epica, which I absolutely hated.) My favorite tracks are "Inferno," "Incantations Of The Apprentice," "King Of Terrors," "The Turning," and especially the would-be single "Wicked." However" as good as the first seven songs are, the title track epitomizes everything I hate about power-prog: 24 minutes of terminal dorkiness, complete with cheesy orchestration and not a hook in sight.
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| CD:
Gamma Ray - Insanity and Genius |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: December 4, 2024 at 4:15 |
| Very good release for GAMMA RAY in their own diverse style offering songs with many hooks ,change of lines always keeping the interest of the listener high!excellent musicianship and vocal performance as always and good songs like "heal me","no return","last before the storm" and "your torn is over"!great band
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| CD:
Evergrey - From Dark Discoveries to Heartless Portraits |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: December 2, 2024 at 1:11 |
| very good release for EVERGREY with a mix of live recordings,demo versions and a fine piano version of some songs!a celebration of their music for the fans from a very good band!"call out the dark" piano version is the highlight
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| CD:
Asphyx - Deathhammer |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: November 25, 2024 at 20:50 |
| Judas Priest would be proud of a metal-is-the-message fist-pumper like the title track. So I do enjoy this album quite a lot nowadays, but I also appreciate the (slightly) increased dynamics of the following Incoming Death just a little bit more.
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| CD:
Asphyx - Deathhammer |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: November 25, 2024 at 20:47 |
| Okay, so yes: I was a bit hard on this in my initial review. I WANTED it to be more like Paradise Lost and the other bands I named, because that's more what I was into. Also, I was listening at the wrong volume. This needs to be played loud, or else the guitars and bass just blur into a trebly, Euro-death buzzsaw. Cranked up, you can appreciate the boulder-size riffs as Martin van Drunen spins his tales of woe. His voice is on the higher side of a death growl, more John Tardy than Chris Barnes (though he's singing actual words). "Minefields" is a grueling, literal crawl through a battlefield, punctuated by a mournful lead of impossibly sustained notes. "Der Landser" features an even more evocative solo (it's the one I was trying to recall in my first comment). And shit, they have a song called "We Doom You To Death"—'nuff said. In among all the muddy misery are some almost jaunty, hardcore-infused anthems extolling the virtues of death-metal. Judas Priest would be proud of a metal-is-t
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| CD:
Evergrey - Glorious Collision |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: November 24, 2024 at 6:52 |
| very good release for EVERGREY getting a more updated approach ,somehow modern i d say!the songwriting and the musicianship are remarkable with many melodic lines and memorable choruses!"frozen","leave it behind us","you " and "wrong" are the highlights
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| CD:
Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: November 13, 2024 at 6:15 |
| Bolt Thrower took some shit from fans for adopting the then-current groove-metal sound on albums like Mercenary—of maybe trying to sound like Pantera—but here, those elements are incorporated so well into the band's trademark dank, doomy atmosphere, that only the most curmudgeonly old-school fan could resist. The band decided this would be their final release, though they continued touring for a few years before finally calling it a day.
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| CD:
Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: November 13, 2024 at 6:06 |
| Longtime fans of Bolt Thrower, and death metal generally, will probably skew toward the band's early albums (The IVth Crusade and before), but this is one punishing farewell. Nearly every song boasts a handful of catchy but crushing riffs, overlaid by Karl Willets's morose vocals narrating tales of (mostly futile) battlefield heroics. "The Kill Chain" packs a massively infectious groove, the closest thing to a death-metal single you'll find anywhere and yet without feeling dumbed down. Other highlights include "At First Light," "Granite Wall," "Last Stand of Humanity" and "When Cannons Fade." Production is clear and punchy, which can't always be said for early death metal, with thick slabs of guitars, locked-in bass you can feel, and drums that are just right.
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| CD:
Virgin Steele - Noble Savage |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: November 11, 2024 at 0:17 |
| superb heavy metal release for VIRGIN STEELE with an amazing De Feis vocal,lyric ^attitude performance that imho sets Noble Savage a milestone of the genre .flawless energetic music with great riffs ,solos many hooks and passionate vocals along with fine and unique songwriting creating a unique vibe!masterpiece and a classic of 80 s metal
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| CD:
Nevermore - The Politics Of Ecstasy |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: October 7, 2024 at 16:25 |
| Nevermore were unusual in bands of this style and time, because they were just so ... fucking ... heavy! You take away Warrel Dane's vocals, and this could almost pass for death metal in songs like "The Seven Tongues Of God" or the title track. There are twisty, Meshuggah-like parts in "Lost" and "The Tiananmen Man," and a slow, doomy trudge on "Passenger." Some versions add in their crushing cover of Priest's "Love Bites," which was how more than a few folks first heard Nevermore back in the day, on some tribute album.
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| CD:
Nevermore - Nevermore |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: October 7, 2024 at 16:15 |
| Dane was always outspoken in his belief in the benefits of psychedelics, but somehow that song just sounds a bit like a hippie preaching on a street corner.
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| CD:
Nevermore - Nevermore |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: October 7, 2024 at 16:11 |
| Nevermore's debut feels a bit like an odd child in the catalog. It's not as nimble as Sanctuary's second album, and not as crushingly heavy as the band would become. Still, most of the trademark elements are there, including Warrel Dane's histrionic vocals. His shriek now has a ragged, desperate tone to it rather than the cryml-clear Halfordisms of Refuge Denied, and he usually saves it to add extra emphasis, or for high harmonies. Jeff Loomis is already a shredder, and "C.B.F. (Chrome Black Future)" lurches into that shuddering gallop the band would make one of their signature sounds. My favorites are "What Tomorrow Knows," "The Garden Of Grey," the near-thrashfest of "Sea Of Possibilities" and "God Money." On the other hand, "Timothy Leary" just seems like a bad idea somehow.
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| CD:
Rage - Strings To A Web |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: October 4, 2024 at 8:11 |
| excellent album for RAGE and imho among their best ever ,as the songwriting is truly very fine with Victor and Peavey offering great riffs and choruses keeping the interest high in almost every tune!"hunter and prey","the beggar s last dime","empty hollow" and "connected" are superb songs!really great stuff here
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| CD:
Sanctuary - Into The Mirror Black |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: October 1, 2024 at 21:41 |
| ... "Taste Revenge," "Long Since Dark," the almost-title track, "Seasons Of Destruction" and "Communion." "One More Murder" is perhaps the thrashiest thing here, but also feels a little silly and the most like a holdover from Refuge Denied.
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| CD:
Sanctuary - Into The Mirror Black |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: October 1, 2024 at 21:39 |
| Man oh man, this disc was ahead of its time! Closest comparisons from around the turn of the decade would include the likes of Crimson Glory, Lethal, the heaviest Savatage, maybe Metal Church. So much of prog-leaning metal up to this point sacrificed heaviness in favor of technicality and finesse. Into The Mirror Black crushes them all. Even over a decade later, a great many bands playing in this style still struggled to match the power and weight of this second Sanctuary disc. This is a clear precursor to the mighty Nevermore, and on some days, I like it better than the latter band's debut, and even The Politics Of Ecstasy. The production is vastly improved over debut, sounding crystal-clear and diamond-hard, and asshole-tight. Jim Shepard's bass popping underneath the slicing riffs. Warrel Dane has tamed the over-the-top shrieks, possibly by necessity, putting the focus more on his baleful wail. Highlights abound, from the raging to the somber, including "Future Tense," "taste Reveng
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| CD:
Sanctuary - Refuge Denied |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: October 1, 2024 at 11:35 |
| Sanctuary's first album is largely a showcase for Warrel Dane's Halford-like shrieks. Underneath, it's near-thrashy power-metal, sorta like fellow Seattlers Metal Church on their first album. This one is really hampered by its production. Almost sounds like you're listening to it on a cheap, old clock-radio, and increasing the volume doesn't really help. That and Warrel's over-reliance on the piercing screams keep Refuge Denied from greatness, but there are good songs like "Battle Angels," "Terminal Force," "Die For My Sins," and "The Third War." The cover of "White Rabbit" sounds like a terrible idea on paper, but Sanctuary accentuates the creepiness and offer up some embryonic Nevermore vibes, which they also do on the closing "Veil Of Disguise."
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| CD:
Rage - Soundchaser |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: September 30, 2024 at 7:29 |
| excellent release for RAGE and imho among their best ,as the songwriting and the musicianship are truly outstanding!the music is flawless without losing any interest and all the songs standout as the choruses are catchy and the production pretty strong!a must have from a great band
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| CD:
Jag Panzer - The Age of Mastery |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: September 25, 2024 at 8:55 |
| Poverty-metal from Colorado Springs here, little more than a regional act in the '80's. By 1998, there was a whole scene of this stuff, particularly in Europe, bands like Hammerfall and Primal Fear, and Iced Earth here in the States (with whom they toured a few years after this album). Jag Panzer isn't as good as any of those, however. The Age Of Mastery, and really every other album of theirs that I've heard, just sounds very small-time—maybe it's the mix? Chris Broderick rips on guitar, and went on to Arch Enemy and Megadeth (of course, Mustaine bashed him after he left). But Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin's yodeling power-metal vocals are so hammy, yet I doubt that was his intention. I just don't care for this, but I guess the leather-and-studs crowd in Germany who take their metal deadly serious eat it up. Oh yeah, the album after this one is a concept album based on Macbeth. Ah, no thanks.
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| CD:
Rage - End Of All Days |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: September 20, 2024 at 2:26 |
| very good release for RAGE as usual with that unique Peavey s songwriting ability always there offering many heavy catchy tunes !this time we have a guitar duo but not in the same level with their previous works!"under control","voice from the vault","talking to the dead" and "face behind the mask" are the highlights
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| CD:
Metallica - Kill Em All |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: September 17, 2024 at 4:01 |
| explosive debut for METALLICA back in 83 defining the thrash metal scene with those superb riffs ,howling vocals and raw energy!flawless music from those youngsters with a strong NWOBHM influence that became one of the classics of the heavy metal genre!superb!
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| CD:
Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare |
| From: CC |
Date: September 16, 2024 at 15:43 |
| Lol, Doghouse reilly still thinking his is the only opinion that matters and coming out with childish shit like 2is your pussy still sore". Grow up you arrogant fuck bag! You essay reviews stink of arrogance and ignorance at the same time. It's amazing that one person could achieve the levels of douche baggery as you have. Have a gold star.
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| CD:
Immolation - Failures For Gods |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: September 11, 2024 at 15:24 |
| "No Jesus, No Beast" is one of Immolation's all-time classics, and the title track is another top highlight. The production on Failures For Gods is a little disconcerting, with very loud bass drums—almost sounds like one pedal is miked up more than the other, or one of Alex Hernandez's feet is just stronger. This could be read as sloppiness or that much-vaunted "organic" quality, depending on your preference. People like to describe the band's overall sound and style by using references to sewers and sludgea and that's apt—a song like "God Made Filth" or "Stench Of High Heaven" really gives you the feeling of frantically crawling through thick muck to escape a dark, dripping underground world. But when you get topside, you find only a blighted, bombed-out urban landscape. Immolation may not be the most brutal or technically advanced death-metal bands out there, but they are certainly one of the most evocative.
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| CD:
Immolation - Failures For Gods |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: September 11, 2024 at 15:10 |
| I'll need to add the rest of Immolation's discography when I find the time. They've become one of my favorite death-metal bands. I think the thing that appeals to me is that palpable sense of dread and foreboding in their riffs, the frequent descent into grueling doom riffs, and the somber, mournful and even despairing quality to Ross Dolan's vocals. Who says you can't be expressive within the context of a death-growl? Other signature elements include Bob Vigna's hand-contorting riffs and the lost-soul harmonics that punctuate them, plus those off-kilter, juddering rhythms. Failures For Gods is one of their best early albums. At this point in their career, their lyrics were mostly anti-Christian screeds; beginning with Harnessing Ruin in 2005, they broadened their approach to take in the entirety of man's folly and imminent downfall (of which religion is still a big part, but only a part). They've always struck me as a bit more thoughtful than someone like, say, Deicide. "No Jesus, No
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| CD:
Drowning Pool - Sinner |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: September 10, 2024 at 11:44 |
| Are Drowning Pool the Sisyphus of nu-metal, forever rolling their one hit up the hill in an act of futile perseverance? That one hit, of course, is "Bodies," the song that taught wrestling fans how to count to four. Sesame Street rock for knuckleheads. Okay, it's a guilty pleasure, a stupid but catchy jam from the last months of the old world (summer 2001), even as it borrows heavily from Coal Chamber's "Sway." "Tear Away" and the title track were also singles, but let's not kid ourselves. Nu-metal was already on the wane by this point. The death of singer Dave Williams the following summer (of a heart condition made worse by hard, hard partying) should have ended this band, but noooooo. They soldiered on with a rogue's gallery of singers, including the guy from Soil, but it's all about "Bodies," always has been, always will be.
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| CD:
Rage - Trapped |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: September 6, 2024 at 4:26 |
| very good release for RAGE back in 92 always offering catchy speed metal music with many hooks and good songs like "shame on you","solitary man" and "enough is enough"!great band
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| CD:
Iron Maiden - The Book Of Souls |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: August 12, 2024 at 15:49 |
| Other highlights include "The Great Unknown," "The Man Of Sorrows" (not to be confused with Bruce's similarly-titled solo track from Accident Of Birth), the title track and especially "If Eterity Should Fail," a rare instance when the run-time is fully justified.
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| CD:
Iron Maiden - The Book Of Souls |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: August 12, 2024 at 15:46 |
| Another strong album from postmillennial Iron Maiden. The biggest flaw here is the length of the songs. "The Red And The Black" is a good example of a perfectly fine song padded beyond reason with long instrumental passages and a repeating "Whoa-whoa" section that serves only to remind us of "The Wiaker Man." Thirteen fucking minutes of this! All the reviews around the time of release were unfailingly positive, and seemed to imply (or sometimes state explicitly) that if you had a problem with the run-time, you weren't a true fan. Sorry—almost none of these songs need to be as long as they are, and it causes a fair amount of the record to drone past in a blur of noise that is instantly recognizable as Maiden, but no less generic for it. It's no accident that two of the best songs are its most direct, "Speed Of Light" and "Death Or Glory." (Ah, but the metal press rushed to characterize both as cheap appeals for hit singles—as if!)
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| CD:
Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: August 12, 2024 at 14:32 |
| I've been pretty vocal in my preference Maiden's 1980-84 golden era of shorter, sharper songs with a few scattered epics, rather than the 21st-century inversion in which overlong compositions dominate. That's why I didn't give A Matter Of Life And Death a fair listen when it came out. Turns out it's one of their best latter-day releases. Yes, the songs are long, but they're also catchy without being repetitive and simplistic like some of the songs on the previous two albums were. This is also the baand's heaviest album, though heaviness is a relative thing anymore. And the 72-minute runtime feels almost reasonable compared to The Book Of Souls and Senjutsu. Highlights include pretty much all of the first half, plus "For The greater Good Of God." "Benjamin Breeg" maybe wasn't the best choice for a first single, though, which may have been another reason I wasn't into the album at the time.
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| CD:
Judas Priest - Jugulator |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: August 8, 2024 at 15:22 |
| I used to hear some of these songs (both these versions and the ones from the then-brand-new '98 Live Meltdown) on a late-night metal show out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during my first year of college. Stuff like "Blood Stained," "Dead Meat," "Death Row," "Decapitate" and "BrainDead"—they just had this cold, gray, grimy atmosphere. It was almost industrial, but not in the danceable, Trent Reznor way that Halford was messing around with at the same time. Just so fucking heavy, and with none of Halford's themes of empowerment and affirmation.
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| CD:
Judas Priest - Jugulator |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: August 8, 2024 at 15:09 |
| I agree with CC for the most part. Jugulator is a good album taken on its own merits, but was always a little hard to take as a Judas Priest album. Ripper sounds like what he is, a Priest tribute-band singer—albeit a good one—and here, his tendency toward heavy-handednessis matched by some brutal music. This is Priest's heaviest, angriest album, and there's none of the fist-pumping, communal-singalong vibes of the '80's. This was an album that was unfairly judged in its time, despite being very much a product of that time, and seems to have relatively few champions among fans.
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| CD:
Evergrey - Solitude - Dominance - Tragedy |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: August 8, 2024 at 14:57 |
| ... as important an ingredient as either of the above, and that haunted, melancholy atmosphere, all-bine to make this one of Evergrey's very best albums. Highlights include "Solitude Within," "Nosferatu," "The Shocking Truth" (which foreshadows the next album with its alien-abduction theme), one of their best-ever ballads in "Words Mean Nothing," the almost-thrashy "Damnation," and the closing epic "The Corey Curse."
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| CD:
Evergrey - Solitude - Dominance - Tragedy |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: August 8, 2024 at 14:53 |
| Look, I love latter-day Evergrey, and I even enjoy the mid-period albums so many others hate. But there's something special about the early incarnation of the band that's been lost in the ensuing 20-plus years. As with the debut album, there are just some jackhammer riffs here that would have been right at home on Cowboys From Hell in style and especially tone, and which elevate these songs into absolute bangers. And that's somewhat unusual for European power-prog. Henrik Dangage has yet to join the band, and this is before he and Tom started tuning down before switching to seven-strings, and as a result, Tom's vocals are in a higher pitch. Which leads to a whole chicken-and-egg discussion: is he singing lower nowadays because they're writing songs in lower keys, or are they tuning down to accommodate his changing voice? Either way, SDT is a strong, strong album that I really wish I would have heard when it came out. Those crushing riffs, Tom's emotional vocals, the keys that are just
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| CD:
Judas Priest - Jugulator |
| From: CC |
Date: August 8, 2024 at 12:29 |
| I have nothing against Ripper, but for me Priest was always about Robs vocals as much as it was about the rest of the band, and taking that element out of the band was taking away the most critical piece of the jigsaw. I always say you can replace pretty much anyone in a band, but the vocalist is the toughest one to replace. I absolutely loved Painkiller and Ram it down, so when Rob left I followed Rob and pretty much dropped Priest until he returned. But over time I even lost interest in Robs output. So here we are with me filling gaps in my Priest collection and finally got around to hearing the two Ripper fronted albums. Nothing inherently wrong with them but they really are not Priest and don't do much for me. As I say though, they are not bad albums if you are into that kinda thing. The last couple of Priest albums are actually some of their best, so thank god this era only lasted two albums.
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| CD:
Testament - The Legacy |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: July 29, 2024 at 12:24 |
| strong thrash debut for TESTAMENT back in 87 with great riffs and a solid performance that set em among the best of the genre!i prefer their 90 s ones but Legacy was def a good start
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| CD:
Testament - Low |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: July 27, 2024 at 5:17 |
| very good release for TESTAMENT back in 94 getting a bit rougher in their sound ,still offering great big riffs and a fine heavy groove!"hail mary","trail of tears","low" are the standout songs!great band
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| CD:
Testament - Souls of Black |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: July 24, 2024 at 6:20 |
| very good album for TESTAMENT with great guitar work in riffs and solos ,lowering the speed and writing down fine songs that are quite catchy!"souls of black","legacy","malpractice" and "face in the sky" are the highlights!great band
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| CD:
Judas Priest - Invincible Shield |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: July 20, 2024 at 11:16 |
| excellent new release for JUDAS PRIEST with much depth that after a few spins you ll totally get into!great riffs,amazing vocal performance ,no big songs but all of them equal ,make Invincible Shield stands proud among the rest of their long catalogue!well done
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| CD:
Judas Priest - Invincible Shield |
| From: CC |
Date: July 13, 2024 at 20:38 |
| I have always liked Priest but they have never been an essential band for me to buy all their albums. That said Painkiller is still one of my all time favourite songs. Now I had not bought a Priest album since Nostradamus, and even that was only picked up a little while after release as I saw it cheap. I actually preordered Invincible shield due to there being a deluxe edition and there were signed copies available. I really was not expecting much as had not heard any of the pre release singles, so put it on totally blind. Holy fuck, what an album. This is easily my favourite Priest album and I have not stopped playing it since it came out. It does everything that I loved about the song Painkiller, but expands on that. I can hand on heart say that this is my album of the year so far, and I have a feeling it will stay that way.
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| CD:
Judas Priest - Sin After Sin |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 28, 2024 at 7:08 |
| pretty good release for JUDAS PRIEST back in 77 with some good riffs ,a fine performance by Rob as always but the songs werent that strong and memorable and the whole result sounds confused!"sinner" and "last rose of summer" are the standout songs...Sin After Sin isnt among their best ,still a release that helped them get into heavier forms later on
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| CD:
Crease - Vindication |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: June 25, 2024 at 11:15 |
| First off, absolutely awful band name—what possessed them? But it suits this nondescript music perfectly: a band name that doesn't jump out at all at you, to go along with music that was like a B-grade Godsmack or Soil, rather than the Metallica, Pantera and Skid Row these South Florida guys cited as influences. Thirteen cheap cuts of late-nineties stew-meat metal, lots of half-whispered verses and yelled choruses. No rapping or scratching to speak of, and a punk influence that's really just below-average musicianship. Oh yeah, and a bad, no-fun cover of an '80's pop hit—these were all the rage at the time. "Frustration" was the single, and didn't make it out of light, late-night rotation on the radio.
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| CD:
Kerry King - From Hell I Rise |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: June 19, 2024 at 18:41 |
| From the beginning, when he first put it out there that he was working on new music, Kerry told us not to expect anything too different from him. And the man told it true: if you liked Slayer's last three albums, you'll like this. Mark Osegueda uses a voice that's kind of a combination of a generic, harsh metalcore tone with a bit of an Araya-esque yell—his more melodic Death Angel voice is nowhere to be found. The songs are good, but not great, with standouts being "Residue," "Idle Hands," "Tension," the very Seasons In The Abyss-like riffing on "Toxic," and "Shrapnal," which is slower and incorporates a repeating, wailing harmonic that actually reminds me of Immolation.
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| CD:
Megadeth - Endgame |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 15, 2024 at 17:13 |
| one more for MEGADETH and in the same level delivering some fine riffs and songs !Dave seems capable of writing down and performing heavy metal music in his unique way after so many years in the same energy!"the hardest part of letting go ...sealed with a kiss","head crusher"and "bodies " are the highlights
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| CD:
Megadeth - United Abominations |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 13, 2024 at 15:48 |
| ok release for MEGADETH offering some good riffs and songs but United Abominations i m afraid is among their worst ones !the production isnt clear and the songs nothing blowminding while the lyrics are too much about war and politics!"gears of war","sleepwalker" and "never walk alone...a call to arms" are the better moments
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| CD:
Megadeth - The System Has Failed |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 12, 2024 at 8:08 |
| very good release for MEGADETH with Dave Mustaine seems to be capable to provide a solid heavy metal release anytime with his songwriting and performing ability!Poland fits well and the result is satisfying with songs like "the scorpion",'tears in a vial" and "of mice and men"!recommended
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| CD:
Megadeth - Rude Awakening |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 10, 2024 at 14:33 |
| very good live release for MEGADETH capturing the band in their The World Needs A Hero tour !double cd edition ,many songs performed very well by Dave and his gang,surely satisfying for the fans
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| CD:
Megadeth - The World Needs A Hero |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 10, 2024 at 9:26 |
| very good release once again for MEGADETH this time with Al Pitrelli on board showing his skill !the result is great with the band sounding fresh and Dave showing again his songwriting ability with songs like "promises","recipe for hate...warhorse","1000 goodbyes" and "return to hangar"!great band
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| CD:
Megadeth - Cryptic Writings |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 9, 2024 at 5:40 |
| very good release for MEGADETH once again this time getting a more 90 s sound but still heavy !the songwriting is excellent and Dave seems to enjoy that slow down offering great songs like "a secret place","sin","she wolf" or "trust"!caught them live on that tour and they were also great on stage
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| CD:
Megadeth - Youthanasia |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 6, 2024 at 14:04 |
| excellent release for MEGADETH back in 94 with Max Norman again achieving a fine commercial heavy metal sound and writing down catching tunes with great choruses and riffs!"a tout le monde","reckoning day",'train of consequenses" and "family tree" are great songs indeed!youthanasia is surely among their best
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| CD:
Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 5, 2024 at 6:54 |
| excellent release for MEGADETH with Max Norman in production and the band getting an updated 90 s approach offering a mix of more commercial songs like "symphony of destruction","foreclosure of a dream"or "sweating bullets" and some more in their trademark sound like "architecture of aggression","this was my life" or "ashes in your mouth"!highly recommended stuff here
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| CD:
Scanner - Scantropolis |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 3, 2024 at 6:45 |
| SCANTROPOLIS was a quite experimental for SCANNER altering many things in their sound trying to go with the flow with those cold female vocals thing that were on at the moment in the metal scene...many keys ,not so strong guitars i guess this is easily their worst one
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| CD:
Megadeth - Rust in Peace |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 31, 2024 at 5:48 |
| a def masterpiece for MEGADETH and their best ever moment !this was the time many heavy metal bands were saved by the hair metal explosion that was happening at the moment as the companies pressed them to make their sound more commercial ,they gave them a bigger budget to have better productions,videos etc and as a result they improved!in MEGADETH s case we have Mike Clink and Max Norman putting the pieces together and Marty Friedman s shredding gave them a new prospect !every tune of Rust In Peace is pure magic and i consider it one of the best of the heavy metal genre!essential and classic of the great 90s
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| CD:
Rage - Unity |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 30, 2024 at 6:55 |
| one more good release for RAGE ,always capable of writing down fine power heavy metal music in their own way!Peavey is the mastermind with his unique way of singing keeping the trademark RAGE sound through the decades!"insanity","all i want" and "dies irae" are the highlights
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| CD:
Black Label Society - Grimmest Hits |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: May 29, 2024 at 11:24 |
| I listened to this again yesterday, and it is indeed better than I remember. Best tracks are "Seasons of Falter" (more of Zakk's word-salad, a la "Fields of Unforgiving"), "All That Once Shined," "Room Of Nightmares," "Disbelief," "The Day That Heaven Had Gone Away" (despite his grating pronunciation of "hev-awn") and especially "The Betrayal," one of Zakk's best and most lively songs in a while. There are two main issues with Grimmest Hits though, and they ar related, and both only get worse on 2021's Doom Crew, Inc. It's too long, at nearly an hour. And the reason why it's too long is often because Zakk's solos go on forever. He seems to have forgotten how to "play for the song." Maybe comes from producing the record himself, without anybody to say, "Let's cut that solo in half. You noodled for 32 bars, let's take the best parts of that and make it 16. And let's turn it down in the mix a little bit too—we get it, you can shred."
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| CD:
Obituary - Frozen in Time |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: May 28, 2024 at 15:41 |
| ... off with an instrumental that is little more than the band's live intro? Highlights include "On The Floor," "Insane," "Back Inside," "Lockjaw," and my favorite of the bunch, "Slow Death."
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| CD:
Obituary - Frozen in Time |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: May 28, 2024 at 15:39 |
| Obituary, and old-school death-metal in general were sounding pretty tired and played-out by 1997, as the Gothenburg crowd were now doing the innovating. Obituary called it quits after the lackluster Back From The Dead, notable for all the wrong reasons—chief among them a horrendous collaboration with some rappers. Donald Tardy spent the ensuing years as the drummer for party-boy Andrew W.K. Perhaps ironically, it was Andrew who encouraged Donald to get back with his brother and put Obituary in gear again. Frozen In Time is their appropriately-titled comeback album, and continues the sound set ford on The End Complete and World Demise, injecting their original swamp-monster sound with a bit of rock 'n' roll accessibility. Six Feet Under gets crucified for the bone-simple nature of their riffs and songwriting, but Obituary seems right at home in similar territory. You can learn to play "Redneck Stomp" in minutes from a YouTube video, and speaking of which, is there really a need to lead
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| CD:
Obituary - World Demise |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: May 28, 2024 at 15:22 |
| ... for pounding beers in the sweltering summertime.
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| CD:
Obituary - World Demise |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: May 28, 2024 at 15:20 |
| Obituary shed much of the grotesque, swamp-dwelling atmosphere by 1994, and their fourth album features a lot more of a hardcore influence, plus their approximation of the groove-metal sound popularized at the time by the likes of Pantera and labelmates Sepultura. John Tardy is barfing up actual words now, and the tracks have more of a "typical rock song" structure. But despite the moshable rhythms and mostly intelligible lyrics, this is still Obituary, and the worldview is unrelentingly bleak, though now concerned with more real-world matters, as the between-song samples attest. A lot of people checked out at this point, but I enjoy World Demise quite a bit; my only real criticism is that it's a bit too long. This album would set the template for pretty much all future Obituary releases, as the band became sort of the "good-time death-metal band," for better or worse. Best songs for me are "Don't Care," "Solid State," and the parallel-universe single "Final Thought." Another fun album
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| CD:
Obituary - The End Complete |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: May 28, 2024 at 14:59 |
| The End Complete was, and may still be, Obituary's best-selling album (and Roadrunner's top-selling T-shirt), as it was released near the peak of death metal's early-'90's boom. Allen West returns with his wild soloing, but the band starts to explore their slower side a bit more, and the songs even start to have more distinguishable verses and choruses. In this way, it's a bit more accessible than the first two albums, but John Tardy still sounds like he's blowing chunks all over the vocal booth, and the guitar sound is just disgusting: fuzzy and thick and soupy, with feedback bubbling up like noxious swamp gas. "I'm In Pain" is a top highlight, but nearly every song as a simple, memorable riff or two. It's a great disc to blast during a heat wave while you're drinking beer outside, to scare your neighbors.
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| CD:
Obituary - Slowly We Rot |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: May 28, 2024 at 14:39 |
| ... maybe a couple others, the songs mostly blend together. Honestly, it's hard to tell where "Intoxicated" ends and "Deadly Intentions" begins, and "Blood Soaked" after that. The production is a bit ear-fatiguing as well, with fuzzy, distorted bass combining with trebly guitars to make it sound like your speakers are breaking up. All part of the experience though, I guess. I enjoy it, but I feel like I'm missing out on some of the thrill, since by the time I discovered these first two albums, they were no longer shocking.
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| CD:
Obituary - Slowly We Rot |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: May 28, 2024 at 14:33 |
| Obituary were hailed as the "heaviest band in the universe" when their debut album was released in 1989, thanks in large part to John Tardy's ralphing, often wordless vocals, which were way up in the mix, drenched in reverb, and coming in at a higher pitch than most other death-metal singers of the time. Couple that with a disregard for traditional song structures, and tempos that often downshifted into a creepy crawl, and you have the soundtrack for a zombie splatterfest set in the Everglades. Turned out this frightening racket was made by a bunch of goofy potheads from the suburbs, playing in standard tuning no less (for this album anyway). There are parts of this album where John's vocals are muffled and buried in the mix, making him sound like he's suffocating under quicksand, adding to the atmosphere. One thing there is not, however: catchy songs. This makes Slowly We Rot more of a front-to-back listening experience, because with the exception of the title track, "'Til Death," and
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| CD:
Mindless Sinner - Turn on the Power |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 24, 2024 at 8:50 |
| very good classic heavy metal music for MINDLESS SINNER back in 84 reminding a heavier early EUROPE !very good energy and great guitars but the production isnt very clear !"i m gonna havesome fun","we go together" and "here she comes again " are the stand out songs!recommended
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| CD:
Rage - The Missing Link |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 21, 2024 at 15:31 |
| excellent release as usual for RAGE , a band with a strong songwriting ability offering thrilling power heavy metal music!Peavey is the mastermind singing in his unique way keeping the interest high !"the pit and the pendulum",'certain days" and "nevermore" are the highlights!every release of RAGE is a must have for heavy metal fans
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| CD:
Megadeth - So Far, So Good... So What! |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 17, 2024 at 14:27 |
| that one was astep back for MEGADETH with the production being kinda dull and the band seemed confused in what they were trying to do!the energy and the guitars are ok but the songs arent that memorable or strong..."set the world afire" is the highlight
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| CD:
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 1, 2024 at 4:37 |
| very good release for JUDAS PRIEST back in 82 defining the 80s metal scene with big anthemic songs ,great solos and Rob s uunique vocals!"another thing coming","bloodstone" and "electric eye" are classics !good stuff indeed
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| CD:
Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: April 26, 2024 at 11:14 |
| very good release for MEGADETH back in 86 sounding heavy and true with roaring vocals and excellent guitars but te rhythm section is genuine as well!the production isnt that strong but somehow fits well as it sounds very true!"wake up dead ""the conjuring""peace sells" are good songs indeed!
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| CD:
Heathen - Victims Of Deception |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: April 11, 2024 at 19:30 |
| very good thrash /speed metal release for HEATHEN with much better production and fine guitar work both riffs and solos!the songwriting is pretty good with "opiate the masses" and "prisoners of fate" being the highlights.recommended
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| CD:
Megadeth - Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good! |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: April 5, 2024 at 11:07 |
| pretty good speed metal debut for MEGADETH with a raw sound ,much energy and many guitar solos!the songwriting isnt in the highest level and the songs somehow arent memorable!really dig the guitar work though and overall it has an innocent early 80 s feel
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| CD:
Scanner - Terminal Earth |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: April 3, 2024 at 10:10 |
| very good release for SCANNER with a perfect German power metal sound that reminds me of HELLOWEEN s & GAMMA RAY s debuts!the production is excellent ad the songwriting pretty good with catchy tunes like "not alone","buy or die","from the dust of ages" and "wonder"!very good stuff here
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| CD:
Blind Guardian - Tales From the Twilight World |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: March 25, 2024 at 17:20 |
| very good release for BLIND GUARDIAN offering a very strong euro power metal release that reminds me of early HELLOWEEN !catchy songs,high speed power metal without being boring or useless!all the songs standout and somehow flows fine!highly recommended
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| CD:
Angra - Aurora Consurgens |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: March 20, 2024 at 11:17 |
| very good release for ANGRA with a new singer but still the band delivers with its unique sound and approach!"breaking ties","so near so far " and "the course of nature"a re the highlights
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| CD:
Angra - Fireworks |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: March 20, 2024 at 11:15 |
| very good release for ANGRA once again this time choosing a more guitar oriented sound with bigger and stronger solos and with the production being more rough!again the musicianship is top notch with many good songs like "paradise","gentle change" ,"petrified eyes" and "metal icarus"!every ANGRA release is worth having
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Angra - Holy Land |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: March 20, 2024 at 11:11 |
| very good release for ANGRA slightly different than their debut with their music being an interesting mix of heavy power with symphonic parts in a very smooth way !"nothing to say","carolina IV" and "make believe: are excellent songs indeed!unique sound very good band
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| CD:
Angra - Angels Cry |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: March 20, 2024 at 11:08 |
| very good debut for ANGRA in the early 90 s that made some impact mostly because of their excelent musicianship and vocal work along wit the very interesting mix of power metal with symphonic parts!"carry on","time" ,"wuthering hearts" and "streets of tomorrow" are the highights
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| CD:
Quartz - Stand Up and Fight |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: March 7, 2024 at 12:43 |
| excellent album for QUARTZ offering their heavy hard rock music with great production due to MCA records but unfortunately they didnt hhave the expected success!the music seems very true and still sounds fresh capturing that sweet innocent early 80 s spirit!"can t say no to you","wildfire" and "stand up and fight" are the highlights!love it
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| CD:
Virgin Steele - Guardians of the Flame |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: March 6, 2024 at 7:09 |
| excellent release for VIRGIN STEELE with great guitar work from Jack and David shining with his vocal and songwriting abilities!the band sounds very solid with anthemic songs and a fine heavy rock vibe!"dont say goodbye","life of crime","cry in the night" are the highlights!a must have of course like most of their releases
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| CD:
Cirith Ungol - Paradise Lost |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: February 23, 2024 at 20:11 |
| excellent release for CIRITH UNGOL in the early 90 s and for me that is their best one with strong production and many good songs like "go it alone","join the legion","the troll" and "fallen idols"!great band with a trademark sound
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Testament - The New Order |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: February 13, 2024 at 8:00 |
| very good release for TESTAMENT creating somehow a trademark sound with excellent musicianship and those Chuck s vocs that remind me of James Hetfield s !the guitar work is remarkable ,the production strong and clear ,the energy is present but the songs should have better choruses in order to stand out, like they did later on!"into the pit","the new order" and "eerie inhabitants" are the highlights
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| CD:
Rage - Welcome To The Other Side |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: February 10, 2024 at 5:40 |
| amazing release for RAGE offering their classic heavy metal sound and showing their songwriting ability with many hooks and strong melodic lines !"DEEP IN THE NIGHT",:WELCOME TO THE OTHER SIDE" and "paint the devil on the wall" are the highlights!a must have
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| CD:
Iron Maiden - Senjutsu |
| From: CC |
Date: January 26, 2024 at 17:15 |
| I am not what you would call a huge Maiden fan but I do like them, do own all their studio albums and have been to see them live a few times. For me though I have really not been a fan since Bruce returned for Brave new world. Last time I saw them live was in support of that album. My biggest gripe with BNW was that it seemed like they were trying to recapture the sound of older songs to the point they just sounded like carbon copies, and the choruses were fucking awful with the same line repeated over and over again. Since then I really have not enjoyed a single Maiden album. There might be the odd song I like, but even they are few and far between and are not amazing. Now onto this album. Musically its solid as you would expect, but there are zero hooks and all the songs are just boring and blur into one. I just listened to it again today, and my opinion is still the same. Gimme the classics any day of the week over this drone.
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| CD:
Crimson Glory - Transcendence |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: January 7, 2024 at 18:40 |
| excellent album for CRIMSON GLORY back in 88 with a great performance by Midnight and thrilling songwriting with songs like "painted skies",'lonely","lady of winter "!the band offers some classic US power metal but in a very classy way with many melodic lines and those unique vocals that remind me of Robert Plant going metal!one of the classics of the genre and a must have of course
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| CD:
Evergrey - The Sinner Rides Again |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: January 2, 2024 at 22:08 |
| This album is called "From Dark Discoveries To Heartless Portraits." "The Sinner Rides Again" is the KK's Priest album submitted at the same time.
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| CD:
Crimson Glory - Astronomica |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: January 2, 2024 at 14:30 |
| excellent release for CRIMSON GLORY with Wade Black doing a fine job replacing Midnight and with the songs being strong with many hooks and memorable choruses!To be honest didnt expect Astronomica to be that good and it stands equally to their 3 previous ones
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| CD:
Cirith Ungol - Servants of Chaos |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: December 30, 2023 at 12:59 |
| very good collection of songs that sums up the story of CIRITH UNGOL from their 4 releases and also some demoslive &unreleased of theirs !rough heavy rock music with unique vocals and some 70 s influenced guitar lines puts them among the acts that defined heavy metal music!recommended
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| CD:
Rage - Ten Years In Rage |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: December 22, 2023 at 17:40 |
| very good collection of songs that remain out of the first 5 albums of RAGE in their first ten years and that finally were rerecorded by Peavey and his gang!everything you like in their music is still present always offering thrilling power metal music ,very electric and energetic!every release of them is worth having
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| CD:
Nuclear Assault - Something Wicked |
| From: ItalRocker |
Date: December 10, 2023 at 3:15 |
| Despite the lineup changes, the band stayed true to their familiar sound. Behind Glass Walls is an awesome song!
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| CD:
Megadeth - Cryptic Writings |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: November 20, 2023 at 1:34 |
| I just heard "Trust" today, after avoiding it for a long time, and was surprised at what a great song it is. It's just one of those songs you heard so much back in the day, and seems to have outsize popularity, like "that one Megadeth song that casual fans know," but then one day you hear it in the car and—it jams!
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| CD:
Coroner - Mental Vortex |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: November 6, 2023 at 14:56 |
| excellent thrash release for CORONER in their very technical but still groovy way of performing!the production is of the highest quality ,the songs very well done and they all stand out with great guitar riffs and interesting lines!great stuff here
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| CD:
Paradise Lost - Lost Paradise |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: October 27, 2023 at 13:51 |
| very good debut for PARADISE LOST back in the early 90 offering some doom death metal music with those dark Mackintosh guitar lines which is the trademark of their sound!Nick s vocals are brutal and i totally prefer their later on version!good for what it is
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| CD:
Witchfynde - Give 'Em Hell |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: October 25, 2023 at 8:10 |
| excellent debut for WITCHFYNDE back in 80 and a milestone in the NWOBHM movement with a fine true heavy metal sound and many good songs like :"leaving nadir","give em hell","ready to roll" and "pay now love later"!classic all the way
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| CD:
Megadeth - So Far, So Good... So What! |
| From: Simon |
Date: September 25, 2023 at 16:11 |
| This is a brilliant and very drunk-aggressive album when Dave was in anger, pain and under the influence of lots of drugs. The original mix by Paul Lani was actually really good, unsurprisingly similar to Peace Sells..., but for some reason Michael Wagener was brought in to improve the sound, but it was unfortunately changed for the worse. I'd give Wagener's sound on the 1988 disc a 3/5, Lani 4/5, but the remix by Dave himself from 2004, I would give 5/5 because it improves lots of stuff. I know some hardcore fans hate remixes, but I am happy Dave took lots of time and energy to remix (with Ralph Patlan) because especially this platinum album So Far, So Good... So What! has been the most improved, and rock hard! This is rather heavy and fast aggressive 'Deth. I like all tunes, the cover song they did their own, and In my darkest our (about Burton's death as the inspiration for this song) is one of the all-time BEST 'Deth songs ever. Remixed '04 it sounds HUGE, drums are perfect!
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| CD:
Alice In Chains - Jar Of Flies |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: September 18, 2023 at 13:34 |
| Jar Of Flies is that rare EP that contains some of a band's best material. Alice In Chains always excelled at moody, softer songs, more than any of the other Seattle bands. Supposedly these songs were written and recorded in short order, but for the most part they don't feel slapdash. Layne's voice has settled into a deep, nasal drone that can seem quite unpleasant taken on its own, but once you catch the vibe of the songs, it fits perfectly. "Nutshell" is a case in point: the lyrics are basically him whining about unfavorable press coverage, yet so many people have found something they can apply to themselves, and it's down to his performance rather than the actual words he sings. "No Excuses" may be the band's biggest mainstream hit (even stodgy AOR stations played it during the daytime), but it's not a particular favorite of mine. I gravitate more toward the grandiose (for them) "I Stay Away" and "Don't Follow" (because—harmonica!), as well as the heaviest thing here, "Rotten Apple.
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| CD:
Alice In Chains - Alice In Chains |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: September 18, 2023 at 13:19 |
| Reading my comments from years ago, I still agree with some of what I said, but closer listening has given me more of an appreciation for this album. The band relies more on the harmonies of Layne and Jerry, with the vocals very prominent in the mix on many songs, and Jerry singing lead more than ever. His voice is not as strong or distinctive as Layne's, but gets the job done, and adds a bit of a subdued, resigned quality to songs like "Heaven Beside You" and "Over Now." Heavy, churning riffs are still present, especially in the first half of the disc, but tunes like "Sludge Factory" and especially "Frogs" also add some woozy psychedelic atmosphere as well, which the band had only hinted at earlier. Not everything is great, particularly Layne's obviously tossed-off lyrics and vocal on "Nothin' Song," and while this album can't match Facelift or Dirt, it's still a good listen, particularly on a chilly, rainy night.
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| CD:
Heathen - Breaking The Silence |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: August 31, 2023 at 7:37 |
| very good speed thrash debut for HEATHEN back in 87 with Ronnie Montrose in production offering classic sound and great guitar work along with songs like "death by hanging","open the grave" and "breaking the silence"!if i had to describe them i d say they were close to EXCITER at the moment
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| CD:
Pantera - Cowboys From Hell |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: August 28, 2023 at 12:27 |
| excellent album for PANTERA that somehow developed thrash music through the 90 s !their sound reminds me of METALLICA s Justice being groovy with monster riffs,howling vocals and strong rhythm section!Cowboys From Hell is flawless and its strength is like dynamite.love it!
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| CD:
Cirith Ungol - King of the Dead |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: August 24, 2023 at 5:53 |
| excellent release for CIRITH UNGOL offering their unique epic doom metal music creating a certain vibe with those howling raging vocals!def a late 70 s feel in their sound somehow works and the songs really stand out with "black machine","atom smasher" and "death of the sun" being the highlights
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| CD:
Overkill - From the Underground and Below |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: August 21, 2023 at 11:51 |
| An oft-overlooked album in the Overkill canon—just check the release date. 1997 was a tough, tough time for classic metal. Plus, CMC were not good at, or not focused on, marketing their bands in the States, concentrating on Europe. Too bad, because while the previous year's The Killing Kind had its moments but left much to be desired, From The Underground And Below is a sleeper classic from Blitz, DD and the gang. The ill-advised attempt at a ballad, "Pomises," is the only clunker here, although "Half Past Dead" does run on a bit long. Particular favorites for me include the slammin' opener "It Lives," the would-be single "Long Time Dyin'," the sneering "FUCT" and the (relative) fun of "The Rip 'n' Tear." Some folks prefer Necroshine as the band's true rebirth, but to me, they're almost like sonic twins.
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| CD:
Overkill - The Wings of War |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: August 21, 2023 at 11:21 |
| Overkill's been on such a hot streak (even for them) since Ironbound, it's become easy to take them for granted and just let the new album fly by in a burst of happy headbanging without actually paying attention to the songs. The Wings Of War stands tall even among the band's post-2010 output, with "Head Of A Pin" being one of their best latter-day songs. The fun gets started with the very Necroshine-like intro to "Last Man Standing." Elsewhere we have heavy delights like "Distortion," "A Mother's Prayer" and the cringey-titled "Out On The Road-Kill," as well as the now-expected shout-out to the fans with "Bat Shit Crazy." The snotty punk song maket an appearance as well, this time in the form of the hilarious "Welcome To The Garden State"—come on in, the water's great! Overkill are an anomaly among old-school thrash bands for me in that I actually don't care much for their '80's output, but with each decade since, they just get stronger and stronger.
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| CD:
Exciter - Unveiling the Wicked |
| From: Simon |
Date: August 12, 2023 at 16:39 |
| Hi Hair metal again, yes agreed and here's my take on this album. There's an interview with Dan from 86 on the tube, where he says they were very satisfied and proud of this album when it was done. They wanted a larger tour slot, they wanted finance for one or two videos (probably for Die in the night and School rules), but they got none of this, not even was Unveiling issued on CD (until 90-91, the only ever official release on a small Czech label Globus taken from the real master tape and not from LP). If Exciter would have had a few music videos on Headbanger's Ball, and so on, history could have been different. Without proper label and manager support, it's impossible. But the album is still one of the very best ever albums of that type of heavy metal, with skilled amazing guitars, and raw aggressive screamin' vocals, perfect for the gym! I like first three albums too but this is my fave. Guy Bidmead (who had worked w Motörhead etc) created a raw great sound. Get the Globus CD!!
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| CD:
Cannibal Corpse - The Bleeding |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: June 26, 2023 at 19:08 |
| ... and the title track. It's mostly down to the improved production, but I like this one better than Tomb Of The Mutilated.
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| CD:
Cannibal Corpse - The Bleeding |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: June 26, 2023 at 19:07 |
| Riding the wave of exposure from Ace Ventura, this was Cannibal Corpse's commercial breakthrough. Accessibility is a relative concept with this band, but I find the songs a little easier to grab onto, and the production is less ear-fatiguingly trebly. The guitars don't sound quite as much like power tools, but still allow Alex Webster's bass to really pop.Chris Barnes enunciates a little more clearly, which heightens the stomach-churning nature of the lyrics. These guys caught a ton of flak back in the day for the way so many of their songs depicted a very particular kind of violence - that enacted on women and with a sexual component. I can't hear "Fucked With A Knife" without my own balls shriveling up, but thankfully "She Was Asking For It" and "Striped, Raped And Strangled" (the latter one of the band's best songs) let their titles do the talking and keep the lyrics mercifully non-specific. Other highlights include first single "Staring Through The Eyes Of The Dead," "Pulverized,"
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| CD:
Cirith Ungol - Frost and Fire |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 20, 2023 at 4:57 |
| excellent debut for CIRITH UNGOL back in 81 offering their hard heavy music def with a strong 70 s dose and manage to create a certain vibe!the production is very raw but somehow it works as it sounds alive like if you re in the studio!"a little fire"," i m alive"."frost and fire" are the highlights of this little cult indie
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| CD:
Helloween - 7 Sinners |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 16, 2023 at 14:18 |
| very good release once again for HELLOWEEN this time a little bit updated but still keeping the trademarks of their music!excellent musicianship and massive sound as always ,many anthemic songs and i guess all fans are satisfied!every release of HELLOWEEN is recommended
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| CD:
Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: June 16, 2023 at 12:09 |
| Hey, CC, is your pussy still sore? I was talking about the musical style of the song, not the lyrical inspiration. What must be difficult is being so easily upset by other people's opinions that differ from yours. People can take or leave my comments here; I don't think they "matter" that much. They must though, given the wounded tone you so often adopt when you respond.
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| CD:
Helloween - Rabbit Don't Come Easy |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 12, 2023 at 6:54 |
| excellent release for HELLOWEEN and maybe their best with Deris on board with the band offering sensational musicianship ,a massive polished heavy rock sound,great ideas and songs that really stand out!flawless music by a great band Rabbit Dont Come Easy is a really great album
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| CD:
Helloween - Metal Jukebox |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: June 5, 2023 at 19:05 |
| very good release for HELLOWEEN offering many covers mostly of the 70 s !the band really tries hard and that shows as the songs are very well performed and been into their own sound!interesting for sure
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| CD:
Helloween - Better Than Raw |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 27, 2023 at 4:24 |
| excellent release for HELLOWEEN and imho one of their best ever with a massive production ,strong electric sound and many good songs with Deris showing his vocal and songwriting ability!"hey lord","time","i can"are gine songs indeed!essential
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| CD:
Vicious Rumors - Something Burning |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 22, 2023 at 19:40 |
| Pretty good release for VICIOUS RUMORS or what s left of them being a total different band after Carl s death and some of the members changed!raw heavy sound but not those astonishing guitars and even more plain songs tha t dont really work even though there is a certain quality!def their worst at the time
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| CD:
Vicious Rumors - Word of Mouth |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 19, 2023 at 3:54 |
| excellent release once more for VICIOUS RUMORS getting along with a more groovy updated 90 s sound and the result is big as expected!all the songs standout with amazing melodic and heavy lines,sensational vocals and those trademark guitars!great times and one of the greatest heavy metal bands still on
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| CD:
Nuclear Assault - Survive |
| From: ItalRocker |
Date: May 18, 2023 at 17:34 |
| This record rocks! Even the Zeppelin cover is great!
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| CD:
Vicious Rumors - Welcome To The Ball |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 17, 2023 at 7:38 |
| excellent album once again for VICIOUS RUMORS with a massive production,blistering guitar work and Carl s amazing vocals!flawless heavy metal music with big songs choruses,solos and "when love comes down" stealing the show!great stuff
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| CD:
Kamelot - Haven |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 7, 2023 at 13:29 |
| Haven is another good one for KAMELOT but not as their ones with Roy on vocals!they seem to add some newer elements in their sound that i dont think suit them and overall the songs dont create the same vibe despite the fine musicianship
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| CD:
Vicious Rumors - Vicious Rumors |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 3, 2023 at 13:50 |
| excellent release for VICIOUS RUMOURS that i had the pleasure of buying and spinning when it was out !first one in Atlantic records and that one is a metal bliss with outstanding guitar and vocal work along with fine songwriting !flawless from start to finish ,this one is a must haveand one of the best ever power metal albums
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| CD:
Kamelot - Poetry For The Poisoned |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: May 1, 2023 at 10:43 |
| Pretty good release for KAMELOT offering their prog rock metal music pomp,epic,dark with interesting lines and arrangements !Khan s vocals always stealing the show but this time i feel the songs could be a bit better!Good stuff
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| CD:
Vicious Rumors - Digital Dictator |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: April 26, 2023 at 7:05 |
| excellent release for VICIOUS RUMORS and a classic of the 80 s US power metal scene with exceptional guitar work and amazing vocals!"lady took a chance","minute to kill","digital dictator" and "towns of fire" are great songs indeed!love it
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| CD:
Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare |
| From: CC |
Date: April 19, 2023 at 16:15 |
| Wow, what an ignorant comment. So far away isnt a fucking song writting for their fans girlfriends, it is a tribute to The Rev. Must be difficult being such a know it all and thinking your opinion actually matters.
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| CD:
Stress Factor 9 - Brainwarp Mindspin |
| From: Leykis101 |
Date: April 19, 2023 at 0:27 |
| This band was called Vertical After b4 this, with the impossible to find album Powered By Crime
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| CD:
Kamelot - Ghost Opera |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: April 18, 2023 at 9:00 |
| very good release for KAMELOT offering their progg power metal/rock with Roy s performance stealing the show but also the rest of the band giving a solid performance ,especially in the keys department!"rule the world","echo eden" are the highlights!very good stuff indeed
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| CD:
Suffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten |
| From: Leykis101 |
Date: April 10, 2023 at 9:24 |
| Just saw these guys with their new singer Ricky, I'll tell you right now, as good as the discs are, they do them no justice, if you ever want to see a killer live band, go check out these guys, Terrance Hobbs is one of the coolest dudes in metal, outside of being a legendary death metal guitarist, an 18 yr old girl couldnt get into the place they played, so Terrance brought the entire band outside to her, she broke down in tears, I about broke down in tears, selfless acts like this are rare, but they do happen, they allowed her to stand outside the door where she could see them play, those are not only killer musicians, but good people, props to Suffocation, btw, Ricky is fkn awesome, he's not trying to be Glen, he has his own style, and he kills it.
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| CD:
Helstar - Burning Star |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: March 15, 2023 at 12:44 |
| US power metal classic for HELSTAR from Texas back in 84 and one of those that defined the genre!great vocals and solos make it flawless from start to finish with songs like "burning star","run with the pack","possesion" and "witches eye"!great stuff
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| CD:
Accept - Russian Roulette |
| From: visitor |
Date: February 9, 2023 at 21:14 |
| This is an underrated album that rarely gets mentioned while people rave about Restless and Wild or Balls to the Wall. Those are gems, but this album deserves more than it gets. It’s the last album of the golden era of Accept and the last of five incredibly fine albums in a row. The band said they wanted to go back to their raw sound after the somewhat overly commercial Metal Heart and it really shows here, but as the other comment stated there’s still a commercial edge in form of catchy choruses and a clean production. The title track and Heaven Is Hell are the epic cornerstones of this album, but the other tracks rock as well. I don’t get tired of this album.
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| CD:
Accept - Restless and Wild |
| From: visitor |
Date: February 9, 2023 at 20:55 |
| The second of five Accept albums in a row that are all absolute metal classics. Fast as a Shark was the first Accept song I ever heard, and it absolutely rocked a teen boy’s world. And has ever since. The energy this band has is almost unsurpassed in the metal genre.
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| CD:
Accept - Breaker |
| From: visitor |
Date: February 9, 2023 at 20:48 |
| This is the first ”real” Accept album, that’s what the band said itself. Raw energy, sharp riffs and catchy choruses. No fillers here!
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| CD:
Accept - Breaker |
| From: visitor |
Date: February 9, 2023 at 7:23 |
| This is the first ”real” Accept album, that’s what the band said itself. Raw energy, sharp riffs and catchy choruses. No fillers here!
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| CD:
Accept - I'm a Rebel |
| From: visitor |
Date: February 8, 2023 at 9:57 |
| No comments for this album yet, well it’s not a big surprise... it’s a step to the right direction from the debut but they’re still searching for their own sound. Luckily they found it on the next album, and the rest is history. Here they have the energy, but otherwise this album is still a bit all over the place. Some entertaining tracks here though; I’m a Rebel is of course the anthem for the gigs, and I also like Save Me, I Wanna Be No Hero and Do It. They were heading for success..!
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| CD:
Jag Panzer - The Age of Mastery |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: January 25, 2023 at 14:22 |
| very good release once again for JAG PANZER with Harry s vocals of course stealing the show along with remarkable musicianship as well!pure US power music ,oldschool and underground will satisfy most of the fans!
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| CD:
Jag Panzer - Mechanized Warfare |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: January 12, 2023 at 10:06 |
| excellent release for JAG PANZER with a massive US power metal sound and remarkable songwriting!the music is very well structured and performed and to be honest didnt expect that one to be so good!"take to the sky" and "hidden in my eyes " are the highlights !
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| CD:
Arch Enemy - Khaos Legions |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: January 4, 2023 at 16:32 |
| I'm in the minority on this one. I love it, but most everyone else seems to think it's tired, rehashed and uninspired. I think it's great, especially "Bloodstained Cross," "Under Black Flags," "No Gods, No Masters," "Through The Eyes Of A Raven" and "Thorns In My Flesh." The three instrumentals are all throwaways though, with the voice-over being total cheese. That alone could knock a full point off the rating. Otherwise, I guess maybe the newness of Arch Enemy was wearing off, causing many to shrug and move on? There isn't anything here that Doomsday Machine doesn't offer, but for the most part, I still dig this album quite a lot.
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| CD:
Arch Enemy - Rise of the Tyrant |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: January 4, 2023 at 16:24 |
| Man, I don't have much connection with this album at all. I think it's the production. The drums are barely there, just the faint popcorn-in-the-microwave of the double-bass. I don't hear any snare or toms when the guitars are raging (and they almost always are). It's hard for me to pick out individual songs because of that. So this is kind of Arch Enemy's lost album for me.
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| CD:
Arch Enemy - Doomsday Machine |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: January 4, 2023 at 16:09 |
| As much as I love Wages Of Sin, Doomsday Machine may be my favorite Arch Enemy album. The guitar shredding is off the charts here, and the production has such a punch. The songs combine the best aspects of the previous two albums, and while the tempos may not be as frenetic, it allows the songs to stick in your head. "Nemesis" is an all-time fan favorite, but even better is "My Apocalypse," one of Arch Enemy's best mid-paced stompers. And then there's the thrash-fest of "I Am Legend/Out For Blood," a track no one seems to talk about. Pretty much every other song is a standout as well, with eventhe instrumental "Hybrids Of Steel" seeming more like a real song rather than an interlude.
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| CD:
Arch Enemy - Anthems Of Rebellion |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: January 4, 2023 at 15:57 |
| Anthems Of Rebellion is kind of the junior version of Wages Of Sin, to my ears. Still a great album, but the songs seem a little more consciously catchy, without losing the signature sound. I guess that's entirely appropriate, given the album title. The band does start to pad things out with intros, interludes and outros, which they will continue to varying degrees going forward, and I don't think most of those songs add much to the proceedings. They either could have been left off completely or absorbed into other songs. "We Will Rise" was the big "single" here, but other highlights include "Dead Eyes See No Future," "Leader Of The Rats," "End Of The Line" and "Saints And Sinners."
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| CD:
Arch Enemy - Wages of Sin |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: January 4, 2023 at 15:49 |
| I saw Iron Maiden, Dio and Motorhead in 2003, and during the break between bands, one of the songs played over the PA system was "Heart Of Darkness." Me and my buddy, who had been the one to turn me on to Arch Enemy in the first place, flipped out.
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| CD:
Arch Enemy - Wages of Sin |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: January 4, 2023 at 15:45 |
| This was my entry to Arch Enemy. At that point, I was still an extreme-metal skeptic, but this band, along with Amon Amarth, made it easier to get into death metal. And granted, it's not death metal as in Cannibal Corpse. It's death-metal with heavy power and traditional metal influences that make the songs much more accessible to someone used to more typical rock songwriting. The extremity is there in the razor-sharp modern production, the double-bass drumming, the tuning of the guitars down to C, and of course in the vocals, but as things went in 2002, this went down pretty easily. As for the disc itself, although I endoy some of the Johan Liiva material, Wages Of Sin is really the beginning of Arch Enemy for me. Three of their bestsongs ever are "Burning Angel," "Heart Of Darkness" and "Ravenous," with other highlights being "Dead Bury Their Dead," "Web Of Lies," "Behind The Smile" and the slow, melancholy "Savage Messiah."
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| CD:
Exciter - Kill After Kill |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: December 19, 2022 at 16:55 |
| pretty good release for EXCITER back in 92 returning to their trio form and of course delivering some quality speed metal as they always do!not blowminding but still a good album
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| CD:
Dio - Sacred Heart |
| From: Doug |
Date: December 9, 2022 at 21:23 |
| Great documentary on Showtime on Dio. Been listening to RJD a lot lately. He and Vivian were a good pair, at least musically.
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| CD:
Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: December 8, 2022 at 16:08 |
| IRON MAIDEN s debut is an alltime classic of the scene with a raw ,street heavy metal sound ,great solos and excellent songwriting!all the songs stand out and of course the artwork is unique
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| CD:
Exciter - Exciter (O.T.T.) |
| From: hair metal again |
Date: December 1, 2022 at 10:52 |
| very good album for EXCITER keeping on offering a heavy speed sound with great riffs and truly howling vocals!nothing new ,nothing blowminding but still consistent speed metal that doesnt disapoint."i wanna be king","dying to live" are the highlights
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| CD:
Opeth - Watershed |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: December 1, 2022 at 1:57 |
| Watershed.
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| CD:
Opeth - Watershed |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: December 1, 2022 at 1:56 |
| Some of the transitions within tracks aren't as seamless as they have been in the past, with the sudden, jazzy piano-and-drum break in "The Lotus Eater" standing out as particularly jarring and out of place, but rest of the song is aces. In fact, they all are, in their own way. I think the balance between death and prog was damn near perfect on Ghost Reveries, and while it's definitely tilting more toward prog on Watershed, I would have been totally happy if they had stuck close to this sound. Instead, they went full-bore into prog-rock. I fucking hated Heritage, and while later albums weren't as bad, that style is really not to my liking, and those albums are barely fit to sit on the same shelf as everything up through
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| CD:
Opeth - Watershed |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: December 1, 2022 at 1:47 |
| Watershed is the end of the old Opeth, their last album as a progressive death-metal band. There are still plentof ferrocious growls to be found on songs like "Heir Apparent" and "The Lotus Eater" and I think a couple others (the thing about Opeth at this point is that you get caught up in the songs and forget about counting growls). Mikael Akerfeldt's delivery on these songs is more desperate, almost frenzied in places, than we're used to hearing from him. But there are also several songs with entirely clean vocals, and even in the heavy songs, you can go for minutes at a stretch without hearing a roar. There's also a heavier keyboard presence than ever before, which only heightens that dark, elegiac, autumn/winter atmosphere that Opeth do so well. The disc actually begins with the arresting acoustic half-song "Coil," with its mournful dual vocals, before leading into the heaviest track, "Heir Apparent."
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| CD:
Korn - Life Is Peachy |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: November 28, 2022 at 13:43 |
| Also of note, Life Is Peachy is considerably shorter than the debut, since the songs in gengal are not long. Plus, several tracks, like "Twist," "Porno Creep" and "Low Rider," are little more than interludes. The overall sound is very murky and dark, and quite a few tracks blur together. The atmosphere is like being stuck in a small, stuffy room, or maybe that's me, since that's the setting in which I first heard the album.
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| CD:
Korn - Life Is Peachy |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: November 28, 2022 at 13:26 |
| There are certain songs, and moments within songs, that rival the material on the first album. But when a song breaks down and goes quiet in the middle? Look out! Here comes some of the worst singing you'll ever hear! I know, I know, Jonathan was probably going for that effect, trying to sound like somebody having a breakdown, and you certainly do get that feeling. But from a purely vocal/musical standpoint? Awful! David Silveria is the true star of the album—dude was a hell of a drummer. Listen to his work on "Porno Creep"—that flurry of ghost notes reminds me, oddly enough, of Frank Beard's work on certain songs on ZZ Top's Tejas album. Best songs here are "Chi," "Good God," "No Plac To Hide," "A.D.I.D.A.S.," and "Ass Itch." But "Twist," "Kunt!" and "Wicked" rank as some of their worst material ever. "Kill You" tries for more of the harrowing drama of "Daddy" and just ... fails.
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| CD:
Korn - Korn |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: November 22, 2022 at 16:07 |
| Before them, seven-string guitars were mostly a tool of the super-shredder, but Munky and Head used them in an entirely different way that was completely foreign to someone who cut their teeth on hair bands and thrash. And that tight, airless production seemed alien to someone used to the booming sounds of the '80's. In hindsight, and with hopefully some wisdom, I can see Korn's debut as a pretty good album, although it didn't have the impact on my life that it did for many other people.
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| CD:
Korn - Korn |
| From: Doghouse Reilly |
Date: November 22, 2022 at 16:01 |
| I always enjoyed the rhythmic nature of Korn (and nu-metal in general, for the most part). But as a child of late-stage hair-metal, I couldn't get behind what we all called "crybaby bullshit." Even though I was squarely in Korn's target demographic, I don't think I was ready for them. I still thought of metal as a fantasy and an escape (if I thought about it at all), and Korn's hyper-real themes did not really resonate with me. I had my problems for sure as a teenager, but didn't want to hear about the dreary, everyday dysfunction that was the reality for so many people. I wasn't molested, my parents were together and relatively happy, and I wasn't actively bullied at school. I couldn't always relate, and didn't always try. Anyway, it's damn near impossible to separate Korn's music from their subject matter, and there really weren't any bands in metal that dealt with those topics so nakedly in 1994. Korn broke a lot of ground, musically and thematically.
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