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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:00 pm 
 

Been in a music slump lately, so I decided to start up the project "listening to all my cds in alphabetical order". Should be able to do at least on a day while at work.
Thought I'd post a short report and rating here, and maybe get some discussion out of it.
Since I have my cds divided into two groups, extreme and non extreme, first part will be A-Z non extreme.

220 Volt - Power Games (1984)
It's just something about these Swedish 80s metal albums. The heavy riffs and hooky melodies. And the typical Gibson through a Marshall head that gives me such a warm, fuzzy feeling of joy.
Second album from these northern Swedes, and the evolution from their first album is huge. Mainly the vocalist has improved a lot, but also there's somewhat more advanced songwriting.

Funny story about the singer, Jocke Lundholm: when the band were to record their first album - in another city, quite far from their hometown - on their first day of two(!) in the studio, their original singer realised he wasn't up for the job, so he quit. In a panic they called their friend and colleague Lundholm, who travelled there and recorded the vocals on the spot. And you can tell that he wasn't fully prepared to record, but to me, that doesn't matter. The vocals are wobbly, and a few wrong notes can be heard, but I love that album far what it is: a debut album by a young band just going for it!

Back to Power Games. The vocals are really good here, you can tell that the songs are written with his voice in mind this time. The songwriting is mature, and each of he songs has it's own character. The album as a whole is quite varied, starts off with two metal bangers, there's a poppier song, a ballad, a slow and heavy one, a rocker etc.
I would give this album 80%, but again, the pacing of the album doesn't work. The penultimate song isn't very good, and the last song is another ballad, so the album just fizzles out. A shame. That earns them a 5% deduction. 3.5/5.

A sad story about 220 Volt: They never had the rights to their own albums, CBS records does. They never seen any money from the record sales, and what's even worse - for us - is that the record company has no interest in re-releasing any of their albums, so they won't.
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:04 pm 
 

Abstrakt Algebra - s/t (1995)
Leif Edling, Mats Levén and Mike Wead doing some weird groove/slugde/crap metal. The 90s were a weird time. I don't know what Leif was going for here, but the sad part is the occasional Candlemass riff. This could have been Candlemass. And then there's Mats Levén on top of this, and he's angry. I don't know about what, but you can tell he's angry. Mats Levén was best in Swedish Erotica. He should have stayed with them. He wasn't so angry back then. I give this 1/5, because the drumming is good.
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Last edited by Opus on Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:14 pm 
 

Accept - Restless and Wild (1982)
I happened to have this cd with me when I decided to do this, and it's close enough to the beginning of my collection.
It's a solid Accept album, but I miss a proper anthem. There's a sing-a-long banger on almost every album, but not really one here. Shake Your Heads comes close, but it ain't no Bound to Fail. Despite the highlights, I prefer Breaker to this one. It has a more unpolished - and indeed Wild - atmosphere to it. Side A is terrific, but it drops of a lot on side B. Get Ready is a nice enough rocker, but nothing more. Demon's Night is simply not good. Flash Rocking Man has an ok chorus, but meh. Don't Go Stealing My Soul Away is a good song, but it drags the album down. By now it has lost all it's steam. Princess of the Dawn is a classic, simple as that, and a great album closer.
Had they gotten rid of two songs, maybe changed the song order a bit, this would have been a 5. I give it 4/5.


Accept - Metal Heart (1985)
This album is just so much fun. My second favourite of MkI after Breaker. 4.5

Accept - Russian Roulette (1986)
This is foreshadowing of what's to come - Eat the Heat. Much more rock than metal, and it's clear that some members wanted to go in a different direction. The main flaw about this album, aside from the electronic drum kit, is how disjointed it feels. The lyrics are sorta dark, TV Wars, Monster Man, while the music and production is very light and streamlined. There are still good riffs from Wolf here though. I was thinking that had for example Don Dokken written the lyrics and been singing on this album it would've been much more coherent. As it is and as it went: 2/5

Accept - Blood of the Nations
The best album from Accept! Largely thanks to Mark Tornillo. Not only how he handles the melodies, but also how he fits the words rhythmically. Masterful! Tied to that is the drumming of Schwartzmann, how he very subtly supports the riffs, and also interacts with the rhythm of the vocals.
It all really comes together here. 5/5

Accept - Stalingrad
I don't know what it is, but nothing sticks for me here. 3/5
Will have to revisit this later.
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:16 pm 
 

AC/DC - Back in Black
What a comeback after Bon's demise! Every song is a classic. 5/5

AC/DC - For Those About to Rock
A long time favourite of mine. A bit darker and perhaps more mature album. No more silly (but quite hilarious) sexual innuendos in the lyrics and a bit more melodic songwriting. Peak AC/DC for me. After this they never came close to the glory days. 5/5
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:16 pm 
 

Afterworld - Connecting Animals
Finnish band listed as power metal here, but to me it's just meat and potatoes heavy metal. A wee bit US power metal in there perhaps. Reminds me of Mystic Prophecy.
Good drummer, good vocals. A solid 3/5.
What diminishes the replay value is a bad production, and a synthesizer set to high strings that's playing in the background throughout the whole album and just grates on the ears.
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:17 pm 
 

Agent Steel - Omega Conspiracy
What a great album. Bruce Hall is a terrific singer. Too bad they didn't continue with him, and too bad it didn't work out with him in Steel Prophet.
The album has a great flow, starting off with the fast, thrashy songs and getting more melodic towards the end. 5/5
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ZenoMarx
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:38 am
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:25 pm 
 

I remember a blogger doing this years ago.
http://mortvillenoise.blogspot.com/2011 ... chive.html

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~Guest 1454256
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:39 pm
Posts: 256
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:28 pm 
 

I've tried doing this several times before but I always crash and burn around C or D. Sometimes I'll do it in reverse and start at Z, but I usually stop around S. So the middle of my collection is probably the most neglected.

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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:43 pm 
 

Deadened wrote:
I've tried doing this several times before but I always crash and burn around C or D. Sometimes I'll do it in reverse and start at Z, but I usually stop around S. So the middle of my collection is probably the most neglected.

But then you never get to hear Edge of Sanity! :(
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~Guest 1454256
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:39 pm
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:49 pm 
 

Fortunately I played all their CDs to death back in the 90s when I had a small CD collection, and I usually revisist their discography annually. :)

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InnesI
The Goat Fucker

Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:19 pm
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:59 pm 
 

Opus wrote:
Been in a music slump lately, so I decided to start up the project "listening to all my cds in alphabetical order". Should be able to do at least on a day while at work.
Thought I'd post a short report and rating here, and maybe get some discussion out of it.
Since I have my cds divided into two groups, extreme and non extreme, first part will be A-Z non extreme.


How many CD's do you own?

No matter if you have 100 cd's or 1000 cd's I will be impressed if you go through with this to the end. Even more so if you keep writing a small review of each album here.
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orphy
Metalhead

Joined: Thu May 06, 2004 11:24 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 3:55 pm 
 

I actually just completed this exact task at the beginning of March. It took me about 8 months to get through 1000 CDs. It was a great way to reacquaint myself with some stuff I hadn't listened to in a while, and also resulted in about 40 discs that I put up for sale.
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 4:48 pm 
 

InnesI wrote:
How many CD's do you own?

Probably about 1200 cds. This also gives me opportunity to sort through and organize all the albums I have lying around.
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rawsewage
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:29 pm
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Location: Shamokin, PA
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 5:06 pm 
 

That 220 Volt was reissued in 2017 from Music on Cd. You can probably get a copy for less than $20.

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tahu157
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2014 10:22 pm
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 5:58 pm 
 

Is this only going to be for things you own as of the start of this thread or will you also review things you buy along the way?

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aloof
avant-gardener

Joined: Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:18 pm
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Location: never neverland, palm trees by the sea
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 7:10 pm 
 

Opus wrote:
Been in a music slump lately, so I decided to start up the project "listening to all my cds in alphabetical order".


it's a sad world, if you have to be "in a music slump" to put 220 volt and abstrakt algebra on... :)

good idea for a blog, youtube channel, or facebook page, if you ask me...
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Spiner202
Veteran

Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 3:32 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 7:35 pm 
 

I've done this 4 times since 2008. In 2008, I had 587 albums. In 2010 I had 853 albums. And then I did it in both 2020 and 2021 with ~2500 albums. The only time I legitimately did it in alphabetical order was in 2010.

It's a super great idea but honestly so exhausting by the end. I'm not sure if I can actually do it again. Looking forward to this though because it seems our tastes align based on the bands you've posted so far!

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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 8:59 pm 
 

tahu157 wrote:
Is this only going to be for things you own as of the start of this thread or will you also review things you buy along the way?

Patience, I will do them all. Maybe I'll do new albums as I buy them? I think that would be logical.
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Chaosmonger
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:59 pm
Posts: 1451
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 11:41 pm 
 

Deadened wrote:
Sometimes I'll do it in reverse and start at Z, but I usually stop around S.


if I did that, it would still take me like 30 hours to get through Zappa alone lol

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Hellbent
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri Oct 06, 2006 4:00 pm
Posts: 3
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2022 8:23 am 
 

aloof wrote:
Opus wrote:
Been in a music slump lately, so I decided to start up the project "listening to all my cds in alphabetical order".


it's a sad world, if you have to be "in a music slump" to put 220 volt and abstrakt algebra on... :)

good idea for a blog, youtube channel, or facebook page, if you ask me...


At the risk of unnecessary self-promotion, I started a blog to do exactly this about 2 and a half years ago. I have around 2500 CDs, and I've posted around 100 reviews so far, getting as far as Alice Cooper. At the age of 40, I know that I'll likely never finish this task, not least because my rate of acquisition exceeds the speed at which I'm completing the review, but I intend to keep going until I am no more. Any reviews relating to bands on the Archives are also posted against the albums on the site. Feel free to check it out here:

https://alifetimeofmusic537956501.wordpress.com/

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Sokaris
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2004 2:33 am
Posts: 1234
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2022 5:01 pm 
 

I did this once a while ago (all formats) and though it took a good amount of discipline it was interesting. It definitely pushed me to get rid of some stuff that I wasn't as interested in and found plenty of things I hadn't shown the right amount of appreciation to.

At this point I have way too much fucking shit. I wish I could go through my stuff by what I've listened to the least and revisit some underheard items.
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~Guest 1454256
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:39 pm
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2022 5:27 pm 
 

Yeah, I find that anytime I go through my collection, my main purpose is housecleaning. Unfortunately I tend to be really overzealous with that and got rid of shit that I'm not in the mood for (sometimes with the reasoning that I "outgrew it"). I find selling stuff almost as addictive as buying it.

I do like revisiting my collection, but I don't think I'd ever do it in sequential order again. I'd break it down by genre, decade, year, country, band or whatever. And skip over stuff that I've played a lot or I'm not in the mood for.

I've been going through CDs in my sell pile lately (I quit selling due to covid) and found quite a few CDs which weren't too bad after all and opted to keep them. Others I hate even more now than I did when I initially removed them from my collection. *shrug*

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doomicus
Metalhead

Joined: Wed May 14, 2008 5:58 am
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2022 8:24 pm 
 

This is a rad idea for a thread. I'd get so sidetracked if I tried to do this, so kudos for the dedication.
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Thy Shrine
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2016 11:37 pm
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Location: Golgotha
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2022 8:29 pm 
 

Lol I can't even find the motivation to re alphabetize the shit on my shelf
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2022 9:20 pm 
 

Agent Steel - Order of the Illuminati (2003)
Another classic! A bit more complex than Omega Conspiracy, moving into almost prog territory. I mean, how many speed metal albums have a piece for solo bass? I like this a tad less, maybe it's a bit overlong, but still 5/5.
If someone could explain the cover that would be great.
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2022 8:10 am 
 

Airborn - D-Generation (2003)
Conterfactual history: Hamburg, 1987. Kai's younger brother is a bit envious of his brother and wants join the game. So he writes some songs in the German style of the day (he's been listening a lot to Scanner), gathers some pals and contacts Piet Sielck - who is a friend of the family - to to help him record a demo. Will his band take off? Time will tell.
Factual history: Italy, 2003. Second album from this power metal band, and second album to be produced by Piet Sielck. Or "produced". The sound isn't very good, the drum machine is horrible, and the songwriting lacking. The songs are speedy, has quite good, happy choruses, but there are no riffs! They would probably have been better off playing AOR/hard rock. 2/5
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2022 4:46 pm 
 

Alas - Absolute Purity (2001)
This is a difficult one. Erik Rutan's progressive metal project. It's either a failed experiment, or I just don't get it. The big problem is the vocals. Firstly, I don't like sopranos in metal. Secondly, the vocals doesn't gel with the music. The guitars are playing a never ending stream of, by all means, good riffs, and I'm guessing the vocals are supposed to contrast with this, with their long, flowy lines in a relatively narrow range. But they just float far above the music, superficially. No pocket at all.

I'm thinking if Rutan had brought in someone like Kahn or Tim Aymar, having them write more conventional metal vocal lines, this could have been spectacular.
There could be more than meets the ear here with recurring themes and motifs throughout the album, but I just don't have the will to analyze this further. 2/3
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SkankFistOGwet
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2018 2:14 am
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Mon Apr 25, 2022 9:05 pm 
 

I have close to about 1500 CDs probably, and a shit load i never think of feel an urge to pull out, so I do the alphabetical order thing and do some workouts to the duration of them. It helps me focus on the music more (for good or bad) and also do something healthy. Even though later I'll probably hit some vodka and play some of my faves.

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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Apr 25, 2022 9:12 pm 
 

Almah - Almah (2006)
Being a huge fan of Edu Falaschi-era Angra and Edu Falaschi's vocals I acquired the first two Almah albums (and a Symbols album, but that's another story. The big problem here is that he has lost the voice he once had. He only has his mid-range left, and while it does sound good, it doesn't sound great. The other problem is the music. I'd like to know what he was going for here. Melodic grunge? Tough guy AOR. Some songs has some kind of groove-ish riffs, but most of the choruses are nice and hooky. Some songs are just pop, and some are ballads, which, objectively are the best, but who wants that on a metal album? 2/5

Alma - Fragile Equality (2008)
Here we're back to power metal, but again, the vocals. It doesn't even sound like Edu now. Still mid-range, but there's some dry rasp about it now. He mostly keeps within his limits, so it sounds OK. But it's not what it used to be. The music is heavier than on the previous album, and a bit neo-classical at times, but it's bland. In one ear and out the other.
He's got a proper band this time, and the musicianship is great. One of the guitarists is a goddamn guitar superhero! Incredibly fast and flashy solos where he goes all out ham, or whatever the expression is. But it doesn't add to the music, rather, it detracts from it. Sorta like Steve Vai in Whitesnake It just isn't meant to be. 2.5/5
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Prairieshadow
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:01 am
Posts: 464
PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 12:08 pm 
 

Deadened wrote:
Yeah, I find that anytime I go through my collection, my main purpose is housecleaning. Unfortunately I tend to be really overzealous with that and got rid of shit that I'm not in the mood for (sometimes with the reasoning that I "outgrew it"). I find selling stuff almost as addictive as buying it.

I actually used to do this too, I've gotten rid of a few years ago that I now wish I had. Part of it at the time was money but it still bums me out occasionally. Now I pretty rarely get rid of things.

On the topic, I've often considered listening to my whole collection in some way, but I've never even started it. I like the idea though.

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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 11:00 pm 
 

Amon Amarth - Once Sent from the Golden Hall (1998)
I like this less then I remembered. The riffs are good, and the overall sound is nice, but the songs themselves aren't that interesting. I'm not that keen on Johan's growls either, but he occasionally do some shouty vocals which are great. And the drumming is wild! 2.5/5

Amon Amarth - Versus the World (2002)
I feel like the music is now only centred around Johan's vocals, less riffing and more just plodding along. At mid-pace. The whole thing is mid-paced. And the drumming is tame.
I guess the lyrics are a big part of Amon Amarth, but I can't make out much of what he's singing. Only the occasional "Die!" and "Kill!". 2/5
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peterott
Metalhead

Joined: Sun May 02, 2004 4:34 pm
Posts: 1310
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Wed Apr 27, 2022 5:26 am 
 

Opus wrote:
Amon Amarth - Once Sent from the Golden Hall (1998)
I like this less then I remembered. The riffs are good, and the overall sound is nice, but the songs themselves aren't that interesting. I'm not that keen on Johan's growls either, but he occasionally do some shouty vocals which are great. And the drumming is wild! 2.5/5


The only Amon Amarth (together with the first MCD) that aged very well for me and offers THE hymn with the track "Amon Amarth".
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:28 pm 
 

Andromeda - Extension of the Wish (2001)
What a fantastic album this is! Prog metal from the extraordinary guitarist Johan Reinholdz. I guess this is what people who doesn't understand prog classify as wank, but man do these guys groove in 7/8!
I have the original version with Darkane singer Lawrence Mackrory on session vocals, and he does a terrific job. I much prefer this to the re-recording with their permanent singer. My only gripe is that not all the songs has the fantastic vocal lines and melodic choruses. I know that's setting the bar high, but that's their own fault.
If you have any love for metal guitar you will like this album. 4.5/5
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Judas Maiden
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Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2021 3:56 pm
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Location: Philippines
PostPosted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 4:57 pm 
 

I have 3500+ CDs and nowhere slowing down from buying. If I play my CDs alphabetically, I'd have to limit playing only one album per artist as I doubt if I can play everything in my remaining lifetime. But then again, I won't be able to play all my CDs so this feat is virtually impossible for me.

I should seriously sell most stuff that I don't listen to. I keep telling myself that but end up delaying it until I never get to do it.

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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Fri Apr 29, 2022 1:09 am 
 

Angel Dust - Border of Reality (1998)
It's a bit unfocused this one. Starts off with a couple of straight up speed metal bangers, but as the album progresses it gets more and more dynamic. And the more dynamic it gets, the better it gets. Too bad about the Rainbow cover though. I could have done without that. But that goes for most covers as far as I'm concerned. It gets a bit progressive towards the end and that's what really sells it for me. That and the great vocals of Dirk Turisch. 4/5

Angel Dust - Bleed (1999)
This is better. They are keeping it focused and dynamic throughout. Good use of keyboards. That's something I'm quite particular about, but it really adds to the overall effect of the music here. I get reminded of the proggier bits of Memory Garden here and there. Close to perfection. 4.5/5
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Thexhumed
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Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2010 2:26 pm
Posts: 1919
Location: Chile
PostPosted: Fri Apr 29, 2022 1:42 pm 
 

I'll keep an eye on this one to discover new stuff
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2022 12:27 am 
 

Angel Dust - Enlighten the Darkness (2000)
A perfect album! This is one of the most emotional albums I know. Just goes to show how much better everything gets when it's a concept album. The only problem I have with it is that it is too sad. It's not always I can listen to it. 6/5
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2022 11:40 pm 
 

Angra - Rebirth (2001)
This must be peak power metal. It's got everything: speed, melody, fantastic guitar playing, objectively great vocals and perfectly balanced arrangements. Not one uninteresting moment on this album. 5/5

Angra - Temple of Shadows (2004)
You can have too much of a good thing. Good arrangements also means economy of arrangements. Throwing everything you got in there all the time doesn't work! There are keyboards, strings, woodwinds, folk instruments, riffs, guitar leads, counter guitar leads, double bass drums, more double bass drums, choirs and a soprano to top it all off. For 66 minutes! It's like John Williams on speed. 3.5/5
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Ragemanistan
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2021 10:20 pm
Posts: 103
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2022 2:06 am 
 

Thexhumed wrote:
I'll keep an eye on this one to discover new stuff


Yep. I hope he can keep it going.

Here's an amazing YouTube page with tons of Thrash albums from the 80s and 90s. He has just about everything from that era that I have and it appears also everything I don't so a lot of it is new to me.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmHHIEuP3SIHlbUUIYh44Tw/videos

Currently enjoying my first listen to Wardance out of Germany in 1990

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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2022 12:16 am 
 

Antiquus - Eleutheria (2006)
Is there a thing called epic quirky metal? Well, there is now. Antiquus is playing epic quirky metal. The characteristics of epic quirky metal are unconventional song structures, unorthodox riffs, unexpected harmonies, unusual vocal melodies - all things un-, really. Did I mention unique? Also long songs and a quirky name. I mean Antiquus? Who even remembers that name, let alone how to spell it? What separates epic quirky metal bands from normal progressive metal bands is that the progressive metal bands have a theoretically sound structure to their songs. Epic quirky metal bands don't. The music is completely unhinged, but in a good way.
Another typical feature of epic quirky metal is the emphasis on story telling. And this is something Antiquus excels at. It's more like a novel set to sound, rather than just "lyrics". The album is wonderfully dynamic, and the 54 minutes it lasts just flies by. 4/5
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