I think its the recording being live that makes it sound like that and sadly they broke up after that album while the earlier ep wasn't as good, not sure about the demos. Though, there doesn't appear to be much else out there that combines metal with deathrock.

Melkor - Narben

I know nothing about this band, but it's the sort of stuff I like a lot. At times, the music reminded me of a mix of old Katatonia and Burzum, which are both favorites of mine. I like how the vocals seem to be mixed low and sound more woven into the music rather than loudly shrieking in your face over top of the music the whole time. I like the lower-pitched raspy quality of the vocals a lot too. Overall great atmosphere and feeling using basic instrumentation. Exactly how I like this kind of music to be made. 5/5 stars.

Here's one from Switzerland, 1989: http://youtu.be/Kl6fCt9-sXE

Yeah, "Narben" is a fantastic song. Unfortunately it's the best song on the album, as the rest of the songs are just not quite up to that same level of quality. Still good though and if you really liked that song you should definitely give the whole thing a listen.

I will definitely check out more of their tracks and look up their profile page here on this site.

CALHOUN CONQUER- You Mean Nothing:

Pretty interesting track here. I don't know If I'd classify this as metal, or if it is metal, it is on the fringe. At times it sounded a lot like old school punk. It was very catchy. What was metal in the song was the guitar here and there. Specifically durring the transitions from the chorus. I liked the lyrics a lot. Very "fuck off". I don't have much to say. This song, and from the looks of it, the band, is very dependent on catchy melodies. I dig it. I give it an 80%

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm1lo7H- ... re=related

Torche-Grenade. It sounded quite 'poppy' for a stoner metal band, and whatcha know, they even call their music thunder pop according to MA. The riffing is a bit to simplistic for me and doesn't really go anywhere, but it's quite catchy. Good thing it pnly lasted 3 minutes long also; some bands would try to extend that song for 8 minutes or something and turn it into a snoozefest.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R_d9-ZmO68

Psychotiz Waltz-And the Devil Cried

Oh man that was a chore to sit through annoying Ozzy-esque schizophrenic vocals, directionless riffs, for a whole six minutes. The solo around 2:13 was the most refreshing part, other than that the song was just a jumpy hodgepodge of technical thrash, its not my thing and its just boring all around to listen to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQo4xF1nNCM

Sounds a bit more bouncy or cheerful then I was expecting and I like the guitar leads, especially at the end. Though, the rest didn't really catch my attention, kind of lacked much that separates them from the multitude of other black metal bands out there. Solid sure, but I don't really dig the sound that much besides the small glimpses, but it was too bloated for that to make up for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5264L7XGdpM

Dolorian - The One Whose Name Has No End

This...was interesting. I have had half a mind to investigate these guys many years ago, and this may well have piqued my interest further. The echoed, spacious snare had me hooked and waiting for the eventual tumultuous crashing in of some gloriously heavy distorted chords to break up the eerie chrome shine of the clean guitar; but it never came when I expected it, instead, the drums and guitar increased their volume and attack (not speed) to great effect, creating a harsh build up of tension. When the tide does eventually break, it's like an icy wave pouring over you. Not bad at all for me...

In keeping with the mood...

The Ruins of Beverast - I Raised this Stone as a Ghastly Memorial

Ugh, I found this song to be very boring. Only a few separate ideas over the course of the piece, and they weren't changed much every time they were repeated. The drum beat was as monotonous as a vuvuzela, and it didn't help that there were only a few different riffs played over it. That being said, this song certainly had its saving graces. Choral and chanted vocals were very good, and the growls were appropriately atmospheric. But I spent the last 6 minutes of the song waiting for it to be over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOKyd3EQE40

Nahemah - Phoenix

Well, the song started out very promising. I really liked the dark, distored chords in the beginning. The free jazz sax was a nice touch as well - I really appreciated it; added a unique flavour to the song. But the fucking vocals killed it for me. That annoying tremolo wave effect or whatever the fuck on the vocals gave me a fucking headache. The clean break around the three minute mark was cool, but overall the annoying vocals and repetitiveness of the heavy part making this song a bit below average for me. I'll be checking out more of these guys though because it shows a lot of promise.

Next:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_9UVQi7zw0

Dying Fetus - Vengeance Unleashed

Pretty good riff based death metal. For some reason, I also liked the sound of the snare, although there isn't anything really special to it, nor to the drumming performance. Being a tremolo picking fan, I really enjoyed 2:58. However, 4:10 takes the "best riff" prize. Menacing, stomping and catchy in its own particular way. The only thing I didn't like was the guitar noodling, something I hate in all circumstances. Still, every riff is at least solid, when not straight-up great.

If I come across as a DF noob, it's because I'm actually a DF noob. They are one of these bands I never bothered to check, for some reason.

next:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4OmLjyc26A

Manticora - Lost Souls:
The top YouTube comment sums it up pretty well: Power fucking metal with balls. None of the high-pitched screaming and flowery melodies (nothing wrong with them though) found in most power metal. Note that I'm a power metal noob, so the above may not hold true. I was surprised to even hear the semi-technical groove section towards the start. The song did drag a bit at the halfway mark, especially the superfluous keyboard sections, which were pretty much the only flowery thing in the song. They should have scrapped it and gone straight to the solo. The after-solo sections could have been reduced too, but they're generally okay. Nonetheless I'm very impressed and will definitely check out more from this band.

Now for one of my favourite power/thrash bands of all time, Paradox.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiF1XjuTcAE

I really liked that song. Especially the drum sound and drumming in general pleases my ears. Anthrax - Spreading the Disease comes to mind when listening to this. If I had to rate this song I'd give it 75/100.

I really love the vocals and atmosphere of this song and it's one of my favourite songs nowadays. Give me your opinion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC80gzuU8jU

IC Rex - Alisen Maailman Virroissa

Kind of boring really the tempo varied little for a whole nine minutes, the leads were decent, and the vocals were your standard albeit slightly more dissonant rasp. Not the best song to introduce someone to this artists discography especially with so many better Finnish black metal bands coming up with quality albums.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vHm8b9K ... re=related

Sinister-Sense of Demise

Wow, I can't believe I haven't checked these guys out before, this song is excellent. I really enjoyed the opening, and the solo at the end was a nice lead in to the conclusion of the song. Great vocals, guitars, and drums overall, thanks for bringing my attention to these guys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBYFIpoK5S4

Sinister - Sense Of Demise
Diabolical Summoning is one of the best death metal albums ever. Big improvement from the first album. Sound is perfect, vocals are great, music sounds brutal and dark in the same time. Unfortunatelly, this was the last album for the guitarist Andre Tolhuizen, who have never released anything else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdjkLu7dFxY

ANNTHENNATH - Emotional Balance

What initially sounds like another run-of-the-mill black metal song, slowly raised my eyebrow. Not exactly reinventing the wheel, but audible bass lines, memorable riffs, intense vocals and skilled musicianship/composition definitely sets the song apart from what might otherwise be heard as mediocre black metal. If you're a fan of black metal in general, there's really no reason not to like this. Although I plan on checking out more of their material, I'm not exactly foaming at the mouth to hear more. I'd rather hear something from the most recent Taake album.


That was fun. I like this idea.

almost forgot my own!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc6AtgET2Bw

Haha! How come every time I have a window to jump back in the thread, confusion must beat me to it?

EDIT: @Headless420: Sorry man, you made your post like right when I had finally finished mine and was about to submit. I'll still leave it as is, since you skipped jackwestjr's submission and we have pretty different takes on Milos', so I think it's fair. I'm okay with reviewing yours if you'll review mine, or anyone else can jump in too, of course. Still two songs to review, folks (can't blame me for not trying, though)!


This is quality thrashy death with a modern sound and blazing fast moments aplenty but clearly keeping the classic, unhealthy "evil thrash" spirit alive; pretty good technique, lots of oomph, and genuine inspiration. Again, I must state how much I enjoy this school of sliding, borderline unstable riffs, always one hair away from saying "fuck it, I'd rather be an improvised hammer-ons solo session instead", they're full of life and filthy energy. In sharp contrast, the actual solos are sadly a random mess, clearly going for the Slayer/MA approach, but failing hard. The very varied song structure, well-thought tempo changes, excellent riffs and vocals more than make up for this minor flaw. Track length is misleading here too: the actual song barely clocks in at 4'00'', which is perfect. Excellent stuff!


I'm afraid this song is a one-trick pony: "let's take the Norwegian BM cliché sound and incorporate a bit of proggy aesthetics in it, but hold the actual songwriting, we don't need that". So on the one hand, you have your typical, bland "yarf-yarf-huff" type, monotone vocal delivery over a could-it-possibly-be-any-more-dragged-out stock "threatening" tremolo-picked riff in minor scale, backed with a metronome of constant blast beats; on the other hand, you get an overmixed, constantly changing jazzy bass line, out-of-place proggy guitar-heroics in the solo department, and a few simplistic breaks with unfitting six-string chords thrown in for good measure. Excellent musicianship and production job (overall), but I'll still pass until you can write a proper song, guys.

EDIT 2:
So Headless420 posted this, to be mini-reviewed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc6AtgET2Bw

And now, my turn (please ignore the unrelated visual wankery courtesy of the YT poster; sound is fine):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 5xwM#t=24s

I'm really liking this thread. So many bands found.



This is very much based around the somewhat folky guitar leads. Screaming vocals throughout the song, but the focus is certainly on the guitar. That was definitely a good choice, because they've written some very enjoyable leads. Conjures up images of the sea, and makes me want to move along with the music. I really liked this song.



I liked the intro to this song, and the I enjoyed the singer's voice, but the main riff left me feeling a bit cold. It just wasn't interesting. Mid-paced stop-start riffing just doesn't do it for me. However, the song is still very catchy. Memorable melodies, and a fun, if somewhat unfitting, solo. Started shredding, and the song hadn't even sped up! Just came in and sounded odd.

Next song up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxhCl1PjlfU

The Ocean-Wille Zum Untergang.

I've liked what little I've heard of The Ocean, but never cared to actually "dive" (hur hur) into them. As far as this song goes for the first minute, I thought that it was a nice intro. For the second minute, alright, sounds nice, but bring on the heavy part. Third minute into it-Alright, you can play good "beautiful" acoustic guitar melodies, bring in the heaviness! But the heavy never came. Well, not until it was too late to save the song from being a bore, and even then, it was chugging on a single note for 5 seconds and that's it? The messy "solo" around five minutes was cool enough, but nothing special.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcHWw26D1N4

I haven't gotten around to exploring early Overkill yet, but I liked everything I've heard so far, this being no exception. Its certainly a good attempt at a straight forward riffing monster, but ends up falling a bit short relying upon this too much and not really bringing anything else to the table. This is especially apparent in light of several newer, similar, and fiercer thrash bands that now exist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZKjae2lUKA

中学生棺桶 (Chugakusei-Kanoke) - 埋葬以下

That was just a great song all around chaotic, passionate, and abrasive Japanese rock that reminded me of a bit of Rage against the machine minus the pop elements that held back RATM. The vocalist is clearly singing and going off 110% the riffs evoke that WAH WAH abuse at the beginning, and the whole song just seems like a great jam session. I really liked it overall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twl8smqr_Dc

Graveland - Barbarism Returns

Ahh yes...This song had been carved into my mind ever since I got the album shortly after it's release, and there is something about it's primal, cruel majesty that pulls me in each time. This is a raw, scathing yet atmospheric (and quite heavy with it) excursion into dark realms...of course, some would call it ham-fisted, underproduced and sloppy drivel, but I care not for these opinions, as for me Carpathian Wolves will always remind me of listening to this on some bitter cold nights...

YouTube will unfortunately do no justice to the production on this...

EDIT: shitty link, song ends and goes part way into another. Sorry guys...

Goddamn it, you're doing it to me once more, Thread! 2+ hours without a post, and just when I'm about to submit one, I'm still beaten to it!

Fine, I'll double-or-nothing this post too, then.


"Wah-wah" might as well have been the extent of my mini-review, they're abusing it so much; this is fine traditional heavy blues with much more than just a passing nod to early Deep Purple and early 70s hard/heavy and psychedelic in general. Convincingly executed (you can tell they're into it) and extremely loud (referring to both the ludicrously overmixed, over-saturated and over-wahwah-ed guitar sound and how dementedly the singer shouts and rants behind it) that's good enough for what it is, I guess (ie bluesy hard rock). The ganja whoever was smoking when they typed "doom" anywhere near this song must be pretty powerful as well.


Sound quality is pretty bad, but it seems like it might be a bad vinyl rip and/or a YT issue. The basic and very repetitive intro made me anxious to death the song would never start; then it started and it was a generic thrash riff, equally repetitive and uninteresting; finally the vocalist kicked in and I just shrugged. This is a blatant and poorly executed "Terrible Certainty" rip-off; it drags on and on and fucking on, but there's really nothing more to it than that. You've done so, so much better with your previous posts, Veracs!

@CrushedRevelation: where was this Graveland song you've just reviewed posted? Until it's made clear I'll ignore your submission.

@Byrain: try this, man!

My turn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfrqbsDrM7E

Old Man's Child - My Evil Revelations

Not bad. I like the subtle synth effects in the background, and the song as a whole was pretty good. Really liked the piano "solo" at 2:38, and it shows he's got some talent. The thrash-like main riff feels a little half-baked, unfortunately, but besides that, the song was kind of good. I wouldn't buy the album but I wouldn't object to hearing this if it was on. Quality stuff that many can enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTXJG-sn3V8

Perimeter - Glaciating Blood

Fear Factory's Obsolete album meets Meshuggah, with a singer who'd be better-suited to grindcore.
Had a slight hardcore tinge to it, in the same sense that Nailbomb (or just FF) did.
Not bad, but absolutely nothing there that I want to hear again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB1T_yCvGFg

Månegarm - Vetrarmegin
Meh, very generic MDM. It has some good, deep vocals but doesn't stand out at all. The clean vocals were utterly horrific, but at least the song was varried enough. THe guitarwork was bland and unmemorable, the drumming was supportive at best and the bass was absent.

Undercode - Freedom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKhNpYQXSkw

Undercode - Freedom

I had to listen to this song twice... the music starts right, powerful and energetic heavy metal, but there was something in the voice that I didn't like it all... but then, when I started to actually LISTEN to the lyrics, that was a different story all together.

It has a catchy "chorus", the song is consistent, never heard this band before, and I'm on my second listening now. The section around the 2:20 is lie when you are working out, have a rest and prepare for the next repetition I like the solo part, and overall is quite catchy, mise well check these guys more...

Now's my turn...

Krypt - Death Satan

Ah, interesting..Norwegian BM I've never heard before. As soon as the song started off I thought, "yes, this might be up my alley." I like that ultra-simple binary drum beat played at a medium pace which they carryout through much of the tune. Unfortunately I did not enjoy the way they right away jumped into blasting just to deliver a verse, then right back to the "rock groove" with the snare beating on two and four, and then blasting again just for another quick verse..I don't know, I just had to ask myself, "now why did they do that"? Still, things picked up quite a bit and I'd say from about 1:30 onward when there's a lot of fast playing and very spiteful lyrics the song is very good. Feels a little underdeveloped...but it had the mood of the very original Norse BM pioneers with a sharp, searing guitar sound and raw clunky drums that I like, and while there were really no stand-out riff moments I found that it had a feeling that I approved and will have to listen to it again on nice speakers at home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urD-vLroiF0

I actually am a fan of Virus so as soon as my cursor clicked on the link I already knew on some level what to expect, though the quality of the man's voice has deteriorated somewhat since the Black flux. The music is what is the norm of Virus's work: discordant chords, droning almost hauntingly droning vocals, and of course the man's cryptic lyrics. My favorite section of the song was from about 1:42 to 2:50 where the guitars just keep being strummed for that added unsettling riff- good song overal..

Virus-The dead cities of Syria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ9kP7AceAM

f

Yeah, love this third album of theirs. I actually thought the vocals had taken a step upward, oddly enough...that is, he seems to be trying some different things with this album, singing more melodiously at times, more of a biting-speech sort of thing going on at others..I don't know, I like it.

Vital Remains: "Immortal Crusade"

An eight minute Vital Remains song with only about forty seconds of blasting! THis was the norm for them back then though and yes, I do believe they were a much better band at this time. Haven't listened to this in years though so it was sort of fresh to me again..thanks for that. Lots of dynamics, a cool if thin guitar sound (actually sound as a whole is not very heavy)..I like the slow bit with the chanting and synth tympani around four minutes in..reminded me a lot of the band Acheron. NO wild blazing solos but some cool little lead fills here and there, nice strong and comprehensible vocals with a lot of oomph to them (Hail Satanas!!), and blastbeats thrown in at just the most appropriate times, to accent moments of real intensity, and nothing but. Feels like a real epic. Wish they'd gotten a heavier sound, that's all.

And now for something completely different:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-HR8eHvU74

Legend - Warrior

Wow, thats actually pretty good, considering it's from the early 80's! It feels quite energetic and borders beween hardrock and heavy metal. It isn't the NWOBHM that I've heard from Iron Maiden, but this has its distinct style. Some great soloing and consistent tempo. I like it!

Intestine Baalism - Memory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muEdvQOg6RY

Intestine Baalism - Memory

I just downloaded this onto my Zune last week, decent melodic death metal a bit more aggressive on certain tracks on this album, the dual melodies on this song are very addictive. Not much else to say about it other than they are very inventive for the genre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO2poJAaE_I

Well, this is obviously a fantastic song by a magnificent and pretty distinct band. I'm familiar with their 80s albums, but have yet to check their demos, and this re-recording of obscure tracks of a come-back. Didn't expect it'd be anywhere this great. This is a fantastic heavy/power composition with lots of emotion, personality and guts; it is greatly executed with a harmonized bass/guitar lead riff that is deeply touching, superb bass/mid-range vocals, mighty riffage and perfect timing and pacing throughout. Shit, this is a masterpiece of a fucking song. Brocas Helm is essentially a far less prolific Manilla Road (they don't sound alike, I'm speaking of uniqueness and talent, here).

Alright, Veracs, you've more than made up for posting that Kreator rip-off the other day!

And now, my fucking turn. Review this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8uU1wVr6L8

Misanthrope - Some French name I won't try to pronounce

Pretty interesting music. This I can definitely say is truly unique and original. The riff is catchy, the melodic ideas are interesting and the rasping vocals were a weird little touch that worked for the better. These guys have chops and their weird little avant-garde melodeath formula is pretty damn good overall. It seems to drag on a little and maybe comes off as a bit 'weird for the sake of weird,' but it's fun and I liked it pretty well. Cool stuff.

Review this classic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs4fHY6YiT0

Heh. Alright, this is solid EuroPM of the orthodox Keepers-worshipping school, characterized by the sharp contrast between the metallic, powerful attack of the intro/verses/breaks and the poppy, inoffensive candeur of the chorus/solos/sing-along section (the last minute); if I'm legendary for anything at all on these parts, it should be for my profound disgust for and disappointment in the use of this exact formula (I love the former parts, hate the latter parts, and feel the juxtaposition of the two spoils the whole). This is no exception, although the main riff is a bit of a generic Grave Digger-ism, I'd find it quite a nice number overall if it weren't for all the Guardians/Santa derived moments. Solid for the niche, I'd say, and glad to see Piet Sielck noticeably improved his vocal technique since 'Unification' (last one I bought). I'll stick to the debut, still.

On a side note, glad to see you here, Empyreal! I was wondering when you'd pop up.

Okay, my turn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfJAy30RqSw

haha, Legend Maker, I was considering posting Misanthrope in here myself, and since I think you're the only other person on the board who knows them I imagined you'd pop up right away and comment.

Sacred Steel: "Wargods of Metal"

I think I heard this song a very long time ago. I somehow remembered the singing being....well, sillier...but either I was thinking of different tunes or else I've just grown more accepting of such things. ANyway, this is what I would consider a classic speed metal sound. Nothing fancy or overdone, and memorable and spirited, if a little predictable. Demands to be played very loud! I almost wish they'd done more with the solo section, but then I suppose "quick and to the point" basically fits the nature of the song in question. Just when I thought that chorus was getting a little overdone, they ended it...nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNpZDACwI4o

Deathrow - Machinery

The jazzy clean guitar intro really put me off guard but I liked it. Great technical riffs and I love the drumming in this song. Song writing was actually really good and there were great solos. I really have to go listen to this band some more NOW

Orphaned Land - Birth Of The Three (The Unification)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC_q3LIIg_4

Orphaned Land:

Very enjoyable track. I actually posted a thread in the recommendation thread for Uplifting, Triumphant Metal. This fits the bill in many ways. I haven't heard of this band. They work as good background music. Good music to study too. I particularly liked the outro that began at 5:50. The female backup singers were a good way to cap the whole thing off. The drawbacks of this song are that it likes a little power. It's not in your face enough to come out of the background-music territory. This is a minor set back. Overall I give it 80%

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l2UlaYuNMg