Cool you liked Nightingale. However I won't (only) rec them to fans of Sentenced and other dark or goth metal music. Basically Nightingale play some form of heavy hard rock with some slight prog influences here and there and a somewhat "darker" touch. While their debut surely was very Sisters of Mercy influenced, each album thereafter shows more and more hard rock and even AOR tendencies yet with a melancholic atmosphere in many songs.
Here are some other songs if you like to hear more of them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOeX9NcdCgk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjQQJ6XnUFA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6_RnACSg0s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQWObXrN ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHpLHQF4zwI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkRXs4H2910

I personally prefer Nightingale (and Unicorn) over all of Dan's other, harder releases of his huge discography.

@CrushedRevelation: I see. Well, shit happens (I've had quite a few technical mishaps in this thread as well).

@Tezcat! Wow, you really went all out on this one. While it's true I (gently) complained about some posts being a bit lacking in content, it's still the mini-review game, dude!

Fucking love 'The Diabolic Serenades' too, by the way. Couldn't have put it better than CrushedRevelation did.

@grauer_mausling (& Tezcat): I'm glad I'm not alone in my love for early Tiamat! Their later, softer, less challenging works are generally better known and more often get praised, but to me 'The Astral Sleep' is where it's at. One of my all-time, all-genre favorite albums, and it's not just fond memories to me: I love it just as much today as I did back in 1991. Sure, 'Clouds' is very good too, it's just that, to me, it's a bit of a diluted version of the previous effort (less ideas per song, longer songs, less attack); but I really like tracks like "In a Dream" or "Sleeping Beauty".

As for Nightingale, I'm glad someone else reviewed it. I've done enough negative reviews in this thread lately, and really didn't want to follow through on your enthusiastic comments with something coming across as mean. Suffice to say I'm not trading my copy of 'Purgatory Afterglow' for any Swanö side project anytime soon.

On Distant Thunder, I basically agree with you: their album is filed within Helstar's discography in my collection, next to Destiny's End. Of course I prefer the original 80s material too (though 'Distant Thunder' isn't my personal favorite, that's a tie between 'Remnants of War' and 'Nosferatu' for me), but I still like this album quite a lot, not just for nostalgia.

As for the High On Fire track, I really enjoyed it too; not sure I follow on the Jag Panzer comparisons, nor the mentions of doom and sludge, as for me this basically is (recent) Motörhead. Seriously, had I been told upon hearing it something like "yeah, this is an unreleased track off of the 'We Are Motörhead' sessions", I wouldn't have questioned it. So, I would likely have described it as "modern-sounding speed" instead. Good stuff, though!

Yep, sums it up pretty good. I like Rogue Male quite a lot but even i wouldn't call it essential. Like you said - good fun and it gets it spins every now and then but that's all. And as I was in the mood for some sloppy heavyspeedthrashmetalpunk today I though of "why not post it here?".

No problem, man. To me it works great and while I also like Massacra's earlier stuff, "Sick" is my fave album of them. COuld be sth major nostalgia playing a role as we (me and my "metal gang" back then) blasted this album numerous times when preparing for the pubs at home. It's perfect booze-music, imo. As usual - tastes differ and ther's just nothing you can do, hehe...

@LegendMaker: Great mini-review on the Ketzer track, and glad you wholeheartedly enjoyed it. Summed it up perfectly.

Ah, sorry. I didn't realise that was not appropriate.

The similarity between the High on Fire song and Jag Panzer is almost solely in the rolling, flowing feeling, and a very strong similarity between that song's verse (I think) and that of License to Kill. The sludge comparison came from the obvious hardcore punk influence along with very heavy guitar chugs. I'm not well versed in sludge, but it did sound like a fast sludge song to me.

I don't know about that riff, but the one at 2:02 strikingly sounds like Destruction's Curse the Gods, as mentioned by the video uploader.

@CrushedRevelation: Pleasure is mine! :

@Ilwhyan: Thanks, man! Sorry to bug everyone with this type of details, I just love this thread and want it to keep its flow and momentum.

As for High On Fire versus Jag Panzer, hmm I've just listened to both songs back to back and while I think I now see where you're coming from about the flowing feel in the main riff/drums combo (especially during the solo section), I can't for the life of me see your point about the chorus. I mean, besides the fact that JP's song is far more complex and intricate, it actually has a chorus, with a pretty high and definite melody to it; the HOF song on the other hand, well what I think you're calling "the chorus" I was merely considering a break, or a bridge: this song is essentially just verses with a few brief other moments to make the transistion. "Toodoo-toodoo-too-doo! (lala-la-lalala)" four times, and then back to the verse; I'm having a hard time calling that "a chorus"; let alone compare it with that of "Licence to Kill". Bah, to each his own.

@Burnt Offering-The dead walk the earth.


The intro bears more than a few similarities to this (I'm guessing direct influence) and that (I'm guessing, their drummer having later moved on to play on this very track, they might have been aware of Mantas/Death already at the time); having said that, it has its own spirit and I wouldn't call it a plain ripoff of either. Several other moments resemble this and that from the era, I'd say it was most likely a band heavily informed by the scene of their time, and influenced by various other bands. Still a fine instrumental track.

@Chateaux - "Spirit of the Chateaux"
Fuck yeah, Chateaux! One of their best songs, and clearly one of the top songs of the debut (surpassed only by "Straight to the Heart" and the first half of "The Dawn Surrender"). There's been great songs throughout their 3.5 albums, but to me they peaked with this and even moreso that; ie yes, check out 'FirePower', their monstrous second album as well!

@Explosicum - On the Road of Death
Thanks Amerigo, nice little find, there! They pretty much stick to direct influences from the classics, and that melodic riff popping up throughout the song reminds me a lot of late 80s Exodus ("Like Father, Like Son" comes to mind), but they're doing itfine.

Damn! How can I be hearing this for the first time just now!? How can this be just a demo?! Damn! This is at the exact crossroads between 'Ample Destruction', 'Graceful Inheritance', and 'Battle Cry'; and I mean that not just in terms of style, but quality, authenticity and class as well. I need this twenty-three years ago! Thanks, dude! Jonpo, no offense meant: I'm not second-guessing your mini-review, it's great as it is, I just had to come out of the non-Enforcer-aware closet too, and add my revelation to yours!

By the way, this band is not in the Archives here! We have like 10 Enforcers listed, but not that one.

@Jonpo: Thanks for Quicksand Dream! Very nice find for me. This reminds me of what bands like Freternia or Wuthering Heights could have become (or in the latter case, stayed), had they not drifted towards outright folk and plain EuroPM respectively. This is extremely well-written epic heavy/power with loads of style, finesse and energy in the performance and arrangements. Another band I'll have to fully explore. Awesome.