I'm really enjoying Dark Forest's Beyond the Veil. It leans more toward Euro-power than my usual fare, but limp, trite and saccharine it is not! On the Edge of Twilight is a particular highlight for me.

Huh, this band Forgotten Realm with the Timelord guitarist seems pretty neat - not as cool as Timelord, but still solid and enjoyable. The 'neoclassical power metal' tag is a bit misleading as it suggest something gay like Stratovarius, but it's really no more neoclassical than Timelord, fairly USPMish - perhaps more rooted in traditional/power metal as opposed to Timelord having some speed/thrash elements, but still quite cool. Check it out!

Agreed. He has at the least shown himself to be an 'agent of steal,' so he must also then be a 'master of metal.'

Besides, the Cyriis albums probably come off as more 'serious' about their themes, which is worthwhile.

--Mind Wars
--Terror and Submission
1. Skeptics Apocalypse
--Mad Locust Rising
2. Unstoppable Force
3. Order of the Illuminati
4. Omega Conspiracy
---Annihilation of Civilization (no opinion on the other two)
5. Alienigma
6. From Worlds Beyond

Positions 2-4 rotate regularly. Not a bad album in that list.

I dunno, to my ears Order of the Illuminati is pretty clearly the best thing they've ever done.

Are you guys winding me up? You buncha fucking knuckleheads! There isn't a bad Agent Steel album, true, but there's a clear and definite best of the bunch. Skeptic's Apocalypse might be the hands down best speed metal album OF. ALL. TIME!

I guess my tastes have changed quite a bit since I picked up Jaguar's Power Games years ago. I originally was let down by it but listening now....I'm not sure how? This is all the best stuff about blue collar NWOBHM. It's got such a rock and roll heart but everything has been pushed to Raven-territory pace. Endless hip-moving boogie but also rhythms fast enough to knock you down if you aren't paying attention. Killer shit. Glad I revisited.

Skeptics Apocalypse is like being inside a computer. The follow-up is great, too, if a bit too Queensryche-y at times (don't get ideas above your station, Cyriis, we don't want a Rage for Order on our hands). After that, who cares? I'm not an Oblarg.

Hahah what the fuck does that even mean? Is that a good thing? It sounds too wild to be inside a computer to me.

I never got into Unstoppable Force very much. Always sounded a little too thrashy or something. I dunno, it just lost the charm. I don't remember it being the least bit Ryche-y (:/) though! Gonna have to review.

Didn't know they had a newer demo, hopefully the album gets finished. I haven't listened to Archetype, but they sound like what I'm in the mood for as well, thanks!

It is probably 'up there,' although some people are counting the somewhat similar 'Mad Locust Rising.' Which has a great title, it's worth noting. Although it might still conjure up the image of a bunch of angry locusts turning up to punish 'skeptics.' Still, it's not an album, so it can stand alone somewhat.

There are some other good and quirky speed metal-esque releases, like Sider's or Defender's, but in terms of 'orthodox' speed metal albums 'Skeptics Apocalypse' does stand out.

Agent Steel's album titles at around that point were kinda impressive as well. After the slightly eerie, alien-themed 'Skeptics Apocalypse,' they followed with the threateningly named 'Unstoppable Force.' This album title might come across as slightly sudden and emphatic a declaration, and coming after the previous album's depiction of alien intervention, 'apocalyptic' punishment and the uncanny can be quite effective and 'metal.' The track titles on the second album are also slightly amusing: 'Unstoppable Force' is followed immediately by the slightly bathetic title 'Never Surrender,' etc. Which kind of betrays how the album diverges from 'Skeptic's Apocalypse' - the tracks are slightly less oganically connected and coherent. Apart from this, they also seem eerily reminiscent of the future split of John Cyriis from the band, with songs like 'Still Searching,' 'Chosen to Stay,' and 'Traveller.' Nonetheless, 'Skeptic's Apocalypse' does have more obscure symbolism or images and Biblical references like '144 Gone' (referring to the Book of Revelation), without the same blatant conjuring of them as 'Mad Locust Rising' for instance, so it still stands out as a better treatment of the themes.

Still, speed metal can often be a slightly eclectic and vague genre, with most bands veering in the direction being instead classified 'Thrash' or 'Power.' The Japanese 'Mein Kampf' also have a nice take on the genre, which is sped-up rock with a slight metallic edge. Their release opens with a Nazi aesthetic, and then some slightly eerie Eyehategod-esque sounds, before going into a track named 'Speeder' which is pronounced akin to 'fear.' It's something of a clever approach for a Japanese album of this kind, as although the pronunciation might mean that listeners aren't always clear what's being said, this vagueness can itself seem disturbing or has its own effect. Mein Kampf follow a slightly innocuous-seeming track with one going, "Yeah! This is my blood / Yeah! This is wild life / Yeah! This is my blood / Yeah! Fightin' power /Warning for you / Catch your target baby," which might also be perturbing if people were expecting the release to be innocuous and have no potentially disturbing relation to the title. However, bands like Agent Steel, Ballistic or Defender are perhaps more close to the usual modus operandi of the genre. They tend to retain a common thread through the album, rather than usually springing surprises and so on.

Anyway, figured we might as well get Agent Steel and speed metal discussion out of the way slightly, since we dropped a tangential comment about them earlier and now they're a focus of the discussion.

Are there any fans of Saigon's 'One Must Die' here? I've listened to it a bit recently, as it has some fairly aggressive riffing along with occasionally interesting lyrical themes. The track list is also slightly striking, opening with 'And One Must Die' followed by a list of condemnations and threats.



(Also slightly amusing in the light of Chastain's habit of continually having songs with titles like 'Forevermore' and 'Endlessly.')

For me it's always been a very difficult decision between Master of Disguise and Skeptics Apocalypse for best speed metal of all time. You're right there are a lot of styles and takes on the genre, but those two represent my favorite. Basically just hyper melodic, complex, and so racing fast it sounds like it could crash in on itself at any moment.

I've gone back and listened to Unstoppable Force a few times since last night, with Queensryche in mind. I think I may have caught a bit of what you meant now, Acrobat. Stuff like the intro to Chosen to Stay, the majesty of Still Searching, and all of Traveler. Definitely some softer, more contemplative moments where Juan gets emotional on us. I have to say though, Chosen to Stay and Still Searching are probably my favorite moments on the album.

I'm gonna put this right here:

Has Morbid Termination ever been mentioned here? Texas 'Power/Speed Metal' from the mid 80s, the fact that no one seems to talk about them made me never check them out expecting third-rate material relative to Militia and whatnot, but I'm loving both demos. The first one is a little more USPM, slightly reminiscent of Dark Age, ridiculous high-pitched vocals and uplifting/anthemic epic vibe. The second one is even crazier, hyper-speed and shrieking everywhere, also more technical with some surprisingly evocative melodies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QllhhYPrV7w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZJE-Hl1Mks

Some cool dungeon heavy metal with scifi elements from Canada, one man project:

Ezra Brooks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRhQnA5Ou7Q

Yeah, I'll probably end up picking up that Ezra Brooks without even sampling. The dude behind the project seems to really understand how to make outsider heavy metal art. Such a great name for a sci-fi themed project.

You guys are SNOOZIN' on that Crimson Storm EP I posted. I haven't been able to stop listening to it lately. Very heavy Volture "Shocking Its Prey" vibes.

I know I've raved about it already and I'm late to the party, but I've been playing Master Control a LOT since getting a vinyl copy. It doesn't tug at my soul the same way the debut does, but it's just so much god damned fun. Master Control sounds like what most people describe when talking about Painkiller. It's just relentless muscle, speed, savagery. Stupid catchy too!

It took me forever to give them a chance but the Liege Lord discography is airtight, quality wise, while being fairly diverse across 3 albums. Fucking cool band.

Been checking out the smaller projects Elisa Martin has been in, and I was surprised to find that that one Peter Crowley album she sang for is actually pretty damn fun. Certainly better than that unfortunate Hamka band she was also in. :V

It's enjoyable, right on the level of Scanner's Hypertrace but nowhere near Painkiller quality. The vocal hooks just aren't there. Joe Comeau is a great singer but I think it's clear why Liege Lord is just below the surface of known American metal bands.

It shits all over Painkiller, in my opinion. Like it's not even close. Master Control has infinitely better riffs, more speed, more adrenaline, more complexity. It doesn't have Halford (a major blow to any record!) and the choruses might be a half-step less catchy. I'd still take Liege Lord's record 10 times out of 10 without a second thought.

Jamming Remnants of War at work right now. It took me a few spins to relegate my expectations to the actual sound, but this one is a keeper all over. Much darker than the debut, with more interesting riffs. I've warmed up to Rivera in a huge way too. He still sounds like he's talking a huge portion of the time but it works. He's got the drama down.

I'd take Master Control Comeau over Painkiller Halford. He only really shines on 'Between the Hammer and the Anvil' on that album.

He's on fire on MC for sure. I've never heard him on anything else. I get the Bruce comparisons but I think he does his own thing with a similar tone. It's really cool the way they landed him for that last album. I prefer Michaud because he's a fucking goofy-voiced weirdo but that shit wouldn't have flown on Master Control at all. They needed a voice that is everything manly. Pretty neat, tight little discography they've got. I love bands like that (looking at you Brocas Helm).

He shows up on some of the only decent Annihilator records though his voice is way different. He's also unrecognizable doing background vocals on those 90s Overkill albums.

Yowza. I would self-immolate before I listened to an Annihilator record. Duly noted, thanks!

The first Annihilator album is okay, but nothing special. Every album I've heard from them after that ranges from "meh" to "dear god, make it stop!".

There was a time where I paid their first two lip-service because I thought that's what you were supposed to do. Fuck it though, boring thrash is boring. I'm not a huge fan of the style to begin with so that may be part of the issue.

I am no fan of them at all but I'd file the Comeau albums (Carnival Diabolus, Waking the Fury) under 'most tolerable'.

Never got on with the first album, but Never, Neverland is awesome.

Ridiculous guitar solos in some of the songs. Jeff Waters is a lovely player.

I like the debut well enough, but the only song from Never, Neverland that I don't hate is Phantasmagoria, which is a pretty sweet song.

I non-ironically listen to King of the Kill, I think it's solid. Got kind of a Surfing with the Alien sound, I feel.

Okay, so a quick googling of "Master Control" resulted in me finding THIS:



D-D-D-DAMN.

^ Awesome!

First two Annihilator albums are masterpieces of metal, don't be silly!

Oh yeah, I've seen him! He's a freaking wizard, I swear.

Those are both fucking sick, for real.

So uh...am I fucking tripping? I'm listening to Multiples of Black and I swear it sounds kinda good? Like not great, but I've been enjoying it more than the Helstar debut. Checked it out strictly because I found the artwork oddly engaging.

I...don't think I've ever actually heard Multiples of Black. The many harshly-worded warnings against it kept me away. So uh...what songs on it are good? Care to link one?

I listened to the whole album at work, it's really short. There are 2 scathing reviews and one positive that now seems very reasonable to me. I guess basically Rivera took the demos from Vigilante, and the band from Vigilante, and slapped a Helstar coat of paint on them? It's not mind-blowing or anything but it doesn't have that god-awful production like their 00s stuff. It's obviously more thrashy and less neoclassical but I think Rivera sounds cool and...I dunno man I was just kind of blindsided when I found myself digging it.

Here's the first song on the album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_crUVjZ8J8

Some of the riffing reminds me of Pariah. I'm not saying this is an album stand-out, I didn't pay enough attention to figure out which songs were the highlights.

Dude, I get that the thread has been a little slow lately, but completely obvious trolling isn't the best way to get some conversation going.

I mean, Jesus Christ, the debut has THIS:

Which is a good song. I also like Shadows of Iga, Run with the Pack, and Dracula's Castle a lot. I've never truly fallen for the album though. It was actually a big part of what kept me from checking out their other 80s releases for so long. The debut needed more speed, and a touch more variation.

I mean I'm not gonna argue it's perfect, but fuck, as amateurish as Rivera's vocals were on the debut, at least they have a shitload of passion. On Multiples in Black he sounds like he's not even phoning it in, he's semaphoring it in. And the bad production, mediocre riffs, mediocre everything...I mean it's not as bad as Dissident Alliance, but it's still bad. Especially given that the demo from '93 was pretty damn good.

Put it aside, go back to it in a while, you'll see what everyone means. I think you probably just went in expecting a really horrible album and found a merely mediocre one and that skewed your perspective.

I'm way into the vocals on Burning Star! I just think Barragan hadn't really found his voice yet. That album sounds slow for 84. Shit it even sounds slow for 83.

That was a huge factor and I went pretty far outta my way to make the shock factor known. But I loved the production, for what it's worth. Rivera did sound tired in some places. Like you said I plan on coming back a few times to see if anything sticks. My gut feeling is still that A Distant Thunder is gonna fuck my whole world up. Can't wait to snag it.

Father Has Risen is one of the greatest heavy metal songs ever written. Matthias Steele were mainlining the secret truth of the universe when they wrote that joint. The same current that brought us Come to the Sabbath or Offrande Charnel or Synchronicity at Midnight/A Baying of Hounds...