Those three basically cover the ones I liked most, but go figure for my tastes. I recall For Those Who Dare sounding quite different production wise, but was maybe still decent.

You should check out Original Sin and Detente "Recognize No Authority" for some other random stuff with awesome female vocals.

Hi everyone. if you like early Iron Maiden and other nwobhm bands, check this out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbGg6V5OZs4

so that Wytch Hazel album is some really good stuff. Essentially the more metallic side of Thin Lizzy with some pagan altar overtones especially regarding the vocals.

Hi,

Could anyone point me in the direction of albums really similar to Omen's "Battle Cry", please? Also looking for bands sounding like Atlantean Kodex and Hyborian Steel (one or the other, not both at once). Thanks.

Pagan Altar, you say? I'm sold.

Why is the timing so weird? Sounds like it was made with midi on a cheap keyboard.

I actually thought it sounded kind of cool despite the looped drums, but once the vocals came in the whole thing fell apart for me. But that initial riff had some drive behind it. Keep working on your shit kiddo! You've got something.

Had a little bit of luck at a record fair over the weekend. I found mint copies of Killing Technology and Headless Cross. I've not heard Headless Cross at all but my buddy said he thought I would be able to appreciate it with my "pop metal" ears. I'm looking forward to reading some reviews today and then spinning it tomorrow night when I've got the place to myself.

Headless Cross has some great songs like Devil and Daughter and Nightwing on it. Probably my 2nd favorite Tony Martin album after Tyr.

What's the best Epica album to start with? I may be seeing them in concert later this year (they are going to be on tour with Arkona, who I want to see).

Headless Cross definitely isn't pop metal. It's total old school Satanic rock/metal the way only Sabbath could pull it off. These days I think the Ozzy and Dio years were definitely superior, but the Tony Martin albums are still very good and hold up pretty damn well, especially HC which was always my favorite of them.

Consign to Oblivion and The Divine Conspiracy are still their very best, though The Quantum Enigma isn't too far behind.

Pop metal is just how we describe a certain sound. It's more down to production really. That unbelievably "huge" 80s sound combined with midpaced jams.

Edit: Also anything that sounds like Blackout.

Blackout was what came to mind when I wrote the other status - that's what I'd call a pop metal album myself, that and some more modern PM bands. I don't think it's necessarily a pejorative term, but I think the Tony Martin Sabbath ones avoid that and just end up as pure heavy, rocking metal with only the glossier production as a bit of an outlier.

Just want to say that Rocka Rollas is now finished.

Thanks to my inability to sing well anymore, and that our drummer just left, I feel like it's finally time to wrap this shit up. I simply don't want to waste anymore time on a broken wheel that I cannot fix myself. I have done my best to find a suitable singer, but there just aren't any around...

Here's a video thanking all significant people who has been involved in the band until now.


If we find a good session singer we will release a last farewell album (Celtic Kings), which has already been recorded (one of the songs are played in the video)...

I have also put Breitenhold on pause, because I cannot sing / record vocals anymore.

If I ever find any good and enthustiastic members to start a new band with, I'm all for it.

In the meantime, I will start playing guitar in another already existing band. We will see how that goes!

Really sorry to hear that man. Rocka Rollas is probably the best speed metal band of the last 20-30 years. I just ordered a second copy of the War of Steel Has Begun to get those bonus tracks. I'll be rocking my RR shirt and patch on my jacket forever

Do you mind if I ask what happened to your voice? Sorry to hear it's not working out right now. I don't own any of your stuff but I've always been a fan of your work ethic and passion for the style. I bet we love all the same records.

You guys have any favorite albums that feature shred-gods but also high quality tunes? I picked up Beast from the East by Dokken at the record fair and I've kind of been feeling this stuff lately. One Nation Underground by Hawaii is probably the pinnacle for me, but that's not really what I'm looking for here. That stuff is so dirty and wild. I've been craving the slicker, sleeker, hard rocking stuff. I'm scheming on a copy of Marching Out. Any other must-haves? I've been spinning Vicious Rumors this morning but it's not really scratching the same itch, even if Digital Dictator rules and Soldiers of the Night is pretty good.

The first Racer X album and the first two Yngwie albums are the ultimate in this category IMHO.

Totally forgot about Racer X. I've never actually heard them I'm going to try to keep an eye out for that. The first two Yngwie albums interest me although the first one being so heavily instrumental bums me out a bit. It seems like, based on the reviews, Marching Out is where he really dialed it in as a full band. Is Trilogy no good? The cover art is so great and hells_unicorn's review makes me want to hope it's great.

Thanks dude! It's really appreciated

Keep in mind, this is definitely not the end for my music carreer, I will probably go on forever, but let's just see RR as my first attempt at a real band; now I know exactly what I'm in for, and next time maybe I can redeem some of the mistakes I made with RR.



It's not like I lost it Mariah Carey/Bon Jovi style, but I defintely have big trouble holding high notes... I can reach the notes, but trying to sustain them, or singing something up their, just cracks the voice. I never had that issue before, and now I have been like that for like 4-5 months... I do different types of vocal excercises almost every day to keep in shape but it doesn't help

About shred-gods albums;

Aww man I love vocals that waiver and crack. Record an EP of weirdo heavy metal with shaky vocals for me before you cash it in!

Maybe if you put yourself on vocal rest for a few months it would correct.

I'll check that out. I don't know shit about McAlpine but his name keeps coming up.

Malmsteen's reputation is often more of the problem than the music. I have everything from the debut through The Seventh Sign, and all of them rule. He gets pretty glammy at times on Trilogy, Odyssey, Eclipse, and parts of Fire & Ice, but the music holds up for me. I would give each of them a spin at least once. The Seventh Sign returns more to the Marching Out sound for most songs. I've heard Magnum Opus is in a similar vein, but I haven't been able to track it down yet.

IMO Eclipse is probably his best record. Goran Edman is a truly amazing singer. That album is way more laid back than his other ones though (aside from Motherless Child).

I actually think the first Malmsteen record is the worst of the first 7.

M.A.R.S. is a great pick!
My favourite instrumental shred albums might be Tony MacAlpines first two. Great song writing there. Maximum Security also has George Lynch guesting on two songs.

I have a hard time with the purely instrumental stuff. That's a big part of what I'm looking to side-step honestly. I want songs that feel fully fleshed out, and for me it's rare that an instrumental sounds "complete".

With that being said this isn't really about me and I dig the round table.

Remnants of War is slower than I expected! Not slow, by any means, but it's a lot more muscular and brawny compared to Nosferatu. I'm on my second spin. I think the second half is stronger but the whole thing is a gem for sure. It's nothing like Nosferatu but that's alright. I need the next two for sure.

Me too. That's why I prefer Tony MacAlpine over most.

Oh okay awesome! The way I read it I thought you were a fan of the instrumental shred style generally speaking.

Does anyone have a line on a US distro selling the 2LP version of Dreams of Eschaton?

The vast majority of MacAlpine's work IS instrumental though, but I agree his compositions feel more fleshed out as songs than some of the other shred gods of the era. I do quite like the album Ring of Fire that he did with Mark Boals on vocals (as well as the albums they then did under the Ring of Fire band name together) but I haven't listened to MARS really.

Also if you check out Racer X I'd personally recommend starting with Technical Difficulties even though it's not actually from the 80s. Lots of great, fun tunes on that album that combine catchy vocal melodies with face-melting shredding.

Gave it all a few more listens and yeah "Child of Desolation" is pretty awesome, but the rest still does nothing for me.




I was kind of disappointed with it. There was some really good tracks on it but the folk rock songs were just bad. I still need to give it some more listens to really form a solid opinion on the album overall.

I have never been a huge fan of shredding but maybe you could check out Tommy Vitaly - Hanging Rock album which you might like.

Vinnie Moore is very underrated for shred. Check him out asap, way better than Malmsteen and some of that other stuff to me. Other than that Marty Friedman's "Dragon's Kiss" and some Racer X is good.

Hahah alright thanks guys. I'll try to get to some of these. I'm psyched to find that Project: Driver is cheap as hell on record.

Lightning Strikes by Loudness rules so much. Similar to Trance from Germany it's basically what I always wished Scorpions would sound like. If they had gone full-tilt towards heavy metal. Opening song "Let it Go" could easily be on Blackout. The rest isn't quite as flagrant but still has that feel. 1000 Eyes is a JAM! I'm so glad to have discovered Loudness.

The new Omen album makes me sad. There's good material there, but the poor vocals drag everything down really hard.

Musically it was better than I was anticipating. When Kevin actually sings like he did on Eternal Black Dawn (Eulogy For A Warrior for example) it's decent but otherwise a poor performance, the attempts at grit or aggression just fail.

Era of Crisis actually manages to be a solid tune, and might be my favorite track so far.

I haven't had the heart to listen to it and I probably never will. I know some people are saying that the music is surprisingly competent but Omen are one of the first bands that I ever truly found where it was like "Whoa, there's metal like THIS? This is everything I'm after!". I just can't bring myself to hear them with a middling vocalist.

I can now fully say that I am obsessed with Liege Lord. I have all three albums and I genuinely can't pick a favorite. It's usually just whichever I've played most recently. Currently spinning Burn to My Touch, and it feels exactly like what it is, a middle ground. It's a lot more sure-footed than the debut but nowhere near as sleek and muscular as what came next. There's something really charming about the debut though. It's very aloof. Almost clueless. Man, cool band.

So I revisited Cauldron Born's Born of the Caldron today and I'm pretty impressed now. Somehow makes me think of what you'd get if Toxik decided to play USPM or something. Dig that crazy guitar work.

The guitar work, bass work, and vocals are all BAT-SHIT crazy. I love that album so much. It's one of those things where you feel like someone wrote and recorded it specifically FOR you. The lyrics are exactly what I want to hear set to that sort of thing. The riffs are muscular and yet so arcanely weird at the same time.

Yeah Born of the Cauldron is fucking amazing for sure, it's like the distorted memories of some demented wizard. For those who have read Donaldson's The Mirror of Her Dreams, I can totally picture the vocalist being Adept Havelock recounting his glory days in appropriately bizarre form. And the guitar work is great, of course. Nothing Howie has done has prove me wrong. The man is a guitar god.

Ok, this new Solstice demo is fucking incredible. I think this is the best the band has ever been, to be honest. A full album of this quality would be better than New Dark Age. Absolutely masterful.

It's a total masterpiece and one of the few releases that I think is just as good as the heyday of 80s power metal. Howie is an absolute songwriting genius.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Early days, but I think these songs are easily up there with their best stuff off New Dark Age. I agree with you entirely.

I found this on Bandcamp, Legend of Powerheart by Hrom. Might be worth a listen, I'm liking it so far. Old style power metal riffage, fantasy lyrics, vocals have some balls to them but he's able to hit high notes.

https://hromcan.bandcamp.com/album/legends-of-powerheart-part-i