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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sun Jun 12, 2016 7:45 pm 
 

mudrnudl wrote:
C.O.P - State of Rock album (more of Power AOR with an insanely great singer)

Hell yes! Peter Sundell is a phenomenon!
I have the Grand Illusion album View from the Top, great album.
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Jonpo
Hyperc6l6mb6wler

Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:05 am
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:34 am 
 

I can't say exactly why but that Ballistic track didn't move me much at all. Reminds me of Phantom's Cyberchrist a bit. Another album I always wanted to like more than I truly did. I'm still going to look into some of the bands surrounding that dude. Wardog and such.

With respect to my current Nosferatu and Master Control obsession, I think I'm going to revisit Digital Dictator with some real attentiveness and see what's what. I remember it having a similar sleek feel, with a futuristic and huge production. Maybe it's time for a late 80s USPM awakening.
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Temple Of Blood
Old Man Yells at Cloud

Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:16 am
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:23 am 
 

TENSION "Breaking Point" was Gattis's best release, and I enjoy all his releases to a degree.
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Jonpo
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Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:05 am
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:27 am 
 

Okay I'll definitely be starting there. Looks like it won't cost me a fucking arm and a leg if I love it which is a huge plus. Thanks guys!

edit: As obsessed as I currently am with the sleek and muscular attack of Master Control...I gotta say there's something about Freedom's Rise. I loved it from the first listen but I get the feeling that it's going to end up among my favorites ever. It has that little bit of holdover NWOBHM influences without actually SOUNDING anything like NWOBHM. Just very obscure gallopy stuff with twists and turns that keep you hooked. I was originally thinking it's backloaded but it's flush throughout. There just happen to be a few insane tracks towards the end. Really amazing stuff.
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Aydross
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2012 9:21 pm
Posts: 552
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 1:40 pm 
 

What's the consensus on french heavy metal? What are the must-owns besides Sortilege?
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Jophelerx
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Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 2:22 pm
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 1:43 pm 
 

Blaspheme, High Power, and ADX are all awesome. The first 2 are trad metal in the vein of Sortilege, ADX is more speed metal, but all of them are great. Check out High Power's first, Blaspheme's second, and ADX's first (their later albums might be good too, but I haven't heard them yet).
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Nahsil
Clerical Sturmgeschütz

Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:06 pm
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 1:46 pm 
 

Temple Of Blood wrote:
TENSION "Breaking Point" was Gattis's best release, and I enjoy all his releases to a degree.


"Wrecking Crew" is sooo catchy, love that galloping riff and bassline.
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Temple Of Blood
Old Man Yells at Cloud

Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:16 am
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 3:25 pm 
 

Nahsil wrote:
Temple Of Blood wrote:
TENSION "Breaking Point" was Gattis's best release, and I enjoy all his releases to a degree.


"Wrecking Crew" is sooo catchy, love that galloping riff and bassline.


Yes! My personal favorite is "Shock Treatment". Tim O'Connor is a great bassist.
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Aydross
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2012 9:21 pm
Posts: 552
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 3:53 pm 
 

Jophelerx wrote:
Blaspheme, High Power, and ADX are all awesome. The first 2 are trad metal in the vein of Sortilege, ADX is more speed metal, but all of them are great. Check out High Power's first, Blaspheme's second, and ADX's first (their later albums might be good too, but I haven't heard them yet).


Hey thanks a lot! I recently realized french vocals go along with heavy metal music really nicely. I'll try those bands for sure.

For people looking for a heavier euro-pm sound look no further than Guardians of Time. Dark and heavy pm music with great vocals and instrumentation!
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 4:49 pm 
 

Nightmare are great! And greatly overlooked. Two albums in the 80s, and then seven and counting since their comeback in 2001. Both eras are top-notch!
Sadly their singer (who was the drummer in the 80s) just quit. He's got a real powerful and unique voice.



For power metal you have Heavenly (I know I know), a bit of Gamma Ray and some Dragonforce.
I don't think anyone like their last album though.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
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Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 4:59 pm 
 

Heavenly's Virus is a really cool album. Europower-style vocal melodies but with heavy, pummeling, techy riffage. I really like it.
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Jonpo
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Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:05 am
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 4:59 pm 
 

Nightmare's debut (the only one I've heard) is pretty dang cool, but I have to say they just don't sound very "French" to me at all. Blaspheme, High Power, Demon Eyes, H-Bomb, Sortilege...those bands sound so French it hurts!
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failsafeman
Digital Dictator

Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2004 8:45 am
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Location: In the Arena
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 5:31 pm 
 

I never liked Nightmare's debut. One of the few French singers who...well, he kinda sucks.
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rawsewage
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:29 pm
Posts: 475
Location: Shamokin, PA
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 5:34 pm 
 

Just saw some pretty awesome news. The Glacier EP is getting reissued by Cult Metal Classics and will be coming out in September or October.

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Nahsil
Clerical Sturmgeschütz

Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:06 pm
Posts: 4578
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:32 pm 
 

I made a Facebook group for sharing trad/speed/power/light thrash/etc metal if anybody wants to join. It's based off another cool small group I'm in called Deathcult International where people share extreme metal. I like the format because you've gotta say something about what you're sharing to spur discussion, so it's not just link spamming (like some metal subreddits and other metal groups I've been in). That group's been a lot of fun, so I figured I'd make one for the more classic styles. Feel free to join!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/613613395486487/
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Jonpo
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:46 pm 
 

Joined!

Vessel is blowing my mind right now. I've got a gasoline-heavy high from smoking resin and I went in with expectations that were infinitely off-base. It sounds like a lost Tribulation album or something! Not a single 80s thing about it besides vocals. I have no idea what to make of this yet but it's weird as.

Edit: Okay so there are like 3 "normal" riffs on the entire album. This thing is a beaut.
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Xileize
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:31 am
Posts: 64
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 3:21 am 
 

Empyreal wrote:
Heavenly's Virus is a really cool album. Europower-style vocal melodies but with heavy, pummeling, techy riffage. I really like it.


It's about time they released a new album. I'm a fan of their first four, but Carpe Diem left a lot to be desired.

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DawnOfEternity
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:35 pm
Posts: 187
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 7:00 am 
 

I could use a little beginners guide to Judas Priest. I've been listening to Painkiller for years and always loved it a lot. The energy, the speed, the vocals, the crazy solos and of course fantastic riffs. The album has basically everything I love in heavy metal. I tried some other albums by them but could never find the same energy. Sad Wings of Destiny for example is a good album, but a lot softer (not surprising, it's from the 70s and the whole NWOBHM thing wasn't even there yet). Do they have any other releases with the same energy and intensity as Painkiller or was it a one of a kind thing?

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aaronmb666
Veteran

Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2005 3:37 am
Posts: 2837
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 7:33 am 
 

DawnOfEternity wrote:
I could use a little beginners guide to Judas Priest. I've been listening to Painkiller for years and always loved it a lot. The energy, the speed, the vocals, the crazy solos and of course fantastic riffs. The album has basically everything I love in heavy metal. I tried some other albums by them but could never find the same energy. Sad Wings of Destiny for example is a good album, but a lot softer (not surprising, it's from the 70s and the whole NWOBHM thing wasn't even there yet). Do they have any other releases with the same energy and intensity as Painkiller or was it a one of a kind thing?


Give Primal Fear a try.

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Temple Of Blood
Old Man Yells at Cloud

Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:16 am
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 11:28 am 
 

DawnOfEternity wrote:
I could use a little beginners guide to Judas Priest. I've been listening to Painkiller for years and always loved it a lot. The energy, the speed, the vocals, the crazy solos and of course fantastic riffs. The album has basically everything I love in heavy metal. I tried some other albums by them but could never find the same energy. Sad Wings of Destiny for example is a good album, but a lot softer (not surprising, it's from the 70s and the whole NWOBHM thing wasn't even there yet). Do they have any other releases with the same energy and intensity as Painkiller or was it a one of a kind thing?


That really was just a point in time for them. They may have a few songs here and there along those lines but not a whole album.

I wouldn't recommend Primal Fear. Not even close to being as good in the guitar and drum department as what JP were executing on "Painkiller".

These albums would be worth a listen for you IMHO:
WINTERS BANE - "Heart of a Killer"
HALFORD - "Resurrection"
HALFORD - "Crucible"
ALTERED STATE - "Winter Warlock"
JUDAS PRIEST - "Jugulator"
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Jophelerx
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 11:32 am 
 

Uh, he asked if "they" had any other releases like Painkiller, "they" referring to Judas Priest. He didn't ask for recs of bands similar to Priest. To answer DawnofEternity's query, give Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith a try. They're not as balls-out speed metal as Painkiller, but then, I find Painkiller to be overrated. Probably the closest albums to Painkiller that are worth hearing from them, at any rate.
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Aydross
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2012 9:21 pm
Posts: 552
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 4:14 pm 
 

Arrayan Path is really good thanks Empyreal. Sunrise still sounds pretty bad to me unfortunately.

Edit: seriously everyone needs to listen to this:
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Jonpo
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 11:47 pm 
 

So. That Johnny Touch album definitely has something. It sounds deceptively simple at first. The pacing kinda teases out the quality. It just gets better and better as it goes. Loving the emotive-yet-Everyman vocals and how they sit behind the riffs. Loving the lightly distorted tone. Lady Stutter, Dishonorable Discharge, Bitch of A Son, and Black Company all got ahold of me. Black Company is flirting with that Satanic Majesty vibe I adore.

(If you're unfamiliar with Satanic Majesty please listen to Offrande Charnel by High Power and Black Candles by Oz. Not talking about that Midnight album here.)
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2Eagle333
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Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:24 am
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 7:46 am 
 

USPM often varied between more stirring, violent tracks and darker themes on other tracks. Bands like Jag Panzer and Omen tended to write songs in each direction, with Jag Panzer for instance accompanying 'Ample Destruction' with tracks like 'The Watching' - albeit with both aspects sometimes more or less clearly figured. While they can still perhaps take slightly too much for granted in the darker tracks, or play on whatever the audience might vaguely associate with them rather than working atmospherically as such, it's still a promising direction. Bands that attempt USPM stylings generally go along these lines, albeit often less coherently, such as Ballistic or Fatal Violence, although in a sense these diverge in part due to being slightly less coherent among these aspects. Things like Tales of Medusa generally speaking just take the darker angle, and hence can be slightly partial, but still stand out in some ways. Generally, the violent tracks tend to be more personally identified, while the darker themes are identified with the external world or things outside, locations, etc., and hence it needn't be that much of a surprise to find that most tracks about females and whatever generally speaking identify them, as opposed to the singer, as slightly dark and so on. Bands like 'New Religion,' for instance, go in this kind of direction with tracks like 'Tainted Angel,' etc., with decent lyrics like, 'She couldn't stand the pain inside, but your soul is the price you pay,' although darker archetypes are more common. Their song 'World Gone Mad' is beset by usual problems of the darker songs, being unable to specify particularly what its problem with this world is and hence drawing on vague or popular associations which are 'of' this world anyway, but it does seem at least slightly self-concious of this. The call to 'believe' is also interesting for a band of that name, and suggests a more general theme, although not fully developed in their songs.

Bands like Adramelch go in a slightly similar direction to Tales of Medusa, although they are in the weird position of being a band that apparently likes the medieval era enough to base their band's thing on it, but still seem to have very little good to say about it. This can make it slightly disjointed, and they can be slightly all over the place. Due to the alien theme, the early Agent Steel might be one of the closest to the opposite pole of tending primarily towards the more stirring aspect, while the later, post-Cyriis band tended to just conflate them and were closest to more a thrash angle. This has some interesting products on their earlier albums, such as the biblically-relevant name '144,000 Gone' for an interesting apocalyptic themed track. Apollo Ra are also interestingly similar in 'Ra Pariah' - which takes a darker archetype and tries to turn it notably towards a more stirring angle, and hence withdraw from the world generally - and 'Bane of the Black Sword' is a fairly good example of a similar more stirring song, slightly qualified but nonetheless fairly exuberant. A lot of their other track are slightly more confused or basic, though. Cyperus are slightly more ambiguous, strangely, but nonetheless songs like 'Hot Dice' do try and bring this more violent aspect to bear in contrast to 'popular music' and the darkness associated with the world, and hence is in a sense a lot more 'progressive' than you might expect of the band. That song is quite special, really.

The lyrics:
Once I evoked the opposers
I knew the disease and its bite


Are a fairly nice reference to the opening section. While the song is still not quite in one direction, as it were, it does manage to be more coherent than most.

Defender are also more focussed on the darker section, and hence for this among other reasons songs like 'City Ad Mortis' also resemble 'Tales of Medusa' in some ways, and also give a better take on the subject of Iron Maiden's 'Hallowed be thy Name,' for instance, while integrating the religious aspect in a slightly interesting way. That said, they can at times be slightly mild, which makes their lines about 'burning the palace down' and 'shining blades of metal,' etc., or 'Deadly Peril,' come across as at times slightly out of place or lacking the correct context to be consistent musically. Lyrics like 'You just talk, I hear no sound,' are still quite good. Riot, on 'Thundersteel,' for instance, do identify in some ways with the more stirring element, but nonetheless often seem to want to portray things as dark, but generally come off as if they can't portray anything as dark although they really want to. As such, when they do go negative, it can be pretty harsh, as with identifying the apocalypse as a 'crimson storm' while discussing how God will make them 'pay for their sin.' Nonetheless, this still ends up slightly limited or vague due to the overall tendency there, and hence it generally speaking comes across as slightly different from the darker themes of other bands in related genres, while still more of a USPM direction than the Euro-power one of much 'speed metal'-related bands. Songs like 'Tokyo Rose' are also quite bitter and cynical, in a way, although not that far from similar themes from bands like Great White at a similar time.

Anyway, so part of why this is slightly useful is to help place slightly 'strange' bands in terms of their general significance in the genre. For instance, the band Solar Eagle, with for instance the song 'Charter to Nowhere,' combine a highly progressive tendency with poignant lyrics such as the initial chorus, 'Take me away into the sky,' which works really well with the later, 'Charter to nowhere' choral segment, which is followed by again asking to be taken back into the sky. This also works well with the band's name. Generally speaking, part of why this works is, alongside a generally expected focus on the 'dark' element, the song looks through the various aspects of this 'darkness' looking for anywhere that allows them to escape it, which hence ends up with going beyond usual genre boundaries of this kind of style to pretty much span the general musical themes of the whole heavy metal genre and such. One of the possible problems with it is that it still stays within slightly unspecified categories as with the 'sky' section and 'can't you see,' and hence leaves a bit too much up to the audience, although its overall direction is clear. It's also quite a daring song title for such a determinedly obscure band. Stranger, from Germany, with songs like 'Broken Harmonies,' which has a slightly similar opening, are slightly more complex as well. While the song has certain similarities to 'Iron Tears' among other things, it also has some pretty nice, cynical lyrics like:

Love is a game of fall and rise
Every mistake has its own price
Take a look in the mirror's sad eyes
Wish yourself to fool's paradise

I hate this game of broken harmonies
Again and again I'm put back on my knees
Those games of broken harmonies
Broken hearts in broken harmonies.


In general, while obviously they are drawing in some ways on the darker aspect of things, which they are 'identifying' with somewhat - not necessarily personally - in order to contrast this with something better, they also generally speaking use this as an opportunity to turn their knives as it were towards this situation or are quite casually critical of it in brief. Generally speaking, the reason why this band becomes more complex is by stressing this dark aspect to the point of positing a general contrast to it, such that they end up trying to draw on anything positive by contrast to this, and hence go beyond genre boundaries. This might be hard to keep up for long, however, in part because such an approach to things would generally draw significant approbation from the world, and hence the rest of their album can be slightly inconsistent, keeping up similar themes but slightly robotically as it were, and ends up slightly garbled when they try to return to genre conventions. The band Shiva also do something similar on the song 'Wild Machine,' although slightly differently, or they identify with the more violent and stirring aspects in some way, but then attempt to portray this as a more 'genuine' darkness or take control of or 'overthrow' the darkness of the world, but this is itself limited because it generally relies on taking up a 'character' in their case, and hence isn't necessarily organically connected to themselves or the band as they are and therefore unlikely to be kept up consistently along the record.

Quote:
I can't say exactly why but that Ballistic track didn't move me much at all.

That song is on the catchier and slightly vaguer side. Other than that, Ballistic do go into more specific and often elaborate themes, and often resemble 'Master Control.' Generally, if you like that album, you'd generally find something when it comes to Ballistic, especially on their harsher songs, unless you mostly like 'Master Control' for the sentimental aspects.

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Jonpo
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 10:38 am 
 

Uh, huh. I think the track mostly just came off as kind of modern sounding and slower than I expected. I never thought of Ballistic as USPM though.

The rest of your dissertation is a bit lost on me. I read it several times but I'm not sure if they're just general musings or a direct response to something said here.

I had a real moment with Twilight of the Idols last night. I always thought the album bogged down during The Great Ice Wars. Now I think it might be one of the best songs on there? Reading the lyrics along with it helped a lot. Pretty cool story. I had also mis-remembered it as being overwhelmingly midpaced. Really it's just a short break in the middle. Highlander rules. Bi-Polar Disorder is phenomenal. I still think the album is a little long but it went by fast for being nearly an hour. Interesting.
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Dandelo
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 3:43 pm 
 

The Ballistic S/T is brilliant. The whole band is on form and the whole CD is just full of attitude and energy. Gattis is utterly insane on it and his vocal performance is extremely varied.

I would love a new album, but it probably won't happen.

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mudrnudl
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2012 8:55 am
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 5:42 pm 
 

Opus wrote:
mudrnudl wrote:
C.O.P - State of Rock album (more of Power AOR with an insanely great singer)

Hell yes! Peter Sundell is a phenomenon!
I have the Grand Illusion album View from the Top, great album.

Well, I also think he is absolutely amazing.
I love him in Decoy album:


And you have linked a great song from Heavenly. I think Dust to Dust album is one of the very best in euro power metal.

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Nahsil
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:16 pm 
 

Have yall heard this new German speed metal band Vulture? Sickkkkk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek-SX4aubpU

Vocals remind me of a rougher Hansi circa BoF, some great guitarwork and frantic drumming, some thrash thrown in.
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2Eagle333
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Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:24 am
Posts: 275
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 2:36 am 
 

Jonpo wrote:
Uh, huh. I think the track mostly just came off as kind of modern sounding and slower than I expected. I never thought of Ballistic as USPM though.

I don't believe I referred to Ballistic as USPM, however, more as Speed Metal with more USPM trappings than most. They can be similar to Liege Lord without being of the same genre.

Quote:
The rest of your dissertation is a bit lost on me. I read it several times but I'm not sure if they're just general musings or a direct response to something said here.

Many posts in this thread haven't been responses for a while, since it became less active. It was more an attempt to discuss bands like Solar Eagle, etc., but anyway. Unclear which post it might have come across as a response to.

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Jophelerx
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 2:22 pm
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 11:30 am 
 

Nahsil wrote:
Have yall heard this new German speed metal band Vulture? Sickkkkk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek-SX4aubpU

Vocals remind me of a rougher Hansi circa BoF, some great guitarwork and frantic drumming, some thrash thrown in.


Wow this sounds awesome indeed, like early BG with thrash, as you mentioned. There also seem to be some Holy Terror similarities to my ears. Great find!
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The Animator
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 4:51 am 
 

So I picked up "The House of Atreus" reissue and I got to say I'm really disappointed. It was like everything I hated about "The Marriage.." albums and "Invictus" magnified.
I want epic tracks like "Veni, Vidi, Vici", "Prometheus the Fallen One", & "Emalaith"
I want awesome USPM tracks like "Invictus", "I Will Come for You", & "Life Among the Ruins"
I want power ballads like "Forever Will I Roam", "House of Dust", & "Strawgirl"

What I got on "The House of Atreus" is long boring story segments, long boring segments of David DeFeis noodling around on keyboards, and when a real song shows up it it severely lacks the intensity and passion I hear in those songs I listed above. The only song with any real appeal to it was "Great Sword of Flame". But with only one good speed metal song I just don't understand why people on this forum hold it in such high regard? To me it just seems like a weak pretentious neo-opera concept album much like Luca Turilli's Rhapsody's "Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus".

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DoomMetalAlchemist
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Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 6:10 am
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 5:10 am 
 

The Animator wrote:
So I picked up "The House of Atreus" reissue and I got to say I'm really disappointed. It was like everything I hated about "The Marriage.." albums and "Invictus" magnified.
I want epic tracks like "Veni, Vidi, Vici", "Prometheus the Fallen One", & "Emalaith"
I want awesome USPM tracks like "Invictus", "I Will Come for You", & "Life Among the Ruins"
I want power ballads like "Forever Will I Roam", "House of Dust", & "Strawgirl"

What I got on "The House of Atreus" is long boring story segments, long boring segments of David DeFeis noodling around on keyboards, and when a real song shows up it it severely lacks the intensity and passion I hear in those songs I listed above. The only song with any real appeal to it was "Great Sword of Flame". But with only one good speed metal song I just don't understand why people on this forum hold it in such high regard? To me it just seems like a weak pretentious neo-opera concept album much like Luca Turilli's Rhapsody's "Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus".


I just got this as well. I've only listened to each disc once so far. Act I I thought was great. Act II disc 1 was decent. Act II disc 2 was garbage. Way too fucking much piano. Keyboards can be great in metal, but the piano, whether it's a real piano or synth, is probably my very least favorite instrument that's really common in western music. It's just so dull sounding to me. And Act II disc 2 is filled to the brim with it. It was such a chore to listen to.

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2Eagle333
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:24 am
Posts: 275
PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 8:38 am 
 

The Animator wrote:
So I picked up "The House of Atreus" reissue and I got to say I'm really disappointed. It was like everything I hated about "The Marriage.." albums and "Invictus" magnified.
I want epic tracks like "Veni, Vidi, Vici", "Prometheus the Fallen One", & "Emalaith"
I want awesome USPM tracks like "Invictus", "I Will Come for You", & "Life Among the Ruins"
I want power ballads like "Forever Will I Roam", "House of Dust", & "Strawgirl"

What I got on "The House of Atreus" is long boring story segments, long boring segments of David DeFeis noodling around on keyboards, and when a real song shows up it it severely lacks the intensity and passion I hear in those songs I listed above. The only song with any real appeal to it was "Great Sword of Flame". But with only one good speed metal song I just don't understand why people on this forum hold it in such high regard? To me it just seems like a weak pretentious neo-opera concept album much like Luca Turilli's Rhapsody's "Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus".

Tracks like 'Blaze of Victory' can take an interesting, and more restrained approach which pays more attention to the music generally. Generally, Virgin Steele do try to take their music in a more experimental and symphonic direction, so it need not be that much of a surprise that their fans like those albums, or at least the first one.

In the Marriage albums, they do generally try to go in that direction, but still manage to be slightly restricted in keeping mostly to conventional themes. Songs like 'Agony and Shame' can also be aggressive in the direction of Invictus, but more pointed and free to express this without falling back on genre conventions.

That said, I do have a fair few problems with 'House of Atreus,' such as that the various aspects are still not usually that well integrated, the interludes and such are as you mention quite idle, and in general it's a bit too limp-wristed most of the time for such subject-matter, nonetheless it's not that far out for this band.

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colin040
Metal freak

Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2007 6:00 pm
Posts: 7609
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:58 am 
 

The House of Atreus: Act I is pretty fucking awesome. You get a concept album that actually sounds like a concept album (the previous ones were a lot more song-oriented) but still DeFeis and company hadn't forgotten how to write actual interesting music. My only complaint about it is that the guitar tone sounds a bit dry. The House of Atreus: Act II also has its moments. When it's good, it's really good, but unfortunate the second disc never makes it. I haven't picked up the reissues yet but will soon do. I was actually hoping for some new bonus tracks on them, but then again modern VS is mostly shit, with actually good material just appearing as some bonus tracks here and there.

I'm wondering if anyone picked up the reissue of that Exorcist album. From what I've heard based on samples, the bonus material has some of the most retarded ''distorted'' vocals I've ever heard. :durr:

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Jophelerx
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 2:22 pm
Posts: 1462
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 11:45 am 
 

The Animator wrote:
So I picked up "The House of Atreus" reissue and I got to say I'm really disappointed. It was like everything I hated about "The Marriage.." albums and "Invictus" magnified.
I want epic tracks like "Veni, Vidi, Vici", "Prometheus the Fallen One", & "Emalaith"
I want awesome USPM tracks like "Invictus", "I Will Come for You", & "Life Among the Ruins"
I want power ballads like "Forever Will I Roam", "House of Dust", & "Strawgirl"

What I got on "The House of Atreus" is long boring story segments, long boring segments of David DeFeis noodling around on keyboards, and when a real song shows up it it severely lacks the intensity and passion I hear in those songs I listed above. The only song with any real appeal to it was "Great Sword of Flame". But with only one good speed metal song I just don't understand why people on this forum hold it in such high regard? To me it just seems like a weak pretentious neo-opera concept album much like Luca Turilli's Rhapsody's "Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus".


Did you miss "Kingdom of the Fearless" and "Child of Desolation" somehow? Those are my 2 favorite VS tracks! I admit House of Atreus isn't quite as consistent as the Marriage series, but it's still very, very good, and has a lot of standout tracks. Atreus II has shit like "Wings of Vengeance," "The Wine of Violence," "A Token of My Hatred," and "Summoning the Powers"! If you look at all these tracks I'm mentioning, you've got excellent ballads ("Child of Desolation"), awesome USPM tracks ("Wings of Vengeance," "The Wine of Violence") AND super awesome epic tracks ("Kingdom of the [MOTHERFUCKIN'] Fearless," "A Token of My Hatred," "Summoning the Powers"!). I'd put the albums slightly below the previous three, but not enough that they're not still fucking awesome! Plus the interludes on Atreus I are the best interludes on any album I've ever heard in any genre.
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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35183
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 11:41 pm 
 

House of Atreus Act I is a dizzyingly ambitious work. I think it works marvelously - listening to it for single hard hitting songs like "Life Among the Ruins" and what not isn't the right way to do it. It works as a whole and every track plays a part in the whole. It constantly teeters on being too much, but it works as a grandiose, pompous metal opera thing that actually kicks ass. I think it's really what something like BG's NIME was trying to do.

The second part is okay - way too long, though, and poorly produced. Really the beginning of when VS started to lose some of the perfected polish.
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Oblarg
Veteran

Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:59 pm
Posts: 2974
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:11 am 
 

Empyreal wrote:
House of Atreus Act I is a dizzyingly ambitious work. I think it works marvelously - listening to it for single hard hitting songs like "Life Among the Ruins" and what not isn't the right way to do it. It works as a whole and every track plays a part in the whole. It constantly teeters on being too much, but it works as a grandiose, pompous metal opera thing that actually kicks ass. I think it's really what something like BG's NIME was trying to do.

The second part is okay - way too long, though, and poorly produced. Really the beginning of when VS started to lose some of the perfected polish.


This pretty much sums up my view of it, too.
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~Guest 76452
Metal freak

Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:40 pm
Posts: 4414
PostPosted: Mon Jun 20, 2016 7:39 pm 
 

New Vicious Rumors lyric video:


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failsafeman
Digital Dictator

Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2004 8:45 am
Posts: 11852
Location: In the Arena
PostPosted: Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:46 pm 
 

Ehhhhh...Vicious Rumors seem to have fallen into a rut. There's nothing outright bad about that track, it just seems pretty uninspired. The last album was similar. Nothing has come close to "Murderball" from Razorback Killers, which wasn't perfect but was a total banger when it got going.
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StainedClass95
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2014 4:14 am
Posts: 846
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2016 2:08 am 
 

I've gotten into a bit of a Chastain kick lately, specifically Ruler through Voice, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I remember hearing one song about two years ago and writing them off as mediocre, but I gave them a more thorough listen last week, and those three albums were pretty good. Ruler and 7th were good and Voice of the Cult managed to fix the production and give the music a smoothness that really clicked with me. Any thoughts on which of the other albums I should try next?

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