Nuclear War Now! has the Demon Bitch EP for five dollars. There's no longer any excuse to sleep on your favorite band's favorite band.

http://www.nwnprod.com/shop/index.php?m ... s_id=16581

Coming in late as always but that Lord Fist track and album cover was exactly the reason why I came back to this thread. Thanks.

That Lord Fist cover art does call my name. They look like they get it. The colors remind me of Dark Age/Dragonslayer but I love the amateurishness.

In Solitude's debut still staggers me. I think this thing is on par with a lot of 80s classics. They have the whole package, chunky riffs with a nice tone, that buttery ear for melody, charismatic orator, and the gleefully Satanic lyrics. I was really late to check this out but it's something truly special.

I've still not heard it, but I'm sure it'll become my favourite album of theirs in no time. Their goth rock stuff just has a "put me back in the oven, I'm not ready yet!" feel to it.

The debut is solid, but I've gotten tired of it. The songs sound pieced together and predictable. I think with Sister they discovered themselves creatively and established In Solitude as a force to be reckoned with. There's a lot of potential in that band, and I wonder if they've tapped into all of it yet? I was absolutely floored by that album. I can't imagine them coming out with a stronger one - it ticked off all the right boxes for me. Dark as hell, free-flowing songwriting, heart-wrenching leads and melodies, Pelle's unique voice and his vocal performance being one of the most sincere I've heard in a long time. Not to mention a superb production. Easily my 2013 album of the year, Sister.

On the other hand, you've got several people in lukewarm reviews saying In Solitude haven't reached their potential yet. All of that "not ready stuff," as Acrobat says. It makes me wonder if I'm listening to same album. Well, if you guys really think they can top Sister, then I guess I'll be optimistic!

Sister has some cool stuff on it but it really just sounds sort of wet behind the ears and inexperienced to me, like a lot of those bands - Enforcer, etc. Not really the kind of swagger and conviction I want from a trad metal band, and still too much relying on influences rather than their own sound. I know that's a bit of a vague complaint that people will have differences on, but there you go.

Yeah laugh all you want, I still think Sister is way better than their prior two albums. I wouldn't bring it to a desert island, but I'd sure as heck miss it. Anyway, you guys are slagging off Sister like there's no short supply of albums like it. By all means, if anyone knows bands or albums in the vein of that record, I would love to hear some more music like theirs.

Not exactly the same, but the second Blood Ceremony album is better. Also anything off the first three Fields of the Nephilim albums.

Sister doesn't sound remotely like a gothic rock album. The riffing is clearly still based in metal on large, some songs having a particularly strong 70s Sabbath-y vibe.

Yes, they do.

Aside from the opening track (which is more of a mood-setter and more gothic in style/atmosphere than actually being gothic rock itself), show one song that actually sounds anything like the classic 80s gothic rock acts.

Blood Ceremony just sounds like your typical retro, 70s occult rock band to me. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not my thing. And yes, those Fields of the Nephilim albums are about as close in spirit to Sister as you'll get, but they've got the whole dusty, spaced-out Western sound, whereas Sister is heavier and retains much of In Solitude's metal influences. I'm not surprised by the lack of records that sound like Sister. It's like you got Carl McCoy and Glenn Danzig together in 1988 and tasked them with writing an album. I'm not implying Sister is as good as The Nephilim or Danzig, but it's a nice cross between. Thanks for the recommendations though, they're appreciated.

Awaken the Guardian finally clicked with me, and I couldn't be happier. I just wish the vocals were a bit higher in the mix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXZ2RPwmoA8

FHMNKEWOCSNQOXJNWQOXWNCIEIHJCEWIWCBWIDJWBNQPXJANSLCMNWND WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE

Where has that band been all its (post-debut) life!
It's awesome to finally get to hear something out of this 9 year mystery period though. And it's just as good as anything off their debut.
Though I also wonder what's going to come of these demos they have. "was originally intended for" doesn't sound very reassuring to me; hope they're not scrapping all those plans outright.

Croatian heavy metal band Stimulans released first single from their new album!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BOPesFSIPk

If you never heard them before, check out their first album "Dust"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2EgWFkU_Ug

How about that new Helvetets Port review? Yikes. Talk about not getting it. That album is so good. Short, punchy, quirky as a fuck.

According to their MA page, Tyrant's Too Late to Pray from 1987 was re-released in 2006 and 2009 by Old Metal Records. I think I have the 2006 one. The sound quality is pretty poor. Does anyone know if the 2006 one was remastered, and if the 2009 was remastered further?

I believe I have the 2006 one as well and mine sounds fine. I don't have it handy to check the version, but it doesn't have bonus tracks at the end of Eve of Destruction, so I'm pretty sure it's the 2006 one. I don't think the album was ever remastered.

I just checked Discogs and there's a 1996 German CD rerelease. I'm wondering if I've got that one instead. I'll have to go through my collection and report back.

Haha I don't know about that, it seems like he "gets" it pretty much exactly. His rundown of their thought processes and songwriting approach is pretty much dead-on, and he definitely knows his shit when it comes to NWOSHM - I just happen to disagree with him totally when it comes to assessing quality.

I've never been fond of much Judas Priest past Sin After Sin, and I just took the first listen to British Steel in a very long time. Is it just me, or is this album largely made up of rejected AC/DC riffs? Don't get me wrong, I like AC/DC, but these riffs sound like they were written by the Young brothers, but were dismissed for being too banal. The exceptions being Rapid Fire, Steeler, Breaking the Law, and maybe Living After Midnight.

I've read some reviews where extreme metal bands get accused of selling out because of using AC/DC influenced riffs, and I'm thinking, are you sure they're not British Steel influenced riffs?

^ Why do you not like Stained Class?

Oddly enough, the beloved Stained Class is my least favorite of 70s Priest. The songs just don't stick with me the way the songs from the first three albums do. I can appreciate the importance of Exciter, but later bands have made those speedy guitar lines a lot heavier over the years. Beyond the Realms of Death has good soft sections, but the heavy chorus basically rips off a mediocre Bad Company riff. Those are really the only two songs I can describe why I'm not wild about them in any kind of detail. Better By You, Better Than Me is a good cover, but I think I like the Spooky Tooth original more.

With the heaviness factor, that can be said for any classic metal band. As for BtRoD, I feel like the songwriting and tension matters a great deal more than the actual riffs, which I still enjoy. My partiality to Stained Class over their first three is for the album's consistency, added heaviness, and the performances of the members.

I like some classic metal bands, but I wouldn't say a whole lot. Ones from the 80s that I thought enough of to rip from CDs of onto my phone are Attack (90s album though), Black Knight, Crimson Glory (90s album), Dio, Emerald (USA), Heavens Gate (90s album, but then most of them are), Heavy Load, Helloween, Iron Maiden, Jag Panzer, Legend, Lords of the Crimson Alliance, Manowar, Mercyful Fate, Ozzy, Sarissa, Slauter Xstroyes, and Warlord. Basically, these bands deliver more to me than just what heavier later bands have emphasized. And the same can be said for the first few Priest albums too. Even though Stained Class is from the 70s, it sounds really 80s to me. But Sad Wings of Destiny is a really good balance of 70s and what would come in the 80s, and Rocka Rolla and Sin After Sin scratch my 70s itch.

I can understand some of that. The 70's developed some characteristics that I sometimes specifically go after myself and most of my non-metal favorites are from that decade. In any case, I was just curious as to the reasoning of someone who disliked Priest's most highly regarded album.

A good portion of my favorite metal (or borderline metal) is from the 70s. Black Sabbath, Scorpions, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Heavy Load, Antonius Rex's first album, stuff like that. And I don't know if I would say I dislike Stained Class, I'm just not really a fan of it.

I can see some of that but I think "Point of Entry" is the one where they were really trying to ape AC/DC to get popularity in the U.S. Also songs like "Devil's Child" from SfV.

Both British Steel and (in particular) Point of Entry had mainstream hard rock elements typical of the time period.

I hear a lot more Van Halen than AC/DC in both British Steel and (especially) Point of Entry. But what it is, really, is just the sound of mainstream hard rock from capable players that are being restrained in an attempt to reach popular success. It's the sound of a mouvement rather than one particular band.

It's basically the influence of Tom Allom at work, trying to ape on the success of producers like Mutt Lange and Ted Templeman.

Bands like Judas Priest!

Discovered this band Sanctum today. Something the USPM fans might dig.

That sounded good! Coincidentally, I found another USPM band from New Jersey today I might as well share: Power. Very heavy and a fantastic vocalist (Alan Tecchio, he sang on Watchtower's Control and Resistance).

Judas Priest were definitely one of the main influences on Judas Priest.

Ha! I thought he was saying Exciter sounds heavier on Unleashed in the East than on the album.

Ed was making what we in the industry call a "joke".

Good to know that I'm not the only one who noticed that, haha. The soft parts remind me of Suite Madame Blue by Styx I've grown to enjoy the song overall after not caring for it for ages, though. But I still think that it could have certainly been better than it is.

I feel like makin' love beyond the realms of death.

I have a question: what album is considered to be the first USPM album ever? I often see Savatage - Sirens mentioned, but i want to know your opinion

My opinion: Fire Down Under. Then there was Battle Hymns in 1982.