Ablaze In Hatred - A Walk Through The Silence

This starts off pretty good. I love the little instances of clean guitars with delay, their tone is very cool. The vocals aren't anything special, but they're delivered competently and don't detract from the music. They just sound like every other melodic death doom band. As it goes on, I realize that the riffs in this are hit and miss, I wasn't really interested in the stuff that's just them playing power chords to a simple rhythm, but when it's layered with the clean guitars they make it passable. They add layers and I feel like it should be interesting, but it dosen't excite me. It feels like it's been done before,and better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z1HSHjeJ4w

Khanate - Skin Coat
A lot of people like the drone/doom genre. I for one, can find nothing enjoyable about it. This song sounds like nothing more than noise to me. The vocals sound utterly painful and bad. The guitar is typical for a drone band. I'll go out and say after listening to it a bit more, the guitar is mediocre at best in some parts, but as a whole, I'm not a big fan of this song, but it seems to have high ratings, which means I must be missing something, but this style of music isn't meant for everyone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjiJjpXB ... re=related

Let's keep the reviews a bit more respectful, shall we? People are not crazy because they like something.

Sorry about that. I'll edit that. I was using the term lightly.

Ghost Opera by Kamelot

I have never been a really big fan of Kamelot, and thus, this is the first time I've heard this song. I must say I may have misjudged the band. This song does a great job of infusing real emotion in a genre that usually lacks it or replaces it with pseudo power, glory, or triumph. This track opens up pretty strongly then slows down with the verse. The chorus is not overbearing and the band does a nice job of slipping it in there and making it blend with the rest of the song, as opposed to many power metal songs in which the verse and chorus sound like night and day. This smooth flowing song might not get the hairs on the back of my neck standing up like other acts of the genre but are certainly a welcome, and strong addition to the power metal scene.

Now for something that really gets me going:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjAxCx95mO8

Blind Guardian - And Then There was Silence

Ahhh, the centerpiece of A Night at the Opera and one of the most outstanding epics in their entire career. I love the multitude of choral shouts ("Never give up! Never give in!", "And then there was silence; just a voice from the other world!"), I love the grand scope and varying dynamics, and...dammit, I just love everything about this song, except for one thing which everyone always gripes about: the production. The muddled quality of the orchestral sections are incredibly so, and distinguishing individual instruments is not only a chore, but a challenge. Still, it's a relatively minor quibble about a damn good song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfGerSlHenY

Ooh boy! Someone likes NightWish's 'WishMaster' album A LOT. They like it so much, they took its first 3 tracks, superimposed them, and thought "hey, boys! let's start a band! I mean, we can, we're practically songwriters, now, aren't we?". Brilliant. But wait! They added other elements, too. They took heed from NightWish's most obvious yet most awesome followers, too: Visions of Atlantis, and they upped them one by keeping their gothic male vocals addition, and removing the original female operatic lead vocals altogether. AHA! You did not see that coming, LegendMaker, you cynical, jaded old cunt! That's right, baby: we're a NightWish clone, but you can't technically call us out on it, because we have no female vocalist! Yeah, well. I'll, give you that, kids. I'll give you that. May I also give you props for the unoriginal riffing? How do you mean "what", kiddo? I'm referring to the riffs you actually "composed", obviously. You know, the chug----chugga-chugga-chug---- you do at some point, the one that the other overused basic stock riffs have been collectively looking down upon since the mid 90s? Well, that's something that separates you from WishMaster, for sure! Good boys. More seriously and importantly: go clean your goddamn room!!!

Crank up the volume, this YT upload is ridiculously low:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CErbgfU67w

Maltese Falcon - On Fire

Man, do those galloping riffs grab you by the throat or what? Because they sure as hell catched my attention. I think I hear a similarity with Manilla Road during the whole of the intro's length, and this indeed has that sort of "epic" quality so many modern heavy metal bands try to emulate, but hell, nothing like the old guard to teach the kids a lesson! Riffs of the finest quality populate this song, all of which are arranged masterfully and with great attention to detail. The lead guitar, as should be rule in this sort of music, is terrifically shred-like and just fucking metal, and the bass is great; plunky and bouncy, although it could be a bit lower in the mix (this is a demo though, so I'll forgive 'em). The drums keep a simple, rocking beat that leaves plenty of space for the guitars and vocals to shine. Ah yes, the vocals! This guy is awesome; his voice is much deeper than usual for this type of metal, but that's just part of his appeal, the other part being his palpable conviction (in that sense, he recalls J.D. Kimball a bit), and don't even get me started on those high shrieks you hear as backing once in a while! Shit, I do need to start listening to more demos after all.....

This record deserves much more attention.

@Xlxlx:

@LegendMaker:

Inquisitor - Damnation for the Holy

Lullaby music of the highest quality!

Nah, just kidding, this fucks my face off. I can add this to the list of ''cool band's Xlxlx turned me on to'' to speak of the elephant in the room, the vocalist is awesome. I love those high shrieks that are full voice (not scream) that he pulls off once or twice in this. I actually prefer his lower register, even if we hear only snippets of it between high pitched craziness. As for the instruments, they're basically frantic for the whole song. This is like Death Metal as it was when it started, when it was just really extreme Thrash. The drums sound raw, and the bass drums actually sound like bass drums, so they get a plus there. And he blasts constantly. Normally that would be a problem for me, but this is just really fast the whole way through so it's appropriate. Good shiat.

One of my all time favourites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MZfNOUji-I

Metal Church - Fake Healer

Blessing in Disguise is my favourite Metal Church album and this one of the many highlights. Mike Howe's rasp sounds very powerful and the song offers quality riff after quality riff which sound thrashy but also have some USPM-esque sound going on. The intro riff grabs you straight away and I just can't get it out of my head. The song never becomes blazing fast but the riffs sound very memorable for sure. They're simple but just effective as hell. Killer stuff. Not to mention the verses are catchy as hell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2hW3fbJ-qE

At the Gates - 'Within'

Alright, Alf the Gates! Cool stuff! Obligatory note that this is 10,000,000 times better than the album that made them famous. This is full of creepy, twisty turn-y melodies that always seem kinda weird. It's not catchy in a traditional sense, but it's I always remember the individual parts on this album... I think the Alf era of this band has left quite an impression on me, just because I don't really know of much stuff that's like this. Actually, I think the closest I've ever found to Alf the Gates was Abigor's Orkblut EP... but perhaps that's more of a structural similarity. I can remember reading that the band weren't happy with this production job, but I think it's really cool. The older melodeath stuff is generally something I like a lot; stuff like this and Eucharist certainly is pretty damn nifty... nice out-of-tune violin on this album, too. I actually think the guitars do a better job at "violining" than the violinist does!

Maybe closely related to that Metal Church track.

@Colin :

@Necroticism174:

Armored Saint - Reign of Fire

When I heard the instrumentals start I was confused. The date of the song is 1991, but it sounds like a much cleaner recording than most metal songs from the time period. Besides the insane quality, the vocals are quite insane. Very good and very enjoyable for a traditional heavy metal band of its time. This song, at least has a lot of thrash influence. I'm not to sure about the rest of the album since this is the only song I've heard from it, but if you like "right in your face" heavy metal this song is for you, and I will be digging deeper into this band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BLtJp6JLFI

Internal Decay - Repossessed Throne

When I first read in the video's description that what I'd be listening to was Swedish death metal, circa 1993, and being the sucker that I am for Swedish death metal, I got my hopes way up for this one. Even though it wasn't quite what I initially thought it would be, Internal Decay delivers a pretty competent song here. Most surprising is the fact that we're not given breakneck speed from start to finish here, but it's a mid-paced affair, laden with the occasional guitar melody, sore of like Tales From The Thousand Lakes-era Amorphis. However, this track doesn't crush the listener with heavy riffs like Amorphis does (One could probably chalk that up to the production job here). The vocals are par for the course here, and they come in the form of a... I guess you'd call it a raspy shout, like a more primitive form of Whoracle-era Anders Friden. The only thing wrong with them, in my eyes, is that they are too high up in the mix, leaving everything else audible, but noticeably underneath them. The guitar work is like everything else here... competent, but not earth-shattering. They are definitely more melodic than your average OSDM guitars, but unlike some melodic guitar work that would come in the future, they don't detract anything from the song. Amazingly, the bass is audible in some parts here, and does a decent job of playing along with the guitars when it is heard. The drummer knows how to keep a beat, and he does his job as well as he needs to. I don't really see myself coming back to these guys in the future, as this track is really nothing to write home about for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igYizmxlM2M

Zombie Inc. - Deadtribe Sinister

Judging from their name, I assumed this band would be stupid, but this song is awesome. It starts off with a simple but crushing riff. The guitar never gets very complicated, but is effected throughout. The vocals are harsh and very low. It is very easy to hear what the vocalist is saying, though. This song has a kind of epic feel without coming off as cheesy. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCp-u7ulRTc

Can't agree with the "probably the heaviest band from Denmark" comment. Ahhh youtube, you silly thing! This had some sort of promise to it when it first started. The chord progression that crashed in had some great depth, bite and sustain. As it disappeared we are greeted by traditional middle-eastern/Asian instrumentation, which actually worked quite well noodling it's way along, before the guitars and vocals came back. I wished they hadn't. The repetitive (but crunchy) riff that arrives is, well, tedious, and smells of...umm "nu-metal" (for mine...). The vocals are what I would call an annoying yell, and not much more, which monotonously shout their way through most of the song. There is some half decent, noisily scratching, effect laden guitar, which could count as some sort of a lead I guess, as it slowly spirals its way upward into oblivion. As far as I'm concerned, the best part of this track was not metal at all, and that would be the use of the traditional instruments. If they took the lead and all of the other things were taken out, this might have been a half decent song.

Something rawer...

Was not at all familiar with this band, but this is really good modern old school death metal. The riffs are dark and heavy in style similar to that of a band like Grave with the slow to mid tempo riffs. Nothing overly technical, but quite catchy while keeping the dark atmosphere. Not much in the way of leads, but this is all about the riffs. The drumming had enough variety to keep things interesting and the deep guttural vocals suit the music perfectly. This song has intrigued my interest in the band, unfortunately, it looks like only demos are out right now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1417SvTzgbg

@Crushed Revelation

Morgul - Ballad of Revolt

Not bad! Some doomy black metal here, with some deep growls which fit quite well with the slow, brooding riffs and the melancholic melodies. This does qualify as a ballad. Dare I call this romantic? Well, haven't checked out the lyrics, but the music is on the emotional side, at least for me. I bet you can slowdance to this. Are those bagpipes I'm hearing? Yep. At least I think so. In any case, they sound good, and they bring a folksy feeling to the song. At around 4:50 the song picks up for about 2 minutes. Meh, weakest part of the song if you ask me. It could have worked better, but the riff is pretty lame compared to the rest of the song. So, yeah, this is not what you expect from a Norwegian BM act. This has a faint Rotting Christ aesthetic, and I like it. I wonder if the rest of their songs sound like this. Gonna check them out. Thanks for posting!

Keeping it grim, I was introduced to this band in this very thread by Abominatrix, and needless to say, they rule.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiQiMlGyZX0

The Stone - Svarozi Krug

I liked this more and more with each consecutive spin. The first run through I definitely wasn't digging it very much, but I also thought there was a near-omnipresent casio choir in the background...turns out that's just an oddly bright piece of guitar distortion (possible youtube issue as well). I love that they don't start right out of the gate with the blasting. You get a little lead-in, some swirly and bright tremolo riffing, and THEN they slam home the staccato blasting that just makes everything sound so much more choppy and violent. I've been listening to Kvist a lot lately and this isn't entirely dissimilar, although The Stone have their own flavour and definitely aren't as melodic. The somewhat more rockin' break that comes in at the three minute mark was a godsend. My attention was just starting to wane a bit right when this new riff came in to save the day. I'd really like to hear these guys with headphones, and without youtube. I'm curious for sure.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHHxur_Dv0o

@ Tehfoks and Jonpo:

Othyrworld: Fieldz the Sunshine, off "Beyond Into the Light of Day."

I fucking love it. These guys are either really foreign or really obscure; can't find them on Wikipedia. No wonder, they're an unsigned Canadian two-man outfit. They debuted in '86 under the name Sacred Blade, then came back with this 19 years later. I'm not sure what to compare them to, but I'm feeling some traditional influence in this song. Very melodic and catchy, but it's not so sanded-off that I would call it power metal. Production is great; not too clean but not too muffled. The soaring, well-paced melodic leads could have easily overpowered the great vocals, but they're sort of cocooned in the middle there. Perfect.

To these ears, it's wonderful old-fashioned metal. I'll definitely be checking these guys out, and I recommend them to anyone else here who likes that style. Their site is here: http://www.othyrworld.com/media/index.php

If this next track is doom or prog-doom, perhaps I misunderstood the definition and owe My Dying Bride an apology. Mind you, they still aren't my style...but these guys are. I've been crazy about this album.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LjLTNTgVG0

@Corpsey (and whoever else wants to talk Othyrworld)

Cathedral - Upon Azrael's Wings

Cathedral! I've been meaning to check these guys out for years, so here's my chance. I don't know if it's doom, prog-doom, or whatever, (Doom isn't really my area of expertise) but it sounds pretty good to me. I like the guitar tone. Dirty and thick, something you would expect to hear from a death n roll band. No amazing riffs that you'll never forget, but they are effective. They have a punk quality to them at times, simple yet passionate. As for the vocal lines, they compliment the riffs very nicely. The quasi-atmospheric break at around 3:00 is well placed and well executed. It justifies the length of the song. The bass is loud and proud throughout, something I always love. Not much else to say about this. Fun song. Good enough to have me interested in some more Cathedral.

I can't get enough of this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvuzeCO8g_o

@ Abominatrix & Jonpo

Sigh - Purgatorium

This is my first time listening to Sigh, and I gotta say that..... I'm surprised. Doesn't sound anything like what I understand as avant-garde black metal, as this pretty much is outright power metal with strong neo-classical tendencies and harsh, Petrozza-esque vocals. Not complaining though, as it's very enjoyable. The use of neo-classical melodies in both riffs and leads is beatiful, and the arrangements very bombastic, and they even kinda make me think of Rhapsody of Fire if they were, in fact, good. The orchestral explosions heard once in a while give the piece an important sense of drama and action going on, while the peaceful and almost romantic string section that pops up a couple of times during the song's length provides an interesting contrast when compared to the frantic if simple riffing going on behind it. Certainly the spotlight here is given to the orchestral elements and the guitars while the rest of the instruments and the vocals are more or less complementary, although that's no critic against the rest of the band, as they perform their duties perfectly (the drumming standing out especially). Guess I'll have to check this album (and eventually, the band's discography) out, as this was a great ride.

I bloody, utterly, obscenely, fucking LOVE THIS ALBUM.

Edit: Ick, messed up the song title.

Overkill - E.vil N.ever D.ies

I find the middle of said album runs a bit longer than my attention span goes as far as thrash metal is concerned, but conversely it definitely contains some of my all-time favourite Overkill songs, namely "I Hate". With regards to "E.vil N.ever D.ies", I find the intro to be more atmospheric than one might expect from a thrash song, pleasingly so, and very much tastefully done, with a sinister and pleasingly genuine sound. The opening is easily as memorable as anything that it shares an album with, and Blitz' vocals are every bit as manic as ever (I often think overkill could do an excellent musical cover of a Dr. Seuss book) Like the vocals, the song itself is quite quirky and jumps around a lot, which sometimes makes it difficult for me to absorb, but still manages to be relatively coherent, and I'll certainly have the song stuck in my head for a while. All in all, the song is memorable and very much amounts to a classic Overkill song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhJ9pAnSTug

@ Xlxlx

@tehfoks:

@ Jonpo * Corpsey Re: Othyrworld

Black Breath - Mother Abyss

Ancient_Sorrow you are AWESOME. Ever since seeing Black Breath live at the beginning of last year I've been hooked on them like no other. The combination of crust punk, hardcore, thrash, and that sweet, sweet buzzsaw guitar tone you'd normally find in old school Swedish death metal make one hell of a band. The song, hell, the new album is killer. Fast as hell in some parts and heavy as hell in others. But this song specifically is more thrash oriented, a non stop fast drum beat going on the whole time along with pulverizing guitar riffs and aggressive vocals. Very intense and great stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3LB5nJRt9I

@Abominatrix:

Sadus-Hands of Fate

Edit: Thrash metal was easily at its peak in the 80's with many bands like Slayer, Exodus, Forced Entry, and Sodom breaking into the scene. Sadus is one of the greatest bands that no one knew about. Think Slayer, but faster and angrier. After checking out "Hands of Fate", I had to search for other Sadus songs from the same album on YouTube, and I have to say, like most thrash albums of the 80's, Chemical Exposure was a very solid release. Solid, fast drumming. Rough, mean vocals. Powerful, thrashy guitars. Every ingredient for a great thrash album is here. Probably one of the reasons this album didn't get as much attention as more well known bands is because this album was released independently. In my opinion, this album is better than many albums being released on big labels at the time. I recommend everyone check out Sadus!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YowXgctBHs

@BrutalBrandon:

@GarageMetal468

@BrutalBrandon




Arafel - Serpent Land

Well isn't this just all over the god damned place. I really disliked the "charging" intro, mostly due to it being carried by the keyboard. I'm not anti-keyoards as a rule, but the execution here just feels kind of stock-standard triumphant to me, and I'm not buying it. However, around the one minute mark when they finally let that damn thing go the song actually picks up my interest quite a bit. At least in the riffing department, really catchy stuff. The next sweeping keyboard passage works infinitely better and then sets up some tension for a great thrashy section with blazing tremolo riffs that sear and slice. It builds and builds and then releases to the chorus which still doesn't do anything for me. I thought they were going to shoehorn a really awful "folky" section into the middle of the song but the riffing underneath is actually fantastic, more mid-paced and old-school, right in my wheelhouse. For me, the song should have ended here. Unfortunately there's still quite a bit left. I'll give this band credit for ambition, they were trying to do big things with this tune. A lot of the individual parts work (riffing is crisp and driving) but the whole package just doesn't come together in a way that moves me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJqIqzassOk