Vicious Rumors - Dust to Dust

This starts with an intro I usually hear used in thrash bands, so what followed was unexpected. This is mostly Trad Metal, and some good Trad Metal at that. Their vocalist is pretty intense, he's got this edge to his voice and sounds distinctive, I don't really even know who to compare him to. The production is good, especially perfect for when the solos kick in (which rocked my socks off) the riffs are great and memorable and the drummer truly grooves like a master. This is too short, I wanted more of it. I'm checking out more from these guys ASAP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w35OONSBKGA

Hacksaw to the Throat - Breaking Point

The intro melody was tantalizing and lingered in my head well beyond some of the riff interplay before the drum assault began. Truthfully, this sort of death metal that meanders between tech and brutal death does nothing for me. The drums are all over the place its over-clicky, couple that with metalcore vocals and flaccid tech death riffs and the song frankly sucked balls. Other than that decent solo and double bass buildup around the three minute mark, I don't believe this band is worth anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7fZf2IP ... re=related

RE: Dust to Dust

@Veracs:

I never once said the music as a whole was metalcore, the vocals are reminiscent of a lot of the same tech death/metalcore bands from 2006-2008 I remember hearing a while back.

Absu - The Coming of War

I've always been told that the first handful of Absu albums should be right up my black/thrash loving alley. This song definitely makes me want to hear more. I love the atmospheric, strategically plodding opening, with great use of sound effects/sampling. The production is absolutely perfect. Nothing is too clear or obvious, you have to really pay attention to what's happening underneath the raging storm. Once things kick into "thrashing" gear the band really takes off. The drumming is surprisingly reserved and streamlined for someone of Proscriptors insane prowess. Pretty classy choice. The riffs are channelling the same demons once invoked by the earliest incarnations of Bathory and Sodom. Pure thrashing darkness. There's a nice grooved out break right around the 3 minute mark to release all that "I just have to run in circles lopping off heads" tension they built with the thrashing. More choirs and battle sound effects. I'm a sucker for that shit. And then of course just like we all knew they would, the breakneck pace is brought back to finish us off. You can tell these guys reaaaaaaaally love Blood, Fire, Death. And who could blame them?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33ovWNJVYm8

sabbat - witchflight

i've always avoided this band because their fans tend to be of the "true underground metal or death" variety (i know, lame reasoning, but hey). so here's a first listen. this basically just sounds like sodom with the odd cleanish vocal. it's reasonably enjoyable, but it doesn't offer anything that wasn't fully explored by 1987 or so. however it is REALLY good to hear a solo that's kinda crappy, if you get my drift. a lot of bands today put too much emphasis on their lead guitarists being classically-trained virtuosos - great to hear a total amateur noodle like the older thrash bands used to. production is good, too. hasn't been engineered to shit.

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

Seventh Void: "Heaven is Gone"

My first impression of this was that it sounded exactly like Cathedral circa 1997 or 1998: The guitar tone, tuning, lead style, drum sound...all of it! However, with a few exceptions Cathedral was only bringing the doom every now and then, and at the time they produced an album full of bouncy, silly songs. Anyway, then the vocals come in and they're much cleaner in delivery, sticking more to the Ozzy tradition in a way, but with a pretty cool hoarse quality to the higher notes (ah, smoking!!). I was expecting more intense lead guitar after that opening, but there were no solos expressing the existential pain of discovering that all that awaits one's hard toil in life is a void! Oh well. Toward the end there's a single guitar plucking out some dark chords, and I liked this quite a lot (I believe the intro also consisted of a couple of bars of this), and the climax of the song is some more intense drumming, keeping the same tempo but adding some nice tom battery and rolls. Good finish, too, with the single guitar returning to play those chords in an open-picked style, which somehow helps you to realise that this is still a pretty dark tune and not average zzzzz stoner metal (although I like some of that, too, make no mistake). Not bad, but not terribly exciting to me either, at least at this time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb4RWRcrnQM

Sorry, doublepost

The Accüsed - Autopsy

Ahh, The Accüsed, great band. In typical fashion for this band, the song features a strong punk/thrash crossover vibe. The intro is pretty cool, sets the tone for the song. The song has some great riffs, including some pretty crazy hammer-on sort of stuff. The vocals are classic punk. Punk is a genre I like very much, and one I've been listening to longer than metal. The gang shout sort of backup vocals is a nice touch, too. I have other songs I like better from this band, but this is still great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nB0iJTMPAM

Orbweaver - Those of Non-Being

So, after going through the painful motions of listening to this song, I will say one thing... this drummer is a pretty talented dude. He's always on-beat with no mistakes, he knows how to do blast beats and double bass, and more importantly, he can mix up his blasting fury with some nice fills in between. I'm not doubting this guy can handle a drum kit. What I am doubting, though, is his awareness that there are other musicians in the band besides him and the vocalist. Seriously, about 90% of the song is just drums. The guitar work, and whatever bass there may be are buried WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY beneath the drums. They're buried so deep that it has to be heard to be believed. I know that drums and good drummers have an... I guess an increased role in tech death like this as compared to normal death metal, but that's no excuse for anyone to just go and forsake your guitar player's work altogether. My hat goes off to anyone who can pick a distinguishable riff out of this one, because I couldn't do it. Granted, in some sections it's at least audible, but for a guy like me who likes his metal guitar-driven, and not drum-driven, this is worse than unacceptable. I really hate to come in and just trash songs like this, but I'm hard-pressed to find any way or reason to praise it for anything. At least the vocalist is decent, using a lower bark-type growl that sounds like a more rabid Anders Friden (I know I've used that comparison before, but it works...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdzr0ginbQ4

@Abominatrix

@ Dave_o_rama

@dystopia:

Words of Farewell – Ever After

Not a band I was originally familiar with, but after a few seconds I pretty much knew what was in store for me. For better or worse, it’s melodic death metal. This isn’t really a genre I can even remotely tolerate, and this band isn’t an exception. It’s pretty well-produced and is almost upbeat. The guitar work came off as being pretty sterile and never really grabbed my attention, and the drumming just seemed to compliment it and never really stood out on its own. The vocals, which were fairly raspy, weren’t particularly appealing either. I guess fans of bands like Dark Tranquility, or whatever, might enjoy this, but I really couldn’t.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq1Q885Jf0M

@dystopia:

@bensabre

@dystopia:

Metalucifer - Heavy Metal is My Way

Metalucifer have always been a fun band to listen to. Their lyrics are very much over the top about metal along the same lines of Manowar. This song is no exception. The lyrics are pretty stupid but that is Metalucifer for you! This song is pretty much straight up heavy metal with very simple, catchy, upbeat riffs. The energy is there but the pace of the song feels a little laid back and could be upped a bit in intensity. Towards the end of the track it does pick up, but a little too late. The guitar leads are pretty good and the drums sadly just plod along and don't do anything except keep the mid-pace rhythm. The vocals sound like a drunk guy out of tune with a very foreign accent. Overall a fun listen, though fairly average and forgettable.

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

Brilliant. All I can say. This seminal group is to me, a kindred spirit to the mighty and proud Primordial. Not only are they staunch detractors of the Christian faith, they further with a sense of pride, defiance, and a aura of strength, which one must possess to keep you head held high, no matter what lies before you. Never bend your knee. If anyone has seen this horde live, you know what a powerful force they are; and their music backs this up ten-fold, as demonstrated by this singular track. This is a later album, but one that further forges their contempt and pure anger at what they believe the enemy truly is - a poison, a weakness, that keeps a person from feeling the true depths of lust, anger and personal freedom of human nature. Unleash the wolves! This is an iron-clad fist in the face, a pointed middle finger at oppression of the spirit, filled with malice and a take no prisoners attitude. The mix of epic, scathing chords and perfectly balanced Teutonic influences are their strong point, but their homeland (Australia, naturally) gave them the headstrong attitude to pursue what they have achieved.

Something a little more caustic.

Abyssic Hate - Damned For Eternity

Damn, their first demo. This is grim as fuck, and surprisingly the production isn't crap. You can hear everything very well, even the bass. The bass drums have such a weird sound, I can't even describe it, but it's pretty cool. This is pretty far from the Depressive Black Metal they would adopt later, only the slow part that starts at 2:40 is reminiscent of it at all. Mostly it's Darkthrone influenced, and there are barely any blast beats. There's a sense that these guys (this guy?) weren't joking around. I love the riffs and distant tone in here, coupled with the throat tearing vocals, it's a winning combination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyjcrEx9ZEo

@Necro

Badass game.

Silent Jealousy starts out somewhat slow with keyboards but picks up after the first minute. Fantastic speed-metal song with lots of progression and some great guitar riffs. RIP Hide, the lead guitarist. I give the song an A- (would have given it an A+ if it werent for the piano intro.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR-khnY4wDI

@DarkAvenger:

This thread seems to have hit a small speed bump. I'll put one up for review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8u57VtsPoI&feature=BFa&list=FLYkPnM0M4_H2qowrUcCzN-A

Saturnus - Rain Wash Me

I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure whether I like this song or not. The minute-long piano intro, along with the quick violin... uh... blurb do a hell of a job of setting the melancholy mood a song like this needs. That, along with a section that sounds sort of upbeat, though still retaining the sorrowful atmosphere of the song around the 4 and a half minute mark, make up the presence of the keyboards on this track. It's a fairly significant piece of the puzzle, but the bigger two pieces, the most prevalent elements of the song, are, as you would guess, guitars and vocals. More on them later. The bass here, for the most part, plays along with the guitar, except for the first section where the band actually comes into the song. It is curious, though, that on my first listen or two, I couldn't even figure out if there was even a bass in the song. I'm ashamed to say, I had to look it up. Oh, well. The drums... they are kind of hard to describe, not just in this song, but in doom metal in general, because all they really do is just keep the beat. The guitars start out with an interesting lead, which keeps up the mood that's been established with a bit of melancholy melody. They keep up the lead even through the first batch of vocals, and they thrive on repetition through the entire song. While all that is good and well, there is one thing keeping me from liking this song... that vocalist. To put it simply, his growls lack any sort of passion. No sorrow, no pain, no emotion, no nothing. He's just sort of there, and his presence (or lack of it) does more to hurt the song than to help it. Were it not for his... uh... genericness, I would probably enjoy this one a lot more than I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDWwIiv82q0

Prototype - Mind in Motion.

First off I will say that these vocals are absolutely horrid. Hoarse shouts that sound very off key, almost nu metalish. He just sounds so awkward and like he has hardly practiced before. The instrumentation fares much better though. It is hard to pinpoint the category. I can hear some power/thrash and some death metal in here with a fair bit of jazzy bass work. The best moments are when the vocalist is not singing and the focus is on the guitar leads. There is a lot of great guitar picking here. I am reminded of late-era Death at times. The drumming is really a standout here with a nice sound to it, particularly the bass drum and is very dynamic. Overall the instrumentation is excellent but the vocals ruin it for me, which is a shame.

I love this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0JsJu7NVZ8

So nobody is going to review my song then? It was pretty much skipped after two people who don't understand how this thread works diverted attention away from it, which is pretty lame.

^Cry me a river.
Pentagram-Walk in the blue light

Anyways, after the first few seconds it really gives me an idea of how jam sessions for Black Sabbath specifically on the Sabotage era must've sounded. The thin production gives the aura of a jam session and the guitars have that thick grating sound when they are strummed, even though this is obviously Pentagram we are talking about. The drumming definitely changes pace quite constantly in the song and in that thin production the constant cymbal taps sound great with the closing solo. Overall, a good track with a heavy nostalgic vibe of Sabbath of course great choice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d_zHshC ... re=related

Or you can just review the song I just posted instead of stating the obvious.

Ruthless: "Discipline of Steel"

Strange introduction, with some echoy sounds that might be gongs and what seems to be bass plucking. Then we get a tune somewhere in the thrash/speed metal realm, reminding me a little of, say, German band Living Death. I like the prominent bass, which seems to drive everything forward. The musicians here are nothing special but the screaming solo caught my attention. I did not enjoy the vocals much. I know people say this a lot about metal bands, and sometimes with little accuracy, but it does sound like they just grabbed some friend of theirs and said, "just shout out these lyrics along with the music for us, ok?" Gang choruses are a bit of a weakness of mine though, and I did enjoy their use of backup shouts during the "discipline of steel!" part. The slower section after the second chorus was expected, but it was shorter than I thought it would be, and I anticipated the solo during this part, too, but instead there was a bit of a flourish, a return to high-speed battery and then a bit of the wailing lead guitar antics. This wasn't bad, but apart from that brief bridge part, a little predictable and not, I'd say, a brilliant example of this sort of music.

The video is apparently longer than the song itself, so just stop it after the music finishes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q28QQ1glJHQ

@ jonpo:

Countess - Alone Against The World

I dig this song and will listen to it again. Firstly I should point out that I have never listened to a Countess song before, to my knowledge. After a short but sweet intro that reminded me (melodically) of "Hurt" by NIN - this guy Orlock (see I did a little bit of research:P) opens his mouth and his voice is rough, painful, and kinda makes me wonder how he's doing it. Excellent.

The song structure is fine, Verse Bridge Chorus, then rinse and repeat (or something like that). The lyrics are nice and angry, there's a "me against everyone else" type of theme going on. Musically there is nothing tricky here, nothing technical, which is good. No fretboard wankery, just a nice heavily distorted chord progression throughout the bridge, chorus, and most of the rest of the song.

So there it is, thumbs up from me, and remember this is my first time hearing Countess and my first review, so I'm sorry if it's crap!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SGDyAmtne0&list=FLYkPnM0M4_H2qowrUcCzN-A&index=12&feature=plpp_video