Dark Deception - The Final Hour

Now this isn't the kind of thing I'd have found by myself. The guitar tone is gorgeously raw and crunchy, and although it gets a bit lost in places due to the fairly rough production, a lot of the song has a really enjoyable feel, with the bass nice and prominent in places, and the rasp of the guitar giving the whole thing a really solid, metallic feel. The falsetto vocals give the song a really speed-metal edge to it, which is equally pleasant to listen to. Indeed, the riffs have an excellent, slightly simplistic, very balls-to-the-wall, no-nonsense feel to them which makes the song very, very catchy, and really makes me feel energetic, too. Reminds me a bit of Razorwyre, despite Dark Deception obviously being a far older band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17QSch5PHeI

Altar Of Oblivion - Salvation

starts out with a clean intro, as soon as the metal starts im thinking candlemass esque epic doom! i loved it instantly! real killer stuff, the riffs arnt tech but work well with vocal patterns,although the vocalist isnt the most trained i have heard his voice is still cool! really catchy, chrousy hym half way through probably the highlight of the song.
very catchy! the guitar solo is very old school! il definitely check these guys out more


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FPKCC0H0Qo

Ophthalamia - After a Releasing Death / Castle of No Repair

Weird and strangely transcendent, Opthalamia's brand of black metal was high on melodic riffing but unconventionally structured and delivered and this particular song is no exception. To be hit full force, however, I'd suggest you take in "Via Dolorosa" all at once.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdIQNNN8L-M

Overkill - Burn You Down

I mantain that the 'kill should do a doom metal album, because they excel at it, as demonstrated by tunes such as Skullkrusher, Horrorscope, and the one at hand, Burn You Down. These dudes, even if they're thrashers (and rotten) to the core, also graduated (and with honors, may I add) from Tony Iommi's School of Essential Doom Songwriting and Riffing, and this particular piece demonstrates that with flying colors; the riffs are something early Candlemass would be proud of, being full of despair, unholy atmosphere, and a touch of personal, corrosive sludge to give the mix that little boom Overkill should never lack in. Verni's bass is, of course, really prominent, adding up to the eeriness of it all with it's metallic plunging, and Bobby? Shit, he's never sounded more misanthropic than in this tune; there's this certain "sick and tired-ness" to his vocals, as if life is no longer interesting for him, thus making it easy to imagine him as a crazy, muderous hobo laiding down on his back in a dark alley, with half a bottle of cheap whiskey in one hand, and ranting incessantly and incoherently about the Armageddon. But oh, around the four and a half minute mark we get a sudden change in direction, where the acidic rain of doom turns into the very skies spitting fire on the heads of unsuspecting mortals. HELL IS HERE PEOPLE, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THRASH FUCKING METAL!!! Oh yeah, then is when the guitars turn into a frenzy of riffing (with a bit of groove thrown in) and Bobby starts to snarl more aggressively, until we reach the end in the form of a calm, acoustic outro. Seriously Overkill; when are you guys going to release that doom album? I need it.

Here is something from my very own country.

Helker - Viento y Fuego

Now, I've never been a huge fan of power metal in general, and I don't think this will sway my opinion one way or the other. This is a pretty standard affair, in my eyes. But, I'd be lying if I didn't mention that this did manage to get a bit of excitement going in me. The guitars have a pretty nice crunch to them, even if they're not the greatest thing to happen to metal. That little bouncy verse riff and the solo are the only things that really stand out to me. Mostly because the bouncy riff isn't really something I'd expect in a song like this, and that solo is awesome. I don't quite really know how to describe it, but it's a bit more... progressive, I guess, than your average affair. The drum work here isn't anything new for anyone who hasn't heard power metal before, and you'll probably only notice he's there during the very beginning and the "big ending" this song goes for. The bass really can't be heard for most of the song, which is unfortunate, because everything else is crystal clear and there's plenty of room for it. I should also mention that this singer is pretty good, almost inspiring me to attempt to sing along to the soaring choruses, which must be great, considering I don't speak any Spanish at all. I have to say I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, but I don't really see myself digging for more from this band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qAyWpiLtQI

Ah, keyboard metal. I'm guessing from Scandinavia somewhere... the quasi-epic intro provides to be a bit misleading, as the verses are rather schizophrenic. Thrash-y riffs, changing tempos, it's all rather unsteady. I'm not sure what it's really going for in the end! It's like two or possibly three different songs stuck together with the poor sewing skills of Dr Frankenstein! Honestly, it's all a non-event in the end; all those bombastic keys, snarling vocals and silly sounding triggered drums don't give me much of a lasting impression at the end. Also, FollowBane looks more like a username than a band name. Use that space key, boyos!

Obligatory note: the keyboards are much too loud.

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

Absu - "Amy"

Thrashy! As much as is to be expected from Absu I suppose, incredibly venomous, high-velocity blackened thrash that keeps your head steadily banging, with the kind of somewhat repetitive, hypnotic, yet twisting and vicious riffing that inspires you to mosh. It's obvious why Proscriptor's drumming is renowned, he sounds like he has 10 extra limbs here, and probably a nice setup of infernal portals around him to reach each and every one of his 400 different drums. The song doesn't change much during its almost 5 minute run-time - there are some solos there, some here, little basswork to speak of. Vocals don't change much, fairly normal if sharp and dry rasps, with one exception a small bit into the song where he goes into almost clean, commanding shouts before switching back. Listening to this is like having wood splinters jammed into your brain, and I mean that in the best possible way. The mix is pretty well done and professional, with the exception of aforementioned lacking bass, usually being something I pick out quite well but fail to distinguish here, helping to establish guitars as the central element of the song, but also making each and every drum hit and vocal line stand out. Loud and clear, without being polished to sterility.

Now, it's not a perfect song, something about it strikes me as... being off. I can't quite comment on it, but it feels like an atmospheric thing, as vague as that may sound. I get the feeling that the band was aiming for a balance between chilling atmosphere to entrench you in evil, but also wanted to make a simple, riffy, heavy song, and weighed the scales too heavily in favour of the latter. This is of course a minor complaint for what is still an incredibly well-written, if perhaps repetitive, song. Also, there's a solo that, while not out of place, strikes me as a bit disappointing. Too wank-like, so to speak. But ultimately, this is clearly a strong moment, even by Absu's standards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN1IPeQIg6c

LAKE OF TEARS - "ILLWILL"

I enjoyed this song a lot. Never heard of this band before. There are a lot of things I liked about it. It sounded very doomish, almost with a sludge groove and when it picked up it almost reminded me a bit of Katatonia. I enjoyed the vocals too, mostly because I could hear the thick accent in the singer. It added 'character' Video wasn't bad either, in a campy sort of "heavy metal band's budget" way. Good stuff, man! I'll check out more of these guys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJdt3dzDCK8

Njiqahdda - Kali

I've meant to listen to Njiqahdda before, but the huge back-catalogue makes it a little bit like trying to bite into a really big sandwich. The slightly groaned, warm sounding clean vocals are hypnotic and indeed fascinating, and are complimented by the swaying, unrelenting tremolos and - perhaps if Attilla Csihar of Mayhem took many, many drugs, and lay on a tropical beach, this is what you would get vocally. The production feels quite agreeable, with a transparency really showing the guitar and bass to be separate buy synergised entities. This isn't what I expected Njiqahdda to sound like, and I'm certainly now up for investigating the band further.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXa5H5b4N9c

Acolytes of Moros - The Altar

Quite an interesting occult atmosphere here. They've obviously gone for that "ominous caverns of mystery" style; a dense, foggy atmosphere. I'm glad this isn't the standard Rise Above doom fare (you know, where they're trying to be as 1970s all the fucking time). Some of riffs here seem a little epic-tinged, too, not in a massive, overt way... but it's certainly there as an influence. A rough comparison I could give for this is like Procession's slower material cross bred with Reverend Bizarre (similarly accented vocals, I guess). I'm quite refreshed to find a band who play slow but still manage to keep some momentum as quite often I find myself disillusioned with the amount of doom bands who just go down the doom for its own sake route (and Reverend Bizarre's last album and a lot of their EPs are very much guilty of this, and that's why I'm often frustrated with that band outside of their second album). Maybe this song was overstaying its welcome slightly, and I often like doom songs with fast parts, too, so the tempo change at the end was good for me. I'd like to hear the full demo, to be honest. Good find, thanks!

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

I have pretty much all of these guys albums (on burned disc) pre Deathrace King lying around somewhere, and have only given them a cursory listen. Not sure why that is now. This isn't bad at all, certainly melodic without resorting to sappy, listlessness. Really heavy in places too, with some truly venomous vocals delivering a rage driven sermon. It's more death metal orientated than later works, in the Swedish sense of course, with devastating results. The main melody line below the forest fire of rhythm guitars reminds me of Dark Tranquility (slightly), with it's sharp, keen edged lines and modality. The production is awesome really - giving brutish power to everything, the song writing is up there too, with enough chain driven moments to pull your hapless corpse along. Good stuff.

Something different now...

Har Shatan -- Sphere

The one-man projects can really show the skill/songwriting ability or i find they can come out really bland. So far, I'm enjoying this. Nice scuzzy/raw guitar tone, but can still hear most of the riffs quite easily. They are rather simplistic, but wouldn't expect anything more for this type of project. Although usually not the desired option in raw black metal bands, but this is kinda catchy. vocals are pretty good. I do prefer vocals abit higher in the mix, but maybe it wouldn't work as this is going for abit of an atmospheric sound. Things kinda change near the end of the song, which was good for some variety, but i was almost in a trance like state listening to the prior riff....I'll definitely, be looking into this some more. I really like the german BM scene, bands like Nocte Obducta, Ruins of Beverast, Nagelfar, etc....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjP7oIil-zY

Iskald - Surrounded by Darkness

This is kind of disappointing. The song starts with a cool little Destruction-style recurring riff and then contrasts it against an emotional introductory quasi-solo - so far so promising. But then baffingly these premises are thrown overboard and replaced with standard melodic death metal riffing accompanied by played out husky growls - disappointment ensues. Even though there are some interesting moments, what now happens is predictable. The riffing often shows much competence but goes nowhere due to meaninglless, clichéd phrasing. Emotional complexity surfaces but doesn't last and always returns to the same one-dimensional mix of feelings present in... almost all melodeath ever. The result is pure fatalism: We are shown what could potentially be but are then forced back into conformism. How depressing.

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

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter-Perfect without Mercy

The intro reminded me of very early Melodic death metal in particular Eucharist, though the riff is an incredibly simple faster burst with that rather weak drum tone. To be truthful, there isn't a lot to go in in just those two minutes for the song, the vocals remind me of Proscriptor from Absu's higher scream and the lows remind me once again of semi-death metal vocals of melodic death metal. The drums change pace during the keyboard parts and the vocals growl away during the second half of the song, the keyboards aren't overused at all during the song they mainly just accentuate the fast parts. Overall, a decent song I suppose, if you were introducing someone new to the band you might want to try a longer and more substantive song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrysift2 ... re=related

@Veracs

Mgła - Further Down The Nest I

I always like to check out new (to me) BM bands. This is quite good. The vocals aren't your typical BM rasp but have abit more substance to them. The drumming is also good. Although quite abit of double bass going on, there is a good deal of changes in tempo througout the song. I find when I'm listening to this it has your dark BM sound, but if you just focus on the guitar leads, its actually very melodic. The guitar riffs are solid throughout. the tremelo picked leads as i mentioned are very melodic and I think really make the song. Production is also really good. Its a nice balance between raw and hearing the instruments quite well. I'm actually quite impressed, thanks!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ohO-i73bzc

Unanimated - Life Demise

This is melodic black metal with perhaps a bit of a death influence. It is very accessible both in sound and songwriting. Although the song isn't bad, it didn't really do anything for me. While the song is pretty catchy, I think a harsher production would make for a nice contrast and stop it from sounding so sugary. The tremolo riffing that is not part of the melody is kind of boring. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, but it's approach seems like the sort of thing that would appeal to me when I was 14, and this sort of thing has been done a million times before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2An8LE7fOXo

Withered - The Progenitor's Grasp

This song is certainly the Withered I remember--the Withered that took extreme metal conventions but added a strong, overt twist of originality that warped the whole feel of a song. A dirge-like guitar intro takes you into what at first appears the standard-fare black/death hybrid--competently played in a hypnotic tremolo wave. The real highlight of the song comes midway, where that violence gives way to a weighty interlude of doom culminating with a striking melodic apex, before catapulting back into the fray of black/death metal standards with admirable ferocity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioQYv7czW8g

@dystopia4

Abbatoir - Vicious Attack

I suppose songs like this really emphasize how much my knowledge of traditional/speed metal is lacking. I'd certainly not heard this band before, but I quite like what I hear. I tend to enjoy speed metal which borders on thrashy, for it's no-nonsense attitude and energy, and this is no exception. The riffs are memorable, and the lead work equally so, albeit not particularly prominent, due to the production. While the song was shorter than most of what I've been listening to today, it definitely had plenty going on, and plenty to get stuck in my head for an hour or so, I'd expect. The aforementioned production is a bit muffled, but gives the song a bit of a chaotic charm, which is what I love about a lot of the less well-known 80's metal outfits. I can't tell if the song will grow on me or not, but I intend to expand my speed-metal horizons, so I might be hearing it again in the not-so-distant future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YHx46Uofyw

Amebix - Beyond The Sun

This is the second or third time I listen to this band, but same as before, I didn't leave me any lasting impression, or let's say 'desire' to listen to them again. The vocals remind me of Lemmy somehow but way cleaner, not so harsh. The overall production of the song I find dirty, but it adds to the 'emotional' vibe I feel this song expresses. It gets better toward the end, much more intense than the rest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBvM0fTAZ2Q

Apogee Of Despair - The Unconscious Layers Of My Heart

Love the intro..had a relaxed folky feel and somewhat expecting a band like Agalloch solely based upon that intro. However, once the main riffs start, its far from that. Some good tremelo picking with some interesting drumming. The vocals are stellar and fit perfectly with the music. The sound is mixed well as the bass is audible and is done well and at times is could be interchanged with a guitar. The drumming continues to be varied throughout the song and along with the guitar creates a non-standard black metal song as the song writing is almost progressive in nature. The riffing is almost like a lead as its quite melodic and the solo at 3:00 fits nicely with the rest of the song. Its a shame that these guys split as I would be very interested in hearing more material from them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-E9Q5eduAg

Disincarnate - Dreams of the Carrion Kind

I wouldn't have been able to date this based on the sound alone, but my first instinct was that it was relatively modern. I was wrong in that, which is perhaps indicative that this band were quite ahead of their time, both in style, and to a greater extent, production, which is impressively smooth. I noticed it had James Murphy in it, and his talented guitar work is very notable, although the level of recognition sometimes confuses me, considering his output hasn't been massively prolific, and he's not particularly affiliated with one huge band. I suppose he's just known for being good at just about everything. I love the pulsating riffs, which is one of the aspects of death metal which has been growing on me of-late, and the lead work has a really interesting tone, which seems quite unique and forward thinking. It's quite reminiscent of bands like Death, although I think pound-for-pound, I think I might prefer this. With that said, I think I might listen to some Death... [but not you, oh person who posts next... I'll find something different for you]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii9ayLMpFLQ

Sargeist - Sargeist

Oh God, I blindly dove right into a black metal song. Well, it ain't my cup of tea, but let's take a look.

This song doesn't wait around for your shit; you're thrown into the chaos right away. It's harsh and it's nasty, but at the same time, there's a great melodic line going on amidst it all. The riff is great, the vocals are scratchy without being too much so, and there's a lot of pounding energy to the thing. When the tempo first changes at 1:39, bringing the new riff along with, it really delivers. I do also like how the production is noticeably lo-fi, but not to the point of being bad; rather, each instrument can be clearly heard with no trouble. It's fun, it's catchy, and while I'll probably never fully buy into the black metal vocal style, this was a good listen. Those riffs, man. Those riffs.

And now for something radically different: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MIzMHYpgkQ

You have good taste, sir. To this day this is the only Persuader song I can still enjoy. It just has a frantic, awesome atmosphere to it, and unlike the later albums, it's marginally original. It sounds a bit like BG, but to the band's credit; those riff harmonies are out of this world, and then there's Jens, the obvious Hansi clone. It's pretty progressive overall, but the song transitions from phase to phase seamlessly, and there's not a note here put to waste. The harsh vocals are a little bit annoying, but other than that, excellent song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RGYfURV ... R-tvjjMzlw

@Joe

Bastel - The Black Forest

Right off the bat, I like the bass. Catchy, sounds nice. Then that lead bit comes in, very fun. This is gonna be a solid mid-tempo rocker. Then... the vocals. Well, he's not so good, and they're a little goofy, especially in the first verse. But I'm not one to be easily deterred by odd vocalists. It's charming in a way. The band is very tight. It sounds to me like they wrote some highly melodic yet underproduced traditional metal and disappeared. According to the Youtube link you posted, this was a 2-song vinyl release from 1988. Noticed it's not on the Archives - lack of info perhaps? Anyway, it's a pretty damn good song.

Speaking of odd/awkward vocals and tight musicianship/writing, let's keep this thread a-rollin':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTEtRNU5QNA

Skinflint-Iron Pierced King

Right away the bassy intro comes off as some odd Iron Maiden moment, and as soon as I saw that coverart I knew this was that African band with a terrible vocalist. The guy sounds like a primitive caveman hooting and hollaring amid the relative mid-tempo of the music, at times especially during the dual melodied parts and drum fills he manages to sound somewhat decent even if the backup "Hoots" are laughably bad. The guy overall possesses no range whatsoever and just shouts oddly with his thick accent, bridge that with the blatant Iron Maiden riff theft and the song quickly becomes a chore to finish. The song switches to a semi-acoustic tempo with the bass jumping in and out as if the transition wasn't haphazard enough, a Black Sabbath-esque solo arrives but it's far too late to save the song from being thrown into the dung heap. I give these guys props for sticking it out in the hellhole known as Africa, but this song is a bad representation of their talent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytdnCcoR ... ure=relmfu

This is a band whose existence has been known to me for quite some time, and one that I have given only a somewhat passing listen, without delving deeply into their strong discography. They offer a competent, faintly epic tinged melodic black metal, one that has certainly had a well worn path carved into the genre's history, conjuring a healthy heavy metal feel at times with the proud lead lines. Once the preamble has been delivered we are plunged into melodic, blasting black metal that reminds more than once of Enthroned in their early times, especially with those high pitched shrieking vocals, and the frigid melodies. All of this is carried out in a slick manner, whilst still retaining some personality, with a raw but clear sound, giving ample power. This is decent, melodic black metal, with strong song writing, but nothing I would call completely compelling.

Along similar paths...

Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult - Spectral Runlets Of Tulwod

Fucking glorious!
The playing is incredibly tight even though the production might not be the crispest but the spirit of the music is what makes this stand out. DNS perform with every grain of their soul and nothing sounds tired or repeated. The riffing can match any modern Black metal band delivering today and best 'em for the sheer bite DNS possesses. Onielar is on vocals and she sounds as crazy as ever. Vengeful, mystical and downright evil. She always adds tanks of fuel to the fire. The drumming is INSANE and powerfully dynamic...what more can I say, go get the album!

Now for something even less crisp;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws0elvJzyxQ

Vale Of Amonition - Rebirth Through Fire

Not usually a style of song I'd listen to, but hey, thats what this thread is for....to check out some new music. This is quite an interesting song although at the moment, I'm not sure if thats a good thing or bad. The first couple minutes have an almost psychedelic feel to it and that typical 70s doomish guitar tone. Once the songs gets going abit, the drumming is done quite well with alot of variety and he definitely shows some skill. The bass work is ok...a groovy tone in the background. The guitars however give me a mix feeling...i don't know what it is, but the leads just sound weird to me. The actual riffs are ok, but nothing overly memorable. The vocals don't come in until the song is half done, and again like the guitars just sound off. Perhaps its the band being from Africa and taking some of their regional influences to the song, but just doesn't sound great to me. With that said, it is still an interesting listen, but doubt Its something I will look into much further.

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

Ancient - Det Glemte Riket

Ah, Ancient. I actually quite like Ancient. If you ignore their shit live shows and impossibly bad, cheesy music videos, there's a good band on those old records. The entire little 2-track EP is unique for its time - it may be one of the first black metal records to prominently feature acoustic guitars and clean electric riffs. There are some very pretty cleans on this track, a lot of atmospheric, low-fi mid-tempo and - surprisingly - still room for some headbanging in around 2 to 2:40 there. Vocals are very standard, but I do indeed recommend this track (and band)to any black metaller - or even strictly melodic black metallers.

Let's try some folk-doom (I don't use terms like "pagan" or "viking" metal):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4TKmxR4ksk

Kauan: "Koivun Elama"

There was a certain uniqueness to this particular mixture that I rather admired. The keys had a bit of a "toy piano" soudn to them, but I think this was purposeful...actually sounded a little bit like chimes, which was unusual. Still, that guitar tone is pretty thin and pathetic and I would have liked something weightier. I understand that they want to make the synthesiser the focus, but at times the guitar does carry most of the song on its own and it just sounds rather powerless from here. The chanting/singing was effective but didn't appear much; the growls were just sort of present, sounding even a little gratuitous. It's frustrating that they only decided to use the moog-ish synth sound in the last thirty seconds as its distinctive tones really made me sit up and pay attention, only for the tune to fade out a bit later. While the keyboard lines were a bit recursive, this was still kind of interesting, and I got a sort of distant, faraway mystical feeling...sort of like witnessing the dancers of fairyland at play from a distance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaA4U0YWZCY

Samael - Morbid Metal

Morbid Metal...and that's just what the fuck they make, isn't it? Unholy advanced-Hellhammering grooves, fully matured and reaped for their maximum satanic benefit. This is actually a bit more frenzied than I'm used to, being that I only have Blood Ritual. That album tends to flow at a more even keel, full of well-balanced infernal majesty. This one, however, goes more for the jugular. Excellent grinding guitar tone, swirling and snarling vocals. The epitome of everything rotten and ugly about first wave black metal. One of the masters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EA_8vJO0NM

@ Jonpo:

@Abom:

Immortal - Unholy Forces Of Evil

UNHOLY FORCES
OF EVIL
UNHOLY FORCES
OF HATE

This is certainly one of my all-time favourite Immortal songs. It contains, along with the infamous Call Of The Wintermoon, some of the most memorable moments of the band's monumental first album. Furious, twisted, but melodically competent riffs, technically more basic but no less substantial than in later output, create images of raging thunderstorms and riding warriors, driven by what is among the more creative drumming in black metal. A narrative is constructed out of great variety in speed and rhythm while the succession of riffs and rythms always seems logical even when unexpected. Abbath's inhuman black metal vocals are vicious and placed with precision and sound more like war commands shouted by a demon than singing. This is truly demonic metal in that it shows us the beauty of dark and mysterious powers.

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

Fearless Iranians From Hell - Kneel To No One

Oh Christ...

I don't tend to enjoy humor in my music, but that's just me. When I filter that out of the equation, this is some reasonably crossover (?) thrash, with a low, swaggering tempo which is quite catchy, and that instantly recognizable budget-80's production, which dates it a bit, but also gives it the charm intrinsic to such production. The ultimate hipsters, this band was well aware of Muslim extremism before it was cool, but I'd imagine that being the sole lyrical theme would bore me to tears after a while. I found the material a lot more enjoyable than I thought I would, however, I must concede - I've enjoyed other gimmick bands before, and this one is certainly tolerable, which is more than can be said of many of them, much to the band's credit. It's attitude, ballsy, and humerous, which are definitely things which I associate with crossover, and they do it well - I can't imagine being hooked though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4HpePH0ENg&feature=relmfu