That Bölzer track and EP rule...



Can't say I've ever listened to anything by these guys at all, as (quite clearly) power metal isn't really my thing. This is firmly eighties, as given away by that drum beat/vocals, and the acoustic intro is rather cool, giving some appropriate build up before the first bedrock chords come crashing in. The verse is carried along by thick, chunky chords, groovin' riffs and pulsating, well mixed, bass - drums are well played and solid, but to be honest they really aren't doing anything special are they? Plain Jane is thy name... Vocally this is cool I guess, but every time I hear this kind of straight-up, almost hard rock tune, I'm constantly reminded of eighties movies, ya know the ones eh? Big hair, bad fashion, high-school scenario with this in the background/montage etc... I know that's a pretty big generalisation, but there you go... I do like the solo that kicks in around three quarters into this, and it certainly does rock along nicely, but I'm starting to realise that the vocals are also not doing much either, as there is no real style, power or real passion and personality on offer - a sort of by the numbers affair. I'm guessing they have better up their sleeves? Not bad, but not memorable either I'm afraid.

Something much filthier...

@CrushedRevelation: yup, that EP is one of my recent favourites

Har Shatan - Prophet Of Darkness

Quite filthy...sounds like old school black metal, but is actually fairly modern. The vocals match the tone of the guitars to really give this that dirty sound. Riffs are ok, a little repetitive until the midpoint of the song where tempo slows down momentarily before picking back where it left off. I dunno, this is good, but a little bit more variation in riffs, or range from the vocals could help...everything seems to be in the same tone vocally which isn't always a bad thing but combining with the somewhat monotonous riffs, and fairly standard drumming, I could get bored with this quite easily...I'd hope other songs by them would offer some deviation

Live version....better than studio imo

Gallhammer - Speed of Blood (live)

Mixed feelings about these dudes (or chicks, rather), some of their stuff is great and others, eh, not so much. This is cool as fuck, though! Some ripping yet melodic tremolo, everything's decidedly crusty, very nice production for a live recording... Excellent drumming, too - the tone for a live recording (especially for a band like this) is excellent. Cool video too, pretty intense. Not sure what else to say except I approve.

Not for friendship metal scum!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EKAcFl3guQ

I stopped Mysteriis Dom Sathanas to make room to this Recluse song called No Way Out. Right from the get go I loved the rawness of it and the mysterious feedback at the beginning. The vocals comes out rather strong and powerfull for a raw depressive Black Metal song. But this is exactly the shit I've been looking for lately so I will definitly look into Recluse a little deeper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EpQKf6WqKQ

Obscurcis Romancia - In Memoriam

As soon as I saw that cover on the thumbnail, I knew I was in for something strange. And boy, I was not expecting what I got when I hit play. Intially, I did grimace at the low growls in monophony, but I felt the song was going to go somewhere so I let it go on for a while. In the middle of the song, I pretty much realized how fucking awesome this is. It's basically symphonic black metal, but it's extremely chaotic in sound. The whole time, you have this wacky (and very cool) piano playing going that really adds a lot to the song. So I find myself headbanging to busy piano work, awesome tremelo riffs and blast beats and it just feels good. The song itself is about 7 and a half minutes, but it sure doesn't feel like it. The song blazes through a ton of different riffs and melodies without ever sounding tired or dull. The shrieking, guitar riffs, piano bits and intense drumming all fit perfectly together. Unforutnately, youtube's shitty quality does remove some enjoyment since I can hear a ton of compression artifacts especially in the cymbals, but that just means this song would be even better straight from the cd. Anyways, it looks like I'll be picking this album via bandcamp up as soon as I get my tax return back seeing how blown away I was by just this one fucking song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnqud-E4aXM

Light Bringer - "Hyperion"

Japanese neoclassical power metal with a symphonic edge, that reminds me very strongly of Galneryus with a female vocalist. Not going to say that's a bad thing. The guitarist gets plenty of opportunities to show off - hell, the song opens up with a minute long solo, with a short keyboard duel towards the end, and it's great, the guitarist definitely living up to anything Syu could do. The vocalist is very strong, with a lot of passion behind her voice, and she hits some impressive high notes. The verses are fairly forgettable if I'm honest, with a somewhat dry riff, and with the keyboards backing off a bit, the singer has to carry them, which to be fair, she manages to carry off thanks to a nice vocal melody. But then the chorus hits, and it's everything a good power metal chorus should be, damn catchy and backed by some nice uplifting strings. The middle section starting at about 2:30 is the best part, with the guitarist, bassist and keyboardist all soloing away like maniacs and showing off what they can do. It's not just wankery, either - all the solos are perfectly arranged and memorable beyond the technical prowess on display. Good stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=131VoQeWIn0

Metsatöll - Veelind

Cool song. Starts with a really catchy harmonized vocal bit which would be fun to sing along with if I could speak whatever fucking language it was in. The music directly after the first bit is a bit unexpected and has a prog vibe to it. The bass is prominent and sounds really cool. Once that part is over it get a whole lot more folky, catchy verse lines that are echoed throughout the whole song work really well.

Overall a good 8/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ3pUBzlpKY

Satan's Host - Infinite Impossibilities

Noticed this band gets mentioned here quite a lot - I never really heard anything of them however. First of all the clean vocals are cool; this singer reminds me a bit of Bruce Dickinson with a sweet (although no show off) high register. He knows exactly when to put more intensity into his singing and when to restrain more - so there's a fine balance between his lines. The harsh vocals though, were pretty shitty, I'm afraid. They're without any emotion, come off rather dull and are definitely appropiate to me. Drums are solid, except the stupid brutal sections, which I'm referring to blastbeats are pretty stupid and again, aren't really appropiate at all. The song itself is listenable enough; gets carried by memorable, rocking riffs that change during several sections in the song - but in the end I don't find these to be really hard-hitting or effective. Then again I find the guitar tone to lack some ''bite'' for lack of of better term. I assume these guys got some worthy material out there, but this sadly doesn't convince me enough to check them out further.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFR2lwrJkUI

Runemagick - The Black Wall

Really atmospheric and dark Melodic Death Metal song accompanied with a groovy drum beat that is not just fast double bass drums or blast beats. The vocals are really low and adds to the atmosphere of the song. There is then a sweet melody break that gets you to travel through this 4 minutes of mystirious emotionnal wreck. It gave me a weird feeling of sadness but also uplifting. The rythm guitar is a constant beating of the strings that reminds me of Kalmah's Moon of my Nights mixed with some awesome dark Hypocrisy song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egvWppQaI34

Emeth - Folly and Weakness

If you like Aborted, you'll like em. The intro is very Suffocation sounding and the vocals are very shouty in a way the Metalcore MiniRepublic of America will appreciate. The whole thing breaks down intensely from start to finish and it is the riffs that are not 'breaking' that really sound worthwhile. The drumming is frenetic and quite good but I can't really say I enjoyed this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qrbL7uVGd4

Blind Guardian - Follow the Blind

As fucking ridiculous as this sounds, I don't think I've ever heard a Blind Guardian song before. Guess it has to do with my disdain for Europower. But yeah, this is pretty sweet. Not quite as silly as a lot of Europower I've heard. The vocals aren't completely over the top which really helps. The riffs have some balls, as well. Excellent lead guitar. High production value without feeling watered down. This feels epic and is a display of great musicianship. I approve.

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

Panopticon - "ICBM" (Amebix cover)

This is a black metal cover of a crust punk song, and it works well. There's a nice selection of good, memorable riffs, with some nice melodic lead work towards the end and unlike a lot of one-man BM bands, Panopticon benefit from using live drums. There's a lot of feel to the playing, and he throws in some fairly complex fills at just the right places without it ever sounding random. The vocals are a solid, somewhat low-pitched rasp, and he delivers the lyrics (very good, by the way) with a lot of passion. There's a few sections of blasting and tremolo riffing, which don't quite sit right with me given that most of the song is fairly mid-paced and they don't last particularly long, but other than that, it's very well-composed, with a nice continuous drive forward. The production is at exactly the right level for raw black metal production, where the riffs and drumming have a nice organic sound to them but it doesn't sound overly muddy - it gives a lot of atmosphere to the sound. Pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txi79w-g5_A

I've gotten quite a bit of shit in this thread. I can accept that, people wanted more from my reviews and I can see why. So let's give it another shot

Forefather- Hallowed Halls

Someone in the comments described this as "folk metal" but this doesn't sound like much Folk Metal I know. The lyrics and the bands image fits the bill, but the sound reminds me more of a straight up Heavy or Trad Metal band. This isn't a genre I know well, but after spinning the song twice, it certainly has a sort of Pan-European folk rhythm. I really like the way everything sounds in terms of the production: the guitar tone is clear but really strong and the drums offer the right amount of punch. The double bass section from 3:55 to 4:08 reminds me of some MelodDeath songs I've heard, and I just like the sound of the kick drum in general: nice punch and pop, and any triggering seems really minimal. As an aspiring audio engineer, the production is a winner for me, even with Youtube quality taken into consideration. It goes without saying, anyone who has read my previous mini reviews know I don't care for this vocal style in anyway, and this band is no exception. These vocals in particular are bugging me: he doesn't seem to have much power or range, and the sort of "yell-singing" just does nothing for me. But there are some solid riffs in this, especially the last riff starting at 5:16, and this is in no way the worst I have heard from this particular genre, though again my experience is limited.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yRqNz1b8sQ

Hmmmm... cool, Ive heard a great deal about these guys, mostly because of their location (erm, here in Australia) and the fact that the now sadly defunct, or on hold Nuclear Winter Records had signed them to their rather impressive roster. Now I'm certainly no stranger to dirty, dank, crushing death metal, so these guys should be right in my zone. I will admit that this is my first truly detailed listen to anything they've released, but it's got me intrigued. It's opening chord/riff progressions weren't something that made me immediately snap to attention though, with it's (purposely) sluggish crawl'n'drawl, and it's slightly cleaner than what I was expecting, BUT, the track length should indicate that it will deliberately unfold itself over that time span into a sprawling, slithering, eldritch horror that the outstanding artwork (the guy responsible for Grave Miasma, Wrathprayer et al...) hints at - and that it does. This has vague whiff of Dawn Of Possession to it with slower, thicker, meaner chords and a ever so slight nod to Portal (and someone else I can't quite remember), and it really does have a menacing pace to it with that crushing verse riff. Couple that with the low, raw vocal sermon, and you have an excellent tune unfurling. The drum fill annoyed me though, as it seemed unnecessary really, and clogged the flow a little, but that gives way to another gripping section of grime and distorted madness - I do like the slower pace this track mostly oozes along with, and there are some fucking excellent riffs working tirelessly away here towards the end, forming an utterly apocalyptic, dissonant mood with the faster, pummeling double bass. This might be something I will look further into, as it has something about it.

Staying in the same country eh?

Innsmouth - Consumed by the Elder Sign

Ok, first I want to say I am a huge fan of Lovecraft's work. This is some pretty raw death metal with almost black metal-y vocals. The drums are almost invisible because of the production, with the only hints of them being there are the double bass and snare hits that are audible through the buzzing. The main riff is slow and doom-y, plodding along, but ultimately not that enjoyable, again, because of the production. If this was clearer, it would work as a second rate Bolt Thrower song, but sadly this is not the case. At least it is relatively bass heavy. I really want to like this, but the production really hurts it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O-cWKBePUI

Cthulu_Fhtagn

Audio Kollaps: "Der Letzte Schrei"

Whoa, not what I expected at all. I mean I only looked at the bandname after listening to the tune, and I was pretty surprised. I thought they were a crust band. There's probably an early Bolt Thrower influence there, or maybe just the Sacrilege (UK) debut, so I guess that still makes sense. This started off with a dark, murky riff that was a bit like a putrid smelling Black Sabbath. It was very appreciated, and then things sound absolutely massive when the pounding double bass comes in with some seriously slashing riffs. Yeah, this does sound quite a bit like Sacrilege actually, but it's less thrash and more death metal. There are some whining lead guitars here that sound pretty great and the whole thing is propulsively heavy. The riff set doesn't change a lot but it doesn't really need too, staying around that gloomy opening riff but just amping up the intensity factor all the way without getting very fast. NIce guitar sound, too....mean and raw.

The best cut from this particular record:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYY1Qw9QeDE

Pungent Stench - "Choked Just For A Joke"

I was thinking brutal death metal from the name, but this has a bit more in common with classic death metal. The intro is perhaps a little too long, with its slow pace and simplistic riffing, but the eerie guitar embellishments over the top are great, and the song picks up the pace afterwards. It's (relatively) mid-paced, but there's enough variation in the riffing to stop it getting boring, and it's bolstered by a nice thick bass sound and some groovy drumming - and I mean groovy in the kind of elusively funky way with a lot of feel, not the plodding "groove metal" way, so that adds a lot of character. The section of militaristic drumming at about 3:00 is great. It's a shame that the song immediately flops with its solo, which is pretty much just a few rudimentary squeals. The vocals definitely have something of that old-school death metal character to them, a nice mid-ranged bellow with some real hatred to it. Not bad overall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCykidVc86Q

@ Goodly:

Sad Legend - Han

I actually really like this album. great mixture of melodic black metal but with ultra depressive sound to it. Favourite song of the album is "Under Emptiness On The Dusk-Fallen Lake" but this one is also solid. The riffs are good and have that melancholy sound to it that is spread throughout the album. The clean higher vocals do add to that depressive flavour however, to be honest i can find them abit annoying after a while as they are in the forefront of this song rather than the growls used on most of the album. With that said, musically this is spot on and creates the atmosphere perfectly. I like the doomy section at about 2:50 where riffs become more prominent and the growls come to the forefront for basically the first time in the song. again just before the 4:00 minute mark, the tempo picks up significantly and a nice tremelo picked riff comes to the forefront.

Pretty good song and really good album that i should listen to again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nxzHglkYQI

Nebunadnezzer- Affliction

I pretty much knew what to expect the second the opening riff came in. This is incredibly bland stuff, and not a single thing ever stands out. I actually had to listen to it several times to stay focused on the full track for the whole run time. The drums are unobtrusive to the point of total uselessness. Use a drum machine if you just want to noodle melodies over mid-paced MelodDeath rhythms for 3 and a half minutes. Everything is clean and sparkly, and there is lots of melodic noodling and more melodic noodling, but nothing ever seems to soar or make you go, "oh fuck yeah." it's all very emotionless and grey, and it's topped off with generic, if competent vocals and basically inaudible bass. The bass peeks through in a few places, and I know this is a Youtube, but I am listening on studio headphones with the volume up and it's non-existent. No low end, no power, very flowery and sparkly. Very, very boring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFnchiNjGz8

Vattnet Viskar - Apex

I have to say that I love the sound of the drums. There's a great reverse cymbal that keeps coming back, drum rolls that are not overdone or never out of place and also a really complicated cymbal work over the blast beats. The songs has many different parts and tempo changes. It is a really dark atmospheric black metal sound of riffing although the sound quality is raffined and not raw but they still seem to keep it pure. The vocals throws it off for me a little bit. It's not that bad, it just doesn't fit the overall sound of the song. There's a long outro that is also unecessary, but for many I'm sure they would enjoy that calm AFTER the storm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfkVmO8UEwY

Tugnut - I'm Not a Bird

The intro makes it sounds like the song could anywhere, and it fact, it goes everywhere. Starting off with an interesting sludge/grind combo these weirdos progress into some sort of avant-nu metal which is about as frustrating a sound I could imagine. Good lord this is annoying. It's either the result of years of playing together or it's just complete improv, for their sake I really hope it's the latter. Ignoring the vocals helps a lot, because the spastic and heavy guitars aren't too awful on their own. But then it dives into a horrendous jazzy section and there's just no chance for redemption after that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRiHAt25rOg

Bison BC- Stressed Elephant

I love the way it starts off with this odd, trippy-sounding dissonant chord. The whole thing overall sounds pretty trippy. Instrumentally, the first minute and half wouldn't sound out of place on any of Deathspell Omega's last few albums. Something like that's automatically a plus for me. I especially like the horn that comes in after the intro. The vocals remind me of another band, but I can't put my finger on exactly which band it is at the moment. This sort of triumphant, half-shouted yells and then occasionally some lower grunts. The song eventually picks up into some sort of technical death/thrash sounding shit and that dominates most of the song until right around the 5 minute mark, where the trippy sounding chords start again along with some really cool riffing underneath it. Then an acoustic break starts near the end. It sounds pretty cool to me, I just wish it had been a bit longer. Overall, the song is pretty sick.

Beautifully Unholy

I don't think anyone here is willing to review a 11 minute long song, dude. Just saying...

DEATHSPELL OMEGA - Carnal Malefactor

I actually like longer songs if they are good...so i'll give this a whirl. Starts off with quite the melencholy sounds....quite peaceful and relaxing actually. tempo significantly picks up around 3 minutes althought he main riffs basically remain the same in the background....i guess the keeps the aesthetic of the song...The middle of the song then takes the song in a whole new direction. Instrumentation stops and choir like backgrounds are the song. I actually like this, but it just drags on way too long! (4 minutes). When the instrumentation kicks back in, i dig the new riffs and and style...very good. I guess the my main problem with this is all the different sections of the song just drag on too much for me. If they were all abit shorter this may apeal to me more as overall, the song has a nice feel to it and definitely some good aspects....just ahrd to keep interested the entire time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urZB9ZSMCUU

Samael - Blood Ritual

Title track from Samael's groundbreaking sophomore album. Of course I have heard this before but it is worth revisiting over and over. It is a tight performance especially when compared with the band's earlier works. There's a Celtic Frost vibe tempo wise but vocally, Vorph is singular in his bleak and exacting delivery. The riffing is simplistic but thoroughly enjoyable and catchy and the whole song maintains that atmosphere of brooding morbidity that engulfs the whole album and makes it so damn timeless.

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

Ceremonial Castings - Damned be Those of the Craft

Definitely heard the name before, looked 'em up on the archives and they look relatively well known. First thing I notice is really high production values. Thankfully this doesn't make the music too watered down. They go for a really all out sound, and one that really changes. For the first half it's straight ahead black metal with rather unnecessary spooky keyboards floating around in the background. Then about halfway in we get these weird ill-fitting break down things (sounds like bad metalcore or something) that don't really make sense in the context of the song. Then everything completely changes. We get super melodic guitar lines, overt keyboard symphonies and vocals you'd expect in death/doom. In the second half they definitely try to ram too much into one song and it doesn't end up making all that much sense. Not a bad song per se, they just need more direction and perhaps less keyboards.

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

Egypt - Valley of the Kings

This is real slow and moody. Interesting manipulation of the production, guitar tone isn't bad but the bass almost sounds like a mouth-harp which is off-putting to me as a bass fanatic. The lead work isn't bad, bluesy and heartfelt. "Not bad" pretty much sums up the whole thing for me. I wouldn't go out of my way to hear this again but if someone put it on I wouldn't ask them to stop it either. There's a lot of meandering build up and things finally "cut loose" with a more pace-y groove, but by that time I've already lost interest. This would be good background music while passing a bong around. There's an arid feeling throughout, so I guess they live up to their name. Forgive me if I'd prefer a mirage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85piuT76HCo

What an odd/cool little tune we have here. Never heard of these guys before now, and was completely in the dark as to what expect (was actually expecting some doom from you Jonpo haha). This has quite a hard 'n' heavy production to it, and a cool guitar tone to boot. This starts off with what you expect to be a power metal(ish) tune, but that soon gets thrown out the window let me tell you! This goes into many a twist and turn (and genre crossing) throughout it's duration - plus it gets pretty damn heavy when it wants. There is some harsh vocals behind the main, cleanly sung vocals, which works quite well really, and completely caught me off guard with it. Musically there are moments when I'm reminded of Coroner and Death, with those heavier, meaner sections on top of what is already a heady, eclectic mix, yet never is it aping those two bands. This eclectic mix though is never confused - every note and change works here, and is well executed. Everything can be heard here too, with the bass being deliciously well mixed (and played!), as it isn't just mindlessly following the guitars/drums, oh no. This indeed a beast of it's own. Not sure what genre exactly they belong to, but whatever they are, they do it well. Complex without being daunting, and an original, interesting mix of ideas.

This is thrash from 2013?! Holy hell, they sound, much older than that. Wow.

This is a demo from 2012, so keep that in mind when you hear it...

@CrushedRevelation

Consummation- Rend the Ain Soph

I reviewed this demo, and I absolutely love it. Not sure what you mean by " is a demo from 2012, so keep that in mind when you hear it..." since everything about it is tight and fantastic sounding. The production couldn't be more perfect for this particular style and the musicianship and artistic direction is perfectly fluid. It's a savage track, dripping with grime and with lots of dynamic tempo changes and atmosphere. The vocals are flawless, particularly the shouting vocal parts. I've always gotten a light Celtic Frost vibe from the demo, as well as Funeral Mist and a lot of early Orthodox Black Metal in general, even if the overwhelming sound is more bestial and blackened death metal. It's doomy, filthy and ugly as hell itself. Just the perfect soundtrack for wership ov daemons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWjmbfox6J0

HeySharpshooter

Starkweather - Slither

This is very weird. There's a progginess to it that I find interesting because while the groove tempo is maintained, the riffing keeps drifting off into these little melodies and patterns that are as dynamic as they are catchy. The vocals are throaty screeches that are nothing special at all but the clean vocals are of the depressive sludgy style, with a nice quiet flow to them. As such, the riffing takes on some doomy nuances but the rush back to the growls makes it develop a metalcore character that I'd have done without. Still it is a hell of a ride as the band switches back and forth.

The band is called Anarchy since it isn't made clear in the clip;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLQNBIBREPk

Anarchy - The Battle Within

If you couldn't already tell from the band name/song title, this is not going to be the most original thing ever. Basically overlong prog metal with some decent parts. The initial riff is pretty cool, so I was kind of let down by the rest of the track. I'm not how well the super gruff clean vocals are suited to the instrumentation. Eh, I'll take it over stereotypical dry prog metal cleans. When the guy tries to do actual harsh vocals he fails miserably. However, one positive thing I will say is that the drumming is very well done. There are definitely Eastern undertones here, which is not all that surprising seeing as how the band comes from Egypt. This is at its best at the bass section at around five and a half minutes in. This song had some cool parts, however it was lacking in some regards and its nine minute length is in no way justified. Nothing that bad, though.

http://tornfromearth.bandcamp.com/track/lost-and-found

Okay, now I kind of know what I'm in for here with that cool guitar sound and bass/drum interplay, and I certainly wasn't disappointed when it finally kicks into gear. This style (sludge/doom/whateverthehell) really isn't my thing at all, I gotta say - just doesn't grab me at all. This is slow, heavy, crushing, well produced, and isn't badly wrought, even the (semi)breakdown is kind of cool, being a much slower groove. But every time I hear a band like this, the vocals ruin everything for me, I just find them grating... that whole shout/growl/scream thing I just can't stand. That's not to say this is necessarily bad, because if you drool over this sort of thing, you'll be lost in a slew of slow-burning, muscular chord work, and fretful, tense moments of built up tension and anger, culminating in a harsh maze of controlled pace and power. It's thick as the Earth's mantle and burly with it, but doesn't do much for me I'm afraid.

Back to page one eh?

^ "Crowned At Dusk"- Domains.

Pretty solid Spanish death metal, very akin to the older first wave stuff. No obnoxious blast-beats, decent lead work, nasty tremolos, huge booming breaks, and despite coming out earlier this year these guys managed to successfully capture a low-fi 80's sound. Maybe a bit basic, but good all the same.

How about something else brutal? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHyrlKKqnHM

Ah, this could only really be one band. That propulsive drumming and riffing style is just so recognisable. Fast and furious, New York-y too the extreme. Sure, Demolition Hammer can be samey, but they're damn good at what they do. Those vocals are always cool, too, they're full of snarling, sneering aggression. Cool mid-section and then some Reign... riffs. Definitely one of the most "headbangable" bands around. The title track of this album will always be me favourite, though. Hey, I'm thrashin' here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7R9IZ8Nu5U

Placeholder.

Sanctuary - Die for My Sins

Well, this is a nice tune. Very 80's-ish...but that's not a bad thing for me. Certain does what I'd expect of 80's USPM with recognizable, catchy furious riffs and over-the-the-top vocals. When I think of Warrel Dane, I always remember this drama queen of Nevermore and forget he actually used to sound pretty decent during his early years. Here he sounds like a stereotype (again, not a bad thing) wailer that dominated the metal scene back in this time with a crazy, sharp and screamy vocal approach that goes well with the music. The riffs themselves don't sound very original but do not disappoint either. That main riff has a cool galloping Iron Maiden feeling going on, for instance. Nice band logo, too.

Something I wanted to post way earlier but always forgot to until now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah4qAMMIIuY