Vocals: Matthew Barlow
Lead Guitar: Randy Shawver
Rhythm Guitar: Jon Schaffer
Bass: Dave Abell
Drums: Rodney Beasley
Iced Earth have long been recognized as a top-notch metal act of the 90's, and many point to Burnt Offerings as being some of their best work. This is the album that introduced metalheads worldwide to the talents of Matt Barlow, considered to be the best singer Jon Schaffer (guitarist/principal songwriter) has employed in his band. He does not disappoint, either.
This album has some very unique thrash on here, much in the style of early Metallica, Iron Maiden, and maybe even some Slayer. The title track greets us first, and once you hear Schaffer's growls and Barlow crooning "Offer me good omen", you know what you are in for. An epic journey filled with great thrash metal. "Last December" is an excellent track as well, featuring good riffing from Schaffer and Randy Shawver. But the real masterpiece greets us at the end - the 16+ minute "Dante's Inferno", a song about the book of the same name. While the song is very long, there is not one boring second to be found. There are numerous fast-to-slow changes, fast drums, fast guitars, and of course, Barlow's tremendous singing skills. The lyrics are epic-style, covering topics in the book very well. Need I say more?
"Brainwashed" and "Burning Oasis" feature some nasty melodic riffing, while Barlow's voice in "Creator Failure" shows the style he (and the rest of the band) would use on The Dark Saga. And "The Pierced Spirit" shows the band employing a slow, moody style of song.
If you want an album that features epic-style lyrics on top of thrash/speed riffs and drums with great vocals, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. In fact, anybody in any way a fan of old-school Metallica or Iron Maiden should run, not walk to the record store to pick it up. It will be $15 well spent!
Iced Earth - The Dark Saga (90%)
Iced Earth created one of the best thrash albums that I have heard in Burnt Offerings, but how do you keep the strength going. Record an album like The Dark Saga, that's what. Instead of continuing in that thrash mold though, Iced Earth have also made their mark as a top notch power unit as well here.
The Dark Saga is a concept album based around the comic book series Spawn, and it covers the story in fine fashion. The drumming is not as fast here as on the previous release, but is still very good. The guitar playing and vocal style is similar to the style they will use on the next release, but anyway, back to the album at hand. The title track opens the disc with a nice kick-in about a minute or so in, "Depths Of Hell" has a nice, smooth flow to it, "Violate" and "Vengeance Is Mine" are both of the faster variety, and "I Died For You" is a very well-sung ballad. But the real treat greets us at the end in the form of "The Suffering" trilogy ("Scarred/Slave To The Dark/A Question Of Heaven"). "A Question Of Heaven" has one of the best vocal performances in heavy metal history, now that I think of it. It has to be seen to be believed.
All in all, a great power metal album has been laid down for all. If you are into concept albums or power metal in general, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up.
Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes (74%)
Vocals: Matthew Barlow
Guitars: Jon Schaffer
Bass: James MacDonough
Drums: Mark Prator (special guest)
This was the first Iced Earth album that I purchased, and I must say, I'm not overly impressed. It's a good album, but not even close to great. In fact, Something Wicked This Way Comes can't even touch Burnt Offerings, or even The Dark Saga and Horror Show. I'll explain why:
-Bad song arrangement ideas. Word to Jon Schaffer: why are the up-tempo and heavier tracks like "Burning Times" and "Stand Alone" followed by slower, acoustic-based tracks like "Melancholy (Holy Martyr)" and "Consequences", respectively? This gives the album a very inconsistent feel, seeing how I would rather headbang to three or four songs straight instead of having to be slowed down after every track with heavy riffs and fast drumming in it.
-Inconsistent songwriting. I have no idea how "Blessed Are You" even made the final cut. The lyrics are awful and rather uninspired, and it's not a very good ballad song, because the verses are simply too mellow and they would put me to sleep in a matter of seconds. Many of the other songs are written very well, though.
-The three last tracks. "Prophecy", "Birth Of The Wicked", and "The Coming Curse" are not bad songs. They are actually very good songs. Don't get me wrong, but I guess this is the concept of the album, and it's only part of the album. Jon, you know the way to write a good concept album is to use that concept in the entire album, not part of it! You did it very well on The Dark Saga. It made the album and the flow of the songs very consistent.
But enough of the SWTWC-bashing. There are some very high quality tracks on here, which actually helped boost my rating. Some of these include "Watching Over Me", "Disciples Of The Lie", and "Burning Times". "Watching Over Me" is a song written by Schaffer about a friend of his who was killed in a car accident. Matt Barlow's emotional lyrics give the song a lot of vitality, and the lyrics are very inspired and some of the best I've heard in any metal song. A very moving piece of work! Songs like "Disciples Of The Lie", "Burning Times", and "Stand Alone" feature fast riffing and drumming on their onset, to be followed by aggressive, but still clean, Barlow vocals. The aforementioned "Prophecy" is the best song of the "Something Wicked" Trilogy, with very melodic guitar riffing and almost soothing vocals from Barlow.
With that said, this album is solid, but not great. I just wish that Jon Schaffer had thought out the arrangement of the album before writing and recording it....
In Flames - The Jester Race (92%)
In Flames is probably the most popular band out of the Gothenburg "Melodic Death Metal" movement, and many people point to their earlier material as being their best work, before the band decided to cash in on the mallcore scene with albums like Reroute To Remain. Well if you are only familiar with their last two albums and am reading this review for the first time, eliminate any preconceptions that The Jester Race sounds anything like those albums. This album is a melodic death metal classic, and for good reason.
As for the overall sound of the disc, imagine what would happen if you blended the sound of Iron Maiden's guitars with death metal vocals, and you would get much of the material found here. I think this is a great mixture of a power/traditional-based sound with a style of vocals not commonly associated with music this melodic. (The vocals will shift to more of a black metal style on later albums like Colony.) As for the quality of the album, this is top-grade melodic death metal. Songs like "Artifacts Of The Black Rain" and "Dead God In Me" are fairly fast and steady, and the title track has a cool groove to it. There are also some interesting instrumentals here, like "The Jester's Dance", which starts out with an acoustic base and then works into heavier guitar shortly thereafter, and "Wayfaerer", which starts out with some pretty heavy riffs before slowing down later on. "Moonshield" is of the slower variet, but still has a fairly thick guitar sound, and songs like "Lord Hypnos" and "Graveland" are songs that are pretty much templates for the Gothenburg sound. Also, production is top-of-the-line, thanks to Frederik Nordstrom. The guitars and drums sound very clear, and the vocals are not too prominent in the mix as to make them the point of the songs.
So if you want an album that is a good intorduction to the Gothenburg scene, look no further than this disc. As a bonus, this album features the Black Ash Inheritance EP on the remastered digipak.
Life Of Agony - River Runs Red (69%)
Life Of Agony is a band who are pretty good friends with the guys in Type O Negative, and they are from the same area, but one would think that they would not be the Type O Negative clone that they prove to be on River Runs Red. This album is not a Type O Negative ripoff, because Josh Silver produced it (he plays keyboards in Type O as well), and Sal Abruscato (formerly Type O's drummer) plays drums on the record.
Overall the songs are pretty good, but they don't really distinguish themselves from that other band. But in numerous places, there will be a strong head-moving section, only to have it slow down much more towards the middle. Songs like "This Time", "Bad Seed" and "Underground" definitely have their moments though, and the songwriting is fairly strong and consistent as well. But too many of the songs here rely on their friend's band a little too much for influence, causing it to sound like second-rate Type O Negative, especially in the guitar and drum sound, and few songs stand on their own. So if you are picking this up for the first time, expect to hear a lot of Type O in the sound, and not a whole lot of uniqueness.
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes (89%)
Vocals/Rhythm Guitar: Robb Flynn
Lead Guitar: Logan Mader
Bass: Adam Duce
Drums: Chris Kontos
Machine Head are a band that features former Vio-lence guitarist Robb Flynn, and many hardcore thrash fans see this album as a huge disappointment, and perhaps even contributing to the beginning of nu-metal as it's known today. While that argument is somewhat valid, they really don't venture to full-on mallcore until The Burning Red, and my description of BME's sound is closer to bands like Pantera and Testament around the time of the Low album. (Both albums were released the same year.) If you are looking for full-on thrash in the style of Flynn's former band, look elsewhere. Vio-lence is extremely tough to match in terms of heaviness and over-the-top riffing in my opinion, anyhow. But if you are looking for full-on mallcore, I would give you the same advice as above.
The songs on this album are closer to half-thrash / groove than they are to actual thrash, much like Pantera circa 1992. Robb Flynn can definitely sing in an aggressive voice without having to rely on a growl, much like Phil Anselmo. The riffing here seems to rely more on distortion than riff-choppiness, but it seems to work well for them, particularly on songs like "Davidian", "A Thousand Lies", and "Death Church". "A Thousand Lies" has an interesting third verse, lyrically, as it is quite political - basically taliking about the Persian Gulf War of 1991. "Real Eyes, Reilize, Real Lies" is also an interesting piece of work, and the soundbites here appear to be from the time of the controversy surrounding the Rodney King beatings. "Blood For Blood" is the closest that Machine Head have come to actual thrash, as this is the song that seems to have the choppiest riffs and has the best guitar solo on the album, and there is fast drumming on this song to boot. "Old" and "Block" are some of the faster tracks on this album, with "The Rage To Overcome", "Death Church" and "I'm Your God Now" being much slower.
This is an album for Pantera fans and fans of groove based metal. The hardcore thrash fans might not like this album, but I think this is a good album, although this is the first (and last) good album they will make for quite a while.
Machine Head - The Burning Red (35%)
Vocals/Guitar: Robb Flynn
Guitar: Ahrue Luster
Bass: Adam Duce
Drums: Dave McClain
What the hell has entered the creative mind of Rob Flynn? Does he even have any creativity left? Are you trying to sell out to rap-metal just because it's the big thing right now and no other band wants to make another album in the vein of Burn My Eyes, Rob? Yes, the band once known as Machine Head who made a masterpiece called Burn My Eyes has issued a pile of pretentious mallcore crap.
"Enter The Phoenix" greets us first, and while it's not a bad intro, it goes into "Desire To Fire", which feature rapped, yes, rapped verses. The guitar playing on here is abysmal, with almost no gain to be found in any of the riffs.
"Nothing Left" and "The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears" are up next, and these have even more generic mallcore, 3 (or more)-step downtuned guitar riffs, and the drumming is of the "bass-snare", "bass-snare" variety, giving the songs no energy of any kind whatsoever.
"Silver" is the next track, and while the riffing is OK and the singing in the chorus is at least bearable, the vocals in the verses are extremely whiny vocals. I believe there was a band called Linkin Park that copied this vocal style, perhaps even from you Rob. Feces.
What's that I hear, another rap song? Well the next track "From This Day" is just that. And more downtuned, uninspired riffs, especially during the start of the song.
"Exhale The Vile", yup, you've got it - more downtuned riffs and pretentious mallcore vocals.
"Message In A Bottle" obviously is a Police cover, and it's done in a way that would make Sting not only cry, but contemplate suicide over. What is with these mallcore riffs and generic vocals? Ok, the drumming is OK; it shows up in the second verse, but that's about it. The lone saving grace of this cover.
"I Defy" = teen angst lyrics. The musicianship is almost as bad.
"Five". Isn't this listed as track 11?
I used to like the title track, which closes the album thank god, but it's too slow compared even with the slower tracks of Burn My Eyes and The More Things Change. And this time we have Rob Flynn sounding like he's crying like a baby, I swear to god I ain't kidding you! Hey Rob, I thought you were a metal singer! Some of your nu-metal friends are whiny, but you're blatting on this, this sounds so bad! Ok, the guitar playing is somewhat interesting. That's all I can commend you on for that song.
Fans of Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Korn and the like will eat this stuff up. People who prefer the Burn My Eyes-era Machine Head, steer way clear of this one! You'll thank me for it.
Meshuggah - Destroy, Erase, Improve (89%)
Vocals: Jens Kidman
Lead Guitar: Frederik Thordenal
Rhythm Guitar: Marten Hagstrom
Bass: Peter Nordin
Drums: Tomas Haake
This is the first Meshuggah album that I owned, and the album that would eventually get me into melodic death metal. As much as I hate Chaosphere and Nothing, this is an excellent album. It's inventive, unique, and thrashy, all at the same time. And in fact, I don't see how it would be possible to not headbang and mosh to this album.
"Future Breed Machine" greets us first with a very futuristic sound to it with a death alarm sounding throughout. Tomas Haake's drumming is some of the best to come out of the country of Sweden, where the band also happens to hail from. Plus, the rhythm guitar work and riffs are very heavy as well. Vocals are shouty on all tracks, as the vocalist sounds a little like Max Cavalera of Sepultura. "Beneath" is the next track, and starts out with sharp lead guitar work at its onset, before working into a heavier riff pattern. Once again, the drumming is out of control, but very good at the same time. "Soul Burn" has a nice guitar solo from about the 2:45 to the 3:38 mark, and also features some excellent riffing. "Transfixion" is more thrashy and less groovy than the songs on either side of it, and once again, there are some brutally heavy riffs and solid lead guitar work. The drumming on "Transfixion" and "Vanished" has to be seen to be believed, it's amazing the eye to detail that Haake shows to his work.
"Acrid Placidity" is a fairly mellow-sounding instrumental, highlighted by the lead guitar work. "Inside What's Within Behind" has a pulsing rhythm in the beginning, and then works into those crazy off-beat drum rhythms that have defined Meshuggah's career. Then, at about the 2:35 mark, a softer, yet spooky sounding interlude works in, before ending on a heavy note. "Terminal Illusions" is full of stop-and-go riffs and thrash-style drums, after you get done headbanging to this song, your head will feel like it's ready to fall off. "Suffer In Truth" is the next track, is the most cohesive of the songs found here, with not as much staccato being used as on the other tracks here. Instead, it is a groove-based track, as the rhythm here is fairly steady. "Sublevels" is softer, but ends on a strong note, with a good guitar solo at the 1:52 - 2:40 mark.
If you're into death, melodic death, or industrial metal, this is another can't miss album. If you're looking to get someting from Meshuggah, DEI is the best place to start.