It actually took me many listens to before I thought about giving 'The Stench Of Redemption' a comprehensive review. This is the first album with the new Deicide lineup the Hoffman brothers are out now Jack Owen (ex-CANNIBAL CORPSE guitarist) and Ralph Santolla (ex-ICED EARTH guitarist) replaced them. In my honest opinion, I think Ralph's solos are brilliant lightning fast this guy reigns in this department. Amazingly enough, Steve Asheim their long time drummer wrote all the music for this album! The new guitarists wrote the leads and harmonies they did a damn good job! People have said that Glen's vocals are the best in years but honestly I think they were quite monotonous and boring. But to me it's better that I don't know what he's saying because all of his lyrics over the years he's bashed Christianity and promoted Satanism. Maybe he adheres to his convictions that he's laid out on all Deicide lyrics. I think his vocals were the best on the first 2 Deicide releases on their debut release self-entitled Glen sounded possessed! The songs are longer then they ever have been "The Lord's Sedition" being the longest! I honestly think that they are however less catchy now. I favored the Hoffman brothers riffs and leads though Jack and Ralph do a great job in the rhythm/lead guitar department. It's just that Deicide seemed to click more when the Hoffman brothers were in the band although I think 'Serpents Of The Light' was their last great album with the band afterwards it seemed as though they just got lazy. 'The Stench Of Redemption' is worth checking out because it is aggressive, dark, and different plus Deicide seems to be revived now this release is one of their best out of the 8 studio releases by them. I never favored Glen's topics in the lyrical scene but they just reflect the band's name which Deicide means "The Killing Of All Gods". This release is over 40 minutes in length and my opinion has changed regarding it's effectiveness in reflecting the death metal genre (which Glen doesn't agree with). Check it out at least the title track and "Desecration" which are my favorite tracks. They also cover DEEP PURPLE on the last song the lyrics were re-written by Glen and the music is death metal just the melodies are based on the original artist's work.

This album hasn't been that extensively reviewed like it should be though the existing ones have done it some justice. 'Harvest' is a blend of actually 2 genres of metal blackened death metal and pure black metal. I have not heard previous releases by this band but they used to according to the data be strictly black metal. The lyrics are a perfect match for the music -- they are basically about death, dying, suicide and severe depression. Each song is melodic pretty much all featuring blast beats, melodic guitar riffs, "Wrath's" sick vocals and some blinding solos (on a few tracks).  I conclude that there are no weak points to this album. It's well mixed, each instrument/vocals aren't lacking anything really amazing release. There are however many tempo changes to the songs not everything is just blast beating frenzies. The melodic parts are really amazing and original. They stand alone here with 'Harvest' being dubbed by some to be one of the top releases of this year. Not enough people into metal have heard this though I encourage everyone that likes black metal, death metal and blackened death metal to purchase this as soon as possible! I doubt that you will dislike it in any way. If this work sounds promising now to you check out some tracks such as "Into The Black", "The Darkest Road" and the title track "Harvest". These are my favorite songs though I love all of them! If you aren't able to find any of their songs on the Internet then I suggest that you just purchase the album! Check out Naglfar's home page at www.naglfar.net.

This by far will remain (in my opinion) the first full-length and best Mayhem output to date. The production sound with all of the instruments have such an evil/Satanic vibe to the overall sound of this masterpiece. There is such an enormous history with Mayhem and several line-up changes because of suicide, murder, and melancholia associated with the band members. I won't touch on the full history here I merely wish to speak in terms of the album and why I like many others consider this release to be a masterpiece which influenced so many black metal outfits. Beginning this onslaught is the up-tempo guitar output by Euronymous, Varg (whose bass tracks were mixed in lower than the original sound because of his murdering of Euronymous) and Hellhammer dishing out some fast-paced drum bits. I think Euronymous did make a good choice on who did vocals for this album which was Attila from Holland. His vocals are like no others and tremendously eerie. Of course most Mayhem fans praised "Dead" as the best Mayhem vocalist I'd say that Attila does a good job making the record sound more demonic/Satanic in tone. Dead wrote the lyrics to this release however the band made the album a tribute to Euronymous and his passing back in 1994. For further information about the band check out http://www.mayhem.ontheweb.nl/ which is their official site or the book "Lords Of Chaos" has a new edition out on paperback. Every track on this release is absolutely masterminded as the tempo changes, the vocals and drums don't just fit well altogether they fit like no other black metal release I've heard. Although the lead guitar isn't the greatest it still meshes well into the song's rhythm guitar output. 8 tracks of pure Norwegian Satanic black metal is what you get here. Even though Euronymous played on a Les Paul he had a pedal which brought the sound to having a purely distorted tone to it. I really like the tempo changes there are boughts of intensity lurking among most tracks variation, precision, and talent is entirely evident even though the production sound of the guitar is a bit muddled though you can still make out the riffs and bass. Attila's vocals are entirely undecipherable unless you read the lyrics to this. They are very well thought out, dark and mysterious but that is what others thought of "Dead" was. Not to mention that his severe melancholia killed him he still was able to write 8 awesome songs to accompany the music to this. I personally like the intro track "Funeral Fog" it has much riff variety to it but overall it's pretty fast/up-tempo especially the drum parts Hellhammer completely dominates! But also check out "Pagan Fears". Each track is lengthy and anything but boring. These songs deserve utmost praise to them!

Line-up:
Attila Csihar - Vocals
Hellhammer - Drums
Varg Vikernes - Bass
Euronymous - Guitar

Track Listing:
1. Funeral Fog
2. Freezing Moon
3. Cursed in Eternity
4. Pagan Fears
5. Life Eternal
6. From the Dark Past
7. Buried by Time and Dust
8. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

Length 46:01

The opener "Weltschmerz" is very slow - a slow segue into an absolute grindcore frenzy! These grind legends refuse to compromise their style and "slow down". Mitch Harris aiding in the backup vocal onslaught with high pitched screaming then "Barney" bellowing most of the way with guest backup by Anneke van Giersbergen (vocalist from "The Gathering"). In my opinion, no release will ever dominate over "Harmony Corruption" - the band's 1991 release featuring the legendary drummer in my mind Mick Harris. Danny Herrera has definitely improved since "Utopia Banished" but I think no Grind drummer can replace Mick Harris. Definitely pick up "Live Corruption" on VHS that home video featuring Mick Harris (drums), Jesse Pintado RIP (guitars), Mitch Harris (guitars) and Shane Embury (bass), Mark "Barney" Greenway (vocals). "Smear Campaign" really was a "team" effort of pure Grindcore everyone here simply dominated! There is variety on this album though it isn't completely blast beating like "From Enslavement To Obliteration". It is really catchy riff-wise and I loved the variations in the vocal department. Mitch Harris and Shane Embury making great contributions in the songwriting (music) and Barney wrote some song lyrics as well. The outro to this release was taken from DEATH's "Symbolic" song... If you want to know some awesome tracks to listen to first before you purchase this then check out "Puritanical Punishment Beating", "Freedom Is The Wage Of Sin", "Sink Fast, Let Go", "Identity Crisis" and "Warped Beyond Logic". They give you an idea of what to expect on this release! Own it now!!!

Line-up:
Mark "Barney" Greenway – Vocals
Shane Embury – Bass
Mitch Harris – Guitar, Backing vocals
Danny Herrera – Drums
Anneke van Giersbergen – Guest vocals on "Weltschmerz" and "In Deference"

Track Listing:
1. Weltschmerz – 1:27
2. Sink Fast, Let Go – 3:22
3. Fatalist – 2:50
4. Puritanical Punishment Beating – 3:25
5. When All Is Said And Done – 3:00
6. Freedom Is the Wage of Sin – 3:08
7. In Deference – 3:13
8. Short-Lived – 3:05
9. Identity Crisis – 2:43
10. Shattered Existence – 3:10
11. Eyes Right Out – 3:13
12. Call That an Option? – 3:02
13. Warped Beyond Logic – 1:59
14. Rabid Wolves (For Christ) – 1:23
15. Deaf And Dumbstruck (Intelligent Design) – 2:45
16. Persona Non Grata – 2:46
17. Smear Campaign – 2:47

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smear_Campaign_%28album%29"

It's been quite some time since I've heard this release... I'd have to say that the first few times listening to it overall I did not like it because honestly I like David Vincent's vocals more and Richard Brunelle on lead guitar. But this is far in the past however Vincent did re-join the band. I don't wish to discredit Eric Rutan I think his rhythm section is way powerful. Trey worked on pretty much every instrument plus wrote most of the material Tucker and Rutan wrote only a few. Pete Sandoval still on drums after all of these years of death metal frenzy with Morbid Angel his efforts here are still commendable.Morbid Angel slowed WAY down on Gateways To Annihilation though there are some blast beating overall the songs are slower but very very catchy. Just check out "Summoning Redemption" and you'll know what I'm referring to. The songs are longer as well but one department that was mediocre were the guitar leads. But the rhythm guitar pieces make the album more intriguing and definitely worth purchasing. The vocal area has very little variation to it Steve Tucker doing most of the low-end vox and Trey is featured only a bit overall on this release. The guitars are tuned low I think to B-flat which makes the whole aura of the album so very HEAVY and transient. Everything on here seems to flow pretty well even though I had the little discrepency with the lead guitars here. "Gateways To Annihilation" I think reigns in the top three best Morbid Angel releases to date. The others being (in my opinion) are "Alters Of Madness" and "Blessed Are The Sick". However, pretty much all of Morbid Angel releases I'm content with these albums merely the highlights in their discography. Gateways is definitely worth picking up if you're looking for death/doom metal!!! 
Recorded, mixed and mastered at Morrisound Recording, Tampa, FL.
Produced by Morbid Angel & Jim Morris. Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Jim Morris.

Line-up:
Trey Azagthoth: Guitars, Guitar Synth, Vocals
Steve Tucker: Bass, Vocals
Erik Rutan: Guitars, Keyboards
Pete Sandoval: Drums

Track Listing:
1. Kawazu
2. Summoning Redemption
3. Ageless, Still I Am
4. He Who Sleeps
5. To The Victor The Spoils
6. At One With Nothing
7. Opening Of The Gates
8. Secured Limitations
9. Awakening
10. I
11. God Of The Forsaken

Total Playing Time: 44:25.
Retreived from http://www.morbidangel.com/

When I went to purchase this release, even the woman at the record store made a comment (malicious) about the cover of this Cannibal Corpse release. It was of course of the Uncensored version. You can get this CD + DVD all in one the DVD is on the making of "The Wretched Spawn". It seems as though in every new release Cannibal Corpse has a more gory cover to send the public the message that they will never compromise their music genre/style whatsoever. Unfortunately this is the last release featuring Jack Owen on guitar who now is in DEICIDE to replace one of the Hoffman guitarists. Rob Barett (ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION guitarist) has now replaced Jack Owen. I think it's safe to say that "The Wretched Spawn" is the most technical Cannibal Corpse release that I've heard. However, the songs are not as catchy as they are on "Butchered At Birth" which is my personal favorite album by Cannibal Corpse. The songs (lyrics & music) were written by most of the band members except Corpsegrinder who just spewed forth the lyrics in mostly a low bellowing end with less screams then previous releases (such as "Gore Obsessed"). The lead guitar from Owen and O'brien were to me just average not performed on every track only a few or so. O'brien is more technical than Owen in my opinion. But both guitar players as well as Alex Webster wrote some good riffs. As I said, it's to me it's the most technical release by them though some tracks there were slower riffs which added more variety to the album. Overall, "The Wretched Spawn" is I would say in the top 3 of the best Cannibal Corpse releases that I've heard (I have yet to hear "Kill" their newest release). Some tracks to check out are "Cyanide Assassin", "Psychotic Precision", "The Wretched Spawn" (title track) and "Nothing Left To Mutilate". It was a good idea to actually know more about the band with that DVD that it comes with. Gives you a better conglomeration as to how these guys make recordings and what all is involved. Pick up "The Wretched Spawn" if you are wishing to hear some good technical death metal!!!

Hearing this release years ago didn't strike me as much as it has recently. As a complete 5-piece lineup, CC blows away every previous release since "Butchered At Birth". The band seemed to fit all of the riffing, lyrics/vocals, bass and drums into a complete death metal onslaught masterpiece!  Every track on here is like a 9/10 or 10/10 because everything fit in so well plus a great production by Colin Richardson. Corpsegrinder is more technical here vocal-wise plus he exhibits more screams on this release than previous ones pretty much in perfect time and precision with the rest of the band. Both guitarists (O'brien & Owen) blew forth some great solo work that in combination with Alex Webster on bass they arranged their songwriting into being technical but very very catchy riffs! There are no complaints here about boring guitar or mediocre band performance. Cannibal Corpse absolutely crushes with "Bloodthirst"! The artwork once again is devious but not as extreme as "The Wretched Spawn". Nevertheless, a gory cover revealing songs to be heard by absolutely every death metal fan! The most notorious tracks on here (but all of them rule) would be the opener "Pounded Into Dust", "The Spine Splitter" and "Sickening Metamorphasis". Of course the lyrics are vile as previous releases as are more recent releases as well. They represent Cannibal Corpse well because they really give the idea that they are a band not to be reckoned with. Their style WILL never change.

Line-up:
George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher - Vocals
Alex Webster - Bass
Pat O'Brien - Guitars
Jack Owen - Guitars
Paul Mazurkiewicz - Drums
(Retrieved from http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/disc_bloodthirst.php)

Track Listing:
1. "Pounded Into Dust" – 2:17
2. "Dead Human Collection" – 2:30
3. "Unleashing The Bloodthirsty" – 3:50
4. "The Spine Splitter" – 3:10
5. "Ecstacy iI Decay" – 3:12
6. "Raped By The Beast" – 2:34
7. "Coffinfeeder" – 3:04
8. "Hacksaw Decapitation" – 4:12
9. "Blowtorch Slaughter" – 2:33
10. "Sickening Metamorphosis" – 3:23
11. "Condemned To Agony" – 3:44
(Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodthirst")

After closely analyzing this 13 track release (the bonus CD includes 15) "God Hates Us All" I'd go so far in saying that this is their best output since "Reign In Blood" or "Seasons In The Abyss".  The main reason is that it has all of the characteristics in making a great thrash metal record: aggression, anger, heavy/speed filled riffing, hatred spewed lyrics and blaring leads with some wah-pedal enhanced ones as well. In an interview Jeff Hanneman quotes "then we got our shit together, went up to Vancouver and made a record" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Hates_Us_All).  The opening track is more of a segue to the next 12 tracks "Disciple". It being the blaring of distorted guitar riffs and drums in timing with this a load of aggression. Kerry King wrote 80% of the lyrics and they're not just mindless "Satan this and that" they are yes hate filled but more intriguing to read than older releases because I think it's a portrayal of what kind of society America has become. With each new track there are definite high points that outweigh the mediocre riffing. I'd say there isn't really a track on here that doesn't display talent by these thrash veterans. As this is their 8th studio release Slayer did well on the charts when this was released on September 11, 2001. There was some setbacks that they had to endure part of which was the making of the cover artwork which revealed the slight burning of the Holy Bible. Lead trade-offs by Hanneman and King (Hanneman is a bit more technical in this department) and Araya screaming these lyrics Slayer comes together to dominate! He (Araya) actually studied about Serial Killers in writing some of the songs on this release. As I said, the lyrical content is wholly violent but less about Satanism and more about reality. There were some tracks recorded with a 7-string guitar and the rest of the release they're in E-flat (for all of you guitar players out there!). If you're not convinced by my praise of this release then download "Disciple", "God Send Death" and "New Faith" (tracks 2, 3, and 4) then you'll know what I'm talking about. The riffs just stick in your head and the drumming was well executed by Paul Bostaph (ex-FORBIDDEN drummer). Bostaph was forced to leave the band because of a chronic left elbow injury so he wasn't able to drum for the rest of the "God Hates Us All" tour. However, Kerry King gave ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo a ring and he filled in. Now he's back as a permanent drummer for Slayer! I would hardly call this "metalcore" this is to me a great thrash release by these veterans. They never really abdicated their roots just to please fans. "God Hates Us All" should be within the top 5 Slayer recordings out of their entire discography! Get it if you haven't already!!!

I got this CD the day it came out and man was I disappointed. I expected after 4 years that Deicide would come out with a quality release. But it seems that with each succeeding release they keep getting worse and worse. My view of this release has changed drastically though. Even though they slowed down a lot I still think that the songs are quality. Why such a change in view with this?  My reason is because I think that it is OK that they are trying something new instead of constantly blast beating everywhere and hyper fast guitar riffs/vocals. A lot of people I've talked to about this think that it's because Deicide is lazy in their songwriting with each new release. I think that with their anti-Christian stance and Satanic imagery hasn't changed only the songwriting style. I think that 'Insineratehymn' they just tried a different approach to their songwriting. I know that I myself have bashed this album to death because I expected another 'Self-Titled' or 'Legion'. I've concluded that bands change if everything was the same with their style then it would make their image predictable. I'd say that only the lyrics are predictable but the way the Hoffman's write their riffs and solos on this one they did a decent job not the best of course in my opinion but at least it's different. It took Glen I think 3 months to write the lyrics... His vocal style hasn't changed much just gotten deeper and with this one just a few backup screams that's about all. Most of it is a little slower in vox but still decent and filled with hate against God. As to if he is truly a Satanist that is in question. But having a branded inverted cross on your forehead there really shouldn't be in question that he is a Satanist. I've just talked to a few people about this and they uttered that it was just the image he wants to portray that he really isn't one. Well, I suppose it doesn't matter but I was always convinced that he was one. Steve has always delivered quality drum tracks on all Deicide releases. I can't think of an album where he slacks off. Here on 'Insineratehymn' my view hasn't changed. He has always been consistent, talented, up to par on every song no matter how complex the guitar tracks have been. Since 'Insineratehymn' is slower he still has some quality drumming here. In conclusion, I suggest that you give 'Insineratehymn' a fair shake before you make your conclusion on the album's integrity. Just because they slowed down here does not mean that the songs aren't quality. Check out "Bible Basher", "Standing In The Flames", "Suffer Again" and "The Gift That Keeps On Giving".

When I first listened to this I have to be honest and say that I thought that it was the absolute WORST Slayer release out of their entire discography. But upon repeated listens to and reading over the lyrics this album has seemed to grow on me. I'll always deem "Reign In Blood" to be their overall best album ever but "Christ Illusion" isn't that bad even though to me in the first couple of listens I thought that they sounded tired, lacked innovation, and overall 10 boring tracks. Some people have blatantly uttered that Araya's vocals are their worst ever. I disagree with that he's 45 and to me still kicking ass with his vocals/bass efforts. He still utters aggressive vocals to these hate filled lyrics written mostly by Kerry King as are pretty much all of the songs. Araya to me will always be a kick ass front-man for Slayer. Not only does he scream relentlessly there is some variety in the vocals in that there are some spoken words and less aggressive throat when appropriate. Both guitarists sound like they slowed down some on their leads... Hanneman used to be more technical and I remember reading a Slayer article years ago that he said he wanted it to be written on the songs whose lead was whose so that there wouldn't be any confusion as to who to me was better in this department. Jeff would probably hate to hear that I'm saying this but it seems that he's slowed down some. Kerry is at about the same that he's been but a bit slowed down as well. The fact that Dave Lombardo is still behind the drum set will always be a great commodity to Slayer because to me he's always seemed to layout the best drum tracks more so than Paul Bostaph ever has been able to put forth. On this release the drum tracks are a bit slowed down just to mesh well with the guitar tracks. He was right though back in the 80's (with a few caveats) when he said that Slayer will never change their style of music. The guitars here are tuned down some making the tracks seem a little heavier even though the tempos are less intense. There are some songs on here that start off sounding pretty weak which then end up to actually dominate! One example here is the track "Cult". It starts off with a muddy slow slightly distorted guitar but ends up being a pretty kick ass song rhythmically. Of course also Araya utters some anti-Christian lyrics on this song as well. I think that the future of Slayer writing more than 2-3 albums following this release are slim. Araya already uttered his age (45) and that Slayer is going to call it quits soon. "Christ Illusion" is their 9th studio release so yes they are aging but the legacy of Slayer will always live on. They've for the most part have stayed true to their thrash Metal roots and anti-Christian stance on songwriting even though they are not Satanists. What I'd like to utter lastly would be that with Rick Rubin's help on the production the songs have been well laid out as in most previous releases as well. My favorite tracks would have to be: "Flesh Storm", "Skeleton Christ", "Catatonic" and "Catalyst". Get this release and to hear some kick ass thrash metal!!!

A favorer of thrash metal I am and let me tell you that "Thrash Anthems" simply dominates. Still kicking ass at their age these German thrashers compiled an awesome "Best Of" CD. With modern recording makes this release that much more dominating. In the past I'd have to conclude that their recordings were production-wise way under par ("Infernal Overkill" and "Eternal Devastation/Mad Butcher") are prime examples of this. Mike on guitars tunes down I think to D-tuning previously everything was pretty much in standard tuning. This makes the recording sound much heavier. Schmier once again as frontman/bassist and Marc on drums/backing vocals. If you liked "Inventor Of Evil" then "Thrash Anthems" is definitely for you! There are 2 new tracks ("Profanity" & "Depostition") pretty kick ass! If you are a fan of previous Destruction releases don't miss out on some great re-recordings here. Mike on guitars adds a little variety to each re-recorded song they aren't exactly as they were played on previous releases he fine tunes them but still bad ass! Schmier's vocal onslaught is much more like the older releases... Very  unique and kick ass with Marc also helping but on this department. Over 70 minutes of killer thrash metal!!! Don't miss out pick up "Thrash Anthems" ASAP!

There lies a controversy whether this was a studio version live CD or an actual live CD. In either case, this release simply is thrash metal domination! All of the classic Destruction songs featured on here!!! Destruction never abandoned their thrash roots and this release is a good example. Their first few releases ("Sentence Of Death", "Infernal Overkill", & "Mad Butcher/Eternal Devastation") lacked good productions but there was definitely some classic tracks on those albums featured here on this live release which is well produced and executed. What captivated me was Harry's guitar solo (just him without the rest of the band) showing his amazing talent executing incredible licks. The drums by Olly Kaiser are simply pounding with extreme intensity well composed in synchrony with the rest of the band. He replaced their previous drummerTommy Sandmann who was featured exclusively on "Sentence Of Death". This 4-some display some real talent here both guitars (Mike Sifringer & Harry Wilkens) in great synchrony with each other though the bass guitar by Marcel Schirmer (Schmier) was not in my opinion loud enough and Olly Kaiser very solid effort on drums. Destruction in my opinion has always displayed original types of riffing and unique vocals by Schmier with lyrics touching on various aspects such as religion, depression, and composing awesome "Thrash Anthems" which is evident on this release. The riffs are not extremely technical if you are a guitarist you probably like myself take note of this but still original sounding and excellently executed. On a sour note though this really does sound like a live studio release than an actual live release with a "real" crowd. It is well produced and mixed no doubt but the fact that I think it was recorded in a studio will take some points away from my overall rating of the album. But still the track "Mad Butcher" is probably the best overall song they've ever released from their point of origin till present day (though "Inventor Of Evil" has some amazing songs on it). Incredible display of both guitarists in synchrony on the lead to this song (about halfway through it) Destruction just plain kicks ass!!! If you are into thrash metal with songwriting originality (at least in terms of the guitar works) this release is worth picking up (despite the live studio release controversy which Schmier denies that it was a live studio recording but that it was actually recorded live).

Track Listing:
1. Curse The Gods
2. Unconscious Ruins
3. Thrash Attack
4. Invincible Force
5. Dissatisfied Existence
6. Reject Emotions
7. Eternal Ban
8. Mad Butcher
9. Pink Panther/Life Without Sense
10. In The Mood/Release From Agony
11. Bestial Invasion
 
 

2 awesome releases packed into 1 CD!!! The downside of the albums would have to be the productions but looking past those factors I'd say these are classics to own. If you are into thrash metal then you need these!!! Of course there's been a lineup change but for these releases there's Harry on rhythm/lead guitar, Mike also on rhythm/lead guitar, Schmier on bass/vocals and Olly on drums. I think their most famous song ever still till this date is "Mad Butcher". It's played a little differently than on "Sentence Of Death". It's much better on this release hands down. Anyway, Schmier's unique vocals under the rhythm guitar bits simply awesome! They also mix some acoustic/clean electric guitar bits on here. Quite a diverse 2 releases Destruction remains my favorite thrash metal act also because they did not abandon their thrash metal roots. Besides the track "Mad Butcher", there are many classics on these including the cover of the Plasmatics "The Damned", "Reject Emotions", "Curse The Gods", "Life Without Sense" and "Eternal Ban". These songs are also on their "Live Without Sense" release. Again, looking beyond the lousy productions and just focusing on the music here lies some of Destruction's greatest songs!!! You should be able to pick this up under 10 dollars at your local record store that is if they have a diverse selection.

Track listing:
1. Mad Butcher
2. The Damned
3. Reject Emotions
4. The Last Judgement
5. Curse The Gods
6. Confused Games
7. Life Without Sense
8. United By Hatred
9. Eternal Ban
10. Upcoming Devastation
11. Confused Minds

I'd have to conclude that this is Deicide's last good album because not only does it carry with it the similar characterists of their previous releases but it still contains the originality in the guitar riffs definitely. Of course lyrically Glen writes his usual hatred towards the higher power or God if you will plus the album cover depicts Jesus Christ simply looking like a Demonic figure as Glen utters that we be "free of Jesus Christ". Honestly, I have never really been into the Satanic lyrics just the music is what got me hooked to Deicide. Now that the Hoffman brothers are not longer in the band Glen says in a Terrorizer magazine that they are the "ding-dong brothers". Not much respect for the amazing riffs and solos they've been able to display their talent but we won't touch
on that further in this review. There is less high-pitched vocals here though there are still backup screams though not as Demonic as their earlier releases like "Legion" or their ultra Demonic debut "Deicide - Deicide". In terms of the music it's still brutal and catchy as hell. The solos are also amazing especially the numerous and flawless ones throughout the entire release check out especially the intro to "Slave To The Cross". The guitar riffs aren't as technical as their older material but still very noteworthy and heavy as all hell. I'd have to say that they were NOT as a whole lazy on this release it seems to still portray their talent in songwriting. Though they exhibited less blast beating drums by Steve Asheim he still does a great job staying in sync with the guitars. There isn't a track on here that I dislike at all because they still proved to the metal community that after the years of being one of the leading Floridian death metal acts showing us they can still kick major ass! If you are eager to know which tracks to download first I would suggest getting "Believe The Lie", "I Am No One", "Bastards Of Christ" and "Serpents Of The Light". This will give you an idea of what the album has to offer some great tracks and I would consider them to be the best ones on the album. The production is by Deicide and Scott Burns-Scott now retired still does a great job production wise. The album is loud and evenly mixed to near perfection. All of the tracks in great synchrony, heavy and hate filled Deicide is notorious for. The artwork by Nizen R. Lopez quite sick and portraying the son of God as Demonic as possible. Glen's vocals are deep and anything but boring because of the backup voice to go with the insane music. The Hoffman brothers still amaze me with their talent in riffing and soloing. It's too bad they are no longer a part of the band because they seemed to me to captivate the listener in every release up until this album. I wouldn't really recommend purchasing "Insineratehymn", "Scars Of The Crucifix" or "In Torment In Hell" because these releases are way way below their talent. They seemed on these releases to just put in half assed work that's why I consider "Serpents Of The Light" to be their last good album. Even though "The Stench Of Redemption" is their effort to redeem themselves I still think it's lacking because the Hoffman brothers to me were the core of the band. "Serpents Of The Light" is an album that depicts Deicide's true talent in songwriting plus its originality in every respect even though the lyrics are anti-Christian the music draws the listener in to every single song. Anyone who thinks that "Serpents Of The Light" was half-assed well they don't truly admire the amazing songwriting Deicide was notorious for from their self-titled release to "Legion" to "Once Upon The Cross" to "Serpents Of The Light". If you are a true death metal fan then you need "Serpents Of The Light" to add to your collection because it is truly remarkable in pretty much every single respect!

This is a follow-up from their reigning debut Deicide - self titled release. Personally, I think it IS the best Deicide still within their entire discography. "Legion" is quite technical in the songwriting structure (guitars) probably their most technical to date. I would say this release deserves an honorary mention not for just it's complexity but because it is to me original, aggressive as all hell, demonic and I consider it to be one of the top Death Metal albums to date. Just under 30 minutes in length from the beginning of this album till it's ultimate end seems flawless and balls out intensity. The intro is a backwards voice chanting "Satan Spawn The Caco-Daemon" then enter the band with the opening riff that's remarkably fast but catchy as is this entire album. The riff-structure to all of the songs are noteworthy, technical, and simply reigns over pretty much all of the death metal releases I've ever heard. I think that this is a release that can never be considered "played out" by the listener because each listen to you hear the guitar, vocals and drums that never compromise in songwriting style. Glen Benton (vocals & bass) combines hoarse, deep vocals with occasional back-up screams reminiscent of their debut in which this was exclusively done. The leads by both Brian Hoffman and Eric Hoffman are filled with sweeps, arpeggios, and whammy bar chaos. If you're now eager and never heard "Legion" by Deicide I'd suggest that you check out these tracks: "Trifixion" and "Holy Deception". Of course this album's lyrical content deals with anti-Christian topics which is of no surprise since their front man Glen Benton is a Satanist. This is one release to save in your "best of" archive of one of the greatest death metal albums ever.

Track listing:
1. "Satan Spawn, the Caco-Daemon" – 4:26
2. "Dead But Dreaming" – 3:13
3. "Repent to Die" – 3:59
4. "Trifixion" – 2:57
5. "Behead the Prophet (No Lord Shall Live)" – 3:44
6. "Holy Deception" – 3:19
7. "In Hell I Burn" – 4:36
8. "Revocate the Agitator" – 2:47

Credits:
Glen Benton - Bass, Vocals
Brian Hoffman - Guitar
Eric Hoffman - Guitar
Steve Asheim - Drums

This release is truly a classic Swedish death metal album! Lower tuned guitars (I think B or C-tuning) make this sound much heavier. The production was not bad everything seems to mix in properly so no complaints there. It is too bad that they don't play this kind of music any longer. I'd say pick up this release and "Clandestine" their follow-up album. Vocals are low not much variety (i.e. not many screams) but still it fits the music well. I think that the best part of this release is the guitar riffs. They are heavy and unrelenting plus the solos were quality too by both Uffe and Alex. I remember when this came out I definitely played it out! To me, all the songs are unique. Even though this not my favorite style of this genre (death metal) overall I really enjoyed the vocals, guitars, and drums. There were not that many Swedish death metal acts that I particularly enjoy but this is definitely a classic release. I really like the tone to the guitars... But overall this band plays some awesome Swedish death metal. As I said before everything meshes in perfectly thanks to Tomas Skogsberg.

Track listing:
1. Left Hand Path
2. Drowned
3. Revel In Flesh
4.When Life Has Ceased
5. Supposed To Rot
6. But Life Goes On
7. Bitter Loss
8. Morbid Devourment
9. Abnormally Deceased
10. The Truth Beyond
11. Carnal Leftovers
12. Premature Autopsy

Band:
Lars-G?ran Petrov - Vocals
Uffe Cederlund - Guitars/Bass
Alex Hellid - Guitars
Nicke Andersson - Drums/Bass

"Whoracle" to me is the best In Flames release. It is considered to be a "Concept Album" "which describes the past, present, and a hypothetical future of the planet Earth" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whoracle). There isn't really a track on here that I dislike though I think the production could've been a bit better than what it came out sounding as. That is one of the only real "beef" I had about it besides the drum efforts. The lyrics to this release are highly esoteric and intellectual then of course they cover DEPECHE MODE's "Everything Counts" which has a killer use of the wah-pedal played by one of the guitarists. "Whoracle" is an astounding
portrayal of melodic death metal played to perfection. This album was extremely well thought out very much like the melodies in "The Jester Race" which was their previous release in which I am dubbing as their second best album. As far as the vocals are concerned they are primarily high-end screams to these awesome lyrics with some variation but not much. The rhythm and lead guitar is impeccable well worthy of praise. I especially enjoyed all of the leads/melodies which fit precisely into the rest of the band in synchrony and to me virtually flawless. I can't stress that enough because the guitars had me captivated. I'd say the least effective parts on "Whoracle" are the drums. Though well in synchrony also there isn't anything spectacular about the drums on this release. I think that if they had a solid drummer here it would've been even more to my liking of "Whoracle". Tracks that I would advocate downloading if you've never heard this release are: "Jotun", "Gyroscope" and "Episode 666". These in my opinion are the best tracks even though I view all of them to be phenomenal. This album remains to be one of my favorite melodic death metal releases ever. Check out those tracks and if you're not convinced then I'd suggest you hear the songs more than once. You can download some of these tracks here: http://www.secret-face.com/id20.htm.  Just scroll down and you'll see "Whoracle" on my playlist.

Track Listing:
1. "Jotun" – 3:53
2. "Food for the Gods" – 4:21
3. "Gyroscope" – 3:26
4. "Dialogue With The Stars" – 3:00
5. "The Hive" – 4:03
6. "Jester Script Transfigured" – 5:46
7. "Morphing Into Primal" – 3:05
8. "Worlds Within The Margin" – 5:06
9. "Episode 666" – 3:45
10. "Everything Counts" (Depeche Mode Cover) – 3:17
11. "Whoracle" – 2:44
12. "Man Made God" (Bonus Track From 2004 Deluxe Edition) - 4:13

Musicians:
Anders Frid?n - Vocals, Percussion, Engineer
Bjorn Gelotte - Drums, Percussion, Lead And Acoustic Guitar
Johan Larsson - Bass Guitar
Glenn Ljungstr?m - Rhythm Guitar
Jesper Str?mblad - Lead And Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion
Ulrika Netterdahl - Female Vocals On "Whoracle"

In my humblest of opinions "Enemy Of God Revisited" is a fantastic/classic Kreator release BUT will never top their 1990 release "Coma Of Souls".  My relief was that Kreator didn't abdicate their thrash metal roots like they did in the 1990's and put out mediocre releases (e.g. "Endorama", etc.). The release of "Violent Revolution" was long well awaited to see how this one was and an absolute triumph once again which we could consider Kreator to be once again in the genre of thrash metal!!! Once again Kreator has re-established themselves as thrash metal veterans who know how to kick ass! Of course if you take a lot at the lyrical content it's quite hate-fulfilled (all done by Mille) which reflects old Kreator writing style but more intelligently written. It isn't filled with Satanic lyrics really just flowing as hate mongers simply filled with darkness, death, murder, etc.Analyzing the riffs (rhythms and lead guitars) Kreator has come up with some noteworthy tracks such as "Impossible Brutality" mixing thrash guitar with melodic sections quite intriguing. Mixed of course with heavy fast rhythms and even some clean tone (to the utmost minimum amount). All in all this album has variety in the rhythmical structures as well as the lead guitar. The leads are not blazingly fast but well executed.  Frank Gosdzik is no longer with the band and well I think he was in my opinion their best lead guitarist ever. I think Kreator and DESTRUCTION are 2 phenomenal thrash metal acts both from Germany both going through lineup changes over the years but the restoration of some original members remain as well as new one showing off their talent.  I'd have to say that "Coma Of Souls", "Violent Revolution" and "Enemy Of God Revisited" are Kreator's absolute best albums. "Enemy Of God Revisited" also contains some bonus live tracks on the CD and also comes with an incredibly long DVD filled with mostly live tracks and some video clips. If you want quality, hate-filled lyrics, buzz sawguitars jamming intense thrash metal then "Enemy Of God Revisited" is an excellent choice of an album to check into. The guitars as I mentioned aren't entirely distorted there is some clean tone and clean vocals but a small fraction exists in this over 55 minute onslaught. Get it today you won't regret it!!!

If you are looking to find the ideal thrash metal recording look no further because "Coma Of Souls" simply dominates with insane guitar riffs/solos, Mille's screams on vocals, drums and bass in perfect synchrony.  I can't think of any past or recent thrash recordings that dominates more than this album even though Destruction's latest "Inventor Of Evil" is simply awesome but still "Coma Of Souls" out ranks it in my book. A mild acoustic/clean tone guitars intro you to what becomes some heavy and fast riffing from Mille and Frank (ex-SODOM guitarist).  There really is not a track on here that I dislike they are all to me original musically with some simply amazing riffs and solos.  Everyone pitched in on the writing of this masterpiece the lyrics were all written by Mille Petrozza (guitar/vocals).  Upon hearing their previous works i.e. "Endless Pain", "Pleasure To Kill", "Terrible Certainty", and "Extreme Aggression" this 1990 release blows them all away. Songs from this album to hear first before you run off to purchase this thrash metal classic are: "When The Sun Burns Red", "People Of The Lie" and "Mental Slavery".  In my opinion these stand out even more so then the rest of the tracks from this release.  Getting Frank Gosdzik on lead guitar was a smart move because he has some amazing solos on here I'd say more technical than Mille's leads. This is one of those releases that you can play repeatedly and not get sick of (at least in my case). I think what stands out the most are the guitar riffs and a good production done by Randy Burns. One caveat is if you look on the foldout insert it is missing lyrics on the 1990 release so it was reissued in 2002 with those intact. But anyway, if you like thrash metal and think I'm exaggerating in respect to this album's integrity get it yourself and then I'd like to hear some apologies!

Track Listing:
1. "When The Sun Burns Red" – 5:28
2. "Coma Of Souls" – 4:18
3. "People Of The Lie" – 3:15
4. "World Beyond" – 2:02
5. "Terror Zone" – 5:54
6. "Agents Of Brutality" – 5:16
7. "Material World Paranoia" – 4:59
8. "Twisted Urges" – 2:46
9. "Hidden Dictator" – 4:47
10. "Mental Slavery" – 5:43

Length 44:45.

Credits:
Mille Petrozza – Vocals, Guitar
Frank Gosdzik – Guitar
Rob Fioretti – Bass Guitar
J?rgen "Ventor" Reil – Drums

Goddamn, I do admit when I first heard this one shortly after it's release in 2000 I was highly disappointed. The reason at the time being that it seemed to me they were just copying the sounds of CANNIBAL CORPSE among others. This may be true, but something really changed here... The intro lets off an explosion and following is 9 tracks of extreme death metal, putting it lightly heh. Let's look at the guitar sounds of Moyses Kolesne-a phenomenal and underrated guitarist in the death metal scene, he wrote tons of riffs that just stick to you. The intro to "Ravager", verse riff of "Abyssal Gates", bridge riff of "Soul Devourer" and on and on give you sounds and speed of precision. Can't say they are entirely original, but the riff writing on "Conquerors of Armageddon" seems to me to be much more unique then the previous two releases from them. One thing that will pierce through your eardrums are the solos-speed, sweeps, and madness that could only come from Moyses. Vocals and drums here don't deserve as much mention for the reason that the vox have little variety and the drums are very predictable. Alex has a very hard job though here to keep the speed as well as recite blasphemous lyrics. Max is not the most creative drummer but he's precise with his blast beats and double bass flurrys. Krisiun originated in the late 80's with minute amounts of publicity. Now they are finally getting into the spotlight like they deserve touring with such bands as NILE, INCANTATION, ANGELCORPSE (r.i.p.), etc. "Conquerors Of Armageddon" is their strongest release to date. Let's hope with the next release though we get a little more variety instead of pure speed. However, this is Krisiun and well that is their trademark. But these guys seem much more intelligent about their music now opposed to "Black Force Domain" and "Apocalyptic Revelation" eras. To give "Conquerors Of Armageddon" less then a 100 out of 100 in rating would be irrational and unjust. Get this album, and expect to be mesmerized by sounds you thought not possible to the ear.

Another great release from the now defunct Death (RIP Chuck Schuldiner). This release is filled with melodic pieces to it but it does not lose the heaviness because it's pretty much a mix of melodic and death metal parts. 8 tracks of mind blowing riffs and uniqueness of Chuck's writings. If you are looking for melodic pieces along with death metal mixed in with it then this release is for you. Chuck's vocals don't really change much throughout the release they are pretty much just low-bellowing vox over the awesome music of the record. Paul Masvidal contributes nothing but amazingly clean lead guitar. Such talent on this release it's simply awesome. Plus another awesome production/mixing by the now retired Scott Burns. Everything on this recording seems to flow there's also variety to it as well. Not just distorted guitar but there's also clean guitar (check out the intro to "Lack Of Comprehension"). Lyrically I'm still in favor of "Individual Thought Patterns" but "Human" makes up for that with just awesome talent in the songwriting and entire execution. If you have never heard "Human" check out these tracks to begin with: "Vacant Planets", "Lack Of Comprehension" and "Suicide Machine". If these aren't enough to please you then you sure as hell are missing out of one damn awesome release of an album. I'd have to conclude that "Spiritual Healing", "Human", "Individual Thought Patterns" and "Symbolic" are my personally favorite Death releases. It seemed as though Chuck kept getting better after each succeeding recording. Also, on pretty much all Death albums have a different lineup (with some exceptions).

Track listing:
1. Flattening Of Emotions
2. Suicide Machine
3. Together As One
4. Secret Face
5. Lack Of Comprehension
6. See Through Dreams
7. Cosmic Sea
8. Vacant Planets

Lineup:
Chuck Schuldiner - Guitar, Producer, Vocals
Steve DiGiorgio - Bass
Paul Masvidal - Guitar
Sean Reinert - Drums
Skott Carino - Additional Bass On "Cosmic Sea"

This release is where Death becomes a little more than just a death metal act but adds some melodicism to it here. All tracks deserve mention but I'll cover all components to this release. The production aspect is somewhat lacking even though Scott Burns helped in this department. That's one of my only complaints about the album. Otherwise this release would get a higher rating from me. Chuck made a good choice getting James Murphy on lead guitar the guy simply shreds!!! But Chuck's rhythms on this release are simply phenomenal. Check out "Living Monstrosity" and "Altering The Future" and you'll get a taste of what I'm talking about. You can really hear the difference between Chuck's solos (which are less technical) and James' (quicker and a clean shred guitarist). The lyrical content of the album I'd have to say was well written. If you do decide to pick this release up do check the lyrics! Chuck had a great writing style both lyrically and musically. I'm sure many people dismiss the lyrics but not in my case. Just go on www.darklyrics.com and look up Death's "Spiritual Healing" then you'll get a taste of what I'm talking about. My favorite tracks on this release were already mentioned not to say that the other songs weren't up to par but I feel that the first 2 songs were the strongest on the whole album. You can also download these songs off of LimeWire.com. This way you can hear some of the recordings before making the purchase. I didn't much care for the first 2 Death releases but "Spiritual Healing" onward are definitely my personal favorites. I always tend to look at the guitar work on albums mostly because I'm a guitarist myself. So suffice to say here that Chuck majorly improved his writing style on this release more so than the previous two releases. I think he aimed not only for the music to sound heavy but also to have some awesome rhythms that really stick in your head. I would refer as being a death metal classic release no doubt. In my experience (I've been into metal since the later 1980's) that "Spiritual Healing" is really a masterpiece. Not only because of the writing style but a lot of death metal acts at the time (1990) didn't seem to catch the ear on this one as well as a few other releases by death metal acts back then.

Track listing:
"Living Monstrosity" (Chuck Schuldiner) – 5:08
"Altering the Future" (Schuldiner, Terry Butler) – 5:34
"Defensive Personalities" (Schuldiner, Butler) – 4:45
"Within the Mind" (Schuldiner, James Murphy) – 5:34
"Spiritual Healing" (Schuldiner) – 7:44
"Low Life" (Schuldiner, Murphy, Butler) – 5:23
"Genetic Reconstruction" (Schuldiner, Murphy, Butler) – 4:52
"Killing Spree" (Schuldiner, Murphy) – 4:16

Credits:
Chuck Schuldiner - Guitar/Vocals
James Murphy - Guitar
Terry Butler - Bass
Bill Andrews - Drums

Metallica got me into listening to thrash metal as well as all other kinds of metal. I would conclude that this is the last great release by them. The Metallica of the 90's and present day are nothing like I knew of them during the 80's. I would conclude that this is one of their hardest releases. Everything mixed well and the guitar is sooooooo heavy but of course there are clean parts during the song "One" as well as an acoustical piece done in memory of Cliff Burton which is on "To Live Is To Die". The guitars are ultra-heavy for the most part and the riffs are memorable not only on "Blackened" but the whole album is simply amazing. It seemed to me that they were flawless with this release. The only downside is that it is hard to hear the bass guitar during the songs. Metallica on this release played uncompromising thrash metal that landed them millions of dollars.hey even did a video for the song "One". Metallica used to be against making videos but nowadays they really compromised their style and seem to just be aiming to please listeners. I'd have to conclude that if Cliff was still around Metallica would be still reigning in the thrash metal department. But oh well, "And Justice For All" kicks serious ass. The whole entire album seemed to be flawless to me. If you haven't heard this release yet then first check out "Blackened", "Dyers Eve", and "The Shortest Straw". I'd conclude that all songs even ones I didn't mention kicked serious ass. I think this was a platinum release. If you're into thrash metal then this album is definitely for you!

Credits:
James Hetfield - Rhythm Guitar/Vocals
Lars Ulrich - Drums
Kirk Hammett - Lead Guitar
Jason Newsted - Bass

Track listing:
1. Blackened (Hetfield, Newsted, Ulrich)
2. ...And Justice for All (Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich)
3. Eye Of The Beholder (Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich)
4. One (Hetfield, Ulrich)
5. The Shortest Straw (Hetfield, Ulrich)
6. Harvester Of Sorrow (Hetfield, Ulrich)
7. The Frayed Ends Of Sanity (Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich)
8. To Live Is To Die (Burton, Hetfield, Ulrich)
9. Dyers Eve (Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich)

If your desire is to know what an ideal death metal album or more particularly Napalm's best work to date, this one is IT. Some accusations here I've heard is that Napalm copied the Floridian death metal sound of the early 90's. While I say yes there are similarities, I still feel "Harmony Corruption" is original as is all the Napalm I've heard. Since I am a guitarist, let's look at the sound and riff structure first off. If you have the metal zone pedal more power to ya cuz the distortion here is MAXED OUT. If you haven't heard this album, the distortion is similar to SUFFOCATION's. Next, the riff writing was not overtly complicated and technical just heavy, fast and insanely intense. Their riffs are composed of bar chord usage, tremelo picked notes and single note grindage. Though yes I am a guitarist, my favorite feature of the album is the DRUMS. Why though? A name that may be long forgotten: Mick Harris. This guy tore it up his next to last effort with the band entirely his energy is astounding but yet his drum lines are basic and well fitting. One thing that will pump you up is the blast beating... If you have "Live Corruption" you'll know what I mean because you get to see him in action. One of the fastest and most intense experiences are viewed on "Live Corruption". Mick kept the band intense, brutal and insane which is something they have lacked since his departure. Barney, his first effort with the band and best one to date. To compare, he's similar sounding to Frank Mullen-SUFFOCATION but seems to have a sustain longer and more parts where he's bellowing: YAARGHHHHHH, THRASH, REIGNNNNNNNNNNNN, etc. It therefore makes things atypical and exciting. Another note here, John Tardy-OBITUARY and Glen Benton-DEICIDE are guest vocals for the song "Unfit Earth". The promise of "Harmony Corruption 2000" has ended without fulfillment yet this album remains in the death metal archives forever for being one of the best records ever made. Old Napalm Death is dead, long live old Napalm!

If you are a fan of melodic death metal or "Gothenburg metal" this release is captivating. Focusing only on this release Dark Tranquillity adds extra emotion to pretty much each track with some harsh vocals by Mikael Stanne but a lot of clean also. There are clean vocals done by Johanna Andersson as well on the track "Undo Control". From all of the Dark Tranquillity releases that I've heard (Skydancer, The Mind's I, The Gallery, and Character) this by far is MY PERSONAL FAVORITE. The reason I esteem this release so highly is being a fan of melodic death metal myself every track on here is filled with amazing clean and distorted guitar. It isn't that the tracks with clean vocals only but they have formulated this album so that there's a good mixture of each on almost every song. Tempo ranges for each track are moderate, no blast beating (sorry extreme death metal fans!!!), or anything that is SUPER HEAVY. "Projector" received a Swedish Grammy Award!!! Getting back to the music, there are some "ballads" such as "Auctioned", "Undo Control", "To A Bitter Halt", etc. but they are mixed with electric distorted melodic riffs as well not only just clean but on these a lot of clean vocals pretty much dominating so that every song will attract anyone who really likes "Gothenburg metal" that is set in a pretty moderate super emotional tracks.

Track listing:
1. FreeCard
2. ThereIn
3. UnDo Control
4. Auctioned
5. To a bitter halt
6. The sun fired blanks
7. Nether novas
8. Day to end
9. Dobermann
10. On your time

The cover art to this release is as expected from a Cannibal Corpse release-GORY!!! Well this entire concoction deserves much praise because there isn't a track on here that isn't innovative, boring, or repetitive. As the guitars fading in on the track "I Will Kill You" which is their opener dives deep into brutal B-flat tuned riffs by Owen and O'brien along with Corpsegrinder's deep vocals though variations occur in which he screams some to these ever mutilating lyrics. A lot of people consider Chris Barnes as being a better choice in terms of vocals for Cannibal Corpse but I beg to differ on that. Barnes is good, entirely deep throat bellowing spewed forth whereas I think Corpsegrinder has more variety i.e. faster deep throat bellowing and as a variation he hits the higher end screams as well. This is especially evident on "Gallery Of Suicide"... His vocals goes in good synchrony with the music. There was one instrumental track here on "Gallery Of Suicide" which offers variation ("From Skin To Liquid"). All members on this release contribute something as in either lyrics, music and vocal patterns. In comparison to Cannibal Corpse's previous material and more recent I'd have to say "Gallery Of Suicide" is one of their strongest releases to date. Though I highly esteem "Butchered At Birth" it is literally a toss-up as to which album is better. I'm going to have to say "Gallery Of Suicide" because it is more technical in musical structures, better variation on vox, stronger drum flurries, and lyrics that fit excellent with the music. Even though I highly esteem all of the tracks on here I'd have to conclude that the first 4 are the strongest, most memorable, and contain the best synchrony (all music and lyrics combined). But be sure to check out "I Will Kill You" and "Disposal Of The Body" to get a feel for what you're in for with this classic release. "Gallery Of Suicide" IS death metal played at its finest!

Track listing:
1. "I Will Kill You" – 2:47
2. "Disposal Of The Body" – 1:54
3. "Sentenced To Burn" – 3:06
4. "Blood Drenched Execution" – 2:40
5. "Gallery Of Suicide" – 3:55
6. "Dismembered And Molested" – 1:53
7. "From Skin To Liquid" – 5:30
8. "Unite The Dead" – 3:05
9. "Stabbed In The Throat" – 3:26
10. "Chambers Of Blood" – 4:11
11. "Headless" – 2:22
12. "Every Bone Broken" – 3:18
13. "Centuries Of Torment" – 4:04
14. "Crushing The Despised" – 1:56

Line-up:
George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher - Vocals
Jack Owen - Guitar
Pat O'Brien - Guitar
Alex Webster - Bass
Paul Mazurkiewicz - Drums

I became hooked to this release when it was finished and out in stores. The production by Scott Burns was amazing. Every instrument (guitars & battery) as well as the vocals by Chris Barnes were awesome. Actually Barnes didn't have much variety in their vocal department so Glen Benton did some backup on "Vomit The Soul". Of course the graphics offend a lot of people and I think that was Cannibal Corpse's ultimate goal since death metal during this era emphasized a lot of offensive graphics (DEICIDE - "Once Upon The Cross") as an example besides this one. Every track on this release rules though I tend to favor the opener the most "Meat Hook Sodomy". Cannibal Corpse was not as technical with their riff-writing as they are nowadays. I think that the simpler riffs tend to captivate the listener a bit more especially the thickness of the guitar pieces and overall production indeed. Barnes' vocals were the lowest I've heard from him even more so than on their debut CD "Eaten Back To Life". If you are a die-hard death metal fan then this CD is for you! I can't stress how many times that the riff-writing was not only original but heavy as all hell!

Track listing:
1. Meat Hook Sodomy
2. Gutted
3. Living Dissection
4. Under The Rotted Flesh
5. Covered With Sores
6. Vomit The Soul (Featuring Deicide Vocalist Glen Benton On Backing Vocals)
7. Butchered at Birth
8. Rancid Amputation
9. Innards Decay
10. Covered With Sores" (Live) (Bonus Track On Remastered Version)

Follow-up from the classic "Reign In Blood" I'd have to admit that when I first heard it years ago I didn't much care for it at all. They slowed down a helluv a lot here but after many listens to I began to like it. At first, I didn't even think that Slayer would put out such a slower release but of course I was wrong on that part. The title track intro ("South Of Heaven") is quite slow but still original sounding as are the vocals. Lombardo's drum display is good but as I mentioned it's much more of a "moderate" Slayer release. The songs to download would be "Silent Scream", "Ghosts Of War" and "Spill The Blood". A good cover on here is of Judas Priest's "Dissident Aggressor". Very well job Slayer did on this song. The production to this release was decent everything mixed together pretty well thanks to Andy Wallace and Rick Rubin as producer. If you like thrash metal that's more mellow not entirely but overall then this release is for you. Nothing Slayer has put out now and then has been better than "Reign In Blood". But "South Of Heaven" still a unique array of songs just not as aggressive as its predecessor. Check out those tracks that I mentioned if you've never hear this release. I'd say it's still a classic in the genre of thrash metal.

Track listing:
"South of Heaven" (Lyrics: Araya) (Music: Hanneman) – 5:00
"Silent Scream" (Lyrics: Araya) (Music: Hanneman/King) – 3:13
"Live Undead" (Lyrics: Araya/King)(Music: Hanneman) – 3:58
"Behind The Crooked Cross" (Lyrics & Music: Hanneman) – 3:12
"Mandatory Suicide" (Lyrics: Araya) (Music: Hanneman/King) – 4:03
"Ghosts Of War" (Lyrics: King) (Music: Hanneman/King) – 4:00
"Read Between The Lies" (Lyrics: Araya/King) (Music: Hanneman) – 3:21
"Cleanse The Soul" (Lyrics: Araya/King) (Music: Hanneman) – 3:01
"Dissident Aggressor" (Judas Priest) – 2:34
"Spill The Blood" (Lyrics & Music: Hanneman) – 4:48

Band Lineup:
Tom Araya – Bass, Vocals
Jeff Hanneman – Lead guitars
Kerry King – Lead guitars
Dave Lombardo – Drums

Quite a gutsy debut each track on here deserves praise really since at the time Slayer was pretty new at the Thrash Metal genre. Of course the production sound could've been a bit better but overall the mixing was good. Slayer's Satanic imagery in their beginning career in thrash metal was just a gimmick not to be taken literally in terms of the lyrics. The music is phenomenal for a debut kind of like METALLICA's "Kill 'Em All" but in my opinion not as good as theirs. You'll find every track to be unique as did I especially when I first heard the album maybe a good 15 years ago. Tom's vocals range from a hoarseness mixed with screams so it's not all just one monotonous bout of just heaviness or screams. Slayer being new with the music as I mentioned were also pretty new to the lead guitar playing. You'll still find Hanneman more technical on lead and King just a little bit sloppier. Tracks to check out first and foremost would be "Black Magic", "Die By The Sword", and "The Antichrist".  Those to me are their best tracks even though the others as I mentioned still rule! I would not get freaked out by the lyrical content as I said Slayer made note of it too that they are not Satanists and that the lyrics are a gimmick. Over 30 minutes of some intense thrash metal. The mixing/production done by Slayer was decent not their best but still good. To me this is still a classic in the genre of thrash metal and deserves an honorary mention because to me it was entirely original music wise.

Track listing:
1. Evil Has No Boundaries
2. The Antichrist
3. Die By The Sword
4. Fight Till Death
5. Metal Storm/Face The Slayer
6. Black Magic
7. Tormentor
8. The Final Command
9. Crionics
10. Show No Mercy

Lineup:
Tom Araya – Bass/Vocals
Jeff Hanneman – Lead Guitars
Kerry King – Lead Guitars
Dave Lombardo – Drums

This still remains in my opinion to be the BEST Slayer release ever! Gutsy rhythm guitar frenzies and solos along with Tom Araya's screams plus Dave Lombardo's insane beats behind the drum set. The whole songwriting issue in regards to the anti-Christ was just a gimmick for Slayer the lyrics not to be taken literally (they are NOT Satanists). Thrash metal at it's best there isn't a track on here that doesn't simply rule! If you've never heard this album check out these songs "Angel Of Death", "Raining Blood" and "Jesus Saves" for starters. This release is one that you can play out and never get sick of (well as the case is for me). The guitars are lightning fast and solo guitar work is simply insane! When this came out Slayer was viewed as a Satanic thrash metal act which was the persona it seemed like they wanted to be characterized as. But in reality the songwriting on this release is like I said just a gimmick. But the music is amazing! Both Hanneman and King show their talent as lead guitar player undoubtedly. Though when you open up the insert and it reads "Solo: King or Hanneman" it's because Jeff didn't want his solos to be confused with Kerry King's. 
Not to say that King lacks in this department but Jeff is a little more technical on lead. I think that this is one of the best thrash metal albums ever to be released. It deserves honorary mention and to be listed as a sure classic thrash metal release. No band before them was able to come up with such an amazing release at the time (1980's) even though Metallica of the 80's was also an outstanding thrash metal act before they went sour and abandoned their thrash metal roots. Suggested downloads before purchasing this release are again: "Angel Of Death", "Raining Blood" and "Jesus Saves".  Prepare for some serious thrash metal played at amazing tempos!

Track listing:
1. Angel of Death
2. Piece By Piece
3. Necrophobic
4. Altar Of Sacrifice
5. Jesus Saves
6. Criminally Insane
7. Reborn
8. Epidemic
9. Postmortem
10. Raining Blood
11. Aggressive Perfector (1998 Reissue Bonus Track)
12. Criminally Insane (1998 Reissue Bonus Track)

Well, Rellik has released their full-length 10 tracks of extreme war inspired death metal!!! Mike Coniglio leading the massacre of this quartet with brilliant riffs and Johnny Dove contributing awesome leads. Then, an array of Coniglio's low end/guttural vox and the higher screams of might adding variety on this end! Trust me, this is not fattish lip service Rellik has really established themselves not only contributing intelligent lyrics with well thought out riffs Phil dishing out utter blast beats with double bass flurries and Brandon backing up the guitar onslaught with precision on bass. I tell you only a few extreme death metal acts I cling to KRISIUN is one of them and Rellik is up there also because they to me are not mindless in the guitar riffs or vocals. These guys have music that draws you in captivating the listener. This is what death metal nowadays is lacking: intelligence to creating riffs only unique to that band as Chuck did with DEATH/CONTROL DENIED. Johnny way improved on guitar (BC Rich Beast!) with everyone actually busting their asses to put out a unique release which I hope will be known worldwide if not already. If you admire precision in death metal then this release is a MUST have!!! Not something that will bore the listener with half assed riff structures,
boring vocals/drums/bass like a lot of death metal acts succumbing to nowadays. I think that many of people have lost interest in death metal because of the established acts have become so dulled out I won't mention any here now most of you still involved in the genre know which bands I'm referring to. The re-recording of "Thy Kingdom Crushed" now with MUCH better production, variety of vocals Johnny mainly contributing on this end!), plus everyone seeming to click as ONE. All 10 tracks purely unique sounding and for awesome lyric portrayals on their site (http://home.comcast.net/~rellik-666/lyrics.html) check it out!!! Since Chicago is wholly lacking in extreme death metal as I mentioned previously well "Heritage Of Abomination" is a release that should be owned by anyone into this particular style. As it is my goal to represent metal acts objectively there really are no complaints on my end in terms of musicianship, quality, and intelligence.

The Metallica of the 80's definitely reigned the metal world they literally were leaders in the thrash metal genre. Another great follow-up from "Ride The Lightning" I'd have to say that "Master Of Puppets" dominated even more so in the songwriting. Production-wise by Metallica and Flemming Rasmussen was impeccable. Only 8 tracks here but almost an hour's worth of incredible thrash metal. I still think if Cliff Burton their bassist up until this release was still in the band Metallica would not have taken the musical style that they now undertake. Opening track "Battery" has some acoustic guitars then BAM domineering electric guitar riffs that are simply baffling. Their style (riff-wise) was some of the greatest works that they've ever accomplished. There really is 
nothing missing from this album the vocals, guitar/lead guitar, bass and drums. It's a damn shame this band has really gone to waste. But anyway, in terms of the writing for this release is simply impeccable. I especially like the closing track "Damage Inc." an amazing track but then again I highly esteem all tracks done on this album. I'm still in favor of "...And Justice For All" as being Metallica's best ever release but this album is a must for those of you into thrash metal. There are so many highlights on this album the instrumental "Orion" with Cliff Burton on lead bass really dominates. The structure and writing style for all tracks on this release are entirely original and memorable.

Track listing:
1. Battery
2. Master Of Puppets
3. The Thing That Should Not Be
4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
5. Disposable Heroes
6. Leper Messiah
7. Orion
8. Damage Inc.

Credits:
Don Brautigam - Illustrations
Cliff Burton - Bass, Vocals (Background), Lead Bass on "Orion"
Rob Ellis - Photography
Ross Halfin - Photography
Kirk Hammett - Lead Guitar
James Hetfield - Guitars, Arranger, Vocals
George Marino - Remastering
Metallica - Producer, Cover Art Concept
Flemming Rasmussen - Producer, Engineer
Lars Ulrich - Arranger, Drums
Michael Wagener - Mixing

A follow-up release from "Colony" and well I esteem this release over their predecessor. Even though it has a more "happy" tone to each track I still think that the riffs are awesome. I would still consider it to be melodic death metal. There's a mix of vocals on here clean and high-end screams that Anders displays here. It suits the music quite well. The guitar pieces are way melodic/"happy" but that doesn't take away from the greatness of a release that this is. There's actually a guest solo by Christopher Amott (ARCH ENEMY) on "Suburban Me". The clean guitar parts are pretty sweet they tune way down on some songs even to I think A-tuning! I like the variety that this album has to offer. It just isn't straight melodic death the songwriting is quite diverse. If you listen to any track on here you'll hear what I mean (check out "Bullet Ride") for a sample. For many they were turned off by this release because it isn't the heaviest In Flames to date but for me I think it's a great release. Not only is the production better than "Colony" but the mix of all instruments/vocals dominates thanks to Charlie Storm (programming and synth) and Fredrik Nordstr?m (additional programming and synth) who was also the producer. This was recorded at the infamous Studio Fredman where many melodic death acts record. Some individuals would give this release a negative rating because of the "happiness" to it but I esteem it quite highly! I still think "Whoracle" and "The Jester Race" are their best albums but "Clayman" is third on that list! Like I said check out some tracks first to get the aura of the album check out "Brush The Dust Away" and "Pinball Map".

Track listing:
1. Bullet Ride
2. Pinball Map
3. Only for the Weak
4. ...As the Future Repeats Today
5. Square Nothing
6. Clay Man
7. Satellites and Astronauts
8. Brush The Dust Away
9. Swim
10. Suburban Me
11. Another Day in Quicksand
12. Strong and Smart (Bonus Track)
13. World of Promises (Bonus Track)

Musicians:
Anders Frid?n - Vocals
Jesper Str?mblad - Guitar
Bj?rn Gelotte - Guitar
Peter Iwers - Bass
Daniel Svensson - Drums
Chris Amott - Guitar Solo On "Suburban Me"

I thought to myself that this would be like the Dissection in which I remember either "The Somberlain" or "Storm Of The Light's Bane" though my assumption was off. That doesn't mean there isn't melodic parts to just check out the track "Starless Aeon" and you'll hear what I mean. The lyrical content was geared more towards Satanism reflecting Jon's spiritual nature. I myself look beyond the lyrics and am into pretty much most of the rhythms/leads by Jon. Unfortunately, this will be the last Dissection CD distributed since Jon took his own life. A lot of great rhythms here pretty heavy and well-produced. Same with the battery in cue with the guitars. This final release is worth checking out because it is unique, melodic, and pure metal incorporated!

Track listing;
1. Nexion 218
2. Beyond The Horizon
3. Starless Aeon
4. Black Dragon
5. Dark Mother Divine
6. Xeper-I-Set
7. Chaosophia
8. God Of Forbidden Light
9. Reinkaos
10. Internal Fire
11. Maha Kali

Credits:
Jon N?dtveidt - Guitars/Vocals
Set Teitan - Guitars
Tomas Asklund - Battery

I remember getting this album on tape and I played it so much that the tape could no longer be played. Production-wise (Scott Burns) was decent though I think that the music should've had a thicker sound to it like on Death's "Symbolic" release. In any case, this album musically I think is their best ever.  I've heard every single Death release "Spiritual Healing" was a favorite of mine until this was released. Even "Human" I esteem to be a great release as well. It seems there was a lineup change with each release though Gene Hoglan stuck with them completing this release as well as "Symbolic". I've read some reviews of "Individual Thought Patterns" and many said it had a jazz feel to it. Maybe so I it IS melodic which is why it makes it a favorite of mine. I think that this release has the best lineup ever: Andy Laroche (guitars), Chuck Schuldiner (guitars & vocals), Gene Hoglan (drums) and Steve Digiorgio (bass guitar). The solos by Laroche (every single one of them) has a great melodic feel to it and let me tell you that this guy simply shreds! You can really tell the difference between Chuck's solos and Andy's. Chuck (I think) is self-taught which is evident on the solo department. But his songwriting capabilities are phenomenal. Also, the lyrics on this release are also in my opinion the best ever that Chuck has written. If you are eager to hear some tracks check out "Trapped In A Corner" and "In Human Form" for starters. These are great tracks hands down! So if you can overlook the overall production sound of the album you will find I think this to be your favorite Death release as well!

Tracklisting:
1. Overactive Imagination
2. In Human Form
3. Jealousy
4. Trapped In A Corner
5. Nothing Is Everything
6. Mentally Blind
7. Individual Thought Patterns
8. Destiny
9. Out Of Touch
10. The Philosopher

The intro to this album is quite dreary and solemn which describes the mood or aura to this release. Segueing into "Heaven Torn Asunder" the opening guitar sounds awesome with a great tone to it. It's still up in the air as to whether Cradle Of Filth is gothic metal or black metal. I think that there's a touch of both on this release. I think Dani's vocals are the highest pitched on this release never again to be duplicated in the entire Cradle Of Filth discography. For some people it's a little too extreme but I think the vocals are phenomenal. It's not just the screams there are lower pitched vocals as well just not as prevalent as the high-pitched screams. This album is anything but boring. Very intense I'd say with an array of blast beats, tremolo picked guitar frenzies, well mixed in bass guitar and of course Dani's onslaught. Production wise this isn't their best I'd have to say that their latest "Thornography" is one of the best productions they've ever had on a full-length release. "Dusk And Her Embrace" packs with it many different things such as the variety in the vocal department, a mixture of guitar both at fast paced onslaughts as well as slower melodic sections, and the drum department displaying an wide array of different time signatures. This remains to be my favorite Cradle Of Filth release although "Thornography" is up there as well. I'd have to say that if you are not a big fan of high-pitched screams from Dani then this release is not for you. There are also British women speaking on some tracks adding a little bit more of variety to the vocal department. Best to try out some tracks to see if this release is something worth getting. Of course I'm biased because it's my favorite but you can hear for yourself "Heaven Torn Asunder", "Haunted Shores", and "Funeral In Carpathia" for starters.

Track listing:
1. Humana Inspired To Nightmare
2. Heaven Torn Asunder
3. Funeral In Carpathia
4. A Gothic Romance (Red Roses For The Devil's Whore)
5. Malice Through The Looking Glass
6. Dusk And Her Embrace
7. The Graveyard By Moonlight
8. Beauty Slept In Sodom
9. Haunted Shores

Even though this CD has a plethora of Mozart rip-offs I still think that it's one of Children Of Bodom's best records to date. The intro to this album is actually from the movie "Amadeus" with Salieri uttering "from now on, we are enemies... You and I".  He was speaking in terms of the Crucifix and in the movie he burned it because of his envy towards Mozart. I'd say this CD is pure melodic death metal Alexi kicking ass on guitar/vocals, shows sheer talent with speed and precision on both rhythm and lead guitar work.  Alexander puts together an awesome effort as well on rhythm guitar. The band as a whole worked wonders on this release. Just check out "Bed Of Razors" and you'll see what brilliance and technicality from the entire band!!! There's a mix of extremely fast tremolo picked guitar work, keys as well demonstrating awesome tie-ins with the guitars, the drums fast paced and on cue and Alexi's vocals feature mostly high-pitched screams with a little bit of clean as variety. The production by Anssi Kippo does a great job giving each instrument precision in the recording. Alexi on lead shows us such well designed solo work plus incorporating like I mentioned earlier Mozart cuts very well executed. The band wholeheartly kicked serious ass on this album. Another track to take a listen to would be "Warheart".

Track listing:
1. Warheart
2. Silent Night, Bodom Night
3. Hatebreeder
4. Bed Of Razors
5. Towards Dead End
6. Black Widow
7. Wrath Within
8. Children Of Bodom
9. Downfall

Credits:
Alexi Laiho - Vocals/Lead Guitar
Alexander Kuoppala - Rhythm Guitar
Janne Wirman - Keyboards
Henkka Sepp?l? - Bass
Jaska Raatikainen - Drums

Debut CD featuring the Amotts (Christopher & Michael) and let me tell you there are some classic tracks on this release. No intro just the slam of a snare beat then enter the Amotts! In my opinion, this isn't their greatest effort but it's one hell of a debut release though. I'd have to say my favorite tracks on here are plentiful primarily because it's melodic death metal which is my personal favorite genre of metal. Johan's vocals are somewhat boring because there really isn't much of a change throughout the CD vocal-wise. The same is true with their "Stigmata" release. I'd say dropping Johan and getting Angela Gassow on lead vocals 
was a wise move for Arch Enemy. There are some great lead guitar work by Christopher Amott just listen to the outro solo on "Fields Of Desolation" and you'll hear what I'm talking about. Christopher's leads are way more technical than his brother Michael's. Michael has more emotion involved in his lead work though plus exclusive use of the Wah-Pedal. Michael was more technical when he was playing for CARCASS ("Heartwork"). On the import CD of this release there are some bonus IRON MAIDEN cover songs. Strange to hear them in B-tuning! Tracks to check out are "Bury Me An Angel", "Eureka" and "Fields Of Desolation". If you're a big fan of melodic death metal then you should check this CD out! Good production as well!!!

Credits:
Johan Liiva - Vocals
Michael Amott - Guitar/Bass
Christopher Amott - Guitar
Daniel Erlandsson - Drums
Frederik Nordstrom - Production

Track listing:
1. Bury Me An Angel
2. Dark Insanity
3. Eureka
4. Idolatress
5. Cosmic Retribution
6. Demoniality
7. Transmigration Macabre
8. Time Capsule
9. Fields Of Desolation
10. Losing Faith
11. The Ides Of March (Iron Maiden Cover)
12. Aces High (Iron Maiden Cover)

The Dutch metal scene of the 80s was one of the best in Europe, no doubt about this. Many wonderful bands from Holland such as ANGUS, VAULT, ALLIED FORCES, DEFENDER, FUTURE TENSE, DARK WIZARD, SAD IRON, OVERKILL, PICTURE, VORTEX, ATTILA, JEWEL, MYSTO DYSTO, HAMMERHAWK, MANDATOR, AGGRESSOR, EXCITER, SAVAGE, SWORD, SKULLCRUSHER, SECOD HELL, VANDALE, LEADER, PROUD EXISTENCE, EXPLODER, RESTLESS, LOST GRAVITY, TOGETHER, NEXUS, STEEL AGAINST STEEL, SECOND SKIN, HIGHWAY CHILE, FITZKIN, GILGAMES J, FRANKENSTEIN, EMERALD, ELIXIR, EARDANGER produced very good albums and demos. A band that probably stands above is Martyr, who produced two outstanding metal gems which are among the best ever metal releases of Europe. So, it was about time for these two albums to be re-released (there were plans to be re-issued in 2001, but the fans had to wait till 2004 to see these albums re-released in the stores). The re-release of their first mini album "For The Universe" comes with a 16 pages booklet which contains an extended biography, many band photos from several concerts and lyrics. In this re-issue someone can also find the second demo of the band "Metal Torture" (1983), the track that participated in the famous compilation "Metal Massacre VI", a version of "Snow And Fire" from the legendary compilation "Dutch Steel" and different versions of some of their tracks. The music itself is amazing epic heavy/power metal full of melodies, with exceptional guitar solos and riffs and a really distinctive voice that suits perfectly to the music. All the tracks are excellent, but I would distinguish "Speed Of Samurai", "The Awakening" and the magnificent instrumental track "The Eibon" (what a fantastic solo in the middle of the song! Really out of this world!) as the best songs of this mini LP and of course the epic metal anthems "Into The Abyss" and "English Forces" (an early version of "Unknown Forces" from their second album) from the bonus tracks as the best of this fucking great re-issue!!

The second High Vaultage re-release concerning Martyr includes the "Darkness At Time's Edge" LP along with 7 bonus tracks. I will start with the bonus songs which are by far worse than those on the mini LP re-issue. The first are from their 1987 demo and they are relatively in a good melodic heavy metal vein, but they are too commercial to fit with Martyr's music. As for the other bonus songs, I really don't understand why High Vaultage chose this shit from the next bands that Martyr's members formed, as they are in a fucking grunge (where are you know? Die, die!) direction, instead of something else from Martyr's demos, either from the first "If It's Loud, You're Too Old" demo (1982 - Isn't it a great title? You can't be wrong with a HEAVY METAL title like this!) or the third demo, "For The Universe" (1984). As for the LP what else is there to be said except for the fact that it's one of my all time favorites from the metal genre... This album consists of a really cold epic atmosphere, with a really outstanding guitar work, with inspired ultra melodic (but don't worry, heavy as hell) riffs and solos, that create sometimes a heroic feeling and some other times a feeling of anxiety for the future. The vocal lines are very emotional and the choruses are catchy, making you want to sing along with the singer. I have listened to this album many times so far, but I will never get bored with its music. I can hardly distinguish the epic masters "Into The Abyss" and "Unknown Forces" as the two highlights of the album, closely followed by "Invisble Touch" and "The Third Kinslay", as all the tracks shine bright on a high level and each one has something different to give to the listener. To conclude with if heavy metal is your music, then buy it!

This Is A True Story: Durring the middle ages, there was a small village called Headless Cross. The people used to go up on a hill were there was a headless cross and they prayed to god for help, to save them from a kind of disease that had been spreading in the village. The result was that nothing happened and all the people died there... Now, let's get back to the album. Cozy Powell , Tony Martin, Tony Iommi. The best album with Tony Martin on the vocals. "When Death Calls", "Devil And Daughter", "Headless Cross", "Nightwing", "Black Moon", "Kill In The Spirit World" and "Call Of The Wild" are some of the best songs ever written...
Simply excellent and definitely their best album after "Heaven and Hell".

This album blew my brains out! The songs contained here are great... all of them, except for "Blessed Are You". I think it has good music but stupid lyrics! Anyway, the album has volume and it has SPEED! Heavy Riffs and Heavy Lyrics! The trilogy at the end of the album is simply....!!!!!! I have no words to describe it, but there are so many emotions... It is a story about the aliens that have been on earth since the beginning of time  and they plan and plot. manipulating humans and deciding all the history on earth: Jesus - World Wars - Keneddy... Great, although it reminds me a bit of "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son", but no matter what the truth is that this trilogy.....KILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tracks like "Prophecy", "Birth Of The Wicked", "The Coming Curse", "Transylvania" - oops I'm sorry, I meant "1776" (beautiful instrumental), "Reaping Stone" (sounds like METALLICA), "Melanholy" (the hit of the album talking about Jesus and his last thoughts upon the cross), "Burning Times" (it is about burning the witches), "Stand Alone", "Disciples Of The Lie", "Watching Over Me" (it's for a friend of John who died) and "Consequenses" (nice lyrics!) are simply magnificent! 

Iron Maiden is a legendary band in the classic heavy metal scene, however, in case some people don't know they have also played epic metal in some occasions, such as the song "Revelations" for example... Isn' t this a wonderful song? Aren't all their songs superb? Except perhaps for "Die With Your Boots On", not because it is a bad song but it is out of the atmosphere of this album. Bruce Dickinson gives here his best self, singing like a true poet! Great album... it's too bad that Iron Maiden nowadays are just... making albums, with no real significance...

This is not a simple or ordinary album. Quorthon has created a great story and some magnificent songs. If this album had a better production, it would surely be the best epic metal album in the 90s. But... you know how it is, so try ot get over this and make sure you listen carefully to this wonderful concept album. Gods of thunder, of wind and of rain!!!

I'm sure that most of you will wonder why I haven't put "Balls To The Wall" or "Metal Heart" in this monument section. Well, the answer is simple.. I'll do it some time eventually in the future. OK! Now, this is my favourite Accept album. It might not be the album with the big hits, but it definitely has a wonderful atmosphere and amazing songs like "Tired Of Me", "Seawinds", "Take Him In My Heart" and "Free Me Now". ACCEPT IT!!!

Most of the metal people don't seem to like this album... However I love it!!! It's one of the best albums of their career! This record doesn't contain not even one second class song.... they're all wonderful! Kiss was the first band ever to combine hard rock and disco and the result was a monument in the world of music in general! Some other groups tryed mixing these two sounds, but they failed. Why? It seems that only Kiss have this "magic touch"!

This is the first album that Wasp stopped using make up, panther clothes and stuff like that. The lyrics have become more serious and socialized and generally the band's image has become darker and more pondering. Songs like "The Lost Child" that talks about all the stupid heretic organizations all over the world, "The Real Me" cover, "The Headless Children", a song that until now remains a real gem and will be forever (By the way URIAH HEEP's Ken Hensely plays the keyboards here), "Thunderhead" is about drugs and a really great song and "Mean Man" I think is for Chris Holmes (!!?!?!). These are some of the moments of the album, but the best one is "Forever Free". Do you remember the video clip?

OK! I know what most of you are about to say... Can "St. Anger" be placed among the monuments? Yes! Why not? It's the best album since 1992 that Metallica has written. It has speed, anger, power and good lyrics. The only thing that it doesn't have is the crystal clear production that we have been accustomed to from "...And Justice For All" and on. Of course you all understand that this was done on purpose, cause Metallica didn't want to make a "Kill 'Em All Part 2". I won't mention which songs are the best, because I'm going to write down all the album tracks. Let's say that "Sweet Amber" is special to me! I will always thank Metallica for coming into my life, almost 15 years ago and changing everything!!!

Having a history starting back in 1988 Soilent Green released in 1994 their debut album with the title "PussySoul" via Dwell Records. Musically the band has various influences. First of all their music belongs to the extreme side of metal music. Then while you hear their album, you listen from death metal elements to grind core along with some black metal touches. In this debut album the band includes twelve songs and the singer spits out the lyrics with his raw and guttural vocals. Even though they are in the extreme side, Soilent Green is a technical band and you can hear a lot of interesting ideas inside their songs and their compositions are well worked. Surely the fans of Soilent Green should check their debut album out along with their latest release which is out a few weeks now.
Label Site: www.dwellrecords.com
E-mail Label: [email protected]
Band Site: www.soilentgreen.net

"Mediolanum Capta Est" is the second live album from Mayhem and was recorded on the 2nd of November 1998 in Milan, Italy. The first live release from Mayhem was in 1993. This release has twelve tracks and you can hear some great songs from the history of the band like: "Deathcrush" or "Freezing Moon" and "Carnage". The performance of the band is really great and the sound is very good for a live recording. The album begins with the great intro "Silvester Angang" and after you hear it, you will be able to feel the live feeling of Mayhem. So after two minutes, the venue was burned down from the hellish "Deathcrush". Maniac makes a great work on the vocals and wait until you listen to "From The Dark Past"...then you will have the chance to hear as a guest vocalist Mayhem’s present singer, Attila Csihar. Definitely a recommended release for all the fans of true black metal and especially the Mayhem maniacs. Additionally this release’s cover shows Maniac cutting himself with a knife. Until their next step hear this live album and their latest release "Chimaira". 
Label Site: www.dwellrecords.com
E-mail Label: [email protected]

Some days ago I received a great package from Dwell Records. Actually it contained ten releases from this label. So today I will start with a tribute album to the almighty black metal Gods Mayhem. First of all here we have twelve tracks from Mayhem some of their best songs. Another plus for this tribute are the bands that participate. Here you can listen to bands like: IMMORTAL (R.I.P.), VADER, EMPEROR, BEHEMOTH, LIMBONIC ART, CARPATHINA FOREST and many more. So as you can see most of the bands are well known to the extreme metal fans and when you will hear this release you will see that most of the bands make an excellent work, covering the songs really well and choosing "old" tracks, besides Seth, who did an experimentation with "Into Thy Labyrinth". Surely this is a must have release for all the black metal fans. Even though it is a little bit old, you still can find it or you can visit the label’s site in order to buy it if you can't find it. Personally I like the covers from IMMORTAL "From The Dark Past", ABSU "Deathcrush" and CARPATHIAN FOREST’s "Ghoul”. A recommended release for those that are into the cult black metal genre.
Label Site: www.dwellrecords.com
E-mail Label: [email protected]

If I am not mistaken, this tribute to Celtic Frost was released nine years ago, when many bands back then were new born groups and now are famous enough like, MORGION or OPETH. Some days ago I got in my hands the tribute to Mayhem from the same label and there I dealt with bands that most of them or can I say all of them are famous. Here in the tribute to Celtic Frost, we have some really good bands, like MORGION, whose tracks have a more doomy atmosphere, ENSLAVED with their Viking epic metal feeling, the almighty MAYHEM, the very good deathsters GRAVE, the mighty Gods EMPROR and the very good OPETH. The other bands are less known, but all of them do their best in order to pay tribute to Celtic Frost. My favorite tracks from this release are: the opening tracks with MORGION “Innosence And Wrath”, the second one with ENSLAVED, which is the track “Procreation”, of course the track from MAYHEM “Visual Aggression”, OPETH, who cover the song “Circle Of The Tyrants” and the last one which is a big surprise! So all in all, before the release date of the new album of Celtic Frost you can purchase this CD in order to hear some nice tunes. 
Label Site:www.dwellrecords.com
E-mail Label: [email protected]

Last year the death metal act from Poland, released their very good album "Demigod" but here we have their "Satanica" album. This CD was released five years ago and it is be as good as all the stuff from Behemoth. I like this band because all their releases have quality, they always have something to add to the scene and surely they make progress. Now “Satanica” begins with "Decade Of Therion" which is great as an opener for this album. Besides that it has some lyrics written in Greek language. With this pure death metal assault you have in your mind bands like MORBID ANGEL or KRISIUN and even ANGEL CORPSE at some points. Do you remember this band? Sometimes you can be so "cold" when you review a really great album, but Behemoth takes you far away from this world and offers you an incredible trip in the “Satanica” world, from the first minute of this album. Other highlights of this release are: "Ceremony Of Shiva", "Of Sephirotic Transformation and Carnality",  "Decade Of Therion" of course and the track that closes the album, which will remind you the old IN FLAMES era. Don't think that Behemoth copy IN FLAMES, they just reminded me their sound a little bit. If you haven't purchase it, please do it at once! 
Band Site: www.behemoth.pl
Label Site: www.dwellrecords.com
E-mail Label: [email protected]

This is Zed Yago's debut album! Strong lyrics talking about pirates, ghosts and curses into the endless blue sea. Dynamic drums from Bubi, great guitars from Jimmy and Gummar, but the best member of this group was Jutta, the female singer of the band. Lots of today's singers in heavy metal should take lessons from her as to how to connect passion with power in their voices! "The Flying Dutchman", "Zed Yago", "Rockin' For The Nation" and "United Pirate Kingdom" are the best moments of the album. Keep on rolling thunder and lightining for the nation!!!!

Third album for Manowar and a wonderful album for epic metal!! Joey DeMaio, Eric Adams, Scott Columbus and Ross The Boss... this was Manowar's greatest line up! See the Valkyries carrying the dead to Isengard ("Blood Of My Enemies"), ride into pagans might and do not fear the demons in the storm ("Each Dawn I Die"), crash down your enemies ("Kill With Power"), a hymn to heavy metal and especially a message to the American record companies ("Hail To England"), a song for Manowar's fan club ("Army Of Immortals"). Unfortunately the mediocre moment of the album ("Black Arrows") and for the end... the greatest moment... the brave warrior is going to hell into battle against the dark lord ("Bridge Of Death"). All these beautiful scenes and many more enter your mind every time you hear this songs, although you have already heard them a thousand times. 
Grant Me The Wings And As Your Messenger I'll Fly!!!

This is the album that put Slayer in the top of the thrash metal bands in the 80s and I'm saying in the 80s because this sound as we know it from those times...simply no longer exists anymore! 35 minutes of annihilating headbanging, killing riffs from Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, screaming gore from Tom Araya and Dave Lombardo playing the drums like a maniac."Angel Of Death", "Piece By Piece", "Necrophobic", "Altar Of Sacrifice", "Jesus Saves", "Criminaly Insame", "Reborn", "Epidemic", "Postmortem"...Oh! What was that? Is it over? No wait!!! What's going on? What's this noise outisde my window?... It's RAINING BLOOD!!!

This is the first heavy metal album I heard, when I was ten years old and it has aspecial place in my heart. Steven Tyler, Jon Bon Jovi and Joan Jett are some of the musicians that appear on this album. Songs like "Poison", "House Of Fire" and "Bed Of Nails" have become classics. A lot of people despise this album because it sounds too...American. Ok, this is true, but it's not a reason to bury a great...HEAVY METAL ALBUM!!!

The debut album “Frost And Fire” was a great atmospheric heavy metal album, but “King Of The Dead” was something more… Heavier and darker, guitar riffs sounding like demons riding from hell and Tim Baker screaming like a maniac general from hell! Eight great songs! Songs like “Finger Of Scorn”, “King Of The Dead”, “Atom Smasher”, “Master Of The Pit”, “Death Of The Sun”, “Toccata In Om” and the glorious “Cirith Ungol”. If you haven’t ever heard the riff of this song, you are very lucky, because when you listen to it the evilness of Cirith Ungol will forever hunt you!! So, listen to this perfect album (if you haven’t already) and… WELCOME TO THE BRAVE NEW WORLD!

This release is certainly the most unusual piece of art in the dark music area. It is also very possible that this can't be reviewed in the traditional way of reviewing music albums. At least it could be tried but it really is a question whether it is going to be given the right description. "Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectere Me" contains one song divided in two parts with each lasting around 25 minutes. The whole piece is dedicated to invoking the darkness and existing in it. And while this might give you the impression that this release is one sided I think there are many moments that produce a story about the process of leaving your body and going into darkness with being a part of space. The feeling of the unknown gets under your skin with the first sounds that you hear. The drums are well produced and many people say that they are the best thing on this release. This could be correct. But the great atmosphere that Evil (Morgan from Marduk) creates with his guitar playing, at least for me, is the most important element of "Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectere Me". Abruptum is very hard to put in a particular genre. When this album was released it was supported by black metal underground and many called Abruptum a black metal band. But Abruptum is more than black metal. It is some kind of Dark Ambient Black Metal music. The only way to really know what Abruptum is, is by listening to them over and over again until you find the moments of true beauty like the one that starts on the first part of the album at 13 minutes and 20 seconds and lasts 60 seconds. Abruptum is pure darkness and chaos. "Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectere Me" is rereleased with a great new artwork. So, there is still a chance that you can get this cult album.

It was 1984 (if I remember well) when Evil possibly one of the best acts of Denmark along with huge names as Mercyful Fate released this EP. The record starts with the “Evil’s Message” a great instumental song, and continues with “Evil” a powerful song full of speed and with the characteristic fantastic solos of the band. The third song is “Devil Wants Me” also another speedy song with a good refrain and another fabulous solo, as I told you the characteristic of Evil’s songs are the amazing solos. “Son of A Bitch” one of the best songs on the album slow crawling riffs tearing your flesh like the sharpest knives and after this, possibly the best solos the band ever composed in my opinion.The song has a lot of Iron Maiden-ish influences you might say but it’s perfect to meet Evil. And finally “Take Good Care (of youre balls)” nothing more nothing less than a good song. Buy this EP if you want to hear melodic solos and a fistful of metal.

If you ask an old metalhead to tell you something about 1982 and France he will surely speak about this band. Sortilege is possibly the greatest metal band in the history of  French metal. This EP is a really good hidden gem. The record explodes with “Amazone” and “Progeniture”, two marvelous songs where Dem and Stef give lessons of how to play heavy metal and on the other hand Zouille sings like a roaring storm in the veins of King Halford (Judas Priest). The journey continues with “Gladiateur” and as the entire EP this song has French lyrics, a thing that you might say …oh fuck… but now my friend this language is born for this EP and this vocalist.This is a mid tempo song with a nice melody and finally “Sortilege” and “Bourreau” the best songs of the EP especially the first one has a fantastic rhythm, amazing refrain, an epic flame, a glorious song that was classic in his age and it is classic till today. Just hear it by any chance, surely it’s a must that will drive you crazy from the first riff. And “Bourreau” a powerful song with an over the top refrain where Zouille gives his personal flavor and makes it perfect, especially in the end of the song where it brings in my mind a bit of an epic atmosphere. Buy or die check the reissues where you can find bonus tracks.With my blessings.

Mausoleum records had released some wonderful records in the near past, from artists like Crossfire, Killer and Ostrogoth. The Belgian metal masters with the gifted singer that hears in the name Marc “Red Star” de Brauwer (you will never forget his voice once you hear it) give us, the best possible taste of Belgian metal. The title song is a fantastic epic metal track, in my opinion one of the best epic metal songs ever composed (I know it’s a big word, but it’s a standard metal hit among the epic metalheads). Powerful melodies, metal riffs and wonderful lyrics, hear it! “Heroes Museum” the second track of this mini LP, is another speed demon cause simply all the record is characterized by epic fury and metal speed. Another amazing refrain that will make you crazy. “Paris By Night” starts with a doomy riff and continues with a not very speedy rhythm and ends with a solo made of thunder. It has a good refrain that I believe you will sing not only once. It’s possibly the only bad song, it’s not really bad but after “Full Moons Eyes”... And finally the other hit of the band “Rock Fever” devilish speed, refrain that sticks in your brain at once, a perfect song for live concerts. The artwork is great, really cult, really underground and so is the production. It’s not very difficult to find it in vinyl but better buy the double CD (contains “Ecstasy And Danger” and ”Full Moon Eyes” plus one bonus track). It’s a classic album for every epic metal fan. Buy or die and when you hear the title song you will understand. With my blessings, it deserves a place in your collection.

Geyser is one of the best Greek (Komotini City metal mother) metal bands ever in my opinion. I had the chance to hear their demo tape before 6 month (thanks to Alekos Kontogiannis) and these days I finally got the reissue CD (thanks to Steel Gallery Records). The record has 14(!) tracks and starts with “Dead End Street”, a perfect song for the first meeting with the band, heavenly riffs and fantastic solos from the guitarist Costas Stergioulis and a marvelous voice from the leader of the band Ulysses “Uli” Chris who also plays additional bass and guitar in some songs. Track number two in my opinion is the best Geyser among all the other, the hit you might say. “Candle Of Death” a creation of Uli and of Jim Saluna (now he plays bouzouki). A perfect combination of power and melody fantastic solo and wonderful refrain, just hear it and you will understand…..”to the big, strange, candle of death”. “Glad To Meet You” starts as a balland where Uli gives a recital of what singing is and continues with a riff made of thunder. The title song is a heavy metal hymn for this music. Great song, with speedy rhythm. “Geyser” is a fantastic song (if Whitesnake had a song like this, I believe it would be a great hit like “Fool for you’re Lovin”) where Uli gives another lesson of singing, but the characteristic of this song is the amazing refrain that will stick in you mind at once and it is ideal for headbanging also. “Foolish Lady” is another Whitesnak-ish song, pay attention on the guitar, which is hellish. ”Out Of My Mind” and “Don’t Care Anymore” are also powerful songs, with the second one taking the big price. It’s a ballad that moves on really high standards. “Love Stealer” starts with a melody that seems to be continued from  “Don’t Care Anymore”. The “Love Stealer” has a rhythm, speed, melody and a fantastic refrain. And finally “Same As You Did” is a slow crawling song with a fantastic speedy solo that reminds me of Whitesnake. Part two the last three song of the record is songs of a band called Charisma which is the other side of the same coin but here you can find Jim Saluna on the guitars and this is a guarantee (and so is Costas Stergioulis). First song is “Geyser (version of 1993)” with better production. “All around ” here you can take a taste of what great guitar playing means. Finally, an epic masterpiece, in my opinion the best song, in the whole record along with “Candle Of Death”. Powerful riff, fabulous solos and a fucking unbelievable refrain. Hear it at least once before you get deaf. Before the end I have to say that Uli has passed an addition for Motley Crew (I don’t know if its 100% true) and that tells everything. Also Costas from www.steelgallery.com has done a great job with lyrics, photos, even with a little story of the band. Buy or die, great metal for every fan that wants to have another diamond in his collection. With my blessing, invest fearlessly and help in the revealing of the unknown Greek metal scene (especially if you’re Greek).

Born in the USA of the million secret metal diamonds as I have said before, the 2 guitarists (Bill Peterson and Dan Watson) welcome every metalhead into the heavy metal asylum where there is no escape. The record starts with a dark intro and the fantastic riff of "Terror". And our imprisonment continues with songs like ''Invader" the powerful "The Other Side" where the lead singer with the name Manzo gives us lessons of how a vocalist can give life to song. I must confess the Manzo is one of those vocalists that have the gift and the ability to make their voice everything they want without losing their feeling or destroying the song. And the heavy metal storm is still here "Beware The Darkness" will make you break your necks and the vocals will bring a light Midnight feeling. The speed goes low and lower through "Fear No Evil" which is the final song, a song with a fantastic refrain perfect for lives in my opinion. The record has perfect songs, great production and strange but clever artwork. Finally I have to say that Hexx is one of the strangest bands worldwide because their second album ("Under The Spell" is also a fantastic album) sounds like their first one having though more thrash aesthetics and a new vocalist who may be even better than Manzo. So I ask myself if you had a vocalist like Manzo in your band what else would you want from your life. Anyway the new one (Dan Bryant) is also perfect for this position and the only thing that has better from Manzo is that he has a voice more attacking from time to time. And finally on their 3rd album, the band play death metal. Yes! Death metal. Simply a crazy band if you know any other band with a story like this please inform me. As you understand it’s a buy or die situation.

In the fall of the 80s and in a period that Judas Priest are in the best condition regarding the sales of "Ram It Down" in USA (possibly the hardest music market worldwide) but also in their worst regarding that Priest hadn’t released any album in the same power of "British Steel" or "Screaming For Vengeance" in the period of 87-89 (except of "Priest Live") the period when metal was really trendy. A thunder falls and makes earth tremble, "Painkiller" with a fabulous artwork that had nothing to do with the classic Priest artworks of "Defender Of The Faith", "Turbo", "Point Of Entry", "Screaming For Vengeance"... Mad fans go wild and mad people believe again in the name Judas Priest. All concerts of the band where sold out except one in Reno Nevada (only 4000 tickets) that's strange since Nevada is a metal city as I know. The album starts with a drum solo you might say I just say a drum intro by Scott Travis, the new drummer of Priest and after this the oldest guitar duo in the history of music fires us with maniac metal attack riffs full of speed, no copy, nothing! A unique metal style that blows like a time bomb inside you’re stereo. "Painkiller", the title song that writes history. Halford in his best and the guitar duo fully resurrected. "Hell Patrol" song number 2 has fantastic melodies, fantastic solos and yes it is a  fantastic song. "All Guns Blazing", "Leather Hero", "Metal Meltdown" (possibly the only bad song of the record) and then the classic "Nightcrawler", thunder lightings rain and a starting riff that will make you start banging if you haven’t started yet. "Between The Hammer And The Anvil" is another speed song with perfect riffs ideal for head banging and Halford at his best.. And the attack continues, "A Touch Of Evil" the song that has such a feeling in its lyrics and such energy in its music. I bet my head that everyone that hears that riff will never forget it. It's like the first time you heard Priest. And finally "One Shoot At Glory" the final song also an epic melody with great refrain. And the record ends and I am sure that the first time you hear it you'll start listening to it all over again! Anyway it may be the best heavy metal album of the 90s and it's surely one of the most important albums in the history of music. After this, every band in the planet wanted to play like Priest, even Priest are still trying to create something like "Painkiller". I really don’t know if I will ever hear any other album so good like this one, every riff, every solo is better that the previews one. Simply a masterpiece. I hope now with the Halford reunion to hear again something like "Painkiller". And final words don’t call your self metalhead if you haven’t heard this record. It will make you feel like the first time you heard heavy fucking metal! Pray to the metal gods, pray to this metal masterpiece with my blessings.

The band got the name from the famous French wine Chateaux. The history says that this wine was perfect for inspiration so every poet had one. The record has 8 marvellous tracks in the vein of NWOBHM. The first track, is the title track and starts with a fantastic scream and a straight screaming guitar solo that will bring the smile in you're face. Speed rhythm beautiful melodies what else do you want? After this the first masterpiece of the record “Spirit Of Chateaux” possibly the best song of the entire album fantastic music played perfectly with nice lyrics and a refrain that will stick in you mind from the first time you will hear it. Speed in the top again “Burn Out At Dawn” and then a doomy smelling song influenced from the first Black Sabbath period “The Dawn Surrendered” where the vocalist gives a recital of what’s the difference between screaming and singing. Side B starts with the second diamond of the record “Straight To The Heart” the title speaks. Absolutely headbanging aaagggrrr …oh it's over now, straight to the heart…and then song like the “Baron Rouge”, ”Son Of Seattle”, ”Shine On Forever” complete the record. The production is really cheap but it's perfect for the music that the band plays, and remember it is NWOBHM inspired record what do you expect? The artwork is amazing and it shows a crypt where a lady with epic clothes is chained to the floor and on the wall there is a guitar in front of a fire temple and in the left side you can see a demon that’s watching the lady. Simply heavymetalish. Finally the rumors say that the band was the first band of Steve Grimmet the lead singer of Grim Reaper (hail!) the name of the singer on this album is possibly nickname or something like this. I believe that this rumor is true cause simply the voice is 1000% same like Steve’s in Grim Reaper and also the music's style is the same and finally if you hear Grimmet’s voice once, you’ll never forget it. So if you like Grim Reaper and NWOBHM, buy it fearlessly. You want find it in  CD format I think, but you can find it easily in vinyl.

The outstanding metal queen of the 80s and the powerful warlock give us the opportunity to bang our head in the rhythms of 10 metal hymns. The record opens with the classic “All We Are” possibly the best choice for the welcome song. Still this song is in every Doro set list along with the half tracks of this album. Speed, melody, fantastic solos and a great performance from Doro, the lead female vocalist. Yes this is what “3 Minute Warning” means. “I Rule The Ruins” and “Kiss Of Death” take the flame the first one is one of my all time favorite songs with a refrain perfect for live and ideal for head fucking banging. The second one is one of the best songs Warlock ever composed and Doro gives her personal sign and takes it to the top through out the passion of her voice. ”Make Time For Love” is the first ballad of the album, Song number 6 is “East Meets West” and the guitar riff after the refrain remind me something from the main riff of "Shout At The Devil" of the great Motley Crue. Nothing more than an amazing song that heavy metal maniacs will love it at once. And the Armageddon continues with “Touch Of Evil” where Doro gives everything she's got and the guitar duo hammers our ears. ”Metal Tango” funny title for a song, with slow crawling riffs and a sensational refrain plus nice lyrics, ”Cold, Cold World” possibly the worst, if I can say worst track of the entire album, only because of the not good enough refrain but nevertheless it has a fantastic bridge. And finally “Fur Immer” sang in the German language and the result is an epic masterpiece. The entire record is a full metal experience and it deserves to be in every metalhead's collection. 
 
 

Elixir made in UK was one of the best bands that ever represented NWOBHM and this album is their first and possibly the best. The record starts with the song “The Star Of Beshaah” where you can hear powerful heavy metal riffs and “Pandora’s Box” an epic masterpiece possibly one of the best songs of the entire record. “Hold High The Flame” is simply a speed demon with a nice riff and song number 4 “Children Of Tomorrow” is another NWOBHM hymn with a amazing refrain that you will sing a lot of times. “Trial By Fire” and “Starflight” are characterized by their stormy sound simply a panic, but "Starflight" wins the price. The production of the record is clearly NWOBHMlish dirty and wild, as about the artwork is amazing a black and blue printed cover that shows an eagle that leaves his nest (you will understand).“Dead Man’s Gold” is a slow crawling track with a fantastic epic flavor where the vocalist gives another recital, with his voice, a voice that you will never forget once you hear it and the guitar duo play a lovely refrain. ”Treachery” (ride like the wind) is possibly the hit track of the band. A perfect combination of speed, melody, rhythm and power, a masterpiece without second thought, hear it by any chance and point you'll hear the wonderful solo. You will feel like the first time you heard Saxon nothing more. And finally the title song of the album, “Son Of Odin”. Another slow crawling song and so epic metal blood running in our veins, epic metal we shall hear. Just read the lyrics …when the eagle leaves his nest, that’s the song that he is on his way, a son of Odin… A perfect record for every NWOBHM maniac, a record with some epic diamonds. The original vinyl version is very rare and expensive but you can buy the remastered cd (1000 piece’s limited edition) where you can find also 3 bonus track (“Chariots Of The Gods” fantastic heavy metal track, “Winds Of Time” a metal balland that has a passionate refrain, and “Treachery” live). Buy it, is a very good record in my opinion you will hear it for years and you will never ask you're self why you bought it. 

    Q5 is another band from Seattle USA (Seattle was a great fucking metal mother in the 80’s). It was in the beginning of the 80s when Floyd Rose the lead guitarist of the band made his dream come true. ‘Steel the light’ hits the streets (with a cult artwork but not ugly. The second issue of the record has another artwork, very strange but beautiful. Thanks to Albatross Records).
    The record opens with the classic song “Missing In Action” where you hear the guitar and you think that it comes straight from hell, blessed with a satanic speed to take your soul. His name Floyd Rose. Rose was the first one who invented the tremolo bar and so in that song you can hear the very first solo ever with a tremolo bar. And the Armageddon continues with “Lonely Lady” one of my favorites songs of Q5. Slow, crawling guitar riffs, with an epic fury and a vocalist that sings with such a passion, like he feels every word that comes out of his mouth like flaming tequila in his tongue.
The rhythm goes slower and slower BUT also more epic. No comes the turn of “Steel The Light” and you go head banging in this really amazing rhythm and you pray not to stop…”Steel the light, Turning darkness in to light”….
    All songs are written for pure head banging (I believe everyone that has heard that record agrees with me), you can find some influences from the classic giants of metal (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, AC/DC & Accept especially on the vocals) but not copies just influences. Songs like “Ain’t No Way To Treat A Lady” – “In The Night” & “Come On Gone”(Great metal ballands) “Rock On” – “Teenage Runaway” has nothing to be jealous of any metal hit cause, they have become classics till now.
    You will find it in CD Reissue with 6-bonus track (about 20 –30 Euro) and in Vinyl, original Albatross Rec. copy costs really expensive (100 and over) and is a must for every good rare metal collector. On the other hand, the second copy (the one with the strange artwork), which was released by Music For Nation Rec. costs about (25-40 Euro) .In my opinion prefer the CD, cause simply the bonus material is really good and very difficult to find (“She Is A Danger”- “Waiting For You’re Love” “Our Love Has Come And Gone”…are essential songs). As for the Internet, you’ll have a bad time if you try to find songs for download (I haven’t found anything), who knows try and you may find something in Kazaa. Buy it anywhere you find it, it’s fucking great metal with fantastic progressive elements. I am sure you’ll like it!

    Villain is known as a real 80s bay area act, but the truth is that the roots of this truly underestimated band are to be found in Modesto a mid sized town 100 miles from San Francisco. This is the only official release of the band and that’s the first bad think in this case. The second is the death of Carl Albert, (R.I.P.). Yes the vocalist that most of you know from the great Vicious Rumors. It was in the beginning of 1985 when Gregg Noll (guitar) and Ron Quillen (drums) where looking for a vocalist good enough to rise with his performance and voice the band to the highest levels. And his name was Carl Albert. So after a concert of the Ruffians (another fucking great band) he became a Villain-er. That’s the story of the band, at least its beginning.
    The record starts with “Kamikaze” a fantastic speed demon, with one of the greatest riffs, the kind of song that all the bands would like to have on their records. As for the vocalist, he is simply marvelous, unique everything that you can expect from Carl. Track No 2 “Only Time Will Tell” the rhythm goes slower is not the best song of the record but not the worst also. ”Tie You’re Mother Down” will remind you of the golden age of NWOBHM, check the lyrics, they are really funny. Track No 4 “Shell Make Fall (In Love)” in my opinion the best song of the album with Kamikaze, Carl at his best, with a voice full of emotions, guitar riffs that will stay forever in you’re head, an epic rhythm that you pray never to stop and a classic guitar as a background that reminded me of Crimson Glory (no copy , just reminds me of C.G)……blah blah blah I can speak about this song for a day. “Kids Of Crime”, “Thrills In The Night” are essential songs to listen to and finally “Just Close You’re Eyes”. Yes the ballad of this record and as the huge Gary Moore has once said “if you can compose and write a good ballad then you can compose anything”. The cover has only a drawing of the band’s logo and finally the production is amazingly good for an underground band As a result what else but a real 80s monument? After the release the band broke up because of problems with record companies. The very first issue in vinyl (500 pieces if I remember well) its really expensive (200 – 1000 euro even more) depending the condition. Why? 1st it’s a great album 2nd every record from the first 500 that hasn’t been sold, was burned. Think about it you may drink your coca cola in a bottle of 1000 euro without knowing it (words from the latest interview of Gregg Noll) reason no 3 Carl Albert. Anyway you can find it in cd reissues (mausoleum rec. number I think unlimited) or in vinyl reissues (1000 copies cult metal classics rec) both of them with lyrics and unreleased photos, but the vinyl reissue has also some unreleased bonus tracks. 
As for Mp3s on the Internet… hmmmmmm…. I don’t think so, but the only mp3 that’s available is in the official cult metal classics rec page, and this is kamikaze, ideal for the first meeting with the band. So do you like classic heavy metal, progressive elements, and an amazing giant on the microphone? Yes, with my blessings. 

    Praying Mantis is an English band that released their debut album in the beginning of the best metal decade ever. Influenced from the explosion of NWOBHM and with the thought that, some day their music will be recognized, they managed to create a perfect album, a fantastic example of what is good AOR. Elements like speed, rhythm, fantastic guitars and lyrics are everywhere in this record.
    The record starts with the song “Cheater” and continues with a cover of the classic song “All Day And All Of The Night”. The party doesn’t stop here, but it’s time for  “Running For Tomorrow”, ”Rich City Kids”, ”Lover To The Grave”, especially the last one is a magnificent balland, with a fucking great solo which gives you the feeling of an explosion, a metal explosion you won’t forget easily. On the second side of the album you will find songs like “Panic In The Streets”, “Beads Of Ebony”, “Flirting With Suicide”, “Children Of The Earth”, and  “30 Pieces Of Silver”. “Beads Of Ebony” has a classic guitar riff that you will all love at once. “Children Of The Earth” is possessed by magical power and in my opinion is one of the best songs on this album, where you can hear an unforgettable solo in the beginning of the song that is not speedy but it gives you the feeling that it goes amazingly fast. The refrain of “Lover To The Grave” and “Children Of The Earth” will stay in you mind forever, and simply (always according to me) these songs are the best of the record. Finally the last song “30 Pieces Of Silver” has one of the best riffs I have ever heard, so heavy and so metallic that you would never think that this could be a riff of an AOR band. On this album you will find a lot of NWOBHM influences but you will always hear a unique AOR style, not similar to anything that you have ever heard before. This record is a real monument for the metal scene, cause it was simply a great influence for thousands of bands around the world. It’s not pure luck that the British press back in 1982, wrote that this band might be the new Iron Maiden of metal. Only 1 more British band has managed this. Who? Tokyo Blade. You can find it in vinyl and CD, in good prices (20-30 euro), also check the Internet, you will find a lot of beautiful things (yes and a lot of MP3’s) and also visit the official website of the band, where you can find fantastic photos and also other interesting things. With my blessings, recommended for everyone that is a maniac with melodic heavy metal. 

We can say whatever we want for this album and yet it still won't be enough! A diamond, a masterpiece, a saga! Only such words can describe one of the best albums of the U.S. power metal scene, I've ever heard. Lackmann's voice nails you down, divine riffs, amazing melodies and you won't find not even one average song. tehy are all perfect! Songs that I'd pick out are "Final Victory", "Out From The Shadows" (incredible!) and "Nothing Is Sacred", however, all the songs are great! It's a pity that such a band released only one album. Arrggggggg!!!!! Quality heavy metal album!!!!

    Born in the metal cradle, in the state of Seattle USA, Terry Gorle the man behind the legendary band that hears in the name Heir Apparent, gave all his power, emotions and love, to create an album with unique music and lyrics, so unique that the world never has heard anything like this before. The result? After 17 Years “Graceful Inheritance” remains the highest rated album in the history of the German Rock Hard Magazine (49 of a possible 50 points). And the title of it, the best possible title for such a great album “Graceful Inheritance”. If you haven’t understood it yet, we speak about one of the shiniest diamonds of the USA 80s metal scene.
    The album starts with one of the best song the band has ever composed “Another Candle”. A slow start that creates an atmosphere perfect for what will come next. A guitarist playing incredibly good that makes you think that the metal Valhalla is somewhere between his fingers and the guitar. A sound so unique that has nothing to be jealous of any other band of this planet, contrary to lots of other bands that must be jealous, and praying to create an album like this some day. Next song  “The Servant”, speedy rhythm ideal for headbanging. And the party continues with “Tear Down the Walls” and you’re in a freaking condition of unstoppable headbanging, a classic metal song with a crazy solo. “Running from the Thunder”, “The Cloak” are simply amazing especially “The Cloak” has a fantastic melody straight from the heart of the guitar. Now it’s time for the sensational “Hands of Destiny” and I will start with words like “Progressive Metal at its best”. Just hear it, it’s a must song for every metaller that loves progressive, but don’t be fooled! Heir Apparent is a progressive band but they also have strong, epic elements that make their songs simply fantastic and unique. Yes I wrote the word unique about 10 times but trust me this is the truth. 1 / 100.000 - that’s the possibility for a record to be so good without coping great metal acts like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest,… especially in the progressive metal section where the guitarist must be a giant core of unstoppable ideas and guitars riffs. Anyway “Keeper of Reign” is the balland of the record if I can say balland is a slow dark crawling song that takes you to a trip to another time. You may call me fool or romantic but you even may cry with this song. Near the end the guitar continues with a rhythm that takes you straight to heaven, simply hear it. “Master of Invasion” which is a slow song but with an emotional refrain that will make you sing or scream for sure, and also it has a solo that you don’t hear every day. ‘Dragon Lair’ and ‘Nightmare (Face the Dark)’ are speed metal demons, check the Bass playing on the second one, it’s marvelous.
    Finally I have to say that this record is not a Heir Apparent record, but it’s Terry Gorle’s Heir Apparent record cause he is simply the leader of the band and has composed and written almost the whole record alone. Also the band has a great singer that hears in the name Paul Davidson. All of you that love progressive or epic metal with speed elements, magnificent lyrics and unique guitar playing, buy it without second thoughts. It’s a great investment that you will be proud of. Everyone must have this record cause it’s an 80s metal masterpiece, a diamond that will always be shining. You can find it on CD (20-30euro) or Vinyl (don’t give more 30-50 euro, if someone asks you for more that 50 simply tell him fuck off you stinky bastard). As about the Internet you can visit the Official page of the band, where you will find a lot of photos, MP3’s (Complete tracks, very good songs, ideal for the first meting with the band), merchandise in good prices, even speak with Terry Gorle. 

The Official Heir Apparent Web: www.heirapparent.com

    We are somewhere in the beginning of the glorious, as was about to become, decade of the 80s, in the America that prepares in delay but nevertheless regularly its metal attack in the music scene. A warlord of Greek origin (he speaks about it with pride… this is a real Greek!) that hears in the name B.Tsamis, releases slowly and cleverly, sneakily we could say, his Trojan horse under the title ‘Deliver Us’ and literally, this record brings steel, fire and panic in their society of underground metal scene. The leader and guitarist, Destroyer (B.Tsamis), along with the help of the other members, always under nicknames (like Thunderchild, Destroyer, Archangel, Damien King) that had the symbolism of baptism in the group, with Warlord bequeaths us an amazing record, guiding light for each true fan of epic metal. All songs are characterized by the avant-garde, the uniqueness, but also the true and pure love of musicians that compose with all their heart these irreproachable pieces of art. Everything about this record is great if not perfect… the cover which is from the most beautiful I have ever seen (clearly personal opinion, perhaps also influenced from my love for that group) the production that stands in its altitude, everything is great even when you hear it 20 years after it was recorded. We speak about the absolute metal 6 bullet gun. Songs like Deliver Us From Evil, Child Of The Damned, Lucifer's Hammer make you proud to say ‘I am a fucking metalhead’, also the other 3 songs Tears, Penny For A Poor Man, Black Mass (very dark atmosphere, I dare to say trully doom metal), is also fucking great. As I told you we speak about the absolute heavy metal 6 bullet gun, 6 amazing metal bullets that you wish to strike deep inside your ears). I should mention that a little guy with the nickname Thunderchild, and the name M.Zonder, (he gives everything he got so the record can become even greater and his role is very important cause he and Destroyer give the command for the metalmorphosis, that makes ‘Deliver Us’ sound different from every other common Heavy Metal album), gives lessons how to perform amazing compositions and he doesn’t have anything to be jealous of from the rest of the top drummers of that time, (I dare to say that he is also even better) that establishes him in his next group, Fates Warning. One of the best records of the American metal, but also epic metal in general. It deserves to be bought and it should be found in each discography, (of the epic metal fans). If  you are a epic fan and you do not have this record, then start the exorcism of your discography right now …. You can find it easily and in reasonable prices (for vinyl do not give above 50 heavily 55 euro, we shouldn’t leave any motherfucker take our nice money) in vinyl, Picture Disc (700 Copies) and CD, and also in double DVD version with DVD + CD, you choose what suits you more (better take them all) and invest fearlessly, with my blessings.
    For MP3s  you can try  KAZAA it has some songs for download , also visit www.warlord.ws the Warlord official internet page ,where you can find MP3s, photos interviews, ….and lot of interesting things.

    It was in the beginning of the 80s when the members of a band called Mob met the singer of another Seattle band called Myth, and so the story starts. Tate and his band had a demo tape, which was very good but a little strange for the standards of that music period. Harris, Kim & Diana were some friends of the band, owning a record  shop called Easy Street Records and after working as managers for the band they released the first Queensryche EP. A record that meant to change the meaning of metal music for ever and so a few days later, in the studio, progressive metal was dressed in its best clothes and was out on the streets. Before I continue I have to say that on this album you can hear the best Tate ever (it’s only a personal opinion, I hope you believe the same) and one of the best periods of the band. 
    Songs like Queen of the Reich, The lady wore black (the first song the band ever composed), Prophecy, Nightrider and Blinded are simply great! What else can I say! The artwork is cult and it has something magical along with the logo. Oooooh this fucking logo is one of the best ever my eyes have seen. The EP starts with a great scream from Tate something like a tribute roar to his idols (Rob Halford….) the guitars are riffing you till the end with sounds that you have never heard before, but you can sense something Maiden-ish in some solo parts and also something Qeeunsryche-ish in the solos of Iron Maiden after this EP. Then it’s time for a Lady to appear… a lady wearing black takes your heart and makes you cry and scream from anger, love, satisfaction. You are 99% sure that you’re money didn’t go wasted, like going on a blind date with Pamela Anderson. You don’t know anything but when you open your eyes you’re pretty fucking happy. And then the last song, Prophecy. What a song! Tate teaching us again and this Queen has already managed to make you a maniac for your new diamond. What else can I say? It simply deserves to be here, a real progressive monument with some epic feelings that makes you bang all the time. 
    For MP3’s and Video clips, check Kazza you will find a lot of nice things, also visit the official site of the band, it has some interesting photos. You can find the EP in vinyl (the original 206 Records cost a lot, more than 100 euro sometimes but the reissue from EMI is really cheap) also you can find the new reissue in CD with about 10 extra - bonus tracks (very good price) in my opinion prefer the CD, except if you’re a vinyl maniac.

In a Kerrang's issue in a review about this record they wrote: "A metal band from Greece, which indeed plays amazingly heavy metal? This is a real surprise… and they marked it with 3 out of 5. This record is a must for every Greek that respects his origins as well as the music he likes. The Greek Iron Maidens (Kerrang named them Iron Maiden of Greece) have created a diamond of enormous weight, that hasn't lost its shine in the passage of time. The production is great I can even say crystal clear, so much for the standards of the 80s Greek metal scene but also very good for the foreigner current standards. Compositions that boil in a inhexaustible cauldron of inspiration and overflows somewhere between the guitar and the fingers of  the lead gutarist that plays amazingly good. On the other hand, the singer heard the disk for the first time 5 years after the circulation (he was in coma situation after an accident with his motorcycle).  He gives 101% of his abilities (you will trace his great influence : Ronnie James Dio) and creates a mystical, dark atmosphere that changes into  romantic, horny and trully rock 'n' rollish from time to time.
    Classic songs like "Evil Thoughts Around" (great fucking song), "Lady Of The Night", "Whispers" (one of the greatest ballands I've evere heard), "Lead Me On" (heavy metal thunder straight to your heart), will take you on a travel back in 1986. The idea about the artwork is great and very clever, but the  implementation of it, is really bad, for example the sigh on the wings of the airplain seems like a bad copy of the Marlboro logo. After the "First Attack 100%Live" (The band's name was changed from Spitfire into Speedfire, cause there was another band in action under the name Spitfire), followed (the bands that release a live album after only one official release are hand numbered). 100% Live is exactly what it says, but it also has unreleased songs that they are not included in the "First Attack" album. 100% Live is their last official release, but they are still performing live. I am talking about one of the best Greek metal albums ever, if not the best.
You can find it on vinyl (ave.price 100euro, don’t let some motherfuckers take your money, but prefer the cd edition except if you're a vinyl maniac) or cd but it's not very easy and if you are from abroad start making Greek friends. 
Visit http://vibrationsofdoom.com/test/Spitfire.html for cover artwork
No MP3s available on any internet page.

    Born in the golden decade of the 80’s and forged in the America of the million hidden power metal gems, we can say, that this record could be the third release in line of Crimson Glory and believe me, if after their debut album (1986) and as well after their second, classic “Transcendence” (1988) “Ra Pariah” (1989) followed, we would speak for a legendary group. Anyway “Strange And Beautiful” followed and disapointed us all. The name of the group was given from a Greek, who played for a small period in the band. Indeed the band has declared that they didn’t like the name and simply kept it because they hadn’t found something better. Musically now the disk is not ashamed of showing its influences from Crimson Glory, and you can trace it in the guitars and also in the amazing vocals of Daniel John Miller whose style reminds me of Midnight. All songs are really fucking great, you might find some epic elements and you will bewitched by the atmosphere that surrounds the record. The only problem that I trace is the production, which is very good but not as good as we’d expect from a record that wants to come out of the ordinary. But who gives a fuck about the production if the music is good?
    After their only official release (Apollo Ra – Ra Pariah - demo tape) they broke up as Apollo Ra, but they continued playing music as Museum of Fear (as you see is difficult to stop bad habits and even worse is more difficult to stop the good ones) You won’t find the original demo tape even if you get a blowjob from all the band members, cause simlpy doesn’t not exists any more, but if you’re lucky and I mean really lucky, you may find the reissue of this masterpiece in vinyl (500 handnumber copies) or cd (1000 copies with 2 bonus tracks), in any chance if you have a friend that has the record, buy a CD-R and do your job. Also don’t try to find any MP3s on the internet cause you won’t find not even a sample (you can try if you don’t believe me). Now for those that haven’t yet understood what I am talking about, we speak for a 100% true metal band and you can understand this if you take a look at the photos, lyrics and the music of the band. After all we speak about the 80’s , so it can be only metal.
    All in all I have to say only one thing ‘this heavy pill is especialy for progressive – power maniacs and really good fans of crimson glory’. So buy it without second thought, trust me it’s really good. Between this record and Breatney Spears, even if she comes with open legs screaming ‘I need a cock’, choose the record. I know, I know… Breatney is a really hot babe… (is the girl on the cover Breatney Spears? hahahahahah)
Visit http://www.metal-treasures.at/apollora.htm for cover atwork
And http://www.underground-empire.com/  (and then choose HISTORY - UNDERGROUND EMPIRE 1-RIGHT ARROW-APOLLO RA) for band pics.

In 1987 4 young men from the former West Germany, Daxx (guitar, vocals), Micky (guitar, vocals), Samson (drums) and Heiner (bass) release their first album under the title "Go And Live...Stay And Die". Being influenced by the bay area thrash movement and slightly by (like their copatriots Paradox) the German thrash of SODOM, KREATOR and DESTRUCTION, this album gives you the sense, especially if you don't know where they come from, that we are dealing with a U.S. band of the primitive METALLICA, DEATH ANGEL, EXODUS, HEATHEN and FORBIDDEN era. Extremely technical with speed riffs, Vendetta become a band you get to love from the first hearing. The 2 guitarists-singers with their smart compositions and pure thrash vocals drive you to endless headbanging. Songs like the self titled (personally it's one of the best thrash songs I've ever heard), "System Of Death", "On The Road" and "Suicidal Lunacy" stick in your head and make you hum the chorus. In 1988 the band releases its second album under the title "Braindamage" and unfortunately disbands. In 1998 with 2 members from the original line up (Daxx and Heiner), the band reunites and in 2002 record a promo work, which I hope to be soon released by a record label. It would be a great pleasure for me to see Vendetta's name amongst other bands playing in a big European festival (like Wacken). I hope they will win the recognition they deserve, even 16 years later. 

One of the most unique bands that never got what it really deserved is Unanimated. These Swedes on their second album, after the great "In The Forest Of Dreaming Dead" slowed down their speeds and added some more melody, also having many BLACK SABBATH influences. All these resulted in an amazing album! Incredible songs like "Life's Demise", "Dying Emotions Domain", "Eye Of The Greyhound", etc. aren't composed everyday. With the compositions  creating a vast melnacholic atmosphere, with a very good production and a flawless performance, this release came to raise the waves of melodic death/black and create a big fuzz around itself when it got released. We shouldn't forget that this band managed to stand out despite the fact that around then albums like "Storm Of the Light's Bane" (DISSECTION) and "Vittra" (NAGLFAR) were released. Unfortunately, what followed wasn't as satisfying as this album and due to various personal problems, they disbanded. However, they managed to help in the building that is now called melodic death/black. We will forever stay with the unanswered question, what would the band have offered still in the future...

The U.S. November's Doom probably they are not a famous band for most of you, but they have managed to create a cult name in the underground scene. The band started of a decade ago and their debut came in a time when "Angel And The Dark River" by MDB and "Silent Enigma" by ANATHEMA were released and so it didn't attract the interest it deserved. This album is a classic example of English doom/death filled with pesimism, melancholy and despair. With riffs influenced by MDB (their first albums), CATHEDRAL of the "Forest" period, PARADISE LOST, ANATHEMA (their first albums) and so many SAINT VITUS elements they offered us one more masterpiece of the melodic doom/death with guitars slower than death itslef, female ethereal vocals and a singer simply blood chilling! Songs like "Aurora's garden", "Chorus Of Jasmine" and "Sadness Rains" aren't written by ordinary bands. The album was rereleased 2 years ago with a new artwork, cover and some bonus tracks from Dark Symphonies. The fans of this specific sound should check them out even now, cause it's a true gem and I am sure they won't regret it. As a further information I should mention that the band still exists with many line up changes and only the singer Paul Kurhva is from the original line up. This doesn't prevent them, however, from relasing quality albums in the melodic doom/death branch, which unfortunately has a few bands tht still serve it faithfully (e.x. MY DYING BRIDE, HAK).

I don't have words to express my feeling for this N.W.O.B.H.M. diamond that was released back in 1981. Whoever has in his cd collection "Spellbound" must feel proud cause every listening fills me with excitement. Dynamic, melodic, aggressive but lyrical at the same time. Especially I'd like to mention the song "Hellbound" which is a stormy heavy metal lightning, the amazing ballad "Mirror Mirror" and the raw and "dirty" "Tyger Bay". An album containing all the ingredients in order to be characterized as a classic heavy metal masterpiece. Whoever is fan of quality heavy metal should get this monument. Tygers might have not made a huge name like some other bands, but they offered this excellent piece of work that time will never destroy. 

Whenever I reach for an album from my collection, there are always those being favourable...I always try to stay focused on diversity to avoid stretching for the same disks all the time; vinyls my game, and the decades of choice is the ultimate 80's and the superb 70's with its hardrock includements. My big love when talking’ bout metal is without doubt the nwobhm era which inspired the majority of todays bands and is partly responsible for the metalscene being the way it is. But I won't pick any of these bands; 'cause the album I view to be of greater importance than most releases, is Rainbow's incredible "Rising" opus. This album makes my "diversity" attitude harder and I haven't got a clue on how many times this record has graced my vinylplatter. I have even bought a couple of spares to ensure this piece of hardrock history won't be out of reach. As Dio is one of my favourite vocalists, Blackmore the guitarist of choice and Cozy my ultimate powerhouse drummer, "Rising" of course qualifies as being one of my alltime faves. I would, if I could've, picked the debut, "long live..." and On stage" as well; but as the focus was to be -one- release, the coin dropped on the rising. "Stargazer" is probably one of the most majestic and well-written anthems within the hardrock/metal movement ever; something I won't disagree with. But the opener, "Tarot Woman", showing off a killer Hammond-performance and Cozy entering the song by violating the drums sooooo extensive, has always been my song. Probably 'cause it was the first track I ever heard which qualified as heavy. I am the proud owner of a tv-live concert from Germany, which captures the band on their peek; here the Rising shows to include some strong live material. All the tracks on Rising qualify, but some of course kicks more ass than others. I guess if you ask me to do another review of my fave-album in twenty years from now, the Rising probably will be a major contender; that pretty much speaks for itself. In these days of trends, bands flowing the market, it is killer to have these ultimate and everlasting releases that never seems to be outdated. All hail Rainbow; an important inspirator and a huge part of the reason why the metal scene evolved the way it did.

The time is 10 minutes past midnight. Outside the night is unleashing its power and dominating over the day and its servants. Well, I couldn't sleep and so I've decided to check my vinyl collection (it's not a big one, cause I have to admit that I am another victim of technology). Anyway, in my search I picked out this release that I am going to talk about. Overkill were one of the best thrash metal bands of the '80s originating in the U.S. Most of the band's fans will tell you that their best release was their debut album "Feel The Fire". I agree that it is one of their best, but for me Overkill reached the top of their creativity with their album "Taking Over". Overkill according to me created a new genre with this album. It was the first time we had the chance to listen to thrash metal songs with an epic feeling. "Fear His Name" is a metal hymn that every time I listen to sends shivers down my spinal chord. The track "In Union We Stand" will bring to your minds Jag Panzer and their song "Chain Of Command". Not that the other songs are not as good as the above mentioned. "Taking Over" is a unique thrash metal album that no band can reach its quality today. Not even Overkill themselves. I think that this album was released in a cd format as well, but it's easier to be found in a vinyl form. Anyway, listen to the album and join the "wrecking crew". Finishing, I want to say that I don't know if you've noticed, but heavy metal sounds much better during the night than during the day (or at least this is what I think).
P.S. To those who continue to "witchunt" heavy metal, I have to say "Fear His Name", cause this is the music o the free and the damned...It's not for those who sell their whole lives, just to earn some more money and want to enter the temporare "hall of famacity".

There are things about metal music that make it different.It is the feeling,the atmosphere. It is the passion that leads most metal bands to write killer songs.I believe that metal is about  emphasissing in feelings rather than technical abilities. And what makes zoon{name borrowed from greek language that can be translate as animal/beast} so special is that it only had to do with feelings.Although it had been technical like hell{with Macoy using over 12 kinds of volas,drums giving a killer performance with fastnon-stop kicks that made drums seem unbelivable to have been perfomed by man,and well played guitars and bass}.It's not that what made it special. 
Coming from a non-metal musician {Carol McCoy lead singer of Fields of The Nephilim a goth/rock band}and the combined effort of not exactly metal musicians  {members of nefilim played in other goth bands afterwards}, they created a diamond of Atmospheric music.Being brutal and having lots of death metal moments and black metal touches but only to make a point.That of creating dark moments. Maybe the darkest album ever released. This album is not well known at all.As a matter of fact you won't be able to find it in most countries. It has a complete failure and sold few copies. That is probably because FOTN fans didnt want to hear a death metal album and death metallers didnt want an atmospehric record around. I bielive that it was a break through for music.Even after 200 times it stills sounds great. 
Findout in which movie Lemmy,Iggy pop and McCoy play together........

Running Wild is my favorite band...No, no, actually is the love of my life (musically speaking). Is the band that its music is the soundrtack of my youth. Not that I am old (I am only 24 years old, hehe). Enough talking for my love for Running Wild. I am trying to present you here one of their best albums and in my humble opinion one of the best, top quality metal albums ever (my objecticity is unquestionable as you can see, hehe). Anyway, "Black Hand Inn" is first of all a concept album and it narrates the story of a man unfairly accused of being in league with Satan and thus the Inquisition burnt him alive. After some years the ghost of this man returns to Earth and in the exact place where he was burnt. There, in Black Hand Inn he reveals the true evil that humanity provokes with its  ignorance. A great and very clever concept as you can see. Now, on the musical part, you will listen to some of the best and cleverest Running Wild riffs ever (I am not suggesting that now they don't kick ass). Songs like "Black Hand Inn", "Soulless", "The Privateer", "The Phantom Of Black Hand Hill", "Dragonman" are meant to stay. The old version of this release ended with a 15 minute saga entitled "Genesis" (believe me even Steve Harris would sell his soul to compose a song like this one). If I still haven't convinced you to listen to this album, then I have to say that albums with half of the ideas and riffs contained in here are considered to be classics. Running Wild in my opinion is a very misjudged band and their place is among the other metal giants...But it's never too late to discover them. Buy the new edition, which offers two great songs as bonus tracks.

Everything sounds so poor and little regarding this 80's masterpiece. An album pure magic combining melody with power, speed, passion and the musical ideas, but above all the soul required to play heavy metal. Lords crushes our stomachs with his technical bass playing, Midnight's voice is amazing once more maybe belonging in the top 5 metal voices, the guiatrs spit fire and guts and the only but thing is the use of drum machine. Which song can I select? The enchanting "In Dark Places" or "Red Sharks", a song ideal for headbanging? All the songs are simply amazing! This is a cd that all heavy metal fans should have in their collection. 

NWOBHM is thought to be one the most influencing musical revolutions in the history of Rock. While trying to find its finest moments we come across this masterpiece.Angel Witch's self-titled album was the best debut album of NWOBHM and one of the best debut in the thirty-something years of metal. What makes this album different is that it is perfect in each detail.Great songs with many changes and a lot of work (and not just some simple guitar riff),great cover,everything is just perfect to immortalize the name ANGEL WITCH.You can ask Manilla Road,Six Feet Under and many other bands how much influencing this album was for them.What else?Just British metal at its best! The remastered edition contains the "LOSER" single,the b-sides of the "SWEET DANGER" single ("FLIGHT NINETEEN","HADES PARADISE"),and the song for the metal for muthas collection ("BAPHOMET").

What makes a great metal album?Great riffs,great vocals and the ability to compose great songs. Imagine all three to the maximum,and there it is:UNSTOPPABLE FORCE, propably the best speed-power album ever from the USA. The vocals?John Cyriis's swansong whose voice was compared only to Rob Halford's.The songs?Starting with the title track (one of the best thrash songs ever) the album is full of highlights like the amazing "Still Searchin" (Could be written by Queensryche for the "Warning" album),"Rager"(how many times did Destiny's end and Iced Earth listen to this?) and the instrumental "The day at Guyana" (speed metal riffing at its best). Give yourself the opportunity to be proud of the music that you hear.The power of true 80's metal awaits you.

It was the year 1978.The greatest band on earth creating its best album. Am I exaggerating? I don't think so. At the end of the album you're wondering if you've ever heard of anything better in your life! And the search in very difficult... 4 songs (1 instrumental), the best moments of the best power trio ever. the title track, an 18 minutes masterpiece of progressive hard rock shows the uniqueness of Rush. "La Villa Strangiato"...Music from outer space! Orgasmic sounds from the magic hands of Geddy, Alex and Neil. Apart from these "Hemispheres" is by far Neil's top lyrical moment. "...In A Single Perfect Sphere..." No words! If you consider yourself a music fan, you should really listen to this album.

Phil really had a gift. The gift to write simple songs that were "doomed" to emain classics. "The Boys Are Back In Town":The song for every street gang, for every soccer team's fans. A song with universal power. You can say the same things about  "Jailbreak","Warriors" and the all-time classic "Emerald". Here you can also find the need of every rock band to write cowboy songs! You all know how BON JOVI took it to the next decade! Do yourselves a favor and listen to a classic album with great melodic hard rock music and above all the ideals that unfortunately are completely lost in our days. 

1980 is a remarkable date for heavy metal because it marks the starting point of a very important decade for this music. It's back then when Accept released their second album, "I'M A Rebel". It's a real diamond for your collection and one of the best that this band has ever released. However, since this is one of the first albums of the band, the influences are obvious: AC/DC (listen to the song "I'M A Rebel"), their copatriots SCORPIONS, QUEEN , KISS and JUDAS PRIEST. Somehow like this, the story for one of the best bands in heavy metal began. "I'M A Rebel, Rebel...Don't You Just Know It?"

With Queensryche's "OPERATION MINDCRIME" ,we discovered the ultimate,the supreme.We knew then that noone will ever reach the quality of this album,not even QRYCHE themselves.And that is what makes "PROGRAMMED" so important.Lethal is the only band which managed to copy Queensryche's greatness.This album will almost create to you the same feelings like "Operation...".It is quite a big thing, isn't it? Also having some influence from "The warning",this album is a real monument of power/progressive metal. Tom Mallicoat takes you for a ride,and you really think that it is Geoff himself.Great riffs,outstanding melodies and the great "Operation..." 's atmosphere all over the album! Unfortunately,Lethal never created that kind of music again.They (as many others) were influenced by the new wave of american metal and were soon forgotten.But there will always be "PROGRAMMED" to remind us of a time where inspiration and lust were combined,and led to the creation of some of the best albums in metal history

Taking big steps from classic metal to progressive power/speed,Helstar created their masterpiece "NOSFERATU" in 1989.In my opinion,this is among the 15 best albums of the 80's... "Baptized in blood","Benediction","Swirling Madness" are just some of the great tracks on this album.Power/speed metal of first class,with a touch of progressive sound, horror lyrics,and above all:the one and only James Rivera with his outstanding vocals. I think it is useless to continue describing this album.Most of you have heard it.For those of you who haven't,do yourselves a favour and buy this album.After all DESTINY'S END (with James on vocals) is today's number one pure power metal band.Is that accidental? More than classic!