Metal Blade Metalmeister Compilation Walkthrough

If I had to pick a favorite label, Metal Blade would probably be it. Since the early 1980's they have shown a commitment to metal that has been consistent. Even now they are still putting out great albums by groups like God Dethroned and Razor of Occam. They have some more mainstream bands on their label, but they still have a lot of great underground bands as well.

This is a compilation Metal Blade put out in the mid 1990's showcasing their roster. I picked it up used when I was in either high school or very early college. I like compilations sometimes because they help me find new bands and albums. The best compilations cause the consumer to go out and buy albums by the band on them. I will go through a track by track look at this compilation.

Cannibal Corpse: Mummified in Barbed Wire

This was one of the first Corpse songs I heard with the new vocalist, Corpsegrinder Fisher. It took some time to get used to his different vocals. I always liked Chris Barnes's deeper guttaral style a little better. Not a bad song though, typical Corpse. I would buy the album even though I already have five other albums by the band, all of which came after buying this compilation.

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Galactic Cowboys: Psychotic Companion

Not a big fan of this one. The band plays some sort of progressive metal typically. This track sounds like they were influenced by the grunge scene, not very good. The vocals are also a little weak and annoying. I would not buy this album or any others from the band, unless I heard something better. The psychic network infomercial samples are a little irritating too.

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Sacred Reich: Blue Suit, Brown Shirt

Fairly straightforward thrash metal song from a band that was past its prime and running on fumes. Not a bad song, just not any different from anything else they have ever put out. Once you have one Sacred Reich album, you pretty much have them all. I already own one and enjoy it, so there is no need to pick this one up.

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Mercyful Fate: Into the Unknown

This was the first song I had heard from Mercyful Fate/King Diamond. At the time I was not impressed. This is not the best song to introduce the band with, it is slower and does not have the strongest riffs. King's falsetto vocals require some time to get used to. Once you do though, you're pretty much hooked. I have two Mercyful Fate albums and three by King Diamond. I would pick this one up as well.

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Gwar: Meat Sandwich

Ah Gwar. I have this album and reviewed it in the Dusting Off a Cassette series. Gwar is weird, really that's all there is to it. I'm sure that this is a euphemism somehow.

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Six Feet Under: The Enemy Inside

I didn't know at first that this was the former singer for Cannibal Corpse's new band. I kind of figured it out though. Six Feet Under isn't as good as Cannibal Corpse, they are far more groove-oriented, but this was a decent song. Unfortunately, every song by Six Feet Under kind of sounds like this. So I bought one album two years ago, and I'm pretty much set.

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Skrew: She Said

Skrew is an industrial groove metal band. Not a bad band when they are at their best. Industrial and metal can co-exist and form a crushing juggernaut of sound. This song was close, but just not quite there. I already owned one album by Skrew. I probably would not pick up another.

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Wardog: Scorched Earth

I like this song. Very good example of speed metal done right. For some reason I never got around to picking up the album. I may have to rethink that. The song is fast and aggressive, and way too short. You can definitely hear the Painkiller influence.

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Immolation: Here in After

This one did not impress me at the time. It was slow, the vocals were extreme, and it just never appealed to me. How times have changed. Immolation is now one of my favorite death metal bands, I particularly like the occult death metal sound that the band started. I don't own this one yet, but I would buy it. I have three other albums by the band.

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Crisis: Wretched

This one caught me completely by surprise. Crisis's vocalist is a woman with some of the most psychotic, angry vocals I have ever heard. She can go from a quiet whisper, to a soothing alto, to an angry growl, to a bloodcurdling shriek all in the span of a couple of seconds. And she does, frequently. Amazing vocalist, still one of my favorite female singers. Crisis is an underrated band as well. I have this album but it took a long time to find.

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Desultory: Before Today, Beyond Tomorrow

I don't know why I never looked into this band. This is a Swedish death metal band, one of my favorite scenes. This particular song sounds like the band decided to follow Entombed towards a death n' roll type sound. Not bad if the band can pull it off. This particular song did pull it off. The album has terrible reviews though, I would have to do some research before deciding on this album.

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Ancient: The Curse

Ancient was part of the second wave of black metal in Norway. They were always a little different though, focusing on melody even moreso than countrymen Dimmu Borgir. This song is weird and is probably the first exposure I ever had to the genre. The various vocal styles completely threw me off. It always sounded like it belonged in some horrible fantasy movie about wizards or some shit. Nevertheless, I grew to enjoy the band at some point and now own two of their albums. Not this one though and I am okay with that.

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U.N.I.T.E.D.: Kill Yourself for Business

Huh. Japanese metal can be a little weird. The riffs are decent, sounding like they were influenced by Anthrax. The vocals are shouted which allows the listener to understand what they are saying, which leads to the problem. Apparently they don't speak English very well. We can also hear the accent very well. It's unintentionally hilarious. Pass.

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Decoryah: Fall-Dark Waters

Now, without looking I can tell you just from hearing the music that this band is from Finland. I did not know that before. It definitely sounds like a combination of Amorphis, Insomnium, and Nightwish. At the time, I was struck by how beautiful this song was. The piano is very prominent in the sound with the vocals sounding like they are coming from a fog. An amazing song, not particularly metal, although there are some metal riffs buried in there. The only reason I don't have this album is because I can't find it.

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Armored Saint: Creepy Feelings

This is not one of Armored Saint's better songs. I don't know why, it just doesn't have the same feel to it. It was disappointing song to hear because I was impressed by the band on Hellraiser 3, in which they had a cameo. This song put me off buying anything by the band for fear of it being their natural sound and not the song "Hanging Judge". I'm glad I got over that, but I still would not buy this album.

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So, since buying this compilation, I have picked up albums by nine of the fifteen bands. That's pretty impressive. The only reason I don't own more of these albums is because they were mostly out of print when I finally bought this compilation.