Time for another compilation album. I'm trying to do one of these a week, if you couldn't tell, until I run out of them. Compilations, not weeks.
SATAN'S HOST: AVE LUCIFER
I really enjoy Satan's Host although I wish they would just stick to writing catchy songs on their albums, instead of all this Satanic invocation crap they always do. When they want to, they put out some amazing songs, this is one of those moments. Pat Evil is an amazingly talented guitarist. I have this album, so no need to praise it further.
GIGAN: STILL IMAGE SYMPHONY
Technical death metal. It definitely shreds and it does sound a little better than some of the other soulless stuff. I am not a huge fan of this genre though. I have some bands I really like, but I don't go out of my way to find it. Those into this sort of thing, one in particular, should check this out.
ARKONA: SHROUDS OF CELESTIAL SAGE
Pagan folk metal from Russia, with a great opening thrashy riff. This features a very strong female lead singer who is equally adept at clean and extreme vocals. This is one of those that I was so impressed by that I eventually bought the album. It was a little uneven, but still pretty damn good.
WHITECHAPEL: THIS IS EXILE
This is awful.
COMBAT: CORRUPT DESTRUCT
It's hardcore, or crossover, or something. I don't really care for it personally. I will pass.
DARK MIRROR: UNHOLY CRUSADE
This is a band that sounds like they are trying to catch that Mercyful Fate/King Diamond vocal sound and couple it with some almost Thin Lizzy-sounding guitar riffs. I have no idea what this is supposed to be. But hey, at least they're trying something here.
TEMTRIS: DARK MESSIAH
Another song I was so impressed with that I had to find the album. This is an Australian traditional metal band featuring beauty and beast vocals. The female vocalist is the lead vocalist and the male only contributes occasionally. But this is catchy and vastly overlooked.
KALMAH: HOLY SYMPHONY OF WAR
Kalmah is probably the best band from those Finnish power/melodeath bands that include Children of Bodom and Norther. Unfortunately, COB gets all the love for some ungodly reason. Kalmah is a much better band and continues to put out great releases, including this one. COB has gone down in flames faster than In Flames.
WAR OF AGES: THROUGH THE FLAME
I thought metalcore was on the way out? This band offers nothing that hasn't been done a thousand times before. They sound like an All That Remains ripoff. No thanks.
CHAOS WITH A SMILE: FOR SHEEP, THE SHEPHERD
This sounds like a blend of nu-metal and metalcore. What an unholy mix of shit.
TRANSCENDING BIZARRE?: IRREVERSIBLE
Bizarre is the operative word here. We have some industrial/electronic elements and death metal elements. This is really strange. It works pretty well though. I would be interested in hearing more from these guys.
VAMPIRE VANE: SUNSET, MOONRISE
I have reservations about any band with the word "Vampire" in their name, thanks to the awful Twilight bullshit and Kelly's least favorite band Vampires Everywhere!. This band though is not too bad, it captures the gritty and evil spirit of what vampires once were in movies. It's more of a doom/gothic metal band. Not bad at all.
RAPE PILLAGE & BURN: SERVED COLD
I expected an old school-sounding death metal band and that's exactly what I got. I think these guys are on Ibex Moon now, one of my favorite underground labels, because of their amazing death metal releases. This is a terrific song, I am definitely looking into this band.
THE WAKING: SORRY
More metalcore. At least this is a better song than the last couple of metalcore songs on this thing. Still though, this is a dying sound. Thankfully.
VENOMOUS CONCEPT: WATER COOLER
The Editor's Pick for the month is a hardcore supergroup featuring a bunch of people, the only one of whom I can remember is Shane Emsbury of Napalm Death. I'm sure Dan Lilker is involved too, because between the two of them, they have been in every band ever. That's probably a little exaggerated. Anyway, this is definitely an homage to old school hardcore, a genre I care very little about. So, pass.
No comments:
Post a Comment