Iced Earth in Omaha: Feb. 27, 2018

Last night, Iced Earth brought their Incorruptible World Tour to Omaha with support from Sanctuary and Kill Ritual, as well as a performance from local band The Clincher.  The venue was Sokol Auditorium, but it was in the basement instead of the main stage, which was definitely weird.  The basement was pretty musty and featured a small stage.  It was a shockingly small crowd for a band of Iced Earth's stature and the band seemed somewhat dismayed by it (that and some douchebaggery in the crowd).  I do not blame them.  I thought that Omaha was doing a better job of supporting metal bands in concert, but this was a step backwards.

Omaha band The Clincher was the first to take the stage.  I will admit I knew next to nothing about the band before last night.  They had a strong performance, and I would be interested in checking them out a little bit more.  Vocalist Lori Piper was the main draw with her ability to change her vocal style from a soft croon to a blood-curdling shriek quickly.  

Kill Ritual was next, and I was able to get a little bit of information from the Metal Archives on them, though I feel that information needs to be corrected.  The band is much more of a power metal band than a thrash metal band.  The riffs were definitely not all that thrashy and the vocals were the driving force.  They were catchy enough at the time, but not terribly memorable.

Up next was Sanctuary, a band who has hit some major hardship recently.  Legendary vocalist Warrel Dane died suddenly while the band was in Brazil on tour in December.  Somehow, the band managed to find a replacement singer to continue with their commitments, and that singer does do a hell of a Dane impression.  After overcoming a few sound issues (we were treated to a very loud bass solo randomly), the band performed an incredible set that covered all of their albums.  I recently discovered Sanctuary's early albums before forming Nevermore and kicked myself for not looking into them earlier.  The performance was of course dedicated to the departed Dane.    

Iced Earth finally took the stage and they were absolutely incredible.  The band is celebrating 30 years of releasing material under the name "Iced Earth".  Of course, guitarist Jon Schaffer is the only continuous member of the band during all of that time, with a variety of other members over the years.  Of particular note is that Stu Block, formerly of the underrated Into Eternity, has been the singer for the last few years.  Block does a shockingly good job performing a number of songs that were originally written for Matt Barlow.  I was a little disappointed there were no tracks from the Ripper Owens era.  I think Block could have handled them well.  They played songs from all eras of their history.  The biggest surprise for me was seeing Schafer himself sing on "Stormrider" from the band's first album.  I was not overly impressed with the new songs from last year's album, but a lot of the other songs were great.  Iced Earth really does put on a terrific live performance and a lot more people should have been there to see them.

The highlight of the night from my wife's perspective was likely the compliments she received about her clothes and the fact that another woman acknowledged to her that it was nice to see another woman there.  She has long referred to metal concerts as sausage parties.    

Nuclear Blast Reissues Testament

Despite the fact that I have long considered Testament one of my favorite bands (and, in fact, if pressed I would probably name them my favorite band of all time), I never picked up every single one of their releases.  It has only been over the last couple of years that I picked up The Legacy and The New Order, even though those are arguably their most popular albums.  I blame part of that on the fact that I grew up with their mid-paced stuff like Low and The Gathering and part of it on the fact that I had numerous compilations and live albums that covered most of that era.

Even after picking up those two early albums, I was still missing a few things.  Not any more.  Nuclear Blast reissued a bunch of Testament's stuff on cassette and vinyl and I was able to fill the holes in my collection.  There were three major releases that I had to grab, each with new artwork.

DEMONIC (1997)
I am honestly not sure how I never picked up Demonic.  It was the band's next album after Low, an album I absolutely adore and still consider my favorite by the band.  Demonic is probably the band's weakest release, and maybe that was part of it.  I enjoyed the title track when I heard it (it was on one of the aforementioned compilations), though not to the same level as any of their other stuff.  So I really do not know why I never picked it up.  After hearing it, I can see why it is not well-received, though I do enjoy it.  Testament was definitely trying to alter their sound to keep up with the groove metal style popularized by Pantera, yet also trying to get heavier to keep up with the rise of death metal.  What results is kind of a confused album with some decent tracks that call to mind thrash-era Testament ("Hatreds Rise") and other tracks trying to be more modern (the explosive title track).  Like I said, I do enjoy this album, but I would definitely pick up any of their other releases before it.

FIRST STRIKE STILL DEADLY (2001)
I stayed away from this one for awhile, mostly because it seemed so unnecessary.  This came out at a time when a bunch of bands were re-recording a lot of their early work.  It led to mistakes like Exodus's Let There be Blood, a re-recording of their landmark debut Bonded By Blood.  Testament re-recorded a number of songs from their first two albums with more modern recording equipment and techniques.  It is actually not all that bad.  A couple of the songs are not nearly as good, in particular "The Preacher" which has some questionable decisions.  The most unusual and interesting aspect of this release though is the last two songs "Alone in the Dark" and "Reign of Terror" which feature Steve "Zetro" Souza on lead vocals instead of Chuck Billy.  Souza of course made his name with Exodus but was actually Testament's first singer.  These songs are an interesting look at what might have been had Souza stayed with the band and are the major reason to check out this album.

LIVE AT EINDHOVEN '87 (2009)
Yes, this is a reissue of a reissue of the band's first live album released shortly after their debut album.  I think the reason I missed out on this way is a combination of my general disdain for live albums and the fact that I just did not know about it.  But, I do love Live at the Fillmore, and I have been enjoying going to concerts a lot more lately, so I took a chance on it.  This is early Testament and it is clear that the band is very raw, but the performance is nonetheless quite impressive.  Testament has always been a very good live act and it appears as if that was something they became very early on in their careers.  This is by no means an essential pick-up for anyone other than a huge fan of the band, but Testament is my favorite band, so I had to pick it up.

I would be hard-pressed to recommend any of these albums to casual fans, but for huge fans of the band like myself, they are definitely worthwhile.

2017 Demo and EP Roundup

I have accumulated a lot of these this year.  Rather than have each one get its own post, due to their lengths, I figured I would just do a roundup post.

BONE AWL: THE LOWEST ROAD

Despite the fact that Bone Awl has been going strong since 2002, the band has only released one full-length album.  But they are pretty prolific all the same, putting out at least one release every year until 2011 when the band suddenly went on hiatus.  This demo was the band's first release since that time.  According to liner notes, these songs were recorded as demos for a full-length that was supposed to have come out in 2013.  That apparently never happened.  I had always heard a lot about Bone Awl, but never really checked them out.  Their mix of black metal and punk is not exactly reinventing the wheel, but it is an impressive blend nonetheless.  

COSMIC VOID RITUAL: THE EXECRATED REMAINS OF THE SABATIER SYSTEM

Technically, this one is a compilation.  It collects together each of the band's demos and combines them onto one release.  It still only comes out to four songs though.  Cosmic Void Ritual is an American one-person death metal band that sounds Finnish.  The one individual in the band goes by the "name" Unknown Entity.  I was definitely drawn into picking this up by the Lovecraftian album cover.  The riffs are dark and twisted with an unsettling guitar tone.  Unknown Entity is clearly heavily influenced by the early 1990's Finnish death metal scene, with music that calls to mind Demilich (unfortunately, the vocals do not really measure up), Convulse, and others.  This is nightmarish death metal that more than lives up to the album art. 

CRIME: FIRST CRIME

Ah, yes.  I can get behind this band's name.  It is simple, yet very effective.  Crime is a very new band from Chile, and this is their first release.  They play a sleazy brand of traditional metal, which is not at all surprising given their South American location.  The band definitely seems to use their name as a theme, opening things up with a hair-raising sample leading into the fist-shaking "Highway Robbery".  The best song on the album is the anthemic "Give Your Life to the Ruin".  This is a great start from a promising band.  

DRAGHKAR: WORLD UNRAVELED

Draghkar is another new death metal band that sounds like they would have been more at home in the early 1990's when death metal was really starting to come around.  Draghkar has a raw and filthy, malevolent sound that calls to mind groups like Incantation and Morbid Angel.  With those kinds of influences, it is no wonder that this demo tape has garnered some attention.  Draghkar do a great job of subverting expectations on this release.  Instead of blazing through each song, the band slows things down masterfully, crafting an occasional doom/death sound that Asphyx would be proud to play.  Another promising debut.

ENSEPULCHER: NO SANCTITY IN DEATH

And here we have yet another death metal band that is clearly stuck in the past, not that that is necessarily a bad thing.  Ensepulcher's frame of reference is the early 1990's Swedish death metal scene.  Think Dismember, Nihilist, and others and you have the idea.  They even manage to have a similar buzzsaw guitar tone that the Swedish scene was well-known for.  If I did not know any better, I would have sworn I was listening to some early Dismember demos when I put this one on.  The music is fast-paced and intense, with rough, snarled vocals.  Whether or not to check this one out depends entirely upon opinions of the Swedish death scene.  I love it, but freely admit that this band really does not offer anything new and innovative.

GHOST HORIZON: THE EROTICS OF DISGUST

I did not choose this one.  I placed a decent-sized order with a distro and they sent me a couple of tapes as a bonus.  I do not turn down free stuff, but while one of the tapes was a pretty decent melodeath band called Mistweaver, this one is more of a black-gaze album with post-rock influences and not the kind of thing I typically listen to.  I probably would not have chosen it at all.  This is an emotional release, full of anguished and tortured vocals.  There are some decent moments where the black metal influences shine through and it sounds pretty decent, but then a crooning vocal section will start in and change the dynamic completely.  I do not mind the album over all, but there are definitely moments that I could do without.  It is a little weak for my typical tastes.

KATAKOMB: CHAINED TO A WOLF

Katakomb is a Swedish black metal band of whom there is very little information on the internet.  I think it is a one-man act, but I am not even sure of that.  This is a two-song demo and the first song is fairly standard for Swedish black metal, with clear influences of Marduk and early Watain.  It is a very dark and foreboding release.  It is hostile and harsh and not terribly melodic.  The only real problem with this release is an extended sample at the end featuring a man singing in what sounds like Russian while flies are buzzing.  It sounds like something out of Fiddler on the Roof, other than the flies, which sounds woefully out of place on the rest of this release.  And like I said, this continues for about five minutes.  Other than that, this is an impressive first release for an uber-kvlt black metal band.

NERVE SAW: CALL OF THE CASKET

Nerve Saw is the one-man death metal project of former Hooded Menace bassist Markus Makkonen.  As would be expected for a well-known member of a doom metal band, Nerve Saw's sound is generally slower and heavier, with the exception of third track "We, the People", which is a much faster-paced track.  The songs are filthy and grimy, just what one would expect from a Finnish death metal band.  This is an impressive release and I look forward to more from Nerve Saw.   

PARTY CANNON: PERVERSE PARTY PLATTER

Okay, it is pretty easy to see that this band is absolutely not serious about anything.  With the Toys 'R Us-inspired band logo, ridiculous name, and even more ridiculous cover art, this group is definitely tongue-in-cheek.  The song names don't really give off a serious vibe either.  Of particular note is "Fornicating in Ethically Sourced Fair Trade Chocolate".  Party Cannon is a slam band.  More particularly, they refer to themselves as "party slam".  However, there is nothing that sets Party Cannon apart from other slam bands musically, and you really can not understand the lyrics in most slam bands, so despite the much different and much more positive lyrical content, ultimately it is a difference without an effect.  But I like a good slam band and Party Cannon is a good slam band, so I can overlook any of the other issues.

SABRETOOTH: METAL ANIMALS

I was a little disappointed with this one.  I love the album cover in a cheesy, sort-of-ironic way.  Most of the song titles reference animals ("Steel Falcon", "Iron Rhino", "Sabretooth Strike"), and this is a traditional metal band from Finland.  I did not think it could possibly go wrong.  Unfortunately, despite some decent ideas, there is one flaw to this release that pretty much completely ruins it.  The band uses an echo effect on the vocals.  Through.  The.  Whole.  Damn.  Thing.  It is really fucking annoying.  It is impossible to focus on what is actually happening in the music because that damn echo keeps going and going.  Honestly, I first thought that I had some sort of defective tape, but I listened to it online and the echo effect is there too.  So, Sabretooth, lose the echo effects.  Seriously.

TELEPORT: GALACTIC USURPER/STELLAR DAMNATION

Ah yes, here we go.  Like the Cosmic Void Ritual release, this one is also a compilation, collecting together the band's 2011 and 2013 demos.  I have actually covered this band before, in particular the Stellar Damnation demo, back in 2014 when the band contacted me.  I remembered being fairly impressed with the band so when I saw this compilation tape for sale when I was buying some other stuff, I jumped at the opportunity to pick up a physical copy of it.  Teleport is a Slovenian band that sounds like a somewhat blackened version of Vektor.  They play highly technical thrash metal with vocals performed as more of a black metal rasp.  This was the best release of all the stuff I have covered in this post.  The only quibble that I have, and it is a very small one, is that it would have been better to have the demos on either side of the tape instead of both being on the same side and repeated on the other.  Like I said, it is a small complaint. 

VOID TENDRIL: ENSNARING THE DEMIURGE

Recently, I re-discovered the Decibel Blog, in particular their Hall of Fame features and the demo posts.  I use both to discover new music and it led me to this demo by U.K. death/doom band Void Tendril.   This is one of my favorite demos I have picked up in the last year.  It is truly dark and disturbing.  It creates an uneasy feeling with fast-pounding drums, but slower dissonant guitar riffs.  The vocals are sepulchral and match the tone well.  It is a slower, heavier beast of a release.  There are some haunting melodies at times, particularly in the beginning of second track "Shivering Residue".  I am very anxious to see what this band does next.

VOID TERROR: SOUL HARVEST

This is the other one of two demos that I picked up after reading about them on the Deciblog's demo roundup page (coincidentally both bands have "Void" as the first word in their name).  This is the band's first ever release and it is some old-school-sounding death metal in the vein of early Immolation and Incantation.  It is the type of filthy and raw, evil-sounding death metal that I love.  Hopefully some more stuff will be coming out soon from these guys, because this demo contains just two songs and I would love to hear some more.

WITCH VOMIT: POISONED BLOOD

Witch Vomit is a very classy name for a death metal band.  Between the band's name and the pretty cool album cover, I figured I would take a chance.  The album cover is very appropriate because the band sounds like they just escaped from a tomb.  From the cavernous production to the desiccated vocal style to the meaty riffs, this band pushes all the right buttons for a truly horrific death metal band.  Witch Vomit has been around for a few years now, but have only released one full-length album and some other short recordings in addition to this EP.  I will be keeping an eye out on this band.

Amazon Mailday 2/15

FETID ZOMBIE: GROTESQUE CREATION (2015)
How is no one talking about this band?  Seriously, this is fucking criminal.  Mark Riddick has made a name in the underground metal scene with his amazing artwork (including the album cover shown here), but he also makes some really impressive death metal.  Sounding like a cross between early Rotting Christ and a little bit of old school death metal, Fetid Zombie's music is haunting, captivating, and surprisingly melodic.  I first found out about the band when I randomly picked up a split the band appeared on with Greek black/thrash band Swamp.  I was blown away by Fetid Zombie's work, so when I randomly came across a full-length album, I jumped at it.  And I am damn glad I did, because this album is fantastic.  Seriously, Riddick's music is just as impressive as his artwork.

MAUSOLEUM: SUMMONING OF THE DAMNED (1992)
I used to read about stuff mentioning Wild Rags Records a ton, particularly on the old Metal Inquisition blog.  It was an underground metal label in the late 1980's to late 1990's specializing in death metal and grindcore which was fairly infamous for being a bit sketchy in their business practices.  Well that and the head of the label being wanted for income tax evasion and disappearing.  Anyway, I came across a seller selling a bunch of old Wild Rags demos from the early 1990's and decided to pick something up for the hell of it.  Previously, I only had an Impetigo album from the label, so this was something kind of new.  Mausoleum is an old school death metal band and this is a quick three-song demo.  It is fairly interesting stuff while listening to it, but ultimately not particularly memorable.  There is likely a reason this band never released anything beyond two demos.  Apparently, there was talk of a reunion at one point, but that never came to fruition.

MOTORHEAD: 1916 (1991)
Would you believe that this is actually the first proper album I have ever owned by Lemmy Kilmister and company?  It is true.  Previous to this, the only thing I owned by Motorhead was a Greatest Hits compilation, which I bought some time before deciding that such compilations were kind of lame.  As much as I enjoyed it, I never really saw a need to pick up something else.  I decided to change that and picked up a reasonably cheap one that contained a song I knew I enjoyed ("I'm So Bad (Baby I Don't Care)").  I was a little surprised by the diversity of this album.  I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from Motorhead, but was shocked by some of the slower songs, in particular the heart-wrenching title track.  Of course there were the fast-paced Jack-and-coke-fueled tracks, but the variety made this a damn good album.

WATCHTOWER: CONTROL AND RESISTANCE (1989)
In the late 1980's, a lot of thrash metal bands were becoming more and more progressive and technical.  Bands like Heathen were at the forefront of this movement, but one of the best bands to tackle the style was the underrated Watchtower.  Watchtower utilized influences from genres as diverse as jazz fusion in their brand of thrash metal.  What results is a bizarre mix to say the least, yet Watchtower, in particular guitarist Ron Jarzombek, have the chops to pull it off and write some damn catchy songs to boot.  The biggest problem with a lot of technical bands these days are that the technical ability oftentimes overshadows the hooks.  Watchtower never fell into that trap.  Unfortunately, this was their last full-length.  There have been some short releases in recent years, so it is always possible we could see another Watchtower album soon.

X JAPAN: BLUE BLOOD (1989)
This is the second time I have bought this album.  The first one I bought, I made it through the first side of the cassette and the tape snapped off the reel.  I tried to fix it myself, but that did not work out so well.  So, that was it.  A lot of Japanese metal is just like the rest of Japanese pop culture, weird.  X Japan (or just X) is incredibly diverse with some speed metal tracks to go with mid-paced rockers and ballads.  The lyrics often alternate between Japanese and English.  There are a number of highlights, including the touching "Endless Rain" and the infectious "Week End".  This was a band I was just wanting to experiment with, along with other Japanese bands, such as the much more straightforward Loudness, but I am glad I took a chance on them. 

Mailday 2/14

Just one today.

SAXON: STRONG ARM OF THE LAW (1980)
There was a time a few years back when I really got into some massive New Wave of British Heavy Metal stuff.  Obviously Iron Maiden was a focus, but I also was obsessed with finding stuff like Angel Witch, Blitzkrieg, Diamond Head, and others.  But I never really got into Saxon for some reason.  I decided to take a flyer on an early Saxon album.  This album is a tale of two halves.  The first half is somewhat mid-paced, radio-friendly hard rock which would not seem out of place on a Def Leppard album.  The second half is much harder and faster and is what I was hoping to hear from a NWOBHM band.  I still prefer Iron Maiden (of course), Angel Witch, Blitzkrieg, and Diamond Head, but I may have to do some more looking into Saxon.

Mailday 2/13

Three more for the collection.

ABSU: BARATHRUM: V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (1993)
No, I have no idea what that title means.  Absu is one of the most highly-regarded American black metal bands, but they are a band that for some reason, I just have not checked out all that much.  Previously, I only had their 2009 self-titled album on vinyl, and I love that album so it is a big mystery why I have never checked anything else out.  This album is quite a bit different from that release as the band is more of a death metal band here.  The Celtic Frost influence is pretty clear, especially in some of the experimentation that the band uses which calls to mind Into the Pandemonium.  Despite the much different sound, this is a terrific release, and maybe it is finally time to delve more into Absu's discography.

DECEASED...: THE 13 FRIGHTENED SOULS (1993) 
On the other hand, this is a band that I am very familiar with, even if I have not heard quite everything the band has done.  I generally have heard all of their full-length releases, but the band releases lots of other stuff in between albums, and that is where I am still filling in some gaps.  This is an EP released shortly after they released their first full-length album and features four new songs and a cover of Voivod's eponymous song.  All of the songs are terrific, as is to be expected with Deceased.  This is absolutely one of the most underrated metal bands of all time.  Everything they have done is absolutely killer and this EP is no exception.  It is nice to find something rare like this for my collection.

NOCTURNUS: THRESHOLDS (1992)
Over the last six months or so, I have been really digging into my old cassettes and listening to that stuff over and over again, while adding to that particular part of my collection.  I previously had Nocturnus's The Key, and while I enjoyed it, it did not make a huge impact on me.  That really changed recently and the album has been catapulted into one of my favorite death metal albums of all time.  So, it was time to check out some of the band's other releases and this is the follow-up.  It is clear that Nocturnus was trying to catch lightning in a bottle twice as the band took the aspects that worked on The Key and ramped them up on this one.  What results is a pretty decent follow-up that just does not quite have the same charm to it.  I still really like this one, but it is not quite up to the same level.  Maybe in time it will be as The Key did not immediately have a huge impact on me either.

Autograph and 38 Special in Omaha: February 8, 2018

Guest post from Mrs. Metallattorney, because I did not feel like it.  

I've been informed that Metallattorney will not do a review for the concert we attended last Thursday evening in Omaha. Apparently, he draws the line at Autograph opening for 38 Special. Regardless, this concert deserves a review, and not entirely for good reasons. It took place at the Ralston Arena, which is a small arena in Omaha. (Or as the band, while technically correct, but wrong in spirit, kept referring to as Ralston.) We were in a bit of a rush to get to this one because of other commitments earlier in the day, and the Ralston Arena did not make anything simple. The tickets we had required us to enter a certain door (on the complete opposite side of the building from where we parked), and the tickets themselves said nothing about any of this. We eventually made it in, and found our seats.

Autograph opened, and they played for 45-60 minutes, including “Blondes in Black Cars”, “My Girlfriends Boyfriend Isn't Me”, “Loud and Clear”, and of course they closed with “Turn Up the Radio”. They also played some stuff off of their new album, including the title track, “Get Off Your Ass”. Autograph was the primary reason we attended this concert, because I missed seeing them in December (with Slaughter). Unfortunately, the sound for Autograph was objectively terrible. The guitars could not be heard at all (unless they were the only thing playing, and then it sounded like a hoard of angry bees in a tin can), and even the vocals were tough to hear at times. Luckily, drummer Marc Wieland, and bassist Randy Rand were very capable, since they were the only ones we were able to hear. I don't know who was to blame for this debacle, but they really should reevaluate their chosen profession. By the time Autograph finished playing I was extremely bitter that we even spent money on this concert.

Thankfully, the sound for 38 Special was significantly better. To be honest, I am not overly familiar with most of 38 Special's music. They seem to fall into the category of band's that Metallattorney has lumped Foreigner into, Bands Who Make You Say, Hmmmm.... I Didn't Know That Song Was by That Band. While neither of us knew many of the songs by name, they played numerous songs that we recognized. They opened with “Rockin' Into the Night” (one of the songs we recognized), and played “Wild Eyed Southern Boys”, “Fantasy Girl”, “Trooper With Attitude”, “Second Chance”, and a medley including “Teacher Teacher”. Of course they closed the main show with “Caught Up in You” and returned for an encore to play “Chain Lightning”, “Hold On Loosely” and “Travelin' Band”. 38 Special was enjoyable enough, and although I was getting pretty tired by the end of their show (I'd had a long week), that was through no fault of their own.

Perhaps, the most entertaining part of the entire experience was a gentleman on the floor who seemed to be at the wrong concert. He appeared to be moshing. Apparently no one told him he was at a 38 Special show. But, I found his enthusiasm adorably refreshing. So, here's to you, Mr. Mosh Pit Dude at a 38 Special concert. You do you!

All in all, I suppose I'm glad that I finally saw Autograph, and 38 Special was a pleasant surprise. However, I find myself feeling that I need to see Autograph again in the hope that they may sound better (like an actual band rather than a bass and drum duet), which is disappointing because I am cheap.

Mrs. Metallattorney (The Better Metallattorney) :)

Mailday 2/12

In order to get a few more posts going, I am going to start doing a quick and easy write-up whenever I get something in.  This should help getting things going a little bit.

So, today I received four albums in the mail.

BELIEVER: SANITY OBSCURE (1990)
Yes, there are some decent Christian metal bands out there.  Believer is probably my favorite of the bunch, with the possible exception of Trouble.  Believer plays technical/progressive thrash metal in the vein of their antitheses Heathen and Atheist, with a little bit of Voivod thrown in for good measure.  When you look at the song titles and the lyrics, the band's religious leanings are pretty obvious, but the music is so damn good that it is pretty easy to not have to focus on that.  Satanic bands can be just as annoying about their "message" too, but for some reason Christian bands sacrifice quality of music for the message more often.  That is not true in Believer's case.

BOLT THROWER: ...FOR VICTORY (1994)

Fuck yeah, Bolt Thrower.  Honestly, this is probably my favorite name for a metal band, ever.  Plus, it helps that Bolt Thrower is fucking awesome.  Unfortunately, the band no longer exists, so I will never get the chance to see them live, but I am still in the process of discovering some of their older stuff.  Really, I only had a few of their albums previously, so there is a long way to go.  This is one of the band's higher-rated albums and it is not hard to see why that is.  The band's trademarked grinding riff assault is on full display, accompanied by Karl Willetts's gruff roar.  There are some great riffs and songs on this one and it has quickly taken the spot as my favorite Bolt Thrower album.  It only took one listen.  It is that good.

DREAM DEATH: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (1987)

A criminally underrated album from 1987.  I first heard about this album from perusing the Decibel Hall of Fame.  I had never heard of this band, so I looked into it a little bit, and then quickly decided I had to find it.  This is possibly a very early progenitor of the death/doom sound, with quite a bit of thrash thrown in for good measure.  The Celtic Frost influence is obvious from the muddy riffing style and singer Brian Lawrence's angry bark.  The Lovecraftian and horror-filled lyrics match well with the band's dark and dreary sound.  How this album managed to escape me for so long is beyond me.  As with many other bands, Dream Death has re-formed in recent years.  I may have to check them out.

GHOST TOWER: HEAD OF NIGHT (2012)

I love finding obscure albums from bands from my home state of Nebraska.  Technically, almost all bands from Nebraska count as obscure as Cellador, Xenomorph, and maybe Narcotic Self are the only Nebraska metal bands to make any sort of impact on the metal scene outside the state, though Garoted seem to be on their way.  Ghost Tower is a short-lived band that released two full-length albums and play a mix of thrash and doom metal with some impressive occult-sounding melodies throughout.  The vocals take a little bit of getting used to, but the music is pretty damn impressive to make it worthwhile.  The band does actually kind of remind me of a thrashier Ghost at times.  It is a shame they no longer exist as they had some real talent.