Metal Mail: Tapehead City

I have been collecting all of my music on cassettes lately.  Not really sure why, I just decided that is the format I enjoy the best.  My wife thinks I am crazy.  She is probably correct.

ARMORED SAINT: RAISING FEAR (1987)
Despite how much I love Symbol of Salvation and John Bush's work with Anthrax, I never really checked out any more of Armored Saint's early work.  Part of this is likely due to not really enjoying the more recent output by the band.  Part of it may be due to simply lack of opportunity.  But after I saw them live in support of Queensryche a year or so ago, I decided I would take a chance on them again.  It seems odd now that I did not give their earlier work a chance because this album is terrific and is definitely closer to Symbol than their later material, which only makes sense because this album immediately preceded it.  Now, there are not any truly awesome songs like "Hanging Judge" or "Reign of Fire" on this one, but there are some damn good ones.  Ultimately, I will probably always prefer Symbol over this one, but this is definitely a good album, and much better than anything the band has been putting out in recent years.

BANSHEE: RACE AGAINST TIME (1989)
I have been on a 1980's metal kick lately.  I blame my wife.  It seems reasonable.  Anyway, I have been trying to find bands that were overlooked in the 1980's that definitely played metal.  I have been mostly using the Metal Archives as a source to look bands up when I come across them on sites like Tapehead City.  This album received some a very favorable review on that site, and it was cheap, so I took a flyer.  This album is definitely a product of its time.  It is a metal album, clearly there are metal riffs, but the band is more of a combination of U.S. power metal and the more popular styles of hard rock/heavy metal from the time period.  There are some damn catchy songs here, such as the title track, which absolutely would fit in on an album by Manowar or Helstar.  There are some other highlights as well.  This album would have been avoided based entirely on the super cheesy cover, but it is an example of why one should not judge an album just by its cover.

DREAD: RAVAGED (1996)
One of the things that I have really enjoyed since starting to really collect cassettes has been finding old demo tapes, particularly of bands that never made it.  And Tapehead City seems to have a number of obscure demos.  Demos from bands that are well-known are usually a bit pricey, so this is just fine.  I picked up this demo from a Massachusetts-based band based on the fact that they are listed as a thrash metal band on the Metal Archives and because it was pretty cheap.  Well, if they ever were a thrash metal band, they are not on this demo.  This is the last of five demos the band released in their short existence and it is very clear that the band was aiming for more of a Pantera/Machine Head/Exhorder style of groove metal.  It is not bad, but it is not really what I expected either, and I am not typically much of a groove metal fan.  It is interesting to note that one of the former band members from this group went on to play in Godless Rising and Goreality, two bands of whom I am familiar.

INTERNAL VOID: STANDING ON THE SUN (1993)
This was a little-known doom metal band that existed for a few years in the late 1980's/early 1990's.  They released this album, their debut, before going on hiatus for a few years, released albums in 2000 and 2004 before disbanding.  Recently, they have re-formed again.  This is the first time I have had a chance to check them out.  This is a very bluesy style of doom metal, calling to mind the early Black Sabbath albums.  The album is somewhat long and most of the songs are very slow, making it seem that much longer.  That is not really a problem, though it would be nice if there was a little bit more variety.  The better tracks are those that are faster-paced.  This is certainly an interesting album and would definitely appeal to the true doom metal fans out there.

LIZZY BORDEN: THE MURDERESS METAL ROAD SHOW (1986)
This is not actually what I ordered.  Usually I avoid live albums and I ordered one of the band's early studio albums.  But when it arrived, the J-card was correct, but the tape was this live release.  I gave it a shot anyway and I am damn glad I did.  I avoided Lizzy Borden for a long period of time due to assuming they were just another glam band.  Honestly, the band definitely looks ridiculous, however musically, they have more in common with early Iron Maiden than Poison.  This is 100% pure 1980's heavy metal with searing guitar solos, infectious riffs, and soaring vocals.  Yes, it is a live album, but the production is so good that the songs do not lose anything.  In an ongoing review of 1980's groups, Lizzy Borden stands along with W.A.S.P. as truly impressive metal bands in an ocean of forgettable glam bands.

Once More, An Apology

Again, I am sorry. Things have been busy. Today, I had a jury trial, decision is to come sometime tomorrow morning. I have a bunch of stuff in the works though, so soon I will be able to get some more posts up here. In the meantime, enjoy this freaking awesome song by Armored Saint, John Bush's band just before joining Anthrax. For those not in the know, Armored Saint actually made a performance cameo in Hellraiser 3, performing this song among others. Yes, Hellraiser 3.

Initial Impressions: Armored Saint: La Raza

This is Armored Saint's second reunion album. Originally the band was together from the early 1980's through the early 1990's. They split when singer John Bush replaced Joey Belladonna in Anthrax for a few albums. They then reunited to put out a new album in 2000 when Anthrax was on hiatus. This is the band's latest reunion since Bush is no longer in Anthrax (although that could change at any moment). Armored Saint were originally a power/thrash/traditional metal band, although that has changed for this album.

It's tough to say where on the metal genre spectrum this album fits in. It's probably more of a hard rock/traditional metal album than anything. It's definitely not much like their earlier material. The music has some hard rock and Southern rock influences meaning that fans of groups like Nickelback and their myriad copycats will find something enjoyable here, but it retains a lot of the metal influences as well. Older Armored Saint fans will probably not be thrilled with the album but it is by no means a bad album.

John Bush's vocals again lead the way here. I have said it before and will say it again: Bush has a great voice for traditional metal. Where Anthrax was unable to retain a high degree of popularity after Bush took over is due to the fact that he is not a thrash metal singer. He is just too melodic.

This is actually a very good album. It's upbeat and almost happy. Good driving music.

Dusting Off a Cassette Pt. 5: Armored Saint: Symbol of Salvation

John Bush was one of my first favorite singers in metal. I first heard him on The Sound of White Noise, Anthrax's attempt to stay relevant in the mainstream. The band had shed a lot of their thrash sounds and went for a more modern, streamlined sound. They also brought in Bush to replace Joey Belladonna. Bush had a more serious, less playful voice than Belladonna and he matched the new sound well. Of course the new sound was a slap in the face of old fans. Bush would record a few more albums with Anthrax, however the band never sounded quite right with Bush. I always believed Bush was better suited for a more melodic, traditional heavy metal band, much like Armored Saint, his band before joining Anthrax.

Armored Saint has much more in common with American power metal than thrash and John Bush's voice perfectly complements the sound. His soaring vocals are the best part of the album, even though the guitar work is very impressive in its own right. The songs for the most part are catchy. "Hanging Judge" is a great song with an extremely catchy chorus. I first heard this song on Hellraiser 3, in which Armored Saint had a brief cameo.

Unfortunately not all of the songs are great. It starts to drag a little toward the halfway point, but that's where "Hanging Judge" kicks in.

Armored Saint broke up when Bush left for Anthrax but recently got back together. Let's hope they have some more of this style of metal in them.