When Your Debut is Your Best Album: Flotsam and Jetsam

I have been thinking about bands whose debut is their best work for a little bit of late.  It is generally well-accepted that a lot of metal bands tend to peak early on their first couple of albums.  That is true of a lot of the giants in metal music, including very obviously Metallica and Black Sabbath.  But it is also true of a lot of lesser bands as well.  Now, I still think it is at least somewhat rare for a band's debut album to be universally considered their best work, but there are a few out there.

One of the more obvious examples of this is Arizona power thrashers Flotsam and Jetsam.  Their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver is an absolute monster, featuring catchy riffs and infectious hooks.  It is one of the best thrash metal albums of all time.  Yet the band was really not able to build upon that early success.  I like the follow-up No Place for Disgrace quite well, but I really do not think it holds a candle to the raw thunder of Doomsday.  And from then on, most of the albums by the band have been well below the standard set by the first two.  In fact the band went through a number of stylistic changes before at least attempting to return to their former glory.

Now there is a very clear demarcation between Flotsam and Jetsam's debut and everything that came afterwards, and pretty much anyone with a reasonable knowledge of metal knows exactly what I am talking about.  Jason Newsted, who rose to fame as Metallica's bassist after the untimely death of Cliff Burton, was originally in Flotsam and Jetsam.  In fact, he was the principal lyricist and a major factor in the songwriting.  His bass work on the album is absolutely killer and often drives the songs.  And he left very soon after the debut was released.  It really is a shame that Metallica never really allowed Newsted free reign to write some stuff for the band because his work on Flotsam and Jetsam is incredibly impressive.

After Newsted left, the band moved forward.  Newsted was not really a founding member of the band, but his absence loomed large.  They have never been able to adequately replace him in my opinion.  As I said, the sophomore album is damn good, but it's no Doomsday, and the band has not been able to come close since.

Batushka: Hospodi (2019)

This is the third different incarnation of a band called Batushka that I have reviewed now.  The first one was a unique group combining Orthodoxy with their particular brand of black metal.  Then, there was a schism and each of the members of the band claimed he kicked the other out of the band.  And then both members attempted to move on, using the band's name.  The last one I reviewed was the one belonging to Krzysztof Drabikowski, who is largely considered the creative force behind the defunct band.  His further effort was an intriguing continuation of the ideas present on the sole release by the band.  This review will cover the band formed by former vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk, who was the first of the two to release new music.

Right off the bat, I can tell you there is a different feel to this release.  Whereas the debut was something of a solemn and eerie affair, this release is much more immediate and aggressive.  There is also a significant difference in production, mostly as a result of this album being released by Metal Blade Records.  There are elements of what made the prior incarnation so intriguing present, but by and large, they are not as important to the overall sound.  For instance, there is still chanting at times, but it is generally used as an introduction to the song, or in the backgrounds.

The music on this release is the biggest difference.  Whereas on the prior incarnation, the black metal was more on the atmospheric side, this is significantly more aggressive, more in the vein of a group like Uada or Mgła.  The riffs are much more apparent and fierce, particularly about midway through "Utrenia".  So this album loses some of its subtlety and becomes more of a standard black metal album, that happens to share some qualities that the earlier incarnation had.  I am not sure that is necessarily a bad thing, but it may not be what was expected in the band had been able to continue.

I see a lot of negative reviews for this album, essentially calling it a cash-grab and illegitimizing the band.  I guess I can understand the feeling somewhat.  The other member seemed to have more influence on the creative aspect of the band.  I guess the question then is, barring what happened here, is the album decent enough to stand on its own?  I think it is.  As I said, it is probably a much more standard-sounding black metal album, and if it were released under any other name, I do not think it would be met with as much hatred and vitriol as it had been.  I think what happened here, releasing this album under the name of a band its owner did not earn, is a shitty thing.  But I kind of like the album.  Maybe even as much as the other new one, though not as much as the original. 

For the Sake of Heaviness: The History of Metal Blade Records by Brian Slagel with Mark Eglinton

I am going to do something a little bit different today.  I just finished reading this book, which was a gift from my wife (I am a little disappointed she did not get me the version with the cassette compilation included, but that's okay).  It is the history of the Metal Blade record label written by founder and CEO Brian Slagel, with Mark Eglinton presumably helping put it together.  Given that it is written by the label's founder, there are two things that could be gleaned.  First of all, this man lived through all of this so he is going to have a better recollection for how things happened than a third party.  Second, it is going to be fairly one-sided.

I was excited to read the book because Metal Blade has been generally a favorite metal label of mine for quite a long time.  Metal Blade was not the first label I really noticed popping up in my collection a lot, that distinction went to Roadrunner.  But Metal Blade has always been the most consistent.  Roadrunner turned into a major trend-hopper, ditching death metal bands that it helped gain exposure to when they were no longer as profitable and jumping with both feet into the nu-metal trend.  Then doing the same with metalcore.  At this point in time, there are very few legitimate metal bands still on the Roadrunner roster.  That has never been the case with Metal Blade.  And that is reflected in the book where Slagel sounds more like a gushing fanboy of the genre than someone who has a legitimate impact on the kind of music that gets out there.

The primary strength of this book is the quick statements by other individuals, including employees and members of bands on the label roster, as well as lengthier interviews.  Slagel's comments show him to be a huge fan who cares about the music more than money and that is corroborated by the other interviews.  It is to the point that Slagel's reflections on himself and the label are legitimized by other people and one really does get the feeling that Metal Blade Records is a family environment where anything really goes.  Slagel stays out of the way of the artistic output of his bands and really just seems like a big fan first and foremost.  This comes through when he discusses specific instances where he actually weakened one of his bands in order to strengthen another group.  The primary example is referring bassist Jason Newsted of Metal Blade band Flotsam and Jetsam to non-Metal Blade band Metallica after the death of Cliff Burton.  Newsted was the heart and soul of Flotsam and Jetsam.  But that move kept Metallica going and the band eventually blew up to be the biggest heavy metal band of all time.

I was rather pleased at some of the individual anecdotes.  Of course there was going to be a big discussion about Metal Blade's part in the creation of Metallica.  Drummer Lars Ulrich was a friend of Slagel's and knew about Slagel's attempt to put together a compilation for the first official Metal Blade release.  Ulrich asked for a spot, even though he technically did not have a band yet and Slagel okayed it.  If not for that, who knows if Metallica would have ever gotten started?  But beyond that, there is a lengthy discussion about Slayer and how they were discovered, then how they left the label.  Two things I was curious about were also discussed.  First, there is the fact that the label seemed to stay away from nu-metal, even during a period of time in which traditional metal was a not selling well.  Slagel indicated he liked Korn and attempted to sign them but was blown out of the water by major labels and that he did not feel the rest of the nu-metal scene was really heavy metal and did not like it.  So he stayed away.  The second thing was just how in the hell the Goo Goo Dolls of all bands ended up on Metal Blade and actually did well.  I knew they were originally a little more punky and they were initially signed to a label imprint that did more punk that was then folded back into Metal Blade.  That makes a little more sense.  The label lost them though when they split from their distribution deal with Warner Bros. over a fight about the lyrical content of a new Gwar album.  Warner Bros. let Metal Blade out of their contract but insisted on retaining the rights to the Goo Goo Dolls. 

If I had to pick a complaint about the book, it would be the overly positive tone.  The book avoids any real controversy, which is fine, but I wanted a little bit of dirt too.  Every band is described as incredible.  Every album is amazing.  Every record sold well.  And the last part I find very disingenuous.  For instance, he talks about Lizzy Borden and Armored Saint being flagship bands of the label.  Quality aside, most casual metal fans have never heard of either band.  They should, but neither band is exactly a major force in the genre.  Like I said, I wanted a little dirt.

The book is a decent, if slightly underwhelming history of a very important metal label.  It has some interesting anecdotes, even though it is primarily about the business aspect of the label.  Do not go into it thinking you will get a lot of new information about bands, that is simply not the point of this book.  But it is a quick and enjoyable read.  Just know that there are limitations to it.

And so, to close this review up, I will do the same thing that the book ends with: my five favorite Metal Blade releases:

1.  Slayer: Show No Mercy
2.  Voivod: War and Pain
3.  Flotsam and Jetsam: Doomsday for the Deceiver
4.  Armored Saint: Symbol of Salvation
5.  Trouble: Trouble

Best recent Metal Blade release: Cattle Decapitation: Death Atlas

Best under-the-radar Metal Blade release: Lethal: Programmed

Nasty Savage: Nasty Savage (1985)

This album is something of an underrated gem.  I suspect much of the reason that Nasty Savage has gone by unnoticed by so many is the fact that they were really not part of any actual scene.  Arriving in the mid 1980's, at a time when thrash metal was rising to power, they formed in Florida.  Not the Bay Area.  Not New York.  Not even Canada or Germany.  So they flew in under the radar.

The music here is terrific. fast-paced traditional metal with some thrash metal riffs and air raid siren vocals.  There is nothing exceptionally technical here or really anything that makes the band stand out all that much.  They do not do anything super original.  It is just well-crafted, catchy metal riffs.  The songwriting really deserves some credit because each of the songs sticks with the listener long after the album is over. 

The vocals are the star here.  The lead singer Nasty Ronnie is exceptional.  He has a wide vocal range that he uses to great effect throughout the album.  For much of the album, he uses a mid-range style frequently used in thrash metal, but he can unleash some truly blood-curdling shrieks at times.  He also has a lower-pitched gruff style that he uses at other moments.  Nasty Ronnie almost single-handedly keeps the album entertaining through his varied vocal approach.

This album is one reason why I like tracking down Metal Blade releases from the 1980's.  There are so many gems from that time period and the label really did a fantastic job finding talented bands, even if very few of them went on to stardom.  This is yet another of those gems that Metal Blade had so many of during the 1980's.

Lizzy Borden: Master of Disguise (1989)

Lizzy Borden is a glam band that produced some obviously metal material.  By and large, they did not fit in with groups like Poison, Bon Jovi or Cinderella, despite the heavy makeup.  Their sound fits in much better with a group like W.A.S.P. or Twisted Sister.  The band is named after the notorious axe-murderer and their appropriately-named song "Give 'Em the Axe" is a terrific anthem for them.

Master of Disguise is a loose concept album about a sadistic sexual deviant with a taste for blood.  The songs all tell a story, and the lyrics generally come across quite well.  It is essentially a slasher movie set to music, and that is by and large something that Lizzy Borden does quite well.

Unfortunately, the music on this album does not hold up as well as some of the other albums Lizzy Borden has released.  I do not like it nearly as much as Visual Lies for instance.  The band has seemingly decided to tone their sound down somewhat in order to potentially fit in better with the groups that I mentioned in the first paragraph.  The songs are clearly metal, but they are generally much slower, with more emphasis on the vocals, while the riffing takes a back seat.  I would say this album more closely resembles a group like Nitro than the earlier comparison to W.A.S.P., who to me is the standard bearer for metal with a glam influence.  Songs like "Love is a Crime", while being one of the heavier songs on the album, would not feel out of place on an album by Whitesnake.

This album did not do a lot for me.  It is still catchy as hell and I still believe Lizzy Borden is a very underrated band and an example of glam metal done right.  However, the band has produced better albums.  This one just seems to be trying to hard for mainstream success.

Omen: The Curse (1986)

Omen is an early example of what has come to be known as U.S. power metal.  This is a style that is very distinct from the European style, particularly the so-called "flower metal" style that has risen primarily in the Scandinavian countries.  Think Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius and others like that.  The American style is more focused on riffs and aggression, though it is obviously not close to thrash metal. 

Prior to this album, I had only heard Omen's debut album, Battle Cry.  This is the band's third album.  I have liked everything I have heard from the band, but given their underground cult status, their material is not easy to come by, no matter what format it is in, and can be pricey.  So it is not often I come across one of their albums.

The band's lyrics often deal with fantasy epic material, such as on "Teeth of the Hydra" and "Bounty Hunter".  Their sound is melodic, yet heavy, with doom-laden riffs that are played at a much faster pace.  Think Trouble on speed.  There are some slower tracks, keeping some variety in the release.  Vocalist J.D. Kimball has a rich tenor that he uses to terrific effect and matches well with the soaring solos herein. 

Omen fits in well with the early U.S. power metal scene, sounding similar to groups like Manilla Road, and even Manowar.  Their sound is melodic, yet powerful, and it is clear why this band was so influential on the burgeoning genre.  Unfortunately, vocalist Kimball would leave the band after this album and they were in for some rough years.  But their early work is terrific.

Tyrant: Legions of the Dead (1985)

I have covered Tyrant somewhat recently.  At least I know I have in the last year or so.  That album was their 1987 underrated classic Too Late to Pray, which was the band's second album.  It was also their last album before reuniting a decade later.  I guess it is time to get a look at their debut and see how it measures up.

Tyrant unfortunately did not last terribly long.  They released just two albums, split up, got back together a decade later to release another album and have been quiet since.  That is a shame since they had a sound that fit in really well with the metal scene at the time.  And no, I am not referring to the hair bands.  They have a sound not unlike groups like Omen, true heavy metal bands with melody and power. 

This album does not quite match up to their second album, it finds a band still working on finding their sound.  As a result it is a little bit more of a derivative album, sounding very much like the band's influences in the NWOBHM and, a lot of Judas Priest.  Vocalist Glen May has that soaring howl that Rob Halford is renowned for down pat.  There are hints of the darker, more malevolent sound that they would later have, particularly on the climax of "The Battle of Armageddon", but these moments, while tantalizing, are fleeting.

This album does not really do enough to stand out, but it does provide an interesting preview of what Tyrant would later be capable of performing.  It is a good example of true 1980's American metal.  But Tyrant would do much better things later.  Their second album is much better, but this is a good album nonetheless.

Underrated Albums: Slayer: Show No Mercy

Show No Mercy is my personal favorite Slayer album.  Not Reign in Blood, Not South of Heaven, not Seasons in the Abyss.  Show No Mercy stands out as completely unlike any other Slayer album, mostly because the band had not truly found the sound that would eventually define them.  So while it is the least Slayer-like album, that quality is what actually makes it so damn good.

This album is Slayer's debut and their sound here is much closer to the evil, chaotic NWOBHM sound that was crafted by Venom.  The sound is much more melodic, yet retains the same dark and malevolent atmosphere that the band later became so well-known for.  What is missing from this album that later became the band's trademark is their kind of warlike, mechanical and precise riffing style.  This album feels much more human and raw.

The other difference with this album is the significantly more melodic vocal style used by Tom Araya.  He exhibits some terrific range and unleashes some truly blood-curdling shrieks here, something became increasingly rare as the band continued to release albums.  In fact, Araya's vocal style became decidedly one dimensional as time went on.

Slayer did play the title track to this album at the concert last week, but that was the only one from it.  It is likely that Araya simply cannot do justice to the vocals anymore and this is not close to the band's most popular album.  But it is still their best in my opinion.

Mercyful Fate: Into the Unknown (1996)

The last couple of years I have made a concerted effort to start picking up some of the missing albums in my collection from Mercyful Fate and King Diamond.  The title track from this album was actually the first Mercyful Fate song I had ever heard.  It appeared on a Metal Blade compilation that I picked up some time in college.  At the time, I was not sure what I was hearing.  King's voice was unlike anything I had ever heard.  Eventually though, I got into it.  But it took a long time before I ventured past the landmark albums.  Which brings me to this album.

The mid 1990's were largely considered a bleak time for true heavy metal.  That was not true for Mercyful Fate, who reunited in 1993 after a nine-year hiatus in which King Diamond focused on his solo career.  His solo career did not end though, King managed to work with both bands simultaneously. 

Unlike many Mercyful Fate/King Diamond albums, this is not a concept album.  Rather, it is a collection of short horror stories, involving pirates, ghosts and of course some Lovecraft.  Musically, this is not one of the best Mercyful Fate albums, but it is still damn good.  Denner and Shermann throw out some damn good riffs and some amazing solos.  A lot of the songs are terrific with the kind of energy that the band rose to stardom playing.  The title track is the big highlight, but "The Uninvited Guest" and "Holy Water" also grab attention. 

Even a lesser Mercyful Fate album is still better than a lot of albums and that is definitely the case here.  This one does not hold up to Don't Break the Oath or Melissa, but it fits in well with some post-Abigail King Diamond albums.  It remains a great album from a great band.  So what if it is not quite as good as their classic albums.

Decoryah: Fall-Dark Waters (1996)

Back when I was in high school or early college, I don't remember which, I picked up a Metal Blade sampler CD at a used music store.  I was not familiar with many of the bands on it, though I had heard of a few, but I viewed it as a way to discover some new music.  Back in the late 90's, there were not too many ways to really do that as a metalhead.  That CD led to me checking out groups like Mercyful Fate, Immolation, Desultory and Crisis.  But late in the compilation came a track by a group called Decoryah, whose song "Fall-Dark Waters" quickly became the highlight of the release for me.  It was atmospheric and mesmerizing, and its lack of aggression made it stand out from the rest of the album.  I filed the name of the band away, figuring I would check them out eventually.  But for a long time, I never got around to it.

Until now.

It is kind of hard to describe this album.  It is unlike virtually anything else I have heard.  It is also tough to express what my expectations were for it, given the unusual nature of the title track.  Metal Archives has the band listed as "gothic metal", and I guess if I HAD to place it in a genre, that would be the one to pick, but it is overly simplistic.  I do not think it has much in common with many groups often lumped into the gothic metal category.  If I had to pick the closest comparison, it would be Tiamat's A Deeper Kind of Slumber, but I like this one much better than that one. 

There is very little structure present here, the sounds seem to flow freely from one to the other without any real rhyme or reason.  Many of the song titles reference water in some way, and that seems very appropriate because listening to the album is almost like floating down a calm river without much in the way of a real direction or destination in mind.  There are a lot of strange elements thrown out along the way, such as crooning, female vocals, keyboard noodling and occasional oddball instruments like flutes.  It is often trippy and one never knows what to expect next, even after repeated listens.

Despite the unusual nature of this release, I quite like it.  It is incredibly soothing and calming, unlike virtually anything else in my music collection.  It is a good album to listen to to relax and just drift off. 

Reevaluating War and Pain by Voivod

Tastes change over time.  That is not a controversial statement.  For instance, I once considered Coal Chamber one of my favorite bands.  Now, I cannot even listen to them.  Which brings me to a less stark change.  My tastes in Voivod's music.

I have been a big fan of Voivod for some time now, even though I got into them very late.  They were always on the periphery of my musical tastes.  I liked Negatron since it was the first album I picked up by the band in the mid 1990's, but I never got much into their earlier material other than songs like "Killing Technology" and "Astronomy Domine" appearing on a couple of compilations I owned.  Much later, I finally picked up Nothingface and grew to love the album.  Then, I went through a period of time where I started to check out everything Voivod ever did.  The first five albums are legendary (and rival any other band's five album run) and quickly became my absolute favorites.  Of the five, Dimension Hatross became my preferred album because it combined the raw thrash metal of Voivod's early material and saw the band headed in the progressive direction they perfected on Nothingface.  I still like Negatron, but nowhere near as much.  But this is not about Negatron's place in Voivod's history.  It is about War and Pain.

Of the first five Voivod albums, I previously considered War and Pain the band's weakest.  That is not terribly surprising as it was the band's debut album and was incredibly raw and almost sloppy.  It contained few, if any, hints of what the band would later accomplish upon incorporating prog rock elements.  Quite frankly, listening to War and Pain back to back with Nothingface, it is difficult to tell that it is even the same band. 

Something has changed recently.  I have no idea what, but upon repeated listens to the band's discography, it has been War and Pain that I have been going back to time and time again.  What I once heard as sloppy has become endearing and just a sign of a very young and raw band doing the best they could with what they knew at the time.  Several of these songs have become favorites of mine, including "Blower", "Warriors of Ice" and "Iron Gang".  There is a lot of punk influence here that adds to the raw, unrefined sound of the band and makes it that much more intriguing. 

Honestly, picking out a favorite Voivod album is very difficult.  The band has changed so much over the decades they have been around that almost every album is truly unique in some way that sets it apart from any other Voivod album.  That is what is so interesting about this band in the first place.  They were never content to just put out album after album of the same stuff.  And so even though War and Pain has risen in my eyes, who knows if it will stay in such a lofty place?  

Hallows Eve: Monument (1988)

I am continuing to dive into lesser-known thrash metal bands, which brings us to Hallows Eve, from Atlanta.  One would be forgiven for thinking that the album cover here would seem to indicate that this is more of a glam band.  One certainly would not expect this style of aggressive thrash metal, not to say that Hallows Eve is a particularly aggressive thrash metal band, just that the cover art does not really convey how this album sounds.

But just as the album here is a product of its time, so too is the music.  This is the kind of thrash metal that Exodus and Anthrax among others began to popularize toward the late 1980's.  With less of a focus on biting riffs and shredding leads and more of a focus on rhythm and staccato barking.  It is a style that by and large has not aged well.  It is telling that very few neo-thrash metal bands recently have gone back to this style.

Despite the out-dated style, this is a perfectly fine album in a vacuum and it was probably awesome when it came out.  There are some decent tracks here, such as "Speed Freak" and "Rot Gut".  The best song is "Pain Killer" (not at all affiliated with the Judas Priest classic), which has a damn fine thrash break in the middle and a killer guitar solo.  In general, the songs here are mostly short, sharp and fast without a lot of room for melodic detours.  Hallows Eve gets right to the point and once done, moves on. 

The band does make a bit of a mistake with "Sheer Heart Attack", which is a cover of a Queen classic.  Not many bands can pull off a Queen cover competently, and unfortunately Hallows Eve is no exception.  The song sounds very much out of a place here and breaks up the early flow of the album.  The biggest issue with it being that the vocals are delivered in sort of a British punk sneer and it just comes off kind of laughable.

I am a huge thrash metal fan, as longtime readers know well and I love exploring the genre's history and obscure bands.  Hallows Eve is by no means essential thrash metal, but that does not mean that it is not a fun listen.  It has not aged well, but it is not at all bad.  I need to remember to break out the denim vest, high-tops and a can of PBR next time I put it on.

Goatwhore: Vengeful Ascension (2017)

Goatwhore is quickly becoming the Motorhead of extreme metal.  They are amazingly consistent, yet most of their songs are fairly similar in structure, and led by rumbling riffs.  Speed and intensity are the name of the game.  They have become one of my personal favorite bands and I jumped at the chance to see them live earlier this year.  I also had to put their new album on pre-order as soon as I became aware of it and looked forward to it.

Unfortunately, this album was something of a letdown.  The band did not truly alter its sound in any way.  The album is very much in line with Goatwhore's releases that came before it.  The problem is that this particular album sounds a little phoned in.  It is too similar to the stuff that came before it, without much growth, and certainly without anything that stands out and demands attention.

The first track is something of a plodding crawl, at least as far as Goatwhore is concerned.  It is a somewhat slower track and not the most dynamic of openers.  Several of the following songs were more mid-paced and tended to blend together a bit.  A lot of the breakneck speed from earlier albums has been replaced with more of a rumbling groove.  Not to suggest that Goatwhore is suddenly trying to become Pantera, but they were always at their best when they were thrashing all around.  This is much more relaxed.  That is simply not something I am used to from Goatwhore.  "Mankind Will Have No Mercy" is probably the closest thing to the the sound I would expect from Goatwhore.

There is nothing really bad here.  All of the elements that one would expect from a Goatwhore album are present.  From Ben Falgoust's demonic vocals to Sammy Duet's Motorhead-inspired riffing to Zack Simmons's insane drumming, the band is every bit as talented and crushing as ever.  Unfortunately, they seem to have mostly become complacent in their songwriting.  Every band has a misstep, hopefully this is just that, and the band will return to the fire and fury of their earlier works next time around.

God Dethroned: The World Ablaze (2017)

God Dethroned is back!  The Dutch blackened death metal band has split up twice now, only to reform just a couple of years later.  Most recently, they split up in 2012, some time after I saw them in concert as one of the supporting bands for Overkill.  They were not gone too long as they technically reunited in 2014, but this is the first new material since then.

God Dethroned has found something of a niche in crafting their albums around the atrocities of World War I.  It started with their amazing Passiondale album in 2009 and continued with Under the Sign of the Iron Cross.  This is their third release in that vein.  This is never more apparent than on the terrific, heart-pumping "On the Wrong Side of the Wire".  Ah, trench warfare.

The lyrical content is not the only thing that has been re-created on each of the last three albums.  The general sound of the albums is also very similar.  No one will ever accuse God Dethroned of being mainstream-friendly (talking mainstream metal obviously), but the music is similar to the lighter material by Behemoth and tends more to melody than brutality this time around.  It is like the band took some of the more epic, dramatic moments that appeared on Passiondale ("No Survivors"), and stretched them out into an entire album.  Most of the black metal-leaning elements have been stripped from their sound, leaving a more streamlined approach similar to the melodic death metal stylings of Amon Amarth, just with a different historical period as a focus.  They have been trending in this direction for awhile now and this is definitely the closest to mainstream-friendly as God Dethroned has ever been.

The band can still dial things up when they really want to, and a lot of the time, they still sound like a well-oiled machine of warfare.  "Annihilation Crusade" is a loud, bulldozer of a song with riffing that sounds like heavy artillery firing.  And as mentioned, "On the Other Side of the Wire" is a monster track, with a fantastic lead melody.  The vocals are delivered in Henri Sattler's standard gruff bark throughout the album.

I enjoy this album quite a bit, though it is not as impressive as Passiondale.  It is a strong comeback album, even if it is significantly more melodic than we are used to from God Dethroned.

Lightning Swords of Death: Baphometic Chaosivm

Lightning Swords of Death is one of those ridiculous names like Lair of the Minotaur that makes it hard to take the music seriously.  Not in a "this is terrible" sort of way, more in a cheesy, ironic sort of way.  It is just such a bizarre name, how could you look at it any other way?  And after their first album I still thought that the band name was more of a joke.  Then this one came out.

The first thing that needs to be discussed is the stylistic change.  Lightning Swords of Death definitely had some black metal influences shining (darkening?) through, but thrash and death metal seemed to be the foundation on which the band built their sound.  This album though is almost entirely black metal.  I am not quite sure how to feel about that in this case.  I enjoyed the last album, but I always like black metal as well.  This album bears very little sonic resemblance to their last one.  This album sounds more like something one would expect from melodic black metal acts like Naglfar or Nifelheim.

LSoD went for more of an occult, mystical vibe with this release.  The atmospheric riffs, vocals that sound like they were recorded in the pits of hell, occasional chanting sections, and swirling melodies add to the mysticism.  But there is still something of a lighter sense of fun going on at the same time.  It is strange.  Black metal is not typically known for having a sense of humor about itself, but there is something about this album that tells me that it is not entirely meant to be taken seriously.  I missed it the first few times but as I listened more and more it became more evident.

This album has been a grower for me.  I was initially turned off by the perception that LSoD had gone completely serious.  I no longer think that is the case.  The music is much more rooted in black metal than their previous work, but it is still well-done.  This is not terribly original, but there is an energy that is surprisingly infectious.  This has grown on me.

FMA Reviews: Aeon: Aeons Black

Originally reviewed here.

Aeon is a Swedish death metal band. Now when I say that, many people will have a certain sound in mind for what they think that the band will sound like. They would be wrong in this case. You see when I say that Aeon is a Swedish death metal band, what I mean is that Aeon is a death metal band that happens to be from Sweden. Their sound owes far more to the early New York death metal scene than to the Swedish scene. Think Immolation, Suffocation, and Incantation. There is a little bit of technicality, but that is more along the same lines as saying that Cannibal Corpse is technical.

Aeon's music deals with anti-Christianity, which is certainly nothing new in the genre. So the music is of course dark and heavy. Unfortunately this is all just more of the same from Aeon who have been doing this type of death metal for years now. Most of their albums sound basically the same as well. This one added a little bit to the mix, mainly short acoustic tracks to break up the monotony of the pounding riffs.

I have been somewhat impressed by Aeon in the past. In particular I enjoyed Rise to Dominate but even then I felt that Aeon did not really have much to offer that was new and different from virtually any other death metal band. That is the same impression I have of the band on this release. While their music is certainly interesting while listening to it, it does not leave enough of an impression after it is over. The music is predictable and formulaic without really doing anything to distinguish Aeon from anyone else.

None of this is to suggest that I disliked this album. There is certainly a market for old-school leaning death metal, especially groups that sound like Immolation, but people looking for something new and innovative probably should look elsewhere. Aeon is good at what they do, but they are not terribly original.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 95

ARTIST:  Various
ORIGIN:  Various
TITLE:  Metalmeister
LABEL:  Metal Blade Records
YEAR:  1996
GENRE:  Various
FAVORITE SONG:  Decoryah: "Fall Dark Waters"
NOTES:  Another compilation, this time one by Metal Blade Records.  I still love this compilation and it introduced me to a ton of new bands.  Immolation, Crisis, Armored Saint, Mercyful Fate, Six Feet Under, and Desultory were all new bands to me on this album.  A pretty good introduction into Metal Blade as well.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 94

ARTIST:  Skrew
ORIGIN:  Austin, TX (United States)
TITLE:  Angel Seed XXIII
LABEL:  Metal Blade Records
YEAR:  1997
GENRE:  Industrial Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Sea Man"
NOTES:  I think I got this one used, almost positive of it in fact.  This was at a time when I really liked industrial-tinged metal, and Skrew certainly qualifies.  I remember dating a girl in high school who really loved this album and borrowed it all the time from me.  It may have been my first Metal Blade Records release.  Not much else to say about this one.  I don't listen to it much anymore, in fact I can't remember the last time I did.

FMA Reviews: Satan's Wrath: Galloping Blasphemy

Originally reviewed here.

Greek band Satan's Wrath make their debut on this release. The band is the new project of former Electric Wizard bassist Tas Danazoglou who appeared on EW's last full-length release but has since moved on. Satan's Wrath is very much Tas's project as he performs the bass, drums, and the vocals with only Stamos K making up the rest of the band on the guitar. Tas has always been something of a menacing presence in EW so this project promised to be intriguing.

Things definitely start out ominously with some bass strings being plucked along with the screams of some poor tortured souls. This immediately leads into an opening guitar melody that would not sound out of place in the opening strains of a Slayer album, just to set the mood.

It is clear that Satan's Wrath was created for Tas to pay tribute to his musical idols. Elements of Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer, and many other bands who helped lay the groundwork for more extreme styles of metal show up at various points on this album. The main riff in "Between Belial and Satan" sounds like it was lifted directly from a Megadeth song, with another one sounding more like Possessed. So Satan's Wrath is clearly a product of a number of early extreme metal influences.

The music here is not meant to be technically impressive. The songs are fairly straightforward without a lot of changes in riffs or tempos. The guitar and vocals drive the album. Tas is a talented bass player though and he does show off this ability frequently over the course of the album. There is an air of the occult to most of the music. Tri-tones and minor chords are used frequently in order to drive home the Satan-centric lyrical themes. The vocals are done in sort of an early Quorthon-meets-Tom G. Warrior grumble, which fits well with the music.

I have just a couple of complaints. The first is the production. There is not a lot of bottom end here. Perhaps it was done that way purposely as metal in the early 1980's did not have a lot of bottom end to the albums. But when the main member of the band serves as the bassist and drummer, it seems like kind of waste to not emphasize his contributions. The other is that there have been more and more groups doing metal in this style and I am not sure Satan's Wrath has really done enough to distance themselves from the pack.

Beyond those two issues, I enjoyed the music on this album quite a bit. This is an impressive debut and I will be anxious to see if Tas keeps this project going or not.