Initial Impressions: Kreator: Phantom Antichrist

German thrash metal is probably one of my favorite musical styles.  I first heard Kreator shortly after graduating from law school and finding my first job as an attorney.  They have remained a favorite band of mine ever since.  What keeps them up there is the fact that after all these years, Kreator still sounds as raw and fierce as ever.  New Kreator albums stand up well to the early works.  Obviously even Kreator put out a few bad albums in the 1990's but they have come back in a big way since Outcast.

This is the band's newest album, and yes it sounds a lot like the last couple of albums that came before it.  Kreator's most distinguishing characteristic is the vocal style of Mille Petrozza.  Petrozza still sounds like a rabid dog on this album, his voice is still as iconic as ever.  In addition to the vocal stylings, the music still sounds as sinister as ever.  The riffs are still sharp, the solos still shred, and the band still carries on as it has for the last nearly thirty years.

One thing that has changed is that Kreator has gotten a bit melancholic on this album.  Previous albums were exercises in anger and brutality, but this album finds the band a bit more introspective on tracks like "From Flood Into Fire" and "Death to the World".  Not to say that there still are not some of the classically angry songs we come to expect from Kreator.  "Civilization Collapse" and "Phantom Antichrist" still call to mind classic tracks like "Pleasure to Kill".  Kreator's songwriting shows some signs of maturity and an awareness of global concerns.

This is still Kreator doing what they do best however.  There may be more melodic moments and more socially-conscious lyrics this time around, but the band still makes a hell of a racket.  And that's what we expect from Kreator.

Initial Impressions: Gojira: L'Enfant Sauvage

I was a big fan of Gojira's album From Mars to Sirius, but for some reason I just never checked out The Way of All Flesh.  I have no idea why that is.  I never heard anything that dissuaded me from checking it out.  I certainly liked the band previously.  I guess I just missed it.  Well that did not happen again.  I have been eagerly anticipating Gojira's fifth album this year and picked it up just as soon as I saw it.  I am very late in getting this review up mostly due to being busy this summer.

I am very glad I did, because this album is phenomenal.  I honestly think it is a contender for my Album of the Year.

Gojira still do what they have always done so well.  They are monolithically heavy with bass-driven riffs and harshly shouted vocals.  Gojira is a very rhythmic band.  Many of the guitar riffs are almost percussive in sound.  There is not usually a lot of melody, though that is not to say that there is none to be found.  More than anything, Gojira just beats their listeners into submission with a constant wall of riffs.

Gojira is a little more bleak this time around.  On past albums there has always been a brightness shining through their music.  Sort of a ray of sunshine.  This time, the band is as depressive as possible.  Gojira has always been known for their environmentally-conscious lyrics.  This time it is as if the band has given up.  The world is coming to an end in the eyes of Gojira.

This is a terrific album, but it's definitely not uplifting in any way, shape, or form.  Best to listen to this on a cloudy day.

FMA Reviews: Chaos Inception: The Abrogation

I had not heard of this band before, so I did some checking before I listened to the album. When I discovered that Quinta Essentia madman guitarist Matt Barnes also performed the guitar work for Chaos Inception, I knew I was going to enjoy it.

Chaos Inception bears a strong resemblance to Quinta Essentia in that the band is not simply a middling death metal band. There is a lot of substance here, some real progressive song structures with complex riffing and a real organic foundation. This is not stale, modernized death metal focused solely on providing a brutal experience. Chaos Inception has the occult and doom-laden sound of an early Morbid Angel. Their sound is like a Lovecraftian beast, horrendous and otherworldly.

The playing of Matt Barnes is definitely the highlight, as I knew that it would be. His leads are incredible and really send chills down the spine. On top of that is his brutally intense riffwork when he is not playing leads. Chris White's vocals are also a strength. He is doing his best David Vincent impression on this material and sounds damn good doing it. The drum and bass work provides a pounding, thick and meaty bottom end to the riffing and vocals.

Each song is proof that brutal death metal can still sound intense without losing its blackened soul.

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FMA Reviews: Tribune: Elder Lore/The Dark Arts

Tribune (apparently pronounced TRY-BUNE) shows a large variety of influences. Elements of thrash, progressive, death, and even some metalcore are woven throughout this release. The band probably is most reminiscent of Into Eternity, a fellow Canadian progressive metal band with a variety of other influences. But, if anything, Tribune is even more varied.

One thing is for certain, this is definitely not a boring album. Tribune is all over the place with their sound. The listener truly does not know what to expect to hear next. One minute the band is speeding along with a thrash riff and then the next you could be hearing some doom metal. The variety definitely keeps the listener involved in the album. Along with the variety of styles in the music itself, Tribune also features a variety of vocal styles. There may be some death metal-esque roars followed immediately by some cleaner crooning.

"The World's Greatest Cynic" is definitely the highlight on this release. At nine plus minutes in length, it represents a microcosm of the entire album, throwing in as many influences as the band could and featuring a whirlwind of competing riffs and vocal styles. Otherwise, "The Warrior Mentality" and "Below" also made strong impressions. "The Succubus" is more of a radio-friendly metal song that would not sound out of place on a Killswitch Engage album.

This is a widely diverse album that keeps the listener on their toes.

Reader Submission: Satellite Beaver: The Last Bow

Maybe it's just me, but I don't really think of stoner doom as a genre with a big international following.  Most of the stoner doom bands I am aware of are American or British.  So it came as a bit of a surprise when I was recently contacted by a Polish stoner doom band by the name of Satellite Beaver.

With stoner doom, you pretty much know what to expect from a musical standpoint.  Heavy, fuzzed-out riffs, throbbing bass lines, pounding drums, and spaced-out vocals.  Stylistically this band has far more in common with the Southern sludgy, stoner/doom stylings of groups like Corrosion of Conformity and Crowbar that the psychedelia-infused Electric Wizard.  That is to say that the tracks featured on this EP are much more straight-ahead, rock-oriented and do not tend to get bogged down in lengthy, trippy guitar noodling.  There is definitely something to be said for something you can put on and just rock out too.  Satellite Beaver provide that here.

This is a very short, but fun EP that shows off some decent songwriting skills.  There is enough variation in the individual tracks to retain interest.  The vocals in particular are surprisingly versatile, going from a sort of droning croon to the occasional blood-curdling scream.  The guitar riffs are ever-evolving and refuse to stay in one place very long.  This is definitely roadtrip music.  Hell, that's even the name of the last track.

Satellite Beaver has now released two digital-only EPs.  They certainly have the talent and a good enough sound to be picked up by some label or other.  I found myself very impressed with this band.

FMA Reviews: Mass Burial: Of Carrion and Pestilence

It is entirely possible that Mass Burial has heard of the Swedish death metal scene. And that would be a huge understatement. Mass Burial is dripping with the buzzsaw Swedish death metal riffing sound. The band does one hell of a job at re-capturing the glory that was the early days of Entomed, Dismember, and more. Which is okay, because I am a huge fan of that particular sound. Unfortunately there have been a lot of bands aping the style over the last few years and it is getting a little ridiculous. So a band that wants to play that style had better do something good with it in order to stand out.

Mass Burial actually does an admirable job. I would not say I prefer their work to the early landmark albums, far from it in fact, but the Spanish band does stand a little taller than some of the other groups out there these days that are pulling from the same well of influence. Where Mass Burial excels compared to other bands is that their sound is a hell of a lot nastier and filthier. They are not worried about cleaning up their production or their lyrical content. They are not scared to go some of the places that Vomitory for example inhabits.Their sound is bestial and raw, with murky production values and a truly sickening guitar and bass sound.

The praise above is not meant to suggest that this is a particularly great album. There are some issues that wear thin after awhile. In particular, I am not really a fan of the vocal style. It stays at a pretty even sound throughout which is a fairly gruff growl, but it lacks some of the bite that made the early Swedish death metal groups so fantastic. It does not come close to the insane, haunting styles of early Entombed or the monstrous roar of early Grave. The vocal style is okay at first but after a few songs, it gets a little old. The other issue is with the songs themselves. There really is no standout track here. Most of the songs follow a similar formula and those that do not, do not really stand out for the reasons they should.

This is only the band's debut album. They formed in 2002 but took until 2012 to release this album. The band still has some time to grow and improve on some things. This is a nice album for a debut, but it does not hold up to the classics that it is clearly influenced by.

FMA Reviews: Holodomor: Témoignages de la Gnose Terrestre

I had to look up the name of the band, due mostly to curiosity. Apparently Holodomor is the term for an event in the Ukraine for a genocidal famine provoked by Ukrainian communist rulers. So, with that cheerful thought in mind, I went about listening to this EP which was suggested to me by Full Metal Attorney.

This is one filthy beast of an EP. I have a feeling that the reason it is only an EP instead of a full album is due to the absolute insanity of the five tracks that are here. They do not get much more bestial than this. Holodomor easily stands up next to other blackened death/thrash metal bands like Angelcorpse, Bestial Warlust, Gospel of the Horns, and the first few Deströyer 666 albums.

Throughout much of the EP, the riffs are razor-sharp and extremely fast. There is a brief slower portion in a couple of the middle tracks which sounds more like melodic black metal bands such as Lord Belial and Naglfar. It is a much darker and sinister sound than the raw and primal blackened thrash the band employs throughout the rest of the EP.

FMA Reviews: Bloodwritten: Thrashin' Fury

Originally posted here.

I have always been shocked by just how good Poland's metal scene really is. Beyond the incredible Behemoth and pioneering Vader, Poland has also produced a wide variety of impressive metal bands. Bloodwritten is another name to add to the list.

Bloodwritten play fairly standard blackened thrash, but they play it with such emotion and rage that it is hard not to get swept up in it. Their sound is something of a combination of Sodom, Kreator, and Nifelheim. The music mostly consists of fast-paced, sinister-sounding thrash riffs and shrieking Mille Petrozza-esque vocals. The band catches the listener's attention early, with the album opening with the sound of a gun being cocked and fired. It immediately reverts to a state of chaos and whirlwind riffs from that point on through the end of the runtime.

The music keeps up the frenetic pace throughout the album, with only a few times where the band slows things down. Even those rare occurrences retain a dark and evil atmosphere. While the band is not really innovative, they understand their craft well enough that they produce a pretty decent overall album. People who are not already a fan of blackened thrash metal will still probably not care for this. It's a fun ride, it's just not something that hasn't been done before.

FMA Reviews: KozybunX: Practice Room Demo

This was originally reviewed here.

I have no idea what this name is supposed to represent. It looks more like someone's ill-conceived chatroom screen name than the name of a band. Furthermore, it certainly does not seem to be the kind of name a stoner doom metal band would choose. It seems much more likely to be chosen by a pop group or some other mainstream atrocity. But nevertheless, here we are, with KozybunX bringing some interesting Electric Wizard-esque psychedelic stoner doom.

KozybunX are a four-piece doom metal group who apparently recorded this demo in their practice room. Nonetheless, the production values are actually quite impressive. This sounds every bit as powerful and heavy as anything that the aforementioned Electric Wizard put out. The riffs are slow and muddy, just the way stoner doom should be. They have a very thick bottom end that gives the atmosphere a sense of gloom and desolation. The demo as a whole gives off a feeling of impending doom, which I guess is kind of the point of the whole genre.

The interesting aspect of this release is that the band does not use vocals. Instead, they add to the doom riffs samples from various B-movies and other sources. I know I recognized one sample from a White Zombie song. I could not tell you the actual source of the samples as I am not well-versed in B-movies these days. They do certainly add to the general atmosphere and the inclusion of samples is done well enough that vocals and lyrics are not even missed. The samples do a good job of actually telling a story themselves. It is a fairly original idea and it is presented very well in this case.

The only real issue I have with this is that the songs do tend to drag a bit. The shortest track is seven minutes long with the second track being nearly 18 minutes. That is not unusual for this type of metal, but there is not a lot of tempo change. Once the band locks into a riff, they keep it going for a long time. That is not to say there are no changes in dynamics, just not a lot.

Tribune: Elder Lore/The Dark Arts

I had another review posted on Full Metal Attorney for Tribune today.  Here is the link.

Initial Impressions: Sonata Arctica: Stones Grow Her Name

I want to like Sonata Arctica's newer material, I really do.  Unfortunately it is just not happening for me.  It is extremely disappointing because I rank Silence as one of my all time favorite power metal albums, if not my favorite.  The combination of speed metal and power metal along with some amazingly catchy songs and some surprisingly heart-wrenching ballads keeps me coming back for more over and over again.  But that feeling is absent from their more recent material.  It's unfortunate.

Unia was the first album that really let me down.  I skipped the next one and then decided based on the hype that this was the band's best album in years to give them another chance.  I will probably not be giving them another shot after this one.

The album starts off fine, with a decent fast-paced song in "Only the Broken Hearts".  From that point on though the band descends into radio-friendly modern rock tracks with very few highlights.  Among the lowlights in "Shitload of Money" with its ridiculous lyrics.  "Cinderblox" is interesting, with its banjo melody, and the two "Wildfire" tracks have their moments.  The rest of the stuff is just too stale and boring.

This is pretty much it for Sonata Arctica as far as I am concerned.  I will likely not be checking out anything else.

Initial Impressions: Exumer: Fire & Damnation

It's kind of bizarre how so many completely random bands have been reuniting and putting out new music.  This certainly is not anything completely unusual but when we are talking about a band that released two full-lengths and a couple of demos in the mid to late 1980's that were mostly forgotten, you kind of have to wonder how the decision to reunite really came about.  I mean, I have never heard anyone say they really miss Exumer.  Not to say some people didn't miss Exumer, I just have not known of anyone.

Exumer is a German thrash metal band from the 1980's, and that's all it really took to get me intrigued.  Their presence on Metal Blade, which is still a label I trust, also helped matters.  Exumer does deliver on that promise.  As is typical of German thrash metal, this is a neck-snapping maelstrom of an album with lots of riffs and lots of aggression.  It kicks off with a bang and the frenzy never lets up.

The only real problem I have with the album is that there is a lack of variety.  The band never lets up on the accelerator.  That is not a major problem, after all this is a thrash metal band we are talking about.  It is not as if that is unusual.  Fans of the genre expect it.

I have not checked out Exumer's prior material, but something tells me it is right up my alley as well.

Initial Impressions: Nephelium: Coils of Entropy

This review was originally posted here.  I don't usually reprint the reviews I contributed to Full Metal Attorney, but I felt this was worthy of a rare exception.

I don't really know what to call this quality that certain death metal bands have that appeals to me. Apophis has it. Cenotaph, the Mexican band, has it. It is this particularly savage riffing and vocal style that comes across as exciting and fresh. It is like the bands truly enjoy what they are doing and this enthusiasm comes across in their intensity.

Nephelium has the same quality.

I have listened to this album over and over again and the same thing jumps out at me every time. I love this album. The riffing is top-notch and the band really never gets bogged down with just one idea. There is a lot of variety in the music with tempo changes and some technical riffwork. The tracks are a little on the long side, none of the songs are less than five minutes and there are a nine minute song and a ten minute song, but that does not matter when the music is as good as this is.

I don't think I can pass up an opportunity to mention that this band is originally from Dubai, although they have since relocated to Canada. It is an interesting little nugget of information. I have not previously heard a metal band from the United Arab Emirates, so this is a first for me.

I am extremely impressed with this album. The intensity is infectious and this band has a very bright future.

Initial Impressions: Pilgrim: Misery Wizard

I feel like traditional doom metal has been missing a leading band for the last several years since Reverend Bizarre broke up.  There have definitely been good doom bands, but Reverend Bizarre gave the genre a truly outspoken leader.  Enter Pilgrim, a band with a similar look and feel, from the historical yet sinister cover art, to the crushingly heavy and morosely slow doom metal therein, Pilgrim definitely recalls the good Reverend.

Pilgrim has only been around for a couple of years now, and this is their debut full-length album after a demo and a split, so of course there is going to be some room to grow.  That is definitely the case here.  The album kicks off with some monolithic riffs and the opening track is definitely a steamroller of a song.  Unfortunately almost every song after that takes the exact same formula.  The result is a long lumbering album with a lot of songs that sound virtually the same.  Only the last track really changes up the formula with a rolling faster-paced start before slowing down a little and then speeding up again.  A little more variety would likely help this band quite a bit.

Pilgrim has released a fairly impressive debut, but they definitely have some room to grow as artists.  It will be interesting to see where they go from here.

 

Top 10 of 2012 So Far

We are a little over halfway through 2012 so here is a Top 10 list so far.  This was not too difficult to do because I have not been buying a lot of new music this year.

10.  PILGRIM: MISERY WIZARD
This is one I have not had a chance to put up a full review on yet.  I just got it a couple of weeks ago.  Pilgrim is a doom metal band with an emphasis on the doom.  Most of the tracks are incredibly slow but undeniably heavy.  There is not a lot of variation in the tracks, other than the rollicking final track, but once in awhile that's good.  Look for a full review very soon.

9.  EXUMER: FIRE AND DAMNATION
Another album with a full review soon to come.  Exumer is a longtime German thrash metal band who has recently reunited.  The band previously put out a couple of albums in the mid 1980's and this is their first album since.  I am not familiar with their earlier material but if it sounds anything like this, I will definitely be checking it out.

8.  16: DEEP CUTS FROM DARK CLOUDS
16 is a fairly brutal band in the sludge metal genre and is another group that it took me quite awhile to finally check out.  This is an incredibly infectious album although it does tend to drag a little at times.  16 is not as violently aggressive as Eyehategod but they are similar to Acid Bath.  16 shows us what real sludge metal sounds like.

7.  OVERKILL: THE ELECTRIC AGE
One of the most consistent thrash metal bands in the history of metal, Overkill has never put out a bad album and this one is certainly no exception.  Overkill continues to put out fantastic album after fantastic album.  While this is something of a step down from their last release, it is still a phenomenal album.  Overkill deserves a lot more notoriety than they get.

6.  3 INCHES OF BLOOD: LONG LIVE HEAVY METAL
Once a very promising band, 3IOB took a big step backward when one of their vocalists left and threw the band's sound in disarray.  But this album finds the band realizing their sound once more and gleefully enjoying their take on classic metal.  This is an excellent return to form for the band.

5.  KREATOR: PHANTOM ANTICHRIST
The most recent album from this list, I picked this one up in the final week of June so it just barely made the cut for consideration here.  Since pulling out of their tailspin in the early 2000's Kreator has put out a number of great brutal thrash metal albums.  Kreator is still going very strong after all this time.

4.  ASPHYX: DEATHHAMMER
Martin Van Drunen is one of my favorite extreme metal vocalists and this is just another reason why.  Asphyx was one of the more compelling early death metal bands, particularly with their infusion of doom metal elements.  Aspyhx has not been back together long but they have put out some amazing work in the time they have.

3.  AURA NOIR: OUT TO DIE
I cannot believe it took me so long to discover Aura Noir.  Blackened thrash metal is one of my favorite genres and Aura Noir is considered one of the better bands in the genre, and for good reason.  Their music is raw and infectious and recalls early Venom and Sodom.

2.  GOATWHORE: BLOOD FOR THE MASTER
Goatwhore has been one of my favorite bands for a long time now and they just keep getting better.  Each album is an improvement on the one before it and this one is no exception.  Their sound is more streamlined but that does not mean it is any less intense.  This is a neckbreaker from start to finish.

1.  CHRISTIAN MISTRESS: POSSESSION
The top metal album of the year so far has come from a somewhat unexpected place.  This is only the band's second album so far but the band has a very bright future.  They play a brand of NWOBHM-influenced retro metal.  Their songwriting skills are top-notch and the vocals are incredible.  A terrific album from start to finish.

Initial Impressions: Aura Noir: Out to Die

I am a sucker for blackened thrash, which brings up the question "why is this the first time I have heard Aura Noir?"

The Norwegian band has been around since the early 1990's, but have now only released five full-length albums.  Nevertheless, for some reason they have been operating under my radar despite performing a style of music that I rank as one of my favorite metal forms.  Norway is not really known for their thrash metal bands, although this is not pure thrash.  Aura Noir is made up of former members of a number of well-known Norwegian black metal bands, most notably Blasphemer of Mayhem.

This album brings to mind early Sodom and Venom albums.  It is fast, filthy, and raw, just the way blackened thrash metal should be.  It does not rise to the levels of ugliness present on a Gospel of the Horns or Bestial Warlust release, but that is not really the intention.  The goal is to call back to a simpler time when bands were fusing the sounds from Motorhead, hardcore punk, and trying to up the evil factor.

This album is a neck-breaker.  It's fast-paced, dirty metal all the way through.  The band never slows down. This may have been the first time I heard Aura Noir, but it will not be the last.

Initial Impressions: Naglfar: Teras

Naglfar, the Swedish melodic black metal band, was an early band that I checked out when I began really expanding my metal horizons after law school.  I was very impressed with Harvest at the time and checked out some of their prior material.  I kind of grew out of them after awhile though.  This is actually their first album since Harvest, which is odd since it has been five years.

Not much has changed musically for Naglfar.  This is still surprisingly catchy black metal with a strong sense of melody.  It is not anything revolutionary, but Naglfar does it well.  There are plenty of other bands who play the same general style of Naglfar but few play it with the same intensity.

Naglfar's music is streamlined and packs a punch.  They do not really do a lot of melodic interludes or buildup for songs.  They just launch into the aggressive, fast riffing that they have always done.  Of course Wrath continues to sound like a man in need of an exorcist.  I have not heard a lot of the band's material with Jens Ryden so I don't have a lot of ability to compare the two.  Wrath's vocals fit the band's sound pretty well though.

As I mentioned, this is a solid release, but it is not spectacular.  Naglfar's albums sound basically the same.  They do a decent job at what they do, but there is not much else to say.

Initial Impressions: Asphyx: Deathhammer

Asphyx has always been one of my favorite old-school death metal bands.  Part of this has been the presence of Martin Van Drunen behind the mic and part has been the band's less conventional sound.  The band went on hiatus for several years and re-emerged with Van Drunen back in tow in 2008.  This is the band's second full-length since re-forming.

Asphyx's sound joins old school-style death/thrash with doom metal elements.  What results is a crushingly heavy album that stands up well to the band's prior material.  The album title is definitely a good description of the music found therein.

Of course no discussion of Asphyx would be complete without a discussion of Van Drunen's vocals.  Van Drunen is one of the great death metal vocalists and he continues to show why on this album.  His psychotic wailing is on full display here.

Asphyx continues to put out great albums.  They have been one of my favorite death metal bands for some time and this is yet another great album from them.

My Thoughts on Prometheus

SPOILER ALERTS:  I am trying not to reveal anything about this movie, but I am not sure what other people have not been able to glean from the trailers.  If you have not seen it yet, you may want to skip this post for now.

Slam Poll Results

So my idea in extending the time for the slam poll was to get some more votes.  This backfired, sort of.  I only got one more vote and that person said he did not like any slam band.  So here were the results from a very disappointing outcome:

Wormed, Devourment, and Abominable Putridity all tied at one vote.  Boring.

Reader Submission: Refusal: Grasp

Some time ago, I was asked to review a demo from a Finnish death metal band called Refusal.  It was their fourth demo since the band formed in 2008.  Recently, Tero from Refusal contacted me once again to take a look at their fifth demo.

The first question that pops into my head after listening to this demo is how in the hell has this band not been signed yet?  Seriously, the band already sounded pretty good on their last album and, if anything, they have still improved on this one.

The band's basic formula, which was fully realized on their last demo, has not changed.  This is death metal with something of a punk flair and some serious grooving riffs.  The third track is definitely closer to punk/grind than death metal.  As such, it is not my favorite on the demo.  The other three tracks though more than make up for this minor misstep.

The demo has not changed much overall since the last one.  If anything the band's songwriting has improved, as these songs are even more catchy than they were the last time out.  The strong production values and instrumentation still sound great.

I will close things out on here the same way I started: why has this band not been signed yet?  When do we get a full-length?  Hopefully soon, they deserve it.

Two Reviews Posted on Full Metal Attorney

Just a quick post to provide links to two new reviews I have submitted for Full Metal Attorney.

Holodomor

Mass Burial

Concert Review: Volbeat, Megadeth, and Rob Zombie May 24, 2012

I went to my first concert in a couple of years on Thursday night.  Volbeat, Megadeth, and Rob Zombie were playing at Tyson Event Center in Sioux City, Iowa.  Since that is only about an hour away from my home, I managed to talk my wife into going along.  I had seen Rob Zombie several years ago, so Megadeth was the main draw here.

VOLBEAT:
I am not terribly familiar with Volbeat.  I kind of bristled at some of the praise heaped upon them by Metalsucks and since my tastes are typically not in line with that website, I never really gave them much of a chance.  I will say that the Danish band impressed me quite a bit on Thursday night.  They played a fast-paced and energetic show.  Their variety of influences were on display Thursday night as elements of rock and roll and  punk shined through.  The vocalist's crooning howl was definitely a strong point.  It was also obvious that Volbeat knows their metal, playing excerpts from Motorhead, Metallica, and Slayer among others.  We did not see their entire show as we were running a bit late, but I may have to check out some more Volbeat material.

MEGADETH:
As I said, Megadeth is the reason that I wanted to go to this concert.  If it was just Rob Zombie and Volbeat, I would not have gone.  I have been a Megadeth fan almost as long as I have been a metalhead.  They were the second band after Metallica that I got into.  But I had never seen them in concert so I had to go.  Megadeth has not lost a step, they played a very fast-paced show.  We did not get much of Dave Mustaine's personality as the band leapt into the show and did not really slow down until it was over.  The show featured a sort of greatest hits collection.  There were a few tracks from their latest album, but otherwise they played the usual classics: "Symphony of Destruction", "Peace Sells", "Hangar 18", and "Sweating Bullets" all made it into the set.  They of course closed with "Holy Wars" as they typically do from my understanding.  They sounded great.  It's hard to believe they have been active for over 30 years at this point.  My only complaint is that the video accompanying some of the songs seemed to skip a bit.

ROB ZOMBIE:
As I said, I have seen Zombie before.  I had an idea of what to expect.  I was a little disappointed that they relied almost entirely on video screens for the effects this time around instead of the moving set they had the last time I saw them.  I have not really checked out much Rob Zombie material since being disappointed with the musical direction taken on the new tracks on Zombie's Greatest Hits collection several years ago.  Turns out I did not miss much.  Zombie only played three songs I had not heard before.  The rest of the material was mostly from his first two solo albums and of course "Thunder Kiss '65" and "More Human than Human".  Zombie did play us the trailer from his upcoming movie Lords of Salem which looks interesting.  My wife particularly enjoyed his show.

Soils of Fate: Sandstorm v. Soils of Fate: Crime Syndicate

I have not done one of these faceoff posts for awhile, not since the last slam week in fact.  So here's one, since I recently added both Soils of Fate albums to my collection.  Since we are talking Soils of Fate against Soils of Fate, picking a better album is not going to be easy.  But here it goes anyway.

SOILS OF FATE: SANDSTORM
The debut album from Sweden's impressive slam death metal band was released in 2001.  The band is a little divisive due to their somewhat thuggish image, just look at the band picture on the Metal Archives for an idea.  Soils of Fate establish their reliance on rhythm early on in this album.  While it is not as pronounced as on their second release, the band clearly shows some rap influence.  The Goodfellas samples early on are definitely entertaining.  The vocalist also experiments with some raplike vocals here and there.  Soils of Fate do throw in some impressively fast songs here, most notably the title track.  To switch things up a bit occasionally, Soils of Fate do throw in some decent, if short, guitar solos.

SOILS OF FATE: CRIME SYNDICATE
If I did not know any better, looking at the album cover and song titles, I would assume this was a rap album.  Seriously, when was the last time you saw a metal album with a song title like "Killaz Beware"?  This is groove-laden slam death metal with several instances of raplike vocals delivered in a grunting death metal style.  Sgt. D used to refer a lot to "wigger slam", something of a derisive term for slam death that clearly has a lot of rap influence.  Well, here is a good example.  There are breakdowns that sound very similar to rap songs in which the vocalist does his death-rap thing.  This album is as close to a rap album as slam death metal can possibly get.  I bet you never expected to see that sentence in writing.  The most impressive moment comes in "Vs." when Ruben Rosas of Devourment shows up for some exceptionally brutal roaring vocals.  They also do a decent job of covering Suffocation on the final track.

THE VERDICT:  It is clear from the debut album what Soils of Fate were attempting to do, which is slam death influenced by rap.  They perfected it on their second album.  The second album is probably my favorite based on the more complete ideas here.

5 More Favorite Slam Albums

During Slam Week Pt. 1, I listed my five favorite slam albums, which included releases from Wormed, Devourment, Sarcolytic, Defeated Sanity, and Dying Fetus.  Since I have added a bunch of slam albums since then, I figured I would update that post with some more.

ABOMINABLE PUTRIDITY: IN THE END OF HUMAN EXISTENCE
Abominable Putridity is a Russian slam death metal band that has had a number of different vocalists over the years, including well-known grunters like Big Chocolate and Matti Way.  This album features the much less well-known Vladimir, but nevertheless was one of my favorite slam albums early on.  There is not much to say here, it is just typical slam, but it is performed highly competently.  There is a reason Abominable Putridity is one of the first bands recommended when getting into the genre.  It is a very good gateway.

BODYSNATCH: INSIGHTS OF A ROTTEN THEATRE
I have not had this one very long but it made an immediate impression on me.  This is a truly original album by a slam death metal band with a variety of other influences and some highly unusual moments thrown in.  Part of the reason behind the odd moments is the fact that two of the members were previously in Stream of Consciousness, a progressive metal band.  I am not really sure what the decision-making process of going from progressive metal to slam death metal was like, but I have absolutely no complaints.  This is one of the best slam death metal albums in years.

INTERNAL BLEEDING: VORACIOUS CONTEMPT
This album is one of the very early roots of slam death metal.  It came out in 1995, after the beginnings of the genre were carved out by Suffocation and Pyrexia.  Internal Bleeding took some of those ideas and built upon them, which eventually lead to the basic sound of slam death metal as we know it.  Devourment then took the ideas from Internal Bleeding and kept improving on them.  This though is one of the early true slam death metal albums.  This was a hugely influential album on the beginnings of the slam death genre.  The music itself is fairly simple and it is clear that Suffocation was the band's major influence, but Internal Bleeding did not have the technical mastery that Suffocation had, which helped lead them into the slam genre.

PUTRID PILE: HOUSE OF DEMENTIA
A one-man slam/brutal death metal band, Putrid Pile is still an extremely powerful and extremely loud band.  The band is Shaun LaCanne who performs all of the vocals and guitar and bass parts and programs the drum machine.  The drum machine is barely noticeable as the rest of the music is done so well.  This is a very impressive album which shows the ability to make slam death sound fresh and interesting.  This is a much faster-paced album than some other albums from the genre and the speed of the riffs is probably its best quality.  I am also very impressed with the Deicide-esque layered vocals.

VOMIT REMNANTS: SUPREME VEHEMENCE
This is kind of cheating.  This album from Japan's Vomit Remnants is actually a compilation of the band's Supreme Entity full-length from 1999 and the Indefensible Vehemence EP from 2001.  So it is actually one and a half albums, but I am still counting it because I absolutely love it.  Vomit Remnants bring an almost machine-like precision to slam death metal.  There are parts that are almost industrial metal-esque.  Japan has been blessed with a number of very good slam death metal bands, Vomit Remnants is probably one of the best.

Slam Poll Extended

I decided to extend the slam poll.  As of this writing, there have only been three votes, which is not a terribly impressive turnout.  In case you are wondering, those votes were for Devourment, Wormed, and Abominable Putridity.  I expected votes for Devourment and Wormed.  Abominable Putridity was a bit more of a surprise because they are not as well-known.

One and Done? Pt. 9: Orchidectomy: A Prelate's Attrition

Orchidectomy is one of those slam bands that Sgt. D references a lot when talking about slam along with Repudilation, Vulvectomy,  and Artery Eruption.  So of course I had to figure out what all the fuss was about with this band.  Orchidectomy is a Canadian band who only put out one album and a demo before breaking up.    But that one album is highly regarded in the slam death metal genre.  Orchidectomy use pounding drums, slow, methodical slams, and some of the most guttural gurgling vocals any band has ever used in this release.  This is a classic slam release.  It's unfortunate that Orchidectomy did not really stick around afterwards.

Split: Split Torso Trauma

This is the biggest split in my metal collection at this point with five blistering bands that run the gamut from slam to grindcore to brutal death.  The split showcases five bands from around the world, mostly from countries not typically known as metal hotbeds.  It is a pretty good idea.

As you may remember, I usually look at splits to decide which band is my favorite.  There is more to choose from here with five bands.

ANTROPOFAGUS
Starting things off with the first two tracks is Italian brutal death metal band Antropofagus.  This group sounds a bit like Suffocation, only more brutal, if that were possible.  The vocal style is considerably more guttural and intense giving off the sound of a crazed monster.  Antropofagus does a lot of things very well.  I will definitely be looking for more releases from them.

PUTRIDITY
Putridity is also from Italy although they play a different style of brutal death.  There is a lot less technicality here and Putridity throw in some slams for good measure.  The production on their first track on the split is horrendous.  It is very difficult to really hear what is going on.  The second track is a little better although the vocals are so deep as to be nearly lost in the bass.  I do like the guitar tone on the second track though.

PRION
Prion is an Argentinian death metal band influenced a lot by Morbid Angel and other occult death metal bands from the early 1990's.  South America has produced a number of good death metal bands, with Thornafire still being one of my favorites.  Prion definitely has what it takes to be a leader in the South American death metal scene.

INFECTED FLESH
Infected Flesh is a one-man wrecking machine from Spain.  This is grindcore/brutal death metal album with slam parts and Infected Flesh joins the ranks of other impressive brutal death one-man bands like Bloodsoaked and Putrid Pile.  Infected Flesh plays fairly fast when not busy slamming.  The vocals are typically delivered in the frog croak style.  The drum machine gets a little aggravating after awhile, but the riffs and vocals are interesting enough to keep it from dragging it down.

MASS INFECTION
Greek death metal band Mass Infection closes things out on this release.  Mass Infection is a blastbeat-driven brutal death metal band similar in style to Hate Eternal.  The band plays crushingly fast brutal death metal with a dark atmosphere and deep vocals.  The band blends in some old school death metal influences to go with their more modern brutal death sound.  The result is an impressive mix of styles.

THE VERDICT:  I like all five bands for different reasons.  Picking out just one band is difficult.  Putridity and Infected Flesh are fairly impressive slamming bands.  Mass Infection does an amazing job of mixing the old and the new.  Prion is terrific dirty South American death metal, and Antropofagus do a great Suffocation impression.  I suppose if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Prion.  Even though it is slam week, Prion takes it.

Initial Impressions: Dysentery: Internal Devastation

Dysentery had gotten quite a bit of hype leading up to this release.  Renowned for an impressive live show, up to this point, their recorded material had not been nearly as impressive.  But that has changed with this release as the band finally got the production job they needed to flesh out their gory brand of slamming death metal.

I read a review once that likened Dysentery to Cannibal Corpse with slams.  Upon listening, I do not think that comparison is quite warranted.  Although with the meaty production here they are a little closer than they once were.  The music is much simpler than Cannibal Corpse who have become very proficient musicians over the years.

This is an impressively brutal release with some punishing riffs.  The vocals are also comparable to Chris Barnes's work on earlier Cannibal Corpse releases.  The band for the most part plods along at a medium pace, sort of the sonic equivalent of Jason Voorhees.

Dysentery is on the right track.  This is a decent album with some good ideas.  It is short and filthy with the gory lyrics complemented nicely by the full and disgusting-sounding production.

Initial Impressions: Condemned: Realms of the Ungodly

It was the absolutely awesome cover art that pulled me in on this one.  I have a soft spot for hellish landscapes I suppose and the demonic entity in the center is pretty wicked looking as well.  Condemned features the drummer and singer from slam stalwarts Cephalotripsy, so I felt pretty safe checking this one out.

Condemned is a brutal death/slam death metal band with a hauntingly evil atmosphere and some impressive technical elements.  Condemned sound like a blend between Defeated Sanity and Suffocation with vocals similar to early Dying Fetus.  There is not a lot of originality in the riffwork, if you have heard any of the bands that I named then you pretty much know what to expect.  There are faster riffs and of course the slam parts.  Condemned is not really breaking any new ground here.

The vocalist is the most impressive.  With deep, gurgling vocals similar to Dying Fetus and Demilich, he has a truly extreme style.

As I said, Condemned is not reinventing the wheel here, but the dark and evil atmosphere makes things very interesting.

Initial Impressions: Bodysnatch: Insights of a Rotten Theatre

This has to be one of the most ambitious slam/brutal death metal albums I have ever heard.  Bodysnatch is a Swiss studio-only project that pack a lot of surprises and do a lot of unique things that this typically creatively stagnant subgenre does not see a lot of.  Bodysnatch features Fredrik Widigs, drummer for Soils of Fate, a band I will discuss later this week, and two vocalists, who combine to create a hell of a racket.

The first thing that I will discuss is the only drawback to this album.  I want this to be a generally positive review, but there is one detraction.  This album is long.  The album is just shy of an hour long which is incredible for slam death metal.  Almost every song is more than five minutes long.  It is pretty incredible.

The length of the album though is hardly noticed because Bodysnatch does some amazingly creative things.  They have a lot of ideas that are thrown in making each song an intense and interesting listening experience.  Bodysnatch complements the crushing slam riffs with some surprisingly melodic passages at times.  In addition there are moments when the vocals are actually rapped, yet retaining the deep guttural sound.  It is quite the intriguing combination.

All of the unusual inclusions though do not detract from the crushing riffs and slams.  The band still rolls along at a mid-paced grooving chug, a la Jungle Rot and others.  This is an incredible slam release and one that has definitely risen to be one of my favorite albums in the genre.

Initial Impressions: Cerebral Effusion: Impulsive Psychopathic Acts

You know it's a slam death metal band when you can barely read the band's logo and the artwork is an absolutely grotesque picture of a corpse.  So yeah, you can tell that Cerebral Effusion is slam from one look at the cover.  And if that did not sell it then the first few seconds definitely will.  Even my wife took one look at the cover and name of the band and asked if it was slam.

Cerebral Effusion definitely follows the Devourment approach to slam with devastatingly crushing riffs and pounding drums.  There is a little bit of brutal death to be found in this album.  The most impressive aspect is the incredibly deep guttural vocals.  This is one of the most intense vocalists I have heard, putting many other brutal death metal vocalists to shame.

As you can see, the cover is pretty disgusting, and the riffs and sound of the album definitely fits the cover.  I am not usually a big fan of the more disgusting and filthy subject matter or artwork, which is why Wormed is one of my favorite slam bands, but it works well on this release.

For some absolutely depraved slam death metal, Cerebral Effusion's latest is definitely one to check out.

Initial Impressions: Short Bus Pile Up: Promo 2009

Recently, there was an article over on my former law school colleague's blog, Full Metal Attorney, which discussed metal band names.  One of the more politically incorrect, but somewhat humorous names I have heard is this one: Short Bus Pile Up.  I first heard about SBPU in an article on slam death metal a few years ago, which is still one of my favorite articles the magazine ever did.  The name was so preposterously stupid that eventually I had to check them out.  It certainly did not hurt that they were becoming a pretty big name in the subgenre.

This is without a doubt one of those recordings that I will point to for years to come when someone wants to know what slam death metal is.  The recording is short and loud and possesses all of the qualities one would expect to hear from slam.  Deep, guttural vocals, grooving slam riffs, powerful drumming complete with gravity blasts and some damn impressive bass drops, which occur once per song.  Of course there is also the repulsive lyrical content common to the subgenre.  Each song is short and intense as well.  Instead of dragging along as a lot of other slam bands tend to do, SBPU knows what they want to accomplish with each song, accomplish it and then move along.

This was a promo release to tease the band's second full-length album in 2010, but standing alone it is impressive as hell.  This promo is better than a lot of bands' full-length albums.  I will definitely be checking out the full-length as soon as I can locate it.

New Poll: What is Your Favorite Slam Death Metal Band?

I just listed a bunch that I am aware of, but by no means is this meant to be a complete list.  I would ask anyone who clicks "Other" to let me know who you picked so that I can check them out.  Thank you.

Slam Week Pt. 2

I actually do not have a ton of stuff going on this week and I have a pile of slam albums that have been adding up for some time, so it's time for a new theme week.  Woo-hoo.

This week I will mostly just look at new albums.  I may do something else.  Who knows?

Song of the Day: Sonata Arctica: "Wolf and Raven"

Due to the post last night, I've been listening to my Sonata Arctica quite a bit.  I am pretty sure the keyboard player immediately contracted carpal tunnel syndrome after learning to play this song.  Bad stuff, carpal tunnel syndrome.

Metal Breakup Songs?

QUICK NOTE: The subject matter of this post is not meant to be taken as any sort of clue into what is going on in my personal life.  In fact it is quite the opposite.  My wife and I have our first wedding anniversary coming up in June, and I could not be happier.  This post was inspired by a song that has been stuck in my head for some time.

Metal frequently depicts the darker side of the human experience.  It is stereotypically about the negative parts in life.  Anger, sadness, and all the other nasty stuff that happens to us all.  So of course there are a few breakup songs in the heavy metal canon, despite the emotional nature of the event.


WOODS OF YPRES: "SHARDS OF LOVE (HURT FOREVER)"
This is the song that influenced this post.  I have no idea why, but this song really gets to me.  The song is about the narrator (possibly even the singer, I am not sure how personal this song is) finding his significant other in the process of packing all of her things and moving out.  An argument ensues with the narrator pleading with her to stay.  It's heart-wrenching really.  The song culminates with the woman telling him "No, I have to go.  It's too late, I'm going away and there's nothing in the world you could say to make me stay."  The music is extremely somber with some very impressive horn lines.  Unfortunately, singer David Gold recently passed away.


MEGADETH: "1,000 TIMES GOODBYE"
Megadeth wrote a breakup song?  Yes they did.  The song deals with the pain of moving on and finding peace in the breakup.  But it is kind of funny in a way because the song incorporates some samples or recordings of a woman explaining the reasons for the breakup, which run the gamut from "I don't feel the same way about" to "I met someone else" to "I still want to be friends" and culminating with the hilarious "I love you like you're my brother".  Someone has been friendzoned.


BLEEDING THROUGH: "LOVE IN SLOW MOTION"
This is a bit of a guilty pleasure album for me.  Bleeding Through is a metalcore band with some black and death metal influences.  This track is also for the most part about the lead character finding peace in moving on with his life.  Obviously a lot of the typical emo tropes are present in this song, complete with faux-deep lyrics about pain and suffering.  Nevertheless, for some reason, I really like this song.  Sue me.


SONATA ARCTICA: "TALLULAH"
I first heard this one at a time when I was dealing with a breakup of sorts.  It starts out with the closing moments of the breakup.  The last embrace, when there is one, is often very painful and that pain is exhibited here.  The song continues and finds the narrator seeing his former lover with a new flame and all of the pain that comes with that.


DAYLIGHT DIES: "ALL WE HAD"
In a song with very few words, Daylight Dies still manages to pen an absolutely devastating song.  As I said, there are not a lot of lyrics here but the pain of a lost relationship is clearly evident here.

So there's a few songs.  Obviously there are more, but I feel pretty good naming off five.  It all makes me very happy to be in the stable relationship I currently have.

Initial Impressions: 16: Deep Cuts from Dark Clouds

It took me awhile to really get into sludge.  Sort of.  I was a big fan of groups like Corrosion of Conformity, who had some sludge elements.  However, most of the other bands from that genre took a bit longer.  I really got away from it when Mastodon was becoming the big band in the genre.  Not that I really disliked Mastodon, just that they did not do a lot for me early on.  They seemed a bit too mainstream for me, I don't really know.  I also stayed away from groups like Baroness and a lot of other bands featuring similar sound and cover art.  You know what I am talking about.

And then I started getting into Crowbar, Eyehategod, and Acid Bath.  From that point, I started getting into Mastodon and Baroness as well.  While I would not say that sludge is a particular favorite genre of mine, I have gotten enough into it to know that I can enjoy other bands in the similar style.

Which brings us to 16.  I had been aware of 16 for a long time, but never really checked them out.  Until just a day ago.  I was in the local music store and saw this album sitting on the shelf.  I debated between picking it up or Cannibal Corpse or Exumer.  I chose 16 to give a band I had never really checked out a chance.  Sometimes that does not work out, and then sometimes it does.

This time it worked.  16 plays a particularly savage brand of sludge metal with a lot of aggression and power.  16 is not quite as extreme as Eyehategod but exists in sort of a middle ground between the more mainstream-minded Mastodon and Baroness and the psychotic stylings of Eyehategod.  The band's riffs are earth-shakingly heavy and the songs carry on at a somewhat medium pace.

The album does tend to drag a little bit as it goes on.  Most of the songs are fairly similar.  But the pace and energy are still infectious enough to keep things somewhat entertaining.  It is a pretty good album, but not essential for the genre.

It's My Birthday

My wife and I went to Kansas City on Monday to see the Red Sox play the Royals.  Boston has been terrible this year so far, but at least they won on Monday.  Nothing to do with metal here, just sharing.  I will have some posts up soon, I promise.  I have another jury trial scheduled in a little more than a week, so things have been pretty busy.

Song of the Day: Nifelheim: "Storm of the Reaper"

It's been storming lately, and here's The Reaper, my beloved blue heeler.

Song of the Day: Morbid Saint: "Scars"

I have been listening to this song all day long.  From the great underrated thrash/death metal band Morbid Saint is this song.  It is very unfortunate that Morbid Saint only released one album, but what an album it was.

Initial Impressions: Overkill: The Electric Age

Quick question, who is the most consistent U.S. thrash metal band that formed around the time the genre rose to prominence and continues to be active today?  It's probably an answer that is different for a lot of people, but I would think Overkill absolutely has to be near the top of the list.

Overkill has once more put out a great album here.  This is their 16th full-length album, an incredible number for a thrash metal band.  And Overkill has never put out a bad one.  There were a couple of groove metal albums in the late 1990's, but even those were powerful enough to put Pantera to shame.  Overkill shows absolutely no signs of ever slowing down.

Which brings us to a discussion about this, the band's newest albums.  2010's Ironbound was one of the band's best albums in years, which is really saying something.  So I was prepared to be a little let-down on this album.  After all, it happened when Metallica and Megadeth both released their best albums in years, Death Magnetic and Endgame respectively.  That letdown never came in listening to this release.

This album is ten tracks of punk-infused thrash metal fury.  It is absolutely relentless with the kind of speed and intensity that Overkill has become known for over the years.  The energy and riffs coming from the band on this album sound like they should be from a band half Overkill's age.  The individual performances all sound great.

Some bands just never age, Overkill is definitely one of those.  The band just keeps putting out classic release after classic release.

Initial Impressions: 3 Inches of Blood: Long Live Heavy Metal

I have really enjoyed 3 Inches of Blood for quite some time now.  There is just something to be said for a band that is so unabashedly unashamed of what they are doing.  The band first garnered attention with the absolutely ridiculous song "Destroy the Orcs".  It was pretty clear where exactly 3 Inches of Blood stood.  They were a fantasy-inspired band that made no apologies for their subject matter.  Sort of a new-age Manowar.

Their music was a bit of a different story.  In the early days, there was quite a bit of metalcore present which of course lead to the band being dismissed as poseurs and metalcore kids.  Much of this animosity was due to the band having two vocalists, with one performing falsetto-type vocals similar to King Diamond and the other doing hardcore-style shouting.  That was about it for the core elements, but it was enough to turn a lot of people off.

After the band's third full-length album though, the hardcore vocalist left the band and, rather than replacing him, Cam Pipes took over full vocal duties.  Unfortunately the band seemed a little out-of-synch on the next album.  Which brings us to this one.

Whatever went wrong on the last album has been fixed.  3 Inches of Blood is back to producing blood-pumping, anthemic heavy metal once again.  There are no core elements to be found here.  It is simply balls-to-the-wall heavy metal.  The 1980's speed metal-inspired riffing is still present backed up Pipes's amazing, ur, pipes.  Many of the songs have pretty cheesy lyrics, but that is to be expected with this band.  "Metal Woman" and "Leather Lord" are just two examples.

One surprise is the song "Lookout" which features various references to Ronnie James Dio and is meant as a tribute.  Pipes does a pretty decent job sounding like a more extreme version of Dio on this song.

3 Inches of Blood have come back in a big way on this album.  It is not for everyone, but it is a highly-impressive release nonetheless.

Link to Bloodwritten Review on Full Metal Attorney

I have once again contributed a review to my former law school colleague's blog over at Full Metal Attorney.  Here is the link.  This was for Bloodwritten's album Thrashin' Fury, a very capable slice of blackened thrash.

Initial Impressions: Corrosion of Conformity: Corrosion of Conformity

When I was in my formative years as a metalhead, Corrosion of Conformity was one of the earlier bands that struck a chord with me.  This was in the early to mid 1990's and grunge was everywhere.  It was nice to find a decent heavy metal band once in awhile.  At the time, the band was forming a new identity.  They had previously been a crossover/thrash metal band, but they were developing into a sludge/southern metal band.  This was the Corrosion of Conformity I fell in love with.  I did check out some of their crossover material, but did not care as much for it as their 1990's style.  I should say that their Blind album was a favorite of mine as well, but to a lesser degree than Deliverance.  Unfortunately, I did not care as much for later albums.

This is Corrosion of Conformity's first album since 2005 and Pepper Keenan, who may have been the driving force behind the band's sound on Deliverance, does not appear on this album.  Instead, this is much more of a return to the band's roots.  Their style contains significant hardcore influences, which never really disappeared on their other styles, but were on the backburner.  There are still elements here and there of some of the other styles the band has flirted with in their long discography.

I found myself getting completely engrossed in this album.  I think the frequent stylistic changes really come across well.  Each song is different and interesting in its own way.  I found this to be the band's best album since Deliverance.  I still do not think it holds a candle to that album or its predecessor, but it is certainly better than anything that has come out since.

I enjoyed this album quite a bit and it is certainly a contender for the best reunion album this year.

Initial Impressions: Metallica: Beyond Magnetic

Metallica has been a tad uneven ever since the Black Album came out. That might just be the understatement of the year. Coming on the heels of one of the most reviled albums in their discography, Metallica looked as if they were attempting to get some of the good graces of their fans back by releasing this EP of holdover tracks from Death Magnetic. Now, I liked Death Magnetic okay. It was definitely a step forward from their St. Anger album, an album I feel is somewhat underrated, but by no means a good album.

Then of course Metallica collaborated with Lou Reed to produce Lulu and everything went to shit. This EP was a way to save a little bit of face. The only problem with holdover tracks is that oftentimes it is somewhat obvious why the tracks did not make it onto the album in the first place. That is pretty much the case here. None of these songs are really all that impressive.

The songs are all long, with the shortest one being just under seven minutes. They also do not have a lot going for them. The songs do not sound a lot different than other tracks that did make it onto the album, except a little bit weaker. There is not a track here that I like better than anything off of Death Magnetic. Furthermore, all of the tracks here are much closer to modern radio rock than metal.

I am not impressed with this EP. I understand that it was probably released to keep fans from giving up on the band after massively disappointing Lulu, and as a cash grab, but this is just not very good.

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.

Link to Review on Full Metal Attorney

Here is a link to a review I did for the band KozybunX over on my former law school colleague's blog, Full Metal Attorney. Check it out. If you like my blog, I am sure you will enjoy his as well.

KozybunX