Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 59

ARTIST:  Sepultura
ORIGIN:  Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais (Brazil)
TITLE:  Roots
LABEL:  Roadrunner Records
YEAR:  1996
GENRE:  Groove Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Ratamahatta"
NOTES:  The last of the albums I got on the long road trip.  I loved this album for several years after getting it.  This was my first Sepultura album.  Obviously it is not my favorite now, but I do really enjoy the use of tribal drums in the music.  This album went a long way towards getting me into more extreme styles of metal.

Top 40 Metal Albums of 2012: 20-11

20.  KREATOR: PHANTOM ANTICHRIST
There were a number of venerable thrash metal giants that released new albums this year.  A surprising number of them were very impressive.  Kreator is one of my favorite German thrash metal bands with a remarkably consistent output.  This release is not quite as powerful as their last couple of albums but still possesses that anger and razor-sharp riffing style that the band has perfected over the course of their long career.

19.  3 INCHES OF BLOOD: LONG LIVE HEAVY METAL
I have enjoyed a couple of 3 Inches of Blood's albums in the past, but after their second vocalist left the band, they seemed less exciting.  They kind of phoned in their previous album.  But on this one, the band sounds rejuvenated and possibly better than they ever have.  That is saying something in my eyes.  This album is a hell of a lot of fun, exactly what 3 Inches of Blood set out to do.

18.  OVERKILL: THE ELECTRIC AGE
Like Kreator, Overkill is another long-running thrash metal titan that released an incredible new album in 2012.  Overkill is quite possibly the most consistent thrash metal band going which is saying quite a bit.  Their recent albums have actually proven to be better than the Big 4 of thrash metal, not bad for a band that existed in their shadow for years.  Overkill never disappoints me.

17.  WEAPON: EMBERS AND REVELATIONS
Weapon is a band that I have heard great things about for years but never really checked out until this year.  Now I am kicking myself because I really enjoyed this one.  Weapon has a surprisingly original take on blackened death metal and can not easily be compared to other bands in their genre.  The music is ominous and powerful.  It is an album I come back to time and time again.

16.  ASPHYX: DEATHHAMMER
Martin Van Drunen has long been one of my favorite death metal vocalists.  I try to pick up every project that he is attached to.  Asphyx is one of the bands that is most associated with Van Drunen and their sound matches his psychotic roaring better than most.  This album is yet another reason why Van Drunen is one of the most influential death metal vocalists of all time.

15.  TESTAMENT: DARK ROOTS OF EARTH
The third longtime thrash metal band to release a strong album in 2012, Testament's newest is the best of the three and is also one of the best albums the band has released since Low.  It is one of the best thrash metal albums of the year and featured the terrific "Native Blood", a tribute to singer Chuck Billy's Native American ancestry.

14.  HIGH ON FIRE: DE VERMIS MYSTERIIS
High on Fire is one of the leaders of the stoner doom metal genre and they have once again shown why on this album.  Their last album had somewhat weak production but was otherwise a very strong release.  This album fixes the mistakes of the last album's production with a much meatier and heavier sound.  The strong production lead to an even stronger overall feel with this release.

13.  PARADISE LOST: TRAGIC IDOL
I have been a big fan of Paradise Lost for years, ever since I got Draconian Times for Christmas back in around 1996.  Unfortunately the band has not put out an album quite as impressive since that one including a long foray into gothic rock.  But unlike some bands that went that direction (ahem Tiamat), Paradise Lost has found their way back out of it.  This is easily Paradise Lost's best album since that one.

12.  WITCHCRAFT: LEGEND
Like Weapon, I have heard a lot of great things about Witchcraft over the years but simply never got around to checking them out.  I read great things about this release before deciding to pick it up as well, but I am definitely glad that I did.  This is another very strong album influenced mainly by the old school heavy metal masters.  It rocks, quite simply.

11.  CATTLE DECAPITATION: MONOLITH OF INHUMANITY
Wow.  I was not expecting to be blown away by a Cattle Decapitation album.  There were a ton of great death metal albums in 2012 and Cattle Decapitation was one of the strongest.  This was the first Cattle Decapitation album I ever checked out due to their politics and being a run-of-the-mill deathgrind band, but this album elevated Cattle Decapitation to the top of the pack.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 58

ARTIST:  Various
ORIGIN:  Various
TITLE:  Hard Music Vol. 1
LABEL:  WEA
YEAR:  1994
GENRE:  Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, etc.
FAVORITE SONG:  Slayer: "Seasons in the Abyss"
NOTES:  Another album that I bought on the long road trip after my ninth grade year.  This is a compilation that had a lot of rare tracks, stuff off of singles, foreign releases, and more.  This album introduced me to Slayer and Ministry.  There are a couple of missteps here but for the most part it has some good songs on it.

Top 40 Metal Albums of 2012: 30-21

30.  WINTERSUN: TIME I
It has been a very long time coming for this release.  The band released its first album way back in 2004 and there have long been promises of a new one coming soon.  I myself have known about this for about four or five years now and anxiously awaiting it.  Of course it did not quite live up to the hype, but it is still an extremely impressive release all the same.  An incredible blend of a variety of metal styles into a surprisingly beautiful final product.

29.  CRADLE OF FILTH: THE MANTICORE AND OTHER HORRORS
Everyone's favorite gothic metal nutballs, Cradle of Filth have once again released an album in October of this year.  Just like clockwork.  The sound is a little different this time around with more of an emphasis on aggressive riffwork than on albums past.  Cradle of Filth has also focused on decreasing their song lengths making this a much tighter and punchier release than some of their more long-winded efforts to date.  It is easily one of the band's best albums in years.

28.  ENSLAVED: RIITIIR
Enslaved has received a surprising amount of criticism on this release.  I do not personally buy into all that much as this album has once again strongly impressed me.  It is not as dynamic as some of their other more recent releases, which is why it is in this position instead of closer to the top, but it is impressive in its own way.  Enslaved is a band that continually puts out terrific album after terrific album, and this one is no different.

27.  NAPALM DEATH: UTILITARIAN
Napalm Death has built one hell of a long career out of simply making eardrums bleed.  Their politically charged lyrics are sometimes lost in the cacophony of noise that they make but their anger is plain and obvious.  I have not always been the biggest fan of Napalm Death, but over the last couple of years they have become one of my favorite groups.  This release certainly shows why it is that the band has been able to last as long as they have.

26.  ABORTED: GLOBAL FLATLINE
Simply put, this is the best album that Aborted has put out, likely ever.  The Belgian bashers have long been attempting to add some measure of experimentation and more mainstream-influenced sounds into their brutal style.  On this release, Aborted abandon all of that and simply play to their strengths.  This is brutal and unrelenting grinding death metal the way that it should be.

25.  SATAN'S WRATH: GALLOPING BLASPHEMY
Departed Electric Wizard bassist Tas Donazoglou wasted no time in putting together his next musical project.  Fans of his former band will likely not find a whole lot to compare it to as this is a band looking towards other metal influences to guide his style.  Satan's Wrath is built upon the legacy of early Slayer, Bathory, Hellhammer, Possessed and other band at the forefront of extreme metal.  This is a tribute album with original material and it is one of the most impressive debuts of the year.

24.  NACHTMYSTIUM: SILENCING MACHINE
Nachtmystium lost me for a little while.  Their last album was far too progressive without enough of their prior black metal style for my tastes.  This album saw a return to their original black metal sound while also working to mix in the progressiveness that the band had been experimenting with.  What resulted was one of the band's best albums in their discography.  This album even saw a return of the band's black metal logo.

23.  ARKHAM WITCH: LEGIONS OF THE DEEP
This will not be the only traditional metal release that will be seen on this Top 40 release.  There were a number of terrific albums released this year dedicated to the early heavy metal masters.  Arkham Witch utilize a variety of styles on this album from doom metal to thrash metal to hard rock.  One thing stays the same throughout though, their ability to write damn catchy songs.

22.  SINISTER: THE CARNAGE ENDING
Sinister was once one of the most brutal death metal bands going.  They emerged from the Netherlands in the late 1980's and put out a couple of terrific and powerful death metal classics early on.  They faded a bit over the years but apparently never really lost their edge.  This is the best album Sinister has released in a number of years.  The brutality and power that once coursed through the band's veins is back with a vengeance.

21.  CHAOS INCEPTION: THE ABROGATION
There have been a lot of great death metal albums released this year from unexpected bands.  Chaos Inception is a recent project of Quinta Essentia guitarist Matt Barnes.  Just like his other band, Chaos Inception's biggest strength is the highly original and impressive riffwork.  It is a masterful death metal release that proves that there is still a lot of life left in the genre that many have believed has grown stale.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 57

ARTIST:  Black Sabbath
ORIGIN:  Birmingham, England
TITLE:  We Sold Our Soul for Rock N' Roll
LABEL:  Warner Bros. Records
YEAR:  1975
GENRE:  Heavy Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Children of the Grave"
NOTES:  A large compilation of songs from Black Sabbath's first six albums.  This quickly became my go-to compilation for Black Sabbath songs as there is a nice mix here.  I picked this one up on the same road trip as the Quiet Riot album.

Top 40 Metal Albums of 2012: 40-31

Well it's that time of year again.  Time for the annual list of the best albums of the year.  I went with 40 this year as I heard a lot of music this year alone.  I will have some random lists after I finish with the Top 40.

40.  GOROD: A PERFECT ABSOLUTION
Gorod has been quietly making a name for themselves in the technical death metal arena for several years now.  This was the first chance I really had to check them out but they definitely made an impression.  Their album was fairly short but there is a lot to hear in it.  The last half with sort of a jazzy style and random outside influences is particularly impressive.  It avoids technicality for technicality's sake and just sounds like a complete album.

39.  SPAWN OF POSSESSION: INCURSO
A lot of what I said about Gorod also applies to Spawn of Possession.  They too have released an album that sounds incredibly complete while avoiding the sterility that plagues a lot of technical death metal bands.  Spawn of Possession is easily one of the most interesting technical death metal bands going today.  Their only flaw is the fact that they take forever to release new material, with this being their first since 2006.  Looking forward to the next one, whenever it comes out.

38.  AHAB: THE GIANT
Ahab was the first funeral doom metal bands I checked out and have persisted as my favorite to this day.  I was somewhat disappointed with the direction they took on this release on my initial listen, but I quickly got over that on repeated listens.  This is a much more melancholic and melodic release from Ahab.  There is a glimmer of hopefulness in their sound on this instead of the utter hopelessness and despair that the band has become otherwise known for.

37.  MONGREL'S CROSS: THE SINS OF AQUARIUS
I once had some concerns that the fertile well of extreme metal in Australia was starting to dry up.  Fortunately, this year brought some more incredible releases from the land down under.  Mongrel's Cross released their debut full-length this year which shows off the blackened thrash metal style that many other groups from the continent have perfected.  Theirs is a strong debut album but there is some room to grown yet.

36.  PATHOLOGY: THE TIME OF GREAT PURIFICATION
I have often referred to Pathology as being a band able to make slam death metal accessible and surprisingly catchy.  This remains true to this day with each new release from Pathology being an exercise in brutality, yet retaining their brutal edge.  I was concerned when this band showed up on Victory Records, a hardcore label, but Pathology has not changed at all.  Their brutality and power increases with each new release.  This is their best album yet.

35.  FINSTERFORST: RASTLOS
This is likely the folk metal album of the year.  I have never been the biggest fan of folk metal but when it is good, it is really good.  Finsterforst is definitely really good.  What I like the most about this release is that it avoids the kind of upbeat "beer metal" cliches that a lot of other folk metal bands fall into.  This is solemn and melodic yet epic and awe-inspiring.  It took a little while for me to get into it, but after a few listens it has really sunk in.

34.  PARAGON: FORCE OF DESTRUCTION
The best power metal album of the year came from Germany, of course.  Long known for great power metal acts like Blind Guardian and Helloween, the country still manages to birth great bands even today.  Paragon has been around for a long time, but not really broken through.  This is their first release for Napalm Records and it is definitely an impressive one.  This is an aggressive and ass-kicking album.

33.  MELENCOLIA ESTATICA: HEL
Great black metal often comes from unexpected places and Melencolia Estatica definitely qualifies.  Hailing from Italy, the band is a one-woman juggernaut with a little bit of help from some friends.  This release is influenced by the cinematic masterpiece Metropolis and just like its influence the album is dark and ominous and profoundly disturbing.  Great black metal it is.

32.  NAGLFAR: TERAS
I have been a fan of Naglfar for several years now, and yes I do strongly enjoy their much more melodic take on black metal that they have taken on since Wrath took over on vocals.  Naglfar is one of those groups attempting to position themselves into Dissection's abandoned throne and they do a damn fine job of it.  This is their first album in several years, but Naglfar has done nothing to lose any of the energy that they brought.

31.  GOD SEED: I BEGIN
It was not my intention to have three black metal albums in a row here, but it could not be helped.  God Seed had a ton of hype leading up to this release, which hype was well-deserved as this is a truly impressive album.  Featuring two former members of Gorgoroth who were engaged in a bitter dispute over the band's name, God Seed is a new beginning.  And they have presented a terrific debut release.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 56

ARTIST:  Quiet Riot
ORIGIN:  Los Angeles, CA (United States)
TITLE:  Winners Take All
LABEL:  Sony BMG
YEAR:  1990
GENRE:  Heavy/Glam Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "The Wild and the Young"
NOTES:  Okay, it was cheap.  I was on a long road trip to Canada and we were stopped at a gas station.  I needed something else to listen to and this was just a couple of bucks.  I also bought cassettes from Blue Oyster Cult, Alice Cooper, and Kiss along with a couple of others that I will get to.  Quiet Riot is of course known for "Cum on Feel the Noize" and "Metal Health".  I can't say I listen to this much, but once in awhile it's fine.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 55

ARTIST:  Various
ORIGIN:  Various
TITLE:  Metallurgy
LABEL:  Volume Records
YEAR:  1995
GENRE:  Heavy Metal, Groove Metal, Hardcore, etc.
FAVORITE SONG:  Sepultura: "Refuse/Resist (Live)"
NOTES:  This one is kind of odd.  It is a compilation, but a lot of the tracks are not terribly representative of the bands' sounds.  Faith No More and Kyuss in particular have less-than-impressive tracks.  The album did help introduce me to GZR, Fear Factory, and Napalm Death as well as further catch my attention with Sepultura.  There are a lot of hardcore tracks on it though, which I do not care for.

Most Acceptable "Glam" Metal Band

Digging through my collection recently, I have come across several albums by bands that have been lumped into the "glam" metal category.  I do not have a lot of these albums, but a few.  Many of the bands I do have are much closer to metal than glam.  Of course the style has a similar footing in metal as nu metal and metalcore.  It was a mainstream style similar to the underground forms that was largely looked upon with scorn by the underground.  Many of the bands categorized as metal in the 1980's were really just rock bands.  Warrant, Van Halen, Poison, and Ratt had little to no characteristics in common with heavy metal.

That is not to say that there were not some decent bands from the genre who were actually metal bands.  Motley Crue put out some decent material early in their career.  As did Def Leppard, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Dokken, and others.  Skid Row was definitely more of a metal band, in particular on their second release.

One band though seems to be held in fairly high regard amongst metalheads even though they were largely a part of the "glam" metal scene.  W.A.S.P. led by maniac frontman Blackie Lawless has consistently released quality albums throughout their career, now spanning thirty years.  Their early releases were certainly metallic, but melodic enough that they were able to be played on rock radio.  Their sound was largely rooted in traditional heavy metal but they occasionally veered into more hard rock territory.

W.A.S.P. achieved a level of notoriety early on with their single "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" which was actually released prior to any full-length albums.  It was intended to be released on the band's debut self-titled album but was removed due to record company pressure.  The cover of the single featured a close-up shot of Lawless's circular saw codpiece.  The song was partly responsible for the creation of the P.M.R.C. and the advent of the warning labels on albums featuring explicit lyrics.

Their uncompromising attitude drove their music and the band continues to release albums to this day.  Their albums have generally been pretty decent too.  W.A.S.P. has done concept albums in the past and generally met with acclaim amongst metalheads for them.  They have released their share of ballads, something that seemed to mandatory for rock/metal bands arising out of Los Angeles in the 1980's.  But they also released some fantastic metallic songs.

W.A.S.P. is certainly one of the most acceptably metallic bands to be a part of the "glam" metal scene.  They are a band that has fans among traditional metalheads and for good reason.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 54

ARTIST:  Ozzy Osbourne
ORIGIN:  Birmingham, England
TITLE:  The Ultimate Sin
LABEL:  Epic
YEAR:  1986
GENRE:  Heavy Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Secret Loser"
NOTES:  For some reason Ozzy does not ever play anything off of this album live anymore.  That is a shame because I believe that this is one of the Ozzman's greatest and most underrated albums.  There is no filler on this one.  Every single song is heavy in its own way.  It also has some terrific riffwork from Jake Lee who took over the reins from Randy Rhoads.  He definitely has his own style.  Ozzy sounds great too.

Happy Birthday Mrs. Metallattorney

It was actually yesterday, but I was away all day.  So this a day late.

Wintersun: Time I

Wintersun's long-awaited follow-up to their highly acclaimed self-titled release is probably the most hyped album of the year.  Every year for the last few years there have been rumors that it was finally going to be released.  There have even been release dates set in the past when Wintersun's new album was going to be out.  And each year there has been nothing.  Well no longer.  Wintersun has finally released Time I, eight years after the self-titled album.

With that much time and hype could the album possibly live up to its expectations?  Well sadly, no.  The album definitely is a victim of its own lofty expectations.  That is not to suggest that the album is really bad in any way, in fact it is a very good release in its own right.  But all of the build-up over the years had fans of the band frothing at the mouth for the Finnish band to finally release this album that it could not possibly succeed.

Well enough of all of that.  Wintersun is the project of Jari Mäenpää who created the band originally as a side project while he was still in folk metal stalwarts Ensiferum.  He chose to leave Ensiferum while working on the first album because the schedules clashed.  Wintersun is Mäenpää's project.  He recorded most of the instruments on the debut album.  He has since brought in other musicians but still retains much of the creative control.

This is a fairly short album, made up of only five tracks, but the songs are epic in both length and sound.  Wintersun's music is difficult to categorize.  Elements of melodic death metal, black metal, folk metal, symphonic metal, and a variety of other styles all mix together. Mäenpää himself describes it as "Extreme Majestic Technical Epic Melodic Metal", which seems as apt a description as anything else really.

The songs flow well together.  The compositions are seemless.  There are faster-paced parts which are offset by serene and tranquil segments.  The vocals run the gamut from soulful crooning to harsher rasping shrieks.  There is a lot of influence from folk music from other countries, most notably Japan.  The use of symphonic and orchestral elements fits in well with the more aggressive metallic approach.  As stated, the songs flow together remarkably well.  The prior album was a collection of individual songs, while this album is a much more complete and cohesive piece of music.

All of this suggests that this album is a well-crafted and impressive release.  And it certainly is.  Unfortunately it is somewhat anti-climactic.  There is not a lot here that was not present on Wintersun's prior album.  There are some experimentations with other cultural folk music but there is nothing here that is mind-blowingly original.  With as much time as has passed between albums, there was some hope that the new album would be incredible.  It is very good, just not as good as it should have been.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 53

ARTIST:  Motley Crue
ORIGIN:  Los Angeles, CA
TITLE:  Dr. Feelgood
LABEL:  Elektra
YEAR:  1989
GENRE:  Heavy/Glam Metal, Hard Rock
FAVORITE SONG:  "Dr. Feelgood"
NOTES:  Yet another of the albums that was a hand-me-down from my older brother.  There are a few very good songs on this, and a whole lot of really embarrassing ones too.  Quite simply this is the quintessential glam metal release with some hard rocking tracks ("Dr. Feelgood", "Kickstart My Heart"), some sleazy rockers ("Slice of Your Pie", "Sticky Sweet"), and ballads ("Without You").  I do not listen to it very much and don't have anything else from the band.

Reader Submissions: Final Dawn: The Crown of the Dead Eyes

I have been a big fan of the Finnish melodic death metal scene since I discovered it existed.  This is an area where melodic death metal has been able to continue without the backlash that has attached to the Swedish scene.  This is due mostly to the fact that bands in Finland still sound impressive and put out worthwhile releases.  Finland is definitely a hotbed for some incredible metal.

Enter Final Dawn, a band that has been around for about twelve years or so now and put out a number of small releases in that time.  This is a four track EP that the band recorded live in the studio and features three brand new songs and one re-recorded one ("Martyrs of Vanity").  It is my first exposure to the band.

Final Dawn is a melodic death metal band in the same vein as Amon Amarth.  That is, the sound is far more geared towards death metal than it is In Flames and other Gothenburg groups.  It is death metal with a lot of melody.  There are also strong elements from thrash metal and black metal present in the group's sound.

This is an impressively dynamic release from the Finnish trio.  Three of the songs are mid-paced, crunching and unrelenting tracks with strong riffs holding them together.  The other track, "The Crown of the Bled Eyes" starts out slower and builds into a truly powerful song.   It is the longest track on the release and definitely the most interesting because of the build and the ever-shifting dynamics.  The vocals are typically delivered in a somewhat raspy growl.

This is a decent EP.  I would have liked to hear the band really let loose with something really fast, but this was definitely entertaining.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 52

ARTIST:  Fight
ORIGIN:  Phoenix, AZ (United States)
TITLE:  Mutations
LABEL:  Epic Sony
YEAR:  1994
GENRE:  Groove Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Nailed to the Gun (Live)"
NOTES:  This is an EP from Rob Halford's band after leaving Judas Priest.  The first half is live versions of tracks from the band's first album with the second half being industrial/electronic remixes.  It is kind of an odd little EP but it sounds pretty decent.  This is for completionists only, but is an intriguing listen.  Rob Halford sounds terrific on it, with particularly menacing vocal style.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 51

ARTIST:  Down
ORIGIN:  New Orleans, LA (United States)
TITLE:  NOLA
LABEL:  Elektra
YEAR:  1995
GENRE:  Southern Metal
FAVORITE SONG: "Stone the Crow"
NOTES:  A side project featuring members of Pantera (Phil Anselmo), Corrosion of Conformity (Pepper Keenan), Crowbar (Kirk Windstein and Todd Strange) and Eyehategod (Jimmy Bower).  This has been one of my favorite albums for a long time.  Each song is incredibly catchy.  Each of the members brought their own unique style to the proceedings.  I have seen Down live once opening up for Metallica.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 50

ARTIST:  Dream Theater
ORIGIN:  Long Island, NY (United States)
TITLE:  Awake
LABEL:  Atlantic Records
YEAR:  1994
GENRE:  Progressive Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "The Mirror"
NOTES:  This is actually the only album I own by Dream Theater.  I remember "Caught in a Web" being all over The Blaze, the hard rock radio station in the city I grew up in.  I liked the song quite a bit but was not quite convinced about buying the album.  Eventually I found it used, and I think it was the first used album I ever bought.  I like this album quite a bit but there are some less-than-impressive songs.  I am very impressed with the musicianship on this album though.  I do not really know why I never picked anything else up by this band.

Merry Christmas

Here is a King Diamond song for you.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 49

ARTIST:  Judas Priest
ORIGIN:  Birmingham, England
TITLE:  British Steel
LABEL:  Columbia Records
YEAR:  1980
GENRE:  Heavy Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Breaking the Law"
NOTES:  My first Judas Priest record.  This was picked up mostly because of "Breaking the Law" which I believe I heard for the first time on Beavis and Butthead.  It's possible that is incorrect, I have no real idea.  This is a classic album, though it took a little while to really gel for me.  Probably because it was a little lighter than some of the other bands I was listening to at the time.  Once I did fully appreciate it though, I became hooked on the band.

Timeghoul

I was lurking around on the Encyclopedia Metallum forums a little while ago and a band called Timeghoul was mentioned.  Finding the short descriptions of the band I found to be interesting, I decided to seek them out.

Timeghoul was around for quite a long time, emerging out of Missouri in the late 1980's.  But they only have two demos to their name and one release compiling the material.  So there is not a lot of recorded material out there to seek out on this band.  There have been a few bands that have released some incredibly influential demos without much else to their name.  Slaughter Lord and Necrovore certainly come to mind, and until recently there was Von.  I have not heard Timeghoul's name mentioned in the same circles, which I think is something of a shame.  It is possible I have simply not been paying enough attention though.

All that being said, Timeghoul certainly have an interesting sound.  I would probably equate them closely with Finnish underground death metal legends Demilich.  Timeghoul have an otherworldly style with spacy, angular riffs and science fiction-inspired lyrics.  The structures of the songs themselves can certainly not be called typical either.  As such, the length of the songs themselves can be quite long.  Timeghoul brought a lot of creativity into play in their take on death metal.  Much like the aforementioned Demilich.

The vocals are perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Timeghoul's sound.  Going from a creaking grunt, to a full-out roar, to some bizarre chanting is not out of the ordinary in these songs.  In fact some moments sound very much like a barbershop quartet is performing them.  It sounds completely odd, and yet fantastic at the same time.

It is a shame that Timeghoul was only able to put out a couple of demos.  It would have been nice to see if they could have brought the same level of creativity to a full release.  At the same time, I do not think it would be worthwhile for the band to reunite at this point to try it.  It might be too late.  These are certainly impressive demos but far too much time has passed.  It may feel like a cash grab.  Just look at what happened when Von finally released a full-length album and the backlash it caused.  It would be better for Timeghoul to stay where they are.  They certainly have an impressive legacy.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 48

ARTIST:  Black Sabbath
ORIGIN:  Birmingham, England
TITLE:  Vol. 4
LABEL:  Warner Bros. Records
YEAR:  1972
GENRE:  Heavy Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Supernaut"
NOTES:  This is another Black Sabbath album that I always thought was a little bit underrated.  It is not one that you hear much about when people talk about Black Sabbath but it had some absolutely crushing songs on it.  "Snowblind", "Supernaut", "Tomorrow's Dream", and "Under the Sun" are all terrific tracks.  Of course "Changes" is a well-known song and was even re-recorded with Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne performing a duet.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 47

ARTIST:  Megadeth
ORIGIN:  Los Angeles, CA (United States)
TITLE:  Hidden Treasures
LABEL:  Capitol Records
YEAR:  1995
GENRE:  Heavy Metal/Thrash Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Angry Again"
NOTES:  This is a compilation of tracks Megadeth contributed to various soundtracks and other harder to find material.  There are three covers on here and five original tracks.  Surprisingly most of the tracks are pretty decent and probably should have been on one of Megadeth's full-length releases.  Of particular note are "Angry Again", "99 Ways to Die", and "Go to Hell".

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 46

ARTIST:  Megadeth
ORIGIN:  Los Angeles, CA (United States)
TITLE:  Megadeth Live
LABEL:  Capitol Records
YEAR:  1993
GENRE:  Heavy Metal/Thrash Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Symphony of Destruction"
NOTES:  This is a live EP that was attached to the Countdown to Extinction album at some point.  It is a short release with only six tracks, but the sound is pretty good.  This is not an essential release but it does prove that Megadeth is a very impressive live band.

Cerebral Bore: Maniacal Miscreation

Brutal death metal is not supposed to be catchy.  It is supposed to make eardrums bleed and heads bang, but it is not supposed to infectious.  Someone apparently forgot to notify Cerebral Bore.  Now this is not to suggest that Cerebral Bore is like the Katy Perry (or some other catchy pop singer) of brutal death metal, but this is definitely an album that will stick in your head.

Cerebral Bore is from Glasgow, Scotland and recently achieved some measure of notoriety when they hired Youtube mini-sensation Simone "Som" Pluijmers as their brutal vocalist.  It is not nearly as unusual these days for a woman to handle vocals in a metal band, but brutal death metal is a genre that has not seen a lot of this.  Cerebral Bore saw a way to make an impact and they grabbed it.  It certainly helps that Som really does sound incredible.  She has a surprisingly deep register, making her voice even more guttural than a lot of male brutal death metal singers.  I do not want to turn this into one of those "whoa this band is unique because it has a female singer" reviews, but she really does have an impressive voice.

The music is clearly influenced by Suffocation, Dying Fetus, and other leading bands in brutal death metal.  Yet it is accessible and surprisingly melodic.  Cerebral Bore does a fine job of mixing the more modern brutal styles with the older, more melodic styles of death metal.  What results is a shockingly palatable album for old school fans and extreme fans alike.

I really enjoyed this one.  I like some good brutal death metal now and again, and this one definitely sounds like one I would listen to a lot.  Unfortunately recently Som left the band.  I am not sure we will see another album quite this good from these guys as the vocals are a large part of why I like this album.  I guess we will have to wait and see.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 45

ARTIST:  Megadeth
ORIGIN:  Los Angeles, CA (United States)
TITLE:  Countdown to Extinction
LABEL:  Capitol Records
YEAR:  1992
GENRE:  Heavy Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Sweating Bullets"
NOTES:  This is another one that my older brother originally owned that he eventually gave to me.  This was Megadeth's response to Metallica's Black Album, but it is generally better-received among metal fans than the Metallica album.  Yes the sound had slowed down quite a bit, but the songs were all catchy as hell.  It is a surprisingly good album.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 44

ARTIST:  Danzig
ORIGIN:  Lodi, NJ (United States)
TITLE:  Thrall-Demonsweatlive
LABEL:  Def American
YEAR:  1993
GENRE:  Heavy Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "It's Coming Down"
NOTES:  My first exposure to Danzig was the live version of "Mother" off of this EP in 1993.  My older brother originally had this one and he gave it to me when he grew out of it.  This features three new songs, including the incredible "It's Coming Down" and four live tracks, and then a re-recording of "Mother".  This is far from an essential release, but it has some good stuff on it.

Satan's Host: Metal from Hell

I first heard Satan's Host a few years back.  At that time, they were more of a black metal band with occasional thrash metal riffs.  Their singer had the fairly typical black metal style rasp.  I actually liked them quite a bit.  I bought two of their albums right away.  Their next release was decidedly more melodic and thrashier, yet retaining a lot of the black metal aspects that caught my attention.  It was my favorite yet.  I was aware that Satan's Host had once been a power metal band, but had not heard anything from that period at that point.  Then came word that the band was reuniting with Jag Panzer vocalist Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin.  That album blew me away and was the Album of the Year on this site.

I recently made the decision to try to check out the band's debut album, a highly-regarded, but often overlooked gem from 1986.  The band went on hiatus soon after and did not re-emerge until the late 1990's.  By that time, Conklin was firmly entrenched with Jag Panzer and Satan's Host took on the black metal style they had when I first heard them.

This is an incredible album.  It is a shame that so few people know about it.  The music is fast with some very aggressive riffing.  It is significantly more intense than a lot of the power metal bands of the time period.  There is also some hints of tremolo riffing here and there.  Patrick Evil has always been a vastly underrated guitarist and that is even evident this early in his career.  The songs are all catchy as hell, pun intended.  The big star of this album is Conklin, who went by the pseudonym Leviathan Thisiren on this release.  His howling and soaring vocals complement the music perfectly.  

This is an album begging for a reissue with better production.  The sound is definitely a 1980's production job, so it is a little thin in places.  It is not bad for the time, but the guitar riffs could stand to be beefed up a little bit.

This is a gem from the 1980's.  It is great that Satan's Host has decided to revisit this sound.