Orchid: The Mouths of Madness (2013)

For some reason I never reviewed this album when I first obtained a digital copy of it.  Now that I have a physical copy I figured it was time to do so.

Orchid is named after a Black Sabbath song and they wear that influence on their sleeve.  It is extraordinarily obvious that this band's primary influence is the pioneering metal band from the moment the album begins.  It is obvious in the artwork on the cover, the band photos, the production, and of course the music.  There is really nothing inherently wrong with being highly influenced by a band and attempting to sound somewhat like them.  Orchid though takes it to a new level.  

Each of the songs on this album is essentially a deconstruction of Black Sabbath songs.  I am not going to go through track by track but some highlights are "Mountains of Steel", which is essentially "A National Acrobat" and the opening riff from "Leaving it All Behind" is absolutely taken from "After Forever" while the song basically morphs into "Killing Yourself to Live" later on.  I have read a number of reviews of this album that talk about it being influenced by Sabbath, however no one really has touched on the fact that this is basically a Black Sabbath tribute.  The songs really are that close.

I will give the band credit that they are quite convincing at this.  The music sounds authentic and genuine.  Vocalist Theo Mindell does a great Ozzy impression and Mark Thomas Baker nails the down-tuned riffs of Tony Iommi.  I do thoroughly enjoy listening to the songs on this album.  They are catchy and I find myself singing along to them.  I would not have bothered tracking down a physical copy if I did not enjoy the album.  I just wish Orchid had a little more originality on this release.

Decayed: Ataque Infernal (2000)

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I would be covering my favorite Portuguese black metal band today.  Well, here it is.  I do not know a lot about Portuguese black metal, but it would appear that Decayed is one of the longest tenured, if not the very first such band.  Their first release was way back in 1990.

This is now the fifth release I have picked up by Decayed, and it is one of the earlier ones.  Their sound has always been incredibly raw and hateful, but it was particularly so on this one.  This is not a full-length album, it is essentially two small releases put together.  The first side is mostly new material, consisting of an intro, two short barn-burners and a longer track.  The second side is a collection of covers of clear influences for the band.  There are songs here originally released by Kreator, Violent Force, Bathory and Sodom. 

Decayed is a black metal band whose sound much more resembles a cross between early German thrash metal in the vein of the aforementioned Sodom and Kreator, Swedish black metal such as Marduk and Dark Funeral, and South American groups like Sarcofagó.  In other words, it is raw, ugly, relentless, hateful, crushing and evil.  There are not a lot of dynamic moments throughout the original material and it is over a little too quickly.  The covers are done quite well though. 

I do not want to give any sort of negative impression here, because I really do like it, as I do all of the stuff I have heard from the band to date.  It is simply that this is not a particularly essential release by the band (personally I prefer Into the Depths of Hell).  It is a nice short introduction of what to expect from the band.  Decayed has a massive discography and typically put out several releases a year, though they have slowed a bit lately.  Figuring out where to start is not an easy thing to do.  This is not a bad choice, but it would not be one of my recommendations. 

Wømb: Perceptions of Sightlessness (2013)

Last year, about this exact same time of year, I purchased the physical copy of a split that had been previously emailed to me by the record label for a review.  It was a split that I enjoyed and I decided to try to track down a physical copy of it.  Unfortunately, the seller indicated that he was having some difficulty in finding it and then never got back to me.  I got my money back, but not the split.  And so, I decided to keep my eyes open for the physical copy of the split, but purchase what I could of the two bands involved.  Several months ago, I picked up the Hellcharge demo.  And just recently, I received this demo by Portuguese black metal band Wømb.

Wømb is the much more raw and chaotic of the two bands featured on the This Knot... split.  Their sound has a lot of punk elements and call back to the early days when black metal was being formed out of speed, thrash, and punk.  The production is incredibly lo-fi and murky as hell, making it sometimes difficult to fully grasp what is being done musically.  But, let's be honest here, the band is really just making a lot of noise.  There is no real melodies, just riffs and pounding drums with shrieked vocals.  The songs are all very short, with one song just barely longer than three and a half minutes.  So that makes this a very quick and hostile listen.

There is not much information that I can find about Wømb.  Members are not named anywhere.  I get the impression there are two of them, based on very fuzzy pictures.  The band is fairly active releasing mostly demos and splits, no full-length releases.  It is not likely they are seeking fame of any sort based on all of this.

I think the Portuguese black metal scene is somewhat underrated personally.  I quite enjoy this band's chaotic take on black metal and I liked Hellcharge a bit too, though not quite as much.  My favorite band though will be looked at in the next post.

High on Fire Wins the Grammy

I'm a little shocked by this.  High on Fire, a legitimate metal band that is not way past their prime won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance.  I still have not had a chance to listen to their latest album, but if it is anything like their last few, and I assume it is, I'm sure it was great.  I have been a fan of the band for about ten years now.

High on Fire was up against Trivium, Between the Buried and Me, Underoath, and Deafheaven.  I'll be honest, I'm shocked Deafheaven did not get it as they seem to be very popular with the Pitchfork set.  High on Fire was by far my preference as I don't care much for BTBAM or Deafheaven and I can't stand Underoath.  So anyway, congrats to High on Fire.

"Hair Metal" That Does Not Suck

This is a post that I have been thinking about doing for a long time actually.  My wife has really gotten into 1980's hard rock/metal over the last couple of years, so it is the primary thing playing in her car when we go out of town, which is fairly frequently.  Now, I was obviously very aware of the genres for a long time, having grown up in the 1980's.  And for the most part, it is not a genre I care all that much for, though I definitely prefer it to pop, rap and country.  There are definitely a few great bands mixed in there though.  A lot of bands got kind of lumped into the "hair band" category due to it being such a popular form of music at the time, and a lot of those bands did not really qualify.  Basically, if you played rock music and had long hair, you were a "hair band".

Below are some of the better 1980's metal bands that were lumped into the "hair band" genre:

Xenomorph: Subspecies (1993)

Over the last couple of years, I have been keeping an eye out for a few select demos.  I managed to recently add the first demo by Dawn of Azazel, something I have been watching for for almost a decade.  I also picked up a demo by Melechesh, though I suspect it may have been a bootlegged copy, and the demo from Innsmouth, which I previously reviewed.  But none of those demos were as exciting to track down as this one. 

I have talked at great length about the metal scene in my home state of Nebraska, and though it is improving greatly due to groups like Garoted, it still leaves much to be desired.  My personal pick for the best album of all time from a Nebraska metal band is Empyreal Regimes by Xenomorph.  And I am not sure there is really another contender out there.  Unfortunately, due to the obscurity of the band, it is hard to come across any of their recorded output, though Blood Harvest Records re-released their full-length a few years back.  I grabbed it as soon as it was available.  I managed to find an original copy of the band's demo just a few weeks ago for a reasonable price and snagged it as well.

Predictably low production value notwithstanding, this is a very high quality demo that presents the band mostly as they would sound on their upcoming full-length.  Interestingly, none of the songs present on this demo would appear on the full-length released just two years later.  The murky, technical riffing style that the band used to great effect on the full-length is present, as well as late singer Pappshammer's psychotic growl.  The drumming is incredibly interesting, performing an almost endless number of fills among the complex rhythms.  Drummer Chris Haley simply never finds time to slow down and relax.  

The playing on this release was still somewhat raw and there was a little more growth and maturity that occurred prior to Xenomorph releasing their debut, but this band still is very close to the one on the full-length.  Xenomorph remains a curiosity.  I think they could have been a very strong death metal band, unfortunately the untimely death of Pappshammer in 1996 ended the band.  It's too bad, they were really onto something.

Gospel of the Horns Box Set

Over the past year, I have picked up a number of box sets, whether complete or only partial.  The bands have ranged from incredibly obscure (Nuclear Death, Treblinka (who eventually became Tiamat)) to the more well-known, at least in metal circles (Primordial, Cirith Ungol, Possessed).  This one falls in the former category, though it is a band with whom I am well familiar.

As longtime readers of this blog know, and there may be a few of those still out there somewhere, I am a big fan of the Australian blackened thrash metal scene, often known as "war metal".  Gospel of the Horns fits in well with that scene and, as is common in these bands, features members who have played with Destroyer 666, among others.  Howitzer remains the only member of the band that has been a constant in the band's lineup, and he played drums for D666 on Unchain the Wolves. 

This is a mostly complete box set of the Gospel of the Horns material.  It consists of three tapes, and includes both of the band's full-length releases and one album features their 1998 and 2012 EPs.  The only other material out there is another EP and a couple of demos, so this comes close to being the complete Gospel of the Horns experience.  I previously owned both of the full-lengths, so only the two EPs on the first tape were new to me. 

One thing that becomes clear upon listening to all of the material in this set is that Gospel of the Horns has never changed their sound.  The earliest material still has the same thrash-infused black metal sound as any of the later material.  It is still delivered in a blistering crunch and Howitzer's vocals have always sounded like he is gargling with battery acid. 

I can not find any information about Gospel of the Horns breaking up, but they have not released anything new since the 2012 EP Ceremonial Conjuration, included herein.  If they have broken up, this is a relatively cheap and easy way to access all of their vital material.  It would be nice to see something else from them again though. 

*Image was taken from the Invictus website.

Metal Church: Damned if You Do (2018)

I have never understood why Metal Church is not more popular.  Sure, the band's first couple of albums are generally considered classics, by those that have heard them, but there are not nearly enough of them.  After those two, Metal Church managed to continue putting out solid to excellent releases for the next thirty years and counting.

Part of the problem with Metal Church not being better regarded is the fact that the band has changed singers several times.  David Wayne was the frontman on those first two classic albums but Mike Howe has probably been with the band the longest.  Howe has an incredible voice of his own, but is not quite as talented as Wayne.  But since most of the albums I own have Howe on vocals, he is the voice I associate with the band.

Well, enough of that.  This is actually the first Metal Church album I have heard since 2008's This Present Wasteland, which was a tad disappointing due to the presence of neither Wayne nor Howe on vocals.  After I saw them live a year or so ago, I was impressed enough that I considered checking them out again, so when this album dropped, I decided to take a chance.  I may have to revisit some stuff because this album is, by and large, fantastic.  Every song on the album is full of great riffs and catchy hooks.  Of particular note are the anthemic "Revolution Underway" and the title track.

Guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof remains the driving force behind the band, and has become an accomplished songwriter.  Most of the songs here have standard structure, but that only aids in the infectious quality of the songs.  Lead guitarist Rick Van Zandt has come into his own as well, playing well-placed solos and leads that add variety to Vanderhoof's crunchy riffs.  Howe's vocals complete the melodic trio.

Damned if You Do is proof that good old-fashioned melodic heavy metal still exists.

Cattle Decapitation: Medium Rarities (2018)

One thing you can always count on from Cattle Decapitation is that their album covers are never boring.  Everyone's favorite vegetarian death/grind sickos have been going for quite some time now, mostly spreading their message of animal supremacy over human rights and capturing an interesting niche following.  It also helps that their music is generally fantastic.

As the title suggests, this is a compilation of some rare tracks from the group's history, several of which are actually previously unreleased.  There is stuff here from a split the band did with Caninus, unreleased demos, Japanese bonus tracks, a song they did for the Carcass tribute album, and one they did for the Decibel flexi series.  It is actually quite a lot of material, but Cattle Decapitation being who they are, still manage to get through all 23 tracks in under 40 minutes.

So what do we have here?  And is it worth it?  Well, it depends on what you are looking for.  I prefer some of the more death metal-oriented work the band has been churning out lately.  My favorite part of the Cattle Decapitation sound is the extreme vocal harmonizing that the band has worked out to perfection over the last few albums.  Some of that is present here, but by and large the primary material featured on this album shows the band in its infancy or generally very early.  Many of the songs, particularly in the first half, are very raw and chaotic, with little regard for anything other than making noise.  As the album progresses though, the songs become more recent and one can actually hear the band's sound take shape and the musicians refine their abilities.  So, at least from that perspective, the release is interesting.  Unfortunately, unless one is a Cattle Decapitation completist, this is not an essential release. 

Hellwitch: Omnipotent Convocation (2009)

Yes, this album is already several years old.  I just recently picked it up though and that does not stop me from reviewing it now.  Especially since Hellwitch is a band that more people should be aware of.

Hellwitch's debut album Syzygial Miscreancy is revered as an underground metal classic.  Unfortunately, the band split up before they were able to release a worthy successor.  For a while anyway.  The band re-formed, sort of, a few years later, but it still took until 2009 before the follow-up to their debut was finally released.  Only singer/guitarist Patrick Ranieri has remained with the band throughout its history, with a bit of a revolving door of other musicians.  So it is probably fair to say that the band is his brainchild.

The sound of Hellwitch is rooted in the technical thrash that was emerging in the late 1980's/early 1990's with groups like Atheist, Heathen, Sadus, and the like.  But Hellwitch is more extreme with more of a death metal leaning through the heavier riffing style and the rougher vocal style.  Think a thrashier Death on Individual Thought Patterns, and you have a pretty good idea.  But where Death started heading in that direction after releasing a few standard death metal releases, Hellwitch was always on that track.  It seems almost backwards then that Hellwitch covers the Death classic "Infernal Death".

Hellwitch is damn fast, with blindingly fast riffs, pounding drums, and throbbing bass.  The vocals are delivered in an aggressive sneer that Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth would be proud of.  The band keeps things interesting by employing frequent time signature changes, tempo changes, and even the occasional out-of-left-field passage that sounds like an entirely different band.  All of this results in one hell of a good listen.  My personal favorite track on the album is "Epitome of Disgrace" which seems to be the best example of all of the technicality and brutality coming together for one perfect song.  Everything Hellwitch was working towards throughout the album came together with perfect clarity here.

As I said before, Hellwitch should be a more well-known band.  They remain legends in the Florida metal scene for good reason, but they are criminally overlooked elsewhere.  It has already been ten years since this album was released without much new material from them.  Hopefully something else drops soon.

Visigoth: Conqueror's Oath (2018)

I had heard rave reviews about this album from the time that it was released, but I did not really pay much attention to the hype for quite some time.  I considered checking it out if I came across it, but that simply never happened.  Then, on the Metal Archives forum Best Album of 2018 vote, this album came out on top.  At that point, I figured I had to at least give it a shot.  After all, my Album of the Year was also the Metal Archives Album of the Year in 2016 and 2017 (Vektor and Power Trip).

Well this album is definitely damn good.  Visigoth is a power/heavy metal band from that well-known metal hot bed of Salt Lake City, Utah.  Hopefully my sarcasm came across.  Nothing says metal like a whole bunch of Mormons.  Kidding.  I have no idea if the group are Mormons or not, and Salt Lake City actually does not have THAT many Mormons anyway.  Also, apparently they do not like being called Mormons.  And now, I am WAY off track.

So anyway, there are some terrific songs on this album.  Visigoth performs a style similar to groups like Manilla Road and Grand Magus.  Of course Grand Magus is one of my favorite bands these days so I am on board here.  The songs are mostly short and mid-paced, but they are melodic and infectious as all hell.  A lot of bands strive hard to achieve the type of sound that Visigoth seems to achieve effortlessly.

Of particular note on the album is the song "Salt City", obviously an homage to the band's home town.  It is also one of the best songs on the album, with an incredibly catchy chorus.  The band sounds like they are having a great time on the song too.  This should become the city's new theme song.

I definitely understand the hype for this album.  It would not have made my top spot, but it probably would have been in the Top Five.

Internal Bleeding Demos

Last year, two of Internal Bleeding's early demos were re-released by Brutal Infection Records on cassette.  Internal Bleeding is one of the most important bands in the formation of slam death metal, being one of the earliest pioneers in the sound.  They also happen to be one of my favorite slam death metal bands (a genre that is something of a guilty pleasure for me), and so, I had to have them.

Now, technically I have already heard both of these demos.  The first release I picked up by Internal Bleeding was the Alien Breed compilation, which was a collection of the band's first three demos as well as a new song.  I should specify that I did not seek out that compilation.  Instead it was part of a grab bag that I bought from Century Media, which worked out quite well for me.  Internal Bleeding broke up a few years after the compilation was released, but has recently reunited and released new music, including an album just last year.  Unfortunately, I have yet to hear their new stuff to this point.

These two demos are absolute landmarks in the brutal death/slam genre.  And for damn good reason.  They laid the blueprints for how the sound would develop, blueprints that Internal Bleeding themselves expanded upon with their debut album Voracious Contempt and which other bands like Devourment took and made their own improvements.  By and large though, the two Internal Bleeding demos are the foundation upon which the slam death genre was built.

What is perhaps most impressive about these two demos is how fully-formed and professional the music sounds.  A lot of demos have terrible production values, and while I do not know how the demos sounded when they were first released (it is possible they were improved upon on Alien Breed), if they sounded like this, they were damn impressive.  Besides the production values, there is generally the sound.  Internal Bleeding, as founding member Chris Pervelis once told me on this blog, set about from the very beginning to focus on groove and hooks above all else.  That focus is obvious on these releases.

I am not sure which one of the two I would recommend above the other, they are equally good.  I suppose my recommendation would be to get them both at the same time.

2018 in Review: Top Albums

Prepare for a long one folks.  After the jump is every single new album I purchased in 2018, listed in descending order of preference.  I did not buy anything truly bad, so just because an album is last on my list, does not mean it is terrible.  I should also note that I have several 2018 albums still coming in soon that obviously will not make the list because I have not heard them yet (Metal Church, Arsis) and I was never able to check out some albums by bands that I normally would have (Voivod, Skeletonwitch, Psycroptic).  So this should by no means be considered an exhaustive list. 

Enough of that crap, here we go:

2018 in Review: Demos and EPs

I know.  I know.  I have been gone for quite awhile and I have been mostly terrible about album reviews.  As such, my annual late year-end list will be broken into two parts and will show off all of the albums I have purchased from 2018.  I will list the releases in descending order of preference.  For example, of the four demos listed immediately below, the last one listed is my favorite.  This is in lieu of having a numbered system because I am not doing a simple Top 10 or whatever.  The top albums list will likely come out this weekend.  I just have to finish up a few reviews. 

So in this post, I am listing the demos and the EPs.  This is not a huge post.  The next one will be however.  The other thing I should note is that this entire year, I picked up just two CDs, one of which was included with a vinyl album and the other was one my wife bought, ripped, and then gave to me.  I already bought the cassette.  Yes, cassette.  That has been an obsession of mine lately.  Almost every single release in these two posts was purchased on cassette.  There are a few albums I have yet to buy from 2018 because they were never available on cassette and I did not get around to buying them on vinyl.  

So, without further ado, here are the demos and EPs.  I did not pick up nearly as many as I intended, but there are some solid releases here:

DEMOS

BLOOMING CARRIONS: NECROSIS TWILIGHT

Atmosphere is the name of the game for these Finnish death merchants.  Finland has a long history of being a breeding ground for off-kilter metal bands across all subgenres.  Blooming Carrions definitely qualifies.  They are much more concerned with presenting a sense of foreboding than with razor sharp riffs.  Their riffs are murky and the production murkier still.  The structures are meandering and not really headed in any real direction.  It is an interesting demo and their prior one was too.  They have a future.

TELEPORT: THE EXPANSION

I was sort of disappointed with this one, which is why it is placed where it is, moreso than about the quality of the music.  I had their Galactic Usurper/Stellar Damnation compilation and absolutely loved it.  It was a sort of black metal Voivod, a very unique take.  Unfortunately this album is much more straightforward prog death.  The music is very good and Teleport is the most polished of the four bands presented in this post.  Unfortunately they no longer provide anything new and different and are not that distinguishable from any other progressive death metal band.  A shame.  

NOOSE ROT: THE CREEPING UNKNOWN

Okay, now I think we are just taking two vaguely creepy-sounding words and throwing them together.  I'm not sure "noose rot" makes sense.  If it is a rotten noose, it's unlikely to be functional.  Is it rot caused by a noose?  Is that a thing?  Anyway, Noose Rot is an impressive doomy death metal band that has the kind of dark, cavernous sound that Incantation, among other bands, popularized.  It is full of heavy bottom-end and riffs that lurch and crawl.  Second track "Worship the Crypt" is a monster with a thunderous opening riff.  Time will tell if Noose Rot is able to do anything that will separate them from the rest of the Incantation-clone pack.

SUPERSTITION: SURGING THRONG OF EVIL'S MIGHT

The first of two demos from this New Mexico-based OSDM band. I am reminded of the time when one of the support staff women from the first law firm I worked for asked me what was the difference between Mexico and New Mexico. Anyway, Superstition's point of reference is most likely Morbid Angel, with their twisted, crawling riffs and sepulchral vocals, complete with the occasional haunting keyboard melody. They sound like a horror movie. I am certainly impressed with the band. Hopefully a full-length is coming soon, and I may have to find that second demo.    

EPs

FUNERARY DESCENT: OV CHASMS BEYOND

At almost 40 minutes in length over four songs, this is hardly an EP, yet that is its official designation. Black metal and doom metal do not get crossed over all that often, but Funerary Descent is certainly up to the task. The music is morosely slow, sometimes barely moving at all, with rasping, shrieking vocals as is typical for black metal. It is an incredible dark and evil sounding release, which is definitely what the band is going for. Funerary Descent has not been around long, releasing just a couple of demos prior to this EP, but they are unusual enough to potentially catch on, particularly with the recent wave of atypical doom metal bands. Funerary Descent definitely belongs on a play list with Bell Witch.

PROFANATICA: ALTAR OF THE VIRGIN WHORE

Profanatica, the vile and filthy black metal project of former Incantation member Paul Ledney, re-emerges once again to spread its hateful message.  Profanatica has never had a pretty sound, and this EP is no different.  The production is murky, the riffs fast and simple, and the vocals delivered in a typical raspy shout.  This is evil as music gets.  This is a quick and dirty EP, which is frankly how I would prefer Profanatica's releases.  Much longer than 20 minutes and things become a little tiresome from the band.  This is eight songs and less than 20 minutes in length.  It comes on, blasts away in complete chaos, Ledney spouts out some Anti-Christian lyrics, and then it is over.  Just like that.  Profanatica is fun.

DESTRÖYER 666: CALL OF THE WILD

First of all, any year Deströyer 666 releases new music, you can bet they will find themselves near the top of my list. Secondly, if this were a full-length, instead of a four song, 20 minute EP, you can bet this would have been near the top of my Top Albums list. Instead, it is at the top of EP list. The band has ramped up the traditional metal and 80's thrash metal influences on this release, particularly during "Call of the Wild" and "Violence is Golden", respectively. They also close things out with the slow-burning epic "Trialed by Fire". Incorrect conjugation aside, it is a terrific song. This is probably the release I listed to most often this year, it helps that it is so short, but the songs really are some of the best this band has ever released.

Cannibal Corpse: Nov. 20, 2018

I have been to a fair number of concerts, especially over the last few years.  And yet, I have not been to too many pure death metal concerts.  I have seen Suffocation, but they were supporting The Black Dahlia Murder.  I have seen Obituary, but they were with Skeletonwitch and Pallbearer, among others.  So the concert last night was the closest I have been to a real death metal concert.  Cannibal Corpse was the headliner, with Hate Eternal in support, and local band Ezra as the opener.  Of course there was one more band, and I will get to that.

Ezra was the opener, and the Lincoln natives remain one of the longest tenured Nebraska metal bands, having formed some time in the late 80's/early 90's.  I have seen them before and they impressed me once again.  The bassist and guitarist are brothers of former Nebraska football standout Cory Schlesinger.  Just kind of an interesting note.

The next band was Harms Way, a group I had not heard of before looking into this concert.  I was not terribly impressed.  Harms Way is a hardcore band and much of their music sounded basically the same, with chugging riffs and shouted vocals.  The singer is a muscle-bound ball of energy who blasted around the stage.  But I just could not get into them.  I will not be checking them out further.

Hate Eternal, the band formed by former Ripping Corpse and Morbid Angel axe-man Erik Rutan, was next on the stage.  There were no real surprises from them, Hate Eternal has a fairly straightforward sound, with fast-paced riffing, blasting drums, and Rutan's decayed vocal style.  It has been awhile since I have checked in with the band, and I am not shocked that not much has changed.  Their hyperactive blasting style works for them.

And finally Cannibal Corpse took over and delivered a blistering set featuring a wide variety of new and old songs.  George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher was feeling a little under the weather and was not able to hit some of the deep roars the band had become known for.  The other aspects of the band's sound were present from the grotesque lyrical themes and slightly technical riffing.  The band played a number of their classic tracks, such as "The Wretched Spawn", "Skull Full of Maggots", and "Make Them Suffer".  Of course they also had to play "I Cum Blood" and close out the set with "Hammer-Smashed Face". 

It was a fun show and it is great to cross another legendary band off the list of groups I need to see.  I am not the biggest Cannibal Corpse fan, but I enjoyed the show quite a bit nonetheless.  They can definitely still get the crowd worked up. 

Ghost: A Pale Tour Named Death

Last night, my wife and I went down to Omaha to see Ghost.  This is the third time we have seen the band.  The first time was a headlining tour of smaller venues with Tribulation opening up for them.  The second time they were the opening act for Iron Maiden in large arenas.  This time, they were playing on their own, which was a little surprising.

The venue was the Orpheum Theater, which was another surprise.  That theater is most often used for more theatrical, performing arts-type events such as plays.  It was a very sophisticated, upper class venue for a rock concert.  Between the venue and the fact that the tour was listed as a two-act performance, I kind of expected a big, theatrical production.  That was not quite what we got.

When Ghost took the stage, it was immediately apparent that the Nameless Ghouls have multiplied.  There were seven of them on stage.  Tobias Forge's character is now Cardinal Copia, retiring yet another Papa Emeritus.  The mannerisms are mostly the same, though he runs across the stage and generally moves a lot more, and of course the costumes are less elaborate. 

The setlist did not hold too many surprises, other than the acoustic version of "Jigolo Har Meggido", which was certainly an interesting choice.  They played close to 25 songs, so most of the better-known songs were played.  If I had one complaint, it would be that they did not play "Prime Mover", which is still one of my personal favorite songs by the band.  My wife would have liked to have heard them play "Deus in Absentia".  The highlight of the show was the trio of closing songs: "Dance Macabre", "Square Hammer", and of course the encore "Monstrance Clock".  The songs were performed with a lot of energy and that fed the crowd as well. 

This was probably my favorite performance I have seen by Ghost.  There are not many bands I have seen that many times, but due to the impressive live performances, and the fact that my wife loves the band, I probably will keep going out to see them.

Judas Priest and Deep Purple in Council Bluffs: September 21

A couple of years ago I missed an opportunity to see Judas Priest in concert.  At the time, I had a decision to make whether to see Slayer/King Diamond or Judas Priest/Saxon.  I chose Slayer/King Diamond because I did not think the chance to see King Diamond would come back around.  I figured Judas Priest would come around again.  That turned out to be true.  And bonus, they were coming off an absolutely terrific new album, Firepower.

This concert was played at Stir Cove in Council Bluffs, IA, which is where Judas Priest played before and where I saw Slayer and King Diamond.  It is an outdoor venue, which is usually fine, but it was pretty cold Friday night.

The opening band was a blues/rock band from England called The Temperance Movement.  They were pretty good, catchy certainly.  The style is not usually my kind of music but it reminds me quite a bit of rock music from the 1960's/1970's.

Judas Priest was next on the stage and they were absolutely the reason I was going to this concert in the first place.  Even my wife was excited to see them as she has come to enjoy them quite a bit, particularly the early 1980's stuff.  She loves "Turbo Lover" for reasons I cannot explain.  Priest sounded terrific, though Rob Halford's voice is clearly aging at this point.  K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton are no longer in the band so the dual guitars are handled by Andy Sneap (Hell, Sabbat) and Richie Faulkner.  The new duo does a remarkable job at replacing the legendary Downing/Tipton.  Most of the Priest classics were played and though Halford's voice has weathered, he still managed a few blood-curdling shrieks.  The only song I noticed was definitely missing was "Some Heads are Gonna Roll".  The band sprinkled in some of the new stuff off or Firepower, which is currently one of my contenders for Album of the Year.  Priest was absolutely worth seeing live.

The final band of the night was Deep Purple.  Despite their status as one of the early influencers on heavy metal and even bordering on metal themselves, I was not overly familiar with most of their music.  I have of course heard "Smoke on the Water", "Highway Star", and some of the other certified classics, but I do not own any albums.  Ian Gillan's voice has also aged, but the band sounded amazing considering they are mostly in their 70's at this point.  The highlight of their performance was the extended keyboard solo by Don Airey.  I was never really excited to see Deep Purple, not nearly as much as Priest, but I was very glad I saw them.

I would have probably preferred the band lineup from when I missed Judas Priest a couple of years ago.  I enjoy Saxon more than Deep Purple, but this was a terrific concert and I was glad to finally see Judas Priest live.  Priest was a bucket list band for me, and one of the last truly legendary metal bands I had yet to see live.  There are a few black metal and death metal bands still out there, and a couple of international thrash metal bands, but that is about it.   

Lamb of God and Napalm Death in Omaha: August 17

Honestly, I am not much of a Lamb of God fan.  There is only one reason I went to this show, and that was to see Napalm Death.  I missed a couple of chances to see them recently and determined that I was going to see them the next time.  I would have preferred to have seen them as the headliner, but this was fine.  Lamb of God was the headliner this time and the show was at Sokol Auditorium in Omaha.  My wife declined to go to this one with me again.  So I went alone.

Narcotic Self was the opening band, a fact I was unaware of prior to arrival.  The band is a local one and this is the second time I have seen them.  They are one of the better Omaha-based bands, with a sound rooted in a more modern thrash metal sound.  They also put on a terrific show.  They were excellent as they were when I saw them opening for Exodus last year.  Unfortunately I was a little late to their performance because I honestly had no idea there was a band on stage before 8.  Websites need to get a better handle on this.

Napalm Death was next on the stage and they were the only reason I went.  I was curious as to what their setlist would consist of as the band has had a number of sound changes over the years.  It turns out that most of the setlist was fairly recent, with a few songs from their early grindcore years sprinkled throughout.  The band members were fairly entertaining in their performances, Barney Greenway moves around the stage like a five-year old throwing a tantrum, and the other members look like guys you would see passed out at the end of the bar at last call.  The highlights of the performance were "Suffer the Children", one of the band's best songs, and of course, "You Suffer", the one-second song that had the band listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.  They actually played the song twice, to the delight of the people in the crowd who understood what was happening.  They ended with the fantastic cover song "Nazi Punks Fuck Off".  As promised by Greenway early in the performance, Napalm Death was unapologetically noisy as fuck.

I stuck around for Lamb of God though I am not the biggest fan of the band.  I enjoy Ashes of the Wake quite a bit, but most everything else I have heard from the band was mediocre.  They have some great songs, and played most of them: "Omerta", "Walk with Me in Hell", and "Now You've Got Something to Die For", in particular.  They were definitely an energetic live band and put on a decent performance, but they did not really play anything that made me want to check out more of their music. 

It was definitely worthwhile to see Napalm Death.  Had ticket prices been a little lower, I may have skipped on Lamb of God.  I'm glad I did not, but the band did not really change my opinion of them that much.

YOB and Bell Witch in Omaha: July 11, 2018

I almost did not get to see this one.  I was scheduled for an evidentiary hearing on a kidnapping case late in the afternoon yesterday.  I resisted the urge to buy the tickets right away with the concern that maybe, I would not be able to see it.  That would have been pretty disappointing.  I have really taken to Bell Witch over the last year, starting with their impressive Mirror Reaper album and leading to me picking up each of their previous releases as well.  So I was pretty excited to see them.  But I had that hearing potentially in the way.

After my hearing went quickly, I rushed out of court and to my office to buy my ticket (my wife did not attend this one with me), and I was off to Omaha.  The venue was the Lookout Lounge, an entertaining place to look at all of the flyers from shows years in the past.  It is kind of hard to imagine Machine Head playing in such a small venue for instance. 

Omaha natives Processions was up first and the singer announced that this would be the band's final show.  Upon looking at their Facebook page, it appears the members just want to start a new project and stop doing Processions.  The band played some pretty decent death/doom and I have to say I was pretty impressed with their slow-paced, rumbling sound.  It is a shame that the band is stopping a real release.

Bell Witch was next and I made an effort to get closer to the stage.  Bell Witch is an interesting band, consisting of just two members: a drummer and a bassist.  No guitars, no keyboards.  Yet the result is some absolutely devastating funeral doom metal.  I was kind of surprised that the band ended up playing the only track from their latest album, though a somewhat abbreviated version of it.  I did not expect the band to play one hour-long song for their show, but they absolutely killed it live.  It is difficult to make such a long, slow song interesting in a live setting, but the ebbs and flows of the melodies worked and it built up to a crushing climax. 

YOB was next, and I have never really gotten into them.  This was my first extended exposure to the band and they were decent enough.  Their songs were a little long, which seems like an odd complaint from someone who was just praising Bell Witch for one hour-long song, but I knew what to expect with them.  YOB was definitely heavy and interesting enough, I just do not know if I will be checking them out further. 

I am glad I managed to make it to the concert.  Bell Witch alone was well worth it.  This is one of the more unique concert experiences I have had to date, but it was a great time.

Ghost: Prequelle (2018)

It has not been often that I can say that a band that I have been following for a few years is about to hit it big, but Ghost really has some hype building around them.  They won a Grammy two years ago and after a small headlining tour, turned some heads by opening for Iron Maiden last year.  Later this year, they will be embarking on their own major headlining tour.  This album released a couple of weeks ago and hit #3 on Billboard right away.  They also have a gimmick that may be losing its luster with underground metal fans, but which might just bring in a ton of new fans as the band's visibility increases.  Stardom beckons at this point.

This is the band's fourth full-length album and probably their most mainstream-accessible, a direction they have been heading for a little while now.  A lot of the Satanic lyrics have been toned way down and some of the songs are downright poppy, such as second single "Dance Macabre", a song which I would not be surprised to hear on Top 40 radio.

Prequelle is also Ghost's most varied release, an impressive feat since the band has not stuck to one single style since their debut full-length.  Lead single "Rats" features terrific Maiden-esque leads and follow-up track "Faith" bears a strong resemblance to Swedish doom legends Candlemass (a statement that I made a couple of weeks before singer Tobias Forge appeared on stage with members of Candlemass to perform "Enter Sandman").  "See the Light" is a microcosm of the album as a whole, going through a number of stylistic changes.  Then we have "Miasma", which is as close to spacey prog rock as the band has ever gotten, complete with a saxophone solo.  Several years ago I compared Ghost to Blue Oyster Cult, a comparison that seems to be becoming more and more apt.  Like BOC, Ghost has not been content to rest on their laurels with one genre with straight-ahead rock tracks, experimental tracks, and poppy classics.

One criticism that I have though is that the album feels a little bit rushed.  I get the sense that the band was knocking on the door of mainstream acceptance and decided to try to kick it down.  There was some bad press with several Nameless Ghouls leaving the band and suing stalwart Forge for breach of contract and Forge hiring all new musicians in response.  There are three instrumental tracks on this release.  The intro is not surprising, and I would not be turned off by an additional instrumental, but then the band throws in another one toward the end.  A track like "Pro Memoria" feels like the band tried too hard to get another "Monstrance Clock".  This would have made a great EP with just "Rats", "Faith", "Dance Macabre", and "Witch Image", but that may not have been commercially viable.

There are some great songs on this release, but I do feel like it was somewhat rushed.  That being said, it is clear to me that the band is headed for mainstream success.  "Dance Macabre" in particular is a song I think will catch on in a big way.  I am not one of those metalheads that would turn against the band for doing so, I really hope they do make it big.

Obituary in Omaha: May 16, 2018.

It has been a little while since I have posted.  Things have been very busy at work and I have not gone to many concerts lately.  I have a ton of new albums, but no strong desire to post anything about them.  But on Wednesday I attended a concert at The Waiting Room in Omaha, this time alone as my wife decided to stay home.  Obituary was headlining with support from Pallbearer, Skeletonwitch, and Dust Bolt.

Dust Bolt was the first band of the night.  I was not familiar with the band other than initially hearing of them when I heard about this show.  The German thrash metal band has been around for about a dozen years now and released three full-lengths so far.  Not many people had arrived at the venue yet by the time they took the stage, which is a shame because they were the most welcome surprise of the night.  Just some terrific old-school thrash metal which was surprisingly inspired more by the Bay Area scene than their countrymen Kreator, Sodom, and Destruction.

I was a little surprised that Skeletonwitch was the second band of the night.  Honestly, they were the band that I was the most excited to see.  I love all of the stuff they have put out to date and am looking forward to their first full-length since 2013's Serpents Unleashed.  The band has since replaced their original vocalist and released a pretty damn good EP in 2016.  Their new vocalist does a damn good job on the prior material.  Skeletonwitch delivered a blistering set that was every bit as good as I had hoped when I saw they were playing nearby.

It seems kind of strange that Pallbearer was on the same bill as the other much more high-octane bands that played.  Pallbearer's sound is a much slower, more melodic style of doom metal.  Their music is somber with tortured vocals.  The vocals were more tortured than usual as one of the singers was having some health issues that prevented him from reaching some of his normal range.  Pallbearer sounded good, but it definitely felt like a massive shift going from Skeletonwitch to them and then to the headliners.  I really enjoy Pallbearer's albums, but they seemed a little out of place.

Legendary death metallers Obituary were the last band to take the stage and they delivered exactly what one would expect: grooving death metal that sounds like it rose from the swamps.  Every aspect of their sound was terrific, from the desiccated vocals to the bass-heavy grooves to the searing guitar solos.  They did not do much speaking to the crowd, they just got up and played.  The band finished things off with arguably their best songs "Chopped in Half" and "Slowly We Rot".  It was a quick performance but definitely made an impact.

Skeletonwitch was definitely the highlight of the night for me.  I enjoyed the other performances, but honestly I may not have attended had it not been for the presence of Skeletonwitch.  I wish my wife would have come with me, but she may not have cared much for this concert.

Is Anthrax the Best of the Big 4 Right Now?

Honestly, throughout most of my history with metal, Anthrax has never really been one of my favorite bands.  They did not even make it into my 100 Favorite Bands series.  Even among the Big 4, Anthrax was rarely among my top two favorites.  They were my third favorite for awhile only because it took me a long time to start getting into Slayer.  A lot of this may have been due to the fact that when I started getting into metal, Anthrax had replaced singer Joey Belladonna with John Bush.  I do still think Sound of White Noise is a good album, but it simply does not hold a candle to the better works of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, or even any of Anthrax's earlier albums. 

That has been changing over the last several years though.  First came their 2011 reunion album with Belladonna which is honestly probably the best Big 4 album of the last ten years, and only really in competition with a couple of Megadeth albums.  Then came their live show with Killswitch Engage last year.  I enjoyed Anthrax more than any of the other Big 4 bands.  I have seen Metallica twice, Megadeth three times, and Slayer once, but Anthrax blew them all away.  Their energy is infectious and they sound terrific on stage. 

So, in the last few months I have been making an effort to plug in some of the holes in my Anthrax collection.  Two of these holes have been State of Euphoria and Spreading the Disease.  I can honestly say that I should have checked these two out a long time ago because they are easily my two favorite Anthrax albums right now.  Previously, that spot was held by Among the Living, which is still a damn good album, but these are better.  "Medusa" is probably the band's best song and I heard it for the first time at the concert last year. 

That brings me to the title question.  Is Anthrax the best of the Big 4 right now?   I honestly believe that the answer to that question is yes.  Here is a look at each of the others:

SLAYER

Obviously, Slayer has recently announced that they will be retiring from touring, but even before that, they have not released a great album in a very long time.  I have enjoyed all of their albums to varying degrees over the last twenty or so years, but nothing has come close to the heights of Seasons in the Abyss, Reign in Blood, or even Divine Intervention.  That coupled with their somewhat lazy live performances (Kerry King notwithstanding), and Slayer has been in decline for a very long time. 

METALLICA

Inconsistency has been the name of the game for the venerable thrash titans in Metallica.  Their Black Album signaled the death knell of thrash metal as we knew it in the 1980's and tons of bands tried to follow suit.  Metallica themselves disappeared for a few years before re-emerging in the mid 1990's with haircuts and a completely different sound.  They released three very odd albums in a row, a covers album, and a collaboration with a symphony, before a return to form of sorts in Death Magnetic.  But after that they released a forgettable EP and the ridiculously awful Lulu collaboration with Lou Reed.  Their most recent album was decent, but bloated, and nowhere near as catchy as the Anthrax material.

MEGADETH

Probably the closest competition among the rival bands is Megadeth who at least continues to put out some quality new material.  Their most recent release Dystopia is strongly rooted in their Rust in Peace sound.  But Megadeth has put out a couple of regrettable releases as well, most notably Super Collider.  They do still put on a great live performance, but they pale slightly when compared to Anthrax.

ANTHRAX

And so that brings us here.  Since reuniting with Belladonna, Anthrax has put out two great albums and has been absolutely on fire live.  Megadeth may be close, but Anthrax has definitely been the more impressive group over the last decade or so.  That is really all that matters at this point and makes them the band to beat among the Big 4.

Innsmouth: The Departure of Shub-Niggurath (2009)

It is not very often I have been able to add the demo tapes of established bands that I listen to frequently.  The only real exceptions have been Dawn of Azazel and Goatwhore, until now.  Innsmouth is definitely not on the same level as the other two bands (and in fact Dawn of Azazel is also several notches below Goatwhore), but their 2014 full-length was my Album of the Year.  Unfortunately that turned out to be the band's only full-length as they split up shortly thereafter.

This demo tape finds the band in its infancy, and yet still features my personal favorite track from the 2014 Album of the Year, "Thrice Blessed Shub-Niggurath".  It is obvious that the band members are big fans of the works of H.P. Lovecraft based on the song and album titles, and their sound reflects that as well.  Between the cavernous vocals, otherworldly riffs, and creepy atmosphere, this band definitely nails the feel of Lovecraft's stories.

I did not know quite what to expect from Innsmouth's demo, but I came away very impressed.  There is really not much difference between this release and their full-length album.  All of the elements that I enjoyed in that album are present here.  It is a shame that the band did not stick around.  I could have done without the cover though with the anatomically correct (maybe?) satyr.

Summoning: With Doom We Come (2018)

Summoning is one of those bands that I have long heard great things about but simply never got around to checking out.  I do not really have an explanation for this, I just never really got around to it.  Now with this album being released early this year, I figured it would be a good chance to finally check them out.

This is most likely a grower for me.  I did not really know what to expect in checking this band out, but I was a little taken aback by it.  This is certainly not a bad album, far from it, I was just surprised by the band's sound.  It is much more laid-back than I thought it would be.  There is really nothing aggressive about it.  The riffs move very slowly and the vocals are delivered in a variety of styles, some harsh and some clean.

I will grant one thing to the album though, it sounds like it would have made an excellent soundtrack to a fantasy epic movie.  Something sort of like the Lord of the Rings or Hobbit movies.  I also really enjoy the percussion used throughout the album, in particular the use of timpani, which is not a real common metal instrument.  Plus, Summoning has a fucking awesome band logo.

So this one was a little disappointing at first blush, but by the end of the year, it is entirely possible that I will absolutely love it.  We will see.

Metal Mail: Landmine Marathon Cassette Box Set

For a short period of time a few years back, Landmine Marathon was the subject of a ton of hype.  Most of it was due to Revolver Magazine slobbering all over themselves at the thought of a pretty girl fronting a death/grind band.  Actually, that was damn near all of it.  Unfortunately, Landmine Marathon was much better known for Grace Perry than for their sound, which is kind of a shame.  I actually really enjoyed the band and picked up their first two full-length albums on CD when they were fairly new.  They were also featured in my Honorable Mentions post for my Favorite New Bands of the 2000's. 

I sort of drifted away from the band after their second album.  I did not even know they released anything else, much less two other albums before Perry left the band.  I do not really know why that happened, but Landmine Marathon attempted to move forward, replacing Perry with Krysta Curry.  Technically the band is still active but has not released anything since the switch in singers.  I am curious as to what Perry is up to these days.  It does not appear she stayed in metal.

This is not a complete box set collection, it only contains the second, third, and fourth albums out of the band's five total albums.  That is okay because these are the better albums from the band and contain two of the releases of which I am most familiar.  Landmine Marathon's sound is based mostly in the sounds of early death/grind bands like Bolt Thrower, Carcass, and Napalm Death.  Grace Perry is the star of the band on these releases, with her impressive full-throated roar, through she is not the band's driving force.

This could be a better box set if it included everything from the band.  It is nice to get a few of the albums together, but there are two albums missing.  And those are the harder ones to find.  So, not a bad set, but not as good as it could be.

Metal Mail: Rare Finds

I picked up both of these albums from a seller in Canada off of Discogs.  I'm not sure how I ended up with two underrated U.K. albums from the same seller in Canada, but whatever.

ONSLAUGHT: THE FORCE (1986)
This is actually my third Onslaught album, and thus far the best one I have heard.  I do not know nearly as much as I should about this amazing U.K.-based thrash metal band.  My first experience with the band was 2013's VI, which was a very good modern thrash metal album.  After that, I picked up the Steve Grimmett-led In Search of Sanity, which is apparently not terribly representative of the band's typical sound.  So I tried this one, and holy fuck I am glad I did.  You see, I am a big fan of Slayer, but my absolute favorite album by them is Show No Mercy which was their debut album and was more of a NWOBHM-influenced album than the brutal brand of thrash metal that most people know of their sound.  This album by Onslaught is very similar to Show No Mercy.  It is pure Venom-worshipping thrash metal with some absolutely incredible songs.  This is not only my favorite album by Onslaught, it might be up there with Sabbat's Dreamweaver as my favorite U.K. thrash metal album.

SKYCLAD: THE WAYWARD SONS OF MOTHER EARTH (1991)
Speaking of Sabbat, Skyclad is frontman Martin Walkyier's band after leaving the great, underrated thrash metal band.  Skyclad was one of the pioneering bands in folk metal, fusing Irish melodies and instrumentation into thrashy, Iron Maiden-esque riffs.  Of course the highlight of the album is Walkyier's staccato barking vocals.  Walkyier has one of the great vocal styles in thrash metal and it is on full display throughout this album.  As much as I love Walkyier's work, for some reason I have just not gone through much of his stuff.  I have just one Sabbat album, which I absolutely love, and now two Skyclad albums, both of which I really enjoy as well.  Well, that will likely become one of my goals.  There is really only one other Sabbat album, which will likely be the next one I check out, but there is quite a bit of Skyclad material.

Metal Mail: Rapid Fire Records

RUNNING WILD: DEATH OR GLORY (1989)
For some reason, I only recently decided to check out Running Wild.  The German power/speed metal band has been around for 40 years, yet I never took the plunge.  It was only a few months ago that I added Blazon Stone to my collection and loved it.  So I picked up this release which was the album that immediately preceded Blazon Stone and I love it even more.  Running Wild, along with Blind Guardian and Helloween, really helped usher in the European style of power metal.  This album is filled with terrific, pulse-pounding burners with infectious hooks and choruses. The middle tracks drag just a little bit, particularly with the instrumental "Highland Glory" and its oddly bouncy bass riff, but it picks right back up on "Marooned".  I was a little concerned when I saw the tile "Bad to the Bone" that Running Wild might be attempting an ill-advised cover, but this song is an original and quite catchy.  After two positive experiences, I will be checking out additional material by Running Wild.  There is a lot of stuff to go through yet.

NUCLEAR ASSAULT: GAME OVER (1986)
Nuclear Assault is the band that really got me into crossover.  I had heard groups like Suicidal Tendencies and Prong, and even the Corrosion of Conformity stuff that was more crossover-oriented, but it was when I checked out "Critical Mass" again that I was really sold on the genre.  I loved the album that that song appeared on Handle with Care as well.  So, when I had an opportunity to add their debut album to my collection, I jumped on it.  I do not like this one quite as much as the aforementioned album though.  The band had not fully grown into their sound on this release.  It is more of a straight thrash metal album than the later release.  There are a lot of great songs on this album, but some of the tracks are clearly done to be humorous and end up falling a little flat.  There is nothing inherently wrong with doing humor in metal, but it does not always work, and this is one of those occasions.  The more serious tracks are definitely the standouts and keep the album interesting. 

Metal Mail: Gruesome

GRUESOME: DIMENSIONS OF HORROR (2016)
First of all, I love this album cover.  Just some excellent Lovecraftian-style horror.  I have been somewhat familiar with Gruesome for a little while.  The band was started by Matt Harvey (not the Mets pitcher, the guitarist for Exhumed, Dekapitator, and others) and some other longtime death metal musicians, as a way to pay tribute to Death.  The sound of the band is clearly based on the early works of the great death metal pioneers, particularly Scream Bloody Gore.  There is a breakdown in the title track that absolutely calls to mind one in Death's "Zombie Ritual".  Gruesome has only released one full-length album so far, which brings me to the only problem that I have with this release: it is just an EP.  Hopefully Gruesome will release a new full-length album soon.  In the meantime, this is some good stuff for anyone looking for something like the early Death albums.

Metal Mail: Random Tapes

These are just some random tapes that did not fit in with any real category.

FVRLVRN: DEMO 2016 (2016)
I am pretty sure that pronunciation is supposed to be "Forlorn", but I could be way off base.  This is an extremely quick and dirty demo from a band experimenting with combining black metal and grindcore, two styles that I am not sure get mixed together too often.  The band features two members of blackened slam (also two styles that do not get mixed often) outfit Hateful Transgression, a band whose demo tape I am still trying to find after originally ordering it from the label only to find that it was no longer active.  There are some interesting moments on this release, in particular the drum blast in opening track "Crawling Inside" that is so fast it sounds like a motor sputtering to life.  The black metal parts mostly come from the vocal style, which is often a rasping shriek rather than the more typical grindcore style.  There are some riffs here and there that are more black metal in nature as well.  Otherwise, it is more of a death/grind release.  Fvrlvrn deserves credit for trying something new.  I still prefer Hateful Transgression personally and will hopefully one day find that demo tape.  Fvrlvrn recently changed their name to Morgue Walker.

SEAX: SPEED METAL MANIA (2016)
Well, with a title like that, you pretty much know what to expect: balls-to-the-wall pure fucking metal, and that is what you get.  The Motorhead and Exciter covers hidden in the album cover art are some additional clues.  The combination of those two bands is a pretty decent way to describe the band's sound, definitely fast-paced with soaring vocals and sing-along choruses.  Seax has apparently been around for some time as this is the band's third full-length album.  There have been a lot of bands popping up in recent years playing this kind of retro heavy metal, so Seax has their work cut out for them if they want to break through.  They definitely have the chops though, as this album attests.

UNSPEAKABLE: EXPULSION OF THE TRIUMPHANT BEAST (2017)
I discovered Unspeakable through recommendations by various people on Facebook and Youtube.  The band is a black/death metal band in the vein of Archgoat, Black Witchery, and the like and from St. Louis.  This band is certainly raw and primitive-sounding, which I can definitely appreciate.  The songs are fast-paced and intense and sound like the kind of thing that would have been recorded in the mid-1980's.  Of particular note is "Fevered Dreams in the Witch House", not just for the face-melting riffs, but I dig the Lovecraft reference.  Final track "Unspeakable" caught me by surprise at first as I kept thinking this sounds a lot like very early black metal bands.  Sure enough, it is a cover of an NME song from their debut demo in 1985.  That makes sense.  I love this tape so much I ordered their previous release and will be keeping an eye out for a full-length, which is apparently coming soon.

Metal Mail: Tapehead City

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

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

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

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

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

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

Metal Mail: War on Metal

I recently placed an order on a small record label, mostly to check out the reissue of Summoning's debut.  Deciding not to get just one album, I also picked out a demo that I thought I would like.  

SUMMONING: LUGBURZ (1995)

I went about discovering Summoning in a weird order.  The Austrian black metal band has been around for a long time, forming in 1993, but I just decided to check them out this year.  I started with their newest release, 2018's With Doom We Come.  That review is coming soon, but it was not quite what I expected.  Nevertheless, I gave them another chance, picking up the reissue of their debut album here.  It is clear from this release that Summoning was still looking for their niche, this is a much more typical black metal release from this time period, but there are moments where the band's future sound shines through.  Certain songs lean heavily on atmospheric keyboard melodies, which became the band's calling card later on.  I definitely enjoyed this release a lot more than their new album, which I am still working on discovering.

VOMIT: DESECRATION (2017)

This is the first demo from a Chilean death metal trio.  South America tends to produce some filthy and raw old school metal and Vomit is no exception.  Taking their cues mainly from the very early death metal bands, Vomit is completely filthy.  I can definitely identify a strong influence from Possessed, particularly in second track "Vomiting Death" which has a riff clearly resembling Possessed's "The Exorcist".  But Vomit is definitely not a clone of older bands.  They do add their own twists onto things.  This is just the band's first demo and they did release a second one last year too, but I have not managed to find that one.  I will be keeping an eye on this band.  I have been a fan of South American extreme metal since first hearing Sepultura and the continent has not let me down yet.

Metal Mail: Pantera

What the fuck is that?!  

Yes, this is a Pantera album.  The band in the 1990's wanted everyone to think that their first album was Cowboys From Hell, but that is not true in the least.  That was actually their FIFTH album.  Pantera disavowed their first four albums and that is not terribly surprising given the large difference in sound and quality, but I would argue that this is a pretty damn good album.  In fact, it is not all that dissimilar from the aforementioned Cowboys.

This was the first album with the classic Pantera lineup as Phil Anselmo joined the band as singer.  His style at the time was less tough-guy hardcore and much more dynamic.  Anselmo can truly sing on this release among some truly impressive shrieking.  Seriously, he does one hell of a Rob Halford impression here.  

Another highlight to this album is the amazing guitar work of "Diamond" Darrell.  He would of course go by "Dimebag" later on, but he was "Diamond" here.  People have long claimed that he was one of the greatest metal guitarists of all time, but I was never totally impressed with the groove metal work, much preferring his work on Cowboys.  He has some of his greatest riffs on this album and some damn good solos as well.  

There are some less-than-stellar songs here, such as the regrettable "P.S.T. 88", but most of the songs are actually damn good.  "Proud to be Loud" is the kind of anthemic track that would have been at home on an early 80's Judas Priest album and the first half of the album is full of some of the best and catchiest songs of the band's career.  

If you are looking for something like Vulgar Display of Power, you are going to be disappointed with this album.  However, if you are like me and Cowboys is far and away your favorite Pantera album, you should at least give this album a shot.