Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 124

ARTIST:  Iron Maiden
ORIGIN: London, England
TITLE:  Best of the Beast
LABEL:  EMI Records
YEAR:  1996
GENRE:  Heavy Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "The Evil That Men Do"
NOTES:  When doing some research on this release, I found a double CD listed.  Mine is just one CD with a lot fewer songs than the double disc release.  I picked this one up after being so taken with their latest album.  It covers the first album with Bruce Dickinson through the Blaze Bayley era.  It lead me to pick up several more albums from Iron Maiden.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 123

ARTIST:  Iron Maiden
ORIGIN:  London, England
TITLE:  Brave New World
LABEL:  EMI Records
YEAR:  2000
GENRE:  Heavy Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "The Wicker Man"
NOTES:  I had gotten a couple of Iron Maiden albums by this point, but this one really opened the door to the band for me.  After getting this one I began a little bit of an obsession with the band which resulted in me buying several of their albums in a very short time.  So look for a few more Iron Maiden albums over the next couple of weeks or so.  I was so obsessed with this album that I chose to write a review of it for my History of Rock Music review project.  I got an A+.  I also love the book it is named after.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 122

ARTIST:  Megadeth
ORIGIN:  Los Angeles, CA (United States)
TITLE:  Risk
LABEL:  Capitol Records
YEAR:  1999
GENRE:  Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
FAVORITE SONG:  "Prince of Darkness"
NOTES:  Oh good Lord, what happened to Megadeth?  This album is horrendous, there is no better way to put it.  I think Megadeth really tried to capture the success that Metallica was able to achieve with their softer stuff.  Well they failed miserably.  This is easily one of the worst albums in my entire collection.  I rarely listen to it.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 121

ARTIST:  Pantera
ORIGIN:  Arlington, TX (United States)
TITLE:  Reinventing the Steel
LABEL:  Elektra
YEAR:  2000
GENRE:  Groove Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Uplift"
NOTES:  Ah yes Pantera.  This would turn out to be the band's last full-length album.  They broke up in a flurry of bad blood soon after.  I actually liked this album pretty well for awhile.  I would place it above Vulgar Display of Power personally, but below Far Beyond Driven.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 120

ARTIST:  Drain STH
ORIGIN:  Vasteras, Sweden
TITLE:  Freaks of Nature
LABEL:  PolyGram Records
YEAR:  1999
GENRE:  Heavy Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Black"
NOTES:  They had to add the "STH" to their name due to a trademark issue, otherwise they are known simply as Drain.  They definitely achieved more notoriety due to the makeup of the band, four beautiful Swedish women, rather than their musical talent.  Which is a shame since they are actually very competent musicians.  Unfortunately this album is more of a product of its time.  It fit in well with the nu-metal scene.  It has not aged well.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 119

ARTIST:  Alice in Chains
ORIGIN:  Seattle, WA (United States)
TITLE:  Nothing Safe: Best of the Box
LABEL:  Columbia Records
YEAR:  1999
GENRE:  Grunge Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Man in the Box" (Live)
NOTES:  Alice in Chains released a box set in 1999 as well as this album which basically collected the best tracks from the box set.  I picked it up because, other than the self-titled album and the acoustic album, I did not have any full-lengths by the band, despite loving most of their music.  So I got this.  The best track is actually on the short bonus disc with a live version of "Man in the Box" with an incredibly sludgy main riff.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 118

ARTIST:  Metallica
ORIGIN:  San Francisco, CA (United States)
TITLE:  S&M
LABEL:  Elektra
YEAR:  1999
GENRE:  Thrash Metal/Heavy Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "One"
NOTES:  This is of course the live album featuring the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Kamen, who died just a few years later.  For a long time this became the definitive Metallica that was played on the radio.  Hell they even played with the orchestra again for an awards show performance.  It actually works pretty well and I really enjoy this one.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 117

ARTIST:  Testament
ORIGIN:  Oakland, CA (United States)
TITLE:  Souls of Black
LABEL:  Atlantic Records
YEAR:  1990
GENRE:  Thrash Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Face in the Sky"
NOTES:  It was time to start looking back into Testament's earlier albums.  I had really enjoyed everything I had heard from the band to this point.  Most of their material before Low is fairly interchangeable, not to say that there is not some great stuff there, but it all kind of runs together.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 116

ARTIST:  Type O Negative
ORIGIN:  New York, NY (United States)
TITLE:  World Coming Down
LABEL:  Roadrunner Records
YEAR:  1999
GENRE:  Gothic/Doom Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Everyone I Love is Dead"
NOTES:  Type O Negative has always been somewhat depressing, but this one really takes the cake.  The gloomy group focuses on death and loss throughout the album.  The result is an album that, while good, can sometimes be very difficult to listen to.  This is not one of my favorite albums by the band, but that is mostly due to the sadness and gloom that permeates the entire thing.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 115

ARTIST:  Machine Head
ORIGIN:  Oakland, CA (United States)
TITLE:  The Burning Red
LABEL:  Roadrunner Records
YEAR:  1999
GENRE:  Groove Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears"
NOTES:  This is definitely closer to a nu-metal album than it is a groove metal album, but that is most likely due to the fact that Machine Head has always been a trend-hopping band.  The aggression of this album was definitely a turn-on at this point in my life, but not as much anymore.  I did enjoy this album quite a bit at the time I bought it though.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 114

ARTIST:  Amorphis
ORIGIN:  Helsinki, Finland
TITLE:  Elegy
LABEL:  Relapse Records
YEAR:  1996
GENRE:  Folk/Death Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Against Widows"
NOTES:  I bought this one shortly before a family vacation.  It was due to my love of Tuonela that I bought this one.  I will say that this album is quite a bit different from that one, mostly due to the fact that it came out earlier and had more death metal elements, particularly in the vocal style.  The folk melodies used throughout the album are the real attraction.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 113

ARTIST:  Testament
ORIGIN:  Oakland, CA (United States)
TITLE:  The Gathering
LABEL:  Spitfire Records
YEAR:  1999
GENRE:  Thrash/Death Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "True Believer"
NOTES:  I picked this CD up at the local music store.  Testament was in town for a concert and did a signing at the store.  I got the CD and an autographed poster (which I have since lost unfortunately).   The band was very nice and asked if my friend and I would be going to the concert.  Unfortunately since it was a 19 and over show and we were both 18, we could not go.  The band thought that was ridiculous.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 112

ARTIST:  Dissection
ORIGIN:  Stockholm, Sweden
TITLE:  Storm of the Light's Bane
LABEL:  Nuclear Blast
YEAR:  1995
GENRE:  Melodic Black/Death Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Thorns of Crimson Death"
NOTES:  I believe that I ordered this through Barnes and Noble in high school.  I remember searching for the most evil-looking album I could find, and this cover art grabbed me.  So I went ahead and ordered it.  I had not heard much like this at that time in my metal listening experience, but something about it really captured my attention.  This is one of my all time Top 5 albums, and for very good reason.  I love listening to this album.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 111

ARTIST:  Amorphis
ORIGIN:  Helsinki, Finland
TITLE:  Tuonela
LABEL:  Relapse Records
YEAR:  1999
GENRE:  Progressive Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Nightfall"
NOTES:  I heard "Divinity" for the first time on some MTV special looking at smaller labels.  The song was incredible.  I went out the next day to seek out this album.  It captured my attention immediately and Amorphis became one of my favorite bands.  I especially liked the fact that the band used wind instruments in several songs.  As a saxophone player myself, those parts were my favorite.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 110

ARTIST:  Fear Factory
ORIGIN:  Los Angeles, CA (United States)
TITLE:  Obsolete
LABEL:  Roardrunner Records
YEAR:  1998
GENRE:  Groove Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Edgecrusher"
NOTES:  This one was a bit more stripped-down than Fear Factory's prior album.  It has taken out more of the death metal elements that were present in the band's sound when they first came out.  At this point they were almost solely a groove metal band with some industrial influences.  Nevertheless, I still like this album quite a bit.  Burton Bell's clean vocals sound terrific mixed with his rougher style.  I still come back to this one occasionally.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 109

ARTIST:  Testament
ORIGIN:  Oakland, CA (United States)
TITLE:  Live at the Fillmore
LABEL:  Burnt Offerings
YEAR:  1995
GENRE:  Thrash Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Return to Serenity"
NOTES:  Despite the fact that this album was released in 1995, I did not see it for a couple of years.  As I have said before, I am not the biggest fan of live albums, but this one is one of my favorites.  Testament sounds amazing throughout the live portion of the album.  It is mostly a package of songs covering the band's debut through Low.  So it is definitely covering the band's most productive period.  Then the final three songs are acoustic versions of the band's ballads.  This version of "Return to Serenity" is perhaps my favorite.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 108

ARTIST:  Metallica
ORIGIN:  San Francisco, CA (United States)
TITLE:  Garage Inc.
LABEL:  Vertigo Records
YEAR:  1998
GENRE:  Thrash Metal/Heavy Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Blitzkrieg"
NOTES:  This is the double album of covers that Metallica put out.  The first disc is new recordings of songs by artists as diverse as Diamond Head, Bob Seger, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Blue Oyster Cult.  There were a couple of very good tracks there and it lead to me checking out Misfits, Diamond Head, and Mercyful Fate. Of course the second disc is the highlight here with the covers Metallica had recorded over the course of their career to that point.  The music was generally more raw and faster.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt 107

ARTIST:  Slayer
ORIGIN:  Huntington Park, CA (United States)
TITLE:  Seasons in the Abyss
LABEL:  Def American
YEAR:  1990
GENRE:  Thrash Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Seasons in the Abyss"
NOTES:  This was my first Slayer album.  I figured I was about due at this point and I chose this one because I already had the title track on a compilation album.  And I liked it quite a bit.  I don't think I was prepared for how different Slayer's typical songs were.  Slayer is all about speed.  And that definitely shows on this album.  It took a little while, but it really grew on me.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 106

ARTIST:  King's X
ORIGIN:  Springfield, MO (United States)
TITLE:  Dogman
LABEL:  Atlantic Records
YEAR:  1994
GENRE:  Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
FAVORITE SONG:  "Dogman"
NOTES:  I had always heard a lot of great things about King's X.  The couple of songs I had heard from soundtracks to that point certainly had not done anything to change that impression.  Unfortunately I have always found this album a little underwhelming.  There is certainly nothing musically wrong with it.  The trio are terrific musicians.  However some of the songs just fall a little flat.  There are some damn good songs here and the performances are very impressive.  It just seems that the sum of the parts is not as great as the individual parts.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 105

ARTIST:  Machine Head
ORIGIN:  Oakland, CA (United States)
TITLE:  Burn My Eyes
LABEL:  Roadrunner Records
YEAR:  1994
GENRE:  Groove Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Davidian"
NOTES:  I have picked up three Machine Head albums over the years.  This was the first one and is of course the band's debut album.  This was one of the albums that helped signal the onslaught of groove metal in 1994, along with Pantera's album.  There are some pretty good songs on here, but it became pretty apparent later on that Machine Head was a trend-hopping band.