Weekly Recap March 21-March 27

It was mostly a slow week this week. Which is somewhat good because I will be pretty busy with work next week. Next week I also find out when my trial date will be on a case I am working on. My fiancee has been busy most of the week preparing for a speech for a class. She finally got everything ready to go only to find out the class was canceled that day. Frustrating.

Not much in the way of metal news. Fatalist finalized their lineup just in time to appear on a soundtrack for what promises to be a spectacularly bad horror movie.

I got albums from Arckanum, Artillery, Azaghal, Blood Ritual, Insomnium, Nocturnal Fear, Satan's Host, and Sigh as I received some of my income tax return money.

Metalsucks has been doing a list of great bands that inadvertently ruined metal. I have issues with many of their picks, particularly referring to Rage Against the Machine and Nine Inch Nails as great. Also, the list included the likes of Metallica and Black Sabbath, so I don't know.

Aborted: Slaughter & Apparatus-A Methodical Overture
Aeon: Rise to Dominate
Anal Vomit: Depravation
Ancient: Proxima Centauri
Angel Witch: Angel Witch
Arckanum: ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ
Armored Saint: La Raza
Artillery: When Death Comes
Atheist: Unquestionable Presence
Azaghal: Omega
Black Sabbath: The Dio Years
Blood Ritual: Black Grimoire
Burzum: Det Som Engang VarCauldron: Chained to the Nite
Charred Walls of the Damned: Charred Walls of the Damned
Coroner: R.I.P.
Dark Angel: Darkness Descends
Death Breath: Stinking Up the Night
Decapitated: Organic Hallucinosis
Defleshed: Death...The High Cost of Living
Dekapitator: The Storm Before the Calm
Dismember: Dismember
Dokken: Tooth and Nail
Entombed: Left Hand Path
Fear Factory: Demanufacture
Hail of Bullets: ...Of Frost and War
Hecate Enthroned: Upon Promeathean Shores
Helloween: Helloween/Walls of Jericho
Iced Earth: Framing Armageddon-Something Wicked Part 1
Impaled: The Last Gasp
Impiety: Terroreign
Infernaeon: A Symphony of Suffering
Insomnium: Across the Dark
King Diamond: "Them"
Landmine Marathon: Sovereign Descent
Leif Edling: Songs of Torment, Songs of Joy
Lord Belial: Enter the Moonlight Gate
Luna Ad Noctum: Dimness' Profound
Morbid Angel: Altars of Madness
Motley Crue: Dr. Feelgood
My Dying Bride: For Lies I Sire
Naglfar: Pariah
Nihilist: 1987-1989
Nirvana 2002: Recordings '89-'91
Nocturnal Fear: Metal of Honor
Obituary: Xecutioner's Return
Opeth: Deliverance
Overkill: Ironbound
Pharaoh: Be Gone
Queensryche: The Warning
Razor of Occam: Homage to Martyrs
Satan's Host: Power, Purity, Perfection-999
Savatage: Hall of the Mountain King
Scorpions: Bad for Good: The Very Best of Scorpions
Sigh: Scenes from Hell
Sothis: De Oppresso Liber
Symphony X: Paradise Lost
Tad Morose: Modus Vivendi
The Lord Weird Slough Feg: Traveller
Twisted Tower Dire: Crest of the Martyrs
W.A.S.P.: The Last Command
W.A.S.P.: WASP

Metalsucks Steals My Idea

http://www.metalsucks.net/2010/01/25/i-am-the-blawg-metalsucks-new-non-specific-legal-advice-column-seriously/

The boys over at Metalsucks apparently brought on another blogger. An attorney who will discuss legal issues and music. Huh. Wonder if they saw my site. Probably not, but still very interesting. The name of the blog even takes the same Anthrax song I use in my secondary title. I feel ripped off.

The Other 522 Albums from Metalsucks

I was hoping that Metalsucks would do this: they released a list of every album that received votes. Looking through this list makes me wonder just what the fucking hell is wrong with some people. Let's see some of the highlights:

Isis, Oceanic – 98 POINTS: I suppose Isis is frequently considered metal, I'm not sure I agree, but at least they are closer than some of this shit. I feel like the rest of the world is crazy, like I'm in the Twilight Zone, because I rarely hear negative things about this band in the metal community. Is it me? Or is everyone else just fucking dumb?

The Dillinger Escape Plan, Miss Machine – 79 POINTS: See Isis. I don't understand what anyone sees in this band. They are just noisy, they are technical, but they couldn't write a memorable song to save their lives. NOT FUCKING METAL.

Celtic Frost, Monotheist – 72 POINTS: The swan song from this great, pioneering band. This is a vastly underrated album. It's good to see it get a little love. Truly one of the heaviest, most frightening albums I have ever heard.

Glassjaw, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Silence – 60 POINTS: Oh yeah, here we go. This band FUCKING SUCKS! And, to make matters worse, they helped usher in the current emo scene. What the fucking hell? NOT FUCKING METAL.

Dillinger Escape Plan, Ire Works – 56 POINTS: NOT FUCKING METAL. What the fuck do you not understand?

Slipknot, Iowa – 51 POINTS: NOT FUCKING METAL. My god.

Down, Down III – 46 POINTS: Great album by a great band. This deserved some merit. I would have had it, but it pales in comparison to their first album, which is just amazing.

Nile, Annihilation of the Wicked – 42 POINTS: Nile is a tough band to choose albums from. They are just so consistent that picking their best is almost impossible. This might have been my choice.

Thrice, Artist in the Ambulance – 38 POINTS: Are you fucking kidding me? NOT FUCKING METAL.

The Mars Volta, Deloused in the Comatorium – 37 POINTS: My god, do people not know what metal is? How does this fucking band get here? What the fucking hell? NOT FUCKING METAL.

Enslaved, Below the Lights – 34 POINTS: Okay, I'm okay. I'm breathing. This album contains Enslaved's best song.

The Crown, Crowned In Terror/Crowned Unholy - 31 POINTS: This is a great, often overlooked band. They are one of the great bands from the Swedish thrash scene. I'm surprised to see them here.

Avenged Sevenfold, Sounding the Seven Trumpets – 29 POINTS: I hate, Hate, HAte, HATe, HATE this fucking band! NOT FUCKING METAL.

Glassjaw, Worship & Tribute – 28 POINTS: Seriously? Did you not fucking learn up there? NOT FUCKING METAL.

Symphony X, The Odyssey – 28 POINTS: Hey it's an album from my list.

High on Fire, Death is this Communion – 24 POINTS: Very good album from an up and coming band. Doom and thrash thrown into a blender.

At the Drive-In, Relationship of Command – 22 POINTS: NOT FUCKING METAL. The precursor to The Mars Volta.

Andrew W.K., I Get Wet - 21 POINTS: Seriously? This is incomprehensible. It blows my mind. My mind is blown. NOT FUCKING METAL. NOT EVEN FUCKING CLOSE. MY GOD I AM SERIOUS, I DON'T FUCKING UNDERSTAND.

Behemoth, The Apostasy – 21 POINTS Behemoth, Demigod – 21 POINTS Behemoth, Zos Kia Cultus – 21 POINTS: Huh. Poor Behemoth. Great band, Zos Kia Cultus made my list.

Muse, Absolution – 21 POINTS: That smacking sound you just heard was me pounding my head into the wall. What do people not understand about "TOP METAL" albums? NOT FUCKING METAL.

Sunn O))), Flight of the Behemoth – 21 POINTS: I hate this band more than any other metal band, ever, EVER.

Thrice, The Alchemy Index Vol 1 – 21 POINTS: Really? NOT FUCKING METAL.

Swallow the Sun, The Morning Never Came – 18 POINTS: Hey, this made my list!

Rotting Christ, Theogonia – 18 POINTS: So did this!

The Darkness, Permission to Land – 17 POINTS: Where's my gun? NOT FUCKING METAL.

Coffins, Buried Death – 17 POINTS: This is way out of left field. Great death doom band frm Japan.

Insomnium, Above the Weeping World – 17 POINTS: Another one that made my list.

Grand Magus, Iron Will – 17 POINTS: Again.

Amon Amarth, With Oden on Our Side – 16 POINTS: Like Nile, just too hard to decide between the albums. I did not choose this one, but definitely considered it.

Bolt Thrower, Those Once Loyal – 16 POINTS: This barely missed my list.

Thrice, Vheissu – 15 POINTS: NOT FUCKING METAL. Again? Really?

Avenged Sevenfold, Waking the Fallen – 13 POINTS: WHAT THE FUCK?! NOT FUCKING METAL.

Melechesh, Emissaries – 13 POINTS: Great album, made my list.

Underoath, Lost in the Sound of Separation – 13 POINTS Underoath, The Changing of Times – 13 POINTS: EEEEEEEMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOO!

Goatwhore, The Eclipse of Ages into Black – 12 POINTS: Woo hoo! Goatwhore!

Diabolical Masquerade, Death’s Design - 11 POINTS: Such a bizarre album. The soundtrack to a movie that never came to fruition. Weird album, but entertaining.

Naglfar, Pariah – 11 POINTS: This made my list.

Akercocke, Words That Go Unspoken… – 10 POINTS: These guys are so weird, they're hilarious. The band plays blackened death metal, while wearing 19th Century English suits. You read that right.

Cold, 13 Ways to Bleed Onstage – 10 POINTS: NOT FUCKING METAL, although I used to love this album. Even saw the band live.

Horrorpops, Bring it On – 8 POINTS: WHO?! I haven't even fucking heard of this band. Just guessing: NOT FUCKING METAL.

Lacuna Coil, Karmacode – 7 POINTS: Terrible album by a formerly good band. Still, Cristina Scabbia is hot.

Horrorpops, Hell Yeah – 6 POINTS: Really? NOT FUCKING METAL.

iwrestledabearonce, It’s All Happening – 4 POINTS: First of all, NOT FUCKING METAL. Secondly, it wasn't even out when the people were voting. What the fuck, and it fucking sucks.

Opeth, Still Life – 3 POINTS: Okay, this is my favorite Opeth album, but it was released in 1999, not qualified.

Okay, that was fun. Now I'm done for a little while with this crap.

Finally: The Metalsucks Top 21, For Real

Oh, for fuck's sake. Here is the final list (after that ICP bullshit), complete with gripping commentary from yours truly. I own 11 of these albums, claim not to own one of these (my girlfriend knows which one), might have owned one, and used to own three of the others. That leaves five that I have not heard, and of those five, four are from bands I am fairly well familiar with. The only one off of this list that I have little to say about is the #5 album. So, my opinions are coming from an individual familiar enough with the list to completely detest it. Only one album from this list appeared on my own list, and that one (which is #3 here) was #21 on mine. My list is way better. Nyah!

21. Slipknot: Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses
And we start things off with a bang. First of all, NOT FUCKING METAL. Secondly, I was extremely skeptical about this list as soon as I read through the contributors, but this definitely proved that my concerns were well-founded. Even for a Slipknot album, this is horrendous. It was at this point that the band began incorporating radio friendly hard rock into their sound. I listened to this album a couple of times when I first got it (I used to listen to the band when I was younger) and I honestly hated this album. It collected dust for years and probably continues to do so downstairs. I will probably dig it out and sell it. Apparently people like this shit, they’re crazy.

20. Shadows Fall: The War Within

I actually discovered Shadows Fall randomly while working at Target. I was looking for something new to listen to and happened upon an album by the band for very cheap. It was not this album, but the preceding album. I really enjoyed it and started listening to the band. This album presents Shadows Fall at their greatest, nothing they have done since this album comes close to it. Shadows Fall has always been a little ahead of the metalcore scene because of their heavy melodeath and thrash influences. In recent years they have dropped the core, but this album is still their best. They were better when they combined their core influences and metal influences. Not many bands can say that.

19. Mastodon: Remission
Unfortunately, I have not heard this album. I don’t much care for Mastodon’s newer material, but this was their first full length. I did pick up their second album and did enjoy it. It is at least somewhat likely that this is a good enough album.

18. Lamb of God: New American Gospel
This is another band that I am familiar with, while not having heard this particular album. I like some of Lamb of God’s material, they do kind of blend Pantera-style groove metal with metalcore, and they do kind of have a tough-guy image, but the music is enjoyable enough, if not overly interesting.

17. Hatebreed: Perseverance
NOT FUCKING METAL. Hatebreed is a ridiculous tough-guy modern hardcore band. They have very few, if any, metal influences. And they write the same fucking album every goddamn time. There’s not a single thing interesting about this band. I used to own one of their albums (possibly this one, but I don’t fucking know because they’re all the fucking same), and it was boring as watching paint dry.

16. Machine Head: The Blackening
When I first got into Machine Head, they were playing a cross between groove metal and nu metal. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t the most interesting music. In looking farther back in their career, they started as a groove metal band and singer/guitarist Robb Flynn was previously in Bay Area thrash metal band Vio-Lence. On this album, Machine Head ditched metalcore and nu metal and went full on thrash. Apparently they’re kind of trendwhores. Oh well, this is a quality album and while I don’t love it, I like it quite a bit. It certainly did not make my list but it was a good enough album.

15. Nachtmystium: Assassins: Black Meddle, Pt. 1
This is kind of a weird one. Nachtmystium combines black metal, psychedelic rock, and post hardcore into a compelling mixture. The band was formerly a raw black metal band until they began incorporating more and more Pink Floyd influences. They are still one of the highlights of the American black metal scene. This is their most accessible album released thus far. It is an enjoyable album and I considered it for my top albums of 2008, but it just missed. Also, excellent use of a saxophone on a metal album.

14. System of a Down: Toxicity
NOT FUCKING METAL. I first discovered System of a Down back in high school. It was at that time that the nu metal wave hit. System of a Down, unfairly or not, were lumped in with that crowd. I will admit they play more of a hard rock style than nu metal, but still, they are not metal. I enjoyed their debut self-titled release, but this one immediately dashed any lingering enjoyment of the band. I just could never get into the album and I don’t see what other people see in it. To me, it’s the band’s descent into mediocrity.

13. Mastodon: Blood Mountain
I had just recently discovered this band when this album was released. I was pretty excited for the album because "The Wolf is Loose" is an awesome song. This was my first Mastodon album and it took several years before I would check out another. I like their heavier songs, but they play a lot of songs that do not keep the interest level quite as high. It’s an okay album, but it is highly overrated. There are a handful of good songs and some filler as well. It was on this album though that Mastodon started moving away from metal, which is a shame because Mastodon could have been the next great metal band. I’m talking about a level with Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Metallica, they were that good, at least on Leviathan.

12. Tool: Lateralus
NOT FUCKING METAL. Just like the above System of a Down album, this is the Tool album that convinced me this band was not fucking worth listening to anymore. I loved their Opiate EP and the Undertow album because both of those albums actually contained coherent songs. Aenima was where the band starting getting way too proggy and experimental for their own damn good. However, it still had some enjoyable songs on there. On this album, half of the fucking tracks are pure noise, there are maybe a couple of actual songs on there, and everything else is static. Awful, I sold this album.

11. Deftones: White Pony
NOT FUCKING METAL AT ALL. I can kind of understand thinking Hatebreed, Tool, System of a Down, and Slipknot are metal. I don’t like it, but I can kind of understand it. But, fucking DEFTONES???!!! My god. I never did understand what in the hell I was thinking when I bought this fucking album. It’s essentially a more aggressive post-hardcore album with maybe .5% metal influences at all. It’s also an extremely boring and pretentious piece of shit. Thank god I sold it.

10. Opeth: Ghost Reveries
This is one of my least favorite Opeth albums (not my least favorite, that title belongs to the all-prog-no-metal Damnation). It starts out great on "Ghost of Perdition", but as it goes on, the prog parts become much more drawn-out and meander a great deal more than on previous albums. The production is at its best on this album: it is crisp and clean and all of the instruments can be heard well. The songwriting just was not as good on this one as some of the band’s previous efforts. Not a bad album, just not as good as their earlier works.

9. Gojira: From Mars to Sirius
I’ve never been quite sure how to categorize this band. They play some sort of mix between death metal, thrash metal, and progressive metal. The album is heavier than hell, it really is. The riffs are extremely bass-heavy giving them massive bludgeoning power. The drums are pounding and the music in general is fairly slow to further emphasize the heaviness. The song "From the Sky" is one of the heaviest songs I have ever heard. Lyrically, the band is interested in eco themes. It is a very interesting album, but it can get a little tedious as it plods along. Still though, this was a fairly interesting choice for the list because it’s not as mainstream-friendly as many of the other bands. Mainstream, yes, but not as accessible.

8. In Flames: Clayman
In Flames was once one of my favorite bands. I thought about trying to get one of their albums into my list, but I could not justify choosing any of their albums of the 21st century over any of the albums in my list. My favorite In Flames albums came out in the 1990's. This album is not bad, but it is a step down from their prior album, Colony. I am not at all surprised to see In Flames make it on this list, I just would not have chosen them. I would have rather seen some of Dark Tranquillity’s work make it in opposed to this. Still though, I don’t have a problem with the choice.

7. Lamb of God: Ashes of the Wake
This was the first album I had heard by Lamb of God. Yes it’s kind of dumbed down groove metal in the vein of later Pantera with some metalcore influences thrown in. But, it is brutal, aggressive, and menacing. In that vein it’s certainly not a bad album. There are much worse albums out there, of course. This is the best I have heard from Lamb of God, but the band really isn’t doing much that Pantera hasn’t done before. There are much better albums out there as well, which makes the inclusion here a little dubious. Still though, at least it’s a decent enough album.

6. Killswitch Engage: The End of Heartache
This is pretty much the quintessential metalcore album. It features riffing influenced by Swedish melodeath bands, clean and rough vocal interplay, and breakdowns. As such, it is pretty much a no-brainer to make this incredibly mainstream list. It’s an enjoyable album, I will not try to deny it. It is catchy, with its pop-inflected chorus lines, and decent guitar riffs. It just gets a little old after awhile. I loved it when I first got it, but the novelty has worn off a little bit. I still listen to it occasionally, but not nearly as often as I did when I first bought it. The later releases from the band do not come close to matching this one, which further adds to its inability to stay relevant.

5. Converge: Jane Doe
NOT FUCKING METAL. I have neither heard this album, nor this band so I can’t really comment much on them. However, I know they are not metal and that they are greatly responsible for the endless wave of shit called metalcore that we are still dealing with. There are some good metalcore bands, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

4. Killswitch Engage: Alive or Just Breathing
This is the band’s debut release. I have not heard this album, but I have of course heard other albums by the band. This one is a little different though because Jesse Leach, not Howard Jones, is the singer. I have only heard him on a song on the Roadrunner United album and he is an impressive vocalist. I keep meaning to check this album out, but have not gotten around to it yet.

3. Opeth: Blackwater Park
At last, one we can agree on. This album reached my list, the very end of my list, but at least it was there. This is widely considered Opeth’s masterpiece. It’s not my favorite of their albums, but it is certainly up there. It is also the one qualifying album from the band that should be here. After this one, Opeth got a little too proggy and their quality suffered. This represents their best balancing act of the prog and extreme metal elements, however they were always better when they were not trying to balance the styles. They were better when they focused on the extreme metal aspect and threw in prog influences once in awhile. This is a great album and should be on the list. It just shouldn’t be this high.

2. Lamb of God: As the Palaces Burn
I’m not sure I can agree with any list of top metal albums that gives Lamb of God three fucking places. I have not heard this album, but I can’t imagine it’s that much different than Ashes of the Wake, the #7 album. Lamb of God is not a bad band, they just aren’t a great one. I’m not sure how they managed to be as lucky to have the success they do. Perhaps, people just desperately wanted another Pantera. I can’t imagine why.

1. Mastodon: Leviathan
As mentioned earlier, this is a great album and I won’t dispute that. It is a little uneven in places and there are tracks here that I don’t really care for, which is why it did not make my list, but there are some other great tracks that help to make up for the misses. If Mastodon had built on this album and continued to develop the heavier stuff, then they probably would be considered the next really big metal band. However, they built upon the more progressive parts and started to move away from metal on their next album. By the time Crack the Skye was released, most of the band’s metal elements had already been stripped away. There are moments that still show the band’s metal influences but they are now few and far between. But that doesn’t affect the enjoyment of this album which is a very good album. Now, I wouldn’t consider it one of the best of the 21st century, but for a mainstream metal album, I suppose it would qualify.

Ha Ha Ha

http://www.metalsucks.net/2009/07/07/1-insane-clown-posse-bizzarbizaar/

Well, I had the whole post written and ready to go, just waiting for the #1 album to be announced today and those bastards over there ruined it by naming Insane Clown Posse's double album released in 2000 #1. So now, my post dealing at length with the choices is going to have to wait until they release THE REAL #1. Bastards. Fuck.

Metalsucks Top 21 Albums of the 21st Century Ends Tomorrow

About fucking time. I've been waiting with baited breath for them to get this thing over with. I have a post ready to discuss their entire list detailing my feelings on this horrendous hack job, which will be posted after their #1 album is posted tomorrow. For now though, let's look at the list:

21. Slipknot: Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses
20. Shadows Fall: The War Within
19. Mastodon: Remission
18. Lamb of God: New American Gospel
17. Hatebreed: Perseverance
16. Machine Head: The Blackening
15. Nachtmystium: Assassins: Black Meddle, Pt. 1
14. System of a Down: Toxicity
13. Mastodon: Blood Mountain
12. Tool: Lateralus
11. Deftones: White Pony
10. Opeth: Ghost Reveries
9. Gojira: From Mars to Sirius
8. In Flames: Clayman
7. Lamb of God: Ashes of the Wake
6. Killswitch Engage: The End of Heartache
5. Converge: Jane Doe
4. Killswitch Engage: Alive or Just Breathing
3. Opeth: Blackwater Park
2. Lamb of God: As the Palaces Burn

#1 will most likely be Mastodon: Leviathan. Tune in tomorrow for my angry rant.

Metallattorney's Top Album of the 21st Century So Far: Destroyer 666: Cold Steel...For an Iron Age

Cold Steel is pretty much a perfect album. It is fast, intense, and aggressive and most of all, incredibly infectious. Destroyer 666 really outdid themselves on this album and they created an album that should go down as a classic in the heavy metal genre if there were any justice in the world. This album is amazing from beginning to end, but it does not get the respect it deserves because of the relative obscurity of this band. It’s a shame.

Destroyer 666 started out as a side project for K.K. Warslut of Bestial Warlust. It quickly evolved into its own entity, crushing everything in its path along the way. The band started as a relatively straightforward black metal band with occasional death metal influences. In other words, fairly similar to Warslut’s main band at the time and fellow Australian countrymen Abominator. As the band continued, more and more death metal influences began to show through, then even later strong thrash elements also presented themselves. Each D666 album is a little different from the previous one and this album is by far the band’s thrashiest, while still retaining some of their death and black metal influences.

This album features Destroyer 666 at their most stripped-down, aggressive, and razor-sharp. Everything about the album is tight and punchy and powerful. The band has discarded much of their grandiose, epic black metal in favor of a more simple thrash attack. Each of the individual elements are spectacular in their own way, but collectively, they add up to one extremely powerful listening experience.

Of course, the guitars are the most important aspect of the band. Shrapnel and Warslut play razor-sharp, jagged thrash metal riffs with the occasional tremolo line. The riffs come at the listener in a blinding fury. The blazing leads and solos coming out of nowhere are the true highlight of the album. The music will be very loud and workmanlike, when all of a sudden, a Slayer-esque solo will reach out and grab the listener’s attention. The leads on "Cold Steel" are particularly interesting, providing all of the melody, which is almost spine-tingling in the otherwise dark song. The riffs on "Raped" are very interesting, they have an unsettling feel, as if the composition of the riff is not quite right. It fits well with the song’s topic.

Warslut’s vocals mostly consist of a black metal rasp, although he has a couple of different pitches. He has a more high pitched rasp and a deeper, huskier growling rasp. The gang shouts that appear in some places further add to the dark and evil atmosphere of the music, while also making it seem a little more fun, particularly the spooky harmonic vocals on "The Calling". The lyrics are fairly simple, standard Satanic, anti-Christian, and warfare themes. The band does not feature great lyrics, with a couple of exceptions: "The Calling" and "Savage Pitch", but that’s not really the point of D666.

Mersus’s drumming is very prevalent in the mix. He is frequently pounding away, keeping the beat, but occasionally provides some nice fills when the riffs are repeating, especially on "Sons of Perdition". The drums are most interesting on "Cold Steel" where they really drive the song, pounding away and providing the energetic backbone of the powerful track. Berserker’s bass is audible, but for the most part he is playing the same riffs as the guitarists.

Some of the songs stand out for varying reasons. "Black City-Black Fire" opens up the album with a bang and sets the intensity level for the rest of the album. The band’s energy level never really wavers from this. "Cold Steel" slows things down at first, but keeps the intensity high. "Sons of Perdition" immediately speeds things back up after the cold, dark atmosphere of the previous track. "Raped" is a little more of a straightforward thrash metal song, with very few, if any, black metal influences. "The Calling" is perhaps the best song on the album. It also starts out slowly, building into a frightening frenzy. Once it does, it features the best leads, drums and vocals on the album, as well as the best interplay between the elements. "Savage Pitch" once again picks the pace back up, and the band does not relent until the end of the album, pausing only to provide unsettling vocal samples to close out the song "Witch Hunter". The band then works itself into a frenzy before fading out to end the album on "Shadow".

As for the flaws: there really are not any, other than things that have little or nothing to do with what is present on the album. The cover art is not very good, but reportedly the band did not approve it before the record company put it out, so they had no say in it. The album is a little on the short side, clocking in at barely over 35 minutes, but this is perfect length for such an album. It should not be too long and it should not be too short, and this album is just about right.

I bought this album after having heard the band’s name thrown around quite a bit on the Encyclopedia Metallum forums as a band to check out. I found this album at a used music store for fairly cheap. Not having actually heard the band, I decided to check them out anyway. It ranks as one of my best all time buys. This album quickly became one of my absolute favorites and I have checked out virtually everything else by this band I can find. None of the rest of their albums have quite the same explosiveness and power as this album. This truly should be a classic, not just for the band, not just for the scene, but the metal genre as a whole.

Metallattorney's Top 21 Albums of the 21st Century So Far Pt. 5

Well, I have passed Metalsucks now. They won't reveal their number 5 selection until next Tuesday. I will present numbers 5-2. Tomorrow (possibly) I will provide my number 1 album of the 21st Century so far, and it's not likely to be beaten out.

But, for now, here are the rest of the Top 5:

#5. BEHEMOTH: ZOS KIA CULTUS
Behemoth has had a stellar career despite a dramatic shift in style. This album is probably the best example of their more death metal oriented music, although it still contains many traces of their black metal past. Behemoth is at their best on this album, mixing ferocious riffs and intriguing melodies into an atmosphere that can only be described as “evil incarnate.” This is the band’s best work to date.

#4. AMON AMARTH: THE CRUSHER
Amon Amarth, like Behemoth, has never put out a weak album. Unlike Behemoth though, Amon Amarth has never greatly changed their sound. They have always been a melodic death metal band with a big emphasis on the death metal part. The vocals are always harsh, the riffs are always razor-sharp, and the songs are always catchy as hell. The band sticks fairly close to lyrical themes of Vikings, Nordic mythology, and ancient warfare and they even look the part. Don’t call them Viking metal though as the band only shares the lyrical theme in common with that sub-genre. It’s difficult to pinpoint their best album, any of them would fit. I’ll just go with this one because it is just a tad bit more aggressive.

#3. SWALLOW THE SUN: THE MORNING NEVER CAME
In my eyes, this album is the pinnacle of death/doom. Extremely melancholic, but with some very heavy riffs. This is one of those occasions where the album cover art clearly fits with the mood of the album: dark and dreary. The vocals are typically delivered in a very deep death metal growl, but that is where most of the death metal elements end. There are some clean vocals once in awhile. The music is slow and depressing with melodic leads and booming drums. No other death/doom album comes close to this one. The cover of the Candlemass classic “Solitude” is amazing as well.

#2. IMMOLATION: SHADOWS IN THE LIGHT
Immolation was one of the more evil early death metal bands. Their lyrical themes are explicitly anti-Christian and their sound is like a sludgier, more jagged and rough version of Morbid Angel. This album proves that this band keeps getting better as they go along. They have incorporated more melodies into their sickening brand of death metal, without any cost to their normal brutality. Immolation has been very consistent in their career and every album is worth owning.

That's it for today, tomorrow will be #1.

Metallattorney's Top 21 of the 21st Century So Far Pt. 4

Here is the next set of albums:

#9. INSOMNIUM: ABOVE THE WEEPING WORLD
Insomnium is part of a newer wave of melodic death metal bands coming from Finland, along with Mors Principium Est and Omnnium Gatherum. Insomnium is the best of the bunch. The band combines melodic death metal with death/doom influences from fellow Finns Swallow the Sun. The resulting sound is heavy, yet somber and melodic. It’s slower and not as aggressive, but the atmosphere is often extremely heavy and emotional. Truly a heartbreaking album to listen to, but amazing nonetheless.

#8. KAMELOT: THE BLACK HALO
Kamelot is a very talented and melodic power metal band from the United States. This album came when the band was able to balance their sense of melodicism with aggression and power. It is widely hailed as a classic of the genre, and I agree. This is Kamelot at their best. After this album, they would go a little too soft. They are still not a bad band, but they were better when this album came out. A very catchy and enjoyable release.

#7. ROTTING CHRIST: THEOGONIA
This album was discussed earlier in a post on Rotting Christ’s discography. This album blends gothic metal and black metal elements and throws in some Greek folk elements. It is one of the catchiest albums I have ever heard and is destined to be a classic album from this underrated band. Rotting Christ has gotten a lot of flack from their name and many people refuse to check them out for this reason. These people are missing out on a truly original and interesting band.

#6. SYMPHONY X: THE ODYSSEY
This album was a blind buy for me. I saw that the band did a concept album on Homer’s The Odyssey and decided to check them out. I am very glad I did. The band plays progressive power metal more in the vein of Iced Earth meets Dream Theater with a little more aggression. The album is consistently good throughout, but reaches it’s high point on the sprawling epic 20+ minute closer “The Odyssey”.

Metallattorney's Top 21 Albums of the 21st Century So Far Pt. 3

Here are numbers 13-10.

#13. THORNAFIRE: EXACERBATED GNOSTIC MANIFESTATION
Thornafire is a young death metal band rising out of Santiago, Chile. The band has a very old school death metal sound. They mix influences from bands such as Death, Immolation, Incantation, and Morbid Angel. The mix provides a brutal, aggressive, yet somewhat sludgy take on death metal. Thornafire is one of my favorite newer bands and I am anxiously awaiting their next album.

#12. MELECHESH: EMISSARIES
Melechesh was discussed fairly recently on this blog on the folk metal post. This is truly one of my favorite albums and it continues to grow on me. The Israeli extreme metal band had been experimenting with their signature sound for years prior to this album. This album was when the pieces all fit together.

#11. WINTERSUN: WINTERSUN
Finland’s Wintersun was also discussed in the folk metal post on this blog. The music here is fast and very melodic. The vocals are typically delivered in a harsh, Gothenburg-inspired style, but do include the occasional clean parts. Jari Maenpaa was the principal songwriter and guitarist for folk metal icons Ensiferum prior to leaving the band and forming Wintersun. He brings his considerable abilities to this band.

#10. NAGLFAR: PARIAH
I admit, I’m a bit of a sucker for a good melodic black metal album. This one is quite good. The music is heavy, featuring blast beats, tremolo riffs, blazing guitar solos, and raspy vocals. The choruses are surprisingly catchy for this type of music and the lyrics can be heard pretty well. Naglfar does not deal with Satanism and other more cliche lyrical topics of black metal.

More to come tomorrow.

Metallattorney's Top 21 Albums of the 21st Century So Far Pt. 2

I will get through this faster than Metalsucks which just now released #11 yesterday (which was a horrendous choice by the way, their list keeps getting worse). Here are the next four albums in my list:

#17. AMORPHIS: SILENT WATERS

Amorphis has long been one of my favorite bands. However, during the early 2000's, their singer began going through the motions. It showed in the band as they began to look and sound tired. The singer was dispatched and I thought for sure the band was done. I was wrong. Tomi Joutsen re-energized the band. This album is their best in years. It is melodic, emotional, and beautiful. When’s the last time anyone has said that about a metal album?

#16. GRAND MAGUS: IRON WILL

This album is a terrific mix of traditional styles of metal, including doom and early power metal influences. The songs are extremely catchy, with great choruses, but never skimp on the aggression. This album made an immediate impact on me and I listen to it frequently. It’s metal the way it should be.

#15. AHAB: THE CALL OF THE WRETCHED SEA

I admit, I am not incredibly well-versed in funeral doom metal, but I know what I like and I really like this album. The music is lumbering and slow, and it fills the listener with dread as it tells the story of Moby Dick. I have previously reviewed this album on this blog, so I won’t say much about it now.

#14. SKELETONWITCH: BEYOND THE PERMAFROST

Skeletonwitch is a band that arose as a result of the new wave of more traditional sounding metal bands. The band combines early thrash and black metal influences with some elements of the NWOBHM as well. The resulting music is fast, with catchy riffs and raspy vocals. The band essentially sounds like an amalgam of early Sodom, Venom, Dark Angel, and Slayer, with a little Iron Maiden thrown in for good measure. It’s an impressive mixture of sounds. Definitely a band to watch.


More to come tomorrow.

Metallattorney's Top 21 Albums of the 21st Century So Far

Metalsucks is slowly revealing one album each weekday, so it will be a little while before I will post about their whole list, and what a depressing list it is so far. I won't provide any details or opinions here but, my god. So here is my list. I will reveal four albums each day this week and if I get to a post on Saturday, I will reveal my winner. These are my favorite albums in the 21st Century (since January 1, 2000, which Metalsucks determined, not me), if anyone has any differing opinions, I would be willing to hear them. If anyone doesn't like any of my opinions, fuck you, it's my site and I don't care.

So, without further ado:

#21. OPETH: BLACKWATER PARK
Opeth is not one of my favorite bands, although I do enjoy them quite a bit. This album is largely considered their masterpiece. I don't agree, but my favorite came before 2000. This is a great album though and effectively mixes their melodic side with their more extreme side. It is one of their better albums at keeping the listener's attention all the way through. Many of the other albums tend to get a little boring. On this album, Opeth provides very interesting riffs, exceptional lead guitar melodies, and the amazing vocals of Mikael Akerfeldt. The extreme parts outweigh the more melodic parts, but that is how I have always liked the band. A great album by a very interesting band.

#20. INTO ETERNITY: THE SCATTERING OF ASHES
Into Eternity is another progressive metal band, but they play considerably faster and blend influences from power metal, death metal, and progressive metal. The lyrics can be a little emo-ish, but the vocals are amazing. There are three different vocal styles present on this album: melodic clean vocals, death metal style growling, and high-pitched raspy vocals. The three styles often hit from all sides at the same time. The music is generally upbeat despite the nature of the lyrics. All in all, a great album by an up and coming band.

#19. SCAR SYMMETRY: PITCH BLACK PROGRESS
Scar Symmetry is similar to Into Eternity, but with more death metal elements and existing more on the Gothenburg/melodic death metal spectrum. Scar Symmetry had only one vocalist, who just recently left the band, who possessed the ability to sing in a very powerful clean style and deliver an impressive death metal growl. He switches between the styles effortlessly. The music is infectious and melodic, still possessing melodeath elements, but decidedly more musical and with frequent keyboard usage. An impressive release from a band who could have been huge had their vocalist stayed onboard. The bonus tracks are actually the best songs on the album.

#18. BEHEMOTH: DEMIGOD
Behemoth was previously a black metal band from Poland. By this time, the band had shed much of its black metal influences and become more of a death metal band. The music has a sinister atmosphere, almost Middle Eastern sounding. Nergal has some of the deepest vocals in the genre, particularly on this release. This album helped to propel the band into the mainstream despite its inaccessibility. Fairly impressive for this type of band.

MetalSucks Presents the Top 21 Albums of the 21st Century

It's a pretty interesting idea, but I have my concerns with the way this list is going to turn out. I will probably have some follow-up posts about it, but this is the list of people they polled:

Chris Adler, Lamb of God
Dan And, Bison B.C.
Ben Apatoff, Apatoff for Destruction/Metal Injection
Jason Bittner, Shadows Fall
Tim Brennan, Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
Freddy Cai, Painkiller Magazine
Ian Christe, Bazillion Points
Reverend David J. Ciancio, Yeah! Management
Betsey Cichoracki, Relapse Records
Paul Conroy, Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
J. Costa, Thy Will Be Done
Dallas Coyle, ex-God Forbid/Coyle Media
Doc Coyle, God Forbid
CT, Rwake
Anso DF, MetalSucks/Hipsters Out of Metal!
Vince Edwards, Metal Blade Records
Charles Elliott, Abysmal Dawn/Nuclear Blast Records
Brian Fair, Shadows Fall
Leo Ferrante, Warner Music Group
D.X. Ferris, author 33 1/3: Reign in Blood/Freelance Journalist
Mike Gitter, Roadrunner Records
Nick Green, Decibel
Matt Grenier, August Burns Red
Anthony Guzzardo, Earache Records
Kevin Hufnagel, Dysrhythmia
Mark Hunter, Chimaira
Steve Joh, Century Media
EJ Johantgen, Prosthetic Records
Kim Kelly, Metal Injection
Josh “The J” Key, Psychostick
Jason Lekberg, Epic Records
Eyal Levi, Daath
Bob Lugowe, Relapse Records
Matt McChesney, The Autumn Offering
Jake McReynolds, Psychostick
Marc Meltzer, The Syndicate
Josh Middleton, Sylosis
Matt Moore, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder
Vince Neilstein, MetalSucks
Sammy O’Hagar, MetalSucks
Anton OyVey, MetalSucks/Bacon Jew
Rob Pasbani, Metal Injection
Alex Preiss, Psychostick
Carlos Ramirez, NoiseCreep/NetReach
Brian Rocha, Fresno Media USA
Jeremy Rosen, Roadrunner Records
Axl Rosenberg, MetalSucks
Satan Rosenbloom, MetalSucks/Cerebral Metalhead
David Bee Roth, MetalSucks
Jason Rudolph, Heavy Hitter, Inc.
Amy Sciarretto, Roadrunner Records/NoiseCreep
Carl Severson, Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
Gary Suarez, MetalSucks/No Yoko No/Brainwashed
Geoff Summers, The End Records/Crustcake
Bram Teitelman, The Syndicate/Metal Insider
Alisha Turull, Heavy Hitter, Inc.
Christopher R. Weingarten, 1000TimesYes/Freelance Journalist

There are a lot of very mainstream metal bands in that list, and some bands, like three fucking members of Psychostick, who are pretty far removed from metal. They also talk to people from such shitty labels as Ferret (well-known hardcore label) and Roadrunner (I have already made my feelings about this label known). I will comment at length after all 21 have been revealed, and possibly once in awhile if the selection is particularly obnoxious, or good, who knows I may feel generous. For now though, after two selections were revealed, I am right to be discouraged. Slipknot was #21 and Shadows Fall #20. Shadows Fall is a much better pick than Slipknot, but still not a great one.