Compilations: Terrorizer Fear Candy 82

Partway through the drive to our vacation destination last week, I lamented the fact that I did not bring a metal magazine with me. I had intended to pick one up prior to the trip but never got around to it as the preparations were fairly hectic. My fiancee also wanted to pick up a horse magazine, so we found a Hastings in Bozeman, Montana and each grabbed our magazines, a book each, and I picked up the Bonded by Blood and Defeated Sanity CDs. The magazine I bought was the newish Terrorizer with Grand Magus on the cover. Here's the sampler runthrough:

KILLING JOKE: "END GAME"
I kind of like Killing Joke. I had one of their albums a long time back, that I no longer listen to and probably got rid of. They are not a metal band, but rather a hardcore band from the early 1980's that experimented with some industrial elements. They are so old that Metallica covered them on one of their cover EPs in the 1980's. This song is okay, but does not make me want to try to find my old Killing Joke album.

GRAND MAGUS: "I, THE JURY"
Hey, I like the title. I have my first jury trial coming up soon. Probably. I really want to find this album but none of the stores I have been to recently have carried it. It's possible that it is not out in the U.S. yet I suppose. Grand Magus is a great band, sounding like old doom metal bands. A great retro-sounding traditional metal band. I am very much looking forward to this one. Their last album was my album of the year in 2008.

OCTOBER FILE: "ISOLATION"
This sounds a bit like Motorhead with a death metal singer. It's not too bad actually. I like the riffs and the vocals sound pretty good along with it. It's pretty catchy. I may check into this band a little bit.

DANZIG: "ON A WICKED NIGHT"
I already own this album and found it to be something of a return to form for Danzig. This is not one of my favorite songs from the new album, but it is a good one. It's a bit slower, but Danzig's voice sounds really good on this track.

DEAD BEYOND BURIED: "FUNERAL OF THE CURSED MEN"
This is modern death metal with lots of blasting. Modern death metal has suffered some in recent years. The band sounds like they're trying to sound like Apophis, a criminally-underrated death metal band, but does not quite pull it off. It's a little too extreme.

DEMIURG: "LIFE IS A COMA"
I'm drawing a blank here. I'm pretty sure this is a side project or something from Sweden. Possibly involving Dan Swano. Because he's involved in everything. Anyway, this is melodic death metal in the vein of older In Flames or Dark Tranquillity, before they became too pop-oriented, with a little Dismember/Entombed thrown in. It's pretty good and I will have to check into them more.

WHITECHAPEL: "THE DARKEST DAY OF MAN"
One of the better deathcore bands, which doesn't mean I actually like them that well. Deathcore is built on excessive brutality. This band is no exception, but they are still interesting enough to not be totally unlistenable.

SOILWORK: "TWO LIVES WORTH OF RECKONING"
I know Kelly over at Full Metal Attorney is a big Soilwork fan and I like some of their material too. But nothing after Figure Number Five. This actually sounds a little better than the Peter Wichers-less version of the band. Still not interesting enough for me to go back to the band though.

LIMBONIC ART: "CRYPT OF BEREAVEMENT"
Limbonic Art is a black metal band. Plain and simple, nothing much more to it. The production on this song is terrible, I had to turn it way up to hear what was going on. But the music is good, they're actually from the second wave, I think. They still have that sound too, which is rare.

OLD CORPSE ROAD: "THE WITCH OF WOOKEY HOLE"
That's a terrible song name. Hopefully that's actually a legend or something, because if the band came up with that on their own, they should be shot. The music is actually really good, black metal with death influences. The vocals sound good too. I actually really like this song after hearing it. It's a little like Ancient, with some of the same absurdities that band is known for. The title is still fucking dumb though.

KVERLERTAK: "MJOD"
Kelly loved this band, so I am glad I have a chance to hear a sample. It's definitely sludge metal which I always thought of as an American phenomenon. Damn Europeans copying us. Just kidding. This sounds pretty good. After enjoying Baroness so much, I may look into these guys.

NEKROMANTHEON: "DEVOLUTIONARY STORMS"
Fast, modern thrash metal. Nothing too terribly interesting here and instantly forgettable.

ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST: "MOOTZ OV OPHEN"
It was only a matter of time until that name was used by a metal band. The music is pretty good though, some kind of crossover-style music. The song is kind of fun and infectious.

EMINENT SCUM: "FASCIST FASHION"
I'm pretty sure this is a woman screaming. The vocals are terrible. It makes the song unlistenable. I can't even describe the music, because the vocals completely take the attention away. It's mercifully short though.

CHRONOCIDE: "DROWNING THE INNOCENT"
Essentially hardcore with some metal influences. I don't care much for this at all.

SHRAPNEL: "WARHEAD"
With a name like this, I was definitely expecting some thrash metal. Thankfully I got it. It's a great way to close this album out with a strong song. Excellent old school thrash vibe here.

Compilations: Terrorizer Fear Candy 65

Okay, I'm pumped and ready. Let's do this bitch.

TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED: "THE GREAT DEPRESSION"
Surprisingly competent deathcore. I'm not a big fan of the genre but this is brutal enough that I wouldn't mind listening to it. Even moreso than Through the Eyes of the Dead, a deathcore band I do like.

COBALT: "ARSONRY"
Already own the album and think it's brilliant. No need to go into detail.

GENERAL SURGERY: "NECROTICISM"
Obviously by the name of the song, this is pure Carcass worship. I like Carcass so I enjoy this a little bit. Probably not quite enough to check it out, since I can always listen to Carcass.

INSECT WARFARE: "MANIPULATOR"
Pure grindcore. Not my cup of tea in general. Not bad though.

SPOONFUL OF VICODIN: "PAVED PARADISE"
This song could not be more annoying if it tried. Starting off with a sample from "Spoonful of Sugar" and leaping into grindcore. At least it's only 47 seconds long.

SAMAEL: "BLACK HOLE"
This is Samael's return to black metal and it's awesome. I already own this album, so I don't need to say much more than that.

SVARTTJERN: "CODE HUMAN"
I had never heard of this band before, but man this is a good song. It's blackened death with some thrash metal and really primal vocals. I was expecting folk metal, this is better. I may have to try to find this.

CATTLE DECAPITATION: "A BODY FARM"
Everyone's favorite vegetarian grindcore heroes return with another satiric look at humanity. Is it odd that I'm more offended by vegetarian/PETA members than I am by any given Satanic black metal band or the vaguely racist Arghoslent? Anyway, decent music though.

THE FACELESS: "COLDLY CALCULATED DESIGN"
The Faceless emerged out of the murky deathcore scene to grab people's attention for their technical mastery. They are quite good at that. Not my favorite type of death metal, but it's okay. I'd still rather listen to Origin, Decrepit Birth, Necrophagist, or Mithras though.

TRIBULATION: "CURSE OF RESURRECTION"
Already own this one. Three words: Swedish death metal. Awesome band.

MANTIC RITUAL: "ONE BY ONE"
I already own this one too. One of the neo-thrash metal bands. They're pretty good and are trying to emulate Metallica and Testament more than any other bands.

DYSCARNATE: "FUELLING THE IGNORANCE"
Pretty lo-fi death metal. The production mars what is otherwise a pretty decent-sounding song. Too bad.

NEKROSIS: "ONLY THE DEAD"
Some decent slam/brutal death metal going on here. I like this pretty well. Not terribly familiar with Nekrosis though.

IGNOMINIOUS INCARCERATION: "DEEDS OF DAYS LONG GONE"
This is somewhat technical death metal with lots of guitar sweeps. It also has some melodeath moments. It's okay, but nothing really special. I would need to hear something else before deciding whether to check them out.

TORTURE KILLER: "I BATHE IN THEIR BLOOD"
Finnish death metal band that uses some occasional thrash metal riffs. They used to be fronted by ex-Cannibal Corpse growler Chris Barnes. That has since changed and it's good that the band is trying to forge it's own identity. This is pretty good old school stuff.

CRIMFALL: "WILD FIRE SEASON"
Excellent folk metal of the more Eastern European variety. This is catchy and really good. It features a lot of string arrangements as well. I may have to check this band out.

DAY OF THE BEAST: "PREDATOR'S PATH"
This is some more old school-sounding death metal. Always a good thing. I am intrigued.

KONKHRA: "RELIGION IS A WHORE"
That's quite the song title. This is more of a modern death metal song with some very heavy groove elements. It's pretty decent and definitely gets the blood pumping. I kind of like it.

MY SILENT WAKE: "CRUEL GRAY SKIES"
I can't really tell. It started off with a long sample and then seemed to move into stoner metal. Then it delved into gothic metal territory. The guitar melodies often have a post-metal sound to them. I guess after fully listening, they sound like a cross between My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost. Not bad, just a lot to digest.

ZOMBI: "SPIRIT ANIMAL"
And we finish things off with a mostly ambient track. No thanks.

Various Artists: Fear Candy 69

I have a stack of sampler CDs sitting around collecting dust. As such, I have many more various artists compilations posts in the coming weeks.

This is Terrorizer's Fear Candy #69.

OBITUARY: "LIST OF DEAD"
I was not totally impressed with the latest album by Obituary, but this is the best song on it. Still has that dirty groove that Obituary is known for. Great song. I own the album.

ARTILLERY: "10,000 DEVILS"
I own this album too. Artillery's return was one of the best comebacks from the 1980's thrash wave. This song is great and the album is better.

BONE GNAWER: "CANNIBAL COOKOUT"
Bone Gnawer is the band formed by Kam Lee after leaving Denial Fiend. Lee has one of the best voices in death metal and he brings it to this intense death metal band. This song seriously sounds great. I would pick up this album.

ANAAL NATHRAKH: "THE LUCIFER EFFECT"
Easily one of the most intense bands in metal today. Anaal Nathrakh performs industrialized black metal and they play fast as fuck. Strangely I have not really done much checking into this band. That should probably change soon.

: "THE RATTLE OF BLACK TEETH"
I'm not totally sure what to describe this as. It seems to have some hardcore elements, some death metal elements, and some other stuff. It features good cop/bad cop vocals, and I don't think I particularly care for it.

NECROPHOBIC: "LA SANTISMA MUERTE"
Dirty, raw, and occult death metal. I love this stuff. Necrophobic has been on my list to check out for awhile. Here's the reason why.

ARGHARUS: "PLEISTAS"
I already own the album by this Lithuanian raw pagan black metal act. Good song, better album. This is easily the best song off of the album.

DEVOURMENT: "FED TO THE PIGS"
A little slam in this thing. I already own this album too, but this song is one of the best off of it.

INGESTED: "SKINNED AND FUCKED"
More slam, excellent. This band is more of a borderline band though between slam and more ordinary brutal death metal. No complaints here. The ever-present blast beats sound great. This is a decent song, I may look into them some more.

BLEED FROM WITHIN: "SERVANTS OF DIVINITY"
This sounds like a band combining hardcore with The Black Dahlia Murder. The riffs are okay, but not something we haven't heard before. The vocals sound exactly like The Black Dahlia Murder. I would prefer TBDM personally.

KORPIKLAANI: "VODKA"
More drinking metal from the masters. They've taken a step beyond beer on this one. The folk metal band sounds a little like Ensiferum, but more fun. Kind of like Finntroll. Not bad at all. Good drinking music, excellent for a wedding...

SWASHBUCKLE: "CRUISE SHIP TERROR"
Two self-described pirate metal bands emerged in the last few years. Swashbuckle is a little better musically, if only because I much prefer thrash to power metal. Funny stuff.

VIATROPHY: "SEAS OF STORM"
This is almost mechanical-sounding death metal. I was actually somewhat surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Especially as it seemed to meander towards metalcore in the later moments. Still not too bad.

AFTER ALL: "MY OWN SACRIFICE"
Definitely metalcore. No thanks.

MENA BRINNO: "COURT ME"
I was very surprised by this one too. It has a traditional metal sound and is driven by fantastic guitar leads and solos. It also features a sweetly-voiced female singer. The proceedings under the singer are a little more gothic-tinged, but this is still a decent enough song. I would need to hear more before making a decision.

Compilations: Terrorizer Fear Candy 78

This was the free CD sampler included with the most recent issue of Terrorizer with Varg Vikernes on the cover. This is the first chance I have had to listen to it. They did things differently this time, combining the signed bands and the unsigned bands on one CD. Interesting idea. I guess we're supposed to vote for our favorite unsigned band too.

ABSCESS
I don't know a lot about this band yet. Every time I see their name though, there is some mention of Autopsy, so members of that band must be involved here. Musically, this sounds like Autopsy, doom-laden, dirty and raw death metal with punk influences. This is really good. I will have to check this band out further. According to Wikipedia, yes members of Autopsy are involved and the band has been around for quite awhile. Not sure how I slept on that one.

UNLEASHED
I already own this album and love it. I do not have anythign to add. Unleashed is a great Swedish death metal band.

IMMOLATION
I also already own this album and like it even more than the Unleashed album. Nothing more to add.

KRUGER
This is an odd track that combines a variety of influences from hardcore, sludge metal, stoner rock, and death metal. It's kind of like Maston meets Death. It's not too bad really. I would be interested in hearing something more from the band before making up my mind though.

NOCTIFERIA
With a name like that, this has to be black metal. It is, sort of. There are also some major folk influences involved here. It's very raw. I don't know how to feel about this. I don't think I like it much. Apparently they're from Slovenia. Interesting.

ABADDEN
First of all, fire your sound guy. I had to turn this way up to hear it. What I heard was old-school sounding death/thrash metal. The musicians are all very good and the vocals are impressive. This band sounds a lot like older Possessed with a little more distortion and some Exodus thrown in for good measure. It's quite good, if you can hear it.

CARACH ANGREN
This band has made a little bit of a name for themselves recently. They play melodic black metal in the vein of Dimmu Borgir's early work. There's a lot of backlash against this genre lately. I don't mind it when it's done right. These guys all seem like capable musicians. I like this pretty well. The symphonic parts do tend to overload the sound a little and it does kind of lose things at the end, but those are the only negatives.

AT THE SOUNDAWN
I don't care much for this. It's post-rock/metal I suppose, sounding like Neurosis, Isis, and all of their copycats. I don't have much use for this style of music.

Now we get to the unsigned bands. Who's deserving of a record deal? Who's deserving of being an unsigned band? The gripping conclusion in a few paragraphs. I bet you can't wait.

THE UNSIGNED EDITION
DAYLIGHT MISERY
Prediction: death/doom. I appear to be correct. Very slow, melodic, but with death metal-style vocals. There are even some gothic metal elements. This is pretty decent. When I was in my Tristania/Nightwish phase, I would have fucking loved this. Now, I like it okay. It's interesting enough to hold the attention. I'm not sure I would buy an entire album like this, but the band is worth looking into.

BLODSGARD
Prediction: black metal. I'm two for two. The band seems very influenced by Dissection and other groups of their death metal-influenced black metal ilk. The drums pound away while the guitars are playing a slower circling riff. I like stuff like this. I would like to hear more.

UNHOLY RITUAL
Prediction: blackened death metal. We have tremolo riffs, pounding drums, and deep growled vocals. Yep, I'm three for three. This is actually fairly melodic, with frequent keyboard passages to calm things down from the harsh vocals. I like it quite well.

MORGUE ORGY
Prediction: death/grind. Well it's definitely death metal, not so much grind though. We'll call it 3.5/4.0. This sounds like a less well-produced Deicide without some of the speed. It even has similar layered vocals. It does have lots of keyboard parts which sound a little off. Not bad, work on the production and this could be pretty good.

HERE LIES AFFLICTION
Prediction: deathcore. This was predicted based on the really stupid band name. And correct again. The problem I have with deathcore is there is just not much originality in it. All the bands pretty much sound the same. I can't tell if this is good deathcore or bad deathcore. The breakdown is pretty annoying.

ORAKAI
Prediction: blackened folk metal. Damn, I missed one. This is apparently industrial-tinged metalcore. Think Scar Symmetry with more core influences. The industrial influence is really, really minor and mostly consists of random keyboard effects. Nothing else is captivating enough to hold interest.

ALUNAH
Prediction: folk metal. Damn, missed another one. This is actually sludge/stoner doom. There is a female vocalist, but I am not a big fan of these vocals. Not sure why, they just don't do it for me. The riffs are heavy and interesting, but I don't like the vocals enough. Still not bad though.

I think my vote will go to Blodsgard on this one. No offense to everyone else.

Terrorizer's Albums of the Decade

Two metal magazines recently released their top albums of the decade lists. With somewhat different results. Terrorizer and Decibel are pretty much the two leading metal magazines now that Metal Maniacs folded last year, an event for which I am still extremely bitter. Terrorizer has been mentioned in this blog for being a tad more devoted to extreme forms of metal. This is evident in their choices for the magazine. I agree with the Terrorizer list significantly more than the Decibel list. I don't want to repost the entire list, or even much of it at all. I would like to look at the Top 5 though. So here's Terrorizer's Top 5:

1. Electric Wizard: Dopethrone: I enjoy some good drugged out doom metal as much as the next guy, although I myself have never been stoned. That being said, it's hard for me to accept this being the album of the decade. I don't know, I haven't heard the whole thing through. I enjoy the band quite a bit, they just don't consistently hold my interest enough to consider them an elite band.

2. Celtic Frost: Monotheist: This album is heavy as fuck and twice as scary. The reunion album from Celtic Frost took everyone by surprise. It wasn't about fast distorted riffs anymore. It was about creating an atmosphere. And that atmosphere was pants-shittingly terrifying. It's too bad the band broke up again.

3. Watain: Sworn to the Dark: Watain is being hailed as the next Dissection. I personally do not agree as Dissection was one-of-a-kind to me. However, if somewhat melodic, but still cold and dark black metal is your thing, Watain is as good as any of the other bands to come about this decade. Seriously, their stuff is great.

4. Converge: Jane Doe: What IS it about this album that makes everyone go nuts over it? Seriously, I tried listening to some tracks. It's boring modern hardcore with some metal influences delivered chaotically and at totally random times. No thanks.

5. Opeth: Blackwater Park: I still don't believe this is the band's best album, but it's a hell of a good release. The progressive elements had fully ripened into a major part of the band's music by this point and were played much more convincingly. Unfortunately, after this album they would start to dominate the music.

I own 32 albums from this list. Not too bad really.

Nonmetal bands present on this list: Converge, Clutch, Lightning Bolt, Whitehouse, Melt-Banana, Tool, Rammstein, Big Business, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Between the Buried and Me, Disfear, Angels of Light, Laibach, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Porcupine Tree

Buy the issue here: http://www.terrorizer.com/decadesrow

Terrorizer Fear Candy Unsigned Edition Walkthrough

I picked up an issue of Terrorizer when I did the magazine reviews. Terrorizer was notable because it included two free sampler CDs. One of these was to showcase new or upcoming albums by established bands. The other was to showcase unsigned bands for a contest. I am looking at the unsigned bands album today to determine which of these bands I would most like to hear more from. Some of the bands are good, some are very good, some are bad, and some are fucking awful. Let's do this bitch.

1. BILOCATE: Not bad, actually kind of good. They play a sort of blackened death metal with some very melodic parts, including use of keyboards. The vocals are deep growls and they are fairly good for the genre. The guitar solo had a great tone to it. There are frequent tempo changes throughout. The music itself gives off an epic feel. The band is from Jordan of all places. I would be willing to check these guys out further.

2. COFFIN: This band plays a very raw form of death/thrash. It's fast-paced metal. The guitar tone is a little muddy, I think they were going for the Swedish buzzsaw guitar tone, but did not really succeed. The vocals are delivered in a staccato shout. This is not bad, but not something that hasn't been done tons of times before. I would want to see this band develop it's own sound before checking them out further.

3. MANUSCRIPTS: Bad name. I get the impression these guys are like 15 years old from their vocals. They play a sort of slow, sludgy doom metal on this track with some major hardcore influences present. Actually it's tough to tell which sound is more present. These guys should never attempt a guitar solo again until they become more competent. That was just painful to listen to.

4. VIRAEMIA: Yuck. Necrophagist clone, extremely technical death metal. The noodling guitars at the beginning give it away. I don't mind Necrophagist but some of the bands influenced by them take things to the extreme. No real riffs or melodies here, just overly technical guitar wanking. Very tedious listening.

5. TITAN: I can't tell what this is, some sort of progressive hardcore with metal influences I guess. It's not bad but there's not enough really here to capture interest. Space filler basically. Vocals are decent and the riffs are very heavy, but it's ultimately forgettable.

6. VERTIGO STEPS: This is not fucking metal. I don't even know what the fuck it is, it kind of reminds me of the song on Roadrunner United with the singer from Glassjaw. I hated that fucking song. This is no different. Overly saccharine sweet and going nowhere. Emo-ish vocals and lame guitar riffs. The name fucking sucks too. Oh god, the breakdown is horrendous. I couldn't even finish it, I had to hit the skip button. No thanks.

7. INTENTION: I can barely hear this song. It's essentially a fast hardcore song, maybe crossover if I'm feeling generous (I'm not after that last piece of shit). Bad vocals, bad guitars, sloppy. Short though, that's nice.

8. HELLISH OUTCAST: With a name like that, you pretty much know what you're getting into. Or not, this band is more of a death/thrash metal band, more emphasis on the thrash. Actually this is pretty good, especially after the last two atrocities. Extremely fast and blunt, but with hacking riffs and shouted vocals. I could get into these guys.

9. PROFANE PRAYER: Who guessed black metal here? Raise your hands. Very good. This one isn't bad either. Not just a Darkthrone or Mayhem clone, this has melody and good riffs. It's fast and intense. Pretty good, I'd like to see their full length.

10. DIABOLICUS: More black metal, this from Ireland I guess. Even faster and more intense than Profane Prayer. The vocals are awful though, I hate vocal effects. The riffs swirl around the pounding drums, achieving a bizarre melody in between vocal parts. If not for the vocals themselves, this would be really interesting.

11. NAETU: Even more black metal. Someone loves their early Immortal and 1349 albums. Extremely fast, even moreso than Diabolicus. This band also takes blastbeats to the extreme with constant blasting drums. The tremolo riffs are pretty well done. Not as good as Immortal or 1349, but it holds its own. Very interesting, I wouldn't mind hearing more from these guys.

12. BASEMENT TORTURE KILLINGS: Some reference to the BTK killer in Kansas I guess, and the song is called "Gore Bukkake" which presents all sorts of horrible mental images. I am not much of a fan of goregrind and this band does nothing to change that opinion. Next.

13. REVOKATION: Ah, intentional misspellings. Why is it always changing the C into a K? This band definitely has some slam in them. It's not a full-on slam death metal band, but they have some influences. They sort of combine Skinless with Devourment. It's a decent combination of brutal death and slam, so I am intrigued. I would be willing to hear more from this band.

14. GRIDLOCK TAKEDOWN: Horrible production values on this song. The band appears to be playing melodic death metal, but the sound is so muddy, it's hard to hear what's going on. No, now they're playing regular death metal. I'm not sure this band knows what they want to play. There's some talent here, I just wish I could hear it.

15. IMMORTAL EMPIRE: Could this name possibly give away the band's influences more? If this were a thrash metal band, they would call themselves Metallic Anthrax, if it were a death metal band they would be Cannibalistic Creation, hey those aren't bad, I'm gonna form a band. Yes, Emperor and Immortal influences are noticeably present here. At least they chose to be influenced by the earlier Emperor stuff. More horrible production though, the tremolo riffs sound very interesting, but they can't be fucking heard. The vocals are very high in the mix and the only things that can be heard well at all. Get some better production and I will listen again.

16. REPROBATE: It starts out with a nice lilting acoustic melody. Then it descends into some sort of attempt at industrial metal. Having heard Ayat last night, I know how good this genre can be. Having heard this, I know how bad this genre can be. This is just noise.

17. THE ENGINES OF ARMAGEDDON: This is pretty good stoner/doom style metal. Surprisingly the band is from the UK, not too many bands like this come from there anymore. It's become more of a Southern US thing. This band is heavy, I am definitely interested. Not enough good stoner/doom at all anymore.

18. I'LL EAT YOUR FACE: Charming. I don't even know what to call this. It's not terrible, but it's not good either. It's just drums and guitars, no bass, no vocals, nothing.

19. MORDANT: This is a decent way to end this thing. Mordant plays a form of groove/thrash heavily influenced by bands like Testament, Pantera, and Machine Head. The music is not particularly original, but it is decent, hard-hitting, aggressive metal. Not bad.

The bands I liked the most were Bilocate, Hellish Outcast, Naetu, and The Engines of Armageddon. Choosing between them is a little difficult. I probably prefer Bilocate or Hellish Outcast depending on my mood. I suppose I will go with Bilocate for today, but that may change.

There were several terrible bands here as well. However, none were as bad as Vertigo Steps. It was the only band I had to hit the skip button on. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard that song all the way through. Huh.

Metal Magazine Review Pt. 4 of 4: Terrorizer: Limey Bastards

Finally, the last issue in this series. Terrorizer is a British magazine like Metal Hammer. Unlike Metal Hammer, Terrorizer doesn't suck. It's expensive though. $10.00 per issue here in the states. Let's see if it's worth it.

2 Free CDs +25: Holy shit. Two free CDs? I am there. The first disc is a sampler disc of some new or upcoming releases. There's some good shit on here: Samael, Svarrtjern, Tribulation, Mantic Ritual. There's also some crap, I am not at all impressed with Spoonful of Vicodin. The second disc is a collection of unsigned bands. Again, some decent, some bad, but the problem with this disc is that nothing truly stands out.

Cannibal Corpse cover +5: Let me state for the record that Cannibal Corpse is a mainstream band. They are not highly accessible, but they are mainstream. Everyone, even people who don't listen to metal, has heard of them. Terrorizer gets points for having a true metal band on the cover, but it is not like Metal Maniacs who has had on its final two covers Kreator and Absu.

Deaf Metal -1: This is another of those lists that the contributors list what they are listening to lately. There's some awful stuff here: Adam Ant (really? Who the fuck listens to Adam Ant?), Botch, Today is the Day, Psyopus, and Iwrestledabearonce. I am concerned about the contributors.

Choice Cuts +10: Rather than go through individually all the bands they profile, I will just give a combined score for having Tribulation, Isole, Gravedigger, Legion of the Damned, Ironsword, Eibon, and more.

Cannibal Corpse article +5: Nice, long article on a misunderstood band. Cannibal Corpse's lyrics are violent, but they are not violent people. In fact, they're kinda nerdy. Corpsegrinder, the singer is well known for his World of Warcraft obsession. Funny band really.

Lamb of God article -2: Not because I dislike the band, I don't, I have a couple of their albums. But the English magazine shows its ignorance of American metal by proclaiming this band as Southern metal. No, just no. There's nothing SOUTHERN about them. They are a groove metal band in the same vein as Pantera. Southern metal would be Down or later Corrosion of Conformity.

Absu article +1: I love the new album and they are some bizarre people.

Grindcore article feature -15: Grindcore is not metal, it barely qualifies as music half the time, just listen to the Spoonful of Vicodin track on the sampler CD. It is an outgrowth of hardcore. I wish I could find a magazine that had the same qualifications for coverage as the Metal Archives. This article is very long too, which is why it lost so many points. This part (the first part was in last month's issue) discusses American grind and features an essential albums list. Assuck, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Anal Cunt (one of the worst bands EVER), an Magrudergrind are all mentioned. This is tempered somewhat by the inclusion of Repulsion, Macabre, Pig Destroyer, Cattle Decapitation, and Impetigo.

Tombs article -1: A little too hipserish. Damnit.

Psyopus article -1: I mentioned in an earlier post that I hate overly technical hardcore like The Dillinger Escape Plan. Psyopus falls into this category and doesn't even have vocals. So you are bombarded by squealing guitars, blasting drums, no melody, and no remorse. It's awful.

Doro article +1: They are trying to get the metal goddess to comment on female singers in metal. I think they're trying to get her to say something controversial about some of these, but she doesn't seem to bite. It would be more entertaining if she did though. I'll come right out and say something though: Vixen fucking blows. Their only fucking hit was written by Richard Marx. Richard FUCKING Marx.

Reviews: Same story here:
Cobalt (positive) -1: Early stuff was good, they are now getting too much shoegaze elements. Beard metal.
Behemoth (negative) -1: Really? Sure it's a cash grab, but it's Behemoth.
Hammerfall (positive) +1: True metal never dies.
God Forbid (positive) +1 Good album, good group, and they're going to be the next huge American metal band.
Isole (positive) +1: Good doom metal band from Sweden.
Wolf (positive) +1: See Hammerfall.
Tombs (positive) -1: See above mentioned article.
Psyopus (positice) -1: See above mentioned article.

Choose Your Weapon -1: I don't give a shit about the Slipknot guitarist talking about his instrument.

Dark Recollection King Diamond: Abigail +2: Great album by a great band. Highly underrated and creepy as hell.

Blast from the Past: Autopsy: Severed Survival +1: Could have gotten more points here, but what's the point in doing an article looking back on a great album when you pick one that has been all over magazines (hell, fucking Revolver had a blurb) for being reissued lately? Oddly, I recently bought the earlier reissue of this album, plus the 7" vinyl release released this year. The new reissue has all of that stuff on it. Ah well.

So that's it, how did Terrorizer do? They scored a +29 putting them in the lead. They would have scored higher had the fucking grindcore feature not been so goddamn long. I guess that won't be a regular addition though. Terrorizer appears to be the most likely magazine for me to subscribe to. It's fucking expensive though, but hey I can get a free CD if I subscribe. They give the choice of six different CDs, but I have four of them and the other two don't interest me as much. Maybe I'll wait and see if anything new pops up.