Christmas Haul and Upcoming Posts

Well it was a pretty decent Christmas for me. My wonderful wife felt bad that I have been unable to buy many albums this year, so she bought me three. They were the new albums by Iced Earth, Vader, and Warbringer. My little brother also bought me the new Obscura album, so four new albums after several months with only one or two.

Next week, I will begin my end of the year lists, so look out for those. My big jury trial scheduled for the entire week settled just recently, so I should have time to do some posting.

Reader Submission: Jehovah in Pain: Demos '09-'11

I was recently contacted by Max from Australian death metal band Jehovah in Pain to check out his band. It has been a little while since he contacted me and I do want to apologize that it took so long to get this out.

Jehovah in Pain is a band that prides itself on performing pure death metal with no alternate influences and nothing really accessible about it. While definitely influenced by death metal, it is not as if their music is completely inaccessible. This is music influenced heavily by the classics of the death metal genre but also having some modern sound as well. The songs are surprisingly catchy for a band claiming that their music is not accessible. This is heavy, groove-laden death metal with a fuzzy, heavily-distorted guitar tone and snarling vocal style.

The band clearly hates Christianity, as the song titles make obvious. We have "Downward, Christian Soldier" and "Re-Animate the Christian Corpses (So We Can Slay Them All Again)" as well as the simple and direct "I Hate Christians". It gets a little silly. I am not offended by this. Anti-Christian lyrics are not something I feel particularly strongly about. It just gets a little redundant after awhile.

Despite that one complaint, the music is not bad. This is a relatively new band just trying to find their way. They have an interesting sound. They have some room to improve. That's not rare.

Link.

Reader Submission: Monarch

I was recently contacted by Alex Pickard, bassist of the Vista, CA thrash metal band Monarch to check out his group. Being a big fan of thrash metal like I am, I was very interested in hearing them. I must say, I came away very impressed.

Monarch is an old-school thrash metal band with some brutal thrash influences. If I had to try to explain their sound, it would be a mix of Slayer and Dark Angel with some Demolition Hammer thrown in. The music is fast and intense with some absolutely shredding guitar parts. The songs presented on their page really do resemble something that would have been released in the mid to late 1980's.

Monarch has recorded four songs for their page, link can be found below. Each track is a monument to the thrash metal greats of the 1980's. The songs fly by with lightning speed amongst a fury of chaotic riffs, pounding drums, and shouted Araya-esque vocals.

The production values are also extremely impressive. The album sounds clean, but it does not lose any of the aggressiveness inherent in this style of metal.

I am very impressed with Monarch. I look forward to hearing more from them.

Link.

Reader Submission: Outrage: Go to Hell

Why is this the first I have heard of this band? Outrage is a German blackened thrash metal band in the vein of early Hellhammer, Venom, and Sodom. That happens to be one of my favorite styles of metal, so it's bizarre that this band has escaped me. Especially since the band was around in the mid 1980's before hanging it up and then returning in the early 2000's.

Obviously with the above comparisons to early Hellhammer, Venom, and Sodom, most of you probably already know what to expect. Fast, raw, and filthy blackened thrash metal that is also surprisingly catchy. The guitar tone is extremely impressive, cutting through like a knife. The atmosphere is dark and evil-sounding, just how I like it. The vocals sound like a cross between Tom Warrior and Cronos, with the singer occasionally emitting some surprising shrieks, which sound a little goofy at first.

The only gripe I have is the production. It is a little too crisp and clean, which for this style of metal is not really the best fit.

Obviously this band is just out there to have a blast playing the kind of music they want to play. It's a hell of a fun ride. I am surprised that this is the first time I have heard of this band, but I will definitely look into their past material.

One and Done? Pt. 8: Outworld

Outworld was an extremely impressive progressive/speed metal band out of Houston, TX. Musically they sounded somewhat like a faster version of Symphony X with Painkiller-era Rob Halford belting out the lyrics. The band only managed to release one album, the self-titled release from 2006. They did put out a couple of demos, but even though there were some rumblings about a follow-up, it never happened. Vocalist Kelly Carpenter left the band some time after the release and the band just never put another full-length out. Such a shame, because the one and only release they did have was simply incredible.

Take a listen:

Reader Submissions: Nomad Son: The Eternal Return

This album was technically released last year, but Metal on Metal Records re-released it on vinyl recently and asked me to review it.

Nomad Son is another in a seemingly endless line of traditional doom metal bands that has popped up in the last few years. Nomad Son is from Malta, the first band from that country that I have ever heard.

Nomad Son, as a traditional doom metal band, obviously has a great deal in common sonically with Candlemass, Trouble, and other usual suspects. That is, medium-paced epic-sounding metal with a heavy crunch and powerful melodies. The songs do not fall into the same trap that those of other doom metal band songs do, that is they are a little on the long side but without losing interest or meandering on aimlessly, unlike this sentence.

The most impressive musical aspect is the use of Deep Purple-esque keyboard lines. This gives the music more of a 1970's traditional metal vibe.

The vocals are a little different, evoking King Diamond and Dio with a little bit of rasp thrown in. It is a little bit difficult to get used to initially. After a couple of listens though, they begin to sink in a little bit better.

This is Nomad Son's second album and there are still some things that could be improved, but the band shows promise. There are a lot of traditional doom metal bands popping up these days and Nomad Son does not really stand out much from the pack, but that does not mean that the album is not well-done and a good listen. The band just has some growing to do.

Reader Submission: Battlerage: True Metal Victory

Metal on Metal Records contacted me once again with a few new releases to look into. Among these was this new release from Chilean true metal warriors Battlerage.

Battlerage was not a band I was previously aware of, but after hearing this album, I will definitely be watching this band. Battlerage is a throwback to classic, epic metal bands like Manowar, Manilla Road, and Brocas Helm. They fly the true metal banner quite proudly, particularly evident in song titles like "Raw Metal".

Their music is energetic and infectious. It is difficult not to bang your head along with this. They are not the most original band in the world, but they know their source material well and are extremely capable musicians.

The vocals are the best quality here. Singer Fox-Lin Torres does not have a huge range, but he has a lot of character in his vocal style. Whether performing with a gravelly sneer or a Dracula-esque clean, soaring style, his vocals always draw the most attention.

Even though this is the band's third album, it is the first I have heard of them. I will definitely be looking into them some more though.

Reader Submissions: Veratu/Naakhum Split

Some time ago I was contacted by Pol Guasch of Naakhum to review the split album of two underground black metal bands Veratu and Naakhum.

This split is kind of strangely put together. The songs alternate rather than one band's songs appearing first. Veratu has the odd-numbered tracks and Naakhum has the even-numbered tracks. It is a little disorienting, but I suppose credit for doing things a bit different is due.

Veratu's music is a little bit more forward-leaning, giving off a somewhat industrial vibe to their black metal foundation. There are not a lot of really good industrial black metal bands out there, so hearing a good one is pretty rare. Veratu also incorporates some ambient passages into their music. The band frequently uses sound clips to add to the grim and disturbing atmosphere. The vocals are made up of the fairly typical black metal rasp. Each of Veratu's songs can best be described as unsettling.

Naakhum utilizes a lot of folk and ambient elements in their tracks. The vocal style is more of a sneering groan, similar to some of the works of Finntroll among other bands. Naakhum's music has more of an organic feel than the technological style of Veratu. The band's second track on this split was completely ambient. It was far more soothing than the erratic Veratu. Their third track had some interesting melodies opening up the song. It really did feel like a folk song with an almost Spanish melody to the acoustic guitars.

Picking a favorite out of the two of these bands really depends on what you prefer: harsh and disturbing black metal, or smoother folk-infused black metal. Both bands are impressive. I am curious as to the rest of their discographies.

Updates

Sorry it has been a very busy month. That tends to happen sometimes when running your own law firm. I have multiple trials in the coming weeks. Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know I am still around and hope to get back to posting more regularly very soon. I have a few bands that have contacted me recently and I will get those reviews out as soon as possible.

Reader Submissions: Amputation Spree: Three/Inferno EP

I reviewed some of Amputation Spree's material a few weeks back when I did Slam Week. Sole member Spencer Van Dyk apparently caught wind of this and contacted me when his band released this third EP for a review. He promised a leap in quality on this release. So I was pretty eager to check this out as I was very impressed with Amputation Spree's previous material.

This EP certainly delivers. Amputation Spree refers to itself as "thinking man's slam" and I can honestly agree with that. Amputation Spree pushes the boundaries of slam death. This is not a soulless and generic Devourment ripoff like so many other groups. This band has a lot of depth and utilizes progressive structures to go along with their increasingly heavy slams.

The biggest surprise on the EP is the inclusion of clean vocal moments. That's right, slam with some clean vocals. Who would have thought? The band also uses some occasional dissonant chord progressions which gives off the impression of a slammier Ulcerate and some downright Atheist or Cynic-esque moments in the second and third tracks.

Amputation Spree continues to push the boundaries of slam death metal, forcing the genre to evolve somewhat away from the simplistic style it has largely become known for. This is extremely impressive. This band should really be checked out.

Flashback Song: Queensryche: "Someone Else"

Black Sabbath Reuniting

Link.

I guess this was just a matter of time. Ozzy was becoming completely irrelevant and Heaven & Hell ended with the unfortunate death of Ronnie James Dio. A new studio album is in the works. I will probably check it out. Hopefully Ozzy will not have much creative input. The last several Ozzy albums have been pretty much terrible. I did enjoy the Heaven & Hell album though. I am just not sure how Ozzy's voice will sound along with that.

This is obviously a huge announcement. The original heavy metal band has decided to reunite. Hopefully this is more than just a cash grab, but I am not too optimistic.

Initial Impressions: Megadeth: Th1rt3en

I am a big Megadeth fan. Even through the years the band was putting out subpar material, I continued to loyally buy their music. I have made that fact fairly clear over the years. Even after the band released Risk, an album so bad that I prefer Metallica's Load, Reload, and St. Anger to it, I continued to be a Megadeth supporter. Thankfully, the band never released another album quite like that one. So it should come as no surprise that I picked up the band's latest album, despite the ill-advised title. After Endgame, I thought Megadeth was going to put out another very good thrash metal album.

Unfortunately I am kind of disappointed with this one. I can't really put my finger on it. It just feels off. Most of the songs are medium-paced and reasonably catchy. It is like they just did not know quite what to do on this album. It feels stilted, like they were trying too hard and did not have any real good ideas.

This album marked the return of David Ellefson, longtime bassist for the band. That along with their last album which was very impressive, made me think that they were due for a late-career resurgence. But things just fell flat. This album is not a bad album really, it just is not what it should be. And that is disappointing. All of the elements are there, Mustaine's incredible guitar skills and his trademarked sneer, Ellefson's thundering bass, and some impressive work done by the other members, but it does not add up to a really good album.

I suppose the best thing that can be said is that at least Megadeth did not recruit Lou Reed to provide vocals.

Initial Impressions: Immolation: Providence

Immolation's newest EP is available for free download on Scion's website. For those who are familiar with the venerable death metal band, this EP provides no surprises. Immolation simply does what they do, and that is dark and occult death metal with razor sharp, jagged riffs and a gloomy, morose atmosphere.

Immolation continues to prove with this EP that they have a lot left in the tank. This is a short EP with only five tracks, but each track is strong. These are not leftovers from some album, they are individually great songs that really could have fit onto any of the band's albums.

Ross Dolan provides his usual impressive deep-throated roar on the tracks. It has become one of the band's primary characteristics. The other being the Morbid Angel-on-steroids riffing style that the band has used since the beginning. Of course that is compounded with the heavy bass and drumwork. Immolation has been going strong for nearly 20 years and they certainly sound like they could go another 20 on this EP.

Happy Halloween! This is a Post About White Zombie

The last few days, in honor of Halloween, I have been listening to all of my White Zombie albums. In fact, I even dug out my Rob Zombie albums that I have not listened to for quite awhile as well.

White Zombie's music just fits with the atmosphere of the holiday. With his lyrics about monsters and horror movie subjects mixed in with sound clips from various terrible movies, the music is just campy and evil-sounding at the same time. Just like the holiday. It has a sinister background, but has become a holiday centered around going out and having fun, whether that be in costume trick-or-treating, or out to a party.

Similarly, though the music is dark and oftentimes deals with disturbing things, no one can accuse White Zombie of having any motive other than having a good time.

I have been a fan of White Zombie since I first started getting into metal. At that time, La Sexorcisto had recently come out and White Zombie was one of the most popular bands in metal. I did not quite know what to think of the band, but I did know that they always looked like they were having a blast.

Astro Creep: 2000 is still my favorite album by the band. But unfortunately it was the last full album of original material by them. Rob Zombie was beginning to get bigger than the band and decided to go out on his own. He still managed to put out some interesting material, but the returns on each successive album continued to diminish.

Music was no longer Rob Zombie's major calling as he began to direct movies. Unfortunately, I have not been terribly impressed with any of his movies and his music continued to get worse as well. I have not bought a Rob Zombie album since The Sinister Urge. It's a shame that his career went downhill because he was always such an interesting character.

Metallattorney's 10 Favorite Debuts of the Last 25 Years

Spurred by the abomination that was Metal Hammer's list, I decided to do one on my own.

In no particular order:

SEPULTURA: MORBID VISIONS
Absolutely raw and rough around the edges, this is an album that had a very large influence on the formation of death and black metal. It is completely unlike anything the band did afterwards. With an impressively evil atmosphere and some of the most beastly vocals Max Cavalera ever uttered, this is a very chaotic listen. The frenetic intensity of the album is its greatest quality. Sepultura refined their craft quite a bit since this, but this still remains my favorite album by the band.

DISSECTION: THE SOMBERLAIN
Dissection is a group that surpassed their debut album with their sophomore album, but that does not make their debut any less impressive. The band developed a feel for writing cold and merciless melodic black metal and that feel was evident even from their first album. The drumming is the standout on this album as the drum patterns constantly change but never vary their power. As with other groups, Dissection eventually smoothed out some of their rough edges, but they did keep their intensity, particularly on their follow-up.

SWALLOW THE SUN: THE MORNING NEVER CAME
The Swallow the Sun debut was one of my first real experiences with death/doom and I was simply blown away. The album cover caught my eye and I had to pick it up immediately and I was glad I did. Swallow the Sun does somber and yet menacing music extremely well. Their cover of Candlemass's "Solitude" is on par with the original version. I have said it before and I will say it again, the cover art on this album perfectly matches the music.

EMPEROR: IN THE NIGHTSIDE ECLIPSE
The bands of the Norwegian Second Wave of Black Metal almost to a band released great debut albums. Mayhem's debut, Immortal's debut, and Satyricon's debut were all strongly considered for this list, but I ultimately picked just this one. Emperor was always much more grandiose and musical than their countrymen, and this debut is one example. While other bands strived for brutality through simplicity, Emperor tried to find the beautiful in the very ugly. Both sides are very evident in this release, which still remains one of my all-time favorite black metal albums.

IMMOLATION: DAWN OF POSSESSION
Like Emperor for black metal, Immolation's debut is one of a number of great death metal debuts in the early 1990's. Immolation is a band who really helped death metal distinguish itself from thrash metal with their bass heavy slow and lumbering riffs and the deep guttural roaring vocal style. Immolation was a fairly early occult death metal band from the same New York scene that spawned Incantation and Cannibal Corpse among others, but Immolation's debut was more impressive.

DEICIDE: DEICIDE
Deicide rose out of the Tampa, Florida death metal scene and were immediately one of the most frightening death metal bands going. Their lyrics were unapologetically Anti-Christian and often invoked the devil and all sorts of other hellish demons. In addition, their music was fast and loud. Of course this was all eventually revealed to be a big joke, that Glen Benton has a, let's say interesting sense of humor. Their first two albums are excellent pieces of fast-paced, evil death metal.

MORBID ANGEL: ALTARS OF MADNESS
One of the very first death metal groups, Morbid Angel's debut was completely unlike anything ever heard before. Morbid Angel took the speed and intensity of thrash metal and added occult lyrics and growling vocals. This was one of the first death metal albums and a definite influence on a lot of bands that would arrive in later years. This is also still one of my favorite albums by the seminal death metal band, possibly only surpassed by Covenant.

OPETH: ORCHID
Speaking of bands who did something no one had really ever heard before, here is Opeth. Opeth started out as a death metal band with a little bit of an interesting twist, they incorporated a lot of 1970's progressive rock elements to their music. They were a little bit long-winded and this album was still something of a work in progress, but the ideas were definitely there and they were definitely fresh. Opeth just needed to build on them some more.

AMON AMARTH: ONCE SENT FROM THE GOLDEN HALL
With this album, Amon Amarth began their long career of releasing basically the same album. This one is a little bit further along the death metal lines than some of their later releases, and it is a little heavier as well, but other than that Amon Amarth has made a career out of re-releasing this album. Which really is not as problematic as one might think. That is how truly great this album really is. It is hard to pick a favorite album by this band, the debut is certainly a worthy choice.

SUFFOCATION: EFFIGY OF THE FORGOTTEN
Suffocation rose out of the same New York scene as Immolation, but their music was decidedly different. Suffocation incorporated a lot more technical elements to their sound and also emphasized brutal breakdowns. Their influence can be felt in slam death, brutal death metal, and technical death metal. All three subgenres owe a massive debt of gratitude to this release. Suffocation has continued with the sound that they developed, but this is still probably their best.

Compilations: Hell's Headbangers Vol. 3

Attached to the Denouncement Pyre album I bought earlier this year was this compilation from Hell's Headbangers, one of the better underground metal labels around. I know a lot of these bands because I have a lot of albums from the label's artists.

DESTRUKTOR (TRACKS 1, 2)
I am very familiar with a lot of these bands and Destruktor is no exception. the blackened death/thrash metal band from Australia creates a sound very similar to their countrymen in Destroyer 666. That's unsurprising given the scene they come from. Their sound is a little darker and heavier though than D666's newer material. Sonically they sound a bit more like the early more black metal-oriented D666.

SHACKLES (TRACKS 3, 4)
Another Australian band I am familiar with, which given my affinity for this scene is completely unsurprising. Shackles is a little bit different though. Shackles has much more of a classic metal sound to them than Destruktor and their ilk. It is a refreshing change of pace and the album these tracks come from is quite good. Unfortunately the band split up recently.

TRENCH HELL (TRACK 5)
I am still eagerly anticipating a full-length album from these guys who wear their Hellhammer influence on their tattered sleeves. I own the demo and the EP that this is from and they look to be a very impressive rising band. One of these days I am sure they will bless us with a full-length.

DISHAMMER (TRACKS 6, 7, 8)
This is the first band from this compilation that I was not previously familiar with. The Spanish band is a blend of thrash metal and crust. I am not the biggest fan of crust in the world, but this manages to hold my interest well enough. I don't know if I like it well enough to get an album.

MANTICORE (TRACKS 9, 10)
Manticore is a very raw-sounding black/death metal band. They would fit in pretty well with the bands from Texas. This is just raw and filthy sounding metal. Nothing wrong with that. The second track is not quite as impressive as the first.

PROFANATICA (TRACKS 11, 12)
Much more infamous, than famous, Profanatica was originally a very early black metal band from the United States. Their sound was absolutely disgusting and their stage show matched it. They have lost a little bit of the shock that they used to have and have become more accomplished musicians, but the spirit is still there.

HAVOHEJ (TRACKS 13, 14)
Havohej is the one-man band of Profanatica's Paul Ledney. Like his other band, Havohej is a very raw and dirty sounding band. It is fairly repetitive and simple black metal, much more in line with groups like Burzum and Darkthrone's early black metal material. How you feel about that stuff will influence how you feel about this.

ARPHAXAT (TRACKS 15, 16)
Arphaxat is a French black metal band that oddly creates their music without the use of guitars. The band is the creation of one of the founding members of Deathspell Omega, and does sound a bit like their earlier material, though without the guitars. What results is kind of an unsettling sound. It is definitely interesting.

HUNTERS MOON (TRACK 17)
Holy shit, an Australian band I am not familiar with? Featuring members of Denouncement Pyre, this band definitely fits in with the scene. They have a darker, more evil sound than some of the other bands, sounding much more like Denouncement Pyre than some of the other groups. Still pretty great though. I will be checking them out.

ATOMIZER (TRACKS 18, 19)
I am a big fan of Atomizer and though these songs come off of my least favorite album by the band, they are still pretty damn good. Jason Healey was completely in command of the band by this point. The clean vocals take a little bit of getting used to. This was Atomizer's swan song and the band will be missed.

ATOMIC AGGRESSOR (TRACK 20)
Atomic Aggressor is a very raw, occult death metal band. This takes me back to when death metal really sounded evil. Not bad, a little too raw, it would be nice to see what this band could do with some better production.

NUNSLAUGHTER (TRACKS 21, 22, 23)
Nunslaughter has to appear on all of these things. Of course that's because members of the band run the label, but that's beside the point. They of course bring their typical brand of punk-infused death metal to their tracks. The first one has horrendous production, but that's probably done intentionally.

Horrible List Time: Metal Hammer's Top Debut Albums of the Past 25 Years

I am not sure why I bothered to cover this. I knew this would be bad, but this is ridiculous.

Link.

Among the issues is the fact that Pantera's Cowboys from Hell was listed, despite the notable problem that they released a few albums before that one. Then there is the presence of Bullet for My Valentine, which boggles my mind. And then Linkin Park. And then we have the issue with Slipknot taking the top spot. Sigh.

I will have to think about this for a little while and get back with my pick. I have considered Morbid Angel and Suffocation. I will give this some thought and come back with a top 10. In the meantime, what are your picks?

One and Done? Pt. 7: Burn to Black

Burn to Black is a band that is probably more well-known for who was in the band than for the music they put out. And that is honestly a shame because Burn to Black's only full-length album is an excellent slab of blackened thrash metal. But that one particular member was too busy doing his own thing to continue with the band.

So who is this individual? Well, it is Sam Dunn, the documentary film maker who gave us A Headbanger's Journey, Global Metal, and Flight 666. Dunn played bass for Burn to Black.

This is actually a pretty good album, with a focus on Celtic Frost-style riffing and decayed vocals. The Celtic Frost influence is obvious as the band covered them as a bonus track at the end of the album.

It's a shame Burn to Black did not continue.

Initial Impressions: Skeletonwitch: Forever Abomination

Skeletonwitch is one of my favorite bands of the moment, so it was without any hesitation that I went out to the nearest music store to pick up their latest album last week. The band has simply gotten better with each new release. This one was not any different.

At one point, the band was often thrown in to the hipster metal crowd for some stupid reason. They never really fit in, but I suppose it had something to do with the fact that they had the John Baisley album cover like Baroness and Mastodon and all those groups. Sonically of course Skeletonwitch had little to nothing to do with those groups.

Skeletonwitch's brand of manic blackened thrash has improved on each album. This time they sound even more intense and furious than ever. I was personally surprised on the first listen by the Immortal-esque songwriting, particularly on the first song. The vocals always resembled Norwegian black metal vocals, but that tendency was kicked up significantly on this release.

The only problem here is the same problem that Skeletonwitch has always had. A lot of their songs tend to run together and some seem a little incomplete. Nevertheless, the band continues to impress.

Skeletonwitch keeps getting better. They are easily one of the better bands going today and this album shows why.