Krisiun/Scar Culture-Split Promo Cassette -2001 Century Media Records

This was handed to me at the Slayer show that I reviewed for the site. It features two tracks from both band's upcoming albums. Scar Culture seem sorta grindcore-ish to me, although I'm definetly no expert in that genre. Lots of speedy riffing, and grunting going on, which kinda bored me. Nothing new or special here. I can also see this being one of those bands that a Slipknot/Candiria fan could get into, and cross over to metal with. The album it's featured from is called "Inscribe".

Krisiun are sort of a somewhat typical death metal band, with low/deep growling vocals, and Morbid Angel-ish instrumentation. Great artwork for their side of the tape. Their new album is called "Ageless Venomous". This doesn't do too much for me, I can put it on and relax to it, but it's not something I'd sit there, with hands cupped to headphones, clenching them to my ear, as the volume knob is set on 10 or something. Any huge Morbid Angel fan should like this a lot, and I am into Morbid Angel, but I'm definetly no huge fan of them.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Sodom-Tapping The Vein- 1992 Drakkar Records

Sodom aren't known for being the most diverse band out there, but they can write some serious Thrash Metal songs. This album is pretty much straight-forward thrash, with minimum or no melody at all. It's a bit harder for me, personally, to get into this stuff, when compared to more creative Thrash bands like Megadeth, or Death Angel, but it sure as fuck beats anything by Slayer in recent years. The production is raw, but still maintains all the clarity a Thrash band needs. In my opinion, the best song on this album is "Wachturm", because the riffing is a bit different, instead of using the pure alternate-picked typical speed-riffing. It probably stands out moreso than any other track. The vocals are comparable to Mille of Kreator (their German competition), but on the earlier tracks in this album, they kind of lean slightly more towards Death Metal vocals. This isn't a milestone, so don't feel the need to rush out and buy it, but for those of you speedfreaks, you may find it worth your money.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

GARDENIAN - SINDUSTRIES - NUCLEAR BLAST,2000

In recent years there has been a lot of hype about Swedish metal and the Gothenburg scene, and there has also been a lot of hype about nu-"metal".Unlike the over saturated nu-metal scene( it's unfortunate that there is even ONE nu-metal band, let alone thousands), a good majority of these Swedish/Gothenburg bands are actually quite good, and definitely worth a listen.Gardenian is one such band.

This album is a bit more relaxed compared to their two earlier efforts, but this is still a metal album, no doubt.Still downtuned and heavy like Two Feet Stand and Soulburner, but not quite as fast,and with a little less palm muting compared to other metal bands.Yep, melodic death metal, a phrase you may have heard a few times.

Jim Kjell is what I guess you might call a "dirty/clean" vocalist.He performs a bulk of the songs in a standard death metal growl,but he also has his moments where actual singing can be heard, like Brian Fair from Shadows Fall and Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth, among others.Artch vocalist Eric Hawk sang on about half or so of the 11 tracks on Soulburner(6 by my count), but Jim handles all the clean vocals on this album.

The music on this album is really cool.As I've said before, there isnt a whole lot of palm muting, but this isnt a bad thing at all.Good, strong riffs and some really great guitar solos, good drum and bass work, a solid metal album.Overall, it's a pretty interesting listen.I'm not really sure what a lot of the lyrics are about all the time, but thats a good thing I suppose.Nothing wrong with melody, and there's plenty of it here, but it's still heavy, and Gardenian prove that you can still be melodic and heavy at the same time, and not suck.

So all in all, it's worth a listen or two,and I'm glad I picked it up. If you like In Flames you'll probably dig this.I like Soulburner a bit better myself, but by no means is this album bad, so check it out.

Review by Will Jordan

Diamond Head-To Heaven From Hell- (Metal Blade Records 1997)

Damn, Metal Blade have a good time butchering Diamond Head's material eh? haha! I'd like to know what's up with their obsession to constantly re-remaster and re-release Diamond Head's material. These 5 songs were recorded originally between 1978-1981.

This stuff isn't generally considered the best Diamond Head material, but I really appreciate it. "Dead Reckoning" could have been on "Lightning To The Nations", but the rest are a bit more laid back, and the guitars are a bit more atmospheric (GASP!), when compared to the straight-ahead riff-assault wizadry of the afore-mentioned album. Still though, "Heat Of The Night" is a beautiful-ass song. "Don't You Ever Leave Me" is a slow, electric guitar-filled ballad, recalling a break-up situation, and we all know what a sucker I am for the love songs and ballads! "Borrowed Time" sorta reflects the same sort of atmosphere as "Heat Of The Night", ain't much else to say about that one. "To Heaven From Hell" is a bit more rock/metal, but sort of laid back and anthem-ic. By the way, I'm still pissed that somehow, when this was being re-released in '97, that it was passed off as a live album! It's not!

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Obituary-Slowly We Rot- 1989 Roadrunner Records

This is some pretty sick, hateful death metal from Florida... Yup, I reckon... These guys always struck me as kind of moronic and stupid, and caveman-like, but I like it anyway. "Godly Beings" is a real Exodus/Slayer-ish thrasher at first, but drops the speed a little. They didn't seem as Celtic Frost/Hellhammer-influenced as they'd show in later years. I can actually sorta see a little bit of Morbid Angel-ness in this. One thing I always found missing when it came to Obituary: versatility. It always seemed to sound like thrash, mixed with Celtic Frost and other late '80's Florida death metal (which this is). If you aren't big on the aggressive side of metal, let's say you are into the more epic, power metal side, this isn't the band that will lead you to a harsher metal future, that's for sure. Check out Death for that, but for death/thrash/black metal mongers, there's a good chance you'd like this.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Blitzspeer-Saves -1991 Epic Records

I was first introduced to this somewhat-Thrash Metal band during my younger years in metal, when I picked up the live album. I think I was 14, and five years after this was released, it was in my hands and ears.

It starts off with "Sonic Glory" a metal anthem, full of chunky, palm-muted riffs. I can already see the thrash influence of Metallica and Overkill, and somewhat a crossover/punk influence when it comes to attitude. They have the gritiness of Motorhead and AC/DC (although I can't stand AC/DC). "Truck Of Love" is a seductive although somewhat cheesy American-styled thrasher with a bit of groove (no not like Soulfly etc.). Damn this lead guitarist smokes on "City Of Angels"! Killer shit! "Bad Girl" starts off with a fast punky riff, and ends up reminding me of that band The Lone Rangers in the movie "Airheads". "Can't Lose (What You've Never Had)" starts off acoustically, but crawls into electricity, and back to acoustics. Damn that title never made as much sense to me as now (personal problem, heh). I like this one a lot though, cause it really stands out, pretty angry and fed-up sounding, but seems a bit suffering at the same time. There is a hidden track, an all acoustic version of "City Boy", with dueling acoustics! Great stuff. I believe the original version, which is heavy as all hell, appears on the live album. These are the only two Blitzspeer albums that I know of. Odd fact...or speculation: I'm pretty sure that vocalist/guitarist Phil Caivano went on to play guitar in Monster Magnet. I can't confirm that's true though

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Mercyful Fate-In The Shadows -1993 Metal Blade Records

This album was stolen from a record store for me by my cousin, when I was 13-14, I had like 30 seconds to pick which one I wanted stolen, and I picked this one, because the name was familiar to me, and because of the awesome cover artwork. When I got home, I remember throwing the album on, and going "damn this dude sings higher than Bruce Dickinson! But listen to those fucking riffs!". I was hooked. At a time when Nirvana and Bush and Green Day were all over the radio airwaves, and kids were braggin' about their skateboard tricks, I would pour over the lyrics to this album, in my bedroom, and listen to these unholy-sounding heavy metal hymns. So classic metal sounding, but so dark and evil and wicked at the same time. The imagery of the band, be it King's facepaint (and I always hated that stuff), the lyrics about "shadows, witches, vampires, and death", or just the eerie music, attracted me so much- this before I even discovered Venom, Bathory, Celtic Frost, Possessed, or even Slayer- just sucked me in. Years later, about 5 to be exact, I look back fondly at my pure cess-ridden hatred for the poseur kids with baggy cargo pants and Smashing Pumpkins t-shirts, and my alternative to the alternative, a Metallica flaming skull t-shirt, tighter jeans, and the twisted sound of Mercyful Fate blasting from my speakers.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

(Various Artists)- In Memory Of Celtic Frost -Dwell Records 1996

The importance of Celtic Frost is documented here, with many acts from extreme metal's underground.

Hailing from Orange County, California, Morgion take my personal favorite: "The Usurper" (along with it's intro: "Innocense And Wrath") and give it the typical death metal approach, but it's not bad. Enslaved make a boring attempt at "Procreation Of The Wicked", with horrible guitar tones, way too high in mid-range frequencies. Canada's death-thrashers Slaughter (no, not the hairband) reunite just once, for this track, "Dethroned Emperor" and do it honorable justice, with fair production, and drunken-sounding death metalish vocals. Mayhem, one of the few bands on this that lean moreso to black than death, ought to be called GAYHEM!!! haha! I really just don't like the vocals. They sound like too much of a joke. Instrumentally, they tackle this pretty well. But if you ever wanted to know what the Blair Witch sounds like being ass-rammed, you listen to this, and you will know, as I now do. Toronto's Inner Thought are another band with a typical death metal vocalist, but they add a bit of horrible black metal vocals as well. The drummer sounds like he's hitting a chalkboard with a wiffle ball bat. But the guitarist seems to know what he's doing, dialing up a very Usurper-ish guitar tone. Sadistic Intent, hailing from Los Angeles, pay homage with "Return To The Eve", and do-so fairly well. But you would think that all these bands have the same bassist and guitarist, with maybe 4-5 different vocalists and drummers. Cianide do an ultra-low-tuned "Dawn Of Megiddo" (which was actually tuned originally to C, which is only one fret higher than that of Fear Factory! 1985, tuned that low... And these mallrats have the nerve to say... Uhh...nevermind!). The vocals seem to have been influenced by Chris Barnes, but only less intelligible and more grunty. Closedown, a bunch of little retarded boys, do "Danse Macabre" which for about 4 minutes is just some noise which sounds like a pipe letting steam out... how musical.... Grave are the only band who really revel in the odd-sounding non-traditional Tom Warrior style vocals, with their version of "Mesmerized". Tom's latest band, Apollyon's Sun, which are an "industrial" band, redo "Babylon Fell". Opeth do "Circle Of The Tyrants", which features more raspy black metalish vocals. They kinda ruin the atmosphere, by killing the adrenalin, and throwing a piano in there, and whispering vocals, amidst the sonic torment... guess they were trying to be "intricate" or "artsy" but it must have really backfired... I need not explain Divine Eve's cover of "Visions Of Mortality", it's not really a standout track... The Emperor and 13 (yes, that's the band's name) tracks are hidden in the last track. Emperor's production sounds very garagy. What's up with this Ishan's (is it?) vocals? Sounds like Daffy Duck singing a Bathory song. 13's track is just boring and stupid, don't mind them.

Overall, I think most Frost fans into extreme/black/death would appreciate this because most of it sticks to the original style, only maybe beefed up a bit more, with different harsh vocals. But no matter how you look at it, nobody does these songs like Celtic Frost. They should have just given the whole task to Usurper, if you ask me.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Testament-Return To The Apocalyptic City -1993 Atlantic Records

I guess you could consider this a pretty good way to represent Testament as a live band, with these 5 live tracks recorded in L.A. My only complaint is, why not "Souls Of Black" material??? The guitars are pretty clear, although a bit beefier than what I'd come to expect from these guys. This also catches them going a bit more extreme, occasionally Chuck Billy using a more death metal voice as opposed to his thrash voice. What songs are on this? "Over The Wall", "So Many Lies", "The Haunting", "Disciples Of The Watch", "Reign Of Terror"-all live, and a studio track called "Return To Serenity", which is a melodic ballad, that reminds me of "The Legacy" or "The Ballad". This song alone is reason enough to buy this.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Diamond Head-Diamond Nights-Metal Blade Records-2000

This collection of original versions of the songs really sheds new light on the tracks you've been hearing for quite some time now. These are the original tracks/masters on "Lightning To The Nations", which the other versions that have been sitting around for the past few years are just re-masters, re-mixes, etc. There is one remix on here, "It's Electric" appears twice, once with the original version, and once with the remix version.

These versions sound more garage-y and raw, while the Metal Blade "Lightning To The Nations" versions are more polished. "Sweet And Innocent" must be a totally different take, because the vocals are done a bit different, it's a lot faster, and on the main riff, it ends in C5-D5 both times, where-as the other version ends in C5-G5 the second time. "Streets Of Gold" also has a harmonized solo which didn't appear on "Behold The Beginning"s version.

This collection also introduced me to a few Diamond Head songs I was never exposed to. Songs like: "We Won't Be Back", "I Don't Got" and "Diamond Lights". For some reason, the intro riff to "I Don't Got" makes me think of the sex scene with the blonde chick and Hubbs, in the movie "The Stoned Age". Ahh she's hot!

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Megadeth-Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!-Combat Records-1985

This is definetly an underrated debut. It's rare that you even see Megadeth perform this material live (I hope they do, I'm seeing them October 13). Dave just seems to forget about this album. None of these songs are included on "The Megadeth Years", and when you see advertisements for their albums, they show every album BUT this one.

I take it Dave was veerryy bitter when he was booted from Metallica. Well Dave surely proved he doesn't need to jam with James to be on the thrash metal throne. This stuff is a lot more intense, both lyrically and musically, when compared to "Kill 'Em All". "Last Rites/Loved To Death" is about killing his girlfriend (now we've all felt that urge once or twice!), the title-track is about being a hitman, and "Mechanix" (aka-"The Four Horsemen") is about sex, using auto-repair analogies. E.G.-"made my drive SHAFT crank, made my pistons bulge, made my ball-bearing melt from the heat!!! oh yeah yeah!". While the other songs seem to have occult-ish themes, "Rattlehead" is an over-the-top thrasher that makes even "Metal Militia" look like "Enter Sandman". Speedy, noisy, and thrashy-I can see a lot of black metallers even getting into this.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Carcass-Heartwork-1994-Earache Records

Believe it or not, I can actually thank MTV for turning me onto Carcass. Probably a year or two after this release, I saw the video for the title-track on Beavis and Butthead, and was just hooked. The thing I like about this, is that it combines detuned death metal riffing, with melodic guitar solos and harmonies. In a way, I can see a resemblence to what is known as the "Gothenburg-sound". The vocals are harsh, and sort of black metal-ish. Some of the riffs actually resemble older Megadeth, if you ask me. Call this grind if you wish, I just see this as melodic death metal.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Venom-Live In London 1985 (Pro-Shot-Bootleg Video)

This is an unofficial bootleg, from the Hammersmith Odeon show, which was at the Metal Hammer Festival that Metallica were on, in the "Cliff 'Em All" video tape. The tape starts off with a roaring crowd, crazed fans, and Venom in the dressing room, then all of the sudden, to the stage---"Too louuud!!! for the ca-roooowwdd!!!".

The quality of this is professional, for 1985, which would probably seem cheesy to most people these days. I dunno, I kinda like it though. Just like I like my oldschool thrash raw and garagy, and just like I like my B-rate horror movies raw, with unknown casting, and mildly fuzzy camera quality, i like my metal footage like this as well. The band play pretty well, but Mantas has an unusual amount of high-end in his guitar tone. Now nobody can say Venom weren't black metal! Venom do their best songs on this as well... "Black Metal", "Countess Bathory", "Buried Alive", "Witching Hour", "Don't Burn The Witch", "The Chanting Of The Priest". I really like this, because it captures the classic line-up, in their prime, ugliness, and rawness. Fire, death, doom, hell!!!!

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Bathory-Jubileum Vol. 3-Black Mark Productions-1998

This is a collection of Bathory material, released over the years, and a few songs which were unreleased before this came out.

The material from "Blood On Ice" is something fans of epic/power metal can enjoy, although there are only 3 songs from that: "The Lake", "The Stallion", and "Gods Of Thunder, Of Wind, And Of Rain". These 3 songs are very atmospheric, using clean, and powerful vocals, over majestic-sounding metal. It has that black metal raunchiness to it, but with a more power metal melodic structure. Personally, these are my favorite 3 songs from this album. I'm pretty sure there is plenty of drum-machine on this album as well. Quorthon has credit for everything on this. His vocals are a bit more versatile, when compared to most other black metal vocalists, which is one reason Bathory are among my favorite black metal bands (not that I listen to many). For some reason, the backing vocals to "Valhalla" are on this... Sounds like a choir (no there are no falsettos).

On perhaps the earliest of Bathory recordings (demos not included), "Satan My Master" and "Witchcraft", it sounds very speedy, almost punky in a way. Extremely screechy vocals too, and the treble in the guitar must be on level 20! Some tracks sound a bit thrash-influenced, like "Genocide" for example, using crunchy palm muted guitar riffs. If you aren't much into black metal, and want to explore the best of the genre, Bathory (along with Venom) are a great place to start. Or if you love black metal, but don't know much about it's origins, I yet again recommend Bathory and Venom.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Girlschool-Nightmare At Maple Cross-1986 GWR Records

Girlschool were an all-female band from the NWOBHM scene, and a damned good one. Hell, Lemmy even worked with them! Denise Dufort is even related to Angel Witch's old drummer, Dave Dufort. How cool is that?

These cute little things can make some real noise though. Don't let their chickness fool ya. These gals play it like the guys do, with the exception of a female voice, which a lot of 'power metal' singers have anyway, haha! The metal version of The Donnas. Great stuff, go get it.

Nevermore-Dreaming Neon Black-(Century Media 1999)

Clean, power-metalish vocals over detuned metal riffs (I didn't say Nu-'metal'). This is the kind of thing you can get into if you dig "The Chemical Wedding" or the Halford material. I like it, but regardless, Warrel Dane was much better in his '80's power/thrash days (remember the cover of "White Rabbit"?). Damn... I miss my "Refuge Denied" tape.

This has some pretty wailing leads. I have to admit though, it is pretty disappointing to see Warrel do this, when compared to Sanctuary, but things seem to be looking up for Nevermore, considering the promo tape i have for their latest album (Dead heart in a dead world, is it?) is a major improvement. Advice to the band: keep up what you guys are doing lately.

Tonka-...This Present Darkness...

Copyright: Very Metal Tonk. Production 2000

This Norweigian band's independant release is an unusual album. I really haven't heard much stuff like this before. The guitarist seems to be influenced by Chuck Schuldiner a bit, with tone and strange melody. I guess this could pass for Death Metal, but the vocals aren't the usual. They are kind of clear, in the sense that you can understand the lyrics, but they do have a harshness and rasp to them. Some great drumming here; credit goes to Yngve Jacobsen, also of Powercage, whose E.P. I reviewed not long ago. He knows where and when to place his drum rolls, which is rare for most drummers (note: he's a huge fan of the "new wave of british heavy metal"). Now that I am listening to this CD as I review it, I noticed that it has grown upon me more than I realized. The style of Tonka isn't something that you can get into from the start, because it's very atmospheric (and no, there are no synth. brigades here), and other-worldly. "N.N.S.B.T." whatever that means, starts off with a really cool harmony, kind of like "Hollow" by Pantera (like them or not, if you listen to that song, it has an awesome harmony). Then it tends to get a bit evil-sounding.

There are two songs on this which were recorded in 1999, on the "One" E.P. which was sent to me over a year ago, in response to my mentioning of the NWOBHM in the 'tallica club 'zine. These two are remastered though. Don't notice any difference, but then again it's been awhile since I've heard that E.P.

One of the coolest things about this album is that I'm on the special thanks, which rules! And yes, Yngve, I'll do my best to keep the metal flame alive in Philly!

Raven-Life's a Bitch-1987 Mayhem Records

This album starts off with "The Savage and the Hungry", a moderately fast song with some cool riffage, and at first, Dave Mustaine-ish vocals. The vocals tend to get annoying sometimes during the screams, but it's pretty much typical N.W.O.B.H.M.- styled vocals. The choruses stick out, and get stuck in your head to the point where you can listen to this album twice and five years down the line, remember how half the songs' choruses go. Pretty heavy stuff here, pump-your-fist, oldschool brit-metal. This particular album isn't a milestone, but it's worth your money.

Slayer-Reign in Blood-1986 Def American records

I chose to review this because Chris brought it up to me in a conversation a few days ago. His feelings were pretty negative towards this.

Personally, I'll never understand why this is everybody and their grandma's favorite Slayer album. There are a few good songs on this, but the more mediocre songs in between kill your momentum. "Angel of Death", their most popular song, starts the album off with a burst of energy, which gets ruined by the next track, "Piece by Piece". It picks up again with "Post-mortem", which isn't really that much a fast song, it just has some really great riffs in it. After this, the adrenalin dies once again, until album closer, "Raining Blood" begins.

The whole album is fast thrash metal, with no clean or slow passages, but most of the material is just so mediocre, and rushed-sounding, that it kills the mood. This is what began Slayer's downfall (What?! What do ya mean they got better after this?! Shut the fuck up, Nu-metaller!)

Rating: 6 of 10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

HOLOCAUST-LIVE: HOT CURRY AND WINE-(ORIGINALLY RELEASED 1983) METAL BLADE

This is Holocaust's second album, and it follows up "The Nightcomers" pretty damned well. It features 4 songs from the previous album: "The Nightcomers", "Death or Glory", "Smokin' Valves" and "Heavy Metal Mania". I'm not sure if the rest of the songs were originally done on compilations or singles.

The band's live sound is very tight, and they pretty much sound the same as the studio, only a little more in your face, and lively. That's the perfect thing to be, for a live heavy metal band. Great songs, great performance, great sound, not too much stage-banter in between songs, but enough to make you feel like you are there. The thing i like about live albums is the fact that they make you feel like you're not alone, in your car or room, listening to an album; they make you feel like you are there with hundreds of headbanging friends (of hell???).

"Heavy Metal Mania" leaves out the harmony intro that is on "The Nightcomers" (the first album features two versions, one with the harmony, and a "single version" that leaves that part out, just like this version). "Death or Glory" was played a little too fast, which is kind of a downside, considering it's my favorite Holocaust song, and that it just feels so much heavier when played slower and grindier, as in the original version. We musicians have all been through that though, you play a kick-ass song that was meant to be a bit slow, but your adrenalin makes you play faster. (note- when reuniting with old bandmates at a block party, we did a too-fast version of "Twist of Cain" by Danzig because we were too hyper).

There really isn't anything bad to say about this, so if you are already a Holocaust fan and do not own this album, I'd definetly recommend it. If you still haven't heard Holocaust, consider yourself metallically deprived.

"Do you wanna hear something heavy!? Do ya wanna hear something so fucking heavy it's like having your brains picked out by a madman???! alright! suck on this!"---John Mortimer, before "Death or Glory"

Rate: no number, just put it this way, it's the next best live album, when put up against Iron Maiden's "Live After Death". What a fuckin' compliment. Tear it up boys!---Erik Chrupalyk

Blind Guardian-Somewhere Far Beyond-Century Media 2000 (Booklet says recorded in '92)

"Epic power metal, with a somewhat thrash kick", is what i think of, when the question, "what does this album sound like" is posed to me. This stuff is more on the power metal side though. There is a fair amount of acoustic/clean passages in this stuff, a lot of harmonies, melodies, and the power metal standard-double bass drumming with a thrashing back rhythem, and a melodic guitar lick over that... The vocals are high-pitched as usual, but not in the "homosexual with no nads" range.

Hmm...nice artwork... dungeons and dragons metal... good production... that piano song, "Black Chamber" gotta go though. All we need now in power metal, is a metal rendition of the Hercules and Xena theme music, and I'm as happy as Rob Halford with a Playgirl.

Review (and bad gay joke) by Erik Chrupalyk

ARTILLERY-BY INHERITANCE-RC RECORDS 1990

First thing that came to my mind during the first listen of this: "Hey, I like this. What Overkill album is this?". The vocalist sounds exactly like Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth. The music is thrash with some power metal influences. I can see a Helloween or Blind Guardian fan getting into this. It has good production, but it's just a little too thin-sounding, like Megadeth's debut.

Not overwhelming, but not bad. Something cool to thrash to though, and hey, the first track on this even sounds like the first track on Overkill's "Horrorscope" in some parts! So if ya dig power-thrash, or bands like Flotsam and Jetsam, Blind Guardian etc., then you might dig this.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

Budgie-(self-titled)-1971 MCA Records

Budgie were a British 3-piece band, who were sadly not given the attention they deserved. They've watched Black Sabbath, Rush, Led Zeppelin, and Uriah Heep rise and fall in glory and in excess. Budgie were: Ray Phillips on drums, Burke Shelley on bass, vocals, and melotron (have no clue what that is), and Tony Bourge on a detuned Gibson SG, just like Iommi.

Combining the vocal style of Geddy Lee from Rush (and a huge physical resemblence), and the slow, dreary doom of Black Sabbath (minus the huge distortion), Budgie were one of the bands who paved the way for countless doom bands to follow.They also reveled in hippie-dom, with the folky and tacky "Everything in my Heart" and "You and I". The lyrics seem pretty silly, for example, listen to these titles: "Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman", "Crash Course in Brain Surgery", "Rape of the Locks", which features the line "you wanna cut my hair!"

Despite their taste for humour, Budgie were not a joke. They later went on to a more NWOBHM sound, and were taking a huge part in that scene, as it would come, 8 years after this release.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk.

D.R.I.-FULL SPEED AHEAD-1995 ROTTEN RECORDS

I WAS INTRODUCED TO D.R.I. THROUGH A COMPILATION CALLED "HUH", DURING THE MID '90'S. IT FEATURED "SYRINGES IN THE SANDBOX" WHICH IS STILL MY FAVORITE SONG BY 'EM.

THIS ALBUM DOESN'T COVER MUCH GROUND, BUT IT'S STILL KICK-ASS. IT'S SIMPLISTIC, DETUNED CROSSOVER STUFF, WITH A LYRICAL FOCUS ON THE FUCK-UPS OF SOCIETY. DAMN...THERE ISN'T MUCH ELSE TO SAY...IT'S NOT MALLCORE OR NU-'METAL' THOUGH.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

VENDETTA-BRAIN DAMAGE-1988 NOISE RECORDS

I CAN'T REALLY PIN-POINT ONE SPECIFIC BAND AS REFERENCE TO VENDETTA'S SOUND. BUT IF YOU WERE LISTENING TO A LOT OF THE THRASH BANDS ON METAL BLADE DURING THE '80'S, YOU SORTA GET THE IDEA... THEY FEATURE SEMI-HARSH THRASH VOCALS, NOT REALLY HITTING MANY HIGHS OR LOWS, JUST STAYING IN THE MIDRANGE TERRITORY. GREAT PRODUCTION JOB ON THIS. EVERYTHING IS NICE AND CLEAR, YET STILL MAINTAINS PLENTY OF RAWNESS. FEW HARMONIES HERE AND THERE. GREAT RIFFS AND DRUMMING, BUT THE BASS PLAYING DOESN'T REALLY MAKE A HUGE IMPACT. GOOD ENOUGH TO BUY, BUT PRETTY AVERAGE FOR '80'S ERA METAL.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

DEATH ANGEL-THE ULTRA VIOLENCE-1987-RESTLESS RECORDS

THIS CD IS A THRASH CLASSIC. PURE BAY AREA BRED PHILLIPINO THRASH METAL!!! THIS ALBUM IS JAM-PACKED WITH CRUSHING RIFFAGE, RAW PRODUCTION, AND TONS OF SCREAMING. THE DRUMMING IS EXCELLANT TOO. I THINK THIS IS WHAT EXODUS MEANT TO DO (SORRY CHRIS! BUT DEATH ANGEL BLOW EXODUS AWAY! JUST COMPARE THE DEBUTS). SOME OF THE SONGS ARE ACTUALLY MEMORABLE TOO, YA KNOW HOW LOTS OF THRASH/SPEED METAL BANDS JUST SCREAM AND BEAT THEIR INSTRUMENTS INTO OBLIVEON? DEATH ANGEL ACTUALLY MAKES YOU REMEMBER THEIR SONGS. "KILL! AS! ONE!". PRETTY CLEAN VOCALS TOO, EXCEPT FOR WHEN MARK DESIDES TO SCREAM...BUT ANYWAY, IF YOU ARE A COLLECTOR OF EARLY-MID ERA BAY AREA THRASH/CROSSOVER/DEATH/SPEED METAL STUFF, THEN THIS IS A MUST-HAVE, IF YOU DON'T ALREADY OWN IT.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

DEMONIAC-PREPARE FOR WAR-(1994 Osmose Productions)

It's rare that you see me cover black metal bands, here at unstoppable force. with 5 people writing for the webzine, there were hardly any black metal reviews or interviews, which is amazingly suprising. maybe a venom here or there, but most black metal fans don't even consider venom "black metal" (preposterous! and of pure faggotry!)!!! i was introduced to demoniac through an aol friend (saturiun, as you aol-metallers know him as). he told me to check out their stuff on napster, so i downloaded "demons of the night", a power metal song done black metally. i loved it, so i found this at a flea market called Big-T, where this dude lenny sells metal stuff.

The music on this doesn't really have much to do with power metal, as the song i heard before did, but i like this anyway. it's oldschool, raw black metal, with a little bit of thrash and death thrown in (oldschool black is very related to both anyways). there even seems to be a slight punkish feel to some of the stuff (no i don't mean sum41), in the way that it's basically just a bunch of power chords strummed fast as hell. there is even a bathory cover on this, a bathory song i didn't even know existed, it's called "the return of darkness and evil". a very cool plus---photos of the band with topless chicks, and damn their boobs are perfect! and they are wearing bullet belts!). so, if you are into nifelheim, bathory, etc., then i think you will like this. kudos to lenny for owning it and selling it to me, and kudas to saturniun for introducing me to them.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

SINERGY "Beware the Heavens" Nuclear Blast, 1999

SINERGY is a female fronted power-metal band from Germany. I must say, I am VERY picky when it comes to these types of bands, but SINERGY is the exception. Kimberly Goss really does a killer job here, delivering each and every song with passion, emotion, exceptional range, and tone. She is probably one of the BEST female vocalists I've ever heard. Album opener, "Venomous Vixens" starts with a short guits riff, and then goes straight for the jugular! The chorus is catchy, and the lyrics discuss impending doom for all who cross the path of these "Vixens". The third song, "Born unto Fire and Passion" is a beautyfully crafted instrumental, blending piano, violin, and guitar; it's very atmospheric and emotional. This song is a gateway to the song "The Warrior Princess", which is a tale about the great Xenia. Usually, songs of this type tend to be cheesy, but this song prevails. Why?? The chorus (again) grabs you by the neck and doesn't let go. Very fast-paced rhythm guitar is the backbone of this song. It rocks!! Title track "Beware the Heavens" displays in full force what SINERGY are capable of. Mood, tempo, range, solo guitar, rhythm...it all comes together and kicks your ass. The art work features a hooded sorcerer, surrounded by all kinds of animals (are they safe or dying??). The sky is scorched purple and black, creating a very apocalyptic and doomish scene. The packaging is cleverly tinted in all purple, matching the art work. SINERGY really delivers top notch power-metal the way it should be!!!

RATING: 9/10 ---Review by: Anthony DeLuca

HALLOWEEN "Victims of the Night" Re-release Molten Metal USA, 1997

This is an American band from MI that has been around since the early/mid 80's. Their style of metal is classic guitar work and mid ranged evil & high pitched vocals. Opening tracks "Intro/Welcome" suck you into a world of darkness and evil presented by HALLOWEEN. A very distinct drum sound is heard, almost electric. One particular song, "Rest in Piece" really displays the bands full potential, with a KILLER guitar intro that leads into the main riff of the song. The liner notes of the album suggest that local news & stories make good song ideas. As seen in the lyrics...

I CAN SEE YOU LYING IN THE GROUND BEYOND THE GATES

I'VE WITNESSED VIOLENCE AND I'VE SEEN THE ONES YOU HATE

THEY CUT YOU, THEY BEAT YOU, RAPED YOU IN YOUR GRAVE

THEY LET YOU DIE, WATCHED YOU SCREAM, ON THAT BLOODY DAY

Other songs, such as "Love 'Em and Lose 'Em" take a look at relationships...you know, getting dumped and all that fun shit. "Children of the Witches" has a REALLY good pace & beat. The chorus is extremely catchy & holds your attentions right down to the last note played. All in all, this album KICKS ASS!!! Go get it...you won't regret it!!

RATING: 9.3/10 ---Review by: Anthony DeLuca

NUFUTURECOWBOYS "Psyco Mind" Demo

This was something new...to me anyway. At first glance, I felt that this album would be different. The cover art alone KICKS ASS. Standing in all her glory is a female alien. Face like an angel, body like...well, something gross. Appearing to be growing out of her back is a fetus-like alien, holding a gun. They are surrounded by kneeling skull-faced baby aliens holding knives, which are pointed downward. WOW!!! This got my attention. I anxiously placed the CD into my sterio, and waited for the music to play. After several listens, my taste for this album grew, as I was VERY skeptical about what I first heard. Allow me to explain...

Track one, "Psyco Mind" starts off with a really aggressive and fast drum solo, which then blasts into a heavy guitar riff. The vocals are in vein of PANTERA meets SLAYER, yet somewhat on the distorted side. It seemed that this album would be EVERYTHING I hated about "trendy metal". Boy, was I wrong. Further listens showed me the whole aspect of the band.

"Body of Evidence" shows a cleaner sounding vocalist, still delivering with the same aggresion in the opening song. After all the aggresion starts to slow down a bit, BAM!!! You get this amazing guitar solo. I'm talking JUDAS PRIEST (Jugulator era)/BLITXKRIEG-ish leads, such as the ones on track 4, "Sludge" and on track 7, "Down".

I'll admit, I'm still warming up to this album, but it really has gotten my attention. Fans of a more aggresive, heavier metal will LOVE this!!! Seven tracks total, "Psyco Mind" is a nice intro to this band. Watch for them on tour with BLITZKRIEG. Their website offers some mp3's, links, a bio, etc. Check these guys out!!!

NUFUTURECOWBOYS official website:

http://www.nufuturecowboys.com

RATING: 7.8/10 ---Review by: Anthony DeLuca

JACOBS DREAM: "Theater of War"

One of my favorite bands in the scene its without a doubt, JACOBS DREAM. Their style ranges from traditional metal to simple metal. If you want originality, you will not find it in this band, but their compositions are good when it comes to emotions. It seems that the vocalist, Mr. Taylor, got sick before he record this album, and with the album already scheldlued, he feels better and start recording this album. Thats the reason why he sounds a bit diferent from the previus releases. JACOBS DREAM deliver 9 songs to my taste of music; the highlights are: sanctuary,traces of grace, and critical mass,and a special mention of wisdom and sarah williams, who came in the first release of JD when they didnt have a metal blade contract.., a cristian metal taste on they lyrics, good songs of confidence in a divine person and the decadence of mankind. A good band, good composition, and a very special vocalist in the TATE, KISKE range, but with his own touch and emotion. This album its for a die hard metaler, so if you have a short criterium guy stay away from this album....this for redbone metalers, with a special taste!....

RATING: 8/10 ---Review by: Matias Solis

IRON MAIDEN-BRAVE NEW WORLD (PORTRAIT/COLUMBIA RECORDS 2000)

This has got to be the greatest comeback material that the music world has heard. Yes i know Maiden didn't break up before this, but the two albums with Blaze were disappointing enough (hey, I didn't say they sucked) to consider their first album with the return of Bruce and Adrian a comeback.

There has never been this much passion and emotion jam-packed into one CD, as far as i know, thoughout recorded history.

The band go in a more "progressive" or "matured" direction with this one. So much to the point where you can imagine a symphony conductor in front of the band on "Blood Brothers". Bruce Dickinson's voice has gotten so much more powerful with age. The triple guitar layering of Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, and Janick Gers is so intricate and beautiful. The drumming of Nicko McBrain and bass playing of Steve Harris is so sensitive to the rest of the band's instrumentation that you'd think they were orchestra musicians at one point. The feel/vibe is so abstract, epic, and atmospheric that it makes Pink Floyd seem like The Exploited.

Do I really have to say anything more to get you chrome-domed soldiers of steel to buy this? Hell, this is the second copy I've owned.---rating 9.99 (only because...oh hell! It's a 10!)-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

SLAYER-HAUNTING THE CHAPEL-1984-METAL BLADE RECORDS

THIS THING IS LIMITED TO ONLY 4 SONGS, AND IT'S STILL MY FAVORITE SLAYER ALBUM! I DON'T CARE MUCH FOR "AGGRESSIVE PERFECTOR", A SONG WHICH IS NOW A BONUS TRACK, ORIGINALLY FROM ONE OF THE "METAL MASSACRE" COMPS. "CHEMICAL WARFARE"---A PRETTY SELF-DESCRIPTIVE SONG, DEPICTS SOLDIERS FALLING DEAD FROM A CHEMICAL MYST. HOW METAL IS THAT??? THAT'S ACTUALLY ONE OF THE MAIN THEMES IN MY WRITING! "CAPTOR OF SIN"---JUST A BADASS SONG ABOUT BEING BORN THE CHILD OF SATAN, AND IT STARTS OFF LIKE METALLICA'S "NO REMORSE" A BIT. "HAUNTING THE CHAPEL"---THE MOST ADRENALIN-FILLED SONG ON THE E.P., IT DEPICTS DEMONS FROM HELL TEARING APART THE CHURCH OF GOD. DAMN...THIS THING IS JUST TOO GOOD. RATING---8 OF 10-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

KING DIAMOND - THE SPIDER'S LULLABY-METAL BLADE RECORDS,1995

You listen to some vocalists and say "well there's a guy that got knailed in the balls one too many times". On the other hand, you listen to King Diamond and wonder if the guy even has balls to begin with.

Somewhat of a concept album, as are most or all King Diamond albums, the reason I say "somewhat" being there are only four songs on this album dealing with a concept of any sort.

As the title suggests, the concept is spider related.As I said, only the last four tracks have a concept to them.Starting at the title track, which features a pretty eerie keyboard intro,but King sounds a bit goofy and out of place during the intro, and the lyrics during that part don't help much either.The song tells of a man named Harry, who has an immense fear of spiders.He checks himself into a place called Devil Lake Sanitarium in order to cure his phobia, and that would be the song "Eastmann's Cure".Next he is taken to "Room 17" to have a few tests performed on him,strapping him down to his bed while spiders are being placed upon him.They run many tests and forget to remove one last spider from his body.The spider then lays eggs in the back of Harry's neck.The next morning he is found dead.Dr.Eastmann states that he died of fright, but he never knew about the spider in the back of Harry's neck, thus leaving me to belive the spider may have killed him. So they take him "To the Morgue", where his body lay infested with spiders.There's the storyline for ya, a fairy tale for the whole family.

This was the King's heaviest album at the time, but not his best.Still a very good record.I used to pick on it a bit because of King's voice, and I found some of the lyrics to be a bit goofy.I still think some of these lyrics are a bit goofy, but I do have a newfound appreciation for his creepy falsetto.Kind of like a Satanic opera singer.

The guitar playing on this album is spectacular.King(a.k.a Kim Bendix Peterson) always seems to have a great guitarist with him, be it Hank Shermann in Mercyful Fate or in this case,Andy LaRocque.Brilliant guitar work has always been a constant with Andy, and this album is no exception.Songs like "Killer", "The Poltergeist", and "From the Other Side" are a few of my personal favorites on this album.Sounds like Children of Bodom may have borrowed a bit from the song "From the Other Side" in their song "Bodom After Midnight", as can be heard in the intro of both songs.Amazing solos as well from the much underrated LaRocque.

I like this album a lot more than I used to.Pretty neat story going on in the last four songs,each song leading into the next as far as subject matter is concerned.A nice album indeed, although I still prefer Mercyful Fate.Well worth the ten dollars I spent on it.All hail the King!

Review by Will Jordan

MEGADETH-THE WORLD NEEDS A HERO-2001-SANCTUARY RECORDS

IS IT ME, OR ARE CRITICS AND FANS JUST REALLY CONFUSED? ON THE ONE HAND, YOU HEAR "THEY'VE SOLD OUT & TOTALLY ABANDONED THEIR ORIGINAL SOUND", THEN THE SAME PEOPLE TURN AROUND AND SAY, "OH WITH THIS NEW ONE, MEGADETH JUST REST ON PAST LAURELS, AND REPEAT THEMSELVES". MAKE UP YOUR MINDS!

PERSONALLY, I LIKE THIS ALBUM, AND I'M A BIT RELIEVED, YET AT THE SAME TIME DISAPPOINTED. THIS IS NO "RUST IN PEACE" OR EVEN A "YOUTHANASIA", BUT IT'S A HUGE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, AWAY FROM "RISK". LOTS OF PALM-MUTED, CHUGGED RIFFS, WAILING SOLOS, SIGNATURE MUSTAINE VOCAL SNEERS, HEAVY/POUNDING DRUMS, AND UNIQUE BASSLINES.

"WHEN" STARTS OFF LIKE "THE CALL OF KTULU" BUT JUST SLIGHTLY. IT ENDS UP SOUNDING A LOT LIKE DIAMOND HEAD'S "AM I EVIL?", FROM SONG STRUCTURE, TO TIMING, DRUM BEATS, RIFFS, CHORD/KEY CHANGES, VOCAL TIMING, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS.

THE MOST IMPORTANT SONG ON THIS ALBUM, "RETURN TO HANGAR", HAS A FEEL TO IT SIMILAR TO SOME OF THE SONGS ON "HIDDEN TREASURES", BUT ALSO BORROWS FROM "HANGAR 18", THE WAY METALLICA HAS BORROWED FROM "THE UNFORGIVEN", WITH IT'S SEQUEL SONG. TOWARDS THE END OF THE SONG, IT BREAKS INTO TOTAL THRASH METAL RIFFING AND DRUMMING, UNLIKE ANYTHING THEY'VE DONE BEFORE (I DON'T RECALL MEGADETH PLAYING STRAIGHT-UP ALTERNATE PICKED THRASH RIFFS, THEY USUALLY HAD TRIPLETS OR SOMETHING, BUT THIS ONE IS LIKE "ANGEL OF DEATH" OR "WHIPLASH"). ATOP THE FRENZIED RYTHEM IS A GUITAR SOLO TRADE-OFF, LIKE IN "HANGAR 18". ONE OF THE LEADS DAVE USES IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING HE BORROWED FROM AN OLD MERCYFUL FATE SONG ("EVIL" OR "SATAN'S FALL" IF I RECALL), THEN HE USED IT ON "PHANTOM LORD" WHILE HE WAS IN METALLICA, THEN FOR "THE CONJURING", OFF "PEACE SELLS...".

"PROMISES" IS A REAL STAND-OUT TRACK, BEING A LOVE BALLAD. IF YOU KNOW ME WELL, YOU'D KNOW I'M A REAL SUCKER FOR BALLADS ("ONE" BY METALLICA IS THE REASON I'M WRITING THIS, IN A ROOM WITH A FLYING V, AND A TRUNK WITH STICKERS BY G.B.H., SLAYER, MEGADETH, VENOM, IRON MAIDEN, METALLICA, DANZIG, C.O.C., CELTIC FROST, AND NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS). THE LYRICAL MESSAGE SEEMS TO SORT OF BE LIKE BLUE OYSTER CULT'S "(DON'T FEAR) THE REAPER".

NEGATIVE STUFF? THE CHORUS TO "MOTO PYCHO" IS VERY CHEESY, AND I DON'T MEAN GOOD CHEESY EITHER. SAME GOES FOR THE TITLE TRACK, THEN IN "WHEN" THERE IS A SPOKEN WORD PART WHERE DAVE TRIES TO SOUND ANGRY BUT ENDS UP SOUNDING STUPID. IT'S TOO FORCED-SOUNDING.

OVERALL, GOOD ALBUM, WORTH YOUR MONEY, BUT IT'S NO "BRAVE NEW WORLD".

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

ANGEL WITCH-ANGEL WITCH

ANOTHER "NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL" BAND? WHY, YES OF COURSE. THESE GUYS HAVE INFLUENCED COUNTLESS BANDS, MOST NOTABLY, DECEASED, METALLICA, MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, AND SIX FEET UNDER (THEY COVERED "CONFUSED" ON "GRAVEYARD CLASSICS"). ANGEL WITCH WERE QUITE UNIQUE, BEING ONE OF THE HEAVIER NWOBHM BANDS FOR THE TIME, ALONG WITH HOLOCAUST, VENOM, AND WITCHFINDER GENERAL. THE GUITARS HERE ARE MUCH MORE IN YOUR FACE THAN YOUR AVERAGE METAL BAND FROM THIS ERA. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE BOTTOM-END HERE. ANOTHER GOOD THING IS THAT VOCALIST (KEVIN HEYBOURNE) DOESN'T SOUND LIKE HE GOT KICKED IN THE NADS. WELL, NEED I SAY MORE? BUY THE DAMN THING.

Review by Erik Chrupalyk

POWERCAGE---2001 E.P.

THIS 3 SONG E.P. WAS SENT TO ME BY THE DRUMMER, YNGVE JACOBSEN, WHOM I'VE BEEN IN PEN-SHIP WITH FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF NOW, SINCE HE SENT ME HIS TONKA DEMO, AND LETTER ABOUT MY INTEREST IN THE NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL. THIS BAND HAS A LOT MORE POTENTIAL THAN TONKA, PROBABLY BECAUSE THIS SOUNDS MORE FOCUSED, AND HAS A BIT MORE MOMENTUM. FOR FANS OF SEVEN WITCHES, ANGEL WITCH, HAMMERFALL, DIVISION, ETC. THE VOCALS ARE THE TYPICAL POWER METAL HIGH FALSETTOS, BUT IT'S NOT REALLY MY THING.THE GOOD THING ABOUT THIS BAND THOUGH, IS THAT THEY DON'T OVERDO IT WITH THE MUSICIANSHIP THING. THEY STICK TO THE MAIN RIFF A LOT, WHICH YOU DON'T SEE TOO OFTEN IN POWER METAL BANDS THESE DAYS. SOME OF THE RIFFS AND SOLOS EVEN KIND OF REMIND YOU OF DIO OR THE SCORPIONS TOO, WHICH IS ABOUT AS OLDSCHOOL AS YOU CAN GET, WITHOUT GOING DOOM. OH, AND DON'T FORGET THE BEAUTIFUL-ASS HARMONIES! ANYWAY, THAT PRETTY MUCH SUMS IT UP, FOR A COPY, WRITE OR EMAIL THE BAND AT....

YJMETAL@FRISURF.NO

VEGARD.LIMA@C2I.NET

POWERCAGE C/O YNGVE JACOBSEN

PLOMMEVEIEN 1A

4635 KRISTIANSAND

NORWAY

---RATING-8 OF 10----ERIK CHRUPALYK

MANOWAR-Fighting the World-Atlantic-1987

MANOWAR...a band which has as many fans as they have detractors. Some like the band,claiming the music kicks their ass. Others hate them,saying they are the Gods of Velvetta (cheese) metal. With this album, the band's first or Atlantic,they wear the cheese crown well.

The title track kicks ass...an anthem about metal with some cheese lyrics ("Manowar's made of steel,not clay"? HAHAHAHA...that's pretty bad.),but the following track,"Blow Your Speakers",is the chesiest thing about this album. The song is boring,first of all. Second of all...I'm not blowing any speakers. What if you have REALLY GOOD speakers,and then you listen to Eric Adams tell you to blow them up. I'm sure you would flip him off and explain to him how much you had to save for the fucking things in the first place.

"Carry On" is a decent track,but "Violence and Bloodshed" is a great song...and you would have to admit it,despite the fact that you might love or hate the band. The next song,however,is one of my favorite MANOWAR tracks of all time..."Defender". Everything about it is awesome...the spoken word part by Orson Wells,the slow,moody,atmospheric music,and Eric Adams's incredible vocals realy make this song work for me. "Drums of Doom" is just Scott Columus playing the drums,"Holy War" is another decent song...and that sets up "Master of Revenge"...a small spoken word part before another one of this band's best songs starts...and that song is "Black Wind,Fire,and Steel".

Fuck..."Black Wind,Fire,and Steel" is one great motherfuckin' song...listen to it. If you don't like it...you truly are fake and should be destroyed along with the poser ass music you call a music collection.

Overall...a mixed album. Some cheese,some kick ass songs,and some even combine the two. I happen to like this band quite a bit...so I like the album...but mostly because half the songs here are good. Any decent Manowar compilation should have most of these songs on it...so if you want to pick the album up,go right ahead...just be prepared that the Centurions of Cheddar have some offerings to the cheese gods here.

Rating=6.5/10 Review by Chris O'Brien

MALICE-In The Beginning...-Atlantic-1985

Holy shit! I heard that this band sounded alot like Judas Priest,but damn...this COULD BE JUDAS PRIEST. I honestly think it is J.P...mainly because of how bad "Turbo" sucked and because of how cool this album is.

The first song here,"Rockin For You",is not really that good...and it brought my expectations for this album down a bit...then came the next track "Into the Ground" which lifted my spirits a bit...making me realize why I gave this a shot in the first place. The next songs "Air Attack" and "Stellar Masters" made me like this album as much as I do...both songs sound like they could be Judas Priest songs from the "Hellbent for Leather/Killing Machine" and "British Steel" era.

I'm sure you get the idea by now...with how many times I mentioned Judas Priest in this review,you should know what you're getting if you decide to pick this album up...really good metal. As for the rest of the songs...like I said before,think of OLD Judas Priest with some great riffs thrown in and a more modern (for th time) sound and you've got an underground clasic.

Rating=8/10 Review by Chris O'Brien

BLESSED DEATH-Destined For Extinction-RoadRacer-1987

Man..."Kill Or Be Killed" is a hard act to follow. The awesome songs,the rough,yet crunchy production,and the cheap cover graphics make that album a true child of the 80's underground metal movement. Well...they released ANOTHER record a few years after the classic (at least in my mind) "Kill Or Be Killed". Does it live up to the first album? Yes and no.

The vocals by Larry Portelli are like those of Burton C Bell of Fear Factory...able to move from a higher pitch to an almost death growl without any kind of a rough transition. Portelli DOES get rather annoying when he hits the notes to often (i.e.-Pray For Death) and it kind of distracts from the listening experience. The songs here are a bit better (like on the tracks PainKiller,Digital War,10,000 Days (of Bloodshed), and Incoming Wounded.) than on the first album,but the last three songs here (Curse of Weapons, Alien Impregnation,and Destructions Eve) are the worst the band has written. The songs sound the same,the lyrics blow,and ugh...I hate it when band I like alot sucks so much three tracks in a row.

The sound here is a bit loose an it isn't as powerful as the compact sound on "Kill or Be Killed". Everything sounds a bit loose...still enjoyable,but the production should have been much better than it is.

This album is kind of worth owning...the first six tracks here are really good...but those last three make me want to fall asleep...something a thrash album should NEVER do. If you can get the double CD version,go for it. If you van get it cheap or used,go for it,but if you have to pay more than eight bucks for it,just pass.

Rating=6/10 Review by Chris O'Brien

CHILDREN OF BODOM-FOLLOW THE REAPER-NUCLEAR BLAST 2001

If you got it, flaunt it...Thats what I could imagine Alexi Laiho saying if asked about his guitar playing.As if the previous sentence didnt spell things out for you, he does indeed flaunt it......a lot, and he isnt even the only one in the band who does.

Remember the last time you said to yourself" Man, these guys have an awesome keyboardist"? Well, if you still cant remember, it's because you havent heard Janne Warman.I'm sometimes a little turned off by keyboards, but not in this case,the keyboards just fit in realy well here.You could, for instance, take Warman's keyboard solo from "Mask of Sanity and play it on guitar, and it would sound like anything Alexi Laiho might play.Thats how well it fits, and that tells you of how fast this guy can play.Sure, we hear this kind of speed in classical piano, but I think its really cool how it works within a metal song.Some bands have keyboards to sound deep,artsy,avant garde, whatever you may call it, but it actually works here.No useless, fluttery, black metal type keyboards, this stuff is surprisingly good.Wow, I'm reviewing a metal album and all I've done is talk about keyboards, so I'll move on to the guitars.

Alexander Kuoppala and Alexi Laiho are without a doubt a formidable tandem,both contributing to what makes this album great as a whole, as do the rest of the members, but its Laiho's guitar playing which impresses me the most. His intro solo on "Everytime I Die" kinda reminds me of Zakk Wylde, and I like his main solo in the song a lot as well.Sometimes the best solos aren't all about how many notes you play, but about which notes you play and how you play them.Great solo, fits the mood of the song quite nicely.Lots of complex riffs and Yngwie approved solos,every song has something interesting to listen to.

This album also boasts some great drumming from Jaska Raatikainen,especially on "Northern Comfort".I really like the double bass work come chorus time on the aforementioned song.I dunno, something about double bass drumming that I like, Im sure an actual drummer would have more to add here, but I couldnt be any worse at drumming if I tried.I could try to be worse, but i wouldnt succeed, so I'll move on.

Henkka T. Blacksmith's bass playing on this album isn't anything flashy( or at least what I can hear of it), although I'm sure you'd have to be an above average bassist to keep up with these guys.Just doing his job and not trying to show off or anything.The strongest trace of Blacksmith can be heard on the W.A.S.P. cover,"Hellion".

Alexi's vocals on this album are nothing special, but they fit the style of music Children of Bodom play. Standard black metal vocals, just not quite as shreiky as some of the stuff Im used to.Ok lyrics, although not always understandable comming from Laiho, but I have no complaints.

All in all, this is a fantastic album. I'd also recomend "Something Wild" and "Hatebreeder" by Children of Bodom as well.Guitarists will like this album a lot I think, as will fans of the Gothenburg style metal, and metal in general.This album made me not despise keyboards as much as I used to, so it cant be that bad,although I still prefer the drum/bass/guitar/vox formula used by most of the bands I admire.Be sure to check this album out.

Review by Will Jordan

DARK ANGEL-DARKNESS DESCENDS--RELATIVITY RECORDS 1986

Every time you pick up a copy of Metal Maniacs or Pit, there will always be some band claiming to be " the fastest" or "the most brutal" or " the most satanic",etc.Brutal isn't how low you can sing or how many steps you tune your guitar down to,speed isn't just playing a zillion random notes for the sake of being fast(remember, speed and precision go hand in hand), and since when did" the satan factor" become so important anyways?

Back to the subject, I've heard music from a handful of bands claiming to be " the fastest, most brutal band on the planet", but if a lot of these bands compared themselves to Dark Angel, they'd all be left with their hands in their pockets, staring at the ground with a droopy look on their faces while wondering why they even opened their mouths in the first place.

Yep, thats how heavy Dark Angel is.Words like brutal,vicious, and apocalyptic dont even do the band justice.This is simply an amazing thrash record in my opinion.Yes it has tons of speed, but speed is nothing without precision, which Dark Angel possess in spades.

The vocals,courtesy of Don Doty, sound menacing on songs like "Perish in Flames","The Burning of Sodom" and the title track, in fact, he sounds great on the whole album.

Gene Hoglan's drumming on this album is great, probably one of the best metal drummers ever( or some would say Dave Lombardo).Amazing drumwork,fast and furious,never a dull moment, one of the many highlights on this album.

The bass was recorded by Rob Yahn before he left the band(Mike Gonzalez is the bass player pictured on the back of the album).Good bass playing, nothing flashy, but you'll hear the bass on every song.I like the tone of the bass on this album a lot, kind of metallic( no I didnt mispell 'Metallica'" sounding, and this only makes the album better.

I love the guitar playing on this album, some of the fastest I've ever heard, but it doesn't sound like a cluttered mess.Awesome riffage from Jim Durkin and Eric Meyer, some of the coolest riffs I've ever heard.Just plain brutal, and stil listenable at the same time.Crazy soloing,Jim and Eric trading off chaotic licks and complementing each other well.These guys are really underated, and its a shame more people dont know about them.

This album has really great lyrics,especially the songs with lyrics written or co written by Gene Hoglan. Gene Hoglan is mostly known for his awesome drumming, but this guy could write some really interesting lyrics as well. Every song on this album is great, especially "Black Prophecies" or "Death is Certain(Life is Not)".

It took me a long time to even find this album, but it was well worth the wait. A thrash metal classic without a doubt,if you dont have it, I suggest you look for it.Korn fans will hear this album and piss their pants.

By Will Jordan

VENOM-WELCOME TO HELL-1981-COMBAT/NEATRECORDS

I'VE ACTUALLY PICKED THIS UP ONLY RECENTLY, BECAUSE I ALREADY HAVE MOST OF THE SONGS ON THIS CD. I OWN THE 'BEST OF' COLLECTION-"FROM HEAVEN TO THE UNKNOWN" AND ABOUT 9 OF THE SONGS ON THIS ALBUM ARE ON IT. I'M SO METAL I PUT OUT $15 DOLLARS JUST TO HEAR LIKE 4 SONGS I NEVER HEARD BEFORE.

THIS CD IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME, BECAUSE IT WAS THE BIRTH OF A MORE EXTREME METAL SOUND. BEFORE THIS, WHO WAS THE HEAVIEST BAND AROUND? MOTORHEAD MAYBE? NOBODY PLAYED AT SPEEDS LIKE "WITCHING HOUR", OR WITH SUCH INTENSITY AS "BURSTING OUT". THE RAWEST, FASTEST, NOISIEST RECORDINGS EVER MADE AT THE TIME. A LOT OF YOUNGER, AND MORE DEGENERATE METAL FANS SEEM TO SAY VENOM WEREN'T BLACK METAL, AND ONLY COINED THE TERM, AND THAT TRUE BLACK METAL IS EMPEROR, MARDUK, DARK FUNERAL, ETC. BUT MAN HOW WRONG THEY ARE! LISTEN TO THIS DISTORTION! THIS NOISE! THIS SPEED! THIS UNPOLISHED HELL OF SONIC TORMENT!

IF VENOM WEREN'T BLACK METAL,THAN SABBATH, MAIDEN, PRIEST, AND MOTORHEAD WEREN'T METAL AT ALL! SO FOR THOSE OF YOU KIDDIES MY AGE, (I'M NOT A KIDDIE BECAUSE I KNOW THE REAL SHIT, AND THE OLD SCHOOL SHIT,HEHE) WHO LIVE IN BUMFUCK ARKANSAS AND MEDDLE AROUND IN THE FOREST WITH YOUR FACEPAINT AND EMPEROR T-SHIRTS AND HERCULES SWORDS (GOD I MISS HERC AND XENA!!!), TAKE YOUR TROLLY ASSES TO THE RECORD STORE AND LEARN OF YOUR BLACK METAL ROOTS!

P.S.---THIS STILL DOESN'T HOLD A CANDLE TO 1982'S "BLACK METAL" ALBUM THOUGH...

Review (and unfair remarks about Bumfuck,Arkansas) by Erik Chrupalyk.

HOLOCAUST-"PRIMAL" DEMO CD

1. IRON WILL/ 2. COLOSSUS/ 3. THEY COLONISE

http://www.holocaustmetal.com

I RECEIVED THIS DEMO IN THE MAIL, AFTER BEING INFORMED BY "BUDGIE", THE METAL ENTHUSIAST WHO RUNS THAT HUGE NWOBHM PAGE, THAT HE IS NOW A MEMBER OF HOLOCAUST. I HAVE TO SAY, FIRST AND FOREMOST, CONGRATS ON JOINING THE BAND, AND I'M SURE EVERY SHOW AND ALBUM IN THE FUTURE, WILL KICK ASS AND DESTROY ALL THESE KORNY NU-METAL BANDS' LAME-ASS 'MUSIC'!

ON THIS DEMO, THE GUITARS SOUND LIKE THEY ARE TUNED TO MAYBE 'D', WHICH IS COOL BECAUSE HOLOCAUST WERE ONE OF THE FEW NWOBHM BANDS THAT ACTUALLY PLAYED WITH MORE BOTTOM-END AND BALLSIER POWER CHORDS. MAN, YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE HOW BEEFY AND THICK THESE GUITARS SOUND, IT'S GREAT! I CAN ONLY WISH TO HEAR "DEATH OR GLORY" RE-RECORDED IN THIS STYLE. SINCE THIS IS A DEMO, AND NOT AN ALBUM, THE PRODUCTION IS VERY GARAGY, BUT HELL, I LOVE THAT RAW SOUND. SUITS THE BAND ANYHOW.

OPENER "IRON WILL" STARTS OUT REMINISCENT OF "HEAVY METAL MANIA", JUST SLIGHTLY. THE BLACK SABBATH INFLUENCE IS STILL HERE, AS ALWAYS. IT'S A LOT EASIER TO MAKE A BAND SOUND HEAVY BY PLAYING FAST, BUT BY MAINTAINING A SOMEWHAT SLOWER TEMPO, AND STILL BEING ULTRA-HEAVY IS NO EASY ACCOMPLISHMENT, BUT AS ALWAYS, HOLOCAUST MANAGE TO DO IT. THE MUSIC STAGGERS ON LIKE A DYING,HEARTLESS MAN ON THE VERGE OF KILLING SOMEBODY. EMOTIONS OF PURE HATRED SPEW FORTH AS EACH RIFF CRUSHES THE SENSES. WELL, I HOPE TO HEAR MORE FROM THE BAND, AND I WILL GET THE NEW ALBUM IF I CAN FIND THE FUCKER. AND JOHN MORTIMER, GET IN TOUCH WITH ME! I WANNA SET UP AN INTERVIEW.-Review by Erik Chrupalyk

CELTIC FROST-INTO THE PANDEMONIUM-1987-(NOISE/FUTURIST RECORDS)

THIS ALBUM HAS BEEN LOOKED AT BY MANY AS A VERY UNIQUE,IMPORTANT ALBUM IN HEAVY METAL HISTORY.SORT OF THE WAY ONE MIGHT LOOK AT A VOIVOD RECORD. IT HAS BEEN CONSIDERED A MILESTONE IN OUR WORLD. I DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND THIS, IT'S A VERY STRANGE ALBUM. NOTHING LIKE I'VE EVER HEARD BEFORE.

I HAVE BEEN A FROST FAN SINCE ABOUT 1998, WHEN I WAS LIKE 15 OR 16, BUT I WAS FIRST BAPTIZED IN FROST WITH "TO MEGA THERION" WHICH IS ONE ALBUM, ALONG WITH DIAMOND HEAD'S "LIGHTNING TOTHE NATIONS" THAT YOU WILL NEVER HEAR ME SHUT UP ABOUT. BUT THAT ALBUM WAS A LITTLE MORE STRAIGHT-FORWARD, JUST PURE ANGER, INTENSITY, AND DREARY DOOM-NESS.THIS ONE IS MORE ARTISTIC, AND OUT-THERE. EXPERIMENTAL IS THE ONE WORD ALWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ALBUM, AND IT REALLY MAKES SENSE TO ME. I WAS FAMILIAR WITH SOME OF THESE SONGS THROUGH THEIR GREATEST HITS PACKAGE(PARCHED WITH THIRST AM I AND DYING), SO IT WASN'T MUCH A SUPRISE WHEN I GOT THIS A FEW WEEKS AGO, THAT THE STYLE WASN'T EXACTLY LIKE "CIRCLE OF THE TYRANTS"OR "DAWN OF MEGGIDO" OF COURSE.

THE GUITAR TONE STILL HAS "FROST" BRANDED RIGHT ON IT, BUT THE OVERALL SOUND IS WAY DIFFERENT FROM THEIR EARLIER YEARS. THIS FEATURES A COVER SONG TOO, "MEXICAN RADIO". GREAT SONG WITH GREAT RIFFAGE! OH HERE YA GO, "INNER SANCTUM" HAS THAT CLASSIC FROST STYLE TO IT. HEY-EY-EY!!! AND WILLSOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHERE THE HELL I CAN HEAR THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF "MEXICAN RADIO"??? E-MAIL ME! I WANNA KNOW WHO DID IT ORIGINALLY. IMAGINE FROST DOING A "GARAGE INC." OR "METAL JUKEBOX" TYPE THING. MAN I'D RUSH OUT AND BUY IT BEFORE I'D EVEN KNOW IT WAS RELEASED.

"TRISTESSES DE LA LUNE" IS A CLASSICAL COMPOSITION WITH WHAT SEEMS TO BE CELLOS AND VIOLINS, AND SOME EXTREMELY SEXY-SOUNDING GIRL SINGING (MORE LIKE TUNEFULLY MOANING) IN FRENCH. DON'T ASK ME WHY IT'S ON A CELTIC FROST ALBUM. THERE ARE NO DRUMS OR GUITAR RIFFAGE, OR EVEN A TOM G.WARRIOR "OOOOHHH!!!!!!!!! AAAAHHHHH RUFF!" NOW SOMEBODY PLEASE TRANSLATE THESE LYRICS FOR ME, SO I CAN FIND OUT WHAT THE HELL SHE IS SINGING ABOUT. NOW WHAT THE HELL IS THE PURPOSE OF THE SONG "ONE IN THEIR PRIDE"??? I GUESS THIS KIND OF FORESHADOWED WHERE TOM WOULD TAKE HIMSELF IN THE DIRECTION IN THE FUTURE WITH APPOLYON'S SUN, THE 'INDUSTRIAL' BAND HE IS IN NOW. "I WON'T DANCE" IS A VERY CATCHY SONG WITH SOME FEMALE VOCALS. EVEN IF IT DOES SOUND A LITTLE SILLY, I KIND OF LIKE IT. "ORIENTAL MASQUERADE" REMINDS ME OF "INNOCENCE AND WRATH" A BIT, WITH THE DRUMS AND SYMPHONIC INSTRUMENTS PLAYING TOGETHER WITH SOME HEAVY RIFFAGE. SORT OF LIKE A METAL MARCH THING OR SOMETHING.

ANYWAYS, IS "COLD LAKE" ACTUALLY THAT GLAM? AS IN RATT, POISON, WHITESNAKE, BULLET BOYS METAL? HMM...I DUNNO, I DO LIKE SOME GLAM (DUCKS THE PUNCH THAT CHRIS ATTEMPTS TO THROW AT ME) (I'll get you NEXT TIME-Chris), MAYBE I'D LIKE THAT ALBUM. I MEAN, HEY, I THOUGHT "LOAD"WASN'T HALF BAD, AND "BRAVE NEW WORLD" WAS GREAT, I LOVE THE DISAPPOINTMENTS SOMETIMES! I JUST CAN'T IMAGINE FROSTSUCKING, SO I'LL GET "COLD LAKE" ONE DAY. I WOULDN'T SAY BUY THIS, BUT I WOULDN'T SAY DON'T BUY THIS. JUST KNOW THAT IT'S A HUGE GAMBLE FOR YOUR $14 DOLLARS. OKAY ENOUGH DILIRIOUS RAMBLING, IT'S TIME FOR BED. NO RATING, IT'S TOO ABSTRACT TO RATE...Review by Erik Chrupalyk

IRON MAIDEN-FROM THERE TO ETERNITY(VHS)-1992-SMV ENTERTAINMENT

I WAS BROWSING THROUGH ALBUMS AT TOWER RECORDS, ON THE PRIDE OF PHILLY, SOUTH STREET, AND I CAME ACROSS THIS VIDEO, FOR $7 AND A COUPLE CENTS. I EXPECTED A VIDEO E.P. BUT TO MY SUPRISE,THIS THING HAD MORE SONGS ON IT THAN ANY OTHER MAIDEN VIDEOS I HAVE (BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN, LIVE AFTER DEATH, RAISING HELL).

SOME OF THESE VIDS ARE LIVE, AND SOME ARE JUST REGULAR PROMO-VIDS, BUT IT'S MAIDEN, SO YOU SORT OF EXPECT THEM TO RULE, WHICH THEY ALL DO! ...SOME RARITIES ON THIS TOO, NAMELY HOLY SMOKE AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM (FEATURING PAUL DI'ANNO). OTHER SONGS IT INCLUDES ARE WRATHCHILD, LIVE WITH DI'ANNO,RUN TO THE HILLS,THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST, FLIGHT OF ICARUS,THE TROOPER,TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT, ACESHIGH,RUNNING FREE, LIVE WITH BRUCE DICKINSON, WASTED YEARS, WHICH IS AN AWESOME VIDEO, SHOWCASING IRON MAIDEN'S HISTORY AND GOOD TIMES ON CAMERA, WITH PHOTO SHOTS OF THE BAND, PICS OF EDDIE, AND OLD FOOTAGE FROMLIVE PERFORMANCES OR OTHER VIDEOS,STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND,CAN IPLAY WITH MADNESS,THE EVIL THAT MEN DO,THE CLAIRIVOYANT, A BEAUTIFUL LIVE RENDITION OF THE ATMOSPHERIC,INFINITE DREAMS,TAILGUNNER,BRING YOUR DAUGHTER TO THE SLAUGHTER,BE QUICK OR BE DEAD,WASTING LOVE, WHICH SHOWS A MAN GOING THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS LIKE CARTONS OF MILK, AND BEING DEPRESSED BECAUSE OF IT, NOT REALIZING THAT IT TAKES A BETTER LOVER TO REMAIN WITH ONE PERSON,THAN TO HAVE A DIFFERENT WOMAN IN BED EVERY NIGHT.

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY IS THE LAST ONE HERE...I THINK THIS SONG WAS MY FIRST EVER TASTE OF IRON MAIDEN'S MUSIC, AS I RECALL SEEING THIS VIDEO BEFORE I WAS A FAN OF THEM, BACK IN LIKE 1995 (HEY MAN, I WAS LIKE 12 IN 1995, SO SHUT THE FUCK UP!). I SAW THIS ON BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD (WHO INTRODUCED ME TO PLENTY OF KICK-ASS BANDS LIKE C.O.C., AND CARCASS!!!), AND I REMEMBER THAT SAME YEAR I BROUGHT POWERSLAVE. EXPLOSIONS, HOT CHICKS,MOTORCYCLES...YOU WOULD EXPECT THIS TO COME FROM A MOTLEY CRUE VIDEO! ANYWAY, THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL BACKSTAGE FOOTAGE OR ANY INTERVIEWS, WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET, AND IT IS DEFINETLY WORTH THE $7-8 THAT I PAID FOR IT! HELL, I'D HAVE PAID $30 IF THAT'S WHAT THE PRICE TAG SAID...JEALOUS CHRIS? HAHA! BUY THE DAMN THING!

RATING? 9, BECAUSE IT'S NOT THRASH. (IF IT WERE, IT WOULD HAVE A PERFECT 10). NOW WHY CAN'TMEGADETH, METALLICA, SLAYER, AND TESTAMENT DO THIS? OH YEAH, AND I'M STILL PISSED THAT THE D.R.I. VIDEO WAS ONLY AVAILABLE ON DVD. FUCK DVD!

POSSESSED-SEVEN CHURCHES-1985-COMBAT RECORDS (RE-RELEASED BY CENTURY MEDIA 1998)

WOW, I ACTUALLY REMEMBER WHEN THIS WAS BEING RE-RELEASED A MERE 3 YEARS AGO. I CAN LOOK BACK FONDLY AT THAT YEAR, WHEN I WAS 15 GOING ON 16, AND GETTING MORE EXTREME AND UNDERGROUND IN MY TASTES. THAT WAS WHEN I REALLY STARTED GETTING INTO VENOM. WHEN MY METAL CAME PACKED WITH MORE BLOOD, THORNS, SPIKES, LEATHER,AND RUSTED NAILS THAN EVER BEFORE. THE YEAR I DISCOVERED CELTIC FROST! JUST A FEW MONTHS PRIOR TO DISCOVERING BATHORY! THE YEAR I DISCOVERED DEATH ANGEL!THE YEAR I STARTED GETTING OVER THE FACT THAT METALLI-DETH ARE BOTH DYING.

WHY DIDN'T I DISCOVER POSSESSED THAN, UNTIL A FEW WEEKS AGO? I MEAN, I ALWAYS KNEW WHO THEY WERE, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY SOUNDED LIKE 'TIL I BOUGHT THIS. MAN, DO THEY GO RIGHT UP THERE WITH THE OTHER GREATS OF THE TIME, THE OTHER EXTREME METAL BANDS LIKE THE AFORE-MENTIONED, ALONG WITH SLAYER, EXODUS,ETC. THE GREAT THING AT THE TIME WAS THAT, THIS WAS WHEN THE WHOLE GENRE-AWARENESS THING STARTED HAPPENING. YOU WEREN'T JUST 'HEAVY METAL' ANYMORE. YOU WERE'THRASH', BEING HEAVIER THAN THE PRIOR YEARS' IRON MAIDEN'S, AND JUDASPRIEST'S,AND SAXON'S. AND THE GENRE TAG THING DIDN'T GET TOO OUT OF HAND. IN THOSE DAYS, WHEN YOU SAID THRASH, DEATH, OR BLACK METAL, YOU PRETTY MUCH MEANT THE SAME FEW BANDS. BANDS LIKE POSSESSED AND CELTIC FROST REALLY BLURRED THE LINES WHEREAS TODAY,EITHER YOU HAVE A 'KILLER-BEES-IN-A-CAN' SOUND (BLACK METAL), OR YOU HAVE A 'GRIZZY-BEAR-FUCK-FEST'SOUND (DEATH METAL), OR A 'MACHINE-GUN-RIFFAGE' ASSAULT (THRASHMETAL).

FUCK MAN, JUST LISTEN TO THIS SHIT! IT'S KILLER, IT'S THRASH, IT'S DEATH,AND IT'S BLACK! AS MEZZADURUS OF BLOODSTORM WOULD SAY, BLACK-THRASHING DEATHMETAL! I USED TO THINK ALL DEATH METAL SOUNDED LIKE CANNIBAL CORPSE AND MORBID ANGEL, A LITTLE WHILE BACK, 'TIL I DISCOVERED...ATHEIST I BELIEVE, WAS WHAT MADE MEREALIZE THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO HAVE LOW VOCALS TO BE DEATH METAL. IT'S TIME TO END THIS, BUT EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T EXPLAIN TOO MUCH ON WHAT THE MUSIC SOUNDS LIKE, YOU GET THE PICTURE, I'M SURE. SO FANS OF SODOM, KREATOR, BATHORY,DESTRUCTION,VENOM, SLAYER, ETC.---THIS IS ONE KILLER ALBUM YOU MUST OWN!

OH, AND P.S.---JEFFWAGNER DID THE INTRODUCTION ON THE CD BOOKLET! GOD I MISS HIM IN METAL MANIACS...(HE'S MY FAVORITE SCRIBE OF THE STEEL PEN!)

RATING: 8 OF 10-REVIEW BY ERIK CHRUPALYK

PRIMAL FEAR-Nuclear Fire-2001-Nuclear Blast Records

Some say that PRIMAL FEAR are not their own band...they claim that PRIMAL FEAR is a JUDAS PRIEST rip-off band. All I have to say to that is...I can see our point. Sure they write the kind of songs that J.P. wrote before Halford left. Sure,Ralf Scheppers sounds alot like Rob Halford...but then again,what would you rather have,a band that sounds like JUDAS PRIEST or a band that sounds like that Norweigian black metal "Satan is all we sing about because we are fucking evil and violent" bullshit? I'd go for a PRIEST clone ANYDAY.

Which brings us to the point...is this album any good? The answer is YES. Lets put it like this...if Jugulator was this good,I would be on the edge of my seat waiting for the new JUDAS PRIEST album instead of worrying that it might suck hard. The album opener "Angel In Black" is pretty good,and it sets a pace which the record follows throughout. The title track is fucking excellent,and if you claim to be a PRIEST fan,you'll headbang along with this song in a second. Other great songs here include "Eye of an Eagle"(personl favorite),"Kiss of Death" and "Now or Never".

What's wrong with this record? Well,the final song "Living for Metal" makes me want to turn off this CD and listen to "Defenders of the Faith" instead. Metal Anthems are cool,but this is the perfect argument for those who claim this band is too close to J.P. for their own good. Also,three records into their career,and if you played me a PRIMAL FEAR track,I wouldn't know which album the damn thing is from. In other words,you would figure the sound would "evolve" a bit over three fucking records...

If you have to have a PRIMAL FEAR record in your collection,I would have to go with self-titled album. It has the most memorable songs on it,and it leaves this and "Jaws of Death" in the dust. This album is good,safe power metal...nothing more an nothing less.

Rating-7/10-Review by Chris O'Brien

SACRED OATH-A Crystal Vision-2001-Sentinel Steel Records

This is an album that was originally released in the late 80's by a small record label out of New York (Mercenary Records...they also handeled ATTACKER's second album and an all-female band named MEANSTREAK) which went out of business,and that ultimatley buried this albums in the bowels of metal history...until Sentinel Steel got their hands on it.

This album is pretty good power/heavy metal with a large influence of MERCYFUL FATE. The vocals get a bit high and sometimes they get lost amongst the instrumentation. This album is a concept album,but the songs are good enough and diverse enough to stand on their own. As far as bonus tracks go,two are re-recorded from the album ("Two Powers" and "Message to the Children") and two other songs are included here.

Musically,this is REALLY good. The solos are good,the changes in tempo and rythym are done very nicley,and everything sounds great. Like I mentioned above,the vocals sometimes get lost when they reach their highest point,but they are unique enough to avoid being an exact clone of MERCYFUL FATE. Some songs have the atmosphere that the best of M.F. has (especially the incredible "Shadow Out Of Time"...the vocals sound diabolical) while others seem kind of lame ("Message To The Children" bores me a bit) and some parts of songs DO get a bit boring.

Overall,this is a good enough record with,like I mentioned alot in this review,a MERCYFUL FATE kind of vibe to it. This band was alright,and this is fine for a first record,and if the band ever got to release another record before Mercenary died,I would hope it would a bit better. Oh well...

Rating-6.5/10-Review by Chris O'Brien

BURNT OFFERING-Death Decay Complete-1997-Modern Day Recordings

I have reviewed this bands second album "Walk of the Dead" a while ago (it is on my ARCHIVED page),and I thought it was very good...but I wanted to find out about this bands first album. I tried stores around here,but no luck. The few mailorder places that had it were places I never hear of,and therefore,I don't trust them. Luckily,I found this at the metalfest...at least I thought I was lucky.

This is STILL the same band...but these songs are just kind of,well,ordinary. The production here is kind of rough,the songs are halfways decent,and nothing here really stands out in any way. In addition to the entire first,self-titled, album there is also the "Death Decay" demo from 1987. The demo tracks all wound up on the album anyway,and the sound on the demo is pretty good. Some of the best songs here include "Leatherface","Kick Your Dirt","Black Blasphemy", and "Slaughterhouse Gristle". The other tracks here pale in comparison.

This is alright if you enjoy Thrash/early death metal...you COULD do better,but if you have money to burn,this will be good enough.

Rating-5.5/10-Review by Chris O'Brien

SLEEPY HOLLOW-Sleepy Hollow-1991-Iron Works/Azra Records

Shit...I can't put into words how awesome this album is,but goddamnit,I am going to do my best...because this album is worth it. This album is worth your money,it is worth the effort to find,and when you do find it and listen to it,you will be glad you didn't buy some bullshit record with demons and satan on the cover.

This album starts off with "Darkness" which leads into an instrumental "Last Rites" before ripping into the majesty that is this album. If you listen to the song "Freedom Condemned" and hate it,you should be destroyed for the weak-ass poser shithead that you are. However,if you continue on with this album,you'll find a perfect combination of power metal and a doomier,slower kind atmosphere.

On the song "Hazardous",Mr Mitchell seems to be doing his best UDO impersonation,and the music itself isn't far from ACCEPT's "Fast As A Shark". An alright song,but the next track,"Eigth Wonder" is the song on this albumwhich I call "The Motherfucker"...you know what "The Motherfucker" is...it is the song on ANY ALBUM that makes or breaks it in your eyes. This song is a triumph in metal and my personal favorite on this disc.

The next song "Final Conflict" is an excellent example of the pace of the album...heavy and crushing,if you have "A Legend Retold",then you know this song well and realize how killer it truly is. "Children of the Sea" is next...and it is a good cover of the BLACK SABBATH minor classic (Fuck,to me,B.S. with Dio on vocals is their best material...but that's just me), and my brother actually thought it WAS the SABBATH version...so it must be good (my brother is a HUGE SABBATH fan.)Finally,"Darkness" takes the album out the same way it began.

Are there a few problems? Well,not problems,but disappointemts. While I would have liked to hear more, the running time is just WAY TO FUCKING SHORT!(only half an hour? C'mon...) And Bob...why the hell is Reverend Jim from TAXI making an appearance? I just didn't think it was funny,and another instrumental piece like "Last Rites" would have made better choice. Another two or three songs along the lines of "Final Conflict" or "Eight Wonder" would have been great (Why not include "Hypnosis"?)

Overall,despite a few minor flaws,this is an ESSENTIAL purchase for fans of heavy metal in general. Highly Recomended.

Rating-8.5/10-Review by Chris O'Brien

HATE-HOLY DEAD TRINITY-WORLD WAR III RECORDS-2001

Once upon a time in a far away land, four young Polish lads decided to pick up their instruments and start a project.After a long night of listening to Cannibal Corpse and Deicide, and reading such timeless classics as "Satan for Dummies" and the truly awe inspiring " Curious George", these young men felt they were ready to take on the world with their ultra-Satanic death metal, and thats how the band HATE was formed........Well, thats not quite how it happened, but it doesnt seem to be a far stretch.

How could Glen Benton be in Deicide and Hate at the same time?Calm down kiddies, thats not Glen, though it does sound a lot like the aforementioned Floridian cookie monster. As you can probably tell, "Holy Dead Trinity" features the typical standard issue death grunts and blasphemous belches which currently pollute the death metal scene.Although there are some good death bands that manage to have a unique presence behind the microphone, Hate isnt one of them.

As far as the bass plaing is concerned, it seems ok, nothing spectacular, but I can only hear it in bits and pieces, so my opinion isnt exactly set in stone yet.

The drumming is also pretty good at times, although falling into the death metal cliche with constant blastbeats doesnt help much. I have no problem with blastbeats, as long as they are done in moderation,but when there are as many blastbeats on an album as there are lesbians at a Joan Osborne concert, something isnt quie right.( just for the record, I have no problems with lesbians, and I think the union of two beautiful women is a great thing..... especialy when they're naked.)

The guitar on this album manages to do an ok job at keeping my attention. Heavy,somewhat complex at times, riffage and interesting solos are the only things that save this album from becoming a complete suckfest.I like what the lead guitarist is doing on this album as well, not just shredding through a zillion random notes, he chooses to play a solo that actually fits the song.As i said, the solos are interesting, kind of a quiet tone I suppose, like Brian May( although May could embarrass this band), but not sounding like May in technique.Good solos, in the same key of the song, it all fits, nuff said.

Now, to the lyrics.You'd think bands would be tired of writing songs about Satan, but I guess not in this case.Kirk Hammett put it best when he said " I'm not into that whole Satanic thing.It's something to fall back on if you don't have much imagination. Singing your fiftieth song about having lunch with Satan-it's silly."

I cant exacly make out a lot of the lyrics, this is a promotional copy I have, therefore no member names,no lyrics, no nothing. Not sure what the song "God Overslept" is about, although the title sounds stupid. To assume that God, one day sleeping on his Sealy mattress, forgot to set his alarm clock, thus opening the infernal gates of Hell,giving way to an unholy maelstrom of devils with inverted crosses.

The fifth "song", entitled,"The Kill", is a monumental achievement, truly epic in my opinion( hint of sarcasm). The song is about 28 seconds long, if even that.Just speed riffage,blastbeats, and Glen Benton singing with food in his mouth.Your suposed to chew at least 20 times, didnt your mother teach you anything?

By now, I've lost all interest in Satan, but just to make sure I couldnt possibly be any more bored with the dark one if I tried, songs like "Share Your Blood with Daemon","Enter the Hell", "Pagan Triumph" and "Satan's Horde" only serve to do everything but put me to sleep.

Geez guys, if your so down with Satan,why dont you call him by one of his "dripping with evil" names? Blah blah blah Satan,blah blah blah sacrifice( another word ruined by certain bands),and blah blah blah God sucks, thats your typical song on this album.

Not a completely bad album, but nothing groundbreaking.Death metal die hards might enjoy this.Jeff Gilbert from Guitar World mag would have a field day on this album.Probably a 4 or 5 out of ten on the rating scale.

Review by Will Jordan

MEGADETH-" THE WORLD NEEDS A HERO", SANCTUARY RECORDS,2001

Well, I got this record the day it came out, being the huge Megadeth fan that I am. I had heard various sayings that this was a return to their roots, so I was eager to hear the new album.This album, in my opinion, is a great metal album.Not exactly thrash,although it has its moments, but a great metal record none the less.

The album starts out with "Disconnect", cool riffs, Dave's voice sounding great,not thrash, but an aggressive mid-paced song, with really cool solos. Kind of cruises along at an even groove.So far the album has met the first of my criteria..... It sounds nothing like "Risk",check one!

The next song, being the title track, exceeds the prior song in "awesomeness" you could say. Not so much focused around riffs( though it has a very cool chorus riff, as do most Deth songs, and the riff in the middle could pass for thrash I'd say) as it is around Dave's voice and the really cool lyrics. Cynical Dave is back! Also features a great solo to complement the aforementioned riff.

Now to "Moto Psycho". Yes its on the radio, but in this case, it doesnt make the song suck!Pretty cool lyrics,cool riffs, and cool solos compliments of Dave and Al Pitrelli. A good song on mainstream rock radio?Yes, it can be done, unless you're Korn or the Deftones.

To the fourth track, "1000 Times Goodbye". Kinda centered around the relationship gone bad theme, like a few songs in "Cryptic Writings", but a good song just the same. Cool but simple riffs, good lyrics, more awesome soloing,nuff said.

The fifth track,"Burning Bridges", is another aggressive song, fairly simple riffs, although the chorus riff is complex, as are most Megadeth chorus riffs in general. Forgive me for using the word "cool" too much,but this really is a cool song, lyrics are great, and the song shifts into full on metal mode near the middle, complete with heavy riffery and really great soling, one of my favorite tracks on the record.

Five songs into the record, doing good so far, but whats this? A ballad? Megadeth attempted what I consider their first full on acoustic dominated ballad on Risk, so I was expecting at least one song of that nature on this album. Well, it doesnt suck, the track "Promises" is in fact a ballad, but meaningful lyrics save this from being another in a long line of doofy "power ballads".The by now annoying word "cool", comes to mind when I think of the song's solos.

Onward to "Recipe For Hate...Warhorse", a kick-ass song indeed.Starting off with a speedy yet brief intro riff, the song settles down into an eerie mood, with calm yet angry spoken word, followed by the pounding riff which signals the second half of the song.Dave's voice is great, the riffs are also noteworthy, more chaotic soling, great lyrics, another favorite track.

Next on the list is "Losing My Senses", nothing special, but a good song none the less.Pretty interesting lyrics, cool chorus riffs, more solos, not an immediate attention grabber, but not filler material.

I'm sure by now most of you have heard " Dread And The Fugitive Mind" from "Capitol Punishement". Great song, not thrash, but still heavy, catchy chorus, more riffs, yadayada, but Al's solo is what really stands out on this song.Simply a great solo, one of the reasons I find myself listening to the album more and more.

"Silent Scorn" the eleventh "song" is a fairly short instrumental, and features a trumpet.What the hell? A Trumpet? Fear not kiddies, it doesnt make the song suck, cool piece of music.I see this song as more of an intro to next track.

And to the next track, "Return To Hangar" is without a doubt the heaviest song on the record. Dave's voice sounding angrier and better than ever, great lyrics, cool harmonized solos that give way to a full on thrash attack accompanied by frenetic soloing, the true highlight of the album.

The last track, entitles "When" clocks in at 9 minutes and 13 seconds, the longest Megadeth song ever. More spoken word, more cool lyrics, Dave proving he can sound angrier in his cool,calm delivery of words than any retard from Slipknot shouting at the top of his lungs in the same,predictable, one note voice. More coolness ensues on the aforementioned track. In my opinion, this was a great return to Megadeth, an aggressive metal album with a few twists and turns. Some may or may not agree with me, I'm not stating that my opinion is right, I'm just stating my opinion.

To end on a somewhat cheesy note, raise your horns, and bang thy head in metal triumph, for Megadeth is back!

Review by Will Jordan

RAZOR-Execution Garaunteed-1984-Viper Records

Many great bands have come to us courtesy of Canada. I mean,look at the list...it reads like a history of metal in and of itself...ANVIL,PILEDRIVER,INFERNAL MAJESTY,VOIVOD, and of course RAZOR. Playing awesome metal is what this band became known for,and this is why this band has a rather large cult following. In other words...if you don't know RAZOR,you don't know shit!

This is the bands first full-length album (after the "Armed and Dangerous" EP), and the metal is simple, yet effective. The album opener "Take This Torch" pretty much sets the pace for this album...speed and power which levels the place. Other standout tracks are the balls-to-the-wall thrashing assault of "Gate Crasher" (my personal favorite), "City of Damnation" (hey,this was the first name of our chat room), "Escape The Fire" (sounds like he is singing "Skin and Fire"...it rules.), and of course, a song about metal itself..."Fast and Loud".

However,while I praise the holy hell out of this album,there are a few problems...mainly the vocallist, who at points sound like he is mumbeling jibberish into a microphone. On the above mentioned tracks,the man is excellent,yet on lesser tracks like "Death Race" and "Time Bomb" he doesn't sound as powerful. That isn't to say the vocals are BAD, but they are decent enough to make this album worth owning. The guitar solos are alright,if a bit forgetable. The cover sucks,and the sound could have been just a bit better. Oh well...

This is an album that,I feel,is rather under-rated in the scope of thrash metal as a whole. A worthwhile addition to a collection. If you swear you are a die-hard fan of thrash metal,you cannot be without this.

Rating-6.5/10 | Review by Chris O'Brien

SLAUGHTER-"Strappado"-1986-Fringe Productions

I got this album at the metalfest (it was a version released on Headache Records with STRAPPADO's "Still Not Dead" on it as well. Me thinks it's a bootleg.) and I couldn't wait to get back home,pop it in,and give it a listen.

The album is alright. Maybe I am missing something here, but this album is decent at best. Songs like "Strappado","Fuck Of Death", and "Incinerator" prove why this album is considered an underground classic,but the production must have been done by the guy who did the "Apocalyptic Raids" ep by HELLHAMMER. Everything is just thrown together...the vocals are alright and the musicianship is pretty good as well.

Overall,fairly decent stuff,but if you aren't a big fan of thrash,I would reccomend staying away from this. For die-hard HELLHAMMER and "extreme" metal fans only would find anything great here.

Rating-5/10 | Review by Chris O'Brien

BLESSED DEATH-"Kill Or Be Killed"-1985-Megaforce/Tungsten Records

HOLY SHIT...THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME! I knew that the New York/New Jersey area had a ton of great bands in the mid-eighties,but this is an unsung masterpiece of agressive thrash/speed metal fury.

I love this fucking tape so much that I have to replace it out of playing it too much. Awesome vocals which go from a somewhat generic thrash shout/growl to their highest pitch in no time,awesome solos,and a pounding rythym section round out these excellent songs. Just about every song here is about war...but unlike BOLT THROWER who perfer a more mid-paced approach to the music,this is full throtle thrash that will knock you off your stupid ass. Songs like "Pig Slaughter","Kill Or Be Killed","Napalm" ,and "Into The Ovens" sum it up.

Any faults? Well,nothing is perfect. The vocallist gets a little TOO high pitched sometimes,thus making something cool incredibly annoying after a while. The production could be a bit better as well...oh well.

King Fowley put this out on cd a few years (it also contains the bands second and final album "Destined To Extinction"), so it should be relativley easy to find now at days. The sound was probably cleaned up a bit as well,but that doesn't fucking matter...this is essential (at least to me).

Rating-8.5/10 | Review by Chris O'Brien